Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000043A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:04 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:08 It says to "Receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent 00:16 to present yourself approved to God 00:18 rightly dividing the word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN's Sabbath School Panel. 00:26 Our study today is Salvation by Faith Alone, 00:30 the Book of Romans. 00:31 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN's Sabbath School Panel. 00:35 My name is Jill Morikone and we're so glad 00:37 that you have taken time from your day, 00:39 from your Sabbath, to tune in and study along with us 00:43 as we open up the Word of God. 00:44 We're studying from the Book of Romans. 00:47 We're in the fourth quarter here in 2017, 00:50 and the study of this quarter is on Salvation 00:53 by Faith Alone, the Book of Romans. 00:56 We're in lesson number four 00:57 and I am so excited about this study. 01:00 If you would like your own copy of the quarterly 01:02 to follow along with us, 01:04 you can go to the website that is ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:10 That stands for Adult Bible Study Guide.Adventist.org. 01:15 You can download the lesson, 01:17 you can follow along or we always encourage you 01:20 to visit your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:23 and get involved in the local church 01:25 and study with us as well. 01:27 Right now, I want to introduce our wonderful panel 01:29 that we have to open up and share from the Word of God. 01:33 To my left, Pastor CA Murray. 01:34 And it's a privilege to have you here. 01:36 Then Shelley Quinn, Molly Steenson, 01:39 and Pastor Kenny Shelton. 01:41 And what I like, I think most 01:43 about each one of these men and women of God 01:45 is that they really are men and women of God 01:47 that they study and they practice, 01:50 put into practice what God shows them 01:52 in his Word and to me, that's the best testament. 01:54 We can study and we can just talk about it 01:57 but if we want to practice it, 01:58 we want to live it, that's the best thing. 02:00 So I'm excited about today's topic. 02:03 Today's lesson is Justification by Faith. 02:06 We're in lesson number four. 02:09 One of the major themes of the Book of Romans 02:12 is the concept of Justification by Faith. 02:16 We're studying today, really just 10 verses 02:19 from Romans 3:19-28. 02:24 And along with Ephesians 2:4-10, 02:27 I think the passage this week 02:29 is Paul's most complete statement 02:31 on the plan of salvation. 02:34 Last week, if you were with us last week, 02:36 we talked about, "All have sinned 02:38 and fallen short of the glory of God." 02:40 Romans 1 talks about the sin of the Gentile world, 02:44 Romans 2 talks that the Jews are not without excuse 02:47 and they have some sins going on as well. 02:49 So then we come to the conclusion 02:51 that everyone is sold under sin 02:54 and then we need a remedy, we need a savior. 02:57 Justification by Faith is a figure or an object lesson 03:01 that's really based on law. 03:03 You could say the transgressor that would be you or I, 03:06 appears before the judge and we come guilty 03:09 because we all have sinned and fallen 03:10 short of the glory of God. 03:12 But the substitute meaning Jesus Christ appears 03:16 and He takes our place, the criminals place. 03:20 The substitute, Jesus lived a perfect life. 03:24 He takes our sins upon Himself 03:27 so that you and I now stand before the judge, 03:30 not only cleared of guilt, 03:32 we stand as if we had never sinned. 03:35 That's the beauty of Justification by Faith. 03:39 Paul's statement on the plan of salvation 03:42 is really six-part 03:43 and we'll look at that here this week. 03:45 Number one, "Righteousness is apart from the law 03:48 or it's not earned by law-keeping." 03:51 That's Romans 3:21. 03:53 Number two, "Righteousness comes through faith in Jesus." 03:57 That's Romans 3:22. 04:00 Number three says, 04:01 "All have sinned, all deserve death." 04:05 Romans 3:23. 04:07 Number four, "God does not give us the death we deserve 04:11 but what we don't deserve the free gift of grace." 04:15 Romans 3:24. Amen. 04:17 And the number five, 04:19 the gift is provided by Christ's death on the cross. 04:23 His sacrifice turns away the penalty of sin, 04:27 propitiation, He is the substitute, 04:30 He stands in our place. 04:31 That's Romans 3:25. 04:33 His sacrifice provides for human redemption. 04:37 Amen. Romans 3:24. 04:39 His sacrifice provides for our justification, 04:43 that's also in Romans 3:24. 04:45 His sacrifice provides for our reconciliation 04:48 or that healing coming back together, 04:52 Romans 5:10. 04:54 His sacrifice cleanses us from the pollution of sin, 04:58 that's in Hebrews 9. 05:00 And point number six, 05:02 in Paul's statement on the plan of salvation, 05:04 central to God's work, 05:06 saving work in Christ is His sacrificial blood. 05:09 Praise the Lord for that, that's Romans 3:25. 05:12 So let's do our memory text. 05:14 It is Romans 3:28 and we'll say that together. 05:18 Romans 3:28, if you have your Bible, 05:20 please read along with us at home, 05:23 "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith 05:28 without the deeds of the law." 05:31 So Sunday's lesson, we look at the deeds of the law, 05:34 what the law is, what it can do, 05:36 and what it can't do. 05:37 And the two verses 05:38 that I have to look at is Romans 3:19-20. 05:41 So if you want to turn there, Romans 3:19-20, 05:46 verse 19 begins with the word, Now. 05:49 So you know if you say now usually something comes 05:52 before Now. 05:53 And before Now, you look at verse 9, 05:57 he says, "For we have previously charged 05:59 both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin." 06:03 And then he quotes from Psalm, from Isaiah, 06:07 and many different Psalms. 06:08 They're from the Old Testament scriptures 06:11 showing that no one is righteous. 06:13 No one is righteous, all have sinned. 06:15 So now we come to verse 19, 06:18 "Now we know that whatever the law says, 06:21 it says to those who are under the law, 06:24 that every mouth may be stopped, 06:26 and all the world may become guilty before God." 06:30 It says whatever the law says, the word for law, 06:33 nomos means the law scripture, 06:36 any system of religious thinking or theology. 06:39 We are all, what does it say, guilty. 06:43 We are under the law, 06:44 we all come under that condemnation 06:46 from the law or condemnation of sin 06:49 because we all have broken the law, 06:52 we all are condemned, we all are guilty. 06:55 Guilty literally means to be brought to trial answerable to, 06:59 to come under judgment. 07:02 It's actually used only once 07:03 in the New Testament right here. 07:04 We all are brought under that judgment. 07:07 On the Day of Judgment, whether we're Jew or Greek, 07:10 gentile or Jew, it doesn't matter, 07:12 we all are accountable to God, 07:14 we all are answerable to God that we have broken the law. 07:17 Verse 20, "Therefore by the deeds of the law, 07:20 no flesh will be justified in His sight, 07:24 for by the law is the knowledge of sin." 07:27 Now from that verse, I get two things. 07:29 Number one, the law cannot justify us. 07:32 And I know as we go through the panel, 07:35 we'll be talking more about what that justification is, 07:38 but the law cannot justify us. 07:40 Number two, the law brings the knowledge of sin. 07:46 Without the law, we wouldn't know 07:48 that we were sinners or in need of a savior. 07:51 Now if you have watched the Sabbath School Panel, 07:53 we're on lesson number four, 07:54 but if you've watched from the very beginning, 07:56 lesson number one, Pastor John Lomacang 07:58 talked about five different Greek words for sin 08:01 and kind of that progression of sin. 08:03 So the word for sin used here in verse 20 08:06 is hamartia or Pastor CA can pronounce it 08:09 better than I can. 08:10 Hamartia? Hamartia. 08:11 Hamartia. Okay. 08:13 And it means a sin or failure missing the mark. 08:17 So we all have missed the mark basically, 08:19 we all have fallen short of the glory of God. 08:22 You know, it's easy to excuse myself 08:26 and to blame other people. 08:28 I don't know if you all have found that to be the case. 08:30 If I'm driving in a car and someone passes me, 08:33 it's easy to think the person who passed me is a maniac, 08:37 but the granny who is in front of me 08:39 going very slow is a slow poke, 08:42 I alone am doing the proper speed. 08:45 What about money? 08:47 It's easy to say that person who spends less than I do 08:50 is a tightwad, 08:52 but yet, the person who spends more than I do 08:55 is irresponsible. 08:57 I on the other hand, 08:59 I'm a good steward with the funds 09:01 that God has entrusted to me. 09:03 We kind of do this, don't we? 09:05 We maybe excuse ourselves, or the way we think, 09:08 we judge ourselves by our intentions we could say, 09:11 and we judge other people by their actions. 09:16 Sometimes, I don't know 09:17 if you've ever met someone like this, 09:19 who says, "I'm a good person. 09:21 I'm a good person." 09:23 Someone just told me that last week, 09:24 "You know, Jill, I consider myself to be a good person." 09:28 Good people can trust in their own unrighteousness 09:31 or their own living outward conformity to the law 09:35 to think that will save us. 09:37 But what Paul tells us here 09:39 is that the law shows us our sin 09:42 and we all are guilty before that. 09:46 How does the law show us sin? 09:48 I want to look at three ways that the law can show us sin. 09:51 Number one, the law shows a sin 09:52 by showing the absolute righteousness 09:55 and perfect character of God. 10:00 Matthew 5, remember the Sermon on the Mount, 10:03 what did Jesus say? 10:04 He said, "Is murder worse than hate?" 10:07 And I think we talked about this earlier, He said, "No. 10:10 Because what's done internally, 10:12 which would be hate 10:13 is really the same as what's done externally, 10:15 which would be murder." 10:17 He says, "Is adultery worse than lust?" 10:20 Now from a human perspective, we would say, "That's true." 10:23 But from God's perspective what's internal, 10:26 which would be lust just thinking 10:28 after someone is the same, as actually committing the act. 10:34 So the internal would be the same as the external. 10:37 God's standard of righteousness and purity 10:41 is so incredibly high. 10:44 That there's nothing we can do to ever make it. 10:46 We can think outwardly, we could keep the law. 10:49 And there's many people in the Bible 10:51 and in society who think outwardly, 10:53 "I don't steal, I don't covet, 10:55 I don't go out and kill someone." 10:57 But yet, inwardly in our hearts and in our minds, 11:00 it's a different story. 11:02 So number one, the law shows us sin, 11:04 it shows the absolute righteousness of God 11:07 in His perfect character. 11:08 Number two, it reveals my sinfulness. 11:12 The law is kind of like a mirror. 11:14 Let's look at James. 11:15 James 1:23, 11:21 James 1:23, 11:26 I like 22 too, so let's start with 22. 11:28 "But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, 11:33 deceiving yourselves. 11:35 For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, 11:39 he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, 11:43 for he observes himself and goes away, 11:46 immediately forgetting what kind of man he was. 11:51 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty..." 11:54 We're in verse 25, "and continues in it, 11:57 it's not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, 12:01 this one will be blessed in what he does." 12:04 The law's mirror because it shows us 12:06 God's perfect standard of righteousness, 12:10 His high and holy character. 12:11 Amen. 12:12 Number three, the law shows a sin 12:15 and it points me to Jesus as my only hope. 12:20 When you look in the mirror and you think, 12:22 "I got something in my teeth. 12:23 I got some dirt on my face. 12:25 I need to go do something about that." 12:27 We don't break the mirror and say, 12:29 "What's wrong with the mirror?" 12:30 We say, "I need a remedy. 12:32 I need the cleansing blood of Jesus over my life." 12:35 And that is justification, 12:38 that is what we're going to be talking about today. 12:40 I just want to read one quote from Testimonies to Ministers 12:43 and then I'll pass it over to Pastor CA. 12:45 This is Testimony to Minister and Gospel Workers page 456, 12:51 "What is justification by faith? 12:53 It is the work of God 12:54 in laying the glory of man in the dust, 12:59 and doing for man 13:00 that which it is not in his power 13:03 to do for himself." 13:05 Amen. So praise the Lord for that. 13:07 Pastor CA, you have the righteousness of God. 13:09 Amen. Well said, thank you for the splendid lead in. 13:15 Romans 3:21, the Bible says, 13:19 "Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, 13:24 being witnessed by the law and the prophets." 13:27 And the lesson asked the question, 13:30 how we do understand what this text means? 13:31 I think I'm going to read another translation 13:34 which sort of gives some culture and some context 13:37 to this particular text. 13:38 It says, "But now God has shown us a way 13:42 to be made right with Him 13:44 without keeping the requirements of the law 13:47 as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets." 13:52 I hasten to add 13:53 because so much as in made of those texts 13:56 which appear to say 13:58 that we don't need to keep the law anymore. 14:03 What these texts are saying 14:05 is that the law has a specific purpose. 14:08 And I think we always ought to remember 14:10 the purpose of the law. 14:13 There's nowhere in the Bible, 14:14 particularly in the Book of Romans, 14:15 where Paul is admonishing us to do away with the law. 14:20 What he's saying is de facto the law has a specific purpose 14:25 and if you try to use it for any other purpose, 14:28 you default the law and the power of the law. 14:32 That is verified in the text just prior in 3:20, 14:36 Jill, as you just read. 14:38 The Bible says, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." 14:41 So if you take away the law, 14:44 you have no objective reality to know what sin is. 14:47 The only way you can determine if you are sitting 14:51 is if you have a law 14:53 that gives you the parameters of sin. 14:56 If there is no law for crossing the street 14:59 in the middle of the block, 15:01 then you can cross the street 15:02 in the middle of the block and there's no problem. 15:05 But if you have a jaywalking law, 15:08 then that law tells you, 15:10 it is illegal to cross the street 15:12 in middle of the block. 15:13 So by the law is the knowledge of sin, 15:16 and of course, 1 John 3:4, 15:19 "He that committed sin also transgressors the law for sin 15:22 is a transgression of the law." 15:25 There is given to us a definition of the law. 15:28 Hamartia is anomia, 15:30 missing the mark is anarchy that text is trying to tell us. 15:34 So the law has a specific function 15:37 and we get into trouble 15:39 when we try to use the law for a function 15:41 that is not intended. 15:44 The intent of the law is to show you 15:46 the parameters of sin to keep you in the right way 15:49 so that when you go too far this way 15:51 or you go too far this way, now you know that 15:53 you are outside the parameters of the law, 15:55 so now you are sinned, 15:57 the laws never intended to make you righteous, 15:59 it is to show unrighteousness 16:02 and to show you when you're going wrong. 16:03 So that's very, very important and it comes back again 16:06 and again and again and again in the Book of Romans 16:08 because it is very, very important. 16:11 I want to go into and, sort of, 16:13 just go off script here just a little bit. 16:16 "Righteousness is obedience to the law. 16:18 The law demands righteousness. 16:22 And this, the sinner owes to the law 16:25 but he is incapable of rendering it." 16:27 And that goes about what you are saying that 16:29 we've got this standard to meet 16:31 and we know we need to meet this standard 16:33 but by and of ourselves we simply cannot do it. 16:36 We don't have the ability, we don't even have the desire 16:39 without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 16:40 Amen. 16:41 So you are defeated before you begin. 16:46 If you're trying to keep a righteous standard, 16:49 the product of a righteous God 16:52 and you are an unrighteous person, 16:53 you just, it cannot be done. 16:56 Who can bring clean out of unclean? 16:58 We certainly cannot. 16:59 But through the power of Christ we can. 17:01 Now what I want to say on this is this 17:04 because Ellen White says this, 1 John says this, 17:07 "Righteousness is right doing." 17:09 Not just right thinking or right planning 17:12 or right supposing, it's doing right, 17:14 it's got to get out of your head 17:17 and into your hands, it's got to get into your heart. 17:19 Think how radical that idea was to those who first heard it. 17:26 The idea that Christ can do something for me, 17:29 in me, with me, to me, and through me, 17:32 and all I have to do is accept to His leadership 17:35 and surrender to His Lordship. 17:36 Yes, amen. 17:38 That is totally... 17:39 For the Jewish mind and the ancient near East mind 17:42 and those even before, that is a... 17:47 Now we've had 500 years 17:49 this out of the process of reformation 17:50 to sort of digest that. 17:52 But up until 1517, that was a totally radical idea 17:59 and almost in some places nonsensical 18:01 because there is no precedent for that. 18:03 Ellen White says that 18:04 at the heart of every pagan religion 18:07 was this idea that you got to work your way 18:09 into pleasure with God. 18:11 It's at the foundation of every pagan religion. 18:13 And it had crept its way into Judaism 18:18 even to this very day. 18:20 When I was in New York, my eye doctor was Jewish, 18:23 my primary care physician was Jewish, 18:25 my eye surgeon was Jewish, 18:28 and particularly with my eye doctor, 18:30 his father was a rabbi. 18:32 We had some wonderful discussions 18:33 while he was trying to dilate my eyes 18:35 because they had to put so many drops in 18:36 because it took so long for my eyes to be dilated. 18:38 So while sitting there we had all these intense discussions, 18:41 you know, on different kinds of things. 18:44 And the idea that you've got to do certain things 18:47 is that the foundation of a lot of Jewish thinking 18:50 even to this day. 18:52 In fact, when you look at the names for God, 18:54 Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Shalom, 18:58 all of those are 19:02 representations of what God does. 19:05 They saw God in terms of what He does, 19:07 He heals, He saves, He provides 19:10 and so they gave names in terms of what He does. 19:13 Well, in the mindset of the Jewish community 19:16 to this day, you are what you do, you know. 19:19 So the idea that I can be saved 19:22 by letting Christ do through 19:25 is totally without precedent in their mindsets. 19:29 So it was a totally radical idea. 19:31 Well, now you come through 19:33 up to just prior to the Protestant Reformation 19:36 and you've got this idea, 19:39 "I got to work my way into the pleasure of God 19:43 through the medieval church." 19:44 And it worked its way, 19:46 I've heard you say this Shelley into Protestantism, 19:48 "I got to please God. 19:49 I got to be perfect. 19:50 I got to pull myself above my bootstraps. 19:52 God is not going to have anything to do with me 19:54 unless I come to Him at a certain state." 19:56 So you've got folks who are frustrating themselves, 19:58 turning themselves into spiritual pretzels, 20:00 trying to find a way to please God. 20:03 And God is saying, "All you got to do is relax. 20:06 Have faith in Me, surrender to Me 20:08 and I'll work out my way through you." 20:11 But it's a totally radical idea. 20:13 It's a whole new way of thinking 20:16 and a whole new way of presenting yourself, 20:18 which is why Luther, bless his heart, 20:24 when he saw Johann Tetzel raising money 20:28 for St. Peter's Basilica by telling people, 20:31 "As your money clings in the bottom of the basket, 20:34 soul of the person 20:37 you are praying for is coming out of purgatory." 20:39 And he was raising tons of money 20:41 and Luther said that 20:43 Just, forgive my pejorative of English." 20:44 Ain't no way this can't be right." 20:46 You know, so began to study and of course, 20:50 he hit the Book of Romans and it just blew his mind. 20:53 It just, "You got to be kidding me." 20:55 As a person who was trying to work his way into heaven, 20:58 wearing clothes inside out and crawling up steps, 21:01 and doing all these kinds of things. 21:02 The idea that I can be saved by just accepting Jesus, 21:06 mind-blowingly radical. 21:07 Yeah. 21:08 But when it hit, you know, they say there's nothing 21:11 so powerful as an idea whose time has come. 21:15 Well, the idea that we don't have to beat ourselves up, 21:18 we don't have to starve ourselves, 21:19 we don't have to take pilgrimages to Jerusalem, 21:21 we don't have to beg God, 21:23 or flagellate ourselves to make God happy. 21:26 God wants to save us, God's ready to save us, 21:29 God's waiting to save us, He loves to save us. 21:31 Amen. 21:32 And so once those 95 Theses 21:34 were nailed to the door of the Catholic Church 21:37 in Wittenberg, the first thing to dry up 21:40 was Tetzel's business of selling indulgence. 21:43 Thank you, Jesus. Amen. 21:44 The church mustn't have been too happy. 21:46 They were not too happy at all, 21:47 which is why they dogged his steps 21:48 from then till the day he died 21:50 and one of his harshest accusers was Johann Tetzel 21:53 who was making so much money by selling a lie. 21:56 So the idea that man could be righteous 22:01 in the sight of God by simply having faith in 22:04 and accepting the sacrifice of Christ, 22:06 there may not have been a more freeing doctrine 22:09 in the history of all church 22:11 than the doctrine that Christ is ready, 22:14 willing, and able to take me and to save me. 22:16 And it ain't about me, it's all about Jesus 22:19 and the work that He's done for me. 22:20 Powerful, powerful doctrine and once Luther lit the fire, 22:24 it was like a firecracker, it went up and it blew up 22:27 and everybody began to see that light 22:29 and we're attracted to the Lord of God 22:31 and this idea that I can be justified and sanctified. 22:35 Amen. 22:36 Through the indwelling power 22:38 of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 22:39 Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus, 22:42 no more powerful text in the whole Bible 22:45 and my favorite, Romans 8:1, 22:47 "There is now therefore no condemnation 22:50 for those who are in Christ Jesus." 22:51 That's the secret, you get in Christ Jesus... 22:53 The walk not according to the flesh. 22:54 A walk not according to the flesh. 22:56 Once you get into Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus gets into you 23:00 and you're on your road to glory. 23:02 And His righteousness is lived out through you 23:07 then the life becomes a brand new. 23:08 That's a freeing doctrine. 23:09 Amen. That's a radical doctrine. 23:11 But it is the heart of this message 23:13 that we have in the Book of Romans. 23:15 Thank you so much, CA, for that in the background 23:18 particularly into the reformation 23:19 because it is 500 years. 23:23 The reformation began 500 years ago, 23:26 but it's almost like we need to, 23:31 that it needs to be revived because there is still... 23:36 First of all, some of us don't realize 23:38 what it means to be a Protestant to protest 23:42 what the Catholic Church was doing at the time 23:45 and to separate and come to Sola Scriptura 23:48 and not the traditions of priests or popes 23:51 but Sola Scriptura. 23:52 And but I see in all denominations, 23:57 I see people who still are trying to save themselves 24:02 and I think it has to do with our pride. 24:04 Well, let's look at my lesson is Tuesday's by His grace 24:10 and yeah, we're going to dissect. 24:14 We'll read and dissect Romans 3:24, 24:18 Paul says in Romans 3:24, 24:21 "Being justified freely by His grace 24:25 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." 24:30 Being justified in the root... 24:33 There's a strong connection 24:34 between the words of justification 24:36 or justify and righteousness. 24:38 They have the same root word in the Greek. 24:42 And this means to be declared righteous by God. 24:47 We're put in right standing with God simply 24:51 by accepting Jesus Christ as our substitute 24:56 and our surety. 24:58 So what happens is, and we're going to look at this, 25:02 as we accept Christ 25:04 His righteousness is credited to our account. 25:09 It's imputed to our account 25:12 and God cancels our debt of sin. 25:16 We're declared not guilty, our record is cleared, 25:19 and we're justified. 25:21 This justification is an act of God 25:25 whereas sanctification is a work of God within us. 25:30 Okay, so that's what he's saying being justified, 25:32 God can no longer justly inflict punishment upon us 25:37 because the record of our sin has blotted out. 25:42 So now the point is he says, "Justified freely." 25:47 Our heavenly bank accounts are overdrawn 25:51 because of our moral bankruptcy. 25:52 Yes. We've all sinned. 25:54 In our moral failure, what is the penalty of sin? 25:57 Death. Death. 25:59 But I have to point out, 26:02 Christ paid that penalty by dying on the cross for us 26:06 and if anything the cross proves 26:10 that God did not relax his standards. 26:12 Amen. 26:14 I mean, this is something that a holy and just God... 26:17 If He were going to just do away with the law, 26:19 He could have just simply said, "Okay, go away with the law." 26:23 Then nobody would have had to die 26:25 because we broke the law. 26:28 Nobody would have had to been our substitute. 26:31 But justice demanded 26:34 that He not taken in different approach to that 26:38 and so that He could remain both a just God 26:43 and He became the justifier. 26:49 That's right. 26:50 So He demonstrated His love 26:52 when He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die 26:54 in our place. 26:55 And Christ perfect record of His perfect character, 27:00 His perfect record of obedience, 27:02 all of this is just they're given to us freely. 27:07 Now in Romans 4, it's interesting, the word, 27:11 there's a Greek word, Logizomai. 27:14 Is that how you say that? 27:16 That's close enough. Logizomai. 27:18 Our resident Greek expert. Yes. 27:20 Eleven times in one chapter 27:23 this word is used eleven times in one chapter. 27:26 That's amazing. 27:28 And what it is it's a commercial term, 27:30 it's a banking term to mean to be credited to your account. 27:32 Amen. 27:34 And it's translated accounted, counted, imputed, whatever. 27:39 But the whole point is that Paul is making it so clear 27:45 that righteousness is nothing we can earn, 27:48 it's credited to us freely. 27:50 It is... 27:52 Justification is a free gift it cost us nothing, 27:55 whereas the cost to God was incalculable 27:58 because He had to send His son to die. 28:00 I have a quote that I want to read to you 28:02 from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, 28:08 this came from November the 28. 28:10 And this is interesting, "To be declared righteous..." 28:14 To be declared to be given something 28:17 that we don't merit offends our human pride. 28:22 So listen what he says, 28:24 "There is a certain pride in people 28:26 that causes them to give and give, 28:28 but to come and accept a gift is another thing." 28:32 Won't you all agree? Absolutely. 28:33 Okay. 28:34 "I will give my life to martyrdom, 28:36 I will dedicate my life to service. 28:38 I will do anything. 28:40 But do not humiliate me 28:42 to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner 28:45 and tell me that all I have to do is 28:47 accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ." 28:52 He is saying this is people's attitudes. 28:54 We feel that because we are in full service to God 29:01 that we've surrendered. 29:02 Sometimes, we begin to feel entitled 29:05 like we're better than the prostitute on the street 29:09 or the drug addict on the street. 29:11 And we kind of feel like we're entitled to God's favor, 29:15 but none of us are, and it is just pride 29:18 that all righteousness comes from God. 29:20 Amen. 29:22 So we've all sinned. 29:23 There's nothing that we can do to contribute to our salvation. 29:27 And to this day as much as I have preached on grace, 29:31 I have to work on that because occasionally, 29:34 I get into a little spiritual dip 29:36 and then I'm thinking, 29:38 "Oh, Lord, how can you love me? 29:39 I'm not studying enough, 29:41 I don't have time to pray enough..." 29:43 I still and God... 29:45 That's why I love the Sabbath 29:47 because every time the Sabbath rolls in, 29:49 if I get into that mode of operation 29:52 any time during the day, what is Exodus 31:13 say, 29:56 "The Sabbath is a sign that God is the one 30:00 who is sanctifying us." 30:01 So I can come to God and just, 30:04 "Oh, Lord, thank you for reminding me. 30:06 I am fully dependent upon you 30:08 and anything that is other than full dependence is pride," 30:11 you know. 30:12 So, all right, it says, by His grace, 30:16 you know, God has plenty against us, 30:19 He's got plenty of evidence to justly banish us 30:22 from His holy presence. 30:24 Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. 30:29 Grace is getting what we don't deserve. 30:34 So without Christ, we were helpless defendants 30:37 but we were all guilty and through Christ, 30:42 we now have been made righteous when we embrace Christ. 30:47 God declares us to be in right standing with Him, 30:53 right being but also as you said 30:55 we'll get to the right doing, isn't that sanctification? 30:59 By the way, we can't have merit and grace. 31:02 When he's saying we're justified freely, 31:04 there's nothing we can do to earn it 31:06 because if we deserved it, it would be wages, 31:09 it would be a debt, we'd be getting paid for it. 31:12 And it just makes me think of John 31:16 when he wrote "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound." 31:20 Yes. 31:21 All right, the last part of that scripture 31:23 is through the redemption that is in Christ, 31:27 "Being justified freely by His grace 31:30 through the redemption that is in Christ." 31:34 Redemption is a slave market term. 31:38 Redemption meant to be... 31:41 When somebody was, 31:43 their freedom was purchased for a ransom price. 31:46 Historians believe that half the population 31:50 of the first century Rome were slaves, half. 31:55 Now the Jews had been enslaved as well, had they not in Egypt? 31:58 So the gentiles, half of them are slaves, 32:02 they understood this word redemption. 32:04 The Jews had been enslaved. 32:07 They understood this word redemption. 32:10 But you know 32:11 Jesus says in John 8:34, 32:17 "Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin." 32:22 We are all sinners, 32:25 we are all slaves held without Christ, 32:28 held in the bondage of sin. 32:31 So He came to pay that redemption price 32:34 and to deliver us by the ransom. 32:38 I want to read and by the way, let me say this to you, 32:42 the Lord once told me many years ago 32:44 when I was first starting 32:46 that I should repeat this often to audiences 32:50 is that you are worth nothing less than the price 32:53 that Jesus Christ paid for you with His own life blood. 32:58 So real quickly, something that grabbed my attention 33:02 in the Sabbath School lesson, this is a quote, 33:06 "Justification is presented in Romans as a punctilio act." 33:09 That is it happens at a point in time. 33:12 "One moment the sinners are outside, 33:13 unrighteous, 33:14 unaccepted the next moment following justification 33:17 the person's inside accepted in righteous. 33:20 The person who's in Christ Jesus looks upon justification 33:23 as a past act, one that took place 33:26 when he or she surrendered 33:28 himself or herself fully to Christ 33:31 being justified" Romans 5:1 33:33 "is literally having been justified. 33:35 But of course, if the justified sinner should fall away 33:39 and then return to Christ, justification will occur again. 33:43 Also if re-conversion is considered a daily experience, 33:47 there is a sense 33:48 in which justification might be considered 33:50 a repeating experience." 33:54 Okay. 33:56 You know, I pick up on the same scriptures 33:58 that you had in, Shelley, 33:59 that was presented so beautifully. 34:01 I love it when I am tacking on to something 34:04 that just laid the foundation for me, thank you so much. 34:07 Wednesday, we look at the righteousness of Christ. 34:10 Amen. 34:12 And Romans 3:24, 25 picking up where Shelley was. 34:18 "Being justified freely by His grace 34:20 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," 34:22 which you covered so beautifully. 34:24 Now here in verse 25 Paul goes on in further expanse 34:30 on the great news of salvation. 34:33 He says, "Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, 34:39 through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness 34:44 because in His forbearance, 34:46 God had passed over the sins 34:51 that were previously committed." 34:54 Now Paul reminds me of CA Murray 34:58 or maybe CA Murray reminds me of Paul. 35:03 He knows really big words 35:06 and how to use them correctly in sentences 35:09 which words I must go to the dictionary and look up. 35:12 I read a book recently along with the dictionary. 35:16 It was very educational. It's a wonderful book. 35:19 Fancy words like propitiation, now what is propitiation? 35:23 Remember I looked it up, 35:25 "Atonement especially that of Jesus Christ." 35:29 You see humanity 35:33 was estranged from God, 35:37 separated from God. 35:40 Humanity, we were fallen and we couldn't get up. 35:44 Yes. 35:46 We had no hope. Yeah. 35:50 Then here comes Jesus. Amen. 35:53 Thank God for the plan that was laid 35:57 even before the foundation of this earth. 35:59 Amen. 36:02 By His blood, He atones for us. 36:06 This is what He did, that word, He propitiated for us, 36:12 He reconciled us back to God. 36:16 Now I'm looking at the righteousness of Christ, 36:19 only a righteous one could heal that gap 36:24 between fallen mankind and a Holy God. 36:28 Amen. 36:30 Only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 36:32 By His blood, He propitiates, 36:36 brings us back into a right relationship with God. 36:39 He picks us up, He picked humanity up, 36:44 He made that plan available 36:46 but each one of us own an individual bases, 36:50 He reached out His hand, 36:52 He picked us up from our fallen state. 36:56 He cleans us up and He stands us up. 36:59 Amen. 37:01 And he goes one step further. 37:02 Kenny, we've got a hope? Praise God. 37:05 He gives us hope. 37:06 He stands us up and He gives us hope, 37:09 that would be Jeremiah 29:11, 37:11 another one of those scriptures 37:13 we're so quick to say, I love this scripture. 37:16 One of my favorites. One of my favorites." 37:18 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, 37:21 says the Lord, thoughts of peace 37:24 and not of evil to give you a future and a hope." 37:29 Oh, when you are down, 37:31 when you're feeling separated from God, 37:34 when you feel, "I've fallen and I can't get up 37:36 and there's no hope." 37:37 Oh, thank God, He says through His blood 37:41 you've got a future and a hope. 37:43 You just take that hand, He'll pick you up. 37:47 The Greek word for propitiation 37:50 is say it for me, hilasterion. 37:56 Probably came close and probably CA knows 37:58 how to use it in a sentence. 38:02 Hilasterion, it's also translated 38:05 and this is beautiful, mercy seat. 38:07 That's right. Yes. 38:08 It's used here in Romans 3:25 38:11 where Paul says literally that God presented Christ 38:17 as a propitiation or mercy seat. 38:22 The word mercy seat is the same root 38:25 for the word atonement. 38:27 It means to cover, to cancel, 38:32 to appease or to cleanse. 38:35 Amen. 38:36 The mercy seat didn't derive its worth 38:40 for its purity or of gold 38:43 but from the fact that it was a place 38:46 where the blood of sacrifice 38:48 was sprinkled in the presence of God. 38:51 Now that's why it was called the mercy seat. 38:55 Now I'm going to ask you this. 38:58 And we're going to look at that scripture. 39:01 I've got the scripture. 39:03 And that would be Hebrews 9:12 39:05 and we'll look at that in just a minute. 39:07 But what, see, in the sanctuary service, 39:13 the priest took that blood of the sacrificial lamb 39:18 and they sprinkled it on the mercy seat. 39:20 And I think I'm getting way ahead of the teaching 39:22 but that was only good for that one time. 39:26 But we have this high priest who made propitiation, 39:31 mercy seat. 39:33 What happened to His blood? 39:35 What happened to the Lord Jesus Christ's blood 39:37 He says, He Himself. 39:39 And we'll look that in scripture, 39:40 took that blood up into the heavenly sanctuary, 39:44 you know, that earthly sanctuary was just, 39:47 it was a typo or a pattern of the real thing, 39:50 you know, there is really a sanctuary 39:52 in the heaven at least. 39:53 And he spread His blood now there. 39:55 And now when God looks at you, 39:59 He looks at you through the mercy seat. 40:01 Praise God. 40:02 He looks at us through the mercy seat. 40:03 You know, there's a scripture that says 40:05 that the blood of Jesus speaks better things 40:09 than the blood of Abel. 40:11 What did Abel's blood cry up from the ground? 40:13 Wasn't it justice? Justice. 40:15 Justice. 40:16 What does Jesus' blood cry out? 40:18 Mercy. Mercy. 40:20 Thank God. We don't get justice. 40:22 Thank God. 40:25 Oh, but God looks at us. 40:27 And, you know, when we make Jesus Christ 40:30 the Lord of our lives, 40:31 when that blood has been applied to our lives, 40:34 God looks at us, he says, though we had never sinned. 40:38 He sees us clean and pure. Amen. 40:41 In the Old Testament sanctuary service, 40:43 the high priest would enter into the holy of holies 40:47 once a year 40:48 and sprinkle the blood of goats in calves on the mercy seat. 40:52 That's Leviticus 16:14-15, 40:55 "Thereby appeasing the wrath of God 40:59 for that one year." 41:00 Redemption for a year. 41:03 They had to do it again next year. 41:06 Do you recall what Christ did with his blood? 41:09 Now I've got you in Hebrews 9:12. 41:11 Let's look at that, 41:13 "Not with the blood of goats and calves," 41:18 but with what? 41:19 "With His own blood, 41:22 He entered the Most Holy Place 41:25 once for all having obtained," 41:30 what's that word? 41:32 "Eternal redemption." 41:34 We make Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives 41:37 then that blood, it doesn't lose its power, 41:41 the blood will never lose its power, 41:44 that blood that was applied to and to the doorpost 41:47 and the lentils of your heart, 41:49 it's never going to weaken. 41:51 That blood is always there giving you a future and a hope. 41:55 That is the righteousness of Christ 41:58 being applied to your life 42:02 because of His holy righteous blood, 42:04 He doesn't have to do it again next year, 42:07 through His blood, it is once and once for all. 42:11 Amen. 42:12 We can do nothing of ourselves to obtain eternal redemption, 42:17 whereby our sins are cancelled. 42:20 But in the plan of redemption, 42:23 God has provided a way for all of our sins 42:27 to be cancelled, remitted, propitiated, covered, 42:32 appeased, cleansed, and atone for once for all. 42:38 And that's only through faith 42:41 in the righteous blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 42:43 Now II Corinthians 5:17, you don't have to turn to it 42:47 but let me read it for you. 42:49 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, 42:55 that we might become," what's that word? 42:58 The righteousness of God in Him. 42:59 "The righteousness of God in Him." 43:01 See the righteousness of Christ has been applied to us. 43:04 It says here that through Him 43:08 we become the righteousness of God in Christ. 43:11 And I'm going to read a quote here 43:13 out of the Desire of Ages. 43:16 But let me just quote for you, 1 John 1:9, 43:20 "If we confess our sins, 43:21 He's faithful and just to forgive us of our sins 43:25 and to cleanse us." 43:27 From how much unrighteousness? All. 43:29 If you are cleansed from all unrighteousness, 43:32 honey, that makes you righteous. 43:35 Not of your own merit 43:36 but the merit of that blood that was shed. 43:39 That propitiated for you, 43:41 that reached down and picked you up. 43:43 Let me read this quote, Kenny, and it says, 43:45 "Christ was treated as we deserve 43:48 that we might be treated as He deserves. 43:51 He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, 43:55 that we might be justified by His righteousness, 43:58 in which we had no share. 44:00 He suffered the death which was ours, 44:03 that we might receive the life which was His. 44:06 'With His stripes we're healed.'" 44:07 Amen. Kenny. 44:09 Oh, beautifully said. 44:10 That gives me the spiritual goosebumps. 44:12 Praise God. 44:13 You know, think about the what was in our behalf, 44:15 what He did for us, thankful for that justification 44:19 and, of course, certainly the walk of sanctification. 44:21 Praise God for that. 44:22 On Thursday's lesson, Without the Deeds of the Law. 44:25 So well, you know this is even though we covered 44:28 some of these same things it's good for us, 44:30 I feel to go over many times 44:32 because the more that I hear it the more somehow, 44:35 praise God, it sticks in my mind, 44:36 I have to hear it quite a few times. 44:39 And so it's just good that we go over these things 44:42 because, you know, people, 44:43 I found out they tune in at different times 44:45 and some miss this and they pick up on that. 44:48 So it's good that we go over. 44:49 And so our text in Thursday's lesson 44:52 is Romans 3:28. 44:54 As the Bible says, "Therefore we conclude that a man is," 44:57 I love the word, "Justified by faith 45:00 without the deeds of the law." 45:03 I thought how interesting that is. 45:05 It's what all has been said here today 45:07 makes it very plain as far as I'm concerned, 45:09 others still may want it 45:11 because they want to be justified 45:12 but yet they want no obedience, 45:14 don't have to worry about being obedient to anything. 45:16 But, you know, as I read the Bible the Book of Isaiah 45:18 I think it's 41. 45:20 Isaiah 1:19, it talks about 45:22 if there are first be, be willing obedient, 45:26 we have to be willing. 45:27 If that we're willing and obedient, 45:28 we show yield of the good of the land, 45:31 if we are obedient, if we're willing. 45:33 So here in my mind as God says, 45:35 "I'm looking for people who are willing." 45:38 Willing to be what? 45:39 To be obedient to what He has said in His Word. 45:43 I'd like that but there's something else 45:46 I thought is interesting, 45:47 there's some questions down here. 45:49 I want to cover three or four different areas here. 45:51 You can jot them down as quickly as possible. 45:54 If I ask you around the table is God particular? 45:57 Yes. What would we say? 45:59 I thought people say, "Well, no, He's not 46:00 because of His mercy, because of His grace, 46:02 because of His long suffering, He's not really that particular 46:05 but, you know, as I read the word of God, 46:08 yes, He is particular," 46:09 because we read that in James like 2:10. 46:11 He said if you offend in one point 46:14 then you're guilty of all here 46:16 because we're talking about the man justified by faith 46:19 without the deeds of the law. 46:21 And so we look at that passage 46:23 and then the Romans 3:20, we read that. 46:26 What is the law? 46:27 How do we know what the law is? 46:29 What does the law do, the purpose? 46:31 The knowledge of sin. 46:32 It tells us what sin is, it gives us... 46:34 you know, so we can know understand it. 46:37 Like Pastor CA said, if we're on this side of it, 46:38 if we're on that side of it, 46:40 it can bring us back to the center 46:42 which we should do. 46:44 In Romans 3:21, 46:45 what relationship, I asked this question, 46:47 what relationship does the law sustain 46:50 to righteousness? 46:52 Think about what relation does the law sustain 46:55 to righteousness. 46:56 Well, in Romans 3:21, we read that, 46:58 there were different times here. 47:00 And we could read it again. 47:01 But do you realize there what does the law do? 47:04 The law points out what sin is. That's right. 47:06 We have the righteous of who Jesus Christ. 47:08 He offers that to us freely 47:11 and I'm so thankful and grateful for that. 47:13 Does faith... I have another question. 47:15 Does faith which brings righteousness abolish the law? 47:19 A lot of people say it does. 47:20 You know, what does that do here. 47:23 Romans 3:31 talks about 47:25 do we make void the law through what? 47:27 Faith. 47:29 God forbid we establish the laws 47:31 of those who are living on the faith as you. 47:33 "Well, I live by faith now, 47:34 I'm living in New Testament times, 47:36 I'm living in..." 47:37 Do we make void the law through faith? 47:38 No, God forbid we simply establish the law. 47:41 Faith is an obedient faith. 47:43 That was Abraham had an obedient faith. 47:45 Absolutely he did, absolutely he did. 47:47 And God requires that of each and every one of us. 47:51 Sometimes we want to throw it aside 47:52 and push it aside and cover it up 47:54 but we realize that this is part of our test 47:56 that we have is God's challenging us. 47:59 I like to put it that way. Testing me. 48:01 Well, I'll be obedient to what he says 48:03 or obedient to what I might want to say 48:06 or to do in my life. 48:08 The law written in the heart, what is that? 48:11 You know, it's what God says. 48:12 If we're looking at the deeds and we're looking at the law, 48:14 we're looking at works, we're looking at grace, 48:16 we're looking at justification, 48:18 and even going on sanctification, 48:20 if we look at this way right here, 48:22 the new covenant is what? 48:24 In Hebrews 8:10, He's going to write the law where? 48:26 In our hearts. 48:28 In our hearts and in our mind. 48:30 And really when you read the Spirit of Prophecy 48:32 and you read the Bible, this is called genuine, 48:36 genuine, you get the word? 48:38 Righteousness by faith. This is genuine. 48:41 Righteousness by faith when the law was written where? 48:44 In the heart and in the mind. 48:47 Righteous by faith, justification by faith. 48:51 And I thought that was interesting, 48:52 somebody mentioned Abraham I think here. 48:54 What a good illustration Abraham was counted for him, 48:57 he believed God, 48:58 and that's what we are required to do is to simply believe God. 49:03 Justification, several things that certainly mean 49:05 and been brought out well here. 49:07 Justification to me simply is pardon. 49:10 I like that, I'm guilty of sin. 49:13 I need pardon. 49:15 You see, that's where... 49:16 To me, that's what we should is come to Him and say, 49:18 "God, I'm guilty. 49:20 You know, I fell short of the glory of God 49:23 and I need to be pardoned." 49:24 So that's pardoned. 49:26 And then you talk about justification is a... 49:29 You talk about... 49:30 It's received by faith, 49:31 the only way that I can receive it is by faith in Him. 49:35 Somebody said, "Well, you know, I just repent and I go on." 49:38 Repentance is a step in justification 49:41 but it's a step, 49:42 it's a process that we must follow and go through. 49:46 Somebody said, "Well, I've justified, 49:47 one time I gave my life..." 49:49 To remain justified, 49:50 we have to remain obedient to God's commandments, 49:54 to remain in that justification walk with him. 49:58 I think that makes sense to us, we have to remain obedient. 50:02 It tells us that, you know, 50:04 the man cannot accomplish it for himself, 50:06 it's been brought out here wonderfully, 50:08 praise God for that. 50:09 Christ obedience is placed, 50:11 you know, in my stead or I failed 50:13 and I'm thankful for that. 50:15 Somebody mentioned, 50:17 I don't know who are on the panel 50:18 mentioned at those... 50:19 We need to talk more about this righteousness by faith, 50:22 justification by faith. 50:24 It's very interesting, Ellen White makes a quote, 50:26 it says that, we should, 50:28 we should bring this to the people 50:29 a lot more often than we do. 50:31 And one of the reasons we must, 50:33 I think bring it to the people more 50:36 is because that is one of the messages 50:38 that this movement had problems with in 1888. 50:42 You know, we can say what we want, 50:44 we can justify and we can say it's all accepted, 50:46 it's all wonderful and it's all good. 50:48 But the message of righteousness by faith 50:50 was rejected in 1888. 50:54 There's many, many books you can look at. 50:55 It doesn't make us proud, 50:57 it doesn't make us go wow, what would... 50:58 It means why. 51:00 When we fail, at least in my life, 51:02 when I failed, God and His grace 51:04 and His mercy brings me back to that same place again 51:09 and He allows me giving that second opportunity. 51:12 To again, if I fail again, 51:14 by His grace and I still want to do what is right 51:17 and I'm still asking Him to help me 51:18 but you know the old flesh is... 51:20 He brings me back to that hurdle again. 51:22 Until by God's grace, He gives that strength to go on. 51:25 So if we fail in something 51:28 then we need to make it right, you know. 51:30 But please finish the thought that although it was rejected 51:34 initially it was then adopted fully. 51:37 It was adopted fully in a sense like you say 51:40 if you go back you read a book 1888, 51:43 you know, revise, 51:45 you go back over the whole thing again. 51:47 There's many, many quotes 51:48 you can bring to the aspect of it. 51:49 And that's not just debate, 51:51 that's just is we've looked at it 51:52 and we've kind of want to curb down 51:55 just a little bit here. 51:56 So we watered it down a little bit and say, 51:57 "Hey, we accept." 52:00 If we had accepted... 52:01 Let me pose a question. 52:02 If we had accepted righteousness by faith 52:04 the way that we should have, would we still be here today? 52:07 I know it's a question, it's a big one, it's powerful. 52:09 Would we or would we not? 52:11 Possibly not. Possibly not. 52:13 Possibly not if we had accepted it, 52:15 righteousness by faith 52:16 because righteousness by faith as we look at and we've said, 52:18 you know, a lot different things here. 52:20 Righteousness by faith 52:22 is the third angel's message in verity. 52:25 Is it not? 52:27 It is in verity, that means it is a principle, 52:29 doesn't mean that's what it all is 52:31 but it's a principle, very important principle, 52:34 of the third angel's message. 52:36 So we should be giving... 52:37 My opinion, we should be giving that message to the world 52:41 which is what we're doing today. 52:42 Righteousness of Jesus Christ, not about law keeping. 52:47 You know, certainly being obedient 52:48 but we have to be very careful 52:50 because this is the third angel's message, 52:52 justification by faith. 52:53 Message should go far and near. 52:57 And I'm so thankful that we're willing 52:59 as the church to look at it. 53:00 And there's nothing wrong with saying, 53:02 "Oh, we might have made a mistake 53:03 or maybe we didn't see it at that point of time." 53:04 I've done that on many things. 53:06 But then we come back and say, "You know what, 53:08 we need to re-examine this 53:09 and look at it again by God's grace. 53:12 We're going to pick this thing up," 53:14 because we want the blessings of God, right? 53:17 We want that and that's why resenting it here today 53:19 and you've done so well in presenting it. 53:21 That justified it's nothing to do with us. 53:25 It's all about him just making that commitment to Him, 53:29 totally unworthy and how wonderful that is, 53:32 you know, as a Christian, to say we may have slighted, 53:35 we may have went different direction, 53:36 but God is calling us back 53:38 to give it one more time in combination, 53:41 you know, with the third angel's message. 53:43 And so let's give that message like we're doing here 53:45 and bringing people to that point that no matter 53:48 where they're at, what they've done, 53:50 how many times they've done it, 53:52 God is good, He's gracious and He's kind. 53:55 So, you know, I look forward to these lessons 53:57 and as we go through them 53:59 and more will be said on this as we move forward. 54:02 Amen. Thank you all so much. What a blessing. 54:05 To me, the principal of justification by faith 54:09 is so powerful 54:10 because we all are in need of grace, 54:12 we're all in need of being justified. 54:14 We're all back into right standing with the Father. 54:18 What I want to do, we have a couple moments left here. 54:20 Normally at the end of our Sabbath School Panel, 54:23 everyone kind of shares something 54:24 or puts a bow on the package or something, 54:26 but I want to do something different. 54:28 To me, this is such a vitally important topic 54:31 and I think there's people watching who don't know 54:34 if they can be justified by faith. 54:36 People watching who are struggling right now 54:39 with this question in their own walk 54:41 or maybe sharing with someone else, 54:42 so I'd like to take just a few seconds apiece 54:44 and give you all opportunity to either make an appeal 54:47 to someone at home or share a scripture 54:50 or something that would be an encouragement 54:52 to someone maybe right now making a decision 54:55 either for or against Jesus. 54:57 Well, I would certainly just say that 54:59 if you're watching from home 55:02 know that when Jesus died on the cross, 55:04 He died for you. 55:06 And we have all... 55:08 He is a bigger Savior 55:10 than any sin that you could have, 55:11 your sin cannot be too big. 55:14 So God loves you, 55:15 He sent His son to die for you to pay the price, 55:18 that penalty. 55:19 And all you have to do is receive Him and say, 55:22 "Lord, please, I'm a sinner, I need salvation, I need You." 55:27 And He will bring you out of darkness 55:31 and into the light. 55:32 Amen. Pastor? 55:34 I think one of the great mistakes in Protestantism 55:38 is the idea that faith is opposed to something. 55:42 It's faith or law or faith or works. 55:45 Faith is the mechanism that opens up the door 55:49 to allow you to appropriate to yourself 55:51 everything that Christ has promised for you. 55:53 Amen. 55:54 It's not opposed to... 55:55 The laws just shows you 55:57 when you're going off the tracks 55:58 but as long as you have faith 56:00 in everything that God has promised is accepted, 56:02 acceptable to you and is ready for you. 56:05 It's not faith or works. 56:07 Faith allows those works to come from God through you 56:11 so that you are doing what God wants you to do 56:13 and living the way God wants you to live. 56:15 Amen. Ms. Molly? 56:16 Well, you are the very reason that God sent His son to die. 56:21 Amen. 56:23 That Jesus shed his blood, falling humanity, 56:26 and you individually, God would have done it 56:29 just for you and that is something 56:31 that we all have to come to understand 56:33 that blood would have been shed 56:34 if I was the only person that would have accepted it. 56:37 So reach your hand to Him, He's reaching out to you, 56:41 as falling humanity, He wants to pick you up 56:43 and stand you up and put you in right relationship with him. 56:47 Amen. Pastor Kenny. Amen. Praise the Lord. 56:48 Just one thing quickly goes in my mind is Zachariah 4:6, 56:53 "Not by might nor by power, 56:54 but by the Spirit of the Savior Lord" 56:56 Just give your life to Jesus Christ, 56:58 watch things change. 57:00 Your whole life will change and then you'll bring some... 57:02 You'll find joy and peace and some happiness 57:03 in serving Jesus. 57:05 Amen. Thank you all so much. 57:06 And we thank you for joining us. 57:08 Know that the Lord Jesus Christ love you. 57:10 That He died 57:11 so that you can spend eternity with Him. 57:14 Make a choice right now. 57:15 Reach out, accept Him by faith, 57:17 know that you can stand justified 57:20 before the Father and that then He can empower you 57:22 to walk in the spirit. 57:24 Join us next week 57:26 as we continue our study of the Book of Romans. 57:29 Know that we love you. God bless you. 57:30 Thank you. |
Revised 2024-07-09