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Romans 3:21-31 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Please join me if you would in your copy of God's Word in Romans chapter 3.
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Our text for today's study will be Romans chapter 3 verses 21 through 31.
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We have spent quite a bit of time in our study of the book of Romans considering the guilt of all mankind.
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Paul begins making this case in chapter 1 and verse 18 where he states,
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For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
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And he concludes his case at verse 20 of last week's text in chapter 3.
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He wants to be so clear that anyone, whether Jewish, of Jewish descent or otherwise, lives under the curse of sin.
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He says in Romans chapter 2 and verse 12,
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For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law.
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And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
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I stated last week that he is doing all of this because this is the reasonable starting point from which to prove his thesis,
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which we will look at thoroughly and repeatedly throughout the entirety of this letter,
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in which he states in chapter 1 verse 16 and 17,
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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
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to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
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For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,
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as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.
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He is going to unpack that across all these chapters of the book of Romans.
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If you have been hearing anything that Paul is saying in these first three chapters,
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then you will understand that the unfortunate state of your soul,
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apart from the intervening work of Jesus Christ,
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is a desperate state because the wrath of God awaits you.
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And this is a frightful thing.
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And this is the due penalty for our sin.
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It's good and proper that God would punish rebellious people.
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All of mankind has a huge problem that only finds its remedy in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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But praise be to God that we have reached the point in Paul's writing
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where he begins to unpack the good news of his thesis,
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now having spent such time on the bad news.
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But we must know the bad news for the good news to be as good as it truly is.
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Martin Luther said of Romans chapter 3, verse 21 through 31,
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that it is the chief point and the very central place of the epistle and of the whole Bible.
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I do hope that you will engage with the text this morning to either,
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number one, believe for the first time in the gospel of Jesus Christ
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and find the remedy for your sinful state,
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or, number two, to be encouraged by the gospel of Jesus Christ
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and pressed into grateful service.
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So let's read the text together.
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If you'll follow along with me before I read it,
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let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.
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It was written for his glory and our good,
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so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises
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and to obey its commands.
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Paul says,
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But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
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although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.
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The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
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For there is no distinction.
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For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
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and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
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whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.
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This was to show God's righteousness,
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because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
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It was to show his righteousness at the present time
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so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
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Then what becomes of our boasting?
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It is excluded.
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By what kind of law?
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By a law of works?
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No, but by the law of faith.
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For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
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Or is God the God of Jews only?
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Is he not the God of Gentiles also?
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Yes, of Gentiles also,
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since God is one,
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who will justify the circumcised by faith
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and the uncircumcised through faith.
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Do we then overthrow the law by this faith?
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By no means.
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On the contrary,
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we uphold the law.
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Now, this is a lot of text.
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And this morning I will divide the text into two halves,
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each with some additional divisions.
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We have quite a bit of ground to cover,
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so I'll move fairly quickly.
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In fact, these 11 verses,
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I think could have warranted three sermons.
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It's kind of where my mind was settling in on it.
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But I'm going to take a sabbatical starting tomorrow
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and we'll be gone for a month.
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And I really want to finish chapter 3.
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I really want to talk about the entirety of the text.
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And it would be really disjointed, I think,
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to only do a bit of it
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and wait a whole month to pick back up on the rest of it.
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And so I'm telling you all of this
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so that you'll buckle in and get ready
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because we're going to move fairly quickly through the text.
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So the two kind of simple divisions for the text,
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number one is doctrine.
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This is a good old puritanical division here.
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Number one, doctrine, we find in verses 21 through 26.
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And number two, application,
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which we find in verses 27 through the end of the chapter.
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So let's look first at the doctrine in the text.
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We see this phrase at the beginning of verse 21,
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the righteousness of God,
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which if you've been sitting in our teaching of Romans
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should sound familiar to you.
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This exact phrasing, the righteousness of God.
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I hope that it sends off signals in your mind.
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Where have we heard it?
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Even just this morning, did we not hear it?
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In Romans chapter 1 and verse 17.
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Verse 16, Paul says he's not ashamed of the gospel
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or he's proud of the gospel
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because it's the power of God for salvation.
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For, verse 17,
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in it the righteousness of God is revealed
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from faith for faith, right?
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So he's come back to this idea, right?
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He's continuing to explain what he means
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by the righteousness of God.
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Paul has been laboring to tell us
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why we cannot accomplish the righteousness required by God
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so that we will seek to understand
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that we need the righteousness of God.
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If that word for you is new,
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think right living.
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Perfect right living would be a way perhaps to say it.
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I will tell you this week
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that my hands got pretty good
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at typing out the word righteousness.
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I got as many times as I had to correct it.
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It's a more complicated word
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than perhaps it needs to be,
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but it's a biblical word
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so we need to understand it.
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So think perfect right living.
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We can't do this on our own.
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We need a righteousness
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that comes from outside ourselves.
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A righteousness that Luther called
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an alien righteousness,
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a foreign righteousness.
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But not just any.
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If we are to stand in the day of judgment,
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we will need a particular righteousness,
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the righteousness of God.
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If we are to survive God's perfect judgment,
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then we must be perfect.
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And we will not accomplish this of our own effort.
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And, praise be to God,
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we don't have to.
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For we have and would utterly fail to do so.
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This consideration of the righteousness of God
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is salve to a weary soul.
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We all know that apart from the righteousness of God,
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we are all guilty before God.
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Look up just a couple of verses from today's text,
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verse 19 and 20.
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There Paul says,
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Now we know that whatever the law says,
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it speaks to those who are under the law
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so that every mouth may be stopped
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and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
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For by works of the law,
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no human being will be justified in his sight
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since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
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We have littles sitting in our hearing right now,
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and perhaps many of them
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aren't really aware of their sinfulness.
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But if you are not a little,
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if you understand the things
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that are coming out of my mouth right now,
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you are fully aware
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that you have done things that are wrong.
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You have been told that they are wrong,
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and you agree that they were wrong.
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This is the way that the law serves us,
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to help us to know that we are sinners,
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to make evident our guilt,
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and to point us somewhere else,
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to take us outside of ourselves,
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to look elsewhere for righteousness.
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It points us to the righteousness of God,
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or we hope and pray that it does.
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In the first six verses of today's text,
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Paul tells us seven things
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about the righteousness of God.
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So, those of you who are more familiar
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with my outlines,
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here we actually go.
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Number one,
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and these will be brief.
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Number one,
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the righteousness of God
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is not found in the law.
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First half of verse 21.
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Paul has repeated this quite a bit
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throughout the end of chapter 2,
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and now he's saying it again.
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Now, the righteousness of God
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has been manifested apart from the law.
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So, we have seen the righteousness of God,
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but it didn't come from the law.
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It came apart from the law.
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Now, this has been largely established
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over the past weeks
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and previous texts of Romans.
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We cannot be made righteous by the law
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because we cannot keep the law.
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It's not possible
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that we might have the righteousness of God
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because we inherited a nature.
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We are inclined to sin.
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And as I've said,
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we all have.
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Romans 3 and verse 10,
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there Paul says,
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none is righteous,
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no, not one.
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So, this righteousness of God
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is not found in keeping God's law.
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Second thing Paul tells us
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about the righteousness of God
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is that it is spoken of
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in the Old Testament.
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And there's an inclination in me
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to spend an entire week
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on the last half of verse 21,
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but I won't.
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I'm reigning it in for you.
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But there he says,
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although the law and the prophets
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bear witness,
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to it.
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And if you're looking at an ESV,
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copy of God's Word,
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you will see law and prophets
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capitalized in the last half of verse 21,
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but law in lowercase
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in the first half.
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Why might the translators
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have made this decision?
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The Greek certainly
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wasn't capitalized or not.
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They did so because
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Paul here is referring to
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the law as God's moral law
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in the first part of verse 21,
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but in the last part,
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he's talking about the Scripture
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in total.
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It's a very common phrase
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to refer to the Bible of Paul's day
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as the law and the prophets.
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So the law doesn't serve
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our righteousness
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by keeping it,
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but it does,
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the law,
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the Bible itself,
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bears witness to it,
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to the righteousness
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of God.
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Specifically,
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it bears witness
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to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Christ,
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this righteousness
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that's been manifested
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apart from the law.
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The God-man,
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Jesus Christ,
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who lived the life
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that's required of us,
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that we might have
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his righteousness.
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This is who the law
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and prophets
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bear witness to.
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Jesus is the snake crusher
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of Genesis chapter 3.
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He is the Passover lamb
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of Exodus 12.
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He is the defeater
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of our enemy
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in 1 Samuel 17.
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He is the price paid
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for Gomer
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in Hosea chapter 3.
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He is the greater Moses
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and the greater David.
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The whole of the Bible,
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I want to give you
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a thousand more examples,
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is meant to press our minds
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to the coming,
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now arrived,
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and soon coming again
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King Jesus.
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of great value.
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And the Jews
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of Paul's day
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loved the Scripture.
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They tried to orient
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their lives by it.
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They thought that
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in the Bible itself
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they might become righteous.
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And Paul's unraveling
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that for them.
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And I think in our day,
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a people
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who have much
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of the Bible
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access to it
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in many ways
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and forms.
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It's just incredible
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the way you can access
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the Scripture.
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in our day.
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That we would think
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that in them
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we have righteousness
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when they are pointing us
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to Christ.
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Jesus said to the Pharisees
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in John chapter 5
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and verse 39,
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you search the Scriptures
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because you think
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that in them
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you have
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eternal life.
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And he's not condemning
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the search of the Scriptures.
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What a wonderful thing to do,
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to spend our lives
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in this text.
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But they thought
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the text itself
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was providing
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eternal life for them
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and their feeble attempts
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to obey it.
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And he goes on to say,
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and it is they
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that bear witness
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about me.
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The law and the prophets
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bear witness,
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notice the phrasing
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is the same,
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to Christ
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himself,
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the righteousness
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of God.
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The third thing
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that Paul says
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about the righteousness
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of God
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is that it is granted
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through faith.
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You see this
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in the first part
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of verse 22.
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The righteousness
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of God
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through faith
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in Jesus Christ
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for all
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who believe.
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I have stated
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and will state
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repeatedly
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that the theme
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of this letter
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is that we are justified
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by grace alone
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through faith alone
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in Jesus Christ
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alone.
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It is by believing
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in the person
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and the work
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of Jesus.
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Both
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who he is
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and the things
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that he accomplish
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that we have
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the record
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of our sins
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expunged
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and are granted
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the righteousness
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of God.
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Our guilt
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record
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taken away,
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Jesus paid the penalty
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for that sin
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and he has given
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to us
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his perfect
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law keeping.
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This is that
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alien righteousness
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that we need
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to stand before God
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in the day of judgment.
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You cannot merely
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believe whatever
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you may want
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despite what our
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pluralistic society
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may tell you.
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If you are to be
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saved from God's wrath
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and reconcile to him,
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you must do so
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on his terms.
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Jesus says in John
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chapter 14
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and verse 6,
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I am the way
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and the truth
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and the life.
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No one
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comes to the Father
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except
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through
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me.
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What's he talking
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about there?
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Except by believing
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in who I am
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and what I have
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accomplished
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on behalf
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of all those
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who will
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believe.
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So the righteousness
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of God
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is granted
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through
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faith.
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Fourthly,
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the righteousness
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of God
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is not
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partial.
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You see this
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in verse 22,
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the last part,
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and into
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verse 23.
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There Paul says,
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for there is
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no
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distinction.
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For all have
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sinned
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and fall short
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of the glory
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of God.
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So regardless
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of your
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ethnic identity
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or nationality,
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no matter
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your background,
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you are a son
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or daughter
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of Adam
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and therefore
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guilty of the
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sin of Adam
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and your own
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sin on top
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of that.
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But,
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regardless
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of your ethnic
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identity
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or nationality,
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no matter
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your background,
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you can be
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called a son
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or daughter
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of God
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by faith
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in a faithful
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older brother.
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There's no
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distinction made
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by the free
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offer of the
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gospel of
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Jesus Christ.
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It does not
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matter from
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where you
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came.
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God created
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you and he
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calls you to
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himself to
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believe in the
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gospel of
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Jesus.
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Fifthly,
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we see that
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the righteousness
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of God is
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acquired by
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grace.
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grace.
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It is
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acquired by
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grace.
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The first
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part of
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verse 24.
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We are
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justified.
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There's that
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word I
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explained a
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moment ago.
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By his
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grace as
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a gift.
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And the
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word grace
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means this
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free gifting
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of something
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for our
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favor.
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But Paul
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wants to be
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sure that we
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understand that
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it is a
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gift.
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We're
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justified by
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his grace
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as a
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gift.
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Justified by
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grace alone,
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through faith
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alone,
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in Christ
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alone.
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This is not a
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thing that we
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muster up on
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our own.
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Belief in the
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gospel of
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Jesus Christ
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is a gift
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that is
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granted to
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us.
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Oh, that
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God would
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grant it to
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us all.
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Paul tells
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elsewhere,
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Ephesians
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chapter 2
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and verse
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8, for
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by grace
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you have
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been saved
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through faith.
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And this,
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he's referring
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there to the
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faith, is
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not your
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own doing,
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it is the
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gift of
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God.
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The gracious
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gift of
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God is the
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faith itself
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that we
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would believe
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in the
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gospel of
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Jesus Christ.
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The sixth
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thing that we
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learn from
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Paul about
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the righteousness
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of God is
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that it is
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bought with
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a price.
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The last
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part of
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verse 24
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says,
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through the
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redemption
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that is in
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Christ Jesus.
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Now, the
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word for
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redemption was
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often used
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of paying a
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price to
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free a
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captive from
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his captors
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or to
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free a
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slave from
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his master.
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Often, the
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person who
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carried that
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price was
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called a
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redeemer.
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You may have
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heard of
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Jesus being
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called the
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redeemer, and
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he is both
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the redeemer
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and he is
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the redemption
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price itself.
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We who
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once, or
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this morning
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perhaps are
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enslaved to
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sin, held
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captive by the
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ruler of this
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world, Jesus
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has paid the
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penalty, paid
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the price that
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we might be
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redeemed.
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Paul writes
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in Colossians
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chapter 1
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verse 13
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and following,
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Jesus has
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delivered us
21:11
from the
21:11
domain of
21:13
darkness, the
21:14
ruling of
21:15
darkness, and
21:17
transferred us
21:18
to the kingdom
21:19
of his beloved
21:20
son, in whom
21:23
we have
21:24
redemption,
21:26
the forgiveness
21:26
righteousness, of
21:28
sins.
21:29
Jesus paid the
21:31
penalty for our
21:32
sin with his
21:33
own life, bearing
21:35
on our behalf
21:36
all of the
21:38
wrath that was
21:38
due to our
21:39
sin.
21:42
The seventh
21:43
thing that we
21:44
learn, the
21:44
righteousness of
21:45
God is purchased
21:47
by an atoning
21:49
sacrifice.
21:49
sacrifice.
21:51
And we see
21:51
this in verse
21:52
25 and 26.
21:56
Here Paul says
21:57
that through the
21:58
redemption that
21:58
is in Christ
21:59
Jesus, whom
22:00
God put forward
22:02
as a
22:03
propitiation by
22:05
his blood to
22:06
be received
22:07
by faith.
22:10
Propitiation, not
22:11
an easy word to
22:12
say and not
22:13
often used, but
22:14
I hope it's a
22:15
word that will
22:15
be loved by
22:17
you.
22:18
A
22:19
propitiation.
22:21
The word
22:21
propitiation carries
22:23
with it the
22:23
idea of
22:24
appeasement or
22:26
satisfaction of
22:29
wrath.
22:30
Wrath that was
22:31
due us.
22:33
Wrath that all
22:34
those who die
22:35
and stand before
22:36
the judgment of
22:36
God, apart from
22:37
Christ, will
22:39
suffer eternal
22:41
wrath for the
22:43
appeasement of
22:45
God.
22:47
God is
22:47
just and he
22:49
is right to
22:50
punish sin.
22:53
The Bible
22:53
speaks much of
22:55
this judgment and
22:56
of the wrath of
22:56
God.
22:58
We see it in
22:59
Revelation chapter
23:00
14 verse 17
23:01
and following.
23:03
John's vision, he
23:04
says, then another
23:05
angel came out of
23:06
the temple in
23:06
heaven and he
23:08
too had a sharp
23:09
sickle.
23:10
And another
23:11
angel came out
23:12
from the altar,
23:13
the angel who
23:13
has authority over
23:14
the fire, and he
23:15
called with a loud
23:16
voice to the one
23:17
who had the sharp
23:18
sickle.
23:19
Put in your
23:20
sickle and gather
23:21
the clusters from
23:22
the vine of the
23:23
earth, for its
23:24
grapes are ripe.
23:27
So the angel
23:28
swung his sickle
23:29
across the earth
23:30
and gathered the
23:30
great harvest of
23:31
the earth and
23:32
threw it into the
23:33
great winepress of
23:34
the wrath of God.
23:37
God, I think that
23:39
should make all of
23:39
us shudder.
23:41
The idea of us as
23:43
grapes being placed
23:45
in a winepress.
23:48
Grapes do not
23:49
stand up to the
23:50
pressure of a
23:52
winepress.
23:54
No grape has
23:55
ever willed itself
23:56
out of a winepress
23:57
or pressed back
23:58
against the
24:00
smooshing of the
24:01
grape.
24:02
And then verse 20
24:03
says, and the
24:04
winepress was
24:06
trodden outside
24:07
the city and
24:08
blood flowed from
24:11
the winepress.
24:13
John's vision
24:14
turns off the
24:15
metaphor to be
24:15
very clear about
24:16
what is meant
24:18
by this judgment.
24:21
Those who are
24:21
not saved in
24:23
Christ will be
24:25
destroyed and
24:26
will be destroyed
24:27
forever,
24:28
forever,
24:29
continually,
24:30
forever,
24:31
to appease the
24:33
wrath of God.
24:35
But rather,
24:37
in Christ,
24:37
we have Christ
24:38
as a
24:39
propitiation,
24:41
a satisfier of
24:42
God's wrath
24:43
for us.
24:46
So that when we
24:47
stand in the
24:47
judgment,
24:49
and we declare
24:50
not a righteousness
24:50
of our own,
24:51
but a righteousness
24:52
that is Christ
24:53
that's granted
24:54
to us,
24:55
God doesn't
24:59
punish our
25:00
sin in
25:01
us,
25:02
because he
25:04
already punished
25:05
it in
25:06
Christ.
25:08
See,
25:08
Paul goes on
25:10
to say,
25:11
this,
25:12
this putting
25:12
forth of
25:13
Christ as the
25:13
propitiation,
25:15
was to show
25:16
God's righteousness,
25:18
his right
25:19
living,
25:20
right keeping,
25:21
because in
25:22
his divine
25:23
forbearance,
25:25
he had
25:25
passed over
25:26
former sins.
25:28
What Paul is
25:29
referring there
25:30
is to people
25:30
who were
25:32
saved in
25:33
Christ because
25:33
they placed
25:34
hope that
25:35
somehow
25:36
the sacrificial
25:38
system,
25:39
the slaying of
25:40
lambs and
25:40
bulls and
25:41
goats,
25:41
somehow was
25:43
covering their
25:44
sin.
25:45
They believed
25:45
in future
25:46
promise.
25:51
Also,
25:51
it was to show
25:52
his righteousness
25:52
at the present
25:53
time,
25:54
so that
25:55
he might
25:55
be just,
25:57
that he
25:58
might rightly
25:59
punish sin,
26:00
and the
26:01
justifier,
26:02
the one who
26:03
declares
26:03
righteous,
26:05
of the one
26:06
who has
26:06
faith in
26:08
Jesus.
26:09
And this is
26:10
such an
26:10
important thing
26:11
to understand,
26:13
that God
26:13
does not
26:14
merely dismiss
26:15
our sin,
26:17
right?
26:17
He doesn't
26:17
just overlook
26:18
it and say,
26:19
well,
26:19
it's okay,
26:20
because it's
26:21
not okay.
26:21
if God
26:23
is to be a
26:23
just judge,
26:24
he must
26:25
punish
26:25
our sin.
26:29
If we
26:29
are to not
26:30
be punished
26:30
forever for
26:31
our sin,
26:32
somehow God
26:33
has to punish
26:34
our sin.
26:36
How does
26:37
he do it?
26:38
By putting
26:39
forth Jesus
26:40
Christ as a
26:42
propitiation.
26:44
The God
26:44
man,
26:45
Jesus Christ,
26:46
bearing the
26:47
wrath of God
26:48
on our behalf
26:48
on the cross.
26:51
All of
26:52
God's wrath
26:52
poured out
26:54
on him
26:54
that we
26:56
might have
26:57
our sins
26:57
expunged
26:58
and his
26:58
righteousness
26:59
given to
27:00
us.
27:02
I once
27:03
heard this
27:03
great analogy.
27:04
If you've
27:04
been here
27:05
long,
27:05
you've heard
27:05
it before.
27:06
I hope it
27:06
won't bother
27:07
you much
27:08
to hear it
27:08
again.
27:11
Of
27:11
imagining
27:12
God's
27:12
wrath,
27:13
his eternal
27:14
wrath that
27:15
is due
27:15
our sin,
27:16
by imagining
27:18
that you're
27:18
standing in
27:19
a dry river
27:20
bed at the
27:21
bottom of
27:21
a massive
27:22
dam.
27:24
And this
27:25
dam is
27:25
holding back
27:26
immense amounts
27:27
of water.
27:28
The dam is
27:28
so tall that
27:29
you can't
27:30
see the
27:30
height of
27:30
it,
27:31
and it's
27:32
so wide
27:32
to either
27:33
direction that
27:33
you can't
27:34
see the
27:35
end of it,
27:36
and you
27:36
know it
27:36
holds back
27:37
a crushing
27:39
weight.
27:41
And as you
27:42
stand there
27:42
and you
27:42
peer up at
27:43
this and
27:43
you consider
27:44
the weight
27:45
of the
27:45
water behind
27:46
this dam,
27:47
it begins
27:47
to crack
27:48
and suddenly
27:48
it bursts
27:49
forth.
27:50
And all
27:51
of that
27:51
water comes
27:52
bearing down
27:53
on you.
27:55
You're not
27:56
going to
27:56
outrun this
27:56
water.
27:57
There's
27:57
nothing that
27:58
you're going
27:58
to be able
27:58
to do
27:59
to escape
28:00
from the
28:01
crushing
28:02
weight of
28:03
this water.
28:04
And just
28:04
as it's
28:05
about to
28:05
crush you,
28:06
you close
28:07
your eyes,
28:08
you're ready
28:08
to take it
28:09
on,
28:10
a hole
28:10
opens up
28:11
in front
28:12
of you,
28:12
and all
28:13
of that
28:13
water goes
28:14
rushing to
28:15
your amazement
28:15
into this
28:16
massive hole
28:17
in front
28:17
of you.
28:18
It rushes
28:18
in,
28:19
it rushes
28:19
in,
28:20
it rushes
28:20
in.
28:21
And this
28:22
is what
28:22
Jesus did
28:23
on the
28:23
cross for
28:24
you if
28:25
you believe
28:26
by faith
28:27
that he
28:27
did.
28:29
He drinks
28:29
to the
28:30
very last
28:31
drop the
28:32
wrath of
28:32
God that
28:33
was due
28:33
you,
28:34
and when
28:34
he was
28:35
finished,
28:36
he turned
28:36
the cup
28:36
over,
28:37
he slammed
28:38
it down
28:38
and declared
28:39
it is
28:40
finished.
28:42
He
28:42
accomplished
28:43
that for
28:45
you if
28:45
you would
28:45
just
28:46
believe
28:46
in
28:47
him.
28:49
William
28:50
Reese
28:50
wrote
28:51
a wonderful
28:52
hymn,
28:53
maybe we'll
28:53
sing it here
28:54
someday,
28:54
called
28:54
Here is
28:55
Love
28:56
in 1876,
28:58
and this
28:58
is the
28:58
second verse
28:59
of that
28:59
song.
29:01
He writes,
29:01
on the
29:02
mount of
29:02
crucifixion
29:03
fountains
29:04
opened deep
29:05
and wide.
29:07
Through the
29:07
floodgates of
29:08
your mercy
29:09
flowed a
29:09
vast and
29:10
gracious tide.
29:12
Here is
29:13
love,
29:14
like mighty
29:15
rivers poured
29:16
unceasing
29:17
from above,
29:18
heaven's
29:19
peace and
29:20
perfect justice
29:21
kissed a
29:23
guilty world
29:24
in love.
29:27
The
29:27
righteousness
29:28
of God
29:29
is a thing
29:30
that each
29:31
of us
29:31
desperately
29:32
needs and
29:33
does not
29:34
deserve,
29:35
and yet
29:35
God has
29:36
loved his
29:37
creation enough
29:38
to make
29:38
a way that
29:39
we might
29:40
have it.
29:42
So there's
29:43
the doctrine.
29:45
Second big
29:45
point.
29:46
I just did
29:46
three.
29:47
Second big
29:48
point.
29:49
Application.
29:50
It must be
29:50
time for a
29:50
sabbatical if
29:51
I hold up
29:51
three fingers
29:52
and say
29:52
secondly.
29:55
Application.
29:56
So a few
29:56
things to
29:57
pull out of
29:57
the rest of
29:57
the text.
29:58
So beginning
29:59
in verse
30:00
27,
30:02
the righteousness
30:03
of God
30:03
excludes
30:05
boasting
30:05
in ourselves.
30:08
Paul says
30:09
that very
30:10
frankly here
30:11
in verse
30:11
27,
30:12
then what
30:12
becomes of
30:13
our boasting?
30:15
It's
30:15
excluded.
30:16
It cannot
30:17
exist.
30:18
By what
30:19
kind of
30:19
law?
30:19
By a
30:19
law of
30:20
works?
30:21
One that
30:21
we couldn't
30:22
keep?
30:22
No.
30:23
By a
30:24
law of
30:25
faith.
30:27
We have
30:27
believed that
30:29
someone else
30:29
did the work
30:30
for us,
30:31
and this
30:31
excludes
30:32
our
30:33
boasting.
30:36
Beloved,
30:36
we ought to
30:37
be the most
30:37
humble people
30:38
on the
30:38
planet.
30:40
Really
30:40
understanding
30:41
who we
30:42
once were
30:43
and what
30:44
has been
30:44
accomplished
30:44
for us
30:46
should make
30:47
us incredibly
30:48
humble.
30:50
For we
30:51
hold that
30:51
one is
30:52
justified by
30:53
faith apart
30:54
from works
30:55
of the
30:57
law.
30:57
We did
30:58
not accomplish
30:58
it.
30:59
We could
30:59
not accomplish
31:00
it.
31:00
We never
31:00
would have.
31:01
If Christ
31:02
wasn't holding
31:02
me fast
31:03
now, I
31:04
would certainly
31:04
leave.
31:05
I read
31:07
previously
31:08
Ephesians
31:08
chapter 2
31:09
and verse
31:09
8, which
31:10
says,
31:10
for by grace
31:11
you have
31:11
been saved
31:11
through faith,
31:12
and this
31:12
is not
31:13
your own
31:13
doing, it
31:14
is the
31:14
gift of
31:14
God.
31:15
Paul goes
31:15
on in
31:16
verse 9
31:16
to say,
31:17
not a
31:18
result of
31:19
works, so
31:19
that no
31:20
one may
31:21
boast.
31:24
Our
31:24
salvation is
31:24
monergistic.
31:26
God does
31:26
it, and
31:27
he does it
31:27
because he
31:28
deserves all
31:29
the glory
31:30
for doing
31:31
it.
31:32
I don't
31:32
get a shred
31:33
of the glory.
31:34
God made
31:35
the way
31:35
possible, and
31:36
he did all
31:36
the things, and
31:37
then I got
31:39
on board.
31:40
I get none
31:41
of it.
31:43
God says in
31:44
Isaiah chapter
31:44
48, my
31:45
glory I will
31:46
not give
31:47
to another.
31:51
Paul says
31:51
in Galatians
31:52
6 verse
31:52
14, far
31:54
be it for
31:55
me to
31:55
boast, except
31:57
in the
31:58
cross of
31:59
our Lord
31:59
Jesus Christ.
32:01
There he
32:02
says, there's
32:03
a thing to
32:03
boast in, what
32:04
God has
32:04
done on
32:05
our behalf.
32:09
So we
32:09
ought to be
32:10
humble, and
32:11
I'm not saying
32:11
that we don't
32:11
stand for the
32:12
truth, but we
32:13
stand on it
32:14
because it is
32:14
God's truth, not
32:15
because it is
32:16
ours.
32:19
Secondly, the
32:20
righteousness of
32:21
God promotes
32:22
ethnic harmony
32:24
and missions to
32:25
the ends of
32:27
the earth.
32:28
I know some
32:29
of you would
32:29
like to be
32:29
way deep
32:31
into this
32:31
one today, and
32:32
I'm not
32:32
going to.
32:34
Here Paul
32:34
says, is
32:35
God the
32:36
God of
32:36
Jews only?
32:37
Is he
32:38
not the
32:38
God of
32:38
Gentiles
32:39
also?
32:39
Yes, of
32:40
Gentiles
32:41
also.
32:43
Categorically
32:44
dividing people
32:44
into two
32:45
ethnic groups,
32:46
Jews and
32:46
everyone else.
32:49
And he's
32:49
saying that
32:49
God doesn't
32:50
show favor
32:52
in granting
32:53
righteousness
32:54
just to one
32:55
ethnic group,
32:56
but to all
32:58
ethnic groups.
33:01
Because God
33:02
is one, verse
33:02
30, and he
33:03
will justify
33:04
the circumcised
33:05
by faith and
33:06
the uncircumcised
33:07
through faith.
33:09
If you're to
33:10
come to God,
33:10
you will come
33:11
by faith.
33:12
There's one
33:13
way that it
33:13
will be
33:14
accomplished.
33:17
This is why
33:18
Christians
33:19
should be
33:20
eager to
33:20
share the
33:21
gospel with
33:22
all peoples
33:23
everywhere, that
33:24
we would not
33:24
shy away from
33:25
such a thing
33:26
because our
33:26
God is a
33:27
God who
33:27
saves.
33:29
Matthew 28,
33:30
verse 19,
33:30
just says,
33:31
go therefore
33:32
and make
33:32
disciples of
33:33
all nations.
33:36
All ethnos,
33:37
and there's a
33:38
lot of
33:38
disagreement about
33:39
what that
33:39
means exactly,
33:40
but we know
33:41
it can mean
33:42
that we're
33:42
going to
33:42
share the
33:42
gospel with
33:43
people who
33:43
aren't just
33:44
like us.
33:46
We're going
33:46
to go,
33:47
and we're
33:47
going to
33:48
share.
33:50
This is a
33:50
beautiful vision
33:51
of heaven,
33:52
again from
33:53
John,
33:53
Revelation
33:53
chapter 7,
33:54
verse 9 and
33:55
10, where
33:56
he says,
33:57
I looked
33:57
and behold
33:58
a great
33:58
multitude that
33:59
no one
34:00
could number
34:01
from every
34:02
nation,
34:03
from all
34:03
tribes and
34:04
peoples and
34:04
languages,
34:05
standing before
34:06
the throne
34:06
and before
34:07
the Lamb,
34:08
clothed in
34:08
white robes,
34:09
with palm
34:10
branches in
34:11
their hands,
34:12
and crying
34:12
out with a
34:13
loud voice,
34:14
salvation
34:15
belongs to
34:16
our God
34:17
who sits
34:18
on the
34:18
throne,
34:19
and to
34:20
the Lamb.
34:22
That'll be the
34:22
great desire of
34:23
every Christian,
34:24
that God
34:25
will be praised
34:26
amongst all
34:27
peoples everywhere.
34:30
This is why
34:31
Paul says,
34:31
right,
34:32
1 and
34:33
verse 16,
34:34
I am not
34:35
ashamed of
34:36
the gospel.
34:37
I've been
34:37
saying to you
34:38
in the positive,
34:38
I am proud of
34:39
the gospel for
34:40
it is the power
34:42
of God for
34:43
salvation to
34:44
everyone who
34:45
believes,
34:45
to the Jew
34:46
first,
34:47
and also to
34:48
everyone else.
34:52
We, like
34:53
Paul, should be
34:53
proud of the
34:54
gospel because
34:56
it is the
34:56
power of God
34:57
for salvation.
34:59
And third
35:00
application,
35:02
the righteousness
35:02
of God
35:03
changes our
35:05
hearts.
35:07
So, to be
35:08
clear, we
35:10
are not
35:10
justified,
35:12
made righteous
35:13
by the law.
35:15
We cannot
35:16
be.
35:16
It is not
35:17
sufficient for
35:18
the task.
35:20
We need an
35:21
alien righteousness.
35:22
We need the
35:23
righteousness of
35:24
Christ granted
35:25
to us.
35:27
But if we
35:28
have it,
35:29
if we have
35:30
it, then our
35:31
hearts have
35:32
been changed.
35:33
And this is
35:34
going to work
35:34
itself out in
35:36
our lives.
35:36
Look at
35:36
verse 31.
35:39
Paul says,
35:39
do we then
35:40
overthrow the
35:41
law by this
35:43
faith?
35:44
He's saying,
35:44
do we disregard
35:45
it altogether?
35:46
The moral
35:46
commands of
35:47
God, do we
35:47
just toss
35:48
them aside?
35:49
And he
35:49
says, by
35:51
no means.
35:53
Me genoito.
35:54
It's very,
35:55
very strong.
35:56
It's an
35:57
expletive
35:58
Greek phrase.
36:01
It's a
36:01
strong phrase.
36:02
Absolutely
36:02
not.
36:04
On the
36:05
contrary,
36:06
we
36:07
uphold.
36:09
Have
36:09
been made
36:09
righteous in
36:10
Christ, we
36:11
uphold
36:12
the law.
36:16
In Ezekiel
36:17
chapter 11,
36:19
verse 19,
36:21
their God
36:21
says, I
36:22
will give
36:22
them one
36:23
heart and
36:24
a new
36:24
spirit I
36:25
will put
36:25
within them.
36:26
I
36:27
remove the
36:28
heart of
36:28
stone from
36:28
their flesh
36:29
and give
36:29
them a
36:30
heart of
36:30
flesh that
36:31
they may
36:32
walk in
36:32
my statutes
36:33
and keep
36:34
my rules
36:35
and obey
36:35
them.
36:36
And they
36:37
shall be
36:37
my people
36:38
and I
36:39
will be
36:39
their God.
36:42
And later
36:42
in Ezekiel
36:43
36,
36:43
in verse
36:44
27,
36:45
he says,
36:45
I will put
36:46
my spirit
36:46
within you
36:47
and cause
36:48
you to
36:48
walk in
36:48
my statutes
36:49
and be
36:50
careful to
36:52
obey my
36:52
rules.
36:55
God
36:55
rules over
36:56
us by
36:57
his word
36:57
and it's
36:58
a good
36:58
word.
36:59
These are
36:59
not burdensome
36:59
commandments,
37:00
they're good
37:00
commandments
37:01
that we
37:02
ought to
37:03
keep.
37:04
By faith
37:05
in his
37:05
son,
37:05
we're given
37:06
the spirit
37:06
that we
37:07
would both
37:07
know and
37:09
desire and
37:11
be empowered
37:11
to keep
37:13
his commands.
37:15
Jesus
37:16
says in
37:16
John 14
37:17
and verse
37:18
15,
37:18
if you
37:18
love me,
37:21
if your
37:21
passion has
37:24
been turned
37:24
toward me
37:25
and away
37:26
from this
37:26
world,
37:27
you will
37:28
keep
37:28
my
37:30
commandments.
37:31
It becomes
37:31
the outflow
37:32
of grateful
37:33
hearts,
37:35
changed
37:35
lives.
37:36
we
37:37
were
37:37
oriented
37:38
in a
37:38
different
37:39
direction
37:39
that we
37:40
might be
37:40
a people
37:41
for the
37:41
praise
37:42
of our
37:43
God.
37:44
The
37:44
righteousness
37:45
of God
37:45
changes
37:47
our
37:48
hearts.
37:50
So may
37:50
we be a
37:51
people
37:51
who believe
37:53
the gospel
37:53
of Jesus
37:53
Christ
37:54
so that we
37:55
will possess
37:56
the righteousness
37:56
of God
37:57
and stand
37:58
in the
37:59
judgment
37:59
so that we
38:00
will be
38:00
humble
38:01
and boast
38:01
only in the
38:02
cross of
38:03
Christ.
38:04
So we
38:05
will be
38:05
a people
38:05
who are
38:06
not ashamed
38:06
of the
38:07
gospel
38:07
and carry
38:08
this good
38:08
news across
38:09
ethnic
38:09
boundaries
38:10
and oceans
38:11
and so that
38:13
we will be
38:13
a people
38:14
of changed
38:14
heart
38:15
who desire
38:16
to walk
38:17
in God's
38:18
good
38:18
commands.
38:20
Let's pray
38:21
together.
38:21
Thank you.