What Happens When We Worship | Week 10

You have your Bible. You can open Sue Romans chapter

Romans 3 · chapter mention

3. The in Romans 3 today, as we

continue our series. What happens when we worship

what happens when we worship? We're going to look at today the

relationship of the law and the gospel and but especially its

why it matters for our worship each week?

So, before we do, I wanted to start with just I guess what

would be a bit of honesty? I have tried to make it a point.

Not to just always be wearing my feelings on my sleeves as we go

through all of this. But today is especially hard.

Really the week's been especially hard. and so now I

kind of struggle with saying that and I don't think it's

Pride, it could be, I don't want to be prideful before you at

all. But I think it's the, I don't

want anyone to think that I would be misusing.

When he's passing as an opportunity to be prideful or is

an opportunity to gain sympathy, we do live in a world where

every thought and action is broadcast on social media.

Mostly, not always, but mostly in an effort to gain man's

approval and Applause and and I want to stay as far away from

those accusations as I possibly can.

That's not my heart. But I do know that I need to be

honest with you all, when I come up here and I And I'm

overwhelmed with Sadness and Sorrow yesterday.

I think this is partly why yesterday marks?

Five months since when he passed. and forgive me, if I

don't look at you, Makes it easier.

And so I think that's made the week.

Maybe just me more sensitive to the pain.

So as I stand here today, I am depending only on the spirit of

God. To give me strength and my

weakness to help me in this. I know that God will continue to

sustain my family and myself as we put our hope in him.

Songs were saying this morning could not have been more timely

for me. And I do know that he'll bring

joy in the middle of Sorrow. I've already seen it throughout

this whole thing. I know that it will come. so, I

wanted to Start just by telling you, I'm not.

Okay, today. I since the Lord's presence, I

know that he's with me, but I'm hurting So, I'm going to pray.

I'm going to ask God for help for me, but for us, as we do

this, as we look at his word, because his word is the most

important thing that we've come to observe today. and, I don't

want there to be any distractions from that.

So let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, you are.

So gracious. your merciful and your kind, you're compassionate

and all of your ways. Lord, I I'm grateful to be here

with a people who have in many ways.

The psalmist says tasted and seen that you are good.

The Lord. You we are blessed beyond

measure to come before. A God who has sent Christ to be

our great, high priest. High priest who is able to

sympathize with us in our weakness.

Who was well acquainted with grief.

Is well acquainted with pain, who knows death and the sting of

it better than anyone and who has taken the sting of death

away for all of us who believe in Christ.

And so it's in his strength that I want to stand today, Proclaim

your word. I asked father that your spirit

be with us. I pray Lord that your spirit and

power us that it Enlighten us that help us see Christ today.

What a great passage that lays in front of us, Romans 3.

Just so clearly, we see the Redemption of Christ, the grace

of God, salvation, that is ours because of your work, as a free

gift to us. And so, Lord, would you

strengthen us today to see it help us Lord to believe it and

to live it. Lord, I love you.

Thank you for being with me today.

In Christ's name. I pray.

Amen. Amen.

Patricia shared with you guys but members meeting.

One of the last members of medians that we had read a thing

from a pastor who had lost a son.

He was talking about when people to ask him, what's it?

What's it like now, or what are you going through?

Or what do you feel or how are you doing any of those kinds of

questions? He had developed a way to

respond and I think is helpful. He said it's like a It's like

being a man who was born with your eyesight able to see

clearly able to do everything normally.

But then you go blind later in life and you having to learn how

to walk blind. He says how to do everything

blind, many ways. That's what this like So, you

know, used to, I could get up and preach and not.

Have this kind of grief and I'm having to learn how to do this,

right here in real life, real time in front of you, which is

the way it should be. I'm grateful for the Lord's

Providence in preaching. I've mentioned it before, but

today is no less. Our topic today, the law and the

gospel sounds like, it should be removed that.

It would have, no, that would not have our grief and view that

it should be removed from the things of the real world.

It's just the law and the gospel.

But what I want you to see today is that the only way you can

learn to walk blind. Is because of the gospel of

Christ. The only way you can get through

anything in life is because of the gospel of Christ, for the

gospel to be good news. You have to understand the bad

news first. You have to understand God's law

his Holiness and how utterly short we come when we come up

against it. Within every worship service,

those three components should exist and needs to be the

presence of God's law, whether it's through scripture reading,

or seeing Wesley saying, or read earlier.

From Hebrews 12:1, let us lay aside.

Hebrews 12:1

Every sin that so easily. Entangles us and let us press

forward. The idea of laying aside sin is

to understand that God is Holy and you or not.

And you want to lay that aside as you press forward and you

only press forward because Christ pressed forward, he did

it for the joy that was set before him.

Redeemed. Sinners saints of God, his

people who would come and so God's law must be presence.

Whether you're singing it. Whether you're reading it, it's

here. It's being preached or being

prayed because when the presence of the law, and the law is

present, you have the opportunity then to confess your

sins. And when you confess your sins,

there is the reception of Pardon from Christ.

Or I might say from the father through Christ.

And so, as we do that, what we learn is that God is week in and

week out, helping us aiding a sanctifying Us by his Spirit, to

put the death, that old self of sin.

And that you do that through the law, you do that through

confession. And as you're doing that, you're

putting to death. The old man, God is bringing to

life. A new creation, he's sustaining

his new creation, which were those who were new in Christ and

that happens through the retrieve, if you will.

It happens through the proclamation of the Gospel.

So it's my hope today to show you how Romans 3.

Shows us that the law without the gospel is death for us.

But the law with the gospel is life for us.

You're taking notes, write that down.

The law without the gospel is death for us with the law with

the gospel is life for us. If you're able I would ask that

you would stand now. As we read God's word, Romans 3

19 through 26 be reading from the ESV When I finished reading,

if you would, I'll say this is the word of the Lord like you to

respond. Thanks be to God.

Starting in verse 19. Now we know that whatever the

law says speaks to those who are under the law so that every

mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held

accountable to God. For by works of the law.

No human being will be justified in his sight since through the

law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God

has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and

the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through

faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe for there is no

distinction for all, have sinned, and fall short of the

glory of God and are justified by his grace.

As a gift through the Redemption that is in Christ, Jesus, whom

God put forward. As a propitiation by his blood

to be received by faith. This was to show God's

righteousness because in his Divine forbearance he had passed

over former sins. It was to show his righteousness

at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier

of the one who has faith in Jesus.

You may be seated as you are. This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God. Verses 19 and 20 here in Romans

Romans 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 operate as a summary of all that's been said from

1:18 to 3:18. Paul here is summarizing

everything that he said and he's letting us understand.

He's letting the readers understand that.

There is none righteous. As he said just a few verses

earlier. And that no one is able to

justify themselves by their own Works before God, you can feel

the way to verse 19. And 20 this is now we know that

whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law.

so that every mouth, Maybe stopped.

And the whole world may be held accountable to God every mouth

the whole world. I'm even know that's everyone,

right? You don't need to know Greek to

understand that he's talking about every person.

For by works of the law. No human being will be justified

in his sight. So now it's every mouth, the

whole world, no human being. Will be justified in his sight.

Since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

The law. Has in mind.

Certainly things like the Ten Commandments?

But when we think about the law of God, we need to think about

everything that scripture commands.

Whatever scripture commands, we might view rightly as God's law.

If he has commanded something, whether it's to do something or

not to do something, this is the law of God.

But we might read something like the Ten Commandments which are

found in. Exodus chapter 20.

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

God starts there. You shall have.

No other gods before me. You shall make no idols.

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain.

You shall keep the Sabbath day. Holy you shall honor your father

and your mother. You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal.

You should not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet. Now, I think sometimes we make

the mistake of All the mistake is called antinomianism which is

just a big word for living a life free of any law because of

Grace. Meaning we don't let the law

guide us at all anymore. We just simply proclaim the

grace of Christ and all of life, and use it as a license to sin.

Use it as a license to do, whatever our heart desires and

Proclaim safety in Christ. But I want you to know that if

you were doing that, you are not safe in Christ.

You merely deceiving yourself. One way that, I think we've

sought to do this. Oddly enough, is that Jesus

summarizes the law for us in. Matthew 22, 36 through 40 is one

place. You find it.

And he's being quizzed. As he often was.

Hoping to catch him in a trap. And so I say to him teacher

which is the great commandment in the law, which is the one

that we should really adhere to, which is the one we should

follow. And Jesus said to him, you shall

love the Lord. Your God with all your heart and

with all your soul, and with all your minds This is the great and

first Commandments and the second is like it.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two

Commandments depend all the law and the prophets.

And so we've reduced even that Christ is not reducing, he

summarizing. Let me be clear about that.

But we've reduced it. In to love God and love people.

These are not false statements in and of themselves, but when

love God, just simply be becomes feel love for God.

Admire God. Adore God.

Sing praises to God. And it just becomes about loving

people. As in, you just love all people,

all the time, no matter what. Well, you can see the faults in

this. Your want you to love your

neighbor as yourself? Well, how should your self be

acting? Well, should be loving God, but

how should it be? Loving God.

It should be loving God with all of your hearts.

Meaning, those desires that are in your heart should not be

wrong desires. They should be desires that are

for God. And for God Alone he has your

heart and you are loving him with all of it.

It's not divided allegiances, it's not looking for, you know,

you're not looking to just add God to your life, whether you're

looking to submit your life, your heart, the very central,

part of who you are, where everything about your emotion,

and your decisions, and your life comes from, you're

submitting that to God when you love God with all your heart.

That's how yourself should be acting.

That's how yourself should be loving God.

And if you're going to love others, the way you love

yourself, you should be living according to that standard.

And seeking to hold others. Responsible to the same

standard. Now again you've received Grace

and so you show Grace, you've been just showing mercy and so

you show Mercy, but you've also come against the law, the truth

of God. And Jesus says, all of the law

and the prophets, their instruction, their commands

depend on loving God, with all your heart.

So, you must love God with all your heart.

But you don't stop there. You love him with all your soul

as well. Again, everything in the way

that you were made is submitting to God when it's it.

When Christ says to love the Lord, your God with all of these

things, he's saying that you're submitting to God in this way.

Your your adoring him. Yes.

But your desire is for him and you love the Lord with all your

soul. You love the Lord with all your

mind. And so even the thoughts of your

mind, come under or should submission to God, you're not

free to think what you want. You're not free to let your mind

wonder and be just a playground for The Devil, right?

You you submit your mind to the Lord.

You think about what he says is? Holy, wait a minute.

How do we do that? You have to know the laws of

God. You have to know what God

commands you have to know what he says is right, and what isn't

right? If you're going to submit to

God, so yes, it's love. God and love people, but you

must know how to rightly love God and how to rightly love

people, otherwise you're not obeying God.

You're in Disobedience to me. And so we got to be careful that

we don't reduce the law to nothingness.

Because Christ himself says, I did not come to abolish the law

but to uphold it. Why did he need to uphold it?

Because you and I cannot uphold it as we'll see.

He says that all the instruction of the law and the prophets

depend on these two things that you love the Lord, your God with

all your heart, your soul and your mind, and you love your

neighbor as yourself. So the law, all that scripture

commands is a great help for you.

On the one hand, what we see in our text today is that the law

stops every mouth its silences, everyone No one can look at the

laws of God. And plead his own justification

before God, it stops you from that once, you know, the laws of

God, why? Because you were being held

accountable to God, which is what he says next.

The whole world is held accountable to God by his law.

and if you're held accountable to God by his holy law, you are

in trouble. You're in great trouble.

So think through again, the Ten Commandments, it's helpful.

You shall not commit adultery as one of them cry says in Matthew

5. That if you look at a woman with

lust in your heart, you have already committed adultery.

So it's also not simply a law about do's and don'ts about the

intents of the heart. Your heart again must be

submitted to God's law. Maybe you sitting here today and

you say, well, I've never looked at anyone with lust in my heart.

I've never committed adultery good.

I'm sure you've told a lie. Right.

You've borne false witness against your neighbor at times.

You said things about people that aren't true made

accusations. Maybe you stole something.

Maybe you haven't murdered someone but again Christ says

that if you have hate for someone, it's the same thing.

You certainly put other gods before God you certainly

worshipped other things. We've talked about this at

length through the series about how you were created for

worship, and you were always worshipping something.

You're always an Adoration of something.

But we must submit ourselves to him.

If any of you ever looked at your neighbors things and

thought, man, I wish that was mine.

Coveted, your neighbor's house, your neighbor's wife, your

neighbors, life your neighbors job, My neighbor, we mean those

around you, not necessarily the person lives right next to you,

right? And so we're all guilty.

Of transgression against God's law, we're all guilty of

rebellion against him. No one is able to say to God

that we have not sinned. No one can honestly say that we

haven't broken God's law. Elsewhere in Romans, Paul makes

it makes the case that even if you have never read God's long,

it's talking about the Gentiles here who didn't receive God's

law as the Jews did. he says that they're still guilty of

violating it and rebelling against God and that their

conscience, their conscience is what's bearing witness against

them and that It even if you don't know the laws of God, that

you have some sense of right and wrong and that's put into your

mind by God himself. You have a conscience.

Everyone is guilty of sin before God.

And this is why Paul says, for by works and verse 24 by works

of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since

through the law comes knowledge of sin.

You're tempted to justify yourself before God.

Just like a child who gets in trouble and they're tempted to

try to justify themselves. Well, he did this to me or she

did that to me. It's justification.

It's an attempt at justification, even though the

child is in the wrong, It must be someone else's fault.

The problem with the law of God, just like that child there, with

a parent who knows, right from wrong and is able to bring the

law to bear. you're you're laid bare before God when you come up

against this law, Just as Adam and Eve were laid bare, well,

God created them. And he placed them in the garden

and they, he gave them their work to do.

We read there that they were naked and unashamed but as soon

as they committed sin, as soon as they transgress God's law, as

soon as they aid of that, which he told him not to eat.

They were, we read naked and ashamed now.

They were laid bare before the law of God.

And just like them. Our next step is attempting to

justify ourselves before God and that depends typically on

blame-shifting and excuses. It was their fault.

Adam says this woman. You gave me Lord.

So he's blaming God. But he's also blaming the woman.

The woman says, it wasn't me. It was the serpent.

She blames the serpent. She didn't do it.

All right, we may even be tempted to say well I just I

didn't know. That doesn't change the fact

that God's law has spoken. Those excuses won't hold up in

the in the court of Heaven. For by works of the law.

No human being will be justified in his sight by the law.

Every mouth has been stopped and the world is held accountable to

God. This on its own is a death of

all deaths. The law pronounces us.

Spiritually dead before God unable to stand in our own

righteousness. Believe it's Isaiah, who gets

real graphic and says that our righteousness is as filthy rags.

Literally has in mind. The rags of a menstrual cycle.

This is bad news for you. It's bad news for me.

It's bad news for all Humanity. But it's good for you to know

that it's bad news. It's good for you to feel the

weight of the law. On you.

Because you must realize the gravity of rebellion with God.

Romans 6:23, just a few chapters later, Paul, lays out the

Romans 6:23

gravity of the Rebellion, he says the wages of sin, the

payment for sin is death. I say it's good for you because

Paul says that through the law there at the end of verse 20

says, through the law comes knowledge of sin.

All's going to later say in Romans 7, But it's the law that

helped him understand what coveting was.

That before he coveted. But once he saw Thou shalt not

covet his coveting became death for him, it became an

understanding for him that he was a transgressor of God's law

and he had broken and he could not have hold it.

And so, it's good for us that the law brings knowledge of sin,

the laws of necessary, part of worship.

It's a necessary part of meeting with God, because it tells us

who God is. And then Who We Are.

He is Holy and we are not. When you see that you were so

often rebellious when you see that you're so often

disobedient, your moved to confess your sins.

We understand as Romans 3:23 said that all have sinned and

Romans 3:23

fall short of the glory of God. The laws one way that God

Reveals His glory to us in the law.

We see God's perfect Holiness in the law, we see his, his

Holiness, and we see our imperfections, our sinfulness

And those things stand in stark contrast.

To God. You look at us and you look at

God, and it's very quick to see that.

These two things are not alike in so many ways.

This is exactly what happens when Isaiah is brought before

God to see his perfect. Lure in Isaiah chapter 6

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

Isaiah's, just received the vision of Heaven, he's laid eyes

on Angels who are crying out. Holy holy, holy is the Lord.

God Almighty He's peering into the heavens and he seeing this

play out before him. And Isaiah's response is woe, is

me. For, I am lost.

I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people

of unclean lips for my eyes, have seen the king, the Lord of

hosts. And some places we read that I

am undone. Isaiah is brought to nothingness

before the Lord. He understands that he is mere

dust before God. God is perfectly righteous and

holy his glory shines and Isaiah views it.

And he says, woe is me and I really liked that.

It wasn't just woe is me as like woe is me and all the people I

know, right? Like nobody could stand in this.

This is, I'm a man of unclean, lips, my eyes have seen the

king, the Lord of hosts. You see confession naturally and

logically follows after being exposed to God's holiness.

It's the natural order of things God reveals himself. and man,

repents In fact, it must be. So for if we look into the law

and see who we truly are, as expose Sinners.

And yet, we walk away as if we've seen nothing, then we are

deceiving ourselves. What first John 18 is telling

us. It says, if we say, we have no

sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

And the Book of James chapter 1. We see that we're like a man who

James 1 · chapter mention

looks into a mirror and sees his natural reflection and then

walks away and forgets what he looks like You can't come to the

law of God, see who you are, and then walk away as if nothing is

wrong. The promise that follows, first

John 18, that we deceive ourselves.

If we say, we have no sin, the truth is not in US.

It says, on the latter half in verse 9, if we confess our sins,

He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Woo. You see it is the will of God

that we see ourselves in our sinfulness.

It's the will of God that we not deceive ourselves into thinking

that we don't have sin in US. It's the will of God that we

would confess our sins. We would verbally Express God.

I have sinned against you. My anger got the best of me.

My mouth got the best of me. I entertained gossip at work.

I started the gossip at work. I looked at a woman with lust in

my heart, I looked at Someone else's financial situation and

coveted, their net worth. Whatever it is.

You come before the Lord and say, my affections have not been

only for you. My heart is wayward.

I'm not submitting to you with all of my heart and all my soul,

and all of my mind. I've sinned against you in those

things. When you confess.

You're admitting. You're admitting that.

We are those who have been forgiven and you're also

admitting that you're not perfect.

To neglect confession is to act as though we are sitting Louis

and have no need of God's daily work in sanctification.

We can't live that way. The law without the gospel is

death for us. But the law with the gospel is

life for us. Look at verse 21 again.

But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart

from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to

its. What's he saying?

The law and the prophets all that we have in our Old

Testament. Which is all the word they had

at that time. Being written the latter Parts,

the New Testament. This is what the all although

the law and the prophets, they bear witness to this. the

righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all

who believe, So now he's saying the righteousness of God

manifest in a person's life, through faith, in Jesus Christ

for all, who believe. But it's a part from the law.

It's not by law, abiding, it's not by Perfection, keeping, it's

not by doing perfect works that the righteousness of God dwells

in you, the righteousness of God dwells in you, because of the

work of Christ and because of your faith, in the work of

Christ. Amen.

This Where you come to know the righteousness of God and he says

look there's no distinction here again, he's talking about the

Jews and the Gentiles, There's no distinction, all have sinned

and fall short of the glory of God and are Justified.

So he's saying that all have sinned and fall short of the

glory of God, those who are Justified are justified by his

grace. As a gift through the Redemption

that is in Christ. Jesus whom God put forward as a

propitiation. Big word will explain in a

moment propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.

This was to show God's righteousness because it's in

his Divine forbearance. He had passed over former sins.

I want to make a note on that real quick.

What he's talking about here is he's again talking about these

Old Testament believers? They were not justified, he's

already talked about Abraham and chapters 2 and 3, and he's going

to talk more about him and for about how he was justified by

faith alone. And so this is what he's saying,

he said everyone there's no distinction everyone who is

Justified as justified by faith in Christ alone even Old

Testament Believers and he's saying what he did.

What God did was passed over their sins that wasn't like he

turned his head or turned a blind eye we should read it as

God took their sins and place them on Christ Alone.

And so that their faith in God was their salvation just as

faith in God. Today is our Salvation, there's

not two salvations, not a work of of your flesh by the Old

Testament law. That's going to save you, not

then, not now not ever. You're saved then Now and

Forever, by faith in Christ alone.

That's it. And so God wasn't he wasn't

turning a blind eye to the sins of Old Testament Believers.

He wasn't just simply overlooking them.

He's taking them and he's placing them on Christ who is to

come. You and I have the benefit of

living post Christ, post work of Salvation posed cross.

And so we can look back and say that our sins were laid on

Christ at the cross as well. Amen.

Well, how do we know this? Because he used the word

propitiation, Let me read verse 26 on, explain it.

Verse 26, it says Paul says it was to show his righteousness at

the present time so that he might be just and justifier of

the one who has faith in Jesus. Again, if God's just simply

overlooking Sins, not dealing with them in any kind of a way,

he's not just A just God does not ignore sin.

He cannot He cannot, he wouldn't be just no one.

No one wants to serve a God, who is unjust because what if he

Wills his unjustness on you one day, He must be just, amen.

He must be just and so he is, and he's called just because he

didn't Overlook the sins, he laid the sins on Christ.

He's called justifier because he's the author of Faith.

He's the one who grants you the ability to believe he's the one

who stirs. You to come to faith in Christ.

He's the one who awakens You by his spirits.

Just as John says to Nicodemus, one of the great followers of

the law That Ever Walked the face of the Earth, Jesus says to

him, you must be born again. And when Nicodemus quizzes him

on it Jesus says this is a work of the spirit and no one knows

the spirit is like the wind, no one knows where it comes from or

where it is going, but knows it's presents.

You're being born again. Is a gift of God, John chapter

one. Even before John 3, John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1, the Apostle writes there that to all who believed God gave the

right to become children of God, not of the work of the flesh,

not by Blood, but by God, he says It's God's work in US.

And so he is just a fire, he is just and his justifier.

This is God's Declaration of forgiveness.

In Jesus Christ, the law and the prophets are bearing witness to

righteousness, to the righteousness of God, being

manifested through faith in Christ.

That's what the prophets are telling you about, it's what the

law was pointing forward to its what the Exodus means.

It's what Christ, sorry what God meant in Genesis 3:15 when he

Genesis 3:15

tells Adam and Eve and his curse of the serpent that there will

come one who will crush the head of the serpent.

All of it is pointing forward to Christ.

Who will bear? The weight of sin for his people

that we might walk away Justified.

Amen. It was always about believing in

God through Christ. Paul just makes it clear for us.

There's no distinction, Everyone Falls short of God's glory

everyone who will be justified before God will be so by God's

grace as a gift through the Redemption that is in Christ.

Jesus, whom God put forward as a again, a uses this word

propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.

The propitiation of God in Christ is the key to God's

justifying guilty. Sinners propitiation is the

wiping away of sins, but it's not.

God is not just. If he just removes sin, if he

just makes send disappear. That's not just.

God cannot say that God. So God cannot say to Adam and

Eve that in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.

And then not bring death. Why?

Because there is at least one thing God cannot do and that is,

he cannot lie. You cannot lie.

If God has made a command of God has set something forward by his

word, he must do it. This is why you can trust him.

This is why you can know that all his promises are yes and

amen. And that he is good and worthy

of your submission. And so the propitiation is not

simply the wiping away, it's not just getting rid of sin.

It's not just erasing the debt, the debt required death It

required blood. And so he satisfies his own

Wrath. By the Flesh and Blood of his

own son. So that all who believe in

Christ might live with the righteousness that is rightly,

Christ's righteousness, and free.

Of the guilt of sin that is, rightly your guilt of sin.

God did that for us through Jesus Christ, through the

spilling of his own blood. And so that now, by faith in the

person and work of Jesus once guilty, Sinners may receive the

Eternal, pardon of God, complete justification for their sins.

Second Corinthians, 5:21 for our sake.

God made Christ to be sin, who knew no sin.

So, that, in Christ, we might become the righteousness of God.

Again, we who knew only sin now, no nothing.

But the righteousness of Christ. This is a benefit, a blessing of

the new creation work that you read about just a few verses

earlier. Therefore if anyone is in

Christ, he is a new creation. New Creation.

Not just a it's not just new year, new me type stuff, right?

It's not just it's not behavioral, change your not

modifying your morality, it's none of those things.

You are a new creation. This is why Christ says to

Nicodemus, you must be born again.

This is what Born Again means to become a new creation in Christ.

The old has passed away. Behold.

The new has come, if you are in Christ, you have forgiveness of

sins. God has given us his law.

He's revealed to his, how horribly we have broken it and

then in Grace, he declares that we have nothing to fear even

though we are awful. Sinners.

But we are sinners with a new identity, right?

We are in Christ. Now we're redeemed.

Sinners. You might say we are Saints and

rightfully. So, And that is astounding.

Astounding, it doesn't make any sense to us because we don't

want to operate that way. We want to be like the man and

the parable of forgiveness, that Christ tells, right?

There's a man who owes a great debt.

And so his master calls him forward and he says, hey, you

owe me this great dead. It's like if I remember right in

modern days terms as well, it's several several thousands of

dollars. You owe this great debt.

He's like I cannot pay this debt.

There's nothing that I can do to pay this debt for you.

Nothing at all. And so we read that the master

had mercy on him and forgave him his dead and let him go.

And that man went and so full of joy.

And so happy that he had been forgiven his debt, he forgave

all the other deaths, right? No, he went and found a guy who

owed him, what is in our day about 28 bucks.

Although since inflation, the price may have changed a little

maybe it's about, you know, 58 bucks now.

He finds a guy who owes him very little comparatively speaking.

And the guy tells him the same thing like I cannot pay this

debt. I can't do it.

He doesn't offer him Mercy as he had just received, he holds him

to, it has him thrown in prison. Guess what happened?

When his master heard about this.

He wasn't pleased. He had him thrown in prison as

well because he had done. He wasn't grateful for the mercy

that he'd received. You didn't show Mercy, he went

required, The Little Death. That's typically how we operate

with Grace. Grace is good for me.

So long as I'm the one receiving it, but I have to extend it.

I don't want any part of it. Be careful.

It's infusions for we read that we should be kind tender

hearted, loving one. Another forgiving one, another

as God in Christ, has forgiven us.

It's a command from scripture Romans. 8:1 you have been

Romans 8:1

forgiven a great debt there is therefore now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Yes. No condemnation, totally

deserving of Hell, totally. A transgressor of the law unable

to appease God in any way, shape, or form.

And yet in Christ, there is no condemnation for you.

What Grace. So if you have repented of your

sins, you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ.

And you are right with God because of Christ. you are the

rescued, the redeemed people of God and we must remind ourselves

of this every week and worship to guard against Pride to guard

against arrogance, to guard against antinomianism, a free

spirit of living because Grace saves You must live according to

the law of God by the grace of God.

We do so, to stay in fellowship with God.

To walk in peace with God. Again, our peace is not on our

ability to perform before God. That's not what I mean.

Or peace with God is because of the work of Christ and Christ

alone. But Christ says, if you love me,

you will obey my Commandments and the Great Commission.

It's not go and make converts and baptize them and then send

them on their way. It's go preach, the gospel

essentially baptize. Those who believe make disciples

baptizing, Baptize those who believe and teach them to do all

that. I have commanded you To do.

I don't think God's word is contradictory in any way in

these things. This identity must be proclaimed

again and again so that we will believe it so that we will be

conformed to it. You stood condemned before the

law but then God pronounces the verdict, those who are in Christ

Jesus, by faith are not guilty. Jonathan Cruz says this in his

book, he says for us and our New Covenant worship.

We hear about the blood. I'm sorry, we hear about blood,

but we don't spill any, we hear about Jesus blood, which is

freed us from our sins. Ransomed us from our bondage,

cleansed us from our unrighteousness and brought us

near to God. Amen the law without the gospel

is death for us but the law with the gospel is life.

Or us. The rhythm of a healthy

Christian life is to confess our sins and know that we have been

forgiven of them. We talked about this when we get

ready to baptize anyone, whether it be a child or an adult that

your baptism, you go down into the water and come out.

It's not a once baptized always saved mentality.

Your baptism is identifying, as you as one who is believing in

Christ, one who has repented of their sins.

The old man is going down under the water.

The new man is coming up out of the water just as Christ was

raised from the dead and you're saying I'm staking my belief my

righteousness on Christ Alone. I'm, I'm pledging my allegiance

to him. I'm denying myself taking up my

cross and following him. That's what baptism is and so,

from there, It is important to instruct new Believers that you

will live a life from now until your final breath, that is

marked by repentance and belief. Not as a new convert but as one

who is daily, depending on Christ for your salvation and

forgiveness. And so the rhythm of a healthy

Christian life is to confess your sins and know that you have

been forgiven of them. You never outgrow the duty of

confession, you never outgrow the duty of repentance and your

Christian walk. Those things must be part of

your regular day-to-day walk with the Lord.

And so too, they must be part of regular worship.

Confession repentance and faith is where the unbeliever finds

Christ to be the savior of the world.

It's where the unbeliever finds peace with God.

And it is where the Christian finds and maintains that peace

with God and their daily Christian long walk.

David's experience is helpful here King David and Psalm 32.

Withheld his confession and his repentance for a time.

And this is what he wrote down in verse 3 and 4 and Psalm 32.

He says for what I kept silence my bones wasted away through my

groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was

Heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as by

The Heat Of Summer. You see his silence meant great

suffering trying to hold in his confession.

I imagine as the king. That confession of sin is a

harder thing to do. But when he opened his heart and

he opened his mouth to confess his guilt, he received God's.

Healing is what he writes. In verse 5, I acknowledged my

sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity.

I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and

you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Amen. So same thing.

John wrote In First John 189, right?

If you say you have no sin, we deceive yourselves.

But if you'll confess your sin God is faithful and just to what

to forgive you of your sins. This repeated confrontation with

God's holiness and our sinfulness lays the foundation

for salvation. An unbeliever must certainly see

that he or she is in violation of God's law before the gospel

will ever mean anything to them. This is why I knew evangelism or

in you're witnessing or in talking with others.

You cannot leave out the law of God.

You cannot leave out the fall of mankind and the need for a

savior, it can't just be a Jesus to your life, and your life will

be much prettier. it has to be that you have rebelled against

the holy God and unless you repent of your sins and place

your faith in Christ Jesus, you will spend eternity in hell But

if you will repent of your sins and believe in Christ, Jesus as

your lord you will be saved today.

There's no greater reprieve, no greater relief from your sins

than to know that there is guaranteed salvation in the

confession of those sins. And in the belief that comes

with in Christ It's ours and him.

And we must see that repeated confrontation with his Holiness.

Just as I am, Lays the foundation for salvation for

unbelievers, but it lays the foundation for continued,

sanctification as believers. As a Believer, I still

transgress the law daily. I transgress the law in ways.

I don't even realize sometimes, God has to show me by his Spirit

through his word. Most normally that I am a

transgressor of his law. But as you grow in your

knowledge of the law of God, as you grow in your knowledge of

God's word, is what I'm saying, you become sensitive to sin. it

becomes normal for you not to sin, I mean that's happening but

it becomes normal for you on the backside of your sin to say, And

to know the spirit of God, which is convicting you in that and

then to submit yourself to him by begging his forgiveness.

And even offering up, I'm Sorry's or apologies, or what

have you to others that you might have hurt in your

transgression against God? And that must be a part of our

daily life. It's a part of our

sanctification. In Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Paul writes that we are to put to death, the Deeds of the flesh

by the spirit of God. We've been given the spirit of

God to free us from that. We can now serve God As Romans 6

& 7 say, but the body of death is still very much present.

We still wage war against this flesh and were to put to death.

The Deeds of the flesh by the spirit So I encourage you to do

that. Understand a law without the

gospel is death for us and the gospel.

Without the law is death. Also, what the law with the

gospel? The gospel with the law is life

for us and then may stand to your feet.

I'm going to pray for you. We're going to sing one final

song together. It's called the goodness of

Jesus, and it's a very fitting into this morning, as we sing in

a moment. I encourage you confess your

sins before the Lord seek his face seemed to Him worship Him.

If you need prayer for anything, you need to talk about anything,

you have questions about anything that's been said today.

I'll be back here but I'm happy to meet with you in a room back

this way. If we need to you just come to

me and let me know. Let me pray for you.

Heavenly Father, we love you. We praise you, Lord for your

kindness today. you're a one, your kindness and helping me

today your kindness and helping us But ultimately Lord your

kindness and your grace that we all have received as Believers

in Jesus Through Your gospel. Through, you're sending Christ

died for our sins. Would help us to believe that.

More wholeheartedly more fully more Faithfully each day.

Lord today, would you lead us unto repentance where our hearts

of? Gone away from you, our hearts

have strayed from you, where our hearts of found other longings,

more beautiful than you are more desirable than you are.

We have placed other things as Gods above you, and our worship.

As we serve them, be it money and possessions or

relationships. Or anything else.

Lord help us. To walk according to your word

Faithfully. To do the things that you have

commanded us to do. Help us.

Lord to honor you in those things.

What, I pray for anyone today? Who's here?

Who does not know Christ as their savior?

It was an unrepentant sinner, an unbeliever set in their

trespasses and sins. Lord, would you soften their

heart today? Would you save them by your

grace? Your marvelous marvelous Grace

today? Draw them to yourself.

May they see themselves as dust and repent before you May they

find a life in Christ alone, and Lord for us here today, who do

know you just as I parade help us to live for you, each day.

Lord in this moment. Help us to be mindful of our

sins. To repent of them, help us to

know deeply, the Forgiveness of Christ.

To not take it for granted to not use it as a license for more

sin, Lord help us to deal honestly, with our sinfulness.

we need your help in that because we are so deceived and

yet so deceitful at the same time, Lord, we love you.

We thank you again for today, be with us.

Now, as we sing encourage our hearts, strengthen our faith.

Deep in our love for others, in Christ's name, I pray.

Amen. Lord, we love you.

We thank you again for today, be with us.

Now, as we sing encourage our hearts, strengthen our faith.

Deep in our love for others, in Christ's name, I pray.

Amen.