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Romans 10:1-13 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

• 0:00
  So, the book of Romans, Paul's great case is the case for justification, right standing before God, the pardon of sin by faith alone.
• 0:13
  And as a result, he kind of meanders back and forth, talking strictly to the Jews and then talking to the Gentiles.
• 0:19
  And at times it can be a tad confusing.
• 0:24
  But speaking in general to the Christians in Rome, he addresses us and says,
• 0:29
  chapter 8 and talks about how this life will be difficult.
• 0:34
  Both from internal struggle with sin and from external means it will be difficult.
• 0:40
  And he goes on to praise God, that God is working all things for our good because he is sovereign and in control.
• 0:48
  He is working those things for our good that we might praise him and exalt his name.
• 0:54
  So even when we struggle, we know that God is in control.
• 0:58
  And he turns in chapter 9 and it seems a little bit random, but we get the following arguments going through 10 and 11 to grieve over the fact that most of Israel,
• 1:10
  not all his evidence that he himself had believed in Christ, but that most of Israel had rejected Christ.
• 1:19
  That they were given all of these privileges, these windows into God's heart, and yet they missed the ultimate point.
• 1:27
  And that was that they desperately needed a Savior.
• 1:30
  And that Savior is Jesus Christ.
• 1:35
  They missed that.
• 1:37
  But that in no way discredited the gospel.
• 1:40
  And that's what he goes on to tell us in the rest of chapter 9, that in fact, was consistent with God's plan.
• 1:46
  God's sovereign purpose of salvation to include the Gentiles as well into the fold.
• 1:51
  That's us, I think, probably all of us, benefit greatly from God's sovereign plan to include us in his people.
• 2:02
  So then we get to chapter 10.
• 2:05
  And he turns once again to speak of the Israelites.
• 2:09
  Let's read together the first 13 verses.
• 2:12
  Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
• 2:19
  For I bear the witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
• 2:23
  For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
• 2:30
  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
• 2:34
  For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
• 2:40
  But the righteousness based on faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down.
• 2:47
  Or who will ascend into the abyss, that is to bring Christ up from the dead.
• 2:52
  But what does it say?
• 2:53
  The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.
• 2:58
  That is the word of faith that we proclaim.
• 3:01
  Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
• 3:07
  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
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  For the scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.
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  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
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  For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
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  For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
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  And so he takes us in chapter 9 to this great depth, this unfathomable truth about God's sovereign election, his sovereign purposes for his people.
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  Right?
• 3:41
  It's this kind of stuff in chapter 9, the weight of it, that causes our minds to kind of rent in two.
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  We can't quite make sense of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility.
• 3:52
  It's this kind of teaching that leads him to chapter 11, verse 33, where he says,
• 3:57
  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.
• 4:01
  It's that movement.
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  But he seems to pause for us here, doesn't he?
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  As he's talked about how God is completely sovereign over the election of his people,
• 4:11
  that he's calling his own to himself.
• 4:14
  We see him cycle back once again to his people, Paul's people, the Israelites.
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  Right?
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  Beginning of chapter 9, he lamented them.
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  He wished that he himself could be cut off from Christ for the sake of his brothers.
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  He desperately wanted them to receive this gospel truth.
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  Then he goes on to tell us that it's God's sovereign control.
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  It's God's power.
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  God works faith in people so that he can show mercy on whom he will show mercy.
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  So that no one can boast in their salvation.
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  And he comes back here in chapter 10, verse 1.
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  Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God is for them that they may be saved.
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  And here's the great evidence, the great culmination, the understanding of Paul's love for people.
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  We know that Paul loved the Gentiles.
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  Paul was sent to them and he was actively pursuing them.
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  Actively preaching the gospel to them.
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  But even those whom he had turned from, the Israelites, he still had a desperate desire for them to come to Christ.
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  Because he loved them the way Christ loved them.
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  He grieved the fact that they were rejecting the gospel.
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  So here's Paul as he's presented to us, fully understanding that God is sovereign over these things, yet brokenhearted that these people might come to Christ.
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  And so therefore he prays for them.
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  He's moved to pray for his people.
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  Ought we not to do the same?
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  So then he says, I bear them witness they have a zeal for God.
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  But not according to knowledge.
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  For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
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  So here's a people who, with all their effort, was pursuing God.
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  For all that they knew, they were pressing after him.
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  But it was the wrong zeal.
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  It was focused in the wrong place.
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  It was not according to knowledge.
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  Being ignorant of the righteousness of God.
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  These people didn't understand what the righteousness of God looked like.
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  They had missed the fact that God was holy and that they were not.
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  Certainly men can try to do good things.
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  And we may try to define that as righteousness.
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  But it is not the righteousness of God.
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  All of our good works are as what?
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  Filthy rags.
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  Right?
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  It's not the righteousness of God.
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  There are many, many people in this world that with great zeal are pressing toward what they think is going to put them in right standing before God.
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  And yet, it's not according to knowledge.
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  It's according to their own working.
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  And he juxtaposes that way.
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  Their efforts to establish their own righteousness.
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  Their own version of the righteousness.
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  But yet, it's not the righteousness of God.
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  D.G. Barnhouse, John Overton, let me borrow a commentary.
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  He's an influential 20th century preacher, commentator.
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  Tells a neat analogy about this.
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  About little dolls.
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  Have you ever seen little dolls that are weighted at one end so they always stand upright?
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  Our modern day version of that is the weeble.
• 7:47
  Are you familiar with the weeble?
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  Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down?
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  I have a weeble with me today.
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  This is...
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  Cade doesn't play with this, but it's in his room, just the same.
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  So it's weighted at the bottom.
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  So no matter what you do to it, it stays...
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  This is really bad, because I don't have any place to set it.
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  But no matter what, it's weighted really heavy at the bottom.
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  You put it upside down, it turns back over.
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  Back this way.
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  Right?
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  Weebles makes a clown that stands on its head.
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  Okay?
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  So it would be opposite.
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  It would be upside down.
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  And that is us, prior to Christ.
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  That is the Israelites, working, trying to work out their own righteousness.
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  And yet, no matter what, no matter what they do, no matter how hard they try, no matter how zealous they are,
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  they'll always land on their heads.
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  But we, as Christians, are turned around.
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  1 Corinthians 2.14 says,
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  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him,
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  and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
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  The natural man, those without Christ, those without the Spirit of God abiding within them,
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  no matter what they do, doesn't matter how hard they try to do it,
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  they cannot gain their own justification before God.
• 9:14
  And that's what the Israelites were trying to do.
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  They missed the point.
• 9:19
  Ezekiel 36.26 and 27.
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  Ezekiel writes,
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  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
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  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.
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  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
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  and be careful to obey my rules.
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  2 Corinthians 5.17,
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  Paul writes,
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  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
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  The old has passed away.
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  Behold, the new has come.
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  The lead that was once in our heads, that always kept us upside down,
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  has been placed in our feet.
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  So that no matter what we do,
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  we always land on our feet.
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  Because we're found in Christ.
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  We could paraphrase this to say,
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  They, being ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ,
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  and going about to establish some other method of acceptance and approach to God,
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  have not submitted themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  They're standing on their heads.
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  Because man's natural inclination is not to submission.
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  Meaning, literally, the word submit means to hand over oneself,
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  to enslave oneself.
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  That's not kind of our normal mode,
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  our modus operandi,
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  our MO.
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  We don't tend to do that naturally.
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  Look at Adam and Eve in the garden.
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  What was the original sin?
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  They wanted to be like God.
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  The action that was the evidence of their heart was that they took of the fruit.
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  But it was because they wanted to be like God.
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  They wanted to be their own masters.
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  And that is how we naturally are.
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  We have been tainted from there on to serve our own ends.
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  We don't readily submit in this way.
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  And what is it that we're meant to submit to?
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  God's righteousness.
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  God's righteousness.
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  So what is he saying?
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  Are we meant to submit to the law?
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  Is that what he means when he says God's righteousness?
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  Certainly, we can think of righteousness in that way.
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  A right standing.
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  A proper way of living.
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  I don't think so.
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  This obviously is an argument.
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  We're going to argue this.
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  But if you want to later,
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  we can debate this if you'd like.
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  But I don't think so.
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  Because in the very next sentence he says,
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  For Christ is the end of the law.
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  So it's Jesus Christ who is God's righteousness.
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  The perfect holy example.
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  The one without sin.
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  That we're meant to submit ourselves to.
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  Because the text says,
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  He's the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
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  Christ came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
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  Matthew 5.17.
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  It's from the Sermon on the Mount.
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  Came not to abolish it, but to fulfill it.
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  The law has great importance in our life.
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  Prominence as Christians.
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  God's moral law still is meant to be obeyed.
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  We are meant to keep that law.
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  So it's very prominent in our life.
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  However, it's not preeminent.
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  Christ is preeminent.
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  And Christ is the means by which we fulfill the law.
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  He comes to fulfill it.
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  In Him are the promises of God.
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  Yes and amen.
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  It's because we're clothed in His righteousness
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  that God sees that we have upheld the requirements of the law.
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  So our lives, as we're being perfected, as we're being moved,
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  are being perfected and worked out.
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  We're looking more and more like God
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  because we're doing a better job at keeping the law.
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  That is the result of our life in Christ.
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  And ultimately, we have already been perfected
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  because we're found in Christ.
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  Is your head spinning?
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  Mine too.
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  Right?
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  The kingdom has come and is still coming.
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  We have been sanctified and are being sanctified.
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  We've been made perfect and we're being made perfect.
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  It's the language of the Bible.
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  Blow your mind.
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  Right?
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  James 2.10 says,
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  For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point
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  has become accountable for all of it.
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  So what is James saying to us?
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  In all of human effort,
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  if somebody could possibly,
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  and this would never happen,
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  but if somebody could possibly keep the entire moral law
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  but only fail at one point,
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  they would be held just as accountable
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  for the person who keeps none of those laws.
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  Right?
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  Whoever keeps the whole law but fails at one point
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  has become accountable for all of it.
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  There is nothing you can do apart from Christ
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  to be found justified before God,
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  to stand before him and not be condemned.
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  Church, this is the metanarrative of humanity.
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  All of us are under the curse of sin.
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  All of us.
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  No one gets to avoid this.
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  Paul's made that point repeatedly to us.
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  Both the Jew and the Gentile,
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  all are under this curse.
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  Galatians 3.10 says,
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  For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse,
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  for it is written,
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  Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things
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  written in the book of the law and do them.
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  So we all need a Savior.
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  Every single one of us.
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  And my prayer has been,
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  throughout this week and this morning,
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  that everyone sitting in this room
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  has a Savior.
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  Jesus Christ.
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  The way.
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  The truth.
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  The life.
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  We don't get options.
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  Oprah's horribly wrong at that point.
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  There's not lots of ways to go.
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  And boy, is somebody zealous for good works.
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  We could say Oprah is.
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  Oprah's going to hell.
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  She has not placed her faith in the one
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  who fulfills the law.
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  Verse 6.
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  But the righteousness based on faith,
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  not on works.
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  On faith.
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  Says,
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  Do not say in your heart,
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  Who will ascend into heaven?
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  That is to bring Christ down.
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  Or who will descend into the abyss?
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  That is to bring Christ up from the dead.
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  What is Paul saying to us?
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  As he quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 30.
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  He's saying there's no great journey you have to go on.
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  There's no massive effort that has to be put into play
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  for your salvation to be worked out.
• 16:40
  Jeffrey Wilson wrote,
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  The sheer perversity of unbelief is shown
• 16:44
  by the many who choose to undertake an impossible odyssey
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  rather than put their trust in an acceptable Christ.
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  Deuteronomy is saying to us,
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  We don't have to build a tower to the heavens
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  or find a way to dive to the bottom of the sea
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  in order that we might be righteous.
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  So what does it say?
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  What does the righteousness based on faith say?
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  Verse 8.
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  But what does it say?
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  The word is near you,
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  in your mouth and in your heart.
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  That is the word of faith we proclaim.
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  That is the one,
• 17:21
  Jesus Christ.
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  Because,
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  because,
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  if you confess with your mouth
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  that Jesus is Lord
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  and believe in your heart
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  that God raised him from the dead,
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  you will be saved.
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  On the tail end of all of this talk
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  of God's sovereign election of his people,
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  Paul comes back to the simple profundity
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  of the gospel.
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  Simple because it's just that.
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  If you confess with your mouth
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  and believe in your heart
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  that Jesus is Lord,
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  you will be saved.
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  It's factual.
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  It's stated very emphatically here.
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  What does that mean
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  in light of God's sovereign election?
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  You believe in your heart,
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  you confess with your mouth,
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  guess what?
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  Sovereignly elected.
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  Great.
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  Let's live the Christian life together.
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  I think that's what it means.
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  Profound.
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  Because why would God show mercy
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  to anyone
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  who has set themselves up
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  as an enemy,
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  as a hater of him?
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  Why would he do that?
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  Because he's good
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  and he's God.
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  It's profound
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  that God would love us
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  that much
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  that he would call us
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  out of darkness,
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  who willingly put ourselves
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  in darkness,
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  who have said to him,
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  I don't like your light.
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  In fact,
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  I hate it.
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  I'm going to a different place,
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  a dark place.
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  Well,
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  I don't have to be in your light.
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  God grabs us by our ankles
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  and he drags us,
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  kicking and screaming
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  by grace,
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  through faith,
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  into his light.
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  He begins to work in us
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  the things that are dark in us.
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  He begins to work that out
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  that we might be light
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  to this world.
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  It's an absolutely profound,
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  profound word.
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  Verse 10 says,
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  for with the heart
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  one believes
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  and is justified.
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  And heart doesn't mean
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  the beating muscle,
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  pushing blood
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  to your extremities
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  right now, right?
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  When the Bible talks about
• 19:29
  the heart,
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  it's talking about
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  the center of who we are,
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  our very being itself.
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  It's with that heart
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  that one believes
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  and is justified.
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  And with the mouth
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  one confesses
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  and is saved.
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  And he's not saying
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  that it's a two-step action,
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  but that if you believe,
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  you will confess.
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  I would imagine
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  that as the author
• 19:50
  of Hebrews,
• 19:51
  who we don't know
• 19:53
  who that was,
• 19:53
  but was writing this,
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  they had this kind
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  of thought in mind
• 19:57
  in chapter 7,
• 19:58
  verse 19.
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  He writes,
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  for the law made
• 20:02
  nothing perfect,
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  but on the other hand,
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  a better hope
• 20:06
  is introduced,
• 20:07
  through which
• 20:08
  we draw near
• 20:09
  to God.
• 20:10
  And that is
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  the one,
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  Jesus Christ.
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  If you believe
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  in your heart,
• 20:17
  the Greek term
• 20:19
  for believe
• 20:19
  doesn't quite
• 20:21
  shape out
• 20:22
  the same way
• 20:23
  our term does.
• 20:24
  When we think
• 20:25
  of belief
• 20:26
  as Americans
• 20:27
  with the English language,
• 20:29
  it's just simply
• 20:30
  believing something's true,
• 20:31
  right?
• 20:31
  Believe that's true.
• 20:33
  This is black.
• 20:35
  Yep,
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  I believe that.
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  My life experience
• 20:38
  has told me
• 20:39
  that I'm not colorblind,
• 20:41
  so when somebody
• 20:41
  tells me
• 20:42
  when I order the podium,
• 20:43
  the podium is black,
• 20:44
  I expect it to arrive black.
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  I believed him.
• 20:45
  It's black.
• 20:46
  There it is.
• 20:48
  A mental ascent.
• 20:49
  Yeah,
• 20:50
  that's right.
• 20:51
  The Greek term
• 20:51
  looks differently.
• 20:53
  It's not only
• 20:54
  a mental ascent,
• 20:55
  but it's a belief
• 20:56
  that connects
• 20:57
  to your heart.
• 20:58
  It's a guttural belief,
• 21:01
  the center of who you are,
• 21:02
  and it necessarily
• 21:04
  flows into action.
• 21:07
  Here,
• 21:08
  believing in your heart
• 21:09
  flows into
• 21:10
  confessing
• 21:11
  with your mouth.
• 21:14
  If you believe
• 21:15
  that Jesus Christ
• 21:16
  is Lord,
• 21:18
  that he is
• 21:18
  the Son of God,
• 21:20
  that he was sent
• 21:21
  on the behalf
• 21:21
  of sinners,
• 21:23
  lived a sinless life,
• 21:24
  died a death,
• 21:26
  bore the wrath of God
• 21:27
  on our behalf,
• 21:29
  buried,
• 21:30
  resurrected,
• 21:31
  ascended,
• 21:32
  seated at the right hand
• 21:33
  of the Father,
• 21:33
  now interceding for us,
• 21:35
  that we might be
• 21:35
  the righteousness of God
• 21:36
  in him.
• 21:37
  If you believe that,
• 21:39
  you're going
• 21:40
  to talk about it.
• 21:43
  If you don't talk about it,
• 21:45
  you may not believe it.
• 21:46
  And that doesn't necessarily
• 21:47
  mean you're not a Christian,
• 21:48
  it just may mean
• 21:49
  that you don't believe it
• 21:50
  in that day.
• 21:52
  You've turned your back
• 21:52
  on the gospel.
• 21:53
  You've ceased
• 21:54
  to confess.
• 21:57
  There are certainly
• 21:57
  in all of our lives
• 21:58
  a time of regeneration.
• 22:00
  That heart of stone
• 22:01
  is taken out
• 22:02
  and the heart of flesh.
• 22:03
  The Spirit of God
• 22:04
  comes and abides in us.
• 22:07
  Repentance and belief,
• 22:08
  but yet,
• 22:09
  the life of a Christian
• 22:10
  is a life
• 22:11
  of repentance
• 22:12
  and belief.
• 22:13
  Turning from sin,
• 22:14
  turning to God.
• 22:15
  Turning from sin,
• 22:16
  turning to God.
• 22:19
  That's the evidence
• 22:20
  of what's happening
• 22:21
  inside of us.
• 22:22
  I've used this example
• 22:25
  before,
• 22:26
  so I apologize
• 22:26
  if you're getting
• 22:27
  tired of it,
• 22:28
  but it's such a perfect one.
• 22:31
  My son,
• 22:32
  Cademan,
• 22:32
  who is two,
• 22:33
  a little over two,
• 22:34
  really likes trains
• 22:35
  right now.
• 22:36
  I kind of hope
• 22:37
  he loves trains
• 22:38
  the rest of his life
• 22:38
  for how much
• 22:39
  he likes trains
• 22:40
  right now.
• 22:40
  It's probably a phase,
• 22:42
  but the kid
• 22:43
  loves trains,
• 22:45
  and he talks
• 22:46
  about them
• 22:46
  all the time.
• 22:48
  I understand
• 22:49
  almost nothing
• 22:50
  he says right now
• 22:50
  except train.
• 22:51
  I get them.
• 22:53
  Train and caboose,
• 22:54
  I get those words.
• 22:56
  We were at,
• 22:57
  our community group
• 22:57
  met at a park
• 22:58
  a couple of weeks ago.
• 23:00
  Those of you who are there
• 23:01
  will remember this,
• 23:02
  and we were interrupted
• 23:02
  by a train
• 23:03
  not far from
• 23:04
  downtown Gainesville
• 23:05
  blowing its horn
• 23:06
  and going by,
• 23:07
  and then Cade
• 23:08
  standing up on the hill
• 23:08
  behind us
• 23:09
  yelling about the train,
• 23:11
  telling us
• 23:12
  everything he could
• 23:13
  think to tell us
• 23:14
  about the train,
• 23:14
  which we understood
• 23:15
  only the word train,
• 23:17
  and he's so excited.
• 23:18
  And I don't believe
• 23:21
  that his joy
• 23:22
  is actually complete
• 23:23
  until he begins
• 23:24
  to tell people
• 23:24
  about it.
• 23:26
  He doesn't just like
• 23:27
  stand quietly
• 23:28
  on the hill
• 23:29
  thinking,
• 23:29
  I love trains.
• 23:31
  Trains are the greatest.
• 23:32
  But he involves us
• 23:34
  in that joy.
• 23:36
  We're taking Cade
• 23:37
  today,
• 23:38
  this afternoon,
• 23:39
  actually,
• 23:39
  we're going to hop
• 23:40
  in the car
• 23:40
  right after the service
• 23:41
  and take him
• 23:42
  all the way
• 23:42
  to Chattanooga
• 23:43
  because they have
• 23:44
  an amazing train ride
• 23:45
  just tailored for a boy
• 23:47
  like him
• 23:47
  that goes over bridges
• 23:48
  and through tunnels
• 23:49
  and turns around
• 23:51
  on a turntable.
• 23:52
  It's going to be awesome.
• 23:53
  And I'm so looking forward
• 23:54
  to it.
• 23:55
  Hopefully he'll survive
• 23:56
  the afternoon.
• 23:58
  The kid loves trains.
• 24:02
  And I'm afraid
• 24:03
  that sometimes
• 24:04
  Cade loves trains
• 24:05
  more than I love Jesus
• 24:06
  because I don't talk
• 24:09
  about him the way
• 24:10
  he talks about trains.
• 24:13
  How often
• 24:14
  do I miss
• 24:15
  the opportunity
• 24:16
  to praise my Lord
• 24:18
  with my mouth?
• 24:19
  And I miss it.
• 24:20
  With you guys even,
• 24:22
  how quickly does our
• 24:23
  conversation after the service,
• 24:24
  the service is all about
• 24:25
  Jesus Christ,
• 24:26
  Jesus Christ,
• 24:27
  yeah,
• 24:27
  and right after the service,
• 24:28
  what do you talk about?
• 24:31
  Just a little place
• 24:32
  for that in your life,
• 24:32
  a little place for Jesus.
• 24:34
  We relegate him off
• 24:35
  to the 10.30
• 24:36
  to 12 o'clock hour
• 24:37
  and then we're done
• 24:38
  beyond that.
• 24:40
  Is this not
• 24:41
  the greatest thing
• 24:42
  that has ever
• 24:43
  happened to you?
• 24:44
  You may not have
• 24:47
  ever really felt
• 24:48
  the weight of your sin
• 24:49
  and the,
• 24:49
  gosh,
• 24:49
  I hope you do.
• 24:51
  I hope it doesn't mean
• 24:52
  that you sin great
• 24:53
  in the coming weeks.
• 24:55
  But I hope you
• 24:56
  recognize how holy
• 24:58
  God is,
• 24:59
  how perfect he is,
• 25:00
  and how really
• 25:01
  wretched you are.
• 25:04
  This
• 25:04
  just epiphany
• 25:09
  hit me
• 25:09
  when I was in college
• 25:10
  and I was driving
• 25:12
  to pray
• 25:13
  with a group
• 25:14
  of students
• 25:14
  from the BSU
• 25:15
  and I honestly
• 25:17
  don't remember
• 25:17
  what I was praying about.
• 25:19
  I don't remember
• 25:19
  what was going on
• 25:20
  in my head
• 25:21
  and I was struck
• 25:23
  with how incredibly
• 25:24
  holy God was
• 25:25
  in comparison
• 25:26
  to myself
• 25:26
  because I realized
• 25:28
  that I was
• 25:29
  worshiping
• 25:30
  my own idea
• 25:32
  of who I was
• 25:33
  in Christ.
• 25:34
  Is that,
• 25:35
  can your head
• 25:36
  wrap around that?
• 25:37
  I had set up
• 25:37
  in my mind
• 25:38
  Nathan
• 25:39
  who serves
• 25:40
  Jesus Christ
• 25:41
  and that's
• 25:42
  who I was
• 25:43
  worshiping,
• 25:43
  not Jesus.
• 25:45
  I think the layers
• 25:46
  of our sin
• 25:47
  and how absolutely
• 25:48
  sinful I am.
• 25:51
  And in that moment,
• 25:53
  I had to pull over.
• 25:53
  I was crying.
• 25:54
  I had to pull over
• 25:55
  because I just
• 25:55
  couldn't believe
• 25:56
  how deluded
• 25:57
  I had been
• 25:58
  for so many years
• 26:00
  and had missed
• 26:01
  the fact
• 26:01
  that God
• 26:02
  is perfect
• 26:03
  and even when
• 26:04
  I think I'm
• 26:04
  really on a good
• 26:05
  path,
• 26:06
  when I'm the most
• 26:06
  zealous I can be
• 26:07
  in my Christianity,
• 26:08
  that yet still
• 26:10
  I fall so
• 26:11
  desperately short
• 26:12
  of his
• 26:13
  righteousness.
• 26:16
  And then I
• 26:16
  praised him
• 26:17
  because in Christ
• 26:19
  I'm perfect.
• 26:20
  Right?
• 26:21
  Praise God
• 26:22
  it doesn't depend
• 26:22
  on us.
• 26:24
  Praise God
• 26:25
  it depends all
• 26:26
  on him.
• 26:28
  So if you
• 26:28
  believe in your heart,
• 26:30
  you will
• 26:31
  necessarily
• 26:32
  confess
• 26:33
  with your mouth.
• 26:35
  And that's
• 26:36
  what Paul
• 26:37
  is saying
• 26:38
  to us.
• 26:40
  For the
• 26:40
  scripture says,
• 26:41
  and he's
• 26:41
  quoting Isaiah
• 26:42
  49,
• 26:43
  23,
• 26:43
  everyone who
• 26:44
  believes in
• 26:45
  him
• 26:45
  will not
• 26:46
  be put to
• 26:47
  shame.
• 26:48
  He's drawing
• 26:48
  us back to
• 26:49
  the Old Testament
• 26:49
  constantly in the
• 26:50
  book of Romans.
• 26:51
  Everyone who
• 26:52
  believes in him
• 26:53
  will not be put
• 26:54
  to shame,
• 26:54
  for there is no
• 26:55
  distinction between
• 26:56
  Jew and Greek,
• 26:57
  for the same
• 26:57
  Lord is Lord of
• 26:58
  all,
• 26:58
  bestowing his
• 26:59
  riches on
• 27:00
  all who call
• 27:01
  on him.
• 27:02
  for everyone
• 27:03
  who calls
• 27:04
  on the name
• 27:05
  of the Lord
• 27:05
  will be
• 27:07
  saved.
• 27:07
  There we have
• 27:08
  it again.
• 27:08
  That's Joel
• 27:09
  2,
• 27:09
  32 that he's
• 27:11
  quoting from.
• 27:13
  As a church,
• 27:14
  and I hope
• 27:15
  as a Christian
• 27:16
  who believes
• 27:16
  in the scriptures,
• 27:17
  you hold up
• 27:19
  high the
• 27:19
  sovereign election
• 27:20
  of God.
• 27:21
  You see that
• 27:21
  he is ultimately
• 27:22
  in control.
• 27:23
  He is all
• 27:24
  powerful over
• 27:24
  all things,
• 27:25
  including the
• 27:26
  salvation of his
• 27:26
  people.
• 27:27
  I hope that
• 27:28
  you believe in
• 27:28
  that.
• 27:28
  And we've
• 27:29
  talked about
• 27:29
  all the great
• 27:30
  reasons that
• 27:30
  you should.
• 27:31
  It's an
• 27:31
  encouragement to
• 27:32
  your soul.
• 27:33
  It's a movement
• 27:33
  to evangelism.
• 27:35
  You ought to
• 27:36
  believe in
• 27:37
  that.
• 27:38
  But what does
• 27:39
  Paul talk about
• 27:40
  next, right after
• 27:41
  he got done
• 27:42
  talking about
• 27:42
  that?
• 27:43
  He doesn't
• 27:43
  say,
• 27:44
  therefore,
• 27:44
  brothers,
• 27:46
  build large
• 27:47
  buildings,
• 27:48
  wear nice
• 27:50
  suits,
• 27:50
  drive fancy
• 27:51
  cars,
• 27:52
  come together
• 27:53
  and say to
• 27:54
  each other,
• 27:55
  good morning,
• 27:55
  brother,
• 27:56
  I've been
• 27:56
  praying for
• 27:57
  you.
• 27:58
  He doesn't
• 28:00
  say,
• 28:00
  form holy
• 28:02
  clubs so
• 28:04
  that you can
• 28:05
  come together
• 28:05
  and pat
• 28:05
  yourselves on
• 28:06
  the back
• 28:06
  because you're
• 28:07
  God's people.
• 28:10
  He doesn't
• 28:10
  say that at
• 28:11
  all,
• 28:11
  does he?
• 28:12
  He says
• 28:12
  instead,
• 28:13
  I have a
• 28:14
  desperate
• 28:15
  heart to
• 28:16
  see the
• 28:16
  Israelites
• 28:17
  come to
• 28:17
  Christ.
• 28:18
  I pray
• 28:18
  for them
• 28:19
  because anyone
• 28:21
  who calls
• 28:22
  on the name
• 28:23
  of the
• 28:23
  Lord will
• 28:24
  be saved.
• 28:26
  Charles Spurgeon,
• 28:27
  a great champion
• 28:27
  of the
• 28:28
  doctrine of
• 28:29
  election,
• 28:29
  was asked
• 28:29
  one time,
• 28:30
  why do you
• 28:31
  even preach
• 28:31
  the gospel?
• 28:32
  And he
• 28:33
  said,
• 28:33
  because the
• 28:33
  elect don't
• 28:34
  have a
• 28:34
  yellow stripe
• 28:34
  painted up
• 28:35
  and down
• 28:35
  their back.
• 28:36
  If they
• 28:37
  did,
• 28:37
  I would
• 28:37
  go around
• 28:37
  lifting up
• 28:38
  shirt tails.
• 28:41
  God has
• 28:42
  called us
• 28:42
  to be the
• 28:43
  means to
• 28:44
  his ends
• 28:45
  and we
• 28:46
  ought to
• 28:46
  be about
• 28:47
  that work.
• 28:49
  Next week
• 28:49
  we'll talk
• 28:50
  at length
• 28:51
  about the
• 28:52
  following
• 28:52
  verses.
• 28:53
  The gospel
• 29:04
  comes to
• 29:05
  us through
• 29:06
  words.
• 29:07
  How are
• 29:08
  people going
• 29:09
  to believe
• 29:09
  if they
• 29:10
  don't hear
• 29:10
  the good
• 29:11
  news of
• 29:12
  Jesus Christ?
• 29:14
  This is on
• 29:15
  the tail of
• 29:16
  one of the
• 29:17
  great chapters
• 29:17
  on God's
• 29:18
  sovereign
• 29:18
  election.
• 29:19
  Why?
• 29:21
  Because it
• 29:21
  has to be put
• 29:22
  in proper
• 29:22
  balance.
• 29:24
  So many
• 29:25
  of the
• 29:25
  doctrines of
• 29:26
  scripture
• 29:26
  are like
• 29:29
  walking a
• 29:29
  tightrope
• 29:30
  to get it
• 29:30
  right.
• 29:31
  I used this
• 29:32
  analogy before.
• 29:34
  We need to
• 29:35
  be on the
• 29:35
  tightrope
• 29:35
  between God's
• 29:36
  sovereign
• 29:36
  election,
• 29:37
  man's
• 29:38
  responsibility.
• 29:39
  What part
• 29:39
  do we play
• 29:40
  in carrying
• 29:41
  the gospel
• 29:41
  to the
• 29:41
  world?
• 29:43
  Both things
• 29:43
  are fully
• 29:44
  true.
• 29:45
  They're
• 29:45
  apparent
• 29:45
  paradoxes.
• 29:48
  In our
• 29:48
  little minds
• 29:49
  the two
• 29:50
  don't quite
• 29:50
  match up.
• 29:51
  However,
• 29:52
  in God's
• 29:53
  magnificent
• 29:54
  mind it
• 29:54
  makes perfect
• 29:55
  sense and
• 29:55
  we just
• 29:56
  can't
• 29:56
  completely
• 29:57
  understand
• 29:57
  it.
• 29:58
  So we're
• 29:58
  meant to
• 29:58
  walk the
• 29:59
  tightrope
• 29:59
  in between
• 30:00
  and that's
• 30:00
  why Paul
• 30:01
  does this
• 30:02
  for us
• 30:03
  here.
• 30:04
  This is
• 30:04
  why we
• 30:06
  believe in
• 30:06
  verse-by-verse
• 30:07
  exposition
• 30:08
  of the
• 30:09
  text.
• 30:11
  We could
• 30:11
  skip over
• 30:12
  chapter 10,
• 30:13
  couldn't we?
• 30:14
  We could
• 30:14
  skip over
• 30:14
  chapter 9
• 30:15
  and just
• 30:16
  focus on
• 30:16
  10.
• 30:17
  There's a
• 30:18
  perfect balance
• 30:19
  for us
• 30:19
  in the
• 30:20
  scriptures.
• 30:22
  And so
• 30:22
  what is the
• 30:23
  charge today
• 30:23
  as Paul
• 30:25
  kind of
• 30:25
  steps back
• 30:26
  from this
• 30:27
  kind of
• 30:28
  deep look
• 30:29
  at the
• 30:30
  doctrine of
• 30:32
  election and
• 30:32
  salvation?
• 30:33
  He kind of
• 30:34
  takes a step
• 30:34
  back from
• 30:35
  that.
• 30:35
  What is the
• 30:37
  charge to
• 30:38
  us today?
• 30:39
  I think you're
• 30:40
  going to be in
• 30:40
  one of two
• 30:41
  positions.
• 30:42
  You either
• 30:43
  have,
• 30:44
  with all your
• 30:45
  effort,
• 30:45
  with all
• 30:46
  your zeal,
• 30:47
  you've been
• 30:48
  pressing to
• 30:49
  be righteous
• 30:49
  before God.
• 30:50
  Christianity
• 30:51
  for you has
• 30:52
  been a list
• 30:53
  of rules,
• 30:54
  new laws.
• 30:55
  You've just
• 30:55
  jotting them
• 30:56
  down and
• 30:56
  you have
• 30:57
  the do's
• 30:58
  and you
• 30:58
  have the
• 30:58
  don'ts,
• 30:59
  the sins
• 30:59
  of commission
• 31:00
  and the sins
• 31:00
  of omission.
• 31:01
  You're really,
• 31:02
  really working
• 31:02
  at it.
• 31:03
  You're really
• 31:03
  trying the
• 31:03
  best you
• 31:04
  can to
• 31:04
  be a good
• 31:04
  person because
• 31:05
  you think
• 31:06
  that's going
• 31:07
  to accomplish
• 31:07
  something
• 31:08
  ultimately
• 31:08
  for you.
• 31:12
  You're
• 31:12
  lost.
• 31:14
  You haven't
• 31:15
  placed your
• 31:15
  faith in
• 31:15
  Christ.
• 31:16
  If you
• 31:16
  haven't come
• 31:17
  to the
• 31:17
  end of
• 31:18
  yourself
• 31:18
  and realized
• 31:18
  that there's
• 31:19
  nothing good
• 31:19
  in you
• 31:20
  and that
• 31:21
  all your
• 31:21
  goodness is
• 31:22
  found in
• 31:22
  him,
• 31:23
  you're lost.
• 31:25
  Destruction
• 31:26
  is your
• 31:26
  end.
• 31:29
  Today,
• 31:30
  believe in
• 31:31
  your heart
• 31:31
  and confess
• 31:33
  with your
• 31:34
  mouth.
• 31:35
  Turn from
• 31:36
  your sin
• 31:37
  and turn
• 31:38
  to Christ.
• 31:39
  You may
• 31:40
  have deluded
• 31:41
  yourself all
• 31:42
  this time.
• 31:43
  You may have
• 31:43
  bought lies
• 31:44
  set your
• 31:46
  life right
• 31:47
  this morning.
• 31:50
  Nothing
• 31:50
  special has
• 31:51
  to happen
• 31:51
  for that.
• 31:52
  You know
• 31:53
  that,
• 31:53
  right?
• 31:54
  I don't
• 31:54
  have to,
• 31:55
  I'm not
• 31:55
  a special
• 31:56
  purveyor of
• 31:56
  God's grace
• 31:57
  to you.
• 31:58
  This is not
• 31:59
  an altar.
• 32:00
  You don't
• 32:01
  need to come
• 32:01
  up here and
• 32:01
  sacrifice.
• 32:03
  Christ has
• 32:04
  already fulfilled
• 32:04
  that.
• 32:05
  It is
• 32:06
  finished
• 32:07
  in him.
• 32:08
  Yes and
• 32:08
  amen.
• 32:09
  I hope that
• 32:10
  phrase is
• 32:10
  getting stuck
• 32:11
  in your head
• 32:11
  from the last
• 32:11
  couple of
• 32:12
  weeks.
• 32:12
  all you
• 32:14
  have to
• 32:14
  do is
• 32:15
  repent,
• 32:16
  believe,
• 32:17
  confess with
• 32:18
  your mouth,
• 32:18
  come talk to
• 32:19
  somebody,
• 32:19
  it's going to
• 32:20
  flow out of
• 32:20
  you.
• 32:21
  Grab somebody,
• 32:22
  look at the
• 32:22
  person next
• 32:22
  to you,
• 32:22
  grab them
• 32:23
  and tell
• 32:23
  them,
• 32:24
  I believe
• 32:24
  that Jesus
• 32:24
  Christ is
• 32:25
  the Son
• 32:25
  of God
• 32:25
  and I
• 32:26
  believe that
• 32:26
  he died
• 32:26
  for my
• 32:27
  sins.
• 32:27
  There's
• 32:27
  nothing I
• 32:28
  could have
• 32:28
  done to
• 32:28
  be in
• 32:28
  right standing
• 32:28
  with him.
• 32:30
  I've placed
• 32:30
  my faith
• 32:30
  in him.
• 32:33
  That's it.
• 32:34
  Simple.
• 32:35
  Profundity.
• 32:35
  That's it.
• 32:37
  Believe this
• 32:38
  morning.
• 32:38
  I plead with
• 32:39
  you.
• 32:39
  Believe.
• 32:40
  If you're
• 32:42
  a Christian
• 32:42
  and you're
• 32:46
  not confessing
• 32:46
  with your
• 32:47
  mouth,
• 32:48
  believe today.
• 32:49
  It's the same
• 32:50
  call.
• 32:50
  Repent.
• 32:51
  Believe.
• 32:53
  Have the
• 32:54
  simple
• 32:55
  profundity of
• 32:56
  the gospel
• 32:56
  work into
• 32:57
  you so
• 32:58
  that it'll
• 32:59
  work out
• 32:59
  of you.
• 33:01
  Have a
• 33:01
  heart for
• 33:02
  your people.
• 33:03
  Who are
• 33:04
  your people?
• 33:05
  Gentiles?
• 33:07
  Gentiles.
• 33:08
  They're all
• 33:09
  around you.
• 33:10
  It's the
• 33:11
  people that
• 33:11
  you go to
• 33:11
  school with,
• 33:12
  who live on
• 33:12
  your hall.
• 33:13
  It's the
• 33:14
  people that
• 33:14
  you work
• 33:14
  with.
• 33:15
  It's the
• 33:15
  people that
• 33:16
  you live
• 33:16
  in a
• 33:16
  neighborhood
• 33:16
  with and
• 33:17
  probably
• 33:17
  don't know
• 33:18
  their names.
• 33:19
  I can be
• 33:20
  guilty of
• 33:21
  that.
• 33:22
  Those are
• 33:23
  your people.
• 33:24
  Do you
• 33:24
  break for
• 33:25
  them?
• 33:26
  Do you
• 33:26
  desire to
• 33:27
  be the
• 33:27
  means to
• 33:28
  the end?
• 33:29
  Knowing that
• 33:30
  anyone who
• 33:30
  confesses,
• 33:32
  anyone who
• 33:33
  believes in
• 33:33
  their heart
• 33:33
  and confesses
• 33:34
  with their
• 33:34
  mouth,
• 33:35
  will be
• 33:36
  saved?
• 33:37
  saved.
• 33:38
  Great
• 33:39
  motivation to
• 33:41
  share.
• 33:42
  I hope that
• 33:43
  some of you
• 33:44
  who are found
• 33:46
  in Christ
• 33:46
  this morning
• 33:47
  can just
• 33:48
  say amen
• 33:49
  to everything
• 33:50
  that I've
• 33:51
  said.
• 33:52
  Say,
• 33:52
  man,
• 33:53
  Nathan's
• 33:53
  bringing it
• 33:53
  today.
• 33:55
  I am so
• 33:55
  glad that
• 33:56
  I'm not
• 33:56
  under fire
• 33:57
  this morning
• 33:58
  for this.
• 33:59
  But I
• 33:59
  don't think
• 34:00
  that's really
• 34:00
  the case.
• 34:02
  I know
• 34:03
  many of you
• 34:04
  well,
• 34:04
  and I love
• 34:05
  you,
• 34:05
  and I love
• 34:06
  your devotion
• 34:06
  to Christ.
• 34:07
  I'm
• 34:08
  encouraged,
• 34:08
  I'm spurred
• 34:09
  on by
• 34:10
  you to
• 34:11
  serve him
• 34:11
  more,
• 34:12
  but none
• 34:12
  of us
• 34:13
  have arrived.
• 34:15
  It can't
• 34:16
  not be said
• 34:17
  of any
• 34:17
  of us,
• 34:18
  that's the
• 34:19
  example.
• 34:20
  Run,
• 34:21
  run after
• 34:22
  that one.
• 34:22
  He's got
• 34:23
  it down,
• 34:24
  or she
• 34:24
  has it
• 34:24
  perfect.
• 34:26
  Right?
• 34:28
  So examine
• 34:29
  your hearts
• 34:29
  this morning.
• 34:30
  do you
• 34:33
  believe
• 34:34
  the gospel?
• 34:36
  If you
• 34:36
  do,
• 34:37
  it's going
• 34:37
  to change
• 34:38
  the way
• 34:39
  you live
• 34:39
  your life.
• 34:40
  Let's pray
• 34:41
  together.
• 34:41
  Let's pray
• 34:41
  together.
• 34:42
  Let's pray
• 34:43
  Let's pray
• 34:43
  Let's pray
• 34:44
  Let's pray
• 34:44
  together.
• 34:44
  Let's pray
• 34:46
  Let's pray
• 34:47
  Let's pray
• 34:47
  Let's pray
• 34:48
  Let's pray
• 34:49
  together.