Well, we're going to continue
in the book of Romans. Like I mentioned to you folks
last week, I looked at this second chapter, and I looked at it,
and I looked at it, and I looked at it, and I just didn't have
anything... The Lord didn't inspire me to
make anything of myself out of what I was reading. I was reading
it, I understood what it was saying, I just didn't know how
to voice about it. And I used Henry Mahan's last
week. I don't want to do that again this week. Nothing wrong
with Henry Mahan. I'm here to teach. And if I can't
teach something, then I need to go on to something that I
can teach. Last week we looked at verses 1 through 11, and I
used the commentary of Henry Mahan to guide us through it.
This morning, we're going to jump up to verses 28 and 29 of
our study. I leave verse 12 through 27 for
you to consider in your own time, not that they are less important,
for all of God's word is worthy of all acceptation. And Lord
willing, I may be able to teach from them another time. But I
dare not try to bring studies nor messages from the word that
I do not know. I will say this, it is obvious
that in these verses that they teach all sin must be punished,
whether Gentile or Jew. There is no excuse for any, for
all are guilty before a holy God. Without perfect holiness,
no man can be justified before God. So I want to look at verse
11 one more time and then jump up to 28 and 29 if you would.
Romans 2, verse 11, for there is no respect of persons with
God. Now go over to verse 28 with
me. For he is not a Jew, which is
one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward
in the flesh, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision,
that is of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter,
whose praise is not of men, but of God." Now what Paul is saying
here is, a true child of God is not one because of your bloodline.
For thousands of years, God had blessed a people called Israel. He only blessed a people before
that too, but There were a certain people that he raised up in the
world to shine his light on. He gave him his oracles. That's
where his prophets were from. That's where his prophets were
at, was with the people of Israel, as a picture of God's people
throughout all time. That's what that's a picture
of. And circumcision was something that pointed this people out
more than the world. Nobody else in the world was
doing that. God had commanded Abraham to do it to his son,
to be circumcised, and this was the point, or not Abraham, I'm
sorry, Jacob, set them apart from the others of the world.
It was not because of your bloodline that made you a true child of
God. A true child is not one by what you do to your body. A true child is one who worships
in spirit and the heart. That's what we just read there
in verse 29. In the spirit and not in the
letter, that means in the actual of doing so, whose praise is
not of men, but of God. Men can circumcise themselves
or circumcise their children, but only God can circumcise the
heart. Circumcision is of the heart.
A man is not a child of God, righteous before God, and justified
by God in mere name, nationality, profession, or ceremony. True
circumcision is not something outward, but it is an inward
work of grace on the heart. Now, a man is a true Jew, or
a redeemed person as it is, who has a work of grace in the heart. I can teach about that. I can
tell you about that. I understand what it is to have
a work of grace done in my heart. We'll see it a little bit later
in the message later, but mankind just does not understand the
depth of depravity that the fall of Adam put us in. The separation
that we are because of sin between us and God. We just cannot understand
how deep that goes. Every one of us come into this
world being told, oh, you're such a good little Johnny. You're
such a good little child. You did so good. I'm so thankful
for you. I pause with that because how
true that is, huh? I had a talk with a young man
who does some work for us around here. He helped me do some wiring
on the electrical here this week, ready to move Sue's trailer back
over alongside the building where it is now. And we were talking
about, he couldn't believe that an innocent little child in the
eyes of God is a sinner. And I asked him, I said, who
taught you to lie? It was interesting, he did not
deny that he knew how to lie. He did not deny it. He simply
blamed it on something else. I expressed to him that that's
our nature. That's the sinful nature that we all come into
this world with. We come into this world with
the nature of protect this, because this is worth protecting. This
flesh that we're in is worth protecting, protected with all
that we have, even if we have to lie about it. Protect the
desires of this flesh, because that's what we're all about. It's all about Johnny's world.
He still didn't accept the idea that we come into this world
dead in trespasses and sin, but he got my point, and he made
it for me. A man is a true Jew, or a redeemed
person who has a work of grace in the heart, who has renounced
his works and looks to Christ alone for all things, one who
worships God in spirit and in truth, one who has the law of
God written on his heart and not in his hand, and his praise
is from God and not from men. Listen to the words of Psalms
34, 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Or here we go in Psalms
51 verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a
broken and contrite heart. This is what it's talking about
to be a true Jew. To have your heart broken. And
I'm not talking about broken from sadness, I'm talking about
broken from pride. A contrite heart, one that is
sad for the pride that is within us. We all have things to be
sad about, our circumstances, our family, our work, the world
that we live in. I'm talking about being saddened
by what's in within us. Sad, oh, how I love Jesus. Why? Because he first loved me
and gave himself for me. Why did he give himself for me?
Because I couldn't do it myself. There's no righteousness in this
flesh at all. I need something righteous. I
need him. I need Jesus, the one who's loved
me from before the world was. It's a heart matter. We come
into this world with a desperately wicked heart. That's what we
read in scripture, Matthew 12, 34. Our Lord said, this old generation
of vipers, how can ye being evil speak good things? For out of
the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." Again, in Matthew, this time
in chapter 15, we read these words in verses 18 through 20.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from
the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceeds
evil thoughts, murderers, adulteries, fornications, theft, false witness,
blasphemies. These are the things which defile
a man. And then these Very well-known
words that we read in Jeremiah 17, 9, the heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked who can know it. You and
I know this, don't we? Those of you who are online joining
us right now, we know this about ourselves, don't we? Did we know
it all of our lives? I didn't know it until I heard
the gospel preached. Until I heard about one who came
to save sinners. Well, that's not me. Oh, yes
it is me. The Lord convicted this heart.
He cut away, that's what circumcision is. It's cutting away the stone. Cutting away the old stony heart
that I was born with. Giving me a new willing heart.
Folks, the world cannot see the depth of our fallen Adam. We
too could not see that very depth of our depravity. Turn over to
Ezekiel chapter 36, if you would, please. Ezekiel chapter 36. We're going to read a good section
of scripture here. And we're just going to talk
a little bit about it over the next 10 or 15 minutes. In Ezekiel
chapter 36, I want to begin, if you would, at verse 21. Listen to the words the Lord
inspired this prophet to write. But I had pity for mine holy
name. That's the Lord inspiring this
prophet, Ezekiel, to write these about him. He says, but I had
pity. Pity for what reason? Why? Why
did the Lord have pity? For mine holy name, which the
house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they
went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Ezekiel, go
and tell this house of Israel, thus sayeth the Lord God, I do
not this for your sakes. O house of Israel, but for mine
holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither
ye went? And I will sanctify my great
name. which was profaned among the
heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them, and the
heathen shall know that I am the Lord, sayeth the Lord God,
when I shall be sanctified. Now that word sanctified this
time means to be honored in you before their eyes. How does the
Lord sanctify himself in us before the eyes of the world? By our
trust. Most Christians in today's world
will say, oh, well, see the good works that I do? See all these
good things that I do? What did we read back there?
What did we read back there in that verse 29? Let me just go
back and read that again for you one more time. You can stay
there in Ezekiel. Not in the letter whose praise
is not of men, but of God. Our Lord just says He does this
for the sake of His holy name. He says, well, I will take from
you among, in verse 24, for I will take you from among the heathen
and gather you out of all countries and will bring you out, bring
you into your own land, then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you. Now, have you noticed anything
that the people of Israel have done yet? Or is it just God speaking
of what He will do for us? This is believing the Lord God
in the face of the Lord Jesus that He has done it all. All
to Jesus. All to Christ I owe. Sin had
left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Ye shall be clean from all your
filthiness. Again in verse 25. And from all
your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart. Here's that circumcision,
the circumcision of the heart, the circumcision of the spirit.
Not the muscle that pumps within us, but the spirit. The old nature
was, I will not have that man rule over me. The new heart,
the new nature is, I love Jesus because he first loved me. A
new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you, and I will take away the stony heart. out of your flesh,
and I will give you a heart of flesh. Then he goes on and he
says, and I will put my spirit within you. We talked a little
bit about being in Christ on Friday night's Bible study. What
does it mean to be in Christ? That means to be in him alone. He dwells in this new heart. a tabernacle not made with hands. And I will put my spear within
you and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep
my judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land
that I gave to your fathers and ye shall be my people and I will
be your God. I will also save you from all
your uncleanness and I will call for the corn and will increase
it and lay no famine upon you." That's simply talking about the
nourishment of the Spirit of God through the preaching of
His Word. There's a famine in the world
out here. There's a world out here that's a desert. It's a
wilderness without the true Word of God. Oh, they've got a book
that says the same words we do, but they don't see it. They don't
see the true and living God as God. He is not the God of the
dead. He is the God of the living,
and all that means is that those who He has given life to declare
Him to be God. Know Him for who He is. They
are the ones who He reveals the truth in Himself to them. I will
also save you from all your uncleanness. Verse 29, oh, I read that. Verse
30, and I will multiply the fruit of the tree and increase of the
field that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among
the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own
evil ways and your doings that were not good and shall loathe
yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your
abominations. Oh! Do you hate? Do you hate the sin that is within
you? Folks, if you don't, you need
to get on your knees and ask for the Lord to help you. Lord, help me to hate that which
you hate. Help me to love that which you
love. Help me to fight, put down this
flesh that loves the sinfulness of the world. Verse 32, he says,
for not your sakes do I this. He's not going to do it for whatever
it is you're doing. He's doing it for his own sake,
saith the Lord God. Be it known unto you, be ashamed
and confounded of your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith
the Lord God, in the day that I shall have cleansed you from
all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities,
and the waste shall be billed." This little place right here
in Rescue. This little place over in Marysville. This little
place down in San Diego, Humboldt. Oh, how the Lord has raised up
and built it in the wilderness, a place of His own, a place for
you and I to gather and worship Him in truth. Verse 34, and the
desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the
sight of all that pass by. And they shall say, this land
that is desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and waste
and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced and inhabited.
Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that
I, the Lord, build the ruined places, and plant that that is
desolate, and I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.
Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by
the house of Israel to do it for them. I will increase them
with men like a flock, as the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem
in our solemn feast. So shall the waste cities be
filled with the flocks of men, and they shall know that I am
the Lord. The spiritual meaning of circumcision
is a work only God can do. This is a new spirit. My old
stony heart is cut away. We have a new heart that worships
Him in spirit and in truth, and it's all of Him, not of works,
lest we should boast. Amen.