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[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Go with me to Matthew chapter 5 if you would. And we're in the great story, the Sermon on the Mount.

[0:12] And Jesus has been totally misunderstood. He was misunderstood then and he's misunderstood today. Some people thought that Jesus came and he was going to do away with the Old Testament.

[0:25] He was going to do away with the Word of God. They thought he was saying, hey, God's not, His Word's not that important. It's not that powerful. But he said, boy, you guys misunderstood me.

[0:36] And so we're going to look at that today and see if we can understand what he said about his ministry. I want you to go with me, if you would, to Matthew chapter 5 verse 18 first. He has a favorite saying he's going to use a lot in Matthew.

[0:48] He says in 518, for verily I say unto you, for truly, I'm telling you the truth. This is right. What I'm saying, this is true. That's like a favorite saying. It's like the way he marks it and says, I'm telling you the truth.

[1:01] I'm God in human flesh and I am telling you, amen, this is right, this is true, it's the truth. Jesus came to fulfill the law, by the way.

[1:12] He came to live it out. He shows us in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 19 that we are to do before we teach. Look at chapter 5 and verse 19.

[1:23] A Christian is to do before they teach. It says, whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.

[1:34] But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. In verse 19, Mark, do and teach. Do and teach.

[1:45] You are to do and teach. I ought to live what I teach. I ought to live what I preach. And in verse 20, we've seen that as we've gone through a couple of times now.

[1:56] We've seen that is him saying, boy, you have to have more righteousness than the religious people of our day. Look at what he says. I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

[2:12] If you aren't more righteous than them. And these are the guys in that day and time that were considered the most righteous. These are the guys that are the most right with God. They are the separated ones.

[2:23] They look good. And he said, but you're going to have to have something more than that. So we're going to dive in. If you would, go with me through Matthew chapter 5. We'll start in verse 17. The Bible says that they didn't understand why he came.

[2:36] They didn't understand what his work was. They didn't understand what he was going to do. They thought he came to destroy the law or the prophets. Look at Matthew 5, 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets.

[2:50] I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. They thought Jesus came to do away with the law, the word of God. He did not oppose the teaching of scripture. Please understand this.

[3:01] The New Testament doesn't take the place of the Old Testament. Doesn't push the Old Testament out of the way. Doesn't say the Old Testament wasn't of any value. Some wanted Jesus to end the Old Testament and what it taught.

[3:13] Others were afraid he was trying to destroy the truth. He clearly says, you do not understand what I am here to do. He said, I came to fulfill it.

[3:24] I came to live it out. I came to be the answer to everything that's in the Old Testament. Verse 17. Think not that I'm come to destroy or the law or the prophets.

[3:35] I'm not come to destroy, but to fulfill. And he fulfilled the law by living it out in his person. The Bible says in John 8, 46, which of you convinces me of sin?

[3:47] And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? So he said, hey, you know what? I am living the law. I am fulfilling what God's word says. I am living according to the precepts of God's word.

[3:59] Jesus was and is the sinless son of God. Look in your Bible at 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. You need to know this. This needs to be real to you.

[4:10] Jesus is, was, always will be, is the sinless son of God. The Bible said, for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

[4:23] He knew no sin. Jesus never sinned against the Father. Jesus lived out the law. Jesus did right. No one could find anything different about him because he fulfilled the scripture.

[4:38] They were about him and he, and what he was going to do. From the beginning of the Old Testament, all the way through to where we are in the Bible, is talking about Jesus. Jesus is revealed just a little bit to us in the book of Genesis.

[4:51] And every chapter, we get more and more of a picture until we come to John 1, 29, when the John the Baptist says, behold, the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. Jesus was the seed of Eve that would crush Satan and the Antichrist.

[5:06] Jesus is the lamb that was sacrificed. Jesus is the scapegoat that carried our sins away, or the Jews' sins away into the wilderness. Jesus is the lamb of God.

[5:17] Now, today, I don't need sacrifices anymore. You know, we read the Old Testament, and you might say he did away with the sacrifices. We don't kill lambs anymore. We don't kill little doves anymore.

[5:28] But he didn't do away with it. What he did was fulfill it. What he did was be that lamb. Every time you read, now listen to this, when you read the Old Testament, it'll help it come alive to you.

[5:39] When you read the Old Testament, and you see those verses talking about a lamb being slain, or an animal's blood being shed, or somebody dying, every one of them were pointing to Jesus.

[5:49] When they got on the ark, and they took all the clean animals, and he said, you get your seven animals, you bring them on here, because we're going to be making sacrifices. We're pointing to Jesus. All of it is pointing to Jesus, who came, and he is the sacrifice.

[6:03] And there's something very different about him. All through the Old Testament, they're going to make a sacrifice, and then they're going to make another sacrifice, and they're going to make another sacrifice. The blood runs out of the temple all the time, until the ground turns red.

[6:17] But Jesus did it once forever. Jesus did it once forever. Look at your Bible in Hebrews 9, 12. Mark this verse. Our salvation is already bought.

[6:29] It's already taken care of. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. By his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

[6:43] Watch this. Look at this. Circle the word once. How many times did the Old Testament priests go in? They went in every year? They went in every time somebody sinned? How many times did Jesus go in to sacrifice for us?

[6:54] Answer that for me real quick. How many times? Once. He goes in one time. And what kind of redemption did he get for us? What kind of redemption? Look at it. What's the word? Forever redemption.

[7:04] Eternal redemption. Everlasting redemption. Forever redemption. Those of you that might be wondering, am I really saved? Am I going to stay saved? I've got an answer for you. He went in once.

[7:14] He finished the job. And he said, what I've got for you lasts forever. It is eternal redemption. Jesus didn't come to destroy the law and the prophets. He came to fulfill the law and the prophets.

[7:27] He showed them that they didn't understand the true teachings of scripture. They thought the law was to show them how to live. You see, what's going on is the same thing that goes on right now with us.

[7:37] There's this mistaken idea that we've got to keep these rules. We've got to keep this law. But the law was there to show you you can't keep it. How many of you have ever been really frustrated because you tried so hard to do right and you just couldn't keep doing right?

[7:54] You ever been there? If you have to say amen, how many of you ever had this list of to-do's? I'm going to do this. In fact, as you prayed, you came to the service and you got up at the front of the altar. In fact, as you're kind of tired of altar calls now because you've been going to church all your life and you don't like it because you used to go and say, God, help me do right.

[8:09] And you're right on all these things you're going to do. And when I leave the church, I'm going to obey and I'm going to do right. And then you went out and you found out you couldn't do it and you messed up. You felt like a loser. So you pretty well give up on even praying about it.

[8:20] Just be honest. A lot of y'all live there. That's what ends up happening to us. But here's the great truth about what Jesus said. Look in your Bible, if you would. Look in your Bible, if you would, at Galatians 3, 24 and 25.

[8:31] Look in your Bible at Galatians 3, 24 and 25. The Bible says, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.

[8:44] Now, wait a minute. Look at the verse. Look at verse 24. Look with me. Mark it in your Bible. The law was our what? It was the schoolmaster. It was the schoolmaster. It was to say, you're not doing good.

[8:54] You know, every kid that ever has been to school hates tests. You know, they give you a test. And what's the test do? Shows you what you do know and more than likely what you don't know.

[9:05] And it nails you. And you're like, how do they pick those questions? Here's what he did. He said, I gave you the law to show you you can't. I told you to do this and you couldn't do it.

[9:15] Look at verse 25. He says in verse 24 that you might be justified by faith. And then in verse 25 he said, but after that faith has come, once we believe, after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

[9:31] After faith comes, we are no longer under what? After faith comes, we're no longer under? Law is right. The word here is schoolmaster. What's the schoolmaster?

[9:41] Schoolmaster's law. He said, well, what was the law's purpose? The law's purpose was to come to you and say, you did wrong. You failed. You can't make it. Come with me now that I'm showing you your weakness. And I will take you to someone who can make it.

[9:53] And that is Jesus. Jesus is the answer. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 22, Jesus came to fulfill. And I won't take the time to show you more than two or three of these.

[10:06] But if you want to study your Bible, you'll find out he did fulfill. In Matthew 1, 22, we've already gone through that. It says, and now all this was done that it might be fulfilled.

[10:16] He said these things were done that what the Bible said in the Old Testament would come true. Jesus is the answer for what he said in the Old Testament. Matthew chapter 2, verse 15.

[10:28] The Bible says, and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled. Jesus came that it might be fulfilled. That which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet. Look at verse 17.

[10:39] Then was fulfilled. Look at chapter 4, verse 14. That it might be fulfilled. Jesus didn't come to do away with the law. He came to complete the law. He came to fill out the law.

[10:50] He came to do what the law said. The law was written about him. He's the person it all points to. Because the law is saying you can't make it, but there's one coming who can. The beautiful thing about the law in the Old Testament, they never could live up to it.

[11:03] Do you hear that? The beautiful thing about the law was they never could live up to it. And so they were always having to make a sacrifice. All through the Old Testament, they couldn't.

[11:14] Everybody tried no matter what they did. One guy went out and picked up two sticks. Boy, you're dead. No matter what you do, you don't live up. So what's the teaching? The teaching is you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't.

[11:26] He can. You can't, he can. You can't, he can. You know what the teaching is? You can't, but he can. That's what the Bible means in Romans 10 forward.

[11:37] Look at Romans chapter 10 and verse 4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. He's the end of the law.

[11:49] You know what? He is where, when you follow the law to what it says, you will arrive at Jesus. When you follow the law to what it says, you will arrive at Jesus.

[12:00] It's about him. It's about his power. It's about your failure. It's about my failure. But it's about his success. Second thing I want you to notice. The first one was they didn't understand what he was going to do, what his work was.

[12:14] The second one is that God's word will never fail. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 18. For verily I say unto you, for true, there he comes with it. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

[12:33] God's word will not fail. He won't lose one of those little bitty accent marks. He won't lose one of those little bitty little bitty smaller than a comma marks. He said, I'm going to take care of it all.

[12:44] It's my word. And it won't go away till I've done everything it says. Everything it says will take place. It is the word of God. You have God's word that he will see to it that his word endures to the end.

[12:57] This book will not fail you from the beginning of time to the end of time. This book will not fail you. He said it wouldn't fail us. Men want to invalidate the word of God.

[13:08] And they have tried for centuries. They use church and religious traditions to speak truth and not just the scriptures. Almost every church has this. We believe the Bible, but we believe this.

[13:19] The Roman Catholic Church will have the Bible and then they'll have the Pope. The Mormons will have the Bible and they have the Book of Mormon. The Pentecostals will have the Bible and they'll have visions. But anybody who's really going to follow the word of God says all we got is the Bible.

[13:32] All we got is the Bible. It's God's word. It came from God. And that's what we're going to believe. That's why we say that the Bible is the only rule of faith and practice.

[13:43] How about saying that with me? The Bible is the only rule of faith and practice. That's our rule. Not what bad and by the way, Baptists have tradition too. As bad as anybody else is, we have tradition.

[13:55] One of the great problems even among our fundamental evangelical churches is that we do what others tell us that we should do. Great leaders of the past told us things that we should have examined in the scriptures.

[14:06] And if we did, we couldn't find it. But we stick to it. Boy, some great preacher said this. I'm always shocked at the number of times that somebody will say, Well, the Bible doesn't really say it, but Calvin said it.

[14:16] The Bible doesn't say it, but Owen said it. The Bible doesn't say it, but Gothard said it. The Bible doesn't say it, but... And I'm like, is that the 67th book of the Bible? No, there's only 66. Amen? And that's all you got.

[14:27] Trust the Bible. It's God's word. People look to science and philosophy as a way to doubt the word of God. If what we know to be true doesn't line up with the scriptures, then the Bible must be in error.

[14:40] It's like we come along and we say, You know what? I think that since we now know how evolution took place, Genesis must be wrong. And now that we understand a flood couldn't happen all over the world, it must be wrong about that.

[14:51] And now we know that no great fish or whale could swallow a man. He lived three days. That must be wrong about that. And the miracles that Jesus worked, they must be wrong. And the virgin birth of Christ must be wrong. That's science and philosophy telling you what to believe.

[15:04] You should believe the word of God. Jesus said, I didn't come to do away with the Bible. Don't you dare get that in your mind. Don't you dare think that I came to say Genesis wasn't true and Exodus wasn't true and Leviticus wasn't true.

[15:18] Don't you dare say I don't believe the major prophets and the minor prophets. Don't you dare say I want to do away with them. I didn't come to do away. I came to fulfill. And then he said this. You mark this one down. It's my book. It's my book.

[15:30] And ain't nothing going to mess up on it. From now to eternity. That doesn't mean you couldn't mess it up in a translation. That doesn't mean some preacher hadn't been an idiot and said something he didn't say. I've been that idiot many times.

[15:41] But the word doesn't mess up. The word. Preachers mess the word up. But the word will still be true. The scriptures are questioned and doubted because we think maybe they're not sufficient to do the work.

[15:53] And so nowadays we need miracles to build churches and gimmicks and secular games. We believe maybe the Bible's not strong enough to grow Christians and Christian character. So we need other things to help us.

[16:06] We we but we must know the word of God will impact our society. It is the word of God. The Bible is the very word of God. I know you know these things.

[16:16] But I want to remind you. It's his book. In 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16 he said all scripture is given by inspiration of God. The idea there is that God actually literally breathed his word.

[16:31] It's the idea that God said there it is. It comes out of God in his mouth. Yes he uses men to write it down. Yes he uses them and lets them have their own personality. But he said it's my book.

[16:42] I have protected it to the very words. I have protected it to the very truth. It's my word. And by the way not only is it my word but it's profitable. It's usable. It's useful.

[16:52] It accomplishes the purpose for us to get our doctrine. For us to be given reproof and correction and instruction. So that we could be all God wants us to be.

[17:03] By the way you know how we got a Bible. We got it because holy men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit. They spoke and gave us his word. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20.

[17:14] 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20. Knowing this. That no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man.

[17:26] No man sat down. Men didn't sit down one day and say we're going to write a book. There are actually 40 men that wrote the Bible over 1500 years. There wasn't some group of guys that sat down one day and said we're going to write a Bible.

[17:36] We'll put it all together and we'll get everybody to believe it. That's not what happened. Here's what he said. Peter said that's not what happened. What happened is God spoke to holy men and said you boys write this down. It's my book. I'll let you write it down.

[17:48] But it's my book. God will protect his word. The real truth is that what he says will happen will happen. He is God. He protects his word.

[17:59] He is God and his word will come true. You can trust him for your salvation. You can trust him on a daily basis. You can trust him and live it out. Great truths show that God's word to be the very word of God.

[18:13] Did you know this little Jewish book written by 40 different guys over 1500 years has spread across the globe? No matter how many times people have fought it. No matter how many times people have made fun of it.

[18:23] No matter how many times they cut it and burned it and said it couldn't be there. It's gone everywhere. And he has preserved it without error. It is completely accurate historically. The scripture is even true scientifically whenever it speaks about that.

[18:37] Even though people of that day would have never known those truths. The Hindu scriptures state that the earth sat on the backs of four elephants that stood on a giant sea turtle swimming through a milky sea.

[18:49] That's what they thought. But God said to Job, which is probably the first book that was ever written in the Bible. In Job chapter 26 and verse 7, God hangs the earth on nothing.

[19:02] It'll be late, close to when we are, before people figure out. It ain't sitting on the back of elephants. It's not on Atlas' arms. God hung it on nothing. He made it a circle.

[19:13] In Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 22, God sits on the circle of the earth and he calls us grasshoppers. You're just little grasshoppers.

[19:24] I'm the great God. I make it all. That's my book. And before anybody could know it, he did it. When they couldn't figure out contagious infections, over 3,500 years before men figured it out and doctors figured it out, God told Moses, I told you I could mess it up.

[19:44] God told Moses in Numbers chapter 19 and verse 11, if you touch a dead body, you're to be unclean for seven days. And on the third day, you're to wash yourself. And on the seventh day, you can recently be clean.

[19:57] If a man dies in your tent, in verse 14, you are unclean for seven days. Anybody that's been in that tent, you've been around death, you're unclean. In verse 22, if an unclean person touches somebody, they're unclean.

[20:09] If you're contagious and you touch me, you're contagious. They didn't know that until about 150 years ago. God knew it. Moses, a Jew guy in sandals and a robe walking around in a desert with no iPhone and no Google knew 3,500 years before any scientist figured it out.

[20:29] In Ecclesiastes chapter 1 and verse 6, he tells us how the jet stream works. He told us how the jet stream works. She said, the wind goes toward the south and it turns about unto the north.

[20:40] It whirls about continually and the wind returns again according to its circuits. The wind's got a circuit. Well, they know that now. They know that. You take a jet, you get on a jet, they say, we've got to get in the jet stream.

[20:53] We've got to get out of it if it's going the wrong way. They know that. But hey, you know, Solomon knew that hundreds of years before Jesus Christ. In verse 7, he understood the water cycle. Ecclesiastes chapter 1 and verse 7, he said, all the rivers run to the sea, but the sea doesn't fill up.

[21:10] All the rivers run to the sea, but the sea doesn't fill up. But unto the place from where the rivers come, that's where the waters go back to. How'd they know that? Old Solomon knew that the waters were running into the ocean, but the ocean never filled up because it got evaporated.

[21:24] Took back over and dropped right back down where it started from. And there was this big cycle. You've got a great God with a great book. A book you can trust even about scientific things.

[21:35] The scripture gives us true answers to the difficult questions in life. By the way, there's just wild stuff. I love the Old Testament. I know you guys are probably scared of it. Did you know long before anybody knew to build a fence around a swimming pool so nobody could get drowned in it?

[21:49] Moses told them, he said, if you've got a roof and it's a flat roof on the top of your house, you put a fence around it so nobody falls off. They didn't have a lawyer telling them that. God told them that. That's pretty good.

[22:00] You know what they were told? You keep those bowls covered so nothing can get in those bowls because you don't want them to be contaminated. There are just hundreds of things that couldn't be in this book if it wasn't his book.

[22:11] Nobody knew that. While other people think it's sitting on the backs of turtles and elephants, God said, nope, hanging on nothing. It's my word. I know. I made the world. Y'all are just grasshoppers.

[22:22] Just write it down. Everybody else had to be thinking, it can't be hanging on nothing. He said, oh, you don't know. You're a grasshopper. Hey, Mr. Grasshopper, just write it down. One day y'all will figure it out. And the earth even talks about it turning and everything.

[22:35] Verse 19. Matthew chapter 5, verse 19. You got the word of God in your hands, guys. You're holding the word of God in your hands. Truth without error. Look what the Bible says in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 19.

[22:47] We're to live it and teach it. Matthew 5, 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.

[22:58] But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Now, Jesus said, I didn't come to get rid of the Bible. It's the very word of God.

[23:10] I'm keeping it. Not one jot, not one tittle. But I'll just go a step further. You can't just talk about this. You got to know it's true and you got to live it. And then you teach it.

[23:21] Not only does the word of God last forever, but if you ignore it or disobey it, you'll pay the price for doing so. Not only is this about what you do, but about what you teach others. Be careful to do and teach.

[23:32] You see, there were religious leaders in Jesus' day and they showed people how to get around the truth. And they were slick. They figured out ways to get around the truth. They built fence around the law. They tried to help people figure out how to complete the law.

[23:44] They used the truth to burden people. Jesus said, I didn't come to destroy the law. But I want to make it clear that it was to be lived and taught to others. We are to do before we teach.

[23:57] Now the world has a problem with us. They look at us and they're very upset with us because we're so sanctimonious and religious. We go around condemning other people and we're not living out the truths. In James chapter 1 and verse 21, this is like one of my favorite, most favorite verses in all the Bible for discipleship.

[24:13] In James 1 and 21, you should write this verse down. You should memorize this verse. You should use this verse. He said, lay apart all filthiness and a bunch of naughtiness you guys got. You guys got all kinds of it and a bunch of it, naughtiness.

[24:25] And you receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. That's not talking about salvation, to get saved and go to heaven. It's talking about you're saved, but you need God to work in you and change you and make you who you ought to be.

[24:40] He said, so lay aside the stuff that ain't right. Lay aside the things that ought not be in your life. And take the word of God in and graft it into your heart and your mind. Fill yourself up with it and receive it with humility.

[24:52] And it'll change you. It'll save you. Verse 22. Be a doer and not a hearer only. Be a doer of the word.

[25:03] So many of us can hear the word, but we're to be doers and hearers. Verse 25. It says it's like the guy who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein.

[25:14] He being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer. He's the guy that's blessed. So get up in the morning. Spend some time. Look in the mirror of the word of God. Once you see it in the mirror of the word of God, walk away. But don't forget what you read.

[25:26] And let God work it out in you. So that it becomes real in you. We're to live out our faith before we share our faith.

[25:36] We're to live it out. It ought to be real to me so much that I practice it at home. I practice it wherever I go. And it comes out of my mouth only when my life lines up with what my mouth is going to say.

[25:49] You can't really say that you believe God. Believe that God gave us his word unless you're capable to study it, do it, and then teach it. Study it, do it, and then teach it.

[26:00] I want you to go with me to verse 20. This is like the craziest verse. You've got to understand it in the light of that day. The Pharisees, man, they're the strict, separated crowd.

[26:11] If you would have met them, if they had, they were like the holiest people. When they walked down the street, everybody knew. Those guys are the right guys. Those guys, they are.

[26:22] The Sadducees, they were like players and enjoying life. These Pharisees, man, they kept every rule. They had rules about the rules. They had rules and then rules about the rules and rules about the rules about the rules.

[26:32] I mean, these guys were like holy guys. They knew they were holy. You remember what Paul said in Philippians? He said, touching the law, blameless. That's me. That's before he got saved.

[26:43] He said, if you want to talk about someone who keeps all the rules, that's me. You remember the other Pharisee that goes in to pray and he holds his hands up and says, God, I thank you. I'm not like this other guy here. I am yours and I do good.

[26:54] These guys were really good, quote unquote. Jesus said, but it's all external. It's not real. Righteousness or holiness of the religious people was an external show.

[27:05] It wasn't truly from the heart. It wasn't truly from the heart. Go with me, if you would, to Romans chapter 10 and verse 1. This passage ought to tie it right here to this verse. Write it in the margin of your Bible.

[27:16] Come back to it. Listen to this. The Jewish people, they loved God. They loved God and they loved truth. And they were trying to do right. But in their pride and their arrogance, they didn't accept God's truth.

[27:32] They accepted what they thought. They weren't as excited about accepting what God had done as they were about what they were doing. Romans 10.1, Paul says, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.

[27:45] What? These are the people of God. These are God's elect. God's chosen. They are the special people. He said, I want them to be saved. Verse 2, I bear them record that they have a zeal of God.

[28:00] Look at that. Underline it. A zeal of God. These guys are on fire for God. They have a fiery, passionate love for God. They are really excited about God. But look what it says.

[28:10] But not according to knowledge. So many people are like that on the planet today. They talk about God. And they quote unquote love God. And they got all this excitement about God.

[28:22] But they are not doing it according to knowledge. They don't know what they're talking about. They don't know what you're talking about. But in verse 3, they are ignorant of God's righteousness.

[28:34] Ignorant of God's righteousness. And they go about to establish their own righteousness. Because they don't want to submit to the righteousness of God. So watch what happens. They're like, God gave these rules.

[28:45] I've got to keep these rules. I've got to prove I'm good. Otherwise, I won't get to go to heaven. So I've got to prove I'm good. And so they walk around all the time. Like, here's my rules. I've got to keep my rules. I'm not going to work on Sabbath.

[28:56] They had arguments about, could you pour water on the Sabbath day and it not be work? What can you do? They had all kind of rules.

[29:07] Is that work or not work? Because they wanted so desperately to do right. And he said, they are so proud. So they would walk around going, well, I don't work on Saturday. And I don't eat pork.

[29:18] And I don't eat shrimp. And I do this. And I do that. And I keep all the rules. And I am a great guy. And Paul said, I want them to get saved. And you'd be like, what? They sound like saved people.

[29:30] But he said, they weren't saved. They were ignorant of God's righteousness. You see that no matter how good you could live, if you could live to this standard and be so good, God's righteousness is above the ceiling.

[29:41] It's above the clouds. It's all the way out into eternity. And no matter how good you could ever get, you'd never be good enough. And he said, man, they don't understand. They think they're good. Is that us?

[29:54] We think we're good. We think we're okay. I'm a good neighbor. I pay my bills. I treat my wife right. I treat my husband right. I'm a good son.

[30:05] I'm a good daughter. I keep all the rules. And Paul would have said, I hope you get saved. He said, I do keep the rules. He said, no, I want you to get saved. Because it's not about your righteousness.

[30:16] It's about his righteousness. He says in verse 4, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. You believe and Jesus does it all.

[30:28] You end up saying, I'm never going to get righteous enough. I'm never going to get good enough. I'm never going to be good enough. I've got to have something more than the Pharisees. They are good guys.

[30:40] If I have something more than that, the only way you're going to get more than that is to get what God did through Jesus. Jesus. What we need is that we need to know that it's God who does the work.

[30:54] We need what's called imputed righteousness. Or righteousness counted to us. Righteousness that we did not earn that God put on our account. We have to believe that God does a work in us that we don't deserve.

[31:10] That verse, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21 that we looked at just a while ago. You remember what he said? He said, he that knew no sin became sin for us. That we might be made the righteousness of God. And so you and I look around and we say, man, I just can't keep all those rules.

[31:23] I just can't live up to it. I mean, it's just too much. It's just way too much. I just can't do it. He says, good. But there's someone who never sinned. Who didn't even know what it was to sin.

[31:35] And he will give you his righteousness. He will take your sin and make you righteous. In Romans chapter 4 and verse 8 it says, blessed, happy, blessed of God is the man to whom the Lord will not impute or count sin.

[31:49] So when God looks at our lives, if we're born again believers, and he opens his book to check out our sin. He looks and he says, oh, I don't have anything written in there. I don't have any sins in their book. Right here it says, right here it says Austin Gardner.

[32:01] And there's no sin written here. Well, what about his past? Well, there's nothing here. None of it. Well, where is it? It was all written on Jesus' account. And when he looks under our name, he says, all I see is the righteousness of Jesus.

[32:17] It's God working in you. In Philippians chapter 2 and verse 13, it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. It's God doing a work in us.

[32:30] It's God doing a work in us. It's God saving us. The truth is that we do because we are and not that we do to be.

[32:41] You need to understand. Here's what he said. He said, listen, guys. He said, I didn't come to do away with the Bible. I didn't come throw away the Ten Commandments out. I didn't come to say all that Old Testament stuff wasn't true.

[32:53] I came to show you it can be lived. I can live it. You can't, but I can. Then he said this. He said, I've lived it out. I am the lamb that's in the Old Testament. I am every sacrifice that's made.

[33:04] I am the suffering Savior. I am the reigning Messiah. I'm everything that the Bible talks about. It's about me. It was never written about you. It was written about him. And I gave you those rules so you'd figure out something.

[33:16] You can't. But I can. I came to fulfill the law. And don't you dare think I won't keep the Word of God. Everything he's written since Genesis all the way to Revelation. Not one little comma.

[33:26] Not one little jot. Not one little bitty drawing. One little line on the paper will be lost. I take care of it all. And he said, now you live it.

[33:36] And you start teaching it. And he said, but you've got to understand. You have to be more righteous than the most righteous religious people you know. It's not about how good you are. It's about how good God is.

[33:48] It's about how good Jesus is. And so we come helpless. We come hopeless. We come saying, man, I have tried. I have tried my best to keep all those rules.

[34:00] I mean, I can remember when I was a little boy. And I would go to the altar every service. Because I wanted God to use me. I still want God to use me. But I went to the altar every service. I was a guy from about the age of eight.

[34:11] I probably went to the altar every service. Three times a week for 20 years. And every time I saw God use me. And I'd say, God, I'm not going to do these things wrong anymore. I'm not going to look at girls and think bad thoughts.

[34:22] And I'm not going to lie. And I'm not going to cheat at school. And I'm just going to do right, God. Help me do right. Before I could get out the door, I was already messing up. I'm just obeying my parents. Smart talking somebody.

[34:32] Getting in a fight. And I'd say, I just don't get it. I can't. But you know, that's the whole lesson, isn't it? You can't. You know why we can't be a judgmental group? Because this is a room full of people who can't.

[34:45] Who trusted somebody who can. And all of us will say this. My only hope is Jesus. The only reason I'm any good is Jesus. So I can't walk around this room looking down my nose at anybody.

[34:56] Because when I know who I was, I was a stinking, sinking sinner. I was stinking. I was sinking in sin. I was going to die. And I was going to go to hell. And Jesus rescued me.

[35:07] That's why I'm going to go to heaven. That's what he's saying here. You've got to be more righteous than the greatest guys. If we had those guys here today, they would be like the Pope.

[35:18] This new Pope is such a good guy. You know, he won't take any of the special benefits. Just a really good guy. Or Mother Teresa. Or the Peace Corps people. Or anybody you could name. We'd be like, man, they are good people.

[35:31] And Paul would say, yeah, but they're not good enough. And Jesus would say, yeah, they're not good enough. Pay all their bills. Like these big philanthropists in the States that give away millions, if not billions of dollars.

[35:42] And he'd say, not good enough. Because no matter how good you are, Jesus is the only one good enough. And so everybody who knows him comes saying this.

[35:53] Well, it wasn't about my standards. It wasn't about my rules. It wasn't about my goodness. It was about a very good God. Jesus said, let me explain something to you.

[36:05] I didn't come to get rid of the Bible. I came to preserve it. It's the Word of God. And it's going to stay. I came to teach you to live it. But let me just say something to all of you guys listening to me. You're going to have to be more religious.

[36:16] And you're going to have to be more righteous than all these religious people sitting over these Pharisees. The only way you're ever going to get that righteousness is through the cross of Calvary. That's why Jesus died for us.

[36:28] Have you trusted him? Now, let me just do two or three things. Number one, if you haven't trusted him, trust him today. If you have trusted him, get rid of that judgmental, critical, independent, bad spirit you have.

[36:39] That walks around thinking you're better than other people. That thinks you have the right to criticize others and say, you're not as good as you ought to be. Of course they're not. Of course they're not good enough.

[36:50] Nobody's good enough. Only Jesus is good enough. So we won't be critical. We won't be judgmental. We won't look down our noses even at lost people because we know who we are and who we were.

[37:02] And we'll love people right where they are because that's what our Savior did. And he gave us righteousness. And so today I stand here as a guy who has started churches and been a pastor for over 40 years.

[37:14] And I stand here today to tell you this. Never been good. Never been good. Never been good enough. Oh, everybody would think I was good. But I've never been good. Only Jesus is good.

[37:25] Father in heaven, I love you. And I pray you'd cause your people to magnify you and praise you. Thank you for how good you are. And I pray, dear God, that you'd work today. And God, help some saved person to realize that they need to look to you and trust you and believe you.

[37:41] Magnify yourself in our lives and our hearts. Show your power. God, help us not to be judgmental or critical or thinking we're better. Help us to realize that we trust you and we live out that righteousness because of what you did in us.

[37:55] It's you working in us. And I'll give you praise for all you do. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.