Turn in your Bibles to Genesis
2 now, please. I'd like us, if the Lord would
allow, just to consider one question today. It's a question that I
personally have both asked and answered many, many times. It's a very simple question,
and yet it's a Very deep and extremely important question. And it's a question in many ways
that sums up all questions regarding the gospel. It's also a great
question to both ask and answer regularly in our Christian lives. because it's a question that's
been asked and answered ever since Genesis 3. The question
is, how can wretched sinners live before a holy God? So the first thing I'd like to
do is, try and define this term, wretched sinners, have a look
at it a little bit closely. I want to start, I just want
to read two verses at first, out of Genesis 2, verses 16 and
17. And the Lord God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely
eat. But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. And the reason,
he gives, is for in that in the day that thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely die. Now that knowledge of good and
evil represents the law. And it's a law that will be written
on our consciences when we fall in Adam. Do you believe God? We should ask ourselves that
question a lot. Because this same warning applies
to each one of us today. Now let's just turn to Genesis
3 verses 1 to 8. Now the serpent was more subtle
than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he
said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of
every tree of the garden. You see, with a question, Satan's
deception begins. And the woman said unto the serpent,
we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, "'You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch
it.'" Now she's already on the back foot and she's already lying. "'Neither shall you touch it,
lest ye die.' And the serpent said unto the
woman, "'Ye shall not surely die.'" So the father of lies
now, suggests that our God is lying to us and is withholding
something from us. Verse 5, For God doth know that
in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her,
and he did eat. And the eyes of both of them
were open, and they knew that they were naked." Do you think
they were naked before they ate of the fruit? They just knew
about it now. Their eyes were open. And they sewed fig leaves together
and made themselves aprons, attempting to cover their own nakedness
and how? By their own newfound wisdom
and the responsibility that came with that. And they heard the
voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of
the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the
garden. Now I just want you to turn back
to Genesis 2 and have a look at verses 8 and 9. And the Lord God planted a garden
eastward in Eden, and there he put the man who he had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that
is pleasant to the sight and good for food. the tree of life
also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of
good and evil. Do you see, Adam and Eve hid
themselves amongst the provisions of God in this world. And whether
they're material provision, or whether it's a religious provision,
men are still doing the same thing today. One last verse and we'll sing
again. Genesis 3, verse 24. Prior to this, God had caused
an enmity between man and everyone, basically. He prevented man by
cursing the ground and causing briars and thistles and making
everything in this world hard. Because man had put his hand
up to take responsibility for himself. And at the end of it, it says,
Now that's the law. That's the law, and what was
it for? To keep the way of the tree of life. It prevented access. There's only one way, and it's
through the Lord Jesus Christ that God might get all the glory. Okay, we're gonna sing the song
69 now. you Alright, turn down your Bibles
to 2 Corinthians 3. Actually, we start at 2 Corinthians
2 verse 14. 2 Corinthians 3 is just another
one of those places where the two ministries, the two covenants
contrast with each other. Here, this one's good because
it also contrasts that particular ministry, the two particular
ministries. But what's really amazing about this passage is
that we have here a very, very clear answer from God to that
much asked question, how can wretched sinners live before
a holy God? So as we read through this passage,
I'd like to encourage you to know the simple foundational
truths of God that are declared plainly to us here. I'd also encourage you to note
this law-grace contrast, as our gracious God continues to warn
us of the danger of the law and its ministry, of the methods
of those who minister law, and of the impact of law on those
who are deceived into embracing law as a way to live before our
holy God. So reading from 2.14 onwards,
Paul says, Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to
triumph in Christ. Make sure you don't miss these
promises. Whatever it is, always causes
us to triumph in Christ. And maketh manifest the savour
of his knowledge, by us in every place. This is the ministry of
the gospel. For we are unto God a sweet saviour
of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. Faithful ministry doesn't change. depending on who you're speaking
to. It's the same message, it's the same gospel, it's the same
truth. To the one, we are the saver
of death unto death. And to the other, the saver of
life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? For we are not as many, now this
is a contrast, we are not as many which corrupt the word of
God, but as of sincerity, as of God, in the sight of God,
we speak in Christ. Faithful ministry of the gospel
here, is directly contrasted with the deception of Satan and
his ministers preaching law. Let's go on in 2 Corinthians
3. Do we begin again to commend ourselves or need we, as some
others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation
from you? We don't need man's consent. We don't need man's approval
or recommendation. We don't need man's methods. And if you wanna know more about
it, have a look at Galatians 1. Paul talks more about it there.
You are our epistle written in our hearts. See, it's love, motivating
love. And it's a work God does in their
hearts. Known and read of all men, for
as much as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of
Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, these aren't instructions
to be followed, but with the spirit of the living God. Not in tables of stone, and you'll
see that's the law we're talking about, but in fleshly tales of
the heart. Do you see this contrast? Salvation
is not by a set of instructions that rely on man's wisdom and
ability. Salvation is by the power of
the gospel as applied by God the Holy Spirit. Verse four,
and such trust we have God would, not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think anything as of ourselves. Again, these are
absolute statements from God. We can't do anything as of ourselves,
but our sufficiency is of God. You see, it's God's ministry.
He gives the faith. He sends the messages. He grows
the faith. He grows the ministry. Verse
six, who also have made us able ministers of the New Testament,
the gospel. That's a ministry that he sustains,
not of the letter. It's not the law. Gospel ministry
has nothing to do with the law, but of the Spirit. It's true
grace, free grace, and it's a work of God. And the reason for without,
oh sorry, the reason for the letter killeth. The law of God embraced by the
carnal mind without the Holy Spirit's influence upon us, killeth. It's plain and it's clear, but
the Spirit, it's the Spirit that gives life, and that's a life
that can be lived before God in His holy presence. No matter how much of a failure
we are, But if the ministry of death,
now listen to the language again, the ministry of death now, written
and engraved in stones. Now, we're talking about the
law, but it's also a reference to
the hard-heartedness of it. If the ministration of death
written and engraved in stones was glorious, so that the children
of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for
the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away? Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled
the law, every jot and tittle of the law, on behalf of those
he represented. And for them, he put an end to
the law for righteousness. He's the end of the law for righteousness
for them that believe. And when he died, he satisfied
the law in our stead. It's judgment and condemnation
of our sins. He goes on, how shall not the
ministration of the Spirit be rather or more glorious? And the reason is, for if the
ministration of condemnation, again, note the words, law, be
glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness, grace, exceed
in glory. We all want true righteousness
before our God. And this is how, it's a ministry
of God the Holy Spirit. Administer means to apply or
provide. He applies the righteousness
of Christ to every one of his children. And he did it in eternity. and they've stood blameless before
him ever since. The ministration of the law as
a way for wretched sinners to live before our holy God, it
only kills, it only brings condemnation, and it brings a blindness to
Christ and his salvation, that Genesis 3 blindness. While the
ministration of the gospel applied by God the Holy Spirit brings
eternal life and union with our holy God in spite of our wretched
condition. Verse 10, for even that which
was made glorious, and it was made glorious by our Lord Jesus
Christ, Even that which was made glorious
had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away
was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. In the life of a believer, the
ministry of the law was finished in Christ. Yet the ministry of the everlasting
gospel, and that's what it calls it in Hebrews 13, the everlasting
gospel, it continues to teach us, to restrain us, to grow us,
to comfort us, to strengthen us, to energize us, and even
to protect us from our many, many enemies. Verse 12, seeing then that we
have such hope, such faith in God, we use great plainness of
speech. Those who declare the gospel
declare it simply, declare it plainly, and declare it transparently. We've got nothing to hide. And not as Moses, which put a
veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not
steadfastly look to the end of that which was abolished. And
I just quoted it, Romans 10.4, Christ is the end of the world
for those who believe. But even unto this day, verse
15, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. It's a spiritual
veil. Nevertheless, when it shall turn
to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now we can't take
that veil away by learning and studying and Looking at ourselves,
the only way that veil will be taken away is if the God, the
Holy Spirit, causes us to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and
Him alone for salvation. Verse 17, now the Lord is that
spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Liberty from obligation to the
law, from responsibility to the law, from the bondage and the
blindness of the law, but especially from the continuous wretched
sinfulness of our own flesh daily before our holy God. And now, Now we have what I think
is probably the most beautiful verse in scripture for me. It's the most simple in many
ways, but it's yet a very, very instructive answer to our question
today. How can wretched sinners live
before a holy God? Now our God does cause us to
care about these things, the way we act, the way we behave,
the way we present the gospel, the way we care for people, the
way we operate in this world, both privately and collectively
as a church. He's the one that causes us to
feel that way inside. But you know, that's how the
Galatians believers were deceived by these lawmongers. taking a
genuine feeling that God's grown in our hearts and perverting
it and redirecting them back to law. But here God not only gives us
the answer, he also very, very graciously explains something
to us of the inner workings of transforming grace. So verse
8a, But we all, every believing sinner resting on Christ, we
all with open face, no veil from the law, no spiritual blindness,
with open face, beholding as in a glass, as in a mirror, the
glory of the Lord. So you imagine the picture, we're
looking into a glass and we're seeing the glory of the Lord. And while we're doing that, we're being changed. See, we're
looking at this image of Christ. We're looking at all the promises
of Christ. And we're looking particularly
at that promise of the new creature within us. 2 Corinthians 5 and
1 John 3. It's Christ in us, isn't it? Colossians 1. We're looking at
that creature. And while we're busy doing that,
we don't change ourselves. We're being changed, it says. It's the work of God the Holy
Spirit. And we're being changed into that very same image that
we're looking at in that mirror. It's a miracle of grace, but
it's true. God said it. And we're being changed from
glory to glory. Now there is always confusion
about this with people. Unlike the ministry of the law,
this is not a progressive growth in holiness. There's no such
thing. God says there's no such thing.
It's rather a progressive spiritual revelation of who we are. in our Lord Jesus Christ, and
that's an eternal reality. And he finishes, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord, all of it, every single part of it, it can
only ever be the work of our merciful God. He gets all the
glory. And do you think this is serious
to God? Turn in your Bibles to James 2 and we'll wrap it up. It's deadly serious to God and
very, very dangerous for us. It's very easy for us to slip
and fall back into the legalistic judgment systems. I hope to preach
on James 2 soon, so I'll keep my comments pretty short. But
James 2 gives us a great look at the seriousness of all this
from God's eyes. And he also shows us just how
easy it is to fall from grace and into legal condemnation under
the law. Again, Galatians 2, Peter Stewart,
condemned, is the right language there. Peter's method or his
position of living before God had changed from grace to law. It was very simple. It was just
a judgment system. He just moved a cup or a plate
and he showed a preference to people that looked more religious,
more holy, had a better moral presentation and had ideas about
introducing the law again and muddying the waters all over
again. Peter stood condemned and God sent Paul to him. He
stood condemned because he'd been drawn into a legalistic
judgment system and he'd become blind to the grace of God all
over again, just like in Genesis 3. So we'll just read from verse
8 just for our purposes today. And here's another one of those
contrasts again of the two covenants. If you fulfill the royal law,
that's the law of Moses, the law of obligation, of responsibility,
If you fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt
love thy neighbour as yourself, you do well. None of us ever
fulfil it perfectly. None of us can ever fulfil it
spiritually like our saviour did. But listen to his point. You do well. But if you have
respect to persons, now in the context, especially this is regarding
religious morality, With respect to persons you commit
sin and are convinced, convicted or condemned of the law as transgressors. For whosoever, here's a reason,
for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one
point, just one point, he is guilty of all. The law is a complete package. It must be perfectly fulfilled
and it must be fulfilled spiritually as well as physically. Have you ever sinned before?
Even once? I know we all sinned in Adam.
It only takes one sin. That's how dangerous it is. That's
how serious this is. For he that said, Do not commit
adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet
if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. Now it's interesting, and like
I said, I want to talk about it at a different time if the
Lord will allow, but in Matthew 5, to hate is to murder. If you look back up in your text
at verse 6, that judgment system, in that judgment system, they
despised the poor man. They hated him. They murdered
him. They did it through carnal minded
external religious judgment systems. He goes on, so speak ye and so
do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. There's the other covenant, the
covenant of grace in the law of Jesus Christ. Believers have
a new law. We're not subject to the old
law. We have a new law, and it's simple. Trust in God for everything. Now, while I say that's simple,
we have to trust God for that faith and to grow that faith
as well. But he's promised to do it, and
he has done it in our lives. Verse 13, for he For he shall
have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy. See, it's a strict and it's an
unforgiving judgment system. And with one look, we can condemn
a man's soul. And he goes on to say, and mercy,
thank goodness for this, mercy rejoiceth against judgment, like
we saw in 2 Corinthians 3, more glorious. So often we're drawn into this
carnal thinking before we even know it, and such is the subtlety
of Satan, of his lie and of his ministers, each one of us. Each one of us came out of that
garden with the natural inclination to law obedience as a system
of living before our Holy God. And just like in Genesis 3, we
still constantly reject our God's grace and look to our own wisdom
and strength each day to sustain us in his sight. You see, the
whole thing, is really just a contrast between faith and unbelief. Unbelief rejects God's grace
in our Lord Jesus Christ alone. It brings death and it brings
condemnation through the very law that we rest on. Whereas faith, faith honors God
in his son, It waits on God the Spirit, and it looks on to our
merciful Father for all things. May our great God shield and
protect us from the influence of both Satan and his ministers,
and may he give us simple childlike faith. that we could just rest
all of our salvation, even our walk before God in this world,
upon the finished, eternal and accepted work of our great King
and Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ.