Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000186A
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00:01 Are you looking for an exciting change in your life? Well, get ready for a breath of new life.
00:06 Today, Dr. Byrd speaks on the topic "The Law of God." And now, here he is, 00:11 speaker/director of Breath of Life Ministries, Dr. Carlton Byrd. 00:18 Tonight I just want to talk to you just a little bit, briefly, about commandment-keeping. 00:24 Everybody say commandment-keepin g. [Aud. response] 00:27 Now, I recognize that this is not a popular subject with many, but as I said Wednesday night, 00:33 you can't be popular and prophetic at the same time. We realize that we live in a world today 00:39 where people don't want to call sin by its right name, that we want to sugarcoat the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:45 But I'm proud to say tonight that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus, for it is the power of God unto salvation. 00:53 We live in a world now where if it feels good, do it. Do whatever you want to do, when you want, 00:59 where you want, how you want. We live in a world of lawlessness. We here today, I live my way, 01:06 you live your way, and as long as your way doesn't conflict with my way, we're all right. 01:10 We live in a world and a society that is inflicted with what I call postmodernism. 01:15 Everybody say postmodernism. Aud. Reaction] 01:18 Postmodernism says there are no absolute truths. Your truth is your truth. My truth is my truth. 01:27 But there is nothing that is absolute. So when then people in church, when preachers, when men 01:33 and women of God begin to talk about the commandments of God, people then say, "I don't need to 01:38 hear all that because I'm going to live how I want to live." Then other people say, "If you want 01:43 to talk about commandment-keepin g, that's an Old Testament thing , we don't have to do that." 01:49 But then if it was an Old Testament thing, why did Jesus say in the New Testament, John 14:15, 01:55 "If ye love me, keep my" what, everybody? [Aud. Reaction] 01:59 "Commandments." But then others say, well, it was done away with at the cross. 02:03 Well, if it were done away with at the cross, why does Revelation, the final book of the Bible, 02:09 say in Revelation 12:17, clearly, that after Jesus' death, God's people, God's remnant, are those 02:18 that are defined as ones who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus Christ? 02:25 So though we live in 2015, I'm here to tell you, God's word doesn't change. People may change, 02:32 but the Word of God stays the same. Methods change. We don't use rotary phones, we use cell phones, 02:39 but still God's word is the same. We don't write as many letters as we used to because we use e-mail, 02:45 but I'm here to say, God's word still stays the same. Many Christians through the years have been wrong, 02:52 emphasizing the commandments of God, however, to the exclusion of the faith of Jesus. Other equally sincere 03:00 Christians have been wrong, overemphasizing the faith of Jesus while at the same time minimizing the 03:07 commandments of God. But God's remnant people, the people that God is coming back for in these last 03:14 and evil days, understand there is a perfect blend between the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ, 03:22 that there is a blend between law and grace, a blend between information and inspiration, a blend between 03:33 the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Ghost. A blend between the commandments and Jesus Christ. God's remnant 03:41 people understand that they don't keep the commandments of God in order to be saved, but rather we keep 03:48 the commandments of God because we are saved. Is it was in the Old Testament, people lived 03:55 and conquered by faith. The Bible is clear in Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1, "Faith is the substance 04:01 of things hoped for, the evidence of things not" what, everybody? "The evidence of things not" what, everybody? 04:08 [Aud. Reaction] So then faith's short definition is believing what you can't see. Faith is trusting God, then, 04:14 when you cannot trace God. You see, I've learned in life that faith has no way to be tried in comfort. 04:21 Faith is not proven in abundance. You don't prove your faith by how much money you've got, but you prove 04:28 your faith when the lights are off. When the water is off, when the bills are due. If your faith is going 04:36 to be tried, if your faith is going to be justified at all, if your faith is going to be tested, then you must 04:42 go through something. Because if you don't go through something, you don't have a testimony. In order to have 04:48 a testimony, you must have a test. So I have tests so that I might have a testimony. Because if you don't have 04:53 a testimony, you don't testify but you test a lie. Do I have a witness in this place? [Aud. Reaction] 04:59 Hebrews 11, throughout Hebrews 11, people throughout the Old Testament are quoted as overcoming by faith. 05:06 By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By faith Enoch was translated without seeing death. 05:15 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear and prepared an ark for 05:21 the saving of his house. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go into a place which he should after 05:26 receive an inheritance, he obeyed without knowing where he was going. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, 05:33 refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of 05:39 God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. By faith the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea as if 05:46 it were dry land. By faith the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. It was by faith. People in the Old Testament 06:03 But Old Testament folks were saved by their faith in Jesus, the Christ, who was the God. 06:09 See someone asks, how can they be saved by Christ, who had not yet come but was to come? 06:14 Remember, there cannot be forgiveness of sin without the shedding of what, everybody? 06:19 There has to be shedding of blood in order for there to be forgiveness of sin. Jesus Christ had not come yet 06:26 in the Old Testament, so it was by faith that the Old Testament individuals believed that Christ who was to come. 06:33 In order to receive forgiveness of sin, you know what they had to do. They had to go to the Old Testament sanctuary. 06:38 And in going to the Old Testament sanctuary, they would bring the offering--a lamp, a goat, a bullock, without sin, 06:44 without blemish. And they would bring that offering, and they would bring the offering and place their hand upon 06:50 the head of that sin offering, slit the throat of that offering, blood would spill, transferring the sins from the 06:57 person to the sin offering. When the blood would spill it was symbolic that their sins were forgiven by the Christ 07:04 who was to come. Understand, the lamb was type; Jesus was antitype. The lamb was a model; Jesus was the real thing. 07:20 The lamb was an example; Jesus was the real thing. The lamb was the forerunner, but Jesus was the real thing, 07:30 because Jesus is the Lamb of God. Old Testament believers were saved by faith in Christ that was to come. 07:37 They were not saved by the works they performed. They were not saved by law-keeping. They were saved solely by 07:45 their faith in the shed blood in Jesus that was to come. You see, understand the Word of God, friends of mine. 07:53 Don't tell anybody you got it, because you are already saying, what? God gave the children of Israel the Ten Commandments 08:07 Before the foundation of the world, God's plan to save you and me was already in place. God had already saved and 08:14 rescued the Israelites from Pharaoh before he even gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Think about it. 08:21 Exodus 20, verse 1, if you read it, it says that "God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, 08:27 which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Then he proceeded with 08:33 the Ten Commandment law. He then said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." We don't keep the commandments, 08:40 again, in order to be saved, but we keep them because we are already saved. 08:45 Law-keeping has never been a means of salvation. My righteousness in God's sight, it's filthy rags. 08:51 There is only one name under heaven whereby I can be saved, and that's the name of Jesus. 08:57 Because there's power in Jesus' name. There's salvation in Jesus' name. There's redemption in Jesus' name. 09:06 There's healing in Jesus' name. In the morning we call Jesus' name. In the noonday we call Jesus' name. 09:15 Late in the midnight hour we call Jesus' name. The Bible even says that at his name demons tremble. Jesus, 09:23 sweet Rose of Sharon. Jesus, Lily of the Valley. Jesus, Fairest of Ten Thousand. Jesus, problem-solver. Jesus, 09:45 Now, in the Old Testament, there are two great commandments. Listen to me good. Two great commandments. 09:54 The first is to love God, and the second is to love your neighbor. The first is to love whom, everybody: 10:03 Aud: God. God. And the second is to love your what? Aud: Neighbor. 10:06 Now, a lot of people think that's just a New Testament thing, but that originated in the Old Testament, 10:10 to love God and then love your neighbor. Take your Bibles and go with me to the book of Deuteronomy. 10:15 What book did I say, everybody? [Aud. Reaction] 10:17 Know what you believe, know why you believe it, know where it's found. 10:19 Deuteronomy, chapter 6, and we're going to verse number 4. Deuteronomy, chapter 6, and we're going to verse number 4. 10:28 The Word of God says us tonight in Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse number 4: "Hear, O Israel: TheLordour God is oneLord: 10:40 And thou shalt love theL God with all thine" what" 10:40 Lord 10:40 thy 10:44 Aud: Heart "Heart, and with all thy" what? Aud: Soul And with all thy what? Aud: Might 10:48 Now understand, that's Old Testament. That's Deuteronomy. Love the Lord with all thy heart, with all thy might, 10:55 and with all thy soul. But then go to Leviticus 19. Go to Leviticus 19, and we're going to verse number 18. 11:02 Leviticus chapter 19, and we're going to verse number 18. The Word of God says to us tonight in Leviticus 19:18: 11:10 "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love 11:16 thy neighbour as thyself:" because "I am theLord." 11:21 Commandment one: Love God. Commandment two: Love your neighbor as yourself. In the Old Testament, 11:31 love to God and love to your neighbor, those were the bases of the obedience for God's children. 11:37 If you look at these two fundamental commandments, you will discover that the Ten Commandments 11:42 as recorded in Exodus 20 are merely springing from these two commandments. The first four of the 11:50 commandments of the ten deal with our love for God. The final six of the Ten Commandments deal 11:56 with our love for our fellow man. The commandments, then, are just a restatement of what God already 12:03 said in Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Think about it, friends of mine. Commandment number one: 12:09 Thou shall have no other gods before me. Number two: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. 12:14 Number three, Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Number four: 12:19 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it what, everybody? Aud: Holy. 12:22 We recognize that these four commandments deal with the first, which is to love God. 12:27 Then the final six: Honor thy father and thy mother; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt bear false witness; 12:33 thou shall not steal; thou shall not covet. These deal with our love for our fellow man. 12:40 So let me be clear. God only has one way or one plan of salvation. God has always saved people by grace. 12:49 He has unmerited favor, which means we get what we don't deserve, through faith in Jesus Christ. 12:55 God never commanded Old Testament folks to obey in order to be saved. Their obedience was to spring from 13:03 a love relationship. That was Old Testament, springing from a love relationship. Love God and love your 13:10 neighbor as yourself. Ironically, God does not contradict himself, because that's what it was in the old, 13:17 but that's also what it is in the New Testament. In the New Testament it was the same thing: the people 13:22 were to love Jesus. The people were to have faith in Jesus that had already come. In the Old Testament 13:30 they were looking to Jesus coming by faith. In the New Testament they looked back, recognizing Jesus, 13:35 the Messiah, had already come. Obedience to God's law was to spring from a love relationship with God. 13:42 A lot of people think the New Testament just teaches love. That the New Testament doesn't teach anything 13:49 about obedience. Do anything you want. Sleep around. Lie around. Cheat around. Sniff around. 13:58 Snort around. Smoke around. Steal around. Have a bad attitude. Be mean. Sow wild oats during the 14:09 week and then pray for a crop failure when you come to church. Do anything you want, but just at the 14:16 appropriate time show love. And then they say, well, love has nothing to do with obedience. But Jesus 14:23 said in John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my" what, everybody? Commandments. So then love has everything 14:33 to do with obedience. Jesus in the New Testament restates what God said in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, love God. 14:45 In the Old Testament, love your neighbor as yourself. But look at what Jesus says in Matthew 22. 14:52 Go there, everybody, and look at verse number 36. Matthew, chapter 22, and go to verse number 36. 14:59 Matthew, chapter 22 and verse number 36. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 22, verse number 36. 15:07 The Word of God says, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" Now, notice, this question is coming 15:15 from a lawyer who's trying to tempt Jesus. So Jesus, "which is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus said unto him, 15:24 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the 15:32 first and great commandment. And the second is just like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15:41 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Jesus says, don't try to trip me up. 15:48 Don't try to get me to lying. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is saying the same thing. 15:54 The Bible in the Old said love God. The Bible in the Old said love your neighbor. 15:58 The Bible in the New says love God. The Bible in the new says love thy neighbor. 16:03 Jesus says, I didn't come to change God's law. In fact, I came to fulfill God's law. 16:08 Matthew 5 says, "Think not that I have come to destroy the law and the prophets. 16:11 I have come not to destroy, but to fulfill." Now, people are not saved, however, by keeping the law. 16:26 But because of the law, we know sin. If there were no law, we would not know sin. 16:39 Let's go to the New Testament, go to the book of Romans. Get some word in here, let's teach you, 16:45 then we celebrate. Romans, chapter 3, verse number 20. Romans, chapter 3, verse number 20. 16:52 The Word of God says to us tonight in Romans, chapter 3, verse number 20. The Apostle Paul says, 16:58 "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law 17:04 is the knowledge of sin." But Romans 7:7, Romans 7:7, the Word of God says, 17:11 "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, 17:20 but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." 17:27 The function, then, of the law, my friends, though we're not saved by it, the function of the 17:34 law it to point out sin, to reveal sin, to give a knowledge of sin. Only Jesus can save; 17:41 the law could never do that. What do we mean? So I'm driving down Jordan Lane, and there's 17:52 a speed limit sign that says, "Speed limit 40 miles an hour." Do I have a witness in this place? 18:00 I drove down University Drive, and there's a sign that says, "Speed limit, 45 miles an hour." 18:10 I drive down Memorial Parkway and there's a sign that says, "Speed limit, 50 miles an hour." 18:18 I drive down 565, there's a sign that says, "Speed limit, 70 miles per hour." 18:27 Do you see I've got some experience with speed. Come on, say Amen. But I would not know the speed limits, 18:35 I would not know the speed law unless a sign were posted. I would not know the law unless it was posted. 18:46 We wouldn't know sin unless the law pointed it out. But Pastor Byrd, you're still saying we're not saved 18:54 by keeping the law, we're saved by Jesus, but the law functions to point out sin, so then if we're not saved 18:59 by keeping the law, how then are we saved? Go to Ephesians, chapter 2. Ephesians, chapter 2. 19:07 Get some word in. Know what you believe, know why you believe it, know where it's found. 19:10 Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9. Go to Ephesians 2:8-9. The Word of God says, "For by" what? 19:19 Aud: Grace That means unmerited faith. That means you're getting what you don't deserve. 19:28 You deserve a plague of lice, a plague of frogs, a plague of boils. You deserve death. 19:34 But by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 19:41 Not of works," lest you get the big heads. "Lest any man should" what, everybody? Boast. 19:50 So then I'm saying, because of Jesus, the law points out sin. If I didn't have the law, 20:00 I would not know sin. Love God, first four commandments. Love your fellow man, final six commandments. 20:07 I am saved, however, not by my law-keeping, but I am saved by grace through faith. So then, Pastor Byrd, 20:15 if I'm saved by grace through faith, do I have to not even worry about keeping the law? Do I know longer 20:20 have to keep God's law? Go to Romans 3:31. Romans 3:31. Does this mean we no longer have to keep God's law? 20:31 Go to Romans 3:31. The Word of God says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, 20:40 we establish the law." We don't make the law void. We don't do away with it. We are saved by grace through faith. 20:49 But through the law, through the law, by keeping it, we establish it. So let's go back to our illustration. 20:56 True story. It happened most recently. So I'm driving down Memorial Parkway. I'm going north. 21:07 For by grace are ye saved. I'm going north, and I'm on my way to the Oakwood University Church. 21:17 I've got my Hugo Boss suit on, I can't get a witness in this place. My Alan Edmond shoes on. 21:24 Got my shirt on and my bow tie on, and I'm looking good, I'm looking fine for church. 21:31 I've got my Bible in the passenger seat, and I'm looking good. All of a sudden I see the lights. 21:42 And it's not the light of God, do I have a witness in this place? The "man," that's what they 21:50 used to call him. The "man" pulls me over. "Sir, do you realize you were going 73 in a 22:01 50-mile-per-hour speed zone?" "Officer, I didn't know the law." 22:09 "Sir, the law was posted. You saw the sign right there." 22:16 "Officer, I'm so sorry, I'm trying to get to church. I am a preacher at the Oakwood University Church. 22:24 See my suit, see my shirt, see my bow tie and my ----, my Bible's right here, I'm going to church. 22:31 Can you give me grace? I deserve a ticket, but I'm going to ask you to give me what I don't deserve." 22:44 "Let me see your driver's license." Young preachers in the house, make sure you take a picture with 22:52 a suit and tie on with your driver's license so you look like a preacher. Come on, say Amen. 22:56 [Aud. Reaction] I give him my driver's license, I'm in my church attire, I'm looking good, 23:04 I'm praising God, and I'm praying all the while. Five minutes later, the officer comes back. 23:12 "Your license checked out. Your insurance checked out. Sir, you're on your way to church?" 23:20 "I am." "I'm going to give you some grace." [Aud. Reaction] 23:25 "I'm giving you grace, I'm giving you a warning. Slow down. The speed limit sign is posted. 23:39 You know the law." Three days later [Aud. Reaction] 23:52 True story. I'm leaving the Oakwood University Church. I'm leaving church worship. 24:07 I've got my suit on, my shirt on, my bow tie on, I'm leaving Wednesday night, driving down Jordan Lane. 24:18 The speed limit is 40 miles per hour. I get on Jordan Lane going south, and there I am at the intersection 24:28 of University Drive, and I don't know if you drive like me, but I say to myself, if the light is red, I'll 24:34 keep going straight. If the light for turning left is green, I'll turn left on University. 24:39 The light to turn left is red, the green light keeps going through, I go through. I pass that Shell station. 24:49 I pass Sonic. I pass Stanley O's. I pass that Chevron gas station. I pass Holmes Avenue, and within sight I see 565. 25:10 Oh, I'm driving that Benz, I wish I had a witness in this place. All of a sudden I see the lights. I pull over. 25:41 The officer comes to the door. "Sir." "Yes, I'm the pastor of the Oakwood church. I'm just leaving church, 25:49 I'm on my way home to see my wife and kids. Can I get some grace?" 25:55 "Let me have your license. Let me have your insurance." I give him my license, I give him my insurance. 26:03 "I'll be with you in a second." I'm praying, I'm praying, I'm praying. Mind you, three days earlier I just 26:08 had a warning. The officer comes back to the car. "Sir, you were going 53 in a 40-mile-per-hour zone. 26:19 The speed limit was posted." "What about grace?" "No grace. I'm giving you a ticket." "Noooo" 26:27 "I'm giving you a ticket. You must keep the speed limit law, it's posted, it's binding, you got grace three days ago. 26:38 I saw a warning in the system for you. You are getting a ticket tonight." [Aud. Reaction] 26:46 Needless to say, after Revival I've got to go to driver's school. I wish I had a witness in this place. 26:54 [Aud. Reaction] True story. And I had to pay more for school than I would have paid for the ticket. 27:03 I've got a witness over here, somebody knows. But just like I have to keep the posted speed limit law, 27:11 just like it's still binding, I can call out for grace all I want. The Ten Commandments law is still to be kept 27:23 not only by Old Testament believers, by us also today, it's still binding. God says, "I am the Lord. I change not." 27:36 Jesus says, "I'm the same yesterday, today and forever." Sin is still the transgression of the law. 27:46 The law that points out sin is the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments have not been done away with. 27:54 If the Ten Commandments had been done away with, friends, there would be no sin. If there is no sin, 27:59 then there is no need for a Savior. People who say the Ten Commandments are abolished are virtually 28:04 saying they don't need the saving power of Jesus. If there is no law, then there is no sin. If there is no sin, 28:06 Thank you for joining us for another exciting broadcast. 28:09 We'd like you to partner with us as we offer the Breath of Life to a dying world. 28:15 All of our sermon titles and DVDs can be purchased at www.breathoflife.tv. 28:22 Until next time, God loves you. END |
Revised 2015-05-08