Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
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live from the
3ABN Worship Center.
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Indeed, we do welcome
you to night number two
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of this the final Anchors of
this particular calendar year.
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And this series has
been called, The Law of Life.
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And tonight's presentation
is, The Gospel in the Law.
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Ellen White talks about
how the Adventist church
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in days gone by was so
law oriented and so law driven
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that we had squeezed
the gospel out of the law
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and the law had become a
rather dry and monotonous
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series of messages that were
devoid of the love of Christ.
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And it is good to see
that Ty has re-inserted,
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as part of his presentation,
the gospel in the law.
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It makes it so very, very
beautiful, because everything
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begins and ends
with Jesus Christ.
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And when you put Christ
in the center of the law,
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then the law becomes a
sweet and wholesome thing.
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We were just teasing
him about that backstage,
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talking about how, when
you are in love with Christ
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and walking with Christ,
the law is not necessarily
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something that you keep or do.
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It is something you are.
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When a husband loves
a wife, and she says,
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"Could you get me
a glass of water,"
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he doesn't say,
"Well that's legalism.
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You're making me work."
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You know, kind of thing.
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But it's natural, Joe, for you
to get Nancy a glass of water.
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It just flows
that way, you know.
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You don't argue
about that. You just do it.
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And we praise the Lord for that.
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And so, the gospel is the thing
that gives the law vitality.
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It makes it warm, it makes it
sweet, it makes it comfortable.
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It makes it not just
something that we do.
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Something that we are.
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And I know we're
going to hear from Ty
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on that subject this evening.
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So we are very, very
pleased that you are here.
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And we are very, very
pleased that you, our viewing
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and listening
audience, are here.
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We do suspect that
God has something to say
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to us this night.
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And we are anxious to hear it.
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Ty Gibson has been
mentioned so many times.
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When you think of
Ty, you think of James.
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And now you think
of Davis Asscherick
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and you think of
Jeffrey Rosario also.
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They all of Light
Bearers Ministries,
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which has given,
yea, hundreds of millions
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of pieces of
literature out around the world
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for so many, many years.
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And really doing a great
job lifting up the mighty and
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matchless name of Jesus.
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So we are pleased to
have him with us this night.
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He is a good guy.
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Student of the Word,
and a good Christian.
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And we're
anxious to hear from him.
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Before he comes to us,
our own Celestine Berry
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is going to be singing.
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The song is, Water into Wine.
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So if you will now pray with me,
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then we will
hear Celestine sing.
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And then the next voice
you will hear will be that of
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our friend and fellow minister,
traveler on the road to glory,
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Ty Gibson.
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Father, we thank You so
very much for the privilege
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we have of lifting
up the name of Jesus.
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We thank Thee for the Word
and for the meat in due season
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that it is, and the water
that it is to our thirsty souls.
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We pray for the speaker
this night a special anointing.
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We pray for those in this
house, open and attentive ears.
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And for those who are
listening around the world,
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may they see Jesus this night.
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May their hearts be encouraged
as we take one more step
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along that road
that leads to glory.
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We thank You for the
call that brought us from
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darkness to light,
and from error to truth.
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Help us now to
recommit ourselves to You,
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to again take hold
of Your unchanging hand,
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and to walk where You
lead, until the day You lead us
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through the gates
and into that city.
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We praise You and
thank You for this night.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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Celestine Berry,
and then Ty Gibson.
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My blinded eyes
were made to see,
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my captive heart
has been set free.
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I have seen a miracle;
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now I believe.
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You turned the water into wine.
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And looking back
I've seen them many times.
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You made the
simple things divine.
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With a touch of Your hand You've
changed this heart of mine.
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You turned the water into wine.
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Your still small
voice will speak the truth.
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Your love alone
will see me through.
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Lord, I need a miracle;
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Lord, I need You.
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You turned the water into wine.
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And looking back
I've seen them many times.
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You made the
simple things divine.
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With a touch of Your hand You've
changed this heart of mine.
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You turned the water into wine.
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Lord, I need a miracle;
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Lord, I need You.
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You turned the water into wine.
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And looking back
I've seen them many times.
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You made the
simple things divine.
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With a touch of Your hand You've
changed this heart of mine.
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You turned the water into wine.
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You turned the water into wine.
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Thank you, thank you so much.
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Well good evening, everybody.
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You are here to continue
in part two of our series on,
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The Law of God.
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And I just want to admit right
up front that when you advertise
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a series about the law,
it doesn't sound like a very
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exciting subject to many ears.
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In fact, some people
may regard the law of God
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as a subject that
conjures up in their minds
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feelings of restriction.
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But what we've been exploring
with part one of our series
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last evening, and now
launching into part two,
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is that the law of God, as
James says, is a law of liberty.
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Tonight we're going to
discover that the gospel itself,
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the good news, the happy
message, the glad tidings,
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of Jesus Christ is
actually embedded in
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the Ten Commandment law of God.
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Now in order to get
there, I want to begin
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by introducing somebody to you.
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Back in 1996, maybe it was 1997,
I met one of the most remarkable
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people I have ever
encountered in my life.
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I was in Russia
conducting a series of meetings
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and she was
attending night by night.
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She introduced
herself by the name, Galina.
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And I was pleased to meet her.
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We had many very, very
stimulating conversations.
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But the thing that she kept
bringing up over and over again
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was her son.
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She wanted me to know
what a great guy he is,
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and how much she loved him.
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And just over and over again
she was extolling his virtues,
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and the time that she
enjoyed spending with him.
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Her son was just
continually at the forefront
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of her enthusiasm
and her joy about life.
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So one evening just in
passing, I said to her,
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because she had mentioned
him over and over again,
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I said, "Is there any way
I can meet this great guy?
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I mean, bring
him to the meetings.
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I'd love to meet him, Galina.
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Bring your son."
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And she said, "No,
that's not possible.
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But I would
like you to meet him.
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Could you come during
one of the times in the day
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and meet my son?"
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Well, it turns out
that it was never at a time
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when I could
actually make the journey,
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it was some miles away, and
keep all of my other obligations
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with regards to the meetings.
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And so finally I said
to her, "No seriously,
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tell your son I want to
meet him, and bring him to
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the meeting tomorrow night."
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And she became a little somber.
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And I sensed, I immediately
read in the body language,
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wait a minute.
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There's something
more to this story.
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I said, "Galina, is it
possible for your son to come?"
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And she said, "No,
it's not possible."
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My immediate thought
was, he's ill or something.
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Maybe he's hospitalized.
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And just abruptly, out
of nowhere, she said to me,
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"No, he can't come
because he's in prison."
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And her countenance dropped and
there was just this heaviness.
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He's in prison, I
thought to myself.
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I wonder what for.
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Do I ask? Is it awkward?
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How painful is this?
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But she could see my curiosity.
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And she said, "He's
serving a life sentence
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for murder."
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All I could do was
just express my sympathy,
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and I just said, "I'm so
sorry, I'm sorry to hear that."
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But I was a little bit confused,
because she had built him up.
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He was such a
wonderful human being,
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they way she had portrayed him.
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And then in the next breath, she
said something that floored me.
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I said, "Well, your son
is in prison for murder."
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And she could hear the question.
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I wanted to know the details,
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but I just didn't
really have the courage to ask.
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She said, and it was
very strange, she said,
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"He murdered my son."
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Now I was confused.
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And the only thing I
could conclude was that,
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wait a minute, this is
one of her sons who apparently
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murdered her other son, right?
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Because she had
spoken of this person
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in prison as her son, right?
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And now she said that
he, this person in prison,
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murdered who?
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Her son.
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And so I began to indicate that,
"Oh, that's just so tragic.
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I'm sorry to hear that.
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He was murdered by his
own brother, your son?"
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And she said, "No,
no, you don't understand.
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You don't understand."
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I said, "No, I don't."
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She said, "The man who's in
prison is not my son really,
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but I've claimed him as my
son because he murdered my son."
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And now I'm thinking that
she's either a very simple
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minded person or
literally insane.
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Because I'm not finding
in my heart the kind of,
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the kind of thinking,
the kind of thought process
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that would allow me to
grasp her acceptance of the man
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who murdered her son and
to claim that man as her son.
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She proceeded to tell me
that her daughter was very angry
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with her about
this and told her,
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"Mother, he is not your son."
00:14:00.27\00:14:02.54
And she told me that, "I
spoke straight to my daughter
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and I said, 'Yes he is my son.
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I have claimed him as my own.'"
00:14:07.68\00:14:10.25
"Mother, he is not your son."
00:14:10.58\00:14:13.45
I said, "Galina, how
did this man respond to you
00:14:15.55\00:14:21.62
visiting him in prison and
showing up over and over again,
00:14:22.32\00:14:27.66
and referring to
him as your son?"
00:14:28.90\00:14:31.07
She said, "Well he
didn't like the idea."
00:14:32.03\00:14:34.07
She said, "He called me names.
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Profane names."
00:14:38.47\00:14:39.97
But she said
something profound now,
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and it went theological for me.
00:14:43.58\00:14:46.08
She said, "I knew he
hated me because he believed
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I hated him.
00:14:53.79\00:14:55.46
But if I could persuade
him that I don't hate him,
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that in fact I forgive
him," she said, "I believe
00:15:03.26\00:15:08.17
that not only will I claim him
as my son, but he will choose
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to become my son."
00:15:14.21\00:15:16.58
This woman, unbeknownst
to herself, maybe in these
00:15:17.81\00:15:21.75
exact terms, this
woman was using forgiveness
00:15:21.78\00:15:28.06
as a weapon against evil.
00:15:28.09\00:15:31.06
She was
overcoming evil with good.
00:15:31.89\00:15:36.40
She was allowing, to
use the words of James,
00:15:36.63\00:15:39.93
she was allowing mercy
to triumph over justice.
00:15:39.97\00:15:45.17
And I saw in her a profound
love that I had never witnessed
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to that point in my life.
00:15:53.58\00:15:55.08
Something like this
dynamic that we see in Galina's
00:15:55.12\00:16:01.42
relationship with the
man who murdered her son,
00:16:01.46\00:16:04.39
something like this
but on a grander scale
00:16:04.43\00:16:08.10
is going on in the gospel.
00:16:08.76\00:16:11.83
Let me just
demonstrate this for you.
00:16:12.17\00:16:13.84
This is a series of
studies on the law of God.
00:16:13.87\00:16:19.11
So we're going to turn
there to the law of God
00:16:19.14\00:16:22.04
and begin to unpack the
gospel as it is revealed
00:16:22.08\00:16:26.11
in the law of God.
00:16:26.15\00:16:28.82
And you'll see
Galina's story worked out
00:16:28.85\00:16:33.56
on a cosmic scale in the
way God relates to you and me.
00:16:33.59\00:16:38.16
Now as you turn
to Exodus chapter 20,
00:16:38.19\00:16:41.26
just want to test your memory,
how many of you can just,
00:16:41.36\00:16:44.43
without going there,
tell me what is the first
00:16:44.47\00:16:47.50
of the Ten Commandments?
00:16:47.54\00:16:48.87
Somebody just shout
it out if you know it.
00:16:48.90\00:16:50.47
Come on, somebody must know it.
00:16:53.81\00:16:55.94
What is it?
00:16:58.08\00:16:59.41
"Thou shalt have no..."
00:17:01.22\00:17:03.08
Do I need to help you?
00:17:03.12\00:17:04.45
Some of you said it. I heard it.
00:17:04.49\00:17:06.39
"Thou shalt have no
other gods before Me."
00:17:06.42\00:17:09.56
That's number one of the
Ten Commandments, isn't it?
00:17:09.59\00:17:11.79
No it isn't.
00:17:12.03\00:17:13.36
I mean, it is, but it isn't.
00:17:13.63\00:17:16.13
And what I mean by that,
as you turn to Exodus 20,
00:17:16.77\00:17:20.14
is that over and over again
when the question is asked,
00:17:20.47\00:17:24.44
"What is the first commandment
00:17:24.47\00:17:27.41
of the Ten Commandments,"
almost everybody begins
00:17:27.44\00:17:31.25
quoting at the point
that you began quoting,
00:17:31.28\00:17:34.68
and that I began quoting.
00:17:34.72\00:17:36.32
"Thou shalt have no
other gods before Me."
00:17:36.69\00:17:39.29
In fact, you'll see
Ten Commandment monuments,
00:17:39.49\00:17:43.36
Ten Commandment art, Ten
Commandment wall hangings,
00:17:43.39\00:17:47.70
and they all begin with...
00:17:47.73\00:17:50.27
Well no, the ones hanging
on the walls and the monuments
00:17:51.23\00:17:53.94
begin with, "Thou shalt
have no other gods before Me."
00:17:53.97\00:17:56.91
But now you're
quoting from the beginning.
00:17:56.94\00:17:59.04
And I thank you for that.
00:17:59.07\00:18:00.41
Now you're quoting
where it actually begins
00:18:00.64\00:18:05.78
on the tables of stone.
00:18:05.81\00:18:07.15
Look at Exodus chapter
20 starting with verse 1.
00:18:07.18\00:18:09.58
"And God spoke all
these words, saying..."
00:18:09.85\00:18:13.56
Now I'm using the
New King James Version.
00:18:13.59\00:18:15.52
"God spoke all
these words, saying..."
00:18:15.72\00:18:18.09
And that's where the
quote marks begin in my Bible.
00:18:18.13\00:18:20.50
"...saying..."
00:18:21.00\00:18:22.33
So now we're on
the tables of stone.
00:18:22.36\00:18:24.43
Now we're
looking at the law of God
00:18:24.47\00:18:27.44
as God wrote it
on tables of stone.
00:18:27.47\00:18:30.41
And the law of God
begins with these words,
00:18:31.37\00:18:35.91
"I am the Lord your
God, who brought you
00:18:35.94\00:18:39.91
out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage."
00:18:39.95\00:18:44.55
Then it says, "You shall
have no other gods before Me.
00:18:44.59\00:18:48.22
You shall not make unto
yourself any graven images..."
00:18:48.26\00:18:50.73
Etcetera, and all of
the ten are outlined.
00:18:50.76\00:18:54.66
I want you to notice that
the Ten Commandments do not
00:18:55.30\00:18:58.20
begin with a, "Thou
shalt," or, "Thou shalt not."
00:18:58.23\00:19:02.84
The Ten Commandments do
not begin with God putting the
00:19:03.10\00:19:07.01
onus of responsibility
on the human agent.
00:19:07.04\00:19:10.18
No.
00:19:10.21\00:19:11.55
The Ten Commandments
actually begin, not with a
00:19:11.58\00:19:14.48
"Thou shalt," or
a, "Thou shalt not,"
00:19:14.52\00:19:16.72
pointing to you and me,
00:19:16.75\00:19:18.52
eliciting
action from you and me.
00:19:19.25\00:19:22.49
No, the Ten
Commandments begin with a,
00:19:22.82\00:19:24.96
"I am the Lord your God who..."
00:19:25.06\00:19:28.23
and then a divine
action is described.
00:19:28.26\00:19:32.27
The Ten Commandments don't
begin by saying to you and me
00:19:32.67\00:19:37.21
what we ought to do, but telling
us what God has already done
00:19:37.24\00:19:43.18
on our behalf.
00:19:43.21\00:19:45.21
Now when you see
the first commandment
00:19:45.35\00:19:48.55
in this light for what it
really is, you are immediately
00:19:48.58\00:19:52.72
driven to some very profound and
beautiful gospel conclusions.
00:19:52.75\00:19:57.93
Because the first commandment
begins with pointing backwards,
00:19:59.13\00:20:05.27
follow this carefully,
00:20:05.30\00:20:06.67
the first commandment
begins by pointing backwards
00:20:07.07\00:20:10.34
to a divine act in history.
00:20:10.37\00:20:12.87
Just chapters before.
00:20:12.91\00:20:14.51
And simultaneously the law
of God begins by point forward
00:20:15.18\00:20:20.42
to the ultimate fulfillment
of that historic symbolism.
00:20:20.45\00:20:25.22
In other words, the
Ten Commandments begin
00:20:25.75\00:20:28.89
by point back to
a specific event.
00:20:28.92\00:20:31.99
What was the specific
event historically that brought
00:20:32.03\00:20:37.17
the children of Israel out
of bondage in the land of Egypt?
00:20:37.20\00:20:42.00
What was that event?
00:20:42.04\00:20:43.61
The Passover.
00:20:43.91\00:20:45.37
It wasn't the plague of
the frogs, or the flies,
00:20:46.41\00:20:49.24
or the bloody water.
00:20:49.28\00:20:50.61
None of that availed.
00:20:50.65\00:20:51.98
It was the Passover event,
the shed blood of the lamb,
00:20:52.68\00:20:59.22
over the door
and on the door post.
00:20:59.55\00:21:01.96
It was the shed blood
of the lamb that brought
00:21:01.99\00:21:05.99
deliverance to Israel.
00:21:06.03\00:21:07.66
They walked free,
they walked at liberty,
00:21:07.70\00:21:11.60
that night by
virtue of the shed blood
00:21:11.63\00:21:18.04
of that symbolic lamb.
00:21:18.24\00:21:19.91
So the Ten Commandments
point back to the historic event
00:21:20.44\00:21:24.68
of the Passover.
00:21:24.71\00:21:26.18
But the Passover itself
is an event that is pointing
00:21:26.21\00:21:30.19
which way?
00:21:30.22\00:21:31.55
Forward to the
ultimate fulfillment of the
00:21:31.62\00:21:37.49
shed blood of the lamb.
00:21:37.53\00:21:39.36
When Jesus came to
this world and He began His
00:21:39.39\00:21:42.56
public ministry, you will
recall in chapter 1 and verse 29
00:21:42.60\00:21:47.20
of the gospel of John
that when John the Baptist
00:21:47.24\00:21:50.81
saw Jesus approaching,
he said to the crowd,
00:21:50.84\00:21:55.54
"Behold, the..." What?
00:21:55.58\00:21:57.81
"...the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world."
00:21:57.95\00:22:01.78
This is profound.
00:22:02.15\00:22:03.62
Jesus is the Passover Lamb.
00:22:03.89\00:22:07.76
He is the
fulfillment of that symbolism.
00:22:07.86\00:22:12.09
And this is remarkable,
because now we have noticed,
00:22:12.19\00:22:16.46
we have realized something
that is absolutely vital for a
00:22:16.50\00:22:21.60
correct
understanding of the law of God.
00:22:21.64\00:22:23.84
And that is this:
00:22:24.84\00:22:26.47
That the Ten Commandments
begin by pointing to Calvary.
00:22:27.18\00:22:32.68
The Ten Commandments...
00:22:34.05\00:22:35.82
And I'm not extrapolating this.
00:22:35.85\00:22:37.85
I'm not reading into
this more than is there.
00:22:37.95\00:22:40.76
It's actually there.
00:22:40.96\00:22:42.56
Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments
begin with God saying,
00:22:42.59\00:22:48.46
"I am the Lord your
God, who brought you out of
00:22:48.50\00:22:50.87
the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage."
00:22:50.90\00:22:53.57
And it is that declaration
of divine accomplishment
00:22:53.60\00:22:58.71
that forms the
premise for human obedience.
00:22:58.74\00:23:03.14
There is no such
thing in the gospel,
00:23:04.48\00:23:09.42
in the Christian experience,
there is no such thing
00:23:09.52\00:23:13.39
as God coming to the
human beings, fallen sinners
00:23:13.42\00:23:17.39
that we are, and
imposing expectations upon us
00:23:17.43\00:23:20.93
for which He Himself
does not provide the power
00:23:20.96\00:23:24.47
and the motivation.
00:23:24.50\00:23:25.83
And this is why we can actually
read the Ten Commandments,
00:23:26.23\00:23:30.94
I think theologically accurately
read the Ten Commandments,
00:23:30.97\00:23:34.91
not so much as
commands, as promises.
00:23:34.94\00:23:39.78
We could say without
exaggeration that all of God's
00:23:40.02\00:23:44.65
commandments are promises and
all His biddings are enablings.
00:23:44.69\00:23:49.16
In other words, the power
to do the thing is present
00:23:49.19\00:23:53.86
in the promise of God.
00:23:53.90\00:23:57.33
God is the one who is
at work in the human agent
00:23:58.17\00:24:02.80
to bring about a deep
inner transformation of power
00:24:02.84\00:24:06.81
that allows for us to act
out of a new kind of power
00:24:06.84\00:24:12.45
that we do not have
in and of ourselves.
00:24:12.48\00:24:15.42
And what is that power?
00:24:15.45\00:24:17.02
Well that power is very
clearly communicated here
00:24:17.22\00:24:21.76
in Exodus chapter 20.
00:24:22.46\00:24:24.26
"I am, therefore
you do thus and such."
00:24:24.99\00:24:31.43
Do you see the progress
of the idea, the progression?
00:24:32.27\00:24:35.90
Do you see the
trajectory here of the idea?
00:24:35.94\00:24:39.24
God says, "I'm going to, or
I have done something for you.
00:24:39.77\00:24:46.21
Now you, in the
light of what I've done,
00:24:47.08\00:24:51.35
you shall have no
other gods before Me.
00:24:52.02\00:24:54.32
You shall not make unto
yourselves any graven images."
00:24:54.36\00:24:56.89
What is God doing here?
00:24:56.93\00:24:58.39
You can hear
the Ten Commandments
00:24:58.79\00:25:00.66
with two kinds of ears, or two
kinds of theological hearing,
00:25:00.86\00:25:05.53
if we could look at it this way.
00:25:05.57\00:25:07.24
You can hear the law of God
saying, with outstretched arm
00:25:07.97\00:25:11.31
and pointed finger,
"Thou shalt, thou shalt not.
00:25:11.34\00:25:15.44
Or else."
00:25:15.48\00:25:16.81
You can hear it that way.
00:25:16.98\00:25:18.61
You can receive that tone.
00:25:18.65\00:25:20.52
You can look at
and hear the law of God
00:25:20.55\00:25:23.42
with kind of an
old covenant hearing.
00:25:23.45\00:25:26.22
"You shall," "You shall not."
00:25:27.39\00:25:28.86
Or you can hear the
law of God like this:
00:25:28.89\00:25:31.06
"I have delivered you.
00:25:31.49\00:25:34.73
I have," past tense,
"achieved something for you.
00:25:35.06\00:25:40.30
I have redeemed you.
00:25:40.34\00:25:43.00
I have set you free.
00:25:43.04\00:25:44.97
I have liberated you.
00:25:45.01\00:25:46.61
I have, I have.
00:25:46.64\00:25:48.78
So I promise you, you will
have no other gods before Me.
00:25:49.48\00:25:53.21
I promise you, you
will not kill, or steal,
00:25:53.25\00:25:56.99
or lie, or covet.
00:25:57.02\00:25:58.62
None of that is necessary
anymore in the light of
00:25:58.82\00:26:03.09
My delivering
redeeming love for you."
00:26:03.12\00:26:06.36
When Galina approached
the man that murdered her son,
00:26:07.03\00:26:11.63
she actually, by her
forgiveness and mercy,
00:26:12.90\00:26:16.91
changed his identity.
00:26:17.97\00:26:19.57
He was a man full of anger
and bitterness and evil motives.
00:26:21.44\00:26:27.48
He was a man who was filled with
the kind of thought and feelings
00:26:27.52\00:26:32.59
and motives that led him
to take another man's life.
00:26:32.62\00:26:36.29
He was a murderer.
00:26:36.96\00:26:38.53
But Galina related to
him as if he were her son.
00:26:38.83\00:26:45.13
She forgave him before he
even wanted to be forgiven.
00:26:45.80\00:26:50.74
And she said to herself,
"He doesn't accept me now,
00:26:52.21\00:26:56.68
but I'll keep loving him.
00:26:56.71\00:26:58.81
I'll keep coming
at him with my love.
00:26:58.85\00:27:01.25
I'll keep coming at
him with my forgiveness.
00:27:01.28\00:27:03.99
And he will
eventually break under the power
00:27:04.02\00:27:08.86
and pressure of that
love, and he will love me back."
00:27:08.89\00:27:12.46
What an ingenious
remarkable woman she was.
00:27:12.69\00:27:16.87
She understood the
power of forgiveness.
00:27:17.13\00:27:21.50
And here, on a cosmic
scale, God is relating to us
00:27:22.47\00:27:27.58
as human beings, and
to the universe at large,
00:27:27.61\00:27:30.75
with a love that is unstoppable.
00:27:30.78\00:27:34.68
He doesn't say to us
in our fallen condition,
00:27:35.98\00:27:39.55
"Get your act
together, and then I'll..."
00:27:39.75\00:27:42.99
No, He says, "I am,
therefore you shall.
00:27:43.12\00:27:47.30
I'll be to you everything
that you need Me to be to you.
00:27:47.80\00:27:52.37
And in the power of My
forgiveness and mercy and love,
00:27:52.40\00:27:56.27
your identity, your very
identity will begin to change
00:27:56.30\00:28:00.78
from the inside out."
00:28:00.81\00:28:02.74
Notice this pattern
throughout Scripture.
00:28:03.95\00:28:05.75
Go over to Isaiah.
00:28:05.78\00:28:07.12
Isaiah chapter 44.
00:28:07.72\00:28:09.28
These are remarkable
Scriptures that build a pattern
00:28:09.32\00:28:13.02
in our thinking
regarding the gospel,
00:28:13.05\00:28:15.92
the dynamic of the gospel.
00:28:15.96\00:28:18.03
What is going on in
the plan of salvation?
00:28:18.06\00:28:21.56
Well, we've seen in the
law of God what's going on.
00:28:21.60\00:28:24.93
There is a divine act
that produces a human response.
00:28:25.50\00:28:31.27
That's what we've seen so far.
00:28:31.31\00:28:32.84
Notice it here in
Isaiah chapter 44.
00:28:32.87\00:28:35.74
This is one of my
favorite passages of Scripture.
00:28:35.78\00:28:39.31
And you'll see why.
00:28:39.35\00:28:40.68
I think that you'll
begin to love it yourself
00:28:40.72\00:28:42.98
and want to hang it in
the halls of your memory,
00:28:43.02\00:28:46.62
and revisit it
over and over again.
00:28:46.65\00:28:49.26
Never forget this.
00:28:49.29\00:28:50.63
This is God addressing, in the
local historical sense, Israel.
00:28:50.66\00:28:55.06
But on the larger scale,
he's addressing you and me
00:28:55.10\00:28:58.00
in this passage as well.
00:28:58.03\00:28:59.37
Because the same principles
of the gospel are in play here.
00:28:59.40\00:29:03.64
It's in chapter 44
of Isaiah and verse 22.
00:29:04.07\00:29:08.38
Notice the language
carefully here, and the tenses.
00:29:09.04\00:29:12.98
God is speaking, and he
says, "I have blotted out,
00:29:13.18\00:29:18.85
like a thick cloud,
your transgressions,
00:29:18.89\00:29:22.76
and like a cloud, your sins.
00:29:23.32\00:29:26.39
Return to Me, for
I have redeemed you."
00:29:26.66\00:29:32.10
Verse 23, "Sing, O heavens..."
00:29:33.47\00:29:36.20
God is calling upon
the unfallen universe,
00:29:36.24\00:29:39.37
the unfallen angels, to
listen in and look in on His
00:29:39.41\00:29:43.18
redeeming activity
toward human beings.
00:29:43.21\00:29:46.85
"Sing, O heavens, for
the Lord has done it."
00:29:47.08\00:29:50.32
Notice, the Lord has
what? What's the word?
00:29:50.39\00:29:52.85
Done it.
00:29:52.89\00:29:54.22
What has God done?
00:29:54.26\00:29:55.59
What is the "it" that
God has, past tense, done?
00:29:55.62\00:29:58.63
The redemption of His people.
00:29:58.93\00:30:00.80
"Shout, you lower
parts of the earth;
00:30:01.96\00:30:04.50
break forth into
singing, you mountains,
00:30:04.53\00:30:07.37
O forest, and every tree in it."
00:30:07.40\00:30:09.94
Notice again the emphasis.
00:30:09.97\00:30:11.97
"For the Lord
has redeemed Jacob,
00:30:12.01\00:30:17.41
and glorified
Himself in Israel."
00:30:17.45\00:30:19.85
Do you see
what's happening here?
00:30:20.32\00:30:21.98
The language is unmistakable.
00:30:22.02\00:30:25.12
God says here, "I
have," past tense,
00:30:25.79\00:30:30.29
"blotted out your transgressions
like a thick cloud.
00:30:31.06\00:30:34.20
And your sins.
00:30:34.23\00:30:35.56
I have redeemed you.
00:30:35.73\00:30:38.53
So return to Me."
00:30:38.97\00:30:40.74
Isn't that remarkable?
00:30:41.17\00:30:42.50
So the culture,
"return to the Lord," indicates
00:30:42.54\00:30:47.41
that they are
straying from the Lord.
00:30:47.61\00:30:50.61
That we are
straying from the Lord.
00:30:50.65\00:30:53.15
The people, human
beings, we're in a posture
00:30:53.18\00:30:56.89
and in a motion of rebellion.
00:30:57.45\00:30:59.85
We're moving away
from God, by nature.
00:30:59.89\00:31:02.36
Right?
00:31:02.92\00:31:04.26
The call to return to
God indicates that we're
00:31:05.63\00:31:10.27
moving away from Him.
00:31:10.30\00:31:12.17
And as we're moving away
from Him, what does He say?
00:31:12.97\00:31:15.50
Does He say, "I will
redeem you," future tense,
00:31:15.54\00:31:18.31
"if you return to Me?"
00:31:18.34\00:31:19.84
No, He says, "I have
redeemed you, so return to Me."
00:31:20.64\00:31:26.65
In other words, "In the light,"
again, "in the light of what
00:31:27.35\00:31:30.99
I have achieved
for you, return to Me.
00:31:31.19\00:31:37.39
Come to Me."
00:31:37.43\00:31:38.76
Now this concept,
this language comes through
00:31:38.79\00:31:42.56
in the statement of the apostle
Paul in Romans 2 and verse 4.
00:31:42.80\00:31:47.04
Because the idea of
returning is repentance.
00:31:47.54\00:31:51.87
To return to the
Lord is to turn around,
00:31:52.34\00:31:54.84
to do a 180 and
to go back to God.
00:31:54.88\00:31:57.28
We're moving away from Him.
00:31:57.31\00:31:59.21
And to return to
the Lord is to repent.
00:31:59.41\00:32:02.38
It means, to turn.
00:32:02.42\00:32:03.92
The Greek word is, "metanoia."
00:32:04.02\00:32:06.35
And it just means, turn around
and go the other direction.
00:32:06.39\00:32:09.92
So in Romans 2:4,
notice how Paul describes
00:32:11.66\00:32:17.33
precisely how repentance occurs.
00:32:18.13\00:32:22.30
He says the goodness of
God leads you to repentance.
00:32:22.34\00:32:29.28
So what's first, God's goodness
in His actions toward us
00:32:29.78\00:32:34.42
while we're yet
sinners, or is our repentance
00:32:34.48\00:32:37.99
first and then God becomes good?
00:32:38.02\00:32:40.19
No, God's
goodness is the catalyst
00:32:40.89\00:32:46.33
that produces repentance.
00:32:46.53\00:32:49.33
God's goodness is
the premise on which
00:32:49.53\00:32:53.34
we turn around and
walk the opposite direction
00:32:53.64\00:32:57.24
away from our
rebellion, away from our sin,
00:32:57.27\00:33:00.24
and return to the Lord.
00:33:00.28\00:33:03.61
So Isaiah's declaration...
00:33:04.25\00:33:06.82
Actually, it's in quote marks.
00:33:06.85\00:33:08.88
This is Isaiah quoting God.
00:33:08.92\00:33:11.45
And God is saying to you and me,
not, "I will," in the future,
00:33:12.79\00:33:19.49
if you..."
00:33:19.53\00:33:20.86
That's not the arrangement.
00:33:21.00\00:33:22.53
But, "I have,
therefore return to Me."
00:33:22.73\00:33:26.40
"I have redeemed
you, so in that redemption
00:33:26.43\00:33:31.71
return to Me."
00:33:32.24\00:33:33.71
And this is precisely the
point that we see in the law.
00:33:33.74\00:33:37.25
And I find it remarkable.
00:33:37.28\00:33:38.81
We often think of the law
of God, the Ten Commandments,
00:33:39.01\00:33:44.65
as what God is
telling us we ought to do.
00:33:44.92\00:33:48.32
But actually, we're discovering
that right there at the
00:33:48.49\00:33:51.86
beginning of the law
on the tables of stone,
00:33:51.89\00:33:55.16
God is making
gospel declarations.
00:33:55.20\00:33:59.70
He is telling you and me that
He has achieved historically
00:34:00.24\00:34:06.61
something for us that
we can't contribute to.
00:34:06.64\00:34:10.05
We can't manufacture
what He has done for us.
00:34:10.85\00:34:16.89
He's done it for us because
of His great love for us.
00:34:16.92\00:34:22.52
Now we've seen here
that pattern developing
00:34:22.56\00:34:25.66
from the Ten
Commandments into Isaiah.
00:34:25.69\00:34:28.00
Now go to the New Testament
and let's look at a few
00:34:28.03\00:34:30.60
passages here in Romans.
00:34:30.63\00:34:33.60
I mentioned Romans chapter
2 and verse 4, the goodness of
00:34:33.64\00:34:36.44
God leads to repentance,
but now just watch this.
00:34:36.47\00:34:39.57
This is so amazing.
00:34:39.61\00:34:41.78
In chapter 3 of Romans...
00:34:41.81\00:34:44.55
And we're just going to build
the concept forward here, okay?
00:34:44.58\00:34:48.05
In Romans chapter
3, I want you to notice
00:34:50.05\00:34:53.59
the language in
verses 23 and 24.
00:34:53.62\00:34:57.43
Verse 23, if you've had
much exposure to the Bible,
00:34:57.83\00:35:03.53
Bible study, and preaching,
you could probably quote
00:35:03.57\00:35:06.97
verse 23 from memory.
00:35:07.24\00:35:08.60
I'll just start it for you.
00:35:08.64\00:35:09.97
"...for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God..."
00:35:10.01\00:35:14.68
We know that part. Okay?
00:35:14.71\00:35:16.71
But here's the part
that's less familiar.
00:35:16.98\00:35:19.41
Verse 24, "...being
justified freely..."
00:35:19.71\00:35:24.09
Notice the placement
of the word, "freely."
00:35:24.12\00:35:26.96
"...being justified
freely by His grace..."
00:35:27.29\00:35:31.13
That is God's grace.
00:35:31.16\00:35:32.89
And here's what I
want you to catch.
00:35:32.99\00:35:34.43
"...through the
redemption that is..."
00:35:35.16\00:35:38.33
Where? Locate it now.
00:35:38.37\00:35:40.07
Where is it?
00:35:40.17\00:35:41.50
It's in Christ Jesus.
00:35:41.54\00:35:44.27
Present tense.
00:35:45.51\00:35:46.84
Accomplished fact.
00:35:46.88\00:35:48.21
It's not something,
redemption is not something
00:35:48.34\00:35:52.08
that you and I manufacture.
00:35:52.11\00:35:53.98
It's not something
that you and I go into
00:35:54.38\00:35:56.95
partnership with God on.
00:35:56.99\00:35:59.02
It's not something that you
and I contribute an iota to.
00:35:59.09\00:36:02.89
One author says that in
this righteousness, this gospel,
00:36:02.92\00:36:07.70
this salvation, there
is not a single thread
00:36:07.73\00:36:11.80
of human devising.
00:36:11.83\00:36:13.74
I like that language.
00:36:13.77\00:36:15.14
Not a single thread.
00:36:15.40\00:36:17.77
Here's the
tapestry of redemption.
00:36:17.87\00:36:21.64
Here's the righteousness
that we need for salvation.
00:36:22.24\00:36:25.78
And it is this
beautiful tapestry with
00:36:25.81\00:36:29.25
intersecting threads.
00:36:29.28\00:36:31.55
And the author says, not a
single thread of human devising.
00:36:32.35\00:36:39.43
We don't manufacture,
we don't contribute to it.
00:36:39.89\00:36:43.77
Redemption is in Christ
Jesus as an accomplished
00:36:43.87\00:36:49.64
historical reality.
00:36:49.67\00:36:51.74
Now let's flush that
out a little bit more.
00:36:51.77\00:36:53.44
What are we talking about?
00:36:53.48\00:36:54.81
Jesus, who was and
eternally had been God,
00:36:56.01\00:37:02.55
and God only, just divine,
pure divinity, 100% divine,
00:37:02.58\00:37:07.56
chapter 2 of Philippians says
of this Jesus that we encounter,
00:37:07.86\00:37:14.40
that He was equal with God.
00:37:14.90\00:37:18.53
It says in Philippians 2 that
He was, in very nature, God.
00:37:19.17\00:37:24.17
Equal with God.
00:37:25.41\00:37:26.74
In very nature, God.
00:37:26.78\00:37:28.11
The one who had always
in eternity past been divine
00:37:28.14\00:37:33.11
stepped in to human history
and became a human being.
00:37:33.25\00:37:37.49
Now follow this carefully.
00:37:37.52\00:37:38.85
This is what we
call, the incarnation.
00:37:38.99\00:37:41.76
Or the enfleshment of God.
00:37:41.99\00:37:44.99
God steps down.
00:37:45.29\00:37:47.46
He doesn't merely make a
journey through time and space,
00:37:47.50\00:37:51.10
or through just geography.
00:37:51.13\00:37:53.67
He's not moving from
one place to another place.
00:37:53.70\00:37:56.77
He makes a journey of nature.
00:37:56.81\00:37:59.27
What we might call, a
transmigration of nature.
00:38:00.14\00:38:03.65
He didn't just move
from point A to point Z.
00:38:03.68\00:38:07.65
He became something other
than what He had always been.
00:38:07.68\00:38:12.19
He underwent a change of
His ontological existence.
00:38:13.22\00:38:19.39
He was God and only
God for all eternity past,
00:38:19.43\00:38:23.23
and now the one who
was in very nature God
00:38:23.26\00:38:27.50
became a human being.
00:38:27.54\00:38:30.34
As much a human being as
you and I are human beings.
00:38:30.71\00:38:35.04
Now having become a human
being, Jesus, in our humanity,
00:38:36.78\00:38:43.72
lived in perfect
harmony with the law of God.
00:38:44.82\00:38:50.86
He became, what Paul calls
in 2 Corinthians chapter 15,
00:38:50.99\00:38:56.73
He became the second Adam.
00:38:56.77\00:39:00.04
The first Adam is
that guy back in Eden,
00:39:00.57\00:39:04.41
our first great, great,
great, great, totally great
00:39:04.44\00:39:07.34
grandfather,
Adam, the first Adam.
00:39:07.38\00:39:11.08
He's the one who
sinned, and we are sinners
00:39:11.11\00:39:15.42
in the legacy of his fall.
00:39:15.45\00:39:17.89
Jesus becomes a
human being, and Paul says,
00:39:18.49\00:39:21.16
"We have a new Adam now.
00:39:21.26\00:39:22.86
We have a second Adam."
00:39:22.89\00:39:24.23
In other words, in
Jesus Christ we have a new
00:39:24.26\00:39:27.56
head of the human race.
00:39:27.66\00:39:29.90
We have a new
point of beginning.
00:39:30.33\00:39:34.67
We have now another human being
as the head of the human race
00:39:34.80\00:39:40.04
that we by faith can
identify with and relate to.
00:39:40.08\00:39:43.41
We can, by faith, disassociate
from the fallen legacy
00:39:43.45\00:39:48.08
in the first Adam.
00:39:48.48\00:39:49.88
And by faith, we can
identify with Jesus as our
00:39:50.22\00:39:55.79
new representative head.
00:39:55.82\00:39:57.89
Jesus, as the second
Adam, as a human being,
00:39:58.39\00:40:02.90
lived a life of perfect
harmony with the law of God.
00:40:03.06\00:40:08.80
Which is just another
way of saying that Jesus
00:40:08.84\00:40:12.27
lived His life, as we
discovered last evening,
00:40:12.54\00:40:15.61
in perfect covenantal
relationship vertically with God
00:40:15.64\00:40:22.02
and horizontally
with all human beings.
00:40:22.05\00:40:24.42
He loved God with all His
heart, soul, mind, and strength.
00:40:24.85\00:40:29.72
And He loved all of human
beings above and before Himself.
00:40:30.19\00:40:35.40
Jesus perfected love, the
love of God, in human nature.
00:40:35.43\00:40:41.70
Now watch this.
00:40:41.74\00:40:43.07
Having perfected love
in human nature, Jesus then
00:40:43.37\00:40:49.08
went to the cross, and in
the ultimate zenith revelation
00:40:49.11\00:40:54.92
of that love, He
died on the cross.
00:40:54.95\00:40:57.15
He loved you and me to
the complete end of Himself.
00:40:57.49\00:41:01.02
He proved that God loves all
others above and before Himself.
00:41:01.06\00:41:05.59
And when Jesus died on
the cross, they laid Him
00:41:05.69\00:41:09.30
in the tomb, and He came forth
from the grave, follow this,
00:41:09.33\00:41:14.37
and He ascended to the victory
position at the right hand
00:41:14.40\00:41:18.24
of the Father in the heavens.
00:41:18.27\00:41:20.41
And taking that position at
the right hand of the Father
00:41:21.31\00:41:24.68
is expressive of the
fact that He achieved
00:41:25.35\00:41:29.05
what He came to achieve.
00:41:29.08\00:41:30.42
He's victor.
00:41:30.45\00:41:31.79
He conquered the sin
problem in human nature.
00:41:31.99\00:41:37.06
Now here's where
it gets fascinating.
00:41:37.09\00:41:38.83
This language of
Paul in Romans chapter 3,
00:41:39.16\00:41:41.70
the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus,
00:41:41.73\00:41:45.03
that we don't contribute
to, that we do not manufacture
00:41:45.23\00:41:49.30
in and of ourselves.
00:41:49.34\00:41:50.67
Watch this now.
00:41:50.81\00:41:52.14
When Jesus became a human being
and lived a life of perfectly
00:41:52.17\00:41:56.91
selfless love for all
others above and before Himself,
00:41:56.95\00:42:00.58
and then went to the cross
and died, and was resurrected,
00:42:00.68\00:42:05.19
and ascended to
heaven, question, did He retain
00:42:05.22\00:42:08.92
His humanity?
00:42:08.96\00:42:10.29
And did He accomplish all
those things He accomplished
00:42:11.06\00:42:15.10
in our human nature?
00:42:15.33\00:42:17.53
The testimony of Scripture
is that Jesus came forth
00:42:18.23\00:42:21.97
from the grave as
much a human being
00:42:22.00\00:42:24.81
as when He went into the grave.
00:42:25.01\00:42:26.88
The incarnation was not
laid aside in the resurrection.
00:42:27.04\00:42:31.15
He is still this very moment,
He is still the very moment
00:42:31.18\00:42:34.88
our representative head at
the right hand of the Father.
00:42:34.92\00:42:37.95
Jesus is occupying
the throne of the universe
00:42:38.19\00:42:42.49
as a human being.
00:42:42.52\00:42:44.89
Now this is important for
us to understand the gospel.
00:42:46.43\00:42:50.33
Because redemption
is an achieved reality
00:42:51.03\00:42:54.14
in Christ Jesus.
00:42:54.17\00:42:55.94
In order to make the
point, hypothetically,
00:42:55.97\00:42:59.31
what if all of us gathered
here and every other member of
00:42:59.34\00:43:06.41
the human race, follow
this, refused the redemption
00:43:06.45\00:43:11.55
that is in Christ Jesus?
00:43:11.59\00:43:13.22
What if we all said no to it?
00:43:13.32\00:43:15.06
What if we all chose
in our free will to reject
00:43:15.19\00:43:20.36
the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus?
00:43:20.40\00:43:23.37
Would that
diminish what He achieved?
00:43:23.93\00:43:27.60
Would that
subtract from the redemption
00:43:27.77\00:43:31.41
that is in Christ Jesus?
00:43:31.44\00:43:33.21
In no way would it,
in any way to any degree,
00:43:34.01\00:43:38.71
take away from the
achievement itself.
00:43:39.21\00:43:42.78
Which drives us
to this conclusion.
00:43:43.32\00:43:45.59
Even if all of us
said no, humanity in Christ
00:43:45.62\00:43:51.36
is already totally 100%
completely redeemed in Christ.
00:43:51.39\00:43:57.90
A human being, a
specimen of the human race,
00:43:58.20\00:44:02.40
occupies the
throne of the universe.
00:44:02.44\00:44:04.27
Humanity has been
salvaged in Christ.
00:44:05.87\00:44:11.41
And now we're called upon
by faith to identify with,
00:44:11.58\00:44:15.95
by faith, to put our
trust in what Jesus achieved;
00:44:15.98\00:44:21.26
the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus.
00:44:21.29\00:44:23.53
We, by faith, do
not manufacture facts.
00:44:24.66\00:44:31.80
We receive them.
00:44:33.23\00:44:34.70
We accept facts.
00:44:35.24\00:44:37.01
We trust in the
facts of the gospel.
00:44:37.04\00:44:40.84
But make no mistake
about it, we do not, by faith
00:44:40.88\00:44:44.71
or by obedience,
contribute any new information
00:44:44.75\00:44:50.62
to redemption, or
any new contributions.
00:44:50.92\00:44:54.92
Salvation is a done deal in
Christ on an objective level.
00:44:55.02\00:45:00.26
Now we, by faith, subjectively
identify with Christ,
00:45:01.13\00:45:05.50
and by faith say yes to what
He has achieved on our behalf.
00:45:05.53\00:45:09.50
This is the pattern of the
gospel as unfolded in Scripture.
00:45:09.94\00:45:16.34
"I am the Lord your
God," the Ten Commandments say,
00:45:16.58\00:45:19.85
"who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage.
00:45:19.88\00:45:24.29
You shall have no
other gods before Me.
00:45:24.32\00:45:26.59
I have redeemed you,
therefore, be redeemed.
00:45:26.62\00:45:29.96
I have achieved something
for you, therefore in the light
00:45:30.09\00:45:34.26
of what I've
achieved, now return to Me.
00:45:34.30\00:45:38.63
I have redeemed
you, return to Me."
00:45:38.67\00:45:41.27
Notice this further
in the book of Romans.
00:45:41.30\00:45:44.21
We saw chapter 2
verse 4, the goodness of God
00:45:44.37\00:45:48.41
precedes our repentance.
00:45:48.44\00:45:50.65
That is, the redeeming
salvationary goodness of God
00:45:51.31\00:45:55.92
precedes our repentance.
00:45:56.22\00:45:58.49
We saw in chapter 3
verse 24 that redemption is an
00:45:58.52\00:46:01.56
accomplished
reality in Christ Jesus.
00:46:01.59\00:46:04.89
That we, by faith, do
not manufacture gospel
00:46:05.09\00:46:09.53
facts or realities.
00:46:09.56\00:46:10.90
We only accept them
as they exist in Christ.
00:46:10.93\00:46:15.04
Now look at chapter 4.
00:46:15.07\00:46:16.40
We're just moving
forward through key passages
00:46:17.67\00:46:20.44
in the book of Romans.
00:46:20.48\00:46:21.81
Chapter 4 and notice verse 17.
00:46:21.84\00:46:25.41
There's some context
here, but I want to draw
00:46:25.98\00:46:28.58
one line out of
chapter 4 verse 17, and then
00:46:28.68\00:46:32.79
give you the context.
00:46:32.82\00:46:34.16
It's the last line
where it says that,
00:46:34.52\00:46:36.79
"...God, who gives life to
the dead and calls those things
00:46:36.83\00:46:43.70
which do not exist
as though they did..."
00:46:43.90\00:46:48.27
What is that?
00:46:48.44\00:46:49.77
Now let me just
ask you a question.
00:46:50.07\00:46:51.84
If I, as a human being,
call things as if they do exist
00:46:53.48\00:47:00.65
even though they don't, what's
that called on the human level?
00:47:00.68\00:47:03.39
Lying.
00:47:05.29\00:47:06.62
Deception.
00:47:06.69\00:47:08.02
If I say something
is true that isn't true,
00:47:08.06\00:47:11.66
that's a lie, correct?
00:47:11.69\00:47:13.29
Here, in the context of
the gospel, the apostle Paul is
00:47:13.73\00:47:18.57
point to Abraham, he
tells Abraham's story.
00:47:18.60\00:47:21.90
And he informs us that
Abraham was righteous by faith,
00:47:22.14\00:47:26.07
not by the works of the law.
00:47:26.11\00:47:27.84
And then He tells us
the mechanism by which God
00:47:28.21\00:47:32.81
achieves this.
00:47:33.55\00:47:34.98
God calls those things
which do not exist as if
00:47:35.38\00:47:42.16
they do exist.
00:47:42.19\00:47:44.13
Now this sounds like God
is just manufacturing fiction.
00:47:44.96\00:47:50.07
Calling things that
don't exist as if they do.
00:47:50.87\00:47:53.74
What's the context?
00:47:53.77\00:47:55.10
God calls us
righteous even though we're not.
00:47:55.34\00:48:01.01
That's the point Paul is making.
00:48:02.04\00:48:03.71
He regards us as
innocent even though He knows
00:48:04.65\00:48:10.15
we're guilty.
00:48:10.19\00:48:11.52
Do you remember Galina?
00:48:11.72\00:48:13.05
How did Galina relate to
the man who murdered her son?
00:48:13.39\00:48:16.26
As if he didn't murder her son.
00:48:16.66\00:48:19.96
And there is a beautiful genius,
00:48:20.36\00:48:24.07
what we might call the
genius of grace, in that.
00:48:24.60\00:48:28.14
She knew that love is
more powerful than evil.
00:48:28.47\00:48:32.67
She knew that
forgiveness trumps sin.
00:48:32.94\00:48:37.28
She knew that mercy had
the power to supersede justice.
00:48:37.48\00:48:43.18
Or to use the words of Paul
in a different Romans passage,
00:48:43.22\00:48:46.52
chapter 5 verse
20, "Where sin abounds,
00:48:46.55\00:48:49.99
grace much more abounds."
00:48:50.53\00:48:53.26
Or one version says,
"Where sin reigned and ruled,
00:48:53.29\00:48:58.47
grace ruled over it."
00:49:00.04\00:49:02.84
Or another
version, "Where sin abounds,
00:49:02.87\00:49:06.94
grace super abounds over it."
00:49:07.31\00:49:09.98
You like that?
00:49:10.28\00:49:11.61
That's the idea of the gospel.
00:49:11.65\00:49:13.88
"While we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us."
00:49:14.58\00:49:18.55
Not when we had repented
and gotten our act together.
00:49:18.59\00:49:22.09
If God were to treat
you and me precisely as we
00:49:22.59\00:49:27.16
ought to be
treated, you and I wouldn't
00:49:27.20\00:49:29.50
draw another breath of air.
00:49:29.70\00:49:31.37
The worst thing you can
ever pray, and I suggest you
00:49:32.43\00:49:35.10
not pray, is, "God,
give me what I deserve."
00:49:35.14\00:49:38.07
Or, "God, I just
wish You would be fair."
00:49:38.51\00:49:41.28
Hmmm.
00:49:41.48\00:49:42.81
No, I don't think you
want God to be fair with you.
00:49:43.18\00:49:46.21
I don't think you want God
to treat you how you deserve.
00:49:46.78\00:49:50.85
Now some of you are very
familiar with the next text
00:49:51.69\00:49:55.26
that I want to throw here in
the middle of our little trip,
00:49:55.29\00:49:57.96
our little
journey through Romans.
00:49:57.99\00:49:59.63
You're familiar, in another
context, with the statement
00:50:00.00\00:50:03.97
in Malachi chapter 3, "I
am the Lord, I change not."
00:50:04.00\00:50:08.37
Now we often use that passage
to point out, and rightly so,
00:50:08.47\00:50:12.47
that God is unchanging
in His nature, therefore,
00:50:12.51\00:50:15.34
His law couldn't
possibly be changed.
00:50:15.38\00:50:17.65
And that's a true point.
00:50:17.68\00:50:19.01
Although that's not the
point that Scripture is making.
00:50:19.05\00:50:21.38
The Scripture goes
on to say the part that
00:50:22.48\00:50:24.52
we don't have memorized.
00:50:24.55\00:50:25.95
And here's the
whole enchilada now.
00:50:27.82\00:50:29.76
"I am the Lord," it
says in Malachi chapter 3,
00:50:30.36\00:50:33.19
"I am the Lord, I change not.
00:50:33.23\00:50:36.23
Therefore, you sons of
Jacob are not consumed."
00:50:36.26\00:50:40.64
What's it actually saying?
00:50:41.30\00:50:42.64
What's it actually saying?
00:50:43.34\00:50:44.71
It's actually saying, "It's
a good thing for you sinners
00:50:45.01\00:50:49.14
that I am changeless.
00:50:49.18\00:50:50.78
Because if I were to
change, you'd be consumed
00:50:50.81\00:50:54.32
in an instant."
00:50:54.35\00:50:55.68
So what is God's
default position then,
00:50:55.72\00:50:58.05
according to that text?
00:50:58.09\00:50:59.42
It is a position of mercy.
00:50:59.45\00:51:00.89
The Scripture is actually
making a point about the gospel
00:51:01.69\00:51:05.99
in Malachi chapter 3.
00:51:06.03\00:51:08.06
It's saying, "I never
change in My love for you.
00:51:08.93\00:51:13.03
Therefore, you're
not consumed by justice.
00:51:13.07\00:51:16.07
You would be if
I were to change."
00:51:16.10\00:51:17.77
What about chapter 1
and verse 17 of James?
00:51:17.81\00:51:22.18
"Every good gift and
every perfect gift comes down
00:51:22.94\00:51:27.32
from the Father of
lights, with whom there is..."
00:51:27.52\00:51:31.25
What?
00:51:32.59\00:51:33.92
"...with whom
there is no variation,
00:51:33.96\00:51:37.83
not even a shadow of turning."
00:51:37.86\00:51:40.33
God is changeless.
00:51:41.93\00:51:43.47
In what sense is God changeless?
00:51:43.50\00:51:45.20
He's changeless in His
love toward you and me.
00:51:45.30\00:51:49.30
According to Romans chapter 4
verse 17, He calls those things
00:51:49.40\00:51:54.04
which do not exist
as if they do exist.
00:51:54.08\00:51:58.05
Which is just a way of
saying that God relates to me
00:51:58.51\00:52:01.42
as if I'm righteous,
although He knows I'm a sinner.
00:52:02.05\00:52:04.99
He relates to me as if
I'm innocent, even though
00:52:05.72\00:52:09.09
He knows I'm guilty.
00:52:09.12\00:52:10.46
Why, now?
00:52:10.49\00:52:11.83
In order to justify
my sin and my guilt? No.
00:52:11.86\00:52:15.36
But so that in His
mercy, relating to me as if
00:52:17.40\00:52:24.04
I were innocent, it is
God's hope that by faith I will
00:52:24.07\00:52:27.48
begin to aspire to innocence.
00:52:27.51\00:52:30.18
He relates to me as if
I'm righteous in order to
00:52:31.91\00:52:37.09
stimulate in me a
desire to be righteous.
00:52:37.12\00:52:42.29
Galina changed the identity,
the fundamental character,
00:52:43.43\00:52:48.80
of that murderer by her love.
00:52:48.90\00:52:51.23
And God changes our
fundamental identity
00:52:51.27\00:52:54.57
by His love.
00:52:54.60\00:52:56.10
He relates to us
according to what we can be
00:52:56.97\00:53:01.74
through the
redemption that is, where?
00:53:02.64\00:53:05.28
In Christ Jesus.
00:53:05.31\00:53:07.45
Now go over to chapter
6, as we move through Romans
00:53:07.48\00:53:10.42
here rather quickly in
the four minutes that remain.
00:53:10.45\00:53:12.65
Chapter 6. You'll
love this language.
00:53:14.56\00:53:17.43
In chapter 6, the apostle Paul
is describing the death, burial,
00:53:17.96\00:53:22.20
and resurrection of Christ.
00:53:22.23\00:53:23.80
And he talks about how
that we're baptized in a manner
00:53:24.23\00:53:30.17
to mimic the death, burial,
and resurrection of Christ.
00:53:30.21\00:53:34.01
In other words,
identify with it.
00:53:34.04\00:53:35.84
Are you with me?
00:53:35.88\00:53:37.21
And then he says
this in verse 11,
00:53:37.38\00:53:40.55
he says, "Likewise
you also reckon yourselves
00:53:41.68\00:53:48.22
to be dead indeed to
sin, and alive to God
00:53:48.26\00:53:53.29
in Christ Jesus our Lord."
00:53:53.33\00:53:55.46
One more time.
00:53:55.76\00:53:57.10
Rest your mind upon this.
00:53:57.23\00:53:58.80
"Likewise you
also reckon yourselves
00:53:59.03\00:54:04.41
to be dead indeed to
sin, but alive to God
00:54:04.44\00:54:09.68
in Christ Jesus our Lord."
00:54:09.78\00:54:13.85
What does it mean to reckon?
00:54:14.22\00:54:15.98
What are some
synonyms for, "reckon?"
00:54:16.02\00:54:18.39
When I'm in Australia,
they often say in Australia,
00:54:18.42\00:54:20.79
and I think they say
it down here in the South,
00:54:20.82\00:54:22.39
I reckon this and I reckon that.
00:54:22.42\00:54:24.19
What does it mean
to reckon something?
00:54:24.29\00:54:26.09
"I reckon I'll go to the store,"
means, "I'm going to the store."
00:54:26.13\00:54:29.20
"I think I shall
go to the store."
00:54:29.23\00:54:31.90
Right?
00:54:31.93\00:54:33.27
Yeah. "I've made a decision."
00:54:33.30\00:54:34.64
In other words, regard.
00:54:34.67\00:54:37.01
Reckon yourself,
regard yourself, see yourself
00:54:37.34\00:54:41.91
as dead to sin and alive to God.
00:54:42.34\00:54:45.95
"On what basis?" we
might ask the apostle Paul.
00:54:46.11\00:54:51.29
On what premise am I to
reckon myself, regard myself,
00:54:51.32\00:54:56.29
as dead to sin?
00:54:56.32\00:54:57.66
I'm a sinner.
I'm not dead to sin.
00:54:57.69\00:55:00.00
On what premise?
00:55:02.26\00:55:03.60
And he says, "On the premise of
what you see in Christ Jesus."
00:55:03.63\00:55:07.84
Look at Jesus and
see the humanity that He
00:55:07.87\00:55:14.24
perfected God's love within.
00:55:14.28\00:55:16.91
And relate to yourself,
regard yourself, as dead to sin.
00:55:18.98\00:55:25.72
What does it mean
to be dead to sin?
00:55:25.75\00:55:27.39
When you're dead, it
means you're unresponsive.
00:55:28.32\00:55:30.93
It has no pull on you.
00:55:31.76\00:55:33.93
Regard yourself as dead to sin,
00:55:33.96\00:55:36.43
and regard
yourself as alive to God.
00:55:38.17\00:55:40.04
What does it mean
to be alive to God?
00:55:40.07\00:55:41.40
It means to be
responsive to God.
00:55:41.44\00:55:43.47
See yourself that way.
00:55:43.87\00:55:45.64
Regard yourself the
way God regards you.
00:55:45.74\00:55:50.58
See yourself the
way God sees you.
00:55:50.71\00:55:53.11
And how does He see you?
00:55:53.15\00:55:54.48
Dead to sin in Christ.
00:55:54.72\00:55:57.42
When Galatians chapter 2
and verse 20 speaks to us,
00:55:58.19\00:56:02.36
it is speaking very
much in the first person
00:56:02.39\00:56:04.76
regarding our experience.
00:56:04.79\00:56:06.13
"I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless, I live.
00:56:06.16\00:56:10.33
Yet not I, but
Christ lives in me.
00:56:10.37\00:56:12.67
And the life which I now
live, I live by faith of the
00:56:12.70\00:56:16.20
Son of God who died for me."
00:56:16.24\00:56:18.91
Do you see
what's happening here?
00:56:19.11\00:56:20.64
We look into the
wondrous law of God,
00:56:21.91\00:56:24.81
into its beauty and its
depth, and our eyes are opened.
00:56:24.85\00:56:28.32
We see in the very
Ten Commandment law of God
00:56:29.28\00:56:32.59
the gospel enshrined.
00:56:32.62\00:56:34.79
We see God approaching
us, not with mandates.
00:56:35.59\00:56:38.66
We see God approaching us
with an irresistible love.
00:56:39.73\00:56:44.67
"I am the Lord your
God, who brought you out of
00:56:44.87\00:56:48.64
the land of Egypt.
00:56:48.80\00:56:50.61
Now, in the light and in
the power of My love for you,
00:56:50.77\00:56:56.68
My redeeming achievements
on your behalf in Christ Jesus,
00:56:56.71\00:57:02.42
return to Me.
00:57:02.98\00:57:04.49
Give Me your heart, in
the light of My love for you."
00:57:04.65\00:57:12.56
Would you pray with me?
00:57:12.59\00:57:13.93
Father in heaven, thank You that
You have redeemed us in Christ.
00:57:13.96\00:57:21.30
Now Lord, may we be redeemed
in the way we relate to You.
00:57:21.44\00:57:26.34
This is our
prayer and our desire.
00:57:26.94\00:57:29.14
In Jesus' good
and holy name, amen.
00:57:29.81\00:57:35.38