WEBVTT

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 Grab a seat and turn in your copy of God's Word to Romans chapter 3.

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!

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 After a couple of weeks off, we're going to resume.

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 Our study of the book of Romans.

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 And before we do, let's pray together.

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 Father God, please bless this time as we approach a text that is rather difficult,

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 as we lay a stage to understand it rightly.

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 Soften our hearts to receive your Word.

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 May it change us so that we'll never be the same.

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 In Christ's name, amen.

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 Romans chapter 3, we'll read together verses 1 through 8.

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 Then what advantage has the Jew?

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 Or what is the value of circumcision?

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 Much in every way.

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 To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

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 What if some were unfaithful?

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 Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

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 By no means.

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 Let God be true, though everyone were a liar.

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 As it is written, that you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged.

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 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say?

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 That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us?

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 I speak in a human way.

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 By no means.

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 For then how could God judge the world?

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 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?

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 And why not do evil that good may come?

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 As some people slanderously charge us with saying, their condemnation is just.

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 What a way to get back into Romans, huh?

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 This text, this paragraph is said by many.

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 Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who's quite a brilliant man, to be one of the most difficult texts in the New Testament.

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 I have had others that have confounded me more than this one.

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 So I don't agree with him that it's the most difficult.

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 But it is certainly one of the most difficult texts in the New Testament.

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 This morning, I just want to stop at the end of verse 2.

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 And I want to lay for us kind of a foundation to go on next week to understand it in its entirety for two reasons.

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 Firstly, I think it's important for us to understand why it is that God inspires hard texts.

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 So that's kind of the question I want to ask this morning.

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 Why does God inspire hard texts?

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 And then how should we properly handle them?

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 And secondly, it would be good for me to have another week to be sure that the bearing I think I have on this, my understanding of it, if we talked personally together about it, I think I could get you to see what I'm seeing in the text.

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 It needs to be put into more eloquent words in this setting.

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 So I could certainly use another week.

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 But I believe what we have in these first two verses is of great value for us this morning.

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 And so I ask that you'll key in with me.

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 But for us to do that, we've got to set the stage.

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 We've got to start, rewind a little bit and lead up to the beginning of chapter 3 to understand where Paul is taking us.

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 And this will be key for next week as well.

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 So flip back a page to Romans chapter 1.

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 We're going to read verse 16 and 17, which is kind of Paul's thesis statement for the book of Romans.

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 He writes,

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 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

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 For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.

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 As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

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 So he's beginning to break down this argument that the law is what justified God's people, but that it's in fact righteousness that comes through faith.

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 So he lays that out as this thesis.

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 And then he begins to work us through a process over the coming chapters to understand what that actually means and the implications it has for our living.

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 So that's where he starts.

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 And he moves on in chapter 1 to talk about how the condemnation on the world is just.

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 Those who are outside the law, those who have not received the word of God, are just in their condemnation because they've seen the glory of God in the world.

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 We see that later on in chapter 1.

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 And then in chapter 2, he turns his attention back to the Jews, those who had received the law, those who thought they were righteous because of their actions.

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 And let's read together verse 12 and 13.

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 It says,

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 And then he moves on to talk about this outward act of circumcision that the Jews carried in their flesh, the sign of the covenant between them and God.

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 And he begins to deconstruct for us the thought that that is what, that action, that outward thing, that show that was put on on the outside is what justified them before God.

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 So let's read 25, 28, and 29 together.

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 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law.

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 But if you break the law, which all Jews had, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

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 Verse 28.

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 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.

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 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not by the letter.

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 His praise is not from man, but from God.

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 So he has now taken through chapter 2 those things that the Jewish people at this time held precious,

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 those things that they thought made them right, made them proper before God, made them God's people.

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 And he has stripped them away.

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 And Paul, in his very eloquent way, his very logical fashion, recognizes that at this point there will be questions from his Jewish readers.

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 As this was read in Rome, as somebody stood up to read this letter to the church,

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 there were going to be Jewish listeners that were going to ask a question.

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 In a great way, Paul goes on to ask those very same questions.

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 A Jew would say, well, wait a minute, Paul.

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 Everything that you've just said nullifies everything we've ever known to be true about God.

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 It nullifies the covenant, nullifies circumcision altogether, nullifies the law.

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 Everything you've said has deconstructed everything we've ever known to be true.

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 We might as well throw out our scriptures.

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 We ought to take those 39 books that we call the Old Testament, which was their scripture at the time,

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 and we ought to just toss it out because now you're saying that none of that matters any longer.

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 He's going to answer that question for us in the coming weeks.

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 Not what he's saying at all.

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 All he's trying to communicate is that there is now no difference between the Jew and the Greek.

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 The way that righteousness comes to them is through faith in Christ.

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 That's what he's doing for us.

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 So he then gives some credit, and that's where we are, verse 1 and verse 2.

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 Back then to the Jewish people, he says, then what advantage has the Jew?

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 That's the question somebody in the audience would have asked him.

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 Then what advantage has the Jew?

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 Or what is the value of circumcision?

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 Which he responds, much in every way.

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 To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

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 And that's where we'll stop for chapter 3.

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 The Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

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 Now, it's interesting.

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 He does this in chapter 1, verse 8 as well, when he says, first.

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 And here, in the second part of verse 2, in chapter 3, he says, to begin with.

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 And you expect him then to go on to list things.

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 So chapter 1, verse 8, he says, first, I thank my God.

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 And you expect him to then say, and second, and thirdly, fourthly.

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 And he doesn't.

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 He just says that one thing.

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 First.

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 First, giving it preeminence over all the other things he's about to say.

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 Which is what he does here in verse 2.

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 He says, to begin with.

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 Firstly.

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 Of most importance.

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 Of all the benefits that the Jews have.

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 Which we're going to talk about in the coming weeks.

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 A year, possibly, in chapter 11.

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 Which makes me cringe having to preach that chapter.

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 We're going to get there.

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 But firstly.

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 More importantly than anything else.

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 Any benefit that the Jews had.

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 They were entrusted.

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 They were given the very wisdom of God.

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 That phrase, oracles of God, is only used four times in the New Testament.

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 And it means, literally, the wisdom of God.

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 The utterances of God.

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 They were given that precious prize of the utterances of God.

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 The oracles of God.

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 We've been given the same, haven't we?

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 As this church.

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 We now have the expanded version.

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 The 66 chapters.

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 We have the great commentary on all of the Old Testament.

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 We now can read about Christ.

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 Know about him.

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 And we have a greater understanding of who he is and what he's accomplished for his church.

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 And we ought to, as his church, hold those things precious.

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 We ought to hunger to meet with our God through his written word.

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 Then causes you to ask the question, why is it, if God is loving to his church,

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 if his bent in this world is to glorify himself by redeeming his church,

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 why is this book not a little simpler?

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 Have you ever been frustrated in your life that it's not just a little bit easier to read?

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 It's a great thing we try to accomplish in Christendom.

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 We try to dumb it down, have easier translations,

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 so that we can just get it a little bit better.

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 And training our minds to understand it.

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 We want it just a little bit simpler for us.

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 Could God have not just listed it out for us?

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 Made it incredibly easy?

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 Kind of cleared up some of the theological debate that we have within our churches?

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 Just really laid it out clean for us.

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 God loves us immensely and does what's best for us no matter what.

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 So hard text must be good for us then.

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 These things, these challenges, these eight verses in chapter three must be for our benefit.

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 So what do these things accomplish?

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 What is it that they are set about doing?

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 That's the first question.

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 What do hard text accomplish for the church?

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 They bring four things.

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 Number one, humility.

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 I am so humbled when I come to things like this.

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 Honestly, I'm humbled all the time when I come to the scriptures because I'm not really very intelligent.

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 It's a strain for me to understand, to outline.

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 I'm not very talented in English grammar, much less Greek grammar.

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 It's a challenge to me, but especially hard texts like this are so humbling.

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 They cause me to come to God and say, God, I am not God and I need you to understand this.

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 They put us in a proper position when we're approaching the scriptures.

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 We can't approach text like this with arrogance.

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 There's no way any of us in this room could go, oh, I know exactly what that means on a first reading.

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 Not a chance.

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 If you are, you are awfully puffed up.

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 And then I would like to hear your explanation of the text because it probably helped me.

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 All right.

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 First Corinthians 2 14 says the natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him.

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 And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

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 The natural person.

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 Paul's talking here about about the reprobate, the sinner, the person who does not have the spirit of God abiding within him.

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 But certainly as that person is incapable of understanding the things of God, we still carry around that flesh, that baggage.

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 Right.

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 That pulls us down, that battles, so to speak, the spirit within us.

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 It makes these things very difficult.

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 I desperately want to empty myself when I come to scripture like this.

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 That God will speak to me from his word.

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 Secondly, hard texts bring prayer, which flows out of what I've just said.

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 If I am humble and I desire to have a word from God, knowing that this is him speaking to me and for our church and for our community.

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 For this time, I desperately want to hear him.

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 I will go to him in prayer.

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 Cry to him to help me understand.

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 Psalm 119.18 says, open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

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 And Psalm 25.5, lead me in your truth and teach me.

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 It should be the cry of our heart as we approach texts like this.

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 Thirdly, thought.

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 Hard texts bring thought or deep thinking, if you prefer.

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 And you might say at this point, but Nathan, you've just said we should be humble and we should pray that God will illuminate us.

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 Absolutely.

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 No doubt about that at all.

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 But the two things are not mutually exclusive.

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 Hard thinking and asking God to provide are not mutually exclusive.

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 Because the hard thinking is the grace God gives to us for our understanding.

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 It takes study.

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 I have never once preached a sermon where I used the text alone and I just stared at it and prayed all week.

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 Not once.

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 That's just the way I start.

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 But then I go to other sources.

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 I go places and I try to search and I find and I strain to know what is meant by every word in that text.

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 It brings about hard, deep thinking.

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 2 Timothy 2.7, Paul exhorts Timothy to think over what I say.

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 For the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

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 So there you see the two things being taught.

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 Think it over.

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 Work on it.

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 Roll it over in your mind.

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 For the Lord will give you understanding in that.

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 C.S. Lewis once said something like this.

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 It's not an exact quote.

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 You do not have to be educated to be a Christian.

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 For Christianity is in itself an education.

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 We are all theologians.

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 We are all called to know and know more about God.

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 Not just to store knowledge away in our heads, which is a fault many of us have.

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 But to know him.

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 To know his person.

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 And have that flow out into radical, Christ-like living.

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 We do not challenge our minds the way we should.

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 We are, even if you didn't grow up, an MTV generation.

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 Bopping from one thing to the next.

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 Highly distracted and unfocused.

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 Hard texts.

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 If we're faithful to study them.

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 If we care.

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 If we go to something like this and don't just skip it because it's difficult.

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 We'll bring about deep thinking.

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 Number four.

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 Hard texts bring education.

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 2 Timothy 2.2 says that what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.

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 Entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

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 Hard texts like this birth education.

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 Both from a historical standpoint.

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 You know, the Bible itself has been responsible for higher education in the world.

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 Men wanting to rightly handle the scriptures.

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 Who learned how to do so and taught it to others and started schools to do it.

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 Which caused people to want to learn more about the God of the Bible.

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 How many universities were born?

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 Because a vast majority of our now public schools were actually started as Christian institutions.

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 Most of the private have some affiliation in the history.

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 Scripture bring education.

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 And not just in a formal setting outside of the church.

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 But within the church as well.

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 They cause us to have to do things like we're doing this morning.

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 Right?

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 We have to talk about how to use scripture like this.

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 What do we do with it?

00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:49.120
 Because all of you are capable of what I'm going to do this morning.

00:16:49.540 --> 00:16:50.180
 And next week.

00:16:50.280 --> 00:16:51.120
 And the following week.

00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:51.879
 Right?

00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:52.980
 You're all capable.

00:16:53.140 --> 00:16:56.660
 You all have the mental capacity and the spirit of God within you.

00:16:56.800 --> 00:17:00.600
 To understand that you just have to know how to go about it.

00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:04.820
 So let's spend a little bit of time talking about that.

00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:10.820
 So hard texts bring these four vitally important things to the health of a Christian and to a church.

00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:14.240
 So then how then should these hard texts be handled?

00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:19.160
 And certainly I've mentioned some of that with humbly and prayer.

00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:21.279
 Fervently.

00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:24.140
 Those texts should be handled in that way.

00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:25.700
 But what is the methodology?

00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:29.680
 What is the science behind going about it?

00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:32.299
 It's a little fancy term called hermeneutics.

00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:35.700
 You don't have to write it down if you don't want to.

00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:39.720
 Which simply defines the theory of biblical interpretation.

00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:43.480
 Or it's a study of the principles by which the Bible is interpreted.

00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:45.039
 Hermeneutics.

00:17:45.600 --> 00:17:47.980
 I'm not going to give you an exhaustive hermeneutic lesson.

00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:50.920
 There are things beyond what I'm going to say this morning.

00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:54.660
 But I want to show you three stages of the hermeneutic process.

00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.579
 And three principles of the hermeneutic process.

00:17:58.460 --> 00:17:59.319
 So first three stages.

00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:03.259
 First you have the exegesis.

00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:07.139
 And just so you know, I'm not using big words this morning to sound smart.

00:18:07.939 --> 00:18:09.559
 These are the proper terms for these things.

00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:11.720
 So I'll do my best to explain them.

00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:13.980
 Exegesis.

00:18:14.139 --> 00:18:19.099
 The process of exegesis is to bring out everything out of the text.

00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:23.639
 The thoughts, the attitudes, the assumptions, and so forth of the writer.

00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:32.120
 The context in which that writer lived as well as the context in which the recipients of the letter or book lived.

00:18:32.280 --> 00:18:38.860
 It's to bring out the details that are both in the text, but the things that surround it as well so that we can better understand.

00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:42.580
 This book was written in various literary forms.

00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:45.000
 It was written to specific audiences.

00:18:45.560 --> 00:18:48.420
 And we believe that the Word of God was inspired and it was for the church.

00:18:48.800 --> 00:18:51.860
 But the letter to the Romans was written to the Romans.

00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:58.439
 So if we want to rightly understand it, we have to understand the context in which the Romans lived.

00:18:59.339 --> 00:19:02.679
 It helps to know where Paul was when he wrote the letter.

00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:04.519
 What he was experiencing in that.

00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:10.279
 The scriptures were divinely inspired, but God used human means to do so.

00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:14.359
 So Paul was in his personality when he wrote.

00:19:15.139 --> 00:19:18.599
 He wasn't taken over and was a little robot that pinned things.

00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:23.480
 He was Paul writing to the Romans under the inspiration of the Spirit of God.

00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:26.619
 So we have to know these things to understand.

00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:28.019
 Let me give you an example.

00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:35.139
 A political cartoon of today might be a donkey playing tug of war with an elephant.

00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:37.199
 Picturing that?

00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:38.439
 A donkey playing tug of war with an elephant.

00:19:38.639 --> 00:19:39.659
 We all get what that means, right?

00:19:40.139 --> 00:19:41.359
 Democratic, Republican Party.

00:19:41.459 --> 00:19:42.379
 Those are the symbols of them.

00:19:42.879 --> 00:19:43.419
 At battle.

00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:45.619
 The two-party system here in our country.

00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:48.739
 But in 2,000 years, do you think anyone would get that?

00:19:50.719 --> 00:19:57.259
 Unless they came back and studied the history and said, oh, at the time that that was written or drawn,

00:19:57.979 --> 00:19:59.599
 they had a two-party system.

00:19:59.679 --> 00:20:00.879
 And these were the symbols of that system.

00:20:00.959 --> 00:20:04.159
 Now I get what the cartoonist was trying to say.

00:20:04.199 --> 00:20:07.299
 In the same way, we must exegete a text.

00:20:07.379 --> 00:20:09.399
 We must understand the details around it.

00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:10.259
 And guess what?

00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:13.239
 There are lots of wonderful resources to do this.

00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:16.160
 Many of you have studied Bibles that do it in brief.

00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:18.759
 There are lots of online sources.

00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:24.000
 Understand the culture that the Bible was being written to.

00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:29.539
 We have to know the linguistic and cultural and historical and religious things.

00:20:29.620 --> 00:20:35.220
 We've got to put ourselves in the shoes of the writer to really understand the text.

00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:36.200
 That's the first stage.

00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:36.859
 Exegesis.

00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:41.500
 Secondly is synthesis.

00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:41.700
 Exegesis.

00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:47.859
 Which means to gather up the fruits of exegesis.

00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:49.980
 Those things that we have learned from the text.

00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:52.880
 And place them in a larger context.

00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:57.099
 In the classroom, this would probably be called biblical theology.

00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:01.420
 From the pulpit, it's called exposition.

00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:03.319
 Speaking.

00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:05.339
 To help you take some terms you may know.

00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:06.319
 Biblical theology, exposition.

00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:13.319
 Synthesis is taking those truths and saying, okay, so now that I see those things to be taught here, let me take a step back from the text.

00:21:14.179 --> 00:21:17.480
 From the things I know to be true about God and his work and the world.

00:21:17.919 --> 00:21:20.579
 And place them in that context.

00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:29.339
 That's how, as we study the word, we're taken to other scriptures that help shore up the argument that's being made in the scripture here.

00:21:29.339 --> 00:21:31.659
 Which we'll do quite a bit next week.

00:21:31.939 --> 00:21:37.539
 That's why Paul himself, in writing, uses the Old Testament in a drastic way.

00:21:37.699 --> 00:21:39.339
 He's expositing.

00:21:39.439 --> 00:21:41.619
 He's taking proofs from before.

00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:43.119
 Those things that the Jews knew to be true.

00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:47.139
 And pulling them to the future and shoring up his argument.

00:21:47.140 --> 00:21:51.900
 So that's the second stage or phase, which is synthesis.

00:21:52.280 --> 00:21:54.120
 The one I enjoy the least.

00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:58.500
 And the third stage is application.

00:22:00.780 --> 00:22:05.900
 Application assumes the consistency of God from one age to another.

00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:12.759
 And asks the question, how does the meaning of this text apply to our living today?

00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:17.460
 Our culture does not change the meaning of the scriptures.

00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:24.379
 But once we have a grasp on the culture that it was being written to, what was the truth being communicated to that culture?

00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:28.420
 And how then does that truth affect our living?

00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:29.480
 Okay?

00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:30.140
 Are you with me?

00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:39.440
 We don't change what the meaning is because of the culture, but it speaks to our culture almost always in the exact same way it did here.

00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:41.220
 All right?

00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:41.640
 Are you with me?

00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:42.700
 So that's application.

00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:45.560
 And you'll hear me say this all the time.

00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:47.440
 All doctrine is necessarily practical.

00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:52.600
 If we're not doing that, if we're just learning things to learn things, what of it?

00:22:53.100 --> 00:22:53.280
 Okay?

00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:57.980
 This morning, I'm giving you a bunch of kind of schoolroom lessons here.

00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:00.520
 What is the application of what I'm saying this morning?

00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:03.620
 I hope that we study our Bibles better.

00:23:04.540 --> 00:23:09.480
 I hope that we love the Word of God more and challenge ourselves with it that we might be more Christ-like.

00:23:10.120 --> 00:23:11.320
 So there's your application.

00:23:12.080 --> 00:23:12.240
 All right?

00:23:12.280 --> 00:23:12.840
 So three stages.

00:23:13.560 --> 00:23:14.220
 Three principles.

00:23:14.560 --> 00:23:14.820
 All right?

00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:16.259
 Here we go.

00:23:16.320 --> 00:23:19.580
 Get a little bit head here, but I'm going to give you some examples, so maybe we'll stay alive this morning.

00:23:20.080 --> 00:23:20.360
 All right?

00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:26.940
 There's three principles which are driven by the doctrine of inspiration and the doctrine of inerrancy.

00:23:27.620 --> 00:23:27.800
 All right?

00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:30.720
 I've already mentioned that the Bible is inspired.

00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:32.139
 It's the inspired Word of God.

00:23:32.259 --> 00:23:34.899
 God himself is the author of it.

00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:36.839
 A single divine mind.

00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:37.839
 All right?

00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:40.279
 One guy wrote the whole thing.

00:23:40.959 --> 00:23:46.199
 Used various means and lots of people over time to accomplish it.

00:23:46.539 --> 00:23:47.399
 But one author.

00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:48.220
 All right?

00:23:48.220 --> 00:23:52.880
 So as I approach a difficult text like this, that comforts me.

00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:53.620
 Right?

00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:55.160
 Gosh, it seems so contradictory.

00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:56.839
 I read over here this thing.

00:23:56.900 --> 00:23:58.360
 And now he's saying this over here.

00:23:58.559 --> 00:23:59.759
 My mind wants to explode.

00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:03.940
 I can back up and say, one guy wrote it and he's God.

00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:05.140
 So let me sort this out.

00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:09.620
 Let me see if I can wrestle with it and find the bearing of the text.

00:24:10.620 --> 00:24:10.779
 All right?

00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:14.100
 2 Timothy 3.16 says that all scripture is beat out by God.

00:24:14.620 --> 00:24:15.860
 2 Peter 1.21.

00:24:16.860 --> 00:24:25.299
 Peter writes, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of men, but men spoke from God, the oracles of God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:28.940
 So the scriptures are inspired and they are inerrant.

00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:31.279
 So entirely consistent.

00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:34.940
 That one mind didn't change his mind.

00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:40.000
 That's a problem with a lot of our books, a lot of our sermons.

00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:47.059
 I'm sure if I had every sermon that I've ever preached recorded and I went back and listened to some of them, I'd go, oh, gosh, I was so wrong about that.

00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:48.259
 God never does that.

00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:49.259
 Right?

00:24:49.399 --> 00:24:50.559
 It's all inerrant.

00:24:50.639 --> 00:24:54.319
 It's all completely consistent and true.

00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:58.240
 In John 10.35, Jesus says, Scripture cannot be broken.

00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:03.480
 In Hebrews 6.18, the writer says, it is impossible for God to lie.

00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:04.900
 Entirely impossible.

00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:05.660
 All right?

00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.200
 So out of these two doctrines, the doctrine of inspiration and inerrancy, we have three principles.

00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:12.079
 Number one.

00:25:13.819 --> 00:25:16.940
 Scripture is interpreted by Scripture.

00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:20.460
 Scripture interprets Scripture.

00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:24.940
 Let me start by saying, not in every case.

00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:26.259
 All right?

00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:27.400
 Hear me carefully.

00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:28.740
 Not in every case.

00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:29.960
 Here's an example of that.

00:25:30.299 --> 00:25:31.860
 Exodus 23.19.

00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:34.120
 The people of Israel are given a commandment.

00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:36.840
 You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:42.839
 There is no Scripture, to my knowledge, that explains that.

00:25:43.159 --> 00:25:46.919
 There's no Pauline commentary on what that means.

00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:53.179
 But we do know from archaeology that that was a Canaanite ritual of fertility.

00:25:54.399 --> 00:25:58.019
 So they were being commanded to not act like the Canaanites.

00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:00.119
 To not be pagan.

00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:01.500
 To set themselves apart.

00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:01.819
 Okay?

00:26:02.119 --> 00:26:06.279
 So I couldn't have gotten that from another Scripture, but I can get that from history.

00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:12.420
 So not in every case, but let me show you an example where it does work and works very often.

00:26:13.819 --> 00:26:15.119
 Next is chapter 32.

00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:23.680
 We have the people of God have been taken out of Egypt, been delivered across the Red Sea, received the Ten Commandments.

00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:27.440
 Moses is back up on the mountain, and the people have built the golden calf.

00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:27.680
 Right?

00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:31.160
 So quickly they have forgotten their God, and they have begun to worship a golden calf.

00:26:31.160 --> 00:26:39.140
 And God decides, from the historical text, that he is going to go down and just destroy them all.

00:26:39.600 --> 00:26:41.820
 And Moses pleads with him not to do so.

00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:47.860
 And then in verse 14 of chapter 32, Moses records,

00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:51.700
 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:57.240
 Now, at first reading, it would seem that God changed his mind.

00:26:57.920 --> 00:26:58.080
 Right?

00:26:58.440 --> 00:27:01.259
 The historical record says, God told Moses,

00:27:01.600 --> 00:27:05.960
 You better leave me alone, because I'm about to go wipe out the nation.

00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:06.960
 Right?

00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:08.380
 Hey, quit talking to me, Moses.

00:27:08.500 --> 00:27:09.819
 I got something to go take care of.

00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:10.920
 Right?

00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:13.000
 But Moses pleads with him, says,

00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:16.620
 God, for your glory, your people that you delivered, don't kill them all.

00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:20.199
 And God changes his mind.

00:27:21.459 --> 00:27:24.559
 What would that mean for us if we pulled that entirely out of its context?

00:27:26.199 --> 00:27:28.219
 We are wasting our time right now, aren't we?

00:27:28.239 --> 00:27:30.279
 Because we ought to all be praying right now.

00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:33.159
 We ought to all be in prayer that God not destroy the world.

00:27:33.859 --> 00:27:34.459
 The final judgment.

00:27:34.699 --> 00:27:37.099
 That's what we ought to be setting ourselves about constantly.

00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:38.179
 Right?

00:27:38.359 --> 00:27:39.779
 God's mind cannot be changed.

00:27:39.879 --> 00:27:40.579
 How do we know that?

00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:41.599
 Because scripture interprets scripture.

00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:49.599
 We have an Old Testament story later explained in places like Job 42.2,

00:27:49.719 --> 00:27:50.980
 where Job says to God,

00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:54.839
 I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

00:27:56.279 --> 00:27:56.639
 None.

00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:57.379
 No purpose.

00:27:57.719 --> 00:27:58.819
 God says, I'm going to go kill the people.

00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:00.240
 And Moses says, don't do it.

00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:01.099
 And he goes, yeah, all right.

00:28:02.119 --> 00:28:03.719
 Is that what happened?

00:28:03.919 --> 00:28:06.000
 Or did God not intend to kill him to begin with?

00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:06.959
 Right?

00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:09.399
 But in order to test Moses' faithfulness.

00:28:09.400 --> 00:28:13.860
 In order to see Moses realize who his God was.

00:28:14.259 --> 00:28:16.160
 And that he was about redeeming his people.

00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:17.780
 Did God not test him?

00:28:18.280 --> 00:28:18.360
 Right?

00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:23.460
 Psalm 135.6 says, whatever the Lord pleases, he does.

00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:26.400
 In heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the deeps.

00:28:27.320 --> 00:28:27.440
 Right?

00:28:27.600 --> 00:28:28.820
 So God does whatever he wants to do.

00:28:28.860 --> 00:28:29.620
 He's entirely sovereign.

00:28:30.040 --> 00:28:32.160
 And we cannot change his mind.

00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:35.060
 We can be moved by God to pray.

00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:40.480
 And God uses the prayers of his people to accomplish his will.

00:28:41.220 --> 00:28:42.619
 But we cannot change his mind.

00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:43.679
 Right?

00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:46.519
 Our national days of prayer for rain.

00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:47.659
 Things like that.

00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:52.139
 If that, if that action is what moved God to make it rain.

00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:55.119
 He was intending to do it already.

00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:57.700
 And he used his people to accomplish it.

00:28:58.500 --> 00:28:59.460
 Hey, are you with me on that?

00:28:59.879 --> 00:29:02.519
 And that's how we use the scripture to interpret the scripture.

00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:03.440
 All right?

00:29:03.539 --> 00:29:04.119
 So that was number one.

00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:05.879
 Scripture is interpreted by scripture.

00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:08.980
 Very similarly, but stated in the negative, number two is,

00:29:09.420 --> 00:29:12.139
 scripture should not be set against scripture.

00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:16.900
 So you never want to understand that scriptures are teaching you something

00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:19.779
 that are in contradiction to something else.

00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:20.500
 All right?

00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:22.599
 Here's our doctrine of inerrancy at play.

00:29:23.460 --> 00:29:23.619
 All right?

00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:26.519
 Scripture should not be set against scripture.

00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:27.940
 Let me give you an example.

00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:32.000
 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10 reads,

00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.759
 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

00:29:36.140 --> 00:29:37.599
 a people for his own possession,

00:29:38.019 --> 00:29:41.880
 that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness

00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:43.000
 into his marvelous light.

00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:46.079
 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:49.599
 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:54.980
 And he is, Peter is writing, he's alluding to the book of Hosea.

00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:56.779
 And if you know the story of Hosea,

00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:59.339
 Hosea married a woman named Gomer, who was a harlot.

00:29:59.339 --> 00:30:00.259
 She was a whore.

00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:02.159
 She cheated on him multiple times.

00:30:02.279 --> 00:30:04.839
 She put herself in a situation where she was sold into slavery.

00:30:05.659 --> 00:30:05.819
 Right?

00:30:06.519 --> 00:30:10.059
 Has anybody ever, of their own volition,

00:30:10.299 --> 00:30:13.039
 freely gotten themselves out of slavery that we know of?

00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.419
 No.

00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:16.799
 No one ever has.

00:30:17.459 --> 00:30:19.099
 That's kind of what the term means, right?

00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:21.119
 Enslaved and bondaged to.

00:30:21.979 --> 00:30:23.679
 And then we see in the story, Hosea goes,

00:30:23.919 --> 00:30:25.819
 as this beautiful picture of what Christ has done for his church,

00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:27.559
 he goes and he buys her out of the marketplace.

00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:34.479
 That's what he's, that's what Peter's thinking about as he's writing this to the churches here.

00:30:35.579 --> 00:30:37.619
 We're a chosen people,

00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.539
 standing, exposed in the marketplace.

00:30:40.539 --> 00:30:43.980
 But Christ has redeemed us,

00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:46.079
 paid the price of our sin,

00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:47.639
 clothed us in his righteousness,

00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:48.619
 and taken us home.

00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:49.799
 Right?

00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:52.180
 God is fully sovereign over our salvation.

00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:53.399
 What that says.

00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:54.079
 Right?

00:30:55.659 --> 00:30:57.359
 2 Peter 3, verse 9.

00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.339
 Same writer.

00:30:59.159 --> 00:30:59.680
 Same guy.

00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:03.399
 He's either consistently inspired,

00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:04.519
 or he's schizophrenic.

00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:07.220
 He says in verse 9,

00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:09.379
 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise,

00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:10.819
 as some count slowness,

00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:12.539
 but is patient towards you,

00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:14.079
 not wishing that any should perish,

00:31:14.139 --> 00:31:15.680
 but that all should reach repentance.

00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:17.240
 What?

00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:19.500
 Now I'm confused.

00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:21.139
 I've been reading straight through the New Testament.

00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:23.000
 Now here I saw God is sovereign over salvation,

00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:24.900
 as Peter has shown us,

00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:26.059
 as he's alluded to Hosea,

00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:27.299
 and now he gets here and he says,

00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:31.200
 God wants all people to come to repentance?

00:31:31.339 --> 00:31:32.119
 I'm so confused.

00:31:32.220 --> 00:31:34.259
 I thought God could accomplish whatever he wanted to accomplish.

00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:38.220
 I shouldn't interpret them differently, should I?

00:31:39.019 --> 00:31:39.440
 I shouldn't say,

00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:40.259
 Well, here we see this taught,

00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:41.019
 and here we see this taught.

00:31:41.740 --> 00:31:42.440
 I don't know.

00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:45.180
 It's a bad hermeneutic to do that.

00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:48.000
 So what we have to do is we have to step back.

00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:49.119
 We have to look at the greater context.

00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:50.319
 We have to look at what's going on.

00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:54.139
 We have to remember that Peter was writing a letter to the churches.

00:31:54.619 --> 00:31:54.799
 Right?

00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:57.799
 His intended recipients of this letter were Christians

00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:00.799
 that God was in the process of redeeming.

00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:05.059
 A work both accomplished and being accomplished.

00:32:05.619 --> 00:32:05.839
 All right?

00:32:05.919 --> 00:32:07.579
 We have been made perfect in Christ,

00:32:07.659 --> 00:32:10.319
 and we are being perfected in Christ.

00:32:11.139 --> 00:32:15.279
 So that's how you apply that hermeneutical principle to the scriptures.

00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:17.200
 Hard text, huh?

00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:19.039
 Okay, and then thirdly.

00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:19.980
 So number one,

00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:21.019
 Scripture is interpreted by Scripture.

00:32:21.620 --> 00:32:22.000
 Number two,

00:32:22.059 --> 00:32:24.180
 Scripture should not be set against Scripture.

00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:25.539
 And number three,

00:32:26.539 --> 00:32:27.759
 what appears obscure

00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:30.660
 should be interpreted by what is plain.

00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:34.420
 What appears obscure or secondary

00:32:34.420 --> 00:32:39.120
 should be interpreted by what is plain or primary in the scriptures.

00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:42.279
 God at times speaks to us with such great simplicity

00:32:42.279 --> 00:32:44.439
 and then at times with such great profundity,

00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:47.799
 like the first eight chapters of,

00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:49.959
 or first eight verses of chapter three.

00:32:50.699 --> 00:32:53.379
 So what appears obscure should be interpreted by what is plain.

00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:55.199
 And what's important for us to do

00:32:55.199 --> 00:32:56.399
 in our study of the Bible

00:32:56.399 --> 00:32:58.899
 is to understand the themes of the Bible.

00:33:00.059 --> 00:33:02.859
 This is why systematic theologies are helpful to us.

00:33:03.259 --> 00:33:05.479
 Well, they tend to get a little bit boxy,

00:33:06.439 --> 00:33:09.059
 take God and reduce him to some simple points,

00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:13.000
 it helps us apply some themes to Scripture,

00:33:13.459 --> 00:33:15.559
 of which I want to give you three.

00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:17.279
 And I hope if you're taking notes,

00:33:17.379 --> 00:33:18.679
 you'll actually write these down

00:33:18.679 --> 00:33:20.319
 and I'll spell one of them for you.

00:33:21.659 --> 00:33:24.759
 Firstly, the Scriptures are Christocentric.

00:33:27.739 --> 00:33:29.879
 Secondly, covenantal.

00:33:31.939 --> 00:33:33.679
 And thirdly, charismatic.

00:33:34.379 --> 00:33:37.000
 K-E-R-Y-G-M-A-T-I-C.

00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:40.359
 I promise I'm not doing this to sound smart.

00:33:41.819 --> 00:33:44.420
 Christocentric, covenantal, and charismatic.

00:33:44.660 --> 00:33:45.680
 I had to type that into Wikipedia.

00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:49.099
 Firstly, they're Christocentric.

00:33:49.859 --> 00:33:52.240
 All of the Bible is about Jesus.

00:33:53.700 --> 00:33:54.599
 You want to know the evidence

00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:56.220
 that we don't believe this as Christians?

00:33:56.220 --> 00:33:58.759
 In our Christian bookstores,

00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:00.620
 we sell and buy

00:34:00.620 --> 00:34:02.539
 Bibles

00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:05.000
 that exclude the first two-thirds.

00:34:06.120 --> 00:34:06.400
 Right?

00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:09.179
 I'm sorry if anybody of you are carrying a New Testament today,

00:34:09.280 --> 00:34:10.740
 but the rest of it matters a lot.

00:34:11.720 --> 00:34:13.159
 The other 39 books

00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:15.599
 also speak of Christ.

00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:16.900
 You hear the person say,

00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:18.340
 well, I just really like the New Testament.

00:34:19.460 --> 00:34:21.519
 It bothers me with all that Old Testament stuff.

00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:22.920
 Oh, it's beautiful.

00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:25.099
 That's why we are going from

00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:26.820
 a New Testament book on Sunday morning

00:34:26.820 --> 00:34:27.960
 to an Old Testament book

00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:29.000
 on Sunday morning.

00:34:29.180 --> 00:34:30.220
 In like a year and a half,

00:34:30.340 --> 00:34:31.059
 when we finish Romans,

00:34:31.159 --> 00:34:34.079
 we'll go to an Old Testament book

00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:34.680
 of the Bible

00:34:34.680 --> 00:34:35.760
 because it's important

00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:37.039
 that we understand

00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:39.159
 this theme that runs through the Bible,

00:34:39.260 --> 00:34:40.260
 this red thread,

00:34:40.619 --> 00:34:42.019
 that Christ is central

00:34:42.019 --> 00:34:43.619
 to it all.

00:34:44.639 --> 00:34:46.579
 In every text

00:34:46.579 --> 00:34:47.220
 of the Bible,

00:34:47.659 --> 00:34:49.260
 we can in some way

00:34:49.260 --> 00:34:49.840
 see Christ.

00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:50.880
 And I don't want to make that

00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:52.480
 seem too insane.

00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:53.119
 You might go,

00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:54.000
 really?

00:34:54.119 --> 00:34:54.940
 In the lineages

00:34:54.940 --> 00:34:56.280
 leading up to Noah?

00:34:56.280 --> 00:34:57.119
 How in the world

00:34:57.119 --> 00:34:58.639
 can I see that there?

00:34:58.719 --> 00:35:00.019
 In some way,

00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:01.000
 there's a connection

00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:02.280
 to Christ.

00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:03.340
 The great climax

00:35:03.340 --> 00:35:04.519
 of the story.

00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:06.240
 God's redemptive purpose

00:35:06.240 --> 00:35:06.820
 in the world.

00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:07.579
 Some way,

00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:08.780
 it's going to connect you there.

00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:10.579
 So here's an example.

00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:12.300
 Turn to Psalm 135.

00:35:12.300 --> 00:35:12.559
 Psalm 135.

00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:27.179
 I was reading this yesterday.

00:35:27.279 --> 00:35:27.820
 Psalm 135,

00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:29.059
 verse 15 through 18.

00:35:29.599 --> 00:35:31.079
 The idols of the nations

00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:32.480
 are silver and gold,

00:35:32.599 --> 00:35:34.400
 the work of human hands.

00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:36.079
 They have mouths,

00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:36.880
 but do not speak.

00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:37.619
 They have eyes,

00:35:37.699 --> 00:35:38.299
 but do not see.

00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:39.139
 They have ears,

00:35:39.139 --> 00:35:40.099
 but do not hear,

00:35:40.539 --> 00:35:41.579
 nor is there any breath

00:35:41.579 --> 00:35:42.759
 in their mouths.

00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:43.299
 All right?

00:35:43.339 --> 00:35:43.799
 So a comparison

00:35:43.799 --> 00:35:44.759
 to the living God.

00:35:44.859 --> 00:35:46.019
 The idols that men make

00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:47.579
 are lifeless.

00:35:49.379 --> 00:35:50.139
 Verse 18.

00:35:50.859 --> 00:35:51.960
 Those who make them

00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:53.519
 become like them,

00:35:54.079 --> 00:35:55.319
 so do all who trust

00:35:55.319 --> 00:35:55.960
 in them.

00:35:57.039 --> 00:35:57.460
 Isn't that crazy?

00:35:57.940 --> 00:35:59.000
 Those who make them

00:35:59.000 --> 00:35:59.900
 become like them,

00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:01.039
 lifeless,

00:36:01.539 --> 00:36:02.259
 so do all who trust

00:36:02.259 --> 00:36:02.659
 in them.

00:36:03.460 --> 00:36:03.879
 Lifeless.

00:36:04.099 --> 00:36:04.379
 So,

00:36:04.380 --> 00:36:05.599
 so how do we see

00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:06.380
 Christ in that?

00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:06.920
 So we see that

00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:08.019
 those who worship idols,

00:36:08.140 --> 00:36:08.940
 who are idolaters,

00:36:09.420 --> 00:36:10.780
 are lifeless.

00:36:11.160 --> 00:36:11.320
 Right?

00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:13.099
 We see the nature of man,

00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:14.559
 his depravity.

00:36:14.820 --> 00:36:14.920
 Well,

00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:15.660
 how does it speak of Christ?

00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:16.220
 Well,

00:36:16.220 --> 00:36:17.039
 it speaks of our need of him,

00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:17.539
 doesn't it?

00:36:17.920 --> 00:36:19.180
 To have life,

00:36:19.280 --> 00:36:20.820
 to have abundant life

00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:21.680
 in him.

00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:22.980
 John chapter 20,

00:36:23.420 --> 00:36:24.300
 verse 30 and 31.

00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:25.740
 It's kind of his stated purpose

00:36:25.740 --> 00:36:27.440
 for writing the gospel of John.

00:36:27.780 --> 00:36:28.039
 He says,

00:36:28.099 --> 00:36:29.320
 Now Jesus did many other signs

00:36:29.320 --> 00:36:30.340
 in the presence of the disciples,

00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:31.480
 which are not written

00:36:31.480 --> 00:36:32.099
 in this book,

00:36:32.200 --> 00:36:33.280
 but these are written

00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:34.580
 so that you may believe

00:36:34.580 --> 00:36:35.660
 that Jesus is the Christ,

00:36:35.720 --> 00:36:36.400
 the Son of God,

00:36:36.580 --> 00:36:37.640
 and that by believing

00:36:37.640 --> 00:36:38.680
 you may have life

00:36:38.680 --> 00:36:39.680
 in his name.

00:36:40.620 --> 00:36:41.820
 This is a small example

00:36:41.820 --> 00:36:43.420
 that I experienced yesterday.

00:36:43.580 --> 00:36:44.360
 How do you take

00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:45.260
 a text like that

00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:45.960
 and point it to Christ?

00:36:46.280 --> 00:36:47.360
 The Bible is Christ-centric.

00:36:47.620 --> 00:36:48.460
 I can guarantee

00:36:48.460 --> 00:36:49.820
 it can be done.

00:36:52.260 --> 00:36:52.660
 Secondly,

00:36:52.760 --> 00:36:53.380
 it's covenantal.

00:36:55.019 --> 00:36:56.420
 Big picture theme

00:36:56.420 --> 00:36:57.700
 going on throughout Scripture.

00:36:58.700 --> 00:37:00.400
 God has made a promise

00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:01.400
 to his people.

00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:03.579
 began with

00:37:03.579 --> 00:37:04.940
 Abraham.

00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:06.920
 The Abrahamic covenant.

00:37:08.460 --> 00:37:10.300
 There's a lot of covenants

00:37:10.300 --> 00:37:11.180
 made throughout Scripture,

00:37:11.380 --> 00:37:12.200
 but with Abraham,

00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:13.039
 God makes a covenant,

00:37:13.559 --> 00:37:15.480
 and the tradition at the time

00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:16.780
 was to tear a goat in half,

00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:17.860
 and both parties

00:37:17.860 --> 00:37:18.500
 of the covenant,

00:37:18.760 --> 00:37:20.079
 so Wes and I make a bargain

00:37:20.079 --> 00:37:21.660
 with each other,

00:37:21.740 --> 00:37:22.519
 we make an agreement,

00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:24.639
 we would both walk through

00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:26.519
 two halves of this goat

00:37:26.519 --> 00:37:27.420
 to say,

00:37:27.740 --> 00:37:29.840
 if I break the covenant,

00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:31.300
 that's what should happen to me.

00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:32.579
 Not that it would,

00:37:32.640 --> 00:37:33.900
 but that's what should happen to me.

00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:34.780
 I should be ripped in two.

00:37:36.200 --> 00:37:37.460
 When God makes this covenant

00:37:37.460 --> 00:37:38.120
 with Abraham,

00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:39.720
 guess who passes through?

00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:41.260
 Only God.

00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:43.840
 The Scriptures are covenantal.

00:37:43.940 --> 00:37:44.760
 God has made a promise

00:37:44.760 --> 00:37:45.740
 to his people.

00:37:45.860 --> 00:37:46.519
 He promised Abraham

00:37:46.519 --> 00:37:47.880
 that he would bless the nations

00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:49.000
 through his family,

00:37:49.079 --> 00:37:49.840
 and he's done that, right?

00:37:49.860 --> 00:37:50.680
 We're sitting here this morning

00:37:50.680 --> 00:37:52.300
 because of that covenant.

00:37:52.300 --> 00:37:54.660
 So we must be able to see

00:37:54.660 --> 00:37:56.360
 the theme of covenant

00:37:56.360 --> 00:37:57.660
 throughout the Scriptures.

00:37:57.960 --> 00:37:59.200
 It'll help us understand

00:37:59.200 --> 00:38:00.560
 what's taking place,

00:38:00.640 --> 00:38:02.160
 especially in the book of Romans.

00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:04.440
 All right.

00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:04.940
 Thirdly,

00:38:05.400 --> 00:38:05.740
 charismatic.

00:38:06.620 --> 00:38:08.120
 It's a new word for me this week.

00:38:10.080 --> 00:38:10.360
 Charismatic.

00:38:10.720 --> 00:38:12.320
 It has its root

00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:13.860
 in the Greek word for preaching,

00:38:14.580 --> 00:38:16.400
 so the Bible is a proclamation.

00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:18.860
 It's a theme of it.

00:38:18.860 --> 00:38:21.620
 It's a proclamation of God's glory

00:38:21.620 --> 00:38:23.579
 through the redemption

00:38:23.579 --> 00:38:25.000
 of his people in Christ.

00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:27.980
 That's the theme of the Bible.

00:38:28.120 --> 00:38:29.539
 What is it that's being said

00:38:29.539 --> 00:38:30.220
 in a hard text?

00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:31.400
 How is it that this thing

00:38:31.400 --> 00:38:32.079
 is charismatic?

00:38:32.380 --> 00:38:33.480
 How is it that it's proclaiming

00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:35.280
 the good news of Jesus Christ

00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:36.160
 to the glory of God?

00:38:38.099 --> 00:38:39.300
 I don't have an example for you,

00:38:39.539 --> 00:38:40.120
 but those are our three.

00:38:40.680 --> 00:38:41.380
 Those are our three

00:38:41.380 --> 00:38:47.420
 large terms, I would say.

00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:48.180
 Those are our themes

00:38:48.179 --> 00:38:48.739
 that we need to be

00:38:48.739 --> 00:38:49.519
 paying attention to.

00:38:50.319 --> 00:38:52.619
 Hermeneutic terms

00:38:52.619 --> 00:38:53.759
 that we need to be aware of

00:38:53.759 --> 00:38:54.519
 as we're trying

00:38:54.519 --> 00:38:56.079
 to interpret Scripture.

00:38:56.299 --> 00:38:58.119
 So, Scripture is interpreted

00:38:58.119 --> 00:38:58.659
 by Scripture.

00:38:59.099 --> 00:39:00.899
 Scripture should not be set

00:39:00.899 --> 00:39:01.759
 against Scripture.

00:39:02.279 --> 00:39:03.440
 What appears obscure

00:39:03.440 --> 00:39:04.779
 should be interpreted

00:39:04.779 --> 00:39:06.279
 by what is plain.

00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:07.819
 And there's more to it,

00:39:07.859 --> 00:39:10.000
 but my prayer is next week

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:11.579
 as we approach

00:39:11.579 --> 00:39:12.500
 these difficult verses,

00:39:13.219 --> 00:39:15.279
 which is primarily for myself

00:39:15.279 --> 00:39:16.039
 as I have to preach it,

00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:16.719
 but I hope for you

00:39:16.719 --> 00:39:18.039
 as you're wrestling

00:39:18.039 --> 00:39:18.920
 with it this week

00:39:18.920 --> 00:39:20.920
 and potentially even next Sunday

00:39:20.920 --> 00:39:21.460
 as we're sitting,

00:39:21.679 --> 00:39:24.239
 that we want to apply

00:39:24.239 --> 00:39:25.099
 principles like this

00:39:25.099 --> 00:39:26.460
 because we want to know

00:39:26.460 --> 00:39:28.179
 what this text means.

00:39:29.019 --> 00:39:30.139
 That knowing what God

00:39:30.139 --> 00:39:31.000
 has said to His people

00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:33.219
 is highly valuable to us,

00:39:33.300 --> 00:39:34.539
 and this is why it should be.

00:39:35.699 --> 00:39:36.739
 Our salvation

00:39:36.739 --> 00:39:39.059
 is brought to us

00:39:39.059 --> 00:39:40.320
 by words,

00:39:40.320 --> 00:39:42.519
 certainly by the action

00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:43.600
 of Christ, right?

00:39:43.700 --> 00:39:44.559
 The action,

00:39:44.660 --> 00:39:45.780
 what He accomplished

00:39:45.780 --> 00:39:46.900
 is what secures

00:39:46.900 --> 00:39:47.620
 our salvation.

00:39:48.700 --> 00:39:50.120
 But I wasn't there.

00:39:50.600 --> 00:39:51.600
 How do I know

00:39:51.600 --> 00:39:52.760
 what happened?

00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:53.500
 It's brought to me

00:39:53.500 --> 00:39:54.640
 by words, isn't it?

00:39:55.240 --> 00:39:56.820
 I know the good news

00:39:56.820 --> 00:39:57.559
 because somebody

00:39:57.559 --> 00:39:58.500
 wrote it down.

00:39:59.720 --> 00:40:01.240
 When it was shared with me,

00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:02.780
 it was shared to me

00:40:02.780 --> 00:40:04.220
 by words.

00:40:05.100 --> 00:40:06.600
 The Spirit of God

00:40:06.600 --> 00:40:07.320
 intersects

00:40:08.059 --> 00:40:09.140
 the Word of God

00:40:09.139 --> 00:40:10.159
 in people's lives.

00:40:11.039 --> 00:40:12.519
 The faith to believe.

00:40:14.319 --> 00:40:15.519
 Not to save souls.

00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:17.400
 The Word of God.

00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:20.159
 How dare we neglect it?

00:40:21.559 --> 00:40:22.559
 I do this.

00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:23.460
 I am not as hungry

00:40:23.460 --> 00:40:24.219
 as I should be

00:40:24.219 --> 00:40:25.659
 to know God

00:40:25.659 --> 00:40:26.239
 through His Word.

00:40:27.539 --> 00:40:28.819
 And my prayer is,

00:40:28.859 --> 00:40:30.619
 as we roll into next week

00:40:30.619 --> 00:40:31.739
 and the rest of our study

00:40:31.739 --> 00:40:32.239
 in Romans

00:40:32.239 --> 00:40:33.719
 and as long as we get

00:40:33.719 --> 00:40:34.420
 to meet together

00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:35.739
 and learn about God together,

00:40:36.619 --> 00:40:39.079
 that we will desire

00:40:39.079 --> 00:40:40.119
 to know Him,

00:40:40.259 --> 00:40:41.239
 that we will wrestle

00:40:41.239 --> 00:40:42.119
 with hard text,

00:40:42.199 --> 00:40:43.039
 that we will see that

00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:45.079
 His Word is a great love

00:40:45.079 --> 00:40:46.039
 and a gift to us,

00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:47.960
 and that we'll faithfully

00:40:47.960 --> 00:40:48.599
 pursue Him

00:40:48.599 --> 00:40:49.679
 through it.

00:40:50.039 --> 00:40:50.659
 Let's pray together.

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