You can go ahead and be turning
with me again to Exodus chapter 21 if you would. Tonight we'll
finish our study in this chapter, Exodus 21. When we look at God's holy law, we
see that God is holy and just. Only the keeping of the law and
all of it, and all of it perfect, is what establishes a man or
a woman to be perfectly righteous. And that's our problem, is that
we can't keep any of God's law as it was meant to be kept, as
it should be kept. And if you keep it all and offend
in one point, we know that we're guilty of the whole law. And
to those who, like the rich young ruler, seem to think that they
can keep the whole law, you need to know that you've got to keep
it perfect. Do you know the definition of perfect? It's having all the
required and desirable elements, qualities, and characteristics
to be as good as one can possibly be. It means to be free from
any flaw or defect in condition or quality. To be faultless is
what it means. So we can't be saved by keeping
the law. Why not? Because for what the
law could not do and that it was weak through the flesh. God
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. That's why Christ came to put
away our sin. Condemned sin in the flesh, Romans
8. It's the perfect keeping of the
law that reveals one's perfect righteousness. Christ is the
only one who ever perfectly kept the law of God, and it's in my
sin being put on Him, and me being found in Him, that enables
God to impute His perfect righteousness to me in all His elect. And when
I say enables God, not that God needs to be enabled to do anything,
but God has to do it justly, if He's going to do it at all.
And Christ is the only way that the Lord can justly put away
our sin. So the first thing that I want
you to see is that the law is equitable or that the law is
righteous. The law of God is right. The
law of God is righteous. That's what the word righteousness
means. It means equity. It means we
have a shared interest. We have a shared interest in
Christ's righteousness. And that's the amazing thing
about Christ's righteousness. It makes all those that come
to Him perfect. Not comers to the law, but those
who come to Christ. And those who come to Christ,
it makes them perfect. That's what Hebrews chapter 10
tells us. For the law, having a shadow
of good things to come and not the very image of the things,
can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year. We looked at that a few weeks
ago. But they can never make the comers there unto perfect.
He said just a couple of verses later, it's not possible. That
means just what it says. It's not possible that the blood
of bulls and of goats should take away sins. It can't be done. Wherefore when He, who? Christ,
cometh into the world. What's he going to do? This is
what he said to his father. He said, sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not. God found no pleasure in the
sacrifice and offering of those bulls and goats year after year.
He said, they can never with those sacrifices put away sin,
make you perfect. It's not possible, but when He,
God, the Son, cometh into the world, he said, sacrifice and
offering thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared for
me. and burn offerings and sacrifices for sin. Thou hast had no pleasure."
What does God have pleasure in? In His Son. This is My beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. That means He's got pleasure
in Him. He said, Hear ye Him. Being in Christ is the only way
that God will ever be pleased with you or me. This man, the
God-man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
That's the best news I ever heard. He sat down on the right hand
of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. And every single enemy will be,
for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.
There's equity in the law of God for us. Only because Christ
fulfilled it and satisfied God's justice in the believer's place.
Now, Exodus 21, look at verse 18 here again. We're going to
read the rest of this chapter. I want you to look at the law
with me again one more time. Verse 18, And if men strive together,
if one smite another with a stone or with his fist, and he die
not, but keepeth his bed, If he rise again and walk abroad
upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit. Only
he shall pay for the loss of his time and shall cause him
to be thoroughly healed. Now, we're talking about the
law being equitable. God's law does what's right and
what's holy. The problem with the law is not
the law. The problem with the law has
always been with us, weak through the flesh. And that's our flesh. But God's law exacts no more
or no less than what God demands. Now this is very important. If
this injured man did not die, the man that injured him does
not die, or be quit, as the verse says. That simply means that
the man is free from the law of murder. Yet the exact amount
of wages that he lost, as well as his medical bills and his
expenses, shall be paid in full by the offender. You see, the
law does what's right. That's the point I'm trying to
make. The law is righteous, for it was given by a righteous God
who does all things right. The exact penalty, the right
penalty owed, must and shall be paid to the law. And then
secondly, the law of God shows no respect to persons. We talked
about that briefly last time. All will be judged by the same
standard of the law. God's no respecter of persons
and neither is God's law. The law of God does not regard
who the person is that's smitten or who the offender is that smites.
God's law doesn't play favorites. The previous commandment dealt
with a free man smiting a free man. But here we have a free
man who smites one that is bound. And it didn't matter if the one
bound was an Israelite or a Gentile servant. Look at verse 20. And
if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod, and he die
under his hand, He shall be surely punished, notwithstanding if
he continue a day or two. He shall not be punished, for
he is his money. But if the servant lives, yet
is unable to work a day or two, the master shall not pay for
wages lost, cause he is his money. Now, if the servant lives, yet
is unable to work a day or two, the master doesn't have to pay
his wages because the servant is the property of the man that
he works for. That's what that refers to when
it says he is his money. And besides that, why would a
master desire to cause his servant harm or attempt to kill him when
he himself would be the loser by it? What I want you to see
here, though, is how detailed God's law is. It's so exact. It's so right. It's so just. And I suppose, for an example,
the closest thing that we have today to masters and menservants
and slaves and maidservants is employers and employees. If God
in grace ever gives a sinner the heart, the heart of a servant,
they will with singleness of heart serve their employer as
they would their Lord. That's exactly what Paul's telling
us in Ephesians chapter 6. Hold your place and turn there
with me if you would. Ephesians chapter 6. Look at
it. We'll come back to Exodus. Ephesians
chapter 6. Verse 5, servants be obedient
to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear
and trembling and singleness of your heart as unto Christ.
Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of God or
servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. with good will doing service
as to the Lord and not to men. Knowing that whatsoever good
thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord,
whether he be bond or free. We should work at our jobs with
singleness of heart. I know that's not a popular opinion
today. I hear folks say things like,
I'm overworked, I'm underpaid, and underappreciated. I dare
to say that we have all heard that, maybe even said it ourselves.
I know that I have. But the Holy Spirit here through
the Apostle Paul tells us that we should work with singleness
of heart as if we were doing this service to and for the Lord
Himself. Not that people might see us,
not for our own praise, not to be pleasing to men, even the
one we work for. We should want to be pleasing
to our employer, no doubt. We should want to do a good job.
But we should work at our jobs to be pleasing to God, as servants
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Verses 5
and 6. And then in verse 7, it said,
with good will doing service. It seems to me, I thought about
this some today, that a good work is a work done to and for
someone else. It's a service. It has to do
with serving. And it's to be done unto the
Lord and not to men. And look at verse 8. Knowing
that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he
receive of the Lord. Paul said whatsoever good thing
we do, the same shall we receive of the Lord. What does that mean?
Just what it says. How do we know what a good thing
is? Well, especially when everything
that we do is tainted by sin. And it is. Well, first a good
thing is something that is according to the will and the purpose of
God. We should seek God's will and
purpose in everything. Everything God does and purposes
to do is good. So our prayer and our attitude
should be always, not my will, but Thine be done. And anything
a man or woman does with a view to God's glory and a view to
God's honor, I'm telling you it's a good thing and it's good
to desire. Speaking of this good thing,
this good work, this work of service to another, God says,
the same shall you receive of the Lord. He shall receive the
fruit and the advantage that God gives in a way of grace.
And I've seen it first hand, I really have. The Lord blesses
those who bless His people. Some of the most happy, peaceful,
and even financially secure people I've ever met in my life are
those who are the most generous. And this godly principle of reaping
and sowing applies to every area in life. You know, if you sow
love, you'll reap the same. If you sow kindness, you'll reap
kindness. It's a godly principle. But the
message today is that God's given a return on your money, investment,
30, 60, and 100 folk. I'm not even sure that has anything
to do with money. A true servant doesn't serve
God for financial gain. They serve Him for spiritual
gain. They desire to grow in the grace
and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 9,
and you masters do the same things unto them. Unto your servants,
your employees. Forbearing threatening, knowing
that your master also is in heaven, and neither is there respect
of persons within. For the most part, the people
that we work with or even work for in this world don't know
these things, they don't believe these things, and they don't
observe these things. So in most cases, we don't and
won't get the same treatment returned to us by them. But that
doesn't mean and doesn't change what God commands us to do. And
it doesn't change what God commands of them either. Paul said in
Galatians 6, verse 7, Be not deceived. Don't be deceived.
God is not mocked. There are many who are deceived.
Paul said God's not mocked. And let me add, nor will He be.
Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. That's what
God said. What makes men and women think
that they can live like hell, be rebellious, disrespectful
to God, treat people badly, and in pride think themselves entitled
and worthy of reaping something better than they've sown? For
he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. That's what God says. But he
that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Now are you interested in life
everlasting? To which will you sow? To the flesh or to the Spirit? If I ran a television, radio,
newspaper ad claiming to have found the fountain of youth,
and have handwritten proof from God Almighty, God Himself, that
if you would come and drink from this fountain, this water that
I have, that you would live forevermore. If I did that, I have no doubt
that they'd be lined up for my, so we couldn't hold those who
would come for such a thing. We have such a fountain. And
we continue to point thirsty sinners to that fountain of life
so that sinners may freely drink. Drink from Him to never thirst
again. Nobody seems to be much interested.
We can only assume that folks in general just aren't thirsty.
Are you thirsty? But we don't give up. We don't
quit preaching. We don't quit pointing, do we?
Paul went on to say there in Galatians chapter 6 verse 9,
he said, let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season
we shall reap if we faint not. Now back in Exodus chapter 21
verse 22 if you would please. The third thing I want you to
see is that the law is just. We've already talked about that.
We talked about it pretty much the whole hour last time. Again,
verse 22, if men strive, two men fighting each other, and
hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart or she delivers
early, and yet no mischief follow, both mom and infant are fine.
He shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband
will lay upon him. And he shall pay as the judges
determine. If the judges determine the husband's
payment that he requires of the man that hurt his wife is just,
or they raise or lower, they negotiate a price, then that's
what he shall surely pay. Now look at verse 23. And if
any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life. If
something happens to the woman and the child, life for life,
eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. And
if a man smite the eye of his servant or the eye of his maid,
let it perish or he loses his eye, he shall let him go free
for his eyesake. And if he smite out his manservant's
tooth, or his maidservant's tooth, he shall let them go free for
his tooth's sake. You see just how just God's law
is? In Colossians chapter 3 verse
25, Paul wrote, But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong
which he hath done. And God has no respecter of persons.
We reap what we sow because God's a just God. And not only is the
law just and demands justice, fourthly, the law also reaches
all lawbreakers. Look at verse 28. If an ox gore
a man or a woman that they die, then the ox shall be surely stoned,
and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall
be quipped. But if the ox were wont to push
up with his horn in time past, it's been testified to his owner
that he's not kept him in or pinned up. In other words, this
oxen is known for doing this, being rambunctious and raising
his horns up and hurting somebody. And this is told to the owner,
if he don't put that ox up, pin him up, but that he hath killed
a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also
shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a sum
of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever
is laid upon him, whether he hath gored a son or have gored
a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto
him. And if the ox shall push a manservant
or a maidservant, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels
of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And if a man shall open
a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and
an ox or an ass fall therein, the owner of the pit shall make
it good, and give money unto the owner of them, and the dead
beast shall be his. And if one man's ox hurt another's,
that he died, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the
money of it. And the dead ox also they shall
divide. Or if it be known that the ox
hath used to push up in time past, and his owner hath not
kept him in, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead shall
be his own. The law of God. reaches to both
man and beast. And it reaches to son and daughter.
And it reaches to manservant and maidservant and even the
master. And all who break the law of
God shall suffer the wrath, the judgment, and the condemnation
of God. So what have we seen thus far
concerning the Law of God? The Law is equitable. The Law
is righteous. The Law is no respecter of person.
It treats every sinner the same. Every offender is treated the
same. The Law is just. It's a just God that wrote it.
It's a just God that gave it. It's a just God that enforces
it. You're not going to slip by God
and His Law. The Law reaches to all lawbreakers. Let me give you one more thing.
The law was not given for a righteous man or woman. It was given only
for the guilty. The law of God demands nothing
at all and has nothing to say to a righteous man or woman.
Did you hear what I said? The law of God has nothing to
say, can demand nothing at all from a righteous man or woman. Let me read to you a verse out
of 1 Timothy 1 9-11 Knowing this, that the law was not made for
a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslaves, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that's contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust." Now the
law only speaks to lawbreakers. Now we know that what thing soever
the law saith, that saith to them who are under the law. Why,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
what? Guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh, no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the knowledge, or excuse
me, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. And with that said, we
actually find grace in the law of God. How so? How so? Well, it was by God's law that
we had the knowledge of our sin. That's what he just said. Well,
that's grace, isn't it? To have that revealed to us,
to have our sin revealed to us, what grace that is. We have the
knowledge of sin. What shall we say then? Is the
law sin? God forbid. I had not known sin,
but by the law. For I had not known lust, except
the law had said, thou shalt not covet. God sent His only
begotten Son into the world. God Himself became flesh. Now we say this all the time.
Do you ever stop and really think about that? God Almighty became
a man. I wonder sometimes we're not
more in awe about it because we really don't believe it. I
don't know. That is the most amazing thing
that I've ever heard. And God was made of a woman.
And He was made under the law. that we might receive the adoption
of sons, the scripture says. So the spotless Lamb of God bore
the sins of His people on the cross and it was there on the
cross that Christ came under the law bearing our sins. And we see that it's by His sacrifice,
by His fulfilling of the law, and His satisfying of the law's
justice, that by God's grace, the law is made equitable to
me, the sinner of the night. It demanded exact payment for
every sin of every chosen child of God. And Christ paid for every
single one of them. It extracted nothing more, nothing
less than what God demanded. But it was enough. And it was
finished. And it was accomplished. And
Christ there on the cross said, it's finished. And it was. Secondly, in this matter of sin,
the law shows no respect of person. When sin was found on God's own
son, God the Father didn't spare him. No, sir. But delivered Him
up for all His people, all God's elect. Now let me ask you, did
God spare not His own Son when sin was found upon Him? Will
He spare you and me if it's found upon us? Do you see just how
holy and just God is? So holy and just that when sin
was found on Christ, the perfect one, God spared Him not. And
that brings me to the next point. God's law was and is and will
always be just. God said, my God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? Do you know why he forsook him?
Because he's just. That's why he forsook him. Because
my sin and your sin, Danny, were found upon him. And God too just
to just ignore him. Had to be dealt with, had to
be paid. Standing in the room instead of His people, Christ
was guilty. The law is so just that God will
not spare His Son when sin is found on Him. Does that move
you? Does that do anything to you?
Oh, what hope do we have if sin is found on us? In prophecy,
the Lord Jesus said, but I am a worm and no man. You see, it
was by substitution that Christ was made the worm that I am.
And he suffered the death that I should have suffered, the worm
that I am. And he died the just for the
unjust, me being an unjust worm, and him being the just one, God
in the flesh. And friends, the law of God still
reaches to all. It was on the cross where each
and every one of God's elect was crucified with Christ. When
our substitute drank the dregs of the cup of God's wrath and
fury, God now looks on those for whom Christ died and he says,
nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing shall separate you from
the love of God that's in Christ. Why? Because the justice of God's
law declares me to be perfect just like He is. And you know
what? I think I'm beginning to believe
that. At the same time, all who refuse to kiss the sun. The day
of reckoning is coming. We better bow to Christ now. It was God's mercy that saved
us. We're reconciled to God by the perfect work and righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace means we serve in newness
of spirit, not oldness of the letter, according to Romans 7.
I want to turn you to one more passage, and I'll stop. Matthew
chapter 5, if you would. I want you to see this. Grace
means we serve in newness of spirit, not in the oldness of
the letter. Matthew chapter 5, look at verse
38. You have heard that it hath been
said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you,
that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the other opposite. Friends,
grace means that we're now motivated by love and not law. Look down at verse 40. The Lord
said here, if any man will sue thee at the law and take away
thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him two miles. Give to him that asketh
thee. And from him that would borrow
of thee, turn not thou away." We serve in newness of spirit,
not in the oldness of the letter. Grace means that we love our
enemies. Oh boy, now there's a tough one.
Verse 43, you have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt
love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love
your enemies. Bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven. Now if the Lord had respect for
our persons, I'm telling you, He would have never chosen me.
And He'd never given Himself for me. But aren't you glad that
God has no respect for a person? Aren't you glad that God is just? Because God is just, He can by
no means clear the guilty. But listen, here's the good news. But God being just also means
that He can by no means punish or condemn the innocent. I love
that, don't you? You know why? You know why God
cannot punish the innocent? His justice won't permit it.
He's too just. He can't do it. Oh, I'm glad
the law is just. It's in and by and through the
substitution of the Lord Jesus. God is both just and justifier. We say it all the time. God is
both a just God and a Savior. I'm so glad that God is just,
but I tell you, I'm even more glad that He's a Savior. He's
a just God and a Savior. And He must be just in order
to justify the ungodly. And the law now declares me to
be justified in Christ. Let's be sure that we're in Him.