[0:00] Please take your Bibles and open them up to the book of Exodus, chapter 19. The book of Exodus. We're moving just one book over from Genesis.! Flip a few pages to the right.
[0:13] I guess you're flipping to the left. You're moving to the right. And you'll find Exodus there, chapter 19. Our verses this morning are verses 1 through 9. And then when you find that, put your finger there and flip to the New Testament in the book of Romans.
[0:30] Chapter 3, verses 19 through 26. We're continuing our Advent series this morning covering the promises of God. And today we're looking specifically at what we call the Mosaic Covenant.
[0:44] It's this covenant of law. And I'll be honest with you, this sermon title is a little bit misleading this morning. It's the promise of perfect righteousness.
[0:54] You know, the problem is the law does not promise perfect righteousness. The law presents perfect righteousness. But it cannot promise perfect righteousness.
[1:05] The gospel is the only thing that both presents and promises and even produces perfect righteousness in those who believe. So, we'll see that unfold this morning.
[1:18] When you founded Exodus chapter 19, verses 1 through 9. Let's stand in honor of the reading of God's word this morning. Let's stand in honor of the reading of Exodus chapter 19.
[1:33] Let's stand in honor of the reading of Exodus chapter 19. Let's stand in honor of the reading of Exodus chapter 19. On the third new moon, after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness.
[1:49] There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel, You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
[2:09] Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples. For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
[2:26] These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
[2:36] All the people answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken, we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.
[2:56] Flipping to Romans chapter 3, 19 through 26. Now we know that whatever the law says, it 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.
[3:14] 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.
[3:34] 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.
[3:59] 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.
[4:16] The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Father, we praise you for your word, Old Testament and New Testament, and the ways that every word, every line, every page, every chapter draws us to Christ Jesus, who is the fulfillment of all your promises.
[4:37] We pray, Lord, fix our eyes on him this morning. Put our trust in him this morning, away from us and our efforts and entirely on him and his completed work on the cross.
[4:50] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Amen. Amen. Christmas season is here, which means it is also the season of holiday giveaways.
[5:14] I don't know if it's true for you, but I love a good giveaway. I entered one this week. One company is giving away, quote, an unforgettable five-day, four-night trip to Sweden featuring round-trip flights, one night in a legendary ice suite.
[5:33] Don't know what that means. Winter activities. Who knows what that holds? $500 in spending money. I can get on board with that. Tomorrow, a well-known worldwide global coffee company will start their annual sweepstakes where you can win burnt-tasting coffee for life.
[5:55] A $1,000 Delta gift card, $500 in Marriott points, amongst other things. Everybody loves to dream about winning the grand prize, but the more you enter these things, the more you learn to pay attention to four key words down at the bottom of the page.
[6:14] Terms and conditions apply. Those four words are important, aren't they? You can dream all you want about the grand prize, but if you don't meet those terms and conditions, guess what?
[6:29] You will not be receiving the grand prize. Those terms and conditions are essential. And as we look at our passage this morning, here in the book of Exodus, what we see is that those four words are also deeply important for the people of Israel.
[6:45] Israel. Those four words, they're not hidden at the bottom of the page. They're not printed in small text. They're not read at super speed at the end of a commercial. They are literally shouted out loud from the mountaintop.
[7:00] Here in the book of Exodus, what we see is that God makes these incredible promises to his people Israel, but terms and conditions apply.
[7:12] So let's take a look together at what's being held out here. What's the offer that's on the table? First, what we see, God graciously promises to bless his people.
[7:23] It's our first point this morning. First, we see God graciously promises to bless his people. And if that sounds familiar to you, that's good.
[7:34] That means you were paying attention last week. And what we're really doing is we're picking right up where we left off last time with this promise of great blessing. Do you remember what God promised to Abraham?
[7:45] Abraham, this threefold promise of great prosperity, of a place where he could dwell with God, this promise of posterity.
[7:56] Well, this same general promise is now regulated by law in the book of Exodus. We zoom ahead some 430 years later, and what we see is that God has indeed multiplied Abraham.
[8:09] His descendants have multiplied. But as we come to Exodus, we find them enslaved in Egypt. They aren't really prosperous. They're at the bottom of the social totem pole.
[8:20] They don't have their own place. They're there in somebody else's kingdom. They're suffering under a harsh taskmaster, Pharaoh. They are oppressed. But we know from going through Genesis that even this is part of the plan, isn't it?
[8:34] Do you remember what God promised Abraham in chapter 15, verse 13? Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be servants there.
[8:47] They will be afflicted for 400 years. That sounds specific. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
[8:58] And so what we see now in the first half of Exodus, it shows us 10 plagues and 430 years later, God has fulfilled His promise.
[9:09] God has judged Egypt. God has delivered Israel. And so now here in Exodus 19, they have come to the foot of Mount Sinai, where God will deliver them the law.
[9:23] But notice what He does before that. Look there starting in verse 4. Before He tells them anything to do, any steps to take, He reminds them of everything that just happened.
[9:36] I mean, how quickly do we forget, right? He reminds them of His grace. He says, I just delivered you miraculously. You were slaves. Don't forget it. You were hungry.
[9:47] Don't forget it. You were mistreated. Don't forget it. But I rescued you. I bore you up on eagle's wings, it says. I brought you to Myself.
[9:59] So everything that follows, all of this law that follows, even though it is law, all of it is rooted in grace. All of it is rooted in God's eternal plan of redemption, of His people.
[10:16] God says, whatever obedience I'm going to require of you is a response to my work of redemption. The law was never meant to be a ladder to climb our way up to God.
[10:27] But even so, even so, obedience is the path to blessing. So He says, if you indeed will obey My voice, and if you will keep My covenant, here's what I'm going to do.
[10:42] I'm going to bless you in five distinct ways. Look at what He promises here. First, He says, you will be My treasured possession. I mean, wow.
[10:55] Wow. Already, that is mind-blowing grace, isn't it? When you think about, what is your most treasured possession?
[11:05] If you just picture it in your mind right now, I bet you can imagine it. You know exactly what it looks like. Maybe it's your Bible. Maybe it's a family heirloom. It's something that you treasure.
[11:17] Nobody else in the world may think about it that way, but you treasure that. You know exactly where it is at all times. You keep it safe. You keep it tucked away. You watch over it.
[11:27] You care for it. You love this treasured possession. God says, you will be My treasured possession. I will treasure you.
[11:38] Second, notice He gives them this place of distinction. He elevates them. He makes a distinction between them and everybody else.
[11:48] He says, they will be His distinct people. My treasured possession among all peoples. This is not equality. They are elevated, lifted up by God's own choosing, by His grace, to this distinct place of honor and blessing.
[12:06] Most of you love children in general. I like children. I'll be honest. I love my children more. I have a special affection, a special love, a special inclination towards my children.
[12:23] That's right. That's good. It's because they're mine. They have this special place of distinction. And here God says, you, Israel, you will be My people amongst all the peoples of the earth.
[12:36] There's this distinction. He gives them. Third blessing. He says, you will be a kingdom. I mean, can you imagine the reversal that they're experiencing here?
[12:49] They were just slaves in somebody else's kingdom. They were the lowest on the totem pole. They were bossed around and tossed around and discarded.
[13:02] But now, He says, you're not going to be at the bottom of somebody else's totem pole and somebody else's kingdom anymore. You're no longer slaves. I've brought you out. You are going to be a kingdom.
[13:14] I will establish you as a kingdom. Because even better than that, fourth blessing, you're not just a kingdom. Fourth, you'll be a kingdom of priests.
[13:25] You, from the greatest to the least, will be rulers. From the greatest to the least, you will be worshipers. You will all, from the greatest to the least, you will all commune with me in worship.
[13:42] You'll be a people of prayer and a people of worship and a people of sacrifice. Your attention won't be on your work or on your labor or on building bricks out of straw.
[13:53] Your focus, from the greatest to the least, will be on me. You'll lead one another in worship. You'll be a kingdom of priests. And fifth blessing, he promises, you will be a holy nation.
[14:09] Not just a nation. Not just a kingdom. You will not be like any of the other kingdoms of the earth. You know what's going to set you apart?
[14:20] You will be with me, God says, and you will be like me. You will be holy as I am holy. See, God's people are not like everybody else, are they?
[14:34] We are distinct. That's the nice way to say it. You know what the honest way is? We're weird. We stand out in the midst of the world.
[14:45] Why? What's this defining quality of holiness? You want to stick out in the midst of darkness? We're called lights in the midst of darkness, right? Holiness causes God's people to be distinct, set out.
[15:02] We're this chosen, holy, redeemed, distinct people treasuring God above all else and treasured by God above all others.
[15:13] This is incredible blessing that God holds out for them there, isn't it? A special offer. Come and get it. You can have this blessing too.
[15:25] All this can be yours, he says. It's all rooted in grace. I've brought you out. I will fulfill my promises. It is guaranteed, but for you to enjoy these blessings, terms and conditions apply.
[15:42] Second point this morning. Second, we see enjoyment of God's blessings is conditional. Enjoyment of God's blessings is conditional.
[15:57] Look there again to verse 5. There's a key word there that we need to notice in verse 5. You see what it is? It's that two-letter word if. That if is important, isn't it?
[16:09] If you will indeed obey my voice and if you will keep my commandments, all of this will come to you. God is going to fulfill his promises with or without you specifically.
[16:22] It's all rooted in grace again, but for you individual personally to enjoy it, there's this big fat if. Enjoyment of God's blessings is conditional.
[16:35] Look there to verse 7. Now, Moses sets before the people all the words that the Lord had commanded him and so in response, verse 8, what do they say? They said, we'll do it, God.
[16:47] We will obey. All you've said, we're going to do it. We'll do everything you ask. And so, look what happens next. I didn't read the next 15 chapters of Exodus, but I'm going to summarize it here in about five seconds for you.
[17:01] Okay? Moses takes that yes back up the mountain, up to God. God says, okay, here's ten commandments. He speaks those ten in the hearing of all the people.
[17:15] They all hear his voice, but as he speaks those ten words, the people hear it, they are absolutely mortified at the voice of the Lord. They are undone.
[17:27] And they say to Moses, you've got to be the in-between for us. We can't stand to be in his presence. It's like they recognize the main point already, don't they? They understand at this powerful voice of the Lord that they are sinners in the presence of a holy God.
[17:45] And sin and holiness simply do not mix. It's like oil and water. Except in this case, this holy God is full of righteous wrath, righteous anger towards sin and sinners.
[17:59] sinners. Their sin and our sin it puts us in danger. It puts us in danger of the wrath of God.
[18:11] They seem to understand this. So they say, Moses, you're the man. You go up. We're not going up. We can't be here. We can't hear this voice of the Lord. And so, God, Moses goes up.
[18:24] He sees, he meets with the Lord. God delivers the rest of the law to Moses who then, again, as they go between, he brings it to the people and the people of God, again, they give their yes.
[18:35] They say, we will do this law. We want the blessing. We'll keep your word. We promise. Chapter 24, they seal it in a covenant.
[18:46] You remember chapter 15 of Genesis? And this covenant ceremony as God passes through the aisle with the severed animals on either side as if to say, may I be like these animals, Abraham, if I don't fulfill my covenant with you.
[19:01] If I don't fulfill my word to you, may I be slaughtered like these animals. Well, here, chapter 24, in the same way, the people of God enter into an oath, this promise of obedience to the Lord.
[19:15] Moses builds an altar, he makes sacrifices, and as he reads aloud the law, he slaughters the animals, he throws the blood all over the altar, and all over the people.
[19:29] What does that mean? Again, it's the people saying, may we be like these oxen, slaughtered, and destroyed.
[19:41] May we be mutilated if we fail to keep covenant with you, God. May we be completely destroyed if we disobey. They recognize, don't they, obedience is essential for enjoying the blessings of the covenant.
[19:57] They put their own blood on the line here. Yet again, they profess with their lips. They say, we're going to do it. We will obey every word of the law.
[20:09] We promise. And it seems like they mean it, doesn't it? You know what happens next? Moses goes back up. He receives the law written on tablets of stone by the very fingers of God.
[20:24] He comes back down the mountain and what does he find the people doing? Exodus 32. They are worshiping an idol.
[20:36] They have fashioned for themselves a golden calf to worship. Moses can't believe it. He's like, what are you guys doing? He gets so angry.
[20:47] He smashes the tablets. He grinds them up into a powder. He makes the people drink it. I don't blame them. He's like, what is wrong with you people?
[20:58] How could you be so foolish? All this blessing was held out to you and you promised you would obey. You did the thing with the blood.
[21:09] You put it all over yourself. You swore your allegiance to the Lord. What happened to you? Why can't you obey like you said you would? You see this sometimes with children, don't you?
[21:22] Not my kids. My kids are perfect. This never happens in my house, right? Sometimes in other people's houses, they talk to their kids, you tell them one thing, they look you right in the eye, they say, okay, dad, I got it.
[21:34] Dad turns his back, goes to the other room, and it's like that conversation never happened. What is that? Church, haven't we done the same thing?
[21:46] we say with our lips, okay God, this is it, I promise I'll obey. This time is different, I'm done lying, I am done cheating, I am done drinking myself drunk, no more, I'm done, I'll be nicer to my brother.
[22:06] And then some time goes by, it's like you get amnesia, and you're just, you're right back in it again. What is that? Why can't we obey? I'll tell you why. The reason is our sin.
[22:21] Our sin. Here's our problem. Everyone who is born of Adam is born into this world with a sin nature.
[22:33] And what that is, is a nature that is both hostile to God, we are against God, anti God, and we are unable, despite our hardest efforts, unable to please God.
[22:48] We literally cannot obey. That's our problem. That's what Paul says in Romans 8. He says, the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.
[23:02] Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. God, it's not just you, it's not just me, this is a universal, worldwide, global problem.
[23:18] This is the point that Paul makes in Romans 3. So go ahead and flip there with me, Romans chapter 3. Hopefully you had your thumb right there in that passage. And I want you to back it up a little bit, because right before our text, God through Paul, he's quoting from the Psalms here, starting in verse 10, to make this point.
[23:37] He says, none is righteous. No, not one. You say, well, what about me? None. No one understands. No one seeks for God.
[23:49] All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one. Verse 18 sums it up like this.
[24:01] There's no fear of God before their eyes. Israel's problem our problem is that we, by nature, are in Adam.
[24:15] And if we are in Adam, then we are in sin. And if we are in sin, then we are in trouble with God. And the law, as good as it is, the law can't help us because verse 20, chapter 3, verse 20, it says, by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight.
[24:36] Do you see the problem? It is a big one. God's people must be perfect to enjoy these blessings and yet none of us qualify.
[24:49] And the law, as good as it is, it can't get us there either. And so then I got a question, and maybe you do too, as you think about this. You might ask, well, if the law can't produce this righteousness in us, and the law can't change our sin nature, and the law can't justify us before God if we obey and obey and obey.
[25:11] What good is the law? What good is it? Why is it even here? It's worthless, right? Let me stop you right there because first of all, the law is not the problem.
[25:23] God's word is not the problem. The Psalms make this abundantly clear. The law is good. The law of the Lord is perfect, David says in Psalm 19, reviving the soul.
[25:37] The law is good. We are the problem. We are unable. The law itself is useful, and it's useful in three main ways.
[25:49] The reformers would present these three main ways. John Calvin, I think, was the first to present this in his institutes. Three uses of the law for one. The law serves as a mirror.
[26:02] It serves as a mirror. When we look into it, what it does is it reflects back on us and our sinfulness. When we look into the law, we see our own inability.
[26:17] We see our wickedness on display. You know, when you have a big zit right in the middle of your forehead, okay, think back to your teenage years, guys. You got this big zit right in the middle of your forehead.
[26:29] The last place you want to look, where is it? You avoid that mirror at all costs, don't you? It's not the mirror's fault that you have is it. It's not the mirror's fault.
[26:40] The law itself is good and holy and pure, but we are not. As we look into it, we see our own imperfections highlighted.
[26:51] It serves as a mirror. Another use is as a restrainer of evil. The law serves as a restrainer of evil.
[27:02] Now, again, the law, it doesn't regenerate the heart. It cannot justify. It cannot change our sin nature, but it does in some ways restrain wickedness.
[27:16] Wherever the law exists, whether externally in a written code or internally on our conscience, the law itself, it restrains wickedness.
[27:27] It's like when you're driving up and down 17. You're running late. When there are no police, you feel the freedom to go a little bit faster and speed and get to your destination sooner, but if you see that little hood of the car sticking out from a driveway, you know the lights are there, what are you going to do?
[27:50] It slows you down. It restrains your wickedness. And then if you know that police car is there day after day after day after day in that same spot right there on Highway 17, it restrains your urge to break the law, at least until you get past it and you do what you want.
[28:11] The law functions in this way. It restrains evil, but again, again, restraint does not mean regeneration. Those first two uses are for believer and non-believer alike, but for the believer, there's this third use of the law and it's this.
[28:29] The law reveals for us what holiness looks like. The law reveals God's will for us.
[28:41] See, the believer doesn't use the law as a ladder to climb their way up to heaven, but we do absolutely use it as a map and a guide to show us the pathway of holiness.
[28:53] Having been made new, having been reborn, now we can look at the law and say, well, what does it look like practically to love my neighbor?
[29:05] What does it look like practically for me to reflect the holiness of God? What does it look like for me practically to resemble the image of God as we were made to do?
[29:17] What is God by His Spirit empowering me to be and to do? Well, the law, it shows us. But do you know ultimately the main purpose of the law?
[29:30] Above all of these, the main purpose of the law is that it might drive sinners to Christ, who is the fulfillment of the law.
[29:44] God offers incredible blessing here to His people. Enjoyment of these blessings is conditional, and we could add, none of us have met the conditions, but here's the good news of the gospel.
[29:57] Third, Christ, Jesus, meets all the conditions. Look again to Romans 3, starting in verse 21.
[30:10] Paul just said, no one will be justified by works of the law. it cannot be done. You cannot use it as a ladder to climb your way to God.
[30:21] It is impossible for you, and he made it pretty clear, all of us are in this condition of sin. This sin problem is all of our problem. The law can't make us right with God, but, verse 21, but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.
[30:45] Apart from the law. Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, what is it? Verse 22, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who simply believe.
[31:02] The righteousness that the law demands, but cannot produce, the true perfect righteousness now is manifested apart from the law.
[31:16] How? Galatians 4 tells us. It's the story of Christmas. He says, we were enslaved like Israel.
[31:28] We were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
[31:49] See, true righteousness has come in Christ, and it is received simply by faith in him. Do you know why we make such a big deal about the virgin birth?
[32:04] It's a central part of the Christmas story, right? The virgin birth, Matthew 1, 23, behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. They shall call his name Emmanuel.
[32:15] He's quoting Isaiah. He prophesied that some 700 years before it happened, but why is it so important? Outside of just being a miracle of God's power, it's important because it shows us this child, this baby, is not born like you and I.
[32:40] He is not born of Adam. He's not born in Adam. He does not inherit Adam's sin nature as we do.
[32:52] He does not inherit Adam's curse as we do. He does not inherit Adam's guilt as we do. He's not born with this big banner hanging over his life of unable to please God.
[33:07] He is not born as a slave to sin. No, he's born with the potential to be the second Adam, the one who will perfectly obey in our place where all of us have failed.
[33:22] In fact, he is born as the true and better Israel. He is the one who will keep covenant where they and where we all have broken covenant with the Lord.
[33:32] Christ Jesus is born not to do away with the law but to fulfill it and in doing so to earn by right all the blessings of the covenant.
[33:45] Here's what makes the gospel so shocking. Church, what Jesus has earned by right, he gives to us by grace and we receive it all not by obeying, not by working, not by laboring, not by earning, we receive all of his righteousness, all of the blessings of God simply by coming to him in faith.
[34:15] The child that we celebrate at Christmas came to die, to take away our curse that we've earned for our disobedience, but church, we need to also know he came to live perfectly in our place.
[34:29] We need both for our salvation. We need his death in our place, we need his resurrection but we also need his sinless life. We need him to take our curse but we also need him to provide our blessing.
[34:46] That's exactly what he came to do, that's what we celebrate with his arrival here at Christmas in Jesus Christ. God has given to us freely what he demands of us, namely the perfect holiness, perfect righteousness, what the law demands, the gospel supplies.
[35:11] Friend, apart from him, you know what we are? We, like Israel, are slaves in a truer and a greater way.
[35:21] we are slaves to sin, but in him, in him by faith, we are redeemed, we are brought out, we are plucked out and rescued from slavery, we're brought out of darkness.
[35:39] Apart from him, we are enemies of God, destined for wrath, but in him, we are his treasured possession. The very bride of Christ.
[35:52] He loves us and gave himself up for us, he cherishes us and watches over us and cares for us and will do so for the rest of eternity.
[36:04] Apart from him, we are just like every other sinner born in Adam, but in him, we are his distinct people, chosen by grace.
[36:17] out of all the peoples of the earth, we are uniquely and distinctly his. We are his own children and he loves us with a special fatherly love.
[36:30] Apart from him, we belong to the kingdom of darkness, but in him, we are a kingdom. We are citizens and saints of the kingdom of God.
[36:42] We are ambassadors of the king, the one to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given, has given that authority to us. The church is an embassy of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.
[36:57] We here as we gather is a foretaste of glory of the kingdom to come. Apart from him, we cannot know God, but in him, we are a kingdom of priests.
[37:11] We offer ourselves up as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, our spiritual act of worship. We offer up the sacrifice of our lives.
[37:22] We offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving. We offer up the sacrifice of our very own hearts. We live in communion with the Lord. We are the temple of the living God, his own spirit dwelling within us.
[37:37] Apart from him, we are ruined by the curse of sin, unable to please him, but in him, despite all our faults, church, we are a holy nation, shining like lights in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, reflecting the holiness of the glory of God in the world.
[38:01] We are being remade into the image of Christ who is the image of God. And as we look to him who obeyed for us in our place, we then look to his word and the law to guide us and direct us on the way.
[38:18] So 1 Peter tells us, as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
[38:44] Listen to what he says to believers. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
[39:05] Once you were not a people, now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, now you have received mercy. Every promise made is fulfilled in this baby in the manger and given to us by grace, simply through faith in him, all because this child was born to live, to die, to rise for sinners like us.
[39:34] and there's a poem that I think about often, I know I've quoted it here before by John Bunyan. Run, John, run, the law demands, but gives us neither feet nor hands.
[39:50] Far better news the gospel brings, which bids us fly and gives us wings. Christmas is the announcement that Christ has come to fulfill the law's demands and to earn for us the blessing of perfect obedience.
[40:11] He has come to give what the law demands. Friend, have you come to him? Are you walking with him in holiness?
[40:23] righteousness? As you look to the law, do you use it as a ladder to climb your way to God by your own effort to try and to strive and to earn and to work?
[40:34] Or do you see yourself in it as a mirror showing your weakness and ultimately Christ's strength? Do you lean on your own righteousness this Christmas?
[40:47] Or have you received true righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ? are you resting and rejoicing this Christmas in the true promise of perfect righteousness apart from the law by faith in Christ?
[41:07] Let's pray. Father, it is good news that the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. It is good news that Jesus has come to fulfill the law in our place.
[41:22] it is good news that Christ has come to take away our curse and our shame and to replace it with all the blessings of God. It is good news that we can't earn it, Lord, but we simply receive it by faith.
[41:38] We pray, Lord, would we look to you with eyes of faith? Would we give you the praise that you do for this work of redemption? We pray this in Jesus' name.
[41:49] Amen. Amen.