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Romans 7:1-4 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Romans chapter 7 is where we're going to be this morning.
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Let's read together the first six verses.
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Or do you not know, brothers, for I am speaking to those who know the law,
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that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives.
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For a married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he lives,
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but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
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Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive.
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But if her husband dies, she is free from that law,
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and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress.
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Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ,
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so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead,
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in order that we may bear fruit for God.
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But while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused by the law
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were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
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For now we were released from the law, having died to that which held us captive,
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so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
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Let's pray together.
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Father, I pray that you will bless our time together as we study your word,
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by the power of the Spirit within us,
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and that you give me words to speak clearly the truth presented here,
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and that you give all of us fears and hearts to receive it.
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I pray, Father, that the great truths of the gospel are not lost on us.
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We are your children, and we thank you for that.
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Father, I pray that you will now combine knowledge and understanding,
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so that we may have wisdom as to how we ought to live in light of these truths.
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We pray this in the precious name of Christ.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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We're going to spend a number of weeks in these first six verses.
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I don't really know exactly how many yet,
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but we're going to get through verse four this morning.
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Just so you kind of know,
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I'm not going to just neglect those last two verses in our reading this morning,
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but I really want to get us through verse four,
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and we'll probably need to stop at that point for the sake of time.
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But just to kind of get our minds going,
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to get us back on page,
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to make sure that we know where Paul has been
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and where he's taking our thinking,
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let me remind you that he begins the book off
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and goes through about the middle of chapter three,
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approximately verse 20,
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is where he begins to wrap up the idea,
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the presentation that all of us have sinned
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and fall short of the glory of God.
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There is no chosen race of people that's exempt from the law.
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And that the law demands of us two things.
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The law demands fulfillment,
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and the law demands condemnation.
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Fulfillment we can see in chapter two, verse 13 of Romans.
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Not the hearers of the law who are righteous for God,
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but the doers of the law will be justified.
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In condemnation, chapter two, verse eight,
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those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth,
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but obey unrighteousness,
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there will be wrath and fury.
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We see in chapter three, verse 10,
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that none is righteous,
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no, not one.
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All of us have transgressed the law
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and are entirely incapable of keeping it.
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Which creates a great problem for us, doesn't it?
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It puts us in a desperate state.
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If you don't know that this morning,
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that apart from Christ,
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if you were to have to work your way
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by fulfilling the law,
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by keeping the law,
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it is impossible.
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There is no way.
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Your sinful heart inclines you to do the opposite.
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And as a result,
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you are an enemy of God,
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apart from Christ.
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So in the middle of chapter three,
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beginning in verse 21,
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he begins to give us the solution to the problem,
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and he runs that through the end of chapter five,
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in that Jesus Christ fulfills
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both of the demands of the law.
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He fulfilled the law in his perfect life.
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Jesus Christ came and did not sin.
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And he meets the demand of the condemnation
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by bearing the wrath of God on our behalf.
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So justification then for us,
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our right standing before God,
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is contingent only upon faith in Christ.
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The belief that he did, in fact,
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fulfill the demands of the law,
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that he came as the Son of God,
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lived a sinless life,
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died as propitiation,
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the replacement for us.
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Justification by faith alone,
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is such a precious truth.
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It absolutely ought to blow our minds.
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I'm justified simply by my faith.
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Nothing that I have done
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has earned my right standing before God.
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It is all wrapped up in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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I get trembling just thinking about it.
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It's an amazing truth
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that neither can I earn my way to heaven,
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but also I don't have to.
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Christ has accomplished the work for me.
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It is finished.
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But there's some implications
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that come along with that.
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It doesn't just stop there.
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When I am justified before God,
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I don't disappear.
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I don't go to heaven to be in His presence.
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I'm left behind for some very specific purposes.
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What do we do then with these truths
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beyond what He's trying to say to us?
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Which is where He goes in chapter 6 and 7 and 8.
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He begins to ask some hard questions
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in light of this idea that we're justified by faith alone.
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In a few moments, I think,
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we're going to sing the song Rock of Ages.
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The first verse of Rock of Ages reads this.
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Rock of Ages, cleft for me.
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Let me hide myself in Thee.
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Let the water and the blood
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from my wounded side which flowed
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be of sin the double cure
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save from wrath
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and make me pure.
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I realized recently what the song was about.
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I admit to you that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.
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And I connected it,
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I just randomly, divinely in my mind
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to the story of Moses
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after the tablets had been broken
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and he went back to receive them again.
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He asked, audacious claim,
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he asked of God to see His glory.
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And God granted that request in part.
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He said, well, you can't see my face.
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If you look on my face as a sinful man,
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you will die.
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But what I'll do is I'll hide you
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in this spot in the rock.
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A cleft in the rock.
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I'll hide you in it.
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And I'll put my hand over it.
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And then as I pass by,
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I'll let my hand go
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and you can see my back.
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But you cannot see my face.
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That's what the song is about.
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The rock of ages.
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Jesus Christ.
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It's a cleft for us.
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That we can hide ourselves in Him.
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That we might behold the full glory of God
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and not be destroyed.
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It's incredible.
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It's incredible.
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But some questions come out of it.
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Chapter 6, verse 1.
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What shall we say then?
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That's the question.
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What shall we say then?
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Are we to continue in sin
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that grace may abound?
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Because of the great work of God
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in our lives,
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this grace to us,
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should we go on sinning
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to prove Him gracious?
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Chapter 6, verse 15.
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What then?
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Are we to sin because we are not under law,
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but under grace?
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We've now been set free from the law.
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Are we just to go be lawless?
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Paul emphatically answers both questions.
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He says, no.
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Absolutely not.
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And then we get to chapter 7.
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The overarching question
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throughout the chapter is,
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so what then becomes of the law?
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So what value is it then to us?
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And that's kind of going to be the theme
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for chapter 7.
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The law.
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It is mentioned,
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that phrasing, the law,
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is mentioned 46 times in Romans.
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23 of which are in chapter 7.
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Half of them are found in chapter 7.
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That's why the kids are supposed to give a thumbs up
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when they hear the law.
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Fail.
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Fail.
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They're not listening.
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They're coloring right now.
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And that's fine.
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So in order for us to begin our journey
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through chapter 7 together,
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I think we just need to take a little bit of a step back
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and talk a bit about the law.
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What is it that he's referring to
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when he talks about the law?
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Number one, specifically,
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he's referring to the Mosaic law.
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That law found in the first five books of the Bible,
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the Pentateuch,
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Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
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He's certainly referring to the Mosaic law,
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that law that was given to Israel,
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that was given to Moses,
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and he brought it to the people.
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That law that was meant to set them apart
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from the world,
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but to prove to them
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that they couldn't do it on their own,
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that they needed Jesus Christ.
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All the clues were there for them to understand
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that they needed a Savior.
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Beyond that,
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let me read to you a couple of texts.
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Joshua 1, 7 and 8.
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It says,
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Be strong and very courageous,
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being careful to do according to all the law
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that Moses, my servant, commanded you.
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Do not turn from the right hand or to the left,
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that you may have good success wherever you go.
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This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth,
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but you shall meditate on it day and night,
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that you may be careful to do
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according to all that is written in it.
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Isaiah 42, 21.
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Isaiah says,
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The Lord was pleased for His righteousness' sake
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to magnify His law
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and make it glorious.
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Psalm 1, 2 says that the righteous man's delight
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is in the law of the Lord.
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Psalm 119, a famous psalm,
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speaks in 176 verses
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about the law of God.
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Makes much of it.
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Psalm 119, 72 says,
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The law of your mouth is better to me
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than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
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Psalm 119, 165 says,
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Great peace have those who love your law.
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Nothing can make them stumble.
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The law has great value.
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And certainly,
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to the people that Paul is writing to,
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had great value.
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You'll notice in verse 1 of chapter 7,
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he says,
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Or do you not know,
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brothers,
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which clues us into the fact
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that he's speaking to the Jewish Christians,
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which would have been a large part
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of the church in Rome.
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Do you not know,
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brothers,
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the problem was
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that many Jews
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had inflated the law,
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had taken it beyond its intended purpose.
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It had become
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not the way to point them to Christ,
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the condemnation
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that showed them they needed a Savior,
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but it himself had become their salvation.
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They idolized it.
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They set it up as the thing they worshiped
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to the degree that
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they created new laws,
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they called them hedge laws,
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to prevent the breaking of the
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Mosaic law.
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So even a converted Jew,
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somebody who had placed their faith in Christ,
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would have held dearly
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to the law,
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as we should,
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to a degree.
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I'll give you an example
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of the degree
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to which they
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revered the law.
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The Babylonian Talmud,
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which is the primary collection
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of ancient
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rabbinical commentary
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on the Torah,
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those first five books
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of the Bible,
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rabbis wrote commentary
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and it became
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new truths.
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Rabbi Rabba
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said,
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the Holy One
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created man's
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evil inclination
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for theology,
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so dismiss that please,
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but created the Torah,
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the law,
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to overcome it.
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He believed
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so strongly
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that the law
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was the redemption
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of man's
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evil inclination.
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There's a type of art
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called
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pointillism,
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if you've ever
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heard of pointillism
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or not.
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John, I think,
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is going to throw a photo
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up there for me.
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Famous artist named
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Surratt in the 19th century
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painted this painting,
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you may or may not
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be familiar with it,
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called
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A Sunday Afternoon
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on the Island
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of La Grande Hate.
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Sunday Afternoon
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on the Island
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of La Grande Hate.
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It's huge.
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It's in the Chicago
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Museum of Art.
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I hope someday
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to get to go see it
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in person.
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It's incredibly large.
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It's six feet,
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ten inches tall
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and I think it's
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eight feet,
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ten inches,
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eight feet,
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one inch wide.
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Huge.
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Takes up a whole wall
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at the Chicago
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Museum of Art.
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And pointillist paintings
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are painted
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with little dot brushstrokes.
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A modern version
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of this you've probably
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seen are the big pictures
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that are made up
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of little tiny photos
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of people
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and they put them
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all together
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in order,
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when you step back
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from it,
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you see the large
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picture of it all.
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I use this just
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as an example
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because if you were
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to walk really close
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to this huge painting
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at the Chicago Museum
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of Art
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and really get in there,
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let's say on the
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girl in the white dress
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in the middle,
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you would see simply
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dots of white.
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Get in there close.
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You wouldn't really
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understand what's
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going on in the
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big picture
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of things.
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Maybe you could
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see the girl.
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You know,
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your scope would be
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large enough
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to see,
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it's a little girl,
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that's fantastic,
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but you wouldn't see
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that she's holding
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the hand of her mother
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with the red umbrella,
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etc.
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That's what the law
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had become
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for the Jews.
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They were so narrow,
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they were such a
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tight view of it
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that they missed
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the point.
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They missed the fact
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that it was meant
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to point them
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to Christ.
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It was their
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condemnation.
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You fools,
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you can't keep this,
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you need a savior.
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Between the Old Testament
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and the New,
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God's promises to us
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have never changed.
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It wasn't as if
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God had a plan
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and it got messed up.
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I'm going to give
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these people the law.
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I'm going to show
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them the way.
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And they just
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weren't good at it.
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Man,
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he thought,
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it's just not good enough.
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I've got to come up
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with something else.
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Okay,
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I'm just going to have
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to take care of it
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for them.
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It wasn't the case at all.
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People were always
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saved by their faith.
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Before the law existed,
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Abram,
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his name at the time,
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was saved by his faith.
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He believed in the
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promises of God.
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Now,
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they couldn't see
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the whole picture.
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Well,
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it's not fair.
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It's okay.
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They couldn't see
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the whole picture.
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We do.
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That's a blessing to us.
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We get to see
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the grand scheme
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of all things.
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But what they knew
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was that God
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was their salvation.
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He would
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redeem them
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from their sins.
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They just had to
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place their faith
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in that.
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So this is a really
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valid question
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coming up in our
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readers' minds.
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We don't really
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feel the burden
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of the law,
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which is unfortunate.
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We should.
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But we don't really
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feel that burden.
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But the Jewish reader
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would have said,
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Whoa, Paul!
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What happened to the law?
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Does it not have
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value anymore?
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Should we dismiss
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the Torah
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and the prophets?
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Paul would say,
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Absolutely not.
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So it certainly
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refers to the law,
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the Mosaic law.
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Secondly, though,
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and more generally,
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because there is no
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article in Greek
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in front of the word
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law.
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The law,
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there is no.
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So really,
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it could be read,
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For I am speaking
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to those who know
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law.
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Any moral code,
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the Greek word
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just simply means
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moral code,
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rules set apart
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for the good
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of mankind.
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And we know
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laws.
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We have laws
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of our land,
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which we are
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meant to obey.
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So generally,
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it means that,
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I'll give you
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an example,
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most people
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know,
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or make some
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mental assent
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to the fact
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that it's good
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to go to church.
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That's why,
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typically,
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Christmas and
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Easter celebrations
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at churches
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are widely attended.
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There are churches
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now that rent out
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stadiums to be able
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to seat the people
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that will show up
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on those days.
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Because in those
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people's minds,
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it's a good thing,
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it's a law.
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I must go do
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this good thing
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to be in right
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standing with God.
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I saw a TV show
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this week,
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actually,
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where it opened
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with the dad
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trying to rush
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the children out
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the door to go
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to church,
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and one of the
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little girls
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said,
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Dad,
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why do we have
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to go to church?
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And his response
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was,
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we're hedging our
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bets.
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We're going to go
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just in case.
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that's required
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of us,
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so we'll be
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all right.
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We're going to hedge
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our bets.
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So what then
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becomes of the law?
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What should we do
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with it as those
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who have died
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to it?
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How is it that
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those who have
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died to the law
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don't become
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lawless?
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Christ hasn't
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delivered us
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from our sin
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and let us
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go into
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more sin?
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How is it
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that we
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don't actually
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become
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lawless?
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And he gives
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us an analogy,
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which we see
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in the second
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half of
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verse 1
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through 3,
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and it's
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pretty simple,
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so let's look
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at it real quick.
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Or do you not
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know,
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brothers,
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for I'm speaking
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to those who
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know the law,
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that the law
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is binding
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on a person
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only as long
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as he lives?
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So it's a simple
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analogy.
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It's all he's
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giving us here,
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and I think he
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explains it rather
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well.
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He says,
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if a woman is
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married to a man,
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her job as a
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wife is to
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serve him.
18:58
With all
18:59
that she is.
19:00
And if she
19:01
doesn't serve
19:02
him with all
19:02
that she is,
19:02
if she serves
19:03
another man,
19:04
she's an
19:05
adulteress.
19:06
The law
19:06
requires her
19:07
to maintain
19:08
commitment to
19:09
her husband.
19:11
However,
19:12
if her husband
19:12
dies,
19:14
she's no longer
19:15
held accountable
19:15
to him in
19:16
that way.
19:18
The same is
19:18
true of our
19:19
modern day
19:20
judicial system.
19:21
If somebody
19:21
commits a
19:22
murder and
19:23
then dies,
19:25
they're not
19:26
put on trial
19:26
for the murder.
19:27
They're not
19:28
held accountable
19:29
to the law
19:29
anymore because
19:29
they're no
19:30
longer alive.
19:32
The analogy
19:33
can be flipped
19:34
around.
19:34
It doesn't
19:35
really matter.
19:36
This isn't
19:36
any kind of
19:37
a teaching
19:38
on divorce.
19:40
It's not
19:41
really the point
19:41
of what he's
19:42
trying to say.
19:42
We can flip it
19:42
around and say,
19:43
a husband is
19:44
to be committed
19:45
to his wife
19:46
as long as
19:46
she is alive.
19:49
And he's not
19:50
to be committed
19:50
to any other
19:51
while that's
19:52
the case.
19:53
That's simply
19:54
what he's
19:54
trying to
19:54
say here.
19:56
In order for
19:57
him to get
19:57
to verse
19:58
four,
19:58
where he
19:59
says,
20:00
likewise,
20:01
in the same
20:02
way.
20:02
Many of your
20:03
translations might
20:03
say,
20:04
therefore.
20:07
And he
20:07
says,
20:08
my brothers,
20:08
you have
20:08
also died
20:09
to the law
20:10
through the
20:12
body of
20:12
Christ.
20:13
You have
20:14
also died
20:15
to the law
20:17
through the
20:17
body of
20:17
Christ.
20:18
This phrase
20:19
is,
20:20
aorist,
20:21
past,
20:21
passive.
20:22
I know most
20:23
of you don't
20:23
care about
20:24
that.
20:24
So what it
20:24
means is,
20:26
that it has
20:27
been a
20:27
divinely
20:28
completed
20:29
action.
20:31
If you
20:32
were found
20:32
in Christ,
20:32
if you
20:33
placed your
20:33
faith in
20:33
him,
20:34
you have
20:36
died.
20:36
Not
20:37
physically,
20:37
you didn't
20:38
kill yourself,
20:39
but divinely
20:40
your old self
20:42
has been
20:42
killed.
20:44
Completed
20:44
action in
20:45
the past
20:45
because we're
20:47
found in
20:48
Christ.
20:48
our identity
20:49
gets tied
20:50
up with
20:50
his identity
20:51
and Christ
20:52
died.
20:53
In the same
20:54
way,
20:55
so have
20:55
we.
20:56
Likewise,
20:57
so that
20:57
we're no
20:59
longer
20:59
bound
21:01
to the
21:02
law.
21:02
We've
21:03
died to
21:03
it.
21:03
We're not
21:03
bound to
21:04
it any
21:05
longer.
21:06
For what
21:06
purpose?
21:08
So that
21:09
you may
21:10
belong
21:11
to another,
21:13
to him
21:14
who has
21:14
been raised
21:15
from the
21:16
dead.
21:16
we have
21:18
been set
21:19
free
21:19
from the
21:20
marriage,
21:21
if you
21:22
will,
21:23
to the
21:23
law,
21:24
so that
21:24
we might
21:25
be bound,
21:26
we might
21:26
be married
21:27
to Christ.
21:29
Now,
21:30
some of you
21:30
macho men
21:31
in here,
21:31
your macho
21:32
ego may
21:32
not allow
21:32
you to
21:33
think of
21:34
your
21:34
relationship
21:34
with Christ
21:35
in this
21:35
way,
21:36
and my
21:36
encouragement
21:36
to you
21:37
would be
21:37
get over
21:38
it,
21:38
because it's
21:38
a really
21:39
good
21:39
analogy
21:39
of our
21:41
relationship
21:41
with him.
21:43
Ephesians
21:44
chapter 5,
21:45
we're taught
21:46
as husbands
21:46
to love
21:46
our wives
21:47
as Christ
21:48
loved the
21:48
church.
21:48
I want
21:49
Christ to
21:49
love me
21:49
that way.
21:51
I'm cool
21:51
with that.
21:52
I can be
21:52
a bride
21:52
of Christ,
21:53
no problem
21:54
with it
21:54
at all.
21:55
Keep in
21:56
mind,
21:56
it's an
21:56
analogy.
21:58
It's not
21:58
the reality
21:59
of the
21:59
situation.
21:59
It's an
22:00
analogy,
22:01
trying to
22:01
help us
22:02
wrap our
22:02
minds
22:02
around what
22:03
happens
22:04
when we
22:05
become
22:05
Christians.
22:07
So we
22:08
have been
22:08
bound
22:09
together
22:10
with Christ.
22:11
We belong
22:12
to him.
22:16
So what
22:17
does that
22:17
do then
22:17
to the
22:18
law?
22:19
What does
22:20
that do
22:21
for us?
22:22
Romans 6,
22:23
2,
22:25
as Chris
22:25
preached on,
22:26
the second
22:27
part of
22:27
verse 2
22:27
through 4,
22:28
reads this
22:29
way.
22:31
How can
22:32
he who
22:34
died to
22:34
sin still
22:35
live in
22:36
it?
22:37
Do you
22:38
not know
22:38
that all
22:39
of us who
22:40
have been
22:40
baptized into
22:41
Christ Jesus
22:42
were baptized
22:42
into his
22:43
death?
22:44
We were
22:45
buried
22:45
therefore with
22:46
him by
22:46
baptism into
22:47
death in
22:47
order that
22:48
just as
22:49
Christ was
22:49
raised from
22:50
the dead by
22:51
the glory of
22:51
the Father,
22:52
we too might
22:53
walk in
22:54
newness of
22:55
life.
22:58
So we're
22:58
bound with
23:00
Christ in
23:01
that, in
23:02
the newness
23:02
of life,
23:04
because of
23:06
our union
23:06
with him.
23:08
We have
23:08
died with
23:09
him in
23:09
order to
23:09
belong to
23:10
him.
23:10
2 Corinthians
23:11
11,
23:11
2,
23:12
Paul paints
23:13
another
23:13
beautiful
23:14
picture of
23:15
this.
23:16
He writes
23:16
to the
23:16
Corinthians,
23:17
for I
23:17
feel a
23:18
divine
23:18
jealousy
23:19
for you
23:19
since I
23:20
betrothed
23:21
you to
23:22
one husband
23:22
to present
23:23
you as a
23:24
pure virgin
23:25
to Christ.
23:26
It's where
23:27
our allegiance
23:27
lies as
23:30
Christians.
23:31
So we're
23:32
joined together
23:33
with Christ,
23:33
but for what
23:34
purpose?
23:35
For what
23:36
purpose?
23:36
And you look
23:36
at the very
23:37
end of
23:37
verse 4
23:37
there,
23:38
so that
23:39
we will
23:40
bear fruit
23:40
for God.
23:42
That's the
23:43
end of
23:44
the need.
23:45
That's why
23:45
we've been
23:46
delivered,
23:47
joined together
23:48
with Christ,
23:49
so that
23:49
we will
23:50
bear fruit
23:51
for God.
23:52
2 Corinthians
23:53
5,
23:53
21,
23:54
Paul said,
23:55
for our
23:55
sake he
23:56
made him
23:56
to be
23:57
sin,
23:57
who knew
23:58
no sin,
23:59
so that
23:59
in him
24:00
we might
24:00
become
24:01
the
24:02
righteousness
24:02
of God.
24:03
Christ
24:06
came
24:07
to
24:09
fulfill
24:10
the
24:10
demands
24:10
of the
24:10
law,
24:11
to
24:12
live a
24:13
sinless
24:13
life,
24:13
to give
24:14
us the
24:14
ability
24:15
to be
24:15
seen as
24:16
perfected
24:17
from the
24:18
eyes of
24:18
God.
24:19
He also
24:20
bore the
24:21
condemnation
24:21
of said
24:22
law.
24:24
So if
24:25
we are
24:26
bound up
24:26
with Christ,
24:27
we will
24:27
care about
24:28
what he
24:29
cares about.
24:31
We will
24:32
fulfill
24:33
the law
24:34
as
24:35
Christians.
24:36
There's not
24:36
a lot of
24:37
gray area
24:37
in there.
24:39
We will
24:39
fulfill
24:40
the law
24:42
because we
24:43
are from
24:44
the heart
24:45
joined to
24:46
Jesus.
24:48
We are
24:49
from the
24:50
heart
24:50
joined to
24:51
Jesus.
24:51
You can't
24:52
be that.
24:54
You can't
24:55
be joined
24:55
to Jesus
24:56
from the
24:57
heart and
24:58
not have
24:58
that change
24:59
how you
25:00
live.
25:01
You can't.
25:02
It's
25:03
impossible.
25:05
If you
25:05
have made
25:05
a profession
25:06
of faith
25:06
in your
25:06
life
25:07
somewhere
25:07
along the
25:08
way
25:08
and it
25:09
didn't
25:09
change
25:10
you,
25:11
you're
25:11
not a
25:11
Christian.
25:13
You don't
25:13
believe in
25:14
the risen
25:14
Son of
25:15
God
25:15
because when
25:17
you place
25:17
your faith
25:18
in Christ,
25:19
you die
25:19
to the
25:20
law and
25:21
you're
25:21
joined to
25:22
another
25:22
Jesus
25:23
Christ.
25:23
And that
25:24
will
25:24
change
25:25
your
25:25
heart.
25:28
The
25:28
great
25:28
theologian
25:29
Charles
25:29
Hodge
25:29
wrote on
25:31
this text,
25:32
as far
25:33
as we
25:33
are
25:34
concerned,
25:34
redemption
25:35
is in
25:35
order to
25:36
produce
25:37
holiness.
25:38
We are
25:39
delivered from
25:39
the law
25:40
that we
25:40
may be
25:40
united to
25:41
Christ,
25:42
and we
25:42
are united
25:42
to Christ
25:43
that we
25:43
may bring
25:43
forth fruit
25:44
unto God
25:45
as
25:46
deliverance
25:46
from the
25:47
penalty of
25:47
the law
25:48
in order
25:48
to produce
25:49
holiness.
25:50
It is
25:51
vain to
25:51
expect that
25:52
deliverance
25:52
except with
25:54
a view
25:54
to the
25:55
end for
25:56
which it
25:56
was granted.
25:57
You
25:59
can't
25:59
believe for
26:00
a moment
26:00
is what
26:00
he's
26:01
saying.
26:01
You
26:01
can't
26:01
believe
26:02
that
26:02
Christ
26:03
would
26:03
deliver
26:03
you
26:03
for
26:04
any
26:04
other
26:05
reason
26:05
than
26:05
holiness.
26:07
As far
26:08
as we
26:08
are
26:08
concerned,
26:09
that is
26:09
why it
26:10
was
26:10
accomplished,
26:11
to make
26:11
us
26:12
holy.
26:12
That's
26:12
who
26:13
is
26:13
holy.
26:14
So,
26:15
if you're
26:16
found in
26:16
Christ,
26:17
if you
26:18
have placed
26:18
your faith
26:19
justified
26:20
by faith
26:20
alone
26:21
in
26:22
Christ,
26:23
you're
26:24
going to
26:24
fulfill
26:24
the
26:24
law.
26:24
do we
26:26
do that
26:27
perfectly?
26:28
No.
26:29
I wish
26:29
we did.
26:31
I wish
26:31
that when
26:32
the Spirit
26:32
came to
26:33
indwell us
26:33
and we
26:34
were
26:34
regenerate,
26:36
things just
26:36
started working
26:37
their way
26:37
out.
26:38
Everything
26:38
went
26:39
perfect.
26:40
We're
26:41
going to
26:41
get into
26:41
some stuff
26:42
that makes
26:42
my head
26:42
spin as
26:43
Paul begins
26:44
to try to
26:44
explain the
26:45
process in
26:45
his life
26:46
where he
26:46
sees himself
26:47
doing things
26:47
he doesn't
26:48
desire to
26:49
do.
26:51
But this
26:51
kind of
26:52
truth is a
26:52
barometer for
26:53
us.
26:53
it's a
26:54
test by
26:55
which we
26:55
filter our
26:56
living.
26:58
If we're
26:59
faithful to
27:00
God,
27:00
we'll bear
27:01
fruit for
27:01
God.
27:02
If we're
27:03
faithful to
27:03
God,
27:03
we will
27:04
bear fruit
27:04
for God,
27:04
but we
27:05
don't
27:05
always
27:06
bear fruit
27:06
for God.
27:07
And what
27:08
does that
27:08
then say
27:08
of our
27:09
relationship
27:10
with him?
27:12
If you're
27:13
a Christian,
27:13
you were
27:13
bound to
27:15
Christ,
27:16
but most
27:17
of us
27:18
are unfaithful
27:19
to that
27:19
union.
27:19
I want
27:24
to find
27:24
myself
27:25
faithful to
27:26
my husband
27:28
as a
27:29
bride of
27:30
Christ,
27:32
devoted
27:32
and serving
27:34
him with
27:35
all that
27:36
I have.
27:37
And that
27:37
will be
27:38
the fulfillment
27:39
of the
27:39
law.
27:41
It's the
27:41
first and
27:42
greatest
27:42
commandment.
27:44
Love the
27:44
Lord your
27:44
God with
27:45
all your
27:45
heart,
27:45
with all
27:46
your mind,
27:47
with all
27:47
your soul,
27:48
and love
27:49
your neighbor
27:49
as yourself.
27:50
In those,
27:51
all the other
27:52
commandments are
27:52
wrapped up,
27:53
they're tied
27:54
in that.
27:54
If you do
27:54
that,
27:55
you'll do
27:55
everything else.
27:56
If you
27:56
devote yourself
27:58
to that
27:59
whom you're
28:00
bound up
28:00
with,
28:01
that was a
28:01
terrible sentence,
28:01
I'm sorry,
28:02
devote yourself
28:03
to whom
28:03
you're
28:04
bound up
28:05
with,
28:06
you will
28:07
fulfill
28:08
the law.
28:11
So where
28:11
does that
28:11
leave you
28:12
as you're
28:12
pondering
28:13
such a thing
28:13
and questioning
28:15
your own
28:15
life?
28:16
I hope
28:19
convicted.
28:20
I don't
28:20
think it's
28:21
possible for
28:21
us to
28:21
think about
28:22
the potential
28:24
to fulfill
28:25
the law
28:25
in Christ
28:26
and not
28:27
feel some
28:27
conviction
28:28
because we
28:28
don't.
28:30
If you
28:31
think you
28:31
do,
28:32
you're
28:32
incredibly
28:33
prideful,
28:34
which is a
28:35
sin,
28:35
or you're
28:36
a liar,
28:37
which is a
28:37
sin.
28:39
None of
28:39
us,
28:39
none of
28:40
us are
28:40
perfect.
28:42
Found
28:42
perfect in
28:43
Christ by
28:44
God,
28:44
playing that
28:46
out in
28:46
reality,
28:47
none of
28:47
us are
28:48
perfect.
28:50
And you
28:50
have to
28:50
ask
28:50
yourself,
28:52
am I
28:52
even dead
28:53
to the
28:53
law?
28:54
Do I
28:55
try to
28:55
gain approval
28:57
with God
28:58
because of
28:59
what I
28:59
do,
29:00
or because
29:01
of who
29:01
I am?
29:03
There's a
29:04
big difference.
29:06
Your identity
29:07
in Christ,
29:08
a child of
29:09
God,
29:09
adopted,
29:10
not because
29:11
of anything
29:11
that you've
29:11
done,
29:12
but all
29:12
because of
29:13
his work
29:13
on your
29:14
life,
29:14
his grace
29:14
to you,
29:15
justification
29:16
by faith
29:16
alone,
29:19
or do you
29:20
try to
29:20
earn and
29:21
work your
29:21
way into
29:22
his approval?
29:24
You may
29:25
not be a
29:25
Christian at
29:26
all,
29:26
or you
29:27
may just
29:27
need to
29:28
repent and
29:29
believe anew.
29:31
A Christian
29:31
life is a
29:32
process of
29:32
repentance,
29:34
constantly
29:34
looking to
29:35
God,
29:36
laying down
29:37
the sins
29:37
in your
29:37
life.
29:39
You never
29:40
stop that.
29:42
It never
29:42
ends.
29:43
we'll
29:44
always be
29:45
repenting,
29:47
picking back
29:47
up faith,
29:48
pursuing
29:49
him.
29:51
But we
29:51
ought to be
29:52
able to
29:52
look at
29:52
the scope
29:53
of our
29:53
lives and
29:54
see some
29:55
movement
29:55
towards
29:56
Godliness.
29:57
As I
29:58
counsel people
29:58
here in the
29:59
church who
29:59
are dealing
30:00
with sins,
30:00
habitual
30:01
sins,
30:02
it is easy
30:03
for me to
30:04
encourage them
30:04
to continue
30:05
on because
30:06
they're so
30:07
broken over
30:07
the things
30:08
that they
30:08
do.
30:08
there are
30:10
men in
30:10
this church
30:11
that hate
30:12
sin and
30:13
love Christ.
30:15
You can
30:15
hear their
30:16
voices,
30:16
you can
30:17
see it as
30:18
they pray,
30:18
as they
30:19
lament over
30:20
the stuff
30:21
that they
30:21
do.
30:22
It's easy
30:22
to encourage
30:23
them.
30:23
March on.
30:25
God's at
30:25
work in
30:25
your life
30:26
because the
30:27
natural man
30:28
doesn't hate
30:29
sin the way
30:30
you do.
30:31
He doesn't
30:31
abhor it this
30:32
way.
30:33
Do you find
30:34
yourself hating
30:35
sin more and
30:35
loving Christ
30:36
more as your
30:36
life progresses
30:37
on or do
30:38
you just
30:39
revel in the
30:40
fact that
30:40
you're sinful?
30:43
So verse 4,
30:44
I'll leave it to
30:45
us again.
30:45
Likewise, my
30:46
brothers, you
30:46
also have died
30:47
to the law
30:48
through the
30:49
body of Christ
30:50
that you may
30:51
belong to
30:52
another, to
30:53
him who has
30:54
been raised
30:54
from the dead
30:54
in order that
30:55
we may bear
30:56
fruit for God.
30:58
We'll talk more
30:59
about this this
30:59
week.