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00:35 Hello and good morning.
00:36 Welcome to everyone here in the Granite Bay Church 00:38 as well as all those who are watching online 00:40 to yet another edition 00:41 of the Sabbath School Study Hour. 00:43 We're gonna be looking at the quarterly study again here, 00:46 "Salvation by Faith Alone" in the Book of Romans. 00:50 We're gonna be studying the seventh chapter 00:52 as we continue to look at what God is revealing 00:55 in that very powerful gospel book. 00:58 And if you don't have a copy of this particular quarterly, 01:01 just want to invite you to be able to take advantage 01:03 of your local Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:05 If you haven't visited your local 01:07 Seventh-day Adventist Church and ask for a copy, 01:09 just go in and most of those churches 01:10 will have a copy, a free copy 01:12 that they'll be happy to be able to give to you. 01:14 If you're unable to be able to make that happen, 01:16 that you can also go online and go to amazingfacts.org. 01:20 That's amazingfacts.org. 01:22 You can go into the search bar and just put in there quarterly 01:26 as well as Book of Romans or just Romans 01:29 and you're sure to be able to find that link 01:30 that you'll be able to download 01:32 a free digital copy to be able to study 01:35 before we get together 01:36 as well as during or after for further study 01:39 in this very important book. 01:42 Before we start our singing here today, 01:43 we want to also offer you our free offer of the day. 01:46 And the free offer of the day today is entitled, 01:48 a little booklet entitled, "The Flesh and the Spirit". 01:52 All you need to do is dial 1-866-788-3966. 01:56 If you're in North America, 01:58 we'll be able to send that out to you. 01:59 If you happened to be outside of North America, 02:01 you're watching this program 02:02 and you'd still like to be able to 02:03 read this book for further study, 02:05 it also is available on the same website 02:07 that I spoke of earlier, amazingfacts.org. 02:10 You'll find a link there 02:11 and you can download a digital copy for free 02:13 and read that and have it for yourself as well. 02:18 Well, without further ado 02:19 we're gonna invite our singers out 02:20 as they lead us out in songs of praise before our Lord. 02:24 God bless you. 02:33 We're gonna begin our worship singing this morning 02:35 with number 132 02:37 and because we're coming into the Christmas season, 02:39 we're excited to be able to have a chance 02:41 to sing some Christmas songs 02:43 and to praise the young baby in the manger. 02:47 We're gonna start with 132, 02:48 "Oh come, all ye faithful", all three verses. 02:55 O come, all ye faithful 03:00 Joyful and triumphant 03:04 O come ye 03:06 O come ye to Bethlehem! 03:13 Come and behold Him 03:18 Born the King of angels! 03:22 O come, let us adore Him 03:27 O come, let us adore Him 03:31 O come, let us adore Him 03:36 Christ the Lord! 03:41 Sing, choirs of angels 03:45 Sing in exultation 03:49 O sing 03:51 All ye citizens of heaven above! 03:58 Glory to God 04:02 All glory in the highest! 04:07 O, come, let us adore Him 04:12 O come, let us adore Him 04:16 O come, let us adore Him 04:22 Christ the Lord! 04:27 Yea, Lord, we greet Thee 04:31 Born this happy morning 04:35 Jesus, to Thee 04:39 Be all glory given 04:45 Word of the Father 04:49 Now in flesh appearing! 04:53 O come, let us adore Him 04:58 O come, let us adore Him 05:03 O come, let us adore Him 05:08 Christ the Lord! 05:14 Before we go into our study, let's pray. 05:17 Father in heaven, we want to thank You so much 05:19 for the opportunity to be able to stop 05:21 and spend this time that is before us 05:23 to be able to open Your Bible 05:25 and to be able to look at the words of life 05:27 that You give to us in Your Word. 05:29 We thank You so much for Romans and the great gospel 05:31 and the insights that You reveal to us 05:33 there of Your Son Jesus 05:35 and all that You have done for us 05:37 and through Him 05:38 and, Lord, we want to pray that 05:40 You will open our understanding 05:41 and that Your Holy Spirit will be our teacher here today. 05:44 We want to pray a special blessing 05:45 upon Pastor Chuck as he teaches. 05:47 In Jesus' name we pray these things, God, amen. 05:53 Good morning. Happy Sabbath. 05:56 Glad that you're with us both online 05:58 and of course here at Granite Bay. 06:01 I was doing some research. 06:03 Did you realize that 06:04 there are roughly 06:06 a half of million people 06:11 living in the United States that were immigrants in 1780? 06:17 Now you realize of course we had to hold 06:18 the Native American population 06:20 which added a whole bunch more. 06:21 But actually immigrants, I'm speaking of those 06:23 who came over, 06:24 a roughly a half of million, that will be 500,000. 06:28 Of those 500,000, 06:30 roughly 50,000 came involuntarily. 06:36 You know what that means. 06:38 They came, no, not as slaves, they came as prisoners. 06:41 I'm not quite sure all the details with that 06:43 but have to do some more. 06:44 And then the remaining 450,000 roughly one half of them 06:50 came as an indentured servant. 06:53 I just wanted to share a little bit about that, 06:55 it mean I had to realize that that half of those 06:58 who came voluntarily actually came 07:01 as an indentured servant. 07:02 That was before 1750. 07:05 Now the reason was often to pay your passage, 07:08 you want to come over to the new world 07:10 and so you were hoping that someone would pay your way 07:13 and so you would promise to work 07:14 five years for them 07:16 if they would pay your way over. 07:19 Sometimes it was a businessman who was living in, 07:22 say in Virginia, New York, Massachusetts would say, 07:26 I would bring my relatives' children over 07:29 and they're going to work for me 07:31 for five years or ten years whatever the agreement was 07:34 and then they will have their, you know, 07:35 their freedom over here. 07:37 Fifty percent almost of those who came here before 1750, 07:41 this was a somewhat of their experience. 07:44 Now, of course, if it was your uncle 07:46 who paid your passage over, 07:47 your life might have been little bit easier. 07:50 But there were a lot 07:51 who didn't have that kind of experience. 07:53 In fact, probably more or the majority 07:54 of the indentured servants 07:55 were not coming from that perspective. 07:58 There was no control over 08:00 how many hours a week you worked. 08:02 There was no control on what age 08:04 you had to be to do certain things. 08:07 And there was no guarantee 08:10 that someone might say, you know what? 08:13 It was not uncommon that 08:14 maybe someone would get pregnant 08:15 in the middle of their indenturedness. 08:17 I can use that term, 08:18 I don't know if that's the correct term. 08:20 But they got pregnant in the midst of it 08:21 and he said, 08:22 "Okay, well, you can go through the pregnancy, 08:23 have the baby and we're just gonna add 08:25 two years to yours term, 08:26 that way you can fulfill your obligation to us." 08:29 So this is the thinking of indentured servant. 08:31 Now, why are we discussing, 08:32 why am I bringing up indentured servant 08:33 when I'm about to discuss Romans 7? 08:36 There's a reason for it. 08:37 You turn your Bibles with me to Romans 7, 08:40 we're gonna look at verses 1 through 6. 08:43 Romans 7:1-6. 08:46 While you're turning there, I like to state a few thoughts 08:48 that might be helpful. 08:50 When you fulfilled your obligation 08:53 as an indentured servant you were free. 08:56 It's simple. 08:58 When you fulfilled your obligation 09:00 as an indentured servant you were free. 09:03 So fulfillment of the obligation 09:05 gave freedom from that obligation. 09:09 Is that confusing or did that make sense? 09:11 Fulfillment of the obligation gave you freedom 09:14 from the obligation. 09:15 So no longer you're under that obligation 09:17 because you're free from it 'cause it's been fulfilled. 09:21 A very important point. 09:23 Do you realize, you and I 09:26 as a result of sin have an obligation. 09:31 It's a terrible obligation. 09:34 Romans 6:23 and we were... 09:37 Actually Romans 3:23, I jumped ahead of myself. 09:40 Says, "The wages of sin is death." 09:43 The obligation of us 09:46 is not that of an indentured servant. 09:49 We are not free until we die 09:51 which is the obligation of a slave. 09:52 Does that make sense? 09:54 You see the difference. 09:56 We have an obligation. 09:58 And the only way we can be free from that obligation 10:02 is when that obligation is fulfilled. 10:05 And that obligation was filled, praise God 10:07 in the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 10:10 He fulfilled an obligation for us 10:13 that if we accept it, 10:14 we can reap the benefits of freedom 10:17 from that obligation. 10:19 That stood out as something positive 10:20 because Romans 7 has its tendencies 10:22 that would not be terribly positive 10:24 as we go through it. 10:25 Romans 7, what verses we are turning to? 10:30 1-7. 10:31 1-6, excuse me. 10:33 "Know ye not, brethren, 10:36 for I speak to them that know the law, 10:38 how that the law hath dominion over a man 10:42 as long as he lives?" 10:45 You know when I first started reading this, 10:47 that stuck out in my mind just a little bit. 10:51 Haven't we just read that somewhere 10:53 about dominion, remember last week? 10:56 Romans 6, when we are looking at Romans 6:14 says, 11:00 "For sin shall not have dominion over you, 11:03 for you are not under the law but under grace." 11:06 Now I'm seeing here in Romans 7, 11:08 "Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them 11:10 that know the law, how that the..." 11:12 What has dominion here? 11:14 "The law has dominion." 11:16 Now they are almost been used, 11:19 they are not the same in anyway shape or form, 11:22 but sometimes you get the feel that 11:23 Paul is using these anonymously. 11:25 He is not. 11:27 But in Romans 6, 11:29 I'm getting freedom from what? 11:32 Sin. 11:34 Romans 7, 11:35 I'm getting freedom from what? 11:40 Yes, kind of, right? 11:43 So let's go. 11:45 "Know ye not, brethren, 11:47 for I speak to them that know the law." 11:49 He is speaking to those 11:50 who are familiar with the Jewish system. 11:52 "How that the law have dominion over a man 11:54 as long as he lives?" 11:55 And then verse 2 and 3 is a great illustration. 11:58 "For the woman which hath an husband 12:02 is bound by the law to her husband 12:04 so long as he lives, 12:05 but if the husband be dead, 12:07 she is loosed from the law of her husband. 12:10 So then if, while her husband lives, 12:13 she be married to another man, 12:15 she shall be called an adulteress: 12:18 but if her husband be dead, she is" what? 12:21 She is free from what? 12:23 "That law. 12:24 So that she is no adulterous 12:26 though she be married to another man. 12:28 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become..." 12:32 What's the next word? 12:33 "Dead." 12:34 Dead and this gonna be our focus. 12:36 We'll try to explain this 12:37 as we finish reading the section. 12:38 "Ye also become dead to" what? 12:42 "The law by the body of Christ, 12:45 that you should be married to another, 12:47 even to him who is raised from the dead, 12:49 that we should bring forth fruit unto God." 12:52 Then verse 5 and 6. 12:54 "For when we were in the flesh, 12:56 the motions of sins or the passions of sins, 13:01 which were by or through the law, 13:04 did work in our members or body 13:07 to bring forth fruit unto death." 13:09 "But now, we are..." 13:12 What's that next word? 13:14 Delivered. "Delivered. 13:16 Set free from the law 13:19 that being dead wherein we were held, 13:24 that we should serve in newness of spirit, 13:27 and not in oldness of letter." 13:31 I want to take some time 13:32 just to unpack those first six verses 13:34 because they are a key I think 13:35 to understanding the rest of chapter 7. 13:39 But I'm gonna do it backwards, is that okay? 13:42 We are not going to start in verse 1, 13:43 I'm gonna start in verse 6. 13:45 Let's look at verse 6. 13:47 And we ask a few questions as I go through verse 6. 13:54 What happens? 13:55 But now we are... 13:58 I'm looking at verse 6, 13:59 "But now we are delivered from the law." 14:03 Why the word delivered? 14:07 Why would we use the word delivered? 14:09 It means set free. Yes. 14:12 So now we are set free from the law. 14:16 And then it says this next part, 14:18 found it fascinating, 14:20 that being dead, or another way is seen is 14:23 being dead to that "wherein we were held. 14:28 "Being dead to that wherein we were held." 14:31 What were we held? 14:32 What was holding us? 14:34 The law was. 14:36 I'm being set free from the law because the law was holding me 14:39 or can I say it in this way, was holding me captive. 14:43 Is that a picture here? 14:45 So the law was holding me captive 14:49 and I'm being delivered from that law 14:52 that's holding me captive. 14:55 I find that interesting. 14:59 Are you being held captive by the law? 15:03 Are you...? I may rephrase it. 15:06 Are you under condemnation of the law? 15:10 Are you guilty? 15:12 You see the picture that's being laid out here. 15:15 There it says that we... 15:17 It says but now we are delivered from, 15:18 praise God, right? 15:22 "That we should serve in newness of spirit, 15:27 and not in oldness of letter." 15:35 I'm not allowed to talk about that yet 15:36 according to my notes, sorry. 15:38 So let's go back to verse 2 and 3. 15:40 Keep your point there. 15:41 The point is, we are delivered from the law 15:46 because we were held in bondage to the law, why? 15:49 Because we were guilty. Isn't that right? 15:51 Once you've broken the law, 15:52 you are now a servant to that law. 15:54 Actually you are servant to sin and held bondage by the law, 15:57 and we put those two separately, okay. 15:59 Let's go back to verse 2 and 3. 16:01 Verse 2 and 3, the marriage analogy 16:02 that Paul is using here in verse 2 and 3, fascinating. 16:06 "For the woman which hath an husband 16:08 is bound by the law 16:12 to her husband so long as he lives, 16:14 but if the husband be dead, 16:15 she is loosed from the law of her husband." 16:17 In other words, she is married to her husband 16:22 and she is forced to stay married to him, 16:25 as long as he lives. 16:28 Pray for my wife. 16:30 Right? 16:32 I'd say pray for me 16:33 but you're not allowed to say that 16:34 when you are a speaker. 16:35 So pray for my wife. Amen? 16:38 I am bound to her, 16:39 she is bound to me because of what? 16:42 The law. That's the way it is. 16:45 We made a covenant with each other 16:47 and it's a binding covenant, 16:49 and we are staying connected. 16:51 That's the picture. 16:52 Now goes to verse 3, 16:55 and we'll not continue with the analogy 16:56 of myself at this point. 16:58 "So then if, while her husband lives, 17:00 she be married to another man, 17:02 she shall be called an adulteress." 17:04 If a wife spends time with someone 17:06 who is not her husband is considered adultery, 17:09 but when the husband dies 17:11 she can spend time with another man 17:13 and it's not considered adultery anymore 17:15 unless he is married. 17:16 Right? 17:18 It goes on and says... 17:21 Yeah, so that's a picture that's being laid out here. 17:26 Paul is trying to give us an understanding 17:28 that death brings freedom. 17:33 There is more that he is sharing, 17:34 but I want to emphasize that part 17:36 'cause that's the part I'm gonna emphasize 17:37 in this lesson. 17:38 Death brings what? 17:40 Freedom. 17:42 There is not freedom from a law. 17:45 Let me split it this way, 17:46 the bondage or the control of the law 17:49 or the being put in prison by that law 17:51 because you are being forced to do a certain thing. 17:54 You and I don't like saying force, do we? 17:56 Because the reality is I chose to be married. 18:00 It was a choice, 18:01 I'm very thankful for that choice. 18:03 But the reality is 18:05 I couldn't get out of it if I wanted to. 18:07 Spiritually speaking, 18:09 but that's okay because I chose to do that. 18:13 Do you realize so many things that we look at is freedom 18:16 are really not freedom, they are bondage. 18:17 And so many things we look at bondage really aren't bondage, 18:19 it's freedom. 18:20 Hope I confused you. 18:23 Really honestly 18:26 when we choose to put our self into something 18:29 that is bondage, 18:30 is it then bondage if we chose it? 18:34 Anyhow I digress. 18:37 Verse 4, "Wherefore, my brethren, 18:43 ye also are become dead to the law." 18:46 And this is the phrase that I really wanted us to focus on 18:49 because that's the first section here 18:51 in your quarterly. 18:52 "We are become dead to the law by the body of" who? 18:58 "We have become dead to the law by the body of Christ. 19:05 What does it mean to become dead to the law? 19:06 We already discussed that in verse 6, 19:08 it means to be delivered from the law. 19:13 Does the law become dead? 19:16 No. 19:17 Do we become dead? Yes. 19:20 How? 19:24 How do we become dead? 19:25 Biblically speaking you just read this last week. 19:28 How do you and I become dead? 19:30 Romans 6. 19:34 Yes, how do I become dead to sin? 19:35 Baptism. Yes, thank you, ma'am. 19:38 Baptism, I should say it 19:40 so those of you who are watching can hear it. 19:41 Romans 6:3 and 4 says, 19:47 "Know ye not, that so many of us 19:49 as were baptized into Jesus Christ 19:51 were baptized into" what? 19:52 "His death. 19:53 Therefore we are buried with him 19:55 by baptism into death." 19:58 That like as Christ was raised up from the dead 20:00 by the glory of the Father, 20:01 even so we also should walk in newness of life. 20:05 So I am dead when I'm connected with Christ, 20:09 He died so therefore I died. 20:14 His death then becomes mine. 20:17 And that is the beauty of Christianity. 20:20 His death becomes mine. 20:22 That's how I can experience life. 20:27 The Bible continues on 20:29 in this passage had a few more things 20:31 are being dead, verse 6 of Romans 6 20:35 "Knowing this, that our old man is" what? 20:40 Crucified with who? 20:42 With Him. 20:44 The way you and I die is by dying with Him. 20:49 Accepting His death on our behalf 20:53 and, yes, dying with Him. 20:56 It is only through death 20:58 that you and I can experience life. 21:01 Is the only way. 21:03 That's why you see in Romans 7 where we were just at, 21:06 and it says in verse 6, 21:09 "We should serve in newness of spirit, 21:11 and not oldness of letter." 21:13 That only takes place when there is a resurrection. 21:16 There's got to be a resurrection. 21:19 There's got to be a death, 21:20 there has to be a resurrection. 21:24 Let's continue, 21:26 verse 4 continued and said this, 21:31 "That you should be married to another" 21:32 so we die with Christ, 21:35 and then we can be remarried. 21:37 It's kind of interesting typically. 21:38 Okay, here's this scenario before, husband wife, 21:43 husband dies, wife can get remarried. 21:47 This is different, husband wife, 21:50 husband dies so he can be remarried. 21:57 Yeah, are you confused? 22:00 Spiritually that's what we are talking about here. 22:03 What we saw before in 2 and 3 is 22:05 the dead person now is gone 22:08 and alive person has freedom, 22:11 but in this case, we die and we have freedom. 22:17 Do you see that? 22:19 We die to the law 22:23 and now have freedom to remarry. 22:27 Who? 22:28 Jesus Christ, and I love the way 22:31 inspiration puts it here. 22:34 "That we should bring forth fruit unto God." 22:39 New marriage produces new fruit. 22:46 I know that's really deep, 22:48 heavy biological statement right there. 22:51 But new marriage produces new fruit. 22:55 We don't like to think about this 22:57 but this is a reality. 22:59 If you lost your spouse and you remarried, 23:04 your children would be different. 23:08 If you had new children 23:10 with the spouse that you got remarried to, 23:12 does it make sense? 23:14 It's the same thing in our lives, 23:17 when we are married 23:19 and actually Romans use the word 23:20 bondage to the law, the fruit isn't that good. 23:25 But when you and I remarry to Christ, 23:27 we have new fruit. 23:29 Is this a new phrase for Romans 7? 23:31 No, it's not. Go back to Romans 6. 23:35 Romans 6, 7 and 8, if you want to understand 7, 23:38 you have to understand 6, you have to understand 8, 23:40 they are together, internally connected. 23:42 I really wish that I was teaching next week. 23:45 Whoever teaches next week, God bless them. 23:47 They have all the fun part, now this is fun too 23:50 because we have a chance to see who we really are. 23:52 What Jesus can be to us, amen? 23:54 But let's continue, Romans 6, which verse did we mentioned? 23:59 6:22. 24:02 Let's go back to 6:22, we were in 7:4 right now 24:05 and we looked at 7:5, 24:06 we looked about the new fruit, right? 24:09 Actually that was verse 4, 24:12 "We bring forth fruit unto God." 24:13 Let's go back to 6:22, it says, 24:16 "But now being made free from sin, 24:19 and become servants to" whom? 24:21 "God, you have your fruit unto holiness, 24:23 and the end everlasting life." 24:25 So in Romans 7 we are using the marriage symbol. 24:28 In Romans 6 they are using a servant symbol. 24:33 But Romans 6, it says 24:34 when you become a servant to God, 24:36 Romans 7, when you say, 24:37 when you become married to Christ, 24:40 you have what kind of fruit? 24:43 Fruit unto holiness, or righteousness, 24:48 it's a new fruit. 24:50 I propose friends that 24:51 this is the whole issue of Romans 7, 24:55 who you are married to? 24:58 And what it looks like? 25:00 You know, in Romans 7 starting with verse 7, 25:02 actually verse 8 we are going to start to digress. 25:05 We're going to be looking at some things that had happened 25:07 that are not pleasant. 25:09 But in that digression 25:10 it's only simply a recapping of what we saw 25:12 in verses 1 through 6, this remarriage. 25:15 God wants us to have food unto holiness, 25:18 and it's impossible, friends, by yourself. 25:22 In fact, it's impossible of your self. 25:27 There is in you nothing that is good. 25:31 In fact, I will share a phrase with you 25:33 that we'll close up with. 25:37 Desire without power to acquire 25:42 is wretchedness. 25:45 Desire without power to acquire 25:49 is wretchedness. 25:50 Remember that because that's Romans 7. 25:52 That's the Romans 7 man 25:54 and we must realize that picture 25:56 as we come back to it, okay. 26:02 Let's look at verse 5, Romans 7:5, 26:08 "For when we were in the flesh the passions of sins, 26:13 which were by the law, 26:14 did work in our body or members 26:17 to bring forth fruit unto death." 26:18 So you're going to have fruit. 26:21 This is a fruit, a new fruit when you marry with Christ, 26:23 this is the old fruit, fruit that leads to death. 26:30 Is it possible to have fruit unto death? 26:35 Which I said so, 6:20, 26:38 I'm connecting 6 and 7 real quick. 26:40 I won't do this much longer but I'm gonna do little bit 26:42 just to show you the connection. 26:43 6:20, "When you were the servants of sin, 26:46 you were free from" what? 26:48 "Righteousness." 26:49 You know this by memory probably, verse 21, 26:51 what's the next phrase? 26:54 What's the next word? 26:55 "What fruit had you then in the things 26:58 whereof you are now ashamed? 26:59 For the end of those things is death." 27:00 When you are the servant of sin, 27:03 you have fruit to death. 27:05 When you are a servant of God, 27:08 you have a fruit unto righteousness. 27:10 That's Romans 6. 27:11 Now in Romans 7:4, 27:14 it tells me that when I'm married to Christ, 27:17 I have fruit unto God. 27:19 And verse 5 tells me that when I'm in the flesh, 27:24 I have fruit unto death. 27:30 Now I ask you a question. 27:33 What does it mean to be in the flesh 27:35 based upon what I just told you? 27:37 Actually based upon the word just teaching us. 27:44 Let me repeat it. 27:45 When I'm a servant to sin, I have fruit unto death. 27:50 When I'm a servant unto God, 27:52 I have fruit unto righteousness. 27:54 Romans 6. 27:55 Romans 7, when I'm a servant, I'm married to Christ, 27:59 I have fruit unto God. 28:01 When I'm in the flesh, I have fruit unto death. 28:08 Being in the flesh is synonymous 28:11 to being a servant to sin. 28:14 It's the same thing. 28:16 I know that sounds simple but we must grasp that 28:18 because that's an understanding of Romans 7. 28:21 If you want to be a servant... 28:24 If you have fruit that is to sin, 28:26 a fruit is unto death 28:27 is because you are a servant of sin 28:29 or you are fleshly. 28:31 Fleshly does not inherit the kingdom of God, it cannot. 28:37 It's impossible by the way. 28:41 Desire without power to acquire 28:46 is wretchedness. 28:50 Ever feel wretched? 28:53 You don't have to raise your hand, 28:54 I'll raise mine. 28:56 I've been there. 28:58 Because when I had longed for something 29:00 and I can't get it 29:02 and it's impossible for me to get it, 29:05 that's a wretched feeling. 29:09 Desire without ability or power to acquire. 29:12 Okay. 29:13 Let's go on verse 6. 29:15 Let's finish up verse 6. 29:17 I notice my time and so I'm going to continue. 29:20 Verse 6 says, "For now we are delivered from the law, 29:23 that being death wherein we were held." 29:26 And we talked about that, 29:27 I'm going to continue to the last part of this phrase, 29:29 "That we should serve in newness of spirit 29:34 and not in oldness of letter." 29:37 I would like to emphasize, 29:39 it is impossible to serve after you die 29:44 unless there is a resurrection. 29:50 If I go to a funeral 29:52 and I see a person who is dead lying there. 29:57 There's no way that they would ever serve. 30:01 That make sense? 30:02 It's impossible for them to serve. 30:05 How can a dead person serve? 30:06 Can a dead person get up and get you water? 30:10 No. 30:11 Would a dead person mow your lawn? 30:16 You are not sure. Well, let me tell you, no, no. 30:19 We just had Halloween this week, 30:20 I want to clarify, right, it's not happening. 30:23 Dead people don't have ability to accomplish anything, 30:28 unless there is what? 30:31 A resurrection. 30:32 You must have a resurrection or you don't have service. 30:36 Is that clear? 30:38 No resurrection, no service. 30:40 You must have a resurrection to have service. 30:42 So when you see this walking in newness of life, 30:45 oh, it's exciting, but what does it mean? 30:49 Can I go back to my last time? 30:51 Roman 6. Romans 6. 30:54 Do you see a resurrection anywhere last week 30:55 when we studied Romans 6? 30:58 I did. Yes. 31:01 Romans 6:4, 31:03 "Therefore we are buried with him 31:05 by baptism into death, that like as Christ was..." 31:10 What's that word? 31:12 "Raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, 31:14 even so we also should walk in newness of life." 31:17 Then it says in verse 5, 31:18 "For if we have been planted together 31:20 in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in" what? 31:25 "The likeness of his resurrection." 31:27 When there's a resurrection, there is good service. 31:33 Without a resurrection, there is no service. 31:37 You must have a resurrection. 31:39 Dying is not enough, resurrection is essential. 31:46 "If he be not raised, then our hope is in vain." 31:49 1 Corinthians, amen? 31:52 Okay. 31:54 With all of that theory, how does it apply to me today? 31:58 You might turn with me to Colossians 3. 32:03 Colossians 3. 32:06 Some of you are making the application in your mind 32:08 but if you don't mind I'm gonna take that liberty 32:10 as a teacher here to make the application myself. 32:13 Colossians 3 and starting with verse 1, 32:20 "If ye then be raised or risen with Christ, 32:26 resurrected with Christ, 32:28 seek those things that are above, 32:31 where Christ sits on the right hand of God. 32:34 Set your affection" where? 32:37 "Not on things that are below or on the earth" Why? 32:42 "For ye are dead." 32:45 And your life is set with Christ in God. 32:48 This is the call to be dead and to be raised or risen 32:54 or resurrected with Christ. 32:57 "If you then be risen with Christ, 32:58 seek those things that are above." 33:00 My friends, in our lives, 33:06 we can try to do a lot of things. 33:10 If you simply try to get rid of the bad out of your life, 33:16 you will never be successful. 33:20 If you simply try to get rid of the bad in your life, 33:23 you will never be successful. 33:24 Let me put it this way. 33:25 If you simply try to mortify 33:27 as it says in King James Version, 33:28 or kill the bad things in your life, 33:31 you will never have success in your Christian experience. 33:35 I'm not going to do it 33:36 because these flowers are pretty. 33:37 But I like to pull them out of vase right now. 33:40 Let me show you something, if I had a tree up here, 33:43 little small tree and it was planted 33:47 in a nice potted plant and you have the tree coming up 33:50 and you have all those branches, 33:51 I say, I wanted to get rid of that tree. 33:53 And if I go to that tree and I simply start 33:56 killing the branches, cutting them off 33:59 and throwing them away. 34:01 Have I killed the tree? 34:04 No, the tree is still going to be alive. 34:06 Even though I have done my very best to kill it, 34:09 there is still going to be a life in it. 34:11 It's just a reality of it. 34:15 The only way to get rid of the tree 34:18 is to get rid of the roots, and then there must be what? 34:23 A new life. 34:25 Got to get rid of the old tree, got to get a new tree. 34:27 Get rid of your old trees 34:29 and then ask God to do something in your life. 34:32 If you simply spend your time mortifying 34:35 and don't allow God to do a resurrection in you, 34:38 you will never have success in your Christian experience. 34:41 For simply trying to mortify the old 34:45 and don't allow the resurrection of the new, 34:47 there will not be true life in you. 34:52 Death without a resurrection is not service. 34:56 There must be a resurrection for there to be a service. 34:59 All right, I've beaten that horse too long. 35:00 Okay. 35:02 Are you ready? 35:05 Romans 6:16, 35:11 these are so intricately connected, 35:13 it says, "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves 35:16 servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, 35:18 whether of sin unto death, 35:19 or of obedience unto righteousness?" 35:21 Right? 35:22 Very simple, you're one or the other. 35:24 You do not have a choice. 35:26 You're a indentured servant or you're indentured servant, 35:28 where do you want to be? 35:29 You're a slave or you're slave, 35:31 which side you want to be a slave on? 35:33 That's just a reality. 35:34 You're married to one or you're married to the other. 35:36 Sorry. 35:37 Isn't it interesting how Paul connects 35:38 the marriage and slavery? 35:40 Maybe explain some of his other comments. 35:41 Anyhow, lets... I digress. 35:45 But this is where you're stuck. 35:48 You're either married to one or married to the other. 35:50 Slave to one, slave to the other. 35:51 You and I don't have the chance to say, 35:53 I'm free from both. 35:55 There is either one or the other. 35:57 I can't... 35:58 I'll speak for myself, I want to be married to Christ. 36:02 Amen. 36:03 I want to be a slave to Christ. 36:06 I know that comes with obligations, 36:08 sometimes I don't like quite frankly, 36:10 and you know what? 36:12 I trust Him, so I don't care. 36:14 Does it make sense? 36:17 I want Him. 36:19 Romans 7:7 36:21 our next verse says, 36:28 "What shall we say then? 36:29 Is the law sin?" 36:30 And I'm glad he brings this out. 36:32 Paul under inspiration had to realize, I'm comparing, 36:36 I'm using the same phrases for law 36:37 and the first six verses here 36:39 that I used for sin in Romans 6, 36:41 maybe they're going to start thinking that, 36:42 I think, the law was sin and so here's what he says, 36:45 "Is the law sin?" 36:48 And then his answer is what. 36:50 Absolutely not or God forbid, if you have King James Version, 36:54 "No, I had not known sin but by the law, 36:56 for I had not known lust except the law had said, 36:58 thou shall not covet." 37:01 So what law is he talking about here? 37:04 He's talking about the Ten Commandments, 37:05 the moral law without a question at all. 37:08 So the moral law was good. 37:10 I've been talking about the moral law, 37:12 and the moral law is good, then why this complaint? 37:14 What is the relationship and that's the next lesson, 37:17 the next day we're looking at our Sabbath School Study. 37:19 What is the connection between the law and sin? 37:24 What is the connection? 37:25 Because it almost sounds like the law isn't good here. 37:27 Have you sensed that? 37:31 It's not what he's saying 37:32 but you get that feeling sometimes. 37:35 You want to be delivered from it, why? 37:38 What do you want to be delivered from? 37:40 Okay, are you ready for some study? 37:42 I hope so, 'cause I am. 37:45 Let's look at verse 8. 37:48 Romans 7:8 says this, 37:52 "But sin taking occasion 37:55 by the commandment, wrought or produced in me, 38:00 all manner of concupiscence 38:03 or evil desire, 38:08 for without the law, sin was dead." 38:11 Oh, there it is. 38:13 If it wasn't for the law, we wouldn't have sin. 38:16 I guess you knew that already, all right. 38:19 So why do we like the law then? 38:23 Verse 9, "For I was alive without the law once, 38:27 but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died 38:32 and the commandment which I... 38:34 Which was ordained to be alive, I found to be unto death. 38:38 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, 38:42 deceived me, and by it, kill me or slew me." 38:48 It's almost depressing, isn't it? 38:50 I find it depressing I look at it. 38:52 I'll ask you a few questions. 38:53 Who's doing the action here in verses 8 through 11? 38:55 Who or what is doing the action, 38:58 verses 8 through 11? 39:01 Is it the law doing the action or sin doing the action? 39:03 Sin. 39:04 Sin is doing the action. 39:05 Thank you, Ma'am. 39:08 I'm a teacher when I have someone 39:10 who knows all the answers, 39:11 I'll try to pick on the whole class, okay. 39:15 Thank you. 39:17 So it's sin that's doing the action, 39:19 clearly sin is doing the action. 39:22 What action is sin doing? 39:24 Let's look at verse 8, 39:26 "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment..." 39:29 You know what the word taking occasion is? 39:30 So we have another... 39:32 Opportunity. 39:33 Yeah, taking opportunity. Thank you. 39:35 "So sin taking opportunity by the commandment, 39:39 wrought or produced in me, all manner of evil desire." 39:44 So sin is doing a couple of things, 39:45 it's producing something, 39:49 it's producing in me evil desire. 39:53 Verse 9, sin is doing what? 39:58 Reviving. 39:59 Reviving, bringing life, it's becoming alive. 40:03 That's what it's doing. 40:04 Verse 10... 40:05 Verse 11, "For sin, there are several things here, 40:09 it takes occasion 40:12 by the commandment to do" what? 40:14 "To deceive me and to kill me." 40:18 So there's no question that sin's doing it. 40:23 So what's the role of the law in verses 8 through 11? 40:29 If sin's doing the action, 40:31 somehow law is being connected with it. 40:32 What is the role of the law 40:34 in this action that sin is taking? 40:39 Yes. 40:42 Think about it, sin seizes opportunity 40:45 because of the law, 40:48 sin revives because of the law, sin kills because of the law. 40:54 Wow, most people say just get rid of the law and you're okay. 40:58 And that's actually the thought 40:59 of lot of evangelical Christianity today. 41:01 We know that it can't be the answer 41:04 because he just said in verse... 41:06 Did I get there yet? 41:07 No, I haven't. Forget it. 41:09 It's coming up in next verse. 41:10 Verse 12, it says in verse 12, 41:11 "Where the law is holy and just and good." 41:12 So we know it can't be talking about that. 41:15 So we just get rid of the law and everything's okay? 41:17 No, we got to get rid of sin. 41:24 As soon as the law is revealed in one's life, 41:29 sin is also revealed. 41:32 You see that. 41:33 Soon as the law reveals itself or comes into my life, 41:37 sin is also revealed and then I run into a problem, 41:42 I'm told in the same exact book, 41:44 to the same group of people under the same inspired author 41:46 called Paul, that the wages of sin is death. 41:52 I'm also told that all have sinned. 41:57 Wow, so if all have sinned, 41:59 and come short of the glory of God. 42:05 Sorry, working through this in my mind. 42:08 If all have sinned 42:09 and come short of the glory of God 42:11 and the law comes into my life and reveals sin, 42:15 then the law is telling me that I'm worthy of death. 42:19 Do you see that? 42:21 Everyone realizes the law has had a role in their life, 42:25 and everyone realized that it has revealed sin. 42:28 So you all realized by the nature of the law, 42:33 you and I are worthy of death. 42:34 That's what it says. You and I must die. 42:38 That's why I don't like the law. 42:41 Just get rid of it, right? 42:43 So give me the mirror, 42:45 you got a mirror in your bathroom, 42:46 I don't like the way I look, if I break up the mirror 42:47 then I look better, yeah? 42:50 Problem is I don't look better, 42:51 no matter what kind of mirror I've got, right? 42:53 It's just the way I am. 42:55 So when the commandment comes to us, 42:58 we understand what sin is 43:00 and it's then that we are condemned 43:02 and worthy of death. 43:04 Commandment comes to me, I realize, I'm worthy of death. 43:08 I'm condemned and I stand guilty before God. 43:13 The commandment has power 43:16 because it reveals sin to my conscience. 43:23 And there's few things worse than a guilty conscience. 43:29 How's this for all the hope that we have today? 43:32 Can I read something to you? 43:35 The Apostle Paul, this is from fourth volume, 43:38 the Spirit of Prophecy, page 296. 43:41 The Apostle Paul in relating his experience 43:43 presents an important truth 43:45 concerning the work to be wrought in conversion. 43:48 He says, I was alive without the law once, 43:51 he felt no condemnation, but when the commandment came, 43:55 that is when the law of God was urged upon his conscience, 43:58 sin revived and I died, then he saw himself a sinner, 44:04 condemned by the divine law. 44:08 Mark, it was Paul and not the law that died. 44:14 That's a very important statement 44:15 I think here. 44:16 Again from the fourth volume 44:17 of Spirit of Prophecy page, 296, 44:21 or you find SDA Bible commentary 44:26 volume 6, page 1076. 44:29 Simply put, the law is a conveyor of truth, 44:36 and it's the truth that has that effect on us. 44:39 Let me put this way. 44:42 The results that happen when truth is conveyed 44:45 are often blamed on that truth, 44:50 but is it the truth's fault? 44:54 I'll rephrase that. 44:55 The results that happen when the truth is conveyed 44:59 are often blamed on that truth, but is it the truth's fault? 45:03 No, it's not. 45:05 It is the condition of whatever truth 45:07 is acting upon that determines 45:09 whether the truth's revealing is good or bad. 45:11 Another words, let's just say... 45:18 I've had this happen, I was in a... 45:20 I went to an Adventist academy 45:21 and I was hiding out downstairs watching TV. 45:25 Now we had a TV in our, we called it rec room, 45:27 and it was basically so the guys could watch ESPN 45:30 'cause it really what it amounted to. 45:31 And so... 45:33 'Cause the sports was, you know, 45:34 how it is sometimes in the academy? 45:35 And I remember hiding out down there 45:38 and we would, sometimes switch the channel, 45:43 you know, to get ESPN, you have to have cable, 45:46 with cable there's a lot of other channels 45:49 and we would switch to, you know, 45:51 MTV or something like that and we would be watching it, 45:55 but we always had a person 45:56 who was listening by the steps for the sound of the keys, 46:00 jangling from the dean's belt as he walked down the steps 46:05 because you wanted to know if the dean was on his way. 46:09 Now there is also another place downstairs 46:13 that was a room with the ping-pong table. 46:18 So if the MTV was on or HBO or whatever was happening 46:23 and I was in the other room playing ping-pong, 46:28 was I worried when the keys came jangling down the steps? 46:33 No, of course not. 46:35 The law had just arrived, 46:38 but it didn't bothered me an iota 46:39 'cause it wasn't revealing anything in me. 46:43 But, as did happened once, I was down there by myself, 46:47 claiming a sick day, watching the movie 46:53 and I got so caught up, 46:55 I didn't recognize my dean was watching it with me. 47:00 Talk about embarrassment. 47:03 He was a smart man, he realized, 47:04 when it's desperate you just hold your keys together 47:06 and no one hears you anyhow, right? 47:07 Just walk down the steps. 47:10 Was I condemned? Yes. 47:13 Was I under the law? Yes. 47:15 Did I feel guilty? Yes. 47:18 Was I guilty? Yes. 47:20 Because the law was revealed in the dean. 47:25 The revealing of the law is not bad, 47:29 if it's not revealing sin in us. 47:32 Does it make sense? 47:35 But the reality is, 47:36 it has revealed sin in all of us. 47:41 I'd like to... 47:44 Remember this, the parable where the Jesus gives about 47:46 the seed, the sower and the seed 47:49 and they put seed out. 47:51 The seed is the truth of God's word. 47:54 Yes. 47:55 And when it falls into fertile ground, 47:57 it has good results, yes? 48:00 And when it falls into bad ground, 48:01 it has bad results, yes? 48:03 Is it the truth's fault? 48:05 No, what is it? It's the ground's fault. 48:08 It's the nature of the soil that determines it. 48:13 I like to spend a little bit of time 48:19 as we close with the man of Romans 7... 48:25 "For I know that the law is spiritual, 48:28 but I'm carnal, sold under sin. 48:32 "For that which I do I allow not: 48:34 for what I would, that do I not, 48:37 but what I hate, that I do. 48:40 If then I do that which is, I would not. 48:43 I consent unto the law that it is good. 48:46 Now then it is no more I that do it, 48:48 but sin that dwells in me, 48:50 for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, 48:53 dwells no good things for to will is present with me, 48:58 but how to perform that which is good, I find not." 49:05 What a terrible picture, 49:07 desire without the power to acquire is wretchedness. 49:14 Just because you desire good, doesn't mean you are good. 49:20 Desire without the power to acquire is wretchedness. 49:27 I could desire good all day long, 49:30 I want to be good, 49:32 I don't want to have these bad thoughts, 49:33 I don't want to be angry at this person, 49:35 I don't want to be selfish, I want to be a godly man, 49:40 but my desire is not enough. 49:44 Desire is not enough. 49:47 And that is the problem with the Romans 7 man. 49:51 He has desire without power to acquire. 49:58 I think, as I share this talk, 50:00 there's tons of emotion that's involved in it, 50:03 for myself and probably for most of the people 50:05 hear this or study it. 50:07 I don't know how many people I've talked to, 50:09 look at Romans 7 and they say, 50:12 you know, Chuck, Romans 7 describes my experience 50:15 and I believe I must be okay, so therefore, 50:18 it's okay to have a Romans 7 experience. 50:20 And I believe all of us have gone through 50:21 Romans 7 experience at some point in our life. 50:24 Maybe some of you're experiencing, feeling it now. 50:28 But Romans 7 is not the end of the story, friends, 50:31 Romans 7 is simply a stage that people go through 50:35 when they see what the law reveals to them. 50:40 When the law reveals itself in your life, 50:43 then sin is revealed in your life. 50:46 And you realize who you really are. 50:49 Continues on. 50:54 Verse 19, "For the good which I would, I do not. 50:58 For the evil which I would not, that I do." 51:01 I've shared this story with you before, 51:05 but it stands... 51:08 It would be good to share now. 51:10 I remember distinctly, the determination 51:13 in my little five, six-year-old heart, 51:15 as I listened to a sermon one Sabbath morning 51:17 that I was going to never sin again. 51:20 I've determined, I wasn't going to. 51:22 And you all can smile and laugh at that 51:24 because you and I know the desire is not what? 51:28 The power to acquire. 51:32 Desires by itself is kind of... 51:35 We could be humorous when it's a five-year-old boy, 51:37 but it's not humorous when it's a 40-year-old man 51:39 or a 65-year-old lady, am I right? 51:43 It no longer is it funny anymore, 51:44 it's painful and it hurts. 51:51 I remember that decision, I remember falling apart 51:54 within about five minutes, as I got out to the parking lot 51:56 and my sister and I fought nonstop 51:58 when I was a kid. 52:00 Just fighting and all that. 52:01 And I realized then, the desire without the power to acquire 52:07 is what? 52:08 It's wretchedness. 52:12 And when I got older, it became bigger things, 52:14 not fighting with my sister, 52:15 you know what I'm talking about. 52:17 You get into scenarios and maybe you see your... 52:19 Who you really are when you've children, 52:21 I found that for myself. 52:22 I found out, man, I'm not a patient person 52:24 in any way, shape or form. 52:25 I'm hotheaded, I knew that before, 52:28 but you kind of hide it for a while 52:30 when you're single person. 52:31 And then I got married, it rose to the surface 52:33 and I pushed it back down again, 52:35 my good German genes. 52:37 I can do what I want to do. But I tell you what? 52:41 I'm not able to change Chuck Holtry. 52:45 I'm wretched without God. 52:51 Do any of you here have the power 52:55 to acquire righteousness in your self? 53:00 No. 53:01 Are you sure? Yes. 53:03 Is there not anyone here 53:05 has the power to acquire righteousness by yourself? 53:09 No. So you know what that means? 53:11 You without Christ are wretched. 53:16 Oh, wretched man that I am. 53:19 Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 53:23 But, God has known the desire of our hearts. 53:30 He knows, He plants that desire in our hearts 53:34 and He gives us hope. 53:37 More than that, He gives us power to acquire. 53:42 And who is it found in? 53:44 It's found in Jesus Christ. 53:46 That was the answer. 53:48 Romans 7 answer, I always said was in Romans 8. 53:51 But now, I'd like to tell you, it's also in Romans 7. 53:56 Romans 7:4, 54:02 "Wherefore, my brethren, 54:04 ye also are become dead to the law 54:06 by the body of Christ, 54:09 that you should be married to another, 54:11 even to him that is raised up from the dead, 54:15 that we should bring forth fruit unto God." 54:21 It's awesome. 54:24 It's being married to Christ. 54:26 What does that look like? How does that play out? 54:29 Come back next week. 54:30 But it's being married to Christ 54:33 that gives me the freedom 54:35 from the experience of Romans 7. 54:39 He told us at the beginning of Romans 7, 54:40 then we went through Romans 7 and got all depressed. 54:42 And then at the end, in Romans 8, 54:44 we're going to see this whole picture, 54:45 what it means to live by the spirit 54:47 and not live by the flesh. 54:49 Beautiful picture. 54:51 But we must understand Romans 7. 54:53 Romans 7 is telling us the truth 54:54 that we must understand 54:56 and that is the desire to do good 54:59 without the ability or power 55:01 to acquire righteousness is wretchedness. 55:05 Our only hope is found in Jesus Christ 55:08 and that is the message of Romans 7. 55:12 Remember, we started out with the story 55:13 of indentured servant. 55:15 Yes, we talked about 55:18 how these indentured servants came and almost half 55:21 of the immigrants coming into the US 55:24 before 1750 were indentured servants. 55:30 You know, they couldn't think for themselves, 55:32 did you realize that? 55:34 Can I get married? No. Okay. 55:38 Unless you ran away, then if you ran away, 55:39 you get tracked down and brought back by the law. 55:42 Right? 55:44 Can I go and take a vacation? No. 55:47 Can I get off at six tonight? No. 55:49 Were they in charge of their lives? 55:51 Absolutely not, and I can tell you 55:54 from personal experience and I'm sure you could too, 55:56 then that's what sin does to us. 55:59 Have you been bondage to sin? 56:00 You know what I'm talking about. 56:02 I want to do this. No, you can't... 56:04 I want to do this. No, you can't. 56:05 I want righteousness. 56:08 I want to be good, 56:09 I want to have peace in my life. 56:10 I want to have joy in my life. 56:12 I want to have holiness in my life 56:13 and I can't find it. 56:17 That is experience of Romans 7. 56:19 It's experience of an indentured servant, 56:21 but Christ has fulfilled the obligation. 56:26 Amen. 56:27 Just want to remind you that there is a free book, 56:33 if you want to call in, 56:34 and this is for my watching audience 56:37 as well as for those of you who are sitting here. 56:40 It's a great book, I strongly suggest it. 56:41 It's called "The Flesh and the Spirit-Understanding 56:43 Romans 7." 56:45 And you can get that at 1-866-788-3966. 56:48 Just call 1-866-788-3966. 56:52 I strongly suggest you do that. 56:54 Happy reading. God bless you. 56:57 Let's face it, it's not always easy 56:59 to understand everything you read in The Bible. 57:02 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 57:06 The Bible can generate a lot of questions. 57:08 To get biblical straight forward answers, 57:10 call into Bible Answers Live, 57:12 a live nationwide call-in radio program 57:15 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 57:17 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 57:20 For times and stations in your area 57:22 or to listen to answers online, visit bal.amazingfacts.org. 57:30 Can't get enough of Amazing Facts Bible Study? 57:33 You don't have to wait until next week 57:35 to enjoy more truth-filled programming. 57:37 Visit the Amazing Facts media library at aftv.org. 57:43 At aftv.org, you can enjoy video and audio presentations 57:48 as well as printed material all free of charge, 57:51 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 57:53 right from your computer or mobile device. 57:56 Visit aftv.org. 58:00 For life changing Christian resources, 58:03 visit afbookstore.com, or call 1-800-538-7275. |
Revised 2017-11-16