Lesson 13 the Grace of the Gospel

[0:00] If you've ever done this, and I have, where you're going to fly somewhere to meet somebody that you've never seen before, they're looking at you trying to find out who is it getting off this airplane that I'm supposed to pick up and drive someplace.

[0:15] You're looking at all these people standing there wondering which of these people am I supposed to meet up with and get in their car because you don't want to get in the wrong car, especially in some countries. That would be a bad thing.

[0:26] So you're looking and you're trying to figure out who one another is. And the best way to approach that is for someone to just give you a picture. Right?

[0:36] If they had a picture of you, you had a picture of them when you got off the airplane. You could be looking for them so that when you found them, you would recognize them. A lot about the Old Testament is that way.

[0:49] The Old Testament is full of pictures of who Jesus is, what the gospel is, what grace is, so that when Christ came, the world would recognize them.

[1:04] A couple of examples. This is just an old picture I picked up to kind of represent the Jews who were in slavery in Egypt.

[1:14] Right? They went down to Egypt. They stayed there. And then they were enslaved by the Pharaoh that was there. And they were enslaved for 400 years. And they were doing all of this work. But this is a picture.

[1:26] Even though it was a real event. Even though there were truths that came out of it for them. This also was a picture of something of the gospel. Let me ask you.

[1:36] What do you think the picture of the gospel this might show us? Graven images.

[1:48] Graven images. Definitely that's going to be a part of it. The whole big picture though, just think what they're enslaved. Right? Why do we need the gospel? Because we're enslaved to sin.

[2:02] We're enslaved to the enemy. We're enslaved to sin. This is a picture of what we're like in our sin. And that was going to help the world understand when Jesus came what we needed.

[2:16] What about the Red Sea? The crossing of the Red Sea. I mean there's all kinds of things that we can take a glimpse of here. Think about it for the Israelites as they walked across here.

[2:28] They were seeing things like God's power. They were seeing God's rescue. They were seeing God rescued by a man. And they were being rescued from their enemies.

[2:40] And their enemies were being destroyed. Right? I think so. They were seeing freedom. And they were seeing freedom. Exactly. Freedom from that slavery.

[2:51] This is a perfect picture of the gospel. That in the gospel we have freedom. In the gospel we're set free from our sin. We're set free by the power of God as he destroys our enemy by a man who leads us.

[3:08] These pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament help us to kind of get a grip on what we're going to talk about today. Because what we want to get to is we want to talk about grace.

[3:20] But to get there and to talk about grace we're going to have to walk kind of a meandering path of truths. And what I mean by that is normally I have you know Roman numeral 1, 2, 3.

[3:33] I'm usually very logical and everything is parallel with one another. Well nothing here is parallel today. It's just a meandering path from truth to truth. And each one is built upon the next.

[3:45] And it starts with looking at a particular picture from the Old Testament. A picture of Jesus is what we're going to eventually see. But it starts right before the Ten Commandments in Exodus 19 verse 5.

[4:02] Now therefore this is God speaking. If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant. You should be my treasured possession among all peoples for all the earth is mine.

[4:14] God is telling them here before he gives them the Ten Commandments. That if they will do what he says they will be his people. In other words he's taking the covenant promises that he's already made.

[4:28] He's sort of expanding them and giving them you know things that they must do. Based upon the fact that there's a covenant relationship with God. And he's calling them to be obedient.

[4:40] And what do you think Israel's response was to God? When he says to them obey me. Yeah sure.

[4:51] Yeah all that the Lord has spoken we will do. Exodus 19 verse 8. So they're planning to obey. Now you'll remember Exodus 19 is right before Exodus 20.

[5:04] And Exodus 20 is the Ten Commandments. Now just as a bonus round question here. Can anybody remember the chapter number in Deuteronomy where the Ten Commandments are repeated?

[5:18] Five? That's right. Deuteronomy chapter 5. So you've got two places that you have the Ten Commandments listed. Exodus 20. Deuteronomy 5.

[5:29] So they've said before the Ten Commandments are given yes we will obey. Moses goes up on the mountain to get the Ten Commandments. And while he's up there. What are they doing down below?

[5:44] That's right. Building the calf. So the people took off their rings of gold. They brought them to Aaron. He fashioned them and made a calf. This golden calf.

[5:54] And he said these are your gods old Israel who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Oh. Nope. Not yet. That's it. I'm going to stop there. So this is what they do. Now I want you to think about this scenario.

[6:07] Just get this picture in your head. God has just rescued them by his powerful hand. All the plagues. The Red Sea. Whole nine yards.

[6:18] They come to this Mount Sinai. God descends upon Mount Sinai in thunder and lightning and thick clouds. So fearful is it that the people when they hear God speak.

[6:29] Shrink back and say oh don't let us hear from God again. And so God says that's fine. Moses you come up. I'll give you the Ten Commandments. So Moses is gone getting the Ten Commandments.

[6:41] So they've seen all of this with their very eyes. They've heard this with their own ears. They have felt the fear with their own heart. And while Moses is up there doing this.

[6:52] They're making a golden calf at the bottom. Now here's the question. What's wrong with them? That they do such a thing? They're humans.

[7:04] They're just humans. Well that's exactly right. And that's what Romans 8.7. It gives us the answer. It talks about that the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God.

[7:16] Now a mind set on the flesh. That is speaking about a lost person. That's a lost person. That's a person who has been born in this world.

[7:27] And who's never trusted Christ. They're born lost. They're always lost. They will be lost unless they trust in Christ. A mind set on the flesh. That's a lost person.

[7:38] If you're a Christian. That once was you. That once was me. If you're a Christian. That's not you anymore. But that's who a lost person is.

[7:50] Israel. Even though God rescued them. It didn't mean that they were saved. They still had this problem of having this mind set on the flesh. And it's a mind set on the flesh.

[8:01] It's hostile to God. What does it mean to be hostile to God? To fight against him. Yeah. To fight against him. To be his enemy. Right? They were working against God.

[8:13] For it does not submit to God's law. That's exactly what they were doing. They did not submit to God's law. They rebelled against God's law. They knew what they were supposed to do.

[8:23] Even though it wasn't written down. And yet they were rebelling against God. And making a golden calf. And the text tells us further. It cannot. It's not just that there's rebellion.

[8:35] And they will not. It's that there's inability. And they cannot. And it's really important to get the will not. And the cannot. Those are tiny tiny words.

[8:46] But they're theologically massive. And important. Cannot. Means there's zero ability. To obey God's law. There's no human being on the face of the planet.

[8:59] In their lost state. Who has an ability. To obey God's law. No. Period. We don't. And because we don't. We won't.

[9:10] We rebel. We will not submit to him. Either. So. What do you think Moses did. When he heard about this.

[9:22] From God. That they were creating this golden calf. Do you remember what Moses did? Well. When he went back down the valley.

[9:33] He was so angry. He threw. Okay. Well he did do that. But right before that. He did something else. Before he went down there to see it. God said. Listen. They're doing this calf thing down there.

[9:45] And I've had enough of them. I'm going to strike them out. I'm going to kill them all. And I'm going to make a new nation out of you. And so Moses begins to. Pray. To the Lord. Here's his prayer.

[9:56] Moses implored the Lord. His God. And said. Oh Lord. Why does your wrath burn hot against your people. Whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt. With great power. And with a mighty hand.

[10:07] Why should the Egyptians say. With evil intent. Did he bring them out. To kill them in the mountain. And to consume them. From the face of the earth. So that's what the Egyptians would have said.

[10:17] Because they would be mocking God. Because he couldn't. He couldn't fulfill what he wanted to do. Turn from your burning anger. And relent from this disaster. Against your people. Remember Abraham.

[10:28] Isaac. And Israel. Your servants. To whom you swore by your own self. And said to them. I will multiply your offspring. As the stars of the heaven. And all the land that I have promised.

[10:39] I will give to your offspring. And they shall inherit it forever. And the Lord relented from the disaster. That he spoke of. Bringing on his people. So. The point is.

[10:49] Is that. God. God's holiness. Right. God's holiness. Demands. This perfection.

[11:02] But. The sinfulness of Israel. Would not listen. God. And so. In order to bring the two together. Moses. Comes into the middle of them.

[11:13] Moses. Who's the leader of the people. He's the. He's the prophet of God. He beseeches God. On their behalf. Praise for them. That God would not strike them dead. God had made a promise.

[11:24] To accept his people. He had made a promise. Through Abraham. Isaac. And Jacob. He had. He had furthered that promise. By telling them. If they would obey. Then they would be his people. Yet.

[11:35] They failed. To obey. But God. Because he's faithful to himself. Continued to fulfill this promise. This was not a moment. In which.

[11:45] It was unsure. What God was going to do. When. The word. Relent there. Does not mean. A change of mind. The word. Relent there. Means.

[11:55] To lessen punishment. Right. It means to kind of. Back. Back it off. And what he's doing. Is he's giving. Israel. A picture. Of. A mediator.

[12:06] A mediator. He's helping them. Understand. That there is. The necessity. For someone. To come. Between him. And them.

[12:17] In order. To bring them together. And Moses. Was that mediator. Now he was not. The final mediator. But he was a picture. Of the mediator. That gets us.

[12:28] To then. Thinking about. Jesus. As the mediator. And you'll know. Or hopefully you know. That the word. Mediator. Is about someone. Who mediates. Between two parties.

[12:40] Two parties. That are. In disagreement. Two parties. That are. At odds. With one another. A mediator. Helps bring them together. Usually. It's the idea. Of compromise.

[12:50] And helping. One side. Kind of. Find what they. Really. Really want. The other side. What they really. Really want. And bringing them together. But yet. Both sides. Having to. Compromise.

[13:00] But in this case. In this case. We don't have. This idea. Of compromise. As a matter of fact. What we have. Is that on one side.

[13:11] With God's holiness. God's holiness. Demands. Perfect. Law. Keeping. That's what God. Really. Really. Wants. He wants. Perfect. Law. Keeping.

[13:22] Because that's. True. Righteousness. But Israel's. Sinfulness. The only thing. That they. Bring. To the table. Is perfect. Law. Breaking. Right. That's all.

[13:32] They can bring. Is the perfect. Law. Breaking. So for Moses. To play. The mediator. God. Is not. Going. To lessen. His demands. So. Moses.

[13:43] Has to pray. For God. To be merciful. Not. To lessen. His demands. And that's. Exactly. What he does. And that. And so. God. Doesn't strike. Israel down. That. Becomes.

[13:53] A picture. Of salvation. For us. Right. For us. Today. God's. Holiness. Still demands. Perfect. Law. Keeping. When you were.

[14:06] Twelve. Years old. God. Was still. Demanding. Perfect. Law. Keeping. But. You and I. We had nothing. But perfect. Law. Breaking.

[14:17] You know. I was eighteen. When I got saved. And up until that time. All I had. Was perfect. Law. Breaking. And so. I needed a mediator. And Jesus Christ.

[14:29] Came into this world. To be the mediator. Between. Us. And God. Now how can he be the mediator? Well. He's the mediator. Because. He's like God. He is God.

[14:39] Right. He's. He's perfectly righteous. So he's one who can do that. But he's also human. So he can represent us well. And so the question is. Is how does he.

[14:51] Mediate. How does he bring the two together? Because God's not going to lessen. His demand. And we're never going to meet it. So how.

[15:02] Did he do this? He did this. By coming into this world. Living a perfect life. And by perfect life. What we mean. Is he obeyed the law of God.

[15:14] Perfectly. There is. I'll just. I'll just introduce you to these terms. You don't have to remember them. But there's what's called. The active.

[15:25] And passive. Obedience of Jesus. The active. Obedience. Is where. Jesus Christ. Actively. Obeys. The law of God.

[15:36] The passive. Obedience. Is where Jesus. Passively. Allows. God. To do to him. What he wants. So. For example. His. Being baptized. He tells.

[15:46] John the Baptist. This is to fulfill. All righteousness. On the cross. He just. Doesn't say a word. But lets them. Take him. And that's a passive way. In which he obeyed.

[15:57] The Lord. Right. So you've got this. Active and passive. Obedience. So Jesus Christ. Came. Perfectly. Obeyed. Did perfect. Law keeping. And now.

[16:07] That perfect. Law keeping. Can count. For us. Let me see. If I can illustrate. How it works. With an illustration. That you don't. Don't press my illustration. Okay. It'll break. If you do.

[16:18] But this is just an illustration. If I were to ask you. And don't answer this question. What color my skin is. Because I'm so modeled. And weird.

[16:29] If I. Wanted to tell you. That I'm going to change. My skin color. To green. First of all. That's just weird. But secondly. How would I do that?

[16:41] That. Well. Even if I dyed myself. It really wouldn't turn my skin color green. I just dyed my skin. Right. It doesn't actually change. The color of the skin. But let's just say.

[16:52] I did this. And I went and bought all of you. Sunglasses. With green lenses. And I said. When you look at me. I want you to wear these sunglasses. Would I look green to you?

[17:05] Well. Of course. I would look green to you. Would I really be green? No. No. I wouldn't. That's exactly what Jesus did. He. Is the lens.

[17:17] Through which God. Looks at us. So as he looks at us. He sees perfect law keeping. Because of Jesus. Do we have perfect law keeping?

[17:27] No. But he declares us to have it. Because he's looking at Jesus. Now. How is it possible. That you and I. Can get into this place.

[17:38] Where Jesus. Is our lens. That God looks at us through. Because the question is. Does he look at everybody this way? No.

[17:49] He doesn't. As a matter of fact. Galatians says. For all who rely on the works of the law. Are under a curse. For it is written. Cursed be everyone. Who does not abide by all things.

[17:59] Written in the book of the law. And do them. So people who rely on the law. God does not see them. As perfect law keeping. He actually sees them as cursed. Why?

[18:11] Because. If you're going to say. Listen. I'm going to obey the ten commandments. And I'm going to earn righteousness from God. So that he'll let me into heaven. We all know that's impossible.

[18:24] Totally impossible. Yet. If that's the decision you make. And say. That's the way you're going to go. You're going to be cursed. Because you've got to do everything.

[18:35] You can't leave out anything. And so you would never be looked at. As perfectly righteous. You would only be looked at. As cursed. So he says in Galatians.

[18:46] Verse 11. Now it's evident. That no one is justified. Before God. By the law. For the righteous. Shall live by faith. He goes on. In chapter 2. Verse 16. Yet we know.

[18:57] That a person is not justified. By works of the law. But through faith. In Jesus Christ. What happens. Is that we.

[19:08] Trust Christ. We put our faith. In him. And he becomes. Then the lens. For us. The covering. For us. Through which God looks.

[19:19] And sees us. As perfectly. Righteous. So it's only by faith. Right. It's only by faith. That we. Can truly. Then come.

[19:29] But there's a problem. With faith. There's a problem. With faith. Faith comes out of us. Faith is. It's.

[19:40] It's. I'm supposed to believe. In Jesus. But how can. A darkened. Heart. Believe. It can't.

[19:53] You know. If I were to say. Jack. I want you to get up. Out of your chair. And fly. Around this room. Could you do it? Why couldn't you do it? I'm not capable.

[20:04] You're not capable. What are you missing? A couple wings. Wings. Wings. Or. Or jet pack. Or whatever. Yeah. Something.

[20:15] Something would have to. Fundamentally. Change about you. In order for that. You would have to be. Turned into a bird. To be able to fly around. This room. What we're saying.

[20:27] Is that the problem. With faith. Is that. We need to believe. But we can't. Because we have darkened. Hearts. In the new covenant. And we've talked about. The new covenant. A lot.

[20:37] When we get to the Lord's supper. But part of what. The new covenant. Says. These are promises. That God has made. Listen. It says. I will give you. A new heart. And a new spirit.

[20:47] I will put within you. And I will remove. The heart of stone. From your flesh. And give you. A heart of flesh. This is God. Talking. To his people. Saying.

[20:57] This is what. I'm going to do. To you. It is God. Who gives. The new heart. Let me ask you something. What do you think. A heart of stone. Is. A hardened heart.

[21:12] Okay. What else. About this. Hardened. Heart of stone. It's rigid. It's. Unchangeable. Unchangeable.

[21:23] Lifeless. Not Christian. Not Christian. A stone. That has no life in it. It's dead. God is promising.

[21:34] To remove. That heart of stone. Because. So long. As there's a heart of stone. There's never faith. Only God. Can change. The darkened.

[21:45] Heart of stone. Into a heart. Of flesh. The one. Who asks us. For perfect. Law. Keeping. Is the one. Who changes. Our heart.

[21:55] To a heart. Of flesh. So faith. Can grow. So that God. Can see us. Through the perfect. Righteousness. Of Jesus. And consider us. Righteous. Jesus. And so the question is.

[22:07] Well how does. How does this faith. Come about. Where does this faith. Come from. What has to happen. And in John's gospel. Chapter six. There's a story. About Jesus.

[22:19] Feeding the five thousand. The next day. They find him. They want more. Because they don't. They're tired of going to the grocery store. And fixing their own food. So they say. Jesus. Feed us again. And as they do this.

[22:30] He begins to teach them. These truths. He says. He says. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me. Shall not hunger. And whoever believes in me. Shall never thirst.

[22:42] Now. I hope you see. That to come to Jesus. Is the same thing. As to believe. In Jesus. To believe in Jesus. Is to come. To Jesus.

[22:53] And this is a salvation passage. That if you believe. In the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask for salvation. Then you are coming. To Jesus. Right. Do you see that. Do you agree with me on that. Okay.

[23:04] Because. That's a pretty important point. Because he goes on to say. But I've said to you. That you've seen me. Yet you do not believe. Okay. So. They've seen. The. The. The son of God.

[23:15] The Messiah. With their own eyes. And they have not believed. Or come to him. And all that the father gives me. Will come to me. And whoever comes to me. I will never cast out.

[23:26] Beautiful promises. Promises that tell us. That the. The person who comes to Jesus. It doesn't start out of themselves. But it starts with what God the father does.

[23:38] As a matter of fact. It goes on in verse 44. And says. No one can come to me. No one can believe in me. Unless the father who sent me. Draws him. In other words.

[23:49] We don't just get saved. Willy nilly. The day that we decide. That we want to be saved. We get saved. On the day that the father begins to draw us. Do you remember back. Because I know many of you.

[24:00] You grew up in church. And you heard this. Do you remember pastors and preachers. As they would preach. And they would call people to salvation. They would say things like this. If you feel the Lord calling you today.

[24:13] Come and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's because they understood this truth. That's been lost in our current church culture. It's the father who initiates salvation.

[24:24] It's the father who draws. And when he draws. You will come to Christ. You will have that faith. He goes on in verse 65. To repeat this. And says.

[24:34] This is why I told you. That no one can come to me. Unless it's granted to him. By the father. The point is. Is that the pathway. To try to understand grace.

[24:47] Starts here. Number one. We have darkened hearts. Unable to keep God's law. Unable to please God. Without faith.

[24:58] We have no faith whatsoever. We have darkened stony hearts. The second step. Of this path. Is that God the father. By the Holy Spirit. God the Lord. Gives us a new heart.

[25:10] Typically through the preaching of the gospel. And it is from that new heart. That we get the gift of faith. It is from that new heart. That we get the gift of faith. Listen to first Peter.

[25:21] First Peter says. Since you have been born again. Not of perishable seed. But of imperishable. Through the living and abiding word of God. So. The new birth happens. Through the word of God.

[25:31] He says in verse 24. This phrase from the Old Testament. About all grass and withering and things. But the word of the Lord remains forever. Verse 25. And this is the word.

[25:42] The good news. That was preached to you. In other words. What he is saying. Is that. As the good news. The gospel is preached. God the father. God the Holy Spirit. Uses that.

[25:53] To draw people to themselves. Take out the heart of stone. Put in the heart of flesh. So they have the gift of faith. So that they can then believe. In the Lord Jesus Christ. For salvation.

[26:05] It starts with the darkened heart. The next step. Is God the father. Giving the new heart. And the third step. Is that in this new heart. With this gift of faith. We can believe. Unto salvation.

[26:16] In other words. This gift of faith. Comes by God's. Grace. Grace. We don't get this gift of faith. By doing something ourselves.

[26:27] We don't earn it. We don't secure it. We don't merit it. It doesn't come by prayer. It doesn't come by baptism. Or any kind of effort. It comes by the grace. Of God. Let me see if I can illustrate it.

[26:41] This way. When Lazarus. Was in the tomb. And Jesus raised Lazarus. From the dead. What would have happened.

[26:53] Had Jesus. Here's what Jesus said. Right. Jesus says. Lazarus. Come forth. Three words. What would have happened. And I think most people. Know this. If he had just said.

[27:04] Come forth. All the dead. Would have risen. Right. Because it's a powerful word. It.

[27:15] Alivens. And wakens up. And causes someone. To go from death. To life. So as he says. Lazarus. He's picking out Lazarus. And no one else. And he's telling Lazarus.

[27:26] To wake up. And he's calling Lazarus. Out to come. Now. Did he. Give Lazarus. New life. Based upon Lazarus.

[27:39] Coming out of the tomb. Or did he give. New life. To Lazarus. So that Lazarus. Could come out of the tomb. You see what I'm saying.

[27:49] What I'm saying. Is this. Is that. The deadened heart. Of the sinner. Has to be awakened. First. By the quickening. Of the Holy Spirit. Through the preaching. Of the gospel. And the drawing.

[28:01] Of the father. Before faith. Can flourish. And believe. To salvation. That. Is the grace. Of God. Our.

[28:11] Poem. That we saw. Earlier. Is run. John. Run. The law. Commands. But gives us. Neither. Neither. Feet. Nor. Hands. It tells us. Come out. Right.

[28:21] If the law. Were to look at Lazarus. And say. Come out. Lazarus. Would still be laying. In the tomb. But because Christ. Came. Christ. Can give life.

[28:32] So that the command. Can be followed. So if he comes to us. And says. Believe. In the Lord. Jesus Christ. Christ. We can't do that. Unless he's the one. Saying that to us. The second half.

[28:43] Of this poem. Is far better news. The gospel brings. It bids us fly. And gives us wings. Bids us fly. And gives us wings. You see.

[28:54] The point. Is that. We're. We're. We're. Trying to understand. How do we use the law. How do we use. Grace. And the gospel. In one another's lives. We're not learning.

[29:05] All of this. Ten commandments. Just so that we can. You know. Put it on the shelf. Of our academic. You know. Successes. And achievements. We're supposed to use. The law of God. And the gospel.

[29:16] In people's lives. But we can't use. The gospel. If we don't understand. The grace of God. And what this means. As we bring these two together. So.

[29:28] My. I want to pause here. And ask you. Do you understand. What I'm saying. About grace. Grace. We all know. That grace means. Unmerited favor. But I'm trying to show you.

[29:39] That. As that unmerited favor. He comes. He doesn't just. Dispense it like seeds. That he throws out. But he comes directly. To that one. That he wants.

[29:50] And he takes them. In their. Sinful. Slaved. Rebellious. Unsubmissive. Not able to come to him. Heart. And he changes it.

[30:01] So that they can believe. He comes to them. First. He initiates. Everything. And we are at. His. Mercy. To be saved.

[30:13] He is. You know. There's an old song. That Baptists have sang. For a long time. Called. The Savior is waiting. You know the song. I'm talking about. The Savior is waiting. To enter your heart.

[30:23] That is not true. The Savior is not waiting. The Savior is working. We're the ones. Waiting upon him. And it's by his grace. That he. You are saved.

[30:34] You trust in the Lord. Jesus Christ. Not because of. Anything. In you. But because of the grace. Of God. That came. To you. So let me pause there.

[30:45] And ask. Do you have any questions. That you. Need me to clarify. Anything here. Before. I then make application. Of all this. For us. Yes. I've always heard it.

[31:08] Said it there. Without the Holy Spirit. And the gospel. You can't say it. Yep.

[31:21] Yep. Okay. Well then. Let's talk about. How we use this. And maybe some of what I'm saying. Will begin to.

[31:33] Clear up anything else. Because right now. Maybe you don't even know. What to ask. As we're looking at this. But I want us to think about. Then. How we use. Grace.

[31:44] And. I want to think about. First of all. For people that we don't know. In people that we don't know. People that we. Don't have contact with. What we want to do.

[31:55] To use grace. Is we want to make sure. That our church. Is preaching the gospel. Our preaching of the gospel.

[32:05] It's recorded. On the live stream. There are visitors. That pop in. Sometimes. And visit. It's recorded. For posterity. There's. There's. There's. All kinds of ways. That people can get.

[32:17] And tap into the sermons. That we preach here. Trying to preach the gospel. And that reaches people. We don't know. But also. As we search for.

[32:29] Mission endeavors. And service projects. And missionaries. To support. We want to be sure. That we're supporting people. That have the distinction. And understand the difference.

[32:41] Between law. And the gospel. That they use the law. The right way. But they also understand. How to use the law. The gospel. The right way. Because.

[32:53] That is where the power of God is. It's Paul who says. For the gospel. Is the power of God. And the salvation. So. So we want to be sure. Then. Then I want you to think about.

[33:05] With our friends. People that we know. People that we have. A relationship. Of some kind. How would we use. The law. And then the gospel. With them. In a proper way.

[33:16] And I thought I would tell you. About this. I had a guy. We were at church. Several years ago. Close to 20 years ago. And. He. Was fired from his job.

[33:28] Because of his addiction. To pornography. He began to look at it. At work. And this kind of a thing. And so he was fired. From his job. And so. He came to me. And just began to weep.

[33:39] About this. And stuff. Because it was going to. You know. His wife now knew. And so many people knew. And everything was just. Just blowing up around him. Now it's very obvious.

[33:50] That he has broken God's law. Is that correct? Which commandment. Has he broken? Go through.

[34:03] Adultery. Commandment number. Number. Seven. Okay. So that's clear. We understand that he has broken that. Now. As we go to help him.

[34:16] What does he need to be told. To do? Now. As you think about that. Let me ask you this.

[34:27] What is the ultimate goal. At the end. Of our time with him. We want to see him repented. We want to see him changed.

[34:40] We want to see him. Not addicted to that. Any longer. But to be set free. Right? So what do we tell him? The only way is.

[34:52] The God. To do. So. So specifically. What do we tell him then? Because I. I think we all agree. Yes. It's through God. Through the power of God.

[35:02] And through. Through his word. But what do we tell him? Was he Christian? Well. We don't know that just yet. We're just going to leave that hanging out there. Well.

[35:15] Tell me. You can get out of this. But there's only one way. It is. No. You can believe. Be as God wants you to be.

[35:26] I don't know how to say that. It's the secret. Sure. Sure. Somebody help us out. Put some flesh on these bones. We need to tell him. You need to turn back to Jesus. You need to.

[35:39] Rethink all this stuff. You've gone through. And know that you did wrong. And now. The only way. Is to. Go back.

[35:50] To Jesus. And make him help you. And how would Jesus help him? Well. Jesus.

[36:02] Gives us strength. I think. He gives us. The power. To overcome. Situations. That. That we can't do. On our own. Okay.

[36:14] Give him a new heart. We'll give him a new heart. So. And. Everybody's right. You're right in what you're saying. Okay. Let me see if I can pull this together.

[36:25] With this. Here's. Here's a typical way. That. A lot of pastors. Might deal with. A guy in their church. Who comes to them. They might get to some of the things.

[36:35] You're talking about. But. Some of the things that they'll do. Is they'll say things like. Okay. Well. We need to put. We need to put a blocker on your phone. You need to give your wife. Permission to look at your phone.

[36:47] You need to. Not have. You know. Television in your house. You need to. Like all these things. They would tell them. Things that they need to do. Lots of shoulds.

[36:58] And I'm not saying those things are wrong. But those things won't. Change. The only thing that will change. That. Heart. Is the gospel.

[37:11] What Christ has done. If he's a Christian. He needs to be reminded. Of. What Christ has done. He needs to go back and look at that. He needs to reckon with that.

[37:22] He needs that gospel. Preached to him. Because it's the preaching of the gospel. That changes the heart. If he's not a Christian. He still needs the preaching of that gospel. To change his heart. Right.

[37:34] And so. You've got this gospel. That is. It needs to be put in there. It doesn't mean. That you take away the law. Hey. Stop committing adultery. You've got to stop doing it.

[37:46] You have to stop lusting. You have to stop looking. You have to stop these things. But just telling him. To stop it. Doesn't change him. It's the gospel. That changes him.

[37:58] Think about. Children. Right. As we deal with children. One common thing. That children struggle with. Is that they lie. A lot of them lie.

[38:12] A lot. And you caught them in the lie. And when they lied. And you caught them. What did you do? Okay.

[38:25] That is the condemnation of the law. Right. The work of the law is condemnation. So. They lied. They broke a commandment. They got disciplined. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you.

[38:37] Okay. But then what did you do? Love them. You loved them. I loved them. Okay. And I. It wasn't. I didn't pamper everything.

[38:47] But I loved them. What else did you say to them? I love you so much. It hurts me to know that you lied to me. But there's a way that we can deal with this. Okay.

[38:58] And how we deal with this. Is what Jesus wants us to do. Those kind of. They have to do it a simple way for a child. You know. Depending on their age. Those are the kind of things. I've even done it with adults though.

[39:09] You know. If you think about it. Yeah. I still have them. Pick up rocks. That's what we just said. Holy. If you had a punishment or a resolution of some sort. If it caused a problem.

[39:20] You had them to fix it. Sure. And to remind them that there's. When you lie. You're just. You're just. Multiplying that. You know.

[39:31] You're going to keep doing it. If you don't get straight. Yeah. Right. It would become a habit. One of the things I want to really try to stress. Is that.

[39:42] There's a lot of things that we can say. And those things tend to be either straight law. Don't lie. They tend to be. The work of the law. A condemnation.

[39:53] Or a result. Or a consequence. Or it can be. Our own. Sort of. Feelings about things. It's like. Well. How dare you treat me that way. Right.

[40:03] Because it's kind of a personal affront. When a kid lies to their parents. Parents. But all of those. Are just. In law. None of those. Actually. Change the kid. What changes the kid? The gospel.

[40:14] Grace. And so. To get to grace. You have to preach the gospel. You have to go back over. And tell them. Hey listen. I understand that you have lied. And we're going to.

[40:25] We have to discipline that. Because you can't let it go. But. That discipline. Is not going to change them. See I think that's one of the things. That I grew up thinking. Is that if my kid lies to me.

[40:36] And I spank them. Then they'll never do that again. Because they don't want to be spanked. But there are some kids. That they would rather be spanked. Every day of the week. And get to do what they want to do. Than anything else.

[40:47] That heart. Is so hard. That the only thing that will break it. You know what. You know what Paul says. It is the kindness of God. That leads us to repentance. They need to hear the gospel preached.

[41:00] In that moment. They need to understand. Their sin against God. Yes they still have to be disciplined. But they also need. To have the gospel preached. And when I say the gospel preached.

[41:10] I'm saying. They need to hear. You're. You. You and I. Are worthy of death and hell. We are under the righteous judgment of God. We should bust hell wide open.

[41:22] But Jesus came into this world. To die for liars. Like you and me. I lied to my parents. When I was young. I understand. That it's so hard.

[41:33] To tell the truth. And it's hard to tell the truth. Because we have wicked. Stony. Dark hearts. And the only hope for us. Is that in the gospel. The father gives us the grace.

[41:44] That gives us the faith. To be able to believe. That we might have this new life. And be changed. And with this new heart. Now we have the Holy Spirit living in us. And we can. Obey him.

[41:55] And I'm preaching this to you. Hoping that in this moment. The father. Wakens you up. Quickens you. Calls you. And that you believe. Now you may not be able to do that.

[42:07] Like. When you go back to your parenting. That's probably not a thing you could do. Every single time. That your kids disobeyed. But there are definitely points of time.

[42:17] Where you could have had those moments. Of preaching the gospel to your kids. And that's what we need. In all the parenting that we do. Even grandparenting. As you think about this. There's so much.

[42:29] In. As my grandkids come. I want to go like. Well you don't need to be doing that. And don't do that. And be careful. And don't do this. And don't. You know. There's so much of that that comes out. And it's like. It's all law.

[42:40] And law is not bad. But if law is all we. Interact with. You know. Paul says in Colossians. And we'll look at this in a few weeks. He says. Fathers. Do not exasperate your children.

[42:52] Do not exasperate your children. You know what's exasperating? Being told. You must. You must. You must. You must. You must. You must. You must. You must. And never told. You can't.

[43:03] Because you have no power. But God has the power. Trust in him. Because if it's just. You must. You must. You must. Then we think it's all on us. To do. Sometimes I think.

[43:16] Kids may be lied. Because they didn't get enough attention. And it's a way to get attention. It's not an excuse. Sure. I'm not justifying that. But then I've met people that are adults. And they're habitual liars.

[43:28] And they're really good. You have. It comes down months later. And it's usually an exaggeration. Of some episode. Or story. Or money.

[43:38] Or. Because they want attention. As adults. But sometimes kids do that. Because they're not getting enough attention. Sure. Sometimes. It's not all the kids.

[43:49] It's parenting of the kids. Sure. Sure. We don't sin in a vacuum. No. We absolutely do not sin in a vacuum. But even if. Even if my child is feeling as though.

[44:00] They're not having my attention. And therefore. They do that. Then the sin. Is not really the lying. The sin. Is the idolatry of my time. They. I want the presence of my parents.

[44:10] So much so. That I'm willing to lie. And in that moment. It's even worse. Because now. Their heart is captured by an idol. That will never satisfy them. And they need to be set free from that.

[44:22] And the only way to be set free from that. Is for me. As the broken. Cistern of a parent. To come and preach the gospel to my kids. Okay. Let's think about marriage for a second.

[44:36] Let's not. Right? I'm not. So. So. In marriage. And you could extrapolate this. To friends that you have.

[44:47] But. It's easy to sin against one another in marriage. And. We. We probably sin at least. Once a day. At least.

[44:58] Against each other in marriage. Sometimes. Our spouses. They're. Because they're Christian. They're saved. They. Let it just roll off.

[45:08] Like. Water on a duck's back. Because. They understand. And they're being gracious. And so. We don't get into blow ups. Over these things. Nearly as much. As. Maybe we could. But I have.

[45:19] I have. Counseled with a lot of. Married couples. And. There's a lot of. Law responses. In marriage. To one another. And some of those.

[45:31] Law responses. Sound like this. They sound. You have. Better not ever. Do that again. You have. Better not ever. Talk to me.

[45:41] That way again. That's a law. Response. It's a demand. For. Action. And a way. To live. Now. It may be right. It may be.

[45:52] That the way. That they spoke. To you. Was ungodly. But then. Demanding. That they just. Follow that law. Won't change them. Right.

[46:03] Or. I cannot believe. You would treat me. Like that. It's a consequence. It's a calling out. It's a judgment. That's not going to change them either.

[46:16] It may be true. It may be true. That the way they treated you. Was completely. Wicked. And ungodly. And evil. People. But just telling them that. Is not going to change them.

[46:27] All it's going to do. Is just line out more law. Or. Giving someone. The silent treatment. Like. They've said something.

[46:37] Done something. In such a way. They've hurt your feelings. In such a way. And so. You just don't talk to them. For a while. You act like. They don't even exist. That's the punishment. Of the law. It's called.

[46:49] You know. It's a death. That's not going to change them either. It might be. That. You know. Listen. You're going to have to. My friend. That.

[46:59] The pornography. Issue. One of the things that happened. Is that his wife. His wife. He was. He was attempting. To be the head of his home. He was attempting. To read scripture.

[47:10] With his family. And. Make decisions. About where they were going to go to church. And this kind of thing. Trying to lead his family. As a godly man. Even though he was living. An ungodly life. And she said.

[47:21] Until you have gone for two years. Without this problem. You don't get to make the decisions anymore. That was her response to him. That's the law. That's the law.

[47:32] There's no gospel. There's no grace there. Right. The point is. Is that. We're not trying to say. Don't ever use the law. But we're trying to say.

[47:43] Use the law properly. The law. Does not. Change. A person. And we can layer. Law upon law. Upon law. Upon law. And it's not going to change. The heart of the person.

[47:55] So we have to get to the gospel. And preach the gospel to them. So that they understand. And they hear again. And then we wait upon the father. To change their heart.

[48:07] You know my friend. He needed to hear the gospel. Again and again. And again and again. Until the Lord convicted him. And drew him to himself. Changed his heart. So that he would. Then be set free from that.

[48:19] At the same time. He has to be told things like. Okay. You can't have a cell phone. You know. And you need to have. A covenant eyes program. That watches everything you do. And reports to somebody. You need to have.

[48:29] An accountability partner. Those things are true. And when my child lies to me. You know. It's like. No. I have to spank him. And tell him. That you can't do that. Because God's law says that. But at the same time.

[48:39] I have to say. The only way you're not. You're going to quit that. Is with the gospel. So. So it's the gospel first. And then the law. Now that's a great question.

[48:51] And. And I would say. It depends upon the person. Because some people. They're going to be at a place. Where they're broken. And they know. They. Like my friend that came to me. With the pornography issue.

[49:02] He was broken. He was just broken. He was. He was devastated. Looking at his own sin. And he was like. What do I do? So I told you. I'll tell you what I did. I went to this verse first.

[49:14] This is the gospel. Right? Therefore there is now. No condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus. I went to this verse. First. To help him understand.

[49:25] That if he's in Christ. Because he said he was a Christian. If you're in Christ. Then everything that you've done. Has already been paid for. In the blood of Christ. Now that.

[49:35] If you're really a Christian. That will charge you up. Especially if you're broken. Over your own sin. You'll. You'll. To know. To know. That there's no condemnation. For you. It's a great place to start.

[49:47] Then. From that. Vantage point. From that foundation. Then we can say things like. Okay. We need to show some repentance. We need to have a change. In behavior.

[49:58] And here are the ways. That we do that. But from here. But there's some people. That you encounter. That they're not broken. Over their sin. And I wouldn't start here. I would start with the law of God.

[50:09] So that they feel the conviction. Of the Holy Spirit. About their sin. And then. I would come to the law. So. I'll take it with commandments first. Yeah. That's right.

[50:25] The way that. See. See. Theology matters. And the way that we do evangelism. Is the way. That the gospel is designed. And the law and the gospel together. Are designed. That's why Ray Comfort.

[50:36] Does evangelism the way he does it. And that pathway. Is the same thing. For confronting a Christian. The story. That a lost person. Needs to hear. To be saved. And have their heart changed.

[50:46] Is the same story. That a Christian. Needs to hear. In order to be reminded. Of how they've been purchased. By the blood of Christ. That is the. That is the power. Inside of the Christian. To live the way.

[50:57] They ought to live. So. My. My prayer. My hope. Is that through all of this. Talking about the ten commandments. And then trying to get these. That you've kind of got a new appreciation.

[51:09] For what the law. And the gospel do together. And hopefully. You will have. The tools. As we go. We can get more specific. And more detailed tools.

[51:19] But hopefully. We can. We can help. All of us. To. To be better. At. Seeing that distinction. Between the law and gospel. Making sure. That we bring the gospel.

[51:30] To people who need the gospel. In our lives. But also. For you. As members. Of this church. To hold me. Accountable. As the pastor.

[51:40] That as I'm preaching. That I preach the gospel. It would be easy. For me. To. Preach a sermon. Say to mothers. Or to fathers. And it would be.

[51:50] Nothing but. You ought to do this. You ought to do this. You ought to do this. And leave it there. If I do that. Then it's just. A sermon. Of moralism. I have to come back.

[52:02] And say. The power to do this. Is in the gospel. And if you've. Failed to do this. Listen to the gospel. You know. And if you've never even.

[52:13] Thought about this. Then you need to hear the gospel. It turns people off. The power of doing this thing. That. That person. Do this. This. Yeah. Yeah. Alright.

[52:25] Alright. Well let's. Let's. Close with prayer. And then. If you've got further questions. I'll. I'll be glad to take them. Lord. Thank you for. The. Grace. That you have given to us.

[52:35] Let's go.