And turn with me to the book
of Galatians. Galatians chapter 3. I'd like to look at two verses
this morning, verses 24 and 25. Galatians 3, 24, 25 says, Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster. to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith. But after that faith has come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank You. Thank
You for the day. Lord, I realize it is by your
grace that we are here. And Lord, we come this morning
as beggars, admitting that we have nothing
to justify ourselves in ourselves before you. Lord, we are not
saying that we will never come again, because we will. We are
not saying that days were better at one time. We are beggars. Lord, we so desperately need
some help. Would You bless the Word today
and teach us, comfort us, help us. For Christ's sake, Amen. When we speak of the Law of God, I would venture to say that most, if not all of us,
would struggle to express from a heart of understanding exactly
what is set forth in the scriptures concerning God's law. We talk
about the law of God. Just ask yourself right now. What does that mean? What do
you mean? I know from Scripture what sin is said to be concerning
God's law. This is what 1 John 3, verse
4 says, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is the transgression
or it's the violation. of the law. Just how far does that go? What
does that mean? What does that mean? Have you
ever thought that? What does that mean? I know it's scriptural.
I know it's biblical. I know it's truth. I know that. Man, how far does that go? What is the extent of God's law. John 1.17 says the law was given
by Moses. Moses, the servant of Almighty
God, conveyed to Israel what we relate to as the moral or
the ceremonial law. Well, I can tell you this. I'm
going to read in just a few minutes, Lord willing. I'm going to read. those Ten Commandments. But I'm
going to tell you something. You know, we refer to it as the
moral law between God and men. Men and God. Moral law. Ceremonial
law. Those laws that were given by
Moses concerning if an ox falls in the ditch, if a man sees if
he kills, if it does this, then he shall repay. How about civil law? In just
a few minutes, I'm going to read ten commandments. Civil law. I shall not kill. I shall not
steal. Call it what you want to. What is the extent? When we talk
about God's law, I know this. I know that we find in God's
law every Distinctive demand or limitation for holiness in
word and thought and deed before God. I know that. I know when
we talk about God's law. I'm going to tell you something.
Listen to what Romans 7, 12 says. Wherefore, the law is holy. and the commandment holy and
just and good. Paul said in 1 Timothy 1.8, But
we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully. What does that mean? Lord willing,
in just a second, I'm going to try to deal with it. I've got a couple of questions
this morning. I've got two questions. Number one, what is the extent
of God's law? Now, we talk about the law. I've
heard that. The law. What is being set forth
when you say the law? Tell me, what are you talking
about? What are you talking about? What's
the extent? Now, I don't think that anybody
would doubt that the law given to Moses by Almighty God at Mount
Sinai set forth God's mind, God's regulation, God's commandment
for man toward himself and toward other men. I don't doubt that
for a second. I want you to turn to Exodus 20. Exodus 20. I pray the Lord bless this to
our hearts. I need it. I desperately need it. Exodus
20, verses 1 to 17. Now listen to these words. And
God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which
hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image. or any likeness of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth, thou shalt not bow down thyself
to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless and taketh his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy. Six days thou shalt labor and
do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son,
thy daughter, thy manservant, thy maidservant, nor thy cattle,
or the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the
Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day. Wherefore, the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and hallowed it, Honor thy father, thy mother,
that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt
not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear
false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, his manservant,
nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything
that is thy neighbor's." If you could continue reading
that chapter, then read chapter 21, chapter 22, chapter 23, and
read all of the laws that was set forth, those ordinances
between men, the law of God given by God to
Moses, give the people. You say, well, there's the law
of God. All right, well, I want you to
consider this. Romans 13, verses 1 and 2. Let me just read it
to you. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. It's talking about the magistrates,
governors, president, the laws of the land. Okay, we're talking
about now, I'm talking about civil things now. Okay. Let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers. There's no power but
of God. The powers that are ordained are ordered of God. Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God,
they that resist shall receive for themselves damnation." Now
let me tell you what that word damnation is so I can settle
your mind right now. You break a law and they catch
you, you're going to get punished. That doesn't mean eternal damnation.
I'm telling you, just what it means is concerning the laws
of the land. 1 Peter 2.13, Submit yourselves
to every ordinance or laws of man for the Lord's sake, whether
it be to the king as supreme, or as unto governors, or unto
them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers,
and for the praise of them that do well. Now, I do understand
this. Acts 4.19, concerning if men
were to tell you that are in authority to do something that
was disrespectful before Almighty God. The Scripture says, but
answering them, Peter and John said, whether it be right before
God to listen to you rather than God, you judge. Now, if somebody
tells you to do something, a parent tells a child, say, look, we're
going to go steal something. That ain't right. So when it comes to the law of
God, I just read something out of Exodus that showed you the
law that was given by Almighty God to Moses concerning man's
responsibility before God Almighty and before other men. So here,
when it comes to the law of God, I just read out of 1 Peter. Verse
2, Submit yourselves to every ordinance or the laws of man
for the Lord's sake. Why? Because all authority is
of God. Now, what I'm trying to establish
right now is the extent of God's law, the extent of it. When it comes to the law of God,
whether you want to talk about the moral law, the ceremonial
law, the civil law, there's no authority except by God Almighty. So to resist the authority that
has been ordained by Almighty God is to resist God, is to disobey
God. One man might say, well, I tell
you, I've never I've never broken God's law. I've always been faithful to
my wife. I've never killed anybody. I've
never stolen anything. I've never mistreated my neighbor. Well, concerning our Lord's revelation
of adultery, have you ever looked Upon a woman with lust in your
heart. If you ever coveted. Anything that didn't belong to
you. No, I don't I don't think I have. Have you ever crossed a double
yellow line? Have you ever made a rolling
stop through a stop sign? James 2.10 says, Whosoever shall
keep the whole law and yet offend in one point,
he's guilty of all of it. One point. One point. One point. You know, when we start talking
about God's law, We're talking about absolute holiness. Someone says, I've never offended. Wait a minute. In word and thought and deed,
did you ever think, did it ever cross your mind Have you ever had one inconsistent
thought? Just one. Let me go a little deeper. Have
you ever failed to have absolute perfect thoughts all the time?
Not only the sense of commission, but how about omission? How about
failing to do what you should have done? But you know what I think? I think every mouth is going
to have to be stopped and all the world is going to have to
come guilty before God. There is none righteous. No,
not one. Nobody. Nobody. When it comes to God's
law, this is what Paul said in Romans 3. Whatsoever things the
law sayeth, Moral law, ceremonial law, civil law, all authority,
all authority, all authority is of God. God Almighty has ordered
this world. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. And every person in authority,
you say, well, I don't agree with that person in authority
that's up there right there. It ain't got nothing to do with
it. is ordained of God. You say,
well, I don't know why God would have put that. Well, that hasn't
got anything to do with it either. What sort of things the law saith? It saith to them who are under
the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world
may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. The law exposes what we are. That's what the law does. That's
the extent of God's law. You see what I'm saying? Nobody's
innocent. Nobody's. Don't try to justify
yourself before God. Nobody's innocent. Offend in
one point. Yeah, but I've only offended.
Like somebody telling me one time that concerning the five
points of Calvinism, Total depravity, unconditional election, limited
atonement, irresistible grace, and preservation of the saints.
They said, well, I believe all the points except one. They said,
I'm a four-point Calvinist. I just don't believe in particular
redemption. I said, well, then you don't
believe any of it. How do you not believe in particular
redemption that Christ died for His people, for His elect? If
you don't believe that, then you believe that he laid down
to make salvation possible. And so man's not totally depraved.
And it's not irresistible grace. See, it's not unconditional election.
You offend in one point and you don't believe any of it. You
offend in one point of God's law and you're guilty of all
of it. You offend in one point, one minor point. All I did, I
just didn't stop at the stop sign. You don't love the Lord your
God with all your heart. One point. Guilty. Guilty. So knowing that Almighty
God has given and set forth the extent of His law, and that all
the world is guilty before God. Let me ask you, here's my second
question. What was the purpose of God's love? What was the purpose
of it? God gave it. God gave the law. And no man, no man is going to
stand justified before God by keeping the law. Let me tell
you something. I thought about this this morning. I got up and I thought about
it. I saw on television the other day that there was a set of cameras. They set cameras up. at intersections,
and when you go through, you know, this camera's going to
take a picture, and it's going to show the stoplight, and it's
going to show cars going through it. You take pictures, you know,
and by those pictures, they're going to tell you whether or
not you got a ticket or not. They took a picture of you going
through. I found out by having to go to
a driving class, you know, one time, which obviously shows you
that I, you know, had to. And they told me this. They said, because I had a habit
of trying to beat the yellow lights, at what point are you
guilty? There's a yellow light. I'm trying
to make it through the intersection. At what point are you guilty?
Here's what they told me. If any part of your vehicle,
the bumper, back bumper, if any part of your vehicle does not
clear the entire intersection by the time that light turns
red, you ran it. Well, they take a picture. And
if there's the red light and there's the back part of your
car and you're going through the intersection with your license
plate on it, you get a picture of that. You get a picture with
a ticket in the mail, okay? Now what that picture did was
justify that you're guilty. It justified. There's the proof
of it right there. Justified that you were guilty
for breaking that law. By the deeds of the law shall
no man be justified. The law will never declare you
innocent because all you've ever done I'll tell you what Scripture
says concerning justification. We're justified by the grace
of God. The grace of God justifies that
God's people are in Christ accepted. Faith, a man that believes God,
faith justifies the fact. That God has shown that man mercy.
We're justified by faith. Not because of faith. That picture justified the fact
that I ran the stop sign. It justified it. There's the
proof of it right there. Faith justifies that a man has
been shown mercy by Almighty God. James says we're justified
by works. We don't work in order to be
saved, but a man experiences in life, what grace has done
in his heart were justified. The works, the obedience. Nobody
comes here and says, I've come and listened with a perfect mind. Your mind has wandered since
I started talking. Mine has too. Mine has too. And I've been here preaching. But because a people would want
to come and sit and listen, That's a good work. But I'm going to
tell you something, that good work didn't justify you before
God. It evidenced that God had done something for you by grace.
We're not justified because of works. We're justified by our
works. That picture justified I was
guilty of running the stop sign. Works justifies that God's done
something for somebody. God sees the heart. That's justification. It proves the point. What was the purpose of God's
law? Well, that scripture I read a while ago. The scripture sets
forth, wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster. Now, if you
notice, it's to bring us is in italics. It's his way of reading
it. Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith, proven by
faith to be God's people. The law was our schoolmaster.
I looked up schoolmaster. Here again, I've read that. The schoolmaster. The schoolmaster.
I think of a schoolmaster. In my mind, I think of a schoolmaster
would be like the professor. schoolmaster, the guardian or
the guide whose charge it was to supervise the lives of the
young children, young boys especially, by a dad, by a wealthy landowner. Let me say it like this. Let's
put it where we'll understand what I'm talking about. A wealthy
landowner hired, usually it was a trusted servant. And this landowner would entrust
the servant with the responsibility of getting that little boy to
the school. Now, he's going to have to go
over hill and dale and through the valley and through the woods.
Now, it's your responsibility to get him there. That's the
schoolmaster. The schoolmaster was the guardian
of God whose charge it was to supervise the lives of children
belonging to another class. He was a pedagogue. That's the word, pedagogue. It
means schoolmaster. He was not an instructor. He
had the responsibility to watch over and to set the rules for
restraint. That young boy from evil and
temptation to conduct him to the school where he might receive
instruction. Landowners said to the servant,
you get this boy. The servant would say, no running,
no getting off the path, no lagging behind. You're going to the school. And it was his responsibility
to set the rules and for disobedience to punish the boys, getting them
to the school. Christ is our teacher. The Holy
Spirit brings us to Christ. The law was the schoolmaster
whose responsibility it was to set forth the rules, the regulations. This is what it's going to take.
Now, the law had a goal concerning God's people. The law has a goal,
an end. The end of God's law, the goal
of God's law, the purpose of God's law was not to justify
man because the law cannot justify. Why? I've broken every one of
the rules. I broke them all. I'm not innocent. Romans 8 verse 3 says, For what
the law could not do, in that it was weak or impotent through
the flesh. God sending His own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, with respect to sin,
condemned sin in the flesh. He judged it worthy of punishment. Sin. What the law couldn't do,
That is, justify, man. Why? Because of the weakness
of my flesh. Where's the problem? Right here.
There's nothing wrong with God's law. The law is holy. That's what Paul said. And just,
it's used lawfully. What does that mean, used lawfully?
If you understand the purpose of God's law. Let me tell you
what the purpose of God's law is. Number one, show me that
I'm guilty. Show me, number one, the extent
of God's holiness. I look at God's law and I say,
you know what? Now that's a demand right there.
But that's a demand that I can't keep. How do I do that? How can I do that when the law's
demand is not only for what I do or don't do, but it's how I do
it? How, I think, what's it going
to take for absolute acceptance with God Almighty concerning
the law? Obedience. Obedience. Obedience. Word, thought, deed. Obedience.
No infraction. No infraction. One infraction.
Gone. I'm gone. I'm out of here. I'm
in trouble. I'm in trouble. what the law could not do in
that it was weak or impotent through the flesh. God sending
His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh. But listen, let me tell you what
Almighty God has done. God sending His own Son. Almighty
God, you know this. Ephesians 1 says God's got a
people. He chose them before the foundation
of the world and He gave them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Chosen
in Him. Ephesians 1 for that we should
be holy and without blame before God in love. Now I've got a problem. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. Now there's the problem. And
here's what's happened. This is what's set forth in the
Gospel. God Almighty gave a people. Chose. You know this out of every
tribe and tongue and kindred and nation. A people. He's got
an elect people. And He gave them to the Lord
Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ, God
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. A man conceived by the Holy Spirit
in the womb of a virgin. He looked like other men, but
no sin. The blood of Adam did not flow
in His veins. In the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin, with respect to sin, Christ came into this world
with a reason. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. How is He going to do that? He
came into this world and under the very law that will condemn
me, Almighty God sent His only begotten Son with respect to
sin, for sin, and He came and He obeyed God as a man, the Son
of Man, totally God, totally man, and He obeyed God perfectly. God Almighty in word and thought
and deed, not one infraction, The moral law, the ceremonial
law, the civil law, whatever law it was, he obeyed his parents.
He submitted, mom and dad, treated his neighbor, loved his neighbor.
He loved himself. He just obeyed. How do I know he did it? God
Almighty said, the Father, at his baptism and on the Mount
of Transfiguration, he said, this is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. I'm well pleased with him. You
know how I know that's so? Because God don't lie. God does
not lie. I'm well pleased with him. Not
one infraction. Not one infraction. Not one infraction. He earned a righteousness. He
earned a righteousness. He earned a righteousness as
a man. A righteousness as a man. And
that righteousness that he earned is imputed, charged to, his people. How do you know that
he charged it to his people? They believe him. They believe
him. That's the evidence of it. The
evidence of God's mercy. They're justified by faith. Not
justified because of faith. But faith, faith is that picture. It's like the man that ran through
the stop sign and killed him. There's the evidence of it. Guilty.
Faith justifies. God show mercy to you. Faith
justifies it. We're justified by faith. Romans 10 verse 4 says, Let me
say it like this. Faith in Christ. Faith in Christ. Christ is the end, is the goal
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. The
goal, the end, the purpose of God's law was faith in Christ. That was the goal of it. That
was the purpose of it. The law could not justify me
because I broke it But Law was the schoolmaster to show me my need of Christ. And the Spirit of God takes that
and convinces a man in regenerating grace. He convinces him of sin. I'm a sinner. He convinces him
of righteousness that in myself I don't have any. And it convinces
him of judgment that there's none toward me because God's
had mercy on me in a substitute. The law was never given to justify
a man. All of sin comes short of the
glory of God. There's no other way except Christ. Christ. When men start talking,
in closing, when men start talking about the law, they say, but
yeah, but what about where the law of Scripture talks about
keeping the commandments of God? What about that? What about that? Well, let me,
in closing, let's just look at one. A young man came to the Lord
in Matthew 19 and said, Good Master, what good things shall
I do that I may have eternal life? What good things shall
I do that I may have eternal life? And our Lord said, If thou
wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. If you will enter
into life on your own merit, keep the commandments. And he
saith unto him, Which? And Jesus says, thou shalt do
no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal,
thou shalt not bear false witness unto thy father or thy mother,
and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. And he said, the young man said,
all these things have I kept from my youth up. What lack I
yet? I've kept all of those. And Jesus says, If thou wilt
be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Come and follow me.
The young man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Now let me ask you this. What did the Lord say to him?
That young man came and he said, What good thing shall I do that
I may have Eternal life. The Lord said, keep the commandments. Keep them all. Keep them perfectly. You keep them all perfectly. He said, which ones? The Lord
named them. He said, I've kept every one
of those. I've never disobeyed one of them. Never. This young man thought that he
had done what was needful for salvation. What did he lack? Well, outwardly speaking, I guess
concerning his morality, outward morality, or his sensitivity
to, you know, or zeal or whatever, outwardly, outwardly, he didn't
lack anything. Outwardly. But you see, his problem was
that God looks on the heart. Men look on the outside, God
looks on the heart. The Lord told that man when he said, I've
kept all of these from my youth up. What? Like I yet. The Lord
said, sell everything that you have. Everything that you love. Well, it says he went away sorrowful
because he had great possessions. And the Lord knew it. Sell everything
you got. Everything that you love. And give it away. And follow
Me. And you'll have treasure in heaven.
Not because you sold everything, but because you follow Christ. This young man had just said
to the Lord when God said, I shall love thy neighbor as Thyself.
And that fellow said, I've always done that. No. No, you haven't. You've not loved your neighbor
as yourself. Why? Because you're sorrowful. You
won't part with these earthly possessions. You went away sorrowful. No, you haven't kept the law
of God. You said you kept the law of God. When it comes to
keeping the commandments of God, Christ alone has kept God's law. Faith in Him. Faith in Him. John 6, 28, 29,
Then said they unto Him, What shall we do that we might work
the works of God? Do you remember when the Lord
told the young man, sell everything you've got? and follow Me." There's
the key. Faith in Me. Are you going to
believe Me? Are you going to sell everything
you've got and believe Me? Now, I'm not saying go sell everything
you've got. This young man was going to establish
his righteousness before God Himself while he stood there.
He was going to establish his righteousness by saying, I've
loved my neighbor as I've loved myself. And the Lord says, no,
you haven't. No, you have not. You try to
establish yourself before God Almighty by your own work, and
you're going to lose. What good work is it? What must we do? What shall we
do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said
unto them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him
whom God has sent. When you start looking for justification
before God Almighty based on your own work or your own merit
or your own ability, when you look inside, you will be frustrated
every time because it ain't there. It ain't there. Salvation is
all of grace. It's in Christ. When you stand
before God, this is the only hope that a man has, that God
Almighty has shown mercy to that man and revealed to that man
that Christ is his salvation and has granted that man faith
to believe it. No man is going to stand before
God and plead his own cause. and be accepted of God. Why?
Because we're guilty. We just don't understand the
extent of God's law. The purpose of God's law was
to show a man his need of Christ. Establish God's holiness. You've
got one hope. You've got one hope. The Lord
Jesus Christ. Cast yourself upon the mercy
of God. Somebody says, how do I do that? If Almighty God gives a man eyes
to see that there's no hope in himself, he will. He will. My sheep, he said, they hear
my voice. And I know them. And they follow
me. They cast themselves upon Christ.
Oh, may God have mercy on our souls for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's take about ten minutes
break.