Romans 7:1-6

Read verses 1-6 with me.

And if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress.

Will you pray with me for the preaching of God's word?

Father, your word is powerful.

It is living and is active and it pierces between the joints of marrow to the intentions of the heart.

And we ask this morning that your word would work in us to humble us.

To remind us freshly of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And to find great joy in him and in communion with Jesus Christ.

Lord, we ask that the word would cause us to rejoice.

That it would make the simple wise and it would make the unclean clean.

And that it would be richer than gold and sweeter than honey this morning.

In Jesus' name, amen.

So to introduce today's sermon, I would love to share a little bit about the life of Martin Luther.

Martin Luther was educated under medieval theology.

In this education, Luther was taught that justification is to make oneself righteous.

Righteousness, in this thought, began with baptism and was continued through taking the Catholic sacraments.

In addition to being made righteous through the sacraments, they would teach that one could have a claim on God,

even demand certain things from God, if they just did their very best.

Their natural abilities and their good works would merit or would provide merit that would then justify them.

If we just did what was in us, if we just did our very best, we can be disposed to God's grace.

That was the doctrine that Luther came out of and that was in his mind as he became a monk.

And it was the doctrine that eventually drove him to despair.

Between 1516 and 1517, Luther abandoned these teachings.

He called them the rancid rules of the philosophers.

He realized that we don't have a disposition towards God, but actually indisposition.

We're actually naturally rebellious towards God.

Luther came to an awareness that the sinner is utterly helpless to save himself

or to have any right standing before God based on their own merits.

As he came to this reality that he was sinful and God was holy and just, he was undone.

All his attempts to satisfy God, his prayers, his fasting, his vigils, his good works,

all the things he did left him wholly disquieted.

His mood swung from despair to anger at God over this reality.

And it began to produce an experience that he called infectum.

It's a German word and it doesn't translate well into our language, but it carries lots of meaning.

For Luther, this was dread.

He would see God's righteousness and feel dread and despair.

This sense of foreboding doom.

This assault on his soul and anxiety.

And it left him lowly.

Luther felt as if his whole sinful life was exposed before God's presence.

As Luther went to the word in the season, he saw the righteousness of God through the law.

Later in his writings, Luther would say,

God gave the law then to put us to death, to kill us, so that we would see the enormity of our sin.

Luther would talk about God's law as a hammer.

He says,

This presumption of righteousness in us is a huge and horrible monster.

To break and crush it, God needs a large and powerful hammer.

That is the law, which is the hammer of death, the thunder of hell, and the lightning of divine wrath.

To what purpose?

To attack the presumption of righteousness, which is rebellious, stubborn, and stiff-necked beast in us.

The law was the hammer of God that would expose Luther's seething rebellion against God,

and it would ultimately show his deep need for Jesus Christ for salvation.

Between 1518 and 1519, Luther, in studying the book of Romans,

discovered that justification is not to be made righteous.

It's not a progressive work that we justify ourselves before God.

Justification is to be declared righteous based on the works of another.

Justification is not doing one's very best, as if we are good and can show approval to God.

But justification is based on Christ and his righteousness.

Luther says justification is by faith alone,

because it looks to Christ alone for forgiveness of sins and salvation.

Faith itself doesn't save, but faith saves because we receive Christ by faith,

because we possess and grasp Christ by faith.

In Luther's theology, before salvation, the law exposes our need for Christ.

It reveals our complete inability to be righteous,

that our good works don't give anything to God.

There is no hope and freedom found in our own works,

but only through Jesus Christ and his works.

What Luther discovered is that true and lasting freedom comes through Christ.

He has done all the work.

Because of Christ's work and his fulfillment of the covenant of redemption,

we are freed from the law.

We are freed from its rigor and its curse.

The Holy Spirit has given us new hearts and unites us to Christ.

In Christ, we are free, and the law now serves as a rule of life.

It's a means by which we express love to God and to please him.

So today, the main point I want you to see in this sermon

is that in Christ, we are freed from the law

so that we can serve God, serve Christ by the Spirit.

So in Christ, we are freed from the law

so that we can serve Christ by the Spirit.

So point number one, the law had rule over us.

Point one, the law had rule over us.

If you look at verse one with me,

and do you not know, brothers, for I am speaking to those who know the law,

that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives.

Paul begins Romans 7 with another rhetorical question,

which as we have been following Nathan's preaching,

we see that this is how he forms his arguments.

He proposes a good concept,

and then he then starts to explain it

and asks a question about it, and then answers the question.

So here we have another question,

and this question is meant to explain the relationship

between the believer and the law.

What relationship does the law play in the believer's life?

So questions I hope to answer today is,

what was the relationship between those in Adam and the law?

So as we're thinking about Romans 5,

what is the relationship that those in Adam, unbelievers, have with the law?

Second question I hope to answer is,

what relationship are those in Christ have with the law?

What relationship does believers have in regards to God's law?

Is it no law, or is there still something

that bounds us that is good,

that we love, that frames the way in which we live?

So if you look at verse 1,

there is a gentle but firm rebuke to the church.

He asserts that they know the law.

The audience of the Jews and the Gentiles

would know the law in which he speaks about.

And as we've made our way through Romans,

we see that Paul is building a case.

And if we look at the way in which Paul has talked about the law

in the first six chapters,

and the way he talks about the law in chapter 7,

I think that we can understand which law he is referring to.

And from this letter,

I propose that this law that he's talking to

is what we call the moral law,

or the Ten Commandments.

So throughout this law,

Paul's case he's building is that

all are unrighteous and deserving of God's wrath.

So as we talked about last week in Romans 1,

that people see God's glory in creation,

they see his righteousness,

but they suppress the truth,

and they exchange his glory for creation.

In Romans 2, we discuss that all people

have the law of God in their hearts,

and their conscience bear witness against them.

The law of God in Romans 2

is the law that forbids stealing,

idolatry, idolatry,

and the misuse of the Lord's name.

And it's referred to as the law of the letter

that was written on stone.

In Romans 7, verse 6 tells us

Romans 7:6

that the law came in the old way of written code.

And then verse 7 goes on to say,

we would not have known what it is to covet

if the law had not said,

you shall not covet.

So at this point,

Paul's talking about this law in Romans 7

that forbids stealing,

adultery, idolatry, blasphemy,

and covetousness.

The law was written on stone

and is referred to as the law of the letter.

I believe that from all these things,

Paul has in mind the Ten Commandments,

which God wrote on stone.

This moral law has been revealed

in the hearts of all men in creation

and was put in writing on Mount Sinai.

This is the law of creation

that is made explicit in the Mosaic law.

So with that said,

John Calvin has proposed

three uses of the moral law

that I think we will find very instructive today.

He says,

use number one is the civil use.

This is the use of the law

that restrains evil

and promotes righteousness.

It restrains the wicked inclinations

of the heart from manifesting itself.

And we see this law being applied

in how we tell people right or wrong,

but we ultimately see it

in how we create and preserve a society.

There is always some sense of civil use

throughout society

that upholds and sustains a society.

Number two is the pedagogical

or the evangelical use of the law.

This law functions like a mirror.

It's supposed to expose to us

our sin or reveal our unrighteousness.

It shows our complete inability

to be righteous

so that we would see our need for a savior,

see our need for someone who was righteous.

And the third use

is what Calvin called the normative use.

This use of the law

reveals God's will

and frames the law

as a rule of life.

It's the way that believers

express their love to God

and delight in him.

So the three uses of the law

are the civil use,

the evangelical use,

and the normative use.

So in verse one,

Paul is applying the evangelical use.

We see that the law is binding.

It has an authority,

authority.

But this isn't just authority.

This word is used in this context

to mean a rule,

a mastery.

BDAG,

which is the Greek lexicon,

supports that this is a rule over,

that it has authority

that's not just,

it tells us what is right and wrong,

but it is binding,

it's domineering over us.

And Paul here describes us

being married to the law.

All men are obligated

to the law's demands,

and if they break

the demands of the law,

it's penalties.

The ten commandments

bind all in Adam.

In this marriage,

we are under a taskmaster.

The law reveals

the ways in which

we cannot keep the commandments.

And in doing so,

according to verse five,

the law arouses sin in us.

It exposes sin in our hearts.

The law shows us

our utter inability to keep it.

So James 2.10 says,

whoever keeps the whole law

but fails one point

is guilty of it all.

To be bound under the law

is to be bound

under the rigor

of its obedience

that it requires from us.

The law lays this heavy yoke upon us

and gives us the least help

or necessary strength

to fulfill it.

It doesn't offer life or salvation,

but offers a requirement.

The law has an impossible demand

of exact obedience.

As James 2 says,

if we fail in one point,

we've broken it all.

Samuel Bolton says,

the law looks for exact obedience

in every jot and tittle.

The demands of the law

are unbearable

and they leave the subjects

beat down and condemned.

The law's requirements

are too great for any.

This is why Paul says,

no one is justified

before God

by the law in Galatians.

So we see that

the demand of the law

is great.

The consequences

for breaking the law

are severe.

In Galatians 2.10,

all who rely on the works

of the law

are under a curse.

For it's written,

cursed be everyone

who does not abide

by all things written

in the book of the law

and do them.

The severe consequences

of those who rely on the law,

that means those who rely

on their own works,

those who rely on their own will,

or those who rely

on their innate goodness,

is death.

We see this in 6.23,

the verse right before verse 1.

For the wages of sin

is death,

but the gift of God

is eternal life

through Christ Jesus.

So in Adam,

we were under

this rule of law.

It had authority

and rule over us

and sin had dominion in us.

The demands of this master

were great,

the consequences severe.

It was an impossible yoke

and an eternal punishment

for breaking it.

This is why

when we sing the hymn

Rock of Ages,

we say,

Not the labors of my hand

can fulfill

thy law's demands.

Could my zeal

no respite know?

Could my tears

forever flow?

All for sin

could not atone.

Thou must save

and thou alone.

This is where we see

the evangelical

use of the law.

This is where we see

the law shows

our complete inability

to keep it.

That we need someone

greater than us

who can fulfill

all demands.

It can fulfill

every jot and tittle

of its requirements.

But not only that,

we don't only need

someone to meet

the demands,

we need someone

to also bear the penalties

because we've all

broken the law.

So the evangelical

use of the law

takes the law

and shows us

that we need the gospel.

Samuel Bolton says

the law is subservient

to the gospel.

It's under the gospel.

It serves it.

Its purpose is to convince

and to humble us.

And the gospel

is to enable us

to fulfill the obedience

of the law.

The law sends us

to the gospel

for justification.

It doesn't justify,

but it sends us

to the gospel.

And the gospel

sends us to the law

to frame our way

of life.

And we see this exact thing

in Pilgrim's Progress

by John Bunyan.

In Pilgrim's Progress,

the main character

named Christian

is making a journey.

And along his journey

through the Christian life,

he meets a man

named Faithful.

And Faithful and Christian

now are journeying together.

They're sharing

how they came to salvation.

They're sharing

their experiences

as being a believer.

And Pilgrim asks Faithful

about how he came to Christ,

but then his experiences

from it.

Faithful retells

that he comes

to the hill of difficulty.

And as he comes

to the hill,

he meets someone

named Adam the First.

And Adam the First

tries to appeal

to Faithful

with all the world's pleasures.

I'll give you

the lust of the flesh,

the lust of the eyes,

and the pride of life.

And you can come

and enjoy my estate

is what Adam the First says.

But Faithful

has this thought

that he needs

to put off the old man

and turns away

from Adam the First

and starts climbing

the mountain.

And as he's climbing,

Adam the First yells,

I'm going to send

someone after you.

So Faithful

tells his story

from there.

He says,

so as soon as the man,

or as he's going

up the hill,

in the next scene,

he sees someone

coming after him.

And he says,

so as soon as the man

overtook me

without saying a word,

he struck me

and knocked me down

unconscious.

When I came to,

I asked him

why he had thus

assaulted me.

And he said that

it was because

of my secret inclination

to follow Adam the First.

And with that,

he struck me

with another deadly blow

on the chest

and beat me down

backwards.

And I laid at his feet

as if I were dead.

So when I came to,

I cried to him

for mercy.

I said,

I do not,

he said to me,

I do not know

how to show mercy.

And he knocked me

down again.

And he would have

beaten me to death

except one who came

and told him to stop.

So Christian then

asked Faithful,

who came

and told him to stop?

And Faithful says,

I did not recognize

him at first,

but as he went by,

I saw the wounds

in his hands

and in his side.

Then I concluded

that it was our Lord.

Christian then explained

the incident to Faithful.

The man who overtook

he was Moses.

He spares no one

and does not know

how to show mercy

to anyone

who transgresses

his law.

So here,

Bunyan is picturing

the law

as one who came

and beat him down.

And the law

pointed that he had

no ability

to fulfill it,

no ability to do

the demands of the law.

But then came someone

with wounds in his hand

and wounds in his side

who stopped the beating

and this was his Lord.

The point he's making

is that the law

should point us

to our need for a Savior.

We need the law

to point us

to our need for a Savior

because we cannot be justified

by the law.

So the law

had great rule over us

with its demands

and its severe consequences.

Christ has set us free

from the law's demands

and consequences

by his work

of redemption.

So point number two,

Christ has set us free.

Christ has set us free.

The law of Romans 7

is binding on all

and the only way

to be freed from this law

is death.

According to verses 2-3,

the married spouse

is bound to her husband

by the law of marriage.

This union is for life

for as the text says,

as long as one lives.

The married woman

would only be free

to marry another

by law

if her husband died.

Paul uses this picture

to portray the freedom

that we have

through our union

with Jesus Christ.

Because we've been

united to Christ,

we have died to the law

through his body,

according to verse 4.

Verse 6 explains

that we've been released

from the law,

having died to that

which held us captive.

How can this be?

How can our union

with Christ

provide us freedom?

It is because

Jesus was our federal head.

He was our perfect representative.

The covenant of works

that God made of Adam,

Adam broke.

The covenant of redemption

that God made of Christ,

Christ kept.

When we are united to Christ,

we are represented

in his life,

his death,

and his resurrection.

In his death,

we died with him.

It says we were crucified

with Christ,

and in doing so,

we died to the law.

And in his life,

we were raised with him

and are justified.

His life and resurrection

provide us justification.

That means true freedom

comes from the works

of Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

you are free indeed.

John 8.36 says,

So if the Son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

Galatians 5.1,

For freedom Christ

has set you free.

2 Corinthians 3.17,

Now the Lord is spirit,

and where the spirit

of the Lord is,

there is freedom.

In Christ is where we experience

true and lasting freedom.

There is freedom,

and you are free indeed

through our Savior.

And this is an essential part

of your gospel,

of the gospel that we believe.

John Calvin says,

Liberty is a necessary

attendant to the doctrine

of justification.

John Owen calls

Christian freedom

the second principle

of the Reformation.

Our gospel is a freeing gospel

that has fulfilled the law

and broke the bonds

in sin and death

that we were under.

We see this in the work

Jesus has done for us.

The heavy demands

of the law

and the severe consequences

that we deserve

were credited to Christ,

were counted on him.

He fulfilled the demands,

and he took the consequences

for us.

Jesus was placed

under every rigorous demand

of the law

and obeyed it

in every way.

Jesus obeyed the law,

every dot

and every tittle.

Jesus perfectly offered

obedience to God,

fulfilling the law.

That's why Romans 8 says

that the righteous requirement

of the law

might be fulfilled in us.

While blameless,

Jesus,

in fulfilling his covenant

and being the better

representative for us,

he also became a curse

and he took

all the severe consequences

that you deserve.

Every breaking of the law,

every sin

that you have committed,

Jesus took for you

and he died once and for all.

Galatians 3.13 says,

Christ redeemed us

from the curse of the law

by becoming a curse for us.

For it is written,

curse it to everyone

who is hanged on a tree.

Because Jesus fulfilled

the covenant of redemption,

we are free.

We are free from the dominion

of sin.

The sin that you once served,

that once held you captive

and that you labored for,

you've been set free from.

We are free from Satan

and the tyranny of Satan

and his dominion.

Colossians 1.13

We are free from the demands

of the law

and the exact obedience

that it renders,

that it asked for.

And we are free

from the curse of the law.

All your penalties

were taken by Jesus.

The Reformation song,

which we will sing

after the sermon,

says,

In Christ alone,

we're justified.

His righteousness

is our plea.

Your law's demands

are satisfied.

His perfect work

has set us free.

Brothers and sisters,

do you see this amazing love

that Christ has for us?

There is no labor.

There is no work.

There is no decision

that you can offer to God

for his approval.

You are not under

a magnifying glass.

There is no perfect

and foreboding standard

that makes you lie worthless,

that makes you feel inadequate,

because Christ has done it all.

God looks at Christ's works

and finds great approval for you.

Therefore,

you don't have to work.

His work has provided you

a sweet and amiable relationship

with the Father.

You are valued

on Christ's merits

and now have access

to the Father,

now have communion

with him.

Brothers and sisters,

there is nothing

this world can offer you

for your godliness.

The self-help mantra

that says,

you are enough,

be the better you,

be your true self,

is not to be trusted.

You are not enough,

but that's okay

because Christ is.

He was enough

and is enough

and he has purchased

all for you.

All the spiritual blessings

and the sweetness

of his communion

are given to you

in Christ,

to those who repentably,

to those who the Spirit

has made new.

And we see in Romans 7-4

that Christ has set us free

that we may bear fruit

for God.

We have been set free

from the law's rule

and sin's dominion

so that we may live

for another,

that our lives now

may be lived

to our faithful Savior,

Jesus Christ.

Verse 4 says,

we belong to another.

We are now united

to Christ.

We have died to the law

and we now live

for another.

But the implications

of this are so wonderful.

As we go in Romans,

you'll continue to see

these implications.

Romans 5 is a book

of saying implications

for being united to Christ.

But get this,

those who are in Christ

are now bound to Christ

for life.

And nothing can separate

them from His love.

See, chapter 6,

we are now united to Him.

In chapter 8,

at the end of it,

nothing can separate us

from Him.

You are secure in Christ

and you are in His love.

And there isn't any sin,

any principality,

there is nothing on this world

or in heaven

that can separate you

from Christ.

You are free indeed,

brothers and sisters,

and you are free

to worship Him

and to live for Him.

So point one,

we had been under

the rule of the law.

Point two,

Christ has set us free

from the law.

Now point number three

is we live by the Spirit.

Verse six says,

we have been released

from the law

so we serve in the way

of the Spirit

and not in the way

of the written code.

The new way of the Spirit

is what we call

the covenant of grace.

This is the new covenant

promised in Ezekiel 36

and Jeremiah 31.

Will you turn to

Ezekiel 36 with me?

In Ezekiel 36,

this is the new covenant promise

that is to come

for the Old Testament believers

that is fulfilled in Christ.

When Christ at the Lord's Supper

said,

this is my blood,

the new covenant for you.

He is enacting,

He is initiating

the new covenant

now being applied

to believers.

Verses 25 through 28 say,

I will sprinkle

clean water on you

and you shall be clean

from all your uncleansliness

and from all your idols

I will cleanse you

and I will give you

a new heart

and a new spirit

I will put within you

and I will remove

the heart of stone

from your flesh

and give you

a heart of flesh.

I will put my spirit

within you

and cause you to walk

in my statutes

and be careful

to obey my rules.

You shall dwell

in the land

I gave to your fathers

and you shall be

my people

and I will be your God.

Ezekiel 36 promises

a work in which

God has already done

for those who are in Christ.

This is the work

to cleanse us.

This is the radical work

of heart surgery.

We are all born in Adam

with a heart

that is hard to God,

that hates God,

that does not want

to love and serve Him.

And this promise here

says that God will

remove this heart of stone,

remove this hard heart

and put a heart of flesh,

a heart that desires

to love God,

desires to follow Him.

We see it right here,

it says that

they will desire

to do God's law,

that they'll walk

in my statutes.

Now will you turn

to Jeremiah 31 with me?

This is another promise

of the new covenant.

Verses 31 through 34 say,

Behold, the days are coming,

declares the Lord,

when I will make

a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and the house of Judah,

not like the covenant

that I made

with their fathers

on the day

when I took them

by the hand

to bring them

out of the land of Egypt.

My covenant they broke

though I was their husband,

declares the Lord.

For this is the covenant

that I will make

with the house of Israel

after those days,

declares the Lord.

I will put my law

within them

and I will write it

on their hearts

and I will be their God

and they shall be my people.

And no longer

shall each one teach

his neighbor

and each brother

and each his brother

saying,

Know the Lord

for they shall all know me

from the least

to the greatest,

declares the Lord.

For I will forgive

their iniquity

and I will remember

their sin no more.

So Jeremiah 31

is building on this promise

of giving the spirit

and in this promise

he says that he's going

to put his law

within their heart

and he's going to write it

on their heart.

It calls back to Ezekiel

or calls forward to Ezekiel

where it says

that he'll cause them

to walk in his statutes.

What we see

in Ezekiel 36

and Jeremiah 31

is the promised new covenant

and it's the new way

of the spirit.

The way in which

we now have the spirit

that caused us

to love God

but also to obey his law,

to please him,

to express love to him.

Before in Adam

we had a heart of stone

that hated God

and loved sin.

The law had bound us

and we were in captivity.

Sin reigned over us

and we served it

as an instrument

of unrighteousness.

God has done

an amazing work.

His spirit has done

the work of regeneration

and given us new hearts.

By the work of the spirit

we partake in the covenant

of grace.

We've been united

to Christ

and in the new way

of the spirit

the law is within us

and written on our hearts.

So to remind you

of Samuel Bolton's quote,

the law sends us

to the gospel

for justification.

The gospel sends us

to the law

to frame our way of life.

The law is now

within us.

In Christ

we serve

by the new way

of the spirit.

And we can say

with Paul

as in Romans chapter 7

Romans 7 · chapter mention

I delight in the law

of God

in my inner being.

And at the end

of chapter 7

he says

I serve the law

with God.

I serve the law

of God in my mind

but my flesh

serves sin.

The law

is no longer

a hammer for us

but a staff

that guides us.

As those in Christ

walking in the statutes

of the moral law

is the expression

of love to God

and to delight in him.

That's why

when it says

that we should love

our God

and love our neighbor

as ourself

that's the summary

of all the law

and the prophets

because the first

four commandments

is to love God

and the first six commandments

is to love

our neighbor

as ourself.

So the commandments

should be something

that we see

as a delight now.

I want to worship God.

I want to bear

his name well.

I want to give time

to worship him well.

And then

I want to serve

my brothers and sisters well.

I want to do

the one anotherings well.

I care for your soul

so I want to make sure

that there's no lust

in my heart.

I want to make sure

that I don't consider

stealing

or being covetousness.

I want to love you

as my own soul.

This is the life

in the spirit.

The life that we say

Father I love you

because I keep

your commandments.

Our religion

is not law based

works based righteousness.

It is heart based.

This is what

Calvin would call

the third use

of the law.

What Calvin calls

the normative use

of the law.

It is the way

believers normally

use the law

for life and godliness.

This is how believers

relate to the law.

Compared to the unbeliever

who relate to it

in a civil

and evangelical way

the believers now

relate it in a normative

way.

If you turn to the

back of your bulletin

there's a quote

by Richard Sibbes

and it says

when we come

to be religious

we lose

not our pleasure

we don't lose

our pleasure

but we translate it

before we fed

on common notions

now we live

on holy truths.

Do you see the change?

Before we lived

on the things

of the world

common notions

are sin

but now we live

on holy truths

and they are

pleasurable

they are delightful

they are great

to live by.

The 1689

London Baptist

Confession

is very informative

here.

In chapter 19

paragraph 7

it says

these uses

of the law

are not contrary

talking about

the civil

evangelical

and the normative

use.

They are not

contrary to one

another

they don't

oppose each other

these uses

of the law

are not contrary

to the grace

of the gospel

but are in

sweet harmony

with it

for the spirit

of Christ

subdues

and enables

the human will

to freely

and cheerfully

do what

the will of God

requires

in the scriptures.

The gospel

doesn't do away

with the moral law

but actually

strengthens it.

There is a sweet

harmony between

the law

and the gospel

but the law

is subservient

it serves

the gospel.

Through the gospel

and the work

of the spirit

believers

can freely

and cheerfully

do the ten commandments

we have them

as a joy

for us

but this

harmony

of law

and gospel

is essential

to the Christian

life.

As Christians

the light

of Christ

should shine

in every domain

of our lives.

It should affect

all of us

every aspect

of us.

So just two

places of application

for today

and then we

will be concluding.

Number one

our friendships

and our marriages

how does

law and gospel

harmony

law and gospel

distinction

affect our

friendships

and marriages?

In our

friendships

and or our

marriages

while we

greatly enjoy

both of those

relationships

the aim

is to please

and glorify

God.

That's what

they're designed

for.

He's given

these relationships

to us

as a gift

and in these

relationships

the law

and the gospel

are significantly

important.

If we live

these relationships

based on

perfect obedience

or extreme

expectation

we will be

left discouraged

and angry.

We must be

careful not to

build our

relationships

just based

on law

and to be

those who

bear our

friends with

the law

and our

marriages

with the

law

to enact

perfect obedience

from our

spouse

or to enact

perfect obedience

from our

friends.

Gospel living

is always

accompanied

with the

gospel.

We need

to hold

our friends

and spouse

to the

law of

God

as a

frame of

life

and when

they fail

we bring

it to their

attention

gently

and as

we bring

it to their

attention

we say

brother

sister

honey

whoever

you're

speaking

to

this

thing

you

said

or

this

thing

you

did

does

not

honor

the

Lord

the way

that it

should

and it

grieves me

that that

happened

and I

see my

own sin

too

but we

need to

be careful

and quickly

to ask

God

for help

so we

can repent

and enjoy

the life

in the

spirit.

It is a

beautiful

thing to

live by

law and

gospel

because the

law is

now a way

of life

that we

instruct and

love each

other by

and then it

provides gospel

interactions.

Your friendships

and your

marriages can

now be

built on

the gospel

because you

are faithful

to the

laws of

frame of

life

the normative

use.

So some

brief verses

faithful are the

wounds of a

friend

profuse are the

kisses of an

enemy.

See the

difference there

the comparison

faithful are the

wounds

profuse are the

kisses

proverbs 27

6

iron sharpens

iron and

one man

sharpens

another

proverbs

27

17

when we

are doing

this well

when we

are balancing

law and

gospel well

we can say

of our

friendships and

marriages

oil and

perfume make

the heart

glad and

the sweetness

of a friend

comes from

earnest

counsel

proverbs

27

9

so number

one

friendships and

marriages

number two

parenting

the same

goes for

parenting

it should

affect every

aspect of

our lives

and there is

so much

parenting advice

out there

we've all

heard so much

and honestly

we're probably

affected by so

much even

stuff we don't

agree with

subconsciously

from what we

hear

some of this

advice is

really great

some of it

we should

keep and

use

some of it

is not so

great

some of it

is stuff we

shouldn't be

using because

it doesn't

advocate gospel

living

good parenting

advice preserves

the harmony

between law

and gospel

as parents

we have

delegated

authority

authority

given by

god to

exercise

godly

homes

we are

ambassadors

of the

gospel to

our

children

and there's

two ways

we typically

err or we

drift to

in our

parenting

number one

the use

of the

law

without

the

gospel

we give

our children

commands

and we

discipline

them without

bringing

them to

the

gospel

this type

of parenting

is law

based

parenting

and this

is binding

our children

under the

law

without giving

them any

hope in the

gospel of

jesus christ

number two

the use

of grace

without

the law

this type

of parenting

is when parents

give their

children a

command but

do not

discipline

them

the common

phrase tossed

!

around is I'm

giving them

grace

another way

this grace

based parenting

is applied

is that we

give commands

but we do

not require

first time

obedience

we do not

require them

to obey

us but we

let it

happen or

we excuse

their actions

both of

these areas

using the

law without

the gospel

and using

the gospel

without the

law do

not keep

the distinction

of law

and gospel

not keep

gospel living

primary

both areas

do not

preserve the

beauty of

law and

gospel

and Calvin's

use of the

law is very

helpful for us

here

the first

use is the

civil use

and if you

remember this

is the use

that restrains

evil but

tells us what

right and

wrong is

this is a

use that you

shouldn't want

to sin because

you don't like

the consequences

and this use

is used in

parenting we

tell our kids

do not do

this and if

you'll do

this this is

your consequence

and there's

expectations that

clear and right

and if they

break those

expectations we

discipline

them the

second use of

the law is

the evangelical

use in the

use of law

and discipline

we're aiming

our children

towards the

gospel all

parenting needs

to be needs

to have a

second use so

we can point

them to the

hope with

that said all

parenting needs

to have the

civil use so

we point our

children towards

the need for

the gospel if

we go into

one we veer

to more law

base if we

go to the

other we veer

more towards

cheap grace

we offer

grace without

the undergirding

of the law

but the

third use

the sweet

use is the

normative use

and this is

when your kid

professes faith

and in this

if your kid's a

believer we now

get to teach them

how to frame

their life around

the law

how do the

ten commandments

instruct us to

live to god

in a way that

is pleasing

in a way that

shows love

but in the

meantime i think

most of us

that are parenting

right now tend

to be under the

first and second

use we're

tending to

use the

civil use

to show

right and

wrong and

then we're

using the

second use

to point

them to

jesus we

disappoint and

we give

instruction and

all of this

should bring

point them

to jesus to

the grace that

jesus offers and

it should lead us

to pray much

because our

meager

our meager

abilities our

meager instruction

isn't going to

save our kids

they're not going

to be saved by

us but by

jesus christ and

the holy spirit

so we should

pray often in

parenting and

often in our

friendships because

it is the spirit

who works in

their hearts that

brings them to

salvation and it

is god who is a

great savior for

us so praise god

for this great

salvation he's

a pride he's

provided may he

equip us to live

out his gospel in

a way that is

worthy in christ

jesus so in

conclusion in

adam the law

has rule over

us it had great

demands and gave

severe consequences

jesus as our

federal head

fulfilled the

law's demands

and bore the

consequences by

becoming a curse

because of christ's

work we are free

we partake of the

covenant of grace

and all of its

benefits the spirit

gives us new hearts

and the law is now

within us while the

law exposes our

sins and sends us

to the gospel it

now while it did do

that it now frames

our life and we

serve christ by the

spirit so in christ

we are free from

the law so that we

can serve him by the

spirit pray with me

and we are free from

our sins and sins and

sins and sins and sins

and sins and sins and

sins and sins and sins and

sins and sins and sins and

sins and sins and sins and

sins and sins and sins and sins and

sins and sins and sins and sins and sins