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Voddie Baucham - The Law is Sin By No Means! · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: Romans chapter 7. We've come to that paragraph in Romans
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  Speaker 1: chapter 7. The second paragraph here, verses 7 through 12.
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  Speaker 1: Romans chapter 7, verses 7 through 12. And as you
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  Speaker 1: open to Romans chapter 7, verses 7 through 12, let
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  Speaker 1: me take a moment and deal with something that is
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  Speaker 1: related only tangentially, but it's very important. We've talked on
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  Speaker 1: a number of occasions about Our culture and things that
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  Speaker 1: are happening in our culture. And one of the things
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  Speaker 1: that I have tried to inform you about and warn
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  Speaker 1: you about is the insidious advance of the homosexual agenda
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  Speaker 1: in our culture. And if you'll remember, I shared from
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  Speaker 1: you from the book After the Ball that was published
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  Speaker 1: in 1989. I told you about the strategy of homosexual
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  Speaker 1: activists to sort of bring the homosexual lifestyle to normalcy
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  Speaker 1: within American culture. And there were a number of strategies
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  Speaker 1: that were outlined in that book. It was a book
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  Speaker 1: of propaganda strategies. Again, they wrote out their propaganda strategy
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  Speaker 1: in 1989 and have executed that with the idea that
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  Speaker 1: in the decade of the 90s, by the end of
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  Speaker 1: the decade of the 90s, there would be major progress
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  Speaker 1: on that front. And one of the goals we talked
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  Speaker 1: about was the idea that they would bombard the culture
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  Speaker 1: using media in order to make homosexuality more acceptable and
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  Speaker 1: in order to make those who oppose homosexuality feel outside
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  Speaker 1: of the mainstream, shunned by the mainstream. Well, this week,
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  Speaker 1: Entertainment magazine. Special report. Gay teens on TV. But listen
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  Speaker 1: to the subtitle. How a bold new class of young
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  Speaker 1: gay characters on shows like Glee is changing hearts and
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  Speaker 1: minds in Hollywood. That's the propaganda agenda. How the presence
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  Speaker 1: of this and the bombardment with this over and over
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  Speaker 1: and over again changes hearts and minds. And then, Us Weekly. Again,
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  Speaker 1: front page of Us Weekly. Elton's baby at home with
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  Speaker 1: Elton John, David Furnish, and baby Zachary. So now we
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  Speaker 1: celebrate when two homosexual men bring a baby home to raise. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I say that this is related tangentially, okay? But The
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  Speaker 1: way that this is related, and we'll get there momentarily,
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  Speaker 1: is that sin in our culture, in our lives, has
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  Speaker 1: a foothold. And when it's not confronted, it is considered normal, normative.
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  Speaker 1: And there is something that changes when sin is not
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  Speaker 1: confronted with the law. Well, we're going to find out
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  Speaker 1: that the law doesn't make sin go away. That's not
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  Speaker 1: the point here, okay? But when it's not confronted, it
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  Speaker 1: creates a different baseline. That thought is going to be
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  Speaker 1: very important momentarily. Romans chapter 7. Beginning of verse 7.
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  Speaker 1: There is another one of his questions. And these are
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  Speaker 1: not just rhetorical questions. These are legitimate questions. Paul has
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  Speaker 1: made a statement about the law, several statements about the
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  Speaker 1: law and sin and death. And now because of the
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  Speaker 1: statements that he's made about the law and sin and death,
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  Speaker 1: he knows that he's speaking to an audience that is
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  Speaker 1: comprised in large part of Jews who think very highly
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  Speaker 1: of the law, very highly of the Torah. And that
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  Speaker 1: as he's making these statements, and remember, as Paul writes Romans,
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  Speaker 1: this is not the first time that he has shared
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  Speaker 1: his theology. When he goes somewhere and teaches for six months,
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  Speaker 1: 12 months, 18 months, this is what he lays out.
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  Speaker 1: So he faces these questions again and again and again.
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  Speaker 1: So by the time he writes Romans... These are actual
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  Speaker 1: questions that he has faced in place after place after place.
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  Speaker 1: And you remember his pattern is, he always goes and
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  Speaker 1: reasons in the synagogue with the Jews. And then he
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  Speaker 1: goes and reasons with the Gentiles. So as he has
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  Speaker 1: reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews, he's faced these
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  Speaker 1: questions from Jews who love the law. So when he
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  Speaker 1: writes Romans, he does not ignore these questions that are
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  Speaker 1: asked by the Jews to when they are confronted with
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  Speaker 1: his gospel. So when we come here to this question,
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  Speaker 1: beginning of verse 7, know that it's not a rhetorical question.
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  Speaker 1: This is an actual question that people who think deep
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  Speaker 1: theological thoughts ask when they are faced with the gospel
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  Speaker 1: that Paul lays out here in the book of Romans.
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  Speaker 1: And he says, what then shall we say? That the
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  Speaker 1: law is sin? Remember what we read earlier. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: let's back up to that paragraph before. Verse 4, Likewise,
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  Speaker 1: my brothers, you also have died to the law through
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  Speaker 1: the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another,
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  Speaker 1: to him who has been raised from the dead, in
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  Speaker 1: order that we may bear fruit for God. For while
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  Speaker 1: we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused
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  Speaker 1: by the law were at work in our members to
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  Speaker 1: bear fruit for death. There's the law and death. But
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  Speaker 1: now we are released from the law, having died to
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  Speaker 1: that which held us captive, so that we serve in
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  Speaker 1: the new way of the Spirit and not in the
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  Speaker 1: old way of the written code. A Jew who loves
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  Speaker 1: the law who strives his entire life to be righteous
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  Speaker 1: before God by knowing the law and keeping the law,
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  Speaker 1: hears Paul say that, and his immediate thought is, wait
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  Speaker 1: a minute, are you saying that the law is sinful?
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  Speaker 2: Because it sounds like to me that's precisely what you're saying, Paul,
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  Speaker 2: that the law of God, and specifically here in this paragraph.
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  Speaker 1: He's talking about the Mosaic law. He's talking about the Decalogue. Paul,
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  Speaker 1: are you saying to me that no other gods before
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  Speaker 1: me is sinful? No graven images is sinful? Don't take
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  Speaker 1: my name in vain is sinful? Honor the Sabbath day
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  Speaker 1: and keep it holy, that's sinful? Honor your father and
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  Speaker 1: your mother, that's sinful? Do not murder, sinful? Do not
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  Speaker 1: commit adultery, sinful? Do not steal, sinful? Do not bear
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  Speaker 1: false witness, sinful? Do not covet, sinful? What is your neighbor's?
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  Speaker 1: Are you saying to me that those things are sinful
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  Speaker 1: and that those things lead us to death? Surely, Paul,
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  Speaker 1: that's not what you're saying. Please tell us that you,
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  Speaker 1: a Jew, a Pharisee, a Benjamite, are not saying that.
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  Speaker 1: Now before he answers the question, let me add something here.
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  Speaker 1: That is what many Christians today say. That the law
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  Speaker 1: is sinful. Oh no, no Christian would ever say that
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  Speaker 1: the law is sinful. Yes, Christians say that. That it's sinful. Sinful.
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  Speaker 1: There is a ministry that we hopefully will have an
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to partner with to do some Bible translations. This
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  Speaker 1: ministry has a partnership with another ministry that translates a
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  Speaker 1: very famous film on the life of Christ. And this
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  Speaker 1: very famous film that's used in the mission field all
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  Speaker 1: over the place for the life of Christ is usually
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  Speaker 1: attached to their translation projects. We were talking with them
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  Speaker 1: about doing a specific translation project in a specific area
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  Speaker 1: where we are very intimately involved. And our response to
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  Speaker 1: them was, we love the idea of the translation project.
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  Speaker 1: You do this very inexpensively. We could probably sponsor this
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  Speaker 1: project as a church. but not if it means that
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  Speaker 1: you translate that film on the life of Christ. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because of the second commandment and graven images. What? What
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  Speaker 1: did you just say? Yeah, because of the second commandment
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  Speaker 1: and graven images. These people don't know anything about God.
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  Speaker 1: You show them a film about God In Christ, there
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  Speaker 1: is a person who's playing God in Christ. Jesus. You
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  Speaker 1: are calling them to be worshippers of God in Christ, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: and you've given them an image of Him in a film.
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  Speaker 1: We believe that's a violation of the second commandment, and
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  Speaker 1: we don't want to fund that. The response? The response? Oh,
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  Speaker 1: that's legalism. Legalism is sinful. The law is sin. Somebody
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  Speaker 1: sends a text, and they put, OMG. And you go,
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  Speaker 1: wait a minute. You can't do that. Why? Because you
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  Speaker 1: just took the name of the Lord in vain. The
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  Speaker 1: response to the person to whom you say that is,
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  Speaker 1: that's legalism. The law is sin. That's what many Christians
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  Speaker 1: today believe. And if you want to test the theory...
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  Speaker 1: Just talk to people about some of these things that
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  Speaker 1: I've just raised here today. We actually believe that it's
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  Speaker 1: the law that's the problem. And so some, when we
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  Speaker 1: hear that we're free from the law, no longer slaves
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  Speaker 1: to the law, that there was death under the law,
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  Speaker 1: but now there's life in Christ, immediately the response is, yes,
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  Speaker 1: that's right, law, bad. Be very careful. Because I don't
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  Speaker 1: just assume that that's not what Paul is saying. I
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  Speaker 1: can guarantee you that that's not what Paul is saying. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because Paul guarantees us in this very paragraph that that's
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  Speaker 1: not what he's saying. Verse 7. What then shall we say?
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  Speaker 1: That the law is sin? There's the phrase again. Meganoitat.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely not. About the strongest phrase he could put right there.
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  Speaker 1: That's the strongest negation in the Greek language. Meganoita. By
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  Speaker 1: saying that the law is sin? Absolutely not. No way,
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  Speaker 1: no how. The answer is no. Bold, italic, underline, triple
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  Speaker 1: exclamation point at the end, no. Yet, If it had
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  Speaker 1: not been for the law, I would not have known sin.
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  Speaker 1: For I would not have known what it is to
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  Speaker 1: covet if the law had not said, you shall not covet.
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  Speaker 1: Kind of like the principle there, you're walking through a park.
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  Speaker 1: You walk through the park, you never, ever, ever think
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  Speaker 1: about touching the benches in the park. In fact, if
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  Speaker 1: you think anything, you think, that's nasty, I don't want
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  Speaker 1: to touch the bench in the park. But all of
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  Speaker 1: a sudden, there's a sign that says, wet paint, do
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  Speaker 1: not touch. What's the first thing you want to do? Why?
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  Speaker 1: Something was awakened in you when you saw a code.
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  Speaker 1: It's fine for you to walk the long way around
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  Speaker 1: on the sidewalk until you see a sign that says,
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  Speaker 1: do not walk on grass. Now you've at least got
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  Speaker 1: to get part of your grass side foot on the grass.
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  Speaker 1: But sin, seizing an opportunity. Notice how sin is personified here. Sin,
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  Speaker 1: seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all
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  Speaker 1: kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin dies.
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  Speaker 1: I was once alive apart from the law. But when
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  Speaker 1: the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The
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  Speaker 1: very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.
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  Speaker 1: For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me
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  Speaker 1: and through it killed me. So the law is holy.
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  Speaker 1: Underline that, please. So the law is holy. His reference
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  Speaker 1: here is to the Mosaic law, to the Ten Commandments.
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  Speaker 1: The law is holy. Holy. And the commandment is holy.
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  Speaker 1: While you're underlining, just underline that too. And righteous. Just
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  Speaker 1: keep moving your pen. And good. The law is holy.
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  Speaker 1: The commandment is holy. It is righteous. It is good.
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  Speaker 1: That's what Paul says. So here's the question, and this
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  Speaker 1: is the question of chapter 7. Remember, we're in this
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  Speaker 1: section on sanctification, this idea of progressive sanctification. And here
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  Speaker 1: in the midst of it, Paul is clarifying the relationship
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  Speaker 1: between sin, law, and death. Because there is a relationship
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  Speaker 1: between sin and law and death. But if we're not careful,
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  Speaker 1: you just take sin, law, death, put them all over
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  Speaker 1: here under the category of don't want that. Paul says
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  Speaker 1: if you do that, you've gotten rid of something that
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  Speaker 1: you should not, under any circumstances, get rid of. And
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  Speaker 1: that is the law. The law is holy. The commandment
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  Speaker 1: is holy. It's righteous. And it's good. So that leaves
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  Speaker 1: us with a question. If the law is holy... and
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  Speaker 1: the commandment, holy, righteous, and good, how do we have
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  Speaker 1: this relationship between sin and death and law? Because it seems,
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  Speaker 1: it doesn't just seem, I mean, Paul has basically said
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  Speaker 1: that it's the law that kills me. But it's good.
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  Speaker 1: How does that work? I'm glad you asked. First, let's
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  Speaker 1: look at what Paul is not saying. Paul is not
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  Speaker 1: saying that people do not have awareness of sin before
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  Speaker 1: the law. Okay? Paul is not saying that people do
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  Speaker 1: not have awareness of sin before the law. We know
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  Speaker 1: that people have awareness of sin before the law. Go
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  Speaker 1: back to chapter 5. Look at 12 through 14 in
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  Speaker 1: chapter 5. Therefore, just as sin came into the world
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  Speaker 1: through one man and death through sin, and so death
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  Speaker 1: spread to all men because all sinned, for sin indeed
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  Speaker 1: was in the world before the law was given. But
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  Speaker 1: sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet
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  Speaker 1: death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose
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  Speaker 1: sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was
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  Speaker 1: a type of the one who was to come. Note
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  Speaker 1: here also that what Paul is talking about here, because
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  Speaker 1: Paul is talking about the law and the Mosaic law,
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  Speaker 1: he's specifically talking about sin here, not in the sort
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  Speaker 1: of nebulous idea that people have a sin nature. He's
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  Speaker 1: talking here about actual transgression of the law of God.
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  Speaker 1: It's very important to note that. We're talking about actual
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  Speaker 1: transgression of the law of God. There is the law
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  Speaker 1: of God and you, by your will, by your volition,
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  Speaker 1: Violate the law of God. Transgress the law of God.
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  Speaker 1: Because something in you desires to do that. And that
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  Speaker 1: something in you is called sin. So specifically here, he's
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  Speaker 1: talking about transgression. The idea of violating God's law. He's
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  Speaker 1: also not saying that people are guiltless before God prior
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  Speaker 1: to the law. How do we know this? Well, back
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  Speaker 1: up some more. Go to Romans chapter 1. Scuderos 18,
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  Speaker 1: for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
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  Speaker 1: all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness
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  Speaker 1: suppress the truth. For what can be known about God
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  Speaker 1: is plain to them because God has shown it to them.
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  Speaker 1: For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature,
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  Speaker 1: have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the
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  Speaker 1: world in the things that have been made so that
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  Speaker 1: they are without excuse. So just because there's not specific
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  Speaker 1: transgression of specific Mosaic code does not mean that people
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  Speaker 1: are somehow guiltless before God, before the law. Also chapter 2.
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  Speaker 1: Look in chapter 2. And verse 12. Look at verse 14.
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  Speaker 1: For when Gentiles who do not have the law by
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  Speaker 1: nature do what the law requires, they are a lot
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  Speaker 1: of themselves even though they do not have the law
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  Speaker 1: verse 15 they show that the work of the law
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  Speaker 1: is written on their hearts while their conscience also bears
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  Speaker 1: witness and sorry You know what, I put a mark
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  Speaker 1: underlining something on one sheet, and it's bled through here,
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  Speaker 1: and it's marked out that word. Somebody give me that word.
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  Speaker 1: And their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them. So again,
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  Speaker 1: Paul's not saying here that people are guiltless before God
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  Speaker 1: prior to the law. That's very important. And the reason
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  Speaker 1: that is important, and the reason that we see this,
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  Speaker 1: is that he's talking specifically here about the Mosaic Code.
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  Speaker 1: Not the law written on man's heart. He's talking specifically
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  Speaker 1: about the Mosaic Code. That's very important if we're going
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  Speaker 1: to understand Romans chapter 7. That specifically, he's talking about
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  Speaker 1: the Decalogue. Those ten words, that transcendent law of God.
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  Speaker 1: There's another question that needs to be answered as we
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  Speaker 1: deal with this particular passage of Scripture. And the question is,
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  Speaker 1: who's I? I know you think that's grammatically incorrect, but
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  Speaker 1: actually it's correct. Who's the I in this paragraph? When
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  Speaker 1: he says... In verse 7. Yet, if it had not
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  Speaker 1: been for the law, I would not have known sin.
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  Speaker 1: For I would not have known what it is to
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  Speaker 1: covet if the law had not said, you shall not covet.
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  Speaker 1: It seems clear enough that, well, Paul says, I, therefore
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  Speaker 1: the I is Paul. Not so fast. Some would argue
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  Speaker 1: that the I here is Adam. Paul's using an illustration.
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  Speaker 1: And in the illustration, the I is Adam. Why? Well,
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  Speaker 1: because there's a statement here. Apart from the law, sin
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  Speaker 1: is dead. If Paul's talking about himself, and he says
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  Speaker 1: apart from the law, sin is dead, is there a
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  Speaker 1: time when Paul's living apart from the law? Nope, but
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  Speaker 1: there's a time Adam's living apart from the law. Mosaic code,
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  Speaker 1: there's no mosaic code with Adam. Therefore, we can take
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  Speaker 1: that literally. And in verse 9, when he says, look
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  Speaker 1: for example in verse 9, I was once alive apart
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  Speaker 1: from the law. Boy, who does that fit better than Adam?
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  Speaker 1: Then it says, sin killed me. Actually, for Adam, that's
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  Speaker 1: very literal. I was alive, then sin killed me. For me,
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  Speaker 1: I was never alive. For me, I've always been dead
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  Speaker 1: in my trespasses and sins. I was born in my sin.
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  Speaker 1: Adam was not. There was a moment when sin killed him.
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  Speaker 1: There are objections, however. The objection, for example, is the
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  Speaker 1: fact that Paul's talking about the Mosaic Code. So, whereas
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  Speaker 1: these statements really fit when you're talking about this experience
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  Speaker 1: of being there before the law and then coming in
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  Speaker 1: contact with the law, Paul talks about the specific commandment,
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  Speaker 1: number 10, don't covet. Adam didn't have that one. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: a typical example is Adam. Some argue, however, that Paul's
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  Speaker 1: talking about Israel. Israel is the one who was without
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  Speaker 1: the law. Then they got the covenant at Sinai. So, again,
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  Speaker 1: that fits. They received the law at Sinai. Subsequently, they disobeyed.
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  Speaker 1: And then they experienced the same kind of death that
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  Speaker 1: Adam experienced because they disobeyed. Again, There's difficulty here because
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  Speaker 1: the claim is I was alive before the law. And really,
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  Speaker 1: this nation that is covenanted with God can't make that
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  Speaker 1: statement because it's the law that brings them into that
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  Speaker 1: covenantal relationship. Then there's the argument that it's Paul. The
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  Speaker 1: argument that it's Paul is easy enough. He uses I,
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  Speaker 1: the Greek ego. I is me. Me. It's very personal,
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  Speaker 1: especially when we get to the paragraph that we're going
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  Speaker 1: to talk about on next week. When it gets to
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  Speaker 1: this sort of crescendo of anguish and then deliverance, that
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  Speaker 1: is very personal. Paul's talking about himself. Difficult, though, because
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  Speaker 1: when is he without the law? The other question, of course,
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  Speaker 1: is there's a reference here to having life and then
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  Speaker 1: having death. How do you get that? If you believe
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  Speaker 1: that you're born in sin, had life, and then the
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  Speaker 1: law brought death, that becomes difficult. So then some argue
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  Speaker 1: that it's actually more of an existential use of I,
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  Speaker 1: and Paul's using an illustration here that is true of
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  Speaker 1: every man. Finally, there's the argument that it's a combination.
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  Speaker 1: Some argue that basically Paul's talking about himself, and he's
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  Speaker 1: talking about Israel. So, What's the answer? Because I know
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: that's what you want me to know, what you want
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: me to tell you. What you want me to do
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: is you want me to sift through all of these
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: people who've had this argument for hundreds of years and
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: just tell you with absolute certainty, who's the I? Okay,
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: let me tell you with absolute certainty. I don't know.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: I believe the I is Paul. But Adam is included
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: in this experience because Paul's experience is not unique. Paul's
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: a man just like the rest of us. Israel's experience,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: not excluded. Why? Because Israel's experience is mirrored in this
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: experience of Paul. The idea of every man, that's not excluded. Why?
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Because Paul's using this particular illustration differently. Because every man
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: can put himself in the shoes of the eye here.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: So I believe that Paul here is using this eye
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: to refer to himself, but he is speaking broadly about
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: what sin does. Because he's speaking broadly about what sin does,
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: and he's making a universal statement about sin and the law,
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: it's easy to apply this. And to see Adam's experience here.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: Though not perfectly. To see Israel's experience here. Though not perfectly.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: To see Paul's experience here. To see my experience here.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: So Paul's not talking about a story of something that
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: happened to him uniquely that's never happened to another person
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: so that another person can't really identify. Paul's talking about
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: the experience that he has here. Here's the other thing.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Paul is speaking as a believer. And as a believer,
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: he is taking his new insight and looking back over
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: his relationship with the law and making a statement that
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: you can only make as you understand sin from this
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: side of the cross. You've got to understand Paul's purpose.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Three things here. His purpose number one, and he does
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: this immediately. This is what I love about these Meganoita statements.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: When Paul raises these questions that have been asked to him,
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: and then you get Meganoita, here's what you get. You
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: get his answer in a nutshell, and then you get
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: the theological explanation for his answer. So what's his purpose?
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: His purpose, first and foremost, is to exonerate the law.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: His purpose is to exonerate the law. In his first
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: statement and in his last statement of this paragraph, he
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: exonerates the law. First statement of the paragraph in verse 7.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: What then shall we say? That the law is sin
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: by no means. There's the answer. That's the short answer.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: Now let me give you the theology behind the short answer.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: And at the end, I'm going to come to the
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: same place. Where does he come to? Look at the
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: last verse. Verse 12. So the law is holy and
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Here's the question.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: Let me give you the short answer. Let me give
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: you the theological explanation for the short answer. And at
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: the end, let me come back and reiterate my answer.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: So his purpose is to exonerate the law. But he
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: has to explain the relationship between law and sin and
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: death in order to exonerate the law. Finally, we have
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: to remember and keep this in context. He's advancing his
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: teaching on progressive sanctification. He wants you to understand this
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: process of sanctification and what role the law plays in sanctification.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: And this is crucial. Because if we miss this point,
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: then we go on trying to obey God, but not
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: having a standard by which to judge obedience. And you
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: can't get there from here. So there's a ditch on
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: both sides of the road. On the one side, there's
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: the ditch that says, the law will make me righteous.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: On the other side, there's a ditch that says, the
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: law is evil. I need to stay away from it.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: On the one side, you get legalism. On the other side,
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: you get antinomianism. In the middle of that, you get Christianity. First,
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: his exoneration of the law. We see that in verse 7a.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: The law is not sin. We also see that in 12.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Paul exonerates the law. The law is not sin. The
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: law is holy. The commandment is holy. The commandment is righteous.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: The commandment is good. That's his statement. That's his answer.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: He exonerates it. But what about the theology that exonerates
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: the law? You've got to explain it in light of
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: the statements that he's made earlier. Well, secondly, he says
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: that the law reveals sin, and that's what makes transgression possible. Remember,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: transgression is this act of open defiance against the particular
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: code that God lays down. And it's only when you
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: see the particular code that this thing can come alive.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: There's something in you that is at enmity with God.
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: And it is not until you come face to face
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: with this perfect law that you know this. Sin lies
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: dormant in your members ruling you by default. See that
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: in Ephesians 2, 1 through 3. With no opposition until
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: the law of God lays down the gauntlet. See, your
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: sin nature is just ruling you. It just has you.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: And everything is fine. The culture continues to sear your conscience.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: Over and over and over again. And everything's just great.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: And you go along. And you're a good person and
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: you're a decent person. In fact, you're even a more
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: decent person than other people. Your sin nature when you're
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: out there in the world, trust me, here's how bad
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: it is. Your sin nature when you're out there in
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: the world will have you looking at this in, you know,
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Klein High School next week, and when the conversation comes
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: up and somebody actually says that there's something wrong with this,
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: those who are ruled by the sin nature actually look
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: at them and see the enemy and see evil. See,
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: the sin nature is fine when your relationship is like that.
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: But when God's law says no to what your sin
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: nature wants, it wakes up and it fights. It tries
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: to exert its ownership and its claim on you. And
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: it says, no, not by that standard, by my standard.
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: And it's only when your sin comes face to face
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: with the law that it wakes up like that and
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: it fights like that and there is this open, declared
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: war against God. It's as though sin just infringes upon
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: your territory, God's territory. And you wake up one day
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: and realize that the fences have been overrun. And sin
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: looks back and says, how dare you claim that this
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: is not my territory. Secondly, this is why it's important
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: to preach the law and the gospel. Let me say
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: that again. This is why it's important to preach the law.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: And the gospel. This war has to be declared. It
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: is unfortunate that in many instances and in many places
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: and many circles, the idea is that you stay away
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: from the law. Which, by the way, comes from the
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: idea that the law is bad. Again, you read these
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: statements from Romans without reading the whole letter, and you go,
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: law bad, law kills, death when the law, so on,
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: so on, so on, so on. Stay away from the law.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: But grace. So what do you do? We're going to
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: major on grace. We're going to major on grace. Or
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: as our neighbor Joel Osteen says, people know how bad
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: they are. They don't need to hear that. That's a lie.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: That's a lie. People have no idea how bad they are.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: They think they're good because they tolerate sin like the
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: culture says they're supposed to tolerate sin. It's not until
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: someone stands up and proclaims the law of God that
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: they realize they're outside of the camp. And it's only
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: when they realize that they're outside of the camp that
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: we can begin to deal with them. But as long
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: as man thinks he's okay... There is no sense of
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: urgency in his heart. But when he realizes that he
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: has offended a holy and righteous God, and that God
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: will consume and destroy him unless he repents, now it's
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: time to do business with God. So the adversary has
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: coaxed even those who call themselves Christians into treating the
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: law like a pariah. When Paul says in Galatians, it's
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: actually a tutor. It exposes our great sin and our
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: great need. Do this. Beyond his exoneration of the law,
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: there's also this explanation of the relationship between sin and law.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: And specifically, transgression and law. Catechism for boys and girls. Okay?
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Nice and loud, children. Are you ready? What is sin altogether?
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: Sin is any transgression of the law of God. That's sin.
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: Sin is any transgression of the law of God. Folks,
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: if you don't think it's important to catechize your children,
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: I want you to know here and now it is.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: They need to know what sin is. That sin is
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: transgression of the law of God. By the way, if
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: you don't think it's important to catechize you, know now
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: that it is. Amen? This is a Westminster Shorter Catechism.
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: the law of God. See, Catechism for Boys and Girls
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: gives you the simplified version. Okay? Not just transgression, but
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: any want of conformity to. So, either by omission or commission.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: It's sin. Sin. If you are not conforming to God's
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: law or you are actively violating God's law, you are
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: in sin. Now, sin produces desires contrary to God's revealed law.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: There's a relationship between sin and law. The law is
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: held up like a mirror. And what it does is
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: it produces, allows sin to awaken and produce those desires
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: that are contrary to God's law. That lets you know
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: that you have a problem. That you are at odds
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: with God. We think we're okay with God. And ultimately,
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: here's what people believe generally. We believe that people are
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: okay with God unless and until they become Adolf Hitler.
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's what we believe. Hell is really small.
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: It's like six, seven, eight people there. Tops. Okay? I mean,
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: that's what we believe. And we believe that most people
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: are basically good. We believe that man is basically good.
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: You know what the law does? The law comes along,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: and you hold up the law, and all of a
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: sudden these people who say we're all basically good see
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: the law of God, and on the inside of them
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: something says, we don't like that. By the way, it
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: says we not because it's French, but because it owns you.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: And it wants you to know that it owns you.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: Law of God, we don't like that. We need to
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: find a way around that. That can't be good. In fact,
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: this can't be Christianity. We need to get away from
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: these people. Because these people, don't they know that we're
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: not under law? Don't they know that the law kills?
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: Don't they know that the end of the law is death?
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: Sin takes the opportunity. Look at verse 8. But sin
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: seizing an opportunity through the commandment. produced in me all
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: kinds of covetousness specific to the commandment. Then look at
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: verses 9 through 11. Sin goes on and deceives and kills.
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: It's active. It's active. Look at it. Verse 9. I
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: was once alive apart from the law, but when the
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: commandment came, sin came alive and I died. There's a
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: mini chiasm there. I'm alive, sin is dead, sin's alive,
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: I'm dead. We can't both work this thing out together.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: One of us has to die. For sin, here's that
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: phrase again, seizing an opportunity through the commandment deceived me
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: and through it killed me. This is one of the
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: problems here. The idea that it killed me, that somehow
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: you were alive and then you were dead. Well, wait
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: a minute, you're dead in your transgressions, dead in your
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: trespasses and sins. How do you get alive and then
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: get made dead? Paul's making the theological statement here. There's
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: an illustration here. The illustration is we both can't live.
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: The illustration is that before sin meets the commandment and
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: there's this actual transgression, you don't realize, you're not even
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: aware of the fact that you're at enmity with God.
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: All of a sudden, you wake up one day and
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: you go, you know what? I think God hates me.
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: Because I'm a transgressor. He's angry with the wicked every day.
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: And I'm wicked. I spent my whole life thinking that
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: I was alright. But now, all of a sudden, something
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: is awakened in me and it hates the law of God.
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: And where I once was alive, I'm dead. Because we
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: both can't live. That's the statement here His final statement.
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: Because what's happening here is that the law is this
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: objective reality. And sin merely seizes upon the opportunity presented
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: by the law. He makes this statement in verse 12.
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: So the law is holy. The commandment is holy and
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: righteous and good. The law is holy. The commandment is
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: holy and righteous and good. Think about it this way.
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: You are walking and you're not paying attention. And there's
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: a speed bump. And you walk over the speed bump
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: and you fall and you break your wrist. Classic wrist break,
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: trying to catch yourself, break your wrist. You look back
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: and you go, ah, that speed bump. No, speed bump's
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: doing exactly what it's supposed to do. You've tripped over it.
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: And you were crushed because you tripped over it, but
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: it was there doing exactly what it was supposed to do. Now,
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: this illustration, of course, breaks down. Why? Because the speed
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: bump's just there. The law, it's actually good. It's actually righteous.
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: It's actually holy. Here's the other thing. With the speed bump,
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: you just weren't paying attention. With the law, you hate it.
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: You despise it because of sin that is in you.
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: Note also the specific sin that he uses. It's coveting. Now,
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: here's what's interesting about him using coveting. First, coveting is
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: the only commandment in the Decalogue related directly to the
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: heart and its desires. It's the only, just like, you know,
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: honor your father and your mother. Paul says it's the
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: first one with a promise. It's really the only one
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: with a promise, okay? You shall not covet is the
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: only one related to your desires. Think about the second
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: table of the law. The second table of the law,
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: there's just these statements. Don't do this, don't do this,
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: don't do this, don't do this. With covet, It says,
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: don't on the inside of you yearn for. Not just
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: don't do something. Don't in your heart, on the inside
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: of you, yearn for. It's strategic that Paul uses do
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: not covet here at this point. He doesn't just randomly
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: pick one of the ten. He specifically picks the one
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: that goes to the issue of the heart. Listen to
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: Hendrickson on this. It's not surprising that it was especially
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: this tenth commandment that stopped Paul in his tracks. The
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: other commandments superficially interpreted forbid transgressions that are or seem
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: to be of more or less external character, especially those
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: of the second table. By the way, James identifies this
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: tenth commandment with murder. Look at what James says. James
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: chapter 4, verses 1 and 2. What causes quarrels and
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: your passions are at war within you? You desire and
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain,
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: so you fight and quarrel. Murdering, fighting, quarreling. These things
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: are connected to the tenth commandment. Jesus identifies coveting with adultery.
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: You've heard it said, don't commit adultery. I say if
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: you've lusted after a woman in your heart, what's that?
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: It's coveting. You've already committed adultery with her. Paul identifies
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: it more broadly with idolatry, which takes the tenth commandment
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: up into the first table of the law. The first
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: four commandments. Paul says in Ephesians 5.5, For you may
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: or impure or who is covetous, that is an idolater,
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: Then again, Colossians 3, 5, Put to death, therefore, what
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passions, evil desires,
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: and covetousness, which is idolatry. Paul is not just picking
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: out covetousness because that happens to be the commandment that
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: he ran up against when this sin thing came alive
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: in him. He picks covetousness because it is at the
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: root and the core of all of our sin and
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: transgression of the law of God. Either you want what
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: your neighbor has, second table of the law, or you
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: want God's throne, first table of the law. And in
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: either instance, it's covetousness. It's the root of all of
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: our transgressions of the law of God. No matter what
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: they are. I am God. You should have known that
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: God's before me. Yeah, but I want to be first.
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: I covet that. Honor your father and your mother. No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no.
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: I want to be in charge of my life. To
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: not commit adultery. No. I want what I want and
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: whom I want. Do not lie. No. I desire to
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: protect myself from harm and from other people knowing my guilt. Therefore...
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: it's all rooted in coveting after something. It is the
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: core of our sinful nature and our sinful desires. Paul
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: says that. when it meets the law, is what kills
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: you on the spot. Listen to the Heidelberg Catechism. Because
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: I think it gets this quite well. What does the
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: Tenth Commandment require of us? that even the smallest inclination
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: or thought, contrary to any of God's commandments, never rise
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: in our hearts, but that at all times we hate
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: all sin with our whole heart and delight in all righteousness.
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: You've never done that a day in your life. And
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: you won't until the day of your death. So then,
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: what do I do? I'll give you that next week.
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: But let me give you a preview. I wanted you
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: to have that moment of despair. Because that's what we're
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: coming to in the next paragraph. There's that moment of despair.
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: And Paul asked the question, what will deliver me from
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: this body of death? His answer is Jesus. And it's
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: a beautiful play on words. What will deliver me from
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: this body of death? A dead body. Here's how he
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: advances his teaching on progressive sanctification in this paragraph. He
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: lets us know that the law does not sanctify. He
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: makes that clear. The law does not sanctify it. We
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: need the gospel to sanctify it. Legalism will not do.
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: That's that first ditch. Legalism will not do. You cannot
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: get there from here. But on the other side, Paul
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: wants us to know antinomianism will not do. We must
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: keep the law. We must. We must be holy. We
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: must be righteous. And the standard for holiness and righteousness
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: is God's law. Well, wait a minute. I thought you
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: just said that we don't keep the law. No, I
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: just said you can't be justified by the law. But
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: when you are justified, you are declared righteous. How do
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: you define righteousness? By God's moral code. How are you
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: going to be declared righteous by God's moral code and
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: then your life not be configured in accordance with God's
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: moral code? Yeah, but I thought you said that the law,
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: all that's true about the law. We are free in Christ.
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: Free from what? Well, we're free from the penalty that
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: is ours for not keeping the law. But we're free
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: to what? Keep the law. But not by our own
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: doing or to our own merit. And again, we'll get
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: there in chapter 8, but remember, we're being conformed to
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: the image of His Son. Who's His Son? Who's His Son?
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: The holy, righteous, good, spotless, sinless, law-keeping Lamb of God. Boy,
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: there seems to be tension there. Exactly what you see
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: in the next paragraph. Exactly what you see in the
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: next paragraph. Listen to this from Tom Schreiner. It's a
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: little extensive, but we just, we have to. Those who
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: believe that the answer to human evil is to teach
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: the Torah are simply mistaken, according to Paul. Sin subverts
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: the Torah to advance its purpose and actually stimulates and
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: provokes the desire to sin through the Torah. This is
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: not to deny that the law promises life to those
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: who keep it, Leviticus 18.5. Nor does it lead to
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: the conclusion that the law is evil. The law and
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: the commandments are good and a revelation of God's will.
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: But Paul's point flies in the face of the defender
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: of the Torah who teaches that the law is the
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: antidote to human evil. The law itself does not supply
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: any power to human beings. Those who have the law
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: but lack the Spirit cannot keep it and are destined
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: for death. Let me leave you with this. If you
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: hear this, Don't parent like a legalist. Are you giving
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: your children the law and raising them in such a
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: way that you are teaching by default that law keeping
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: is what being a good person is all about? Do
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: your children get from you law, law, law, law, law?
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: And no gospel? I hope not. I hope not. Because
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: the law kills. It's the Spirit that gives life. I
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: hope you are putting the law before your children and
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: the threatenings that come with it. What God says about
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: those things that we do in violation of His law,
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: but I hope that at the same time you realize
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: that what we must do is not end there. We
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: have to get to a place where we cause them
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: to realize their great need for Christ and His redemption
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: and that that is their deliverance, not the hope that
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: someday they'll stop being disobedient on their own. Because that day,
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: theologically speaking, ain't coming. And if we're raising our children
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: to hope for that day and yearn for that day
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: and believe in that day, when they can somehow stop
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: being obedient by the exercise of their will, we are
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: raising legalists who are storing up wrath from God. Do
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: they need the law? Yes, they do. But they need
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: to know that it's not enough. And they need to
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: know that it is a tutor. And it's a tutor
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: to lead them to the person and work of Jesus Christ,
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: who is their ultimate and only hope. The law is good.
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: The law is righteous. The law is holy. And apart
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: from the gospel, it is nothing but death. Let's pray.