Romans Chapter 10. Romans Chapter 10. Now I want
you to listen very, very carefully to my first statement. It may
be shocking to some. In fact, I'm sure it will be.
But it is a fact demonstrated over and over again throughout
this book. Have I got your attention? Here's
the first statement I want you to get. There are many, there are many who earnestly
desire salvation and eternal life who will never be saved. There are many who earnestly
desire salvation and eternal life who will never be saved. Many thoughtful, zealous men
and women who very eagerly seek salvation, who will perish under
the curse of God's holy law. They want to be saved, but they
will not bow to God's righteousness. Some of you sitting here would
like a peace, a confidence, a comforting assurance, that you have life
everlasting, eternal salvation with Christ, but you have one
thing that keeps you from the Savior. You're too good to be
saved. Your sin will never keep you
from Christ. No man's sin will ever keep him
from the Savior. It is your righteousness, your
goodness, your imaginary ability that keeps you from the Savior.
Look here in Romans 10, verse 2. Paul writes by divine inspiration. He says, I bear them record that
they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For
they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, look at the word
he uses, have not submitted themselves under the righteousness of God.
Being ignorant of God's righteousness, they have not submitted themselves. Multitudes will not be saved. Multitudes will perish at last
under the wrath of God because they will not submit to God's
righteousness. that righteousness established
by Jesus Christ as the sinner's substitute, that righteousness
that comes only by the merit of another, that righteousness
that comes only by the doing and dying of a representative,
a mediator. Some of you sitting here tonight
are not yet saved simply because you will not submit to the righteousness
of God, Christ the substitute. You talk about grace and waiting
for grace and praying for grace. You may talk about wanting grace
and wanting to trust Christ, but you only deceive yourself.
Your problem is that you keep trying to do something. You keep trying to do something
to find rest. You keep trying to do something
to give you acceptance with God. Some feeling, some thought, some
knowledge, some sense of worth or some sense of worthlessness.
You keep trying to find something in yourself to commend yourself
to God. You see, proud man wants to save
himself. You and me and all other men. That's the nature of the fallen
beast called man. We want to save ourselves. If
you would be saved, you must be saved only by the merits of
another, by the doing and dying of the Son of God. If you would
be saved, you must make your suit before the bar of God, like
that publican in the temple who cried, God, be merciful to me,
the sinner. Sue for mercy through the merits
of a substitute, not through something you have done. We must
never seek to supplement the righteousness and the blood of
Christ by our own works, by our own feelings, by our own experiences. In order to be saved, you've
got to come to Christ throwing away your filthy rags of self-righteousness. Nothing in my hands I bring Simply
to thy cross I cling. Naked, come to thee for dress. Helpless, look to thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, else I die. Tonight, I want you to see that
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believes. Whenever we Discuss this subject
whenever I preach on this subject wherever I go My name runs before
me and someone will either misunderstand or more likely deliberately Misrepresent
that which is declared. So let me be specifically clear
by making two or three statements before I get to my text When
we say that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.
I am NOT saying I am NOT saying I do not think, I do not suggest
that the law is evil. No, sir. God's law is holy, just,
and good. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2.
2 Timothy, I'm sorry, chapter 1.
Paul is here describing those apostate religious leaders who
profess to be saved by grace. Profess to be saved by grace.
But we're told here in verse 7 that they desire to be teachers
of the law. Those who would teach you law
obedience. I get advertisements for books
all the time. How to religious books ought
to all be banned forever. How to be born again. Anybody
who thinks he can tell you how to be born again, don't listen
to it. to be holy, how to live a holy life. Those who desire
to be teachers of the law, listen now, understanding neither what
they say nor whereof they affirm. Any man, I don't care who he
is, who tells you that you've got to keep the law, You've got
to keep the Sabbath day. You've got to be sanctified by
the law. You measure your holiness by
the law. You get to be more and more holy
by your obedience to the law. We're not saved by law, but you're
still under law. They desire to be teachers of
the law, but they understand neither what they say nor whereof
they affirm. But we know, verse 8, that the
law is good. If a man use it lawfully, Knowing
this that the law is not made for a righteous man Bill that's
a pretty good clue The law is not made for a righteous man.
Are you righteous if you trust Christ you are God says you are
That means the law is not made for you. The law is not made
for a righteous man. I but for lawbreakers and disobedient,
for the ungodly, for sinners, for unholy, profane, murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that's contrary to sound doctrine. The law is made for folks who
oppose God and His doctrine, not for a righteous man. according
to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed
in my trust. The law is not evil. Second thing,
I certainly am not suggesting, I do not believe, I do not teach,
the word of God does not teach that believers are free to live
in violation of God's law. Never. Never. For the believer,
the law of God is not grievous. It is not at all grievous. for
us to read the commandments of God. God never commanded anything
that any of his people object to. We delight in the law of
God after the inward man. The law of God is a reflection
of God's holiness, God's justice, God's perfection. It is a reflection
of those things in that God commands the same of you and me. And if
the believer could, He would be perfectly in conformity with
everything demanded in the law in his daily conversation all
the time. We do not suggest that anyone
has any right or that believers have any desire to violate God's
law. Here's the third thing. I am
saying this. In Christ, believers are entirely
free from the law. In Christ, believers are entirely
free from the law. Brother Don, you just can't make
a blanket statement like that. People will, they'll abuse it.
Well, they will. They will. Mostly legalist. Yes, they will abuse it. So let
me see if I can state it a little more subtly. In Christ, believers are entirely
from the law. I mean it's got nothing to do
with you and you've got nothing to do with it. I mean it has
no claim on you and you have no obligation to it. I mean it
cannot condemn and you ought not feel be feel that you're
guilty by it. In Christ believers are entirely free from the law.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. This is what Paul says. In fact,
if you read through the New Testament, every single statement made with
regard to believers and the law declares that you're not under
the law, but under grace. You're not under the law, but
under grace. You're dead to the law. Christ is the end of the
law. How many times can be said not
once in the New Testament? Not one time in the New Testament
in all the epistles. Is there ever a single word? Stating that there's some relationship
believers still have with regard to the law. You're dead to the
law Now the word law as it's used in the scriptures in the
Psalms particularly refers to the whole revelation of God That's
not what I'm talking about But men, particularly theologians,
they like to speak of the moral law and the ceremonial law. And they say, no, we're not under
the ceremonial law, but we are under the moral law. I'll give
you an assignment. You go home, you're reading through
the scriptures, you've just begun, you're in Exodus now, and you
mark down every single time you can find in this book where God,
the Holy Spirit, distinguishes between moral law and ceremonial
law. Find me a place. It's not there. It's not there. It's never suggested. The Ten Commandments are commonly
referred to as the moral law. And the scriptures then speak
about those various laws of sacrifice, the civil laws and so forth.
But the word of God does not make the distinction. When the
Word of God speaks of the Mosaic law, the Mosaic economy, that
which was given to the children of Israel by Moses, it's referring
to all the law of that legal dispensation given specifically
to the nation of Israel. Now, never was it given to a
Gentile. Never was given to a Gentile.
It was given to Israel to be a shadow of good things to come. It was never given to the gentiles.
It was only given to israel to be a shadow of good things to
come And when the scripture says we are free from the law It means
we are free from all the legal dispensation all the ceremonial
typical shadowy dispensation of moses free from the dietary
laws free from the civil laws, free from the Ten Commandments
given, free from the curses of the law, free from all the economic
law given to Israel, free from the law. Christ is the end of
it all. Christ is the end of it all.
Our law, our rule of life, is the whole Book of God, the whole
Word of God. This is our only rule of faith
and practice. Now, those are not just good
sounding words. With God's people, this is our
only rule of faith and practice. We seek by the grace of God to
understand and to obey everything given in scripture, not just
one aspect of scripture, not just one thing in scripture,
but everything given in the word of God. And we, following the
teaching of this book, delight to sing, as we did this morning,
free from the law, O happy condition. Jesus hath bled, and there is
remission. What I'm saying is this. We have
no covenant with the law. We live under the covenant of
grace. We have no commitment to the law. Our commitment is
to Christ, who obeyed the law for us. We do nothing by the
constraint of the law. It is the love of Christ that
constrains us. We fear no curse from the law,
for Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth
on the tree. We're accused all the time of
antinomianism, being antinomians. That's a big, fancy, ugly-sounding
word. And I'll tell you where it comes
from. Tell you where it comes from. You did you all see any
of the political ads during the recent election? Did you see
any? And did you see any? Did you see any really that had
any substance to it? I don't remember seeing a one.
All I saw were ads from one candidate making the other candidate look
like some kind of a man. You don't get close to him, he's
got something bad. That's all it did. Because when you cannot
refute what someone declares and you're seeking for folks
to follow you, you have only one choice. The way you get folks
to follow you is make that fella look horrible. And that's where
this term antinomianism comes from. Folks say, well, Faulkner,
he teaches folks that the law is bad. Faulkner teaches folks
to disobey the law. And that's true concerning every
man who ever preached free grace. You cannot preach free grace
and men not accuse you of ungodliness and opening the doors of licentiousness
and promoting evil. And I'll tell you what I do with
that. I just ignore it. Let men say what they will. Let
men accuse as they will. Let men slander as they will.
They will not get an answer from me. But I say to you who are
God's children, to you who care about your souls, to you who
seek the glory of God, we will not again be entangled with the
yoke of the law. It's not going to happen. We
will not seek to climb up to Mount Zion by Mount Sinai. We come to Mount Zion by Mount
Calvary, and there's no other way. I must needs go home by
the way of the cross. There's no other way but this. As for those who seek God's favor
by their obedience to the law, let them be warned. If you hear
this message and you seek somehow God's favor by something you
do, This is what God says. Christ is become of no effect
unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, you've
fallen from grace. This is what God says to you.
If you be circumcised, Christ is worthless to you. Christ shall
profit you nothing. You mean if a fellow is circumcised,
he's going to hell? He's not talking about physical
circumcision. Circumcision, that physical circumcision
committed to Abraham and the Jews, was only a representation
of something. Circumcision, as Paul uses it
in Galatians, refers to anything you do by which you seek to gain
God's favor, to improve God's favor, or to keep God's favor.
If you do something, Ron, it doesn't matter what he's preaching,
going to Africa as a missionary, whether it's starving yourself
to death, whether it's beating yourself with a whip, whether
it's not drinking water for 30 days, whether it's not eating
fish on Friday, it doesn't matter. If you do something, read your
Bible or pray or go to church or tithe or give, if you do something
to gain God's favor, to improve God's favor or to keep God's
favor, Christ You will perish in your sins.
Show me a man who trusts his own righteousness, his own obedience,
his own devotion, his own feelings, or anything else of his own,
and I'll show you a man who is entirely lost, for whom the blood
of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, and the grace of God
in Christ is utterly meaningless. Now, let's look at our text,
Romans chapter 10, verse 4. Romans chapter 10 verse 4. I like best I can to do biblical
preaching. Biblical preaching. And this
is pretty biblical. Here's my first point. Christ
is the end of the law. Here's my second point. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness. Here's my third point. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Christ
is the end of the law. The law of God is that which
ought to be dreaded above all things by all men. For the sting
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. The thing
that makes it hard to die is sin. Sin. That's what makes it hard to
die. Sin. And the strength of sin is the
law, the condemning, dooming, damning law that says, Cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the
book of the law to do them. The law is to be dreaded, never
pampered, never embraced. The law condemns us. It demands
our execution. In the most solemn terms, it
appoints for us a place among the damned. forever. And yet
man has a strange fascination with law. Oh, what a strange
fascination. Fireflies will be destroyed by
the flame to which they're attracted. But they'll fly around it, fly
around it, fly around it, till they finally fly into it. Insects will be destroyed by
the bright light shining in the summer, and yet they'll fly around
it, fly around it, fly around it until at last they get right
there and are burned to death. And so it is with man by nature.
He has a strange attraction to law, a strange fascination with
law. It draws him like a magnet draws
metal because man loves to think he's righteous. Man loves to
think he's good. And yet the law can do nothing
but pronounce and reveal sin. can do nothing but pronounce
and reveal guilt. Listen to this. No turning and
looking at it. Romans chapter 3. Just a couple pages back.
Verse 19. Now we know, we know that whatsoever
things the law saith, whatever the law says, whatever the law
says, it saith to them who are under the law. Remember, you're
not under the law, you're under grace, you who believe. But whatever
the law says, it says to them who are under the law that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. That's the only intent. That's
the only purpose. That's the only use of the law.
Yet we can't get men to free from the law. They won't leave
it alone. The law was never given to save
sinners. And it can never serve that purpose.
By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. The law
was never given to motivate God's people to holiness, service,
devotion, consecration, and it cannot serve that purpose. Now,
most everyone would agree with the first statement I made. The
law is not given to save sinners. But most everybody seeks to motivate,
most everyone seeks to motivate believers to devotion and faithfulness
by law. I have listened over the years
and I listen carefully to preaching and I only listen to preaching
from men whom I consider to be good preachers. But it's shocking
to me how that men who know better when they find the folks in the
congregation aren't really doing what you expect them to do. You
know, folks quit coming to church like they ought to. And they
quit giving like they ought to. And they maybe don't pay as close
attention to things as they ought to. And the preacher gets out
the whip. And he gets to beating on them.
And he gets to stirring them up. If you really loved God,
you'd come to church three times a week. If you really loved God,
you'd give and give and give. If you really loved God, you'd
pray and pray and pray. You'd read your Bible if you
really loved God. And then folks start to come to church. and
read the Bible, and pray, and give, and devote themselves good. And now they say, look at me.
I'm doing what folks supposed to do if they love God. I must
love God. No, the law is not given for that purpose. God's
people are inspired, motivated, and constrained by gratitude
for God's free grace. You see, God will not be served
except with a willing mind. He will not be served except
with a willing mind. If you, men, choose to go fishing on
Sunday, and you say something, well, I understand. And I do.
I understand. That doesn't mean I approve of
it. I mean, I understand it. I understand
it. But you're not going to get whipped by me by it. Well, we
wanted to go to the ballgame today. Well, go ahead. Go ahead.
You know, it's just too much trouble to come to church two
or three times a week. Well, don't come. Okay, I need my money. I just I just can't give like
all to the Lord knows he does he does God won't accept anything
Except that which is done with a willing mind. Let's see if
I'm good on that first Corinthians 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 2nd
Corinthians chapter 8 Paul is urging these saints at
Corinth to be generous This is how he does it Verse 12 If there
be first a willing mind, if there be first a willing mind,
it's accepted. According to that, a man hath
and not according to that he hath not. Look back in first
Corinthians chapter six, first Corinthians chapter six. And
Paul is here addressing some real issues in the congregation
that call it real difficult, painful things to deal with.
what it says in verse 19 what know you not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which you have
of God and you're not your own you're not your own I want you to live for God I
want to live for God I want you to live under God I want to live
under God How can I motivate that? Well, if you don't do this,
you're going to suffer for it. You're going to lose rewards.
You're going to get a star taken out of your crown. Oh, that's
good for mercenaries, not for believers. No, sir. No, sir. You're not your own. You're bought
with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. look at Romans chapter
12 Romans the 12th chapter verse 1 I beseech you therefore
brethren by the law of God no no I beseech you therefore brethren
by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice holy acceptable under God now look at these next words
which is your reasonable service. Let me give you a Don Fortner
paraphrase. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable
unto God, because nothing else makes any sense. Christ bought
me with his blood. The only thing makes any sense
is for me to devote myself entirely to Him. Just your reasonable
service. It's just reasonable. I admire
devotion. I admire, oh, I admire devotion. I admire what it takes for a
man to sell out everything and go preach the gospel. I admire
what it takes for a man to take his family and go to New Guinea
or Mexico or Africa, preach the gospel of God's grace. I admire
it. I admire devotion. I commend it highly. I brag on
folks who make such commitments to the cause of Christ. But when
all is said and done, well, what else would I expect
from you? What else is to be expected?
What would you expect of yourself? This is just a reasonable service.
And the law of God was never given to be a rule of life, a
standard of conduct for believers. It can't serve that purpose.
We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of
the law. Do we then make void the law
through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish
the law. The law was not given. to produce
sanctification, or even to be a measure of sanctification.
And it can't serve that purpose. Turn to Galatians chapter 3.
I want you to see this. Galatians 3. In Galatians chapter 2, Chapters
1 and 2 really, Paul is dealing with the matter of the Judaizers
teaching of justification by works of the law, mixing faith
and works to be justified before God. But when you get to chapter
3, he's dealing with sanctification. He's dealing with that holiness
which is ours in Christ. Now look what it says in verse
1, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? What a strong
word, bewitched you, cast a spell on you. that you should not obey
the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently
set forth, crucified among you. This only would I learn of you.
Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing
of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun
in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the law? Of course
not. The law was given to point men
to Christ, that's all. The law was given to turn us
away from ourselves to the Redeemer. The law was given to make us
know the necessity of a substitute. The thunders and lightnings of
Sinai push men away. The thunders and lightnings of
Sinai shove us away. In fact, God told Moses, said,
you come up into the mountain. But I'm telling you, if so much
as the hand of a beast touches this mountain, he should be thrust
through with a dart. You come up here low. And when
Moses came down from the mountain, his face glowed and the children
of Israel said, you speak to God for us. Don't don't let God
speak to us. We've got to have a mediator.
That's what Sinai teaches. Sinai says, stay away. You cannot. You cannot. You cannot come up
this mountain. You can't get to God by Sinai. The only way to get to God is
by Calvary. And Sinai constantly points us
that way. So what does Paul mean when he
says Christ is the end of the law? Number one, he means that
Christ is the end of the law's purpose. Christ is the end of
the law's purpose. The law was given to lead us
to Christ, our schoolmaster. After the schoolmaster's come,
we no longer need, after Christ has come, we no longer need the
schoolmaster. The law is the sheriff's deputy.
who shuts men up in prison for their sin, concludes them under
the condemnation, and so they are made to look to the free
grace of God in Christ for deliverance. The law was given to lead sinners
to faith in Christ, showing us the impossibility of salvation
any other way. The law, Spurgeon, I believe
it was, said the law is God's black dog by which he fetches
his sheep to the shepherd. That's the purpose of the law.
Christ is the fulfilling of that purpose. The law says, look away
to Christ and revealing our sin, condemning us for sin forces
us to look to him. Number two, when Christ is said
to be the end of the law, it means he is the fulfillment of
the law. He is the fulfillment of the
law. Turn to the book of Matthew.
I think I can find these. Two passages. Matthew chapter
11. Matthew chapter 11. Yeah. And
then come back to Matthew chapter 5. Christ magnified the law and
made it honorable, as Isaiah said he would. The law demands
perfect obedience and perfect satisfaction. Christ fulfilled
both by his obedience in life and his obedience in death, by
living in perfect righteousness, as Brother Cody mentioned in
his prayer, and by satisfying the justice of God, he fulfilled
the law. All right. Look here, Matthew
chapter 11. Our Lord Jesus is talking about John the Baptist,
verse 11. Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women,
there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. Notwithstanding,
he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Our Lord Jesus, who is the greatest, made himself the least, made
himself of no reputation. He who was rich for your sakes
became poor that you through his poverty might be made rich.
And so he's saying to his disciples, John the Baptist is a great man,
but you're looking at he who is least in the kingdom of heaven.
He's greater than John. He that is least among you, he's
the greatest. That's our Savior. Now, turn
back to Matthew chapter 5, verse 17. The Savior speaks here, this
Sermon on the Mount. Think not that I'm come to destroy
the law or the prophets, for I'm not come to destroy but to
fulfill. I came to fulfill the law and
the prophets. His fulfilling of the law is
the same as his fulfilling of the prophets the prophets prophesying
of his death the prophets prophesying of his incarnation the prophets
prophesying of his accomplishments being fulfilled Anyone who comes
along and says those things have yet to be done are totally denying
the prophets Christ fulfilled them and thus sets them aside
being fulfilled. All right, we don't verse 18
For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, not
one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all
be fulfilled. Now, look at verse 19. Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and
shall teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom
of heaven. And whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
And Christ is both. He was made sin for us who perfectly
obeyed the law. And he is the least in the kingdom
of heaven and the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Now watch
what it says. Here's the connection. For I
say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no
case enter into the kingdom of heaven. He's talking about that
righteousness that he alone performed and that righteousness that he
alone gives. Christ is the end of the law's
purpose. He is the end of the law in the
sense that he fulfilled it. And Christ is the termination
of the law. That's what it means. The end
of the law. Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter
7. Surely you can't say that the
law has been terminated. Well, let's try another word. How about dead? That's pretty
terminated, isn't it? Dead. Romans 7. No, you're not, brethren, for
I speak to them that know the law. How that the law hath dominion
over man as long as he liveth. For the woman which hath a husband
is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. But if
the husband be dead, she's loose from the law of her husband.
A woman's husband dies, she's free to marry. So if while her
husband liveth she be married to another man, she shall be
called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, she's
free from the law. So she's no adulteress, though
she be married to another man. Perfectly fine. Perfectly fine.
Know lots of folks have all kinds of wives tells you oh you think
brother Don ought to be dating somebody Shelby just died six
years ago That's That's absurd. That's absurd. If somebody dies,
they're dead. They're dead They're dead. That
means you have no further Obligation to them. They're dead. They're
dead. Well, but in his honor in her honor. No, they're dead.
They're dead We don't know Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become
d-e-a-d dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you should
be married to another, even to Christ, who is raised from the
dead, that you should bring forth fruit unto God forever. Bring forth fruit unto God. The
law is terminated as a covenant of life. We're not under the
law, but under grace. Christ terminated the law's curse
and its penalty by his merit and by his sufferings. We are
free from the law. And now, having the merit of
Christ on the ground of perfect righteousness, we can make claim
to heavenly glory rightly so. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, and hath
not lifted up his soul into vanity." Well, Bob Duff, that shuts you
out. It doesn't unless you're in Christ. But in Christ, we have clean
hands and a pure heart, and have never lifted up our souls to
vanity. And we shall, with the King of glory, enter into heaven.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin in whose
spirit there is no guile All right. Here's the second thing.
I'll be very brief on this Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. I Do not frustrate the grace
of God if righteousness come by the law Christ is dead in
vain Christ is the end the finishing the termination, the fulfillment
of the law for righteousness. Wherever righteousness is, law
is not. Wherever righteousness is, law
hasn't got anything to do with it. Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness, so that we are made the righteousness
of God in Christ. His name is Jehovah Sedkinu,
the Lord our righteousness, and he calls us by his name. He takes
us as his bride and gives us his name and makes his righteousness
ours. He who was made sin for us was
made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Was he actually made sin? Yes,
he was. Did he suffer the fury of God's
wrath, all the hell of God's anger, until there was no wrath
left in God for him. Yes, he did. With one tremendous
draft of love, he drank damnation dry because he fully deserved
to suffer the wrath of God when he was made sad. And He did that, that we might
be made. There was no other way we could
be made. The righteousness of God in Him. Really made righteous. Imputed imputed righteousness
being charged to us By righteousness being given to us by righteousness
brought in by our Savior for us We are made the righteousness
of God in him so that now God is just and the justifier of
everyone that believeth Christ is the end of the law Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness I tried, I did. It didn't look
much like I was trying, but I tried. I tried to straighten up and
do right. Horrible guilt, horrible, horrible
sense of God's right judgment terrified my soul. And I, I tried
to do what was right. And I went to church and I came
front when they said folks come front. And I tried to pray and
I prayed and I didn't talk about praying. I just couldn't pray
through. I couldn't pray period. Everything's all right now, and
I'd go home and I knew nothing was all right. My conscience
still tormenting me, and I tried to do right. And I tried to quit
behaving like hell and start acting like I thought I ought
to act. Nothing helped! The law kept screaming, damned,
damned, damned, damned. Damned, you're damned! There's
no hope for you until one day. I saw him bearing my sin in his
body on the tree. And my conscience says what God
says, enough. Enough. Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness. Here's the third thing. To everyone
that believeth. To everyone that believeth. Oh, believe on the Son of God. and righteousness is yours. So it comes down to this dust.
Thou believe on the son of God. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth and believing
on him. We now fulfill the law. Believing
him. Years ago, I read a story about
Sam Houston. And Sam Houston went to battle
with San Jacinto and defeated Santa Ana's armies. And he gave,
after he became president of Texas, he passed a law declaring
that every man who fought with him in that battle was given
a free land grant in the state of Texas. True story. And there
was a fellow who some years later was called into court for having
defrauded a man of land. and of Nobby Horsham. And they
went to court. And when they did, the fellow
who charged Nobby Horsham with fraud was much surprised to see
no one less than Sam Houston sitting at the defendant's table
to defend him. And the trial was called to order,
jurors seated. Nine of them were landowners
who had been defrauded by ne'er-do-well like Nobby Horsham. They went
through the process of the trial. The time came for Houston to
call for witnesses, and the judge said, Mr. Houston, do you have
any witnesses? He said, just one, your honor.
And he said, I call Nobby Horsham to the stand. And so Nobby came
to the stand limping, dragging his right leg behind him where
he'd suffered severe injuries in the Battle of San Jacinto.
And Houston asked him, said, Nobby, where were you? I think it was April 21st. I
think it's the date. He said, where were you on that
date of the Battle of San Jacinto? And Nobby Horsham looked up at
him, and he said, well, Mr. Houston, I was with you on the
front lines at San Jacinto. And the judge, Judge Hennessy,
struck his gavel, and he said, case dismissed. Because the law
had declared this man who was with Sam Houston in the battle
had right to the land. And you who lived with Christ
and died with Christ, you who believe on Christ, God Almighty
dismisses all charges, declaring you are made the righteousness
of God in His Son. Amen.