Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000009
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00:18 In 1980, the United States' Supreme Court
00:25 ruled that it is no longer constitutional 00:30 to post the Ten Commandments on the classroom wall. 00:36 And then just a short time ago, 00:40 we watched the unfolding saga of Judge Roy Moore, 00:46 chief justice of the state of Alabama Supreme Court. 00:51 Moore against the United States government 00:55 and the issue was a monument of the Ten Commandments 00:59 in the Alabama court house. 01:03 And once again the Ten Commandments lost 01:07 and I can still see those US marshals 01:11 rolling out that big stone monument of the law of God. 01:17 And it kind of gives us a window, 01:20 an insight into the major battle outlined 01:25 in the Book of Revelation for the end times. 01:30 As we've learned the real issue 01:32 is the challenge of God's authority 01:34 as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. 01:38 Satan, that dragon wants to establish himself 01:42 on God's throne but he knew that before 01:45 he could ever secure the allegiance 01:47 of any man or woman on this earth, 01:49 he had to somehow undermine the authority of God 01:53 as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. 01:58 And we saw how the theory of evolution 02:02 has made inroads into almost every fabric of society 02:06 today undermining God's authority. 02:09 But long before that, Satan knew that there was 02:12 another major obstacle in the way 02:14 before he could ever pave the way 02:17 for undermining God's authority with the theory of evolution, 02:21 he knew that God has established the monument, 02:24 a memorial, a reminder carved through the channels of time, 02:30 the Sabbath day pointing to God 02:33 as the Creator of the heavens and the earth 02:35 and he knew that as long as men and women 02:37 remembered the Sabbath day, they would never, 02:41 never give their allegiance 02:44 to the beast instead of the Creator. 02:50 And so as we learned, it began to attack the very law of God 02:54 because Daniel 7:25 says, in the last days 02:58 that little horn who is the beast or the antichrist 03:01 would try to change God's set times and laws 03:06 and we saw dramatic unfolding of that prophecy 03:09 when the little horn, the Medieval church of Rome 03:13 officially decreed the Sabbath has been changed 03:16 from the seventh day to the first 03:18 attacking the times, set times and the laws of God. 03:24 And I hope you're beginning to see how all of this 03:26 fits into the picture of Revelation. 03:30 Because it was just a preview of the prophecy in Revelation 12, 03:35 "When the dragon saw he had been hurled to the earth, 03:38 he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child." 03:43 And in verse 17, "The dragon was angry at the woman 03:47 and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring, 03:51 those who obey God's commandments 03:53 and hold to the testimony of Jesus." 03:55 At the end of this section describing that war, 03:58 he says in Chapter 14:12, 04:01 "This calls for patient endurance 04:03 on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments 04:07 and remain faithful to Jesus." 04:09 So the law of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ 04:12 are like bookends on both sides of this chapter 04:17 unfolding the war between the dragon 04:19 and the people of God. 04:20 The object of the antichrist attack is the law of God 04:26 and the cross the gospel of Jesus Christ. 04:34 It saddened me to know that our country 04:41 would oppose the Ten Commandments of God 04:49 but it saddens me even more when I see the war 04:56 against the Ten Commandments 04:59 sounding from Christian pulpits. 05:05 Now you say, I've never heard it 05:08 from a Christian pulpit, you have. 05:13 Haven't you heard that the Ten Commandments 05:15 were for the Jews and in the New Testament, 05:18 we don't have the Ten Commandments, we have love, 05:21 haven't you heard that the law was Old Testament, 05:24 New Testament is done away with. 05:26 Haven't you heard that we're saved by grace 05:28 through faith in Jesus Christ 05:30 and since we were under grace and no longer under the law, 05:34 then we're no longer obligated to obey the law. 05:39 Billy Graham heard it. 05:42 In his article, this was from the Dallas Times 05:48 in Herald Newspaper, 14 July, 1995. 05:55 Question to Billy Graham, 05:56 Some religious people I know tell me 05:58 that the Ten Commandments are part of the law 06:00 and do not apply to us today. 06:02 They say we as Christians 06:04 are free from the law, is that right? 06:07 Answer, Billy Graham. 06:08 No, it is not right 06:10 and I hope you'll not be misled by these false opinions. 06:15 Billy Graham heard it that the law has been done away with 06:18 and he called it a false opinion. 06:21 But didn't Jesus say that I give you 06:25 a new command that you love one another? 06:30 And that you love the Lord your God 06:32 with all of your heart and all of your soul? 06:36 Well, John says in the little book of 2 John, 06:41 only one Chapter, so 2 John 5, he says, 06:44 "Now I'm not writing you a new command 06:46 but one that we've had from the beginning, 06:50 I ask that we love one another." 06:54 Now Jesus said, I give you a new command 06:58 that we love one another. 07:00 John says, I'm not writing you a new command 07:04 but one that we've had from the beginning. 07:09 Jesus said love the Lord your God 07:10 with all of your heart, this is new. 07:14 John says this is not new. 07:17 So who is right, Jesus or John? 07:23 They're both right. 07:26 You say, how can they both be right. 07:29 Jesus said is new, John said it wasn't new, 07:32 the truth is it wasn't new. 07:35 When Jesus said, love the Lord your God 07:36 with all of your heart and all of your soul, 07:38 He was quoting the Old Testament, 07:39 Deuteronomy 6:5, wasn't new. 07:45 When Jesus said, love your neighbor as yourself, 07:48 He was quoting the Old Testament, 07:50 Leviticus 19:18, it wasn't new. 07:54 So why did he say I give you a new command, 07:56 love one another 07:59 because it was new to them. 08:06 You see they have lost sight of the fact 08:08 that God's commandments are laws of love. 08:16 It's easy to overlook this if you don't know Greek. 08:20 Because in Greek there are two different words for new. 08:24 Neos, new, Kainos, new. 08:28 Neos, brand new. Kainos, new to the person. 08:35 Now, about a year ago, our car broke 08:43 and I had to go by a new car. 08:47 Now when we buy a new car, 08:50 we don't go into the dealer showroom 08:53 and look at all these brand new shiny vehicles 08:57 with two miles on the odometer. 09:01 We go next door to the preowned car lot. 09:07 They don't sell used cars anymore, you know that? 09:10 They're preowned cars. 09:13 So we go to the preowned car lot 09:16 and pick out a new car, Kainos, 09:22 because it's new for me. 09:25 And when we drove that new little Toyota RAV4 home, 09:30 my neighbors saw me just turning into the road 09:33 and he says, oh, Jack, you got a new car. 09:36 Yeah, man, I got a new car. 09:37 Kainos, new car. 09:42 But it wasn't neos, brand new, 09:47 because it was preowned. 09:50 And so Jesus said, I give you a new command, kainos. 09:57 John says I'm not writing you something new, neos, 10:02 that you love one another. 10:05 So you see it was new to them, 10:08 they had lost sight of the fact 10:11 that God's law is the law of love. 10:16 In fact, John goes on to say, 10:18 I'm not writing you a new command, neos, new, 10:21 but one that we've had from the beginning, it's kainos new. 10:25 I ask you that we love one another 10:27 and this is love that we walk 10:29 in obedience to his commands. 10:31 What is love? 10:32 Love is obedience to the commandments of God. 10:36 In other words, in mathematical formula is 10:38 love equals obedience to the commandments of God. 10:42 But in the very same letter, 1 John 4:16, 10:46 the Bible says God is love. God is love. 10:53 Love is obeying the commandments. 10:58 Now I learned in algebra I think it was. 11:03 Long time ago that two things that are equal 11:08 to a third thing have to be equal to each other. 11:13 Isn't that right? 11:15 You don't understand that is right. 11:18 Check your books. 11:20 Two things that are equal to a third thing 11:22 have to be equal to each other. 11:25 Now if God is love and love is obeying 11:32 the commandments of God and two things equal 11:35 to a third thing have to be equal to each other. 11:38 God is love, obeying the commandments of God is love, 11:41 then obeying the commandments 11:43 is some kind of a description of what God is like. 11:49 And since he made us in his image, 11:52 it describes what love is like for us. 11:57 You see we learned that God functions with laws. 12:00 When he created the universe, he had physical laws, 12:03 the law of centrifugal force, the law of gravity, 12:05 the law of centripetal force, all these physical laws 12:09 that hold the universe together. 12:11 And if one of those laws fail, 12:13 then the whole thing comes crashing down. 12:16 But when he made the man and the woman, 12:18 he made them according to certain laws. 12:22 And he says this is the way I made you 12:24 and he defined those principles, those laws of love, 12:28 it was like a circle and he said if you stay inside the circle, 12:31 you're gonna have peace and joy and happiness, 12:34 but if you step outside of the circle, 12:36 you're gonna break and you're gonna suffer 12:39 and a lot of other people are gonna get hurt too. 12:43 That's the purpose for God's laws not because He's mean, 12:46 He doesn't want us to have fun, 12:48 but He knows that if we step outside of the circle, 12:50 we're gonna get hurt. 12:53 He loves us and He wants us to enjoy 12:55 love and peace and happiness. 12:57 His law defines love for us. 13:01 Paul made that clear in Romans 13. 13:06 Romans 13, he says, 13:08 "Let no debt remain outstanding, 13:10 except the continuing debt to love one another, 13:13 for he who loves his fellowmen has fulfilled the law." 13:19 Now if we would have stop here, we can say well, 13:21 you don't have to obey the law, 13:22 you just need to love one another. 13:25 But Paul didn't stop there, so we shouldn't either. 13:29 He goes on to say, 13:32 "He who loves his fellowmen has fulfilled the law." 13:35 Well, how come? Because, verse 9, 13:37 The commandments, do not commit adultery, 13:39 do not murder, do not steal, do not covet 13:41 and whatever other commandment that may be, 13:43 they are all summed in this one rule, 13:45 love your neighbor as yourself. 13:49 Love does no harm to its neighbors 13:51 therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 13:56 So Paul is saying that if we love one another, 13:59 we're fulfilling the law. 14:01 He's not saying you don't have to do the law. 14:04 He's saying the commandments, thou shalt not murder, 14:06 covet, steal, these are the Ten Commandments 14:10 and they're all summed up in this one rule, 14:12 love your neighbor as yourself. What does that mean? 14:14 We need to do a little math again. 14:16 You have to know some math to understand the Bible. 14:19 What does summed up mean? It means added together. 14:23 So if you take the commandment 14:24 that says thou shalt not lie and add to it, 14:27 thou shalt not steal and add to it, 14:29 thou shalt not kill, and add to it, 14:32 thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain 14:35 and add to it, honor thy father and mother and add to it 14:38 any other commandment that may be, 14:41 it equals love. 14:47 What happens if you take one away? 14:50 And you don't have love anymore? 14:53 Does a man really love his neighbors 14:55 if he's having an affair with his neighbor's wife? 14:59 Does he love his neighbor? 15:00 He says Hallelujah, neighbor, oh, praise the Lord, 15:02 I love you so much while he's slipping his wallet 15:05 from his pocket, is that love? 15:08 See, love is defined by the law of God 15:14 and if you take away one, it doesn't equal love anymore. 15:20 James made that crystal clear in the little book of James 2. 15:26 James 2:10, "Whoever keeps the whole law 15:31 and yet stumbles at just one point 15:36 is guilty of breaking all of it. 15:40 Because he who said do not commit adultery 15:42 also said do not murder. 15:44 And if you do not commit adultery 15:45 but you do commit murder, 15:47 you have become a law breaker." 15:50 So according to James, love only happens 15:55 when we obey all of God's commandments 15:59 and if we just break one, 16:01 it's the same as breaking them all, why? 16:04 Because the commandments are like a circle, 16:06 they define what love and peace and joy 16:09 and happiness is for us. 16:10 And if we just step outside of the circle by breaking one, 16:13 we don't have love anymore, 16:14 we suffer and other people get hurt. 16:17 You see God isn't out there just trying to prevent us 16:21 from enjoying life, He's out there trying to help us 16:24 to enjoy life to the fullest with love. 16:29 And if we just break one, 16:31 we're guilty of breaking them all. 16:34 And then he makes a fascinating statement to the church. 16:40 James said in verse 12, 16:42 "Speak and act then as those who are going 16:46 to be judged by the law that gives freedom." 16:54 Interesting, he refers to the Ten Commandments says 16:56 the law that gives freedom because folks, 16:58 you're only free to the degree 17:00 that you bring your life in harmony with the law of God. 17:04 If a person steals, is he free? 17:07 If one commits adultery, are they free? 17:12 If one murders, are they free? 17:15 Your freedom only comes to the degree 17:17 that we're in harmony with the way God made us to live. 17:21 If we break one, we're guilty of breaking them all 17:24 but look at this other piece. 17:25 It says speak and act as those who are going 17:28 to be judged by the law. 17:33 So James sees the time when God's Christian believers 17:40 are going to be judged and the standard 17:43 of that judgment is the law of God. 17:47 Now why is that? 17:48 Because God as we learned is gonna make 17:51 this world over again. 17:52 There'll be a new heaven and a new earth. 17:59 He's gonna make it all over. 18:02 And he's gonna let us into the city 18:05 and we're gonna live there. 18:09 But only those who trust Him enough 18:13 to live within inside of the circle 18:19 because God is not gonna let this mess happen all over again. 18:27 That's why He selected us to who can go in. 18:35 So does God still want us 18:38 to order our lives according to the law? 18:43 Ask Jesus, can you trust Him? 18:47 Jesus, is this true? Matthew 5. 18:53 Jesus, everybody is trying to say 18:55 that we're under grace now, we're not under law 18:57 because you abolished it when you died on the cross, 18:59 is that true? 19:01 And Jesus said, verse 17, 19:04 "Do not think that I come to abolish 19:06 the Law or the Prophets." 19:09 Is that hard to understand? 19:13 Do not think I've come to abolish the law. 19:18 I haven't come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 19:22 So don't even think of I've come abolish it. 19:24 We ought to be able to stop right here and be done. 19:28 Don't even think it. 19:30 If somebody says to you you're not in the law anymore, 19:31 you don't have to obey the Ten Commandments, 19:33 don't even think that. 19:35 Why not? Because Jesus said don't think that. 19:39 He said I haven't come to abolish the law. 19:41 I've come to fulfill them. 19:42 What does it mean? 19:43 He came to fulfill them, because we've learned 19:45 that God expects us to be perfectly obedient to law, 19:48 break one, you break them all. 19:52 He wants us to be perfectly obedient 19:54 but he also knows that we can't do it 19:56 because we've all already broken the law, 19:58 we've all sinned and even if we try, 20:00 even our good deeds are like filthy rags compared to God. 20:04 He knows we can't do it. 20:06 So Jesus came and He kept the law for us. 20:11 He fulfilled it perfectly. 20:13 He never sinned, not one moment 20:15 and He became sin for us, He took our sin 20:18 and gives us His righteousness 20:20 through the cross of Jesus Christ, 20:22 He gives us His perfect obedience to the law. 20:25 No, He didn't come to abolish it, 20:26 He came to fulfill it. 20:30 So He could give it to you. 20:33 So when God says, why should I let you in to that city. 20:36 You say, because of the perfect obedience 20:39 that Jesus gave to me and God says good enough. 20:45 He didn't come to abolish, and He came to fulfill it. 20:49 Verse 18, "I tell you the truth, 20:50 until heaven and earth disappear, 20:52 not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, 20:54 will by any means disappear from the Law 20:57 until everything is accomplished." 21:01 The heavens is still here, the earth is still here, 21:06 not one dot of an eye, not one of cross of the T 21:09 is gonna change the law of God 21:12 until everything is accomplished. 21:16 "And anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments 21:18 and teaches others to do the same will be called 21:20 least in the kingdom of heaven." 21:23 I was having a discussion with one of my friends 21:26 and he said you're wrong, Jac, 21:30 God doesn't expect us to keep the Sabbath anymore. 21:33 And I said, oh, why not? 21:37 He says because we're under grace, 21:39 we're not under the law. 21:42 I said, oh, okay, well, if I'm under grace 21:47 and that lets me break the fourth commandment 21:48 which is the Sabbath, 21:50 then I should also be able to come steal your car tonight 21:52 while you're sleeping. 21:56 He says no, you can't do that. 21:58 Said why not? 21:59 You said the Ten Commandments are done away with, 22:02 and we're under grace now, so why can't I steal your car? 22:05 Well, in the New Testament, 22:07 He did away with the Ten Commandments on the cross 22:09 but He brought back nine. 22:14 Did Jesus do away with ten and bring back nine 22:19 in order to get rid of one? 22:22 Something doesn't square up here. 22:25 Don't think I've come to abolish the law, 22:28 not one dot of an eye, not one cross of the T 22:31 not one holy day that I blessed is gonna change 22:36 as long as the heavens and the earth are still here. 22:42 Verse 21, he explains it, 22:43 he says, "You've heard that it was said to the people long ago, 22:46 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders 22:49 will be subject to judgment. 22:51 But I tell you anyone angry with his brother 22:55 will be subject to judgment." 22:57 Was Jesus doing away with the commandment? 23:01 Thou shalt not murder? 23:08 Was He saying in the Old Testament 23:11 it was the sin to murder but now in the New Testament, 23:16 those laws have been done away with, 23:18 it's okay to murder, just don't angry at him first. 23:22 Is that what He was saying? 23:26 What was He saying? 23:28 He was saying you think that you've obeyed the law 23:31 because you've never murdered anybody. 23:34 But I'm telling you, 23:39 have you ever got angry at your brother? 23:43 Then you're guilty of murder. 23:45 Was He doing away with the law? 23:47 No, He was lifting up the law, wasn't He? 23:51 He was showing that the spirit of the law is much higher 23:56 even than the letter of the law. 23:59 Keeping the letter of the law isn't enough, 24:01 God wants the spirit of the law in us. 24:04 It's not enough not to murder, 24:05 don't get angry, wow, 24:07 that's a whole different ball game. 24:11 And He makes it even clearer, verse 27, 24:13 "You have heard that it was said, 24:14 'Do not commit adultery.' 24:16 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully 24:19 has already committed adultery with her in his heart." 24:24 Is that what Jesus saying. 24:26 In the Old Testament it was a sin to commit adultery, 24:32 but I'm telling you now in the New Testament, 24:34 since we're not under the law anymore, 24:35 we're under grace, you can go ahead 24:38 and sleep with another man's wife 24:39 or another woman outside of marriage, 24:41 just don't look lustfully at her. 24:45 Is that what He was saying. 24:47 No, He was taking that same law from the Old Testament, 24:52 Ten Commandments and saying, 24:53 you think, you have obeyed the law of God 24:58 because you've never slept with your neighbor's wife, 25:01 I'm telling you. 25:02 Have you ever looked at a Playboy magazine? 25:06 Then you're guilty of committing adultery. 25:10 He wasn't doing away with the law. 25:12 He was lifting it up. 25:14 He was making it so high that no one could ever say, 25:18 "God you've to save me now because I kept the law." 25:21 The spirit of the law is so much higher 25:23 than the letter of the law. 25:25 Jesus was doing away with the letter of the law 25:27 and amplifying it making it bigger and bigger, 25:30 and higher and higher. 25:31 So that the only way you and I can ever be saved 25:33 is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 25:38 He wasn't doing away with the law. 25:41 Don't let anyone tell you, "Oh, the law has been done away 25:44 with nailed to the cross." 25:45 "Don't even think that" Jesus said. 25:48 But didn't Paul say, didn't Paul say, 25:51 "There were not under the law, we're under grace." 25:54 Didn't Paul say that the law has been nailed to the cross, 25:57 done away with? 25:58 Didn't he say all these things? 26:00 Paul did write some difficult texts. 26:06 Hard to understand. 26:08 And even Peter, said that. 26:11 Did you know that, Peter said, 26:13 "Our brother Paul has written to you 26:16 about salvation in letters that are hard to understand?" 26:24 Now if Peter had a hard time understanding 26:26 and that we shouldn't be surprised 26:28 if we have a difficult time, 26:29 with some of the things Paul wrote. 26:33 And furthermore Peter said, 26:35 "That these men twist and distort the writings of Paul 26:41 to their own destruction." 26:43 And he called them 'lawless men.' 26:46 Interesting, lawless men that means, 26:48 they try to teach the law has been done away with 26:52 by twisting Paul's writings to their own destruction, 26:57 even if that has nothing to do with them. 27:00 And I think we should follow that. 27:02 If anybody tries to tell you the law has been done away with. 27:05 You can know that's a false prophet 27:09 because Jesus said otherwise. 27:10 Now how do we understand some of those things 27:12 that Paul wrote? 27:13 I'm going to show you three texts 27:15 that I call difficult texts. 27:18 And those three texts will give us a key to unlocking 27:24 all of the other difficult writings that Paul wrote. 27:27 Now I'm going to start with the easiest one. 27:30 Romans 3:28, "We maintain that a man is justified by faith 27:37 apart from observing the law." 27:41 So how are we saved? 27:43 We're saved by faith. 27:45 Not by observing the law 27:47 but by faith apart from observing the law. 27:52 Now if that was the end of the letter, 27:54 we could say, well, you see, 27:55 Paul is saying that since we're saved by faith, 27:58 we don't have to observe the law, 27:59 may be we could make a case for that. 28:02 But it isn't the end of the letter. 28:04 Because just in two more verses down in verse 31, 28:07 "Do we then nullify the law by this faith." Not at all. 28:11 Rather, we uphold the law. 28:14 So look at what Paul is saying. 28:15 We're saved by faith apart from observing the law 28:19 but this faith apart from observing the law 28:22 does not nullify the law at all. 28:23 No, it upholds the law. 28:30 So what's the key? 28:32 The key is this. 28:34 You may not understand 28:35 how Paul got from verse 28 to verse 31. 28:42 You may not be able to trace step by step, all of his logic. 28:51 But even if we can't trace step by step, all of his logic, 28:58 we still have to agree with his conclusion. 29:02 Are you with me? 29:05 We're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, 29:08 apart from works of the law. 29:09 Does that do away with law? 29:11 No, it doesn't do away with the law, 29:12 it upholds the law. 29:13 So we have to accept Paul's conclusion 29:15 that grace does not abolish the law. 29:18 No, it upholds the law. 29:21 That's the key. 29:24 So if anyone says that Paul wrote 29:30 and since we're under grace we don't need to keep the law. 29:32 They're twisting the writings of Paul. 29:36 They're coming out with the different conclusion 29:38 than what Paul came out. 29:41 Because Paul said, "Grace doesn't abolish the law." 29:45 In fact it upholds the law. 29:48 Are you following me? 29:50 I know this is a little heavier, so nod your head, 29:52 raise your hands, say amen or something. 29:53 I need to see you with me now. 29:54 Amen. Okay. 29:57 Let me help you understand this a little bit. 30:03 Oh, years ago, we were in Mobile, Alabama. 30:10 We were doing a Revelation Now meeting. 30:12 And the day came for opening. 30:16 So early in the morning, we loaded everything we could 30:18 in a little red Ford F150 pickup truck. 30:23 Drove down to the auditorium 30:26 where we're going to be having the Revelation Now meetings. 30:30 And God, we did a lot of work, got all set up, you know, 30:34 and around noon we were kind of tired. 30:37 So we drove back home. 30:38 We were staying in a RV Park 30:39 way out on the outskirts of Mobile. 30:42 So my wife and I and our two boys 30:43 got in the pickup drove home. 30:45 And we were kind of anxious to get home 30:48 and get something to eat and get a little rest 30:50 because we needed to have opening night 30:51 at Revelation Now, that night. 30:56 So I'm driving along wide opened highway to that little RV Park. 31:04 Minding my own business when this man 31:07 dressed in a little blue suit, 31:09 white helmet, radar gun in his hand 31:11 steps out from behind a bunch of bushes 31:14 points at me and goes like that. 31:18 That means pullover, down in Alabama. 31:24 So I'm pulled over to side of the road. 31:29 Oh, man, I'm feeling sick. 31:32 You ever had that happened to you? 31:34 Not a good feeling. So he comes walking over there. 31:38 I think they teach him how to walk in police school. 31:46 He is walking over there and he has a radar gun in has hand. 31:52 And I rolled down my window and he said, 31:56 "You were doing 55 miles an hour, see that?" 32:00 "Yes, sir." You got to be polite. 32:06 "Speed limit is 45, did you know that?" 32:07 No, sir. It is. 32:09 "Yes, sir." Oh, man 45-55. 32:16 I means he had me, right? 32:18 The law said 45, I was doing 55, 32:20 I broke the law, I was guilty. 32:23 I'm condemned by the law. 32:25 I'm under the law condemned 32:28 and he whipped out that little ticket book from his pocket. 32:32 I think they teach him how to do that too. 32:38 He asked me for my driver's license stuck it in there. 32:43 And oh, man, I'm under the law. 32:46 I do not feel good. 32:48 It does not feel good to be under the law. 32:51 And he is starting to write on that pad 32:55 and he looked at my license 32:57 and he said, Tennessee. Yes, sir. 33:03 You live there? Yes, sir. 33:07 Well long you're down here for? Four, five weeks. 33:13 Military? No, sir. 33:17 Vacation? No, sir. 33:22 What you're doing here for four, five weeks? 33:32 I'm a preacher. Preacher, ah! 33:39 Oh, he is writing. I'm under the law, oh man. 33:46 And he looked at my license again, 33:48 it had a little picture on it, he looked up at me. 33:53 Looked at the picture and looked at me. 33:56 And he said, "I know who you are." 33:59 Weren't you that guy doing that thing 34:01 about Revelation over there in the auditorium? Yes, sir. 34:08 Boy he had me, I'm under the law. 34:11 It said 45, I did 55. 34:16 He tore up my ticket, gave me my license back and he said, 34:24 "Keep up the good work, preacher, but slowdown." 34:31 And now I'm not under the law anymore, 34:36 I'm under grace because out of the goodness of his heart 34:40 not because of anything I did. 34:41 But out of the goodness of his heart, 34:43 he tore up the ticket and set me free 34:45 and I do not have to pay the fine or the penalty. 34:48 I'm not under the law, I'm under grace 34:51 and it feels good to be under grace. 34:54 Amen. It felt so good. 34:59 Then we went home and rested and ate 35:02 and got dressed, went back down 35:04 for the opening night of Revelation Now. 35:07 And I drove pass that same plump of bushes. 35:11 But I'm not even scared about it 35:13 because I'm not under the law anymore, I'm under grace. 35:15 So I put my foot down 35:17 and I went as fast as I could go, passed those bushes. 35:21 I'm under grace. Do you believe that? 35:27 The law said what? 45, I did 35. 35:36 Why? Because I'm under grace. 35:41 I deserved to pay the fine 35:43 and out of the goodness of his heart he tore up the ticket. 35:46 And I'm not about to let him down. 35:52 You have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 35:56 You deserved to die, you deserved to the pay the fine 36:00 you deserve the penalty. 36:02 But Jesus Christ by His grace tore up the ticket. 36:08 And you're not under the law anymore, you're under grace. 36:12 But does it set you free to break the law. 36:17 Not at chance. It upholds the law. 36:20 I'm not going to go around lying and stealing 36:23 and killing and cheating 36:25 because He out of the goodness of His heart set me free 36:28 and I'm not going to let Him down. 36:31 What a God, amen. Amen. 36:34 Don't let anybody tell you that the law was done away with. 36:38 If the law was done away with when Jesus died on the cross, 36:41 then Jesus would have to die on the cross 36:44 to prove that Satan was right when he said the law is no good. 36:48 Think about that. 36:50 No, the law is so perfect 36:53 because it's a written description 36:54 of what God is like that it can't be broken. 36:58 Only way to save us is the one equal to the law 37:01 to die for us in His place 37:04 and that's the Lamb of Revelation, 37:08 the Lamb of God. Okay, that was an easy one. 37:11 Now, we need to go to the harder one. 37:14 Are you ready? You're awake now. 37:17 Because I know several of you were wondering about this. 37:20 Some even ask in the little book of Colossians 2, 37:24 Colossians 2:13 and in the middle of the verse 37:29 I want to get a little cushioned there, a little context. 37:33 "God made you alive with Christ, He forgave us all of our sins, 37:41 having canceled the written code with its regulations, 37:44 that was against us that stood opposed to us 37:48 he took it away, nailing it to the cross." 37:55 You'd say what you're gonna do with that pastor? 37:59 I'm going to believe it for starters, 38:02 it's in the word of God, it has to be true. 38:04 You say, but that contradicts 38:05 with what we've just been learning. 38:07 No, it doesn't because this letter isn't over yet. 38:12 He has not finished, he has more to say. 38:16 But it sounds like it He canceled that written code 38:19 with His regulations that was against us stood opposed. 38:21 Underline that, "His regulation, this code, 38:24 that was against us and stood opposed to us. 38:27 He took it away nailing it to the cross." 38:30 Verse 16, though he goes on. 38:32 "Therefore do not let anyone judge you 38:34 by what you eat or drink, or religious festival, 38:37 or a New Moon celebration or Sabbath days." 38:40 Oh, wow, it's even worst pastor. 38:44 The law was nailed to the cross. 38:47 So don't let anyone judge you by Sabbath days. 38:51 How are you going to get out of that one? 38:54 Oh, I'm not interested in getting out of anything. 38:58 I'm only interested in knowing what is God saying to me. 39:04 What is He saying? Now this is a difficult one. 39:09 This is one of those verses that Paul wrote, 39:11 I think Peter might have been referring to. 39:14 But if we step back and look at it 39:16 in its big picture, then it becomes crystal clear. 39:23 In fact in 1:15 it says, "He is the image 39:28 of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 39:32 For by him all things were created, 39:34 all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, 39:37 whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities 39:39 all things were created by him and for him. 39:43 He is before all things, 39:45 and in him all things hold together." 39:47 That reminds me of Genesis, the Creator 39:50 and Exodus 4, remember the Sabbath 39:53 because in six days God created all things. 39:59 So how can He start this letter 40:01 with a huge reminder of the Creator God? 40:05 And then come and nail to the cross 40:08 the one commandment that reminds us that He is Creator. 40:13 That doesn't make sense. So what is he saying here? 40:19 Let's go back, Verse 16, 40:22 "Therefore, let no one judge you by Sabbath days." 40:28 And if you're reading in the King James, 40:30 you'll notice that was even in the middle of a sentence. 40:33 That's where people usually stop but there is more. 40:37 He goes on to say, "Sabbath days 40:40 which are a shadow of things to come the reality being Christ." 40:46 So let no one judge you by Sabbath days 40:49 which are a shadow of things to come. 40:53 What does that mean? 40:55 For a moment, I want you to just forget about shadows. 40:59 We'll describe and we'll understand 41:01 what the shadow mean. 41:02 So don't worry about what it means, it's just there. 41:07 And let me illustrate it this way. 41:09 Let no one judge you by Sabbath days, which ones? 41:13 The ones which are shadows. 41:18 What's a shadow? Doesn't matter for now. 41:20 Don't worry about that. 41:23 Let no one judge you by Sabbath days which are shadows. 41:28 Now follow me. Let see. 41:31 Imagine that this plant. 41:33 Oh, yeah, here look, here are some grapes. 41:35 Can you see the grapes? 41:38 There are some purple ones, 41:40 some red ones and some green ones. 41:43 Now these aren't mine so I can't do this 41:46 but let just pretend that I could say. 41:49 Is anybody here hungry tonight. 41:52 I'm going to let you have all the grapes which are green. 41:59 Now am I talking about the purple ones? No. 42:03 Am I talking about the red ones? 42:05 Which one I'm talking about. The green ones. 42:10 So when Paul says, "Let no man judge you 42:12 by Sabbath days which are shadows." 42:17 Is he talking about Sabbath days which are not shadows? 42:23 See, now what is shadow? 42:27 In order to answer that we're going to 42:29 have to go down to the Old Testament. 42:31 Leviticus 23 and here is where it really gets deep. 42:36 So shake the cobwebs out, 42:38 you can get this, It is exciting. 42:41 And you're going to understand things about the Bible now 42:43 that a lot of people never get. 42:46 Look 23:3. "There are six days when you may work, 42:52 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, 42:56 a day of sacred assembly. 42:59 You are not to do any work wherever you live, 43:01 it is a Sabbath to the Lord." 43:03 So you can work for six days, rest-- 43:05 That's the Fourth Commandment, isn't it. 43:07 We've already learned about that. 43:09 That Sabbath day is a reminder, 43:14 it's a monument we learned pointing us back to creation. 43:21 It points us back to that great creative act of God. 43:26 And it reminds us of His authority 43:29 as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. 43:31 That's the seventh day Sabbath. 43:35 Now, just to condense things a little bit, 43:38 to make it a little easier for us. 43:39 Is it okay if I call that one weekly Sabbath? 43:44 Okay, because it comes how often, 43:47 once a week, very good. 43:49 Now, you knew that already. But look at 23:26. 43:57 The Lord said to Moses, 43:59 "The tenth day of the seventh month 44:03 is the Day of Atonement." 44:06 When is the Day of Atonement? 44:08 The tenth day of the seventh month. 44:14 What is the Day of Atonement? 44:15 verse 32, It is a Sabbath of rest for you. 44:21 So here is a Sabbath day that comes on the Bible tells us 44:26 the tenth day of the seventh month. 44:30 How often is that? Once a year. 44:35 So can I call that one a yearly Sabbath? 44:39 It's not the same as the weekly Sabbath. 44:42 So let's distinguish. 44:43 We have a weekly Sabbath and we have the yearly Sabbath. 44:46 How often is the yearly Sabbath? 44:50 Very good. Once a year. 44:53 There are lot of yearly Sabbaths in the Old Testament, 44:56 the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread 45:00 with the Passover, that was the Sabbath day. 45:03 Lot of-- yearly Sabbaths. 45:05 And it came once a year and look at the end of verse 27. 45:10 "An Offering is to be made to the Lord on that day." 45:15 Every one of those yearly Sabbaths 45:18 involved a sacrifice or an offering to the Lord. 45:25 Passover they offered a lamb as the sacrifice 45:29 and put his blood on the doorpost. 45:33 Now, follow me. 45:34 When they offered a lamb as the sacrifice, 45:38 did that lamb save anybody? 45:42 No, the lamb didn't save anybody. 45:47 The lamb pointed forward to the Lamb of God 45:53 who would die on the cross and save us. 45:58 So follow me, the lamb 46:00 that was offered as a sacrifice in the Old Testament 46:03 was a shadow of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ. 46:09 He was the reality to come. 46:12 So the lamb, the offering, the sacrifice 46:16 was a shadow pointing forward to Christ. 46:21 Therefore, the Day of Atonement, 46:23 the Passover, they were all shadows 46:27 pointing forward to the reality who is Christ. 46:32 Every one of those yearly Sabbath days involved sacrifice. 46:38 And every one of them was a shadow. 46:42 The weekly Sabbath pointed backward to creation. 46:48 It wasn't a shadow, it was a reminder 46:53 written in God's Ten Commandment, 46:56 Moral Law describing what love is. 46:59 Love to God and love to fellowmen. 47:03 And it stands forever. 47:07 So you see we have two kinds of Sabbaths. 47:10 Weekly Sabbath which is not a shadow, 47:13 the yearly Sabbath which is a shadow. 47:18 So when Paul says, "Let no man judge you 47:21 by Sabbath days which are shadows," 47:24 he is looking at the yearly Sabbaths 47:27 and they've been done away with. 47:29 He is not talking about the weekly Sabbath. 47:32 No more than I say when I said I'm going to give you 47:34 all of the grapes which are green, 47:36 I'm not talking about the red ones. 47:38 So when Paul said, "Let no one judge you 47:40 by Sabbath days which are shadows." 47:41 He is not talking about the weekly Sabbath 47:43 which is not a shadow 47:45 because it is the eternal reminder 47:46 that the God is the Creator and we'll be celebrating 47:49 and rejoicing over that even in heaven. 47:53 So you see when you understand there are two kinds of laws 47:57 then there's no contradiction when he says, 47:59 "The law has been nailed to the cross." 48:02 It stood against us. 48:05 Those sacrificial laws where nailed to the cross. 48:08 We don't have to offer sacrifices anymore. Why? 48:12 Because, the Lamb of God Christ, our Passover has died. 48:20 You see it all fits together. 48:23 And I'll show you something else 48:24 kind of interesting if I can do it quickly here. 48:26 In Deuteronomy and it illustrates 48:28 the point in Deuteronomy 10:1. 48:31 "The Lord said to Moses." 48:32 Remember he was getting ready 48:33 to go up on the mountain top to meet God in the cloud. 48:37 He said, "Chisel out two stone tablets 48:39 and then come up with me up on the mountain 48:43 and make a wooden chest. 48:45 And I'm going to write on those tablets the Ten Commandments." 48:49 So Moses cutout the two tablets out of the stone 48:53 and he went up on top of the mountain 48:55 and he handed those tablets up to God. 48:57 And the Bible says God Himself wrote with His own finger 49:00 on those tablets of stone the Ten Commandments. 49:05 And then he said, Moses verse 3, 49:09 "So I made a ark, a wooden chest." 49:13 And in verse 4, "The Lord wrote on those tablets 49:16 the Ten Commandments and he did what God said. 49:19 He put them inside the chest." The end of verse 2. 49:25 So God wrote and let me say it a little differently. 49:28 God wrote with His own finger 49:33 on stone the Ten Commandments. 49:36 And Moses put them inside the Ark of the Covenant. 49:42 You got the picture. Now watch this. 49:46 In Deuteronomy 31:24, "After Moses finished 49:51 writing in the book the words of the law. 49:55 So after Moses finished writing 49:58 his book on the words of the law. 50:01 Verse 25, "He gave this command 50:03 to the Levites." That's the priest. 50:05 "That was carrying the Ark of Covenant." 50:07 What's the inside the Ark? The tablets of stone. 50:11 "So Moses wrote his book and he gave them this command." 50:15 He said, verse 26, "Take this Book of the Law." 50:19 The one that Moses wrote. 50:21 "And place it beside the Ark of the Covenant 50:26 of the Lord your God. 50:27 And there it will remain as a witness against you." 50:32 So the Ten Commandments God wrote on stone 50:35 with His own finger and put inside the ark 50:38 but Moses wrote the law on paper or papyrus 50:43 or whatever they wrote on back then. 50:47 Moses wrote it on paper 50:49 and put it beside the Ark of the Covenant. 50:53 One on stone inside, one on paper outside. 50:58 One written by God, one by Moses one stood against us. 51:04 That's exactly what Paul said in Colossians. 51:08 The law with its ordnances that stood against us 51:11 was abolished taken her away nailed to the cross. 51:16 But the one inside the Ark, he says in Hebrews 8. 51:23 It's written inside our hearts. 51:27 Same law that God wrote on stone. 51:32 It doesn't go away, paper goes away, not stone. 51:36 Now he writes on our hearts. See it all fits together. 51:42 When you recognize there are two different kinds of laws. 51:47 So if anytime you see writing about Paul 51:49 doing away with the law, you gonna say which law? 51:52 Sacrifices or the moral law, the Ten Commandments. 51:54 No, not the moral law, never 51:57 because it describes the character of God. 52:00 It describes love. God can't change. 52:05 But those sacrificial laws abolished, torn up, 52:08 nailed to the cross and everything fits. 52:14 One more, difficult text 52:17 and this is the little easier again. 52:19 Let's go back to Romans, 52:21 this time the seventh chapter, in Romans 7. 52:26 This one is the function of the law. 52:30 The function of the purpose of the law. 52:32 In verse 7, "What shall we say then?" 52:35 I'm in Romans 7:7 "What shall we say then? 52:38 Is the law sin?" Certainly not. 52:43 "Indeed, I would not have known 52:44 what sin was except through the law. 52:48 For I not have known what coveting really was 52:50 if law had not said do not covet." 52:53 So which law is Paul writing about now? 52:57 The one that says do not covet. 52:59 And which law says do not covet? 53:03 The Ten Commandments. All right so. 53:05 Is the law sin? No. 53:08 I wouldn't have known what sin was, 53:09 what coveting was except for the law that said do not covet. 53:13 So Paul the great preacher of righteousness, 53:17 the most spiritual writer in the New Testament I believe, 53:20 still needed the law to tell him what sin was. 53:26 That's the purpose of the law 53:28 is to reveal sin, its like God's mirror. 53:32 Now some of you may have noticed 53:34 when you drove into the parking lot 53:36 that we have in RV Parked at the end of the parking lot. 53:41 What you probably didn't know is that, 53:44 it used to be a greyhound bus. 53:49 It was a 1975 greyhound bus, 35 years old. 53:55 And we had it rebuilt into an RV that we could live in. 54:01 And I've had it like ten years now. 54:04 I love that old bus. 54:06 But I don't know, man, 54:07 it's just something about it, I love my bus. 54:11 And I'm not a mechanic or anything, 54:13 don't misunderstand me. 54:15 But when I goto that back 54:16 and I open those two big doors back there. 54:19 See that big engine. 54:21 Oh, man, it just does something to me. 54:24 Love that big engine. 54:27 And I don't know how to fix stuff 54:28 but I know how to check the oil 54:30 and tinker a little bit back there. 54:32 And every time I go back there and fool around. 54:34 And I go back inside the house. Dina goes, wow. 54:39 You can't come in here like that. Why not? 54:42 You've got grease all over you. 54:44 And sure enough, man, I got it on my hands. 54:50 All over my face, my arms, I'm a preacher. 54:54 I don't like grease on my hands. 54:57 So I get angry. Oh, I'm angry. 55:00 So I go back into the bathroom 55:02 and I look, oh, it's all over my face too. 55:05 Now I'm really angry what I'm going to do? 55:08 So I walkover to the wall and I yank at mirror of the wall 55:12 and take it outside and smash it on the sidewalk. 55:16 That will fix all that grease, ah. 55:21 No, the grease is still there. 55:23 I just can't see it anymore but it's still there. 55:28 Sometimes people go to God's law 55:30 and then says, "Thou shall not covet. 55:33 Thou shall not commit adultery." 55:36 Oh, wow, I don't like that. I know what I'll do. 55:40 I'll take that law and I'll nail it to the cross 55:44 and do away with it. 55:45 Now I'm under grace now. The sin is still there. 55:49 I just can't see them anymore. 55:54 Or I could do something else. 55:57 I'll look in the mirror and say, grease. 56:01 So I know what I'll do, I'll take that mirror 56:03 so I go take the mirror down off the wall. 56:07 Start washing my face off with the mirror. 56:11 Then I'll get rid of the grease. 56:15 Well, it doesn't, it makes that worse 56:20 and it ruins the mirror. 56:22 Can't see anything very good in there anymore. 56:26 You know some people do that with God's mirror. 56:31 You see the commandments and it points out their sins. 56:34 Thou shalt not lie. Oh, I have never done that. 56:38 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 56:44 I know what I will do. I'll obey the law. 56:49 You may try to obey the law so that God can save them. 56:55 But you see when you do that, the sin is still there. 57:01 You just bring the law down to something you can do 57:06 instead of lifting it up 57:07 to what only He could do and it ruins the law. 57:14 You can't be saved by keeping the law. 57:22 You see, it's the law of God 57:27 that keeps me on my knees at the foot of the cross. 57:36 The object of the antichrist attack, 57:40 the law of God and the cross of Christ. 57:45 And if you could just do away with one, 57:52 we become lawbreakers. 57:56 Thank God for the grace of Jesus Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17