Good morning, everybody. This
is backwards. I wanted to begin this morning being a bit hopeful that I can
get through this without ill effect. Not that I don't deserve
the ill effect, I'm sure I'd richly deserve it all, but I'll
be very deliberate and perhaps a bit slow, but I've really got
just one little page of notes, so pray for my brain, because
I forget a lot of things. How about turning? to, let's see, Acts chapter, well so what did I do? Acts 21,
got it right in front of me. Not a particularly long reading,
just two verses. Acts chapter 21, verses 27 and
28. Now let us pray. Lord, how wonderful it is to be in your house and to be in your pulpit. And Lord, we are never, regardless
of how physically fit we are, we are never ready for such things. We're just poor, sinful sinners. whom God is pleased in his sovereign
mercy and grace to save whomever he will. And we have come to love that
truth with all our being. If it were not sovereign, were
it based upon our behavior and our conduct, we would all already
be in hell. We beg of you this morning that
you would visit this place and cause the words that come from
your word to find lodging in our souls. And though we might
wish to, we cannot get away from it, no matter how far we go,
mileage-wise, from this place. We beg for your help. And we
thank you for letting us have any part in this. I bless you
and thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Acts 21-27. And when the seven
days were almost ended, The Jews which were of Asia,
when they saw Paul in the temple, stirred up all the people and
laid hands on him, and were fixing to dispense with him permanently,
crying out, Men of Israel, help! This is the man that teaches
all men everywhere against the people and against the law and
against this place. And to make it even worse, he's
brought Gentiles also into the temple and has polluted this
holy place. Now these people are thirsting
for his blood, but they still think they're holy. So let's take a look now at this
matter of the law. If you think there's division
in Paul's day, it is infinitely more widespread in our day. You've
got to go a long ways in every direction to find a church that
don't tell people to keep the Ten Commandments and God will
bless you. Keep them and He'll save you. That's a lie. If you don't know
that to be a lie, you're in trouble. This book everywhere proclaims
this, and I shall be able to show it to you in just a short
period of time. Why then the law? We have just read those statements
in Acts 21, and they address this subject absolutely. The law's function, the purpose
of the Ten Commandments Their very being is not to give salvation. It is to convince us of our need
for being saved. That's the critter you have a
hard time finding. You don't meet one of them every
day to the week that are begging God to have mercy on his soul. And might even ask some of you,
how on earth can I find God? Well, this is a good place to
begin. Remember, the law's purpose is not to give salvation. It is to convince us of our need
of salvation. A fellow named Andrew Jukes made
this statement. Satan would have us to prove
ourselves holy by the law, which God gave. God gave the law to
prove us sinners. And there you go, that takes
care of all the religion in the whole world, whether it says
it's Christian or some other kind of religion, it does not
matter, it's still the same, still the same. We're just determined
to get to heaven on our own and we don't need the Lord Jesus
Christ, nor His death, nor His blood. That is utter stupidity. If you've got a Bible, you ought
to go home and burn it. If you can't find yourself in
this realm. I can't put you there. I couldn't
put myself there. I can't keep myself there. And
neither can you. But I know who can. So the lost
function then is added because of transgressions. Now I'm going
to leave Acts and as far as I remember I'm not coming back to it. So
if you'll turn to Galatians chapter 3 verses 19 through 21. Now most people's Bible does
not even have the book of Galatians in it because they steer clear
of it. It might say something that would
offend them and disturb them and keep them from sleeping at
night. And if it has that effect, I'll be glad. All right, Galatians 3.19, Wherefore
then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions. till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made, and it was ordained by angels in
the hand of a mediator, namely the Lord Jesus himself. Now a
mediator is not a mediator of one. You have to have two parties
that are at odds with each other, and this mediator will bring
them together. Now a mediator is not a mediator
of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises
of God? This Bible has got promises everywhere
you look. God forbid, for if there had
been a law given, now if you don't hear any other statement,
I wish you'd give your attention to this one. If there had been a law given, Amen. Righteousness should have
been by the law. But the scripture has concluded
all under sin. Therefore nobody that is a human
being ever keeps the Ten Commandments in themselves. It can't be done.
We're trusting one who has kept them. all understand that the promise
by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. And by the way, if God doesn't
give us faith, we can't even believe. I mean, everywhere you read in
this book, it looks like God knew the whole time before He
ever created this place. exactly what was going to transpire
and how it was going to be done. And His honor and His glory and
His Son will be honored and magnified forever and ever and ever. And
I sure hope and pray I'll be there. Verse 23, But before faith
came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith,
which should afterwards be revealed. And the biggest revelation of
Christ takes place at that manger in Bethlehem and winds up with
him on the cross, giving himself for every last one of his people,
none of whom deserve it. But he bled for us. Even the dying thief on one of
the crosses beside him. had at the beginning just threw
insults in his face. And there are two criminals and
the Lord Jesus, and on both sides, they're just trying to aggravate
him, make him mad. And all of a sudden, one of them
turns to the other one and says, we ought not behave in such a
way, we're in the same shape he's in. And he said, if you can imagine
this, the Lord Jesus stark naked, blood running down his hands
and his side and a crown of thorns on his head. And this thief looked
at our Lord Jesus And instead of looking at a defeated
warrior, he said, Lord, when you come into your kingdom, remember me. Do you know what comes next? The Lord said, today, not tomorrow,
today, you shall be with me in paradise. Now if God can save that kind
of sinner, there ain't nobody too bad. Verse 24, wherefore the law was
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. That word, to bring
us, is in italics. It means that the King James
translators added those words, and I prefer to leave them out.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. But after that faith is come,
We don't need a schoolmaster anymore. We don't need somebody
to enforce our going to school, a truant officer or whatever
you call them. For you are all the children of God by faith
in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized, into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew
nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female. We're
all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, then are
you Abraham's seed, according to the promise. Next thing we
come to, I hope I have been able to show
you why the law was ever given in the first place. Now I come
to this. Is the law against gospel promises? He is accusing them of making the
law contradict the gospel. This is what the Judaizers were
doing in Paul's day in Palestine. It is simply, simply this. Let me go back and catch one
verse right here before we leave it. Verse 21. Galatians 3.21, is the law then
against the promises of God? God forbid, for if there had
been a law given which could have given him life, amen, righteousness
would have been by the law. But there ain't no righteousness
in the law. If we could keep it perfectly,
there would be, and when it comes to our Savior and His ability
to save, we have in Him and by Him and through Him honored and
exalted the law of God. He cleanses us from all sin. Let's take another little scripture. Oh, I've got plenty of time,
gosh. Romans chapter 3. Romans 3, 19 and 20. All right,
here we go. Now we know that what thing soever
the law says, it says to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all, without exception, all the world
may become guilty before God. It's called throwing yourself
on the mercy of the court. Which is a whole lot better than
insulting the judge and seeing how much penalty you can get,
or how much fine. Verse 20, therefore, by the deeds
of the law, Shall no flesh be justified in his sight? For by
the law is the knowledge of sin." The knowledge of sin. And here's
another statement out of Romans. What shall we say then? Is the
law sin? God forbid! Nay, I had not known
sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, unless the law
had said, You shall not covet." Those are the words of Paul in
that famous seventh chapter of the book of Romans that a whole
lot of people wish weren't in their Bibles, but it is still
there. Still there. is the law against the promises
of God. Paul is being accused of making
the law contradict the gospel. So how can one harmonize law
and gospel? How can we have both? We do have
the law. We do have the Ten Commandments.
They're not plastered on these walls anywhere, for which I'm
very glad, because I'd hate to have to paint over it, because
I'd make a mess of it, but I couldn't live with it. Most of them are
in the foyers of the church, and that one statement, Just
the fact that it's on a wall in that church building or in
somebody's house, it means that they intend to keep the law and
earn God's favor and blessing. And I'll tell you, they might
give a million dollars a month to some church, but it ain't
gonna change what this book says, not at all. We just can't keep
the law. And we're fools to think we can. So how can one harmonize law
and gospel? By seeing that men inherit the
promise that is the gospel because they cannot keep the law. that ought to run you to your
closet and beg God for mercy on your soul. I think I've read you that verse,
but I want to do it again. Verse 22 in Galatians 3. Seemed like that was our last
stop. Galatians 3. Verse 22, and I'll
back up to 21 where we were reading earlier. Galatians 3, 23 and 24. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards
have been revealed. Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster,
our truant officer, to bring us unto Christ, that he might
be justified by faith. Boy, that's an awesome statement
by itself. You remember these words? A sinner
is a sacred thing. The Holy Spirit has made him
so. You can't find real sinners. Oh, they'll tell you they're
not perfect, but they're better than so-and-so, and so-and-so,
and so-and-so. What's going on? We think we're going to get salvation
because we've been such good people. So generous, so friendly. Oh my goodness. Now if you'll join me, in your
Bible. If you don't have one, that's
quite alright. I want you to turn to the book of Mark. Mark and Luke are the only gospel
writers Luke and John did not write concerning this particular
matter. But in Mark chapter 7, beginning at verse 24, I had
hoped to preach from these two verses this morning, but it's
going to take me a month of Sundays to put anything together and then
it ain't going to be worth much, I'm afraid. But I still want
to do this. But this morning I just want
simply to read it and maybe make a comment or two. Alright? Mark 7, 24. And from there He,
the Lord Jesus, arose and went into the borders of Tyre and
Sidon, that is, into Gentile nations that were outside the
Jewish land, and entered into a house, and
would have no man know it. Now remember, The Lord Jesus
knows everything about everything, about everybody, and about himself. Ain't nothing he can't know.
Not anything. You could read this and say,
well, if he meant to go in this house and find rest, he ought
to know better than that if he's... This is how he met his sheep. This poor woman, her daughter,
has a devil or a demon, whichever word you want to use. They are
one in the same. He entered into the house and would
have no man know it, but he could not be hid. Can you imagine? If the Lord Jesus were here this
morning in this place, there'd probably be more that
hate him than those that love him. But that's just how it is. We can't change the math, the
arithmetic. It's not ours to do. Okay, verse
24. Wish y'all didn't take so long
so I could get to this. And from there he arose and went
into Tyre and Sidon, verse 25, for a certain woman whose young
daughter had an unclean spirit, or demon or devil, it's used
variously in these two passages back in Matthew as well as Mark.
The woman was a Greek, or you might say a Gentile. She is part
Syrian and part Phoenician. So she's called a Syro-Phoenician
by nature. And she besought him that he
would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. You say that this morning and
people will laugh you to scorn. There ain't no such thing. Really? We've got some pretty bad cases
who will do anything to get what they want. Whether it's merchandise or drugs, it doesn't matter. Verse 27. Now, you've got to
look at this carefully. Verse 27. What's the first thing
the Lord says to her? Here it is. Let the children first be filled,
for it is not meet, fit, or right to take the children's bread
and to cast it unto the dogs.' And she answered and said unto
him, Yes, Lord, Yet the dogs, now I'm told, my Bible suggests
this, but I've also read it elsewhere, that this second use of the dogs
by the woman is a different word. It's little dogs that are allowed
in the house under the table wherever they're eating. Yet
the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And
he said unto her, For this saying, this saying, the devil is gone out of your
daughter. Now her daughter is not even
there. Wherever her home is, that's where that daughter is.
But our Lord just tells her plainly, the demon is out of your daughter.
And when she went home she found it to be true. When she was come
to her house and found the devil gone out and her daughter laid
upon the bed. Now let me read you the other
account back in Matthew. And that is in chapter 15 I think it is. Yep, Matthew 15. Here's Matthew's coverage of
the same thing that we talked to, oh my goodness, who were
we just reading? What? Oh, and Mark, yeah. I just drew
a blank there, Craig, I'm sorry. Alright verse 21 Matthew chapter
15 Then Jesus went from there and departed into the coast of
Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan
came out of the same coast, sometimes translated borders, and cried
unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, you son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed
with a devil. But he answered her, Not a word. Most people's Jesus wouldn't
do such a thing as that. He wouldn't dare disappoint this
woman. Well, He does. And she refuses
to be put off by it. She means business. She came
to see him for her daughter, and she don't aim to leave until
it's done. He answered her, not a word. And his disciples said to the
Lord Jesus, send her away, for she cries after us. How can we
get any sleep? But he answered and said, These
hurdles now that he puts in her way get bigger and bigger. He said, I am not sent but unto
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And Jew this woman ain't. She's not a Jew. The children's
bread is for the Jews. Does she leave? Then came she
and worshipped him. Worshipped him. He's more than
a man. He's God and man in one person. And she knew it. She came and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It
is not right to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. She
said, Truth, Lord, yet the dogs, that one is little dogs, eat
of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus
answered and said unto her, O woman, great Is your faith, be it unto
you even as you will, whatever you want. Just take it. It's yours. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. I'm gonna ask you if before the
day is over, you'll reread those. One of which is in Matthew 15
and the other one is in Mark chapter 7, something like that. I'm out of gas and out of something
to say, I don't know how that happened. I'm off, Johnny.