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. welcome to our program today
i'm glad you could join us if you'd like to follow along in
your bibles with the message today i'm going to be preaching
from second corinthians chapter three and i'll begin at verse
twelve in the title of the message is turning to the lord turning
to the lord and of course what we're what i'm gonna be talking
about is is god-given Holy Spirit wrought faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, turning to the Lord, receiving Him by the power of
God, and then turning away from ourselves, turning away in repentance,
turning away from our sins, turning away from our self-righteousness,
turning away in repentance. And so we're talking about faith
in Christ, and repentance of what the Bible calls dead works. You know what dead works are?
Those are works that people try to engage themselves doing in
order to be saved or in order to be righteous in God's sight. That is called dead works because
it leads to death. The reason it leads to death
is because it does not equal the righteousness that God requires
for salvation. Somebody asked me one time, said,
well, what kind of righteousness does God require? Well, there's
only one kind of righteousness, and that is perfect satisfaction
to the law and justice of God. And a man looked at me one time
after I told him and he said, well nobody can do that. And
I said, well that's why, for by grace are you saved. Through faith, that not of yourself,
it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Well where is righteousness to
be found? Where is salvation to be found? Where is forgiveness? Mercy? Where is the love of God to be
found? Where is eternal life to be found? Only in Christ,
who is the gift of God to His people. Well, the apostle in
2 Corinthians 3 here had been talking about how the New Covenant,
the New Testament, the New Covenant in Christ is so much more glorious
than the Old Covenant law given to Israel. through Moses on Mount
Sinai. And he made it plain that the
Old Covenant law was never meant, as it was given to Israel under
that covenant, it was never meant to be a way of salvation because
the law was given to expose their sin and their depravity and the
impossibility of being saved if salvation were conditioned
on sinners. And in a sense, the law was a
schoolmaster, a tutor to lead them to Christ. And literally
what that means, that's out of Galatians chapter four, chapter
three rather. And when it talks about that,
it's talking about the law was set in force by God to bring
the nation up into the time of Christ. That's what that means. And that law lasted for 1,500
years, the old covenant law. And there's always been law.
There was law before Mount Sinai. God laid down His law before
the Ten Commandments. But that law that was given to
Israel in that form under that covenant, given to a rebellious
people, was set in force only up until the time of Christ.
and then it was done away. He says in verse 11 here, look
at 2 Corinthians chapter 3 in verse 11. He says, for if that
which is done away was glorious. Now what was done away? The old
covenant. All the types and the pictures
and the shadows. He says in verse 11, much more
that which remaineth is glorious. Well now what remains? Well the
new covenant. Now the new covenant is the covenant
of grace. And the reason it's called new
is because what they're talking about here is the establishment
in time of an everlasting covenant made
before time. You know the covenant of grace
is an eternal covenant. The covenant of grace was made
between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit before the
foundation of the world, before the world began. God chose a
people, gave them to Christ, and put all of the responsibility
of their salvation upon Him. And then in time, in the process
of time, He sent His Son into the world, made of a woman. That's
Christ's humanity. Christ is both God and man in
one person. made under the law that was salvation
conditioned on His law keeping to redeem them that were under
the law. So that covenant is eternal, but it was established
in time when Christ came and obeyed unto death as the surety
and the substitute of His people, redeeming them from their sins
by His blood. And He established in His death
that righteousness that we need in order to be saved, to be justified. It's all in Him. He is called
in the Old Testament, the Lord, our righteousness. Jeremiah 23,
5 and 6. Jeremiah 33, 15 through 16. And that applies to all believers.
All true believers now, not just fake believers or professing
believers, but all true believers. Christ is their righteousness.
His righteousness is imputed to them. That's what the law
was for. But look at verse 12. This is
where our text begins in 2 Corinthians 3 today. He says, seeing then
that we have such hope, we use great plainness or boldness of
speech. What a hope believers have in
Christ. And that hope is not just wishful
thinking. That hope is not just a pipe
dream. That hope is not just an opiate. Karl Marx called religion the
opiate of the people, like taking a mental drug just to shield
your mind from the realities of this life. No, this is a reality. The Lord Jesus Christ was actually
an historical person. God intervening in time. God the Son. He was actually
made flesh without sin. He actually walked the earth
in strict obedience to the law of God. He actually suffered
and bled and died on the cross as the sacrifice, the substitute,
the surety of God's people to pay the debt that God's elect
owed to his law and justice because Christ took their place. He owed
the debt. It was imputed to him. And then
he was actually buried and he stayed in that tomb three days
and he actually arose again the third day and walked this earth
and was seen of over 500 witnesses, the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians
15. He was seen a lot. And there
were witnesses who saw him, that he died, he was buried, but that
he arose from the dead, and he ascended unto the Father, into
glory, in the view of his disciples. This was no hoax, this is reality. Now in all of that, historically,
actually, factually taking place, What did he accomplish? Well,
he accomplished the salvation and eternal life and glory for
all his people. That's what he did. That's the
merit of his work. Somebody asked me one time, so
what are you talking about merit of his work? Well, what is merit? Well, that's the value of something. That's what something earns,
you know? You know if you go out and work
a job, you merit payment for that job. You work a 40 hour
week and you do a certain job. Now some jobs take more knowledge
and more skill and more time than other jobs. And those jobs
that take more knowledge and time and skill may merit be worth
more money. You take a person who is a laborer
and they earn their pay. But now if you take someone who
is a brain surgeon or a heart surgeon, you see that takes more
time, more knowledge, and it's worth more money. Well, what
is the blood of Christ worth? What is his righteousness worth? What did he earn? when he died
on the cross and was buried in a rose again. What did he earn
by establishing righteousness? He earned, he merited the complete
salvation of every sinner for whom he died was buried in a
rose again the third day. And it's not something, see my
salvation is not based upon something that I added to Christ. Today,
people think about faith. Well, he died for everybody,
but that really didn't merit salvation until you put your
faith in him. And I've heard people say, well,
faith is a work, but it's not meritorious. That's just human
talk. Let me tell you what Christ earned
for his people. He earned a right standing for
them with God. God is reconciled to them and
they're reconciled to God based upon the righteousness of Christ
imputed. He earned spiritual life given
to them, raised from the dead, and you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and in sins. You must be born again.
Well, the new birth is spiritual life imparted, given by the Holy
Spirit, but Christ is the one who earned it. I didn't earn
it. and even the faith by which we receive Christ. It's not the product of our decision,
or our goodness, or our compliance, or our cooperation. Left to ourselves,
we would not believe the scripture says. For by grace are you saved
through faith, and that's not of yourselves, it's the gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, for we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them." That's
Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 10. So Christ earned it all. And
so the hope that a believer has is sure and certain because it's
not conditioned on him. It's not conditioned on me. If
it were, I can tell you, I know myself, I'm a sinner saved by
grace. If it were conditioned on me,
it would be uncertain, it would be certain to be lost. We go through the trials and
the temptations of this life and we fail on every account.
I know false religion will applaud men for their accomplishments,
but the Bible doesn't. My hope, he says, we use great
plainness of speech. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. That's my hope, on Christ the
solid rock. Now, go to verse 13 of 2 Corinthians
3. Now Paul said, we use great boldness
of speech. I'm not ashamed of this. I know
there are people, you know, when I talk about election, I know
there are people out there who hate the doctrine of election.
I don't care. Well, I do care because I want
you to believe the word of God. But what I'm saying is that's
not going to stop me from preaching it because it's in the Bible.
It's God's word. And that's why I preach it. If
we preach whatever, whatever doctrine, the fact that there's
none good, no not one, there's none that doeth good, there's
none righteous, I'm not gonna stop preaching that because I
have a good hope, you see. I have no righteousness in myself,
I can work no righteousness by my works, but I have a righteousness,
Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. And I'm not ashamed
of that. So he says in verse 13, and not
as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of
Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which
is abolished. Moses, what he's talking about,
when Moses, there were times, well, especially the time when
he came down out of Mount Sinai after receiving the law, and
it says that up there, that he had a glory, a glow, it was like
a physical light. about his countenance, his face,
and the children of Israel couldn't even look. They had to turn their
heads away. And that lasted for a while and then there were other
times that Moses had to put a veil over his face because they could
not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. Now
there are several things there. First of all, You see the awesome
requirement of God's law, which is perfection. And here's the
point that he's making. We as sinners, anytime that we
devise our own ways of salvation, we bring it down to our own level,
to our own view, we darken it so that we can look at it. But
it won't work. The perfection of God's law that
God requires for justification, for salvation, is so bright and
so light that we can't even stand to look at it. And that's why
every false view of Christianity today is an attempt to bring
God down a little and to raise man up a little. See, we've got
to bring God down on our level. We've got to make Him like us.
And we've got to raise ourselves up and think more highly of ourselves
than we are. Because we can't view the reality. Perfect righteousness. Think
about it. I don't even know what that is,
except as I see Christ in the Scriptures. And that's what happens. And then it says, there's another
aspect of this. The law was given. But by nature,
men cannot see the real purpose of the law. For example, I had
a man tell me one time, he said, my hope of salvation is in keeping
the Ten Commandments. Well, my friend, if that's your
hope, you're doomed. And he couldn't see that that
law was given to expose his sinfulness, his depravity, and the impossibility
of salvation that way. And that's what Paul describes
here in verse 14. Look at 2 Corinthians 3 verse
14. He says, but their minds were blinded. Now that's what
he's talking about. Blinded how? Well, let me show
you this. Over in the book of Romans chapter
nine, listen to what Paul the apostle was inspired by the Holy
Spirit to write concerning Israel's view of the law. And it was because their minds were blinded, blinded
to the reality, their understanding. And he says in verse 31, this
is Romans 9, 31. He says, but Israel, which followed
after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law
of righteousness. You see that, verse 31? They
have not attained, they followed after the law of righteousness.
They tried to keep it. to attain righteousness. But
they didn't make it. Verse 32, wherefore or why? Why did they not make it? Because
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of
the law. You see, what is it to seek righteousness
by faith? It's to seek it and find it in
Christ. Now mark that down. A lot of
people today, they try to seek righteousness not in Christ,
but in their faith. In other words, I made the difference.
I made the decision. It's my faith that got me out
of condemnation and put me into salvation. No, it's Christ. Our faith, God-given faith, the
gift of God, is in Christ. To seek righteousness by faith
is to seek righteousness according to God's Word. And God's Word
says you don't have it and can't find it in yourself. You can
only have it and find it in Christ. And that's important. So they
didn't seek it in Christ, in a substitute, in the God-man,
in the Messiah. They sought it by works of the
law, and it says in verse 32, they stumbled at that stumbling
stone, verse 33, as it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling
stone and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed. That stumbling stone was Christ.
They stumbled over it because his way didn't fit their way.
Down in Romans 10 and verse four, it says, for Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness. to everyone that believeth. So
go back to 2 Corinthians 3 now, verse 14. Their minds were blinded. And listen to what he says. For
until this day, even in Paul's day, talking about the unbelieving
Jews, for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in
the reading of the Old Testament. They read the Old Testament,
but they don't see it. There's a veil. What does that
veil consist of? Ignorance. self-righteousness,
religious pride, stubbornness, all those things. You know who
they describe? They describe all of us by nature. Read Romans
chapter three, verses 10 through 20. That's the veil that's over
the heart. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them. But
listen to what he says. He says in verse 14, Which veil
is done away in Christ? When a sinner is brought by the
Holy Spirit to see his sinfulness and his depravity and the fact
that he deserves nothing but death and hell based upon his
best efforts to keep the law, and God must be just and damn
him, when he sees that, the Holy Spirit will turn him to Christ.
And look what it says in verse 15. But even unto this day when
Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart, verse 16. Nevertheless,
when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
Now I'm gonna deal with this next week too. I'm gonna give
you some other scriptures that show what turning to the Lord
is and the veil taken away. But here's what he's saying. Whenever the Holy Spirit reveals
to a sinner the justice of God against all sinners. God, listen,
God will damn, justly damn every sinner to whom sin is imputed.
God is just to do so. He's not just mean or throwing
a tantrum. He's not being unfair. He's being
just. And we all, deserve exactly what
God gives in that justice. We've earned it. The wages of
sin is death. My friend, when the Holy Spirit
brings a sinner to that conviction, he always turns them to Christ
for all salvation, for all forgiveness, for all righteousness, for all
eternal life and glory. He shows us that God, by an act
of divine grace based upon justice, imputed, charged the sins of
His people to Christ, His sheep. The shepherd gives his life for
the sheep. Christ died to pay that debt
in full. He satisfied justice. He brought
forth everlasting righteousness that is imputed to all of God's
people. And they are by the Holy Spirit
turned to Christ, away from themselves, away from their works. And it's
not that we shouldn't obey God, but our obedience does not save
us, does not wash us from our sins, it does not justify us
before God, does not make us righteous. It's all Christ. And turning to Him, we turn away
from ourselves, we turn away from our self-righteousness.
Oh, we still have self-righteousness in us, and we have to fight it.
But now, the veil's taken away. Now we're not ignorant of who
God really is and what He requires. Now we're not ignorant of who
we really are and what we deserve. Now we're not ignorant of who
Christ really is and what He earned and what He accomplished
by redeeming His people from their sin. Are you one of them?
Do you believe in Him? Has the Holy Spirit turned you
away from sin and away from self and turned you to the Lord? The
word Lord there, the name Lord is Jehovah our Savior, God our
Savior. That's what turning to the Lord
is. The law will not save you. The church cannot save you. Nothing
can save you but Christ crucified, risen from the dead. Listen,
what can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And what can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace.
This is all my righteousness. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
There's no other way. You've got no other way to turn.
Every other way that you turn is a false way, a way of damnation. The Bible says it's a way that
seems right unto men, but it's a way that leads to destruction.
And so he says in verse 17, now the Lord is that spirit, and
where the spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. The law
is bondage. Christ is liberty. And I'll talk
more about that next week. He says in verse 18, but we all,
with open face, beholding as in a glass, in a glass, in a
mirror, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Now
what he's talking about there is the glory of God revealed
in the face of Jesus Christ. And he'll speak about that down
on into 2 Corinthians chapter 4. But this is the ministry of
the new covenant. This is the ministry that is
so much more glorious. This is the ministry of the Holy
Spirit, which speaks to the spirits of men, given them in the new
birth. This is the ministry of righteousness
because it speaks of an accomplished work, the righteousness of Christ,
which demands the salvation of His people, which is the ground
of our justification before God and the source and power of spiritual
life given from God. Turn to the Lord. Turn away from
everything, everyone, everything else. The law will not save you.
Christ can save you. The veil that's upon the natural
heart must be taken away. 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.theletterofgrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.