That's what the law says. That's
what the law says. It says, love God with all your
heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbors as yourself. And it not only demands that,
God's law not only demands that in deed, and word, and action,
but it demands it in thought. Let's turn to Matthew chapter
5. Now here's where these religious
Pharisees, religious leaders, miss the law. They missed the
law here, and our Lord Jesus interpreted for them. He showed
them the law reaches not just to the deeds and words, it reaches
to the thoughts. In Matthew 5, verse 21, our Lord
Jesus said, You have heard, we're back here in verse 20, turn over
here a minute, verse 20. I say unto you that except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, You shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now their righteousness was an outward form, an outward conformity
to these laws. But Christ said, now, hey, wait
a minute. Verse 21, you have heard that it was said by them
of old time, thou shalt not kill. That's what it says. And whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto
you, whosoever is angry, with his brother without a cause shall
be in danger of judgment. And whosoever shall say to his
brother, Raca, vain fellow, shall be in danger of the council.
Whosoever shall say, Thy fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
In other words, our Lord says, not to kill a person physically
does not mean you've kept that law. To be angry and to hate
that person in here, you're guilty already. I'm a murderer." He
said, Pritchard, you've never killed anybody. Yes, I have.
Yes, I have. You have too. We've killed plenty
of people in our thoughts and in our minds. That's right. And
then he says down here in verse 27, you've heard it said by them
of old times, thou shalt not commit adultery. There may be
many people in this congregation who can say, I've been faithful
to my husband, to my wife, I've never in all my life ever committed
adultery. Yes, you have. Yes, you have. Our Lord said, verse 28, But
I say unto you, Whosoever looketh on a woman or man to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. It's
a hard action. To think evil thoughts is to
be guilty already. The thought of foolishness is
sin. Actually, the deed begins with a thought. We hate someone,
but we don't kill them. We're restrained by different
reasons. The man out here in the penitentiary
that killed the man, his deed started just like yours, a thought.
And then he carried it out. He wasn't restrained. You and
I were restrained by God. We don't take any credit. The
only reason you and I have not done anything possible for a
human being is because God restrained us. The thought was there, the
intent was there, the desire was there, and therefore God
looks on the heart. And you're guilty, and I am too. Down here in verse 38, you've
heard it said by them of old times, it has been said, an eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, get even! We usually do. But I say unto you that you resist
not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek,
turn the other one. If a man sue you at the law and
take your coat, let him have your cloak. If a man compels
you to go a mile, go two. Now there's your law. That's what
the law says. We know whatsoever things the
law says. He goes to the thoughts and intents
of the heart. Now, to whom does the law say
these things? Well, let's read on, verse 19. Now, we know that
what things soever the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under
the law. Who is that? That's every one of us. That's
every son of Adam. That's every subject of God's
kingdom. That's all people, all nations,
all inhabitants of God's universe. That's the Soviets, and that's
the Americans, and that's the British, and that's the Jews,
the Gentiles, that's the male, and that's the female, every
human being. We may claim exemption for work
being disabled. We may claim exemption from the
armed forces being old. We may claim exemption from giving
having no resources, but there's no exemption from sin. Down here
in verse 23 it says, all have sinned, all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. All have sinned. Look at these
above verses that Brother John read for us, verse 9. What then?
Are we better than they? Is the Jew better than the Gentile?
Is the female better than the male? Are we Americans better
than the Russians? Are we civilized and intellectual
people better than the bums and the welfare folks? Name any human
being, are we better than they? No! No. We have a tendency to make a
difference, but God says there is no difference. We judge men
by their education, we judge them by their dress, And I'm
guilty of this, and you are too. You see some person, Doris and
I, in the airports of these different cities in Europe and all, we
say, why do people dress like that? Well, if I was a heathen,
I would too, you know, except for God's grace. That's why they
dress like that. That's why they act like that.
God turns them loose. And I do the same thing. Why
don't we quit asking why? There is no difference. There's
no difference. No, or what then? Are we better
than they? No, in no wise, for we before
proved, both Jew and Gentile, they're all under sin. As it
is written, there's none righteous. In case you doubt it, no, not
one. There's none that understand
it. There's none that seek after God. They seek after flesh and
self and self-glory, but not after God. They're all gone out
of the way. They're all of us together become
unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
Do you doubt it? No, not one. God looked down
from heaven, the Scripture said, to see if there was one righteous
man. He found they're all together
become unprofitable. All. All. All right, let's see. Verse 19
again now, you know what the law says, and to whom it says
it, to every one of us, and what's the result? Fourfold. Verse 19, that every mouth may
be stopped. I tell you, when a man or a woman,
when this preacher, you or anybody else, when we clearly understand
what the law says, what God requires, what the holiness, the immaculate,
immutable holiness of God requires. If we ever get a glimpse of it,
like Isaiah of old, it'll do four things. Number one, it'll
stop our mouths, that every mouth may be stopped. No more claims
of righteousness. Well, I've always tried to do
the best I can. No more of that. Well, I've always
lived a decent life. No more of that. Top of your mouth. Well, I've
always helped others. No more pride. No more self. No more works. No more alibis. No more blaming somebody else. That's our greatest fault. That's
our greatest fault, blaming somebody else. But I never had an opportunity
like you do. By nature, we'd have messed up
anything God gave us. That's right. Every mouth stop. Just when you see, like Job said,
Lord, I've heard of you, now I see you, I put my hand on my
mouth. I'm afraid of what I might say.
That every mouth be stopped. Secondly, and all the world become
guilty. Now, there's several things here
about this guilty. That word in the margin, see
it? Guilty. Subject to the judgment of God.
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Subject to the judgment of God.
David admitted that. Psalm 51. Turn over there and listen to
what David said in Psalm 51. He said in verse 3, I acknowledge my transgressions. Psalm 51, 3. My sin is ever before
me. And I'll tell you, if a work
of grace is ever done in these hearts, it's going to be my,
not we. It's going to be my. I acknowledge
my transgression. And my sins are ever before me.
I can't get them out of my mind. And here's what he says. It's
against thee, guilty before God. It's against thee, and thee only,
I've sinned. And I've done this evil in your
sight. And Lord, you're just. You're
justified when you speak, and you're clear when you judge me.
Can you do that? I confess, I can do that tonight. By God's grace, I believe many
of you can. I can say guilty before God. And my transgressions and my
sins are ever before me, and it's against God that I've sinned.
And I've done what evil I've done and thought and said in
His sight. And if He sends me to hell, that's
what I deserve. If He says, condemned, depart
from Me, I never knew you, I got no word to say. You don't either.
I don't have one word to say. I don't believe he's going to
because of Christ. But if he did, he'd be just. That's so. And that's where you've
got to come. Guilty before God. And then listen to this third
thing. This is the results. What the law says, to whom it
says it. It stops our mouths, Romans 3.
That we might become guilty before God, and that we might realize,
number three, verse twenty, Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight. In other words, there
remains no hope for me to be cleared, to be justified, to
be accepted, to be received of God by what I do. There's no
grounds, there's no hope. I can join every church in this
land, I can be baptized in every baptistry, I can walk down to
every altar, I can go visit every confessional, every priest, every
preacher, I can try all the things that men subscribe to and present,
and thereby the deeds of the law, works of the flesh, I'll
never be justified in His sight. I may justify myself in your
sight, that's what we do. Let's turn to Luke 16. Luke 16. This is one of the major problems
of religion today. Getting fixed up before men.
Impressing some preacher, or some person, or some church.
Look at me, I've turned over a new leaf. Look at me, I'm religious
now. Look at me, I'm studying the
Bible. Look at me, I'm going to church. Look at me, I'm giving
gifts. Look at me, I'm saved! I'm this, that, and the other.
Everybody, do I impress you? Our Lord said, I won't do you
any good. Luke 16, 15, listen. And He said unto them, You they
which justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The law comes in its requirements
and speaks to me, and kills me, slays me. Like Paul said, I was
alive without the law, but when the law came, it slew me. It
shut my mouth. It put me in the dust. It made
me cry guilty before God. And I realized thirdly, I'm hopeless. As far as salvation is concerned,
or eternal life, or acceptance, I'm hopeless. There's nothing
I can do in His sight. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified in His sight. I thank God somebody else
can do something in His sight. Turn to Colossians chapter 1.
I have to sneak this in before I get into the remedy because
this ruin business gets us down feeling so low we get so blue
we might not hear the rest of it. Colossians 1 verse 20. It
says in Colossians 1.20, And having made peace through the
blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him, I say, by Christ, whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven. And you that were
at one time alienated, enemies in your mind by your wicked works,
yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through
death to present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable. in His sight. Oh, I like that. Christ, I'm
hopeless, helpless to justify myself in any way, but I can
be justified by one who's able. And there's one who is able.
He's able to say to the uttermost, them that come to God by Him.
Alright, here's the fourth thing. The results of this law speaking
to us shuts our mouths, renders us guilty, renders us hopeless
as far as works, deeds, religion is concerned. And the last line
of verse 20, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Now my friends, don't let anybody
come to you preaching salvation by law and by deeds and by works. Because actually the law can
only serve a threefold purpose as far as we sinners are concerned.
Number one, it reveals our sins. The law reveals our sins. The
law is like a mirror. When we go to the medicine cabinet
in the bathroom, the first thing we do is look in the mirror.
See the damage, I guess. See what needs to be done. But
you can stand there and look all day. and no improvements
will be made. The mirror can only reflect what
you are. And when I look into the law,
I see what I am. Secondly, it kills me. Literally,
actually slays me. Slays me. Gives me a knowledge
of my sin. I cry, Oh, wretched man that
I am. Like Isaiah said, I'm a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips. And
thirdly, it shuts me up to Christ. That's what the law does. The
law doesn't help me, it doesn't sanctify me, it doesn't improve
me. Even after you're saved, the law won't improve you. That's
right. It shuts me up to mercy. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's
the rottenest sinner of all? The one that's looking in. Doesn't
matter who it is, you just take your choice. Mirror, mirror on
the wall, who's the greatest sinner of all? Paul said, I'm
the chief of sinners. Because I'm the one looking into
the Lord. Okay, let's go to God's remedy.
Verse 21, that's man's ruin. It's a total ruin, it's an absolute
ruin, it's a complete ruin. Verse 21, but now, My friends, this salvation is
now. This redemption is now. This justification is a present
possession. John said, beloved, now. You
know, I took my concordance. I saw this word now, and I just
went down through there. It's amazing how many times the
apostles and prophets used this word. Oh, but now! But now are
we sons of God. Now unto Him that's able to keep
you from falling and to present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable
in His sight. Now in Christ Jesus, you who
were fallen are made now by His precious blood. Right now! Right
now. A person doesn't have to wait
till the smoke clears away and the dust dies down and judgment
is over to find out whose side he's on. He can know right now.
Right now. Now, the what? The righteousness
of God. The holiness of God. Perfection
before God in His sight. Without the law is manifested. And my friends, that means exactly
what it says. Without the law. And that's what
I'm preaching. This salvation is without my
obedience to the law. Either before God saved me or
after God saved me. It's without my obedience to
the law in any shape, form, or fashion. It's strictly by the
obedience of another. And Paul preached that. Because
back here, you remember when John was reading, Brother Chapman
was reading over in verse 8 of Romans 3, and Paul says, "...and
not rather as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm
that we say, let us do evil that good may come." Man says that
is just to be damned. That's what he says. And a man
believes that, just to be damned. People charge us with being antinomians,
without law. But I'm telling you this, redemption
is without the law. Salvation is without the law. Righteousness, for me, is without
my obedience to the law. It's by Christ. By His obedience.
It's without the law. Is that so, John? And that's
what you read there. Paul says, you know what people
are saying about me out there? I'm preaching the salvation without
the law. It's by Christ's obedience. It's
by Christ's righteousness. It's by Christ's death. And all
my righteousness is imputed. It's His. I'm dressed in His
beauty. I'm clothed in His glory. I'm
accepted in the beloved. And not by works. They said,
Paul's an antinomian. Paul doesn't believe in holiness.
Yes, he did, too. God forbid. God forbid. Shall we do evil that good may
come? God forbid. Who ever heard of such a thing?
But I'm saying this, the righteousness of God, right now, is without
the law and is manifested by the Word. Listen. It's manifested,
it's witnessed, By the Law and the Prophets. What is the Law
and the Prophets? We turn to Isaiah 8. Isaiah 8
verse 20. What is this Law and the Prophets? It's the Word of God. It's the
Word of God. Let everything be settled by
the Word of God. This righteousness, this holiness,
this acceptance, this gift, this standing is manifested by the
Word. Not by the church rules and laws. The church can't give it. Not
by down home holiness and country holiness and regional sanctification. It's what the Word says. Listen
to Isaiah 8 verse 19. And when they shall say to you,
seek unto them that have familiar spirits, unto wizards that peep
and that mutter. Should not a people seek unto
their God? Do you go for the living to the
dead? Go to the law and to the testimony. If they speak not
according to this word, it's because there's no light in them.
My friends, what I'm telling you is not what I've concocted,
or what I imagined, or what my church believes, or what Baptists
believe, or what Russian Orthodoxy, or Catholic, or Baptist, or anybody
else, it's what God says. The righteousness of God is without
the law. And it's manifested from His
Word. That's where we got it. The Word of God. Let every word
be established by His Word. Now what's the next line? It's
even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. And it's unto all, and it's upon
all them that believe. But there's no difference. What
are we saying? Salvation. and acceptance before
God and a perfect righteousness is ours, two things, by the faithfulness
of Christ. It's by His knowledge that He
justified many. By His knowledge, He knew us.
He knew the Father. He kept the law. He obeyed the
law by His knowledge, by His obedience, by His faithfulness,
by His righteousness, by His works, by His intercession, by
Him, by His person. He justifies us by His faithfulness. That's what that says, by His
faithfulness. But also, it's by faith in Him. We believe. My sheep hear my
voice and they what? They follow me. They believe. Yes, we do. We believe. What
shall we say that Abraham our father hath received as pertaining
to the flesh? Righteousness. How did he receive
it? He believed. He believed God. And it was imputed
to him for righteousness. Oh, I know my standing before
God is in Christ, through Christ, because of Christ. But I'm in
Christ by a faith that God gave me. by faith that God gave me. All right, verse 24. I want you
to tarry here just a moment. And verse 22 says, this righteousness
is for all who believe. There's no difference. Jew or
Gentile, male or female, bond or free, all of sin comes short
of the glory of God. This is for the lawyer and this
is for the laborer. This is for the President, and
this is for the prisoner. This is for the teacher, and
this is for the pupil. This is for the old, this is
for the young. This is for the black, for the white. There's
no difference. All who believe are justified. And here's why. Being justified. That's past
tense, and that's present tense. Being justified, I have peace
with God. Because I'm justified. Salvation is not just an isolated
experience. Repentance is not just an isolated
act. Somebody says, well, I repented.
Aren't you still repenting? Well, I believed on Jesus one
time. Aren't you still believing? I came to Christ. Aren't you
still coming? For by grace have you been saved
through faith. And to those who are being saved,
Christ is the power of God, and now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed. We're being justified. We are
justified. We're being justified. That's
right. Being saved. Isn't that right, sister? That's
so. We're being sanctified. Justified. Having been justified
and being justified. And listen, freely. Freely. No return, no reimbursement by
His grace. I'm not saying that a person
can finally be lost, I'm not saying that at all. I'm just
saying that God has saved us, He is saving us, and He will
save us. He has delivered us, He is delivering
us, He will deliver us. He that hath begun a good work,
now listen, He that hath begun a good work shall, what's the
word? Finish it. And it is not finished yet. Not
for me. It will be, won't it, Jim? It's
not finished yet. It will be. When I'm just like
Christ, saved. Saved. Being freely justified,
being justified freely by His grace, and everybody get this
now. It's through the redemption that's
in Christ Jesus. That's where it is. It's in Christ
Jesus. Is that clear? Whom God set forth. He set him
forth in the covenant. He set him forth in the promises.
He set him forth in the pictures. He set him forth in person. Hung
a star over his birthplace. Sent an angel to tell the shepherds.
He set him forth on a cross. And he brought him forth from
a tomb. And he sat him down on his right hand. And said, there
he is. There's your hope. And I tell
you, this old sinner, without hope, without help, without strength,
at his wit's end, He bows before that Redeemer. And I said, Lord,
let Thy blood be propitiation for me on the mercy seat. I need
mercy. Thank God it's free to all who
need it. He's never turned away a sinner. Look to Him. Let's sing, It's
Well With My Soul. And I tell you, you can sing
that, can't you? In Christ. In Christ, It's Well
With My Soul. 256.