Participants: Doug Batchelor
Series Code: 17SCM
Program Code: 17SCM000016A
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00:14 Welcome to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting 2017,
00:18 Exposing the Counterfeit. 00:23 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Camp Meeting. 00:26 We have been so tremendously blessed. 00:29 Can we all say amen to that? Amen. 00:31 And the blessing continues. 00:33 This has been... 00:34 This continues to be our Spring Camp Meeting 00:37 here in Southern Illinois at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:40 If you are in the vicinity, it is not too late to drive by, 00:42 we have another power-packed day 00:45 coming up tomorrow. 00:46 But tonight, I'm so excited that my good friend, 00:50 long time friend, Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:53 We have known each other for long time. 00:56 I knew him when my hair was black, 00:58 and he knew me when... 01:00 I knew him when he had hair and he knew me 01:04 when my hair was black. 01:06 And praise the Lord, 01:08 in 1987 I began a pastoral ministry 01:10 as his singing evangelist and also Bible worker, 01:14 and we have been serving the Lord ever since. 01:16 So tonight is a wonderful privilege 01:18 to be able to have him here. 01:20 And whenever he comes, 01:22 he brings a couple of things with him. 01:23 One, the Spirit of the Lord. 01:25 Secondly, the truth of God's Word. 01:27 Amen someone? Amen. 01:28 And tonight's topic is one that I want you to hold on 01:31 to your seats for. 01:33 I know that he has a lot of slides, 01:34 and he says, "They want me to make a plane, 01:36 I'm gonna do that." 01:38 Tonight's topic is, Is Obedience Legalism... 01:42 And the title is right there, If You're Saved by Grace. 01:46 But before he comes, 01:48 I'm gonna give him the privilege to pray. 01:50 But before he comes, another good friend of ours, 01:53 Tim Parton, man, blessed, a minister of music. 01:56 And he is going to set the tone tonight 01:58 as he brings to us the wonderful message 02:01 that God has placed on his heart. 02:04 After Tim, the next voice that you will hear 02:07 will be that of Pastor Doug Batchelor. 02:09 Amen. 03:27 Jesus is the sweetest name I know 03:33 And He's just the same as His lovely name 03:42 And that's the reason why I love Him so 03:50 For Jesus is the sweetest name I know 04:32 Amen. 04:38 Good evening, everyone. 04:40 Good evening. Good to see you. 04:42 It's a delight to be back with our 3ABN friends and family 04:46 and especially to be able to open 04:48 the Word of God with you 04:49 during this important Camp Meeting weekend. 04:51 We're gonna be talking about 04:53 just some of the most important themes 04:57 in combating the counterfeit. 04:59 And thank you, Tim, for that beautiful music as well. 05:04 Now I'm just gonna tell you right now, 05:06 I'm not gonna have enough time to cover 05:08 what I wanna talk about. 05:10 But once we get that out of the way... 05:11 And if I put this put this down here, 05:13 then I can see you better. 05:14 Once we get that out of the way, 05:16 then I'll just relax and do as well as I can. 05:17 But before we began, I'd like to pray. 05:21 Loving Father in Heaven, we just thank You 05:23 that You have preserved this opportunity for us 05:26 to come together as Your children 05:28 to seek to know what is truth. 05:30 We pray that You'll just bless 05:32 every aspect of this presentation 05:34 that You and Your Word will be glorified, 05:37 and be with the broadcast that is going out 05:39 so that many around the world will hear 05:41 and hearts will be transformed. 05:43 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 05:48 As John mentioned earlier, 05:50 the title of our presentation tonight... 05:52 Oh, I guess we're having some microphone problems. 05:55 Switching mic. 05:59 As John was sharing with you 06:00 the title for our presentation tonight 06:03 is dealing with the subject of Is Obedience Legalism? 06:07 And if obedience is legalism, are you still saved by grace? 06:14 Now there's a lot of theological things 06:15 you could talk about 06:16 that might mean a change in your thinking, 06:19 but not understanding this subject 06:21 can make the difference in whether or not you are saved. 06:24 And so there are few things 06:26 that really are more important than this issue. 06:29 You ever heard about compass interference? 06:34 Years ago, they used to take the compasses of these ships, 06:38 you know, for thousands of years, 06:40 they've had primitive compasses, 06:42 but they realized that iron would interfere 06:44 with reaction of the compass. 06:47 And so they put them up, 06:48 they case them in brass usually, 06:50 they put them up on the mast 06:52 so that there wouldn't be any iron 06:54 or worse thing of all a magnet interfering 06:58 with the pointing of a compass 06:59 or you just would never get to your designation. 07:02 And I fly. 07:04 I have had the same plane for about 24 years. 07:08 When I first get ready to take off, 07:10 I used to always calibrate 07:12 all my instruments by the compass. 07:13 Now everybody uses GPS, and all of that hard work 07:17 I did getting my license years ago 07:20 where you had to calculate the wind variation 07:22 and all these weight and balance measurements, 07:24 and so many things, the GPS does it all now. 07:28 So your brains just sort of get weak. 07:30 But I remember hearing about a pilot up in Alaska, 07:33 that he went on a trip cross country, 07:36 and he adjusted his attitude indicator 07:40 by his compass 07:41 and as he was flying across country, 07:43 he realized his city he was going to 07:46 did not appear below him. 07:49 And he couldn't figure out, then he looked up on his dash 07:51 and he had thrown a transistor radio 07:54 upon his dash 07:55 and the magnet in the speaker had thrown off his compass. 07:58 And when he moved the radio 08:00 he saw the compass needle correct. 08:01 At this point, he didn't even know where he was. 08:05 There is no GPS back then. 08:07 He ended up crash landing, he survived, 08:09 but he learned a very valuable lesson. 08:12 That just a little bit of compass interference 08:16 can leave you completely disoriented. 08:19 There is a teaching that has become very prevalent 08:24 within Christian churches that basically says that, 08:27 "When you are saved by grace, you no longer need law." 08:31 That is a lie. It is not true. 08:34 There are some verses in the Bible 08:35 when they take them out of context, 08:38 it could leave you with that impression. 08:40 That's with the very elementary look at it. 08:43 Matter of fact, I'd like to begin 08:44 by inviting you to go... 08:47 You're gonna probably be surprised, 08:48 I wanna talk to you 08:50 about something Peter says, 2 Peter 3:15. 08:54 And I love to hear people rustle their Bibles. 08:59 2 Peter 3:15, "And consider that the longsuffering 09:03 of our Lord is salvation, as our beloved brother Paul 09:07 according to the wisdom given him has written unto you. 09:10 As also in all his epistles, 09:12 speaking in them of these things 09:15 in which are some things hard to be understand." 09:17 Now this is the only time I know of in the Bible 09:20 where one inspired Bible writer, 09:22 speaking about another inspired Bible writer says, 09:26 "What he writes is inspired, 09:27 but some of it is difficult to understand." 09:30 Listen, "In which are some things 09:33 hard to understood." 09:35 Our beloved brother Paul writes some things 09:36 that are hard to understand. 09:37 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 09:41 "Which the untaught 09:43 and unstable people twist to their own destruction." 09:48 Misunderstanding these things can destroy you 09:52 as they do the rest of the scriptures. 09:54 "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, 09:57 beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness 10:02 being led away with the error of the wicked." 10:05 And that word wicked 10:06 there is the error of the lawless. 10:09 What was happening is they were taking 10:11 some statements that Paul made. 10:14 And because they did not read it in context, 10:16 they were twisting it leaving people with the idea 10:20 that it's okay to live a lawless life. 10:22 Even Paul himself comments on this. 10:24 You're looking Romans 3:8, "And why not say, 10:27 'Let us do evil so that good may come?' 10:30 As we are slanderously reported, 10:33 and as some affirm that we say. 10:36 Their condemnation is just." 10:37 Paul says, "People are slandering 10:39 what we say and interpreting my teachings to imply 10:43 that somehow by continuing to sin graceful abound, 10:46 'Do evil that good may come.'" 10:47 And he said, "Their condemnation is just." 10:49 And Paul's saying, "That's not what I'm saying." 10:52 And so way back in the beginning 10:54 of the new testimony here, they were misunderstanding 10:57 some of these things. 10:58 Let me read some of the verses 11:00 that will you an example of what I'm talking about. 11:03 For example, if you read in 2 Corinthians 3:2, 11:07 Paul said, "You are our epistle written in our hearts, 11:10 known and read by all men, 11:12 clearly you are an epistle of Christ 11:14 ministered to by us written not with ink, 11:17 but the Spirit of living God, not on tablets of stone, 11:21 but on tablets of flesh that is at the heart." 11:24 And people say, "See, we no longer need 11:27 the tablets of stone 11:29 because now we go by the Spirit, 11:31 it's written in our hearts." 11:34 You don't need the law anymore 11:36 because we're under the New Covenant. 11:37 Have you heard that before? 11:39 Galatians 2:19, "For I, through the law, 11:43 died to the law that I might live to God." 11:45 See, we're dead to the law, we don't keep the law anymore. 11:49 Or read Ephesians 2:15, 11:51 "Having abolished the law in his flesh the enmity 11:55 that of the law of commandments contained in ordinances. 11:58 So to create in himself one new man, 12:01 from the two thus making peace." 12:03 He's abolished in his flesh, the law. 12:06 And over and over, Christ fulfilled the law. 12:08 Have you heard that? 12:10 With that backdrop, the conclusion people come to 12:13 is that New Testament Christians 12:15 are no longer under an obligation 12:16 to keep the Ten Commandments. 12:18 And so my effort is gonna be to try to explain to you 12:22 why it is so important to understand 12:25 the right relationship between law and grace. 12:28 And especially in the last days... 12:31 Now first of all, we should put the priority 12:33 where god puts the priority. 12:34 Amen. 12:36 You might give a greeting card 12:38 to somebody on a piece of paper. 12:40 Now people email cards. 12:42 But usually, tombstones are not written on paper. 12:47 They are written on stone because you want it to last. 12:52 Things written on stone are meant to be enduring. 12:56 God wrote the ordinances of Moses 12:59 were written by the hand of Moses on paper. 13:02 Ten Commandants were spoken by God, 13:04 written by God's finger, written on stone. 13:07 If God goes to those lengths to prioritize the law, 13:11 we ought to realize it's important to Him. 13:13 Now I wanna go to Revelation 14, 13:16 and just talking about the two final groups 13:18 in the last days, 13:19 you'll see why this can be an issue. 13:22 Revelation 14:9, 13:24 "Then a third angel followed them, 13:26 saying with a loud voice, 13:28 'If anyone worships the beast in his image, 13:30 and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 13:34 he himself will also drink the wine 13:36 of the wrath of God 13:37 that is poured out in full strength 13:39 into the cup of His indignation. 13:42 He will be tormented with fire and brimstone 13:44 in the presence of the holy angles 13:46 and in the presence of the Lamb.'" 13:49 And so here, we're being told that 13:50 the most severe judgment 13:54 that you find in the Bible is poured upon 13:56 those who worship the beast and his image, 13:58 and receive the mark of the beast. 13:59 Now that contrasted, you read just down 14:02 to verse 12 and listen what it says. 14:04 Speaking of the saved, 14:05 "Here is the patience of the saints, 14:07 here are those who keep the commandments of God 14:10 and the faith of Jesus." 14:11 So on one hand, it contrasts those who keep the commandments 14:15 against those who worship the image. 14:17 Now what's wrong with worshipping an image? 14:20 Is there a commandment somewhere that says 14:22 something about idolatry? 14:24 Yes. 14:25 Do you find this in the Old Testament 14:27 being an important issue? 14:29 You read in Revelation 13:15, 14:31 that's just the New Testament still. 14:34 "He was given power to give breath 14:37 to the image of the beast," 14:39 this is idolatry, "that the image of the beast 14:42 should both speak 14:43 and cause as many as would not worship 14:45 the image of the beast should to be killed." 14:47 A death decree on those who do not bow down to the image. 14:51 This is drawn from a story you find in Daniel 3 14:54 where Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, 14:56 and in Revelation 17 talks about Babylon, 14:59 compares it to the beast. 15:02 Daniel 3, those three Hebrew worthies 15:05 would not bow down to the image 15:08 and they were going to be killed 15:09 because of that, but God stood up for them. 15:11 Why couldn't they bow down? 15:13 Because it was idolatry. 15:16 They had to choose between the commandants of God 15:18 and the commandants of men. 15:20 Go to Daniel 6, "Establish a royal statute 15:24 and to make a firm decree, 15:25 that whoever petitions any god or man 15:27 for 30 days, expect you, O king, 15:29 will be cast into the den of lions." 15:31 Here you've got a law that says 15:33 unless you break the first commandment, 15:35 thou shall not have other gods, you're going to die. 15:38 Daniel stands up for God and God sends His Angel, 15:42 you know, Nebuchadnezzar said God has sent His angel 15:45 to deliver them in the fiery furnace. 15:47 King Darius, God sent His angel 15:49 to save Daniel in the lions' den. 15:51 You go to Hebrews 11, it says, "We are saved by faith," 15:55 and it says, "Through faith 15:57 the mouths of lions were stopped 15:59 and through faith the violence of the fire was quenched." 16:03 What do you think Paul is talking about? 16:05 The faith of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 16:08 because they put the commandments of God first, 16:11 they had faith enough to obey. 16:13 Now there's the point. 16:15 We all believe we're saved by faith, 16:17 how did Daniel demonstrate his faith? 16:20 You know, when they took Daniel out of the lion's den, 16:22 it says no manner of hurt was found on him 16:24 because he believed in his God. 16:28 So what does it mean to believe? 16:30 Just to accept mentally that Jesus is real 16:32 or does it believe mean to be live. 16:35 Whoever believes in Him... 16:36 when Jesus says, "Follow me." 16:38 You say, "I believe you, Lord." 16:40 But you follow the devil, you don't believe in Him. 16:45 All right, I'm gonna go through a series of questions here. 16:47 First of all, I wanna just lay some ground work. 16:50 Can God's moral law or the Ten Commandments 16:54 ever be amended or repealed? 16:57 Can you get rid of it? No. 16:58 Psalm 89:34, "My covenant will I not break, 17:01 nor alter nor change the thing that is gone out of my lips." 17:06 God keeps His covenants. 17:08 Are the Ten Commandments part of a covenant? 17:10 Yes. They are. 17:11 They are part of the Old Covenant, 17:14 but they're part of the New Covenant. 17:15 Follow me. 17:17 Psalm 11: 7 and 8, 17:19 "All of His commandments are sure. 17:21 They stand fast forever and ever." 17:24 For how long? Forever. 17:25 How many commandments? All. 17:27 All of His commandments. 17:29 He's talking about the Ten Commandments. 17:30 And you might say, "Well, there are some commandments 17:32 that are passing." 17:33 If there are any laws that are not passing, 17:37 which ones would they be? 17:39 Certainly the Ten Commandments, right? 17:41 Where God summarized those the two great commandments 17:44 of love the Lord 17:45 and love your neighbor are summarized in those ten. 17:49 Malachi 3:6, He says, 17:51 "For I am the Lord, I don't change." 17:55 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." 17:58 And that's Hebrew 13. 18:00 Now why is this so important to us? 18:03 Because the law of God is a reflection 18:07 of the character of God. 18:09 I want you to notice that those who are suggesting that 18:11 we get rid of the law of God 18:13 are really trying to get rid of God. 18:14 Yes. 18:16 Because I've got some verses here 18:17 that will show you the characteristics of God 18:20 are not only the characteristics of God, 18:22 it's the characteristics of the law. 18:25 For example, the Bible says in Luke 18:19, "God is good." 18:30 Paul says, "The law is good." 18:33 Isaiah 5:16, "The law is holy." 18:36 Paul says Romans 7:12, "The law is holy." 18:39 Deuteronomy 32:4, "The God is just." 18:43 Romans 7:12, "The law is just." 18:45 Matthew 5:48, "God is perfect." 18:48 Psalm 19:7, "The law is perfect." 18:51 1 John 4:8, "God is love." 18:55 It says in Romans 13:10, "The law is love." 18:58 Now I don't even have time to read you all the verses, 19:00 but the Bible says, "God is righteous." 19:02 It says, "His law is righteous. 19:04 God is Truth. The law is truth. 19:06 God is pure. The law is pure. 19:08 God is spiritual. The law is spiritual. 19:10 God is unchangeable. God is eternal." 19:12 And these are the same things it says about the law. 19:15 So when people are making an effort 19:17 to get rid of the law of God. 19:20 They're really trying to get rid of God 19:22 because the law of God is an expression of who He is. 19:25 He is love. 19:28 And Paul said all the commandment 19:29 can be summarized in love. 19:31 Amen. 19:32 Not because it's done away with through love, 19:35 but love is the fulfilling 19:37 our filling full of those commandments. 19:41 All right, according to the Bible, 19:43 let's get to the basics here, what is sin? 19:46 We have got a problem, 19:48 I remember Joe Chris used to say, 19:49 "Every good sermon ought to talk about two things, 19:52 problem and the answer." 19:55 Problem is sin, answer is salvation. 19:59 So what is sin? 20:01 Romans 3:20, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." 20:06 And again, 1 John 3:4, 20:07 "Sin is the transgression of the law." 20:10 So anybody that believes that we are saved 20:14 by Jesus from our sin is really saying 20:17 we are saved from our lawlessness. 20:21 So what is that devil accomplishing 20:23 by trying to get rid of the law? 20:26 If you get rid of the law, you get rid of sin, 20:29 you get rid of the definition of sin, 20:31 and the people who are not convicted of their sin, 20:33 then who's gonna need a savior? 20:35 So as attack on the law of God 20:37 is an attack on the whole plan of salvation. 20:38 Amen. 20:40 But the sad thing is many Christians 20:41 are leading the attack. 20:44 They're saying we are now saved by grace, 20:46 we no longer need the law. 20:48 We'll get to that in a minute. 20:50 What law is the apostle referring to in 1 John 3:4? 20:55 Well, you can read in Romans 7:7, Paul said, 20:57 "I had not known sin, except by the law, 21:00 the law showed me sin. 21:01 For I had not known lust, except the law had said, 21:04 Thou shalt not covet." 21:06 What law says Thou shalt not covet? 21:08 It's a set of ten and this is the last one. 21:12 And he's summarizing it 21:13 'cause the law is more specific about 21:14 what you're not supposed to covet. 21:17 Do we have problems with lawlessness in North America? 21:19 Yes. 21:22 US News World Report, and this is not a news survey. 21:25 They said, "Every 100 hours 21:27 more youths die in the US streets 21:29 than were killed in the Persian Gulf warfare." 21:32 It's still true today that you have far more fatalities 21:35 in North America with youths dying in gang warfare 21:39 than you do in the Middle East 21:40 with soldiers deployed everywhere in the world. 21:42 The whole US Military 21:44 that's deployed around the world 21:46 does not see as many casualties 21:47 as the youth in the major cities 21:50 of the United States, that's 'cause of lawlessness. 21:54 The average 18-year old, 21:56 this is I think a Kaiser Survey study 21:59 witnesses 200,000 violent acts by the time 22:03 they're 18 including 40,000 murders on television. 22:07 But now it's not all in television, 22:10 it's on their phone, 22:12 it's on their iPad, it's everywhere. 22:15 We're just surrounded with screens. 22:17 Violence, immorality... 22:19 What was the condition of the world before Jesus... 22:22 Before the flood came. 22:23 Jesus said, "It would be like the days of Noah." 22:26 What was it like? Violence filled the land. 22:28 Every thought of the imagination of man's heart 22:30 was only evil continually. 22:33 Now people may not be doing it, 22:34 but they're enjoying it vicariously. 22:37 And He said, "As it was in the days of Noah." 22:41 In 2015, I guess they had a website. 22:44 I promise I'd never seen until I saw it 22:46 on the news called, "Ashley Madison." 22:48 And their title is, 22:50 "Life is short. Have an affair." 22:52 And some people that were outraged 22:54 what the purpose of this site was, 22:55 they somehow hacked it, 22:57 they got all the personal information 22:59 of 37 million people. 23:02 There's only 300 million in North America. 23:05 Thirty-seven million people that had signed off, 23:09 at least curious about 23:10 the possibilities of having an affair, 23:12 and they'd entered their personal information. 23:15 I mention this to John earlier, and he reminded me, 23:17 "Yeah, one pastor when the stuff was released, 23:19 he committed suicide 23:20 'cause his name was there in the list." 23:26 And they say... 23:27 I've done some studies that when surveyed confidentially, 23:33 21% of men after 20 years of marriage 23:36 and 19% of women have admitted to extramarital affairs. 23:41 Now I wonder if this is connected with 23:43 what happened in North America like 1964. 23:48 I remember and some of you may still remember. 23:50 When I went to a public school in California, 23:53 we had the Ten Commandments on the wall in public school. 23:56 Anyone else remember that? Yes. 23:59 I guess they figured separation of church 24:01 and state that somehow that was an infringement. 24:04 And so they took it out of the public schools, 24:07 you know, it was really sad is when they started 24:08 taking it out of the churches. 24:10 The government didn't require that. 24:13 But pastors began to say, "Well, if we're teaching 24:16 the Ten Commandments, it's legalism." 24:19 And we don't want to be Pharisees. 24:20 And, you know, when these young people 24:22 leave the churches 24:23 because we talk so much about law, 24:24 they don't learn about love. 24:26 And there's some truth to that if we have this out of balance, 24:29 that we don't want them to feel guilty all the time, 24:31 we want to be more grace oriented. 24:35 And because we want to be more grace oriented, 24:37 let's not emphasize the law, let's just look at Jesus. 24:41 Have you heard this before? 24:43 The whole idea of the law 24:45 is to get us to see our need of Jesus. 24:46 Amen. 24:48 And so you end up with a society 24:51 that has a broken moral compass. 24:54 They've got some interference. 24:57 Now a Christian is what? A follower of Christ. 25:01 Did Jesus believe in keeping the Ten Commandments. 25:04 I mean, that's the bottom line. 25:06 John 15:10, He says, 25:08 "I have kept my Father's commandments." 25:11 And again 1 Peter 2:22, it says, 25:14 "He committed no sin, 25:16 nor was deceit found in His mouth." 25:18 Jesus believed in keeping the commandments. 25:22 Matter of fact, a rich young ruler came to Christ, 25:23 he said, "Good Master, 25:25 what good things should I do that 25:27 I might have eternal life?" 25:29 And Christ said, "Why do you call me good? 25:30 None is good, but one and that is God. 25:32 But if you would enter into life, 25:34 keep the commandments." 25:36 And the young man said, "Which?" 25:38 Because the Jews had many laws. 25:39 The word law was used in a very general sense. 25:42 Jesus then began to recite to him 25:44 from the Ten Commandments, 25:46 and He began to quote to that young man 25:47 from the second table of the Ten Commandments 25:50 because this man didn't really love his brother, 25:52 he was hoarding his wealth. 25:54 And that's why Jesus said, 25:55 "Go share what you have with the poor." 25:57 And he went away sad 25:58 because he had great possessions. 25:59 But Jesus began to quote the Ten Commandments. 26:02 He said, "If you want to enter into life, keep the law. 26:05 Now a lot of people when they hear that, 26:07 they get discouraged." 26:08 And they say, "Well, Jesus told them about 26:10 keeping the commandments 26:11 so that we would all know how impossible it is." 26:17 John and I did an interview on television, 26:19 it must be over 20 years ago. 26:20 We're in Northern California and this TV station 26:22 for the Bay Area. 26:24 We did a debate with two other pastors. 26:27 And one of the subjects was the subject along grace. 26:30 And he was very friendly, but these pastors 26:31 were basically saying, 26:33 "We're saved from the law by Christ, 26:35 we're no longer under the law that's the old letter, 26:37 we're now led by the Spirit, 26:39 we no longer need the Ten Commandments." 26:41 And I remember during the discussion, 26:43 I asked him, I wanted to ask him, 26:45 "Well, which ones are you breaking?" 26:47 But I thought that wouldn't be polite. 26:52 But I said, "Can you name a sin 26:55 that God cannot help us overcome?" 26:58 And he couldn't. 27:00 Except, of course, the unpardonable sin. 27:04 And I said, "Do you believe that devil can tempt us to sin 27:07 or break God's law?" 27:08 Does everyone agree? Yes. 27:10 Most of us are living proof of that. 27:12 No, all of us are living proof of that. 27:17 Do you believe that Jesus can keep us from sin? 27:20 Yes. 27:22 See, when you say that we can't keep the law, 27:26 you're basically saying the devil 27:28 is greater than Christ. 27:31 Because you're saying the devil is powerful enough 27:33 to tempt you to sin, but Jesus isn't powerful enough 27:36 to keep you from sin. 27:38 Now I tell you what, it is a miracle of grace 27:42 when we obey. 27:43 That same grace that covers you 27:46 from your past empowers you to live a new life. 27:50 Everyone talks about the covering part of grace, 27:53 they don't talk about the empowering part of grace. 27:56 Let me read some other verses to you here. 27:59 This is real grace. 28:01 Titus 2:11, 28:03 "For the grace of God that brings salvation," 28:06 what kind of grace do you want? 28:08 I want that kind. 28:10 I want the grace of God that brings salvation. 28:12 I wanna be saved, friends. Amen. 28:14 "The grace of God that bring salvation 28:16 has appeared to all men teaching," 28:18 here's what the grace teaches us, 28:20 "That denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 28:24 we should live soberly, righteously, 28:26 and godly in this present age." 28:29 Would that be an exaggeration to say 28:33 that grace will empower you to be obedient? 28:39 Listen to what he says, 28:41 "Teaching us a denying ungodliness 28:43 of self-denial involved and worldly lust 28:45 that we should lives soberly, righteously." 28:48 What is lawlessness? 28:49 It's the opposite of righteousness, 28:51 it's wrong-teousness, right? 28:57 "And godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope 29:00 and the glorious appearing 29:02 of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 29:04 listen, who gave Himself for us 29:06 that He might redeem us from every lawless deed, 29:11 and purify for Himself 29:13 His own special people zealous of good works." 29:17 Paul was a legalist. 29:18 Listen to what he says here in Titus. 29:21 But he begins by saying, "It's the grace of God 29:23 that brings salvation that helps to accomplish 29:25 those things in your life." 29:27 So people, when they object to your preaching about the law 29:30 because they said, "You have the law, 29:32 but I've got grace." 29:33 If they don't believe in obedience, 29:35 they've got the wrong kind of grace. 29:36 Amen. 29:37 'Cause biblical grace will help you to live a new kind of life. 29:41 Romans 3:31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? 29:45 God forbid," certainly not, on the contrary, 29:49 "We establish the law." 29:53 We fulfill it in our lives. 29:55 We show the world what it's like. 29:58 I get passionate about this because not that 30:00 I have a ride by any means, but wow, I've come a long way, 30:04 take my word for it. 30:05 I've just seen the grace of God in my life. 30:08 I mean, some of you out there, 30:09 you know what I'm talking about, 30:11 you maybe struggle with drinking, 30:13 and you struggle with cursing, and you struggle with drugs, 30:16 and you struggle with all kinds of immorality and lawlessness, 30:19 and Jesus came in your heart, 30:21 and He began to sanctify you and transform you. 30:24 And you know what it means when we talk about a new birth, 30:26 and you know what it means when we talk about, 30:28 "Old things are passed away, all things are made new," 30:31 and that's why I get upset 30:33 when I hear Christians making excuses 30:35 for just staying in captivity 30:38 because the whole purpose of the gospel 30:40 is Jesus came to set us free. 30:41 Amen. The truth will set you free. 30:43 Amen. 30:45 And I'm surprised sometimes 30:46 that Christians don't rise up in anger 30:50 at this these doctrines of devils... 30:55 It is a doctrine of devils that tells people 30:57 that Jesus wants you to just continue 30:59 being a slave to lawlessness. 31:04 Obedience is not legalism. Amen. 31:08 1 Corinthians 15:10, "By the grace of God, 31:11 I am what I am, 31:13 and His grace towards me was not in vain, 31:15 but I labored more abundantly," 31:16 because of the grace, 31:18 "He labors more abundantly than all, 31:20 yet not I, but the grace of God in me." 31:23 Grace doesn't take away effort. 31:26 That's the way that it's been taught. 31:28 Now listen to the verse everybody knows, 31:30 but read the whole thing. 31:32 Most of you know this part, Ephesians 2:8, 31:35 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 31:38 not of yourselves, it is a gift of God," 31:41 praise God, "Not of works lest any man should boast." 31:45 Continue reading the next verse. 31:48 "For we are His workmanship 31:51 created in Christ Jesus for good works 31:54 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 31:58 He saves us by His grace through faith 32:02 for living in a different kind of life. 32:04 Amen. Isn't that what He's saying? 32:07 So how many people have sinned? 32:09 I don't want to leave you hopeless 32:11 'cause you're gonna think, 32:12 "Oh, Pastor Doug said resolved in the law, 32:14 and that makes me feel convicted 32:15 'cause there's still things in my life." 32:16 Well, good. 32:18 If you have things that need addressing, praise God. 32:22 Who wants a doctor, you go and you see the doctor, 32:26 and he looks at some irregularity on your skin, 32:31 and he kind of says, 32:33 "Well, I wouldn't worry about it, 32:35 it may just be poison ivy." 32:39 Now he knows it's skin cancer, but he doesn't wanna upset you. 32:42 And there's a surgery that could deal with it, 32:44 and there's a treatment that can deal with it, 32:45 but he knows that's gonna be expensive. 32:47 So he thinks for at least, you know, your ignorance, 32:49 you'll be in bliss until you die. 32:52 You want that kind of doctor? No. 32:54 Or do you want a doctor 32:56 that's gonna give you the hard truth? 32:57 Amen. 32:58 You read the Bible and it's very clear that 33:00 God tell us that, 33:02 "Turn ye, turn ye, why will you die?" 33:05 Unless we turn, unless we repent, 33:08 unless we are transformed, 33:09 we will perish, isn't that right? 33:12 And believing in Jesus means repenting... 33:15 First words out of Jesus' mouth 33:16 when He called people to follow Him, 33:18 "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 33:20 First thing John the Baptist said, 33:22 it was an exact echo of that, "Repent," of what? 33:26 Sin. What is sin? 33:27 Lawlessness. 33:30 "For the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 33:32 How many have sinned? 33:33 You know this, Romans 3:23, "All have sinned, 33:37 and come short of the glory of God." 33:39 Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray, 33:43 everyone has turned to his own way." 33:47 And what is the punishment for living a life of sin? 33:50 Romans 6:23, 33:52 "For the wages of sin is death." 33:56 I used to always think that should read 33:57 for the wages of sin are death because it's plural, 33:59 wages would be many. 34:02 But I dropped out of school, 34:04 so don't pay any attention to me. 34:06 Genesis 2:17, "He said for in the day 34:10 that you eat of it you will surely die." 34:13 All through the Bible, it's pretty clear 34:14 the consequences for living a life 34:16 of lawlessness and disobedience, 34:18 it's lethal, it's deadly. 34:21 Jesus came to save us by His grace, 34:24 He wants to save us from our sins. 34:28 Do the Ten Commandments still apply 34:30 to New Testament Christians? 34:31 Some were saying, "Well, Pastor Doug, 34:32 that was the old dispensation." 34:34 Yeah, it's true, God had one way of saving Jews 34:37 and He's got a different way of saving Gentiles. 34:40 I don't find the Bible teaching that 34:42 everybody that is saved is saved by faith. 34:45 Abraham believed God and it was counted to him 34:48 for righteousness, Abraham was saved by faith. 34:52 Do the Ten Commandments still apply 34:53 to New Testament Christians? Yeah. 34:54 Matthew 19:17, "If you will enter into life, 34:59 keep the commandments." 35:01 Jesus said, Matthew 5, 35:03 "Think not that I have come 35:06 to destroy the law and the prophets. 35:08 I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill." 35:10 And some people say, "Well, that means to do away with it." 35:14 Think about how ridiculous 35:16 it would be for Jesus to say that. 35:18 If the word fulfill means to do away with or abolish, 35:22 that would like Jesus saying, 35:24 "I did not come to destroy the law, 35:25 but I came to do away with it." 35:28 "I did not come to destroy the law, 35:30 but I came to abolish it. 35:31 If you wanna know what a bible word means, 35:34 read it somewhere else in its context. 35:36 Jesus comes to John the Baptist and says, "Baptize me." 35:40 John protests, he said, 35:41 "Lord, you ought to be baptizing me." 35:43 Jesus said, "Suffer it to be so now, 35:45 for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness." 35:49 Was Jesus telling John, 35:51 "We're doing this to do away with all righteousness?" 35:53 No. No. 35:56 Fulfill means what it says to fill something full. 36:00 And Jesus came in his life, 36:01 He fulfilled the righteousness of the law. 36:04 And if you're a Christian, it says that, 36:06 "That same righteousness can be fulfilled in us, 36:09 who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 36:12 Romans 8. John 14:15. 36:15 Is anyone keeping count how many scriptures 36:17 I'm giving you? 36:20 "If you love me..." 36:23 Honk your horn. 36:25 Have y'all seen that bumper sticker? 36:27 I wish it was that easy, 36:29 we'd all go around honking all day long, right? 36:32 But it said, if you love me, show me. 36:36 Now probably one of the best illustrations 36:38 of how salvation works 36:41 is the story of the Exodus. 36:47 Did God save the Children of Israel 36:49 from Egypt their obedience and works or did He save them 36:53 because of grace? 36:56 Had they done any good works when He led them out of Egypt? 36:59 No. 37:01 He comes to them and He says, "Look, the angel of judgment 37:03 is going through the land, and unless you have 37:05 the blood of the Lamb over your door, 37:09 the firstborn in your house is going to die." 37:12 You needed the blood of the lamb or you would die. 37:15 He saved them on the grace 37:16 because of the blood of the Lamb. 37:18 And then after He saves them, 37:22 they run out of food in the wilderness, 37:24 God gives the manna from heaven, 37:26 they run out of water, He gives them water, 37:28 they're attacked by the Amalekites, 37:30 He gives them victory through Joshua. 37:32 By the way, you and I say Jesus, 37:35 in Hebrew it's Joshua, Yehoshu'a. 37:38 That's all a type of Christ. 37:39 After He does all these things to deliver them, 37:42 they get to Mount Sinai... 37:45 And what's the first of the Ten Commandments? 37:49 Now most of you said what I thought you'd say. 37:52 It sound little bit like Babylon, 37:53 but I think I heard out there what you were saying. 37:58 You said, "Thou shall not have other Gods before me." 38:00 That is technically the first, 38:02 but that's not where the writing begins. 38:05 It says in Exodus 20, "God spake all these words, 38:08 saying, 'I am the Lord your God 38:11 that brought you out of the land of Egypt, 38:12 out of the house of bondage. 38:13 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.'" 38:16 The preamble, the first thing God says 38:18 in the Ten Commandments is, 38:19 "I am the God who brought you out of slavery, 38:23 I am the God who saved you." 38:25 The implication is, I've shown you, I love you, 38:29 I'm saving you by my grace, now, 38:31 "If you love me, keep my commandments." 38:36 Don't miss this important point. 38:38 Not everybody saved from Egypt made it to the Promised Land. 38:42 The Bible says they fell in the wilderness 38:43 because of unbelief. 38:45 The ones who made it all the way believed 38:47 that they could make it all the way, 38:49 not very many of them. 38:51 Joshua and Caleb, don't despair. 38:54 It doesn't need to be said bad statistics in the last days 38:57 if we can learn from our mistakes. 39:00 But if we keep making excuses, keep in mind, 39:03 who was it that brought back 39:04 the evil report to the children of Israel? 39:08 They picked 12 of who they thought 39:10 would be the best representatives 39:11 and they sent them out, 39:13 and those messengers came back and gave a report. 39:16 Two of them said, "Let us go up at once, 39:17 we are well able to overcome." 39:19 Ten of them said, "We can't overcome." 39:23 And the ones that did not believe they could overcome, 39:25 did not overcome they died in the wilderness. 39:28 The ones who believed that God could do what He said, 39:31 experienced all kinds of miracles and victories 39:33 and they made it. 39:37 That's the whole story right there, friends. 39:39 You've got messengers not only in the world, 39:43 but even in the church, 39:44 that are saying, "We can't obey." 39:47 And they got thousand excuses and they can look at you and me 39:50 and point as I see how many people fall. 39:53 And instead of pointing to Christ 39:55 who is our example, they point at all the failures. 39:58 They love to preach about David's idolatry. 40:01 And then they'll talk about the grace of God. 40:04 They don't talk a lot about David spending seven days 40:06 on his phase repenting. 40:09 Lot of people wanna sin like David, 40:11 but not too many wanna repent like David. 40:16 But they don't talk about Job being a perfect 40:18 and an upright man. 40:21 Or Zachariah and Elizabeth, it says they were two people 40:23 that walked in all the commandments of the God 40:25 of the Lord blameless. 40:27 Or people like Joseph, who was faithful to the Lord 40:31 and then surrounded by temptation, 40:33 or Daniel or Shadrach or Meshach 40:35 or Abednego or Elijah. 40:36 Well, Elijah had his episodes, 40:38 but he went to heaven in a fiery chariot, right? 40:41 The Bible is filled with examples of people 40:43 who were overcomers. 40:45 And that's how Jesus begin Revelation. 40:48 "To him that overcomes, to him that overcomes," 40:50 seven times he says that. 40:51 Would Christ say that if it wasn't possible for us 40:54 to be overcomers? 40:57 If you love me... 40:58 Now if we're struggling with our obedience, 41:00 the answer might be more love. 41:04 And God gives us grace for even that. 41:05 Revelation 22:14, "Blessed are those 41:09 that do His commandments 41:11 that they might have a right to the tree of life 41:12 and enter through the gates of the city. 41:15 The dragon is especially wroth with those 41:17 who keep the commandments of God." 41:18 And I'd like to illustrate something here. 41:20 And, John, will you come out and help me for a second? 41:24 He was gonna bring me... 41:27 He probably fell asleep during the sermon. 41:28 Oh, there he is. 41:33 Okay, I don't how to do this, you have to hold my microphone. 41:37 I'll be glad to. 41:38 Or that way I got to speak in your tie. 41:40 All right. 41:44 So if I would come out and continue preaching 41:50 the sermon like this, will you find this distracting? 41:52 Yes. 41:54 You would? Yeah. 41:56 Do you see something wrong with my appearance? 41:58 Yes. 41:59 Would you ever go out of the house looking like this? 42:01 No. 42:03 So if I tell you I don't see anything wrong 42:05 with my appearance, what would you recommend? 42:08 Look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. 42:10 All right, so I feel fine now. 42:12 You know, I went through all the normal regiment 42:14 of dressing and hygiene and then... 42:16 "Oh, man," and whenever I see this I think... 42:19 Probably some kid watching out there that's going, 42:21 "Ma, Pastor Doug's got the mark." 42:26 So I look at this and I feel okay, 42:30 but I'm ready to go out the door 42:31 and then I look in this device, 42:34 and I go, "Oh, wow, something's very wrong." 42:38 And then I felt fine until I looked in the mirror. 42:44 So obviously this gray mirror is the problem. 42:49 If I throw it away everything is okay. 42:53 What does the Bible say, "The law is a mirror." 42:56 Getting rid of the mirror 42:58 doesn't take you out of the problem, 42:59 you need the mirror because it helps us see. 43:01 If this is sin, and this is the law, 43:05 if it shows me my sin, 43:08 then it obviously ought to take it away, right? 43:10 So do I use the mirror to try... 43:11 I don't want to that here. 43:13 You know, don't you like those people 43:14 that like get a bright light 43:15 and they shine something in your face. 43:18 I get bored on the airplane sometimes 43:19 and I notice a little white bright spot of the sunshine 43:21 when it hits my watch, 43:23 and I just start looking for people. 43:27 Okay, so I just knew when I did that, 43:31 that the cameras, the studios go, 43:33 "No, don't do that." 43:34 Anyway. 43:35 So would this take it off? No. 43:38 No, it's not gonna work. 43:43 Well, there goes that illustration, 43:47 not supposed to take it off. 43:49 You know, what I used to do is I used to mark 43:50 something very subtly, yeah, I put a mark on my face 43:54 and I used to use erasable marker 43:55 and I'd wipe it off and everything. 43:56 Once someone handed me a permanent marker. 44:00 This one, I can't keep it on, that one I couldn't get it off. 44:04 So this is not meant to take it off. 44:06 So what do I need? 44:08 Assuming this is dirt, you need to wash it, right? 44:14 So what do you think this represents? 44:16 Blood. Blood of the Lamb. 44:17 So I look at this and I look at this, 44:20 and so it takes you out of the problem. 44:23 I now have no problem 44:24 with this assuming I think I look okay. 44:26 I have no problem with this now as long as I've got this. 44:30 To keep things corrected. 44:32 And, you know, I don't know about you, 44:33 but I use one of these almost every day. 44:36 Now I don't want you to think I use them too often, some do. 44:39 And that's also true with the law. 44:41 Some people are little hypersensitive to the law, 44:44 and they spend all the time looking at their faults 44:46 and they don't look at Jesus. 44:48 You become like what you look at. 44:49 Thank you very much, John. You did that very well. 44:56 So I think you're getting the point 44:58 about the relationship between the law and grace. 45:02 Now here is the question 45:03 we really all need the answer to. 45:06 How is it possible to keep the commandments of God? 45:10 We know they're still in effect. 45:12 Romans 8:3, 4, "God sending His own son Jesus, 45:17 condemned sin in the flesh," first in His own flesh, 45:21 "That the righteousness of the law 45:23 might be fulfilled in us." 45:25 Because He was victorious, 45:28 we can be victorious in our lives, 45:30 who do not walk after the flesh, 45:32 but walk after the Spirit. 45:34 And again, Philippians 1:6, 45:36 "He which hath begun a good work 45:38 in you will perform," 45:40 it is a work that it is ongoing, 45:43 "Until the day of Jesus Christ." 45:45 Now I don't know how you feel, 45:47 that is a very encouraging verse to me. 45:49 "He has begun a work in you." 45:52 When you surrender to Jesus, 45:54 His Grace continues to give you power, 45:57 it continues to help you walk in a newness of life. 46:01 Philippians 4:13, 46:03 "I can do all things through Christ 46:05 that strengthens me." 46:07 Holy Spirit could probably show you in a moment 46:10 what things you're struggling within your life 46:11 that are almost omnipresent, you know what they are, 46:14 do you got the Holy Spirit, He convicts you. 46:18 Take courage in that promise, 46:19 that through Christ all things are possible. 46:22 Amen. 46:23 Some devils don't come out easy. 46:25 Sometimes it requires a struggle, 46:28 sometimes you're wrestling, not against flesh and blood, 46:32 the principalities and powers 46:34 and workers of wickedness in high places. 46:36 Jesus says, "Sometimes this kind is not come forth 46:38 except through prayer and fasting." 46:41 This idea, there's no effort involved in the Christian life. 46:44 I don't know where people get that. 46:46 Bible says, "We war, we strive, 46:48 we run, we fight, we have to hang on." 46:50 And say, "I will not let thee go except you bless me." 46:54 But there is the sloppy agape version 46:56 of Christianity out there 46:58 that takes away the truth about what real grace is. 47:04 It's not just grace to cover the past, 47:06 it's grace to give you power to walk in newness of life. 47:11 What is the Old Covenant? I wanna explain this. 47:15 And why did it fail? 47:17 Deuteronomy 4:13, 47:19 "He declared unto you His covenant, 47:21 which He commanded you to perform, 47:24 even Ten Commandments 47:26 and He wrote them on two tables of stone." 47:28 No question about it, the Old Covenant 47:30 was the Ten Commandments. 47:31 Now where do you first find the New Covenant? 47:35 It's when Jesus dies on the cross? 47:38 Who is saved by the Old Covenant? 47:42 Nobody. 47:46 The New Covenant is found in the Old Testament. 47:49 You find it in Jeremiah 33:33, it says, 47:52 "A New Covenant I will make." 47:54 But everybody is saved by grace, 47:56 everybody is saved by faith, nobody is saved by works, 48:00 nobody is gonna be in heaven. 48:02 And looked at others in heaven and say, 48:03 "I'm here because of works, you got in easy." 48:06 You got in by faith. 48:09 They were all saved by faith because all of sin, 48:11 we almost depend on the mercy of God. 48:14 Now with the Old Covenant, 48:16 just to give you the history about 48:17 why it talks about all the new, 48:18 the word covenant means agreement. 48:21 God spoke the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, 48:24 Exodus 20. 48:26 The people said all the Lord has said we will do. 48:28 They made an agreement. 48:30 So here is my law, obey and live. 48:32 They said, "All the Lord has said we will do." 48:34 And while Moses goes up to get the written copy, 48:37 they make the golden calf 48:39 and they break the commandments of the Lord. 48:41 And then that's why you can read 48:42 where Paul says in Hebrews 8:8, "Finding fault with them..." 48:47 That was the fault with the law or with the people? 48:50 The law did not break the covenant, 48:52 the people broke the covenant. 48:54 "Finding fault with them, he said, 48:55 'I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel 48:58 and the house of Judah.'" 49:00 Is there anywhere in the Bible that says 49:01 a New Covenant is made with Gentiles? 49:06 No. 49:07 A lot of people that say we're saved by the New Covenant 49:09 where New Testament Christians will say, 49:11 "Show me where there's a New Covenant 49:12 made with Gentiles." 49:14 The Old Covenant is made with the Jewish people, 49:17 that's why you have to be adopted in 49:20 and you become spiritual Jews. 49:23 It says, "I'll make a New Covenant 49:24 with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 49:27 I'll write my law in their hearts, 49:30 I'll take the stony heart out of their flesh, 49:31 I'll give them a heart of flesh." 49:33 Way back in the days of Moses, He said, 49:35 "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your hearts." 49:38 Way back in the first books of the Bible, 49:40 they understood it was a hard change, 49:42 that's how we're saved. 49:44 Even in the Ten Commandments, you know, 49:46 you find in the Ten Commandments 49:48 showing mercy and the thousands of those 49:50 that love me and keep my commandments. 49:52 How do we keep His commandments? 49:54 We love Him. 49:56 That's not a New Testament concept, 49:57 it's an Old Testament concept. 49:59 Before Moses dies, 50:01 he tells the Children of Israel, 50:03 "I command you this day to love the Lord your God." 50:08 It says in Hebrews chapter... 50:10 Ten, Upon what law is the New Covenant based? 50:13 Hebrews 8:10, 50:14 "This is the covenant I will make says the Lord 50:16 I'll put My laws in their minds 50:18 and I'll write them in their hearts." 50:21 Someone might think, "But doesn't living under grace 50:24 may keeping God's law non-essential?" 50:26 Have any of you heard that? 50:28 Romans 6:15, "What then? 50:31 Shall we sin that 50:32 because we are not under the law, 50:33 but under grace? 50:35 God forbid." 50:36 Romans 3:31, 50:37 "Do we then make void the law through faith? 50:39 God forbid. We establish the law." 50:43 So this whole concept that God gives us permission 50:46 to change His Law. 50:48 Jesus says in Luke 16:17, 50:50 "It is easier for heaven and earth 50:51 to pass away, 50:53 than for one tittle of the law to fail." 50:57 If you believe heaven is still there 50:58 and earth is still there, 50:59 you read Revelation 11:19, it says, 51:02 "I saw the temple of God open in heaven, 51:03 I saw the Ark of the Covenant." 51:06 He's got a copy 51:07 of the original there in heaven, 51:09 it's still a place of honor, it's the Word of God. 51:13 Only part of the Word of God 51:15 the Lord would not entrust the mortals, 51:17 but He wrote it with His own finger. 51:21 I remember hearing a story several years ago 51:24 about this man was driving back home from shopping center 51:28 going through the suburbs, 51:30 went zipping on through this stop sign 51:32 without stopping, he was going too fast 51:34 and at an intersection, policeman turned on his lights 51:38 and started to follow him. 51:40 And he looked at the guys, he got out of his... 51:42 He pulled over. 51:43 And saw the guy as he got out of his car. 51:46 He said, "Ah, it's Bob, he goes to my church." 51:51 This doesn't look good, not a very good example here, 51:54 I was speeding, but he's a buddy, 51:55 he'll let me off the hook. 51:57 Bob comes over and he caps on the window, 51:59 Jack rolls down his window and he said, 52:02 "You realize that you are doing 45 52:04 through a 25 mile an hour zone?" 52:07 He said, "Hey, look, you know, I'm busy. 52:09 Just got some food, we're going home to a barbecue, 52:11 haven't seen the family all week, 52:12 you understand, Bob." 52:14 Just, he smiled, kind of wink, wink, 52:15 you know, and he said, "I'll be right back." 52:20 And he goes back 52:22 and he takes out his note and his pad he starts to write. 52:24 Well, at that point Jack is just thinking, 52:25 "Oh, come on, I wasn't going that fast." 52:28 He just got madder and madder, 52:30 he thought how this was ruining his day. 52:33 You know, worst thing about 52:34 when you get pulled over for speeding, 52:35 it is then you have to stop for the policemen, 52:37 then you're later than ever, right? 52:39 It's really inconvenient. 52:41 And so he's just getting madder and madder. 52:44 And finally Bob comes over to the car 52:47 and Jack just rolls down the window that far. 52:51 He said, "Could you please do me a favor 52:52 and slow down." 52:53 And he wouldn't even let him hand him the ticket, 52:55 he made him push it in the window. 52:59 And then Jack realized, 53:01 "You know, he never did ask for my license." 53:04 And as Bob was walking back to his car 53:06 and he got in and he looked in, 53:07 it wasn't a ticket at all it was a note. 53:11 And it said, "Jack, I just need to let you know, 53:14 about six years ago, 53:16 a speeding driver hit my three-year old girl 53:19 and killed her." 53:21 And he said, "And I've really had a hard time forgiving." 53:25 He said, "I'm gonna try one more time to forgive, 53:27 would you please slow down?" 53:30 He didn't give him a ticket. He gave him grace. 53:34 Now here is the question. 53:37 When Jack pulls away, 53:40 is he gonna change his behavior? 53:44 He would think at least for a while, right? 53:48 What's gonna make the change. 53:51 When he realizes how much speeding can cost. 53:58 What brings about the change in our lives? 54:00 What gives us the grace? 54:03 The Bible says, "It's the goodness of God 54:05 that leads us to repentance." 54:08 Why do we love Him? 54:10 We love Him because He first loved us. 54:13 Are you getting the point? 54:15 The key is when we really get a picture 54:18 of how much God loves us, 54:21 when we understand how much He's paid for us, 54:23 how much our lawlessness cost Him. 54:25 See when you see Jesus hanging on the cross, 54:29 He is there because of the sin. 54:33 So why would a Christian that says they love the Lord, 54:37 want to live a life that glorifies sin. 54:41 When we see that the Lord is hanging on the cross 54:43 because of our sinfulness and our lawlessness, 54:48 why would we want to continue going back, 54:49 why wouldn't we make every effort 54:52 to turn away from that 54:54 which made the Father close His eyes to the Son. 54:59 When Jesus was burying your sin and mine, 55:01 the Father turned away to sin is so abhorrent to God. 55:05 Sin is ugly, sin is deadly. 55:09 And there's a whole counterfeit gospel 55:12 that is being spread around the world today, 55:16 it's even diluted 55:18 some of its tentacles into our message. 55:21 This idea that God is somehow tolerant of lawlessness, 55:27 that He is tolerant of sin. 55:30 The Ten Commandments are still there, friends. 55:33 The Ten Commandments did not need changing. 55:36 The reason for the gospel is to change our hearts. 55:40 We need changing. 55:43 This is what it's all about, friends. 55:45 Jesus said, "It would be easier 55:46 for heaven and earth to pass away 55:49 than for one little tittle of the law to fail." 55:52 And some people when I talk like this, 55:54 they say, "Pastor Doug, you're being legalistic." 55:55 Well, you're gonna have to take it up with the Lord 55:57 'cause Jesus said, 55:59 "Whosoever, shall break one of the least 56:02 of these commandments, 56:03 he will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven." 56:06 He didn't say you'll be there. 56:08 He'll be spoken of by those in the kingdom 56:10 as the lowest kind of person. 56:12 But whoever will do and teach 56:15 even the least of the commandments Jesus said, 56:17 He will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 56:19 And I know in the final, in the final analysis, 56:23 I need to answer to Jesus. 56:25 I want to make sure He's pleased 56:27 with what I do and what I say. 56:29 I don't want to have Christ come 56:32 and find out that I followed a watered down gospel 56:35 that lost all its potency. 56:37 I want to know what the truth is, 56:39 because the truth will set you free. 56:41 Jesus will provide grace for you, 56:43 He will give you grace to cover all of your past sins, 56:47 and the Lord will give you grace 56:48 to live in a newness of life every day. 56:51 That grace of God that brings salvation 56:55 will invite us then to deny ungodliness 56:58 and worldly lusts, that we should live soberly, 57:01 righteously, and godly in this present age. 57:04 And when Jesus has the people that are doing that, 57:07 He will come again. 57:09 Would you like to have that experience? 57:12 Can I pray for you and with you tonight, 57:14 and you who are watching? 57:16 Loving Lord, we pray that we will know 57:19 and experience in our lives 57:20 what it means to have that saving grace. 57:23 We know it only comes through the power of Jesus, 57:26 and we pray for this in His name, amen. |
Revised 2023-05-02