Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM190005A
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00:39 Previously on Law of Love & Liberty:
00:43 We are standing 00:47 in His presence 00:52 on holy ground. 00:56 He's going to write in our hearts His law of love. 00:59 That's what we see taking place here. 01:01 This is the promise that we see taking place here. 01:03 If God can cause the Red Sea to open up 01:06 and let His people cross that thing on dry land, 01:09 then God can move in your life! 01:12 He's not only Sovereign over the wind and the waves. 01:15 He's Sovereign over what's going on in your life, too. 01:17 Now let's put that in there. It doesn't make any sense. 01:20 "I did not come to destroy the law 01:22 but to? do away with the law. " 01:25 The word but indicates a contrast. 01:28 Here He's actually saying: "Look, I did not come 01:31 to destroy the law. I came to magnify the law. " 01:38 Welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center 01:40 and a continuation in The Law of Love & Liberty. 01:44 We've been blessed thus far by all of the messages. 01:46 Can you all say Amen to that? 01:48 And I know that this message is not going to be any different. 01:52 The Lord is going to continue through His maidservant 01:55 Shelley Quinn. Her sermon is entitled 01:57 The Commandments and the Everlasting Covenant. 02:00 But prior to Shelley coming - 02:02 she's going to have her prayer also - we're going to be blessed 02:04 by a wonderful song by Celestine Barry-Dickens 02:08 accompanied by her daughter Farrah Barry. 02:10 And this song will touch your heart: Fill My Cup, Lord. 02:17 Like the woman at the well 02:22 I was seeking 02:26 for things 02:28 that could not satisfy. 02:34 And then 02:36 I heard my Savior speaking: 02:41 "Draw from My well 02:43 that never shall run dry. " 02:48 Fill my cup, Lord... 02:52 I lift it up, Lord. 02:56 Come and quench 02:58 this thirsting of my soul! 03:04 Bread of heaven, 03:06 feed me till I want no more. 03:12 Fill my cup... fill it up 03:15 and make me whole. 03:28 There are millions in this world 03:32 who are craving 03:36 the pleasures earthly things 03:40 afford 03:43 but none can match the wondrous treasure 03:49 that I find 03:52 in Jesus Christ my Lord. 03:56 Fill my cup, Lord... 03:59 I lift it up, Lord. 04:04 Come and quench 04:06 this thirsting of my soul! 04:11 Bread of heaven, 04:14 feed me till I want no more. 04:22 Fill my cup... 04:25 fill it up and make me whole... 04:31 fill my cup... 04:34 fill it up 04:36 and make me 04:39 whole. 04:52 Amen! Oh, what a beautiful song! 04:54 Thank you! That is one of my favorite songs 04:57 and I know that that is everyone's desire today 05:01 is that God would fill our cup. 05:04 I am so excited to be here! I couldn't sleep last night. 05:08 It was like before Christmas morning 05:10 because I'm excited about what God has given me 05:14 to share with you. 05:16 And let me ask you this: have you ever worked 05:19 a connect-the-dots puzzle? 05:21 You know, where you draw lines between numbered dots 05:24 to reveal a picture. 05:27 That's what we're going to do today. 05:30 Allowing scripture to serve as our dotted reference points 05:34 we are going to establish a connection between 05:39 six terms: law, righteousness, 05:43 and sin. The gospel, covenant, and seed. 05:49 And as we connect scripture to scripture 05:53 it is going to reveal 05:56 the big picture of the Ten Commandments 06:00 and the progression of God's everlasting covenant. 06:06 The covenant that was announced to Adam and Eve 06:11 in the garden, that was revealed to Abraham, 06:15 that was depicted in the sanctuary 06:19 and fulfilled in Christ Jesus. 06:22 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before You 06:26 in the name of Jesus. 06:28 Oh, Lord, I ask in the name of Jesus 06:31 get me out of the way. I thank you for Your Word. 06:35 Lord, we thank you for Jesus Christ 06:38 and the gift of salvation. 06:39 We thank you for Your Holy Spirit. 06:42 Fill us all right now with Your Holy Spirit. 06:45 Let Him be our teacher is our prayer. 06:48 Holy and righteous Father, we love You 06:51 and I want to bring honor and glory to Your name today. 06:55 In Jesus' name, Amen. 06:58 You know what? I talk with a lot of frustrated people 07:02 who are trying to achieve a Christian life. 07:08 They're trying to live a Christian life 07:10 but they don't know how to achieve it. 07:13 And what happens is they hear 07:17 the good news of salvation by grace 07:21 and righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus 07:24 but they don't see the big picture. 07:28 They don't understand. When it comes to obedience 07:33 human reasoning gets in the way 07:37 and they don't have a real relationship with God. 07:42 They don't have that relation- ship that He wants us to have 07:47 of total dependence. 07:49 Now some people... they kind of are in two ends of the spectrum. 07:55 Some people believe 07:57 that their strict lifestyle 08:01 and their obedience to the commandments of God 08:06 are going to earn them the right to salvation. 08:10 That's a mistake. 08:12 They are forgetting what Isaiah 64:6 says. 08:16 That "all of our righteousness is as filthy rags" 08:20 before the Lord. But on the opposite end of the spectrum 08:25 we have people who mistakenly believe 08:29 that grace cancels our duty to obey God. 08:35 You know what they're forgetting? 08:37 I John 2:3-4 08:40 that says: "Now by this we know we know Him... " 08:43 and to know Him is eternal life Jesus said - 08:46 "by this we know we know Him 08:49 if we keep His commandments. 08:51 And anyone who says He knoweth Him and does not 08:54 keep His commandments is a liar 08:56 and the truth is not in him. " 08:59 So... Don't get upset with me for saying that. 09:02 That's the words of the apostle John, the apostle of love. 09:06 So both groups live apart 09:10 from a real relationship with Jesus 09:13 because they don't see the big picture 09:17 of the inseparable union of the Ten Commandments 09:21 and the progression of God's everlasting covenant. 09:25 So let's begin our journey by talking about the law. 09:30 Any time you see the words "the law" in Scripture 09:35 you have to carefully search the context. 09:39 If it says "the law and the prophets" 09:42 as a term, that's referring to all of the Old Testament. 09:46 If it says "the law of Moses, " 09:49 it is referring to the first five books 09:52 of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 09:54 Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 09:56 Now sometimes the moral law of God 10:00 is just referred to as "the law, " 10:03 the Ten Commandments, so you really have to look in context. 10:07 And then sometimes "the law, " the book of the law, 10:12 the law that Moses wrote, is just referred to as "the law" 10:18 and you have to look in context. 10:20 Now there is one that I want to get out of the way 10:23 right now, because there's only one other law I can think of 10:26 that is talked about in the Bible and that is Paul's famous 10:32 dissertation in Romans 7 and 8 10:35 where he talks about "the law of sin, " 10:39 "the law of sin and death. " Are you familiar with that one? 10:43 Right? A lot of people try to say 10:47 that he's talking about the Ten Commandments 10:49 when he talks about "the law of sin and death. " 10:52 In context in Romans chapter 7 10:56 he does begin... In verse 12 he is talking about 11:00 the commandments of God and that they are holy 11:03 and just and good. 11:05 But now I want to show you in verse 22- 11:08 it will be on the screen for you - 11:10 what Paul says. He says: 11:17 He is talking about the Ten Commandments. 11:20 But watch what it says: 11:26 Now in the Greek there's two words for another. 11:28 There's allos, which means one exactly the same 11:33 or another can be heteros which means something that 11:38 is different. The word here is heteros. 11:40 So he says: 11:57 That... he is juxtapositioning 12:01 two different laws: 12:03 the law of God that's written with God's finger 12:06 in his heart and in his mind 12:08 and the law of sin and death: the carnal impulses, 12:14 the carnal desires that are in his body. 12:18 So he's definitely not talking about the Ten Commandments. 12:23 It is a different law... the law of sin and death. 12:27 Now, let's talk about the moral law of God. 12:30 When you look in the Hebrew - 12:33 the moral law you understand is the Ten Commandments, right? 12:36 when you look in the Hebrew 12:38 it's aseret ha-d'varîm. 12:41 It means ten words. 12:43 If you look when it's translated into the Greek 12:46 it's Decalogue... which means ten words. 12:50 So how did it get translated into English 12:55 as Ten Commandments instead of Ten Sayings? 12:59 Well, the word arrangement does indicate 13:03 that they are commandments. 13:05 They're not suggestions... they ARE commandments. 13:08 So it's translated as the Ten Commandments. 13:12 But... they're written in future tense. 13:17 Do you know what that means? 13:19 They are promises... ten promises of God. 13:25 They are in fact 13:28 the Bill of Rights 13:31 of God's everlasting covenant. 13:34 You know how important the Bill of Rights is 13:37 to our Constitution? Well these are ten... 13:42 The Bill of Rights... the Ten Commandments... it gives us 13:46 the rights of what God - the first four - 13:50 the love that is due God - 13:52 and then the other tablet of the six 13:54 is the love that is due our neighbor. 13:57 And they were written by God on stone 14:01 to show their permanence. And where were they placed? 14:04 Inside the ark in the Most Holy Place. 14:09 Why were inside the ark? 14:12 The ark is the foundation... I mean, they are the foundation 14:16 inside the throne of God. 14:19 This is the foundation of His sovereignty... 14:23 His sovereign rule of love. 14:27 So what we're going to see today 14:29 is that the Ten Commandments were the heart 14:33 of the old covenant AND they are the heart of the new. 14:37 So let's look in Scripture at James 2 verses 10 through 12. 14:43 James begins like this: 14:50 What law is he talking about? We don't know yet, 14:53 but he tells us in the next scripture. 15:08 Is it obvious what law he's talking about? 15:11 This is the Ten Commandments. 15:13 See, the Ten Commandments are not individual. 15:18 They are like a chain link. 15:21 Any link of that chain that you break 15:25 you're guilty of breaking the moral law of God. 15:30 But look here in verse 12. 15:32 He's still talking about the Ten Commandments and he said: 15:46 He is calling the Ten Commandments 15:49 the law of liberty. 15:52 Why? He indicates that when they are written in our heart 15:58 and as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit 16:01 and we're motivated to obey Him out of love 16:07 and loyalty that we will be set free from sin. 16:12 Now, let's look at the other law: 16:17 the book of the law. 16:20 You know, when God first had the Hebrew children 16:26 after He'd delivered them and they're all around the mountain, 16:29 God was up on the mountain, He spoke the Ten Commandments. 16:33 He didn't write them yet. 16:35 He spoke them with all of His pyrotechnics. 16:38 Everybody is trembling and God was trying to show them 16:42 who He was because it had been a while. 16:45 They really didn't know Him all that well. 16:48 So He spoke those. Then He had Moses come up the mountain 16:52 and He gave Moses civil laws, 16:56 ceremonial laws, 16:59 and, of course, reinforcing the Ten Commandments 17:03 the rights. So Moses comes down from the mountain. 17:06 He speaks this to the people 17:09 because the people really most of them couldn't read or write. 17:12 So he speaks all of these civil laws, 17:16 the ceremonial laws, and re- iterates the Ten Commandments. 17:20 And the people then say: "Yes. " 17:24 So Moses writes them in a book 17:27 and then he builds an altar. 17:31 He has sacrifices prepared 17:33 and look at Exodus 24:7-8. 17:42 This is what Moses had just written. 17:45 The civil, the ceremonial, AND the Ten Commandments 17:50 were included in that as the Bill of Rights. 18:06 In Hebrews it says he sprinkled it on the book as well. 18:10 What is he doing? He is ratifying the covenant. 18:14 And he says: "This is the blood of the covenant. " 18:18 What is the covenant? It is written in the book. 18:21 It is the ceremonial, civil laws that also includes 18:26 the Ten Commandments at the heart of it. 18:34 Now 39 years later 18:38 they're coming to the end of their journey 18:41 and Moses repeats and reinforces 18:46 this book of the covenant. 18:48 He writes it down, and now it is referred to 18:52 as the book of the law. 18:54 Five times it's referred to as Moses' law. 18:58 This is the book of Deuteronomy. 19:01 Deuteronomy means second law... 19:03 the second giving of the law. 19:06 And by the way, this won't means as much to you now 19:09 but I'm going to plant this seed. 19:11 In the book of Deuteronomy... 19:15 God's covenant with Abraham is mentioned seven times 19:22 in the book of Deuteronomy. 19:24 So, look at Deuteronomy 31:26. He says: 19:42 Where are the Ten Commandments? 19:44 They're inside the ark. 19:47 They're permanent... they're inside. 19:50 God's sitting on His throne; they're inside the ark. 19:53 They're the Bill of Rights, the foundation of His government, 19:56 and the mercy seat is covering it 19:59 because mercy always trumps justice. 20:02 Hoo-hoo! But now 20:06 what does he do with the book of the law 20:08 which is the old covenant? He puts it in a side pocket 20:12 and it's going to be there as a witness against them. 20:16 Why is it a witness against them? 20:18 Because it contained not only the blessing 20:23 if they kept the covenant 20:25 but all of the curses if they did not keep the covenant. 20:31 Now many people confuse 20:35 which law Paul is referring to in Galatians. 20:39 You know, he talks about the law that was a tutor to bring us 20:42 to Christ. He says, in fact, in Galatians 5:18 20:46 "If you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. " 20:50 And a lot of people say: 20:51 "See? We don't have to keep the Ten Commandments. " 20:54 Remember, any time you see "the law" you have to look 20:58 in context. Galatians was written... 21:03 this letter was written because Judaizers were coming in 21:07 to Galatia trying to tell these new covenant Christians 21:12 "Oh, no... you've got to keep the old covenant. " 21:15 And it's only six short chapters in this little letter. 21:21 And right in the middle of the book 21:25 Paul identifies what law he is referring to. 21:28 Galatians 3:10 says: 21:51 This is a direct quote from the book of the law. 21:55 From the old covenant. This is Deuteronomy 27:26. 22:00 So Paul is talking about the old covenant 22:04 was the tutor to bring them to Christ, 22:07 to make them understand what God was going to do. 22:12 And then to understand how much they needed a Savior. 22:18 In the old covenant in the book of the law 22:22 there were ceremonial laws, festivals, annual Sabbath 22:27 days, food and drink offerings, 22:29 and symbolic sacrificial remedies for sin. 22:34 This was to lead the people to Jesus Christ. 22:39 But these Judaizers came in and they told the Galatians: 22:44 "Ah, no, you've gotta keep the feasts; you've gotta do 22:46 this; you've gotta do that. " 22:47 And listen to what Paul says in Galatians 5:4. 22:50 "You have become estranged from Christ. " 22:55 "You who attempt to be justified by law, you have 23:00 fallen from grace. " 23:03 So the old covenant... we want to... You know, I grew up... 23:06 I was taught the old covenant was nailed to the cross. 23:10 Man, I'd bite ya. 23:12 I'd tell you "No, you don't have to keep the 10 Commandments. 23:15 It was nailed to the cross. " 23:17 I didn't know the difference in these laws. 23:21 But Colossians 2:14 is where many get that mistaken idea. 23:27 And let's look at that right now 23:30 because it is clear what law he is referring to. 23:35 Colossians 2:14 says: 23:45 That ought to be a hint. There's something that was a witness 23:49 on the side of the ark... a witness against you. 24:06 So... Now any time you see the word so 24:10 in Scripture it's a purpose statement. 24:13 It means for this reason. 24:16 So Paul is saying: "Because this was nailed to the cross 24:21 for this very purpose don't let anyone 24:25 judge you in food or in drink 24:28 or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbath. " 24:33 What's he talking about here? 24:35 The food and drink offerings. 24:38 The festival ceremonial Sabbaths. 24:43 "Because, " he says... he's certainly talking about the book 24:47 of the law... "because, " he says "they were a shadow... " 24:57 All of these things - the ceremonial law - 25:00 pointed to Jesus Christ and it ended at the cross. 25:05 So the big picture... What's the big picture? 25:10 It's obvious the old covenant ended at the cross. 25:14 It was nailed to the cross, but the Ten Commandments 25:18 that are inside God's ark - His Bill of Rights - 25:23 remain as the foundation. 25:24 And so now let's look at righteousness. 25:26 We've seen what law is; let's talk about righteousness. 25:29 Righteousness is more than just right doing or right being. 25:34 Righteousness is right standing with God. 25:37 There's only One that has ever walked the face of the earth 25:40 that was righteous, so you can say righteousness 25:43 is a person. It was God in the person of Jesus Christ. 25:48 So our only hope at achieving righteousness 25:52 is to have a relationship with Him 25:54 and receive His righteousness by faith. 25:58 And it comes in two ways. 26:01 First, imputed righteousness. 26:04 And imputed simply means it's credited to our account. 26:08 His perfect moral character, 26:11 His perfect obedience to all of God's commandments, 26:14 is credited to us. 26:17 And you know what? This is like a courtroom 26:19 scene if you will. This is justification. 26:23 When the imputed righteousness II Corinthians 5:21 says: 26:27 "God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us 26:32 that we might become the righteousness of God 26:34 in Christ Jesus. " 26:36 So what he's saying is 26:40 the blood Jesus blots out our sins. 26:44 There is no more forensic evidence. 26:47 We are acquitted; we are declared pardoned. 26:52 We're declared righteous. 26:55 But let me tell you something: God wants to do more 26:59 than just cover your past sins. 27:01 He wants to make you righteous. 27:04 He wants to pour His righteousness into you. 27:08 And implied in the New Testament is imparted righteousness. 27:13 Imparted righteousness is when Christ lives in your heart 27:18 by faith. That's what Ephesians 3:17 says. 27:21 By the power of the Holy Spirit He's living in your hearts 27:26 by faith, and Paul said in Philippians 2:13 27:31 "God works in you to will 27:34 and to do His good pleasure. " 27:37 Let me tell you something: you can't achieve righteousness 27:40 on your own. You can't obey on your own. 27:43 Apart from Jesus Christ you can do nothing 27:47 but with Him you can do all things. 27:50 So He empowers us by His Spirit 27:54 to walk in obedience as an expression of our love for Him. 28:00 So the big picture? 28:02 Righteousness by faith is the only kind of righteousness 28:06 there is. Now let's talk about sin. What is sin? 28:10 Sin is the opposite of righteousness. 28:12 It's wrong doing; wrong being; wrong standing. 28:14 Sin originated from pride and self-seeking. 28:20 And any time pride and self-seeking enters the picture 28:24 it leads us away from God. 28:27 And to live apart from God 28:30 is the downfall of any created being. 28:33 Here we've got Lucifer! God created this perfect 28:37 angel, and pride and self- seeking arose in his heart. 28:43 What happened? He became a devil! 28:47 Now when in the garden 28:52 Lucifer was speaking through the serpent to Eve 28:57 guess what happened? 28:58 He planted doubt in her mind. 29:01 He said: "Hey, God's holding back something good from you. " 29:04 See, Lucifer wanted to live by self-determination. 29:08 He accused God of being unfair for deciding 29:11 what's right and what's wrong. 29:13 And here He told Adam and Eve: "Don't eat 29:16 from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. " 29:19 It's not up to you to decide what's good for you. 29:22 It's not up to you to decide what's bad for you. 29:25 That's God's sovereignty. 29:28 So Eve... a little pride sets in. 29:33 And guess what happens. 29:36 She, then, has this desire for self-determination. 29:42 "I'll decide what's good for me. " 29:45 And she took of the fruit and she ate it. 29:47 And she gave it to Adam; he followed suit. 29:50 And they fractured the relationship with God. 29:54 The essence of sin is unbelief. 29:56 In Romans 12 Paul says that whatever is not from faith 30:01 is sin. And when unbelief enters 30:06 guess what? It creates actions that are 30:10 contrary to God's will. 30:12 Contrary to God's law. 30:14 I John 3:4 says: "Whoever commits sin 30:17 also commits lawlessness. " Sin IS lawlessness! 30:23 EVERY sin is done against the will of God. 30:28 So sin is a transgression, a violation of God's law. 30:33 Do you see the big picture 30:36 of the law of God - His perfect law? 30:40 And if you are walking in obedience 30:44 because of Christ's righteousness, you're lined up 30:46 with this law. But guess what? 30:48 If you separate yourself from Christ, 30:51 living apart from God you're sinning. 30:54 And so that's the connection. 30:56 Now let's look... 'cause here's the fun part. 30:59 Let's look at gospel covenant and seed. 31:04 Gospel covenant and seed. 31:06 Gospel's simple. It simply means the good news. 31:09 Good news of what? The good news of salvation by 31:12 grace through faith in Christ Jesus. 31:14 Covenant takes a little bit more to explain. 31:17 In the Hebrew covenant is berit, B-E-R-I-T. 31:21 It's used 280 times in the Old Testament. 31:25 And about ten times it's talking about covenants between 31:29 a man to a man. But the rest of the time 31:32 it's referring about God's promises to His people. 31:35 Berit means to obligate, to bind. 31:40 Now in the Greek 31:44 there are two words for covenant. 31:46 You don't need to remember these words. 31:48 We're just getting the big picture here. 31:50 Just remember the principle. 31:52 But there's two words for covenant in the Greek. 31:55 There is diatheke... and this implies equality 32:00 among people like they're creating a contract 32:04 or they're creating a treaty or something like this. 32:08 A partnership... that's diatheke. 32:12 But then there's this beautiful word called suntheke, 32:15 and that's the kind of covenant that is a will 32:19 or a testament 32:21 where there is only one who is making all of the promises. 32:26 And then if anybody wants to enter in unto that covenant 32:30 they're agreeing that the one who makes all the promises 32:33 sets the terms and the people who enter in say "Yes, 32:37 I'll abide by your terms. " 32:39 Guess what? The reason I'm telling you this 32:43 when the Old Testament 32:47 was translated into Greek 32:50 there were 70 Jewish scholars 32:53 who did the translation of the five books of Moses. 32:56 Two hundred and eighty times - 33:00 or two hundred and seventy times - 33:02 they used the word... and I think I said it to you wrong... 33:07 suntheke is when you're together, 33:09 diatheke is when it's one person. 33:14 Two hundred and seventy times 33:16 they used diatheke. 33:18 They are saying all of God's covenants 33:24 are... God alone is making the promises. 33:29 Boy, I did mess that up, didn't I? 33:32 But all of God's promises are diatheke 33:37 not suntheke... is where two or more are working together 33:40 as a contract. All of God's promises are His will, 33:44 His testament. And that is important because... 33:48 It's significant because it's not the way most people 33:51 see the old covenant. 33:52 In the original writing of the New Testament 33:56 it's in Greek, and that, too, always - whether it's the old 34:01 covenant or the new covenant - 34:03 refers to God's covenants as diatheke. 34:06 God alone is making the promises. 34:11 So the big picture is God's covenant is an invitation 34:16 to you to share a wholehearted relationship with Him. 34:22 He says: "I will be your God; you will be My people. " 34:26 And He promises His benevolence; He promises His protection 34:31 in exchange for the way of love. 34:34 Now, Revelation 14 and verse 6. 34:38 This is a very familiar scripture. 34:40 It's the beginning of the three angels' messages. 34:43 And it says: 34:58 Everlasting. The word in the Greek is aiónios 35:03 and that means eternal. 35:05 But now get this: it's a relative term. 35:09 If it's describing mortal humanity or perishable things, 35:14 it means just as long as that thing exists. 35:17 For example, when Jude 7 says 35:22 that Sodom and Gomorrah were set forth as an example 35:25 of eternal fire are they still on fire today? 35:28 No... it was as long as that thing existed. 35:31 But when it's referring to the Lord who Paul says 35:34 in I Timothy 6 "alone is immortal" 35:37 then everlasting means past, present, and future. 35:41 So here is my question: 35:44 if you had to explain... 35:47 Think about this. Give me your full attention. 35:50 If you had to explain 35:53 to someone what is the everlasting gospel 35:59 and use only one scripture, 36:01 what would you choose? 36:03 What scripture would you choose? 36:06 Actually, we don't have to worry about it. 36:08 John introduced it in the previous chapter 36:12 in Revelation 13:8 in the context of the Book of Life. 36:22 THIS is the everlasting gospel. 36:26 "The Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world" 36:31 is an obvious reference to God's Calvary plan, 36:35 the death of Christ, the spotless Lamb of God. 36:39 And with perfect omniscience the all-knowing Godhead 36:43 looked into the future 36:45 and pre-determined the Calvary plan 36:47 before the foundation of the world. 36:51 And don't be fooled. It was God who came down 36:55 to earth. And in Philippians 2:6 Paul said: 36:59 "He humbled Himself; He took on our flesh. " 37:04 And then He humbled Himself even further to die 37:07 on the cross for us. 37:10 So your ransom price was determined in eternity past. 37:16 Hallelujah! 37:17 So Hebrews 13:20-21 helps prove this point. 37:22 He said: 37:38 The everlasting covenant - the eternal covenant - 37:42 God planned His will, His testament, in eternity. 37:47 And He promised and obligated Himself 37:51 to ratify the eternal covenant 37:55 of redemption with His own blood. 37:58 So why did He have to die? 38:00 Well the Bible says: "All have sinned 38:03 and fallen short of the glory of God. " 38:05 We are spiritual slaves to sin. 38:08 And what is the penalty for sin? 38:10 Death! So He had to come down to redeem us 38:15 from Satan's slave market. 38:18 And you know, here's something He did: 38:21 He didn't just redeem us. 38:23 He actually revealed God's justice. 38:27 God couldn't just say: "Oh, you broke My law. 38:30 Oh well, forget about it. " 38:33 No, the justice of God demanded that the penalty be paid. 38:37 And Jesus paid it for us to show the mercy. 38:40 So if the breaking of... the penalty for breaking the law 38:45 and the substitute for paying the penalty 38:48 were determined in eternity past, 38:51 what does that tell us about the unchanging nature of the law 38:55 of God? 38:57 OK... Christ IS the covenant. 39:02 Look at Isaiah 42:6-7. 39:07 This is the Lord speaking, and this is a Messianic prophecy. 39:11 He says: "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness. " 39:31 You know, even in the Old Testament, 39:34 the prophet Jeremiah, one of the titles for the Messiah 39:38 was The Lord Our Righteousness. 39:41 So the big picture is this: 39:45 The everlasting gospel is the everlasting covenant 39:49 of redemption in Christ and righteousness by faith. 39:53 The glory of the covenant is God's wholehearted 39:58 self-sacrificing love. 40:01 And His purpose? He wanted to be our God 40:04 and let us be His people. 40:06 And I have to say this: do not think for one second 40:10 that grace is a New Testament concept. 40:14 In the Old Testament there's a word that far surpasses grace. 40:19 It is heset - H-E-S-E-T. 40:23 And you can't translate it with one word into English. 40:26 You know what it means? 40:28 It means the total commitment of God's love. 40:31 His covenant faithfulness. His grace; His mercy. 40:35 His lovingkindness and His loyalty. 40:39 God's nature is unchanging 40:44 and the truth is eternal. 40:47 The eternal truth is as unchanging as God Himself. 40:53 So God's means of salvation has always and only been 40:58 salvation by grace through faith. 41:00 The entire Bible - Genesis to Revelation - 41:03 is the progressive unfolding of God's covenant. 41:08 His eternal covenant. 41:11 Christ is found on every page of the Bible. 41:14 The shadows and the types of the Messiah 41:18 fill the Old Testament. 41:20 And the New Testament simply continues the covenant narrative 41:25 that was initiated by the prophets of old. 41:29 See, Jesus came to fulfill all of God's promises. 41:33 II Corinthians 1:20 says 41:37 that all of the promises of God in Jesus Christ 41:41 are yes and amen. 41:43 So are the dots connected between the gospel and the 41:47 covenant? Does that make sense? 41:50 Now very briefly... Oh! I've got to hurry. 41:52 Let's look at the seed because 41:57 the seed... if we want to see 42:01 how the covenants progress... 42:05 it's in the story of the seed. 42:08 A definition for seed is something that is sown. 42:12 Could be physical seed or spiritual seed. 42:14 By implication it means parentage. 42:17 So God sowed His spiritual seed in Adam. 42:21 Adam was the first of a kind. 42:22 He created him in His image. 42:25 And guess what? Adam was called the son of God. 42:28 Luke 3:38 says "Adam, the son of God. " 42:33 It's a covenant term. 42:35 So when Adam was appointed as head of the human race 42:41 he forfeited his position to Satan at the fall 42:46 and then God set His covenant into motion. 42:49 Genesis 3:15, speaking to the serpent He says: 43:01 Whoo! "Between your seed" implies parentage of the devil. 43:06 Remember when Jesus told the Pharisees: "You're of your 43:08 Father the devil? " He said: 43:15 So now the everlasting covenant is going to be woven through 43:19 Scripture through the story of the seed. 43:24 If you follow the seed in that story, 43:27 a Child was to be born to the human race 43:29 who would reverse the fall. 43:32 Take Adam's place; crush the head of Satan. 43:36 And then we know in Genesis 15 43:41 the story of the seed is developed a little further. 43:45 God tells Abraham: 43:47 "Hey, you're going to have a child. 43:51 You're going to be the father of many nations. 43:53 Through your seed all the nations will be blessed. " 43:58 Adam and Eve... those promises were to be fulfilled 44:03 in the seed of Abraham and Sarah. 44:06 And look... You know, Abraham was past 44:10 both of them past childbearing age. 44:12 But look at his response. 44:16 Abraham had such trust in God... in the love of God, 44:21 in the power of God. Look at his response: Genesis 15:6. 44:31 So righteousness by faith was covenanted by God 44:37 right here in Genesis 15. 44:40 God has Abraham prepare the sacrifices. 44:43 But before the solemn confirmation guess what happens. 44:48 God puts Abraham into a deep sleep 44:51 and only God passes through the divided carcasses 44:57 basically saying "berit. " "This is My covenant. " 45:02 And He didn't have Abraham pass through; 45:04 God alone passed through 45:06 to say He is the One who is making the promises. 45:11 So this is... I'll tell you: this is my personal belief. 45:14 I believe it is this time 45:18 when God showed Abraham Christ's day. 45:22 Remember in John chapter 8 Jesus said: "Your father Abraham 45:27 rejoiced to see My day. He saw it and was glad. " 45:31 What day is he talking about? 45:33 He's talking about the day of Christ's death 45:37 and resurrection. 45:39 And let me show you why I believe this is when 45:43 Abraham... Paul say: "The gospel was preached to Abraham 45:49 in advance. " Hebrews 11:17-19. It says: 46:03 Hit the pause button. 46:05 Was Isaac his only begotten son? 46:07 He was the second of eight sons, right? 46:11 But that is a covenant term 46:13 and it's a unique son of promise. But look what he said: 46:32 Abraham had seen Christ's day. 46:34 He knew that God was going to send His Son. 46:38 He would be crucified, die, and be resurrected. 46:41 So when He asks him to sacrifice Isaac 46:44 he concludes: "OK, Lord... 46:46 You've shown me what You're going to do to Your Son. 46:49 I can sacrifice my son 46:52 because You'll be able to raise him up. " 46:55 So Genesis 22:18 says that in his seed... 47:00 God's speaking to Abraham. 47:02 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed 47:06 because you have obeyed My voice. " 47:08 See, obedience is covenant faithfulness. 47:12 Galatians 3:16 says: 47:29 Now, we're just running out of time. 47:34 God renewed His covenant with Abraham's son Isaac. 47:38 And in Genesis 26 the reason He says He did 47:44 is because Abraham obeyed 47:49 His commandments, His statues, and His laws. 47:53 So we see that obedience and righteousness by faith 47:58 go hand in hand. Then God renewed the covenant 48:02 with Isaac's son Jacob. Remember when Jacob 48:05 saw the ladder? Had the dream of the ladder? 48:08 God said: "In your seed will all the nations be blessed. " 48:14 And this is why He's called the God of Abraham, 48:17 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 48:19 But you'll also see it written "The God of Abraham, 48:22 the God of Jacob, the God of Israel. " 48:24 Because when Jacob wrestled with the Lord 48:28 God gave him a new spiritual name: Israel. 48:32 And then his twelve sons 48:35 fathered the nation of Israel 48:36 And if we don't do anything else I've gotta show you this. 48:42 The nation of Israel became slaves in Egypt. 48:47 Four hundred years they're oppressed. 48:50 And when they cry out to God for deliverance 48:53 God shared the same covenant relationship with them 48:57 that He did with Abraham. 49:00 Let's look. I've got four scriptures to prove that. 49:04 Exodus 2:24: "God heard their groaning 49:08 and God remembered... " What? 49:15 Now skip forward to Exodus 4:22. 49:19 God's sending Moses to Pharaoh and He says: 49:32 You know what that means? 49:33 The nation of Israel certainly wasn't the first nation. 49:37 It's a covenant term. Firstborn is not priority 49:41 of your birth positioning. 49:45 It means that it's a rank. It's priority as far as 49:50 your possession of the inheritance and leadership. 49:55 Look at Exodus 6 and verse 5. God says: 50:09 What covenant? With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! 50:13 "Therefore... " Any time you see therefore 50:15 it's a bridge. He's taking that thought: 50:19 God remembered His covenant... " 50:38 This is a progressive unfolding of the continuation 50:42 of the covenant of grace, and God graciously delivered them. 50:46 He saved them before they mea- sured up to His moral standard. 50:51 That was not a pre- condition for their salvation. 50:55 He delivered them through the Red Sea, 50:57 brought them to Mt. Sinai. 51:00 And they were to be His covenant people 51:02 and enjoy the blessings of the covenant with Abraham: 51:06 that covenant of grace. 51:08 Look at Exodus 19 just before God speaks the Ten Commandments. 51:12 He says: 51:20 Boy, that is covenant love language. 51:23 God is saying: "I'm your Redeemer. You are mine! " 51:28 And He says: "If you will indeed obey My voice... " 51:47 And all the people said: "All the Lord says we will do. " 51:50 The people agreed to enter into a covenant relationship 51:54 with God before He ever spoke the Ten Commandments. 51:57 Did you know that? 51:59 Isn't that amazing? 52:01 He speaks this afterward. 52:05 But let me tell you something: 52:07 the history of Israel - you know this - 52:10 as a nation their history is largely one of covenant 52:14 unfaithfulness. 52:16 God endured a one- sided relationship for so long 52:21 with His chosen nation. 52:24 But He remained faithful to the covenant. 52:26 And the ongoing lineage of the seed, the succession of God's 52:30 covenant sonship, 52:32 was passed on to others like David and Solomon 52:35 and finally reached the point 52:39 of fulfillment in the last Adam, the person of Jesus Christ. 52:43 But it didn't end there! 52:46 It didn't end there 52:48 because Jesus Christ then produced seed. 52:52 Let's look at Isaiah 53. 52:55 Isaiah 53 verse 10 says: 53:08 He's saying: "Christ the Messiah will see His seed. " 53:27 In John chapter 12 Jesus tells a parable 53:32 about a kernel of wheat. He says: "Unless it falls 53:35 to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed. 53:39 But if it dies it produces many seeds. " 53:42 He was talking about Himself. 53:45 He was the holy Seed who had to die to pay our sin penalty. 53:50 But His resurrection proved that He had imperishable 53:54 life within Him 53:56 and His death and resurrection produced many seeds. 54:00 I Peter 1:23 says: "You were born again 54:04 not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible. " 54:09 Incorruptible seed is what you were born of. 54:13 Let me tell you something: the potential of every harvest 54:16 is in the seed. If I plant corn here, 54:19 I'm going to get corn. 54:21 If I plant wheat here, I'm going to get wheat. 54:23 All of your potential 54:26 is wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. 54:30 "In the beginning was the Word. 54:31 The Word was with God; the Word WAS God. " 54:35 The incorruptible seed 54:38 as He sows His divine nature into you. 54:42 Now Jesus... I have to get this point in... 54:46 God remained faithful to His everlasting covenant 54:50 of redemption. 54:51 He told His prophets He was going to renew it. 54:55 You know the word for new in Hebrew can mean renew. 54:58 So in Jeremiah 31 He says: 55:01 "The days are coming when I'm going to make a new covenant. " 55:05 And here's what He says in Hebrews 8. 55:07 It's quoting Jeremiah 31. 55:09 Verse 8 says: 55:24 Just as He wrote with His own finger on the tablets of stone 55:28 now He writes by the finger of God on our hearts. 55:32 You know, our hearts are the Most Holy Place. 55:37 We're the temple of God. Now that's the Most Holy Place. 55:40 And just as the Ten Commandments were the foundation, 55:44 the Bill of Rights for the old covenant, 55:47 they are also the Bill of Rights for the new covenant. 55:51 And it is... this covenant is the continuation. 55:57 It's not something brand new. 56:00 It's just the continuation of the everlasting covenant 56:03 of salvation by grace and righteousness by faith 56:08 that was promised to Abraham. 56:10 Look at Galatians 3. We'll look at verses 26, 27, and 29. 56:16 I love this. 56:20 That's a covenant term... now it's applied to you! 56:44 Do you see it? Are you getting the big picture? 56:49 God's moral law was the heart of the old and the new covenant. 56:54 Righteousness by faith is the only righteousness there is. 56:58 Sin is living apart from God. 57:00 The everlasting gospel IS the everlasting, eternal 57:05 covenant of redemption through the holy seed. 57:09 And His covenant blessings, His promises, 57:14 are conditioned upon covenant loyalty. 57:19 Obedience is to be a response of love, 57:23 an expression of our appreciation for salvation. 57:29 God wants you to be in covenant relationship with Him. |
Revised 2019-07-10