WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.600 This has been a fantastic weekend. 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:08.179 Many of you know, but maybe some of you don't, especially if this is your first time here. 00:00:08.540 --> 00:00:08.919 Welcome. 00:00:09.500 --> 00:00:10.679 You're here at a good time. 00:00:10.859 --> 00:00:13.939 We're celebrating ten years in the life of this church. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:18.339 Advent has turned ten this year, and it's been a great joy to be together. 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:24.080 We had a number of people fly in from around, actually around the world. 00:00:24.580 --> 00:00:28.839 In ten years, being in a place like D.C., we've sent a lot of people out. 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:36.420 And one of the cool things about that is that we now have a literal global family of Advent alumni who are all around the world. 00:00:36.899 --> 00:00:38.899 And so a lot of those people flew in. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:43.320 We had a fantastic time of worship in the Brooklyn Parish this morning. 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:49.939 We're welcoming some more of our people who have come into town tonight in the Columbia Heights Parish. 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:51.620 But it's been a fantastic time. 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:58.100 We had an amazing party yesterday of just hearing how God has been at work in the lives of His people. 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:00.700 And it's been amazing to celebrate that together. 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:12.540 You know, when we first started Church of the Advent, started meeting on Friday nights, we were meeting at 1488 Newton Street, which is just across 16th Street, on the other side of 16th Street. 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:14.939 And we were just down here. 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:20.359 And if you walk out of the front of this church, you can look down and almost see the house. 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:27.420 And I remember 10 years ago looking across the street at this church and wondering, maybe one day we'll be worshiping in that church building. 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.760 And it's amazing to see what God has done to bring us here. 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:42.840 And so as we've been celebrating all of this, I don't think there's any better thing that we could do with our time right now than to focus on that which is at the very heart of the Christian faith. 00:01:43.160 --> 00:01:50.860 That which is at the very source of life and vitality and growth and transformation in the Christian life. 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:52.920 And that is the gospel itself. 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:57.540 The gospel is not just the 101 level introduction to Christianity. 00:01:57.540 --> 00:01:59.520 It's not just the doorway. 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:01.760 It's the entire building. 00:02:02.080 --> 00:02:03.940 It's the entirety of our faith. 00:02:04.260 --> 00:02:06.120 It's the source of life. 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:07.600 It's the source of transformation. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.080 It is the means through which God accomplishes his work in our lives. 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:14.040 And so we're going to look at the gospel. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:22.159 And Galatians chapter 2, verses 11 to 21, this is a magnificent view of the gospel that we get. 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:30.939 It's like being on a hike and you come up and you crest a hill and you just have this beautiful glimpse of the valley below and all of the richness therein. 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:32.900 And that's what this passage is. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:34.780 It gives us this amazing view of the gospel. 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:36.400 So we're going to be looking at this. 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:38.340 We're not going to get through the whole thing tonight. 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:40.519 We're going to get through about verse 16 tonight. 00:02:40.620 --> 00:02:42.599 And the next week we'll pick up and we'll finish. 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:52.039 But I wanted you to hear the whole thing read because it's just a magnificent place to really understand why the gospel is so essential to the life of the church. 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:55.959 Because it shows us two things about what it means to be a gospel-centered community. 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:03.879 And from the very beginning we started this church with a vision to be a gospel-centered church that plants and starts other gospel-centered churches. 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:08.799 And so we're going to see that being a gospel-centered community entails at least two things. 00:03:09.079 --> 00:03:13.240 That we are called as a church to contend for the truth of the gospel. 00:03:13.859 --> 00:03:15.639 To contend for the truth of the gospel. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:21.800 And then beyond that we're called to be people who are seeking to live in step with the gospel. 00:03:22.219 --> 00:03:26.740 So contending for the truth of the gospel and living in step with the gospel. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:28.460 Let's pray and then we'll open God's word. 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:37.580 Lord, we thank you because we know that your word is your means of doing your work in the lives of your people. 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:40.560 That you send it out and it does not return empty. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.640 That you send it out and it accomplishes all that you will it to accomplish. 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:51.420 And we know that you have purposes in us tonight in our lives that maybe we don't even know. 00:03:51.420 --> 00:03:54.480 We have needs that perhaps we can't even identify. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.200 Hungers and longings that we can't even articulate. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:00.439 And you know them, Lord. 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:02.060 And you know what we need to hear. 00:04:02.540 --> 00:04:08.400 And you are the one who can speak life into hearts and turn stone into flesh. 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:11.319 And so we pray that you would do that through the power of your word. 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:16.300 We pray that through this written word we would come face to face with your living word, Jesus Christ. 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:18.180 And it's in his name that we pray. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:19.000 Amen. 00:04:20.460 --> 00:04:25.240 So Galatians chapter 2 starting in verse 11 contending for the truth of the gospel. 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:28.480 Let me read a few verses and then I'll explain what's going on. 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:36.420 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I, meaning Paul, opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.840 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles. 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:48.079 But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:57.019 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 00:04:57.219 --> 00:04:58.179 Even Barnabas. 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:06.000 You can hear Paul's heartbreak and his horror and his outrage at seeing what Peter has done. 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:09.860 And this word that he uses, the word hypocrisy. 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.540 In the Greek, you know, that's a very powerful word. 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:18.560 Greek drama, the costuming wasn't nearly as elaborate as we have today. 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:23.060 They would hold a mask on a stick and they would hold that mask in front of their face. 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:25.780 But they would deliver their lines from behind the mask. 00:05:25.779 --> 00:05:28.519 And that's where the word hypocrite comes from. 00:05:28.619 --> 00:05:33.359 The Greek word is the word that was used to describe an actor speaking from behind a mask. 00:05:34.299 --> 00:05:37.819 So this is the accusation that he levels at Peter. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:39.139 It's a very powerful word. 00:05:39.559 --> 00:05:40.500 So what's going on here? 00:05:40.919 --> 00:05:43.059 Well, here's some context to help us understand it. 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.479 Earlier in his life, Peter had been a very faithful Jew. 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:50.719 And being a faithful Jew meant you upheld the ceremonial law. 00:05:51.879 --> 00:05:54.579 Ceremonial law, this is all the laws about cleanliness. 00:05:54.579 --> 00:05:57.120 It's all of the dietary restrictions, right? 00:05:57.180 --> 00:05:59.579 Eating shellfish and pork, you can't do that, right? 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:05.800 It's restrictions around things like menstrual cycles and ritual cleansing and bathing. 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:09.759 And there were also regulations around who you could associate with. 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:17.979 And so a faithful Jew knew that they could not associate with uncircumcised people, Gentiles, 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:19.620 because that would make them unclean. 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:24.420 You couldn't even really go in their house, much less eat with them or share food with them. 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:26.720 That was considered very, very, very wrong. 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:27.860 So nobody did it. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:32.620 Because the principal symbol of your cleanliness as a Jew was your circumcision. 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:37.560 That was the thing that told everybody that you had a special relationship with God. 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:41.600 You were one of the inner circle, God's chosen elect. 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:43.920 And so you had to preserve that status. 00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:48.680 You had to keep your ceremonial cleanliness at all costs. 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:49.420 It was very important. 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:51.720 So up until this point, Peter knows this. 00:06:51.819 --> 00:06:53.120 He grew up being taught this. 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:55.439 He knew not to associate or eat with Gentiles. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:57.459 But then Jesus came. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.780 And Jesus began to do radical things. 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:02.560 And Peter knew Jesus. 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:04.220 And he was befriended by Jesus. 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:05.540 And he began to follow Jesus. 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:08.319 And he began to realize that Jesus is here to change the world. 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:12.120 And he thought first that Jesus was going to do it through his teaching and through social upheaval 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:14.340 and through radical rebellion, maybe against the Romans. 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:17.019 But then he began to realize the vision was much greater. 00:07:17.579 --> 00:07:20.639 Because through Jesus' death and through his resurrection, 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:26.199 Jesus began to call into existence one great worldwide family. 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:31.660 Through the grace and the forgiveness that became possible on the cross. 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:37.540 And as Jesus began to do this, Peter and the other Jews who followed him began to realize 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:41.840 that their entire understanding of the law had been wrong from the outset. 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:46.440 They realized that the entire purpose of the ceremonial law was not to make them clean. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:55.200 They realized, in fact, that there was no way that a human being could make himself or herself clean. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:59.879 The purpose of the ceremonial law was to teach the Jews, generation upon generation, 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:04.079 that cleanliness is impossible apart from Jesus Christ. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:08.620 That no matter what they did, they would have to offer sacrifices. 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:12.300 No matter how cleanly they lived, they would have to offer sacrifices at the temple. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:18.419 And what they needed was one true sacrifice that would make them clean from the inside out for all time. 00:08:19.099 --> 00:08:21.159 And so Peter began to realize this and began to realize, 00:08:21.159 --> 00:08:25.060 now that Jesus has come, his circumcision matters, not at all. 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:26.079 It's obsolete. 00:08:26.479 --> 00:08:28.240 The ceremonial law has been fulfilled. 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:29.360 It doesn't matter anymore. 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:32.799 There is no longer any difference between Jews and Gentiles. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:37.960 All are welcomed in through Jesus Christ to one great worldwide family. 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:40.879 And so Peter began to live this out. 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.639 He began to associate with and socialize with and befriend and worship alongside 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:48.439 and eat and share food with Gentiles. 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:53.799 This is a radical world-changing thing, overcoming these racial barriers. 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:56.799 The power of the gospel to reconcile people. 00:08:58.099 --> 00:09:02.159 Paul visits Peter at first, realizes this not long after Paul's conversion, 00:09:02.339 --> 00:09:05.019 sees Peter doing this, and praises God and says, 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:07.539 this is the power of the gospel at work, bringing people together. 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:13.360 Well, then Paul finds out that something has happened. 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:17.719 False teachers came from the community that James led. 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:19.879 Now, this isn't necessarily from James. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:21.799 This isn't necessarily James' teaching. 00:09:22.319 --> 00:09:26.759 But people from his community came, and they began to teach a different gospel. 00:09:26.899 --> 00:09:29.240 They began to say, no, in fact, Paul's wrong. 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:33.200 And there is still a difference between Jews and Gentiles. 00:09:33.419 --> 00:09:37.500 And Gentiles who want to become saved should get circumcised. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:39.500 And the ceremonial law does still matter. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:44.019 And they began to revise the early Christian understanding of the gospel. 00:09:44.180 --> 00:09:49.659 And so they came and they began to exert tremendous social pressure on the community where Peter was. 00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:51.840 So what does Peter do? 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:56.060 Well, we know Peter from the gospels. 00:09:56.139 --> 00:09:57.200 We know what Peter is like. 00:09:57.899 --> 00:09:58.879 He's very passionate. 00:09:59.420 --> 00:10:01.100 But sometimes he lacks conviction. 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:02.620 Right? 00:10:02.680 --> 00:10:07.280 He had already experienced that once when he denied Jesus right before his crucifixion. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:08.000 Three times. 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:08.280 Right? 00:10:08.660 --> 00:10:10.840 And here's another moment of weakness in Peter. 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:13.620 Peter, the rock upon whom the church is founded. 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:13.980 Right? 00:10:14.019 --> 00:10:14.840 The first pope. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:19.400 Nevertheless, he wavers. 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:24.179 And he doesn't stand up for the truth of the gospel in the face of these false teachers. 00:10:24.319 --> 00:10:25.059 He capitulates. 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:27.600 He takes the path of appeasement. 00:10:28.259 --> 00:10:29.360 I don't want to stir up trouble. 00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:31.360 I don't want to cause conflict. 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:36.220 I don't want to bring all this wrath down on myself and cause this whole thing. 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:37.699 So I'm just going to keep the peace. 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:40.799 And while these guys are here, I'm just going to separate myself. 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:44.299 I'm going to, you know, only eat with Jews and not associate with the Gentiles. 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:46.000 And I'll just kind of do what they say. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:50.220 And then maybe when they leave, you know, I'll go back to doing what I was doing before. 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:52.279 And Paul gets word of this. 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:53.840 And Paul is utterly horrified. 00:10:54.700 --> 00:10:55.659 He's horrified. 00:10:56.120 --> 00:11:01.700 And so he goes and he says, literally, when I heard what was happening, I went up to Peter and I got in his face. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:03.620 I got in his face. 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:05.039 Conflict. 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:06.679 Confrontation. 00:11:07.100 --> 00:11:08.860 Paul's contending for the truth of the gospel. 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:10.960 Now let me ask you this. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:11.799 What's the big deal? 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:14.340 Why does Paul get so upset? 00:11:14.340 --> 00:11:17.460 And why are the stakes really that high? 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:22.300 You may be familiar with those of you who are familiar with World War II history. 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:31.620 In the early days, 1938, 1939, when Hitler was just getting going, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia. 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:34.340 And he took some land from Czechoslovakia. 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:42.860 And before this happened, the British were actually in a position where they could have opposed this and maybe even stopped it from happening. 00:11:43.660 --> 00:11:48.940 History actually tells us that they had a pretty good shot, if they had wanted to, at thwarting Hitler at this point. 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:53.480 But the prime minister at the time in England remembered World War I. 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:55.900 They were not eager to get back into another world war. 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.880 And so Neville Chamberlain, the prime minister, had a famous meeting with Hitler. 00:12:00.660 --> 00:12:03.340 And Chamberlain took the path of appeasement with Hitler. 00:12:03.660 --> 00:12:05.760 In other words, Chamberlain said, we do not want war. 00:12:06.100 --> 00:12:07.680 Peace at any cost. 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:10.180 Whatever it takes to avoid conflict. 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:11.540 That's what we want to do. 00:12:11.539 --> 00:12:19.679 And so he sat down with Hitler and he made an agreement in Munich where he said, Hitler, you can take some of the land in Czechoslovakia. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:24.819 We will not oppose you as long as you agree that our countries will never go to war. 00:12:24.959 --> 00:12:26.159 We want to keep peace with you. 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:29.179 Hitler happily, happily signs that deal. 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:30.000 Right? 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:31.360 And immediately they invade. 00:12:31.439 --> 00:12:34.439 It was later called the Rape of Prague. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:38.000 But anyway, Neville Chamberlain comes back. 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:38.799 He announces this. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.459 We're not going to have war after all. 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:48.740 All of the anxiety for a moment dissipates in the streets of England or filled with shouts and cheering and people singing for he is a jolly good fellow. 00:12:50.740 --> 00:12:57.420 But Winston Churchill dared to say the hard truth that nobody wanted to hear. 00:12:58.620 --> 00:12:59.700 And he said this. 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:05.080 The path of appeasement with a man like Hitler is the road to disaster. 00:13:06.060 --> 00:13:07.440 It's the road to disaster. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:16.520 And he said because as important as peace is, there are some things in life that are more important than keeping the peace. 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:20.000 And one of those things is freedom. 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:22.060 Human freedom. 00:13:23.060 --> 00:13:27.140 Whenever human freedom is at stake, you have to fight. 00:13:28.300 --> 00:13:29.220 You have to fight. 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:33.100 Because there's a lot of peace in a cage. 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:37.019 But you're not free. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:46.700 And so Paul and Peter are very much like Churchill and Chamberlain. 00:13:47.560 --> 00:13:47.660 Right? 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:50.920 Paul sees the truth about Peter's path of appeasement. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:52.680 He says this is the road to disaster. 00:13:52.679 --> 00:14:00.319 If you give ground here, if you stop associating with and eating with Gentiles, if you give a little ground, it doesn't seem like a big deal. 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:02.919 But it's a huge deal because freedom is at stake. 00:14:03.719 --> 00:14:06.120 And whenever freedom is at stake, you have to fight. 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:07.559 Right? 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:10.039 There are some things that are worth conflict. 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:16.919 Because Paul understood that the entire purpose of the gospel is to set human beings free. 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:31.019 He understood that if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone, and you trust in the grace of Jesus Christ alone, he will set you free. 00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:32.779 He will set you free from sin. 00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:35.019 He will set you free from condemnation. 00:14:35.459 --> 00:14:37.079 He will set you free from death. 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:49.680 You know, one of the great joys of this weekend of having so many people back in D.C. to celebrate the 10-year anniversary is that we've seen all these people that we've had to say goodbye to. 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.300 And, you know, life is about, so much of life is saying goodbye. 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:59.820 It's transitions and people moving and getting jobs and internships elsewhere, getting married and moving on, doing things like that. 00:14:59.900 --> 00:15:02.500 D.C. is a very, you know, transient community. 00:15:03.300 --> 00:15:05.900 And then we have people occasionally who pass away. 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:10.299 But the great hope of the Christian faith is that no goodbye is forever. 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:11.639 Right? 00:15:11.819 --> 00:15:18.199 And this weekend, for many of us, has been a kind of foretaste of that time when we will all have a great family reunion again. 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:22.819 If you put your faith in Jesus alone, you are promised that no goodbye is permanent. 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:25.939 We're set free from the permanence of death. 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:27.579 Right? 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:34.240 Jesus liberates us to overcome racial division, to become part of one great worldwide family. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:36.680 All of this freedom is on offer through Christ alone. 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:52.120 But, if you add anything to that, if you add anything to that, if you believe that there is anything in addition to Jesus that you need in order to be saved, as the Judaizers did. 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:56.200 You need Jesus plus circumcision and the ceremonial law. 00:15:56.279 --> 00:16:00.060 You need Jesus plus your own efforts to make yourself clean. 00:16:00.299 --> 00:16:04.700 If you add anything, then you have departed from the gospel. 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:07.379 You're not preaching just a different version of the gospel. 00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:11.320 You've wandered into another religion entirely. 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:15.160 This is the thing that makes the difference. 00:16:16.940 --> 00:16:17.080 Right? 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:25.500 Moreover, if you believe that there is anything that you need in addition to Jesus in order to be okay in your life, fundamentally, existentially okay, 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:29.940 then you are voluntarily relinquishing that freedom. 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:32.920 You're walking back into the cage. 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:40.399 And the reason is this, is because the only guarantee that we have in life, the only thing that is a certainty, is Jesus Christ. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:42.899 Nothing else is certain. 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:51.740 And if you tie yourself to an uncertainty, it will haunt you and it will ultimately enslave you. 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:52.740 Right? 00:16:53.840 --> 00:17:04.779 So if you believe that you need Jesus, but you also tie yourself to the need for ceremonial cleanness, you will be haunted all of your days with doubt. 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:06.700 Am I clean enough? 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:07.740 Have I done enough? 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:10.799 Do I need to cleanse myself once more? 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:16.160 When I had that thought a moment ago, when I had that inclination, did that make me unclean? 00:17:16.220 --> 00:17:18.299 Do I need to do more than I'm currently doing? 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:19.799 You'll be plagued by doubt and uncertainty. 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:20.740 You'll never know for sure. 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:22.220 Right? 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:23.240 That will enslave you. 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:35.700 If you believe that you need Jesus plus the admiration of the people around you, and if you tie yourself to that, then you'll be haunted by insecurity. 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.200 What do they really think about me? 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:40.259 What do they say about me when I'm not around? 00:17:40.420 --> 00:17:41.460 Do they really like me? 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:43.700 I know they said this, but what do they really mean by that? 00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:50.120 I really disagree with this person inside, but what if I actually say that? 00:17:50.120 --> 00:17:51.500 Are they going to still like me? 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:57.420 You know, I really actually don't like the way this person is treating me, but if I say something, are they then going to hate me? 00:17:58.620 --> 00:17:58.940 You know? 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:03.680 If you tie yourself to that, it's going to drag you under. 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:14.539 You know, if you believe that you need Jesus plus you need a spouse, you know, in order to be okay, I have to find somebody to spend the rest of my life with. 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:16.200 Well, what happens if you don't? 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:18.159 You very well might not. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:20.299 You might, but you might not. 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:24.139 What happens if you get into a marriage, but then that marriage self-destructs? 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:26.740 And despite your best efforts, it falls apart. 00:18:27.399 --> 00:18:28.399 What does that mean? 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:29.960 Right? 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:30.960 It's not a certainty. 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:32.379 Right? 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:39.520 If you believe that you need Jesus plus a stable career, what happens when you do your best, but you get laid off? 00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:40.980 Because they're downsizing. 00:18:42.860 --> 00:18:43.300 Right? 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:53.840 Jesus, Paul understands that Jesus came to lift us up from the dark waters in which we were drowning, in which we were lost. 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:56.720 To lift us up and to set us on solid ground. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:09.980 And he also understands that if you tie anything to that, Jesus plus anything, that is like voluntarily strapping a millstone around your neck that will drag you back under the water and hold you there. 00:19:11.459 --> 00:19:13.980 Jesus came to set people free. 00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:43.960 Jesus came to set people free. 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:44.360 Peter did. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:46.160 Adding to the gospel. 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:47.259 Yeah, I believe in Jesus. 00:19:47.420 --> 00:19:48.279 Yeah, I believe the gospel. 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:50.299 But I also really need this other thing. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:53.860 Then we must contend for the truth of the gospel. 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:55.019 Right? 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:57.460 If there are people who are departing in any way, shape, or form. 00:19:57.559 --> 00:19:57.660 Right? 00:19:57.740 --> 00:20:04.500 So there are people in our community who may depart from the gospel by becoming spiritually superior. 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:10.500 Feeling that they are unique and blessed in a way that other people are not. 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:16.059 maybe even beginning to look down their nose at other people and feel a bit of smug superiority, right? 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:20.519 It's hard when you have so many amazing people who do amazing work in the world 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:23.380 and do all kinds of things all around the world and make such a difference. 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:26.339 It's easy to get that little voice in your head saying, 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:30.440 wow, you've really done a lot for the kingdom, unlike this person, you know? 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:34.220 That person's departing from the gospel. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:37.980 And it could be that God is calling you to contend for the gospel. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:39.900 You know, you're a sinner. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.460 Saved by grace that you didn't earn, that you can't repay. 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:46.759 You know, nothing more. 00:20:46.819 --> 00:20:48.380 How dare you think so highly of yourself? 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:57.160 Or it could be that somebody's departing from the gospel by repeatedly and unrepentantly sinning, right? 00:20:57.220 --> 00:20:58.720 And you know it and everybody knows it. 00:20:58.779 --> 00:21:02.920 Nobody wants to say anything and it's happening and everybody kind of looks the other way. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:08.299 And it could be that God is calling you to contend for the truth of the gospel in that person's life. 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:10.539 Jesus died to liberate you from this. 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:11.980 Why are you going back there? 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:14.559 Why won't you let it go? 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:17.960 Jesus died so that you wouldn't have to hold on to this thing. 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:26.539 Communities that are centered on the gospel contend for that truth whenever and wherever human freedom is at stake. 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:28.380 So that's the first part. 00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:30.539 The second part, though, flows out of the first. 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:37.360 Living in step with the gospel means we're not just contending for it, but we're actually seeking to live it out in our own lives. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.359 In verse 14, Paul says, 00:21:40.199 --> 00:21:44.459 I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel. 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:45.319 Now what does that mean? 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:47.919 What does it mean to be in step with the truth of the gospel? 00:21:49.099 --> 00:21:54.539 This past summer, as some of you know, we went on sabbatical thanks to the amazing generosity of this church. 00:21:54.639 --> 00:21:56.279 We had four months away. 00:21:56.419 --> 00:21:58.839 Two of those months were spent traveling in Western Europe. 00:21:59.199 --> 00:22:00.759 I've not spent much time there before. 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:07.000 And so we really, the only way we got around, we drove all over France and northern Italy and Switzerland. 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:07.740 It was amazing. 00:22:08.099 --> 00:22:10.680 And the only way we knew how to get anywhere was because we had a really good map. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:14.599 And we would pull the map out and we would show our kids how we knew. 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:17.420 Maddox would ask, well, how do you know where to go? 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:18.140 We're going to Paris. 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:19.119 How do you know how to get there? 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:22.619 And he thought I had just memorized all of the roads. 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:23.259 And I said, no, no, no. 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:24.160 I got this great map. 00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:27.700 And I showed him, here's where we are and here's Paris. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.819 And see this little purple line? 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:33.099 That's the course that the map software charted out. 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:37.559 And if I follow that course, I know that in about five hours we'll be in Paris. 00:22:37.679 --> 00:22:38.220 And you say, okay. 00:22:38.899 --> 00:22:40.480 And that's how a map works, right? 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:46.679 And the kids knew that, like, me putting my finger on Paris, that that wasn't actually Paris, that the map was a representation. 00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:51.059 That we had to actually follow the course if we wanted to actually make it to that destination. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.960 Now, C.S. Lewis talks about our doctrine, right? 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:01.740 Particularly our belief in the gospel, that's like a map, right? 00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:11.319 And when you say that I intellectually assent to the gospel, I believe the gospel, what you're saying is I believe this map is going to take me to the destination that it says it's going to take me to. 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:15.420 Now, what's the destination of the gospel? 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:17.580 It's a lot better than Paris. 00:23:18.940 --> 00:23:21.279 A lot of things are a lot better than Paris, actually. 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:23.200 It turns out. 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:30.980 The gospel is meant to take us into the arms of the Father. 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:36.400 It's meant to take us to that place for which we were made. 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:40.559 It's meant to take us into the arms of our perfect Heavenly Father. 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:41.599 Right? 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:45.059 And in the arms of the Father, there is no fear. 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:48.500 In the arms of the Father, there is no dread. 00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:49.900 Right? 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:52.019 There's no isolation. 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:54.779 There's no alienation. 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:56.059 There's no division. 00:23:56.059 --> 00:24:02.460 In the arms of the Father, there's no shame. 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:04.460 There's no insecurity. 00:24:04.659 --> 00:24:05.500 There's no criticism. 00:24:07.139 --> 00:24:11.399 You know, in the arms of the Father, that's the only place where we will truly be made whole. 00:24:13.159 --> 00:24:20.659 In the arms of the Father is where we begin to experience what it is to be the object of total mutual adoration. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:25.039 The kind of love that has existed within the Trinity for all eternity. 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:27.200 That's where we begin to experience that. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:28.079 In the arms of the Father. 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:29.059 It's what you were made for. 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:32.680 That's where the gospel is meant to take us. 00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:38.599 But you cannot get there simply by giving intellectual assent to the doctrine. 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:39.440 That's the map. 00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:42.200 But it charts a course in our life. 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:45.480 And we have to begin to walk that course. 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:53.819 Which means we begin to pull all of the various parts of our life into alignment with that course that it lays out for us. 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:56.159 And a lot of us have never done that. 00:24:56.159 --> 00:25:00.200 We say, you know, at some point in my life I gave intellectual assent to the gospel and then I kind of moved on. 00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:08.200 And if you're somebody who believes the gospel and you've been a Christian for years and yet you haven't really experienced that sense of what it is to be in the arms of the Father. 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:10.059 That love and that embrace and that transformation. 00:25:10.659 --> 00:25:20.099 It's probably, at least partly because, you've never really thought about what it means to bring your life into alignment with the course that it sets out in your life. 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:21.399 And we see this here. 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:27.719 And if you want a great example of how this applies specifically to this case, Tim Keller has a great sermon on this. 00:25:28.139 --> 00:25:30.559 This is something that he's very good at elucidating. 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:33.480 What it means to have gospel alignment in one's life. 00:25:33.879 --> 00:25:36.859 But what's going on here with Peter is he's essentially being a racist. 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:40.519 I mean, Peter is somebody who knows the gospel. 00:25:40.639 --> 00:25:42.219 He believes the gospel intellectually. 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:43.980 But he's being a racist. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:46.279 He's capitulated to social pressure. 00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:49.920 And so the interesting question becomes, how does Paul confront Peter? 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:54.420 You know, does he just go up and say, Peter, you're being a racist. 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:55.559 That's against the rules. 00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:56.220 Stop it. 00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:57.399 No. 00:25:58.139 --> 00:26:01.460 Because Paul understands the law cannot change hearts. 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:11.720 If you tell somebody you're breaking the rules, all you're doing is giving people a means by which to separate themselves, 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:16.940 those who can keep the law and those who can't keep the law, those who are clean and those who are unclean. 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:23.100 And really what you're doing is you're creating an opportunity for people to demonstrate externally their ability to keep the law 00:26:23.100 --> 00:26:25.259 with no guarantee that there's any real heart change. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:28.100 I mean, think about the way people respond to racism today. 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:33.860 You know, in our kind of, in our sort of secular post-enlightenment culture, you know, a first-century Jew, 00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:35.960 their salvation story might have been something like this. 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:45.039 You know, if you're a Gentile convert, I was unclean, and then I encountered the Torah, and I got circumcised, and now I'm clean. 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:45.940 I'm one of the insiders. 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:49.079 I'm one of the good guys, unlike all of you unclean people out there. 00:26:51.460 --> 00:26:57.240 Not too dissimilar from the way a lot of people talk about how they have engaged issues of racism. 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:01.240 You know, in post-enlightenment, the kind of analog for being unclean is being ignorant. 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:05.360 You know, our kind of secular equivalent of that is to be ignorant. 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:07.399 I was ignorant about privilege. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:08.639 I was ignorant about injustice. 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:10.139 I was ignorant about all of these things. 00:27:10.459 --> 00:27:14.859 But then I read a few articles online, and now I'm woke. 00:27:15.199 --> 00:27:16.039 I'm aware. 00:27:16.919 --> 00:27:18.559 You know, and what's the next thing you do? 00:27:18.639 --> 00:27:22.679 Well, you immediately need to let everybody in your social network know how woke you are. 00:27:22.740 --> 00:27:24.599 You start posting all of these articles, right? 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:26.579 Check out this Ta-Nehisi Coates article. 00:27:26.679 --> 00:27:27.179 It's amazing. 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:28.139 It's going to change your life, right? 00:27:28.159 --> 00:27:29.819 We begin to put all this stuff out there, right? 00:27:30.139 --> 00:27:32.219 To display our righteousness. 00:27:32.220 --> 00:27:36.079 Right now, is it important to be aware? 00:27:36.380 --> 00:27:36.779 Absolutely. 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:38.059 Is racism wrong? 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:38.600 Absolutely. 00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:44.299 But Paul's approach shows us the difference between the law and gospel transformation. 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:45.860 Because here's what Paul says. 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:48.420 Paul says, he doesn't say racism is wrong. 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:51.480 He says racism is not in line with the gospel. 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:53.120 Now, what does he mean by that? 00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:53.940 Here's what he means. 00:27:53.940 --> 00:28:02.039 God has not dealt with you on the basis of your race or your ethnicity. 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:08.140 How dare you deal with other people on the basis of their race or their ethnicity? 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:10.240 That's where heart change begins. 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:17.380 When you begin to root your understanding of your relationship with someone else in your relationship with God. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:19.539 He says, how dare you do that? 00:28:20.059 --> 00:28:23.180 And this is how the gospel changes hearts, right? 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:27.299 So to take another example, we live in a highly polarized society. 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:30.180 And a very divided society. 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:35.220 And it's easy with the onslaught of information that we're subjected to on a daily basis 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:38.799 to begin to curate the news sources that you expose yourself to 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:43.660 and to curate the people that you're willing to engage with about issues of politics and things like that. 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:47.720 And it's very easy and very tempting to kind of build an echo chamber around yourself 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:52.019 where you're only interacting with people and ideas that you already agree with. 00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:58.160 And in that kind of context, it's more and more easy to then begin to look at people across the aisle 00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:04.879 who disagree with you and to begin to mock them, to deride them, to caricature their arguments and them as people, 00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:10.079 to see them less as three-dimensional human beings and more as two-dimensional kind of cutouts, 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:14.319 you know, people that we can demonize and reject without ever engaging with. 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:17.899 And this is happening in every sphere of society. 00:29:18.399 --> 00:29:19.500 It's easy to do that. 00:29:21.399 --> 00:29:23.039 That is not in line with the gospel. 00:29:23.779 --> 00:29:25.099 That's not in step with the gospel. 00:29:25.679 --> 00:29:26.919 But what does the gospel say? 00:29:28.859 --> 00:29:32.220 At one time, everybody in this room, 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:34.379 you were an enemy of Jesus 00:29:34.379 --> 00:29:36.319 because of your sin, 00:29:36.779 --> 00:29:37.759 because of your rebellion. 00:29:38.159 --> 00:29:39.399 You were born that way. 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:42.100 You were his enemy, his mortal enemy. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:46.600 The hard truth of the gospel is that if Jesus had decided to obliterate us, 00:29:47.100 --> 00:29:49.320 he would have been perfectly justified in doing so. 00:29:50.280 --> 00:29:53.519 And yet, Scripture says that while we were still sinners, 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:55.820 Christ died for us 00:29:55.820 --> 00:29:57.840 because he loves us. 00:29:58.120 --> 00:29:58.960 So the gospel says, 00:30:00.040 --> 00:30:01.480 when you were Jesus' enemy, 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:03.200 he didn't mock you, 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:04.720 he didn't deride you, 00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:06.720 he loved you, 00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:08.320 he died for you, 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:09.579 he embraced you. 00:30:10.639 --> 00:30:11.799 How dare you 00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:13.599 mock and deride 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:15.679 those people whom you call enemy? 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:17.619 How dare you? 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:19.000 Right? 00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:22.700 Jesus was willing to die for his enemies. 00:30:23.259 --> 00:30:24.639 The least we could do 00:30:24.639 --> 00:30:26.200 would be to listen to ours. 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:26.619 Right? 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:28.480 That's gospel alignment. 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.419 If you're somebody who does feel proud, 00:30:33.500 --> 00:30:34.259 you feel superior, 00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:36.220 you feel like you understand these things 00:30:36.220 --> 00:30:37.339 in a way that other people don't, 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:37.799 you feel, 00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:39.439 you look down your nose at people, 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:40.919 that's not in line with the gospel. 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:41.939 The gospel says, 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:42.179 listen, 00:30:42.419 --> 00:30:44.039 you're a sinner saved by grace. 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:45.339 How dare you? 00:30:46.059 --> 00:30:47.059 Look down at other people. 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:49.439 You didn't earn any of the blessing 00:30:49.439 --> 00:30:50.439 that you have in your life. 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:51.339 You don't deserve it. 00:30:51.419 --> 00:30:52.000 You never will. 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:54.139 But if you're the kind of person, 00:30:54.199 --> 00:30:54.959 like a lot of us are, 00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:56.439 who's on the other end of the spectrum, 00:30:57.099 --> 00:30:58.799 and you're prone to self-hatred, 00:30:59.019 --> 00:31:00.379 you're prone to making comparisons, 00:31:00.380 --> 00:31:03.420 you constantly are criticizing yourself, 00:31:03.540 --> 00:31:05.680 you feel like your best is never good enough, 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:07.580 you hate your body, 00:31:07.900 --> 00:31:10.020 you hate what you think is a lack of success 00:31:10.020 --> 00:31:10.780 and accomplishment. 00:31:11.040 --> 00:31:13.060 If you're constantly thinking that way about yourself, 00:31:13.160 --> 00:31:13.920 listen, guess what? 00:31:14.060 --> 00:31:15.380 That's not in line with the gospel. 00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:17.760 Because what does the gospel have to say to you? 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:22.119 It says that when God looks at you, 00:31:22.579 --> 00:31:25.379 he sees someone of such infinite worth 00:31:25.379 --> 00:31:29.400 that he was willing to pay the highest price 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:31.279 to gain you 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:33.140 so that you would belong to him. 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:35.039 That's what you're worth. 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:37.160 And so the gospel would say to you, 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:39.740 how dare you devalue 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:43.579 that which God has imbued with ultimate value? 00:31:44.500 --> 00:31:46.200 How dare you call God a liar? 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:49.200 How dare you do that, right? 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:50.480 It's not in line with the gospel. 00:31:50.819 --> 00:31:52.259 And so in all of these ways, 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:53.960 living in step with the gospel 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:55.879 means taking all of our values, 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:57.319 all of our perceptions, 00:31:57.779 --> 00:31:59.660 all of our attitudes and priorities 00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:01.379 and relationships and ethics 00:32:01.379 --> 00:32:04.160 and bringing them in line with the gospel, 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:06.480 bringing them in line with that course 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:08.839 that the gospel lays out in our lives, 00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:11.799 following that path into the arms of the Father. 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:15.539 When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:17.619 when you decide to put your faith in him 00:32:17.619 --> 00:32:19.239 at that moment you are saved, 00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:21.539 at that moment you are promised 00:32:21.539 --> 00:32:23.899 to spend eternity in the arms 00:32:23.899 --> 00:32:25.739 of the one who made you. 00:32:26.919 --> 00:32:28.879 But if you want to experience that, 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:31.000 it begins with, 00:32:31.379 --> 00:32:32.639 in the power of the Spirit, 00:32:33.339 --> 00:32:35.079 bringing our life into alignment 00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:36.879 with the truth of the gospel, 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:38.419 beginning to walk that course, 00:32:38.639 --> 00:32:39.939 not just sitting on your couch 00:32:39.939 --> 00:32:40.739 looking at a map, 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:42.759 but getting up and getting out the door 00:32:42.759 --> 00:32:44.019 and starting to walk that road. 00:32:44.019 --> 00:32:48.160 So brothers and sisters at Advent, 00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:50.440 it's been a great ten years. 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:53.279 And if this is your first time with us, 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:54.960 we're just getting started. 00:32:56.240 --> 00:32:59.019 And as we look ahead to the decades to come, 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:01.160 I think my prayer and my hope, 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:02.559 especially over this weekend, 00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:05.599 is that if nothing else, 00:33:06.299 --> 00:33:08.339 if the only things we do as a church 00:33:08.339 --> 00:33:10.919 are to be a church 00:33:10.919 --> 00:33:12.459 where we are contending for the gospel 00:33:12.459 --> 00:33:14.699 and we are seeking to live in step 00:33:14.699 --> 00:33:15.279 with the gospel, 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:18.199 then this is absolutely just the beginning. 00:33:18.619 --> 00:33:19.959 And we have an amazing, 00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:21.639 many decades to come. 00:33:22.599 --> 00:33:24.139 And we can count on 00:33:24.139 --> 00:33:27.059 and await with eager expectation 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:28.039 all of the fruit 00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:29.259 that will come out 00:33:29.259 --> 00:33:32.079 of this gospel faithfulness. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:33.599 That's my prayer and my hope. 00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:34.919 Let's pray. 00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:35.920 Amen.