Welcome to another
episode of Books of the Book.
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We are studying the
book of Galatians and I am
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Pastor Mark Howard, I'm
the Pastor of the Gobels
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Seventh-day Adventist
church in Michigan as well as
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Director of the Emmanuel
Institute of evangelism,
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a school that trains
people to share their faith.
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I'm here at my
co-host and brother Jim.
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If my name is Jim Howard
and I am the Pastor of the
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Detroit Metropolitan
Seventh-day Adventist church and
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South Lyon Seventh-day
Adventist church also
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in the Michigan conference.
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And we have been studying
in the book of Galatians.
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A powerful book in the
New Testament and we have had
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a lot of good studies.
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There is a lot
packed in this book Jim.
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We are actually up to chapter
5 and if you are watching
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at home, you have your Bibles
with you, or a Bible nearby
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grab that in follow us
into chapter 5 of Galatians.
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You go to the New Testament
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
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Acts, Romans, 1 and 2
Corinthians and then Galatians.
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We are going to Galatians
Chapter 5 and today we are
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going to pick up their
in verse 7 and we will get a
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running start there into
what the apostle Paul calls
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the offensive of the cross.
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Galatians 5:7 he says to
these Galatian believers,
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"you ran well. Who hindered
you from obeying the truth?
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"This persuasion does not
come from Him who calls you.
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"A little leaven
leavens the whole lump. I have
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"confidence in you, in the
Lord, that you will have no
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"other mind; but he who
troubles you shall bear his
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"judgment, whoever he
is. 11. And I, brethren, if I
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"still preach circumcision,
why do I still suffer
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"persecution? Then the offense
of the cross has ceased. "
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Now there is a lot in
there, but we are going to focus
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today on this idea of
the offense of the cross.
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Here are the things Jim,
that I am picking up on this.
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There's something about
the cross that is offensive to
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those that are
preaching circumcision.
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Furthermore, persecution is
resulting from preaching the
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cross but evidently not
from preaching circumcision.
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As Paul says, if I would
start preaching circumcision
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I wouldn't be persecuted.
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Preaching circumcision
somehow makes the cross
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non offensive and we want
to delve into this and find
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out what it is about the
cross that is offensive to
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those who preach
circumcision and why.
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And what is it about circum-
cision that takes away that
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offensiveness to the cross?
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That is important and I
think in order to understand
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that, we need to look
back to the real meaning of
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circumcision, we have
talked about this in previous
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episodes but there is one
particular passage that really
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feeds in well to this
passage in Galatians 5.
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It is found in
Romans 4:9, Romans 4:9.
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right after Acts comes Romans.
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It says, "Does this
blessedness then come upon the
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"circumcised only, or
upon the uncircumcised also?
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"For we say that faith
was accounted to Abraham for
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"righteousness. " So he
received his righteousness by
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faith. "How then was
accounted? While he was
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"circumcised, or uncircumcised?
Not while circumcised,
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"but while uncircumcised.
And he received the sign of
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"circumcision, a seal of
the righteousness of the faith
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"which he had while still
uncircumcised, that he might
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"be the father of all those
who believe, though they are
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"uncircumcised, that
righteousness might be imputed
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"to them also, and the
father of circumcision to those
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"who not only are of the
circumcision, but who also walk
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"in the steps of the faith
which our father Abraham had
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"while still uncircumcised. "
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His point is, Abraham
received that righteousness that
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was accounted to him
prior to being circumcised.
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So circumcision didn't
produce the righteousness, that
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is not where he
got the righteousness.
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He got it through faith in
Christ, the promised sacrifice
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and faith in God's promise.
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In expressing that faith
God accounted that to him as
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righteousness, so what was
happening in the days of the
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Galatians was that they
had perverted the idea of
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circumcision as a sign
of righteousness, which is
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obtained through faith.
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Instead of seeking to gain
righteousness through faith in
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Christ, they were actually
not righteousness by faith
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believers, but
righteousness by circumcision.
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I think our viewers may be
thinking that is not something
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that is an issue
today in our church.
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That is not an
issue among believers.
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What is interesting,
the reality is that they saw
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something they could do
that basically took the place of
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the righteousness of Christ.
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In other words, they didn't
need that righteousness of
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Christ because
they had circumcision.
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While no Christian would
say off-the-cuff, oh yeah I
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don't believe I need
the righteousness of Christ,
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we find in our demeanor
sometimes, the way we think
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through things that may
be just exactly what we are
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thinking, for example.
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In my ministry with the
Emmanuel Institute, and I know
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you have done similar
things with your church.
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I go out and we share our
faith often times from house
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to house, we
will go door to door.
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One of the things I have
done its survey people about
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their own religious beliefs.
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Whatever they happen to be.
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It is interesting Jim,
that not limited to Christians,
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Christians shouldn't even be
in the crowd, the reality is.
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But many different
religions, Christians included,
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people will say when you
ask them about a future life.
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An afterlife, they believe
they are going to be a part
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of an afterlife. What
gives you that confidence?
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The answer that most
people give is, because I am
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a good person, because I
do good things, because I do
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thus and so and in
reality they don't answer what
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they should answer, even
like I said some Christians.
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The answer should be I
have accepted Jesus Christ as my
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Savior and He has given
His righteousness by faith.
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- yeah that is right.
- But when we say because
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I am a good person and
do good things what, we are
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actually saying is my
basis of my salvation is because
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of my own doings.
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Yeah if someone thinks I
am a good person, I help to
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shovel the neighbors walk,
or I do kind things at work,
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I'm always friendly and they
get a sense of morality that
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just has to do with not
being a really bad person.
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For them shoveling
the walk is circumcision.
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- that's right! - that's
their thing and maybe it is
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just going to church.
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Whatever it is they're certain
particular things give them
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confidence that they are
okay is their circumcision.
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Not that there's anything
wrong with going to church, or
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shoveling a walk just like
we have already talked about.
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There is nothing wrong
inherently with circumcision,
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but the attitude and the belief
that it was their shoveling
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the driveway, helping out
in a soup kitchen or what have
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you that made
them a good person.
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- right, that's exactly right.
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So we talked about that and
you brought this up before in
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Romans 2, maybe we
ought to look at this passage.
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Romans 2:25 the
apostle makes a point here.
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He says, "for circumcision
is indeed profitable if you
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"keep the law, but if you
are a breaker of the law, your
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"circumcision has
become uncircumcision. "
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Now here is
another step to that.
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Sometimes Jim, for example
maybe I have some bitterness,
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some grudge
against somebody in church.
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Or a neighbor and I go to
another neighbor and shovel
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their walk. Then I go
down to the soup kitchen
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and help with that.
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And then I say that I am a
good person and because I do
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do those things I offset, or
excuse myself from doing that
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which I know God requires of me.
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This is what we are talking
about when we talk about the
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circumcision here, this
whole issue in Galatians.
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They were taking circumcision
as a substitute for obeying
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what God had said.
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I keep some of God's Command-
ments, I don't really feel
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comfortable with keeping
all of them, so I will help out
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a lot in the community.
These types of things.
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That circumcision actually
becomes, because they don't
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have the substance it actually
becomes, the sign becomes
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a meaningless
mockery. - yeah, exactly!
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You were talking to me
about this fruitless fig tree
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that really pro-trade that.
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Maybe you can
make a comment on that.
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The story of the fig tree
where Jesus comes by the fig
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tree and there is all these
leaves at He goes and looks
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for fruit on it because
typically when you come to a fig
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tree and all the fig
tree leaves start to fill out
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the plant after the
fruit begins to grow.
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So when you see a fig
tree full of leaves, it's
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advertising, hey I have
fruit on me come have some.
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So Jesus was hungry, He
saw the leaves and went over
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and there was no fruit.
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It is the same way when I
say I am a Christian, people
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should be able to
expect fruit of the tree.
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- right! - people
should be able to expect that I
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would live like a
Christian and be obedient to the
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principles of God's law.
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But when I make that
profession, like the sign of
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circumcision it's profitable
if you keep the commandments,
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but if you are not keeping
the commandments and your
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heart is not obedient to
God then you are advertising
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something you do not have.
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- the heart is exactly
the issue there, because what
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was going on here in
Galatia is that circumcision was
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something you could do
without the heart having to
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be changed, and remember
the heart is where the most
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cherished things are held.
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So when we talk about the
need for a heart religion,
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it's not just talking
about having love for others and
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warmth of affection.
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It is also talking about
that which shelters those
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sinful practices that we
do not want to let go of.
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So they were looking at
circumcision as a way to avoid
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the religion of the heart.
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So the problem was
they didn't have that inward
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righteousness because
circumcision can't bring
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righteousness. - that's right.
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Righteousness is something
that we have to come to
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grips with and it is
so crucial, this is what
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Paul keeps bringing up here.
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There is a story in the
Bible of the rich young ruler.
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This young man comes to
Jesus and he says, good teacher
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what thing must I do,
or what things must I do to
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inherit eternal life?
00:11:09.36\00:11:10.70
You find it in Matthew
chapter 19 as well as Mark 10.
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What good thing must I do
that I might inherit eternal
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life? And Jesus says to
him why do you call Me good?
00:11:18.44\00:11:22.54
There is only one who
is good and that is God.
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In that statement Jesus
was trying to convey to this
00:11:25.28\00:11:28.88
young man that there is no
such thing as righteousness
00:11:28.92\00:11:32.15
apart from God, man has no
such thing as righteousness.
00:11:32.19\00:11:35.39
Paul makes a point in
Romans 3, and this is a hard
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hitting passage
for the human heart.
00:11:40.60\00:11:44.30
It is hard for us to take
this, we like to say I may
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not be the best person, but
don't tell me I'm not a good
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person at all.
00:11:51.34\00:11:52.81
But this is what the Scripture
says, this is the condition
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that God
pronounces upon you and me.
00:11:54.81\00:11:57.18
He says, Romans 3:10 he says,
"As it is written: There is
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"none righteous," it is
almost as much as he perceives,
00:12:02.68\00:12:08.02
well he is quoting
actually from Isaiah.
00:12:08.06\00:12:10.86
But it is almost as he
perceives that we are going to
00:12:10.89\00:12:13.09
rebut that, whoa,
whoa, wait a minute.
00:12:13.13\00:12:15.43
Nobody righteous? "
No, not one" he says.
00:12:15.46\00:12:17.73
11. "There is none who
understands; there is none who
00:12:17.80\00:12:20.24
"seeks after God. 12.
They have all turned aside;
00:12:20.27\00:12:22.67
"they have together become
unprofitable; there is none
00:12:22.70\00:12:25.64
"who does good, no, not one. "
00:12:25.71\00:12:29.14
The point being made here
is man has no righteousness,
00:12:29.18\00:12:33.58
the only place to get
righteousness is not in Hindu,
00:12:33.62\00:12:37.85
in a Hindu god, or in
Buddha, or in anything else, or
00:12:37.89\00:12:42.09
in some atheistic philosophy.
00:12:42.12\00:12:43.93
The only place to get
saving righteousness is in God,
00:12:43.96\00:12:47.13
the God of heaven and
His Son Jesus Christ who is
00:12:47.23\00:12:50.37
also the eternal God.
00:12:50.40\00:12:51.73
The idea here is that the
Lord would have us understand
00:12:51.77\00:12:55.17
our righteousness is not
something that we can produce.
00:12:55.20\00:12:58.44
The only way we can get
it is to go to Him to receive
00:12:58.47\00:13:01.68
if by faith. - we must
have that union with Christ.
00:13:01.71\00:13:04.81
He is the vine as we
talked about once before.
00:13:04.85\00:13:07.15
There is one place in Galatians
were this is drawn out.
00:13:07.18\00:13:09.68
Maybe could look at this
before we go to our break.
00:13:09.72\00:13:14.02
Galatians 5:5 the apostle
says, "For we through the
00:13:14.06\00:13:18.23
"Spirit eagerly wait for
the hope of righteousness
00:13:18.29\00:13:22.40
"by faith. " I like
the way he words that.
00:13:22.43\00:13:24.57
He eagerly wait for
the hope of righteousness.
00:13:24.60\00:13:28.00
Why is he eagerly waiting?
Eagerly waiting gives you
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the sense of
hungry and thirsting.
00:13:30.97\00:13:32.84
Remember the Bible says,
that those who hunger and thirst
00:13:32.87\00:13:34.98
for righteousness
they will be filled.
00:13:35.01\00:13:37.25
He says we eagerly wait
for the hope of righteousness
00:13:37.31\00:13:40.38
how? By faith,
faith in Jesus Christ.
00:13:40.42\00:13:43.82
The reason that he is so
eagerly waiting is because
00:13:43.85\00:13:46.72
there is nowhere else
to get that righteousness.
00:13:46.76\00:13:49.56
He is not going to go somewhere
else, he is going to keep
00:13:49.59\00:13:52.59
pressing on, keep pressing
the Lord because only through
00:13:52.63\00:13:55.53
the Lord Jesus
Christ can he have any hope
00:13:55.56\00:13:57.80
of attaining righteousness.
00:13:57.83\00:13:59.27
Well we will dive back
in this a little bit more in
00:13:59.30\00:14:01.77
a moment, but for now
we need to take a break.
00:14:01.80\00:14:03.57
We will see you in a few.
00:14:03.61\00:14:04.94