I want to introduce you to my friend David Asscherick. 00:00:18.48\00:00:21.78 I actually think many of you know him 00:00:21.98\00:00:23.62 because you've seen him on the network. 00:00:23.82\00:00:25.32 He's in Table Talk. 00:00:25.82\00:00:27.62 He has an amazing program called God, and he also 00:00:27.82\00:00:32.49 has livestreaming sermons from his church: 00:00:32.79\00:00:36.90 Kingscliff SDA Church from Australia. 00:00:37.10\00:00:42.17 How to describe David in just a moment? 00:00:44.24\00:00:46.88 He's an amazing dynamic young man 00:00:47.08\00:00:50.11 who God put a call on his life when he was a young man. 00:00:50.51\00:00:54.32 He was influenced very strongly by a vegetarian 00:00:54.82\00:00:58.75 health ministry in So. Dakota called Veggies. 00:00:58.95\00:01:03.79 It was run by Mary Burt and her team. 00:01:03.99\00:01:06.16 And he thought the people were a little unique 00:01:06.36\00:01:08.46 but the food was amazing! 00:01:08.66\00:01:11.10 They introduced him, over a period of time and through 00:01:11.93\00:01:14.80 friendship, to a Great Controversy, and David's life 00:01:15.00\00:01:18.74 has been forever changed. Praise God! 00:01:18.94\00:01:22.68 David has many interests. He enjoys rock climbing. 00:01:23.78\00:01:27.25 He's a professional skateboarder. 00:01:27.65\00:01:29.72 He likes to go backpacking. 00:01:30.12\00:01:31.65 He likes fly fishing. 00:01:31.85\00:01:33.46 He has very many interests. 00:01:33.66\00:01:35.92 And he is going to share from his heart today. 00:01:36.32\00:01:39.06 But primarily David is a communicator. 00:01:39.26\00:01:42.06 He communicates truth. 00:01:42.56\00:01:45.20 He communicates to youth. 00:01:45.60\00:01:47.70 He communicates about God... the real, loving God, 00:01:48.20\00:01:54.18 the Creator of heaven and earth who loves you 00:01:54.38\00:01:57.68 as if you were the only person in the world. 00:01:57.88\00:02:01.72 May God anoint and bless our brother David 00:02:02.22\00:02:04.75 as he shares with us today. 00:02:04.95\00:02:06.76 Good morning ASi! 00:05:43.71\00:05:45.77 Good morning. Or as my sons say 00:05:45.97\00:05:48.48 acai... like the fruit. 00:05:49.44\00:05:53.31 They're still looking for the fruit bowls, I think. 00:05:54.28\00:05:56.48 It is good to be in Louisville! 00:05:57.62\00:06:01.16 I'm not sure I said that right 00:06:01.89\00:06:03.22 but I'm certain that the locals do not say LOUIEville. 00:06:03.73\00:06:07.30 That's how the northerners say it. 00:06:07.70\00:06:09.56 It's good to be in Louisville here at ASi. 00:06:10.37\00:06:12.53 It's been a number of years since I've been at an ASi 00:06:12.73\00:06:15.07 Convention and it looks like things are going 00:06:15.27\00:06:17.37 swimmingly well. And so thank you to the programming 00:06:17.57\00:06:20.64 committee and the leadership team for inviting me to be here. 00:06:20.84\00:06:22.81 It's a real honor. 00:06:23.21\00:06:24.61 We're going to start with a quick prayer. We're going to dig 00:06:24.81\00:06:26.38 deep into the text of Scripture. Let's begin with prayer. 00:06:26.58\00:06:29.25 Father in heaven, we have every reason to believe 00:06:32.69\00:06:35.12 that You are going to meet with us here today. 00:06:35.32\00:06:36.86 You've already ministered to us powerfully 00:06:37.49\00:06:39.89 in the music, the prayers, 00:06:40.10\00:06:41.56 and the incredible testimonies of the various projects 00:06:41.76\00:06:45.00 that are taking place all around the world. 00:06:45.20\00:06:46.97 Father, we ask now that as we meet here 00:06:47.57\00:06:49.90 that You would come not only into the walls of this large 00:06:50.31\00:06:53.74 facility but that You would come into the hearts 00:06:53.94\00:06:55.68 of the individual people that are here. 00:06:55.88\00:06:57.55 Father, speak to us by Your Spirit. 00:06:58.18\00:07:00.98 May the Spirit that inspired the text 00:07:01.48\00:07:04.72 now become the Spirit that instructs in the text. 00:07:04.92\00:07:07.96 Father, I'm praying that You will give me both clarity 00:07:08.36\00:07:11.66 and charity that I might communicate in a way 00:07:11.86\00:07:15.03 that is similar to the way that Jesus might communicate 00:07:15.23\00:07:18.20 were He here today in person. 00:07:18.40\00:07:20.44 Father, we know that You and Your Son Jesus are here 00:07:21.14\00:07:23.84 by the Spirit, and so we're claiming the promise that You 00:07:24.04\00:07:26.34 will send the Spirit of Truth to guide us into all truth. 00:07:26.54\00:07:29.84 Be with us now. Challenge us; inspire us; 00:07:30.35\00:07:33.68 rebuke us; and encourage us 00:07:33.88\00:07:35.75 is our prayer In Jesus' name. Let everyone say 00:07:35.95\00:07:39.52 Amen and Amen. 00:07:39.72\00:07:42.59 All right. ASi, I want to begin by asking you 00:07:43.86\00:07:45.89 what might sound like a really silly question 00:07:46.09\00:07:47.80 and it is purposely provocative. 00:07:48.00\00:07:49.96 The question is: is it good news 00:07:50.47\00:07:52.97 that there is a God? 00:07:53.17\00:07:55.24 I'd like you to give me a hearty Amen 00:07:56.81\00:08:00.34 if your answer to that question is a yes. 00:08:00.54\00:08:02.74 I'll ask it again. ASi, is it good news 00:08:02.94\00:08:05.61 that there is a God? AMEN! 00:08:05.81\00:08:08.52 OK. Well, like all Adventists that I have given this 00:08:08.72\00:08:13.02 trap to around the world you have fallen unwittingly 00:08:13.22\00:08:16.56 and headlong into a trap that has been laid for you. 00:08:16.76\00:08:19.89 Let me ask a question that will tease out 00:08:21.23\00:08:23.90 the trap. I think it might make it a little apparent 00:08:24.10\00:08:26.33 how you have fallen into my linguistic trap. 00:08:26.53\00:08:31.07 Ladies, is it good news that there is a husband? 00:08:32.24\00:08:35.94 Now I hear giggles. 00:08:38.91\00:08:40.65 I hear laughs. 00:08:41.15\00:08:42.48 What is the answer to that question? 00:08:43.92\00:08:45.42 Is it good news that there is a husband? 00:08:45.82\00:08:48.26 Yeah, I actually heard somebody say it 00:08:49.32\00:08:51.49 and it is the appropriate answer. 00:08:51.69\00:08:53.09 The answer is: "It depends. " 00:08:53.50\00:08:55.90 What two words did I say everyone? 00:08:56.30\00:08:57.90 It depends. It would depend on what? 00:08:58.30\00:09:01.17 What word do you think I might say right here? 00:09:01.37\00:09:02.90 It would depend on what kind of a husband. 00:09:03.74\00:09:06.68 You will notice that I was purposely ambiguous 00:09:07.18\00:09:09.14 when I asked you the question: 00:09:09.34\00:09:10.68 "Is it good news that there is a God? " 00:09:10.71\00:09:13.48 You all assumed I think reasonably but also mistakenly 00:09:13.68\00:09:15.02 that I was referring to the same God that's in your mind. 00:09:17.89\00:09:20.72 In answer to the question "Is it good news that there is 00:09:21.96\00:09:24.16 a husband? " would boil down to the question 00:09:24.36\00:09:27.36 about the kind of husband, we're describing. 00:09:27.56\00:09:29.66 The character of that husband. 00:09:29.86\00:09:31.20 The person that he was. 00:09:31.40\00:09:33.10 We could ask similarly: "Is it good news that 00:09:33.30\00:09:35.67 there is a neighbor? " Not all neighbors are good news 00:09:35.87\00:09:40.01 but some neighbors are really really really good news. 00:09:40.78\00:09:43.48 But I want to tell you this this morning: 00:09:44.21\00:09:46.01 my sermon is titled An Unusual God. 00:09:46.68\00:09:49.72 And 99.999% of all of the gods of human history 00:09:50.22\00:09:56.16 or of human invention are not good news. 00:09:56.36\00:10:00.90 And so to automatically assume when I ask the question 00:10:01.66\00:10:04.93 "Is it good news that there is a God? " 00:10:05.33\00:10:07.17 to give me a rousing Amen. I want to try 00:10:07.37\00:10:09.97 and go to the text of Scripture to understand 00:10:10.17\00:10:13.81 why it is that we are so persuaded 00:10:14.01\00:10:16.81 that the God of Scripture is good news. 00:10:17.01\00:10:19.91 Analytic philosopher and professor 00:10:20.72\00:10:24.39 Alvin Plantinga in an incredible book that was 00:10:24.59\00:10:27.06 published by Oxford University Press 00:10:27.26\00:10:28.89 titled Where The Conflict Lies 00:10:29.09\00:10:30.56 says these words: "This display of overwhelming 00:10:30.76\00:10:35.46 love... " - speaking of the gospel, 00:10:35.66\00:10:37.57 the gospel of Scripture - 00:10:37.77\00:10:39.60 "This display of overwhelming love 00:10:39.80\00:10:42.04 is not only the greatest story ever told 00:10:42.24\00:10:45.44 it's the greatest story that ever could be told. " 00:10:45.64\00:10:49.08 I want to talk to you today about a God who is unusual. 00:10:49.84\00:10:54.28 If you were to survey the various and sundry gods 00:10:54.48\00:10:57.12 of human history and of human invention 00:10:57.32\00:10:59.02 that have populated history, you would find that all of them 00:10:59.22\00:11:02.96 except one are universally not good news. 00:11:03.16\00:11:08.10 Enter into this thought experiment with me if you would 00:11:09.70\00:11:12.43 momentarily. It's a thought experiment 00:11:12.63\00:11:14.54 that I would imagine that most of you are actually 00:11:14.74\00:11:16.81 conducting every day of your life, and it goes like this: 00:11:17.01\00:11:19.37 can you imagine better good news than if these two things 00:11:20.74\00:11:24.55 were true? Just try and conceive of 00:11:24.75\00:11:27.08 better good news than that these two things are true. 00:11:27.28\00:11:29.55 Number one: there is a God 00:11:29.95\00:11:32.12 and Number two: He looks like Jesus. 00:11:32.52\00:11:36.32 Just allow your imagination to run as wild as 00:11:37.56\00:11:40.60 you need it to be. Just try and conceive 00:11:40.80\00:11:43.40 of better good news than there is a God. Yes, 00:11:43.60\00:11:45.73 we live in a theistic world, a theistic universe. 00:11:45.93\00:11:48.50 But not just that there is a God in some general sense 00:11:48.90\00:11:51.71 but that that God looks like the Jesus of the gospels. 00:11:51.91\00:11:55.74 This is what leads Plantinga and others like him 00:11:56.85\00:11:59.95 to say: "This story - the story of the gospel - 00:12:00.15\00:12:02.75 is not only the greatest story ever told. 00:12:03.15\00:12:05.95 It's the greatest story that ever could be told. " 00:12:06.35\00:12:10.16 Come with me in your Bibles - 00:12:10.86\00:12:12.29 and we will be deep in Scripture this morning - 00:12:12.49\00:12:15.06 to the book of Romans. 00:12:15.46\00:12:16.80 We're going to start in Romans chapter 1. Join me there 00:12:16.90\00:12:18.70 if you would. Romans chapter 1. 00:12:18.90\00:12:21.57 We're just going to make a couple quick notes in Romans 00:12:22.40\00:12:24.61 chapter 1 on verses 16 and 17 00:12:24.81\00:12:27.41 and then we will spend the lion's share of our time 00:12:27.61\00:12:29.94 in Romans chapter 3. So come with me to Romans chapter 1 00:12:30.15\00:12:32.48 just by way of setting up a context. 00:12:32.68\00:12:35.82 Most scholars agree that Paul in Romans chapter 1 00:12:36.02\00:12:40.12 verses 16 and 17 gives us an advance summary 00:12:40.32\00:12:44.03 of everything he's going to talk about in the next 15 chapters. 00:12:44.23\00:12:47.00 The book of Romans is 16 chapters, but here 00:12:47.50\00:12:50.03 in chapter 1 in two verses - 00:12:50.23\00:12:52.73 two verses that are so theologically dense 00:12:53.13\00:12:57.01 so as to contain all of the various tentacles and narratives 00:12:57.21\00:13:00.78 that Paul will unpack in incredible detail 00:13:00.98\00:13:04.01 in chapters 2 to 16. 00:13:04.21\00:13:05.68 Romans chapter 1. We're going to just read verses 16 and 17. 00:13:06.08\00:13:08.78 I would hazard a guess that this will be a familiar passage 00:13:08.98\00:13:12.05 of scripture for many of you. 00:13:12.25\00:13:13.59 Paul writes: "For I am not ashamed 00:13:14.02\00:13:16.93 of the gospel of Christ 00:13:17.13\00:13:18.59 for it is the power of God to salvation 00:13:18.79\00:13:21.36 for everyone who believes: 00:13:21.56\00:13:23.16 for the Jew first and also for the Greek. " 00:13:23.37\00:13:25.33 Amen. And then verse 17: 00:13:25.53\00:13:27.24 "For in it... " in the gospel... "the righteousness of God 00:13:27.44\00:13:31.64 is revealed. From faith to faith as it is written 00:13:31.84\00:13:35.71 'the just shall live by faith. ' " 00:13:35.91\00:13:38.81 Direct your attention to verse 17 again. 00:13:39.58\00:13:42.15 Verses 16 and 17 hover around three basic ideas. 00:13:42.35\00:13:46.12 All of them are contained textually in verse 17. 00:13:46.32\00:13:48.86 He says first of all: "The righteousness of God... " 00:13:49.26\00:13:52.23 then secondly "is revealed in... " 00:13:52.43\00:13:55.80 some faith transaction. Those are the three ideas. 00:13:56.00\00:13:58.87 The righteousness of God some- how revealed or demonstrated 00:13:59.53\00:14:04.67 or displayed. That's the very point that Plantinga makes. 00:14:04.87\00:14:07.61 This is not only the greatest story ever told. 00:14:07.81\00:14:09.78 This overwhelming display - display of love - 00:14:09.98\00:14:13.62 is the greatest story that ever could be told. 00:14:13.82\00:14:15.82 Paul is giving us an advance summary here of everything 00:14:16.79\00:14:19.35 he's going to talk about. And he wants us to know 00:14:19.55\00:14:21.02 right up front that somehow in the gospel 00:14:21.22\00:14:24.13 the righteousness, the good- ness, the character of God 00:14:24.33\00:14:27.23 is encapsulated and revealed 00:14:27.43\00:14:30.03 somehow through a faith transaction. 00:14:30.43\00:14:32.30 We'll talk about the nature of that faith transaction. 00:14:32.50\00:14:34.14 Paul then goes forward from Romans chapter 1 00:14:34.94\00:14:38.17 in his summary to describe 00:14:38.37\00:14:41.44 the unqualified and universal brokenness 00:14:41.64\00:14:46.18 of the Gentile world. 00:14:46.38\00:14:48.02 In Romans chapter 2 Paul describes the unqualified 00:14:48.42\00:14:51.95 and universal brokenness of the Jewish world 00:14:52.15\00:14:54.69 so that when he arrives finally in Romans chapter 3 00:14:55.09\00:14:57.89 where we will spend our time this morning 00:14:58.09\00:14:59.76 he wants you to be absolutely clear that the human plight 00:15:00.16\00:15:03.60 is universal and ubiquitous. 00:15:03.80\00:15:05.73 That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 00:15:06.23\00:15:09.80 We're going to pick it up in Romans chapter 3. 00:15:10.21\00:15:13.27 Come with me to verse 9. 00:15:13.68\00:15:16.08 As Paul is drawing the strings of his arguments 00:15:16.58\00:15:19.81 in chapters 1 and 2 to a close 00:15:20.02\00:15:21.78 he begins by asking a question: "What then? " 00:15:21.98\00:15:24.92 "How should we think about these things that I have said? 00:15:25.32\00:15:28.52 The case that I am marshalling? " 00:15:28.72\00:15:31.09 "What then? Are we better than they? 00:15:31.76\00:15:33.70 No... not at all. For we have previously charged 00:15:33.90\00:15:37.63 both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. " 00:15:37.83\00:15:42.14 There is a universality: 00:15:42.54\00:15:44.94 the ubiquity of the human plight and the human condition. 00:15:45.14\00:15:48.34 And he uses this phrase. It's a particularly pregnant 00:15:48.54\00:15:51.71 and strong phrase: "under sin. " 00:15:51.91\00:15:54.92 I know of only other one place in the writings of Paul 00:15:55.38\00:15:59.89 where this exact construction is used. 00:16:00.09\00:16:02.36 It's in Galatians chapter 3 verse 22 00:16:02.56\00:16:04.29 where he says that scripture has concluded 00:16:04.49\00:16:07.16 or confounded all under sin. 00:16:07.36\00:16:10.83 Paul will then take us on sort of a rabbinical tour de force 00:16:11.50\00:16:16.71 through many passages of the Old Testament 00:16:16.91\00:16:18.97 mostly from Psalms but also from Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, 00:16:19.17\00:16:22.54 and Isaiah to marshal his case. 00:16:22.74\00:16:24.91 He has made a strong point about the universality 00:16:25.58\00:16:29.35 of the human condition, the brokenness of that condition 00:16:29.55\00:16:32.72 and of a seemingly hopeless helpless plight. 00:16:32.92\00:16:36.99 And so he will here marshal his case 00:16:37.39\00:16:39.39 from the law... from the Old Testament. 00:16:39.79\00:16:41.83 We pick it up in verse 10. 00:16:42.23\00:16:43.57 "As it is written... " Notice before we read here 00:16:43.67\00:16:47.70 there will be two phrases I want you to hone in on. 00:16:47.90\00:16:50.74 The first phrase is "there is none" or "there is no. " 00:16:50.94\00:16:54.21 You will find that construction five or six times 00:16:54.41\00:16:56.75 depending on your translation. 00:16:56.95\00:16:58.28 The second phrase is: "No... not even one. " 00:16:58.68\00:17:01.38 Just pay attention to the refrain here, to this chorus. 00:17:02.35\00:17:05.05 I'm in verse 10: "As it is written, there is none 00:17:05.25\00:17:08.12 righteous, no not one. 00:17:08.32\00:17:10.23 There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after 00:17:10.63\00:17:13.23 God... they have all turned aside. 00:17:13.43\00:17:15.90 They have together become unprofitable. 00:17:16.30\00:17:18.17 There is none who does good. No... not even one. 00:17:18.37\00:17:21.90 Their throat is an open tomb. 00:17:22.30\00:17:24.24 With tongues they have practiced deceit. The poison of asps 00:17:24.44\00:17:27.31 is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing 00:17:27.51\00:17:29.94 and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. 00:17:30.15\00:17:33.38 Destruction and misery are in their ways 00:17:33.78\00:17:36.35 and the way of peace they have not known. 00:17:36.55\00:17:38.45 There is no fear of God before their eyes. " 00:17:38.65\00:17:41.56 Paul paints an undeniable and unflattering 00:17:43.12\00:17:47.23 picture of the human plight here 00:17:47.43\00:17:49.30 that he roughly divides up into three basic ideas. 00:17:49.50\00:17:52.33 Number one is humanity's alienation from God. 00:17:53.00\00:17:56.64 And in this particular category of sin 00:17:56.84\00:18:00.84 he picks up those threads that are found in Genesis 00:18:01.24\00:18:04.38 chapters 1 to 11... the vertical alienation 00:18:04.58\00:18:08.02 that mankind fell from God and they hid themselves 00:18:08.22\00:18:11.09 in the trees amongst the garden. 00:18:11.29\00:18:13.96 But also the horizontal alienation 00:18:14.16\00:18:16.46 on display in Genesis 4 and Genesis 11 00:18:16.66\00:18:18.69 where human society and human families were fragmented. 00:18:18.89\00:18:22.60 And so Paul begins by saying 00:18:22.80\00:18:24.60 "The plight of humanity is that they are fundamentally 00:18:25.00\00:18:28.34 alienated from God. " He then goes to his second 00:18:28.54\00:18:31.21 sort of line of reasoning: "The reason is that they have 00:18:31.41\00:18:34.71 believed and they have spoken untruthful speech. " 00:18:34.91\00:18:38.01 Fascinatingly, in this passage 00:18:38.85\00:18:42.12 there are hints... and not even particularly 00:18:42.32\00:18:44.95 subtle hints... of Lucifer's own deception 00:18:45.15\00:18:48.16 and misrepresentation of the character of God. 00:18:48.36\00:18:50.66 Two references to snakes are made here. 00:18:50.86\00:18:53.80 And so humanity is alienated from God - 00:18:54.00\00:18:56.13 picking up the great theme of Genesis 3- not just because 00:18:56.33\00:18:59.07 of the decisions that they have made or the actions that they 00:18:59.27\00:19:01.40 have done but because they have misapprehended 00:19:01.60\00:19:04.11 what God is like. 00:19:04.31\00:19:06.01 And then the third category of sin 00:19:06.98\00:19:08.98 Paul simply describes as "rampant violence. " 00:19:09.18\00:19:12.11 So between alienation and untruthful deceitful speech 00:19:12.98\00:19:16.69 and violence Paul paints an unqualified picture 00:19:16.89\00:19:21.12 of the plight of humanity and says: 00:19:21.32\00:19:23.63 "Everybody is in need. " 00:19:24.03\00:19:26.70 Nobody escapes... "No, not even one. " 00:19:27.20\00:19:29.86 And if you're listening carefully 00:19:30.07\00:19:31.47 you can almost hear echoes of Revelation 4 and 5 here 00:19:32.03\00:19:35.44 where John in that great throne room scene 00:19:35.84\00:19:38.64 as the scroll is there on the throne of the Ancient of Days 00:19:38.84\00:19:42.91 he begins to weep because he says in apocalyptic vision: 00:19:43.11\00:19:46.58 "There was no one worthy to open the scroll. " 00:19:46.78\00:19:49.55 That language is on display here. 00:19:50.39\00:19:52.29 "There is none... there is none... there is none... 00:19:52.49\00:19:55.26 not even one" he said. 00:19:55.46\00:19:59.13 So Paul then in verses 19 and 20 00:20:00.70\00:20:03.06 comes to what he regards 00:20:03.26\00:20:06.87 in his apostolic authority 00:20:07.07\00:20:09.97 and his human observation 00:20:10.17\00:20:12.31 as necessary conclusions. 00:20:12.51\00:20:15.01 And it's right here that we come to what you might call 00:20:15.51\00:20:17.98 a fold or a corner or a crease in the book of Romans. 00:20:18.18\00:20:21.48 Paul has been arguing very strongly 00:20:21.88\00:20:23.85 in a single direction: the fallenness of the Gentile world; 00:20:24.05\00:20:26.99 the fallenness of Israel, God's covenant people; 00:20:27.19\00:20:29.69 the fallenness and broken- ness of all of humanity. 00:20:29.89\00:20:32.26 And we are just here at the crease or the turn 00:20:32.46\00:20:34.83 where Paul is about ready to transition 00:20:35.03\00:20:38.23 and to get into the passage that we're going to be spending 00:20:38.43\00:20:40.94 our time on largely this morning. 00:20:41.10\00:20:42.57 And so verses 19 and 20 are that crease, that fold or turn. 00:20:42.97\00:20:48.54 "Now we know that whatever... " Torah... "whatever the law says 00:20:48.74\00:20:52.81 it says to those who are under the law 00:20:53.01\00:20:54.98 that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become? " 00:20:55.18\00:21:00.66 What does your Bible say? 00:21:00.86\00:21:02.19 "the whole world... " the ubiquity and the universality 00:21:02.49\00:21:07.50 of the human plight here Paul has spelled it out in Scripture. 00:21:07.66\00:21:10.77 He has spelled it out in chapters 1 and 2 00:21:10.97\00:21:12.67 and he says: "The whole world is guilty before God. " 00:21:12.87\00:21:16.40 And then verse 20: we're right on the point at the end of that 00:21:17.71\00:21:19.94 crease: "Therefore... " This is a summary statement. 00:21:20.14\00:21:25.35 Paul has made his case in chapters 1 and 2 00:21:25.75\00:21:29.18 and half of chapter 3 and he says: "Therefore... " 00:21:29.38\00:21:32.85 This is the necessary inescapable required conclusion 00:21:33.05\00:21:36.62 that I come to: "Therefore by the deeds of the Torah, 00:21:36.83\00:21:40.83 the law, no flesh will be justified in the sight of God 00:21:41.03\00:21:45.30 for by the law is the knowledge of sin. " 00:21:45.50\00:21:48.74 And if you spend a lot of time in the book of Romans 00:21:50.17\00:21:52.71 you get a sense that it's right at this point 00:21:52.91\00:21:54.68 on the corner, on the crease 00:21:54.88\00:21:56.51 where Paul takes a breath. 00:21:56.71\00:21:58.31 He has made his case and he almost invites, 00:21:58.91\00:22:02.68 he almost provokes, he almost challenges us 00:22:02.88\00:22:05.99 to refute that case... to try and make some case 00:22:06.19\00:22:09.59 for human goodness or human faithfulness 00:22:09.79\00:22:11.89 or human righteousness. No! Paul is convinced on the basis 00:22:12.09\00:22:15.40 of the text. He's convinced on the basis of his own 00:22:15.60\00:22:17.70 observation. He's convinced on the basis of history 00:22:17.90\00:22:20.37 that all the world is guilty before God 00:22:20.57\00:22:22.64 and the necessary conclusion is that none can be innocent 00:22:22.84\00:22:26.71 or justified in the sight of God by the works of Torah. 00:22:26.91\00:22:30.55 Breathing sounds. 00:22:31.25\00:22:33.75 And then a key, crucial, pivotal 00:22:36.02\00:22:41.02 two-word phrase. Take a look at it in the text. 00:22:41.22\00:22:43.56 The two-word phrase is: "But now... " 00:22:43.76\00:22:46.23 Now the word but as you are probably aware 00:22:47.60\00:22:49.90 is a conjunction in the English language. 00:22:50.10\00:22:51.57 But it's a conjunction unlike the word and 00:22:51.77\00:22:53.84 which just joins two ideas. 00:22:54.04\00:22:55.37 "I will have the pizza AND the pasta. " 00:22:55.70\00:22:58.27 Right? And... there's no change of direction, 00:22:59.01\00:23:00.94 there's no reversal of direction. 00:23:01.14\00:23:02.48 But the word but functions not just as a joining conjunction 00:23:02.71\00:23:06.45 but as a change or even as a reversal of direction. 00:23:06.65\00:23:10.49 If you have applied for a job and you went in for 00:23:11.95\00:23:15.19 the interview and you sent in your CV and filled out 00:23:15.39\00:23:18.53 the application and a week or two after the interview 00:23:18.73\00:23:22.10 you get a letter that says: "Dear sir, dear madam: 00:23:22.30\00:23:24.43 thank you so much for coming in. It was a pleasure to meet you, 00:23:24.63\00:23:26.97 to receive your resume and to sit down with you 00:23:27.17\00:23:29.87 in the application process, but... " 00:23:30.07\00:23:32.37 Do you need to read the rest of the letter? 00:23:34.41\00:23:36.75 Did you get the job? 00:23:37.35\00:23:38.71 No... because that's the way the word "but" functions. 00:23:39.11\00:23:41.22 Paul makes this incredible case about the universal 00:23:42.45\00:23:46.19 and the ubiquitous nature of the human plight, 00:23:46.39\00:23:48.62 human fallenness. "There is not even one" 00:23:48.82\00:23:51.46 he says. And then these two words: "But now... " 00:23:51.66\00:23:54.53 Ah, this is going to get really good. 00:23:56.00\00:23:59.50 The but now indicates a fantastic change of direction 00:24:00.54\00:24:05.07 grammatically and theologically, and Paul here is going to 00:24:05.27\00:24:08.74 drive his point home. In fact, you would have to be... 00:24:08.94\00:24:11.58 You'd have to be blind... you'd have to be worse than blind. 00:24:11.78\00:24:14.22 You'd have to be dead to not see the point that Paul is 00:24:14.42\00:24:17.82 going to drive at here. He's going to drive this point home. 00:24:18.02\00:24:20.26 And the point is the very one that he made back in Romans 00:24:21.76\00:24:24.99 chapter 1 verses 16 and 17. Let me just remind you of it. 00:24:25.19\00:24:28.46 "For in the gospel the righteousness of God 00:24:29.20\00:24:32.90 is revealed. " What is revealed everyone? 00:24:33.10\00:24:34.80 What is revealed? The righteousness of God! 00:24:35.00\00:24:37.71 And Paul was going to make this point in just six short verses. 00:24:38.77\00:24:41.54 Not once, not twice, not three times. Four times! 00:24:41.74\00:24:44.75 Let's race through it. 00:24:44.95\00:24:46.28 Verse 21: "But now... " 00:24:46.95\00:24:48.98 In response, in answer... 00:24:49.18\00:24:51.95 to the fallenness, broken- ness, and otherwise hopelessness 00:24:53.25\00:24:56.76 of the human plight... "But now... " 00:24:56.96\00:24:59.96 Paul has well and truly turned the theological corner. 00:25:00.16\00:25:03.40 "But now the righteousness of God 00:25:03.60\00:25:07.30 apart from Torah is revealed 00:25:07.50\00:25:09.84 being witnessed by the law and the prophets. " 00:25:10.04\00:25:11.97 That's an almost verbatim revisitation 00:25:12.17\00:25:15.14 of chapter 1 verse 17. 00:25:15.34\00:25:17.11 "The righteousness of God revealed... " And he says: 00:25:17.31\00:25:19.11 "the law and the prophets" and in verse 17 he quotes Habakkuk. 00:25:19.31\00:25:21.75 No wonder scholars have told us that contained in those 00:25:23.65\00:25:26.52 two verses - Romans 1:16-17- 00:25:26.72\00:25:29.69 is an advance summary of everything that Paul is going 00:25:29.89\00:25:33.03 to say. And Paul here - we're in the thick of it now - 00:25:33.23\00:25:35.53 he says: "But now... " 00:25:35.73\00:25:37.33 Yes, there has been rampant violence and untrue speech. 00:25:38.23\00:25:42.04 And yes, people have believed the lie about who God is 00:25:42.24\00:25:44.84 and isn't, "But now the righteousness of God 00:25:45.04\00:25:48.64 apart from Torah has been displayed. " 00:25:48.84\00:25:52.31 He's going from strength to strength. He's picking up 00:25:54.78\00:25:56.79 a kind of momentum here. Verse 16, excuse me, verse 22: 00:25:56.99\00:26:01.99 "Even... " here it is a second time... 00:26:02.19\00:26:03.89 "the righteousness of God... " You can't miss it! 00:26:04.09\00:26:06.49 "through the faith in Jesus... " We'll come back to that 00:26:07.30\00:26:09.80 in a moment... 00:26:10.00\00:26:11.33 "to all and on all who believe... " That sounds just 00:26:12.20\00:26:15.14 like Romans 1:16 and 17... "for there is no difference, 00:26:15.34\00:26:18.01 not Jew, not Gentile... " Verse 23, a familiar verse... 00:26:18.21\00:26:20.38 "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:26:20.58\00:26:23.08 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption 00:26:23.75\00:26:27.22 that is in Christ Jesus. " We will return to that momentarily. 00:26:27.42\00:26:30.39 "whom God sent forth... " Your translation, my translation 00:26:30.59\00:26:33.12 says propitiation... 00:26:33.32\00:26:34.92 The word is "a mercy seat. " 00:26:35.12\00:26:37.36 "whom God sent forth as the place of mercy 00:26:38.09\00:26:41.30 to demonstrate His righteous- ness. " There it is a 3rd time. 00:26:41.50\00:26:45.13 "Because in the forbearance of God he passed over the sins 00:26:45.93\00:26:49.04 that were previously committed. " 00:26:49.24\00:26:50.57 Now verse 26, our final verse in this passage: 00:26:51.01\00:26:53.44 "to demonstrate at the present time... " A fourth time! 00:26:53.64\00:26:56.24 "His righteousness that He might be just and the justifier 00:26:56.44\00:27:00.68 of those who have faith in Jesus. " 00:27:00.88\00:27:03.08 When Paul turns the corner 00:27:05.35\00:27:07.32 on the universal plight and the universal condition 00:27:08.22\00:27:10.79 he does so by making it so clear you cannot miss it. 00:27:10.99\00:27:14.33 One, two, three, four times he says: "But the righteousness 00:27:14.53\00:27:17.53 of God... But the righteousness of God... 00:27:17.73\00:27:19.50 But the righteousness of God... But the righteousness of God 00:27:19.70\00:27:22.64 has been displayed. " 00:27:22.84\00:27:25.41 Which is, of course, the very point he makes in Romans 1:17. 00:27:27.41\00:27:30.15 "For in the gospel the right- eousness of God is revealed. " 00:27:30.55\00:27:33.21 Choose your word: revealed, displayed, 00:27:33.42\00:27:35.95 demonstrated. And we could ask Paul: "Paul, 00:27:36.15\00:27:39.55 where? when? was the righteousness of God 00:27:39.85\00:27:45.99 that so turns the human condition and the human plight 00:27:46.19\00:27:48.80 where and when was it demonstrated? " 00:27:49.00\00:27:51.00 And he gives us the answer in the text. 00:27:51.20\00:27:53.23 "When God sent Jesus forth as the place of mercy. " 00:27:53.44\00:27:57.34 This is an unambiguous and unmistakable reference 00:27:58.11\00:28:01.31 to the incarnation of Jesus in human flesh 00:28:01.51\00:28:04.05 and especially to the cross event. 00:28:04.25\00:28:07.38 I want to read this same passage in another translation 00:28:10.42\00:28:15.22 that actually gets several nuances of the text 00:28:15.42\00:28:18.16 in a better way in my perspective. 00:28:18.36\00:28:20.86 "But now apart from the law... " I'm picking it up in verse 21... 00:28:22.36\00:28:25.07 Walk back through the text with me but this time 00:28:25.27\00:28:26.97 perhaps just listening rather than reading. 00:28:27.17\00:28:29.44 "But now apart from the law 00:28:29.64\00:28:32.17 the rightmaking of God has been disclosed. " Ooh! 00:28:32.37\00:28:36.34 Let's just pause right there for a moment. 00:28:36.54\00:28:37.88 The righteousness of God is be- ing rendered by this translator 00:28:38.11\00:28:42.48 "the rightmaking of God. " 00:28:42.68\00:28:44.65 When God makes things right, when he sets them in their 00:28:45.32\00:28:48.52 proper order and orientation. 00:28:48.72\00:28:50.43 "But now apart from the law the rightmaking of God 00:28:50.63\00:28:54.46 has been disclosed. Witnessed by the law and the prophets... " 00:28:54.66\00:28:57.83 the Old Testament... 00:28:58.03\00:28:59.37 "the rightmaking of God thru the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. " 00:28:59.40\00:29:03.41 And time does not allow me this morning to go into the 00:29:03.61\00:29:06.54 robust grammatical and theolog- ical case that can be built 00:29:06.74\00:29:10.81 for translating this phrase in what's called the subjective 00:29:11.01\00:29:14.48 genitive. Not my faith in Christ 00:29:14.68\00:29:17.49 but the faithfulness OF Christ. 00:29:17.69\00:29:20.06 Trust me... the evidence is there. 00:29:20.26\00:29:21.69 "For there is no difference. All have missed the mark 00:29:24.36\00:29:27.70 and lack the glory of God. 00:29:27.90\00:29:29.53 But they have been set right freely by His grace 00:29:29.73\00:29:32.93 through the liberation that is in Christ Jesus. " 00:29:33.13\00:29:35.80 Pause right there. 00:29:36.00\00:29:37.34 My translation says: "the redemption that is in 00:29:37.54\00:29:40.08 Christ Jesus. " Beloved, I want you to hear one thing. 00:29:40.28\00:29:42.18 If you get nothing else, I want you to get this point. 00:29:42.38\00:29:44.78 You listen to me very carefully. 00:29:44.98\00:29:46.38 According to Paul, accord- ing to the text of Scripture, 00:29:46.58\00:29:49.85 the location of your redemption 00:29:50.25\00:29:53.32 is in Christ Jesus. 00:29:53.52\00:29:56.22 I want you to turn to the person right next to you and say: 00:29:56.62\00:29:58.76 "My redemption is located in Jesus Christ. " 00:29:59.16\00:30:02.70 Do it right now. 00:30:02.90\00:30:04.23 "My redemption is located in Jesus Christ. " 00:30:04.77\00:30:09.64 Now I want you to say to that person: 00:30:10.37\00:30:12.17 "Your redemption is located in Jesus Christ. " 00:30:12.37\00:30:15.68 Go ahead and say it. 00:30:15.88\00:30:17.21 There is no other place for our redemption, for our liberation 00:30:21.48\00:30:24.59 to reside. Heaven forbid: it cannot reside in us! 00:30:24.79\00:30:27.66 Paul has already built his undeniable case 00:30:27.86\00:30:30.99 that there's not even one righteous. 00:30:31.39\00:30:33.80 Not one that could stand before God innocent on the basis 00:30:34.00\00:30:36.77 of Torah. So if we're going to have a rescue, 00:30:36.97\00:30:39.23 if we're going to have a liber- ation, if we're going to have 00:30:39.43\00:30:41.17 a salvation, if we're going to have a redemption, 00:30:41.37\00:30:43.17 it must reside in some place external to us. 00:30:43.37\00:30:46.74 And I'm happy to tell you here today 00:30:48.08\00:30:49.64 that the place where your redemption resides 00:30:49.84\00:30:52.88 is in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:30:53.08\00:30:55.98 It gets better. 00:30:57.35\00:30:58.99 "God sent Him forth publicly as a means of reconciliation... " 00:31:00.92\00:31:05.63 Here again: "through the faith- fullness of His bloody death. " 00:31:05.83\00:31:09.63 Aah! "His bloody death. " 00:31:10.93\00:31:15.07 Again, an unambiguous reference to the cross event. 00:31:15.47\00:31:20.04 And it is right at this point 00:31:20.68\00:31:23.18 that we just press "pause" on Romans... to which we 00:31:23.58\00:31:26.51 will likely return in a moment. 00:31:26.72\00:31:28.65 I want you to come with me in your mind 00:31:29.15\00:31:31.29 to a scene that you have prob- ably familiarized yourself with 00:31:31.49\00:31:35.62 in the past. Jesus has been scourged; 00:31:35.82\00:31:39.93 Jesus has been mocked. 00:31:40.13\00:31:41.96 Jesus has been arrested 00:31:42.36\00:31:44.33 and now He finds Himself in John chapter 19 00:31:44.53\00:31:46.94 standing before Pilate. 00:31:47.14\00:31:48.80 No doubt, blood dripping down His body 00:31:49.20\00:31:52.31 and He is silent. He is reflective. 00:31:52.51\00:31:54.94 He is pensive. He is in full possession of the situation 00:31:55.14\00:31:58.91 and He knows what is happening. 00:31:59.11\00:32:01.25 And He chooses in this moment of great... critical... 00:32:01.45\00:32:05.45 a crucible moment of great significance 00:32:05.65\00:32:08.19 He elects to remain silent. 00:32:08.39\00:32:10.83 Pilate is confused by His silence, and he peppers Jesus 00:32:11.76\00:32:16.26 with a couple questions. 00:32:16.46\00:32:17.83 "Do You not know who I am? " 00:32:18.93\00:32:22.10 Try to imagine in your mind's eye 00:32:23.10\00:32:25.37 what Pilate sees before him. 00:32:25.57\00:32:27.34 Pilate is a governor. He is a man of significance 00:32:27.54\00:32:32.18 in the Roman system. He has seen his fair share 00:32:32.38\00:32:37.32 of roughians and criminals and miscreants come before him. 00:32:37.52\00:32:42.39 He knows which whom he is dealing... or so he thinks. 00:32:42.59\00:32:44.99 And so rather than the sort of brazen and argumentative 00:32:45.19\00:32:48.86 people that he sometimes gets in front of him, this guy 00:32:50.07\00:32:52.67 is trying the kind of silent treatment. 00:32:52.87\00:32:54.57 And Pilate wants to orient Him to the dire situation 00:32:54.77\00:32:59.61 in which He finds Himself and he says: 00:32:59.81\00:33:01.44 "Excuse me, young man. 00:33:01.84\00:33:03.38 This whole silent treatment thing is not going to work 00:33:03.58\00:33:05.78 for me and it's not going to work for you. 00:33:05.98\00:33:07.78 Don't You know who I am? " 00:33:07.98\00:33:10.65 And then this line: 00:33:11.05\00:33:12.62 "That I have the power to crucify You. " 00:33:12.82\00:33:16.39 Now just at this point I want to just say 00:33:17.53\00:33:21.26 that the ease and the casualness with which we 00:33:21.46\00:33:26.97 in the 21st century speak about the cross 00:33:27.17\00:33:29.37 would be completely lost on a 1st century slave 00:33:29.77\00:33:32.87 or a 1st century Jew or one of the "have-nots" 00:33:33.07\00:33:35.78 of the Roman Empire. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. 00:33:35.98\00:33:38.01 The psychological oppression, the psychological shadow of 00:33:38.41\00:33:42.62 the cross cannot be appreciated 00:33:42.82\00:33:45.09 here in 2019 by the ASi audience or by any audience. 00:33:45.29\00:33:49.62 Nah... you've never seen a person crucified. 00:33:50.69\00:33:53.80 You've never seen dozens... You've never walked outside 00:33:54.00\00:33:56.30 of your village, your hamlet, or the city gates 00:33:56.50\00:33:58.27 to see dozens or perhaps hundreds of people 00:33:58.47\00:34:00.64 lined up on crosses. 00:34:00.84\00:34:02.17 You have never seen it and I have never seen it. 00:34:02.60\00:34:04.64 And so we now glory in something that if you could 00:34:04.84\00:34:07.14 transport back into time would be regarded as so strange, 00:34:07.34\00:34:10.18 so incomprehensible, no wonder Paul would say 00:34:10.58\00:34:13.98 "When we go into various cities and villages and we preach 00:34:14.18\00:34:17.09 a crucified Messiah people think we're nuts. " 00:34:17.29\00:34:19.95 And so earlier this year I found my way 00:34:21.19\00:34:26.23 to an essay by a fellow named L. L. Welborn. 00:34:26.43\00:34:29.36 The essay is titled Extraction from the Mortal 00:34:30.93\00:34:33.57 Site. And here, perhaps more than any other author 00:34:33.77\00:34:36.40 I've become exposed to, he gives us a window 00:34:36.60\00:34:38.87 into the cultural significance of the cross and the way 00:34:39.97\00:34:43.24 the cross would have been perceived in those days. 00:34:43.45\00:34:45.75 Welborn writes: "In speaking about the ubiquity of the cross 00:34:46.58\00:34:50.99 I do not have in mind the occasional use of crucifixion 00:34:51.19\00:34:55.69 as the supreme penalty in notorious cases of high treason 00:34:55.89\00:34:59.69 nor the more frequent use of crucifixion as a means 00:34:59.89\00:35:02.56 of suppressing rebellious subjects 00:35:02.76\00:35:04.63 in the provinces. But rather I have in mind 00:35:05.13\00:35:08.50 the regular employment of the cross 00:35:08.70\00:35:11.61 as a punishment for slaves in cities throughout the Roman 00:35:11.81\00:35:14.84 Empire. Just out side the Esquiline Gate at Rome 00:35:15.04\00:35:18.28 on the road to Tiber was a horrific place 00:35:18.48\00:35:20.62 where crosses were routinely set up for the punishment of 00:35:20.82\00:35:22.98 slaves. There a torture and execution service 00:35:23.18\00:35:26.96 was operated by a group of funeral contractors 00:35:27.16\00:35:30.53 who were open to business from private citizens 00:35:30.73\00:35:33.36 and public authorities alike. 00:35:33.56\00:35:35.16 Indeed, the cross was not only the ominous specter around which 00:35:36.23\00:35:39.53 the consciousness of the slave cringed. 00:35:39.73\00:35:41.50 But because the cross was the evil instrument by which 00:35:41.70\00:35:44.07 the legal institution of slavery was maintained 00:35:44.27\00:35:47.21 this extracted the surplus on which the power 00:35:47.41\00:35:50.35 upon the ruling class depended. 00:35:50.55\00:35:52.18 The cross may be regarded as the dark, gravitational 00:35:52.68\00:35:56.95 center which whether recognized or repressed 00:35:57.15\00:36:00.26 allotted places to all of those who lived 00:36:00.46\00:36:03.63 within the social symbolic edifice of the Roman Empire. " 00:36:03.83\00:36:07.66 The cross was an instrument of cruelty. 00:36:10.03\00:36:12.47 It was designed not for the purposes of death. 00:36:12.67\00:36:14.67 Killing a person is very easy. 00:36:14.87\00:36:16.24 You put a knife or a spear or a sword through them. 00:36:16.44\00:36:19.01 The cross is about control; the cross is about humiliation. 00:36:19.21\00:36:22.61 The cross is about keeping people in line. 00:36:23.01\00:36:25.38 And if you were a slave or one of the many "have-nots" 00:36:26.21\00:36:28.98 in the Roman Empire you would have been familiar 00:36:29.18\00:36:31.52 experientially with what it is to see 00:36:31.72\00:36:35.52 a person, a human, a body, 00:36:36.02\00:36:39.33 a brother, a mother, a son 00:36:39.53\00:36:41.90 nailed to a piece of wood 00:36:42.10\00:36:44.07 and it would have said to you: "Stay in line or else. " 00:36:44.27\00:36:48.60 And so it was right at this point 00:36:49.94\00:36:51.94 that Jesus is standing before Pilate 00:36:52.14\00:36:54.31 and electing for a strategy of silence. 00:36:54.51\00:36:56.91 And Pilate says: "Young man, I don't think you understand 00:36:57.11\00:36:59.21 the gravity of the situation in which You find yourself. 00:36:59.51\00:37:02.92 Don't You know who I am? 00:37:03.12\00:37:05.15 Don't You know I have the power to crucify You? " 00:37:05.45\00:37:08.49 And even at the word crucify others in the audience 00:37:08.69\00:37:11.99 chamber might have... ooh... drawn back. 00:37:12.19\00:37:14.00 Pilate has pulled out the big guns: the threat of crucifixion. 00:37:14.56\00:37:18.57 Jesus is not a Roman citizen. 00:37:18.77\00:37:20.14 He is eligible for crucifixion. And it's right here 00:37:20.54\00:37:23.41 where Jesus recalibrates... no better, reorients 00:37:24.44\00:37:27.94 Pilate to what's really happen- ing in that audience chamber. 00:37:28.14\00:37:30.95 Pilate has said: "Don't You know who I am? " 00:37:31.31\00:37:34.02 And it's as if Jesus says: "Sir, it would be more important 00:37:34.22\00:37:37.55 for you to know who I am. " 00:37:37.75\00:37:39.79 "You would have no power at all... " He says in verse 11 00:37:40.76\00:37:44.33 "if it had not been granted to you by My Father 00:37:44.53\00:37:47.80 and I in heaven. " A total reorientation 00:37:48.20\00:37:52.07 of the nature of power, the nature of control. 00:37:52.27\00:37:55.00 Jesus had said in John chapter 10: 00:37:55.40\00:37:57.31 "No one can take My life from Me. 00:37:57.51\00:37:59.81 I lay it down Myself. " 00:38:00.58\00:38:02.48 When Peter thought that he was coming bravely and 00:38:02.88\00:38:05.21 courageously to the rescue of Jesus 00:38:05.41\00:38:07.35 in the garden there Jesus said: "Put your sword away. 00:38:07.55\00:38:09.75 Don't you think I could be delivered if I wanted? 00:38:09.95\00:38:12.95 My Father could send legions of angels. " 00:38:13.15\00:38:15.36 "No Pilate, it's not Me who doesn't know who you are. 00:38:15.76\00:38:19.53 It's you who don't know who I am. " 00:38:20.03\00:38:22.70 Something about the cross event and the horror 00:38:24.57\00:38:27.97 and the terror of the cross event 00:38:28.17\00:38:30.31 says Paul demonstrates that this is an unusual God. 00:38:30.51\00:38:36.44 99.999% of all gods of human history 00:38:36.64\00:38:40.78 or human invention are not good news. 00:38:40.98\00:38:42.52 But what is this God doing going willingly, 00:38:43.02\00:38:46.42 voluntarily, even almost enthusiastically 00:38:46.62\00:38:50.29 to a cross? I'll tell you what He's doing. 00:38:50.49\00:38:52.93 He's being Himself. 00:38:55.66\00:38:58.10 He is displaying who and what God is: 00:38:59.83\00:39:05.77 not in His nature and ontology 00:39:05.97\00:39:09.08 but in His character. 00:39:09.54\00:39:11.01 Welborn continues on this very line. 00:39:12.11\00:39:14.75 "Christ shared the fate... " Listen to this language. 00:39:15.55\00:39:18.42 It is purposefully provocative; it is purposefully absurd. 00:39:18.62\00:39:21.62 "Christ shared the fate 00:39:22.32\00:39:25.03 of a piece of human garbage. 00:39:25.23\00:39:28.90 One of those whom life had demolished 00:39:29.30\00:39:33.44 and who had touched the very bottom. 00:39:33.84\00:39:35.90 Even now as they lived in the shadow of the cross 00:39:36.71\00:39:39.37 and died a bit every day upon seeing the cross, 00:39:39.57\00:39:41.84 even if the cross should be their tomb 00:39:42.04\00:39:44.05 as it was of their fathers and grandfathers, 00:39:44.25\00:39:46.08 its power over them was now broken and undone 00:39:46.28\00:39:50.45 so that they could live on with value and meaning and hope 00:39:51.25\00:39:54.76 and love because the One who had died 00:39:54.96\00:39:57.66 in this contemptible way was the anointed of God. " 00:39:57.86\00:40:01.66 Friends, this is an unusual God 00:40:03.73\00:40:05.80 and I've got a breaking news piece of information 00:40:06.00\00:40:09.50 for you here today ASi: we are not the heroes of this story. 00:40:09.70\00:40:13.68 Our churches are not the heroes of this story. 00:40:14.88\00:40:17.21 Our institutions are not the hero of this story. 00:40:17.41\00:40:19.81 Our longevity is not the heroes of this story. 00:40:20.02\00:40:22.48 We are in no way, shape, or form 00:40:22.68\00:40:25.39 the heroes of the gospel story. 00:40:25.59\00:40:27.62 Jesus is the hero of the gospel story! Amen! 00:40:27.82\00:40:33.09 And He's not just any God. 00:40:33.29\00:40:35.96 He's not just some God. 00:40:36.16\00:40:37.73 He is the one true Creator God, the covenant-keeping God. 00:40:37.93\00:40:41.37 Yahweh, who went voluntarily, willingly, and again 00:40:41.57\00:40:44.81 almost even enthusiastically to a Roman instrument 00:40:45.01\00:40:48.58 of humiliation, coercion, and control 00:40:48.78\00:40:51.61 to demonstrate not your righteousness but to demonstrate 00:40:51.81\00:40:55.75 God's righteousness. Amen! 00:40:55.95\00:40:59.39 The law does not exonerate the sinner. 00:40:59.79\00:41:02.62 The law exposes the sin and exonerates the Savior. 00:41:02.82\00:41:07.36 No wonder Ellen White said... Ahh, no wonder Ellen White said 00:41:08.36\00:41:12.93 6 Bible Commentary 1113... 00:41:13.13\00:41:15.37 This statement is my all-time favorite statement from the 00:41:15.57\00:41:18.41 voluminous pen of Ellen White and it has become like a piece 00:41:18.61\00:41:20.98 of furniture in the intellectual landscape of my life. 00:41:21.14\00:41:24.58 I cannot get away from it. 00:41:24.78\00:41:26.28 "Hanging upon the cross 00:41:26.68\00:41:28.65 Christ was the gospel. " 00:41:28.85\00:41:31.55 Christ was the good news! 00:41:33.62\00:41:35.76 Then she said: "Now we have a message! " 00:41:36.42\00:41:40.23 Oh, NOW we have a message? 00:41:40.43\00:41:41.76 Oh, yes! NOW we have a message! 00:41:41.93\00:41:43.30 What is our message? 00:41:44.07\00:41:45.60 "Hanging upon the cross Christ was the gospel. " 00:41:46.37\00:41:50.74 The righteousness of God is our message. 00:41:50.94\00:41:53.51 The faithfulness of God is our message. 00:41:53.91\00:41:56.11 We sometimes kid ourselves as Jared alluded to last night 00:41:56.85\00:41:59.88 into telling the story in such a way that we persuade ourselves 00:42:00.08\00:42:02.82 that we are the heroes in some way shape or form of this story. 00:42:03.02\00:42:05.42 WE ARE NOT! 00:42:05.82\00:42:07.16 Jesus is the only hero of this story. 00:42:07.22\00:42:10.63 He alone was found worthy to open the scroll 00:42:10.83\00:42:13.80 and to purchase permanently humanity back from its plight 00:42:14.00\00:42:18.27 of condemnation and sin and death. 00:42:18.80\00:42:21.30 She continues: "Behold the Lamb of God 00:42:21.70\00:42:23.87 that takes away the sin of the world. 00:42:24.07\00:42:25.57 Will not our church members keep their eyes 00:42:25.97\00:42:29.21 fixed on a crucified and risen Savior 00:42:29.41\00:42:31.81 in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered? 00:42:32.01\00:42:34.35 This is our message; THIS is our argument. 00:42:34.55\00:42:37.69 This is our doctrine, our hope for every believer. 00:42:37.89\00:42:41.86 If we can awaken an interest in men's minds that will cause 00:42:42.06\00:42:44.73 them to fix their eyes on Christ, 00:42:44.93\00:42:46.33 we may step aside and ask them only to continue 00:42:46.53\00:42:49.30 to fix their eyes upon the Lamb of God. " 00:42:49.50\00:42:52.87 Friends, the God that we have to preach 00:42:53.74\00:42:58.27 and the God that we have to save and the God that we have to 00:42:58.47\00:43:03.65 make famous in the world is no ordinary God. 00:43:03.85\00:43:07.22 He is an unusual God. 00:43:08.05\00:43:10.25 History is filled with stories of men who thought 00:43:10.45\00:43:13.92 in some moment of grandeur or absurdity 00:43:14.12\00:43:16.83 that they could become God. But history has only a single story 00:43:17.03\00:43:20.26 of God, the one true God, Yahweh, who became a man. 00:43:20.46\00:43:24.57 And He didn't just become a man in any ordinary sense. 00:43:24.77\00:43:26.90 He went voluntarily, willingly to a Roman instrument 00:43:27.10\00:43:30.91 of torture where pieces of human garbage were thrown out 00:43:31.07\00:43:34.34 as an instrument of control and manipulation. 00:43:34.54\00:43:37.05 And Jesus said: "You have not put Me here, Pilate. 00:43:37.25\00:43:39.35 I am here voluntarily. 00:43:39.85\00:43:42.15 I am here displaying, promoting, saving, even recovering 00:43:42.35\00:43:47.66 what had been lost. " 00:43:47.86\00:43:49.49 The great truth about the righteousness of God, 00:43:49.69\00:43:53.36 the righteousness of God, the righteousness of God, 00:43:53.56\00:43:56.60 the righteousness of God. Friends, 00:43:56.80\00:43:58.90 the righteousness of God 00:44:00.54\00:44:02.57 is seen in the faithfulness of Jesus. 00:44:02.77\00:44:07.38 And your response to that faithfulness is great. 00:44:10.48\00:44:15.58 It's awesome! Your life is going to be better. 00:44:16.42\00:44:19.92 But there is never a point at which your response 00:44:20.12\00:44:23.79 to God's saving faithfulness becomes the ground upon which 00:44:23.99\00:44:26.53 you stand before Him. 00:44:26.73\00:44:28.33 When you stand before God justified as Paul says 00:44:28.53\00:44:31.43 in Romans 3, innocent... as if you had never sinned 00:44:31.63\00:44:34.57 because Jesus has done the unthinkable, 00:44:34.97\00:44:38.51 the uninventable. 00:44:38.71\00:44:40.94 No wonder Bruce Shelley said in the opening sentence of his 00:44:41.14\00:44:43.71 incredible book: "Christianity is the only major 00:44:43.91\00:44:48.02 world religion to have as its central event 00:44:48.22\00:44:50.82 the humiliation of its God. " 00:44:51.02\00:44:54.49 I recommend to you today and I commend to you today 00:44:56.02\00:44:59.23 Jesus. And as Jennifer sings 00:44:59.43\00:45:02.70 I want to just share with you a line from this song: 00:45:02.90\00:45:05.60 "And I would give my final breath... " 00:45:06.63\00:45:10.11 I am sure that Paul would do that 00:45:11.34\00:45:14.98 and I am sure that Jesus did that... 00:45:15.61\00:45:18.58 I want to not only sing this and say "Amen" with this 00:45:19.88\00:45:23.59 I want to believe that I would give my final breath 00:45:23.79\00:45:27.59 to know Him in His death and resurrection. 00:45:28.86\00:45:33.26 Oh, I want to know Him more. 00:45:33.66\00:45:37.80 Any others out there with the raising of the hand 00:45:38.80\00:45:41.00 say: "Lord, I want to know You more? " 00:45:41.20\00:45:43.34 Perhaps even if circumstances should require it 00:45:44.24\00:45:46.78 to give my final breath to know You in Your death 00:45:46.98\00:45:52.01 and in Your resurrection. 00:45:52.78\00:45:54.58 You are not an ordinary God. 00:45:55.28\00:45:57.09 You are an unusual God. 00:45:57.89\00:45:59.85 You are an extraordinary God. 00:46:00.26\00:46:02.22 You are the one true God who gave up everything 00:46:02.82\00:46:07.03 for us. Today we respond to that. 00:46:07.23\00:46:11.00 We receive that; we accept that. 00:46:11.40\00:46:14.40 And we say: "Oh God, 00:46:14.80\00:46:18.81 we want to know You more 00:46:19.01\00:46:20.94 and we want others around us to know You more. " 00:46:21.81\00:46:25.85 Just the time I feel 00:46:48.57\00:46:52.74 that I've been caught 00:46:53.71\00:46:56.54 in the mire of self, 00:46:57.48\00:47:00.68 Just the time I think 00:47:03.28\00:47:07.36 my mind's been bought 00:47:07.56\00:47:10.53 by worldly wealth, 00:47:10.73\00:47:14.36 That's when the breeze begins to blow, 00:47:16.56\00:47:22.50 I know the Spirit's call, 00:47:22.70\00:47:28.24 and all my worldly wanderings 00:47:30.55\00:47:36.48 just melt 00:47:36.69\00:47:38.52 within His love. 00:47:38.72\00:47:44.13 Oh, I want to know You more! 00:47:44.33\00:47:49.86 Deep within my soul I want to know You. 00:47:50.27\00:47:55.37 Lord, I want to know you! 00:47:55.57\00:47:59.44 To feel Your heart and know your mind 00:47:59.64\00:48:04.45 Looking in Your eyes stirs up within me 00:48:04.65\00:48:09.35 Cries that say: "I want to know 00:48:09.55\00:48:15.26 You. " 00:48:15.46\00:48:17.39 Lord, I want to know You 00:48:17.59\00:48:21.46 more! 00:48:21.66\00:48:27.67 When my daily deeds 00:48:36.14\00:48:40.52 ordinarily 00:48:40.92\00:48:44.42 lose life and song, 00:48:44.62\00:48:48.62 my heart begins to bleed, 00:48:49.86\00:48:54.13 sensitivity to Him 00:48:54.33\00:48:58.73 is gone. 00:48:59.23\00:49:01.30 I've run the race, but 00:49:02.47\00:49:06.98 I set my own pace 00:49:07.18\00:49:09.58 and face a shattered soul 00:49:09.78\00:49:15.58 Now, the gentle arms of Jesus 00:49:15.98\00:49:21.92 warms my hunger to 00:49:22.12\00:49:26.19 be whole. 00:49:26.39\00:49:29.93 Lord, I want to know You more! 00:49:30.33\00:49:35.47 Deep within my soul I want to know You. 00:49:35.67\00:49:40.68 Lord, I want to know You! 00:49:41.08\00:49:44.48 To feel Your heart and know Your mind, 00:49:44.68\00:49:49.52 looking in Your eyes stirs up within me 00:49:49.72\00:49:54.62 cries that say: "I want to know 00:49:54.82\00:50:00.20 You... Lord, I want to know you! " 00:50:00.40\00:50:05.70 When I take my final breath, 00:50:05.90\00:50:10.61 to know You in Your death and resurrection, 00:50:10.81\00:50:15.51 Lord, I want to know You 00:50:15.91\00:50:19.45 more... 00:50:19.65\00:50:22.68 Lord, I want to know You... 00:50:22.88\00:50:26.55 know You more... 00:50:26.76\00:50:32.73 Lord, 00:50:33.96\00:50:35.96 I want to know You 00:50:36.16\00:50:40.54 more! 00:50:41.44\00:50:47.34 Amen! Let's stand to our feet. 00:50:59.45\00:51:00.79 Thank you, Jennifer. 00:51:02.99\00:51:04.63 Father in heaven, 00:51:06.86\00:51:08.93 even the glorious beautiful 00:51:11.23\00:51:14.64 incredible voice of Jennifer 00:51:15.74\00:51:18.47 and the sound of this piano, even these that move 00:51:18.67\00:51:21.81 our souls to the depths... 00:51:22.01\00:51:24.11 Father, even these only come 00:51:25.25\00:51:29.32 within a fraction of a fraction of a fraction 00:51:29.52\00:51:32.52 of a percentage of the fullness of Your goodness and glory. 00:51:32.72\00:51:37.86 Father, today truly in music 00:51:38.79\00:51:43.06 and in testimony and in the text 00:51:43.26\00:51:45.70 we have basked in Your goodness. 00:51:45.90\00:51:49.00 Father, reorient us, 00:51:49.90\00:51:53.14 redirect us, and recalibrate us 00:51:53.54\00:51:56.48 not just annually at conventions like ASi 00:51:56.68\00:51:59.75 and not just weekly at church services around the world 00:52:00.78\00:52:04.39 and Father, not even just every day when we have our morning 00:52:05.42\00:52:08.82 time with You, but Father, at every moment, 00:52:09.02\00:52:13.70 at every breath may we be oriented to You 00:52:14.40\00:52:18.90 and to Your goodness 00:52:19.10\00:52:21.54 and to just how unbelievably good news it is 00:52:22.40\00:52:25.94 not only that there is a God 00:52:27.84\00:52:30.31 but that He looks like Jesus. 00:52:31.58\00:52:34.42 Father, today we have tried 00:52:35.85\00:52:38.25 to gain even just a small glimpse 00:52:38.75\00:52:41.52 of the grandeur of that glory 00:52:42.59\00:52:46.70 and we want to say thank you. 00:52:47.90\00:52:50.47 We want to respond and say: "Turn us 00:52:50.97\00:52:54.90 by Your power and by Your grace into the best versions 00:52:55.10\00:52:58.37 of ourselves into to those who not only know 00:52:58.57\00:53:02.58 the righteousness of God but those who show 00:53:02.78\00:53:06.51 the righteousness of God. " 00:53:07.02\00:53:09.02 Help us to that end and to that effect 00:53:10.52\00:53:13.02 by the infilling of Your Spirit 00:53:13.42\00:53:15.62 is our prayer in Jesus' name, 00:53:16.22\00:53:19.09 let everyone say "Amen. " 00:53:19.59\00:53:23.23 Go ahead and have a seat. 00:53:24.10\00:53:25.43 Turn to the person next to you and say: 00:53:26.43\00:53:28.97 "There's good news in the universe... 00:53:29.17\00:53:30.81 there's good news in the universe. " 00:53:31.01\00:53:33.48 The offering goal was $1,250,000. 00:53:40.32\00:53:44.32 God has been good to us! 00:53:44.72\00:53:46.89 What He has blessed us with 00:53:47.59\00:53:49.39 is $1,521,035. 00:53:49.59\00:53:55.40