I had Brother Travis read that
portion there in Galatians chapter 5. In verse 1 it says, Stand fast therefore
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage. And that's speaking
of the bondage of the law. And these Judaizers had come
into Galatia and they were saying you must be circumcised to be
saved along with having faith in Christ. And Paul, in chapter
3, which we looked at this morning in Sunday school, by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God in Galatians 3.21, says that the
law then against the promises of God, God forbid. The law of
God can never save. It can never save us. And yet
there's countless amounts of people today and in the past who are trying
to work their way to salvation. Today's message is called The
Lawful Use of the Law. The Lawful Use of the Law. Now
a good thing, a good thing can be used in an unlawful and dangerous
way. A razor is good to shave with,
right? Good to shave your face with.
But in the hands of a criminal, Or the wrong man or woman, it
can be a dangerous weapon. The blade can be a dangerous
weapon. A gun can be a useful item for hunting. A lot of people
hunt. Go out hunting, provide food
for their families. That's good. Or for defending
oneself. Someone breaks into your home,
it's good to have a gun. Right? for other uses. But in the hands
of a criminal, it can be used in the wrong way. Used for that
which it wasn't intended for. Scissors are useful in a barber
shop, but you never give them to children, do you? As a matter
of fact, the scissors we give the kids are all them little
rounded scissors so they can't hurt themselves. Because all
children, like we were when we were kids, has a propensity to
hurt themselves with a scissor. and not even know it. So we don't
give them full scissors, do we? No. Old clothes may serve well. I got some old clothes I still
wear, but they wouldn't be good for a bride to use for a wedding
dress, would they? Not at all. And old clothes that
you ladies have, that you maybe have put away, or even the bride
had put away, they wouldn't be any good to use for their wedding
garment. Their wedding dress. The law of God is good. The law
of God is good, beloved. I have to say that right off
the bat, because it's good. The commandment is just and holy.
As I said in Sunday school, we can't find any flaw with the
law of God. And we wouldn't want to, would
we? Because it reflects, who does it reflect? It reflects
the God of holiness. A God who's pure, a God who's
perfect, a God who's holy. So it's a reflection of who he
is. You can't pick a flaw in the law of God. It brings forth,
what does the law of God do? When used rightly, the law of
God brings forth the holiness of God. Look at who he is. He's absolutely sovereign. He's
holy. He's not who I thought he was.
in my natural state, and then what does it do for you and I?
It brings forth our sinfulness. So it reflects who he is, holy,
and then it gives us a look in the mirror, doesn't it? Unholy,
sinful. See, men and women don't like
that. Did we like it in our natural
state? No, not at all, did we? But this is what the law of God
does. It reflects the holiness of God.
It shows us the holiness of God. And it sets our sinfulness right
before us. So we can't get away. We can't
get away from it. And all moral law is embodied
in the Ten Commandments. Our laws are based upon some
of the commandments. right? Thou shalt not kill. Thou
shalt not steal. My oh my. So you can't pick a
flaw in the holy law of God. In interpreting the commandments,
our Savior made them supreme love to God and fellow men. But the problem with the law
is, for us, is we can never fulfill it. Not even one. Not even one. Not one. Because when Christ
spiritualized the law, when he said for a man to look upon a
woman with lust as adultery, when he said to be angry with
your brother or sister, you've killed them. So when he spiritualized the
law, we're all undone, aren't we? We're all in a state where
we can never be saved. Because all the law can do is
kill. That's all it can do. It can kill. It shows the soul
that sinneth it must die, scripture declares. So there's no trouble
with the law in the sense of it's holy. But when it's used
unlawfully and improperly, as we're seeing in the Bible study
in Sunday school, it's being used unlawfully and improperly
by the Judaizers. They're saying, again, and that's
why I had Travis read that portion, look what it says. I'll read
verses 3 and 4 of Galatians chapter 5. Look, it says, for I testify
again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the
whole law. So if you're going to live by the law in one point,
well, guess what? You've got to live by the whole
law. And that's impossible. Look what
it says here, though. Look at the seriousness of this.
Christ has become of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are
justified by the law, you've just made them void. If we think there's anything
we can do to gain our salvation, we've just made it void. Grace
is void then. It's no longer grace, Paul writes
in Romans. It's no longer grace. Look at
this, you are fallen from grace. Oh my. My, oh my. Now, somebody take
that, see somebody always does this, they take that verse and
they say, well look at that, you can have salvation and lose
it. No, that's not what it's about. That's not what it's about. Paul believed that these Galatians
were saved people. He's exhorting them by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God to not put your trust in the law
or anything you do, but just to trust in Christ and Him alone.
That's what this is all about. It's about grace and works. It's
about the law being justified by something you do or being
justified by the grace of God in Christ. And that's why this
letter is so important even today. That's why this is all so important
today, because people are trying by their works to gain salvation.
Some trying to obey the Ten Commandments. Now, I will never say that we
shouldn't kill. No, we shouldn't do any of that.
Again, I'm not an antinomian. I'm not against the law. Neither
are you. But we have to realize that we can't fulfill that law.
There's no way for us to fulfill that law. Christ did it for us. He's the end of the law for righteousness,
for our righteousness. He's sinless. He's establishing
that righteousness by obeying the law for you and I, beloved.
He's already perfectly, you ever think of that? He's already perfectly
righteous. When he's living on this, he's
already perfectly righteous. He's sinless. He says, the prince
of this world cometh and has nothing in me. No grip on me. Satan has no grip on me. So he's
doing all that for you and I. As our substitute. Working out. Working out that perfect righteousness. Obtaining salvation for us. He's already God in the flesh.
But God can't die, can he? But a man can. A man can. So God becomes flesh
to die for us, to redeem us from all our sins. And he did it perfectly. Oh, it's just absolutely amazing. So there's no trouble with the
law. It just may be used improperly and unlawfully for something
in which it was never intended. And that's salvation. It was
never intended to save anyone. Turn if you would to Galatians
chapter one. Look how serious, I mentioned this in Sunday school,
look how serious God the Holy Spirit is about salvation in
Christ alone. So serious that he contrasts
the truth with the false right off the bat in the first chapter
of Galatians chapter one. Oh my, you can't mix law and
the finished work of Christ. You know what it is? It's not
good news. It's damning doctrine. That's
what it is. It's damning doctrine. Anyone
who's trusting in something they do to be saved will be damned. Will go to hell. It's sobering,
isn't it? It's sobering. My oh my, look
at this, Galatians chapter 1 verses Verses, first of all, one to
five. He's gonna set forth before us in verse four the true gospel. Look at this. Paul, an apostle,
not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead. So, who raised Christ?
The Father. And all the brethren which are
with me unto the churches of Galatia, grace be to you in peace. Who do we have grace? First,
we have grace, right? Grace always precedes peace.
You have to have grace before you have peace. When we have
grace, when God's given us grace, showing us grace, giving us the
gift of faith, born again, then we got peace, don't we? Now we
got peace. Oh my. Who's it come from? God the Father and from our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now here's the gospel. Speaking
of Christ, who gave himself for our sins. the sinless one, dying
for sinners. Why? That he might deliver us
from this present evil world according to the will of God
and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Look
at that. So he sets forth the truth there. Christ gave himself
for our sins. Remember, he's writing the Galatians.
They've been bewitched by these Judaizers. He's not saying, you
bunch of unsaved folks. No, he's saying brethren. Notice
that? He's not writing them off. He's
not writing them off at all. He calls them brethren. And look
what he says, that Christ gave himself for our sins, that he
might deliver us from this present evil world. Look at this. What
a marvelous statement here. According to the will of God
and our Father. If you're saved, it's according
to the will of God our Father. Isn't that wonderful? I'll make
you rejoice. That'll put a spring in your
step, won't it? I'm saved, I stand before you
a saved man according to the will of God our Father, not based
on anything I've done. That's magnificent. And then
what's the, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen. That
comes from Paul's heart, doesn't it? grateful heart. Now, here we go. So, the Holy
Spirit said, Paul set forth the truth of the gospel, the good
news, salvation in Christ. Now look at this. Now he's going
to deal with the false preachers. Oh my, I marvel that you are
so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of
Christ unto another gospel. Then he says this, which is not
another, because the gospel is good news, right? the gospel
of salvation in Christ by him in him alone by his perfect finished
work right in him redeeming us yeah that's good news for sinners
look what he says here which is not another it's not good
news but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel
of Christ see when a man's preaching salvation by something you do
he's actually perverting the gospel that's that's the words
of of Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. He's perverting.
God takes the gospel serious. He sent his own son to bleed
and die for sinners. He takes the gospel serious.
Look at this, which is not another but there be some that trouble
you that would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an
angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Let him
be damned in the Greek. Let him be anathema. That's serious. As we said before, so say I now
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than you
have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade man or
God Look at this, if I seek to please
man, for if I yet please man, I should not be a servant of
Christ. So Paul's not holding back, because if he's seeking
to please man, he's not a servant of God. See, God's preachers,
we're not man-pleasers. We preach the gospel, and we
love the brethren. I'll tell you what. I'm amazed
at how quickly the Lord has knit our hearts all together. We're
coming up on, we're on our eighth year now, seventh, but going
on to eight, and it's been amazing. And the Lord's just knitting
our hearts together, isn't he? In love. God did that. Isn't that
amazing? But no preacher of God, no preacher
of God's gospel is a man pleaser. It just can't be, because like
he said here, he says, if I said, well, yeah, those guys are okay,
and, you know, that gospel, well, yeah, you know, they're a little
wrong on some parts, you know, he'd just be pleasing men, wouldn't
he? How many times have you heard people say, well, that group,
they're a bunch of believers, and they preach works-based salvation,
and somebody will say, well, yeah, no, they're believers.
What? You know? I can't believe how
many people I've heard sometimes say, well, Catholics are our
brothers and sisters. And I'm always shocked at that,
because they're coming out of it. And I'm like, well, they
ain't my brothers and sisters, unless they're saved by grace.
And then they'll come out of her. They will come out of her. If the Lord saves them, they'll
come out of that system. And I'm not saying I don't. People
take that the wrong way, too. Sometimes they say, oh, you're
bashing on Catholics. I don't hate the people. I hate the system. I pray for the people. I'm thankful
God delivered me out of that darkness because that's what
it is. It's basically Mary worship when you boil it down. And it's
all about what you do. You're justified by your works,
like so many other religions in this world. There's so many
religions in this world that are all based, again, you can
borrow all religions down to two things, right? Grace and
works, right? If it has any kind of works in it, then it's not
grace. It's not, no matter how sincere the person is. It's just
not. So we must find out How the law
is to be used. How is the law of God to be used
then? How is it lawfully used? The first point is this. By the
law is the knowledge of sin. We don't know sin until the law
comes. We don't know what it is. Turn
if you would to Romans chapter three and then put your fingers
in Romans chapter seven. Now, right before this portion
that we're going to read, verses 19 and 20 of Romans 3, Paul,
by inspiration of the God of the Holy Spirit, had just penned
some words saying, there's none righteous, that means none, right? There's none that seeketh after
God. There's none good. He had just penned these words.
And then he writes this, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, verses
19 and 20. Now we know that whatsoever things
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law. Who's
under the law? Every son and daughter of Adam.
Every son and daughter of Adam. Because we're born sinners. Right? It saith to them who are under
the law, what's the lawful use of the law? This will be our
second point, this one here. That every mouth may be stopped.
Look at that. Stopped. That our mouth might
be shut. I heard that you go to prison,
no one's guilty. You start talking to the inmates,
no one's guilty. I heard a story about a governor
that went to, in another country. He goes to this prison, and he's
going through this prison, and he's asking, talking to the guys
and saying, and none of them are guilty, but this one man
says, I'm here justly, I'm guilty. And he says, I'm gonna pardon
you. One man out of the whole prison he found that said he
was guilty. See, but what does the law of
God do? It shuts our mouths. No one can say anything. We're
all guilty before God, every one of us. I say this is a sobering
message today, but again, like I say, it needs to be preached. Because the world we live in
now, and then look at verse, look at this, that all, every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world, that means everybody,
top side of this earth, everyone, everyone who's ever lived, may
become guilty before God. That's what the law does. It gives us knowledge of sin.
Look at it. Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh
be justified in his sight. For by the law is what? The knowledge
of sin. See, the law reveals to us our
sinfulness. It reveals to us what we are.
We're just a bunch of sinners. And I love that song we sang.
That's one of my favorite songs. First time I ever heard that
was in the rescue. I'm only a sinner saved by grace. That's me. That's
you, right? Only a sinner saved by grace.
This is my story. That's my story. Oh, praise God,
I'm a sinner saved by grace. Now turn to Romans 7 if you would.
Now if you do not know you're a sinner, then you don't know
the law. Right? Because by the law comes the
knowledge of sin. Oh my. Look at this, Romans chapter
7 verses 7 to 14. What shall we say then? Is the
law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known
sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except
the law said thou shalt not covet. Now look at that, lust there
is not sexual, it's coveting. It's coveting. But sin, taking
occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was
dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment
came, sin revived and I died. It slew him. It slays us, doesn't
it? And the commandment which was
ordained to life I found to be unto death. See, you can't be saved by the
Ten Commandments. It can only lead to your death. Right? No one can be saved by
any portion of the law. It can only lead to our death.
For sin taking occasion by the commandment deceived me and by
it slew me. Wherefore, look at this. Now
here's what the law is. It's holy. That's why I say you
can't find any fault with the law. It's holy. Look, it says
it right here. Wherefore, the law is holy, and the commandment
holy, and just, and good. Was then that which was good
made death unto me? God forbid. But sin that it might
appear sin, working death in me by that which is good, that
sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For
we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, soul unto sin.
So the law gives us a knowledge of sin. The law is good. It reveals our sinfulness. That's
the lawful use of the laws because it reveals sin to us. It gives
us the knowledge of sin, our sinful condition, but it provides
no way of escape. It can't save. It can't save. It shuts us up to Christ, doesn't
it? So anyone who's trying to be justified by the law and by
their law doings, as we saw over here in Galatians chapter 5,
Christ has become of no effect unto you. No effect. Listen to this in
Ezekiel 18 verses 19 to 20 if you want to write that down for
further study. Again it says, Yet say ye, why doth not the
Son bear the iniquity of the Father? When the Son hath done
that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes,
and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. Sin leads to death. The wages
of sin, the scripture says, the payment for sin is death. That's
why we die, because we're a bunch of sinners. Now God may use different instruments
to take us out, right? Different things. But the reason
we die is because we're a bunch of sinners. The soul that sinneth
it must die. My oh my. So one is using the
law lawfully when it's used as a weapon to slay our
self-righteousness. And do you know what is big in
this world? Self-righteousness is still big,
but you know what's really big in the world now? Self-importance. Oh, it's huge. It's huge. But you know what
the law does? It just cuts it. It's like someone taking an axe
to a big old tree, man. Because I don't feel important. I'm just a sinner saved by grace.
Right? Remember Happy Jack that I talked
about on a Wednesday night, eh? I'm just a poor sinner and nothing
at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. That was his answer
to everything. That's so true for us, right? I'm a poor sinner
and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. We just
want to serve the Lord now, don't we? Yeah. Self-importance is gone for the
believer. Because it gets chopped down by the law and by grace.
It really does. But the world is full of that
right now. Full of self-importance, self-righteousness. And we were there! And we still
struggle with that sometimes, don't we? Let's just be honest. Sometimes we do. When I start thinking I'm important,
it doesn't take long for the Lord to make me feel like I'm
not important. Right? But I don't mean this in this
way, but think of this. Self-importance in the sense
of our ways mattering the most, because we are jewels in the
Lord's eyes. We are valuable, precious stones
to Him. You know when it says precious
in the eyes of the Lord's, the death of His saints? That means
an invaluable stone, like a rare gem. That's what
we are to Him. But we don't feel that way, do
we? We don't feel important. Isn't that amazing? Oh, my. So
the lawful use of the law is to slay our self-righteousness
and our self-importance. And it leaves us in the dust
and ashes before our great God. The second point of the law is
it's a mouth stopper. Let's go back to Romans chapter
3, verses 19 and 20. It's a mouth stopper. Let me
tell you, it stops the mouth. There won't be anybody saying,
I'm innocent. No. Because the law just stops. We're a bunch of guilty sinners,
aren't we? It's a mouth stopper. Look at this. Romans 3 verses
19 to 20. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, saith to them who are under the law, that
every mouth may be stopped. And that means everyone. And
we confess as believers, we confess that we're guilty before God
because of our sin. And this is what the law, look
at this, in all the world, that means everyone, that means everyone
who's ever lived, except for Christ, of course, who's the
seed of the woman, all the world might become guilty before God.
Everyone. People say, well, I have nothing
to do with God. No, you're still guilty. The law's still got a claim on
you. I don't believe in that stuff. Well, the law's still
got a claim on you. See, you can't outrun God. Oh my. And what does the law
do? It confronts our sin and shows
us that our God is holy. He is holy. It shows us that
His law is holy. It shows us that His scriptures
are holy. It shows us that Christ is the Holy One of God. Oh my. And it shuts our mouth. At Sinai,
we hear the thunder and the lightning and the flashes of God's wrath,
and we're all guilty before God. And imagine a court scene where
a man's proven guilty and his mouth is stopped. He can't say
nothing. Just shut right up. No plea for his defense. Guilty. This is what the law does. This
is what the law does. It shows us we're guilty before
God. Now, one may ask, well, is there any hope then for sinners?
Is there any hope then for sinners? If the law cannot save us, then
what hope does sinners have for the salvation of their souls?
Well, none in ourselves, say. We got no hope in ourselves.
Because the law shows us nothing we can do can save us. It brings
that evidently forth before us, and then it not only does it
do that, it gives us the knowledge of sin, and then it shuts our
mouths. Well, we don't even have a plea.
Guilty. Guilty. Well, we can't save ourselves. The law stops our mouths from
crying that we're innocent before God, and we're all guilty before
God, before the great God of the universe, before the sovereign
God. What hope? Is there any hope for sinners?
Well, our third point brings hope. Brings hope. Because the law of God is a schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ. Oh, there's hope, sinner friend.
There's hope. And it's found outside ourselves.
It's found outside ourselves. Turn, if you would, to Galatians
chapter 3. I brought this up in Sunday school. We've been
studying in Sunday school. We looked at this verse today. That's why
I told you guys in Sunday school that there's going to be some
overlapping with this main message. Galatians chapter 3, verses 19
to 24. Again, Paul's writing to the Galatian church, born-again,
blood-washed believers. They've been bewitched by the
Judaizers who said you have to be circumcised to be saved, you
have to follow the law to be saved, along with faith in Christ. And look what he writes here
in Galatians 3, verses 19 to 24. Wherefore then serveeth the
law. What's the purpose of the law?
It was added because of transgressions till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made. And it was ordained by angels
in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator
of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises
of God? Paul says, God forbid. For if there had been a law which
could have been given life, verily righteousness should have been
by the law. But the scripture hath concluded, what? All under
sin. We just read that, that quote
in Romans. All understand what? That the
promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
But before faith came, we were kept under the law. That's what,
we were under the law. Now, earlier up, further up,
further up in Galatians chapter 3, Look at verse 13. Christ has
redeemed us from the curse of the law. We've been redeemed
out from under the law. We were under the law, and now
we've been redeemed out from under the law, being made a curse
for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. It says, wherefore the law was
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. But after that faith is come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all children of God
by faith in Christ Jesus. So Galatians 3.24 there brings
forth that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith. And note the fact justified by
faith. Faith in who? Faith in Christ. in Christ alone. There's no salvation outside
of Christ, is there? Now people have faith in all
different things. We saw a couple weeks ago people having faith
in pieces of wood. Neil, that quote you gave me
on the way out was fantastic. Neil said, man molds an idol
and then the idol molds him. I shared that with a few preacher
friends. That's fantastic. It's true though. It's true. Man makes that idol and then
the idol molds him. My goodness. Oh my. So faith in whom or what? In
Christ. And when we're born again by
the Holy Spirit of God, we're given that faith to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the only way a sinner
can be saved is through Christ. There's no other way. There's
no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved. No, none. All
those gods of the Romans and the Greeks were just a bunch
of false gods. Philistine gods were just a bunch
of false gods. People worshiping all kinds of
things now, rocks and trees, they're just gods of their imagination. My oh my. And as I said in Sunday
school, we see schoolmaster here and we think teacher, right?
But that's not what this Greek word means. See, the only thing
the law can do is reveal to us that we're a bunch of sinners,
right? That we're a bunch of sinners.
And the only way that a sinner can be saved is through Christ. And this word for schoolmaster
does not mean schoolteacher in the Greek. It means child conductor. In homes of wealthy Greek and
Romans there would be a trusted servant who would take the children
to school and the servant was called a pedagogos, pedagogos
in the Greek. Child conductor is the same word
here for schoolmaster in the Greek. He didn't teach the children. I thought this was neat. He didn't
teach the children. But he took them to the teacher who would
teach them. See, the law can only show us
our sinfulness. And it takes us to the one who
is our Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my. My oh my. The law doesn't save. It brings us to Christ. It shuts
us in. It gives us the knowledge of
sin and shuts us in where our mouths are stopped. We're all
guilty before God. We got nowhere to go. And then the Holy Spirit comes
and reveals Christ to us. Isn't that wonderful? The balm
of Gilead, the savior of my soul, the lily of the valley, the fairest among 10,000, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. So the purpose of both the moral
and ceremonial law is to bring us to Christ. Calvin said this
about the schoolmaster. He said, the schoolmaster's not
appointed for the whole life. I like this. The schoolmaster
wasn't appointed for the whole life. but only for the childhood. As the origin of the Greek implies,
so the origin of this word implies that, a child conductor. He goes on to say this, besides
in training a child, the object is to prepare him by the instruction
of childhood for mature years. To prepare us for Christ. Isn't
that wonderful? To bring us to a point where
we have absolutely nowhere to go but to look to Christ. That's
what the law does. That's what the law does. Now
that's a lawful use of the law to bring us to Christ. And the
fourth point is this one. Let us consider how the wrong
use of the law is fatal. Fatal. Now through many centuries and
times, men have ignored the law of God. They've just ignored it. But
the law of God hasn't ignored them. It's got a claim on them. Whether they believe it or not.
Today people ignore the law of God. But one day they'll be held accountable
by it. Right? They'd be held accountable. Today, many have no concern about
the commandments of God, but the law is concerned about them.
The soul that's in it, it shall die. Man may evade human laws, but
the law of God, there's no way to throw the law of God off your
tracks. Futurists might throw the law, the police or the law,
off the tracks when they're running, but no one's going to evade this
law. The law of God is God's bloodhound. It'll track every man and woman
to their hiding place. There's no way to throw this
bloodhound down. No way to distract this bloodhound. He'll track you down. In God's court, every one of
us, we've been fingerprinted and numbered and photographed
so that the law of God cannot be ignored. By nature, we're all condemned
by it. So how then is the law Fatal
in its use. Turn, if you would, to Galatians
chapter 3. Fatal in its use. The law of
God is fatal in its use when it's used for salvation. It's absolutely fatal. It'll
damn everyone who's using it for their salvation. Aren't you glad Christ fulfilled
the law for us? Oh my. Look at this, Galatians
chapter 3 verse 10 and 11. For as many as are the works
of the law are under the curse. Look at that. Someone wants to
live by the law, well the scripture just here declares them, they're
under a curse. That's what it is. That's not
my words. That's not Paul. Paul wrote these words, but he
is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God to write these words,
right? That's so plain, they're under a curse. For it is written,
cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. So if you ever find someone
who's telling you they're trying to live by the law of God, say,
are you living by all of them? And I guarantee you, they're
gonna say no. Say, well, then you're condemning
yourself. And you're cursed. Again, it's God's bloodhound,
man. No one's getting away from it,
is there? There's only one way to escape that bloodhound. In
Christ. In Christ. In Christ alone. My, so the law is fatal in its
use then. But that, look at this, verse
11, but that no man And I mean, don't matter how sincere they
are. No man, no woman is justified by the law and the sight of God.
It is evident. Why? The just shall live by faith.
That's what we live by. Beloved, we live by faith in
Christ. We live and have our being in
Christ, don't we? We live and we move in Christ. So don't mix law and grace. It
just don't go together. Anything that man places together
with the perfect finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ ruins
it. Anything, I mean anything. Anything. If you're trying to
be saved by keeping the law, then you're making yourself your
own savior. You know that? People who are
trying to be justified, and I'm talking about not just by the
law, but people who are trying to be justified by something
they do, they're making themselves their savior. Because they're saying, well,
I don't need Christ. I can save myself. No. Sorry. Can't. Can't. It'll just lead to the damnation
of your eternal soul. So beware, lest someone brings
before you a salvation by something you do. Or by keeping a lie. It can only condemn, as we see
here in the scriptures. But used by the Holy Spirit of
God, In his almighty power, the law is a schoolmaster. Shuts
us up, shuts our mouth, gives us the knowledge of sin. So we
put ourselves in the dust, right? Shows us how holy God is. And
the Holy Spirit gets a hold of that. And he just shows us Christ. God, be merciful to me. What
did that old Pharisee or that publican say, which we all cry?
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. The sinner. Not a. The. The sinner. My, oh my. What do we, who are the born-again
children of God, have in Christ? I want to finish off in this
note. What do we have? What do we have in Christ? In
light of what we're looking at today, what do we have in Christ?
Well, rejoice, beloved of God. Well, rejoice. Turn, if you would,
to Galatians chapter 3, and then put your finger in Romans chapter
6. Rejoice. Rejoice. We've been redeemed
out from under the curse of the law. The law has no claim on
us anymore. Hallelujah, amen. Christ fulfilled
it all. Every single point, he fulfilled
it for us, beloved. The sinless one, doing that for
sinners like you and I. Oh, it makes our hearts sing!
Look at this, Galatians chapter 3, verses 10 to 14. For as many
as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is
written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that
no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident.
For the just shall live by faith. And the law, look at this, is
not of faith. But the man that doeth them shall
live in them. James wrote, if you offend in
one point of the law, you've broken them all. Look at this. Here we go. Here we go. Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. He's done it. The
law doesn't have a claim on us. He's done it. He's redeemed us. He's purchased us. He hath redeemed
us from the curse of law, being made a curse for us. For it is
written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Why? That
the blessings of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith. Praise be to God. Christ redeemed us. He fulfilled the law. He is the
end of the law for righteousness. And He is the Lord, our righteousness.
Now turn, if you will, to Romans chapter six. Do you know, beloved,
we're dead to the law? It doesn't have no claim on us.
It comes, it's got nothing on us. We're free. That's why in
that portion I had Brother Travis read, stand fast in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made you free. We've been emancipated,
beloved. We were slaves to sin. We were
chained up, we are set free. And the law is dead to us now.
Oh my, look at this. Romans chapter six, verses six
to 14. Or actually five, verse five
to 14. We're dead to the law. For if
we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,
we shall also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing
this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Now
we don't, we don't desire to serve sin anymore, do we? We
mourn over our sin. Oh my. Knowing that this, that
the old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For
he that is dead is what? Freed from sin. We died with
Christ. Beloved, we're crucified with Christ, Paul wrote in Galatians,
nevertheless I live. Oh my. My oh my. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him. He's risen, we're
going to go to heaven too. He's already in heaven, we're
going to be there. Right? He's the head, we're the body,
right? Oh my. Knowing this, or knowing that
Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more. Death hath
no more dominion over him. Look at that. Death has no claim
on him. Oh my. See, that's why the sting
of death is gone for us. Yeah, it's gone. For in that
he died, he died unto sin once. He didn't, it only had to be
done once. because of who did it? The God
man. The Lord Jesus Christ. Once. But in that he liveth, he liveth
unto God. Because he lives what? We live
also, right? Because he lives, I can face
tomorrow. I know who holds the future.
It's Christ. And we're in his hands, aren't
we? Oh my. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise,
reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Let not sin, therefore, reign
in your moral body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield your members as
instruments of unrighteousness, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from
the dead. and your members as instruments
of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion
over you, for ye are not under the law, but what? Under grace. We're not under the law anymore.
Christ redeemed us from under the law. Stand fast, therefore,
my dear brethren, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us
free. Stand fast. We are so free, beloved. And
let's read that one verse again in Galatians 5. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. I'll read it again. Galatians
5.1. Stand fast. Just stand. Therefore, in the liberty, the
freedom, wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. Don't be entangled by the yoke
of the law. See, what was happening was these Galatians were being
entangled in the yoke of the law by the Judaizers. And Paul
said, you're free. Stand fast in that freedom that
you have. Stand fast in that freedom. My oh my. Rejoice. Now turn, if you would,
one more place. Romans chapter 10. One more place.
Romans chapter 10. And here is a great cause for
us to rejoice, beloved. I'll tell you, I mentioned this
already in the message, but I'm going to read it again, and we're
going to read it in the context, and I'll tell you what, this
is cause for great rejoicing. Great rejoicing. Look at this,
Romans chapter 10, verses 1 to 4. Brother, my heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved,
for I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge. That's 90% of religion out there.
A zeal for God, but no knowledge of Him. For they being ignorant
of God's righteousness, which you don't even hear about preaching
anymore, and going about to establish their own righteousness, that's
what I was doing before the Lord saved me, have not submitted
themselves unto the righteousness of God, and here it is, for Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. He is the end of the law. He
has perfectly fulfilled the law in my room and place and in yours
as a believer, and it's like we did it, but he did it all
for us. And that is imputed to us. So
why does, remember, God looks at us and what does he see? The
righteousness of Christ. Isn't that wonderful? I'll make
you shout. Make you shout. It's so wonderful.
Oh, so in conclusion, then, the way to be saved is to look to
the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Redeemer, only Savior. It
was He who has satisfied the claims of the law with His precious
blood in our room and place. Oh, the law cursed me, Christ
Jesus, my Lord, bore the curse in my room and place. Free from
the law, oh happy condition, Jesus has died, and there is
remission. Praise be to God. Let we who
are the redeemed of the Lord lift up our voices and praise
Him, in praise and adoration to the Lord Jesus Christ. We
have a perfect, eternal security in Christ in Him alone. What
do we say? Praise His mighty name. Praise
His mighty name. Oh my.