Okay, well, I want to continue
our look at doctrinal themes that we've been looking at over
recent weeks. And doctrine, you may think, oh, dry, dustiness,
but no, no, the correct apprehension of the truth is that which leads
to the feelings and the emotions and the experience of the Christian
faith, the Christian life, and of Christ himself. We've looked
at redemption and tried to scratch the surface of what it really
means to be redeemed, the idea of being bought and of being
bought back from a situation where we were owned by somebody
who was not the rightful owner, bought back, and bought out of
a position of slavery. We've looked at that word salvation,
and we looked at Zacchaeus, as an example of salvation because
there's so much talk in the so-called Christian world about salvation
and yet so little of it is actually true biblical salvation, what
really it means when God saves a person from their sins, for
somebody to know the blessings of being saved from their sins. We've looked at the forgiveness
of sin, what Christ has done to the sins of his people, how
he's taken them away, those sins are taken away, and the glorious
liberty Cliff was speaking earlier about that great lottery win
and if it was there on the table in whatever form, never mind,
what would you choose? I tell you if you know anything
of the liberty and the salvation And the soul peace that there
is of being in the Lord Jesus Christ, there's just no contest.
It doesn't even come into it. You choose the poverty of this
world to know that it was well with your soul and that you had
those riches that are in Christ. He's blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in him. We have riches beyond
measure. that only, only the people of
God know, only those who've believed him know. People will say, oh,
there's not enough evidence around. Our God is a God who hides himself,
but he reveals himself to the eye of faith, and he gives that
gift of faith, and in revealing himself to the eye of faith,
you come into the knowledge of those things, but it isn't just
a head knowledge, it's a heart knowledge. You see, it's not
just doctrinal, but it's very practical. This is the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. The truth is Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth.
What's this truth that will make you free? Christ is the truth
that will make you free. Knowing Him, you have freedom.
And having freedom in Him, we're exalted by Paul in Galatians
chapter 5 verse 1, to stand fast. You know, sort of brace yourself,
get ready. Stand fast in the liberty. wherewith
Christ has made us free. And be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage. What's that? It's the yoke of
bondage that man is in by nature. That yoke of bondage of you know
it's appointed to man to die once and then the judgment. We
must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and receive the
things done in the body. Pursue holiness without which
no man shall see the Lord. How can a man be just with God?
All of these things but Christ has made us free from that bondage
because when you're in that bondage you're up to your waist in treacle
you can't do a thing to get out of it by nature in the flesh
but he has made his people free for our text this morning Romans
10 verse 4 for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth I want to consider this that Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. What
does it mean? What does it mean for us practically? You know, there's been a lot
of debate about these sort of things. I remember years ago
Bill, Evelyn's husband, going to a conference, I think it was
a Banner of Truth conference in about 1992 or 93, something
like that. and somebody stood up in one
of the question things and said but hold on a minute you've been
telling us that the law is the believer's rule of life and we've
all got to do this but what does this mean for Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth and
he said there was just confusion and there was coughing and spluttering
and somebody one of the great worthies that were there stood
up and said ah what we have here is a Hebraism as I remember that
distinctly a way of getting round what it's really saying read
the scriptures, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes. You see, this isn't just theological
theory, it's not just head knowledge. Our experience of salvation in
Christ is about a person. Salvation is a person. It's not
just a gospel or a set of facts, it's a person. To know Christ. Not to know about him, to know
him. To know what it is to be in him.
It's about union with the Godhead. That we who are sinners, mortal
beings, sinners, in the flesh just like everybody else, children
of wrath by nature even as others, that we have union with the Godhead. That's amazing. Union with the
Godhead. And Christ to the believer, Colossians
3.11, is all and in all. How do you approach God on this
account? In Christ. Christ is all and
in all. Everything I, as a believer,
experience of God, my maker and my judge, is in Christ. If any
of it is outside of Christ, I tell you, you're in a dangerous position.
But in Christ, everything is in Him. John says this in his
first epistle, 1 John 5 verse 20, And we know that the Son
of God is come and hath given us an understanding, the Son
of God has given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is
true. God, God is true. We may know
Him that is true. And we are in Him that is true,
even. How are we in Him that is true?
We're in His Son, Jesus Christ. How are you going to know that
you're in God who is true, that you have a right relationship
with God who is our maker and our judge? It's even in his Son,
Jesus Christ. This is true God and eternal
life. I would that we had Jehovah's
Witnesses on the door yesterday morning and I wish I could have
had the opportunity, they adamantly refused, they wouldn't talk about
it, but to say look you want to know true God, you think your
Jehovah is true God, this is true God and this is eternal
life. To know him that is true and
that you're in him that is true, even in his son Jesus Christ.
Our purpose as we come together is to worship God for our great
salvation, that salvation that's revealed to us in the Lord Jesus
Christ. When you When you become a Christian, you know, it's not
something that you decide to ask Jesus to be your saviour,
but when God the Holy Spirit comes and makes you alive and
teaches you the things of God, at some stage and in some way
you ask this question, how can a man be just with God? and you
might spend the time seeking vainly in religion and in yourself
and in your self-righteousness for those things which will make
you just with God. You know, I know I'm mortal,
I know that I face eternity, how can I be just with God? And
you read in the scriptures that you must pursue holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord. Where do I get that from? How
do I get that holiness, that righteousness that I must have?
and of course God reveals to you that it's all by grace and
it's all experienced through the gift of faith and you're
shown the Lord Jesus Christ and you're shown and you see that
he is all of those things to you he has become all of these
things he alone he is all and in all true Christianity is a
person and that is Christ and to you who believe if you believe
this morning If you believe this morning, to you who believe,
He is precious. He's precious because He's your
substitute. He's your surety. He's your sin-bearer. He's your
righteousness. He's your substitute because,
why? You need holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord. The Lord demands perfection from
me. I look to Christ. He's obeyed
the law for me. I'm in him. When he obeyed the
law, the scriptures tell me I was in him, obeying the law. As far
as the justice of God is concerned, he, my substitute, has done all
that for me, and I in him. The law demanded perfection.
I obeyed it perfectly in Him. He is my surety. He is my guarantee,
my guarantor. His doing, His dying, His rising
is my eternal guarantee of acceptance with God. How do you know it's
well with your soul? How do you know that you can
sleep peacefully? How do you know these? Because
He's done it all for me. How do you know you're going
to heaven? He's risen from the dead. God's demonstrated it in
that he raised him from the dead. He's my sin bearer. What am I
to do with this sin? I still experience all this sin.
He has paid the penalty for my sins. He's satisfied the justice
of God, which says the soul that sins, it must die. And it's by
the shedding of blood for without the shedding of blood, there
is no remission of sins. And he poured out his infinite. Why must he be God? Because if
he wasn't God, if he wasn't infinite God, His blood is not good enough
to save my soul from hell. He paid the price to the justice
of God for my sin and he paid it specifically. We've looked
at that a lot recently. It's particular. This is so important. He didn't make sort of a general
open payment down at the bank. He went down to the bank of the
justice of God and he looked up your account and he paid your
account. And how do you know he paid your
account? You believe him. That's the evidence of it. You
believe him. It's faith. You believe him. What does Paul say to the Thessalonians?
We thank God for you. We always thank God for you,
brethren. Beloved of God, for God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Holy Spirit and belief
of the truth. The Holy Spirit set you apart.
I know you're the elect of God, he says, because you believe
this gospel message. And he's our righteousness. No,
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin. What sin? My sin. The
sins of His people. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. That's the confidence believers
have. It pleased the Father that in
Him, our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, all the fullness should
dwell. All the fullness of the Godhead
as His people's Saviour God. Have you read how many times
in the Old Testament God calls Himself God our Saviour? God
is the Saviour. Read Isaiah. God is our Saviour. God is our Saviour. Over and
over again. Over and over again. And all
the fullness of that Godhead dwelt in the Lord Jesus Christ
as our Saviour God. He is our Jehovah Jesus. He's
redeemed his people from the curse of the law. Because he,
how did he do it? He was made a curse for us. He's
justified us eternally, from eternity. In eternity, in the
covenant of grace, the justification of his people was done. It was
a deed that was done outside of time, in the lambs slain from
before the foundation of the world. But yet, in time, Paul
tells the Galatians, when the fullness of the time was come,
Galatians 4, verse 4, God sent forth his son, made of a woman,
so he's flesh and blood like us, made under the law. Why? That he might redeem, buy back,
pay the price, buy out of slavery, those that are under the law
and he did that in time at Calvary and so Christ is made unto us
wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption
all of those things do you glory before God what's your fitness
to come before him nothing other than him Let him that glory's
glory in the Lord because I've contributed nothing at all, nothing
at all, nothing in my hand I bring. I might have told you before,
some of you, that I remember in a very legalistic church that
we were in many years ago in Southampton for a while and I
remember this sweet old lady telling me that she was constantly
trying to witness to her neighbours and this was her motivation.
She said, I don't want to go into his presence empty-handed.
And I thought, oh gosh, nothing in my hand I bring, nothing.
Simply to his cross I cling. All my righteousnesses are filthy
rags before him. I contribute nothing. It's all
of grace. and so it's not just head knowledge but it does touch
the emotions if you're not touched emotionally by this then there's
something wrong you know I'm not, don't worry I'm not advocating
any sort of charismatic excesses but you know there are feelings
involved it's not just head knowledge it's heart feelings as well Jesus
Christ as the hymn says is the lover of my soul read the song
of Solomon he's the lover of the souls of his people he is
my husband he's my husband Truly, I know I'm a man but he's my
husband, he's the husband of his people, he's my brother.
Did you note in the first hymn that we sung, Stocker's hymn,
Jesus my friend when he hung on the tree, Jesus my friend? This is God my judge, this is
God who is a consuming fire, into whose hands it is a fearful
thing to fall. You know, this is God the judge. Jesus, my friend. I call you
no longer servants, but friends. He's my friend, but he's my master. Because why? I willingly, like
Paul says, there's nobody declares it more strongly than Paul in
the New Testament. We're free in Christ. But what
did Paul say he did? I willingly. You know, go back
to the Old Testament. Willingly, doorpost, the all. to pierce the ear to say I don't
want to go free in the year of jubilee in the seventh year I
don't want to go free the year of the slave because I love my
master I love his house I want to be his bond servant I love
being in his house I don't want to be let loose out there I want
to be his servant we're willing servants his people are willing
servants not only were we made willing in the day of his power
to believe him but we're made willing in the day of his power
to serve him and to follow him and he's my God He's my God. You know you always think after
the event when the Jehovah's Witnesses have gone of all the
scriptures that you could have said to them. Was Thomas wrong? Was Thomas deluded when in that
upper room where the risen Christ appeared and he fell to his knees
before him and declared, my Lord and my God. There was a man stood
there. Look, I'm real. Come and touch
me. Look at the nail. My Lord and my God was what he
said there. He is my God by his Holy Spirit's
presence, right? Not just in the head, but by
His Holy Spirit's presence. I know Him. I walk through this
life with Him. I believe Him. I trust Him. I
hear His voice. You know, I hear His voice. Many people read this book. Many
people read this book. and are totally missing what
it's truly saying. But by His Holy Spirit, He reveals
its truth to His people. I walk with Him, I believe Him,
I trust Him, I hear His voice, I know His cleansing. I know
that He's cleansed me once for all at the cross, but I experience
that daily cleansing. You know, as He said to Peter,
you know, you've had the bath, as it were, the overall washing,
but you need this daily cleansing, the washing of water and the
Word, that daily Holy Spirit. cleansing from the defilement
of the world all around us as in the flesh we walk through
this world he cleanses his people we hear his assuring comforts
that the sin debt was paid that holiness has been perfected you
see in my flesh as I am as I'm born in my flesh I was married
to a tyrant I was married to a tyrant and that tyrant was
the law was the law of God. It was the law of God. And the
one who was the chief advocate that I was a breaker of that
law was Satan himself, Satan the accuser of the brethren.
I was married to a tyrant but now, if you're a believer, as
a believer I'm married to another. I'm not married to him anymore.
That relationship is dead and gone, it's broken, it's finished. I was in bondage but now I'm
free. Romans 8 too, the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death. I've become free from that but
many want to bring us back under bondage. and under a heavy yoke. You know Jesus said my yoke is
easy, my burden is light. John said his commandments are
not grievous to the heart that believes, they're not grievous.
But many want to bring us back into bondage. It seems as if
the majority in this country at any rate of the religious
world that believes or says they believe the doctrines of grace
They have this very, very legalistic view of the law and they want
to bring us back under bondage. They think that you can't set
the people free. under the direction of the Spirit
of God. They think that if they do that
then there's going to be lawlessness, antinomianism. They think that
you must keep them in check, you mustn't let them do this,
you mustn't let them do that, you must regulate their lives,
you must interfere with their lives. Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone who believes. We've experienced
it, I'm sure you have, been in legalistic situations, And it's
very, very subtle, the way it can creep in. Very, very subtle. And do you know what I think
it all arises from? Is unbelief. It arises from unbelief
regarding the extent and the efficacy of Christ's salvation
of his people. When you know that he saved his
people, what does Hebrews 7.25 say? He saved his people to the
uttermost. Save them to the uttermost. He's
not saved you this far and then there's this bit for you to do.
He saved to the uttermost. And it's unbelief of that that
leads to this, oh we must regulate them. We must regulate them.
You know, you look back at the historical confessions, and I
would say that in our statement of faith, we're probably closest
to the Baptist confession of 1644, which is nice and simple. But they had all sorts of political
problems and persecutions going on, and they felt small and insignificant
and weak. and to try and boost numbers
and therefore strengthen numbers they joined up with others who
were much stronger on the law and that led to the 1689 and
you look at the 1689 and it's a significant shift from liberty
to legalism and bondage. We read earlier that part of
that chapter 1st Timothy just turn to it now with me 1st Timothy
chapter 1 and the first few verses about those who misuse the law
of God. Remember, we're thinking about
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to those who
believe, to those who know him, to those who experience him,
to those who, as those disciples on the Emmaus road, what did
they say? Didn't our hearts burn within us? You ever experienced
that? Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked to us
on the way? It's not just head knowledge. It's, yes, he's here,
he's reassuring me. Yes, but there are those who
misuse the law. Look at verse four. Paul's saying
to Timothy, who's a pastor in a church, he's saying to him,
you're going to come across all sorts of things, all sorts of
false teachings. Don't give heed to fables and
endless genealogies which just minister questions. Some people
just love a good argument. rather than to godly edifying
which is in faith, so do. Now, he says, now the end of
the commandment, the summary purpose of the law is charity,
is love. This is the purpose of God's
law, out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith
unfeigned, true faith not false faith, faith unfeigned from which
some having swerved have turned aside to vain jangling. They
look like they had true faith, but they've swerved and turned
aside to vain jangling. They want to be teachers of the
law. You know, there's some people who love to boss others around.
They love to be teachers of the law. But in this desire to be
teachers of the law, they neither understand what they say or what
they're affirming of. But we know, says Paul, the law
is good if a man use it lawfully. God's law is good if you use
it lawfully. But know this, verse nine, the
law is not made for a righteous man. Oh, am I righteous enough
to be called a righteous man? Maybe I'm not really righteous
enough to be called a righteous man, so I still need the law.
How righteous are you if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ? Totally. totally, perfectly, purely righteous
in him. The law is not made for a righteous
man. If you're in Christ, this is
what the scripture says. The law is not made for you.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believes. You see, the law is good. The
law is good. Think about it. There's barely
a society in the world that doesn't use the principles of the law
of God, whether they recognize it or not, to order their society.
It's good that you know people can't just walk in off the street
and pinch your things and disappear with impunity. It's good that
people just can't kill one another without any consequences of that.
The principles of it are good and are used to order every civilised
society. In fact Paul says about his experience
of the struggle that he as a believer has with the flesh in Romans
7 Verse 22, he says, I delight in the law of God after the inward
man. What does he mean? The inward
man is that new nature that the Spirit of God has implanted.
I delight in the law of God. After that, that new man born
of the Spirit of God delights in the law of God. And to that
new man born of the Spirit of God, as I've already said, 1
John chapter 5 and verse 3, his commandments are not grievous.
Take my yoke upon you. Learn of me. my yoke is easy,
my burden is light to that child of God within but those who would
seek to make the law of God a rule of life by which we must live
as a legal taskmaster the Bible says absolutely clearly that
those whom Christ has redeemed from the law's curse And that's
what he's done, are entirely free from the law. You can't
tell them that. Oh, if you tell them that, there'll
be all sorts of unrighteousness and sin and license to sin breaking
out. You mustn't tell them, no, this
is what the scriptures say. Entirely free from the law. What
do I mean by that? You need to be justified before
God. How can a man be just with God, asked Job. well you're not
justified by the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh
be justified in his sight. Oh maybe then he's justified
me and now I'll be sanctified and there are some highly respected
theologians of the past that have actually written this justification
is God's work sanctification is our work I remember I once
pointed that out in a discussion with a legalistic church pastor
and the only thing he could come back with was that I was doing
the outrageous thing of making an accusation against this revered
theologian from the past and you weren't allowed to do that
Sanctification is not our work, it's the work of God. Christ
has made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption. We have no covenant with the
law. We're not on the basis of do this and live, don't do this
and die. No, not at all. We will not be
eternally judged by it. You know at the end of Revelation
20, where the books are opened, picturing the judgment and everybody
is judged according to the deeds that are recorded in the books.
Do you notice right at the end there's another book that's opened.
Not those who are in the Lamb's Book of Life. They're not judged.
It's a different book. Those whose names are in the
Lamb's Book of Life are not judged. Why? Because they've already
been judged in Christ. Is it because their sins have
just been excused and swept under the carpet? No. He bore them.
And he paid for them. And the justice of God was satisfied
on the cross of Calvary. He bore them there. My sin of
the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part, but the whole
is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more. You see, they say,
ah, you saved up to now, but from now on, it's up to you.
And you know, you're gonna get to glory and it's not gonna be
good for you. No. skin of the teeth kind of
salvation. No, we don't have a covenant
with the law. What was it for? You know these
things, I know. What was the law for? Why was
the law given? Paul tells us in Galatians. It
was to convict of sin. It was to make blatant what sin
really is and how it stands in relation to God's justice. It's
for those, as he writes to Timothy, are outside of Christ who are
still married to the law in the flesh. It's not made for the
righteous and how are you righteous? In Christ you're righteous. It
was as Paul says to the Galatians our schoolmaster to bring us
to Christ. You know the Piedagogos I think
it's called, the one with the stick in his hand to whip them,
it was to bring to Christ. It was to make you see the impossibility
of being righteous by the works of the law. To make you flee
to the Lord Jesus Christ and when you've come to faith, to
come to him in faith by His revelation, by the Holy Spirit's revelation,
you're righteous in Him. The law is no longer made for
you, there, knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous
man, but for the lawless and disobedient. The law's no longer
made for you if you're in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Look
at Romans chapter seven, and the first few verses of Romans
chapter seven. You see, in my flesh, if I can
use this, and I think it's right to do it because the scripture
uses this analogy, it's an analogy of marriage. It's an analogy
of marriage and death and remarriage. You know how the marriage is
broken on death. When you take the marriage vows,
it's till death us do part. And then that marriage is finished. You're free to remarry. using that analogy in verse one
of chapter seven of Romans know ye not brethren for I speak to
them that know the law how that the law hath dominion over a
man as long as he liveth for the woman which hath a husband
is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth but if the
husband be dead she is loosed from the law of her husband So,
then, if while her husband liveth she be married to another, she
shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, she
is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though
she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should
be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God. You see there's a termination
of that marriage which is the flesh to the law and there's
a new marriage which is the new man to Christ. In Christ I died. When He died on the cross, I
died in Him. And that marriage bond to the
law was broken. I'm dead to the law now. I'm
now married to Christ. How is Christ the end of the
law? First of all, I need justification. We've already seen this. I need
justification. But Galatians 2.16 says man is
not justified by the works of the law. It's even more explicit
in the Acts of the Apostles 13 and 39. And by Him, which is
Christ, All that believe are justified
from all things, now listen to this, from which you could not
be justified by the law of Moses, by Christ. Justified from all
things, from which you could not be justified by the law of
Moses. Our justification is in Christ,
not in law works. He is the end of the law in that
respect. Secondly, I need a motivation
to live. You know, you've got to have
an ambition of some sort. You know, there's all sorts of ambitions.
Some are good and some are not so good for you. But you've got
to have some sort of ambition, otherwise you'll do absolutely
nothing. You need something to motivate you. I need some sort
of a motivation. Well, what do I need? You know,
we talk about making the donkey go. How are you going to make
the donkey go in the hot climate? Well, there's two ways you can
do it. You can try getting a big stick and cracking it across
its backside and maybe that will make it move. what do cat donkeys
like? Apparently they like carrots,
so you dangle a carrot on the end of a stick in front of its
nose and it always wants to go and what are you going to use,
the carrot or the stick? There's ways of motivating and
the scriptures talk about believers having a willing mind. Second
Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 12 Paul talks about a willing
mind. Do you remember when God is calling
for gifts to be given by the Israelites to the building of
the temple. And he raises up these men who
are great tradesmen, great craftsmen,
with extreme, extraordinary skill that's divinely given to them.
And the people had to bring things, but God said, only bring it if
you want to bring it. Don't bring it because there's
a threat, bring it because you want to bring it. It's a heart
thing. let this mind be in you says Paul to the Philippians
in motivating them you know he talks about is encouraging the
characteristics of the Christian life of the one who is saved
and redeemed by Christ and he says let this mind be in you
which was also in Christ who what? was in glory was supreme
in the universe but laid it aside and humbled himself and became
a servant and became obedient unto death even the death of
the cross think about this You know, how am I going to live
better? How am I going to do the right
things with my body, go the right places, do the right things,
say the right things? Know this, not that the law will
beat you, but know this, your body's not your own. You're bought
with a price. Ah, think about that. What's
the precious blood of Christ? He died for his people. Are you
going to do anything other than want to glorify God in your body,
if that's the case? What does Paul, well I think
it's Paul, but the writer to the Hebrews, chapter 12 and verse
2, how are we to go on? You know he's given the example
of faith from the Old Testament, all of those pictures of faith,
by faith they did this, by faith they did that, by faith they
understood this, by the sight that God gives to the soul, by
that they did all of these things, right now let's go on. And what
does he say, how to go on? knowing that the law is snapping
at your heels and will call you to account and you'll miss out
and there'll be threats and there'll be loss and all. No, he says,
looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.
Because we're predestinated by God, Romans 8, 29, to be conformed
to the image of his son. Then, next, I need a rule to
live by, don't I? You know, they say the law is
the believer's rule of life. You come to Calvary for justification,
but for your sanctification they say go to Sinai learn how to
live according to the law of God and do you know what they
do? I mean the particular legalistic church we were in in Southampton
it's all about Sabbath keeping it's all about what they make
this day to be you know and the silly rules and regulations that
they put on it that don't come anywhere near what the commandment
really is in Exodus to perfectly obey the law. You know, Paul
says in Galatians, he says, you who want to be under the law,
you're not reading it right. Don't you really hear what it
says? Do you know, we have a fridge up in the back room. Would you
believe it? It was made so that it could
be bought by societies that have a bit of a problem with Sabbath
keeping because it has a Sabbath mode on it. You can actually
switch it into Sabbath mode. On the Sabbath day, if you put
it in Sabbath mode, you have to tell it when the Sabbath day
is, obviously, you have to tell it, you have to set its calendar.
But then on the Sabbath day of the week, it keeps your food
cool, it freezes things in the freezer, but it won't put its
lights on on the front, because that would break the Sabbath
if it put its lights on. I'm not joking. It's an excellent fridge in every
other respect. But you wouldn't believe that
these are the sort of things that go on. I need a rule of
life to live by. Well, Romans 3. Romans 3 verse
28. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. You need
a rule of life to live by. A man is justified by faith without
the deeds of the law. So all this faith that you're
talking about, so you're saying that the law is void, aren't
you? Read verse 31. Do we then make
void the law through faith? Do we make it of no effect? Do
we make it of no value? God forbid. By faith, rather,
we establish the law. You only keep the law by faith,
because you only keep the law by faith in Christ, because only
He has ever kept it perfectly, and ever can. That's how you
keep it. What is the commandment? 1 John
chapter 3 verse 23, the commandment in summary is to believe on him
and to love one another. That's it. In summary. That's
the rule of life. Believe on him and love one another.
It's called the law of Christ. James in chapter 2 verse 8 calls
it the royal law. The royal law. Not the law of
Moses which is not made for those who are made righteous in Christ
the rule of life is the royal law the law of Christ led by
the spirit of God to bear the fruit of the spirit of God against
which Paul says in Galatians there is no law bear the fruit
of the spirit against which there is no law and I need practical
holiness don't I need some practical holiness? Surely there are some
scriptures that really we're missing the point where We're
preaching in a way that is deficient in its applicability to British
culture if we don't say that you need to do this and you need
to do that and you need to do the other. Look at Galatians
chapter 3. Look at Galatians chapter 3. O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth, before
whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you? This only would I learn of you.
Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing
of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun
in the Spirit, you've believed for justification. Are ye now
made perfect? I think he's implying, are you
now sanctified? Are you now made more holy by
the flesh? the implication being obvious,
of course you're not, not by the flesh. The law doesn't provide
sanctification, but the impartation of a holy nature by the Spirit
of God, the Holy Spirit of God, not only is the righteousness
of Christ imputed to his people, counted, credited to your account
so that you have that righteousness, that holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord, but he also, in implanting that new
man, sets up a warfare in here the spirit and the flesh, they're
contrary to one another and that warfare goes on as long as we're
in this flesh but at least this there is that holy nature inside
that loves the things of the spirit of God that wants to obey
him that wants to flee from sin to use an analogy that I heard
many years ago A woman becomes a man's housekeeper. You might
have heard this one. And he has extremely strict rules.
He wants his egg boiled in a specific way. And 99% OK is not good enough. It must be 100%. And there are
strict penalties for not having that absolute perfection in everything
that happens. That's like the relationship
with the law. But then something happens. She falls in love with
the man and he with her. And they marry. And the relationship
is completely different. I don't know whether that's a
very good analogy, but you know, is it not like that? That the
relationship has changed. It's one of love and of a bond
that is pictured in the very best of human marriage. So it's
not threats. It's not fear of loss or enticement
of gain. Another analogy is like sheep
and sheepdogs and shepherds. You know, sheep are very dumb
animals, and you can make them go various ways, and it's almost
like this. Do you remember that program
that used to be on, One Man and His Dog, where there were the
trials, where they used to chase the sheep, and whoever could
whistle his dog? The sheep were not encouraged by the carrot
approach. It was the danger of the dog
snapping at their heels. And so, in a way, it's like that.
God sends out his sheepdog to snap at the heels. That's called
the law of God. and it drives to Christ. And I know I've told
some of you this so many times you must be tired of hearing
it. I remember once driving on a motorway through Spain And
I grew up in the north of England, and I used to help out on local
farms, and that was the only way we knew of getting the sheep,
was you had to round them up with the threat of they're going
to be bitten on the heels if they didn't come. But I remember
one day, driving along, and there was a bridge ahead of us, and
there was a shepherd walking along, and the sheep were following
him, because they wanted to follow the shepherd. They'd been rounded
up, no doubt, by a dog at some stage, but they'd learned to
love the shepherd. And know where the shepherd would take them?
Not because they were frightened of being bitten. And isn't it
like that with the believer and the law? Christ is the end of
the law. Who is Christ the end of the law to? Be clear about
this. If you're not in Christ... Christ is not the end of the
law to you. You see, the law is still made for you because
you're not righteous in him. The law is, Christ is only the
end of the law for righteousness to those who believe, to those
who have faith in him, to those who trust him, to everyone that
believes. Do you believe him? He's the
end of its purpose because its purpose was to lead you to him.
And if you're there, he's the end of that purpose. He's fulfilled
it and we have fulfilled it in him. So he's the end of it for
that because I don't have to fulfil it before the justice
of God because he's fulfilled it for me and I in him. He's
the termination of it because when he died on the cross he
nailed all those ordinances and those things that were against
us to his cross and took them out of the way and I'm dead to
it. It's gone as far as I'm concerned.
I'm dead to that law. He has made me qualified. Not
law-keeping. He has made me qualified, as
Paul says to the Colossians. He has made me meat for glory. Not by law works. And he is the
end of it for righteousness. All my righteousness is, as Isaiah
tells us, are filthy rags. Even my very best. He is the
holiness that I need, without which no man shall see the Lord. Do you believe him? Then he is
your rule of life.