Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL130005
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend and sit back
00:04 as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of "House Calls." 00:22 Welcome to another "House Calls" program. 00:24 As you can see I stand out today. 00:26 I didn't know my shirt was this bright. 00:28 But there is a guy to my right, 00:30 his name is John Stanton. Good to have you here, John 00:32 It's good to be here, John. 00:34 Man, I didn't--I'm looking at the monitor there 00:36 and this is really bright. But that's okay. 00:38 I think I'm allowing my light to shine today, 00:40 not just through my shirt 00:42 but through the glory of God's word. 00:43 So thank you for tuning in, 00:45 because today we are excited not only 00:47 to share the Bible with you, but to talk about the topic. 00:51 Many people, John, wonder, what it means to be justified. 00:54 That's a word that just seems to elude many people 00:56 when they try to extract from it all that it really means 00:59 and we're gonna talk about that today, right? 01:00 Amen. And also your Bible questions 01:03 and comments are very important to us. 01:05 And we'll talk about that in just a moment, 01:06 in case you have questions or comments, 01:08 you want to send to us, but before we do anything 01:11 we always like to begin with prayer. 01:12 So, John, take us before the throne of God with prayer. 01:15 Let's do that. Father in heaven, we need You each and every day. 01:18 And it's no different today. 01:20 We pray for Your presence to be with us 01:22 here during this program and with all our viewers 01:25 and listeners that You would and impress upon our hearts. 01:28 Speak to us today through Your word. 01:29 In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. 01:33 Well, the first half of our program 01:34 is always Bible questions and comments 01:36 and we appreciate, even if you send 01:38 a question to rebuke us, we read them. 01:41 And so today I have a few that I'm gonna-- 01:43 actually one that I'm gonna read. 01:45 I don't read too many of those. 01:47 And but remember also we have a question 01:49 that has come to us today. 01:51 And make sure you look at those Bible verses 01:54 before you send them because sometimes, 01:56 you'll include a Bible verse that really doesn't exist. 01:59 And such is the case today, so we'll try. 02:01 Thankfully the person that sent this question 02:03 put more than one verse. 02:05 And but the question itself is still there. 02:08 So we do appreciate it. 02:09 But, John, what do you have for us today 02:11 as far as questions are concerned? 02:12 Well, we've got a question from Mona 02:14 who writes from Virginia. 02:16 Okay. And she asked the question, 02:18 "What does it mean, when the Bible says 02:20 we will judge our angels? 02:22 Does that mean they mess up sometimes or layoff the job. 02:27 If you don't really know the answer, don't make it up. 02:29 I'd rather have you say that you don't know 02:31 if you don't know. 02:33 What happens if we judge them critically?" 02:36 Okay, let's look at a couple of things 02:38 that might be behind this topic 02:40 that we really need to understand. 02:41 The first one is that at the very beginning of sin, 02:48 Satan who was an angel, 02:50 the highest angel looked to deceive 02:55 the rest of the angels to believe that God was not fair, 02:58 was not just, did not have their true 03:01 and best interests at heart. And spread his lies 03:04 and tales throughout all the angel host. 03:07 He was successful in deceiving a third, the Bible says. 03:11 We don't know if that's exactly a third or what. 03:14 But we do know it's a large number of angels, 03:17 a third of the angels from heaven, 03:19 they were then embroiled in this battle. 03:23 That's right. And then eventually these angels 03:25 that followed Satan were cast out of heaven. 03:27 And they are known as evil angels, demons. 03:31 There still remains double the host in heaven 03:35 who were loyal and faithful to God. 03:37 And the battle that we see on this earth 03:40 is between good and evil. It's a great controversy, 03:43 if you will, between good and evil, 03:45 Christ at the head of His angel host 03:48 and Satan at the head of those that followed him, 03:51 his angel host, the demonic host. 03:54 And so what we see here is when sin finally wraps up, 03:58 when we finally see an end to sin 04:02 and see an end to those who followed in the sinful life, 04:05 including those angels, there will be a judgment. 04:09 And if you turn to 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, 04:12 we read about the judgment of these wicked angels, 04:16 not the good angels of heaven, 04:17 not the angels that are sent to our aid, 04:20 to help us along, they can do no wrong. 04:23 The Lord sends them 04:25 and they follow the Lord's will in every way. 04:27 But as we read beginning with, just to get the context, 04:31 verse 1of Corinthians Chapter 6, it says, 04:34 "Dare any of you have a matter against another, 04:38 go to law before the unrighteous, 04:40 and not before the saints? 04:42 Don't you know that the saints will judge the world? 04:46 And if the world will be judged by you, 04:48 are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 04:51 Do you know that we will judge angels? 04:53 And much more-- how much more things 04:56 that pertain to this life?" 04:58 Here is one thing that, 05:00 I'm gonna kind of step out of the question here 05:02 for just a minute, John, 05:04 and just open up a little dialogue. 05:06 Because I think sometimes 05:08 we to a degree here are so careful about this 05:12 word judgment and making sure we don't judge people. 05:15 Paul is saying that there is a kind of judgment 05:18 that we should do as Christians 05:20 and then there's a kind of judgment 05:21 we should not do. Over and over again, 05:25 Jesus said that we should not judge 05:27 another and Paul says the same word, 05:29 we shouldn't judge another human being. 05:31 But here he says we should judge 05:35 between each other in these matters that come up. 05:37 That's right. 05:38 And the judgment we're finding here 05:40 is a more discernment kind of a judgment 05:41 between right and wrong, 05:43 not judging an individual and their salvation, 05:46 their destiny but judging a matter, 05:50 a situation that might come up 05:51 between individuals or even in someone's life. 05:54 They may be battling a situation. 05:55 We can judge, we can discern 05:57 whether or not that is right 05:59 and or whether or not it's wrong. 06:02 And this is what he's talking about here. 06:04 So as we carry it into the realm of angels, 06:07 what he's saying here is there will be 06:08 some angels that do wrong and that they will be judged 06:12 and we will play a part in that judgment, 06:13 but these are not good angels. 06:15 These are the demonic host of angels 06:17 that followed Satan when he was cast out of heaven. 06:21 John, this idea about judging is just-- 06:25 it has taken such a bon rapid ain't. 06:27 When people say, "Don't judge me," 06:28 they're almost saying, 06:31 "Let me do what I want to do 06:32 without you commenting about it." 06:35 That's really what they're saying. 06:37 You have no right, they're saying-- 06:40 and I've-- this is what I picked up, 06:41 because I've seen situations, 06:43 a person could be smoking or drinking or living 06:46 a double life and they say, "Don't judge me." 06:48 They're almost saying don't condemn my actions. 06:51 Now we can condemn actions. 06:53 What people fail to realize is there's a whole book 06:56 in the Bible called Judges. 06:58 So if you read the Book of Judges, 07:00 you'll come away with a reality that God has given 07:04 many that are in positions of responsibility, 07:08 the right and the responsibility to be able to judge. 07:14 What they're missing is 07:16 and then let me just go to the court setting, 07:18 because the court setting will help you 07:19 understand this very, very carefully. 07:21 When a person is on trial, who is the one-- 07:25 who are the ones that are listening in 07:28 on the testimony to the accused? 07:30 An entire jury and they are a jury of your peers. 07:35 And what are they there for? To judge. 07:37 Determine right from wrong. 07:38 Determine whether you're telling the truth 07:40 or whether you're being dishonest. 07:42 They are judging. They are called to judge. 07:45 And the question will be where did that idea come from? 07:49 Well, that's a clear scriptural example in the Bible. 07:52 You have the Matthew 18 as one of the classic examples 07:55 of this whole idea about judging. 07:58 If a person does something that is right or wrong 08:00 or in this case wrong and you go to that person 08:05 and say to them, talk to them about the matter 08:08 and they don't listen, you bring another person. 08:10 What's the purpose of bringing the other person? 08:12 To judge about this-- 08:13 to be not a mediator 08:21 but to be a witness, because the Bible says 08:23 in the mouth of two or three a thing shall be established. 08:28 So you bring that another person 08:29 along to once again reiterate, 08:31 this is what I'm asking you not to do. 08:33 Then if they choose not to then they go 08:35 before a committee, the church. 08:38 What are they there for? 08:39 They are to judge in these matters, 08:42 singular, double, committee 08:45 and then if that person chooses once again not to listen, 08:48 you deal with that person as a heathen. 08:50 But we miss this whole ideology. 08:53 When the Bible says by their fruits you will know them, 08:57 well, how do we know them by their fruit? 08:58 We judge their fruits. 09:00 Now what I know you're meaning in many cases 09:02 is don't condemn me. 09:04 That's pretty much what they're meaning. 09:05 Right. Don't condemn, 09:07 because the position of the jury 09:11 is in fact moderated or refereed by the judge. 09:17 But when it comes down-- 09:19 The judge sentences. Right, the judge sentence, 09:22 but the community of jurors decide 09:25 whether they're guilty or innocent. 09:27 So what are they doing? They are judging. 09:30 So that whole concept of don't judge is misused today, 09:36 almost to give a person license to be living in transgression 09:41 or when we see something we disagree with they say, 09:44 "Well, don't judge me." Well, we're not condemning 09:47 or we're not appointing you to hell or to heaven. 09:50 We're simply saying what you're doing is wrong. 09:52 And that's why the Bible says in this context 09:54 we should judge. 09:56 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, 09:57 but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 09:59 What does a friend do? A friend looks at the life 10:01 you're living and says this is not right. 10:04 They're judging your actions. Right. 10:06 This is not what God wants you to do. 10:08 And hope to do what? 10:11 To turn you back to the right path, 10:13 to make sure that your outcome is good, 10:16 not the direction you're heading. 10:18 Right and so when you look at that, 10:20 if you just do that word judge or judging, 10:22 you look that up in the Bible, 10:24 give yourself an homework assignment 10:26 and you'll find there is a number of Scriptures 10:28 that puts us in the responsibility as those 10:31 who are under God's guidance to make 10:33 a judgment about a certain situation. 10:35 And Paul makes that very clear. 10:37 The church, if those of us in leadership in churches 10:40 didn't have the right to judge, 10:41 well, those of us who are called to be Christians 10:43 didn't have a right the judge in a matter 10:46 as Paul just talked about 10:47 in this Scripture that John read, 10:49 then we would all just be giving license to sin. 10:52 And unfortunately, John, that's the kind of world 10:55 we're living in today. People just want to do wrong 10:58 and have no one say anything about it. 11:00 I've had parents come to me, 11:02 where their teenager just flipped in one day. 11:05 And they say to me, "You know, what's the first thing 11:07 my daughter said to me this morning? 11:09 Don't judge me. 11:10 You used to be a teenager, so don't judge me." 11:13 And I'm thinking, she says, 11:14 "She forgets that I'm not her friend, I'm her mom." 11:17 And so that's the key, but when the Bible says, 11:22 "Judge not that, ye be not judged," 11:24 it means you cannot appoint a person saying, 11:26 well, you're going to hell 11:27 or you're going to heaven or you are lost. 11:30 That's the context of that "judge not that, 11:32 ye be not judged." 11:34 We're all on a journey. Yes. 11:35 We have not reached are in this nation, 11:37 so to say to someone who's going to be 11:39 ultimately lost is condemning them. 11:42 But to say that someone is doing 11:44 something right or wrong in a specific situation, 11:46 to judge that, to discern that is absolutely 11:49 what we're called to do in the Scriptures. 11:51 And John 7:24, here's the text that you could appreciate. 11:54 It says. "Do not judge according to appearance, 11:57 but judge with righteous judgment." 12:01 So it's given you, don't judge by what you see, 12:03 because God looks at the heart, 12:05 man looks at the outer appearance. 12:07 Sometimes a person we'll look at one individual and say, 12:10 "wow, they look like an upstanding citizen," 12:12 yet they could be a criminal 12:14 and the person who looks very poor 12:15 and not well kept could be such a just person. 12:20 So John 7:20, "Do not judge according to appearance." 12:24 So they say, "See there it is." 12:26 "But judge with righteous judgment." 12:29 So the Lord is saying, 12:31 "You got to do that, you must do that." 12:34 Okay, I don't know, shall I go? 12:36 Yeah, your question. 12:37 Okay, I want to read this question, John, 12:40 just because I want to put this in context 12:41 and I just want to respond to it. 12:43 It's not a Bible question. It's just a comment. 12:45 I was listening to your message tonight 12:47 for the prayer meeting program. 12:49 While I have been blessed many times 12:50 with what I've--I'm hearing on a 'Sharper Focus,'" 12:54 that's by the way on Wednesday night, 12:55 live Bible study, 7 o'clock central time. 12:57 This is not a commercial. 13:00 They said, "While I was listening to the program, 13:02 I was disappointed tonight, not in the subject, 13:04 but in the way you endeavored to teach this 13:07 by the comparative use of competitive sporting events. 13:12 I do not think that I'm confused. 13:14 I'm looking for preaching to call sin by its right name. 13:17 We have been counseled against competitive sports 13:20 yet as a denomination we seem to be 13:22 joining in them by leaps and bounds. 13:26 I'm referring to the Laodicean condition of God's people 13:28 and the three things they need to buy from God. 13:32 If as a people we are to have the White Rayment. 13:36 that our nakedness not show"-- 13:37 now you're going into something else 13:38 that I didn't go into. 13:40 See, I used sports and let me just use an example. 13:44 I used sports as an analogy, 13:46 not to say this is what you should do. 13:49 And what the person is-- 13:50 they're going into all kinds of other stuff here, 13:52 football and the folly. 13:54 They're writing papers to other people in 3ABN. 13:56 They're becoming a lot more critical about 13:59 what I didn't say then what I said. 14:02 And let me make it clear, 14:03 I don't know if you listen to the program or not. 14:04 But if you are listening to the program, 14:07 we could use anything in our world as a comparison. 14:11 I could say okay, let's look at the drug world. 14:13 Compare it to the people that don't take drugs. 14:16 Am I becoming a proponent of a person that uses drugs? 14:20 Absolutely not. We could talk about gun violence 14:23 and all these school shootings. 14:25 Am I becoming a proponent of one or the other? 14:27 Absolutely not. So when you say, okay, 14:30 one football team is at the 2 yard line 14:32 and the other football team 14:33 is trying to keep them from going in, 14:35 let's look at the football team at the 2 yard line 14:37 trying to make their goals 14:39 as a Christian trying to make it home. 14:41 And let's look at the team trying to stop them 14:42 as Satan trying to keep them from making to heaven. 14:45 That's the kind of analogy that I used. 14:47 And that is not saying 14:49 that I'm condoning competitive sports. 14:51 So when you listen to the program, 14:54 if you hear the word sports try not to go off 14:56 on a tangent of something that I'm not saying. 14:58 My program on Wednesday nights by no means says 15:01 become a basketball player, become a football player, 15:04 get all your churches involved in competitive sports 15:06 and fight against each other. That's not what's being said. 15:09 So I think that this person is out of touch 15:11 on the rest of the question. 15:12 I used that as an analogy, not as saying, 15:15 by the way, from now on, 15:16 I think all Adventist churches should have sports. 15:18 But I'm gonna go a little further. 15:19 I'm gonna go a little further. 15:21 I don't think competition is bad per se. 15:24 I think Paul even talks about those in his day 15:27 who competed for the prize 15:29 and he doesn't speak negatively of it either. 15:30 He used it as an analogy which you're talking about. 15:32 Well, the issue here is that we need to be 15:35 very careful with competitive sports. 15:36 If you look around sports today, 15:38 one of the things I'm most disappointed 15:39 about is all the fleshiness. 15:41 It's all the pride. It's all about me. 15:44 The bling. 15:46 It can very well bring the worst out in us. 15:49 But in some respects, it can also help us understand 15:54 and to be challenged in our own life to grow spiritually. 15:58 So I just carte blanche say, 16:00 you know, competition's bad 16:01 and I don't think we would advocate that, 16:03 but we are saying is that in the course of an analogy, 16:09 the Bible, Paul, so let's be critical of Paul then, 16:11 because that's what you were doing. 16:12 Analogy. You know using it as an analogy. 16:14 But even in the area of comparative sports 16:15 we have to be careful too what we're saying about that, 16:18 because to some degree 16:21 all competitive sports are not bad 16:23 and so I will say that unequivocally 16:26 and not just because I play competitive sports or have. 16:29 But I specifically made a decision, John, 16:31 years ago to stop coaching competitive sports 16:34 because I disagreed the direction it was going. 16:37 I said I will not do this anymore, 16:38 because the emphasis was on winning 16:41 more than growing and being a team 16:43 and all the things that competition can teach us. 16:46 And once you start emphasizing winning 16:48 then I would say that is bad competition. 16:51 But when you emphasize growing as a team, 16:53 working together, 16:55 that's a good kind of sporting activity, so. 16:57 I think, let me put this into context. 17:00 You know the only exercise 17:01 we get here is on Tuesday nights. 17:03 We get together with a community of guys 17:05 and we play basketball together. 17:06 We're the same people everywhere. 17:08 We're like a little family. We look forward to 17:10 "hey, see you next Tuesday night." 17:12 It's not a league. 17:14 We get together to have a good time together. 17:16 We sit down afterwards and talk about it. 17:17 We sometimes talk about it afterwards, 17:19 "hey, we have a concert coming up Saturday night. 17:20 Come on out." You know we have a Bible study coming-- 17:23 it's a way to reach people in this community, 17:26 whereas they are not yet at the place 17:27 where they want to come to church. 17:29 So we have to understand when you talk about-- 17:32 and this person went off on a tangent 17:34 on things about Laodicea and time is short 17:37 and this is critical 17:38 and I'm writing to all these different people 17:40 and the character of God being perfected 17:42 and produced in His people 17:43 over one comment about using it as an analogy 17:46 like I just did a moment ago with the yard line 17:48 and we're try to make it in 17:50 and the devil is like the other football team 17:51 trying to keep us out. 17:53 We have as--and I don't mean to be critical. 17:56 I don't like to be critical of my church 17:58 and I'm not critical of the church as a structure. 18:00 It's God's church. But I can be very critical 18:06 of what I see amongst our people 18:08 sometimes in our methods of reaching out to the world 18:12 and showing the truth. 18:13 We have this mindset that the Pharisees had, 18:17 which is I cannot be corrupted. 18:19 Let's make sure that I'm saved and I'm okay. 18:21 And there's no reaching out into the community 18:22 that surrounds us to try and bring people into the truth 18:26 and to do that through relationships and interactions 18:28 and social events other things. 18:30 Our socializing is becoming very or has become very inward 18:34 rather than reaching or using it 18:36 as a tool to reach out to our community. 18:38 Sports is the same way. We play on Tuesday nights, 18:41 because the community comes out 18:43 and we can interact with people that are not of our faith. 18:46 That is important to do 18:47 and once we start closing our self off to that, 18:49 I'm sorry, I disagree with his brother. 18:52 We are not taking a very-- 18:54 It was actually a woman. A woman, sorry. 18:57 Whether you're brother or sister, 18:59 it doesn't matter. I would disagree. 19:01 And I just think it's sad 19:03 some of the state that we've come to. 19:05 What do you have for me? 19:06 I have another question. Okay. 19:08 Here we go. This one is from Wayne. 19:11 "Watched your show twice 19:13 and having a hard time understanding 19:14 what I'm supposed to do in my prayers 19:15 in physical flesh in the morning." 19:17 Talking about to deal with my temptation 19:20 and stuff throughout the sin. "How do I pray? 19:22 What do I need to do? How do I get crucified? 19:26 How am I to be crucified with Christ daily? 19:29 I'm asking the Spirit to come into my life. 19:32 I've been working on this for a couple months. 19:35 I have a tough time keeping God's commandments 19:37 because it says is no man can do that." 19:39 I think he's talking about from personal perspective, 19:41 we can't keep those. And it requires God's help. 19:45 "Only the Lord Jesus Christ can do this. 19:47 So how can I grow in this area?" 19:50 Well, I'm gonna go to Philippians. 19:52 All right. 19:53 Philippians, if you turn there with me, 19:57 Chapter 4, excuse me not Chapter 4, Chapter 2, 20:03 verse 12 and 13. Chapter 2, verse 12 20:08 You have read verse 13 if you're ever reading verse 12. 20:12 If you stop and just read verse 12 20:14 you can get off the mark, right, John? 20:16 And this is so true. You are right. 20:18 This is a continuation. 20:19 Verse 12 "Therefore, my beloved, 20:21 as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, 20:24 but now much more in my absence, 20:26 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." 20:30 Don't stop there. 20:32 Verse 13, "For it is God who works in you both to will," 20:38 that is to create the will, the desire, 20:41 "and to do," the power to perform, 20:44 "of His good pleasure." 20:46 So we need to work out the salvation in the context 20:50 that Jesus is our everything 20:52 and that inviting Him into our life allows Him 20:55 to be the one that changes our desires 20:58 and the one that gives us the power to overcome 21:01 the temptations that we face every day. 21:04 So dying daily is a death to flesh, 21:07 death to self, death to our own desires 21:10 and a deferring, a submitting to God's will 21:12 and His strength and His power 21:14 to help us to overcome, 21:16 to actually do the overcoming for us. 21:19 Now some people as I talk to, some of the language is, 21:24 well, Jesus has come into my life 21:26 and now He gives me the power to overcome. 21:29 And I still struggle with that a little bit, 21:30 because even God giving us the power, 21:33 we cannot overcome. 21:35 It is Christ's battle, it is His power and strength 21:38 and as we submit to Him, 21:39 He provides the overcoming in our life. 21:43 John, it's interesting, I've--dmore and more 21:46 as I've looked at this issue of the sanctified life, 21:51 I recall a story of sitting there with a lady 21:54 who was working on my teeth. 21:55 She was cleaning my teeth one day. 21:56 Okay. 21:58 And we were talking about a topic similar-- 22:00 a topic similar to this and she said, 22:01 "You know, one thing I've learned." 22:05 And this I didn't realized her statement 22:07 was gonna change my life, my perspective on this. 22:09 But she says "One thing I've learned 22:10 and that is that once we receive Christ into our life, 22:15 from that moment on I operate from a standpoint of victory. 22:21 I'm not trying to obtain victory. 22:24 I have victory, because I have Jesus." 22:29 That has transformed my thinking about 22:31 fighting this battle of sin, 22:34 because I need to hold on to Jesus. 22:38 I need to continue to submit to Him 22:40 and let Him do the fighting for me. 22:43 I need to stay in His fortress, 22:45 which is, the parameters of the fortress 22:48 are His Ten Commandments. And he keeps me as-- 22:51 He keeps that as a barrier so that if I step out, 22:54 I know that if only I step out am I then overcome. 22:57 But when I stay in His parameter that He's given me, 23:00 I have victory. I'm in the fort, I'm with Jesus. 23:03 I don't have to worry about that. 23:05 So when sin gets a hold of me, 23:08 and we've all had our battles with certain sins, 23:11 I've got to hold onto Jesus, 23:13 stay in the fort and continue to function 23:15 from the position of victory, not as a defeated enemy. 23:20 That's right. That's very good. 23:21 That's very good. And so I encourage this man, 23:24 this Wayne to think in terms of I'm victorious in Christ. 23:29 And when I'm praying, I'm submitting to His power 23:32 and His strength to live for me, 23:34 to be the power and the victory for me 23:38 and I'm going to stay in His fort, 23:41 in His parameters 23:42 and He will protect and carefully. 23:44 What was his initial question? Just give me-- 23:46 His initial question is how do I overcome 23:48 or deal with this physical flesh battle 23:51 that I have in the morning in my prayers? 23:53 You know what do I pray about? 23:54 And so my encouragement to him would be 23:57 to pray for more of Christ, 23:59 for interaction with Christ there 24:01 and allow Christ to be the will, 24:04 to put in that desire within you 24:06 and then also the power and strength 24:08 and to be your victorious King of your life 24:11 and over your life each day. 24:14 When you-- when you walk in the Spirit, 24:16 this is something else. 24:17 Paul says, "If we walk in the Spirit 24:19 we will not fulfill"-- well, let me just read it. 24:23 Let me just read it. Romans 8:1, 24:25 "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to those 24:28 who are in Christ Jesus." 24:30 That's what John was saying, in the victory. 24:33 But what does that mean, 24:35 "Who do not walk according to the flesh 24:38 but according to the spirit"? 24:41 So if we live according to the flesh we will die, 24:43 but if we live according to the Spirit we will live. 24:46 What does that mean? That means every morning 24:48 what we do is we commit ourselves to Christ. 24:50 And I, John, used to think of that word 24:53 commit meaning to say okay, you know, Lord, take my life. 24:56 Let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. 24:58 We almost get into this repetitious mound of commit 25:02 but then when I began to look 25:03 at that in the context of marriage, relationships. 25:06 I'm married whether my wife is around or not. 25:09 She's married whether I'm around or not. 25:10 If she is on the road or I'm on the road, 25:12 I'm married whether she is there or not. 25:14 And the parameters of my relationship are the same 25:17 if she's an inch away from me or 3,500 miles away from me, 25:20 the parameters of our operation are the same. 25:23 We must always operate in the context 25:24 of the love relationship Christ as the husband man, 25:27 we are the church, His bride. 25:29 We must operate in the context of He's right here. 25:32 What would I do, what would I say 25:35 if He were right here? And I always ask people that. 25:37 What would you do if Jesus is right here? 25:38 And they say, "Well, you know, I think differently." 25:40 Well, He is right here. 25:41 He is never--He never leaves those who are in Him. 25:45 So we have to daily commit ourselves to the Lord 25:48 and part of that is many of us walk by sight 25:52 and not by faith. If you walk by faith 25:55 and not by sight you won't need a visible confirmation 25:59 that Christ is there. That's the faith relationship. 26:02 One day we will see Him face to face. 26:04 But I would suggest submit yourself to the Lord, 26:06 commit yourself to the Lord day by day and say Lord, 26:10 thank you for being with me this morning. 26:12 My wife and I, we were having a Bible reading the other day. 26:16 And we read it a little slowly. Matter of fact the text 26:20 I was thinking of just a moment ago is Galatians 5:16, 26:22 I was gonna share it with you. 26:24 Galatians 5:16 reads as follows, 26:27 "I say then, walk in the Spirit 26:30 and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." 26:34 Walk in the Spirit. "If we live by the Spirit 26:37 let us also walk in the Spirit," Galatians 5:25. 26:40 So Galatians 5:16, Galatians 5:25, 26:44 if we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit. 26:48 Once again, if we have an umbrella, 26:50 stay under the umbrella and you won't get wet. 26:54 One more question, John, 26:56 I have here from a lady named Linda. 26:59 And, Linda, you put the wrong text here but thank-- 27:02 thank you for putting both texts. 27:03 John, is it possible you go to Psalms 52:5? 27:09 And I'll read the text. 27:11 "When I read these texts it scared me. 27:14 Will God really destroy me if I forget Him?" 27:18 And she puts Psalms 51:22 but there is no Psalm 51:22. 27:22 But read Psalm 52:5. 27:25 "God shall likewise destroy you forever. 27:28 He shall take you away, 27:29 and pluck you out of your dwelling place, 27:31 and uproot you from the land of the living." 27:35 She asked "if you can help me understand 27:38 why He says these terrible things. 27:40 I thought He is a loving and patient God." 27:42 God is a loving and patient God. 27:44 I want to give you some Scriptures here 27:46 that gives us the full picture of God. 27:48 God is-- God is, first of all, 27:50 He is not willing that any should perish. 27:54 So let's not think that God is waiting like an angry parent. 27:57 To say, "See, I told you. Get out of my house." 27:59 That's not who God is. He's long-suffering. 28:02 He's abounding in mercy and truth. 28:06 At the very same time Exodus 34:7, 28:09 "By no means will He clear the guilty." 28:12 But let me give you an exploded view of what is being said here. 28:15 The Lord doesn't just cut us off. 28:17 You cannot ever be 28:19 as long-suffering as God really is. 28:21 We cannot give another person as much patience 28:24 as God extends towards us. 28:26 As He said to Peter when Peter talked about 28:27 well, how many times should I forgive somebody? 28:30 Seven times seven? 28:31 The Lord says "No. Seventy times seven." 28:33 Now imagine somebody steps on my toe seventy times seven. 28:37 That's 490, that's 490 times. 28:41 Well, I'll be honest, after the third time, 28:42 I'm gonna just yell. Look, get off my toe. 28:45 If I see you come near my toe, 28:47 I may have a different attitude about what takes place. 28:50 Seventy times seven. 28:52 The Lord says if this person offends you 28:53 or does something wrong to you seventy times seven, 28:57 as long as they come back and ask for forgiveness, 28:58 you forgive them. That's not human, that's divine. 29:02 That can only happen. 29:03 But let me give you Proverbs 1:22-30. 29:07 And we're gonna segue into our topic right after this one. 29:10 Proverbs 1:22-30 29:14 "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? 29:19 For scorners delight in their scorning 29:21 and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my rebuke. 29:27 Surely I will pour out My Spirit on you. 29:30 I will make My words known to you." 29:33 And here's the context, here's the continuation. 29:35 And this is in the setting of Christ calling us. 29:38 "Because I have called you and you refused, 29:42 I have stretched out My hand and no one regarded," 29:45 notice he's not just making one attempt. 29:47 He's calling, He's stretching out His hand. 29:49 "Because you disdained all My counsel," 29:51 He's giving us counsel, 29:53 "and would have none of My rebuke," 29:55 He's saying, "Come on, get it together." 29:57 He says, "I will also laugh at your calamity. 30:00 I will mock when your terror comes, 30:02 when your terror comes like a storm 30:04 and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, 30:07 when distress and anguish comes upon you. 30:10 Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer. 30:12 They will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me. 30:15 Because they hated knowledge 30:17 and did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30:21 they would have none of My counsel 30:23 and despised every-- and despised My every rebuke." 30:27 This is an example of a person going to an extreme 30:30 and I could use this set of Scriptures to say 30:33 this person has quenched the Spirit of God. 30:36 They have turned away. 30:38 So when the Lord says, 30:39 "I will never leave you nor forsake you," 30:41 there is a condition to that. 30:42 Let's not leave that 30:44 just hanging out there in the air by itself. 30:45 If we trust the Lord and honor Him as He calls us, 30:50 He counsels us, He calls us, 30:53 He stretches out His hands, He rebukes us 30:56 and then we decide to go our own way. 30:58 He said, "Okay, you are on your own." 31:00 And any loving parent would do that. 31:02 But God is even more extended 31:04 than even the most loving of our parents. 31:06 Very patient. Very patient. 31:08 I just have a text here, 3 verses, Ezekiel 18:30. 31:13 "'Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, 31:17 every one according to His ways,' says the Lord God. 31:20 'Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, 31:23 so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31:26 Cast away from you all the transgressions 31:30 which you had committed, 31:31 and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. 31:33 For why should you die, O house of Israel? 31:35 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,' 31:38 says the Lord God. Therefore turn and live!" 31:43 Right, I'm so glad you read that, John, 31:45 because sometimes people think that, 31:47 why is God being so terrible as the person put it here. 31:51 When I get to know somebody, 31:53 I know the difference between them being 31:55 angry with me for what I've done and then rebuking me 31:59 for something I should not have done. 32:02 God is a loving Lord. 32:04 He doesn't just cut us off because we did something bad. 32:10 He's not gonna just whip us up and down the street, 32:13 because we didn't listen to Him 32:15 one time or ten times or fifteen times. 32:18 But He is saying to us, "Your destiny is in your hand. 32:22 You choose death, I cannot give you life. 32:25 I put before you two roads, 32:27 life and blessings, death and cursings." 32:30 And then in Deuteronomy, He says, "Choose life." 32:32 So let's be wise in our choices today. 32:34 Well, we've gone a little over our time, 32:36 but as you know, John, 32:38 we could always extend our topic to the next program. 32:40 But if you have any questions or comments 32:42 you would like to send to us, whether it's rebuke 32:44 or word of encouragement, we can accept them all 32:47 at the following address, housecalls@3abn.org 32:50 that's housecalls@3abn.org 32:53 You send those there and we promise 32:55 we'll go ahead and get them down to you. 32:57 John, lead us into our topic today. 32:59 I did the talking just a moment ago. 33:01 I want to change the tone. Talk about our topic for today. 33:05 Our topic is on living the justified life. 33:09 There are three terms that are kind of theological terms 33:14 and when we get too deep theologically 33:16 we loose some people. 33:17 So we need to define them a little bit. 33:20 Justification, sanctification, glorification. 33:24 Being justified in Christ, 33:25 being when we first accept Him as our Savior, 33:28 He becomes our substitute, our surety. 33:32 His sacrifice on the cross 33:34 and He has paid the penalty for our sins. 33:37 All our past sin has been forgiven. 33:39 We are new in Him. We are a new creation. 33:41 That's justification. Sanctification is every day. 33:45 We've made this commitment to Him now. 33:47 Every day He grows us. 33:49 He sets us apart as now holy 33:52 and then begins to use our life to glorify Him. 33:56 And that makes us witnesses for Him. 33:59 We become an evangelist for Him. We become a servant of His. 34:03 We look to transform the world and to fight against the enemy 34:07 who is sowing His seed in this world. 34:09 That's part of the life of sanctification. 34:12 It's a lifestyle in Christ. And then there's glorification. 34:15 Glorification is at the resurrection 34:16 when we receive new bodies 34:18 and we are taken to heaven with Christ. 34:20 We receive this glorified life now 34:22 where we in and of ourselves have been given 34:26 perfection and a glory, 34:29 not that we'd glory in ourselves, 34:31 but a glory, in that, we have no longer an evidence of sin 34:36 that taints our body, death that is part of our life. 34:42 We live a new life from now through eternity. 34:45 And so this justification, sanctification, glorification, 34:49 are all three parts of salvation as an umbrella. 34:52 Today we're gonna talk about living the justified life, 34:55 being justified in Christ and what that looks like. 34:58 Now the word "to be justified" 35:00 and what I like about this very topic is 35:04 it comes with a presupposition. 35:06 The presupposition is I'm a sinner. 35:10 We could not even want to be justified, 35:12 unless we come to the conclusion 35:14 that we are not just people that have a few idiosyncrasies 35:18 or a few faults or well, you know, 35:21 I do need a little bit of refurbishing. 35:22 We have to come to the conclusion 35:24 that we are sinners in order to want to be justified. 35:26 We always hear, I'm generally a good person. 35:29 You know, when I hear people say, 35:30 well, I have a good heart, that's not true. 35:33 "Our hearts are deceitful above all things 35:35 and desperately wicked." 35:38 Quote verse from Jeremiah. Jeremiah. 35:40 "Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked." 35:44 So when a person says, "Well, he has a good heart. 35:47 Why are you getting upset with him?" 35:49 I don't have a good heart. You don't have a good heart. 35:52 Outside of the grace of Christ, 35:54 our hearts will-- and when we say our hearts, 35:56 meaning the place of our affection, 35:59 the seed of our thoughts, if we don't allow 36:02 those things to be under the restraining power of Christ, 36:05 man, we could be-- 36:07 We don't know what we're capable of. 36:08 Oh, man, just look at what's happening in our world today, 36:10 the things that are happening in our world today. 36:13 I saw in the news just night, 36:15 there's a police in custody now 36:19 trying to convince his wife to get involved 36:23 with him in cannibalistic activity. 36:25 This is not a police that oversees in some underdeveloped 36:28 deep in the forest country, this is in America. 36:31 And this is a person who has sworn to uphold the law. 36:35 See so that's the condition. 36:37 But what I want to do before we talk about 36:38 the need to be justified, justified, you know, 36:42 what's in that word is just. 36:45 Well, we can go ahead and say, 36:46 if you're standing before a judge, you want justice. 36:49 Well, I want to talk about the conditions for justice 36:52 and what else we can ask for 36:53 if we're standing before a judge. 36:55 But let's start with Proverbs 28:13, 36:57 because in order for us to receive the mercy of God, 37:03 we've got to admit something about ourselves. 37:07 I remember growing up, John, you talked about this, 37:09 we always use our lives sometimes as examples. 37:12 I want to have you--I want to have you read Proverbs 28:13. 37:18 But we talk about some of the ways 37:19 that our parents governed our homes 37:21 and many times growing up, 37:24 I pleaded for mercy, because I was wrong. 37:29 And did you ever plead for mercy from your parents? 37:33 Yes, after lying through my teeth. 37:36 Right, we--I saw a video somebody sent, 37:40 actually my wife showed this to me on Facebook. 37:42 A little kid, he couldn't have been 37:43 more than 2 1/2, 3 years old. 37:45 He's got sprinklers, you know, sprinkles all over his mouth. 37:49 You know, the ice cream sprinkles? 37:50 Chocolate, then strawberry, they're all over his mouth. 37:52 And she says, "Now, Tommy, did you eat these sprinkles?" 37:57 "No, mommy." 37:58 "Now, Tommy, are you sure you didn't eat these sprinkles?" 38:03 "No, mommy, I did not have any." 38:04 "So did you eat any of them?" 38:06 "No, mommy, I did not eat any of them." 38:08 He's going like this-- this kid is like-- 38:10 so this is the funniest thing, 38:12 but it's showing the human nature of a child. 38:14 She takes him to the kitchen, 38:16 shows him the glass bowl that's all turned over on the counter 38:20 which he did and there's evidence all over his face. 38:24 "Did you, Tommy?" 38:26 "Mommy, I would never do anything you told me not to do. 38:28 No, mommy, I did not eat it." 38:30 And the video stopped right there and I'm thinking, 38:31 I've got to use that video to talk about human nature 38:35 from the standpoint of a child. 38:37 Children are not innocent. 38:38 The reason why God allows them to be born that small, 38:41 you don't want to deal with an un-regenerated heart 38:44 of a 150 pound baby. 38:46 They'll slam you against the wall if you fail to feed him. 38:49 But-- just a thought. 38:51 But Proverbs 28:13, this is the condition we must accept 38:55 that we are in before we even ask for God to justify us. 38:59 All right, verse 13 of Proverbs 28. 39:02 "He who covers his sins will not prosper, 39:05 but whoever confesses and forsakes them 39:07 will have mercy." 39:09 So notice what happens. 39:10 Should I just say I'm wrong to have mercy? 39:14 Yeah, we need to confess. Admit you're wrong. 39:16 And what else? Confess and what else? 39:20 Forsakes them. Right. 39:21 So not just confessing, but we have to get to the point 39:24 where we decide, I got to turn away from that. 39:26 If I want God's mercy at all, I've got to turn way from that. 39:30 See, so this whole idea-- and I want to go to Psalms 32. 39:36 Psalms 32, yeah, hit this one, too. 39:40 You want to comment about that at all? 39:42 No, no, I think we're on the right track. 39:45 Psalms 32 and I want to see verse 5 here 39:49 and look at verse 5. 39:51 "I acknowledged my sin to You, 39:54 and my iniquity I have not hidden. 39:57 I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' 40:02 and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah." 40:08 Now when you read that verse, 40:10 a lot of times then people say, 40:11 "Well, isn't iniquity the extended sin 40:14 that really causes God to cut you off?" 40:16 No, not if you acknowledge it and not if you confess it. 40:20 So when you want mercy, the first thing we have to do 40:24 and by the way mercy is extended to the person 40:27 who acknowledges that he or she is a sinner. 40:30 That's what he says, "I acknowledge it. I confess. 40:34 I am not gonna cover my sin, 40:36 because I know I will not prosper." 40:39 Prosperity is not something that the person 40:43 who intentionally lives in sin gets. 40:46 You don't really come to that particular position 40:48 or that particular place. 40:49 What verse do you have for us? 40:52 Well, there are several of them. 40:53 I mean, my mind goes, you know, wild. 40:55 The Bible is replete with God giving, extending mercy. 41:02 And I think maybe a good place to really 41:05 kind of come back up and look at His character, 41:07 to understand His character and who we're talking 41:10 with here is to go to Exodus. 41:14 Chapter 34. All right. 41:18 Just to give some context here, Exodus 33. 41:24 Moses is meeting with God on top of Mount Sinai. 41:29 They are having a conversation. 41:32 God asks to see His glory, to see God's glory. 41:36 Of course, no man can see God directly and live 41:39 to tell about it. 41:40 So God hides him in the cleft of the rock, 41:44 it says there, passes by Him covering His eyes 41:48 and then allows Moses to see His back. 41:51 And, of course, then we see 41:53 that kind of transitioning into chapter 34 41:57 where the Ten Commandments are introduced. 41:59 This whole picture of God's glory, 42:02 this whole picture of God's character in chapter 33 and 34 42:07 surround this Mount Sinai experience 42:09 and Moses meeting with God on the mountain, 42:11 seeing His glory and being given the Ten Commandments. 42:14 So we can't divorce the Ten Commandments 42:15 first of all from His glory. 42:18 But the Ten Commandments reveal that we're sinners. 42:21 None of us can look at the Ten Commandments and say 42:23 well, we've done that, perfectly, 100%, all of us. 42:26 When we say-- when we talk about 42:28 what comes as a result of looking 42:30 at the commandments of God, 42:32 it's like looking at a mirror 42:33 and I think that this is a good analogy. 42:35 I use comparisons. 42:38 When we look at the mirror in the morning before we, 42:40 like I blow dry my hair and spray it every day, 42:42 we shave and brush our teeth, 42:44 but we do that and we look at the mirror to examine, 42:46 okay, did I get it all? 42:49 The commandments are the very same way. 42:50 We never know what help we need 42:53 until we are confronted with our real condition. 42:56 And unless we look at the commandments of God 42:58 and see that we are in fact sinners in need of a Savior, 43:03 we never get to the point were we desire a Savior. 43:06 I think what happens in the world today 43:08 and this ideology about the fact that my heart is good enough 43:11 or well, you know, generally we have a pretty good 43:15 neighborhood, because it's fenced in. 43:18 Well, all that has happened as you fence in neighborhood 43:21 and you fenced in sin, because while we're trying 43:25 to keep the criminals out, there's crime in our hearts. 43:29 While we're trying to keep the burglaries down, 43:32 there are problems in every home in that gated community, 43:37 because we haven't come to the conclusion 43:39 that we are in need of the Savior. 43:42 And so the question I would ask is, 43:44 what do we have to do 43:46 in order for us to receive mercy from God? 43:49 Well, and then he goes on because he talks about 43:51 the Ten Commandments as the perfect standard. 43:54 It's really that it reveals the glory of God, 43:56 the transcript of His character, who He is. 44:00 And so let's look at who God is here. 44:03 So verse 34-- verse 5, Exodus 34:5. 44:08 We're just continuing on with the same passage. 44:11 "Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there," 44:14 that is with Moses, 44:15 "and proclaimed the name of the Lord." 44:16 Here's His name. 44:18 "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 44:20 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 44:24 longsuffering,' that is patient, 44:26 'and abounding in goodness and truth, 44:29 keeping mercy for thousands, 44:31 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.'" 44:34 Boy, it sounds like a wonderful God, 44:36 but it's only one side of the equation. 44:38 That's right. 44:39 And he goes on saying, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers 44:43 or by no means clearing the guilty." 44:45 Excuse me, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers 44:47 upon the children and the children's children 44:48 to the third and fourth generation." 44:50 That is the propagated sin among generation after generation. 44:54 So God is a loving God, merciful, gracious, patient, 44:59 giving mercy to thousands, yes. 45:02 But He's also a God of justice 45:04 and He will not let sin remain in His universe forever. 45:08 There will come a time of judgment. 45:09 So therefore, we need something out of ourselves, 45:14 we need someone out of ourselves 45:17 who can extend that hand of mercy and forgiveness, 45:20 because we are sinners. 45:22 We've all failed the test. 45:24 "We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," 45:27 Romans Chapter 3. 45:28 And so when we talk about justification we're saying 45:31 coming to Jesus who is merciful, 45:33 who is forgiving and receiving from Him 45:36 that forgiveness that He offers way, way back 45:38 from the very beginning. 45:40 And it's confirmed for us on the cross. 45:42 We can have that through Him, 45:44 but only through Him can we have that, 45:46 because we innately are sinful human beings. 45:49 And we need to recognize that, as you're saying, 45:51 we've already read the verses, 45:52 to confess it and to own up to it and to turn from it, 45:56 then we receive mercy. 45:58 And I want to add another word to the word justified, 46:01 because we're talking about God's justification. 46:03 Well, when you're standing before a judge, 46:04 let's go ahead and put this picture together. 46:06 And what I did in one of my programs, 46:07 actually on a Wednesday night program I did this 46:10 and I thought it would be good 46:11 because we have different audiences, 46:12 different people watch at different times. 46:14 I wanted to bring this topic also to our Bible program, 46:18 because a lot of times we misunderstand, 46:20 what mercy is all about and we say well, okay, 46:24 under what condition would mercy be-- 46:29 would mercy be extended to me? 46:32 What would actually happen for mercy to be extended to me? 46:35 And if you look down at question number five here, 46:37 there are six little questions I have here, 46:39 I want you to see this. 46:41 Look at this and this is kind of a true and false thing. 46:45 And I want to just go ahead and point them out 46:47 and then I'll give you the answer. 46:48 Which of the following statements are true about mercy? 46:51 A mercy sets aside the requirements of the law. 46:55 Does mercy set aside the requirement of the law? 46:58 Yes or no? 47:00 The answer is no. Can't be, yeah. 47:01 Mercy can't set aside-- matter of fact, 47:03 I wouldn't even know I needed mercy-- 47:07 Unless the law was in effect. 47:08 Unless the law was in effect. 47:10 I'd go further, Jesus would not even 47:12 have had to have come to die on the cross 47:15 if He could have just changed this law and made it void. 47:17 So now, John, here's where we're headed with this. 47:20 There are people today that teach we're saved by grace. 47:23 We don't need the law any longer. 47:24 I want you to expound on that. 47:26 We are saved by grace. 47:27 We no longer need the law, is that...? 47:29 Well, essentially what they're saying 47:31 is that we don't need mercy anymore. 47:33 Really, grace and mercy often we mix this. 47:36 They are two different things 47:39 and here is the simplest way that I can share this. 47:41 Grace is receiving something that I do not deserve, 47:47 but mercy is not receiving something that I do deserve. 47:52 Good way, I like that. 47:53 So I deserve to be held accountable for my sin 47:58 and burned in hell, in the lake of fire, I deserve that. 48:04 But mercy says, mercy from God says, 48:06 I'm not going to do that. 48:08 I'm not gonna give you that experience. 48:10 Grace on the other hand is different. 48:13 Grace gives us something. 48:15 It actually is giving us something 48:16 from God that we don't deserve. 48:18 But mercy and grace are still in action 48:20 in the New Testament, not just grace. 48:23 So don't say it's all about the grace of God. 48:25 No, we need the mercy of God as well and mercy implies 48:28 that God is still a just God. 48:30 Grace doesn't deal with the justice issue. 48:34 Grace deals with the issue of extending to us something 48:36 that we can't do for ourselves. 48:39 That's kind of my new definition of grace now. 48:41 John, I've used it over and over again. 48:42 I felt--I was praying for just a new understanding. 48:45 We hear unmerited favor, but it's so to me, 48:49 so kind of ethereal. 48:50 It's out there, it's hard to understand that 48:52 and we use it so much. 48:53 Right, it's lost its impact, because we repeat it so much. 48:55 We repeat it so much. 48:57 So here's the definition of grace that I found that I use. 49:01 Grace is any time God reaches down to do something for us 49:07 that we cannot do for ourselves. 49:09 Very good point. 49:11 We need power and strength that we don't have, 49:14 when He gives us that, that's grace. 49:17 We can't save ourselves. 49:18 When He reaches down to save us that is grace. 49:22 Grace is when God activates, does something in action 49:25 from Himself to us, to give us something 49:27 we don't have that we need, that's grace. 49:29 Mercy is withholding a judgment that we deserve 49:34 and He does not give it to us. 49:36 That's the difference between mercy and grace. 49:39 And here and we find that if you eliminate the law of God, 49:43 you eliminate the need for mercy. 49:46 Yet over and over in the New Testament 49:47 as well as the Old, mercy is still in action. 49:50 God forgiving sinners. I thank you for that, John. 49:55 And I'm gonna build on that because I want to put this back, 49:58 you're standing right in front of the judge now. 50:01 And you're innocent. 50:03 What do you ask for, mercy or justice? 50:10 You're innocent. 50:11 What do you ask for, mercy or justice? 50:15 You know what you ask for? 50:17 You don't ask for mercy, because you are innocent. 50:19 You ask for justice. 50:20 You are on a, "I demand justice." 50:23 Justice says if you're innocent, you go free. 50:27 Mercy, if you ask for mercy, you're not innocent. 50:31 See so when we say, "Lord, be merciful to me," 50:34 remember what David said, 50:36 "Be merciful to me a sinner." 50:40 See the reason I'm coming here, 50:42 because when you understand the mercy of God you realize, 50:45 wait a minute, wait a minute, 50:46 I didn't see more and more why I need to be justified, 50:49 why I need to be covered, 50:51 why my life needs to be changed, 50:52 why the old part of me needs to be done away with, 50:58 why that old man needs to be buried. 51:00 Here's another, 51:01 unless you want to comment on that point I just made. 51:03 No, pretty good. Here's another one. 51:04 Mercy is applied to satisfy the demands of the law. 51:12 Is that true or false? 51:13 Mercy is applied to satisfy the demands of the law. 51:17 Now justice is applied to satisfy the demands of the law. 51:23 Mercy, when you look at the mercy of God, 51:26 the law demands that we be prosecuted. 51:31 The law demands that we be persecuted. 51:34 The law demands that we be locked up. 51:37 So justice would be applied to satisfy the demands of the law. 51:40 What if the law-- all have sinned 51:42 and fall short of the glory of God. 51:44 The wages of sin is what? Death. 51:45 So if I want to satisfy the demand of the law, 51:48 I'm gonna apply justice. 51:51 You will go to court, you will go to jail for X amount of days, 51:54 X amount of months, X amount of years, 51:56 but when the judge says, "I know you've done wrong, " 51:58 and our lawyer stands up on our behalf, Jesus. 52:01 Then mercy is applied. 52:03 But do the demands of the law have to be satisfied? 52:07 Yes, there's no court system 52:09 that abrogates the demands of the law. 52:12 That's why when Jesus takes our place 52:16 we are justified by His life, not by our own life. 52:21 When I get a-- 52:22 Kind of deep here, think on this one. 52:23 When I get a ticket-- unfortunately, 52:25 I don't get many tickets, speeding tickets. 52:27 But when I get a ticket, 52:30 the fact that I go before the judge 52:33 and argue my case and in many respects would say, 52:39 your honor, I was speeding, I was speeding. 52:46 Many times in those cases the judge would extend 52:52 some kind of mercy. 52:54 But he would not eliminate the law that says 52:59 in that zone I have to be doing 35 miles an hour, 53:03 not 45 miles an hour that I was doing. 53:07 We today often view mercy as receiving forgiveness 53:11 for breaking the laws of the past 53:14 but license to break the law in the future. 53:17 Ooh, very good approach. 53:20 And you see the Bible is pretty clear. 53:23 Look at the Book of Jude. 53:26 We often don't go to Jude, 53:28 but Jude has some of my favorite 53:31 couple of verses in it on this topic. 53:35 And I like it best in the NIV, 53:37 but I'm gonna read it from the New King James here, 53:39 which is usually my study Bible here. 53:41 Okay, well, I'll bring up the NIV. 53:44 What verse? 53:45 It says verse 3, this is verses 3 and 4. 53:48 "Beloved, while I was very diligent 53:50 to write to you concerning our common salvation." 53:52 So we are talking about which subject here? 53:54 Salvation. Salvation. 53:56 "I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you 53:58 to contend earnestly for the faith 54:02 which was once and for all delivered to the saints." 54:04 In other words, stay fast in what you have received, 54:07 already what Christ has taught, 54:09 whether the apostles have taught 54:11 and what we've established according to the word. 54:13 Stay in that faith and contend earnestly for it. 54:16 Now look at verse 4, why do we need to do that. 54:19 "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, 54:23 who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, 54:26 ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness 54:32 and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." 54:37 So read NIV. What does it say? 54:38 I'll read it further, yeah. 54:40 Verse 4 in NIV says, "For certain men whose 54:43 condemnation was written about long ago 54:46 have secretly slipped in among you. 54:48 They are godless men, who change the grace of our God 54:52 into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ 54:57 our only Sovereign and Lord." 55:00 A license for immorality 55:02 and that's why I say we often treat 55:03 mercy as receiving forgiveness of the past. 55:07 And then as a license to go on and continue the works 55:10 that we've always done, 55:11 the sinful life that we've always had, 55:13 because Christ is taking care of everything. 55:15 This is a cheap grace. 55:17 It is a grace that has slipped into the church 55:19 that is not the grace of the Bible. 55:23 We read the grace the Bible says and his mercy says 55:27 that it is received, we are justified in Christ 55:30 when we have repented of our sin 55:32 and we have turned from our wicked ways. 55:36 We have stopped sinning. 55:37 We have stopped committing those sins 55:39 that we have committed and begin to align ourselves 55:43 in harmony with God's law to live according to His plan, 55:47 according to His purpose. 55:48 That is when we receive mercy and the grace of God. 55:52 Not this cheap grace that is slipped into the church. 55:54 Wow, very good. And it is true today. 55:58 And I want to go farther than just saying, 56:00 well, you know, there are a lot of churches 56:02 that teach God's law has been nailed to the cross 56:04 and I want to go beyond that because this whole, 56:09 this chronic attitude is present even among those 56:13 who acknowledge the law of God. 56:16 They are saying, well, intellectually 56:18 I acknowledge the law of God, 56:21 but I'm not acknowledging that there's a bigger issue here. 56:25 That's why when Paul, the Apostle is faced 56:28 and confronted with the law of God, 56:30 he said this in Romans 7:14. 56:32 We're gonna talk about justification 56:34 in our next program. 56:35 I'm gonna amplify it, but we're laying the foundation. 56:37 He said this in Romans 7:14, 56:39 "For we know that the law is spiritual, 56:41 but I am carnal, sold under sin." 56:45 So, John, that's the issue today. 56:46 Many people are sold under sin, but they don't admit that. 56:49 And they admit sheepishly that the law is there, 56:54 but they don't admit that they are sold under sin. 56:56 Yeah, the fact is if the law wasn't there, 56:58 we would no longer be sinners, 57:00 because there would be nothing there in place, 57:02 in force to convict us of sin. 57:04 Just like the laws of our land. 57:06 If there were no laws of our land, 57:07 we couldn't be convicted as transgressors, as convicts. 57:12 We would be always perfect citizens. 57:15 But laws are in place to guide us. That's right. 57:18 We're gonna talk about in the next program 57:20 the difference between being a convict, convinced of the law 57:23 or a convert justified by Jesus Christ. 57:26 So stay tuned to "House Calls." 57:28 On our next program we look forward to seeing you. 57:30 May you have a wonderful day in Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17