The name of the message is Paul
Visits James. Again, turn, if you would, to
Acts chapter 21. Continue our study in this chapter, which
we started last week. Paul is going to go to Jerusalem.
We saw him travel into Jerusalem last week. And the amazing thing
was, we saw how God provided for Paul the whole way there.
Provided provision. He gets to one port and there's
a bunch of brethren waiting for him. Or he'd go into the city
and he'd find brethren, too. So not only did the Lord provide
for them their needs as they were going from place to place,
but he also provided fellowship for them. Isn't that wonderful? In some of these places, we don't
know if he's ever been there, but the gospel went forth. The
gospel went forth. Isn't that wonderful? And the
Lord saved people. It's absolutely incredible. So
he's going to Jerusalem. He's going to go visit James
and other believers, but his main mission in going to Jerusalem
was to preach the gospel to the Jews, because it was their Passover. So his main mission was to go
there and proclaim Christ as the Messiah, the long-expected
one, the only one who can save sinners, right? And we are a bunch of sinners,
aren't we? Saved by the grace and mercy of God. We admit it.
Isn't it amazing that in our natural state, we didn't admit
we were sinners, but after we're saved, we say, I'm such a sinner.
But I'm thankful God saved me from all my sins. Not some of
them, all of them. How? Like we sang, by being plunged
in the fountain of his blood, the redeeming blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Isn't it glorious? Isn't it wonderful? salvation in and through Christ
alone and through his blood and righteousness. There's never
been a greater message for mankind to hear. My, it's absolutely
incredible. Now, Paul's going to Jerusalem. He's going to go visit James
and other believers. And before we start this study,
I'd like us to turn to Judges chapter 14. Judges chapter 14. We're gonna read a message, or
one verse in here, which Brother Norm pointed out to me this week,
and I believe he brought this forth when he was here. I think
he did. But remember Samson, he's gonna
go marry a Philistine, right? Now that was against the law
of God, to go and marry a Philistine. Jews weren't supposed to marry
outside the Jewish nation. Not at all. But here Samson is,
he's going to go and he's going to marry a Philistine, right? And his parents are asking him,
why are you doing this? Why are you going to marry a
Philistine? They didn't have any idea what was going on, right? Just like when trials and trouble
come our way, we sometimes say, well, why is this happening?
Look at this verse. This is amazing. This is amazing. We can apply this to every situation
we go through. Look at this. Speaking of Samson's
mom and dad, but his father and mother knew not that it was of
the Lord. Why? That he sought an occasion
over the Philistines. For at that time, the Philistines
had dominion over Israel. They didn't know. They had no
idea. that God was going to use Samson
to deliver the Philistines. They had no idea. They were wondering,
why is he marrying a Gentile woman? Well, God had a plan,
didn't he? It was all part of his purpose
and plan. Isn't that amazing? So we can apply that to our lives.
We don't know why certain things happen. So in our text today,
Paul's, there's gonna be four men who've made a vow, and he's gonna go ahead and do the
vow. Now we don't know why he did
that, but we do know, we're gonna find out why. Some people look
at, some people say, well look, Paul was an error. I don't think
he was an error. He knew that that vow meant absolutely nothing
before God. Remember he had Timothy circumcised?
We're going to look at that too. Well, why? He knew it meant absolutely
nothing before God, but it gave him a door to preach to the Jews. See, God's ways are not our ways. His ways are not our ways. He's
far above us. And so we may not understand
what's happening at a certain time in our lives or a certain
way in our lives, in the world, but we can rest assured, beloved,
that God has all things happening according to his will and purpose
and for his glory. All things. We met in a study
this week. I meet with Jacob and Billy and
Marcus, all the guys that can't get here but are at a distance.
And Norm came in, and Norm was saying, even Jake being over
in the United Arab Emirates, there's a reason for that. We
don't understand it. Now, he's serving. He's serving
the country. And he's doing it honorably. But he's got four
kids at home and a wife. And one of his little girls is
going through all kinds of stuff with her eyes, operations and
all this. And he's missing all this. He
can't be there to help his wife, but there's a reason for it.
We don't understand it, do we? But there's a reason for it all.
Oh my. How sweet it'll be when there's
a homecoming, right? How sweet it'll be when we get
home. Through all the struggles of this life, how sweet it'll
be when we get home to glory. My oh my. Now let's stand up
and read verses 17 to 19. I'm going to have us just read
three verses together this morning. Let's stand up and read Acts
21, verses 17 to 19 together to start our study. And when we were come to Jerusalem,
the brethren received us gladly. And the day following, Paul went
in with us unto James, and all the elders were present. And
when he had saluted them, he departed particularly that things, he declared particularly what
things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Sorry for my speech fumble there. Oh my. So he told them all what happened
in his ministry. What a time that'd be, eh? Sit
and listen to how God's doing all these things. So we're reminded
once again that Christian love here set before us. They received
Paul and his companions gladly, didn't they? They gladly received
him. My, and we were come to Jerusalem,
look at that, verse 17. And when we were come to Jerusalem,
the brethren received us gladly, Acts 21, 17. Oh my. There were several of the Lord's
disciples who traveled with Paul. Remember, a whole bunch of them
left Caesarea and went with Paul, we saw last week, to go to Jerusalem,
no doubt to preach the gospel. And the Lord had one of their
companions owned a house in Jerusalem. The Lord provided a place for
them to stay when there'd be no lodging in the whole Jerusalem
at that time because of the Passover. It's absolutely amazing. So now
he goes and visits James and the elders. And we're not told
how many were in Paul's company, but we see in verse 17 that there
were many, and they received him gladly. The brethren received
him gladly. Oh! The brethren at Jerusalem
said, come, let us fellowship together. Now let's read verses
18 to 20 of Acts chapter 21. In the day following, Paul went
in with us unto James, and the elders were present. And when
he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God
had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they
heard it, they glorified the Lord and said unto him, Thou
seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews which believe, and they
are all zealous of the law. Okay. Look at that. There's thousands of Jews now
who believe, and they're zealous for the law. What does that tell
us? Well, it tells us they're saved, and it tells us they got
some grave clothes still. Right? You've heard me talk about
grave clothes. I've had many grave clothes fall off me since
the Lord saved me. My, oh my. Things that I put
upon myself and my wife and my family that weren't even scriptural. things that they supposedly had
to do and we had to do all the time to be more acceptable to
God. And then the Lord saved me and
I realized, oh my, I do these things because I want to do them.
I read my Bible because I want to read my Bible. I pray because
I want to pray. I get to pray, don't we get to
pray, don't we, Brother Charlie? We get to pray now. We get to
read our Bible. We get to tell people about Christ. when the Lord opens the door.
We don't have to shove our foot in there. The Lord opened the
door for us. You found that out. Yeah. He'll open the door wide
for us when it's his time. And it's wonderful. And Paul and those traveling
with him were no doubt very weary from the trip. They were weary
from the trip. And we see that they And the
day following, so we see that they, right away, they went to
bed. They probably ate something, they went right to bed. They
were wiped out. They're walking. They're walking all this way.
They walked 75 miles to get to Jerusalem. They'd be wiped right
out. Probably took them days. So they got a bite to eat, and
then they got some much-needed rest, and then the next day,
they went right to see James. He's the pastor of the church
at Jerusalem. And he's eagerly awaiting to hear from Paul. He
wants to hear about everything that happened. Wouldn't that
be wonderful? Like we, like when we heard about David down in
South America. We want to hear about that. It's
exciting. We hear about Lance Hiller out
in Papua New Guinea, all kinds of churches out in the jungle.
We want to hear about that. Right? When Jean-Claude goes
to Africa and we hear about Him going into different villages
and they're just embracing the gospel. We want to hear about
that. We want to hear about that. And all those who were ministers
at the Church of Jerusalem had gathered with James, all the
elders, eagerly awaiting to hear from Paul, the apostle, a man
who now they respected and admired, who once they feared. But by
the grace of God, he's a trophy of God's grace, isn't he? All
according to the plan and purpose of our great God. And we see
in verse 19 that they warmly received one another, and Paul
declared unto them a report of what things God had done. Look
what God's done. The gospel's really a report
of what Christ has done. It's already finished, isn't
it? He already redeemed his people 2,000 years ago. Right? We're proclaiming a work done,
a salvation accomplished. We just look to Christ by God-given
faith after we're born again. It's absolutely amazing. And none of our works makes us
acceptable to God. No. The only way we're acceptable
to God is through Christ and him alone. not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. And
his mercy comes to sinners in and through the Lord Jesus Christ
and his blood and righteousness. It's amazing. So Paul had been taught by the
Holy Spirit of God that in his unregenerate state he had no
righteousness, so he proclaimed this. He said, I went to the
Gentiles and I proclaimed the gospel and how I had no righteousness
in my own state. But all my righteousness is Christ.
All my acceptance is Christ. It's wonderful. And he knew that any sinful attempt
to keep the law of Moses as for gaining favor with God was an
abomination to God. You say that and some people
go, what? You ever think if they build that temple in Israel,
when Christ is the final sacrifice, what will that be to God? What
would that mean to God? It'll be an affront to him, won't
it? It'll be spitting in his face.
You know why? Christ is the final sacrifice.
There's no need to rebuild the temple. There's no need to reestablish
the sacrifices under the law, because Christ fulfilled them.
They all had their fulfillment in Christ. That's it. I remember the first time someone
told me that, I about fell off my chair. Now I just warmly embrace
it because it's true. It's true. I heard someone say
this. I heard someone say this one time. They said, well, they
have to reinstate the sacrifice so the Jews can be saved. Let me tell you something. Jews
and Gentiles are saved the same way. In and through the Lord
Jesus Christ in him alone. Period. End of story. Right? And the body of Christ comprises
of what? Jew and Gentile. One in Christ. Linked together. Cemented together by the blood
of Christ. Right? So there's no need to rebuild
a temple. Christ is building his temple,
the temple of the living God. And we're stones. We're living
stones. I like what Henry said, and I
said it earlier there. We're living stones cemented by the
blood of Christ together. Isn't that wonderful? That's
what holds us together, the blood of Christ. Oh my, it's exciting. Let me tell you, that's exciting. And the Lord Jesus Christ had
taught Paul that every sin that he had ever committed or ever
would commit has been removed from God's sight forever. Forever. I give an illustration on Wednesday
night, I'm going to repeat it. A friend of mine across the road,
one of the guys, he was in the Vietnam era, he was in the army.
And he got shipped over to Germany. He didn't have to go to Vietnam,
but he got shipped over to Germany. And he said all the soldiers
on the ship, a lot of them anyways, had a quarter or a dime or a
nickel, whatever they wanted. And they said they all went to
the side of the ship individually. And they held that quarter up. And they said, I'm the last person
on this earth that's ever going to see this quarter. And it went down into the ocean.
They'll probably never be seen again. Our sins are cast in to
the ocean of God's forgiveness. He doesn't remember them anymore.
As far as the East is from the West, so far as our sins being
removed from us. They're like that quarter being
tossed into the ocean, never to be seen again because of the
blood of Christ. So Paul knew this. He knew all
his sins were forgiven, past, present, and future. And he rested
in that wonderful salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ
alone. My. And the only way his sins were
forgiven was by the Lord Jesus Christ dying in his room and
place when he suffered and bled and died as Paul's substitute
on Calvary's cross. And Paul also knew that Jesus
Christ was now seated on the throne in glory. He knew he was in full control.
Not only had he called him to preach his gospel, but he had
gifted him with everything he needed to preach the gospel.
That's true of all God's preachers. That's true of all God's people. Paul wrote these words as he
was moved by God, the Holy Spirit. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. We can all say that, can't we?
By the grace of God, I am what I am. He also wrote this, right
under divine inspiration. He said, He that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1, 31. Glory in the Lord. We got nothing to glory in, but
we can glory in Christ, can't we? We can glory in our King. And when Paul had gave his report
to James and the others who were there, he was careful to give
the Lord Jesus Christ all the glory and honor and praise, just
like we do when we're speaking of Christ. He's done everything
for us. He saved us. We can never save
ourselves. He redeemed us with his blood,
gave his life for us. It's absolutely incredible. He's
the great Redeemer, and He not shares glory with anyone. He's the one worthy of all praise.
As we looked in Sunday school, He's the praiseworthy one. He's
the one who's worthy of all praise. Now let's read verses 20 and
26 of Acts chapter 21, 20 and 26. And this will be our text for
the rest of the message. And when they heard it, they
glorified the Lord and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how
many thousands of Jews there are which believe, and they are
all zealous of the law. So they've got grave clothes,
like I said. They don't realize their freedom in Christ. They think they still have to
follow the law. It says they believe though. It just shows
you that we can have a lot of grave clothes, beloved. A lot of grave clothes. And they are informed of thee,
that thou teachest all the Jews, which are among the Gentiles,
to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise
their children, neither to walk after the custom. So it's been slanderously reported
that Paul's telling the Gentiles to forsake the law of Moses.
No, the law of Moses is still there. He's just saying we're
not under it. We're not under it. We're free
from the law. Now, the scripture tells us,
and this will show us that everyone was guilty, that the law was
given that the whole world may become guilty before God. So
the law covers everyone. It already did. And these are, this isn't the Ten Commandments
they're talking about, this is the ceremonial law they're talking
about. And Paul knew it had absolutely
nothing of value in bringing someone merit and favor before
God. But they still had grave clothes
on, beloved. Now, they're gonna be taught,
like all of us are taught by God, right? Don't let anyone
entangle you again in the yoke of bondage. I love what he said
there in Galatians 5. He told the believers, don't
be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Don't let people
put chains on you. But he also knew, now look at
this, that there were thousands who believe. Now think of this,
so it's been slanderously reported that Paul is an antinomian. That's a slander that all grace
preachers get. he was an antinomian. He was
against the law. I don't know one of us preachers
who's against the law. We just praise God that Christ
fulfilled the law and we're not under it. Scripture says he actually
redeemed us out from under the law, which is wonderful as people. But the law is still there. We're
just not under it. My oh my, look what it says here.
What is it therefore the multitude must needs come together for
they will hear that thou art come. So they're gonna hear,
oh Paul's here, and they're gonna come. And they're gonna be listening
to see if what's been slanderously reported about him is true. Now
what's Paul gonna preach? He's gonna preach Christ. But he desires them to hear him
too. and not to turn a deaf ear. I remember someone one time telling
me they had something against Spurgeon, which I don't understand,
but they had something against, they called him a false preacher.
That's just, I don't even know where to go with that, okay?
And they came up to me, and it was one of the first times I
came here, and they said to me, you mentioned Spurgeon in the
sermon. And I said, yeah, I mentioned Spurgeon, and he's no longer
with us. And I said, yeah, I mentioned Spurgeon in the sermon. He is
a false teacher. I said, no, he wasn't. He preached
the gospel so clearly it's not funny. Like this. And he said, well, you mentioned
his name. I said, what did I say after that? He goes, ah. I go, you shut me
off, didn't you? Because I mentioned one man's
name. You shut me off. You didn't hear another word
of that message. He's like, yeah. I said, that's
wrong. That's wrong. So Paul knew, he
knew, that if he didn't address what was happening, that they'd
just shut him off. They'd come and hear him, and
then they'd shut him off. Which is wrong. But they got
grave clothes on, don't they? They believe, and yet they're
still zealous for the law. Well, we know that as God teaches
us, we become, we start to learn about our freedom in Christ.
And then we're zealous for Christ, aren't we? What we have in Christ. More and more. But we don't all,
no one arrives. We're still learning. The oldest
Christian is still learning. Still learning. Hopefully they
still have a teachable spirit, because that's what we must cultivate,
eh? We want a teachable spirit. And it says, do therefore this,
that we say to thee, we have four men, in verse 23, which
have a vow on them. Take them and purify thyself
with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave
their heads, and all may know that those things whereof they
were informed concerning thee are nothing, but that thou thyself
also walkest orderly and keepest the law. It's touching the Gentiles. which
believe, we have written and concluded, that they observe
no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from those
things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangles,
and from fornication. Then Paul took the men the next
day, purifying himself with them, entered into the temple to signify
the accomplishment of the day of purification, until that an
offering should be offered for every one of them." Now, I pondered
this portion this week, Because as I was studying it, I read
from one person that said, look what Paul made a huge mistake. He followed some of the customs
of the law. Look what he did. And that just didn't sit well
with me. Knowing the providence of God and knowing how God works
things, even things we don't understand, for his good and
for his glory, I started pondering this, and I looked up Hawker
and Gill and Spurgeon and some other guys, and they all said,
no, this was all according to God's will and purpose. There's
a reason for it. The reason is for him to be able
to preach the gospel to those thousands of Jews. Paul knew
it meant absolutely nothing. He knew it meant nothing. Now, if it meant something, he
wouldn't have done it, right? Think of that. If it meant something,
he'd never have done it. Because he knows salvation's
only in Christ. So he's doing that in order to have a door
open for him to preach the gospel. Preach the gospel in Jerusalem.
Now, somebody says, well, that's wrong. It happened according
to God's will and purpose, didn't it? God even preserved it in
his word for us to look at. We're going to look at another
portion where Timothy is circumcised. And the whole reason is so Timothy
can come with him and preach the gospel to the Jews that they
would meet. Paul knew it meant absolutely
nothing. He knew that. So by God's grace and mercy,
He's doing this as a door of opportunity. Thousands of Jews
who are still zealous for the law. I'll tell you what, he preaches
Christ to them. What's the one thing that frees
us? Christ. The preaching of Christ
and him crucified frees us from the law. learning that where
he redeemed us out from under the law it's still there no one
wants to murder no one wants to commit adultery no one wants
to do these things that are against the law do we no believer wants
to go out and do that and god restrains us from doing that
right but they were saying well he's totally against everything
no he he just said christ fulfilled the law we're going to look at
that too in romans oh my So it had been slanderously reported
that Paul was a rebel against the law of God. That he was an
apostate from the law. But on the contrary, he proclaimed
that Christ was the end of the law for righteousness. He proclaimed
that Christ honored the law of God and magnified the law of
God in our place because we never could do that. My Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. Christ died
in the room and place of his people. He fulfilled the law
of God perfectly. Look at this in Romans chapter
10. We're starting verse 1. Paul's writing to the saints
at Rome, born-again, blood-washed believers. And he writes this
in Romans 10. Verse 1 to 3. Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. So here's a yearning for the country of Israel, the Jewish
people. He's got a burden for them, just
like we have a burden for Jews and Gentiles, that the Lord would
save them. For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, look at this, this
is an incredible verse, for they being ignorant of God's righteousness
and going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. So
people in this world are doing this today, in religion, in all,
in un-religion, people who are religious and people who aren't
religious are doing this. See the words established in
the Greek, that means to set up. One scholar brings forth that
the Jews were indicating their pride in their endeavor to establish
their own righteousness. They were setting up their own
righteousness. What's it based upon? Their own
works. Saying, well, I'm good. I follow
the law of Moses. Remember that one fellow? religious fellow there's a publican
over in the corner saying God be merciful to me the sinner
and then that that pharisee's over I tithe I do this I do all
I do all this oh I do I'm not like that rascal publican over
there and the Lord said that publican went home justified
didn't he See, they're establishing their
own righteousness, their own acceptance before God based upon
what they do. That's still the same. You know,
there's nothing new under the sun, is there? Right? We keep
saying that. It's true. There's nothing new
under the sun. People are still doing that today. Ask them if
they're a sinner. They go, well, I'm a good person. Well, no,
you're not, actually. Neither am I. We're a bunch of
sinners. That's what the scripture declares.
Oh my. So they're going around trying
to establish their own righteousness based upon their own works. And
then you know what it would be? It's a monument to their own
glory. Look what I've done. Where the believer says, look what you've done, Lord. Many shall say to me on that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not done? a monument to their own
works. Have we not done these things
in your name? And in God's people, we see over in Matthew, I think
it's later in the 20th chapter, and they say, when did we do
these things, Lord? We don't have any idea when we,
well, when you gave one of mine a cup of water, when you did
this, when you did that, when you visited them when they were
sick. We just do that because we love them, don't we? Right? Oh my. And again, there's nothing new
under the sun. This is still happening today. Whether men
be religious or just rebels at heart, people are still trying
to establish their own righteousness based upon what they do. And
that will lead to their eternal destruction. We serve the Lord because we
want to, out of thankfulness, out of gladness in our heart,
for God's glory. And see the words, going about?
In the Greek, it means to seek. Look at that. For they, being
ignorant of God's righteousness, are going about to establish,
to set up their own righteousness. Look at that. Going about. seeking to establish their own
righteousness. And they've not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Then we see the words, their
own. In the Greek, it means trying to set up one's private personal
possession. Their own private righteousness. That's what men do. I did that
before the Lord saved me. When I was a heathen and when
I was religious, I did that. I didn't even know I was doing
it. So full of pride. Oh, but who's my righteousness?
Christ now. He's my righteousness. He's everything
to me. Is he everything to you? Oh,
it's wonderful. And see, when they're trying
to set up the rights of their own personal possession, as the
Greek says, they're saying, this is mine. I did this. I did this. Matthew 7, 22, Lord,
Lord, have we not done all these things? I've done this. I've done that. And we who are the redeemed say,
Lord, look what you've done. You saved me. I was in the pit
of sin. I couldn't save myself. And you
reached down and saved my soul. 2,000 years ago, you redeemed
me on Calvary's cross. You purchased me with your blood.
You did it all. Praise your mighty name. Thank
you for saving me. Thank you for saving my soul.
Thank you for keeping me. Oh, Lord, if you didn't keep
me, I'd be gone. And I know I would be. Thank you for your keeping power,
your grace and mercy shed abroad and be in our hearts every single
day. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for
your mercy. Again, there's nothing new under
the sun, is it? People are still trying to establish their own
private, personal, possessive righteousness, still today. So
the righteousness which the Jews desired and natural man desire
was in a character with their own self, based upon themselves. Based upon themselves. One stained
with their own endeavors. One stained with sin. One that was a product of their
own efforts. one that would glorify themselves
and not one characterized by God in his gracious person, the
Lord Jesus Christ, not one given to them as a gift for which they
then be obligated to thank God. No, they were about establishing
their own righteousness. You see, the reason we believers
thank God is because he's established the righteousness for us. That's all based on Christ. No
wonder we praise Him. No wonder we give Him all the
praise and honor and glory. Look what He's done for us. And
He did it willingly. Because He loves us with an everlasting
love. My! And then look at Romans 10
verse 4. Here we go. Look at this. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Look at that.
E-N-D. Such a little word. End. End. The Lord Jesus Christ magnified
the law, beloved, and made it honorable. He fulfilled it in
the room and place of his people. And God, being a just God, poured
his wrath that was due us upon Christ. poured it out in full. The wrath, the eternal wrath,
think of that, the eternal wrath that was due us, he poured on
Christ. Oh my. And why was that wrath poured
on Christ? Because we're lawbreakers. We're a bunch of lawbreakers.
And we broke his law. But Christ never broke any laws
of God. No, he didn't. That's why he's
the perfect spotless lamb of God, dying as a substitute of
his people. And then our sins are imputed
to the spotless one. And he bears that wrath of God
fully for us. And then he cries what? It is
finished. That means salvation's accomplished.
That means there's nothing for us to do. Period. End of story. Isn't that wonderful? That's
wonderful, isn't it? That's a wonderful salvation.
That's God's salvation right there. My. See the word end? In the scriptures
there, it says Christ is the end of the law. The Greek word
is telos. which means this, I like this,
the termination or limit at which a thing ceases to be. A termination or a limit at which
a thing ceases to be. Christ is the termination of
the law which ceases to be as Christ
is the termination of the law, now catch this, for righteousness. The law is still there for unbelievers. But for the believer, it's been
terminated. It's no longer, and it never
could be for us, this is the thing, it never could be a way
for us to obtain righteousness. Because it shows us that we're
all lawbreakers. But here's the perfect one, dying
in the room and place of his people. and he fulfills the law
perfectly. He's the end of the law for righteousness. He's the end of the law for acceptance
with God. So the only way for a sinner
to be accepted by God is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ
in him alone. That's it. He's the only one
who could fulfill the law, and he's the only one who did fulfill
the law. Not one of our sons and daughters of Adam, or not
one of us, could ever fulfill the law. But for his people,
he's the termination of the law for righteousness. That's wonderful,
isn't it? That's wonderful. He did it all.
All the righteousness that God requires, which is perfection. In order for us to be in heaven,
we have to be perfect. We're a bunch of sinners, even
after we're saved. Everyone who looks to Christ,
he's the end of the law. He's the termination of the law
for righteousness. Isn't that wonderful? And then
what do we say? We're clothed in his righteousness
then, aren't we? Oh, now we're fully acceptable
to God, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ and by his blood
and righteousness. And all we did is receive this
and look to God by faith. It's already done, right? It's
already finished, isn't it? 2,000 years ago. It is finished.
Praise His mighty name. It's done. God's not up there wringing His
hands waiting for you to come to Him. No. He'll draw His people to
Him. Lovingly. Oh, isn't that wonderful? Flee
to Christ. That's why we say flee to Christ. He's the only
hope for sinners. There's no other hope but Christ.
I'm a sinner saved by grace. I stand before you a man who's
a sinner who's been saved by the grace and mercy of God, and
I'm still a sinner to my shame. I talked to the guys over across
the road, and I've told you this many times. They said, well,
I sin a few times a day. I said, you're lying. Everything
you do is tainted with sin. You just don't know it. Oh, my. But isn't it wonderful we have
a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? Wonderful, isn't it, Brother
John? All our sins, past, present, and future, they're all gone.
They're all washed in the blood. They're dipped in the fountain
filled with blood through the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And think of this, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who's God in the flesh, right? He's not no mere man.
He's God in the flesh. He never sinned. He never spoke
no sin. He never thought no sin. Never
had a sin in his heart. Never did a sin by deed. It's
perfect. Oh, my. He's perfect. The perfect one,
the sinless one, the Lamb of God. And salvation for sinners
is only found in Christ. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. No man or woman or child can
be made righteous by anything we do. I don't care how religious
you are. Nothing that we do can make us
righteous before God. Nothing. Nothing. But in Christ, we're made holy. Even though we're still sinners
walking around in this world, God looks at us and sees Christ.
Isn't that wonderful? My, what a message of grace,
isn't it? The gospel is a wonderful message. The best report you'll
ever hear if you're a sinner. Just there's not many sinners
around anymore, is there? People don't think they're sinners,
even though we're all a bunch of sinners. Oh, my. You know, I've learned, I was
listening to that message by Tom this morning, Tom Harding,
I listened to him in Ephesians. I mentioned this in Sunday school,
and he said, he said, we believers, we quit looking inside, and now
we look outside of ourselves and look up to Christ. See, the
Jews were looking inward. Oh, I've done this, I'm a good
person, I've done that, I'm a good person. And the believer looks
inside and says, I'm just a sinner to the core. And we look outside
ourselves to the perfect one, the sinless one, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Glory to his name. And he gives
us the faith to look to him, doesn't he? That's wonderful.
It's absolutely amazing. So saving faith in Christ abandons
all hope in anything we do. I mean, even a pinprick of works.
It absolutely abandons any hope in ourselves, any hope by our
works that we have to receive mercy from God. The true believer
casts themselves wholly on Christ's mercy, wholly on his mercy. Wholly on his mercy. We cannot
find mercy outside of Christ, can we? Man's mercy is temporary. They
may be nice to you one day, and then they may be horrible to
you a week later. They may act like your best friend
one week, and then act horribly to you the next week. But God's mercy never changes.
It's the same yesterday, today, and forever in Christ to his
people. That's wonderful. That's wonderful, even for Charlie.
My goodness. I tell you. Make you shout. Here's a good illustration of
what the word telos means. It means determination or the
limit at which a thing ceases to be. When I was a young boy,
my dad would get tickets to the
Maple Leaf Games, the Toronto Maple Leaf Games. And in order
to go to Maple Leaf Gardens, which was in downtown Toronto
on Charleston Street, I believe it was, we had to take the subway.
You know, for a small farm boy, I wasn't a farm boy, but I lived
in a farming town. I lived in the town. I wasn't
no farmer. I wish I was. I'd have learned a lot more discipline.
But just a small town. We'd never
seen anything like the subways. Never. So we jump on this subway,
and we go down to Maple Leaf Gardens. We get off, and the
train would continue. And one night, I said to Dad, I said,
after the game, could we take the subway all the way down to
the end? And he goes, I go, what happens when it gets to the end?
He goes, well, don't go any further. It's the termination of the line. You can't go any further. They
have to turn the train around, and then they send it back up,
but eventually it meets the termination of that line. And you can't go
any further. Christ is the A and E. He's the
telos. He's the termination of the law
for righteousness. There is absolutely no way that
a human being can obtain righteousness except through Christ. in Christ
alone. There's no other way. No other way, beloved. He's the
end of the line for righteousness. That's it. There's no way and
there never has been any way for us to establish a righteousness
that's acceptable to God. Never. Christ is the termination
of the law for righteous. He fulfilled it perfectly for
his people as our substitute. He perfectly lived in our room
and place. He redeemed our eternal souls
with the shedding of his precious blood. Remember earlier I said,
I mentioned certain believing Jews
thought that Paul taught against the law of God, but again, He
taught that Christ was the end of the law for righteousness.
We just saw that in Romans. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
21 again. And we're continuing our study
here. We'll read verse 21. And believers can still have
grave clothes on. I've said that before. One grace
preacher said, after the Lord saves us, we'll all recover in
Pharisees. I like that. That's true. We still got grave
clothes on. They pop their ugly head up every
once in a while, right? Look at verse 21. And they were
informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews, which are among
the Gentiles, to forsake the law of Moses, to forsake Moses,
saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither
to walk after the customs. Now, the saints of Jerusalem
were going to present four men who had made a vow according
to the law. Whether they, and it tells us they must have been
among the believers. We're not told that, but I would
think they were. But that does not matter at all
anyways. Because the vow means nothing. Because Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness. It means nothing. That's why
Paul goes ahead and does it. Look at Acts 21, 23 to 26. We have four men which have a
vow on them, then take and purify thyself with them, and be at
charges with them, that they may shave their heads, and all
may know that those things whereof they were informed concerning
thee are nothing, but that thou thyself also walkest orderly
and keepest the law. Paul knew that Christ kept the
law for him. is touching the Gentiles, which
believe we have written, and concluded that they observe no
such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered
to idols, and from blood, and from strangle, and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, and the
next day, purifying himself with them, entered into the temple
to signify the accomplishments of the days of purification,
until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Now Paul did this again for an opportunity to preach the gospel
to those thousands of Jews at Jerusalem who believed and then
to probably thousands and thousands of people who did not believe. And what's he gonna preach them?
He's gonna preach that Christ is the Messiah. That's what he's
gonna preach them. He did this as an opportunity
to minister to the Jews. Turn, if you would, five chapters
back. Five chapters back. Acts chapter
16, verses 1 to 5. And we see here that Paul had
Timothy circumcised. Right? In order for Timothy to
be able to talk and preach to the Gentiles or to the Jews. Look at this. Acts 16 verses
1 to 5. Then came he to Derbe in Listeria
and behold a certain disciple there was there named Timothy,
the son of a certain woman which was Jewish and believed but his
father was a Greek. So he's half Jewish. Which was well reported by which
was reported of by the brethren that were at Listeria in Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth
with him. So he, Paul desired him to go with him to preach
the gospel. And Paul knew everywhere he went he was going to run into
Jewish people. Because the first place he goes to is the synagogue,
right? And we've seen that all through the study. Him would
Paul have to go with him and took and circumcised him, look
at this, because of the Jews, which were in those quarters,
for they knew that his father was a Greek. They wouldn't hear
him. They wouldn't hear anything he
had to say. His father's a Gentile dog. So
Paul takes him, knowing that this means absolutely nothing.
but it's an opportunity for Timothy to preach the gospel to the Jews
and the Gentiles. And as they went through the
cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep that they
were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
And so were the churches established in the faith and increased in
number daily. Now turn with me, if you would,
to 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Now some may ask,
well, why did Paul do these two things? Why did he do that in
Jerusalem with those four that had a vow? And why did he do
that with Timothy? Well, the Holy Spirit gives us
the answer in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. This is wonderful. And again,
some have said of these two portions that Paul made a mistake. No,
I don't think he did. He knew that he's not under the
law. He knew that these things meant nothing in the sight of
God. It did not gain merit and favor, but it gave him an open
door, didn't it? It gave him an open door. Look
at this 1 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 19. 1 Corinthians 9,
19. For though I be free from all
men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain them
more. So Paul declares here that he's
free from all men. And the word men is not in the
original. So it means, he says, I'm free from all. I'm free from
all. Notice it's italicized in the
King James. It's not in the original Greek.
So he says, I'm free from all. I'm free from all. He knows his
liberty, doesn't he, in Christ? Oh, yeah, he does. Yet have I
made myself servant unto all that I might gain the more. So
he knows he's free from the curse of the moral law. He knows he's
free from the yoke of the ceremonial law and from the maintenance
and support of a believer supposedly who still think that they're
under the law. He's free from anything. Anybody would yoke
him and say, you got to do this to be saved. You got to do that
to be saved. I'm free from that, man. I'm saved in Christ. I'm
free from all things. Whatever you try to throw at
me that you think I should do, I'm free from it all. Isn't that
glorious? What liberty we have, beloved.
What freedom we have. And yet he considered himself
the willing servant of all. Look at that. He did not use
his freedom, right, as an occasion to sin. We know that if he knew
he had the freedom to do something and a weaker brother was there,
he wouldn't do it. Such as eating meat offers to
idols. He knew he could chomp down that steak. It meant absolutely
nothing. But if there was a brother who came out of idol worship,
he wouldn't eat that steak in front of them because he knew
it would cause him to stumble. My, oh my. He considered himself the willing
servant of all, catering to them in every way that he could endear
himself to them and bring bring the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ before them, praying that God would give them faith to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then look at verse 20, it says,
and unto the Jews I became a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. Okay,
isn't that wonderful? Hudson Taylor, a famous missionary
to China. He went to China. Guys, it was
amazing. He went to China and proclaiming
the sovereign grace of God and salvation through Christ alone.
And you know what he did? He took on their garb. They were
amazed. Here's this white man coming,
and he's wearing exactly what they were. Because, you know,
back then they used to wear suits and all that, and they'd stand
out like a sore thumb, wouldn't they? He dressed like them. He was all men to all things,
or he was like Paul. I want to be, I'm no better than
them. I am what I am by the grace of
God. And so Paul's doing this to the Jews, becomes a Jew. Well,
he is a spiritual Jew, isn't he? Right? He's part of the true Israel
of God, the elect of God. Oh my. And let us rejoice that the ceremonial
law died with Christ. It died with Christ, beloved.
He's the end of the law for righteousness. See, the law shows us that we
can never save ourselves by anything we do. That's what the law does.
It shows us our insufficiency to save ourselves. And it hedges
us up. Like when you put the cattle
in those things, it hedges them right up. And you shut the gate
behind them and they can't go any further. That's what the
gospel does to us. And the law does. The law hedges
us up to Christ. We can't go anywhere else. Nowhere
else. So the believers are not bound
by circumcision or Sabbaths or rituals prescribed under the
law, but Paul observed some of those in order to have an open
door to preach the gospel. Where was he on the Sabbath day
when he went into a city? In the synagogue. Paul preached
the gospel every day. He didn't have to preach it on
a special day, but he knew that the Jews in the city would be
gathered on the Sabbath day, so he went right to the synagogue.
And then he preached Christ as the Messiah. And to the Gentiles,
who were under no obligation to the ceremonial law, Paul could
freely discourse with them and fellowship with them, as one under the law of Christ.
My, so in short, he became all things to all men, that he might,
at any cost to himself, in any way bring them to a saving knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ by the preaching of the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that it was all God's work. And then
1 Corinthians 9, verse 21, to them that are without the law,
as without law be not one without law to God, but under the law
to Christ, that I may gain them that are without the law. So
Paul, we see, had two great ends here that he aimed at. One was
the denial of himself, right? Wanting to pour his life out
for Christ. And then we see the liberty that
he had. Two, he denied himself in these
many points of liberty, first and chiefly for the gospel's
sake. He knew he had freedom, but he denied himself of those
freedoms for the gospel's sake, for the glory of God, for the
spread of the gospel. And then two, that the Jew and
Gentile, man of all sorts, might share with him in the blessings
of eternal life in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
the righteousness of all of God's people, and who is the end of
the law for righteousness. And then verse 23, 1 Corinthians
9, 23, And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be
partaker thereof with you. My, oh, my. He's one of them. He's one of them. We preachers
are not above anyone. We're just sinners saved by grace
and have the gift of preaching and all feel very insufficient
to do it. But by the grace and strength
of God, we preach and we proclaim Christ. Let's close with Hebrews
chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. Look at this. Who do we look to? Through all
the things of life, we look to Christ, and we're commanded to
look to Christ, right? And we lovingly look to Christ
as believers. The believer's faith and dedication
and temperance and sacrifice are for a higher, nobler purpose,
for the spread of the gospel, to worship our King. Look at
this in Hebrews 12, verses 1 and 2. Wherefore, seeing we are all
passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, all the saints
that went before us, all the elect that went before us that
are now in glory, let us lay aside every weight, anything
that weighs us down in this world, lay it aside. cares in our hearts. Bring it to Christ. And the sin
which does so easily beset us. Look at that. Paul says sin so
easily besets us, doesn't it? He's still the sinner saved by
grace. And he says, I'm so easily beset by sin. I know exactly
what he's writing. And so do you, right? Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us. Look at that. Patience. Here
is the key right here. Looking unto Jesus. Oh, burn
not to my heart. God, the Holy Spirit, burn not
to my heart. Looking unto Jesus. Keep me looking
unto Jesus. That's the key right there. Who is what? The author, that
means the beginner, and the finisher. See, man doesn't start salvation
by something we do, walking in an aisle or praying a prayer. Salvation's already accomplished
2,000 years ago, and he's the author of it, way back in eternity. My, looking unto Jesus, the author
and what? The finisher. Man says, oh, if
I could just hang on. I've never talked to so many
religious people. If I could just hang on. Praise God, Christ is hanging
on to me. And he's going to keep me, and
he's going to take me home. Glory to his name. And the only
way I'm keeping on is because he's keeping me. Isn't that wonderful? I give you peace, woman. I give
you peace. Look at this. Now look at this.
For the joy that was set before him, he joyfully went to the
cross. My. said father if it be well
your will let this cup pass me nevertheless not my will but
thy will be done he's joyfully going to the cross you know why
because he's going to redeem his bride he's going to redeem
his people from all their sins and he knows the only way for
us to be redeemed put your name in there is by the blood of christ by his sacrifice. And so the
scripture says, for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross. What was the joy? He's going
back to glory, and he's redeemed all his people from their sins.
Even the ones who ain't even been born yet, right? All the
elect of all the ages. He endured the cross, despising
the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Praise his mighty name. Praise his mighty name. We say
amen and amen. My oh my. Brother Charlie, can
you close us in prayer?