I want you to open your Bibles
with me to the book of Galatians, the third chapter, and let me
read my text again. Galatians 3 verse 13, Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursing is everyone that hangeth on a tree." The holy law of God,
and when we talk about the holy, divine law of God, we're talking
about all of the law of God. The word of God, the law of God,
sometimes is used interchangeably, meaning the same thing. I love
thy law. I love thy word. I love thy commandments. I love thy statutes, the laws
of God's kingdom. As you would that men should
do unto you, do ye even so unto them. That's the laws of the
kingdom. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
mind, soul, and strength. That's the laws of God's kingdom.
I shall love thy neighbors thyself. That's the laws of God's kingdom.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. That's the
laws of God's kingdom. I shall have no other god before
me. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Honor thy father and thy mother. These are the laws of God's kingdom. And I say that the perfect, divine,
holy law of God is a heavenly law. And those who find fault
with God's law or seek to depreciate it or discredit it in any way
have no understanding of the law. And they have no understanding
of the design of God's law. Now, Paul said three things in
Romans 7 that are very important. All that he said is important,
but this is very important in respect to a believer's attitude
towards the law. Paul said, the law is spiritual.
I'm carnal. The law is heavenly. I am of
the earth. Secondly, he said, I consent
to the law, the rules, the laws of God's kingdom. I consent to
the law, that it's good, good, good. No matter how far short
I fall of its obedience. glorifying it or honoring it.
It's good. Good. I have no objections to
God's law. No man who's saved has any objections
to God's law. I consent to the law that it's
good. Always good. And then listen
to this. In Romans 7, Paul said, I delight
in the law of God. I delight in it. And in all that
we preach about justification by faith, and I want to be a
preacher of justification by faith, because there is no other
justification. I want to preach salvation by
grace, not by works, not by law, not by deed, not by obedience,
not by merit, not by anything man can think, say, or do. But
in all that we preach about justification by faith, we never intend or
shouldn't intend to lower any man's opinion of God's law. I
believe a saved man has a much higher opinion of God's law than
an unsaved man. God's law, the laws of the kingdom,
are one of God's greatest works. There's not one commandment too
many and there's not one too few. The perfection of God's law is
the proof of the divinity of God's law. And no human lawgiver
or body of lawgivers could have written such a law. It's the
height. The laws of God's kingdom are
the height of all that is excellent between me and God and between
me and other men. It's sufficient. It's heavenly. It's holy. It's divine and it's
perfect, the laws of God. But while the law of God and
the laws of God, which are the laws of God's kingdom and the
rules of God's kingdom, are excellent and glorious, the holy law of
God is never more misapplied than when someone tries to use
it as a means of salvation. When someone tries to take any
portion of the law or any part of the law and make it a means
of salvation or a way of acceptance with God, the law is totally
out of place. It's misapplied and it's misused. Our Lord never intended for men
to be saved by any kind of law, no kind of law. not the law given
by Moses nor the interpretation of the law given by Christ. The
law was never given to Satan. The Ten Commandments give us
a picture of this. Someone said four things about
the giving of the Ten Commandments. Number one, it was written on
stone, cold, hard stone. And that shows us, teaches us,
that the law is unbending, unyielding, unchangeable. It's chiseled out
by the hand of God in cold, lifeless, harsh, hard stone. It doesn't bend. It doesn't yield. It doesn't give. It's there. It cannot be changed. And then secondly, he said the
law of God was written by the hand of God Himself to show us
that God was the one who required it. God is the one who will enforce
it. God Almighty is the one who gives
it. It's His law and man has nothing
to do with it, even in the transcribing of it. God gave it and God requires
it. And God demands it, and God commands
it, and God will enforce it. God gave it himself. And then
he said thirdly, this matchless, mighty, holy, divine, perfect
law of God was accompanied by lightning, the smoke of the mountain,
by the thunder and the blast of the trumpet, to crush any
pretense of self-righteousness or false claim. The holiness
of God will expose any claims of a pretender. It was given
by the very presence of God, by the awesome, awful, holy presence
of God in the flashing of the lightning and the crashing of
the thunder and the brilliance of God's very presence to show
that any pretense or false claim by any pretender will be immediately
exposed. And then fourthly, but though it was written on
stone by the hand of God, and accompanied by his very presence,
it was given to Israel through a Mediator, Moses, to show us that the law in itself
afforded no way to God, no approach to God, no entrance into God,
no way for the sinner to come before God, but through the Mediator. And when Israel received that
law, they backed away from that mountain and said, Moses, you
speak to God for us and speak to us for God, but don't require
us to have anything to do directly with the Holy God. Be our mediator. That's Christ. The law cannot
bless. The law can never bless anyone.
It never has blessed anyone. The law can only curse. The law
cannot forgive. It never has forgiven anyone.
It can only condemn. The law cannot cleanse. The law
can only reveal sin. That's all it can do. So all
the way through this scripture that Cecil read, it talks about
a curse, a curse, a curse, the curse of the law. The law can't
bless. It curses. The law can't forgive,
it condemns. The law can't cleanse, it reveals. It's a curse. Then how in the
world can anybody say, I love thy law? Well, we'll see in a
minute. I want to pick out through these
verses that were read to you a moment ago from Galatians 3,
I want to headline several verses. There are seven headlines. that I think will reveal what
Paul is saying in these verses. I'll try to be brief. I'll try
to be interesting. I'll try to be truthful. I'll
try to put the emphasis where I believe the apostle would have
it placed. And I'll try to word it in such
a way that you can understand what I'm trying to say. Number
one, he says, O foolish Galatians. Underline those three words,
the first three words in chapter three. Foolish Galatians. Twice he called these people
foolish. Why? Because, my friend, any man who
leaves Christ to return to Moses is foolish. Any man who leaves
the cross, the cross of redemption, the cross of justification, the
cross of free salvation and returns to the tithes is foolish. Any man who leaves the perfect
sacrifice of the Son of God himself and goes back to the animal sacrifices
or the ceremonies of days and leaves Christ the true Sabbath
to go back to a carnal Sabbath is foolish! Any man who leaves
the gospel and returns to works, who leaves the grace of God to
cling to his own merit, is foolish! That's the reason he's called
them foolish. This is what they were doing. Any man who leaves
the freedom, the glorious freedom of justification, of liberty
in Christ, of a certain hope in Christ, to return to the bondage
of days and months and years and feasts and sacrifices and
laws and requirements is foolish! And here's the seriousness of
their error. Look back at verse 21 of Galatians
2. As I've said so many times, there's
a chapter division there, but I hardly think it's necessary
here. Paul said, I do not frustrate, that is, distort or confuse or
confound the grace of God if righteousness come by the law.
Now here's the seriousness of their error. If righteousness
comes by the law, if acceptance with God comes by the law, by
the deeds of the law, or by the doings of the law, or by the
works of the law, Jesus Christ died in vain. Now you think about
how serious such a claim is. This is indeed the most foolish
position that any man could possibly take. Christ died in vain. He left heaven in vain. He came
to Bethlehem's manger in vain. He walked the streets of our
cities in vain. He healed the sick in vain. He
went to the cross and shed His blood in vain. He was buried
and rose again and intercedes now in vain if righteousness
comes by the law. You can be sure of this, three
things. If God Almighty sent His Son
to die on a cross for sinners, God Almighty intends to save
some sinners. You can be sure of that. I know
that's true. If Jesus Christ came and died
on the cross for sinners, then God has in his purpose and has
in his program a purpose to save sinners. He's going to save somebody.
Secondly, if Jesus Christ died on the cross and shed his precious
cleansing blood, then there's going to be some sinners saved.
He cannot fail. Those for whom he suffered and
those for whom he died will be delivered. The debt that he paid
will be cancelled by the justice of God. You can be sure of that.
And thirdly, if Christ died for sinners, if God sent his Son
into the world to suffer on that cross as he suffered and to die
as he died, forsaken of all, even God, you can be sure of
this, there's no other way for God to save sinners. If there was some other way for
God to save sinners, Christ wouldn't have come. Oh, foolish Galatians. Oh, foolish Galatians. Now, what's
the second thing? Verse 2. This only would I learn
of you. Now, Paul could have asked them
several questions. He'd gone to these people and
preached the gospel of Christ to them. If they had heard him
proclaim Redemption by the blood, regeneration by the spirit, ruin
by the fall. They'd heard him proclaim the
sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. They'd heard him proclaim redemption
by Christ alone, the intercession of Christ, his substitutionary
work. They'd heard all that. They'd
heard how God had fulfilled every law through Christ, and set aside
every ceremony by the perfect sacrifice of his son. They'd
heard all that, but false teachers and And false prophets had come
in and said, now Christ died, that's right, but you must be
circumcised, you must be baptized, you must tithe, you must do this,
you must quit that, you must go here, go there, you must keep
the Sabbath day, you must all these different things in order
to be saved. Now he says, I've learned one thing of you, listen
to it, this only what I learned. He could have asked them several
questions. He could have said, what you listening to those fellas
for? He could have said, why don't you read the Word of God?
He could have said, if Christ came, then Christ is the only
way to be saved. But he asked one question in
two parts. Let's listen to it. One question
in two parts. He said, look at verse two, did
you receive the Spirit? The Holy Spirit. It's capital
S. Did you receive the Holy Spirit?
Now the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of regeneration. We're born of
the Spirit of God. We're quickened by the Spirit
of God. We're made alive by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit
is the Spirit not only of regeneration, He's the Spirit of sanctification.
We're sanctified by the Holy Spirit. He's the Spirit of illumination. He reveals our sins. He reveals
Christ as the Savior from sin. He reveals Christ Jesus as the
substitute for sin. He reveals Christ's blood as
the atonement for sin. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit
of truth. He'll take the things of Christ
and show them to you. He'll lead you into all truth.
He'll guide you into all truth. The Holy Spirit is the witness
with our spirit that we're sons of God. The Holy Spirit is the
one who brings in our lives the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts
of the Spirit. Oh, did you receive the Spirit,
he said, listen, Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the
law or by the hearing of faith? The Spirit of regeneration, the
Spirit of illumination, the Spirit of awakening, the Spirit of conviction,
the Spirit of repentance. Repentance is the gift of God.
Faith is the gift of God. Adoption is the work of God. Forgiveness is through the mercy
of God. Did you receive the Spirit? By
doing what the law says or by hearing the gospel? That's what
he asked. I ask you the same thing. Did
you receive this? In other words, when you were
saved, was somebody standing before you reading the law? Or
were you studying the law? Or were you seeking to do the
law? Fulfill the law? Certainly not. You heard the
good news. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given.
You heard the good news, behold God shall give you a son, a virgin
shall be with child, and call his name Jesus, Emmanuel, God
with us. You heard the good news that
Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, that He died for our
sins with Barrett and Rose again, that Christ is the fulfillment
of all that God requires of you. That's the gospel, the good news.
You heard that. And the Spirit came and made
it effectual and applicable to your soul and heart and mind
and revealed the salvation that God, through Christ, had for
you. Now, the second part of that question. Verse 3. Are you so foolish,
having begun in the Spirit? And that's the answer you have
to give. Did you receive the Spirit by
the gospel or by the law? You say, by the gospel. All right.
Having begun in the Spirit, are you now perfected, matured, sanctified
by the law? In other words, this is what
he's asking. Do you need to add your righteousness to His? Do you need to add your merit
to His? Do you need to add your works
to His? Or are we complete in Christ? Huh? Well, I'll tell you this,
Christ Jesus is our wisdom, He is our righteousness, He is our
sanctification, and He is our redemption. And He is the author
and finisher of our faith. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the first and the last. We are complete in Him. In Christ
we have all that we have ever needed, that we need now, and
all we shall ever need. You don't start in the spirit
and become perfected by the flesh. All right, the next verse, verse
six. He says, Even Abraham, Now, I
don't think any of us quite realize what Abraham was to the average
Jew. Of course, Abraham today is not
to the Jew what he was then. They trusted Abraham. They rejoiced
in Abraham. They praised Abraham. Abraham was the friend of God.
God speak to Abraham as a man speaks to his friend. Abraham
was the father of believers. That's what the Scripture said.
God came to Abraham, and He said, Abraham, through your seed, the
Messiah's coming, the Redeemer's coming, the consolation of Israel
is coming, the Christ is coming. Through your seed, which is Christ,
all nations shall be blessed. And I'll bless them that bless
you, and I'll curse them that curse you. Abraham was the father
of every believer. And every true believer is a
son of Abraham, as I read in the scripture this morning. That
Abraham was the first of the Jewish nation. And they revered
him. And here the Apostle Paul is
saying this to them. Even Abraham, even Abraham believed
God. And it was counted to him for
righteousness. It wasn't by the law. He wasn't
justified. He wasn't justified in circumcision. Paul asked this. He said, was
Abraham justified in circumcision or before? Before. God gave him
circumcision as a token of the covenant. But Abraham just believed. That's all. He didn't work. He
didn't labor. He didn't serve. He just believed. And his faith was imputed to
him for righteousness, a full righteousness, a complete righteousness. Turn to Romans chapter 4. Let
me show you that. Romans chapter 4. Oh, foolish
Galatians. Any man is foolish who leaves
Christ and goes back to Moses, leaves the cross and goes to
the tithe. Look at Romans 4 verse 3. What sayeth the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it
was counted unto him for righteousness. Look at verse 13. For the promise
that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham
or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness
of faith. Now look at verse 20. And he staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but he was strong in faith, giving
glory to God, being fully persuaded that what God had promised, God
was able to perform. And therefore, it was imputed,
it was charged, it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Now, it was not written for his
sake alone that it was charged, imputed unto him, but for us
all, so to whom it, what's it? Righteousness, acceptance. with God Himself shall be imputed
if we do the best we can. No, sir, if we believe on Him
who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered
for our offenses, who was raised again for our justification.
Galatians and all who would follow in their train, Galatians foolish,
and all who would imitate their folly, Galatians, and all who
would seek to be sanctified by the flesh, or matured by the
flesh, or add any blessed thing to the offering and sacrifice
and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Paul said even Abraham, the friend
of God, the father of the faithful, the first of the Jewish nation,
was justified by faith and not by works. All right, verse 10,
here's a startling headline. For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse. Now, I know that we don't pay
any attention to silly, foolish things like folks saying they
put you under a curse. Some ignorant, superstitious
people on islands of the South Seas and around Africa and other
places are foolish enough to believe that someone can put
you under a curse or pronounce a curse upon you. If anybody
came up to me tonight, a voodoo expert or an enemy or an archdevil,
and said, I'm going to put you under a curse, I'd like it. But
brother, this curse here is not something to like. This is judgment. This curse is judgment. It's
a universal curse. It's a fearful curse. It's a
just curse. It's a righteous curse. And it
is the judgment and wrath of a holy God. And it is awesome. It says, as many as are of the
works of the law are under the curse. What does that mean? This
is what he's saying. Listen to him. In other words, any person,
I don't care who it is, me, you Debbie, you Doris, you Sherry,
any person, you Woody, any person who seeks justification before
God, acceptance before God by his deeds or works of the law
is under a curse. You know why? Because that person
is under obligation to keep that law perfectly. I read on. Let me show you. This is what
he said. For as many as are of the works of the law, as many
as are students of the law, as are students of works who are striving
to find acceptance with God by their deeds, by their religious
consecration or piety, or acts, or deeds, or words, fasting,
praying, I don't care how good they are, or abstinence from
sin, or moral righteousness, or moral walk, or holy living,
or kindness, or any man that's seeking acceptance by God, or
in the presence of God, or justification, or cleansing, or heaven by doing
anything, listen to it, or under the curse for it's written. Cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things, in all things
that are written in the book of the law to do them. You're
a student of the law, boy, you better be a good one. You better
go back and find every jot and every tittle. You better go back
and find every statute and every rule. You better go back and
find every requirement and every You better go back and find every
sacrifice and every atonement. You better go back and find every
day of fasting and every day of prayer. You better go back
and find... I'll tell you where you better go back to. You better
go back to the garden and find out you weren't represented there. That's where you start this whole
mess. You go back to the garden to make sure you weren't in Adam
when he fell, because that's when our problems started. and
then go back over your life with the microscope of God's holiness
and make sure you can't see one dust spot or one taint or one
offense or one thought or one imagination or one dream or one
word that's contrary to one jot or one tittle of God's holy law. Otherwise, you're under the curse.
This is what he's saying. Salvation is all Christ without
the works of the law, or all the law without the works of
Christ. That's the way it is. It can't be any other way. Two of God's greatest men called
this type of religion by their pet names. Paul turned to Romans
10. First of all, Paul says anybody
that sets out on the basis of law and works and good deeds
to establish a righteousness before God is ignorant. Romans 10, look at it. Read it.
Romans 10.1. Brethren, now he wasn't belligerent. He wasn't ugly. He said, My heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. I bear them record. They have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge. Ignorance. For they being ignorant,
ignorant of God's righteousness. What is God's righteousness?
The holiness of God's righteousness. The person of God's righteousness.
The requirements of God's righteousness. You that would be under the law.
Don't you hear the law? Don't you hear it? Oh, I get
so upset when people start talking about studying the law. There's only one. If you spend
your time studying the law, there's not but one place you're going
to wind up, and that's in despair. Every time I look into the law,
I look into a mirror that reflects every spot, every stain, every
offense, every fall, every foolishness. It just shows me who I am and
what I am. I need to take for every look
at the law ten looks at Calvary. And I get worried about people.
I'm concerned, and bless your heart, if you won't be concerned
about yourself, I will. If you won't pray for yourself,
I will. Because God's going to clean house with you. Any man
who stands before Him at any time, in all times, and expects
to be looked upon and loved and accepted because of anything
he is or has or does or says or gives is a fool. We can only be accepted in the
Beloved. We can only be loved in Christ.
We can only be received and sanctified and justified as we are in the
Beloved. Paul says you are ignorant. You're
going about, verse 3, to establish your own righteousness, and you
will not submit to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end
of the law. He's the goal of the law. He's
the consummation of the law. For righteousness to everyone
that keeps it, no sir, to everyone that believes it. Oh yes he does, Paul says, you
who would leave Christ for even a glimmer, a glimpse, even a
moment, and start looking for any refuge or any help or any
assistance to his gracious merit in the law, in your life. And
I'll tell you what John says, if you want to look at what John
says, he gets even rougher, 1 John chapter 1, 1 John 1. Oh, John says, verse
8 of 1 John 1, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth's not in us. We're liars. Now that's what
you have to say. If you're going to be accepted
by your works or deeds, you've got to say you've got no sin
because God can't accept sin. God is light. In God there is
no darkness, there's no alloy, there's no compromise. He's pure,
holy, light, truth, no mixture. If you're going to come into
God's light, you're going to walk as he is in the light, you're
going to furnish your own light. It better be here, rival with
his, or you better have the light of Christ. Christ said, I'm the
light of the world. He that abides in me shall never walk in darkness.
But if you're going to furnish your own light, The light of
your good works and the light of your piety and sacrifice and
sanctification, it better be awful bright. But it won't be
bright enough. He says you're a liar. And more
than that, verse 10, you say you have a sin, you make God
a liar. What trouble we're in who seek to be justified by the
law. Look at verse 11. But, here's another headline
quickly, number 5. that no man is justified by the
law in the sight of God, it is evident. Now the key words right
here, you watching? In verse 11, no man is justified
by the law. Here are the key words, in the
sight of God. There they are right there. You
can be justified in your own eyes by what you do. You can
be justified in the eyes of others. You can have everybody thinking
you're real spiritual, you're real good, you're real righteous,
you're real religious. Everybody but one, and he's the
one that counts. That's right. Look, if you will,
at Luke 16. I've always been afraid of people
who tried to impress me with their spirituality. I'm always
on the lookout and cautious about folks who want me to know how
righteous they are That's always a bad, bad sign. You see, before
me, you might justify yourself, but they're not who counts. Why
should I try to impress you? If you've got good sense, you
know what I came out of the same pit you came out of. If you've
got any understanding at all, you know that I've got the same
fleshly makeup that you have. No use me trying to impress you.
No use me trying to impress you with how much I pray. I don't
pray as much as I should, and you don't either, and you know
it, and I know it. There's no use trying to impress you how
much I love God. I don't love God like I ought
to love God, and you don't either. No use me trying to impress you,
Charlie. I haven't done anything. He sees
my heart. That's what he says here in Luke
16, 15. And he said to them, you are they which justify yourselves
before men. God knows your hearts. And that
which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to God. Oh, what an abomination! All that's going on in the name
of religion must be to God. People pray to be seen of men,
they give to be seen of men, they work to be seen of men,
they put forth every effort, they put forth all this piety
to try to impress someone God looks down upon all this mess
and He says, I'm nauseated by all of it. I'm weary of your
burning of candles and your offering of incense and the lifting of
your hands in prayers. Away with it, Isaiah 1. Man's not justified by the law.
I'll show you where it is. Turn to Jude. This is where it
is if you can find it. In the little book of Jude, verse
24, in his sight, those are the key words, the old man is justified
in the sight of God. In Jude 24, now unto him that
is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory, Christ is able. He can take me
and present me before the presence of the Father's glory, the very
presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Don't have to be ashamed,
don't have anything to fear, don't have any regrets. Look
at verse 12. Here's a plain headline here.
The law is not our faith. The law is not our faith. It
has nothing to do with faith. You with me? You listening? The
law is not of faith. It has nothing to do with faith.
The law doesn't teach faith or preach faith or require faith
or offer faith or give faith. The law deals in one subject,
obedience. That's all. Obedience. It doesn't know anything
about faith. It's not of faith. It has nothing
to do with faith. Don't talk about the law and
faith in the same breath. They're opposite. The law reaches
not to the outward, but to the inward. Not to the actions only,
but to the attitude. The law is not our faith. Here's
what the law says. The man that doeth the law shall
live by it. And the man that doesn't do the
law had better run to Christ, or the law will fall on him and
grind him to powder. Now some folks were justified
before the law was given, Abel, Noah, Job, Enoch, Abraham. Some folks were justified during
the legal dispensation, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Some
have been justified after the legal dispensation, James, John,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, but none of them were ever justified
by the law. The just shall live by faith. The last statement
is verse 13. Thank God I've got a hope. Thank God everybody who will
listen to me can have a hope. Thank God the curse can be removed. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of God's broken law. In that good news, this universal
curse, all the world's guilty, cursed is everyone, all have
sinned. This just curse, this fearful
curse, this spiritual curse, this present curse, present curse. He that believeth not is condemned
already. He that believeth not, the wrath
of God abideth. But Christ hath redeemed, Christ
hath redeemed every believer from the curse of this broken
law, this awful, holy, divine law of God. How did he do it?
Well, it wasn't easy. He didn't do it by word. He didn't
do it with a wish. He did it by being made a curse
for us. That's how he did it. The sword
of God was drawn. It must be used. And it was used
on Christ. The judgment of God is pronounced.
It's recorded. It's got to fall. Got to. The soul that sinneth shall die. The wages of sin is death. And
it fell. It fell on Christ. The sentence
of death is imposed. It is pronounced. It must be
served. Well, it was served on Christ.
You got to die. The debt is real. It must be
paid. It was paid. Christ paid it off. all the dead I owe. He became
sin. He became flesh. He was numbered
with the transgressors. Our substitute came and stood
forth and said, let the judgment, the wrath of God himself fall
on me and let my people go free. Horatio Bonar wrote, the Son
of God in mighty love came down to Bethlehem for me. forsook
his throne of light above, an infant on earth to be. In love
the Father's sinless Son sojourned at Nazareth for me. With sinners
dwelt the undefiled, the Holy One of Galilee. Jesus, whom angel
hosts adore, became a man of griefs for me. in love, though
rich, becoming poor, that I through him enriched might be. The Lord
of all above and below, he went to Olivet for me. He drank my cup of wrath and
woe and bled in dark Gethsemane. The ever-blessed Son of God went
up to Calvary for me. There he paid my debt. There
he bore my load in his body on the tree. Jesus, whose dwelling
is in the skies, went down to the grave for me. There he overcame
my enemies, and there he won a glorious victory. Tis finished
now. The veil is rent, the welcome
sure, the access free. Now then, I leave the bondage
and the curse of the law, my Lord, to return to thee. That's
where it is. It's in Christ. It's not in the
law. I love thy law. I consent to the law that it's
good, holy, heavenly, and divine. But it can't do anything for
me except condemn me and curse me. But Christ can do something for
me. He can redeem me from that curse and condemnation, for in
Christ there is no condemnation.