Would you turn with me to Exodus
chapter 20? I've entitled this message, The
Law and Faith. The Law and Faith. Now, I'm going to read these
first 17 verses of Exodus chapter 20, and we have in these verses
what are known as the Ten Commandments. And God spake all these words,
saying, I am the Lord, thy God, which hath brought thee out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt
have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image or any likeness of anything that's in heaven
above or that's in the earth beneath or that's in the water
under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself
to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord, thy God, am
a jealous God. Visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me. And showing mercy on the thousands
of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will
not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and
do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God. In it, thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son,
nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy
cattle, nor thy stranger that's within thy gates. For in six
days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore, the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor thy father and thy
mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the
Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt
not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not
covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. The Ten Commandments. Everybody born into this world,
people in Afghanistan, people in Pakistan, people in Russia,
people in China, everybody has this law written in their hearts. We're born knowing it's wrong
to lie. We're born knowing it's wrong
to steal. We're born knowing that it's
wrong to commit adultery, on and on and on. Now let me back
this up in the scriptures. Hold your finger there and turn
to Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2, verse 14. For when the Gentiles,
which have not the law, they've never had a copy of the scriptures.
They don't have the law of God. They've never heard the Ten Commandments
as such. They've never read that passage of scripture I just read.
They're Gentiles. They don't have a Bible. They
don't have a word from God. They're Gentiles. Now what does
it say about these Gentiles? When the Gentiles which have
not the law do by nature the things contained in the law,
these having not the law are a law unto themselves which show
the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience
also bearing witness in their thoughts that meanwhile accusing
or else excusing one another in the day when God should judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Now do
you see? The Gentiles, they have a guilty conscience, their thoughts
either make an excuse for them or their conscience accuses them. But everybody has the work of
the law written in their heart. Turn back to Exodus chapter 31. Exodus 31 verse 18. And he gave unto Moses, when
he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two
tables of testimony. Tables of stone written with
the finger of God. Now, this is a reference to the
Ten Commandments. Two tables. One table has to
do with our relationship with God. The other table has to do
with our relationship with man. Two tables. And as a matter of
fact, our Lord gives a summary. Turn to Matthew chapter 22 for
a moment. Matthew chapter 22. Verse 35, then one of them, which
was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, testing him, and
saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is
the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it.
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law. and the prophets. Now this first
commandment regarding love to God, you'll love God with all
your heart, soul and strength, it's the first table of the law.
The second table of the law are responsibilities toward our neighbor.
You won't bear false witness, you won't lie, you won't kill
and so on. These are the our responsibilities
toward man and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself is a
summary of this second table of the law. And you know how
beautiful, how perfect the law of God is. Every believer says,
I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Now let's examine
this beautiful, perfect, holy law for just a few moments. Anything
we put before God becomes a God to us. Now can you see why we
have this so important commandment? Anything that I put before God,
that becomes a God to me. Should anything be put before
the living God? Obviously not. The second commandment
is against idolatry. There's nobody and no thing that
is like God. He says, to whom will you liken
me? And if we make an image of Him, what we're doing is bringing
Him down. That's why idolatry is so evil
and wicked. There's nobody to compare Him
to. And any image we make of Him, any idea we have of Him,
where we compare Him to somebody else and we say, this is what
He's like, We bring Him down. We bring Him down to our level. And as a matter of fact, what
is behind idolatry is hatred for God as He is. The reason
men make idols, and I'm not only talking about idols of wood and
silver and gold, but I'm talking about idols in our own minds
and imaginations. The reason men make idols is
because they hate God as He is and they want to change Him.
They want to make a God they're more comfortable with. So you
see the importance of this thing of not making idols. God is as
He is. And then the third commandment
has to do with taking His name in vain. Holy and reverent is
His name. This has to do with the fear
of God, where you have such a fear of Him in your heart, such an
awe of Him, that you tremble when you take His very name in
your mouth. And to take His name in vain
is to speak His name without the proper fear and awe and reverence
regarding His person. commandment regarding the Sabbath. Now, this commandment demonstrates
to us that the law is one. This is a ceremony, the Sabbath
day, yet it's found in the Ten Commandments. No work on the
Sabbath. And to break this is to break
all the rest of the commandments. I love the way God has put this
ceremonial law in the Ten Commandments to let us know that you can't
separate the law of God. Somebody says, well, there's
the moral, there's the civil, there's the ceremonial. No, it's one law.
It's one law. And this law regarding the Sabbath,
if I break it, I break the whole law. And then there's the second
table. Honor your parents and honor
all authority that God has put in place. If you do that, you
will benefit. It'll be well with you if you
honor authority. I want you to think of the beauty and the good
of God's law. You know, if you teach your kids
to respect authority, listen parents, if you teach your kids
to respect authority, it's going to be well for them. they're
going to do so much better in life. If they respect authority,
if they respect adults, if they respect their teachers, if they
respect the law, police officers and so on, it's going to be well
with them. If they're going to benefit from it, they're the
ones that are going to be. And if you fail to teach your kids to
respect authority, you failed as a parent. Now, understand
this. This is, but this is the law. Are you supposed to be teaching
your kids this? Yes. Paul used this in Ephesians.
He said, Children, obey your parents as the law says that
it may be well with thee. Yes, this is very important.
It's our responsibility to teach our children this. Respect all
God-given authority. And then he says next, thou shalt
not kill. Now remember the law is spiritual.
Paul said, for we know that the law is spiritual. But I am carnal,
sold under sin. Now, this means more than taking
somebody's life physically. Look in Matthew chapter 5. Hold
your finger there, in Exodus 20. And like I said, I want to
repeat, I want us to see the beauty of God's law. Matthew
chapter 5, verse 20. Or rather, verse 21. You've heard that it was said
before by them of old time, thou shalt not kill. There's the commandment.
And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.
But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. You know, to be
angry at your brother without a cause, to be jealous, to be
envious is to murder him. It's to murder his character.
You see, the law is spiritual. I love what David said, it's
exceeding broad. It's not just taking somebody's
life physically, it's to be angry with somebody without a cause.
And then the next commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery. The commandment against sexual
sin that God invented sex and sex is the gift of God. And it is beautiful and sacred
in the covenant of marriage. But you look at the lives ruined
in our society by sexual sin. What? problems that causes in
homes and families and communities. Look at the crimes that come.
Can't you see what a blessing it is to have this commandment
regarding sexual sin? I mean, we're thankful for this
gift of God within the bonds of marriage, but outside of marriage,
it causes nothing but problems and heartache. And then he says,
Thou shalt not steal. Now, this means more than shoplifting.
Stealing is taking what does not belong to you. If you're
lazy on the job, you're a thief. Now think of that. To not fulfill
my responsibilities is to steal time. If you fail to give what
you should, God calls it in Malachi chapter 3, robbing me. He said,
you're robbing me. What about taking credit for
something you shouldn't? That's called robbing God of
His glory. Thou shalt not steal. I never
will forget talking to Henry Mahan once about a preacher who
gave up a large salary from a church, he resigned because he preached
the gospel. And I was very impressed with that. I said, boy, I told
him how much he gave up and everything, and Henry said, well, he's a
thief for taking it in the first place. And I thought, well, yeah, I reckon
that's the way it is. I mean, thou shalt not steal. And then what about lies? Thou
shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Think of
what a blessed thing it is to be around somebody who tells
the truth. Isn't there such a blessing in that? Somebody that they're
up front, you know where they're coming from, they tell the truth.
But what about somebody who lies and presents something that's
not the truth? You think of the trouble that causes. Isn't this
a blessed commandment? Thou shalt not lie. Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor, which is lying. And then he says in verse
17, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt
not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his maidservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that's
thy neighbor's. Now all the problems in our society come from me wanting
what you have and I'm going to take it. I covet it. I take it. But you think of what a happy
person that person is who is not coveting. Isn't God's law
beautiful? I mean, can't you see the holiness
of it? It reflects the perfect character of the perfect God. I delight in the law of God after
the inward man. This is a holy law. This is a
beautiful law. It reflects the character of
our God. Now, what I'd like to do now
is read some passages from the New Testament regarding this
holy law of God. First, turn to First John, chapter
three. Now, remember, the name of this message is The Law and
Faith. First John, chapter three. I appeal to you, every believer
in here, don't you love God's law? Beautiful, isn't it? Perfect. Holy, righteous, and
we love the law of God. Now look here in 1 John 3. John says in verse 4, whosoever committed sin transgresseth
also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. Now you want to know what sin
is? There's a lot of other definitions we can get from the scripture.
I realize that whatsoever is not of faith is sin. The plowing
of the wicked is sin. To him that knoweth to do good
but doeth not, to him it is sin. But here's a glorious definition
of sin. Sin is the transgression of the
law. Anything that is not in perfect conformity to this beautiful,
holy, perfect law of God is sin. And Paul said in Romans chapter
7 verse 7, I had not known sin but by the law. I didn't even
know what it was. For I had not known lust except
the law had said thou shalt not covet. Now when we're talking
about this holy law of God, the fact of the matter is, as much
as we admire it, as much as we see the beautiful character of
God in this holy law, We've not kept one commandment one time. We have not been enabled by grace
to keep one commandment one time. And if we believe we have, we
show our ignorance of the law and we show our own dishonesty. You see, if you would make a
confession, I've kept the law even once. You know what you're
doing? You're breaking the law when you make that confession
because you're lying. You did not. God's Word says you didn't.
Let me back this up with the Scriptures too. You're there
in 1 John. Turn to 1 John chapter 1 verse 8. 1 John chapter 1 verse 8. If we
say that we have no sin. Now there the word is a noun.
If we say we have no sin, at any time, if we say we do not
have a sinful nature, what do we do? We deceive ourselves. And the truth isn't even in us.
We've lost all credibility. We're liars. That's all you can
call us is liars. If we say we have no sin, you
see, that sinful nature is always there. And there's no time when
you can say, I have no sin. Look what it says in verse 10.
If we say we've not sinned, now that's a verb. That's talking
about what we do. If we say we've not sinned, we
make Him a liar. You see, He says we have, and
His Word isn't even in us. Now, I've not kept one single
commandment one time, nor have I been enabled by grace to keep
one single commandment one time. And to make a claim like that
is just basic dishonesty. That's all you can call it. Somebody's
a liar that makes a claim like that. They've lost all credibility.
Now look at Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5, verse 17. Our Lord said, think not that
I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets. I've not come to
destroy, but to fulfill. I didn't come to do away with
the law of God. I didn't come to make another way of salvation.
I came to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Christ didn't come
to do away with the law, but He came to keep it. Now this
is the law keeping we're saved by. Turn to Romans chapter 3. I love this verse of scripture.
Romans chapter 3. Verse 19. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped. No excuses. No pleas of it wasn't
my fault. No, all the world is to stand
guilty. Guilty is charged before God.
Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be
justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
But now, the righteousness of God without the law. Now, did
you get that? Without the law. It doesn't mean
God's law is done away with. I'm talking about my personal
obedience to that law. Something done in my flesh now
the righteousness of God without the law is manifested being witnessed
by the law and the prophets even the righteousness of God which
is by faith of Jesus Christ the faithfulness the law keeping
of Jesus Christ is given to everybody who believes Now this is the law keeping we're
saved by the law keeping of the Lord Jesus Christ turn to Romans
chapter 8 and Verse 1, There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Now before we go
on reading, what if I can just learn how to walk in the Spirit,
not walk after the flesh, then I can keep the law. That's not
what that's saying at all. You don't go in and out so one
day you're walking in the flesh and one day you're walking in
the spirit. No. If you walk by faith in Christ Jesus, you're
walking in the spirit. And if you walk in salvation
by works, you're walking in the flesh. This is what he's referring
to. Now let's go on reading. He says, There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death. For what the law, the ten commandments,
God's holy written law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh. The problem isn't with the law,
the problem is with my flesh. My flesh won't keep the law.
What the law could not do, and it was weak through the flesh,
God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us. Did you hear that? That
the very righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. those who
look to the Lord Jesus Christ, believing Him as their law keeper,
as their righteousness, as their obedience before God. Look back
in Romans chapter 3, verse 31. Do we then make void the law
through faith? Do we do away with God's holy
law through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish
the law. And only by faith is God's holy
law established. Now somebody had to keep the
law. He did. He loved God with all his heart,
with all his soul, and with all his strength. And he loved his
neighbor as himself. He really did. Somebody had to
pay the debts of the broken law. The wages of sin is death. It
can't just be swept under the carpet. The soul that sinned
shall surely die. Somebody had to pay the claims
of offended justice. He did it. He honored the law
by keeping it. He loved God with all of his
heart, with all of his soul, and with all of his strength.
And he loved his neighbors himself. And he honored the broken law
by suffering its penalty, death. Now, faith trusts Christ. I actually, while I'm talking
to you right now, I'm trusting the law keeping of the Lord Jesus
Christ as my righteousness before God. I am trusting His precious
blood as paying that debt owed to God's law. All of God's demands
have been answered in the Lord Jesus Christ and I am resting
in Him. Faith fulfills faith, establishes
the law. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Now this is how real union with
the Lord Jesus Christ is. In verse 10, 2 Corinthians chapter
5, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that everyone may receive the things done in his body according
to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad, knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord, We persuade men. Now, this is how real union
with Christ is. If He kept the law in His body,
I did too. That's how real this substitution
is. I kept the law. Well, it's as if you kept it.
No, it's not as if I kept it. I kept it. I honored God's law. When Jesus Christ honored God's
law, I did too. And I'm receiving the reward
of righteousness. Someone who's never sinned. Now, if you're not united to
Christ, you'll have to receive the things done in your body
that's bad. Oh, I don't want to go that route. Oh, let me be found in the Lord
Jesus Christ. If I'm in Christ, united to Him,
I myself have kept the law, what I've done in the body is good. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believe it. Oh, when God
looks at me, He doesn't look at me as a sinner with a covering. He looks at me as holy through
and through. And if He sees me that way, you
know what? That's what I am, all together. Now, faith in Christ. Can you see how faith in Christ
honors God's holy law? And anything short of this dishonors
God's law. Now, I want to look at this from
another angle. While faith does not keep the law, I'm not enabled
by grace to keep the law. Christ is the only one to do
that. While faith does not keep the law, faith does not violate
God's holy law. Now, let me explain what I'm
trying to say. This was a blessing to me to
see this. Faith does not violate the holy law. Now, faith is trusting
Jesus Christ the Lord as my righteousness before God. That relieves me
so much. His shed blood, my sin, I'm perfect
before God. It's just resting in Him. Now,
faith doesn't violate God's holy law for one thing. Faith does
not put any God before Christ. Nothing precedes Christ. I'm
not saved because I did anything. Nothing comes before the Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm saved because of Christ.
Faith really believes that. I really believe that there's
nothing in me that got things rolling. God didn't forgive me
because I repented. God didn't forgive me because
I asked Him to forgive me. God didn't forgive me because
I filled in the blanks somewhere. Not at all. Faith puts no gods
before the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the first cause of all
things, and I put nothing before Him. Faith does not trust a false
Christ. Does it? Faith doesn't trust
an idol. Faith trusts the Lord Jesus Christ
as He's revealed in His Word. I'm not trusting an idol. I'm
trusting the living God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I'm trusting Him as He's revealed in this book we call
the Bible. I'm not trusting an idol. I'm trusting the living
God. Faith reveres the name of Christ. You see, true faith really believes
this scripture, Ephesians 4.32, Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. You know there's only one name
that will cause God to forgive you and save you and have mercy
on you and do anything for you. You really believe it's the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't take that name in vain.
That name's the only hope you have. And you never go beyond
that, do you? Oh, what a precious is the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only faith keeps the Sabbath. Faith doesn't work. It does not
work. Faith trusts the work of somebody
else. It doesn't work. The only one
who keeps the Sabbath is the one who believes the Gospel.
Faith doesn't act contrary to that. Faith rests in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Faith truly honors all authority. Anything contrary to faith in
Christ shows a complete lack of respect for authority. But
faith truly honors all authority because it honors God. It knows
it comes from God. And it honors all God-given authority. Faith
doesn't kill. Murder is being angry without
a cause. Do you remember the words of Christ? They hated me
without a cause. Your natural man's mad at the
Lord Jesus Christ. They hate him without a cause.
They're angry at him without a cause, but not a believer.
Not a believer. We're not. We worship him. We
love him as he's revealed in his word. And we wouldn't have
him any other way, would we? We truly love the Lord Jesus
Christ. Faith doesn't commit adultery.
Now, what is adultery? Adultery is seeking pleasure
and satisfaction outside of the covenant of marriage. It's going
outside of that covenant. A believer doesn't seek anything
outside of the covenant of grace, does he? What did David say? Although my house be not so with
God. Now he was talking about his kids, I realize that. He
was talking about his kids, his family. His family was a mess.
But I think he meant more than that. I think he's talking about
this house. Although my house be not so with God, yet hath
he made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things,
and sure. And this is all my salvation,
and it's all my desire, though he makes it not to grow. I don't commit adultery. I'm
not looking for anything outside of the covenant. The covenant
of grace is all my salvation. And it's all my desire. I don't
even desire anything else. I'm just plumb satisfied with
how He saves by His grace. And I'm not looking anywhere
else. Faith doesn't commit adultery. Faith doesn't steal. Not real
faith. It gives Christ all the glory. It doesn't take credit
where credit's not due. It gives Christ all the glory
and delights in doing it. That's what real faith does.
It doesn't steal. Faith doesn't lie. Faith believes the truth. That's so simple, it believes
the truth. It rests in the truth. It tells the truth. Faith doesn't
lie. You see, faith is the gift of God. This is a supernatural
thing. It's the product of God. It comes from God. It can't lie.
No lies of the truth. Faith believes the truth. Faith
tells the truth. Faith doesn't lie. Now, man's
religion lies all the time. It tries to present itself in
a way that it's not really, trying to fake it and try to present
itself in certain ways, but faith doesn't do that. Faith believes
the truth. And faith does not covet. It really doesn't. Turn to Hebrews
chapter 13. Verse 4, marriage. is honorable in all
and the bad and defiled, but whoremongers and adulterers,
God will judge. Now let your conversation, your
conduct be without covetousness and be content and be satisfied
with such things as you have." Now, he's not talking about material
things right now. Now, we ought to be content with
what we have material. Every one of us live like kings. There's
no question in my mind about that. I mean, we got plenty,
but that's not what he's talking about. What do I have? I have the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have righteousness before God. I have the grace of God in my
heart. I have the Holy Spirit. I have the promise that all things
are working together for my good and His glory. I have His love. I have His mercy. I have His
grace. I know Him. He knows me. I have
all. All things are yours and you
are Christ and Christ is God. If Christ is all, I've got all.
There's nothing to covet. And I really believe that. I'm
not coveting anything. I have all things in Christ Jesus.
You see, while faith does not keep the law, Christ is the only
one to do that. Faith doesn't violate God's holy
law, does it? Faith honors God's holy law. Do we make void the law through
faith? God forbid. Yay, we establish
the law. I love God's law. I stand perfect
before God's law. I'm not under God's law. And
I don't want to break any of the commandments of God's law.
All those things are true. You don't have to be afraid of
God's law. Truly, we delight in the law
of God after the inward man. Let's pray together.