I'm John Carter in Moscow.
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In Havana, Cuba.
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Now in Kiev, the
capital of Ukraine.
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I'm John Carter in Petra.
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Right here in Communist China.
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Reporting from India.
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Hi, I'm John Carter
in the Solomon Islands.
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I'm John Carter in Soweto.
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From El Salvador.
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I'm John Carter
in Sydney, Australia.
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Holiness, the big letdown,
and hearts strangely warm.
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Now here is John
Carter with today's message.
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Hello, friend.
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I'm John Carter
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in the great
city of Los Angeles.
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Welcome today to
the Carter Report.
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I want you to notice the
topic what we're talking about.
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This is the second
part of the program,
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Holiness: The big letdown...
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If you get it wrong, it's
going to be a big letdown.
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Believe me, Holiness:
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The big letdown and
Heart Strangely Warmed.
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We need to have our
heart strangely warmed.
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We don't want to end
up like little icebergs.
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I want to take you
to a text over here
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in the book of Deuteronomy.
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And I'm going to turn,
here it is Deuteronomy.
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If you've got your
Bible, please go get it.
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Deuteronomy 6:24 and 25.
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I'm going to
answer the question.
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Does the Old Testament
teach salvation by works,
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by obedience?
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"And the Lord commanded us
to observe all these statutes,
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to fear the Lord our
God, for our good always,"
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that's saying, if
you obey God's laws,
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it's going to be good for you,
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"that He might
preserve us alive,
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as it is this day.
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Then it will be
righteousness for us,
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if we are careful to
observe all these commandments
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before the LORD our
God, as He commanded us."
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Well, that text by itself
seems to teach righteousness
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or salvation by
obedience to the law of God.
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But if you get this wrong,
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then you're going
to end up my friend
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sort of like an iceberg.
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You know, we're
going to work and work,
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doo-doo-doo cock-a-doodle-doo.
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But I want you
to notice this text
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also in the book of Genesis
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because a text without a context
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is a pretext, did you get that?
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Genesis 15:6,
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you got to go by all
the texts of the Bible,
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Genesis 15
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and verse, let me see,
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Genesis 15:6, got it right.
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"And he believed in
the Lord," this is Abraham,
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"And he believed in
the Lord, and He," God,
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"accounted it to
him for righteousness."
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That doesn't sound
like righteousness by works
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to this pilgrim.
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The Bible says
he believed in God,
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and God gave him a gift,
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a total gift of
righteousness, not like this,
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we're going to work
our way home to heaven
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by keeping the
commandments of God,
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that was the
doctrine of the Pharisees.
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But it is not the
teaching of the Old Testament.
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And it is not the
teaching of Jesus our Lord.
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Listen carefully, the Pharisees,
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and they're not dead.
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The Pharisees
believed in perfectionism.
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They believe that when Israel
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perfectly kept the law of God,
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Messiah would come,
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that was the alpha
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and the omega of their theology.
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They believe that
if they could only keep
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the Lord God perfectly
for a little bit of time,
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Messiah would come
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and the Kingdom
of God would come.
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Some people still
think the same thing.
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Now I say kindly,
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but the Pharisees
are still alive today.
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You've probably
met some of them.
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They're usually cold,
judgmental, legalistic,
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self-righteous,
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very, very proud
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or else they're
very, very depressed.
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They're very
depressed because I know
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that they're
just not cutting it.
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So, you know, they
know what they really are.
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They're [moral] icebergs.
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Jesus called them the Pharisees,
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He said Pharisees,
hypocrites, just to put on.
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Remember Simon the Pharisee,
remember that story, my friend?
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Simon the Pharisee
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and the lady who
was a great sinner.
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Why doesn't it say that the
men were the great sinners too?
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No, no, no, it's always the lady
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who is the greatest sinner.
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You know the story.
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He'd caused this
woman to fall into sin,
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but he was sitting
as a judge upon her
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because he considered
that his righteousness
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was by his attainment,
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not by Christ's atonement.
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There's a big difference.
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Often their
lives are inconsistent.
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I'm talking about the Pharisees.
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They're inconsistent
with their speeches.
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Then you know the
great story of the woman
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who was caught in adultery.
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The Bible says, in the very act,
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believe me, she's caught.
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How did they catch
her in the very act?
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They must have been super spies,
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super religious
spies, very pious spies.
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Like, really good
at picking up stones.
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But they didn't know
about picking up people.
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So they catch this woman.
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And they bring
this woman to Jesus,
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to the Pharisees.
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And you know the story.
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Jesus sits down
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and He writes the dirty secrets
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of their dirty
little lives in the dust,
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and then they all stink away.
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Jesus said, "Nobody
here to condemn you."
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"No, Lord."
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"Neither do I condemn you.
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This is grace.
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Go and sin no
more, this is Holiness."
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And so the Bible teaches
salvation by grace alone,
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that always leads to holiness.
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The Pharisees said
again, "Big on little things.
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Big on little things.
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I like what you
wear, big on what you wear,
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little on big things
like love, faith and mercy."
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Jesus was big on people
and love, and faith, and mercy.
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What about you, my friend?
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What are we big on?
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Are we big on man-made
rules and being little Popes
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or do we believe the gospel?
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Do we believe the
gospel that teaches
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that salvation is
not by my obedience
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but it is through Christ?
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It is through Jesus,
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who died for our
sins on the cross.
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Are you
listening to me, my friend?
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I'm going to quote one
of the greatest exponents
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of the gospel,
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one of the greatest exponents
of the gospel in history.
00:07:03.32\00:07:06.76
And that was Martin Luther.
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This might take a
little bit of getting,
00:07:09.12\00:07:10.76
so I want you to concentrate.
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Would you do
this for me, please?
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I want you to concentrate
on this and you might say,
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"I don't believe this.
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This is a heresy."
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Well, I want you,
please, just to concentrate.
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Martin Luther said,
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"Mine are Christ's living,
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doing, and speaking.
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Mine are Christ's
living, doing, and speaking,
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His suffering and dying,
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just as much as if I had lived,
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done, spoken,
suffered, and died as He did."
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That's the gospel.
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Everything that Christ was
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and everything that Christ
did is given to me as a gift.
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This is grace.
00:08:01.81\00:08:03.21
This is God's mercy.
00:08:03.24\00:08:05.88
It is not infused in me.
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Justification is not an
infusing of righteousness.
00:08:08.28\00:08:12.85
It is a declaration.
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And because of the
merits of Jesus Christ,
00:08:15.52\00:08:18.99
God gives to me as a gift
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His perfect righteousness.
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He said, "No,
no, I can't believe
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it's too good to be true."
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That's why it's
called, my friend, the gospel.
00:08:29.27\00:08:32.14
And the word gospel as you know,
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it means good news.
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Hey, please listen to me.
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News.
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News is about what
somebody has already done.
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You get it? It's not advice.
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If I'm giving you advice today,
I'm not giving you good news.
00:08:51.19\00:08:55.46
But the good
news is about somebody
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who has already done
something in time and space.
00:08:57.70\00:09:01.97
And the gospel is the good news
00:09:02.00\00:09:03.71
that the Almighty
created God became a man,
00:09:03.74\00:09:06.68
and it came down to this earth.
00:09:06.71\00:09:08.24
And He perfectly
kept the law of God,
00:09:08.28\00:09:10.98
the only person who
ever had since Adam,
00:09:11.01\00:09:15.45
and He went to the cross
and paid the price of our sins.
00:09:15.48\00:09:19.75
And if we truly believe in
Him, God gives to us as a gift.
00:09:19.79\00:09:24.26
It is true, He gives to us
00:09:24.33\00:09:26.16
as a gift His righteousness.
00:09:26.19\00:09:32.27
Good news indeed.
00:09:32.30\00:09:34.27
Now come over with me here
00:09:34.30\00:09:35.64
to the book of Romans Chapter 3.
00:09:35.67\00:09:37.14
A lot of people say,
00:09:37.21\00:09:38.54
"I can't understand
the book of Romans."
00:09:38.57\00:09:39.91
Well, my friend,
00:09:39.94\00:09:41.28
you better
learn to understand it
00:09:41.31\00:09:42.81
because it's probably the
greatest book in the Bible
00:09:42.84\00:09:46.01
on the gospel.
00:09:46.05\00:09:48.08
Tyndale, the
British reformer, said,
00:09:48.12\00:09:50.02
"Good, glad, and merry tidings
00:09:50.09\00:09:51.72
that makes a man's
heart to sing for joy
00:09:51.75\00:09:53.76
and his feet to dance."
00:09:53.79\00:09:55.49
So let me read it to you,
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Romans 3:21 and
think about this place.
00:09:56.93\00:10:02.63
"But now," 21,
00:10:02.66\00:10:05.30
"the righteousness of God
00:10:05.33\00:10:06.77
apart from the law is revealed,
00:10:06.84\00:10:09.50
being witnessed by
the Law and the Prophets."
00:10:09.54\00:10:12.71
This righteousness doesn't come
00:10:12.74\00:10:14.64
because of my success
in keeping the law of God.
00:10:14.68\00:10:19.28
It doesn't come
because of my attainment,
00:10:19.31\00:10:22.25
it becomes
00:10:22.28\00:10:23.62
because of His
atonement on the cross.
00:10:23.69\00:10:26.35
You get it.
00:10:26.39\00:10:27.72
Romans Chapter 3, ask
God to open your mind.
00:10:27.76\00:10:31.26
A lot of people have no
idea about this, verse 22,
00:10:31.29\00:10:34.20
"Even the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ,
00:10:34.23\00:10:38.47
to all and on all..."
00:10:38.50\00:10:40.84
Who works very
hard. No, no, no, why?
00:10:40.87\00:10:44.44
If you don't think
that's in the Bible,
00:10:44.47\00:10:45.81
then why do you act like this?
00:10:45.84\00:10:47.98
"To all and on all who believe.
00:10:48.01\00:10:51.01
For there is no difference,
for all have sinned,"
00:10:51.05\00:10:54.22
verse 23,
00:10:54.25\00:10:55.58
"and fall short
of the glory of God,"
00:10:55.62\00:10:56.95
we are all
sinners, you're a sinner,
00:10:56.99\00:10:59.32
I'm a sinner,
00:10:59.35\00:11:00.69
we are falling
short of the glory of God.
00:11:00.76\00:11:02.69
None of us are
good enough to be saved.
00:11:02.72\00:11:04.83
Verse 24,
00:11:04.86\00:11:06.19
"Being justified
freely by His grace
00:11:06.23\00:11:08.80
through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus."
00:11:08.83\00:11:11.10
When it talks
about being justified,
00:11:11.13\00:11:12.87
it doesn't mean to
make you righteous.
00:11:12.90\00:11:14.80
It means that God,
00:11:14.84\00:11:16.50
on the basis of
Christ's death for our sins,
00:11:16.54\00:11:19.37
declares that we are righteous.
00:11:19.41\00:11:22.01
It is a declaration,
00:11:22.04\00:11:23.68
which is legally placed
in my account in heaven.
00:11:23.75\00:11:28.08
God says, "This man is
now accounted righteous,
00:11:28.12\00:11:33.22
not because he's good enough
00:11:33.25\00:11:36.56
but because
Christ is good enough."
00:11:36.59\00:11:39.86
This is why the
cross is so important.
00:11:39.89\00:11:42.63
That is why so much of the Bible
00:11:42.66\00:11:44.33
is about the cross
00:11:44.37\00:11:46.30
because the cross
teaches not by law,
00:11:46.33\00:11:49.47
in fact, it doesn't
say the law is abolished
00:11:49.50\00:11:51.67
because the law
can never be abolished.
00:11:51.71\00:11:53.27
The law is eternal.
00:11:53.31\00:11:54.64
But the Bible says,
"We are dead to the law."
00:11:54.68\00:11:57.35
You say, "Where
does the Bible say that?"
00:11:57.38\00:11:59.58
Oh, if I could only get you
to read the Bible, my friend,
00:11:59.61\00:12:02.38
going to come over
here to Romans Chapter 6.
00:12:02.42\00:12:05.85
Now I've had folks say,
00:12:05.89\00:12:07.26
"Look, I've read
through the book of Romans,
00:12:07.29\00:12:08.66
I can't understand it,"
00:12:08.69\00:12:10.43
I say to you, keep trying.
00:12:10.46\00:12:12.83
Keep trying,
00:12:12.86\00:12:14.23
put the little
gray cells to work.
00:12:14.30\00:12:16.20
Ask God for a
supernatural revelation,
00:12:16.23\00:12:18.67
He'll give it to you.
00:12:18.70\00:12:20.04
God will give you a
supernatural revelation,
00:12:20.07\00:12:22.14
if you seek Him.
00:12:22.17\00:12:23.61
Romans 6:6-8.
00:12:23.64\00:12:30.58
This text most
folks don't understand.
00:12:30.65\00:12:34.32
"Knowing this,
00:12:34.35\00:12:35.68
that our old man
was crucified with Him,
00:12:35.72\00:12:39.25
that the body of sin
might be done away with that
00:12:39.29\00:12:41.86
we should no
longer be slaves of sin,"
00:12:41.89\00:12:44.69
who wants to be a slave?
00:12:44.73\00:12:46.70
"For he who has died
has been freed from sin."
00:12:46.73\00:12:49.73
Hey, would you
please read that again?
00:12:49.76\00:12:52.00
"For he who has died
has been freed from sin.
00:12:52.03\00:12:55.14
Now if we died with Christ,
00:12:55.17\00:12:56.91
we believe
00:12:56.94\00:12:58.27
that we should
also live with Him."
00:12:58.31\00:12:59.64
The Bible says that
we have died with Christ.
00:12:59.67\00:13:03.78
What on earth is
the text talking about
00:13:03.85\00:13:05.85
when it says that we
have died with Christ?
00:13:05.88\00:13:08.35
The Apostle Paul
in the book of Romans
00:13:08.38\00:13:09.98
says that when Christ died,
00:13:10.02\00:13:11.79
He died for the
whole wide world.
00:13:11.82\00:13:16.26
Were you there when
they crucified my Lord?
00:13:16.29\00:13:18.69
Of course, you were there.
00:13:18.73\00:13:20.20
I was there, we were all there.
00:13:20.23\00:13:24.17
And when Christ
died, the Bible says,
00:13:24.20\00:13:28.84
"I was crucified."
00:13:28.87\00:13:33.01
And the Lord
cannot condemn a dead man.
00:13:33.04\00:13:38.28
You hear this?
00:13:38.31\00:13:39.91
The Lord cannot condemn me
00:13:39.95\00:13:41.95
because Christ died
for my sins on the cross.
00:13:41.98\00:13:47.86
I want you to see this.
00:13:47.89\00:13:49.22
The devil doesn't
want you to see this.
00:13:49.26\00:13:50.63
The devil wants
you to be confused.
00:13:50.66\00:13:52.03
The devil wants you the think
00:13:52.06\00:13:53.40
that the law has done away with,
00:13:53.43\00:13:54.76
the devil wants you to think
that you've got to be perfect
00:13:54.80\00:13:57.60
before you can be saved.
00:13:57.63\00:13:58.97
This is not so.
00:13:59.00\00:14:01.50
Christ died
00:14:01.54\00:14:02.87
because the law
could not be abolished.
00:14:02.90\00:14:08.58
And if you truly believe in Him,
00:14:08.61\00:14:12.25
the Bible says you are justified
00:14:12.28\00:14:15.28
or declared righteous.
00:14:15.32\00:14:18.52
And don't get this idea
of infused righteousness,
00:14:18.55\00:14:21.36
like our beloved friends
00:14:21.39\00:14:22.72
in the Roman
Catholic Church teach.
00:14:22.76\00:14:25.13
We believe that
God changes the heart
00:14:25.16\00:14:27.60
but that is the fruitage
of the gift of salvation.
00:14:27.63\00:14:33.10
Do you get it?
00:14:33.13\00:14:35.20
You know the story
about the prodigal son
00:14:35.24\00:14:38.04
and the father?
00:14:38.07\00:14:39.47
You know the story.
00:14:39.51\00:14:41.81
Here's the great
painting by the great Rembrandt.
00:14:41.84\00:14:45.18
Look up here.
00:14:45.21\00:14:46.55
Not hard to
guess who this guy is.
00:14:46.58\00:14:48.22
This is a Pharisee.
00:14:48.25\00:14:50.79
The old father is
God and the bad boy,
00:14:50.82\00:14:54.32
he's you and me.
00:14:54.36\00:14:57.63
When we come to ourselves
and when we come to ourselves,
00:14:57.66\00:15:00.90
we come back to the Father
and the Father doesn't say,
00:15:00.93\00:15:03.97
"Hey, you stinker, the pig pen,
00:15:04.00\00:15:05.77
you're covered in filth."
00:15:05.80\00:15:07.24
You know what the Father does?
00:15:07.27\00:15:08.77
The Father puts
a robe around him,
00:15:08.80\00:15:11.64
the robe of
God's own righteousness
00:15:11.67\00:15:14.51
and he says,
"Come home, my boy."
00:15:14.54\00:15:17.18
Puts a ring on his
finger. Imagine that.
00:15:17.25\00:15:19.78
He puts sandals on his
feet, and he says, "Come home."
00:15:19.81\00:15:24.45
The boy is saved
00:15:24.49\00:15:26.52
when the Father
puts his arms around him.
00:15:26.55\00:15:28.36
If you want to be saved,
00:15:28.39\00:15:30.33
let the Father today
put His arms around you.
00:15:30.36\00:15:33.29
Don't think
you're going to get home
00:15:33.33\00:15:34.66
to heaven
00:15:34.70\00:15:36.03
by climbing up
00:15:36.06\00:15:37.40
the quaking
sides of Mount Sinai,
00:15:37.47\00:15:39.27
friend, that is the
doctrine of the Pharisees.
00:15:39.30\00:15:43.07
We get home through Calvary.
00:15:43.10\00:15:47.51
I can never be good enough.
00:15:47.58\00:15:49.31
Only God is good enough.
00:15:49.34\00:15:52.48
That's why Christ came.
00:15:52.51\00:15:53.95
I heard this as a
boy, at Avondale College.
00:15:54.02\00:15:57.12
I heard it in a big
evangelistic campaign
00:15:57.19\00:15:59.85
down in Sydney.
00:15:59.89\00:16:01.22
I heard it preached by a
great, great American preacher,
00:16:01.26\00:16:05.26
HMS Richards.
00:16:05.29\00:16:07.40
I heard it, I
heard the true gospel.
00:16:07.43\00:16:10.10
Thank God I
heard the true gospel
00:16:10.17\00:16:12.10
or else I would have been filled
00:16:12.13\00:16:13.64
with despair,
00:16:13.67\00:16:15.00
I would have been in darkness,
00:16:15.04\00:16:16.74
I would have been a legalist,
I would have been a Pharisee.
00:16:16.81\00:16:20.78
And I would have had no peace.
00:16:20.81\00:16:22.74
If you don't
understand the gospel,
00:16:22.78\00:16:24.15
you're going to
have a big letdown.
00:16:24.18\00:16:26.08
If you think you can be
saved by your own works,
00:16:26.11\00:16:28.85
even with God's help.
00:16:28.88\00:16:30.29
If you think you can
be saved by obedience,
00:16:30.32\00:16:32.59
if you think you can be saved
00:16:32.62\00:16:33.96
because somehow
you become sinless,
00:16:33.99\00:16:35.86
that is a delusion.
00:16:35.89\00:16:39.06
He said to me,
"What am I going to..."
00:16:39.09\00:16:40.53
I say read the Bible,
try reading the Bible.
00:16:40.60\00:16:43.23
People say, "I
don't want to read."
00:16:43.26\00:16:44.97
Well, you're not going to get
the truth unless you read it.
00:16:45.00\00:16:47.67
You say, "I find it a bit hard."
00:16:47.70\00:16:49.04
Well, try harder to read it.
00:16:49.07\00:16:51.54
You're not to say
00:16:51.57\00:16:52.91
because you're doing
something which is hard,
00:16:52.94\00:16:55.21
but the most important gifts
in life are hard to attain.
00:16:55.24\00:17:00.52
That's why I read
my Bible every day.
00:17:00.55\00:17:02.95
I try to practice what I preach.
00:17:02.98\00:17:05.32
Then what is a cult?
00:17:05.35\00:17:06.99
Well, I've heard
some colleague preaching
00:17:07.06\00:17:09.32
about how great we are.
00:17:09.36\00:17:12.03
The gospel is not
about how great we are.
00:17:12.06\00:17:14.03
It's about how great God is.
00:17:14.10\00:17:15.93
I don't want a sermon
about our church organization.
00:17:15.96\00:17:18.30
I've heard enough of that stuff.
00:17:18.33\00:17:20.37
I want a sermon about Jesus
00:17:20.44\00:17:22.40
because the church
organization cannot save me.
00:17:22.44\00:17:25.81
You hear this?
00:17:25.84\00:17:27.18
You don't believe that?
00:17:27.21\00:17:28.54
It's because you're
not believing the Bible.
00:17:28.58\00:17:31.15
Whatever gets your
attention gets you.
00:17:31.18\00:17:33.01
Remember this, if
Christ gets your attention,
00:17:33.05\00:17:35.32
Christ will get you.
00:17:35.35\00:17:36.69
If your sins get your attention,
00:17:36.72\00:17:38.35
your sin will get you.
00:17:38.39\00:17:39.72
If people get your
attention, they'll get you.
00:17:39.75\00:17:42.92
If fear gets your attention,
that fear will get you.
00:17:42.96\00:17:49.53
HMS Richards,
when he was just a boy,
00:17:49.56\00:17:53.77
he was always
teasing his brother
00:17:53.84\00:17:56.27
to the point of distraction.
00:17:56.30\00:17:57.91
His mother said,
"Don't do it, Harold."
00:17:57.94\00:17:59.27
He said,
00:17:59.31\00:18:00.68
"I'll never do
it again, Mother."
00:18:00.71\00:18:02.41
But of course,
two minutes later,
00:18:02.44\00:18:03.78
he was doing it.
00:18:03.85\00:18:05.18
His brother was screaming,
crying, and his mother said,
00:18:05.21\00:18:08.08
"I want you to
go down to the creek
00:18:08.12\00:18:10.79
and get a big, big stick
00:18:10.82\00:18:12.39
because no good my beating you,
00:18:12.42\00:18:14.92
you got to beat me
because I must have failed."
00:18:14.96\00:18:18.23
He said, "I
can't beat you mother."
00:18:18.26\00:18:21.96
But he went down to the creek
00:18:22.00\00:18:23.37
about six or seven
times until he got a big rod.
00:18:23.40\00:18:25.93
Then his mother
bared her back and said,
00:18:25.97\00:18:28.47
"Harold, beat me."
00:18:28.50\00:18:30.01
He said, "I can't
beat you, Mother."
00:18:30.04\00:18:31.37
"Beat me, Harold."
00:18:31.41\00:18:34.54
So he tried to,
but he couldn't hit.
00:18:34.58\00:18:36.61
He loved his mother.
00:18:36.64\00:18:39.11
But in the end,
00:18:39.15\00:18:40.52
when she saw that
he take it no longer
00:18:40.55\00:18:43.08
and he was breaking down,
00:18:43.12\00:18:44.82
she put her arm around him
00:18:44.85\00:18:47.66
and told him the story
00:18:47.69\00:18:49.02
of how Christ was beaten for us.
00:18:49.06\00:18:54.50
The innocent was beaten
for the guilty with the guilty
00:18:54.53\00:18:58.97
for the guilty
that bring us to God.
00:18:59.00\00:19:01.70
That's when this great preacher
whom I have always admired,
00:19:01.74\00:19:06.07
the founder of
the Voice of Prophecy
00:19:06.11\00:19:07.74
became a saved Christian.
00:19:07.78\00:19:10.35
Are you a saved Christian?
00:19:10.38\00:19:12.85
Or do you think
you're going to get home
00:19:12.88\00:19:14.55
because you're good enough?
00:19:14.58\00:19:16.28
We're never going to get
home because good enough.
00:19:16.32\00:19:19.42
The only way
that we can get home
00:19:19.45\00:19:20.79
to the Kingdom
of God, my friend,
00:19:20.86\00:19:23.12
is because
Christ is good enough.
00:19:23.16\00:19:27.33
Let me talk about cheap grace.
00:19:27.40\00:19:29.43
Some of you folks
are going to be saying,
00:19:29.46\00:19:30.87
"Oh, John Carter is
talking cheap grace."
00:19:30.90\00:19:34.44
I met a pastor in
Glendale years ago,
00:19:34.47\00:19:36.81
not a member of my denomination.
00:19:36.84\00:19:38.41
He said, "I'm going to live
like hell and go to heaven."
00:19:38.44\00:19:42.71
No, he's not he's
going to go to hell,
00:19:42.74\00:19:44.41
I'm afraid.
00:19:44.45\00:19:46.48
That's cheap grace.
00:19:46.51\00:19:48.18
Grace changes the heart.
00:19:48.22\00:19:50.92
Too often, the
world in the church today
00:19:50.99\00:19:52.89
can hardly be distinguished.
00:19:52.92\00:19:55.39
Some people come
too easily to salvation.
00:19:55.42\00:19:57.53
They have the idea
00:19:57.56\00:19:58.89
and I have been a
pastor in Los Angeles
00:19:58.93\00:20:00.70
for many, many years.
00:20:00.73\00:20:02.06
As I say, in
Australia, for donkey's years,
00:20:02.10\00:20:04.30
and I have met so many
people who think they're saved
00:20:08.37\00:20:11.41
and they're lying
00:20:11.44\00:20:12.77
and they're cheating
and they're stealing,
00:20:12.81\00:20:15.44
all of this stuff.
00:20:15.48\00:20:16.85
They think
00:20:16.88\00:20:18.21
there's nothing
wrong with telling lies.
00:20:18.25\00:20:20.42
You can't be
saved if you're a liar.
00:20:20.45\00:20:23.82
Oh, no, no, no. Well, no one...
00:20:23.89\00:20:26.35
No.
00:20:26.39\00:20:27.72
Cheap grace says
00:20:27.76\00:20:29.39
just come as you
are and live like hell.
00:20:29.42\00:20:33.90
And you'll go to heaven.
00:20:33.93\00:20:36.50
That's not the
gospel of the Son of God
00:20:36.53\00:20:38.40
because God
calls us to holiness.
00:20:38.43\00:20:41.17
Listen, religious talk
is cheap and plentiful.
00:20:41.20\00:20:45.14
I've heard it, I've
heard too much of it.
00:20:45.17\00:20:48.31
It's called the Jesus business.
00:20:48.34\00:20:50.98
That's what they call it.
00:20:51.01\00:20:52.61
I was being interviewed
00:20:52.65\00:20:54.02
on a big Los
Angeles television station.
00:20:54.05\00:20:56.89
The man who was
interviewing me said,
00:20:56.92\00:20:58.75
"Welcome to the Jesus biz."
00:20:58.79\00:21:02.86
A billion-dollar industry
based on religious talk.
00:21:02.89\00:21:07.00
God is not so much
interested in religious talk.
00:21:07.03\00:21:09.86
God wants holiness,
heard of Bonhoeffer?
00:21:09.90\00:21:15.14
The great German who stood out
00:21:15.17\00:21:17.41
against the Nazis
00:21:17.44\00:21:21.18
rather die than deny Christ.
00:21:21.21\00:21:25.61
We're talking not to
hear about cheap grace.
00:21:25.65\00:21:28.18
We're talking
about expensive grace.
00:21:28.22\00:21:30.19
We need a
revelation of expensive grace.
00:21:30.22\00:21:33.39
What a cost God...
00:21:33.46\00:21:34.79
People say it's all
free. No, it's not free at all.
00:21:34.82\00:21:37.06
Salvation is not free.
00:21:37.13\00:21:38.46
Don't believe that lie.
00:21:38.49\00:21:39.83
Salvation is
tremendously expensive.
00:21:39.86\00:21:42.96
It cost the life
of the Son of God.
00:21:43.00\00:21:46.23
Don't you get this?
00:21:46.27\00:21:48.97
and don't be a trivial person
00:21:49.00\00:21:50.34
it cost the life
of the Son of God.
00:21:50.41\00:21:52.71
And salvation produces
holiness deep down inside.
00:21:55.74\00:22:00.62
You know the
story of John Newton?
00:22:00.65\00:22:01.98
Of course you do.
00:22:02.02\00:22:04.19
The English man
who was converted
00:22:04.22\00:22:05.72
through the
preaching of the Wesley's,
00:22:05.75\00:22:10.13
used to be a slave ship captain.
00:22:10.16\00:22:14.03
But he found Christ and
Christ changed his heart.
00:22:14.10\00:22:18.00
That's how we got the
hymn, "Amazing Grace."
00:22:18.03\00:22:21.77
You know the hymn, don't you?
00:22:21.80\00:22:24.04
We sing "Amazing Grace,
00:22:24.11\00:22:25.44
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me."
00:22:25.47\00:22:28.34
You won't be
saved until you feel
00:22:28.38\00:22:29.78
that you're a wretch.
00:22:29.81\00:22:31.35
"I once was lost
but now I'm found,
00:22:31.38\00:22:33.65
was blind but now I see."
00:22:33.72\00:22:35.28
We're blind without Christ.
00:22:35.32\00:22:36.79
We don't see Christ,
we don't see ourselves.
00:22:36.82\00:22:39.89
"Twas grace that
taught my heart to fear,
00:22:39.92\00:22:43.12
and grace my fears relieved,
00:22:43.16\00:22:44.96
how precious did
that grace appear
00:22:44.99\00:22:48.00
the hour I first believed."
00:22:48.03\00:22:49.76
If you don't have any fear,
00:22:49.80\00:22:51.47
you're never going to
have confidence and salvation.
00:22:51.50\00:22:54.94
"The Lord has
promised good to me,
00:22:54.97\00:22:56.91
His Word my hope secures.
00:22:56.94\00:22:59.24
He will my shield and portion be
00:22:59.27\00:23:01.94
as long as life endures.
00:23:01.98\00:23:04.78
When we been there,
00:23:04.81\00:23:06.15
ten thousand years
bright shining as the sun,
00:23:06.18\00:23:08.62
we've no less days
to sing God's grace
00:23:08.65\00:23:10.82
than when we'd first begun."
00:23:10.89\00:23:12.42
That was written by a person
00:23:12.45\00:23:14.72
who was the
captain of a slave ship.
00:23:14.76\00:23:17.66
God saved him.
00:23:17.69\00:23:19.03
God justified him.
00:23:19.06\00:23:20.40
God declared that
Newton was righteous.
00:23:20.43\00:23:23.70
And then God changed his heart.
00:23:23.77\00:23:25.13
If God doesn't
change the heart, my friend,
00:23:25.17\00:23:27.64
it's a big fake.
00:23:27.67\00:23:30.04
We're not talking
here about cheap grace,
00:23:30.11\00:23:32.01
we're talking
about expensive grace.
00:23:32.04\00:23:34.81
I want you to come
over here to John 3:5-8.
00:23:34.84\00:23:38.65
John 3:5-8, a great text,
00:23:38.68\00:23:43.49
"Jesus
answered, 'Most assuredly,
00:23:43.52\00:23:45.42
I say to you,
00:23:45.45\00:23:46.79
unless one is born
of water and the Spirit,
00:23:46.86\00:23:49.29
he cannot enter
the Kingdom of God.
00:23:49.32\00:23:50.96
That which is born
of the flesh is flesh,
00:23:50.99\00:23:53.63
and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.
00:23:53.70\00:23:56.23
Do not marvel
that I said to you,
00:23:56.26\00:23:58.00
'You must be born again.'"
00:23:58.03\00:23:59.50
Have you been born again?
00:23:59.53\00:24:01.04
"The wind blows where it wishes
and you hear the sound of it,
00:24:01.07\00:24:04.94
but you cannot
tell where it comes from
00:24:04.97\00:24:07.08
and where it goes.
00:24:07.11\00:24:08.44
So is everyone who
is born of the Spirit."
00:24:08.48\00:24:10.55
We're not talking
here about cheap grace,
00:24:10.58\00:24:12.08
we're talking about
a change in the life.
00:24:12.11\00:24:14.95
When God comes inside a person,
00:24:14.98\00:24:18.05
he's been justified.
00:24:18.09\00:24:19.75
He's been declared righteous,
and then God stops to work,
00:24:19.79\00:24:23.46
our real holiness in the life.
00:24:23.53\00:24:27.40
If you don't have
that, my friend, it's a fake.
00:24:27.43\00:24:31.90
You read Matthew 5, 6 and 7,
00:24:31.93\00:24:34.90
you read there the
tough sayings of Jesus.
00:24:34.94\00:24:37.64
You read texts like
Matthew 5:43 and onwards,
00:24:37.67\00:24:41.01
"You have heard
that it was said,
00:24:41.04\00:24:42.38
'You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.'
00:24:42.41\00:24:44.25
But I say to you, love
your enemies," amazing,
00:24:44.28\00:24:47.32
"bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you,
00:24:47.35\00:24:51.02
and pray for those
who spitefully use you
00:24:51.05\00:24:53.69
and persecute you,
00:24:53.76\00:24:55.09
that you might be the
sons of your Father in heaven,
00:24:55.12\00:24:58.83
for He makes his sun rise
on the evil and on the good,
00:24:58.86\00:25:02.13
and sends rain on the
just and on the unjust."
00:25:02.16\00:25:05.03
This is the power of God.
00:25:05.07\00:25:07.64
God takes a person full of hate,
00:25:07.67\00:25:09.67
and it makes him
into a loving person.
00:25:09.70\00:25:11.71
He takes a person full of lust,
00:25:11.74\00:25:13.68
and He makes him
into a pure person.
00:25:13.71\00:25:15.58
We are not talking
a counterfeit gospel.
00:25:15.61\00:25:18.08
We are talking the
blood red gospel of Jesus
00:25:18.11\00:25:22.45
that changes the life.
00:25:22.48\00:25:23.82
It's called the new birth.
00:25:23.89\00:25:26.12
I could give you
lots of other stuff.
00:25:26.15\00:25:28.19
My problem today is
I got so much stuff,
00:25:28.22\00:25:30.73
I'm just running out of time.
00:25:30.76\00:25:32.19
But that's okay.
00:25:32.23\00:25:33.80
But I want you to know
this, people plus salvation,
00:25:33.83\00:25:39.80
they become new people
and love comes into the life,
00:25:39.83\00:25:46.17
this warm love.
00:25:46.21\00:25:49.04
You know, God
doesn't want these people
00:25:49.08\00:25:50.45
to be like icebergs.
00:25:50.48\00:25:53.62
So many, many,
00:25:53.65\00:25:54.98
you know, people
don't go to church
00:25:55.02\00:25:56.42
to sit in a refrigerator.
00:25:56.45\00:25:59.99
People go to church
00:26:00.06\00:26:01.99
because they're
looking for people like this.
00:26:02.02\00:26:04.99
No lying, no cheating,
no stealing, no laziness,
00:26:05.03\00:26:08.60
no hating, no
dishonesty but genuine humility,
00:26:08.63\00:26:13.23
with courage and
loyalty, truth, integrity.
00:26:13.27\00:26:16.30
You say, "Well, that's hard."
00:26:16.34\00:26:19.21
Not when Christ is in your life.
00:26:19.24\00:26:23.01
When you go to Christ
00:26:23.04\00:26:26.51
and you understand His gospel
00:26:26.55\00:26:28.62
and you understand
00:26:28.65\00:26:29.98
if there had
been only one sinner,
00:26:30.02\00:26:31.72
if you had been
the only lost soul,
00:26:31.75\00:26:35.72
Christ would have
come down from glory
00:26:35.76\00:26:42.06
and died for you on the cross.
00:26:42.10\00:26:45.50
We're never good enough,
we're declared righteous,
00:26:45.53\00:26:49.84
but when God
declares us righteous,
00:26:49.87\00:26:55.51
He works a miracle.
00:26:55.54\00:26:59.51
And cold people become warm,
frigid people become loving,
00:26:59.55\00:27:06.05
hating people become
filled with kindness.
00:27:06.09\00:27:12.09
And God is waiting to do this
00:27:12.13\00:27:16.43
for you today.
00:27:16.46\00:27:20.37
In Jesus' name, amen.
00:27:20.44\00:27:23.91
God created his people
00:27:28.11\00:27:29.44
in different
cultures, countries,
00:27:29.48\00:27:32.25
and in cities around the world.
00:27:32.28\00:27:36.35
He made the human race.
00:27:36.38\00:27:38.32
He made us one people under God.
00:27:38.35\00:27:41.66
At first, when you
see someone that looks
00:27:45.56\00:27:47.96
and acts differently
than you, you may turn away.
00:27:48.00\00:27:52.97
But take your time.
00:27:53.00\00:27:54.57
Look closer.
00:27:54.60\00:27:57.51
You will see that we
share the same dreams,
00:27:57.54\00:28:02.64
the same troubles,
00:28:02.68\00:28:04.05
the same world.
00:28:07.22\00:28:08.55
Open your minds and
hearts to one another.
00:28:12.02\00:28:14.79
Love each other as He loves us.
00:28:14.82\00:28:17.63
Do this for God,
honor His creation,
00:28:17.66\00:28:21.13
and let His love shine
through each one of us.
00:28:21.16\00:28:23.97
For a copy of today's program,
00:28:30.51\00:28:32.51
please contact
us at P.O. Box 1900,
00:28:32.54\00:28:36.14
Thousand Oaks, California,
00:28:36.18\00:28:40.32
or in Australia,
00:28:40.35\00:28:42.05
contact us at P.O. Box 861,
00:28:42.08\00:28:45.42
Terrigal, New South Wales, 2260.
00:28:45.45\00:28:49.69
This program is made possible
00:28:49.72\00:28:51.56
through the generous
support of viewers like you.
00:28:51.59\00:28:54.43
We thank you for
your continued support.
00:28:54.46\00:28:57.50
May God richly bless you.
00:28:57.57\00:28:59.30