Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Like to welcome you to our program
today. I'm glad you could join us. And if you would like to
follow along in your Bibles, I'll be preaching from the book
of 2 Corinthians chapter three. 2 Corinthians chapter three. And this is the second message
in a series that I've entitled The New Testament. The New Testament. And I made this point last week,
if you didn't hear last week's message, part one, please listen
to it, get it, order it or look at it on our internet site or
on Sermon Audio, but you can find it. The New Testament from
2 Corinthians chapter 3. And I made this point that what
I'm talking about is the word Testament, not in the literary
sense, the Old Testament, the books of the Old Testament from
Genesis to Malachi, and the New Testament, the books of the New
Testament from Matthew to Revelation. But I'm talking about the word
Testament as a covenant. And what I'm wanting to show
you in 2 Corinthians 3 is how the Apostle Paul, inspired by
the Holy Spirit to write these words, By contrast, showed the
vast difference between the old covenant law that was made by
God with Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai, and the new covenant,
which was established by the Lord Jesus Christ in His death
on the cross and His resurrection. There's a vast difference. And
to show that Christians, true Christians now today, We're not
old covenant Christians, we're new covenant Christians. There
was a difference, but not in the way that we were saved. You
see, old covenant Christians and new covenant Christians were
saved, are saved the exact same way, by God's grace, based upon
the righteousness, the law keeping, the justice satisfying, the merits
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His blood, His righteousness, the
merits of his obedience unto death as the surety, the substitute
and the redeemer of his people. That's how all Christians are
saved. That's how all believers are
saved. And that applied back all the
way to Adam, all the way to the last one who was brought into
the kingdom of God. And so Paul was talking about
how God, by his power, And his work, his calling, had made him
and other gospel preachers, other apostles, to be able ministers
of the New Testament. Look at verse six of 2 Corinthians
3. God made us able ministers. And the able there is not able
because of our natural abilities. This is the abilities that God
had given his people. And salvation is not based upon
our ability, it's based upon Christ's ability. That's why
Paul said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. And what have I committed unto
him? My whole salvation. But able ministers of the New
Testament, that's the new covenant, we're not preaching the law of
Moses. We're not preaching the Ten Commandments as a covenant. We preach moral precepts that
believers are to obey as the fruit of God's grace. But we're
not preaching in the Old Testament the Old Covenant. and he says
we're ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, that is the
written law, the Ten Commandments and all the other laws, but of
the Spirit, and I made this point last week, that's the Holy Spirit,
that Spirit there should be capitalized, for the letter killeth, the law
kills. The law is a, listen, the law
is a pronouncement of death, not just physical death, but
eternal death upon every sinner who seeks salvation by their
works of the law. Now you understand that. The letter killeth. If you're
trying to be saved, and I put it this way too. If you're trying
to be saved thinking that salvation is conditioned on your works,
your decisions, that it comes down to you. My friend, it's
a death sentence. It's capital punishment. Because
those who are under the law are under the curse. And that's why. And he says, so the letter killeth,
but the spirit giveth life. The Spirit quickeneth. The Holy
Spirit quickens. The Holy Spirit, the third person
of the Trinity, is the great, invincible, powerful applicator
of the life of Christ in the new birth of every one of God's
people. He brings them under the preaching
of the gospel. He gives them life, gives them
a new heart, spiritual life, and brings them to faith, gives
them the gift of faith and repentance, and brings them to believe in
in Christ. Now it's often asked, well, if
that's the case, then why was the law given to begin with?
Well, the law was given for several reasons. But understand this,
the law was never given to Israel as a way of salvation. There
are people who believe in different ways of salvation, as if God
tried it this way, but that didn't work, then he tried it this way,
but that didn't work, and now he's trying this way. That's
not biblical. That's a lie. The law of Moses,
the old covenant law, was never given to the nation Israel as
a way of salvation. Now the main reason the law was
given was to show them their sinfulness. And if you look at
the law and I look at the law, it'll do the same for us if the
Holy Spirit gives us eyes to see and ears to hear. And I'll show you that in just
a moment. But look over in Romans chapter five. And he says in
verse 20, He says in Romans 5.20, moreover the law entered, that's
the law of Moses at Sinai, that the offense might abound. The
offense of sin might abound. That's why the law was given.
But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. As the
law showed them their sinfulness and their depravity, and the
impossibility of being saved and righteous and right with
God based upon their works, the grace of God, which was always
and always has been and always will be in and by the Lord Jesus
Christ, abounds more. And he shows that in verse 21
of Romans 5. That is, sin hath reigned unto
death. Even so might grace reign through righteousness, not by
your works of the law, but righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. And then look over at Galatians
chapter three. Now Paul really, he really explained
the impossibility of salvation by the law. by works of the law. Why does he say the letter killeth? Well, here's why. Listen to this.
Look at verse 10. I quoted this last week and a
little bit today, but look at verse 10 of Galatians 3. For
as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.
Now, what is it to be of the works of the law? It's trying
to be saved, trying to be justified, trying to be righteous and right
with God based on your works. And he says, you're under a curse.
And he quotes from Deuteronomy, for it is written, cursed is
everyone that continued not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. Back over earlier in this chapter,
Paul said, you that desire to be under the law, do you not
hear the law? Do you know what that law actually says? You've
got to keep it perfectly. And you can't do that, you're
a sinner. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death.
So if you're trying to earn your way into God's favor and blessings,
you're under the death sentence, you're under the curse. So he
says in verse 11 of Galatians 3, but that no man is justified
by the law in the sight of God, it is evident. What is it to
be justified? It means to be forgiven of all
my sins. The law can't do that for me.
The law cannot forgive me. What is it to be justified? It's
to be counted righteous, declared righteous in God's sight. The
law cannot declare me righteous based upon my works. And so he
says, He says, but that no man is justified by the law in the
sight of God, verse 11, it's evident, for the just shall live
by faith. What is it to live by faith?
It's to look to Christ for righteousness. It's to plead his blood for forgiveness. That's what it is. And he says,
and the law is not of faith, verse 12, the man that doeth
them shall live in them. In other words, if you're thinking
you're going to be saved by your works of the law, you've got
it all to do. And you're already starting out
under death, under the curse. In verse 13 he says, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us, for it's written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. Talking about his crucifixion. Over in Galatians chapter four
and verse four, listen to this. He says, but when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his son. That's the deity
of Christ. made of a woman, that's the humanity
of Christ without sin, made under the law. Christ went under the
law. The sins of God's chosen people,
the elect, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world,
Their sins were imputed, charged, accounted to Christ, and he was
made under the law, responsible to keep the law, responsible
to satisfy its justice as their surety. Substitute and redeemer,
look at verse five of Galatians four, to redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Now, if all that's the case, why was the law given? We'll
go back to Galatians three in verse 19. Wherefore then serveth
the law. Why was the law given? 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. It was given because of transgressions. It was given to show them their
transgressions, their sins, their depravity. Again, the impossibility. of salvation, of forgiveness,
of being justified, of being made righteous before God, of
receiving eternal life by their law keeping. For by grace are
you saved, through faith not of works. See, through faith,
that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. We'll go back to 2 Corinthians
3 as we work our way through this text. So the letter killeth. Salvation by works is a deadly
doctrine. It's a doctrine of death. And
I'll put it to you this way. Satan is a subtle devil, friend. What happens today is the great
deception. And what a lot of people, just
about everybody I know claims to be saved by grace. Before
I really knew what grace was, before God showed me what grace
was, I thought I believed salvation by grace. Everybody sings amazing
grace, don't they? But Satan's deception is a cleverly
disguised system of works which he calls grace. And what you
need to do is to search the scriptures prayerfully and pray, God, don't
let me be deceived by these clever deceptions. And I'm gonna tell
you something, they're popular. Christ said in the last days
that some would be so close to the truth that if it were possible,
they could deceive the very elect, but it's not possible to deceive
the elect unto damnation. And the way I look at it, when
I see it in what I grew up in, false Christianity, it had to
do with salvation in some way, at some stage, to some degree,
conditioned on you and me, and not on Christ and him alone.
You see, the true gospel reveals to us that all of our salvation,
all the salvation of God's chosen people, was conditioned on Christ. And Christ met those conditions
to ensure the salvation and eternal life of everyone for whom he
lived and died, was buried, and arose again the third day. Christ
did not die for any who perish. No, sir. If he did, that makes
salvation conditioned on you. and not on Christ alone. And
that is just the modern-day deception and the equivalent of being under
the law. Think about that. That may sound
harsh, but it's true. Well, look at verse seven. Go
back to 2 Corinthians 3, now verse seven. He says, but if
the ministration of death, now that's the old covenant, How
do you know? Listen, written and engraven
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. Verse eight,
how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? Now obvious there, what he's
talking about is the contrast between the old covenant, which
he calls the ministration of death, and the new covenant,
which he says is the ministration of the Spirit, and the Spirit
there in verse eight should be capitalized. It's the ministration
of the Holy Spirit. You see, there's death in the
ministration of death. And there's life in the ministration
of the Spirit. And he's talking about the children
of Israel, written and engraved in stone. That's the Ten Commandments.
And he said that was a glorious manifestation of God's character. It was. Think about it. God bringing
Moses up on that mount and revealing himself in that burning bush.
And then later on when Moses had gone and God had brought
the Hebrew children out of the bondage of Egypt and they crossed
the Red Sea, they were protected and guided by the pillar of fire
and the pillar of a cloud. I mean, all that was glorious. The Red Sea parted, they crossed
over, they met at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses went up, and
when Moses come down, there was a physical manifestation of light
that was so bright that they could not steadfastly look upon
Moses. That was a beautiful, glorious
thing. And so Paul's not denying the
glory. It had a glory. It had an effulgence,
you might say. But listen to what he says. Verse
seven. Or verse, yeah, verse seven.
They could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory
of his countenance, which glory was to be done away. That was
temporary. It wouldn't last. It was never
intended to last forever and ever and ever. You see, the old
covenant, and the reason this is so important is because so
much of the Old Testament literature is the history of Israel under
the Old Covenant. And that began in Exodus, after
Moses brought the children of Israel out from the bondage of
Egypt, and he gave them the law on Mount Sinai. And from that
time on, up and through Malachi, and even up through the Gospels,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John. That's the Old Covenant
period of time. It lasted for about 1,500 years. And it was for that nation is
the old covenant that God made with the nation Israel through
Moses. Now that covenant lasted up until
the time of Christ. The book of Hebrews chapter 9
and 10 talks about the time of reformation, the time of change. There was a change. And you remember
now, part and parcel of that old covenant was the old covenant
tabernacle, which later became the temple. And you know how
the temple was laid out with its different courts, the outer
court, and then the holy place, and then the holy of holies,
the inner chamber where the Ark of the Covenant was, and the
mercy seat. Only one person, the high priest,
could go into there. Behind the veil, there was a
veil that stretched from the ceiling to the floor, and only
the high priest of Israel could go in there with the blood on
the Day of Atonement. And you remember when Christ
died on the cross and he said, it's finished, and he gave up
the ghost, said, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And when
he died, remember what happened? The veil in that temple was torn
into from top, not from bottom to top, so that it could appear
that man did it, but from top to bottom. Because God did it,
the old covenant was over. It was finished. And the new
covenant was established. Now, let me give you some background
here before we go on in 2 Corinthians 3. The old covenant was given
to the nation of Israel, as I said, mainly to lead them to understand
their sinfulness and their depravity and the impossibility of salvation
by their works. and to drive sinners to Christ
as He was revealed in the types and the pictures. And you had
so many back then. You had the high priest. He was
a type of Christ. You had the blood of lambs. Those were types of Christ. Behold
the Lamb of God. You had all the offerings that
were given. And you had the cities of refuge. Those were types of Christ. You
had the scapegoat. There were so many types of Christ
in that old covenant. The feast days, the Passover,
all of that. So it was given to show them
their sinfulness and to drive them to Christ. But it was also
a law given to Israel by which God would keep them together
as a nation over that 1500 year period, especially through the
tribe of Judah, until Christ came. You see, they lived in
a very barbaric time. Nations like Israel did not last
during those times. They were usually conquered.
And you know the nation Israel was conquered several times. And after they split after Solomon,
the 10 tribes of the north were conquered by the Assyrian Empire
and scattered. But Judah and Benjamin was kept
intact in the southern kingdom. And they lasted. Even they were
taken into captivity by Babylon, but they were brought back out.
But they were still conquered. And eventually they were scattered
in AD 70. But that was after Christ had
come. So God used that covenant to keep them together as a nation,
providentially. And it was in spite of them.
It was not because they were so good and obedient. They weren't.
Read their history. But it was to last until Christ
came. And it was always told to them. Back over in the book of Jeremiah,
chapter 31, here's a prophecy. Now, Jeremiah prophesied in Israel
in a time that was low. They were about to be taken into
Babylon into captivity for 70 years. And listen to what Jeremiah
says in prophecy. Jeremiah 31, 31. Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Now, as you
go along through the Bible, the house of Israel and the house
of Judah by this time had already been separated. But what the
point that Jeremiah's making is that God's gonna bring them
together as a united kingdom, but he's not talking about the
physical Israel and the physical Judah, he's talking about spiritual
Israel, spiritual Judah. And you can see that in the New
Testament, and you can actually see it in the Old Testament.
And he says in verse 32, not according to the covenant that
I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. This is not gonna
be like the old covenant, he said, which my covenant they
broke. He says, although I was in husband
unto them, saith the Lord, God joined himself to that nation
for a limited period of time, even though they broke the covenant.
They didn't fulfill the conditions. Verse 33, but this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts. That's the heart. He said, I'll
write it in their hearts and write it in their hearts and
will be their God. They shall be my people. And
he says, they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and
every man his brother, saying, know the Lord. See, one of the
complaints of the prophets throughout the 1500 year period of the old
covenant was the people forgot God. They didn't know the Lord.
They didn't know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But under the
new covenant, they shall all know, he says, for they shall
all know me. From the least of them unto the greatest of them,
saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember
their sin no more. And the book of Hebrews chapter
eight shows us how that was all fulfilled in the coming and the
finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when God says, I
will forgive their sins and will remember their sins no more,
what he means is he will never hold them accountable. He will
never lay sin to their charge. The Bible tells us who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect. It's God that justifies. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died. Yea, rather is risen again who
is seated at the right hand of God ever living to make intercession
for us. That's the new covenant. Now,
one point I want to make before I leave you today is that this
new covenant reveals how God has always saved sinners by His
grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Based upon Christ, righteousness
imputed. The new covenant is not new as
far as God's purpose of salvation is concerned. It's new in time. The new covenant is the revelation
and accomplishment in time of the everlasting covenant of grace
made before time. And I wanna talk more about that
next week in the next message on the new covenant. The new
covenant is the accomplishment in time. And in time it came
after the Old Covenant, that's why it's called the New Covenant,
the accomplishment in time by Christ, the coming of Christ,
of the everlasting covenant of grace made before time. I hope
you'll join us next week for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
or email us through our website at www.TheLetterRofGrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.