Participants: Jack McIntosh
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000016
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00:28 Hello, I'm Jack McIntosh, from Weimar Institute.
00:32 And today, we're going to look at a very special 00:36 study of the Book of Galatians to clarify some things 00:40 that seem to be at a head there in that book namely, 00:46 "Is the Apostle Paul Against The Law of God?" 00:52 If you read the Book of Galatians, 00:54 you will find that Paul indeed appears to be almost 01:00 if not totally antinomian that is against the law of God 01:05 and there is some evidence for that. 01:08 If we look at Galatians Chapter 2 and verse 15, 01:15 we see that Paul makes a statement there 01:18 that could almost be misinterpreted. 01:20 Notice what he says. 01:22 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 01:26 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, 01:30 but by faith in Jesus Christ." 01:34 Over in Chapter 23, or rather Chapter 3 01:39 and verse 23, I should say. 01:42 "Before this faith came, 01:44 we were held prisoners by the law, 01:48 locked up until faith should be revealed. 01:51 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ 01:55 that we might be justified by faith. 01:58 From these and other declarations 02:01 in the Book of Galatians and actually else where, 02:04 one could really interpret 02:06 that the apostle Paul was completely antinomian. 02:09 That he was against the law of God. 02:11 Well, the question then is was he 02:15 or was he not against the law of God? 02:18 From careful reading, 02:19 I believe that in the very Book of Galatians, 02:22 the book that seems to be the most antinomian, 02:26 we can pick up some very, very important clues 02:31 about this position of Paul 02:33 taken that seems to be antinomian. 02:36 And if Paul was talking about the law, 02:40 which he was, then which law was he talking about? 02:44 Was he talking about the Ten Commandments 02:47 or the Ceremonial Laws or all of them? 02:50 There're some very important clues. 02:52 The first clue is found in 02:55 Galatians Chapter 3 and verse 10. 03:01 If we look at that carefully, 03:02 we see a very important clue 03:05 about what Paul is talking about. 03:08 Notice what he says. 03:10 "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, 03:17 for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone 03:19 who does not continue to do everything written 03:23 in the Book of the Law. 03:27 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, 03:30 because, 'The righteous will live by faith.'" 03:33 The first clue that we see there 03:35 is this reference to the Book of the Law. 03:39 Clue number two we find in Galatians 5 and verse 6. 03:46 Notice what Paul says. 03:48 "For in Christ, neither circumcision 03:53 nor uncircumcision has any value. 03:58 The only thing that counts is faith 04:01 expressing itself through love." 04:05 So the second clue is one that mentions circumcision. 04:10 And already we can begin to see a direction. 04:13 The third clue is found in Chapter 6, verses 12 and 15. 04:20 "Those who want to make a good impression outwardly 04:23 are trying to compel you to be circumcised. 04:27 The only reason they do this 04:28 is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ." 04:31 And finally verse 15. 04:33 "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision 04:37 means anything, what counts is a new creation." 04:42 So from these references, we begin to see-- 04:46 these clues put together, 04:47 we begin to see a pattern emerging 04:51 that is Paul is talking about "The Book of the Law" 04:55 and circumcision in particular. 04:58 Now if we were to pose this question, 05:00 which law is Paul talking about? 05:03 The clues here definitely point to the Ceremonial Law 05:07 and not to the Ten Commandments 05:09 that he says is not very important anymore. 05:16 If we go over to Exodus 31, 05:20 and we look at a little discourse 05:23 that Moses had with certain of the priests there. 05:28 We find again a very interesting declaration here 05:33 that seems to give us real information 05:36 about why Paul is talking 05:40 so much against the law of God. 05:42 Notice what it says. 05:44 We're looking at Chapter 31 of Deuteronomy 05:49 and we're looking at verses 24 to 26. 05:54 Notice what Paul-- Moses says. 05:57 "After Moses finished writing in a book 06:00 the words of the law from beginning to end, 06:03 he gave this command to the Levites 06:05 who carried the Ark of the Covenant." 06:08 Now he gives them a command 06:09 and notice what the command is. 06:12 "Take this Book of the Law and place it beside 06:18 the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God." 06:21 Now notice what he says next very significant. 06:24 "There it will remain as a witness against you." 06:31 That's very interesting language, isn't it? 06:33 There it will remain as a witness against you. 06:37 If you search the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, 06:42 you will not find a single reference 06:44 that talks about the Ten Commandments 06:46 as a witness against us. 06:48 But you will find references to the Book of the Law 06:51 that is the Ceremonial Law written by Moses. 06:54 You will find references to that law being against us. 06:58 And so for instance, when the apostle Paul 07:03 mentions in Colossians 2. 07:06 We go over to Colossians 2 for a moment. 07:09 He makes an interesting declaration in Colossians 2 07:14 about the law being against us. 07:18 Notice what he says. 07:20 When you were dead-- this is Colossians 2 verse 13, 07:25 "When you were dead in your sins 07:27 and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature." 07:31 See there again is the reference 07:33 to the Ceremonial Law. 07:36 "God made you alive with Christ. 07:38 He forgave us all of our sins, 07:40 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, 07:44 that was against us and that stood opposed to us. 07:50 He took it away, nailing it to the cross. 07:53 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, 07:55 he made a public spectacle of them, 07:58 triumphing over them by the cross." 08:01 This is very, very carefully chosen language 08:05 that is in fact referencing 08:07 what we just read in the Book of Deuteronomy 08:10 that the Book of the Law was to be a witness 08:13 against the people of God. 08:15 Paul is making a reference to that very quotation 08:18 of Moses in Exodus 31, to show us 08:22 that the Ceremonial Law was indeed nailed to the cross. 08:29 And so as he mentions here, 08:32 this code he mentions circumcision, 08:34 of course, you know the Ten Commandments 08:35 makes no reference of circumcision. 08:38 So right away, we see 08:39 that the context is very definitely, 08:42 the law found in the Book of Moses 08:46 or the Book of the Law having cancelled the written code 08:49 with its regulations that was against us. 08:52 That stood opposed to us. 08:53 He took it away nailing it to the cross. 08:56 Now the Ten Commandments, of course, 08:59 are very, very different. 09:01 Because first of all, God did not trust Moses 09:05 to write the Ten Commandments, 09:07 if you go over to Exodus 31, 09:09 you will see that very clearly. 09:11 The Bible says very clearly that God did not allow 09:16 Moses to write the Ten Commandments. 09:19 He wrote them himself and he wrote them on stone. 09:22 In fact, in Exodus 31, the Lord makes a declaration 09:27 about the fourth of the Ten Commandments 09:29 and says, in verse 12 of Exodus 31. 09:33 "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to the Israelites, 09:36 'You must observe my Sabbaths.'" 09:38 Notice whose Sabbath it is? 09:40 I always chuckle a little bit when some people 09:43 refer to the Sabbath of creation 09:46 as the Jewish Sabbath but the Lord calls it 09:49 His Sabbath. Notice. 09:51 "This will be a sign between me and you 09:54 for the generations to come, 09:55 so that you may know that I am the Lord, 09:58 who makes you holy or sanctifies you." 10:00 So the Sabbath was a symbol of the sanctification 10:04 that God intended for His people. 10:06 And, of course, it goes on to point out 10:08 that the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, 10:10 holy to the Lord in verse 15. 10:13 And then in verse 16, 10:14 "The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, 10:16 celebrating it for generations to come as a lasting covenant. 10:22 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, 10:29 for in six days the Lord made the heavens, 10:32 the earth, and on the seventh day, 10:34 He abstained from work and rested." 10:37 This, of course, is referring to the Sabbath of creation. 10:40 Now Moses adds a little declaration 10:44 at the end of all of this and says, 10:46 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai-- 10:49 this is verse 18 of Exodus 31. 10:53 "When the Lord finished speaking 10:54 to Moses on Mount Sinai, 10:56 He gave him two tablets of the Testimony, 11:00 the tablets of stone." Notice. 11:03 "Inscribed or written by the finger of God." 11:08 So God took the responsibility 11:11 of writing the Ten Commandments. 11:14 And that is why when we hear 11:16 Paul talking about this law 11:20 that was nailed to the cross that was against us. 11:23 We can find very strong justification 11:25 in the Book of Deuteronomy for saying 11:28 that the law of God that was nailed to the cross. 11:31 And that was abrogated and that was done away with, 11:35 that was against us was not the Ten Commandments 11:38 but rather the law contained in ordinances 11:41 he says or the Ceremonial Law. 11:47 Paul in Romans picks up, 11:51 pardon me, this theme of the Ten Commandments 11:55 and the fact that it is still in force 11:59 and still important for us to, 12:01 pardon me, pay attention to. 12:03 And notice what he says in Chapter 13 and verse 8, 12:10 He says the following. 12:11 "Let no debt remain outstanding, 12:15 except the continuing debt to love one another." 12:18 See there is the great law of love on which 12:20 all of the law and the prophet-- 12:22 prophets hang as Jesus said in Matthew 22. 12:25 "For he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law." 12:31 Now just in case we had any doubt 12:33 about what law he was talking about, 12:36 he goes on to mention several of the laws 12:39 and if you listen to the context carefully, 12:41 you will see that he's talking about the Ten Commandments. 12:44 Notice what he says in verse 9 of Romans 13. 12:47 "The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 12:50 'Do not murder,' 12:52 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet.'" 12:54 You see clearly, 12:55 we are discussing the Ten Commandments here. 12:57 "And whatever other commandment there may be, 12:59 are summed up in this one rule, 13:02 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 13:05 Love does no harm.'" 13:06 Verse 10. "To its neighbor. 13:08 Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." 13:14 In other words, the Ten Commandments 13:16 are an expression of the law of love. 13:20 That's exactly what he's saying. 13:22 The Ten Commandments in essence tell us 13:26 how we are to live if we love God supremely 13:30 and our neighbor as ourselves. 13:32 Isn't that beautiful? 13:33 It defines for us how we are to live in today's day 13:37 and today's age and helps us to understand that. 13:41 In Romans Chapter 7, he also presents 13:45 a little quandary there when he says-- 13:49 he talks about struggling with sin, Romans Chapter 7. 13:54 "What shall we say, then? 13:55 Is the law sin? Certainly not! 13:57 Indeed I would not have known 13:59 what sin was except through the law." 14:01 Now he makes it very clear again 14:04 that he is talking about the Ten Commandments 14:07 because you notice what he says next. 14:09 "For I would not have known 14:10 what coveting really was if the law 14:13 had not said, 'Do not covet.'" 14:16 And then of course further on in verse 12 of Romans 7, 14:20 he says the following. 14:22 So then, his conclusion, 14:23 so then is, of course, a term that means 14:27 he is concluding his argument, spiritual argument. 14:30 He says, "So then, the law." Which law? 14:34 The one he was just discussing namely the Ten Commandments. 14:37 "So then, the law is holy, 14:41 and the commandment is holy, righteous and good." 14:46 And then further on, in verse 22, 14:48 he says in this tremendous struggle 14:51 that he's going through. 14:52 He says, "For in my inner being I delight in God's law, 14:59 but I see another law at work in the members of my body." 15:02 And he goes on to describe the war between 15:05 the law of love which is-- the Ten Commandments 15:08 is an expression of that law and the sinful nature. 15:14 So it's very clear that he is discussing 15:18 the Ten Commandments, which were still in force. 15:21 And, of course, over in Revelation 12, 15:24 we find a declaration there of the people 15:28 who are finally going to be saved in the Kingdom of God. 15:32 In fact, in Revelation 12, 15:34 we find that these people belong to God 15:38 and there is someone who is very upset by these people. 15:44 Notice in verse 17. "Then the dragon." 15:49 Now who is this dragon? 15:50 Well, of course, the Bible is its own expositor. 15:53 And in Chapter 12, John very clearly and carefully 15:58 defines who the dragon is? 16:00 Notice in verse 9 of Chapter 12 of Revelation. 16:05 "The great dragon was hurled down-- 16:09 that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, 16:14 who leads the whole world astray." 16:15 Well, there is a very, very clear 16:17 definition of who the dragon is. 16:20 The dragon is the devil or Satan. 16:22 And you will notice that in verse 9 16:23 there of Chapter 12-- Revelation Chapter 12, 16:26 it uses four expressions to help us to realize 16:30 and define who we're talking about, 16:32 John is very carefully defining who this dragon 16:35 is and who he is from the beginning of the world. 16:39 He uses the term serpent, the ancient serpent. 16:42 He uses the term devil. He uses the term Satan. 16:48 And let's see there is one other term, dragon, right? 16:53 Dragon, serpent, devil and Satan. 16:56 So that we will have no question in our minds 16:59 who he is talking about, 17:00 he is talking about Satan, the devil himself. 17:02 Now in verse 17 then, he uses that term dragon, 17:05 which is synonymous with Satan. 17:06 And he says, "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman 17:14 and went off to make war 17:16 against the rest of her offspring." 17:20 And notice who the offspring of this righteous woman are. 17:25 these or they, who obey the commandments of God 17:29 and hold to the testimony of Jesus." 17:34 In other words, in the very end of time, 17:36 the enemy, the dragon, Satan, 17:39 the ancient serpent is upset with the people of God. 17:44 Why is he upset with them? 17:45 Because they keep the Ten Commandments 17:49 which is an expression of the law of love. 17:52 And which, of course, 17:53 is an expression of the character of God. 17:57 Because the Bible says, God is love. 18:02 And so in a very real sense, he is upset with those people 18:06 who are reflecting the character of God. 18:08 And notice, of course, in Revelation 14 and verses, 18:15 let's see, verses 11 and 12, 18:19 I'm sorry not 11 and 12, but rather 12. 18:23 "This calls for patient endurance 18:25 on the part of the saints 18:27 who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus." 18:31 Now the context there of course 18:33 is that the third angel declares 18:36 that if any man worships the beast or his image, 18:40 the same will drink of the wine of the wrath of God. 18:43 So very clearly it's making a contrast 18:46 between those who worship the beast and his image 18:50 and those who keep the commandments of God. 18:53 Very clear reference there. 18:57 Now, in Second Thessalonians 19:00 we have a prophecy that gives us 19:07 some information about the kinds of things 19:09 that will be going on in the very end of time. 19:12 And one of the things that the apostle warns 19:15 the church about, warns the Thessalonian Christians 19:17 about is the fact that in the very end of time, 19:21 there would come a person, 19:24 a being that would be the essence of lawlessness, 19:30 the essence of an antinomian attitude. 19:34 And notice in Chapter 2 of Second Thessalonians, 19:37 he picks up this theme of the man 19:42 of lawlessness in the end of time. 19:44 He made a prediction that he would appear on the scene. 19:47 Don't let--verse 3 of Second Thessalonians 2, 19:50 "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, 19:53 for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs 19:58 and the man of lawlessness is revealed, 20:03 the man doomed to destruction. 20:04 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything 20:07 that is called God or is worshiped, 20:10 so that he sets himself up in God's temple, 20:12 proclaiming himself to be God." 20:15 Here we have then a revelation of the Anti-Christ 20:19 who takes on the prerogative of God 20:22 and wants to be worshipped in the place of God. 20:25 And then in verse 7, he goes on to say--rather verse 5. 20:29 "Don't you remember that when I was with you 20:31 I used to tell you these things? 20:34 And now you know what is holding him back, 20:36 so that he may be revealed at the proper time." 20:40 In other words, there is a timing that is involved 20:43 in the Revelation of this man of lawlessness, 20:45 this man of sin as the King James says. 20:48 Now notice verse 7. 20:51 "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work, 20:56 but the one who now holds it back 20:58 will do so till he is taken out of the way. 21:02 And then the lawless one will be revealed, 21:07 whom the Lord will overthrow with the breath of his mouth 21:09 and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 21:13 The coming, verse 9, of the lawless one 21:15 will be in accordance, notice, with the work of Satan 21:20 displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, 21:24 signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil 21:29 that deceives those who are perishing." 21:32 And notice why they perish? 21:34 "They perish because they refused 21:36 to love the truth and be saved." 21:41 "They perish because they refused 21:43 to love the truth and be saved." 21:44 In other words, they followed the man of lawlessness. 21:47 Now the bible has a very interesting, 21:50 and I believe, related, intimately related 21:55 to our discussion of what truth is? 21:57 Over in Psalm 119 and verse 142 22:02 that Bible defines what truth is. 22:04 And I want you to notice very carefully 22:07 what the psalmist, David says, 22:10 in terms of a definition of the truth. 22:14 In Psalm 119 and verse 42, he says this. 22:20 "Your righteousness is everlasting 22:25 and your law is the truth." 22:29 Now we just read here in Second Thessalonians 22:32 that the people who are perishing 22:34 because they are being deceived 22:36 by the man of lawlessness are perishing 22:39 because they failed to love the truth. 22:42 Well, in the very real sense 22:44 what its saying is that these people are perishing 22:46 because they refused to honor the law of God, 22:50 which is the truth. 22:52 And so because they do not love the truth, 22:55 they perish along with this man of rebellion. 23:00 "For this reason." Verse 11. 23:02 "God sends them, because they reject the truth, 23:05 they do not love the truth." 23:06 "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion 23:11 that they should believe a lie 23:14 and that all will be condemned 23:16 who have not believed the truth 23:19 but delighted in wickedness." There it is. 23:23 Those who do not love the law of God and embrace it 23:28 and become a part of the body of believers 23:32 that we know as new covenant believers 23:35 in whose hearts the law has been placed, 23:38 in whose minds, the law has been written. 23:42 Those who do not embrace the law of God and become-- 23:46 have it become a part of them will in fact notice, 23:49 receive a powerful delusion that they will believe a lie. 23:54 And you'll notice that this great deception 23:57 concerning the law of God that the man of lawlessness 24:00 will perpetuate on the earth in the end of time. 24:03 You will notice that this great deception 24:05 is connected to the law of God. 24:09 And so there is something about this deception 24:12 that in a very real sense is-- involves lawlessness. 24:18 Jesus, of course, in Matthews 7, 24:20 picked up this very same theme 24:23 and made a very interesting declaration 24:27 about what happens to people who ignore the law of God. 24:32 And notice verse 21 of Matthews 7, 24:35 here's what he says. 24:37 "Not everyone who says to me, 24:38 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, 24:41 but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 24:46 Many will say to me on that day, 24:48 'Lord, Lord,' did we not prophesy in your name 24:51 and in your name drive out demons 24:53 and perform many miracles?" 24:55 See there is the reference to miracles again. 24:57 The apostle Paul mentions deceptive miracles 25:00 and here again Jesus in the context of lawlessness 25:05 represents these miracles. Notice. 25:09 "Then I will tell them plainly, 25:11 'I never knew you.' 25:13 Away from me, you who practice lawlessness.'" 25:18 And so from this, we can see that this lawless person 25:21 who is involved in the working of miracles, 25:26 deceiving miracles is in fact a power 25:29 that is going to be at work in the very end of time. 25:33 Now in Ephesians 2 and verse 10, 25:37 the apostle tells us very clearly that we are to-- 25:43 let's go to Ephesians 2 and verse 10, 25:45 after talking about the grace of God, 25:47 the famous quotation about the grace of God, 25:50 after talking about the grace of God, 25:53 verse 8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, 25:56 through faith-- this is not of yourselves, 25:57 it is the gift of God-- not by works, 26:00 so that no one can boast." 26:02 He says the following in verse 10. 26:05 "For, that is in conclusion, we are God's workmanship, 26:11 created in Christ Jesus to do good works, 26:14 which God prepared in advance for us to do." 26:17 In other words, we are to fulfill the law of God. 26:19 And, of course, in Romans 8, 26:21 Paul picks up that very same theme 26:24 and says in Romans chapter 8, 26:28 and let's see verse 4. 26:34 Well, let's go back to verse 3 there. 26:36 "For what the law was powerless to do 26:39 in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, 26:41 God did by sending his own Son 26:43 in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. 26:46 And so he condemned sin." 26:49 See he didn't condemn the law did he? 26:51 "He condemned sin in sinful man, 26:54 in order that the righteous 26:57 requirements of the law might be fully met in us, 27:02 who do not live according to the sinful nature 27:06 but according to the Spirit." 27:08 And so from these references, 27:10 we see very carefully, we see--not very carefully, 27:14 but we see very clearly rather that Paul is talking to us 27:18 about the law of love, the new covenant law 27:23 that is to be written in our hearts and minds, 27:25 the Ten Commandments which are an expression 27:29 of the law of God. 27:31 Finally, over in Galatians 5 and verse 13, 27:36 Paul says something very interesting. 27:38 He says, "Do not use your freedom 27:43 to indulge the sinful nature, 27:45 rather, serve one another in love." 27:50 And isn't that beautiful? 27:52 We have recognized that the Ten Commandments 27:54 are an expression of the law of love 27:58 and to be obeyed by all of God's people. |
Revised 2014-12-17