Some of you, as you mouth those
words in singing, attempting to join with God's saints in
singing the praise of our God, could only mouth the words because
you know nothing about the lifting of that burden from your guilty
conscience. You're still in the bondage of
corruption. in the bondage of corruption. It is my prayer that before you
leave here today, you will be brought into the glorious liberty
of the children of God. Oh, the wondrous liberty of God's
free grace in Jesus Christ the Lord. How I want you to experience
it, to know it, and to walk in it. Open your Bible with me to
Romans chapter 8 and verse 21. Romans chapter 8 and verse 21. The creature itself also shall
be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God. In this verse of scripture, the
Holy Spirit speaks by the Apostle Paul both of bondage and of liberty. The bondage of corruption and
the glorious liberty of the children of God. The bondage of corruption
is that bondage into which sin has brought us. It is the bondage
of guilt before God. Oh, what bondage the guilty conscience
gives. It's the bondage of nature. The
bondage that makes all men and women by nature, miserable slaves
and prisoners. The bondage of corruption is
the forerunner of the everlasting torments of hell's bondage. Unless
God intervenes, It will bring us at last into the bondage of
hell itself. It will bring us at last into
destruction unless God intervenes by his almighty grace and gives
us the glorious liberty of the sons of God. This bondage of
corruption is the bondage that all men by nature experience. causing man to live continually
in the vileness of his being without liberty and without peace. This bondage holds multitudes
in abject servitude to fashion and style and social approval. It makes all of us by nature
slaves to our corrupt passions, slaves to the society around
us. And man who is a slave to his
passions, a slave to his lust, that man is a slave indeed. Physical
slavery is probably one of the worst abuses of humanity known
to man. But that's incomparable to the
slavery of a man's soul, this bondage of corruption. It's not
the bondage of our bodies, but the bondage of our hearts, of
our minds, of our souls. And this satanic bondage is manifest
in many ways. It's a bondage of sin, a bondage
of the law, a bondage of guilt, a bondage of social acceptance,
social approval, the bondage of religious tradition and custom
and superstition. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's
darling son, came into this world to deliver God's people from
the bondage of corruption to deliver us from all those things
that by nature hold us captives. He came to open the prison doors
to set the captive free. He came to give us life and liberty
as only he can give that life and liberty is found only by
the grace of God in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Here in the 8th chapter
of Romans, the Apostle Paul speaks plainly concerning this blessed,
blessed liberty that's ours in Christ Jesus. And tells us that
this liberty is liberty only to be found by the grace of God. Only found in Jesus Christ our
Savior. Look with me at the text again.
The creature itself, the creature itself, also shall be delivered from
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons
of God. My computer has just flat messed
up. Let me see if I can get straightened out. I can preach without the notes,
but it'll take me longer. So you want me to get straightened out? Well, we'll go on without it.
This liberty that's ours in Jesus Christ, our Lord, is that which
Christ alone can give. It is the blessed liberty of
grace. And it is a liberty that leads
to the blessed liberty to come in resurrection glory. Christ
alone is our liberator. The scripture declares, you shall
know the truth and the truth shall make you free. He says,
if the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. That freedom that he's talking
about refers specifically to Greek and Roman law in his day. When our Lord walked upon this
earth, this was a common way in which slaves found certain
freedom. If a man owned slaves and he
left those slaves to his eldest son, His eldest son might inherit
the slaves and then declare concerning those slaves, I give you liberty. And those slaves then were absolutely
free, free to such a degree they could not legally be brought
into bondage again. So it is with God's people. Jesus Christ the son of God came
to set his people free from the bondage of corruption. Now this liberty that's ours
in Jesus Christ is the liberty of pure free grace. He comes
by the omnipotent power of his spirit when he gives life and
faith by his spirit to his chosen and gives us liberty. Turn back
to Isaiah chapter 63. Isaiah 63 and verse one. This is a prophecy concerning
our Lord Jesus Christ, a prophecy concerning that which he would
accomplish for us as our Redeemer. The Lord Jesus speaks here and
he declares. I'm sorry, chapter 61 in verse
one, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Because the Lord
hath anointed me to preach good tidings, to proclaim good news,
the good news of the gospel, to preach good tidings to the
meek, to those who've been broken by God, broken with the conviction
of sin. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted. Now watch this, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, to set the captive free. He does this by the proclamation
of the gospel. And that gospel proclaimed in
the heart of the center, he proclaims liberty obtained by his obedience
and blood as our substitute and our sacrifice. By his obedience
to God, by his obtaining eternal redemption for us, the liberty
is ours. He's already obtained it. He
comes and proclaims that liberty and sets the captive free. Read
on. and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of the vengeance
of our God." I said to you just the other day, I find it remarkable
that he uses those words to speak of this liberty that's ours in
Christ. The day of the vengeance of our God? When Christ comes
and sets the sinner free. This is the thing that holds
us in bondage, is the dread and terror of God's justice, His
holiness and His truth. He comes to proclaim to us the
day of the vengeance of God, to declare that justice is satisfied,
that God has been avenged in His anger and wrath against sin
by the sacrifice of His own Son, to comfort all that mourn. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith the Lord. Declare to Jerusalem that her
iniquity is pardoned, that her warfare is over. She has received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. To appoint unto
them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the
oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. This liberty
our Lord Jesus brings to sinners by the preaching of the gospel.
Oh, the blessed, blessed privilege of hearing the gospel of God's
free grace. This is the means ordained of
God, fixed by God, by which he saves sinners. He gives faith
through the preaching of the word. We're born again through
not corruptible seed, but the incorruptible seed by the word
of God that lives and abides forever. Now, I can't begin to
explain how that works. I can't begin to explain that.
But this is what God does. When God saves a sinner, he takes
the gospel preached and by his spirit plants life in the center. and brings forth faith from that
center, giving the center a revelation of Jesus Christ in his soul. The Apostle Paul said, when it
pleased God to reveal his son in me. That's what it takes to
save a sinner. Christ must be revealed in you,
and only God can do that. We proclaim the word, we preach
the word, and we wait. We wait for God to work. And
when God works in you, you know it. If God reveals his son in
you, you know his son. And until God reveals his son
in you, you will never know his son. This liberty, then, is the
liberty that comes only from Christ, our great liberator. But what is this liberty? What
is this liberty? Turn to Romans chapter 6. Romans
the 6th chapter. Paul told us in verse 15 of chapter
8, you've not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but
the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father, we've received
this Holy Spirit of adoption, declaring us to be God's sons,
assuring us that we are God's sons so that we lift our hearts
to heaven and call God our father. But that's not the way things
were by nature. Look back at Romans chapter six
and verse Verse 8, now if you be dead with Christ, we believe
that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being
raised from the dead, death hath no more dominion over him. For
in that he died, he died in the sin once, but in that he liveth,
he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed under sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. This liberty, first and foremost,
is liberty from the dominion of sin. Liberty from the dominion
of sin. But what does that mean? Surely,
surely Paul is not telling us that once God saves a man, once
God saves a woman, you quit sinning. Well, Not many people say that,
but few do. But most do say this. You don't
sin like you used to. Or you don't sin as much as you
used to. To all such people, and if any
of you imagine such, I tell you you're lying and you know it. Sin is as much a part of you
now as it has ever been. It doesn't get weaker. It doesn't
diminish. You may not act out things as
wickedly as you used to act them out. But your corruption is still
there. The sin is still there. The adultery,
the fornication, the murder, the theft, the covetousness,
it's all still there. And anybody who says otherwise
is lying to himself and says God's a liar. Read the first
chapter of 1 John. Well, what does this mean? Sin
shall not have dominion over you. That's not a precept, that's
a promise. Sin shall not have dominion over
you. All right, let's read on. The apostle says in verse 14,
sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the
law, but under grace. What's that talking about? Sin
no longer holds me guilty before God. Sin no longer holds me guilty
before God. Christ comes by the power of
His Spirit, sprinkles the conscious from dead works and takes from
us that sense of dread and guilt so that we're no longer terrified
by God and terrified by His law. Read on. What shall we say then? Shall we sin because we're not
under the law but under grace? God forbid. God forbid. Never, never, never take lightly what you are. God don't ever let me think of
my sin lightly. May God never allow you to think
of your sin lightly. Don't ever make an excuse for
your sin. There's not any. There's not
any. And people say, well, that's just the way I am. That's not
an excuse for anything. That's the way you are. That
tells the whole story. That's the way I am. That tells
the whole story. Don't ever think lightly of it.
Don't ever make excuse for it. Shall we sin that grace may abound?
I know that This pastor and this congregation, we're accused of,
by legalists, of being antinomian. That is, folks who say, let us
in, the grace may abound. And I'm fully convinced that
it's impossible to preach free grace and liberty in Christ and
not have such accusations hurled at us by legalists who make the
gospel of Christ licentiousness. Declaring that the proclaiming
of free grace leads to ungodliness and thereby deny the Lord Jesus
Christ and his accomplished work as our Redeemer I know the accusations
there, but don't ever ever ever Let it be thought by you or me
that sin is a light thing an indifferent thing It never is
and we don't You're not in the law, but under grace Verse 16, Know ye not that to
whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey? His servants ye are
whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto
righteousness? And Paul deals with this in chapter
7, with this warfare that goes on in us. Don't give yourselves up as servants
to sin. Don't give yourselves up to ungodliness. Read the next line. But God be
thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you.
Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness. Children of God, you and I who
are Christ, are men and women into whose hearts Christ came
in omnipotent power and he dethrones Satan and sets up his own throne
in the heart of man and rules over us by force, yes, by sweet
omnipotent force with our full consent. We wish it to be so. We want him to rule. We want
him to govern. We want him to control. We want
his way, his will, his honor, and his glory. So this bondage
of corruption is the corruption of sin, that dominion of sin
from which we've been delivered. You're under the dominion of
sin for as long as you live with guilt on your conscience before
God. When you're given faith in Christ,
You have no guilt, nothing to torment you, nothing to cause
you to dread God. He comes and speaks peace to
your heart, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that's in Jesus Christ. Now being justified by the Marcus
told you several times preaching here now being justified. We have peace with God by faith
in Christ. We have peace with God. Not only
is this liberty freedom from the dominion of sin in that sense.
It's freedom from the dominion of sin in this sense. As long
as you think that you may not sin, you're under the dominion
of sin. As long as you think you're capable
of not sinning, you're under the dominion of sin. You're under
the delusion of a lost soul. You don't know God. If any man
say I have not seen. He makes not a liar and his word
is not in him. This liberty that's hours in
Christ Jesus is also liberty from the law. Freedom from the
law. Now let's see what the scripture
says. You read it in verse 14 of Romans
6. You're not under the law, but under grace. Read verse 15. We are not under the law, but
under grace. Look at chapter 7, verse 4. Wherefore,
my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ, that you should be married to another, even to him that
is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto
God. Chapter 10, verse 4. Christ is the end of the law. When our Lord Jesus cried, it
is finished, this is the word he used. Christ is the terminating
point of the law. Christ is the finishing of the
law. Christ is the completion of the
law. Christ is the fulfillment of
the law. Christ is the satisfaction of the law. He is the end of
the law for righteousness. Somebody says, well, that's talking
about imputed righteousness, not imparted righteousness. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness, period, to everyone that believe
it. You mean, Brother Don, there's
no sense at all in which believers are under the law? No sense at
all. Not under its curse, not under
its dread, not under the rudiments of the world, not under its ceremonies,
not under its sacrifices. In fact, it is wrong. It is positively
wrong for you and I who believe God to live in subjection to
law. That's wrong. I want to show
it to you. Turn to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter
2. This matter would not be a matter
of confusion at all were it not for the fact that almost all
men in religious activity Love the Ascetic Doctrine of Rome.
I recall years ago, I watched a movie with Sean Connery in
it. What was it called? Was it Color of the Rose? I think
that's what it was. Anyway, the story of a monk going to a great
debate and showed pictures of monks in their cells. They'd
take little whips, you know, not real good ones, but little
whips. and beat themselves. And by doing
that, they were beating their sin and making themselves holy. Now, you laugh at that, but about
everybody you know does the same thing. About everybody you know
does the same thing. They finally got to the debate,
and this is a great question. Folks who come from all over
the world had walked hundreds of miles to get there for these
deep theologians to discuss. Did Jesus or did he not own the
clothes that he wore? Because poverty will just self-imposed
poverty will get you close to God. What absurdity. People have the idea that if
you do this or don't do that, If you eat this or don't eat
that. If you keep this commandment
or break that commandment, then you're holy or you're not holy.
You make yourself righteous or unrighteous. You're sanctified
or unsanctified. Christ is the E-N-D of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believe it. Well, Brother
Don, what can be wrong with teaching people to live by the commandments?
When you teach them to live by the commandments, this is what
happens, Mark. Not once in a while, not some
of the time, not most of the time, all the time. People start
looking to their obedience to the commandments for assurance.
for peace, for comfort, for sanctification, for holiness, for acceptance
with God? I'm not talking off the cuff,
I've been doing this a while. It happens every time law is
imposed. God's people are not under the
law. They're not under the law. What
can be wrong with it? Look at Colossians chapter 2,
verse 6. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, So walk ye in Him, rooted and built up
in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving. Now watch this. Beware lest any
man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world. You know what that's
talking about? That's talking about the Mosaic
commandments. The rudiments of the world. Carnal ordinances
of worship. Sacrifices, Sabbath days, Passover,
such as that. Read on. And not after Christ. And here's the reason. Beware
of that. For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily, and ye are complete in Him. Absolutely full, finished,
made perfect in Him, which is the head of all principality
and power. Now, read on. Look at verse 16.
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect
of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of Sabbath days. What? What? You mean we're not supposed to
keep Sabbath day? But I thought that's the reason
we came to church on Sunday. I want to tell you something
that's surprising to folks. Sunday is not the Sabbath day. Saturday
is the Sabbath day. It's never been changed. And
we do not observe Sabbath days of any kind. Now, don't misunderstand
me. I wish that every store in the
world were closed every Sunday. I really wish that you couldn't
go anywhere or do anything except come listen to me preach on Sunday.
I wish it was against the law to go fishing on Sunday. I wish
all those things, we'd be better off if that were the case. But
not in observance of a Sabbath day. It's perfectly right and
proper that we set aside a day to worship God. That's fine. That's just fine. Nothing at
all wrong with that. I choose not to mow my yard on Sunday.
You won't see me doing it. I don't care if the grass gets
as high as this pulpit. You won't see me mowing it on
Sunday. Unless some religious nincompoop comes around and says,
if you mow your yard on Sunday, then you're not really a holy
man. I'd get me a scythe and go after
it. Why? Because that's against the
law. It's against the law to pretend
to keep the law. It's against the law and against
the gospel to pretend to keep the law. We fulfill the law only
one way, by faith in Jesus Christ. God demands perfection. God demands
holiness. God demands righteousness. When
we believe on the Son of God, we bring God everything He commands. Everything. Well, surely it's
not that serious. We don't. Colossians chapter
2. Are you still there? Don't keep Sabbath days, verse
17, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you. Don't
let any man cast a witch's spell over you. That's what religion
does. Of your reward in a voluntary
humility, worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which
he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. People
get the idea that they keep the law and they're holy and they've
done stuff to make themselves better than other people. that
they're vainly puffed up and become harsh, mean, proud, judgmental
of other people. Read on. And not holding the
head, from which all the body by joints and bands, having nourishment
ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase
of God. Wherefore, verse 20, if you be dead with Christ from
the rudiments of the world, dead with Christ from the ordinances
and commandments of the law. Why, as though living in the
world, are you subject to ordinances? What you talking about? Touch
not, taste not, handle not. Touch not, taste not, handle
not. Oh, I couldn't touch that. You're not by your groceries
it and I don't even know where this is so not because I don't
go in the store I'm not we're talking about this over skip
sandwiches. I'm not a shopper, but I think maybe Kroger's might
sell wine or beer now I don't know. Maybe they do. Oh, you
can't go in there. They sell they sell alcohol beverages
So what? So what you can't go to CVS.
They sell Playboy magazines. I wasn't going to buy Playboy
magazine. I've gone by bottle of cough syrup. I Touch not. Taste not. Handle not. Don't
touch this. Don't taste that. Don't handle
that. Because these things men see. And oh, how they love them. Oh,
he's a holy man. She's a holy one. They really
walk close to God. See how they dress? They wear
buttons instead of zippers. You folks who live down in Casey
County will understand that. Others will have to catch on
later. This is holy. That's sin. It's ungodly. It's contrary to
the faith of God. Let's see. Read on. Verse 21. Touch not, taste not, handle
not. Which all are to perish with the using. After the commandments
and doctrines of men. Which things have indeed a show
of wisdom. That's what it's all about. A
show. I want you to see how good I am. I want you to see how godly
I am. I want you to see how devoted
I am. I want you to see how religious I am. It's all will worship,
a show of humility and the neglecting of the body, not in any honor,
just to the satisfying of the flesh. That's all it is. Now,
turn back to Galatians chapter five. It is our responsibility as our
privilege to walk in liberty. David said, I will walk in liberty
for I keep thy statutes. I will walk in liberty for I
keep thy statutes. Now, wait a minute. Seems to
me that I recall David having committed murder and adultery. Seems to me that I recall David
in horrible pride numbering Israel, but he says, I will walk in liberty
because I keep thy statutes. Brother Don, how on earth can
a man who confesses his sin, as David
confessed his sin in Psalm 32, in Psalm 51, as we confess our
sin to God, As we acknowledge what we are, how can such a man
walk at liberty and say, I keep thy statutes? I will walk at
liberty because I trust your son. And this is his commandment,
that you believe on Jesus Christ, his son. And believing the son
of God, you keep all God's holy law in the person of his son. Do you understand that? It's
our responsibility, as our privilege, to maintain this liberty. Look
in Galatians 5, verse 1. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Now,
when you read the Bible, try to read it in a very practical
way. Is Paul just saying here that
this is the one thing you ought not do, you ought not be circumcised?
Of course not. He's writing to Gentiles. They
weren't in the habit of it. What's he talking about? If you
do something, if you do something, if you do something, I don't
care if it's reading your Bible schedule every day, getting all
the chapters and verses in. I don't care if it's reading
your Bible ten times a year. I don't care if it's praying
three times a day. I don't care if it's fasting
twice a week. I don't care if it's coming to
church three times or ten times a week. I don't care what it
is if you do something to make yourself holy. If you do something
to make yourself accepted with God. If you do something to win
God's favor or to keep God's favor or to improve God's favor,
whatever it is, Bobby, you do to save yourself. Christ will
profit you nothing. That's what he said. He he's
he's he's a dear brother, but he he's he still thinks we have
to keep the law if you be circumcised. I didn't write it. I just read
it. Christ. shall profit you nothing. Read
on, read on. For I testify again to every
man that is circumcised that he's a debtor to the whole law.
If you're gonna keep the law, you gotta keep it all. Gotta
keep it all. Verse four, Christ is become
of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified
by the law, you've fallen from grace. You just missed the gospel. You haven't learned the gospel
of the grace of God. You've fallen from grace. All right. Christ
is our liberator. Number two, our liberty is the
glorious liberty of grace. We're free from the dominion
of sin and free from the law so that we have no covenant with
the law, no curse from the law, no commitment to the law, we've
been made free by the blood of Jesus Christ. Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. And
I'd add to that, we're free from all the traditions and superstitions
of religious men about righteousness. All of them. All of them. I was raised in the South. I
like that. I'm proud of my heritage in that
regard. I'm a southerner. If I could
talk like I was from southern Mississippi, I would, I would
put on the draw, but it'd be pretense. That's just not, not
where I normally talk, but I'm a southerner. I like that in
the South, in the South. Now folks here in Kentucky don't
know anything about tobacco. Like we did in North Carolina,
tobacco was king in North Carolina. I mean, as a matter of fact,
I know churches when they had their pulpit committees that,
uh, Used to. I don't want to steal do it now
since RJR moved to Switzerland, but Reynolds Tobacco Company
ran things. And I know churches, when they
would ask a pastor to consider coming, do you have any problem
with folks smoking? If you do, you ain't going to
pastor here. Tobacco's king in North Carolina. Used to be. Things
have changed. But man alive, that would nobody
drink a glass of wine? Well, nobody drinks glass wine.
I had an aunt. I don't know if she's still alive
or not. I haven't seen her since her husband died. When Schlitz Brewery
moved in to Winston-Salem, right below where our church building
was, where Brother Park's father was a pastor, she was pretty
tenacious. She said, I'd rather see my boys
dead than see one of them with a can of beer in their hand.
They both still work for Schlitz Brewery, by the way. But don't
do that. God, if you're a good Christian,
Up north, up north. Now, folks up in, I knew folks
up in New Jersey and New York and up in Ohio, man alive. If you're a Christian, you don't
smoke or chew any kind of tobacco. That's ungodly. But now, a glass
of wine, that's another story. You know, we all, everybody up
here drinks a little wine. Most of us Italians, we drink
a little wine. They had what I came to call
regional sanctification and regional holiness. It just depends on
what region you're from. Not so. Not so. We have no right, neither as
a church, nor as individual believers, nor I as a preacher, to make
rules and regulations to impose upon you about what you touch
or don't touch, what you eat or don't eat, what you drink
or don't drink, where you go or don't go. That's not my prerogative. You're in Christ Jesus. He's
perfectly capable of ruling your life. And you are priest under
God. You were born of God. Walk at
liberty. Walk at liberty. The Lord now
accepts your works. You're priest under God. Now,
let me say a word or two of caution about this liberty. All things are yours. In the
Old Testament scriptures, they had dietary laws that were rigid.
They had animals that were clean and unclean. Places that were
clean and unclean. Sicknesses that would make you
unclean. Clean and unclean things. for
ceremonial reasons. Our Lord tells us plainly in
the book of God, nothing is unclean of itself. Nothing. Do you know
the poor deluded Jews who still are trying to keep the law are
not allowed to have pork chops or country ham? That's pork. That's unclean. That's unclean.
Have all you want. Be all right. I'm serious now. Whatever God's put on this earth,
He's put it here for you to use and enjoy for His glory as you
see fit. Not as I see fit, as you see
fit, with these exceptions. Don't use your liberty to give
an occasion for your weaker brother to stumble. Cherish and protect
your weaker brother. Encourage him to grow in the
grace and knowledge of Christ. But you don't have to do everything
you can do. Your weaker brother's conscience
is more important than you enjoying a glass of wine at dinner. Don't
do it. Use your liberty for the glory of Christ. Serve him. Let me give you an illustration.
I'll move on. All of you know, and I say it
publicly here because I want the world to know, I don't have
any objection to any of you having a glass of wine or Maker's Mark
or A beer, whatever you want to have with your meal. I don't
have any objection at all. Drunkenness is another story.
I have no objection to it. Once in a while, it's a rare
thing, but once in a while, I like to have a ice cold beer. A six pack will do me a year,
but I like to have one once in a while, once in a while. Sometimes,
if I'm at your house, if you serve up a glass of wine, I'll
have a glass of wine with it. I don't really much care for it. I can't
have it anymore because it bothers my stomach since that story.
But I do like cognac. Oh, I like cognac. I'd have a
little bit every night if I could handle it. But I can't handle
it. Oh, but you shouldn't say it. I said that because you think
you shouldn't say that. It's exactly the reason I said
that. I want the world to know it. That's perfectly all right for you.
We go out to dinner, several of us go out to dinner, and some
of you may have a glass of wine with your meal. That's all right.
That's fine. Or we may be at your house, and several of you
have a glass of wine. That's fine. No objection. Please don't be
offended if I don't. Because I won't. I won't. Here's
the reason. There are tons of people in this
world who would jump up and down at the opportunity for me to
be in an accident and have a little bit of alcohol in my breath and
to get reported. Ah, every preacher in this county
jump up and down. Ah, they jump up and down. So
what do you do? I don't have to have it. I'm not going to
have it, lest by me enjoying something so frivolous I should
cause offense to the gospel and give occasion for the enemies
of God to blaspheme. Understand that? Use your liberty
for the glory of God and for one another's benefit. But don't
be driven into bondage by anybody. One last thing. Our text speaks
of a liberty that's yet to come, the glorious liberty of the sons
of God. When Christ comes again and raises
these bodies from the grave and makes all things new, we
shall be free not only from the curse of the law, and from the
dominion of sin, and from the presence of sin, and from the
guilt of sin. Soon we shall be set free from
all the evil consequences of sin. And I wrote that down, working
on a message this week. I wrote it down this way. We'll
be free from all the consequences of sin. That's not true. That's
not true. Merle, we will be free from all
the evil consequences of sin. For we shall look back upon God's
work and understand. God be thanked. You were the
servants of sin. But no more. You've been made
the servants of righteousness. And the angels of God can never
know the grace you know. And the glory that awaits us
when we shall be free from all the evil consequences of sin. Would you know this glorious
liberty? What would you give to walk out
those doors and lift your heart to God and say, I will walk at
liberty, for I've kept thy statutes. I will walk at liberty, God,
I've kept your law. I will walk at liberty, God,
your justice is satisfied. I will walk at liberty, God,
and call you my father. I will walk at liberty and have
no dread of death and eternity. I will walk at liberty because
I trust your son, whose name is Jehovah Zedkinu, the Lord,
our righteousness. Oh, God, give you grace to trust
him. God, give you grace to trust
him. God, give you grace to trust him. and to walk at liberty in
the glorious liberty of the children of God. Amen.