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Voddie Baucham - What Are Christian Ethics? · Voddie Baucham Sermons

• 0:01
  Speaker 2: We get to chapter five.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Because the other way we're going to know the promised
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: seed is not just through his ministry, but through his teaching.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: And that brings us to the Sermon on the Mount
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and the teaching of Christ. Now, in order for us
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: to grasp this, there are a couple of things that
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: we're going to have to be clear about in order
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: to understand the Sermon on the Mount. Because we've talked
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: often about how difficult it is To preach Christ in
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the Old Testament. To preach the gospel, even when we're
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: in the Old Testament. Because what we usually want to
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: do is we want to go and do character studies
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: in the Old Testament. And we want to say, here
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: are the character traits that these individuals in the Old
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  Speaker 1: Testament had.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: You work real hard to have these character traits.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: We've talked about that and how important it is that
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: we recognize that we're.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Called to preach the gospel. Amen?
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: The Bible is about Christ, not about you working hard
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: enough to be like Christ, which you can't do. Well,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: if you thought it was hard in the life of Abraham,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: would you see how hard it is in the Sermon
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: on the Mount? Because if we're not careful, we get
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: to the Sermon on the Mount and.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Here's what we do. There's a list of rules. There's law.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Jesus is even elevating the law.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Old Testament law said this. I say that.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: You thought the Old Testament law was hard to meet.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: I got a law that's even harder for you to meet.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: The Sermon on the Mount is an introduction to Christian ethics.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: An introduction to Christian ethics. And in order for us
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  Speaker 1: to understand Christian ethics, we must understand the Christian gospel.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: We have to get it.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: We have to understand that the gospel is is about
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: a pronouncement of the work that God has done in Christ.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: It's a pronouncement of the coming of Christ. The life
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: of Christ, the ministry of Christ, the proclamation of Christ,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: his death, his burial, his resurrection and ascension, and his
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: coming again. It is the pronouncement of that good news,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: the pronouncement of that message. Man has a sin problem.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: There is but one answer, and that answer is the
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  Speaker 1: person and work of Jesus Christ. That's the gospel that
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  Speaker 1: we proclaim. Unfortunately, we are hardwired for works righteousness. We're
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: hardwired for works righteousness, especially in this culture. Man, what
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: it means to be an American, or at least what
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  Speaker 1: it used to mean to be an American, was all
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: about rugged individualism. Pull yourself up by your own, okay?
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: We know these things. I'm looking out for number. Just
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: worried about me and myself, okay?
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: We're Americans, man. We're hardcore.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Not only are we Americans, but we're out here toward
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: the West, okay? Where rugged individualism was born.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Who went west?
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: The most rugged of the rugged individuals. I'm going out
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: west to stake my claim. I'm going out west to
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  Speaker 1: make my mark. I'm going out west to be dependent
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  Speaker 1: upon myself.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: It's me, my rifle, my horse, and we're going to
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  Speaker 2: make it.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: So rugged individualism, the further you go west, the more
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: deep-rooted rugged individualism is. And here in Texans, the Lone
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Star State, are you kidding me? We're about as rugged
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: and individual as they come. And as a result of that,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: here's what we do when we come to the Bible.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: We look for rules that we can keep so that
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: we can be identified as rule keepers. And if we're
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: not careful, that's all the Sermon on the Mount will be.
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  Speaker 1: Rules that we can keep so that we can be
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  Speaker 1: rule keepers. Or the flip side, rules that other people
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: aren't keeping that we can become informed about so that
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  Speaker 1: we're just when we condemn them. If you can't say amen,
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  Speaker 1: you ought to say ouch.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: Okay? That's all we get. We get here and we say, see, see, see, see.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: He's not righteous. She's not righteous. Cesar right here. They
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: don't live like that.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: So we need to understand something about the gospel. We
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  Speaker 1: need to understand something about justification. We need to understand
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  Speaker 1: something about sanctification so that we can then understand Christian ethics.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Understand that justification is a declaration that God makes of
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  Speaker 1: our righteousness. It is a declaration that God makes of
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  Speaker 1: our righteousness. Justification is not something you or I achieve.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Justification is a declaration made by God. And we don't
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: understand justification that way. That's why we always like to
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: ask questions that begin with this. Can a person be
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  Speaker 1: a Christian if they dot, dot, dot? We love that question. Hey,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: can a person be a Christian if they just fill
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  Speaker 1: in the blank, whatever it is. Can a person be
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: a Christian if they, you know what I love when
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  Speaker 1: people start asking me a question like that? You know,
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  Speaker 1: can a person be a Christian if they, I stop
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  Speaker 1: them right there.
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  Speaker 2: Wait a minute.
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  Speaker 1: Don't finish your question. Let me answer your question before
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  Speaker 1: you ask it. If what's about to come out of
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  Speaker 1: your mouth is something other than, can a person be
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  Speaker 1: a Christian if they are not completely trusting in justification
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  Speaker 1: by faith alone and by.
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  Speaker 2: Grace alone, through Christ alone, to the glory.
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  Speaker 1: Of God alone, and understanding that from the scripture alone,
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  Speaker 1: if anything else is about to come out of your mouth,
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  Speaker 1: the answer to the question is yes.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. A person can be a Christian if they whatever. Whatever. Whatever.
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  Speaker 1: The only thing a person can do and not be
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  Speaker 1: a Christian is not come to God through his son,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone,
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  Speaker 1: to the glory of God alone, and understanding that from
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: the scriptures alone. Can a person be a Christian if
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: they kill somebody? I don't know.
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  Speaker 2: Ask Paul when you get to heaven. Ask Moses.
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  Speaker 1: He's a murderer too. Well, can a person be a
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Christian if they....
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  Speaker 2: Whatever.
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  Speaker 1: What about homosexuality? Can a person be a Christian if
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: they struggle with homosexuality?
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: I don't know. We can ask Paul that one too.
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  Speaker 1: Because in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, he gives us a
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  Speaker 1: whole list of things that people were before they washed
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  Speaker 1: and sanctified. Homosexual is one of them. Here's why we
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  Speaker 1: like to ask that question. We like to ask that
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  Speaker 1: question because we do not understand the doctrine of justification.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: A person's a Christian because they've been justified by God.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: They have been declared righteous by God. Well, yes, but
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: what if they sin? Newsflash.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: Who told you you don't? Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, but you know what I mean. Yeah, I know
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  Speaker 1: what you mean. You mean the sins that you happen
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: to not commit.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: You ever notice that? People don't ask that question.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: You know, can a person be a Christian if they dot, dot,
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: dot like I do? No, it's always about stuff that
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: those people do. I've heard about a person who did so-and-so.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: Can that person be a Christian? Listen, if you could
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: think what you thought on yesterday, say what you said
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  Speaker 1: on yesterday, do what you did on yesterday and still
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: have hope of heaven, of course a person can do
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  Speaker 1: whatever that is out there and still be a Christian.
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  Speaker 1: You're a rank sinner from the word go. You're justified
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  Speaker 1: not because of your own internal or inherent righteousness, but
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  Speaker 1: because of the righteousness that is imputed to you. And
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  Speaker 1: it's Christ's righteousness, not your own. It is an alien righteousness.
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  Speaker 1: It is an alien righteousness.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Understand this doctrine of justification. That's how we're saved. That's
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  Speaker 1: how we're saved through justification by faith alone.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Only by faith.
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  Speaker 1: Not faith and, not faith plus, but by faith alone.
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  Speaker 2: That's all. That's all. Well, yeah, well, what about, what about,
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  Speaker 2: what about, what about, what about, you know, all these
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  Speaker 2: things and you go, can we just live any way
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  Speaker 2: we want to? I didn't say that.
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  Speaker 1: But that's the doctrine of sanctification, which is evidence of justification,
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  Speaker 1: not a means of justification.
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  Speaker 2: Let me say that again. Sanctification is evidence of justification.
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  Speaker 1: It is not a means of justification.
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  Speaker 2: Well, what's the difference?
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  Speaker 1: The difference is if I believe sanctification is a means
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  Speaker 1: of justification, then I answer the question, are you a
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  Speaker 1: Christian like this?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm a Christian because I don't whatever.
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  Speaker 1: I remember sitting in a service once listening to a testimony.
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  Speaker 1: This man was giving it, standing up and he was
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  Speaker 1: giving his testimony and going, on and on. And I
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: was relatively new to the ministry and I was uncomfortable,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: but I'm like, okay, it's testimony. But I really couldn't
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  Speaker 1: put into words why I was uncomfortable. And I was
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  Speaker 1: sitting with a man who was kind of a mentor
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  Speaker 1: to me at the time. And this guy's standing up
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  Speaker 1: there and among the things that he talked about was
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  Speaker 1: how God had delivered him from alcoholism. How he fell
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  Speaker 1: on his knees, prayed to receive Christ, asked Jesus into
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  Speaker 1: his heart. And from that moment to this, he's never
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: had a taste for alcohol again. And I'm sitting there
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: and I'm kind of going, wow, that's pretty interesting. Doesn't
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: happen like that for most people. Although he kind of
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: presents it as though it's supposed to. Most people, if
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  Speaker 1: you struggle with alcoholism, you come to faith in Christ.
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  Speaker 1: You probably still struggle with alcoholism. a little less as
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  Speaker 1: you grow in grace. That's this process called sanctification, okay?
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  Speaker 1: But I didn't know, I'm sitting here, maybe I'm just
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  Speaker 1: being judgmental or whatever. This older sage minister kind of
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: leaned down and he said to me, interesting, isn't it?
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  Speaker 1: Makes you wonder, did God deliver him from alcoholism or
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  Speaker 1: did the devil just trick him into trading pride for alcoholism?
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  Speaker 1: I don't drink anymore, but I'm so proud I stink
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  Speaker 1: to high heaven. But I don't drink anymore. Don't even
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  Speaker 1: have a taste for it. Good for you. And there
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  Speaker 1: are a lot of people out there. They think they're
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  Speaker 1: saved because of what they don't do anymore or because
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  Speaker 1: of what they do.
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  Speaker 2: I have my quiet time regularly. Good for you.
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  Speaker 1: I do this, I do that, I do the other regularly.
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  Speaker 2: Good for you.
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  Speaker 1: But when you stand before God, if you stand before
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  Speaker 1: him with quiet time and witnessing and not drinking and
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  Speaker 1: so on and so forth, what you will hear very
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  Speaker 1: clearly will be, depart from me, I never knew you,
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  Speaker 1: you worker of iniquity. Let me say something to you.
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  Speaker 1: There are people who, who outwardly do a whole lot
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  Speaker 1: better than you do who are going to go to
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  Speaker 1: hell when they die. And there are people who outwardly
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  Speaker 1: do a whole lot worse than you do who are
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  Speaker 1: going to go to heaven.