Turn with me, if you would, back
to Exodus 33. I hope this message will be a
help to anyone who is struggling with something that I struggled
with at one time. And I believe most believers
struggle with it when the Lord begins to open their eyes to
freely bestowed grace. When God starts to operate on
a sinner, he calls out his people and when he goes to work on the
heart of a sinner, he opens the heart, he opens the mind, he
opens the eye to see it in the word. He opens all of that to God's
absolute sovereignty and holiness. Something that a person never
saw before. Until God reveals it, we don't
see it. We just don't see it. He wakes
sinners up. You know, we go through this
life, and everybody's living their life, and they're just
doing religion, and they're trying to be good people, and they expect
to leave this earth, and he wakes people up. That's what he does,
is he wakes a sinner up to realize that God is actually God. That's what the awakening is,
the quickening is. He strikes fear into the heart. When a sinner sees God, the sinner
will fear. And he strikes fear into the
heart by revealing who he is and who the sinner is. The sinner
will see. As soon as the sinner sees what
he is, the sinner will see this is what I am. When a sinner sees
His absolute justice and righteousness. That sinner will realize I am
unjust and I am unrighteous. And it's much worse than I thought
it was. And that's the key. It's much
worse than I thought it was. Everybody believes that there's
a little bit of bad in them. Nobody believes they're absolutely
perfect. But when God opens blind eyes,
oh man, it is so much worse than I thought it was. It is so much
worse. The more we see of his righteousness,
the more we see of our unrighteousness. And the more we see of his justice
against sin, the more we see our sin. We didn't see it before. We were still sinning and still
doing it. We just didn't see it. Guilty. Guilty. I'm guilty. I stand here
guilty. In my flesh, guilty. And we read
verses of scripture like this. If you look over at the next
chapter, chapter 34, do you see in the middle of verse 7, it
says, that will by no means clear the guilty? Hey, this is God. He is right now not clearing
the guilty. The guilty are going to meet
him continually and he is currently not clearing the guilty. We read verses of scripture like
this. He said, if you look back at
chapter 32, verse 33, The Lord said unto Moses, whoever
hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. The God who cannot lie said that.
He does not say things and not mean them. He does not say things
and not carry them out. Because God is holy and because
we're sinful, we know that what things soever 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.
That's Romans 3 verse 19. Every mouth may be stopped. This
mouth. and all the world may become
guilty before God. But then we read in Romans 8
verse 2 that because of God's grace to sinners, that freely
bestowed grace, because of God's gift to sinners, which was Christ, because of the gift of His life,
He lived a life on purpose. He died a death on purpose. He was not martyred. They didn't
grab Him and thwart His plan. He wasn't martyred for His cause.
He said, for this cause came I in. I came for the cause of
dying on the cross. You didn't stop my cause. I carried
it out. The gift of the blood He shed. Romans 8-2 tells us, in Him we
are free from the law. set at liberty. Galatians 3 says,
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. When Adam fell into
sin, God said, cursed is everything. Cursed is the ground. Everything
is cursed. And Christ redeemed us from the
curse on that cross. Alright, so we start to get a
hold of that. We start to enter into that. And this is where
the mind begins to struggle. This is where the struggle comes
in. We naturally think, the first thing we naturally think is,
Great! Christ came to get rid of that
old condemning law. That's wonderful. He came to
destroy the law. And then we read where He said
in Matthew 5, Oh no, think not that I am come to destroy the
law. or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but
to fulfill. The problem is not the law. It's
not the law. How come y'all don't like the
law? The problem's not the law. God's law is still here. God did not remove it. All right, we get a hold of that
and then we think, well, then I guess I'm just supposed to
ignore it. I read what it's saying, I see the law in the Old Testament,
all of these commandments, and I guess they just don't apply
to me. So what we're now supposed to
do is just throw them out the window. And then we read in Romans 3
verse 31, God forbid. We don't ignore it. God's people
don't ignore the law. We establish it. We establish
the law. Well, if I believed what you
believe, I'd just be a heathen antinomy and I'd run around just
breaking the law, doing everything I want to do. God forbid. No,
we establish the law. That brings our mind full circle
from where we started. This whole thing started with
God's freely bestowed grace, all right? Full circle. We come
around and we finally deduct, all right, after all this is
said, then am I actually supposed to keep it? Have any of you ever experienced
this? Well, then am I actually supposed to keep it? If in my
flesh I'm under it, And if God will not clear sin
against it, and if God has not destroyed it, and if I'm commanded
to establish it, does that ultimately mean that it's my responsibility
to keep it? Am I really just right back where
I started? Here's the question in the title of the message.
What about the law? What about the law? What does grace mean
concerning the law? What does grace ultimately have
to do with the law? Am I under it or am I free from
it? Is it my enemy or is it my friend? Should I hate it or should I
love it? What about the law? What about
my relationship to the law? What about God's relationship
to the law? How can He remain true to the law, His own law,
and set me free from it? How can the law be kept, absolutely
kept, and free grace without the law, Romans says? How can
that be established at the same moment in time? How can it be
kept in free grace without the law? How can that be given at
the same moment in time? I believe we'll find out in Exodus
33. The Apostle John wrote, the law came by Moses. God gave the
law through Moses. So every time we see the name
Moses, let's think, the law. Moses in this chapter represents
the law. Now look at the last verse of
chapter 32. It says in verse 35 and the Lord
plagued the people because they made the calf which Aaron made. God's chosen people sinned against
him. That's the condition we're all
in. That's how we stand before God. We're sinners against God.
Chapter 33 verse 1 says, and the Lord said unto the law, said
unto Moses, depart and go up hence thou and the people which
thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt unto the land which
I swear unto Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob saying unto thy
seed will I give it. And I will send an angel before
thee, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the
Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite unto
a land flowing with milk and honey, for I will not go up in
the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I
consume thee in the way. God said to the law, point my
people to the promised land. point my people, lead them toward
the place that I swore I would give to my elect, which that's
Christ. The end place of rest is the
Lord Jesus Christ. That picture's Christ. He's our rest. But God said to
the law, you tell those people that they've sinned against me.
They're a stiff-necked people. And if they approach unto me,
Or if I approach unto them in the condition they're in right
now, they're going to die in their sin. I will consume them
in the way. That is exactly what the law
tells us. People read this law and they
go, whoa, I better not do that. You better stop doing that. That's
all the law tells us. I will consume you right there
in the way. Verse four. And when the people
heard these evil tidings, they mourned and no man did put on
him his ornaments for the Lord had said unto the law. Moses say unto the children of
Israel, you are a stiff necked people. I will come up into the
midst of thee in a moment and consume thee. Therefore now put
off thy ornaments from thee that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped
themselves of their ornaments by the Mount Horeb. The word
of God's law strips people. The word of God's law breaks
people. When the truth of the law pierces
the heart of a sinner, that sinner no longer wants to adorn himself. That sinner has spent his entire
life in religion adorning himself, making broad his phylacteries,
you know, priding up. And when the truth of the law
comes to the heart, it just strips it all away. It just breaks it
all away. They just start ripping it all off. strips of all the pride, the
self-righteousness, the works. It strips a sinner from thinking
God is pleased with them. Verse 7 says, and the law, Moses,
took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp afar off
from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of the congregation.
And it came to pass that everyone which sought the Lord went out
unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp."
The law declares, as we read this law, it exposes the fact
that man is separated from God. Man is completely separated from
God. If a man is going to seek the
Lord and find the Lord, God is going to have to be appeased,
the law is going to have to be fulfilled, and man is going to
have to be redeemed. That's what the law reveals to
us. Verse 8 says, And it came to pass, when the law went out
unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up and stood
every man at his tent door and looked after the law until he
was gone into the tabernacle." It was God's law that required
the tabernacle. God's law said the wages of sin
is death. And without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission for sin. The law was inside that tabernacle.
the place of God's holiness. Verse nine says, and it came
to pass as the law entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar
descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle and the Lord
talked with the law and all the people saw the cloudy pillar
stand at the tabernacle door And all the people rose up and
worshipped every man in his tent door. They knew this right here
is my only hope of redemption. I've sinned against God. And
this is my only hope. God is just. He's holy. He's right. And if we're going
to be redeemed from our sin, and this is what we must understand,
I have sinned against God. You have sinned against God.
This is not something that you sweep under the rug. This is
not something that time erases. This is not something you forget
about. This is not something that we've
sinned against God. And we cannot assume redemption. That's the error of man. He assumes
redemption. And if God does not have mercy
on us, we're going to realize there's only one way. And if
I don't have that one way, I don't have redemption. I do not have it. God and His
law must be in complete agreement. Our sin is against His law. Both
of them must be satisfied concerning us. Verse 11 says, And the Lord
spake unto the law face to face. As a man speaketh unto his friend. And he, Moses, the law, turned
again into the camp. Jehovah, God, spoke to the law
on what had to happen face to face. And Moses, the law, turned
again into the camp. He went back into the camp. Now
watch this. But his servant, Joshua, the son of none. A young man
departed not out of the tabernacle. We just read the gospel. Just like when Boaz said to that
near kinsman of Naomi, If you want to redeem Naomi, you're
going to have to redeem Ruth the Moabitess too. You're going
to have to redeem that woman from the land of sin. And that
near kinsman said, I can't do it. It will mar my inheritance. I cannot do it. So Boaz said,
I'll redeem her. If you can't do it, I'll redeem
her. God Almighty said to the law
face to face, If those sinners that you have been pointing to
the promised land, if they are going to be redeemed
and allowed to enter in, a sacrifice bearing their sin is going to
have to be made right here. They cannot make their own sacrifice.
I will not accept their own sacrifice. It must be perfect. It must be
spotless. Someone is going to have to bear
it for them. The law said, I can't do it. What the law could not
do. I can't do it. It'll destroy
the absolute holiness and justice that I stand for. The law left
the place of sacrifice. Verse 11 says, but his servant
Joshua, same name in the Hebrew as Jesus in the Greek, his servant Joshua, the son of
none, a young man departed not out of the tabernacle. God said,
behold, my servant, my son, he shall bring forth judgment unto
truth. He shall not fail. till he have set judgment in
the earth and the isles shall wait for his law. The son of
God, Jesus Christ the Lord, he became a man and he bore all
of the sin of all of his people in his own body. and gave himself
a sacrifice to God. He right there gave himself an
offering to God for sin. One offering to God. He departed
not out of the tabernacle. Verse 12 says, And the law said
unto the Lord, See thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people,
and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.
Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found
grace in my sight. What he's saying is, I can't
do this. Moses didn't lead the people
into the promised land because he pictures the law. And men
and women are trying to obey the law to go to heaven and obey
the law to go to heaven. The law cannot lead a sinner
into heaven. It takes the blood of Jesus Christ
to do that. Verse 13, Now therefore I pray
thee, if I found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that
I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, and consider
that this nation is thy people. With the sacrifice now being
made, This is what the law pleads to the Almighty. These are your
people. With that sacrifice being finished,
the law now pleads, these people belong to you. These people are
perfect in your sight. Is the law our enemy? Oh, no. The law is what pleads in absolute
justice. Would you consider that these
are your people? This nation is your people, verse
14. And He said, My presence shall
go with thee, and I will give thee rest. I'm going to satisfy
you. God said to the law, I'm going
to put you at rest. I'll give you rest. I'll satisfy
you with the good works that you require, in the same way
I've been satisfied with the blood payment for sin. Whoever's
under the law, must keep the whole law. I mean to break it
in one point is to break the whole thing. God said to the
law concerning us, I'll give you rest. It will be completely
fulfilled, completely satisfied. Verse 15, and he said unto him,
if thy presence go not up with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known
here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is
it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated,
I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face
of the earth. He said, sanctify us, set us apart. according to justice, separate
us. If you don't go with us, we're
not going to make it. Verse 17, And the Lord said unto the law,
I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast
found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And the
law said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. The law cried,
show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will
be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. I'm
going to completely satisfy you. And I'm going to show mercy and
grace to whoever I'm pleased to show it through. And you're
going to be fulfilled, you're going to be satisfied. And he
said, this is how I'm going to do it. This is how the law is
going to be satisfied. Verse 20. And he said, God said,
Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and
live. Well, wait a minute, how can
that be? In verse 11, he just said that
the Lord spoke to him face to face. Says He spoke to him face to
face. Why is He saying now, you can't look on my face? Why could He before? It's because
Joshua was standing there. Joshua was standing right there.
God is so high. And this is many women think
if I can just keep this law. Here's the truth. God is so high
and God is so holy. Everything needs a mediator with
him. Everything. The scripture says
even the angels hide their eyes from him. As glorious as God's law is,
it can't even look on the Almighty outside of the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what he's about to
tell her. God says that even to the law. Verse 21, And the
Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon
a rock. How is the law going to be upheld?
It's going to stand on the rock. Jesus Christ, the rock. Verse 22, and it shall come to
pass that while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a
cliff of the rock and will cover thee with my hand while I pass
by. How was God's law satisfied?
In the rock. It was satisfied in Christ. Is it my responsibility to keep
the law? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Does the law have to be kept
in here? Absolutely not. I could not keep
God's law if my life depended on it. That's what brought this
transaction in the first place. I could not keep God's law. How was God's law kept? It was
kept in Christ. It was physically kept in Christ. God put it in the cliff to the
rock. Same place he put all of his people. The law and God's
people, they're all kept in Christ. The answer to every question
regarding our salvation is in Christ. That's the answer to
every question. Concerning me, has the law been
kept? In Christ it has. concerning me, has this law been
established? Has it been finished? Fulfilled? Completed? Laid to rest? In Christ it has. Do you mean to tell me that I'm
in perfect union with that law? In Christ I am. Do you mean to
tell me that the law is my friend? In Christ it is. Everything is completely reconciled
in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 22 says,
And it shall come to pass that while my glory passeth by, I
will put thee in a cliff of the rock, and will cover thee with
my hand while I pass by. And I will take away my hand
and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.
John Gill said that was a reference to his heels. I've never thought
of that. Our Lord declared the glory of
the gospel when he said my heel is going to be bruised. It's
gonna be bruised. God is gonna be satisfied. The
law is gonna be satisfied. My people are gonna be satisfied.
Everything will be fulfilled and reconciled on the cross of
Calvary. God has said to the law now,
you're gonna look to that. You're gonna look to that. God
has said to his people, you're gonna look to that. You're gonna
look to what I accomplished on the cross. The end of verse 23,
he said, but my face shall not be seen. This scripture says,
no man hath seen God at any time. He said in verse 20, no man can
see my face and live. But wait a minute, can we look
straight into the face of almighty God? In Christ we can. For God who commended the light
to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. What about the law? Here's the
answer. In Christ. That's the answer. Christ is
always the answer. Rest. Rest. It's fulfilled. We establish
it. We love it. We thank God for
sending Christ, our Redeemer, to keep it for us. And we rest
in it. We rest with the law right there
in the cliff to the rock in Christ. All right, let's all stand together.