Romans chapter three. Romans
chapter three. This is not my introduction.
I actually got this. This is going to be my introduction,
but I hadn't planned on it as my introduction until Paul began
to preach. I was with Paul, mainly with
Paul. Of course, Paula was there and Penny was there, but we were
at their house yesterday and we were doing our taxes. Paul
helped me and I thank God for that. But we were together two,
three hours, right? And I won't go into why it took
so long, because I'll start ranting and raving. But we're together
two and three hours. Paul asked me one question, and
I want to correct him on one thing and one thing only. He
said it was his opinion that we do not have an impunity. He
might not have said it exactly this way. about Christ performing
for us a legal righteousness. He didn't keep the law for us. It don't say those words. But
it never says that Christ kept the law for us. He kept the law
because he was the God man. And he loved God's law as no
other human being ever has. And he kept it. And Paul, you're
only wrong, that's not your opinion. Because the righteousness that
we are imputed and imparted is the very righteousness of God. And that is much more than a
legal righteousness. God did not rest on the seventh
day because he was told to. He rested on the seventh day
because he was done. Now in Romans 3 verse 27, Paul
had no idea I was going here. I mean, he
might have had a little idea if he did listen, well, he did
evidently listen to last Sunday's message. Romans 3, verse 27. I will try not to be too long,
but we're planning on eating together. So hopefully no one
has to be in a hurry. If you do, then I'm gonna finish
what I've got to say, what I have here to say this morning. Romans
3, 27. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. It's not just strongly discouraged,
it's excluded. By what law? It's the same word
used for the law of Moses, the law of Sinai, but it doesn't
mean that here. By what authority, what principle? That's what the word law means,
an authority, a principle. By what authority? Of works? Is it the law of works? No. It's excluded by the law of faith,
that's what he said. The law of faith. That's not
a Sinai law. It's not a religious law. It's
not a denominational law. It's the law of God concerning
faith. what faith really is, and faith
intrinsically resides in God alone. Now I'm gonna try to hope
this may help. Paul quoted, the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering. Notice it never says repentance.
Repentance is a gift of God, but it's not the fruit of the
Spirit because the Spirit never needs to repent. Do you get what
I'm, the fruit of the spirit are those qualities, perfections
that reside in God alone. And he bestows these things upon
his people by grace, through his spirit, through the encouragement
of the preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified. If the preaching
of Jesus Christ and him crucified does not encourage you enough,
then you will never be truly encouraged. Never. Where is boasting then? Is it
excluded by what law of works? Nay, but by the law of faith.
Therefore, we determine this to be a fact. I'm paraphrasing.
Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without
the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only?
Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, seeing
it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and
the uncircumcision through faith. And remember, no word in scripture
is given nonchalantly, just because Paul wasn't just trying to mix
up his language, as I often do. I often just try to mix up my
language. It's because I'm not inspired. I don't know the facts
as they always are, so I give it my best stab. Seen it as one
God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision
through faith. Do we then make void the law
through faith? God forbid. Yes. Yay. We establish the law. Where is boasting then? It is
excluded. My title is, although this is
not going to be the exclusive subject by any means, my title
is boasting is excluded. The law, that is as the word
in its simple form in the Greek, means a regulation or a principle
or an authority. The law for this exclusion of
boasting is faith. Faith. One, because faith resides
intrinsically only in God. If you have faith, it is a free,
sovereign gift of mercy and compassion from God. But it is still, though
it's given in measure, you don't have faith to the degree God
does. I don't even know that in glory
we will. He's God, we'll never become little gods. But if he's
given you faith, it is a part of that tremendous, exalted,
perfect character of God himself that resides in you by the power
of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. That
is to say, the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ
is unto all and upon all them that believe. When God gives
you that measure of faith that is Christ's faith, and he gives
that to you, it will manifest itself in belief of Jesus Christ. You will come to him, you will
trust him, you will bow to him, you will seek his honor and glory,
but you will not always succeed. You will fail. I think it was
Micah said, when I fall, when I fall, I shall rise. Not if
I fall, but when I fall. The conclusion to this is, therefore,
we conclude that a man is justified by faith without not single one
law deed. None. It's not our love for God, it's
believing God. But believing God is energized
by love. That's what the book says. That's
what the book says, he goes on though. Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified, justified by faith, start from the start,
and this is when we believe. When we believe. And we'll see
that more when he gives the prime example of this faith in Abraham. This wasn't God, as Earl used
to say, this wasn't God believing for Abraham, this was Abraham
believing God. but we know we only believe God
because God gave him the faith with which to believe. Therefore, we conclude that a
man is justified by faith, start and all the way through the middle
and in its ultimate consummation. I know men have said it this
way and I think it's totally valid, totally true. Once we
get to glory, we won't need faith. in the sense that we needed it
here, and I added that. I haven't heard another one say
that, and I don't mean to criticize, but not in the capacity that
we need it now. We will be like him because we
will see him with our eyes as he is. We will be fully and finally
conformed to the image of his son, but God's doing that now. but it's God that's doing it,
it's not us doing it for God. So, he then says, therefore we
conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of
the law, start to finish. Is he the God of the Jews only?
Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Try
to quickly give us a little help with that. The God of the Jews,
the God of the Gentiles, he is the God of both. That means he
is the creator, he is the ruler, he is the judge, he is the redeemer. If anybody is redeemed, Jew or
Gentile, he's the God that does it. There was not Jehovah for
the Israelites and then Baal for somebody else. Baal was a
figment of men and women's imagination. but the Jews have become so self-centered
and self-absorbed, they thought God was just their God, as though
they owned him. But God owns all men, Jew and
Gentile. To be long-suffering and fit
them to destruction and through justice because of their sins,
or through free, sovereign mercy and grace in Christ, bestowed
upon them freely by the Spirit of God. Is He the God of the
Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles only. Now, what about this thing, difference,
this difference between by and through? This is a little tough. If you try to look up the actual
meanings of by and through, it could throw you for a loop. but I hope God enables me to
help us this morning in this. Seeing it is one God which shall
justify the, notice now the phrase is what? Circumcision, not Jew. Although that's implied, but
it's not Jew. He just mentioned Jew and Gentile.
Now he says circumcised and uncircumcised. Now let us never forget, not
every Jew was necessarily circumcised. There may have been some rebels
amongst the camp throughout the years that were never circumcised. Correct? If you had believing,
disbelieving parents, a mother and father that could care less
about the worship of God in Israel at those days, you may have never
been circumcised as a male child. This is talking, he takes it
from what your genealogy is, to either religious or not religious. That's the meaning by circumcision.
If you were circumcised under law, it was because somebody
was religious. Somebody at least gave some regard
to the command of God. Right? If you were uncircumcised,
it meant they did not. They did not. seeing it as one
God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision
through faith. The circumcision, not the Jew
as I pointed out. The circumcision, the uncircumcision,
not Gentile necessarily because there were some Gentiles who
were circumcised. Especially when they came into
the camp of Israel and became a part of the camp of Israel.
So you have the circumcised, the uncircumcised. This refers
to this, to religious advantage. He's already pointed it out in
3.1. A circumcised person no doubt had some religious advantage.
You get what he's getting at now? Now religious, religious
but not necessarily spiritual closeness. He mentioned, Paul
mentions that to the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 2, 11 through
12. the commonwealth of Israel, and they were, in the fact that
they had the oracles of God, they were close to God. The Gentiles
had none of this. None of this. So it's religious,
not spiritual necessarily. It has to do with closeness.
The difference is a practical, not a theological. That is, okay,
there's a kind of faith that God saves some by, and then there's
another kind of faith that God saves some through. That's what
I'm trying to point out. The faith is not different. Some
were just close, therefore it was just by. Others were far
off, therefore it is through. In other words, the circumcised
had works, but he didn't necessarily have faith. The circumcised may have well
had works, but he didn't have faith. Faith is essential, thus
they're justified by faith. The uncircumcised had neither
works nor faith. Now they may have had some works,
but they were totally heathenistic works. The uncircumcised had
neither works nor faith. Faith is essential. Therefore,
it's not God gave him some works and some faith, he gave him what?
Faith. Because it's only by true God-given
faith that you ever truly work for God. And faith produces work, obedience,
effort, desire. And I mentioned that last Sunday.
By faith, Noah, what? He didn't just say, all right,
the flood coming, I'm gonna find me the biggest tree I can find
and hang on to it with all my might. God said build a boat.
Didn't he? So what does faith make him do? Builds a boat. God said in some
way, God, and I think it's through Adam and Eve, but God had informed
Abel and Cain what to do, the right way of sacrifice, blood
sacrifice. Abel had faith, so what did he
do? He offered a blood sacrifice. Cain did not, therefore he had
no blood in his sacrifice. Now, that's brought us up to
this. Do we then make void the law
through faith? I might not even finish what
I was gonna say about Paul. We were together three or four
hours and never mentioned this part. And when he began to read,
I thought, he ought not be doing this. This is my territory this
morning. Because this is going to be my
subject. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yay, we established the faith.
Now had he asked me yesterday about this, I would have said,
Paul, don't preach on that. I'm gonna preach on that. But I'm
glad he didn't ask me because God's in this thing. God's in
this thing, and God evidently wants us to hear this twice this
morning. And as God is my witness, Paul and I never discussed this,
did we? Never did. Now Paul asked a question about,
and he's right now, I know the spirit of God was there in this.
Paul asked the question about those who hold to faith. Do we
make void the law through faith? He didn't say, does faith make
void the law? Faith doesn't have to do with
the law. The law is not of faith. See? But we do have something to do
with the law. One, we're all under it by nature. And our old nature, our flesh
is still under that law. God has not delivered our flesh
from the law. He's delivered us from the law. Now before I go any further,
someone says, well does that mean I'm supposed to obey God's
law in the flesh? You can't! I'm not saying to you it's okay
if you're under grace to break the law. I'm telling you, you
break the law whether you want to or not. You tell me you keep
the law, I'll call you to your face a liar. A liar. And as Paul Abel said, we're
not trying to break God's law, but I'm telling you the truth
this morning. I don't go around thinking I got to keep the law
today. If you do, you're in trouble.
You're miserable, you gotta be miserable, or deceived, one or
the other. One or the other. So Paul asked
this question about those who hold to faith only, and that's
the context. Do we, who, not everybody we,
not the old pontifical we. We as believers, that's the whole
context. Do we who are believers, and
I am paraphrasing, but do we who are believers then make void
the law? God forbid. Yea, we establish
the law. Does our stance for faith alone
start to finish? And if your stance If you're
not facing this thing through faith and through faith from
start to finish, you will have a rude awakening one day. You'll have a rude awakening.
Hebrews is clear. These all died in faith. But it's clear from the context,
somewhere along the line, God gave them faith to start with.
And this life they lived in was a life of faith. It had utter
failures. Every one of them did. Every
one of them. Look at Jephthah. Made a covenant
with God that the first thing that comes out of my house, I'll
kill it and sacrifice it to you. It was his only daughter. Be careful when you promise God
something. Because God's not going to let
it slide because of our foolishness. Start to finish. Does our stance
for faith alone start to finish? Do we delegate the law through
faith? Paul is clear, God forbid. Now
just briefly, Paul's ably dealt with some of it. Believers acknowledge
the law is holy and the commandment holy, just, and good. If you
find somebody that says they believe in free, sovereign grace,
but they're angry about the law, they don't love God's law, they
don't like God's law, they don't care about God's law, and they
think it's okay for them to break God's law, they don't know what
they're talking about. It's never okay for us to break
the law, but we do all the time. And that may be a conundrum,
it may be a cop-out to some, but let me tell you something,
when a person is unregenerate, they're not going to understand
the truth. And you can't ease it and kind of put law and works
and faith kind of together just enough to help them to maybe
not be so offended by grace. They don't get it to start with. And when you mix it up, you are
dishonoring Christ. You are not helping out that
person's soul. You are not, I would not be.
Believers acknowledge the law is holy and the commandment holy,
just and good, chapter seven, verse 12. Believers acknowledge
the law's defining of sin by the law is the knowledge of sin,
chapter three, verse 12. And it still tells us what sin
is. It's still a sin to commit fornication, right? It's still a sin not to rest
on the Sabbath, but how many of us do? How many of us really
do? Oh, well, I don't do much work
on Saturday. I stay home. At best, I go get
groceries. Don't wanna talk about keeping
the Sabbath. But that's no less moral than loving God with all
your heart, mind, soul, and strength. It's all still sin. So don't misunderstand me here.
It's all still sin. If you don't honor your mother
and father, it's still a sin. But you're not gonna get merit
before God by honoring your mother and father. Because even if you
could do that one, you still have 10 more to deal with. And
they encompass hundreds of others. I know the natural mind looks
at this and says, that don't make sense. It does with God
because he's the one that designed all this. I've got to tell you, there seems
to be some overlap to me, but I know these two things, law
and grace, are separate like this. They're separate like this. Believers acknowledge the law's
defining of sin, but believers also know the law don't really
tell us how bad sin really is. It tells us what sin is. but
it don't tell us how bad sin really is. We see how bad sin
really is when we see God the Father turning his back on the
son when he hung on the tree because God seen sin in his son. That tells me how bad it really
is. If he'll do that to him, what do I deserve? What do I
deserve? Huh? I wish today I could tell
you from this day forward, I'm gonna start obeying and keeping
and honoring God's law. But I've got to be honest with
you, I can't. I can't. And there have been
times I have tried, and at best it don't last long. And usually
it's fraught full of self. Self-approval, you know, well,
you know, I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't mean to say
that that way. I was putting forth my best effort. The law doesn't demand our best
effort. It doesn't demand our best effort.
It demands it be kept completely and wholly and absolutely. Believers
acknowledge the law's entrance, that it's the giving of the law
that the offense might what? Abound. Abound, Romans 5, 20. But here we go. About five things, there's more
than five. But believers reject. Now, Paul was absolutely correct.
Everything he said is right about, do we make void the law through
faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law. And he said enough that
I could have not said another word. But this is where I'm at
in our study. And I have struggled with this,
as my wife will testify to you, I have struggled with this for
the past week. And I have rewrote this and rewrote
this and rewrote this. One evening, as a matter of fact,
Sunday evening, while they were sitting just watching TV, she
was watching TV, I was, and I rewrote this thing twice that evening.
And I thought, it still ain't it. When I looked down, I had
a lot of I's in it. Me, me, me. I thought, that ain't
right. So I rewrote it again that Sunday
evening. And then I still rise, this ain't
it. Now listen to me, believers reject any and all overextension
of the law's purpose as well. It is not establishing the law
if you extend the law further than what the law's designed
for. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you said, well, the
law is for this, but it's not really for this, you're not establishing
the law. That means to make it to stand,
to confirm its rightful purpose. It doesn't say by faith we keep
the law. It says by faith we establish
the law. So again, I say believers reject
any and all overextension of the law's purpose. This too is
to establish the law. Just five things. Believers reject. Reject. It's not just something
that's not really, they're dabbling a little bit, but just don't
make it the prime thing. Believers reject. And when I
use this word, I'm gonna use it five, well, I may use it more
than five times, but it's all five of these things, I got this,
reject. It means the same thing as to oppose, or to be against,
or to be anti. And I will say it clearly, I
am anti-law when it comes to these five things I'm gonna give
you this morning. I am anti-law, I am Mason antinomian. I am against God's law when it
comes to these five things. I am not, not going to cow down
and preach and try to mix law and grace. Believers reject law
works for righteousness before God because the book says so. And that means I'm against the
law for righteousness before God. Now if I could keep it,
if I could do it, it'd be all right, but I can't. God's shown
me I can't. And that'll never get better
in the flesh. in the flesh, believers reject
law works for righteousness before God. But having used that phrase
to reject or oppose or to be against or to be anti, let me
say this, a person who uses the truth of the grace of God to
simply live a life of gratification to the flesh has never been born
of God. Has never been born of God. We
are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old is still there,
but the new must be there. Or you've never been saved by
God. And that new man never leads you astray. Never. He's renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created him. In what
righteousness and true holiness Believers reject the law works
for righteousness before God. We're not rejecting the law itself
in its rightful purpose, but we do reject men's lying about
the law. And in that sense, we are, I
am, and we are, if you're a believer, we are anti-law for righteousness
before God. If you're not, you're not a true
believer. Is that clear? Believers reject the law as a
life giver. Paul has mentioned some of these
things. For if there had been a law given, which could have
given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
You know, some of the old Puritans, and maybe all of them, I don't
know, I certainly can't say all of them, but some of them believed
they had law. You know what they thought? Because
God uses a law work first. No. He may use the law, and does
use the law, but it's not a law work, it's a God work in grace.
It's God opening your heart and your ears and your eyes spiritually
to see what the law really says about you and about me. You will see that the law is
holy, but you are not. And the commandment is holy,
just, and good, but you are not. And if you see anything else
in the law, your eyes are not open. Believers reject the law
as a life giver. There's a third one. Believers
reject law keeping as a rule of walk. I want to read this
one to you. Paul ably, ably, ably, that's
not even a word, ably. Paul ably gave us this, but this
is what it says. Galatians 6 verse 12, as many
as desire to make a fire show in the flesh. And I have to admit,
I've done that before myself. Now you good church-believing
Calvinists, y'all ain't never done that, have you? Now your
preacher has, but not you. As many as desire to make a fair
show in the flesh, they can train you to be circumcised. That's
not the only problem. These people were not denying
the lordship of Christ or the necessity of blood redemption,
but they said you got to have circumcision along with that. Different groups of people use
the the seventh-day Adventists are not hammering on circumcision.
They're hammering on the Sabbath, right? As many as desire to make
a fire show in the flesh they constrain you to be circumcised
here it is here just just just enough Just a little bit. We're not gonna go any further
than circumcision We won't go any further than you got to love
God with all your heart mind soul and strength We're not gonna
go any further than that They constrain you to be circumcised
only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of
Christ. Our only hope before God is the
cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who
are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised
that they may glory in your flesh. I was the one that got them on
the right path. Hmm? Now, there's more to it
than that, I'm sure, but that's what they're talking about. Well,
those folks got it now because I came along and I told them
what it was all really about. I gave them both sides of the
coin. Now, let me tell you, on God's coin, it's grace on this
side and it's grace on that side. And you either gonna be saved
by that coin or you ain't gonna be saved at all. For neither they themselves who
are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised,
they may glory in your flesh, but God forbid. That sounds like he's against
something here, don't it? Doesn't it sound like he's anti-something
here? When you see a God forbid, there's always gonna be something
that this writer is against. A yes or no. So, we can come
up with all these epitaphs that we call people. Oh, they're this,
or they're that. Meanings change. There are differences
in certain things. So when you just come up this
phrase, well he's antinomian. Maybe he is, maybe he's not.
It's according to what you mean when most time we don't try to
explain it, we just throw out the epitaph. I do it and you
do it. Well he's an Arminian. What does
that matter? We all were by nature one time. Ever last one of us. And if God
don't save Arminians, then nobody's ever gonna be saved. Now he don't
save them by Arminianism, he saves them by Christ. Can an Arminian be saved? What
a stupid question. That's like asking can a drunk
be saved? Of course. Can a homosexual be saved? Of
course. Being an Arminian is not the unpardonable sin. Geez,
what are we, but we love our epitaph. We love to throw out
these little phrases. And you know what it does? It usually
shuts the conversation down to any real discussion and any real
talk because immediately you've already put somebody on their
heels. I've been, I've done, I love, when I was younger, I
loved to do that. I got in a fight at a golf course
one time because of that kind of crap. Sorry, burp out the
crap. Is that a proper word now? Wait
a minute, wait a minute. Wait a minute, Paul calls all
of his legal righteousness and all of his rites and ceremonies
dung. Dung, is it because he hated
the rites and ceremonies? Well, no, is it because the rites
and ceremonies were wrong? Is it because keeping God's law
is wrong? Is it because living righteously
is wrong? No, but he misunderstood the
whole thing. He wasn't counting the law as
dung, but his total absolute misunderstanding and misuse of
it. It's dumb. I've told you before,
after a message is over, if you didn't get anything out of it,
then don't come criticize, it's just walking out the door. If
you did, then it's good, it's encouraging. but it's discouraging
when all you get is complaint or somebody wants to point out
something you said wrong or something you didn't say. To those people,
anybody, any of you, anybody out there, come up here and do
this for about 30 years and see what it's like. See what it's
like. I am but a clay pot. I am overly
prone to false emotion and opinion and of saying the wrong thing,
but God's word is true nevertheless. Think of it. Why didn't God make
his preachers more perfect, more upright, more outstanding? Why? Why didn't he really? Joe, why
didn't he give men who publicly minister to others the gospel,
why didn't he give them like a special dose of grace just
to make us stand up a little bit above? Now you can talk about
pride and all that. He did. He sent the preacher
into the world and we killed him. He sent the perfect, prime
preacher into the world and we slaughtered him on a cross. If we were that, You would kill
us too. Because fallen humanity, especially
unregenerate humanity, we cannot stomach true holiness and true
righteousness. Believers reject keeping the
law as a rule of walk. Look at it. But God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ by whom
the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Now he
doesn't say the world's not still in here. but I'm crucified to
it. And since God saved you, don't
you know that's true? You view this world totally different. You view yourself totally different. Now you know how corrupt you
are. And you got some understanding of how glorious Jesus Christ
is. And this world, as you grow older,
you become weaker and weaker, and this world loses its appeal. you begin to really understand
what Paul meant when he says, don't use your liberty for an
occasion to the flesh. Because when you do, you'll suffer.
You'll suffer. Doesn't mean you're gonna be
lost, but it'll mean you'll suffer. Before I move on, Tim James.
I don't remember, it's either a doctor that moved and came
to listen to him, moved from Florida way off, or another guy. And he heard Tim James preach
for months and months. The man's wife became very ill.
And she was in the hospital. Of course, the man, the husband
had cared for her, and cared for her, and cared for her. And
Tim went to the hospital to visit the husband. He was there, and
the wife was in the hospital. He said something along this
line. This is my paraphrase. Pastor, I've been listening to
you for some time now, and do I understand you right that you're
saying that what I do in this world doesn't really matter before
God? Are you saying to me that what
I do in this world doesn't merit anything before God? He said,
I've cared for this woman for months and I've fed her and I've
clothed her and I've wiped her backside. He said, do you mean
to tell me that means nothing before God? And Tim says, yes. That's what I mean to tell you.
It merits you nothing before God. He said, now I think you're
a good man for doing it. and I wish more people were like
you and did more of that, but it's not gonna gain you any favor
before God. And then Tim indicated to me,
if I thought that what you were doing was flowing from faith
rather than reward, I would rejoice in you. But because it seems
as though it's flowing from reward, you're doing this not just because
you care for it. Tim wasn't saying he didn't care
for it. but you do it because you care for them, whether God
ever acknowledges it or not, right? Right? So again, I say,
look at it, for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth
anything nor uncircumcision. What avails but a new creature? If I believe God's got the power
to bring me out of the spiritual grave by his spirit and convert
me by his gospel, I better believe he's got the power by that to
do that for the rest of my life. To continually convert me by
the preaching of the gospel. To continually keep me in line. To lift me up when I fall flat
on my face. A new creature and as many as
walk according to this rule. There's your rule to walk by,
folks. Isn't it? A new creature. Believers reject
sanctification and perfection by law, Hebrews 10, 10 through
14. The law is declared to be a distinct
covenant, different from and separate from the covenant of
God in Christ by grace. First covenant, second covenant. The first covenant taken away
by the second covenant being established. And it's that covenant,
the second covenant, that sanctified and perfected us. We don't see
it, but it's so. It's so. Fifthly, believers reject
law works as their preserving or continuing factor. You know
these things. Galatians chapter three. I gotta
hurry. Oh foolish Galatians, who hath
tricked you? Pulled a slick one on you. Who
hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth? Now wait
a minute, had they gone back to drinking and drugging it up
and whoring up at the pagan temple, that ain't what he's talking
about, is it? That wasn't the problem, they'd turn to what?
Circumcision, just circumcision. Just circumcision. That was all. Or was it? Or was it? Look, who hath bewitched you
that ye should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ
hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you. In other
words, this thing looked like it was real with you. That's
what he's saying. It don't mean they literally
got to go back in time and see Jesus Christ crucified, or he
was re-crucified, or virtually crucified in front of them. In
other words, he's saying God made this thing real to you about
the cross work of Jesus Christ. This only would I learn of you.
Received you the spirit by the works of the law, notice the
phrase, or by the hearing of faith. Are you so foolish? Have you begun in the spirit?
Are you now made perfect by the Oh, wait a minute. Why didn't
he use the word law there? Are you made perfect by the what?
The flesh. You know why? Those things go
together. The law deals with our flesh,
not the new man and the fruit of the spirit. Now Paul, but
you and I could have collaborated, and I said you're doing that
great, and I'm gonna put it in just a little bit different way. Well I did,
and you did, but that's of God. Because free, sovereign grace
is the only way. And if you begin in the spirit,
you must continue by that. And God'll make sure to do that.
You're kept by the power of God through faith. Right? Because remember, this faith
is not you working for God, it's God working in you. Mm, mm, mm. Joe says, I like that. I like
that too. This only what I learn of you,
received you the spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing
of faith. Are you so foolish? And I have been. No doubt I have
been before. Maybe I don't use a side eye
work, but I'll think about baptism. Now come on now. Church membership,
right? Witnessing for the Lord. Now,
none of those things are wrong, are they? But they don't gain
you any merit before God. Caring for one another, seeing
somebody's got a need, and you help them out, the law testifies
to that. That's a good thing. It's a good
thing, but it don't earn you any merit. If you do it in the
true attitude of love and faith, it's because God's already done
it for you. He's working in you both the
will and the do of His good pleasure. So let me sum this up. All boasting
is flesh-centered. No more, my God, I boast no more.
I do with these. And I still do in the old man.
But bless God, I know better than the new man. How about you? I know better than the new man.
All boasting is flesh-centered. Law boasting is flesh-centered. You see, the law doesn't tell
you mortify the flesh. The law says your flesh better
be perfect. Grace says mortify your members
which are upon the earth. Kill them! You got these thoughts
in your mind that's taking you away from things, kill it. Pray
unto God, God help me to kill it. And he will. For a time. For a time. And it'll arise again. And you have to cry out, oh God,
kill it. Kill it. Yes, we're told, mortify. But it's only if he works in
you both to will and to do, because if he lifts his restraint for
a moment, we won't. All boasting is flesh-centered.
All boasting is flesh-centered. Faith looks to Christ for all,
start, middle, finish. From predestination and election,
all the way throughout, all the way to glorification. It's all
grace. And everyone here knows that.
Everyone here knows that. My thing here, and my whole meal
is not, oh, I wanna set y'all straight. I pray God he helps
set me straight. Because I need that grace just
as much as you do. And sometimes I feel like I need
it more. Although I know that ain't true, because you're as
bad as I am. You're as bad as I am. We all do the same things. Remember when we was in Romans
one and two? We like to look at a passage
and say, well, that's not me. No, that's us. Oh, God help us,
that's us. Start to finish. Now, Paul would
sum it up this way. I know I've been lengthy. I was
about to say I apologize, but I don't want to apologize. Look at it. Galatians two, now
read it with me. Read along with me, I don't want
you to read it with me. Galatians 2 verse 11, but when
Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face Because he was
to be blamed For before that certain came from James that's
before I did this to him for I was stood him to the face for
before that certain came from James he did eat with the Gentiles
and But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself,
fearing them that were of the circumcision. Now I know we all
laugh about Tim James talking about going over to the pork
chops on his breath. It ain't, we don't even have to do with
that. He was just eating with the Gentiles. I don't know what
they were eating. And we laugh like that because
I think the seriousness of this thing scares the bejeebies out
of us. Known it? because it could be
a simple fact of removing from one table to another. It can
be what? And the other Jews dissembled
likewise with him inasmuch that Barnabas also was carried away
with this hypocrisy, this dissimulation, but when I saw that they walked
not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel. That's serious,
ain't it? And this is just moving from
one place to another. That's all it takes. Do we get the magnitudes? I denied
the blood of Christ. It don't have to be that bad.
It's all bad if it denies the truth of the gospel. Because
a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Unchecked! It will spread. And it won't stop with circumcision. It won't stop with who you eat
with or who you don't eat with. It will not stop there. It will
continue until it tears the whole local assembly apart. I didn't
say the body of Christ. I said the whole local assembly
apart. When I saw that they walked not
uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter
before them all, if thou being a Jew livest after the manner
of the Gentiles and not as do the Jews, why compelst thou the
Gentiles to live as by the, how did he compel them? Just by getting
up and being an example of removing from Gentile brethren and going
over here with the Jewish brethren because he feared them. That's
all he did. But that's what he did. Now look,
this has got a little bit of sarcasm in it. We who are Jews
by nature and not sinners are the Gentiles. But look, he's
not talking to just a bunch of... ritual keeping, law observing
Jews. Look, knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might
be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of
the law. For by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. But if, While we seek to be justified
by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners. Is therefore
Christ the minister of sin? Absolutely not. Don't think because
this is true, that must be true. You don't do it. Look, for if
I build again the things which I destroyed. What's he talking
about? His law works. his ceremony, his ritual under
the law, in which he says that when he did these things, he
was blameless. Now not blameless before God,
but he was thinking blameless. He's talking about if I erect
those things back, I make myself a transgressor. When you put
yourself back under the law, you're making yourself a transgressor
of that law. For if I build again the things
which I destroyed, remember he called them dung. Not the law's
dung, but his misunderstanding and misapplication of it. For
if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a
transgressor. For I, through the law, am dead
to the law. Now, listen to me. I know I've
used a similar illustration. A woman is married. She's married
to this one husband. She is only to be married to
that one husband until he dies. Then she is free, totally free
to marry someone else. This is law, to marry another
husband, to love him, to cherish him. And she won't be an adulteress. But that doesn't mean that she
hates the first husband or tries to disrespect her first husband.
But if she tries to still show affection to the first husband,
She applies her affection and devotion and submission all to
that first husband. Something's screwed up here. Divorce, not divorce. Boy, that
was what they call a Freudian slip, wasn't it? Death severs
the relationship. Severs! For I, through the law,
am dead to the law. Not so that I might live to self.
No, no, no, no. That I might live unto God. If you see it any other way,
then you're not really dead to the law. For I through the law am dead
to the law that I might live unto Christ, I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, now in the
flesh, in this body, is what he's talking about, not my members
which are upon this earth, fornication and adultery, that's not what
he's talking about. I live in the flesh, I live by the faith
of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do
not frustrate the grace of God. Now here's an amazing, scary's
not really, it's not even a bad, it's not a good word, it's not
a good word. This is just an astounding thing that Paul even
says it. For if righteousness come by
the law, Christ is dead in vain. What a statement. Father, bless us. Give us fellowship
together and a good meal together. In Christ's name, amen.