Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Unwrapping the Gift of Grace, Part 1

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Unwrapping the Gift of Grace, Part 1 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: Ask a stranger this question and you'll likely hear a
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  Speaker 1: common response. What's the key to earning your way into heaven?
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  Speaker 1: Many will say it's the result of loving others and
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  Speaker 1: avoiding moral mistakes. Well, today on Insight for Living, Chuck
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Swindoll shatters the myth that salvation is something you can
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  Speaker 1: earn through your own efforts. Here's the shocking truth. We
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  Speaker 1: can't work our way to God. And we don't have to.
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  Speaker 1: God's grace is a free gift. It's freedom from the
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  Speaker 1: exhausting treadmill of trying to be good enough. Chuck titled
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  Speaker 1: his message, Unwrapping the Gift of Grace.
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  Speaker 2: Now let me read for you, please, Romans chapter 3,
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  Speaker 2: beginning at verse 21 through 31 before this morning's prayer
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  Speaker 2: and offerings. Romans 3.21, but now apart from the law,
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  Speaker 2: the righteousness of God has been made manifested, being witnessed
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  Speaker 2: by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of
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  Speaker 2: God through faith in Jesus Christ. For all those who believe,
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  Speaker 2: for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and
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  Speaker 2: fall short of the glory of God, being justified in
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  Speaker 2: As a gift by his grace through the redemption which
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  Speaker 2: is in Christ Jesus. Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation.
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  Speaker 2: The word means satisfaction in his blood through faith. This
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  Speaker 2: was to demonstrate his righteousness. Because in the forbearance of
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  Speaker 2: God he passed over the sins previously committed. For the
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  Speaker 2: demonstration I say of his righteousness at the present time.
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  Speaker 2: so that he would be just and the justifier of
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  Speaker 2: the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? Well,
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  Speaker 2: it is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No,
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  Speaker 2: but by a law of faith. For we maintain that
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  Speaker 2: a man is justified by faith apart from works of
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  Speaker 2: the law. Or is God the God of Jews only?
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  Speaker 2: Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of
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  Speaker 2: Gentiles also. since indeed God who will justify the circumcised
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  Speaker 2: by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Do
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  Speaker 2: we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be.
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  Speaker 2: On the contrary, we establish the law.
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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: the book of Romans on your own, be sure to
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: purchase our Searching the Scriptures Bible Study Workbook by going
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: to insight.org slash offer. Chuck titled today's message, Unwrapping the
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  Speaker 1: Gift of Grace.
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  Speaker 2: Public surveys and on-the-street interviews often yield surprising answers. This
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  Speaker 2: occurred years ago when I was a minister up in
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  Speaker 2: New England serving a church in Massachusetts. I had a
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  Speaker 2: friend who was a high school teacher at a prep
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  Speaker 2: school where he was teaching some of the brightest of
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  Speaker 2: the brightest in high school years, planning on their years
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  Speaker 2: in college and on into graduate work, many of them.
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  Speaker 2: He decided one year that he would teach a course
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  Speaker 2: he entitled The Bible as Literature. He thought, since I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to be teaching this course to these students in
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  Speaker 2: this secular school, it would be helpful to know how
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  Speaker 2: much they know about the Bible. And then I can
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  Speaker 2: sort of shape my course starting where they are and
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  Speaker 2: take it from there. So he handed out a survey
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  Speaker 2: that had a number of questions on it. None of
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  Speaker 2: them trick questions, just simple questions about facts and people
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  Speaker 2: and events in the Bible. He got back, well, let's
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  Speaker 2: use the word surprising answers. He learned from the survey
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  Speaker 2: that Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers, that Jezebel was Ahab's donkey,
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  Speaker 2: that the four horsemen of Revelation appeared on the Acropolis,
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  Speaker 2: that the New Testament Gospels are written by Matthew, Mark, Luther,
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  Speaker 2: and John. Someone said that Eve was created by an
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  Speaker 2: apple and Jesus was baptized by Moses. He was most
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  Speaker 2: surprised with an answer that came to the question, what
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  Speaker 2: was Golgotha? Golgotha was the name of the giant who
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  Speaker 2: slew the apostle David, was the answer. I thought the
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  Speaker 2: funniest answer was the one that came in answer to
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  Speaker 2: the question, what were the epistles? One student said in
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  Speaker 2: all seriousness, the wives of the apostles. That's a pretty
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  Speaker 2: creative answer. It's wrong as it can be, but it's
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  Speaker 2: a creative answer. And when I heard that answer, I thought,
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  Speaker 2: that is hilarious. And so I shared that at our
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  Speaker 2: congregation the following Sunday. It didn't fit the sermon. I
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  Speaker 2: just jammed it in. And after it was over, one
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  Speaker 2: of our members came up and said in all seriousness,
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  Speaker 2: if they weren't the wives of the apostles, whose wives
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  Speaker 2: were they? Laughter On the street interviews are just as surprising.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, they are very revealing. Most don't have a
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  Speaker 2: clue who Jesus Christ is. Most, if they were asked,
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  Speaker 2: how does a person get to heaven, would answer if
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  Speaker 2: they even took a stab at the answer with words like,
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  Speaker 2: we get salvation the old-fashioned way. We earn it. We
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  Speaker 2: work hard for it. And they would say that in
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  Speaker 2: all seriousness because every religion I'm familiar with says you
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  Speaker 2: get there by working hard. By giving up something. By
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  Speaker 2: adding something to your life. By doing more and more
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  Speaker 2: and more. It'll be a works-based salvation. What's interesting is
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  Speaker 2: that every year there's a top ten hymns, favorite hymns
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  Speaker 2: of America put into print. And it always makes me
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  Speaker 2: smile because in the top ten, if it isn't the
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  Speaker 2: top of the ten, it's near the top, invariably is
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  Speaker 2: the song Amazing Grace. Isn't that interesting? A world that
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  Speaker 2: believes in a work-based salvation loves Amazing Grace. And the song,
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  Speaker 2: the hymn, doesn't even tie in with what they believe.
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  Speaker 2: And so I've written a hymn for those who believe
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  Speaker 2: in works. You won't find it in today's hymnal, but...
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  Speaker 2: Here it is. I've titled it Excessive Works. Excessive works,
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  Speaker 2: how sweaty the sound, that came from someone as sincere
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  Speaker 2: as me. I once was incompetent. Now I'm admired thanks
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  Speaker 2: to what I've accomplished. It's all about me. T'was works
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  Speaker 2: that earned my favor with God and works that made
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  Speaker 2: him smile. How hard I labored, how long I toiled,
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  Speaker 2: how often that second mile. When we've been there 10,000 years,
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  Speaker 2: proud of our efforts under the sun, we've no less
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  Speaker 2: days to sing our own praise and remember the great
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  Speaker 2: things we have done. Can you imagine a heaven filled
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  Speaker 2: with people like that? I mean, I worked 60 years
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  Speaker 2: to get here. My granddad was a preacher and my
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  Speaker 2: dad was a preacher and I was a missionary. And
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  Speaker 2: so I got here because I earned my way here.
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  Speaker 2: Another one says, I gave up coffee, cigarettes, food. I sacrificed.
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  Speaker 2: So I got here because of how good I was
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  Speaker 2: and how pure I became. And another one and another
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  Speaker 2: one and another. Please, please, where do you throw up?
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  Speaker 2: What kind of heaven would that be? It's grace. It's grace.
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  Speaker 2: that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.
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  Speaker 2: How wondrous did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
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  Speaker 2: There was nothing I could do to find my earn
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  Speaker 2: my way, gain my way in. You see, a person
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  Speaker 2: who believes they work their way to heaven believes that
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  Speaker 2: because they think there's something good down inside they can
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  Speaker 2: build on. Because there is something good down in there,
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  Speaker 2: I can just make those building blocks of good works
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  Speaker 2: grow and grow and sacrifice and grow, and more and
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  Speaker 2: more I become all the more to God. However, you
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  Speaker 2: and I know from the teaching of Romans chapters 1, 2,
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  Speaker 2: and the better part of chapter 3 that, well, as
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  Speaker 2: we read in Romans 3, 10, please turn, there is
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  Speaker 2: none righteous... Not even one. There is none who understands,
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  Speaker 2: verse 11 says. There is none who seeks for God.
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  Speaker 2: Would you please believe that? Would you please rearrange your
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  Speaker 2: thinking regardless of the religious background from which you come?
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  Speaker 2: Would you please remind yourself that verse 12 is true.
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  Speaker 2: All have turned aside. You're in the group. I'm in
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  Speaker 2: the group. Together we have become useless. There is none
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  Speaker 2: who does good. There is not. even one not one
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  Speaker 2: not in God's eyes if you notice when you fly
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  Speaker 2: you get up about 30,000 40,000 feet in elevation you
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  Speaker 2: look down everything looks the same level doesn't it an
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  Speaker 2: interesting But the elevation on earth can be difference of 10, 12, 15,000
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  Speaker 2: feet above sea level. Or even a few thousand below
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  Speaker 2: sea level. But it all looks the same from above.
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  Speaker 2: That's how God views humanity. Through God's eyes, through his lenses,
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  Speaker 2: if you will, as he looks at humanity, he evaluates
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  Speaker 2: that all are sinful. Sinful. None deserve or can ever
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  Speaker 2: earn their way into the holy, absolutely pristine, pure presence
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  Speaker 2: of God. As a matter of fact, if you look
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  Speaker 2: ahead to Romans 7 and verse 18, you'll not only
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  Speaker 2: see a preview of coming attractions, you'll see a verse
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  Speaker 2: that states in a few words what I've been saying. 718,
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  Speaker 2: I know that nothing good dwells in me that is
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  Speaker 2: in my flesh. Nothing good. Nothing good. Nothing in my
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  Speaker 2: hands I bring, says the old hymn writer. And I
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  Speaker 2: never will be good enough. To bring God's favor. That's
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  Speaker 2: the bad news of our nature, of our lives. That's
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  Speaker 2: why you never have to teach your child to do wrong.
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  Speaker 2: Isn't it interesting? No, son, let me tell you what
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  Speaker 2: disobedience is all about. It's a joke. You teach them obedience. Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because the nature is to do wrong. Why? Because they
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  Speaker 2: are by birth, by choice, and by nature wrong. wrong
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  Speaker 2: with God. We are. They get it from us. We
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  Speaker 2: got it from our folks. All the way back, we
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  Speaker 2: all got it from Adam. As in Adam, all die.
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  Speaker 2: If I stopped here, it is a very, very dark story.
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  Speaker 2: But there is a continental divide between In the first
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  Speaker 2: two words of verse 21 of Romans. But now. Isn't
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  Speaker 2: that great? This is one of those great buts found
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  Speaker 2: in the Bible. There are several of them. This is
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  Speaker 2: one of them. But now. It's all been dark. It's
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  Speaker 2: all been depraved. It's all been sinful. Even religious pride
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  Speaker 2: and legalism. And all of the moralism of doing good
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  Speaker 2: and working hard. All of that. But now, since there's
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  Speaker 2: nothing we can bring, now I'm ready to give you
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  Speaker 2: the good news. Isn't this great? And in the verses
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  Speaker 2: that follow, he tells us four things about the gospel,
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  Speaker 2: about the good news of Jesus Christ. First, it is
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  Speaker 2: a transfer of righteousness. God's righteousness is never inherited from
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  Speaker 2: our parents or grandparents or even farther back. There's no
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  Speaker 2: inheritance of righteousness. There's got to be a transfer of
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  Speaker 2: righteousness from God to us. The second thing about the gospel,
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  Speaker 2: it is a gift of grace. And that makes it fair.
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  Speaker 2: That means the little kid who exists in the ghetto
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  Speaker 2: of South Chicago or in the slums of New York
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  Speaker 2: or some dark part of our own city or your city,
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  Speaker 2: has just as big an opportunity or chance to come
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  Speaker 2: to Christ as the one who is in six-digit figures
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  Speaker 2: in his salary. Very well healed. Very self-sustaining. We all
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  Speaker 2: come the same way. It's a gift. It's a gift.
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  Speaker 2: It's a gift of grace. The third thing it tells
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  Speaker 2: about the gospel is it's a display of love. God
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  Speaker 2: shows his love to us in giving us the gift
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  Speaker 2: of salvation. And then fourth and finally, it is a
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  Speaker 2: declaration of faith. We enter into it by faith. And
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  Speaker 2: that's the only way we can know this life of
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  Speaker 2: God and have the righteousness of Christ within us. Let's
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  Speaker 2: unpack that, shall we? Verse 21. Now apart from the law,
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  Speaker 2: the righteousness of God has been displayed, rendered here manifested,
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  Speaker 2: the righteousness of God has been displayed, being witnessed by
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  Speaker 2: the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God
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  Speaker 2: through faith. Notice three things about this. It has nothing
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  Speaker 2: to do with the law, this righteousness. It says it's
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  Speaker 2: apart from the law. Second, it is not new. It
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  Speaker 2: was witnessed. It was declared. It was written by the
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  Speaker 2: law and the prophets. They knew of this righteousness and
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  Speaker 2: it is all a part of God's redemptive plan that
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  Speaker 2: began all the way back at Adam. It's nothing new. Third,
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  Speaker 2: it's not from within ourselves. It is based on our
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  Speaker 2: faith in Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, when
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  Speaker 2: we turn to ourselves, verse 23 tells it all, all
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  Speaker 2: have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Now,
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  Speaker 2: when some hear that, they think, well, I know some
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  Speaker 2: people who are pretty righteous. I know some folks that
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  Speaker 2: have worked hard all their lives, and they live purer
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  Speaker 2: lives than I do. Well, I decided I need to
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  Speaker 2: have an illustration that will help you remember how none
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  Speaker 2: of that works in God's eyes. So I brought along
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  Speaker 2: this scale, okay? Let's say that you know somebody who
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  Speaker 2: has about a foot of righteousness. They've been working 15
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  Speaker 2: years of their lives to get to heaven, and they've
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  Speaker 2: given up this, they've given up that, they've handed out
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  Speaker 2: tracts on street corners, they've been busy about the work
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  Speaker 2: of religion, so they got about a foot of righteousness.
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  Speaker 2: But you know somebody else who has been working long
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  Speaker 2: enough to get two feet. They've been at it 35 years.
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  Speaker 2: And they got a righteousness that is, you know, they
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  Speaker 2: got all of those things that hang off your chest
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  Speaker 2: for never missing a day in Sunday school. And they got, oh,
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  Speaker 2: they got Bibles that look like they've been carrying them
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  Speaker 2: behind their car and dragging them along. They've been reading
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  Speaker 2: the Bible and they've been praying all the time. And then,
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  Speaker 2: you know, some of them that are preachers and they're lost,
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  Speaker 2: but they got three feet of righteousness. Stay with me now.
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  Speaker 2: They got three feet. They're lost as a lizard, but
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  Speaker 2: they're preachers. And so They got righteousness because they've been
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  Speaker 2: preaching a good book. And then you got some who
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  Speaker 2: become missionaries. So they're four feet of righteousness. And in
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  Speaker 2: God's eyes, none of it works. There it is. Absolutely worthless.
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  Speaker 1: Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because we've all sinned. We all fall short of the
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  Speaker 2: glory of God. We all fall short of his standard.
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  Speaker 2: Have you ever worked hard enough to be as righteous
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  Speaker 2: as God is? You can't. Ever sacrificed enough to really
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  Speaker 2: earn your way into heaven like the sacrifice of Jesus?
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  Speaker 2: You can't. How about really gutting it up in hard
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  Speaker 2: times and really standing firm? Is that enough? It's never enough.
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  Speaker 2: It's never enough. You talk to any religion and ask
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  Speaker 2: the crucial question, how much is enough? They can never
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  Speaker 2: answer the question. Why? Because works never get you there.
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  Speaker 2: You never know when you've done enough. You ask a
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  Speaker 2: person who bases his salvation or her salvation on works
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  Speaker 2: and they're near death and you say, are you sure
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  Speaker 2: now you're going to go to heaven? I hope so. Oh,
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  Speaker 2: I really hope so. I've just been working so hard.
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  Speaker 2: God bless them. They don't know. You ask a person
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  Speaker 2: who's taken a gift. They die with a smile on
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  Speaker 2: their face. There's nothing to fear. There's no worry because
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  Speaker 2: they don't get there on their own. Is Jesus in
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  Speaker 2: God's heaven? If I'm in Jesus, do I get in
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  Speaker 2: God's heaven with him? Absolutely. Absolutely. So we have a
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  Speaker 2: transfer of righteousness. Look at how he puts it. It's
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  Speaker 2: so clear in verse 24. Being justified as a gift.
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  Speaker 2: The Greek has just one word. It's the term for freely.
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  Speaker 2: Being justified freely.
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  Speaker 1: Freely.
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  Speaker 2: Is that a good word? Jesus said on one occasion,
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  Speaker 2: they hated me without a cause. Same Greek word as here.
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  Speaker 2: Being justified without a cause. Without one thing that we
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  Speaker 2: had in ourselves. Then it's by his grace. Through the
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  Speaker 2: redemption in Christ Jesus. Oh, we've got to understand the
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  Speaker 2: word redemption. That's a great, great word. Back years ago,
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  Speaker 2: slaves were put on blocks. And they stood up above
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  Speaker 2: the crowd to be sold to the market. It was
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  Speaker 2: called in cities like Rome a slave market. Slave owners
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  Speaker 2: would show up and they would bid for the slave.
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  Speaker 2: The highest bidder would get the property. A slave in chains.
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  Speaker 2: Occasionally a slave owner would would have a change of
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  Speaker 2: heart and would cut the chains free and let the
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  Speaker 2: slave go free. We would say he has redeemed the slave.
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  Speaker 2: It means to liberate by the paying of a price.
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  Speaker 2: To set free by the paying of a price. You
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  Speaker 2: and I do not pay one cent for our eternal home.
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  Speaker 2: The one who gives $ 20 million a year is no
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  Speaker 2: closer to heaven than the person who gives $ 10 a year.
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  Speaker 2: It's not a matter of money. You and I had
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  Speaker 2: nothing in ourselves to earn salvation. The person who 40
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  Speaker 2: years on the mission field lives a sacrificial life is
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  Speaker 2: no closer to heaven than the individual who never gets
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  Speaker 2: out of his own backyard. You don't earn this. You
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  Speaker 2: and I could not possibly work hard enough to win
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  Speaker 2: God's favor. Look across the page at chapter 4, verse 4.
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  Speaker 2: This is as clear as it can be. Romans 4, 4. Now,
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  Speaker 2: to the one who works, that refers to your employment.
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  Speaker 2: That talks about your job. To the one who works,
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  Speaker 2: his wage is not credited as a favor, but as
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  Speaker 2: what is due Now that's true, isn't it? At the
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  Speaker 2: end of your pay period, you receive an envelope from
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  Speaker 2: your employer. When the envelope is given to you on
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  Speaker 2: your desk or handed you in your hand, you take
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  Speaker 2: the envelope and you never say thank you for this gift.
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  Speaker 2: Your boss would look at you like, you know, you're
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  Speaker 2: from Mars. Gift? You earned that. You say, good, let's
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  Speaker 2: see if it's the right amount. It's your wage. You
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  Speaker 2: earned it. Look at the next verse. But, there's another
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  Speaker 2: one of those great buts. But to the one who
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  Speaker 2: does not work but believes in him who justifies the
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  Speaker 2: ungodly by his faith is credited as righteousness. That is
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  Speaker 2: so good I want to shout. Let me tell you why.
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  Speaker 2: Here I am lost absolutely sinful, depraved, nothing in myself
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  Speaker 2: to please God. Nothing. And Christ comes in my place.
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  Speaker 2: Christ dies to pay the penalty of sin on my behalf.
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  Speaker 2: And as I believe in Jesus Christ and his death
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  Speaker 2: for me where he paid the complete payment for sins,
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  Speaker 2: I am now In Christ, and I am seen as
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  Speaker 2: righteous as God's own Son is righteous. Is that good
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  Speaker 2: or what? Nearer still nearer, nearer I cannot be. For
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  Speaker 2: in the person of his Son, I am as near
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  Speaker 2: as he. Isn't that great? If the Son of God
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  Speaker 2: is in the presence of God, and I am in
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  Speaker 2: the Son of God by faith, having received the gift,
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  Speaker 2: I couldn't be nearer. I couldn't have a relationship more
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  Speaker 2: connected or secure than that. Now back to the verse.
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  Speaker 2: Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, verse 25, whom,
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: that's referring back to Christ Jesus, whom God publicly displayed
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: as As a satisfaction in his blood through faith. What
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: does that mean? All right, now listen carefully. Listen carefully.
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  Speaker 2: When Adam sinned, exactly as God told him, Adam died.
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  Speaker 2: He instantly died spiritually. He began to die physically. So
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: when it comes to the sins of the whole world,
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: which we have inherited from Adam... How can we possibly
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: pay that kind of payment? We can't because sinful sacrifices
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  Speaker 2: don't work in God's eyes. It takes a sinless sacrifice.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: And the sinless Lamb of God was sacrificed and the
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: sacrifice of His death satisfied the demands of the Father
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: on sin. How great is that?
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Well, that sure is great. You're listening to Insight for
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: Living and the Bible teaching of Chuck Swindoll. Chuck titled
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: this study in Romans chapter 3, Unwrapping the Gift of Grace.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: There's a lot more teaching ahead, and if you're ready
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: to learn more about Paul's letter to the Romans, Insight
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: for Living has a great collection of study tools for
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: this series. The first is Volume 1 of our Searching
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: the Scriptures Bible Study for Romans. Next, Chuck's entire commentary
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: on Romans is from the Living Insights Commentary Collection, and third,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: the audio files for every single sermon in the study
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: of Romans. To check out this special bundle of resources,
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: just go to insight.org slash offer or call 800-772-8888. But
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: that's not all. If you're looking for a new book
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: for the fall and something that fills your mind with
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: soul-satisfying truth, we highly recommend a brand new book from
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Chuck Swindoll. It's called Looking in All the Right Directions.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: This book, available only through Insight for Living, features the
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: final five sermons Chuck delivered last year to the congregation
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: that he shepherded for more than 25 years. In these
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: emotion-filled messages, Chuck shares his heart on matters common to
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: all of us, getting through seasons of unwanted hardship, standing
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: firm for the truth in a world that rejects the truth,
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: and using your God-given gifts to bring meaning and purpose
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: to your life. To purchase a copy of Looking in
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: All the Right Directions by Chuck Swindoll, call us at
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash offer. Finally, if you'd
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: like to write to us with comments or questions or
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  Speaker 1: programs so men and women all around the world will
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  Speaker 1: hear about God's amazing grace. Again, you can write to
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: us at Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034. I'm
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindoll continues his uplifting
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: message called Unwrapping the Gift of Grace, Thursday. on Insight
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: for Living. The preceding message, Unwrapping the Gift of Grace,
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: was copyrighted in 2006, 2010, and 2025, and the sound
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: recording was copyrighted in 2025.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: By Charles R.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.