Pastor of the same church for
30 years now, visiting the hospital, called
on one of the loyal, faithful men of his congregation who had
been stricken with a very serious disease and who was not expected
to live. And the pastor had a word or
two with him. They'd been friends a long time.
He'd been in the church for a long time.
And they shook hands, aware that they were shaking hands probably
for the last time, and the pastor held the man's hand in
his, and there was a moment of silence, and then he looked at
him, and he said, Billy said, are you saved? And the man replied, I am if you told me right, preacher. I am if you told me right. This business of handling the
gospel When we're dealing with this
subject of condemnation and no condemnation, we're not playing
games. I got out of the church business
a long time ago. I'm really not interested in
how many folks are here, how many we have in Sunday school. Not really interested in how
many we baptize or how much money we take in. I'm interested in
winning Christ and being found in Him. And if God be pleased
to use the ministry here to bring somebody, anybody, to a right
and saving interest and relationship with Christ, I'd sure be much
obliged, wouldn't you? I'd sure be grateful. if God
would just give us a word from the throne, a word from within
the veil, so we can quit talking about things we don't know anything
about, boasting about things we don't have, and bragging about
knowing what we've never found out. Now I regret that I have
to get on this subject again, but here it goes. This chapter
division business, I mentioned something about it last Wednesday
night, it's advantageous in some respects. And I know some of
you feel that you know something about the Bible, and maybe you
do. But this business of chapters and verses, It's helpful, like
I say, it is advantageous in some cases, but in some cases
it's pitiful. It looks like in some cases that
these learned men, and they were, who am I to question their judgment,
but it looks like they just took an axe and whacked it wherever
the axe fell. And it leads men to make stupid,
foolish statements. For example, I've heard men say
this, and I'm sure, Jack, you've heard them say this, too. I'm
getting out of Romans 7 into Romans 8. I've heard that till
it's nauseating. We need to get out of Romans
7 into Romans 8. Well, that's an impossibility.
You can't get out of Romans 7 into Romans 8 because they're one.
They ought never been divided. They ought never been divided.
They're one in the Word of God and this chapter division was
not there when this scripture was written. I thank God. I praise Him. I'm going to be
honest. I hope you will because honest people don't wind up in
hell. I thank God. I've never known what it is to
be out of Romans 7. I've never known a day in my
life, I've never experienced one day that I ever felt like
I was out of Romans 7, but I thank God I'm not out of Romans 8 either. I thank God I'm in Romans 7 and
8 because Romans 7 and 8 are one. And the whole passage relates
the solid truth about my experience and your experience and the experience
of every true believer. Romans 7 is our experience every
day, but thank God by His grace we can say there is therefore
now no condemnation to them who are in Christ. Every believer
struggles against inward sin and rejoices in complete justification
at the same time. That's right. Every true believer
struggles against sin, inward sin, At the same time, he rejoices
in complete justification. Every believer is concerned,
always concerned about his failures and coming short of the glory
of God. Listen to verse 18. I know that
in me, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. What are we talking
about good? We're talking about perfection.
We're not talking about what men call good. The young man
came to Christ and said, good master, the Lord said, why do
you call me good? There's none good but God. Paul
wrote in Romans 3, there's none good, no not one. This goodness
here is God's goodness. I have sinned and come short
of God's glory, God's goodness, God's perfection. And he says,
to will is present with me. Somebody asked Spurgeon one time,
they said, God gave you anything you wanted, what would you ask
for? He said, perfection. Perfection. And that's what every
believer wants, because we want to be like Christ. That's what
David said, I shall be satisfied when I awake with his likeness.
Perfection. Now, to will is present with
me. I have a desire to be perfect. But how to perform that which
is good, not that which men call good, that which God calls good. How to perform not that which
men call good, but that which God calls good. I haven't found
the key to that yet, have you? No. Verse 19, for the good. that I would, I do not. The perfection that I would,
the perfect image of Christ, the absolute glory of God, to
love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and my neighbors,
myself, I hadn't found that yet. So the struggles of sin, inward
sin, and yet the confidence of no condemnation and justification,
every believer experiences every day. Every believer is in a state
of conflict. He's in a state of conflict,
and yet he's not in a state of condemnation. In fact, really,
when the conflict is the greatest, be careful now, when the conflict
is the greatest, the promises of Christ are the most comforting. Paul said, when I am weak, when
I am weak, and he's not talking about physical strength there,
when I am weak, then am I strong because I lean not on myself
but on Christ. I lean not on my righteousness
but His. When I am weak and know it and
realize it and admit it, I quit looking in here and go to looking
out there for some help. I flee to Christ. Like the manslayer
fled to the city of refuge, I flee with all my might to get to Christ."
Actually, now let's face this and admit it, actually the man
who never strives against sin just might be the slave of sin
and not know it. He said, I don't struggle against
sin, I don't have this inward conflict, I don't have this constant
anxiety and concern, I don't, you just might be in the gall
of bitterness. For 1 John 1, turn over there
just a moment, 1 John chapter 1, the man who is not conscious
of any sin to strive against, Well, he better question whether
or not he has spiritual life. 1 John 1.8 says, "...if we say
we have no sin, while we deceive ourselves in the truth not in
us." This is written to believers. This 1st John chapter 1 is written
to the believer. If we say we have no sin, we
are deceived. Now verse 10, if we say we have
not sinned, we're even bringing God in on our foolishness and
making God a liar. And His word's not in us. But
verse 9 says if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
Charles Spurgeon said the man who has no inward pain just may
not have any spiritual life, and he may be dead while he's
living. Actually, read Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no
condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. The only person
who can lay claim to Romans 8.1 is the man who can truthfully
appropriate Romans 7. Because Romans 8, 1 begins with
what? There is therefore. Old preacher said one time, when
you come to a therefore in the scripture, see what is therefore
by reading what's above. When you come to a therefore,
see what is therefore by reading what's above. Paul has treated
an inward struggle, an inward conflict against inward sin. A desire to be perfect and the
inability to be perfect. And he realizes he's sinned and
comes short of God's glory. And he lives with this thing
all the time and finally says, Oh wretched man that I am, who's
going to deliver me from this body of death? Thank God. I have that victory in Christ
Jesus because there is therefore now, right now, this present
moment, no condemnation, no judgment, to them who are in Christ Jesus. But Brother Mahan, I've heard
people say that Paul in Romans 7 is talking about when he was
unsaved. Well, let's see. Go back to Romans
7. Let's look at it. Let's look at it a moment. Romans
7 verse 4. What unsaved man can say this?
Wherefore my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by
the body of Christ that you should be married to him even to him
that's raised from the dead that you should bring forth fruit
to God show me the natural man that can say that married to
Christ no such thing look at verse 9 what unsaved man can
say this I was alive without the law once that's an unsaved
man But when the commandment came in the hands of the Holy
Spirit in convicting power, see and revive. And I died, slain
of the Lord. What about verse 12? The law,
what unsaved man can take a good hard look at this revealed law,
this righteous law, this holy law, and say it's holy? And the
commandment is holy, just, and good. Huh? What unsaved man,
look at verse 19, Romans 7, 19, for the good that I would I do
not, but the evil which I would not that I do." What unsaved
man wants to do good and despises to do evil? What unsaved man
is hungering and thirsting after perfection? Show me one. Look, if you will, at verse 22,
what unsaved man can say, I delight in the law of God? Huh? I delight in the law of God after
the inward man. My inward self, my innermost
being, absolutely finds its joy and pleasure in God's Word. What unsaved man can make this
statement, verse 25, I thank God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,
I shall be, I have been delivered from this body of death. See
this is not an unsaved man, this is a believer. This is a believer
struggling, this is a believer concerned, this is a believer
in conflict over inward transgression, over his shortcomings, over failing
to come up to the holiness and perfection of his living God. But then he finds this joy, there
is therefore now, right now, no condemnation. Don't have to
wait till I get to the judgment. There's no condemnation right
now. for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, I'm going to say
this because it's true. And if it were not for the self-righteous
advocates of human merit, if it were not for the self-righteous
advocates of human merit, there never would have been any conflict
over this scripture. If preachers and writers and
theologians and doctrinalists and religionists would just be
totally honest with the people about their own conflicts and
their own thoughts and their own struggles and their own nature,
there never would have been any problem here. But this scripture
would have been accepted as an accurate picture of the inward
struggles of every believer with all of my conflicts with all
my concern, with all my anxiety, with all my sin, with all my
failures, I rejoice that there is no condemnation to them who
are in Christ Jesus." And it would have been accepted like
that. It never would have been argued. It never would have been
any problem presented if it weren't for self-righteousness. And that
awful evil monster that was begotten in hell and turned loose by Satan
on the world of religion, that awful evil monster is found everywhere
in religious circles. Self-righteousness. I'll tell
you, if we don't do something about it, it's our worst enemy. Your worst enemy is your own
self-righteousness. That's the only thing that keeps
you from God. Your sins won't keep you from Christ, because
Christ died for sinners. Your sins won't keep you from
Christ, but your righteousness will keep you from Christ. Your pride. When God listed seven
things he hated worse than anything in heaven and earth, the first
one he named was a proud look. Your pride will keep you from
Christ. Your sins won't. Christ died for the ungodly.
He loves sinners. He's a friend of sinners. He
invites sinners. He came to save sinners. No man's
sins, however dark, however black, have ever kept him from Christ. But I'll tell you, your self-righteousness
will, your haughty spirit, your proud, arrogant look, it'll keep
you from Christ. Look at the apostles' expressions
here, his change of expression, all through chapter 7. Look at
verse 15. The good, that which I do, I
allow not. What I would, I do not. What I hate, I do. Verse 19,
the good that I would do I do not, but the evil I would not
do, that do I. It's always in the first person.
Who shall deliver me? Why can't we get in that person?
Paul is speaking in the first person. He doesn't say us believers
or us Christians or us brethren. He says I. How unlike us. We're so afraid to take our places. We're so afraid somebody's going
to think we're sinners. We're so afraid that somebody's
going to think we've done something wrong. We're so afraid to talk
like the Apostle Paul. We even try to defend him here. Let him say what he's saying.
Ah, he's saying. In my flesh, not in our flesh,
not in man's flesh, he says in verse 18, I know that in me Personal
pronoun, me. First person, me. That is in
my flesh. Well, that's no good thing. I'd
like to hear somebody testify like that sometime. You wouldn't
want to talk like that on the floor of the Wednesday night
prayer meeting. Somebody might think you've done something wrong.
And that just wouldn't do for somebody to think there's a sinner
in our midst. I find the law that when I would
do good. What's the change of person now
in verse 1 of chapter 8? There is therefore now no condemnation
to them. Third person. Boy, when he's
talking about confession, he's talking about himself. When he's
talking about confidence, he's talking about the believers.
When he's talking about struggle, he's talking about himself. I,
I, I. When he's talking about salvation,
he's talking about believers. When he's talking about conflict,
he's talking about personal conflict. When he's talking about no condemnation,
he's talking about believers. When the Apostle Paul speaks
about inward concern and inward conflict, he speaks of himself
first person. He knows himself, he doesn't
know them. But when he talks about the privileges of the children
of God, the benefits and blessings of the sacrifice of Christ, he
talks about believers. Damn. How unlike us, we justify
ourselves and condemn all men. Oh, if we could come to this
place. It's like I said when I started out. This is where
it is, I, I. What does the text say? Look
at Romans 8, 1. It talks about these inward struggles, and then
it comes down to Romans, the first verse there that they've
divided up, that ought to be the 26th verse. There is therefore
now no condemnation to them who in Christ Jesus. What does the
text say? Well, I know what some folks at Lockhart to say and
what they try to make it say. They try to make it say there's
no condemnation, there's no hell, there's no judgment, there's
no punishment for sin. Well, it doesn't say that. And
I'll tell you, anybody who gets any joy out of preaching on judgment
and hell and condemnation has got to have some personal problems.
But if we're true to the word of God, we've got to be true
to the souls of men and true to the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and we've got to preach this. It's appointed unto men
as it is appointed unto men once to die. And after this, the judgment. So Christ died once. He gave one sacrifice, and he
was judged one time for all who believe. And to them that look
for him shall he appear the second time without sin under salvation.
But to those who don't believe, and those who know him not, they've
got to face that judgment themselves. They've got to be condemned.
God must punish sin. God must punish sin. So the text
doesn't say there's therefore now no condemnation, because
there is. He that believeth not on the
Son, the wrath of God abideth on him. He that believeth not
on the Son is condemned already. And I know some folks at Lockwood
say this, there's no condemnation to them who make a profession
of faith. There's no condemnation to them who walk down the aisle
and accept Jesus, but it doesn't say that. And it doesn't say
there's no condemnation to those who are baptized. And it doesn't
say there's no condemnation to them who lead a moral life. And it doesn't say there's no
condemnation to them who join the church. But let's see what
it says. It says, there is therefore now
no condemnation, no judgment, no charge to them who are in
Christ Jesus. not in the right church, in Christ
Jesus. If we spend as much time trying
to get in Christ as we do to get in the right church, we would
profit greatly. It doesn't say there's no condemnation
to them who are in the right doctrine. Doctrine's important,
or the right frame of mind, or the right dispensation, or the
right race, or the right nation. It says there's no charge Though
I'm a struggling sinner, though I'm a failing sinner, though
I'm an imperfect sinner, though I've come short of the glory
of God, there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. Now, if I want to find pardon,
I'll find it in Christ Jesus. How does a man get in Christ
Jesus? All right, turn to Romans 5, verse 1. First of all, we're
in Christ Jesus by faith. by faith. Romans 5.1 says back
in verse 25 it says he was delivered by our offenses he was raised
for our justification therefore being justified by faith we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Have you ever consciously, willingly, lovingly Receive Christ
Jesus as your Lord and Savior by faith have you? When the old back in the Old
Testament when the when the manslayer had committed murder accidentally
the priest of God set up these cities of refuge and You know
when he committed this murder when he accidentally killed someone
the brother or the relative could kill him unless He got to one
of those cities of refuge. The way was clearly marked. They
had signs pointing to the city of refuge. There were seven of
them, weren't there seven of them? I don't know how many there
were. I think five, six, four, five,
six, seven. Anyway, cities of refuge, they
had signs. And the priest kept the way clear. They cleared the rocks and all
the way so that this runner, this man that was condemned,
this man that was facing death could get to one of those cities.
And if he was out in the field and he drew back his pick, you
know, was going to hit, and he hit a man in the head and killed
him. And he stood and looked at the man. He was dead, and
his brother was down there. He took off for a city of refuge.
Nobody could touch him. And Christ is our city of refuge.
Now have you ever really seen yourself, the blood on your hands,
guilt on your soul, The law of God pointing its finger at you,
charging you with sin. Have you ever honestly, on purpose,
willingly, fled to the city of refuge, to Christ? Or have you
just stood back and heard some preacher say, there is a city. and you know where it is, and
you know who it is, and you know it's there, and you know the
protections there, but have you, you've got all that information,
but have you ever been in the field of sin, with the blood
on your hands, and the law pointing at you, and coming to arrest
you, and you actually went to that city? I'll tell you this,
I'd rather know a whole lot less about it and be there, than to
be out here knowing all about it and not be there. And that's
what I'm afraid. I'm afraid some of our theologians
know all about the city, and they know where it's located,
they know how many miles is there, they know what kind of flowers
grow on the path, they know just how high the walls are and where
the gate is, but they've never entered in. They've never entered in. Never
been there. Well, I'll tell you this. Christ
is our only refuge. And some folks better by faith,
by faith, flee to Christ. He that believeth on the Son,
he that receiveth the Son, I fled to him for refuge. Alright, I'm
in Christ by faith. Turn to Romans 5 again. How's
a man in Christ? By faith. That vital living union
with Christ is secured by faith. We're justified by faith. Without
faith, it's impossible to please God. All right, Romans 5, I'm
in Christ also by covenant mercies. Romans 5 verse 12 says, By one
man sin entered into this world. Death by sin, so death passed
upon all men for all sin. In other words, Adam was what
we call a federal head. Adam was a representative. The
whole human race was in the loins of Adam when he sinned. And he represented every one
of us. He represented us. We were figuratively in Adam. When he stood, I stood. When
he fell, I fell. When he sinned, I sinned. When
he died, I died. I was in his loins. God never
created but one man as Adam. The rest of them came from his
loins. And they were in him. Now like it or not, that's so.
Turn and look over at verse 19. By one man, Romans 5, 19, by
one man's disobedience many were made sinners. Who is that one
man? Adam. That's federal headship,
that's representation, that's covenant covenant identification
now what's the next line so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous when Christ when Adam stood here he stood
at my federal head as I have borne the likeness of Adam I
pray by God's grace I'll bear the image of the second Adam
In Adam I died, in Christ I'm made alive. The same way, by
federal headship, by representation, by covenant identification. I'm
in Christ. There's no condemnation. There's
condemnation to them who are in Adam. There's no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. Because Christ, as my federal
head and as my representative, met the law head on. He met it
as a man in the flesh. God was incarnate. God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Christ met this
law, and he obeyed it in every jot and tittle. He said, I didn't
come to destroy. The law came to fulfill it. And
he went to the cross, and there, as my federal head, as my representative,
as my covenant surety, he took my sin, and he took the wrath
of God for my sin, and paid the debt for the believer. So I'm
in Christ by faith, I'm in Christ as my federal head, my covenant
charity, my representative. And then thirdly, turn to John
1. How's a man in Christ? He's in Christ by regeneration,
by the new birth, by the new birth. John chapter 1 verse 12
says, as many as received him, to them gave he the privilege
to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,
which were born. I'm in the Mahan family. I was
born there. John Horan's in the Horan family,
born there. If you're in the family of God
tonight, you're born there. That's what it says, which were
born. Not of blood, that is not of fleshly inheritance. We don't
hand salvation down to our children. I have to confess I'm a sinner.
Sometimes I wish I could, don't you? Wish I could. And our children's children.
It's not of the will of the flesh. You can't by willing save somebody. You can't by willing save yourself.
It's not of him that will it, but of God. That's how we're
in Christ. We're in Christ by faith. We're
in Christ by covenant mercies. We're in Christ by the new birth,
regeneration. The Son quickeneth whom he will,
whom he will. That's what the text says. The
Apostle Paul, Romans 7, all the struggle, the concern, the conviction,
The anxiety over inward conflict that never ends. And you think
it's supposed to get easier as the years go by? I don't find
that true of these men over here who walk with God. I don't find
that it became any easier. I don't find that at all. I find the conflict, the more
we see, the more the circumference of light, the more darkness it
touches. The greater the diameter, the
greater the circumference, that's what it's like. The more darkness,
the more I see of the glory of God, the more I see of my own
self. The higher the goal gets, the
more difficult it is to reach it. When a fellow first sees,
he looks at this Bible and reads it through and says, well, that's
it. I read the Bible all the way through. Boy, I'll tell you
you get to look in here and you can't even you can't conquer
one verse let alone the whole Bible You can't the more you
read it the more you realize you don't know After you get
50 60 years old you realize you don't even know the question
let alone the answers we all got the answers You know the
first year we say But I'll tell you, it gets awful big. It gets
awful big. This is what the text says, there's
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Now hold
on to your pew there a minute, I'm going to shock you a little
bit. That's all this text says. That's all it says. who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit is absolutely not supposed to be there. Now
I will challenge you and I give you an assignment. You get you
some of the better translation, get you a Greek New Testament,
get you any of the American Standard which I have here, any of them,
Amplified, not there. It was added by some translators
who thought they'd do God a favor. It's not there. It's in verse
4 now. Look at verse 4. "...that the righteousness of
the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit." That's true! It is true that all believers
walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. All believers walk in
the Spirit, not in the flesh. All believers are to walk in
the Spirit of Christ and not to fulfill the lust of the flesh.
But it is not true that there's no condemnation to a man because
he walks in the Spirit and not in the flesh. That's got nothing
to do with it. You say, well, preacher, how did it get in the
text here in the King James Bible? I'll tell you how it got there. I'll tell you how it got there.
There always have been men who are afraid of the Oakland Declaration
of free justification by the grace of God. They're afraid
of it. They're half afraid that men
will get so much comfort out of free justification, so
much comfort out of justification by faith that these people will
begin to live carelessly. That's what they're afraid of.
They're afraid if we stand and declare That our sins, oh the
depths of them, oh the blackness of them, oh the double-dotted
redness of them, our sins are under the blood. They're put
away by Christ and Christ alone, by His sacrifice and His sacrifice
alone. Plus nothing I do and nothing
I bring and nothing I give. They say, now if you preach that
too strongly, a fellow will take that and he'll go out and live
a life of sin. They have questioned the wisdom
of openly declaring, publicly declaring, that our relationship
to God is through Christ alone and has nothing to do with what
we do, what we say, or what we contribute. So they put policemen
on these texts. This is a policeman they put
here to safeguard this text. It doesn't belong there. It doesn't
belong there. Let me read you another one.
And I wouldn't, not putting a question mark on the King James Bible,
I'm just simply saying, and Bruce will tell you this, they had
this problem in school in Greek class. Listen to this text here
in Revelation, write this down, look it up later, Revelation
22, 14. Look it up in your Amplified. Look it up in your American Standard.
Look it up in your Revised Version. Look it up in any accurate translation. Listen to Revelation 22, 14.
Blessed are they that have washed their robes,
that they might have a right to the tree of life. How does
your Bible read it? Revelation 24, 14. Your Bible
says, blessed are they that keep his commandments, that they might
have a right to the tree of life. That ain't so. The King James says that. It
says right there, you look it up, Revelation 22, 14, it says,
blessed are they Blessed are they that do his
commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life.
You can take any testament that's translated from the Greek, and
it will not read that way. It reads, blessed are they that
have washed their robes, that they might have a right to the
tree of life. I'll tell you what did it, back
in the 1600s and 1700s and all when this was being translated,
churches were under the dominion and the leadership of some puritanical
men who were sent for the defense of righteous living and righteous
conduct and morality and praise God for them. Praise God for
them. But they felt obligated to tone
down These declarations of salvation by faith alone, by Christ alone. So they put policemen like this
on these tickets. Here's what I'm declaring to
you tonight, and I'm declaring it as openly as I can. When you
desire to know your state before God, When you desire to know
where you stand before God, as far as this thing of condemnation
is concerned, and sin, you better determine this question and this
question alone, not how good am I, not how many works have
I done, not what kind of life am I living, not whether or not
God's answered my prayer, am I in Christ Jesus? Not how much doctrine I've learned
and what church I belong to or what kind of experience I've
had or how many times I've been baptized. Am I in Christ Jesus? God's not going to do business
with any sinner in mercy unless he's in Christ. And I mean in
Christ. I don't mean standing around
talking about Christ and debating about Christ and arguing about
Christ and talking about religion. I mean the man who, or the woman
who, is by grace, through faith, by covenant mercy, and a new
birth in Jesus Christ, totally and completely but now in eternity,
who's in love with him, who's devoted to him, who's consecrated
to him, who can say with Peter, Lord, you know I love you. I
love you more than I love my wife and children and the whole
shoot and match put together. I love you more than I love life
itself. I love you more than materialism
and possessions and health and happiness and anything. It's
Christ. He's my refuge He's my Lord turn
to 2nd Corinthians 13 look at it 2nd Corinthians 13 and listen
to verse 5 Examine yourselves Examine yourselves, and he's
talking to the church you preachers you better examine yourself You're
a theologian, but theologians don't go to heaven sinners do You've got everything all buttonhole
and pigeonhole and you know all about the millennium and all
the different abominations of desolations and the three and
a half years here and the three and a half years there and all
that other stuff that folks preach about that don't know a thing
in the world about. But are you in Christ? Examine
yourself whether you be in the faith prove your own self know
you not your own Do you know yourself how that Jesus Christ
the person is in you? Unless you are a reprobate Is
he in you I've made up my mind years ago.
I'd never try to pastor people who don't worship God and I won't
do it. I Will not do it I will not try to pastor people who
do not worship God, who do not know Christ, who are not in Christ.
I'll preach to them, I'll pray for them, I'll feel sorry for
them, but not try to pastor them. It won't do it. Are you in Christ, or are you
a doctrinalist, or a theologian, or a church member, or a religionist? Are you in Christ? What you do
is for His glory. What you covet is for His glory. That's where there's no condemnation,
see, so it's in Christ. It's in Christ. And I'm persuaded
that when we come to that realization and when we come to that experience
in Christ, everything else is all right. The struggle goes
on, but it's all right. It's all right. The victory is
ours. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? But I thank God it's already done in Christ,
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father in heaven, thank you
for the gospel, the gospel of free grace, the gospel of free
justification, the gospel of a free gift. Life in Christ. Now, Joe prayed with just as
much in need as the first day we looked to the cross. Just
as sinful as the first day that we claimed Christ. Oh Lord, we
realize our sins even more. But thank God our hope is not
in ourselves, it's in Christ. He is our hope. Christ alone, get glory to thy
name. Use this message. O Lord, shut
our self-righteous mouths. Strip us of all of our rags of
human merit. Lay us bare before thy holy law. Lord, let us be tonight the slain
of the Lord, and by the power of thy Spirit put life in these
dead bones and make us stand up a great army singing unto
the Lord that song of Moses and the Lamb unto him who loved us
and washed us from our sin in his own precious blood and made
us unto our God kings and priests unto him be glory both now and
forevermore amen Ronnie, let's sing a closing hymn, if you will.
Let's sing number 352. 352. Let's stand,
please. Jesus, lover of my soul, lead
me to thy bosom fly, while the nearer watch