Welcome back to Books of
the Book, we are studying the
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book of Galatians and actually
Jim you had just mentioned
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1 John 3:4 and we are talking
about what it means to be
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dead unto the law.
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We are going to go there in
the book of 1 John 3:4 right
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before the end of the Bible you
come to the book of Revelation
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have the 1, 2 and 3
John, Jude and then Revelation.
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I read in the New King
James version and it says,
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"whoever commits sin
also commits lawlessness,
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"and sin is lawlessness. "
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Now the King James version
says, transgression of the law.
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Sin is transgression of the
law and sometimes that makes
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it pretty plain obviously
that sin is transgression of
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God's Ten Commandment law
and we see that with Paul's
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writings there in
Romans 7, we just looked at it.
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The law that convicted
him was the law that said
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thou shall not covet
and that kind of thing,
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but some people in some
of these new editions like
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sin is lawlessness
wonder at what it means.
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What's fascinating is if
you read this in the Greek
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language of the New Testament,
what it says is a word
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for sin is Hamartia.
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And the word for
lawlessness is Anomia.
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From the Greek word Nomos law,
"a" is negative so it literally
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is lawlessness, but the context
there which is interesting
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Hamartia means
literally to miss the mark.
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It would be like if you are
taking target practice, a bow
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and arrow and you were
shooting for a bull's-eye,
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and you miss the mark.
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So an essence the text says
in Greek to miss the mark is
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lawlessness, so
what would the mark be?
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- the law. - The mark
would be the law of God.
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So in other words he is saying
in this text that the mark,
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the aim for the
Christian is the law of God,
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and that would be the standard.
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You know there is a word
in that verse that is key and
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I think it has been in all
the verses we have discussed on
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the idea of the law still
be valid in the New Testament.
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It is a small word, but
it is an important word.
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The word is "is". It
says that sin is lawlessness.
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So when the apostle Paul was
writing this, or John in this
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particular case was
writing this, long after the
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crucifixion of Christ he
was saying in present tense sin
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is at this
moment, breaking the law.
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Falling short of the law and
when you look back at all the
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verses we have looked at
and you will see that same
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reality, the law is spiritual.
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The Commandment is holy and
just and good and that is in
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Romans 7:12 and 14.
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We found in Ephesians
6:1 wherein said the fifth
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commandment is the first
commandment with promise, he
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is quoting the fifth commandment
says in present tense
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that this is the
first commandment promised.
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So all throughout the New
Testament you will find that
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those statements that relate
to the law of God are in the
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present tense. - that's right.
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When you compare that with
for example Colossians chapter
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2 which talks about a law
that was, it's past tense for
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the handwriting of ordinances
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written by Moses and
it is past tense verses
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the present tense law
of the Ten Commandments.
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It is a very good
point an important point.
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Another point that is brought
up to me by some who don't
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feel the law of God,
meaning the Ten Commandments are
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still valid in the New
Testament is that when the Bible
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speaks about Commandments
is just talking about the
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teachings of Christ, or
the generic commands of God
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for instance in Revelation
14:12 where it says here
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a they, here are the
patience of the saints, here are
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those that keep the
commandments of God.
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Well they say that is
not the Ten Commandments of
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Exodus or in Revelation where
it says later in chapter 22
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Blessed are those
who do His commandments.
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They say that is not
the Ten Commandments.
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But remember as we looked
at these different verses in
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the context we have specifically
chosen verses that quote
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one of the Ten Commandments
so we know what law he is
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talking about, Romans
2 Romans 7, Ephesians 6,
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each of these end James Chapter
2 all have in the context
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one of the Ten Commandments
so you know exactly what law
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he is talking about.
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I don't want to get this
confused with the idea that you
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are justified by keeping
the Ten Commandments, but
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just because you
can't be justified by the
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Ten Commandments doesn't
mean they are not important or
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that they don't
have a place or a role.
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That's what we see Paul making
that point in his writings
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here, is the mindset that
causes people to read into what
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is not here, in other words
there is a mindset that the
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law of God restricts us
and in order to have a true
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Christian liberty, the liberty
is actually a liberty from
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the law and thus the concept
dead to the law must mean we are
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free, when we say free
from law or free from the thing
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that held us, that freedom
is the freedom to obey the law.
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We picked it up in Galatians
5 where there is another
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passage here a Galatians
5 that aligns with that same
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point Christian liberty
and we will get Galatians 5:1.
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Paul says, "stand fast there
fore in the liberty by which
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"Christ has made us free,
and do not be entangled again
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"with a yoke of bondage. "
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I have had people approach
me and say well the Bible is
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pretty clear when Paul
says don't be entangled with the
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yoke of bondage, that is the
Ten Commandments, you are free
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from having to keep
the Ten Commandments.
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But the issue here is
that is not what the apostle is
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saying, we will read on here
and explain that and he goes
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on in verse two to say, "in
deed I Paul, say to you that if
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"you become circumcised,
Christ will profit you nothing.
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"And I testify again to
every man who become circumcised
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"that he is a debtor to
keep the whole law. You have
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"become in this estranged
from Christ, you who attempt to
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"be justified by law; for
you have fallen from grace. "
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Now those are strong words.
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That can sound on the surface,
to a surface reader, wow
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anybody who thinks
about keeping the law they are
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estranged from Christ,
it's Christ or the law.
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We are making a key point
that I think is what creates
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the confusion for many,
in the book of Galatians.
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That is that what Paul is
addressing here is not obedience
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to the law, but seeking
to be justified by the law.
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If he was saying the
other, then he by telling the
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Ephesians that they should
keep the fifth commandment
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would have been placing
them under a yoke bondage.
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It would have made
him to contradict himself.
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He is not talking about
obedience and if you look
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carefully in verse four it
specifically says, "you who
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"attempt to be
justified by law. "
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He says those are the
ones estranged from Christ.
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The reason is, if you are
seeking to be justified by some
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external behavior, you really
think you are okay and you
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just need to go to
church and do certain things and
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you don't not need that
personal surrender to Christ and
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a deep commitment to
Christ, then you are basically
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saying I don't need Christ.
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You are becoming
estranged to Christ.
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I can clean my act a little
bit and that will be sufficient.
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That is exactly right so
this idea of justification.
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this goes back to
what we were talking
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about the Pharisee and the
publican, the Pharisee was in
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the temple and he was
praying, he said I'm glad
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I'm not as bad as those guys.
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That's right, that's right,
so if obedience is not what
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places you under a yoke of
bondage then what does it mean
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justification by
law is placing you under
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a yoke of bondage?
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What exactly is that telling us?
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It's placing us
under yoke of bondage.
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Absolutely and it makes me
think of this idea because he
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is talking about
liberty, we is the liberty.
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What is liberty, is liberty
freedom from having to obey
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God? I think to myself why
would anybody who chooses to
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give their life to Christ
and serve Him want to be free
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from having to serve Him?
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Why would I want to be
free from having to obey the
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principles of God's government,
the principles of His law,
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the principles of
His very character?
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Why would I want
to be free from that?
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Is that the kind of freedom
that Christianity is talking
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about? - it just can't be.
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I guess the best way
for me to describe this,
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I look back to when
we were going through
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our conversion experience.
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Now my brother Mark is five
years older than me and I am
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not sure if the camera is
picking it up but he has a few
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more silver streaks in his hair.
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That is what gives him away,
but though we were born the
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first time five years
apart, we were born at the same
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time the second time.
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We had our conversion
experience around the same time.
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If you were to go back
to before our conversion
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experience and tell us
come on over we're are going to
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have a Bible study of
the book of Galatians, I can
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imagine that I wouldn't
have been all that anxious.
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I remember after my conversion
experience when Mark first
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found - not anxious, you
just would not have shown up.
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Well alright, but I remember
when you first found out
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about me beginning to
read my Bible for myself and
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I was hungry for the word.
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Galatians chapter 1 were
the apostle Paul said that
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he was called to be an
apostle not from men nor
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through man but
through Jesus Christ.
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I relate to that because I
didn't have a Bible study with
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someone, or evangelist did
not come to me, I just read my
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Bible and the Lord
Jesus gripped my heart.
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That was powerful, but
prior to that time I wasn't
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anywhere near that and I started
reading my Bible and you found
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out about it I remember hearing
you say well, Jim he doesn't
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have a religious bone
in his body, and I didn't.
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So if I would have been
placed in certain circumstances
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where to be in
church all day or something,
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it would have
been drudgery to me.
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It would have been a
yoke of bondage to me.
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There are many people who
are going through the motions
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because they believe
that God is requiring it,
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but in their heart they
don't have the interest,
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they don't have a
hunger for spiritual things.
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They have not
yet seen their need.
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I was brought to a point
where I sensed a need in my
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life and when I read my Bible
it was like food to my soul.
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But prior to being
prepared for that time if
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I had been introduced to
it, I probably would have
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been not very interested.
00:10:13.58\00:10:15.41
It wouldn't have been
food to your soul and thus the
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words of Jesus, "blessed
are those who hunger and thirst
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"after righteousness
for they shall be filled. "
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So we see the reality here
is this idea of dead to the law,
00:10:22.81\00:10:27.62
when we go back to Galatians
2, Paul talking about him dying
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to the law, notice again
what he says, "for I through the
00:10:31.33\00:10:34.93
law died to the law. "
In other words as the law
00:10:34.96\00:10:37.76
convicted me I saw my
sinful nature, then I accepted
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Christ and the
cardinal nature died.
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Notice how he words it, I
through the law died to the law
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that I might not have to
worry about keeping the law
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anymore? No
that's not what he says.
00:10:50.41\00:10:51.65
That's not what he says at all.
00:10:51.68\00:10:53.16
He says that I
might live to God.
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The freedom, the liberty
of a Christian life is not a
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liberty from obedience,
but a liberty into obedience.
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Listen I was free not to
obey the law of God when I was
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not a Christian, I never
obeyed the law of God and never
00:11:04.41\00:11:07.17
worried about it, but I
was not free to obey it because
00:11:07.21\00:11:09.93
it simply wasn't
in my being to do so.
00:11:09.97\00:11:12.17
But through conversion
my heart was changed and the
00:11:12.20\00:11:15.80
freedom I have now is a
freedom that I never had before,
00:11:15.83\00:11:18.40
and that is a freedom
to serve God with my heart.
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That's what Paul says, I
died to the law that I might
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live to God, notice verse
20, "I have been crucified with
00:11:23.55\00:11:26.82
"Christ; it is no longer I who
live, but Christ lives in me;
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"and the life which
I now live in the flesh
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"I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and
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"gave Himself for me. "
00:11:36.31\00:11:37.28
He is talking about a conversion
here, he is talking about
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a new experience. -
Amen. If we keep reading in
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verse 21, he only concludes
the thought beautifully.
00:11:42.78\00:11:45.68
But before we go there I
just want to take one peek at
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2 Corinthians 6:11 and there
is another point I would like
00:11:48.88\00:11:52.56
to make, "O Corinthians!
We have spoken openly to you,
00:11:52.59\00:11:56.08
"our heart is wide open.
You are not restricted by us,
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"but you are restricted
by your own affections. "
00:11:59.60\00:12:02.10
You know people look at
the problem we have in humanity
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and they say we are
out of harmony with God.
00:12:05.10\00:12:07.53
Well we have one or two choices,
either we can remove the
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requirements, the law of God
or we can remove that which is
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standing in the way
which is our own Carnal heart.
00:12:15.60\00:12:18.10
And the reality is that
the Carnal heart is what
00:12:18.14\00:12:20.76
ultimately has to go in
order for us to be brought
00:12:20.80\00:12:23.38
into harmony with God.
00:12:23.42\00:12:24.68
It is a shame many Christians
look at the law as the
00:12:24.71\00:12:28.15
problem, Jesus died
to do away with the law.
00:12:28.18\00:12:30.72
But no, the apostle Paul
says it is our own affections.
00:12:30.76\00:12:34.52
Right here concluding
with verse 21 in Galatians 2 it
00:12:34.55\00:12:37.75
says, "I do not set
aside the grace of God; for if
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"righteousness comes to the
law, and Christ died in vain. "
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It is Christ's death and us
dying with Him that brings us
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into harmony with God.
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Friends, we hope you have
enjoyed this study and we look
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forward to seeing you next time.
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