Participants: Ty Gibson
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000147
|
00:13 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
00:15 live from the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:22 Indeed, we do welcome you to night number two 00:26 of this the final Anchors of this particular calendar year. 00:31 And this series has been called, The Law of Life. 00:36 And tonight's presentation is, The Gospel in the Law. 00:40 Ellen White talks about how the Adventist church 00:43 in days gone by was so law oriented and so law driven 00:49 that we had squeezed the gospel out of the law 00:53 and the law had become a rather dry and monotonous 00:57 series of messages that were devoid of the love of Christ. 01:01 And it is good to see that Ty has re-inserted, 01:05 as part of his presentation, the gospel in the law. 01:08 It makes it so very, very beautiful, because everything 01:11 begins and ends with Jesus Christ. 01:13 And when you put Christ in the center of the law, 01:16 then the law becomes a sweet and wholesome thing. 01:19 We were just teasing him about that backstage, 01:23 talking about how, when you are in love with Christ 01:26 and walking with Christ, the law is not necessarily 01:29 something that you keep or do. 01:32 It is something you are. 01:34 When a husband loves a wife, and she says, 01:37 "Could you get me a glass of water," 01:38 he doesn't say, "Well that's legalism. 01:40 You're making me work." 01:41 You know, kind of thing. 01:43 But it's natural, Joe, for you to get Nancy a glass of water. 01:46 It just flows that way, you know. 01:48 You don't argue about that. You just do it. 01:51 And we praise the Lord for that. 01:52 And so, the gospel is the thing that gives the law vitality. 01:57 It makes it warm, it makes it sweet, it makes it comfortable. 02:00 It makes it not just something that we do. 02:02 Something that we are. 02:03 And I know we're going to hear from Ty 02:06 on that subject this evening. 02:07 So we are very, very pleased that you are here. 02:11 And we are very, very pleased that you, our viewing 02:14 and listening audience, are here. 02:15 We do suspect that God has something to say 02:18 to us this night. 02:19 And we are anxious to hear it. 02:22 Ty Gibson has been mentioned so many times. 02:25 When you think of Ty, you think of James. 02:27 And now you think of Davis Asscherick 02:29 and you think of Jeffrey Rosario also. 02:31 They all of Light Bearers Ministries, 02:33 which has given, yea, hundreds of millions 02:37 of pieces of literature out around the world 02:40 for so many, many years. 02:42 And really doing a great job lifting up the mighty and 02:44 matchless name of Jesus. 02:46 So we are pleased to have him with us this night. 02:49 He is a good guy. 02:51 Student of the Word, and a good Christian. 02:53 And we're anxious to hear from him. 02:55 Before he comes to us, our own Celestine Berry 02:59 is going to be singing. 03:02 The song is, Water into Wine. 03:06 So if you will now pray with me, 03:07 then we will hear Celestine sing. 03:11 And then the next voice you will hear will be that of 03:13 our friend and fellow minister, traveler on the road to glory, 03:18 Ty Gibson. 03:19 Father, we thank You so very much for the privilege 03:22 we have of lifting up the name of Jesus. 03:28 We thank Thee for the Word and for the meat in due season 03:33 that it is, and the water that it is to our thirsty souls. 03:38 We pray for the speaker this night a special anointing. 03:42 We pray for those in this house, open and attentive ears. 03:49 And for those who are listening around the world, 03:52 may they see Jesus this night. 03:54 May their hearts be encouraged as we take one more step 03:59 along that road that leads to glory. 04:03 We thank You for the call that brought us from 04:05 darkness to light, and from error to truth. 04:07 Help us now to recommit ourselves to You, 04:12 to again take hold of Your unchanging hand, 04:15 and to walk where You lead, until the day You lead us 04:19 through the gates and into that city. 04:21 We praise You and thank You for this night. 04:24 In Jesus' name, amen. 04:27 Celestine Berry, and then Ty Gibson. 04:46 My blinded eyes were made to see, 04:53 my captive heart has been set free. 05:00 I have seen a miracle; 05:07 now I believe. 05:13 You turned the water into wine. 05:19 And looking back I've seen them many times. 05:27 You made the simple things divine. 05:33 With a touch of Your hand You've changed this heart of mine. 05:41 You turned the water into wine. 06:01 Your still small voice will speak the truth. 06:08 Your love alone will see me through. 06:14 Lord, I need a miracle; 06:22 Lord, I need You. 06:29 You turned the water into wine. 06:34 And looking back I've seen them many times. 06:42 You made the simple things divine. 06:48 With a touch of Your hand You've changed this heart of mine. 06:56 You turned the water into wine. 07:02 Lord, I need a miracle; 07:12 Lord, I need You. 07:18 You turned the water into wine. 07:24 And looking back I've seen them many times. 07:32 You made the simple things divine. 07:38 With a touch of Your hand You've changed this heart of mine. 07:46 You turned the water into wine. 07:53 You turned the water into wine. 08:04 Thank you, thank you so much. 08:07 Well good evening, everybody. 08:09 You are here to continue in part two of our series on, 08:13 The Law of God. 08:15 And I just want to admit right up front that when you advertise 08:18 a series about the law, it doesn't sound like a very 08:22 exciting subject to many ears. 08:25 In fact, some people may regard the law of God 08:29 as a subject that conjures up in their minds 08:33 feelings of restriction. 08:36 But what we've been exploring with part one of our series 08:39 last evening, and now launching into part two, 08:42 is that the law of God, as James says, is a law of liberty. 08:48 Tonight we're going to discover that the gospel itself, 08:51 the good news, the happy message, the glad tidings, 08:56 of Jesus Christ is actually embedded in 09:01 the Ten Commandment law of God. 09:04 Now in order to get there, I want to begin 09:06 by introducing somebody to you. 09:08 Back in 1996, maybe it was 1997, I met one of the most remarkable 09:14 people I have ever encountered in my life. 09:18 I was in Russia conducting a series of meetings 09:21 and she was attending night by night. 09:24 She introduced herself by the name, Galina. 09:27 And I was pleased to meet her. 09:28 We had many very, very stimulating conversations. 09:33 But the thing that she kept bringing up over and over again 09:36 was her son. 09:37 She wanted me to know what a great guy he is, 09:40 and how much she loved him. 09:42 And just over and over again she was extolling his virtues, 09:45 and the time that she enjoyed spending with him. 09:49 Her son was just continually at the forefront 09:52 of her enthusiasm and her joy about life. 09:56 So one evening just in passing, I said to her, 10:00 because she had mentioned him over and over again, 10:03 I said, "Is there any way I can meet this great guy? 10:06 I mean, bring him to the meetings. 10:07 I'd love to meet him, Galina. 10:08 Bring your son." 10:10 And she said, "No, that's not possible. 10:11 But I would like you to meet him. 10:13 Could you come during one of the times in the day 10:18 and meet my son?" 10:20 Well, it turns out that it was never at a time 10:23 when I could actually make the journey, 10:26 it was some miles away, and keep all of my other obligations 10:30 with regards to the meetings. 10:32 And so finally I said to her, "No seriously, 10:35 tell your son I want to meet him, and bring him to 10:38 the meeting tomorrow night." 10:41 And she became a little somber. 10:45 And I sensed, I immediately read in the body language, 10:48 wait a minute. 10:50 There's something more to this story. 10:53 I said, "Galina, is it possible for your son to come?" 10:56 And she said, "No, it's not possible." 10:58 My immediate thought was, he's ill or something. 11:02 Maybe he's hospitalized. 11:04 And just abruptly, out of nowhere, she said to me, 11:08 "No, he can't come because he's in prison." 11:10 And her countenance dropped and there was just this heaviness. 11:16 He's in prison, I thought to myself. 11:18 I wonder what for. 11:20 Do I ask? Is it awkward? 11:23 How painful is this? 11:26 But she could see my curiosity. 11:29 And she said, "He's serving a life sentence 11:35 for murder." 11:38 All I could do was just express my sympathy, 11:42 and I just said, "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry to hear that." 11:46 But I was a little bit confused, because she had built him up. 11:51 He was such a wonderful human being, 11:54 they way she had portrayed him. 11:57 And then in the next breath, she said something that floored me. 12:03 I said, "Well, your son is in prison for murder." 12:08 And she could hear the question. 12:10 I wanted to know the details, 12:12 but I just didn't really have the courage to ask. 12:16 She said, and it was very strange, she said, 12:20 "He murdered my son." 12:24 Now I was confused. 12:26 And the only thing I could conclude was that, 12:30 wait a minute, this is one of her sons who apparently 12:34 murdered her other son, right? 12:36 Because she had spoken of this person 12:39 in prison as her son, right? 12:41 And now she said that he, this person in prison, 12:45 murdered who? 12:47 Her son. 12:49 And so I began to indicate that, "Oh, that's just so tragic. 12:54 I'm sorry to hear that. 12:56 He was murdered by his own brother, your son?" 13:01 And she said, "No, no, you don't understand. 13:02 You don't understand." 13:04 I said, "No, I don't." 13:06 She said, "The man who's in prison is not my son really, 13:15 but I've claimed him as my son because he murdered my son." 13:24 And now I'm thinking that she's either a very simple 13:29 minded person or literally insane. 13:33 Because I'm not finding in my heart the kind of, 13:39 the kind of thinking, the kind of thought process 13:42 that would allow me to grasp her acceptance of the man 13:48 who murdered her son and to claim that man as her son. 13:53 She proceeded to tell me that her daughter was very angry 13:58 with her about this and told her, 14:00 "Mother, he is not your son." 14:02 And she told me that, "I spoke straight to my daughter 14:05 and I said, 'Yes he is my son. 14:07 I have claimed him as my own.'" 14:10 "Mother, he is not your son." 14:15 I said, "Galina, how did this man respond to you 14:22 visiting him in prison and showing up over and over again, 14:28 and referring to him as your son?" 14:32 She said, "Well he didn't like the idea." 14:35 She said, "He called me names. 14:38 Profane names." 14:41 But she said something profound now, 14:43 and it went theological for me. 14:47 She said, "I knew he hated me because he believed 14:53 I hated him. 14:56 But if I could persuade him that I don't hate him, 15:03 that in fact I forgive him," she said, "I believe 15:08 that not only will I claim him as my son, but he will choose 15:14 to become my son." 15:17 This woman, unbeknownst to herself, maybe in these 15:21 exact terms, this woman was using forgiveness 15:28 as a weapon against evil. 15:31 She was overcoming evil with good. 15:36 She was allowing, to use the words of James, 15:39 she was allowing mercy to triumph over justice. 15:46 And I saw in her a profound love that I had never witnessed 15:53 to that point in my life. 15:55 Something like this dynamic that we see in Galina's 16:01 relationship with the man who murdered her son, 16:04 something like this but on a grander scale 16:08 is going on in the gospel. 16:12 Let me just demonstrate this for you. 16:13 This is a series of studies on the law of God. 16:19 So we're going to turn there to the law of God 16:22 and begin to unpack the gospel as it is revealed 16:26 in the law of God. 16:28 And you'll see Galina's story worked out 16:33 on a cosmic scale in the way God relates to you and me. 16:38 Now as you turn to Exodus chapter 20, 16:41 just want to test your memory, how many of you can just, 16:44 without going there, tell me what is the first 16:47 of the Ten Commandments? 16:48 Somebody just shout it out if you know it. 16:53 Come on, somebody must know it. 16:58 What is it? 17:01 "Thou shalt have no..." 17:03 Do I need to help you? 17:04 Some of you said it. I heard it. 17:06 "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." 17:09 That's number one of the Ten Commandments, isn't it? 17:12 No it isn't. 17:13 I mean, it is, but it isn't. 17:16 And what I mean by that, as you turn to Exodus 20, 17:20 is that over and over again when the question is asked, 17:24 "What is the first commandment 17:27 of the Ten Commandments," almost everybody begins 17:31 quoting at the point that you began quoting, 17:34 and that I began quoting. 17:36 "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." 17:39 In fact, you'll see Ten Commandment monuments, 17:43 Ten Commandment art, Ten Commandment wall hangings, 17:47 and they all begin with... 17:51 Well no, the ones hanging on the walls and the monuments 17:53 begin with, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." 17:56 But now you're quoting from the beginning. 17:59 And I thank you for that. 18:00 Now you're quoting where it actually begins 18:05 on the tables of stone. 18:07 Look at Exodus chapter 20 starting with verse 1. 18:09 "And God spoke all these words, saying..." 18:13 Now I'm using the New King James Version. 18:15 "God spoke all these words, saying..." 18:18 And that's where the quote marks begin in my Bible. 18:21 "...saying..." 18:22 So now we're on the tables of stone. 18:24 Now we're looking at the law of God 18:27 as God wrote it on tables of stone. 18:31 And the law of God begins with these words, 18:35 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you 18:39 out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 18:44 Then it says, "You shall have no other gods before Me. 18:48 You shall not make unto yourself any graven images..." 18:50 Etcetera, and all of the ten are outlined. 18:55 I want you to notice that the Ten Commandments do not 18:58 begin with a, "Thou shalt," or, "Thou shalt not." 19:03 The Ten Commandments do not begin with God putting the 19:07 onus of responsibility on the human agent. 19:10 No. 19:11 The Ten Commandments actually begin, not with a 19:14 "Thou shalt," or a, "Thou shalt not," 19:16 pointing to you and me, 19:19 eliciting action from you and me. 19:22 No, the Ten Commandments begin with a, 19:25 "I am the Lord your God who..." 19:28 and then a divine action is described. 19:32 The Ten Commandments don't begin by saying to you and me 19:37 what we ought to do, but telling us what God has already done 19:43 on our behalf. 19:45 Now when you see the first commandment 19:48 in this light for what it really is, you are immediately 19:52 driven to some very profound and beautiful gospel conclusions. 19:59 Because the first commandment begins with pointing backwards, 20:05 follow this carefully, 20:07 the first commandment begins by pointing backwards 20:10 to a divine act in history. 20:12 Just chapters before. 20:15 And simultaneously the law of God begins by point forward 20:20 to the ultimate fulfillment of that historic symbolism. 20:25 In other words, the Ten Commandments begin 20:28 by point back to a specific event. 20:32 What was the specific event historically that brought 20:37 the children of Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt? 20:42 What was that event? 20:43 The Passover. 20:46 It wasn't the plague of the frogs, or the flies, 20:49 or the bloody water. 20:50 None of that availed. 20:52 It was the Passover event, the shed blood of the lamb, 20:59 over the door and on the door post. 21:01 It was the shed blood of the lamb that brought 21:06 deliverance to Israel. 21:07 They walked free, they walked at liberty, 21:11 that night by virtue of the shed blood 21:18 of that symbolic lamb. 21:20 So the Ten Commandments point back to the historic event 21:24 of the Passover. 21:26 But the Passover itself is an event that is pointing 21:30 which way? 21:31 Forward to the ultimate fulfillment of the 21:37 shed blood of the lamb. 21:39 When Jesus came to this world and He began His 21:42 public ministry, you will recall in chapter 1 and verse 29 21:47 of the gospel of John that when John the Baptist 21:50 saw Jesus approaching, he said to the crowd, 21:55 "Behold, the..." What? 21:57 "...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." 22:02 This is profound. 22:03 Jesus is the Passover Lamb. 22:07 He is the fulfillment of that symbolism. 22:12 And this is remarkable, because now we have noticed, 22:16 we have realized something that is absolutely vital for a 22:21 correct understanding of the law of God. 22:24 And that is this: 22:27 That the Ten Commandments begin by pointing to Calvary. 22:34 The Ten Commandments... 22:35 And I'm not extrapolating this. 22:37 I'm not reading into this more than is there. 22:40 It's actually there. 22:42 Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments begin with God saying, 22:48 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of 22:50 the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 22:53 And it is that declaration of divine accomplishment 22:58 that forms the premise for human obedience. 23:04 There is no such thing in the gospel, 23:09 in the Christian experience, there is no such thing 23:13 as God coming to the human beings, fallen sinners 23:17 that we are, and imposing expectations upon us 23:20 for which He Himself does not provide the power 23:24 and the motivation. 23:26 And this is why we can actually read the Ten Commandments, 23:30 I think theologically accurately read the Ten Commandments, 23:34 not so much as commands, as promises. 23:40 We could say without exaggeration that all of God's 23:44 commandments are promises and all His biddings are enablings. 23:49 In other words, the power to do the thing is present 23:53 in the promise of God. 23:58 God is the one who is at work in the human agent 24:02 to bring about a deep inner transformation of power 24:06 that allows for us to act out of a new kind of power 24:12 that we do not have in and of ourselves. 24:15 And what is that power? 24:17 Well that power is very clearly communicated here 24:22 in Exodus chapter 20. 24:24 "I am, therefore you do thus and such." 24:32 Do you see the progress of the idea, the progression? 24:35 Do you see the trajectory here of the idea? 24:39 God says, "I'm going to, or I have done something for you. 24:47 Now you, in the light of what I've done, 24:52 you shall have no other gods before Me. 24:54 You shall not make unto yourselves any graven images." 24:56 What is God doing here? 24:58 You can hear the Ten Commandments 25:00 with two kinds of ears, or two kinds of theological hearing, 25:05 if we could look at it this way. 25:07 You can hear the law of God saying, with outstretched arm 25:11 and pointed finger, "Thou shalt, thou shalt not. 25:15 Or else." 25:16 You can hear it that way. 25:18 You can receive that tone. 25:20 You can look at and hear the law of God 25:23 with kind of an old covenant hearing. 25:27 "You shall," "You shall not." 25:28 Or you can hear the law of God like this: 25:31 "I have delivered you. 25:35 I have," past tense, "achieved something for you. 25:40 I have redeemed you. 25:43 I have set you free. 25:45 I have liberated you. 25:46 I have, I have. 25:49 So I promise you, you will have no other gods before Me. 25:53 I promise you, you will not kill, or steal, 25:57 or lie, or covet. 25:58 None of that is necessary anymore in the light of 26:03 My delivering redeeming love for you." 26:07 When Galina approached the man that murdered her son, 26:12 she actually, by her forgiveness and mercy, 26:17 changed his identity. 26:21 He was a man full of anger and bitterness and evil motives. 26:27 He was a man who was filled with the kind of thought and feelings 26:32 and motives that led him to take another man's life. 26:36 He was a murderer. 26:38 But Galina related to him as if he were her son. 26:45 She forgave him before he even wanted to be forgiven. 26:52 And she said to herself, "He doesn't accept me now, 26:56 but I'll keep loving him. 26:58 I'll keep coming at him with my love. 27:01 I'll keep coming at him with my forgiveness. 27:04 And he will eventually break under the power 27:08 and pressure of that love, and he will love me back." 27:12 What an ingenious remarkable woman she was. 27:17 She understood the power of forgiveness. 27:22 And here, on a cosmic scale, God is relating to us 27:27 as human beings, and to the universe at large, 27:30 with a love that is unstoppable. 27:35 He doesn't say to us in our fallen condition, 27:39 "Get your act together, and then I'll..." 27:43 No, He says, "I am, therefore you shall. 27:47 I'll be to you everything that you need Me to be to you. 27:52 And in the power of My forgiveness and mercy and love, 27:56 your identity, your very identity will begin to change 28:00 from the inside out." 28:03 Notice this pattern throughout Scripture. 28:05 Go over to Isaiah. 28:07 Isaiah chapter 44. 28:09 These are remarkable Scriptures that build a pattern 28:13 in our thinking regarding the gospel, 28:15 the dynamic of the gospel. 28:18 What is going on in the plan of salvation? 28:21 Well, we've seen in the law of God what's going on. 28:25 There is a divine act that produces a human response. 28:31 That's what we've seen so far. 28:32 Notice it here in Isaiah chapter 44. 28:35 This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. 28:39 And you'll see why. 28:40 I think that you'll begin to love it yourself 28:43 and want to hang it in the halls of your memory, 28:46 and revisit it over and over again. 28:49 Never forget this. 28:50 This is God addressing, in the local historical sense, Israel. 28:55 But on the larger scale, he's addressing you and me 28:58 in this passage as well. 28:59 Because the same principles of the gospel are in play here. 29:04 It's in chapter 44 of Isaiah and verse 22. 29:09 Notice the language carefully here, and the tenses. 29:13 God is speaking, and he says, "I have blotted out, 29:18 like a thick cloud, your transgressions, 29:23 and like a cloud, your sins. 29:26 Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." 29:33 Verse 23, "Sing, O heavens..." 29:36 God is calling upon the unfallen universe, 29:39 the unfallen angels, to listen in and look in on His 29:43 redeeming activity toward human beings. 29:47 "Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it." 29:50 Notice, the Lord has what? What's the word? 29:52 Done it. 29:54 What has God done? 29:55 What is the "it" that God has, past tense, done? 29:58 The redemption of His people. 30:01 "Shout, you lower parts of the earth; 30:04 break forth into singing, you mountains, 30:07 O forest, and every tree in it." 30:09 Notice again the emphasis. 30:12 "For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, 30:17 and glorified Himself in Israel." 30:20 Do you see what's happening here? 30:22 The language is unmistakable. 30:25 God says here, "I have," past tense, 30:31 "blotted out your transgressions like a thick cloud. 30:34 And your sins. 30:35 I have redeemed you. 30:38 So return to Me." 30:41 Isn't that remarkable? 30:42 So the culture, "return to the Lord," indicates 30:47 that they are straying from the Lord. 30:50 That we are straying from the Lord. 30:53 The people, human beings, we're in a posture 30:57 and in a motion of rebellion. 30:59 We're moving away from God, by nature. 31:02 Right? 31:05 The call to return to God indicates that we're 31:10 moving away from Him. 31:12 And as we're moving away from Him, what does He say? 31:15 Does He say, "I will redeem you," future tense, 31:18 "if you return to Me?" 31:20 No, He says, "I have redeemed you, so return to Me." 31:27 In other words, "In the light," again, "in the light of what 31:31 I have achieved for you, return to Me. 31:37 Come to Me." 31:38 Now this concept, this language comes through 31:42 in the statement of the apostle Paul in Romans 2 and verse 4. 31:47 Because the idea of returning is repentance. 31:52 To return to the Lord is to turn around, 31:54 to do a 180 and to go back to God. 31:57 We're moving away from Him. 31:59 And to return to the Lord is to repent. 32:02 It means, to turn. 32:04 The Greek word is, "metanoia." 32:06 And it just means, turn around and go the other direction. 32:11 So in Romans 2:4, notice how Paul describes 32:18 precisely how repentance occurs. 32:22 He says the goodness of God leads you to repentance. 32:29 So what's first, God's goodness in His actions toward us 32:34 while we're yet sinners, or is our repentance 32:38 first and then God becomes good? 32:40 No, God's goodness is the catalyst 32:46 that produces repentance. 32:49 God's goodness is the premise on which 32:53 we turn around and walk the opposite direction 32:57 away from our rebellion, away from our sin, 33:00 and return to the Lord. 33:04 So Isaiah's declaration... 33:06 Actually, it's in quote marks. 33:08 This is Isaiah quoting God. 33:12 And God is saying to you and me, not, "I will," in the future, 33:19 if you..." 33:21 That's not the arrangement. 33:22 But, "I have, therefore return to Me." 33:26 "I have redeemed you, so in that redemption 33:32 return to Me." 33:33 And this is precisely the point that we see in the law. 33:37 And I find it remarkable. 33:39 We often think of the law of God, the Ten Commandments, 33:44 as what God is telling us we ought to do. 33:48 But actually, we're discovering that right there at the 33:51 beginning of the law on the tables of stone, 33:55 God is making gospel declarations. 34:00 He is telling you and me that He has achieved historically 34:06 something for us that we can't contribute to. 34:10 We can't manufacture what He has done for us. 34:16 He's done it for us because of His great love for us. 34:22 Now we've seen here that pattern developing 34:25 from the Ten Commandments into Isaiah. 34:28 Now go to the New Testament and let's look at a few 34:30 passages here in Romans. 34:33 I mentioned Romans chapter 2 and verse 4, the goodness of 34:36 God leads to repentance, but now just watch this. 34:39 This is so amazing. 34:41 In chapter 3 of Romans... 34:44 And we're just going to build the concept forward here, okay? 34:50 In Romans chapter 3, I want you to notice 34:53 the language in verses 23 and 24. 34:57 Verse 23, if you've had much exposure to the Bible, 35:03 Bible study, and preaching, you could probably quote 35:07 verse 23 from memory. 35:08 I'll just start it for you. 35:10 "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." 35:14 We know that part. Okay? 35:16 But here's the part that's less familiar. 35:19 Verse 24, "...being justified freely..." 35:24 Notice the placement of the word, "freely." 35:27 "...being justified freely by His grace..." 35:31 That is God's grace. 35:32 And here's what I want you to catch. 35:35 "...through the redemption that is..." 35:38 Where? Locate it now. 35:40 Where is it? 35:41 It's in Christ Jesus. 35:45 Present tense. 35:46 Accomplished fact. 35:48 It's not something, redemption is not something 35:52 that you and I manufacture. 35:54 It's not something that you and I go into 35:56 partnership with God on. 35:59 It's not something that you and I contribute an iota to. 36:02 One author says that in this righteousness, this gospel, 36:07 this salvation, there is not a single thread 36:11 of human devising. 36:13 I like that language. 36:15 Not a single thread. 36:17 Here's the tapestry of redemption. 36:22 Here's the righteousness that we need for salvation. 36:25 And it is this beautiful tapestry with 36:29 intersecting threads. 36:32 And the author says, not a single thread of human devising. 36:39 We don't manufacture, we don't contribute to it. 36:43 Redemption is in Christ Jesus as an accomplished 36:49 historical reality. 36:51 Now let's flush that out a little bit more. 36:53 What are we talking about? 36:56 Jesus, who was and eternally had been God, 37:02 and God only, just divine, pure divinity, 100% divine, 37:07 chapter 2 of Philippians says of this Jesus that we encounter, 37:14 that He was equal with God. 37:19 It says in Philippians 2 that He was, in very nature, God. 37:25 Equal with God. 37:26 In very nature, God. 37:28 The one who had always in eternity past been divine 37:33 stepped in to human history and became a human being. 37:37 Now follow this carefully. 37:38 This is what we call, the incarnation. 37:41 Or the enfleshment of God. 37:45 God steps down. 37:47 He doesn't merely make a journey through time and space, 37:51 or through just geography. 37:53 He's not moving from one place to another place. 37:56 He makes a journey of nature. 38:00 What we might call, a transmigration of nature. 38:03 He didn't just move from point A to point Z. 38:07 He became something other than what He had always been. 38:13 He underwent a change of His ontological existence. 38:19 He was God and only God for all eternity past, 38:23 and now the one who was in very nature God 38:27 became a human being. 38:30 As much a human being as you and I are human beings. 38:36 Now having become a human being, Jesus, in our humanity, 38:44 lived in perfect harmony with the law of God. 38:50 He became, what Paul calls in 2 Corinthians chapter 15, 38:56 He became the second Adam. 39:00 The first Adam is that guy back in Eden, 39:04 our first great, great, great, great, totally great 39:07 grandfather, Adam, the first Adam. 39:11 He's the one who sinned, and we are sinners 39:15 in the legacy of his fall. 39:18 Jesus becomes a human being, and Paul says, 39:21 "We have a new Adam now. 39:22 We have a second Adam." 39:24 In other words, in Jesus Christ we have a new 39:27 head of the human race. 39:30 We have a new point of beginning. 39:34 We have now another human being as the head of the human race 39:40 that we by faith can identify with and relate to. 39:43 We can, by faith, disassociate from the fallen legacy 39:48 in the first Adam. 39:50 And by faith, we can identify with Jesus as our 39:55 new representative head. 39:58 Jesus, as the second Adam, as a human being, 40:03 lived a life of perfect harmony with the law of God. 40:08 Which is just another way of saying that Jesus 40:12 lived His life, as we discovered last evening, 40:15 in perfect covenantal relationship vertically with God 40:22 and horizontally with all human beings. 40:24 He loved God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. 40:30 And He loved all of human beings above and before Himself. 40:35 Jesus perfected love, the love of God, in human nature. 40:41 Now watch this. 40:43 Having perfected love in human nature, Jesus then 40:49 went to the cross, and in the ultimate zenith revelation 40:54 of that love, He died on the cross. 40:57 He loved you and me to the complete end of Himself. 41:01 He proved that God loves all others above and before Himself. 41:05 And when Jesus died on the cross, they laid Him 41:09 in the tomb, and He came forth from the grave, follow this, 41:14 and He ascended to the victory position at the right hand 41:18 of the Father in the heavens. 41:21 And taking that position at the right hand of the Father 41:25 is expressive of the fact that He achieved 41:29 what He came to achieve. 41:30 He's victor. 41:31 He conquered the sin problem in human nature. 41:37 Now here's where it gets fascinating. 41:39 This language of Paul in Romans chapter 3, 41:41 the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 41:45 that we don't contribute to, that we do not manufacture 41:49 in and of ourselves. 41:50 Watch this now. 41:52 When Jesus became a human being and lived a life of perfectly 41:56 selfless love for all others above and before Himself, 42:00 and then went to the cross and died, and was resurrected, 42:05 and ascended to heaven, question, did He retain 42:08 His humanity? 42:11 And did He accomplish all those things He accomplished 42:15 in our human nature? 42:18 The testimony of Scripture is that Jesus came forth 42:22 from the grave as much a human being 42:25 as when He went into the grave. 42:27 The incarnation was not laid aside in the resurrection. 42:31 He is still this very moment, He is still the very moment 42:34 our representative head at the right hand of the Father. 42:38 Jesus is occupying the throne of the universe 42:42 as a human being. 42:46 Now this is important for us to understand the gospel. 42:51 Because redemption is an achieved reality 42:54 in Christ Jesus. 42:55 In order to make the point, hypothetically, 42:59 what if all of us gathered here and every other member of 43:06 the human race, follow this, refused the redemption 43:11 that is in Christ Jesus? 43:13 What if we all said no to it? 43:15 What if we all chose in our free will to reject 43:20 the redemption that is in Christ Jesus? 43:23 Would that diminish what He achieved? 43:27 Would that subtract from the redemption 43:31 that is in Christ Jesus? 43:34 In no way would it, in any way to any degree, 43:39 take away from the achievement itself. 43:43 Which drives us to this conclusion. 43:45 Even if all of us said no, humanity in Christ 43:51 is already totally 100% completely redeemed in Christ. 43:58 A human being, a specimen of the human race, 44:02 occupies the throne of the universe. 44:05 Humanity has been salvaged in Christ. 44:11 And now we're called upon by faith to identify with, 44:15 by faith, to put our trust in what Jesus achieved; 44:21 the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 44:24 We, by faith, do not manufacture facts. 44:33 We receive them. 44:35 We accept facts. 44:37 We trust in the facts of the gospel. 44:40 But make no mistake about it, we do not, by faith 44:44 or by obedience, contribute any new information 44:50 to redemption, or any new contributions. 44:55 Salvation is a done deal in Christ on an objective level. 45:01 Now we, by faith, subjectively identify with Christ, 45:05 and by faith say yes to what He has achieved on our behalf. 45:09 This is the pattern of the gospel as unfolded in Scripture. 45:16 "I am the Lord your God," the Ten Commandments say, 45:19 "who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 45:24 You shall have no other gods before Me. 45:26 I have redeemed you, therefore, be redeemed. 45:30 I have achieved something for you, therefore in the light 45:34 of what I've achieved, now return to Me. 45:38 I have redeemed you, return to Me." 45:41 Notice this further in the book of Romans. 45:44 We saw chapter 2 verse 4, the goodness of God 45:48 precedes our repentance. 45:51 That is, the redeeming salvationary goodness of God 45:56 precedes our repentance. 45:58 We saw in chapter 3 verse 24 that redemption is an 46:01 accomplished reality in Christ Jesus. 46:05 That we, by faith, do not manufacture gospel 46:09 facts or realities. 46:10 We only accept them as they exist in Christ. 46:15 Now look at chapter 4. 46:17 We're just moving forward through key passages 46:20 in the book of Romans. 46:21 Chapter 4 and notice verse 17. 46:25 There's some context here, but I want to draw 46:28 one line out of chapter 4 verse 17, and then 46:32 give you the context. 46:34 It's the last line where it says that, 46:36 "...God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things 46:43 which do not exist as though they did..." 46:48 What is that? 46:50 Now let me just ask you a question. 46:53 If I, as a human being, call things as if they do exist 47:00 even though they don't, what's that called on the human level? 47:05 Lying. 47:06 Deception. 47:08 If I say something is true that isn't true, 47:11 that's a lie, correct? 47:13 Here, in the context of the gospel, the apostle Paul is 47:18 point to Abraham, he tells Abraham's story. 47:22 And he informs us that Abraham was righteous by faith, 47:26 not by the works of the law. 47:28 And then He tells us the mechanism by which God 47:33 achieves this. 47:35 God calls those things which do not exist as if 47:42 they do exist. 47:44 Now this sounds like God is just manufacturing fiction. 47:50 Calling things that don't exist as if they do. 47:53 What's the context? 47:55 God calls us righteous even though we're not. 48:02 That's the point Paul is making. 48:04 He regards us as innocent even though He knows 48:10 we're guilty. 48:11 Do you remember Galina? 48:13 How did Galina relate to the man who murdered her son? 48:16 As if he didn't murder her son. 48:20 And there is a beautiful genius, 48:24 what we might call the genius of grace, in that. 48:28 She knew that love is more powerful than evil. 48:32 She knew that forgiveness trumps sin. 48:37 She knew that mercy had the power to supersede justice. 48:43 Or to use the words of Paul in a different Romans passage, 48:46 chapter 5 verse 20, "Where sin abounds, 48:50 grace much more abounds." 48:53 Or one version says, "Where sin reigned and ruled, 49:00 grace ruled over it." 49:02 Or another version, "Where sin abounds, 49:07 grace super abounds over it." 49:10 You like that? 49:11 That's the idea of the gospel. 49:14 "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 49:18 Not when we had repented and gotten our act together. 49:22 If God were to treat you and me precisely as we 49:27 ought to be treated, you and I wouldn't 49:29 draw another breath of air. 49:32 The worst thing you can ever pray, and I suggest you 49:35 not pray, is, "God, give me what I deserve." 49:38 Or, "God, I just wish You would be fair." 49:41 Hmmm. 49:43 No, I don't think you want God to be fair with you. 49:46 I don't think you want God to treat you how you deserve. 49:51 Now some of you are very familiar with the next text 49:55 that I want to throw here in the middle of our little trip, 49:57 our little journey through Romans. 50:00 You're familiar, in another context, with the statement 50:04 in Malachi chapter 3, "I am the Lord, I change not." 50:08 Now we often use that passage to point out, and rightly so, 50:12 that God is unchanging in His nature, therefore, 50:15 His law couldn't possibly be changed. 50:17 And that's a true point. 50:19 Although that's not the point that Scripture is making. 50:22 The Scripture goes on to say the part that 50:24 we don't have memorized. 50:27 And here's the whole enchilada now. 50:30 "I am the Lord," it says in Malachi chapter 3, 50:33 "I am the Lord, I change not. 50:36 Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed." 50:41 What's it actually saying? 50:43 What's it actually saying? 50:45 It's actually saying, "It's a good thing for you sinners 50:49 that I am changeless. 50:50 Because if I were to change, you'd be consumed 50:54 in an instant." 50:55 So what is God's default position then, 50:58 according to that text? 50:59 It is a position of mercy. 51:01 The Scripture is actually making a point about the gospel 51:06 in Malachi chapter 3. 51:08 It's saying, "I never change in My love for you. 51:13 Therefore, you're not consumed by justice. 51:16 You would be if I were to change." 51:17 What about chapter 1 and verse 17 of James? 51:22 "Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down 51:27 from the Father of lights, with whom there is..." 51:32 What? 51:33 "...with whom there is no variation, 51:37 not even a shadow of turning." 51:41 God is changeless. 51:43 In what sense is God changeless? 51:45 He's changeless in His love toward you and me. 51:49 According to Romans chapter 4 verse 17, He calls those things 51:54 which do not exist as if they do exist. 51:58 Which is just a way of saying that God relates to me 52:02 as if I'm righteous, although He knows I'm a sinner. 52:05 He relates to me as if I'm innocent, even though 52:09 He knows I'm guilty. 52:10 Why, now? 52:11 In order to justify my sin and my guilt? No. 52:17 But so that in His mercy, relating to me as if 52:24 I were innocent, it is God's hope that by faith I will 52:27 begin to aspire to innocence. 52:31 He relates to me as if I'm righteous in order to 52:37 stimulate in me a desire to be righteous. 52:43 Galina changed the identity, the fundamental character, 52:48 of that murderer by her love. 52:51 And God changes our fundamental identity 52:54 by His love. 52:56 He relates to us according to what we can be 53:02 through the redemption that is, where? 53:05 In Christ Jesus. 53:07 Now go over to chapter 6, as we move through Romans 53:10 here rather quickly in the four minutes that remain. 53:14 Chapter 6. You'll love this language. 53:17 In chapter 6, the apostle Paul is describing the death, burial, 53:22 and resurrection of Christ. 53:24 And he talks about how that we're baptized in a manner 53:30 to mimic the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. 53:34 In other words, identify with it. 53:35 Are you with me? 53:37 And then he says this in verse 11, 53:41 he says, "Likewise you also reckon yourselves 53:48 to be dead indeed to sin, and alive to God 53:53 in Christ Jesus our Lord." 53:55 One more time. 53:57 Rest your mind upon this. 53:59 "Likewise you also reckon yourselves 54:04 to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God 54:09 in Christ Jesus our Lord." 54:14 What does it mean to reckon? 54:16 What are some synonyms for, "reckon?" 54:18 When I'm in Australia, they often say in Australia, 54:20 and I think they say it down here in the South, 54:22 I reckon this and I reckon that. 54:24 What does it mean to reckon something? 54:26 "I reckon I'll go to the store," means, "I'm going to the store." 54:29 "I think I shall go to the store." 54:31 Right? 54:33 Yeah. "I've made a decision." 54:34 In other words, regard. 54:37 Reckon yourself, regard yourself, see yourself 54:42 as dead to sin and alive to God. 54:46 "On what basis?" we might ask the apostle Paul. 54:51 On what premise am I to reckon myself, regard myself, 54:56 as dead to sin? 54:57 I'm a sinner. I'm not dead to sin. 55:02 On what premise? 55:03 And he says, "On the premise of what you see in Christ Jesus." 55:07 Look at Jesus and see the humanity that He 55:14 perfected God's love within. 55:18 And relate to yourself, regard yourself, as dead to sin. 55:25 What does it mean to be dead to sin? 55:28 When you're dead, it means you're unresponsive. 55:31 It has no pull on you. 55:33 Regard yourself as dead to sin, 55:38 and regard yourself as alive to God. 55:40 What does it mean to be alive to God? 55:41 It means to be responsive to God. 55:43 See yourself that way. 55:45 Regard yourself the way God regards you. 55:50 See yourself the way God sees you. 55:53 And how does He see you? 55:54 Dead to sin in Christ. 55:58 When Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20 speaks to us, 56:02 it is speaking very much in the first person 56:04 regarding our experience. 56:06 "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live. 56:10 Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. 56:12 And the life which I now live, I live by faith of the 56:16 Son of God who died for me." 56:19 Do you see what's happening here? 56:21 We look into the wondrous law of God, 56:24 into its beauty and its depth, and our eyes are opened. 56:29 We see in the very Ten Commandment law of God 56:32 the gospel enshrined. 56:35 We see God approaching us, not with mandates. 56:39 We see God approaching us with an irresistible love. 56:44 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of 56:48 the land of Egypt. 56:50 Now, in the light and in the power of My love for you, 56:56 My redeeming achievements on your behalf in Christ Jesus, 57:02 return to Me. 57:04 Give Me your heart, in the light of My love for you." 57:12 Would you pray with me? 57:13 Father in heaven, thank You that You have redeemed us in Christ. 57:21 Now Lord, may we be redeemed in the way we relate to You. 57:26 This is our prayer and our desire. 57:29 In Jesus' good and holy name, amen. |
Revised 2015-09-09