WEBVTT

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 It's good to be with you tonight. It's always a joy and a privilege and an honor to be able to share His Word no matter what circumstance, no matter where we are in our lives.

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 It's good to come here. I had a pretty rough day today. Just being honest with you guys, it's just kind of one of those rough days. A lot of stuff happened at work and I work in the IT field, so when stuff goes wrong, I'm responsible for that and we have to get that stuff working again. It was pretty tough.

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 So let's go to the Lord and pray real quick so we can just praise Him for tonight and the fellowship that we get to experience together in His Word and in worship.

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 Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for giving us the opportunity here tonight to hear Your Word, but not only just to be hearers, but also be doers.

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 So Father, I pray that You would make Your Word alive in our hearts tonight.

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 Father, that it would transform us. It would transform our understanding of You. It would transform our understanding of the cross and of this topic that's so important for us to understand in our faith.

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 So Father, I pray that You would use this time tonight, that You would utilize this time tonight for Your glory.

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 And Father, we would see the ultimate reality of our salvation in You. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.

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 If you have a Bible tonight, and I hope you do, I invite you to open with me to Galatians chapter 2.

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 Galatians chapter 2.

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 And we have a great Word to study tonight.

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 I know that it's great because every passage that we study in God's Word is great, isn't it?

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 I love God's Word. It's just great to be able to study it.

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 But tonight, I'm praying that this chapter will just come alive in this room.

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 And it will come alive in our hearts.

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 And that it would transform our lives and transform our understanding of the cross.

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 And our understanding of our salvation.

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 And ultimately, our view of our topic tonight, which is, as Nathan already mentioned, justification.

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 It's very important that we understand that.

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 And I want to be clear tonight that we're not just teaching topics here.

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 I'm going to be primarily teaching from a singular passage, which is known as expository preaching,

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 even though it seems like we might be teaching topically here on Thursday nights.

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 And it's true that we have an idea of where we're going.

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 We teach from God's Word. We don't teach from a topic.

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 And I think it's important for us to grasp that because we find our truth in God's Word, not from man-centered ideas.

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 And that's why we, as a church, have made a commitment to teaching expository messages on Sunday mornings.

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 And we teach expository on Thursday nights in our Bible studies because we get our truth from God's Word,

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 not from an idea where we pull an idea out of our heads and then we try to apply Scripture to it.

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 That's the wrong way to handle God's Word.

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 We get our ideology and our ideas because we believe that God has given us a Word that is sufficient.

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 And we believe that God's given us everything in Scripture that pertains to life and godliness.

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 And therefore, we get our truth. We derive our truth from Scripture and not from man-centered ideas.

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 This text tonight speaks strongly toward justification.

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 And Paul, as you know, is writing to a church of Galatia or the people of God in Galatia.

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 And what we have here in this chapter, we're going to go through the whole chapter.

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 What we have here is two episodes, essentially two episodes, and then we have an explanation at the end.

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 So that's how we're going to divide the text tonight in three different ways.

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 So let's dive into the first episode, Galatians 2, verse 1.

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 Then after fourteen years, I went up against Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.

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 I went up because of a revelation and set before them, though privately before those who seemed influential,

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 the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running or had not run in vain.

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 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

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 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ,

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 so that they might bring us into slavery, to them we did not yield in submission, even for a moment,

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 so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

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 Verse 6.

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 Verse 6.

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 And when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me,

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 they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me,

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 that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

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 Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing that I was eager to do.

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 Galatians 2, verses 1 through 10, this first episode, the first section that we're kind of looking at tonight,

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 is a picture of legalism.

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 It's a picture of legalism.

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 If you're a note taker, this is what I want you to do, is warm up your pens and get ready for some definitions tonight.

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 Legalism is a situation where there is a right behavior with a wrong belief.

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 Legalism is a situation where there is a right behavior with a wrong belief.

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 I'm going to explain that in just a moment.

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 But here's what's going on.

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 The problem in the church is that they have these Judaizers who are coming in and saying that you have to do certain things,

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 you've got to perform certain laws or certain rituals in order to receive grace from God.

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 And so you have these people who are trying to explain these things,

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 and namely what we're talking about here is circumcision.

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 They're saying in order for you to receive grace, it's only available to you if you are circumcised.

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 This is what these Judaizers are saying.

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 They're saying you have to follow the law of the Old Testament, the old law.

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 And this is where Paul talks about how Titus, who he himself, a Gentile, wasn't compelled to participate,

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 wasn't compelled to be circumcised.

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 And this was huge.

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 This was incredibly huge because if Titus had been compelled to be circumcised,

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 then it would have been an affront to the gospel of grace that Paul was teaching.

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 Because it would have made the gospel conditional.

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 It would be conditional upon whether or not you were circumcised.

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 And you would have had to have been circumcised in order to receive this gospel.

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 Or you have to do certain things to receive this gospel.

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 And so here we have legalism at its finest.

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 That's what's going on in this first section of Scripture, the first section of Galatians 2.

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 And legalism at its heart is working on our own rules and in our own power.

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 And ultimately legalism is working to earn God's favor.

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 You follow a set of rules.

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 You perform these certain sacraments.

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 You do things right.

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 And then you earn favor with God.

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 That is what legalism is.

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 I'll give you an example just real quickly of my own life.

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 When I was growing up, I had a brother that was six years older than me.

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 And I looked up to him.

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 Anybody a younger sibling?

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 We have quite a few younger siblings here.

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 Man, I looked up to my older brother like he was...

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 I mean, I just wanted to be just like him.

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 And so one day we were...

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 After school, we were at home alone before mom and dad got home from work.

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 And that's when we usually got into trouble.

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 You know, that's when we usually did things that we weren't supposed to be doing.

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 So we went outside.

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 We were bored.

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 We went outside one day.

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 And we started to pick up the little stone pebbles that are in the landscaping...

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 Like the landscaping pebbles that are, you know, in our bushes and stuff.

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 And we started to pick those up and just start chunking them over the house.

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 Don't ask me why.

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 It's completely pointless.

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 But we were having a good time.

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 And so we were picking up these pebbles.

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 We got a handful of them.

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 And he starts throwing them.

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 So I'm the little brother following along with what he's doing.

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 And I started picking up pebbles and chunking them over the house.

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 Well, it didn't take real long.

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 I didn't take too many stones before me as an uncoordinated six-year-old.

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 I take a pebble and I start to chunk it.

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 And I just...

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 Straight into a glass storm door.

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 And this thing didn't just crack.

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 This thing started in one little bitty section.

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 And you could see it as if it was in slow motion.

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 From that one section, millions of cracks started to spread out from there.

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 And glass started to rain down from this thing.

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 And I'm looking at this thinking, I'm in trouble.

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 I'm in big trouble now.

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 Because me and my brother did a lot of stuff that we could kind of cover over.

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 We used a lot of paint in our lifetime to cover up marks on the wall and things like that.

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 Where we scuffed up the walls or we were doing something we shouldn't be doing and we could cover over.

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 This was not something that I could cover up.

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 And so I knew that I was in trouble.

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 And so I went in my room and I just started bawling.

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 The six-year-old, you know, you're just like crying because you know you're in trouble.

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 I said, Craig, you've got to call Mom and my brother.

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 His name's Craig.

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 You've got to call Mom and let her know because she's going to come home and find it anyway.

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 So we've got to get out of this somehow.

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 And there's no getting out of it, of course.

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 The consequence, by the way, is really what we're heading toward for the story.

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 But the consequence was, it must have been around fall time because there must have been leaves in the yard.

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 And my dad came home and was like, okay, we've got to figure out a consequence for that.

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 So you guys need to get out in the yard and rake some leaves.

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 So we rake leaves.

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 Not just that day.

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 We raked leaves all fall.

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 Anytime there was a leaf in the yard, dad was like, remember the storm door?

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 Get out in the yard and start raking.

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 The next year came around.

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 Leaves started falling again.

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 Remember the storm door?

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 It's time to get outside.

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 Third year, fourth year, fifth year.

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 I'm not even kidding.

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 It was like we kept being reminded of this thing where we had to do.

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 We had to go out and rake and rake and rake.

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 And we never, I mean, I'm surprised my dad doesn't still bring it up.

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 For how many years he kept bringing that up.

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 But in my six-year-old mind to 13-year-old, however long it lasted that we had to go rake yard,

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 I felt or I thought that I had to go rake leaves to earn my father's love.

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 That's what I thought.

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 But the reality was that my dad's love was there for me all along the way.

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 And I know this being on the other side of fatherhood, of being a father myself.

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 If Joseph were to do something, yes, he would have consequences.

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 I don't know if he's going to have five years worth of leaf raking, but he would have consequences.

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 But my love would still remain for him.

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 I know that on this side of fatherhood.

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 And I know, looking back, that my dad loved me all along the way.

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 Now, think about our definition of legalism.

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 Right behavior with wrong belief.

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 Was it wrong for me to rake leaves?

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 No.

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 It's absolutely not wrong for me to rake leaves.

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 It was a good thing to serve my family.

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 I was being obedient to my father.

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 I was facing the consequences of the poor decision that I made.

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 But was it wrong for me to think that I needed to rake leaves to receive my father's love?

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 Yes.

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 And that's what these Judaizers were saying needed to be done, to be circumcised, to follow Jewish laws.

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 Needed to be done in order to receive the father's love, in order to be accepted for the father.

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 Were following Jewish laws or being circumcised in and of themselves wrong?

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 No, absolutely not.

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 Circumcision was a huge part of God's story.

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 It's a huge part of the history of God.

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 It's a huge part of the old covenant.

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 There was absolutely nothing wrong with circumcision.

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 I want you to hear that loud and clear tonight.

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 There was nothing wrong with following the old law.

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 But when it became a bad thing is when it was accompanied by the belief that they needed to do these things in order to earn favor with God.

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 Or in order to earn acceptance with God.

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 It's right behavior with wrong belief.

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 Now translate that a couple thousand years later into our context.

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 We're not talking about circumcision.

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 We're not talking about Jewish law.

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 Most of us aren't really stumbling over that issue right now.

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 But what are the good things we do?

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 What are the really great things that we do in our Christian lives?

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 Maybe a quiet time.

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 Or maybe it's showing up here on Thursday night for Bible study.

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 You check that off on your list of things that you do good for the week.

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 You're serving people.

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 Or maybe it's a prayer meeting on Friday morning.

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 So you come to you.

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 Good things.

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 These are excellent behaviors to which we place, we pour our lives into.

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 And there's nothing wrong with doing these things.

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 But where we run into wrong is as soon as they're accompanied by the belief that doing those things finds us more favor with God.

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 We've missed the point.

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 Right behavior with wrong belief.

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 I know some of you right now are thinking, man, what does this have anything to do with justification?

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 It has everything to do with justification.

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 I hope you can track with me as we continue on through God's Word.

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 So we're going to look at the second picture, Galatians 2, 11.

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 Galatians 2, we'll start in verse 11 for the second picture here.

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 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he was clearly in the wrong.

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 Before certain men came from James.

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 And he used to eat with the Gentiles.

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 But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles

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 because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

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 And so what we have going on here right now is we have two different groups.

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 It's two different segments.

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 You can almost even think about it, if we want to bring it into our context,

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 you can think of it as Reformed believers and non-Reformed believers.

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 You have two different camps and they're believing two different things.

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 And so you have people who believe that circumcision was necessary.

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 Then you have those who are Gentiles who don't believe that circumcision was necessary.

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 And these groups are in conflict with one another.

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 Believers in conflict with other believers and their beliefs.

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 And so what he's saying here is that Peter's beginning to draw back from the Gentiles

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 because he's afraid of what the people who are circumcised, the Jews, with their thinking of him.

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 All along the way.

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 Verse 13.

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 So the first part of Galatians chapter 2 is a picture of legalism.

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 The second part of Genesis chapter 2 is a picture of hypocrisy.

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 It's a picture of hypocrisy.

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 For you note-takers, hypocrisy is right belief with wrong behavior.

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 Hypocrisy is right belief with wrong behavior.

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 Let me explain what just happened in Genesis 2, 11 through 14.

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 It's kind of hard to follow this.

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 And I believe this is one of those sections of Scripture that's hard to follow because of translation.

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 It's not just because, you know, it just seems kind of wordy.

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 And I think that that's how it had to be translated.

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 But this is one of the most dramatic, most intense episodes in all of church history.

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 And certainly in the New Testament.

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 Because what you have here is the Apostle Paul is publicly confronting the Apostle Peter.

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 Two big shots in apostolic history, okay?

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 These two big shots in early history.

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 They are apostles, which means that they're above just a regular disciple.

00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:33.680
 They are these first major teachers.

00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:40.320
 And you have Apostle Paul going up against the man who essentially taught the first Christian sermon.

00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:48.000
 And he was kind of, you can kind of think of Peter kind of like the leader of the apostles in a sense.

00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:53.060
 And Paul's going up against him in front of these people.

00:16:53.640 --> 00:16:55.240
 And this was an intense moment.

00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.260
 And there's background here that has to be explained.

00:16:59.420 --> 00:17:05.140
 It mostly centers around Acts chapter 10 where Peter receives a vision from God

00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:09.580
 that essentially tells him that the gospel is not just open to the Gentiles.

00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.900
 That salvation is not just open, I'm sorry, to the Jews.

00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:13.940
 It's not just open to the Jews.

00:17:14.020 --> 00:17:17.700
 But now it's open to a whole range of people that we call the Gentiles.

00:17:17.780 --> 00:17:19.140
 The people who aren't Jews.

00:17:20.780 --> 00:17:24.300
 What was once available only to a small segment of the population

00:17:24.300 --> 00:17:26.980
 is open up to a whole world of people.

00:17:27.060 --> 00:17:28.960
 Now this is really important for us in here tonight.

00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:33.259
 Because most of us who are in here tonight will fall under the category of Gentile.

00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:36.140
 Most of us are not Jewish by heritage.

00:17:36.839 --> 00:17:39.980
 So this is a great truth for us.

00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:43.180
 Because we are now part of the new covenant.

00:17:43.299 --> 00:17:46.980
 We are allowed to be part of the new covenant in Christ Jesus.

00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:49.779
 And Peter was there.

00:17:49.940 --> 00:17:50.940
 Peter knew the gospel.

00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:52.180
 He believed the gospel.

00:17:52.339 --> 00:17:53.200
 And he knew.

00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:54.960
 We know from Acts chapter 10.

00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:58.039
 He knew that the gospel was open to Gentiles.

00:17:58.039 --> 00:17:59.259
 He knew that.

00:18:00.140 --> 00:18:02.440
 But Peter's life wasn't reflecting the gospel.

00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.559
 He knew that all men were accepted before God.

00:18:05.620 --> 00:18:08.420
 Regardless of whether they were circumcised or not circumcised.

00:18:08.620 --> 00:18:11.460
 But he wasn't practicing that in his life.

00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:15.640
 Now again, we can't just keep this in the context of 2,000 years ago.

00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.500
 We've got to bring this back into our context today.

00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:21.019
 We don't normally get hung up over circumcision.

00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:25.299
 But are there inconsistencies in your life?

00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:33.240
 Are there inconsistencies in your life that don't line up with the gospel that we believe in?

00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:39.480
 If we believed in a Savior that came to preach good news to the poor and to the powerless,

00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:48.379
 yet our lives aren't entirely abandoned to teaching that and taking that message to the world,

00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:51.800
 then our lives are out of line with the gospel.

00:18:54.040 --> 00:18:55.760
 We're out of step with the gospel.

00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:57.440
 They don't match up with the gospel.

00:18:57.560 --> 00:18:59.160
 And there's inconsistency there.

00:18:59.580 --> 00:19:02.580
 And I don't really think we have to give many examples tonight,

00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.780
 because each and every one of us struggle in some way differently.

00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:07.900
 We all have different struggles.

00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.260
 We all have different inconsistencies that don't line up with the gospel.

00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:13.700
 I struggle with stuff.

00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:15.000
 You struggle with stuff.

00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:18.720
 I might struggle with different things than you struggle with.

00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:25.279
 But let us suffice to say that if your life doesn't look radically different than the rest of the world,

00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:30.579
 then you're probably not living for the gospel, for the sake of the gospel.

00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:33.279
 There's probably inconsistencies in your life.

00:19:33.379 --> 00:19:37.200
 And these things are often evident, by the way, in the way that we spend our time,

00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:39.359
 in the way that we spend our money,

00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:43.439
 the way that we spend our thoughts as we think about things,

00:19:43.719 --> 00:19:46.619
 even down to the way that we dress sometimes.

00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:48.839
 There can be inconsistencies.

00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:53.619
 And so what we have to do, as a people of God, is avoid both of these errors.

00:19:54.959 --> 00:19:58.359
 We have to avoid legalism, thinking that we have the behaviors right,

00:19:58.439 --> 00:19:59.379
 and everything's okay.

00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:01.699
 We have to avoid, on the other hand,

00:20:02.879 --> 00:20:05.799
 talking and believing in this gospel of grace,

00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:09.619
 and then living our lives just like the rest of the world.

00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.919
 So how do we bring these two things together?

00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:17.460
 How do we fuse right beliefs with right behavior?

00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:20.039
 How do we pull these two things together?

00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:23.200
 And the answer, it's going to be a Sunday school answer,

00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:25.000
 and you've got to bear with me on this one,

00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:26.000
 the answer is faith.

00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:28.619
 The answer is faith.

00:20:28.619 --> 00:20:31.319
 And this is where justification comes into play.

00:20:31.419 --> 00:20:36.979
 This idea of faith and justification fuse these two ideas together.

00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:40.399
 So let's continue in Galatians chapter 2 and verse 15.

00:20:41.459 --> 00:20:45.339
 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners,

00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:50.159
 yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,

00:20:50.239 --> 00:20:52.000
 but through faith in Jesus Christ,

00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.000
 so that we have believed in Christ Jesus,

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:58.839
 in order to be justified by faith in Christ,

00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:00.259
 and not by works of the law,

00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:03.440
 because by works of the law no one will be justified.

00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:07.000
 But if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ,

00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:08.799
 we too were found to be sinners,

00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:10.839
 is Christ a servant of sin?

00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:12.740
 Certainly not.

00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:15.619
 For if I rebuild what I tore down,

00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.839
 I prove myself to be a transgressor.

00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:20.619
 For through the law I died to the law,

00:21:20.619 --> 00:21:23.059
 so that I might live to God.

00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:23.740
 Verse 20.

00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:26.220
 I have been crucified with Christ,

00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.279
 and it is no longer I who live,

00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:29.859
 but Christ who lives in me.

00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.500
 And the life I now live in the flesh,

00:21:33.579 --> 00:21:35.579
 I live by faith in the Son of God,

00:21:35.620 --> 00:21:38.240
 who loved me and gave himself for me.

00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:41.079
 I do not nullify the grace of God.

00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:43.599
 For if righteousness were through the law,

00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:46.059
 then Christ died for no purpose.

00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:51.220
 You see the two key words mentioned throughout this section of Scripture?

00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:54.860
 The two key words there are justified in faith.

00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:58.019
 Justified in faith.

00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.920
 And over and over and over again,

00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:01.180
 you'll notice that justification,

00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:03.000
 not just in this passage,

00:22:03.120 --> 00:22:04.900
 but all over the New Testament,

00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:12.920
 that justification is one of the amazing results of faith in Jesus Christ.

00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:17.860
 We know that man is not justified by observing the law,

00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:21.340
 so we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus,

00:22:21.340 --> 00:22:24.019
 that we might be justified by faith in Christ,

00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:25.539
 not by observing the law,

00:22:25.620 --> 00:22:26.920
 because by observing the law,

00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:28.860
 no one will be justified.

00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:34.160
 So what Paul is saying here is that we are justified by our faith.

00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.580
 But what is justification?

00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:41.779
 It's translated all throughout the New Testament

00:22:41.779 --> 00:22:48.540
 as justified, just, justify, justification, righteousness, right, or righteous.

00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:52.860
 All those words can essentially be interchanged in New Testament terminology.

00:22:54.040 --> 00:22:59.660
 And it's one of the most important concepts that any follower of Christ can really grasp.

00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:04.360
 And so this is an incredibly important concept for us to understand tonight.

00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:07.800
 If we walk away from here not understanding justification,

00:23:08.140 --> 00:23:09.640
 then this is going to be a travesty.

00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:15.920
 We have to understand what this justification means for us tonight.

00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:19.019
 Luther said,

00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:22.580
 The doctrine of justification by faith alone

00:23:22.580 --> 00:23:26.140
 is the doctrine upon which the church stands or dies.

00:23:26.820 --> 00:23:27.800
 Sorry, or falls.

00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:29.419
 John Calvin said,

00:23:29.500 --> 00:23:32.639
 It's the hinge upon which everything turns.

00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:35.799
 So it's at the heart of the Reformation,

00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.079
 and it's at the heart of New Testament Christianity.

00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:40.139
 Luther said in another place, he said,

00:23:41.019 --> 00:23:43.299
 The justification is the truth of the gospel.

00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:46.619
 It's the principal article of all Christian doctrine,

00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:49.579
 wherein the knowledge of all godliness consists.

00:23:50.659 --> 00:23:52.399
 Most necessary it is, therefore,

00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.859
 that we should know this article well,

00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:56.519
 teach it unto others,

00:23:56.879 --> 00:23:59.099
 and beat it into their heads continually.

00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:00.119
 I like that, don't you?

00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:04.500
 We're just to beat this concept of justification into each other's heads.

00:24:04.579 --> 00:24:07.219
 Man, you trip up, you stumble, you fall.

00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:09.919
 Yeah, you go to your brother and your sister in Christ.

00:24:10.039 --> 00:24:11.799
 You confront them with their sin,

00:24:11.879 --> 00:24:14.379
 but then you beat justification into their heads.

00:24:14.939 --> 00:24:16.959
 Because the reality is that we are justified.

00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:18.579
 We are justified.

00:24:18.579 --> 00:24:22.819
 So we clearly see this is a very important concept,

00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:25.299
 and it's certainly important for us to get this right.

00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:29.099
 And we get this clear and precise in our understanding.

00:24:29.779 --> 00:24:33.279
 I've heard people attempt to explain it in this way,

00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:37.639
 and it's not that this is a wrong way to explain justification necessarily,

00:24:37.779 --> 00:24:41.059
 it's just that it's an incomplete way to explain justification.

00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:42.259
 But you may have heard this before,

00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:43.019
 have you ever heard anybody say,

00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:47.400
 justification means it's just as if I'd never sinned.

00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:50.000
 And I think the problem with that is that

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.279
 in trying to find a cute way of explaining something

00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:55.639
 so that we can remember it,

00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:00.160
 we kind of don't encompass the whole of justification.

00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:04.039
 So it's just as if I'd never sinned.

00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:04.900
 But here's the problem.

00:25:05.139 --> 00:25:06.160
 You have sinned.

00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:09.299
 And the consequences for sin is death,

00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:10.339
 according to Scripture.

00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:13.179
 All over Scripture, the consequences for sin is death.

00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:15.939
 So there's a consequence,

00:25:16.139 --> 00:25:17.899
 and sin deserves the wrath of God.

00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:20.639
 And God, who is just and holy,

00:25:21.459 --> 00:25:22.819
 a God who is just and holy,

00:25:22.919 --> 00:25:25.500
 can't just sweep sin under a rug and forget about it.

00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:29.439
 There's a consequence that must be paid,

00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:31.720
 and somebody, someone,

00:25:32.259 --> 00:25:34.079
 has to pay that consequence.

00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:38.720
 And so the best way to understand justification

00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:42.680
 is to understand just a good, solid definition of justification.

00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:43.819
 So that's what we're going to do.

00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:46.160
 We're going to walk through this word by word,

00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:49.180
 because each word in this definition is incredibly important.

00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:50.640
 Note takers, here you go.

00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:52.200
 You're geared up, ready to go.

00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:56.039
 Justification is the gracious act of God.

00:25:57.539 --> 00:25:58.620
 So we're going to start there.

00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:01.960
 Justification is the gracious act of God.

00:26:01.960 --> 00:26:06.200
 It's something that God does by His grace.

00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:09.539
 In verse 16, at the very end of the verse,

00:26:09.620 --> 00:26:10.019
 he says,

00:26:10.620 --> 00:26:12.180
 Not by observing the law,

00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:14.039
 because by observing the law,

00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:15.920
 no one will be justified.

00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:18.640
 It's the same picture in Romans chapter 3,

00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:20.259
 where Paul also says,

00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:22.120
 There is no one who does good,

00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:23.980
 not even one.

00:26:25.340 --> 00:26:27.720
 There's nothing that anyone in all the earth

00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:31.420
 can do to initiate God's justification.

00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:34.980
 God does it by His own grace,

00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:35.960
 by His own will,

00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:36.799
 His own grace.

00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:39.980
 It's entirely from Him and by His grace.

00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:44.620
 Justification is the gracious act of God

00:26:44.620 --> 00:26:47.680
 by which God declares.

00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:50.980
 By which God declares.

00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:53.440
 The key word there is declares.

00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:57.039
 Justification is a declaration.

00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:58.500
 And the word picture that we have

00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:01.000
 with this word justification

00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:03.599
 is kind of in a courtroom setting.

00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:05.039
 You think of a judge

00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:07.619
 and how he declares judgment upon someone.

00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:09.759
 How he declares whether you're guilty

00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:10.899
 or not guilty.

00:27:11.379 --> 00:27:12.799
 He passes judgment.

00:27:13.420 --> 00:27:14.259
 And that's the picture,

00:27:14.339 --> 00:27:15.579
 the word picture that we get

00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:18.180
 is a holy judge who passes judgment,

00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:19.240
 makes a declaration.

00:27:19.639 --> 00:27:20.480
 And that's the language

00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:22.399
 that's being used here in justification.

00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:24.079
 It's not a process.

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:25.940
 It is an act.

00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:28.779
 It happens at one point in time.

00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:31.119
 And this is huge for us to understand this.

00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:32.920
 It's huge for us to understand

00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:34.940
 that this is something that happens

00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:36.579
 as an act in one point in time

00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:38.639
 because we can't be more justified tomorrow

00:27:38.639 --> 00:27:39.980
 than we are today.

00:27:40.980 --> 00:27:42.500
 And we can't be more justified

00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:45.180
 a year from now than we are today.

00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:47.980
 Because justification happens.

00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:49.180
 It's an act.

00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:50.720
 It's not a process.

00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:52.980
 Romans 5.1, Paul says,

00:27:52.980 --> 00:27:55.160
 Since we have been justified through faith,

00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:57.319
 we have peace with God.

00:27:58.120 --> 00:27:59.180
 When we have been justified,

00:27:59.500 --> 00:28:01.779
 I want to just clarify that

00:28:01.779 --> 00:28:05.559
 if you're a born-again believer in this room,

00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:07.240
 you've been justified.

00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:08.920
 I don't want to make the assumption

00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:10.980
 that everybody in here is a born-again believer,

00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:12.519
 that everyone's redeemed,

00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:14.420
 because that may not be the case.

00:28:14.420 --> 00:28:18.360
 But God has made a once and for all declaration

00:28:18.360 --> 00:28:21.480
 over you as a believer in Christ Jesus.

00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:26.160
 Now that declaration involves next in the definition,

00:28:26.320 --> 00:28:26.660
 a sinner.

00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:29.140
 This is how it reads,

00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:32.080
 Justification is the gracious act of God

00:28:32.080 --> 00:28:34.980
 by which God declares a sinner.

00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:38.680
 This is the picture of justification.

00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:42.880
 It is God as the judge dealing with man, the sinner,

00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:45.019
 guilty before a holy God.

00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:50.519
 And this is so big for Paul to be teaching this doctrine.

00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:50.880
 Why?

00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:53.420
 Why is it so big that Paul is teaching this doctrine?

00:28:53.500 --> 00:28:55.380
 Because talk about a guy who,

00:28:55.600 --> 00:28:56.460
 before meeting Christ,

00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:58.840
 was trying to follow the rules to a T.

00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:02.759
 See, he attributed righteousness to himself

00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:04.600
 by trying to follow the law of God.

00:29:04.900 --> 00:29:06.960
 Yeah, he was persecuting the Christian church.

00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:08.779
 That was very true.

00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:10.380
 He was persecuting the church,

00:29:10.500 --> 00:29:12.079
 but why was he persecuting the church?

00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:14.700
 Because he believed that they were an affront

00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:16.220
 to the Old Testament law.

00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:19.059
 He believed that they were false teachers at the time.

00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:22.259
 But they were certainly not false teachers.

00:29:22.380 --> 00:29:25.299
 So he was attempting to be the best person that he could be.

00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:26.900
 And when he met Christ,

00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:30.059
 he was confronted not only with his inadequacy

00:29:30.059 --> 00:29:31.519
 because of his own sin,

00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:34.079
 he was also confronted with his inadequacy

00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:36.699
 to be able to do anything good

00:29:36.699 --> 00:29:38.159
 or anything righteous

00:29:38.159 --> 00:29:41.539
 that would live up to the standard of Christ.

00:29:42.639 --> 00:29:44.359
 Because there's nothing that he can do.

00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:48.619
 The best things that we bring to the table before God

00:29:48.619 --> 00:29:49.879
 are wickedness.

00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:51.759
 They're as filthy rags,

00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:52.939
 according to the Old Testament.

00:29:53.159 --> 00:29:54.960
 Nothing that we can bring to God

00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:56.339
 is good enough.

00:29:56.339 --> 00:29:59.240
 And so here's the picture.

00:30:00.199 --> 00:30:01.599
 What you have is a guilty man

00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:04.559
 standing before the Holy Judge of the universe,

00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:05.459
 and in justification,

00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:07.679
 you have a gracious act of God

00:30:07.679 --> 00:30:10.519
 by which God declares a sinner righteous.

00:30:11.959 --> 00:30:13.519
 That's the whole definition.

00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:16.279
 Gracious act of God

00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:19.379
 by which God declares a sinner righteousness.

00:30:19.380 --> 00:30:22.340
 That, ladies and gentlemen,

00:30:22.800 --> 00:30:26.420
 is an amazing, amazing truth.

00:30:28.020 --> 00:30:30.320
 That is an amazing truth.

00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:32.340
 That the Holy God of the universe,

00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:35.140
 the Holy Judge over all the earth,

00:30:35.620 --> 00:30:38.300
 would look at you and at me

00:30:38.300 --> 00:30:41.580
 as we're standing there

00:30:41.580 --> 00:30:43.040
 in direct defiance

00:30:43.040 --> 00:30:45.080
 and direct obedience to Him,

00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:48.000
 an affront to the gospel itself,

00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.140
 as we live in our sin,

00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:52.400
 that a holy God and a holy judge

00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:54.240
 would look down on me and you,

00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:55.339
 and He would say,

00:30:55.980 --> 00:30:56.619
 not guilty.

00:30:58.140 --> 00:30:59.119
 Not guilty.

00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:01.420
 Not guilty.

00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:04.640
 Righteous.

00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:06.079
 Accepted.

00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:07.819
 Peace before me.

00:31:09.940 --> 00:31:11.180
 It doesn't make sense

00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:12.759
 to us in our minds.

00:31:12.859 --> 00:31:14.400
 How can that happen?

00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:17.779
 Solely on the basis of faith in Christ Jesus.

00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:20.119
 That's how it happens.

00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:21.640
 That's the only way.

00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:24.619
 How can a sinner be declared righteous in God's sight?

00:31:24.660 --> 00:31:25.180
 I can tell you,

00:31:25.339 --> 00:31:28.000
 the process was not an easy process.

00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:31.079
 It required a perfect human sacrifice,

00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:34.500
 and it required God to sacrifice His Son,

00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:36.279
 and not just sacrifice Him,

00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:38.920
 but sacrifice Him in one of the most gruesome

00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:41.559
 kind of deaths that a human can experience.

00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:44.220
 But not only that,

00:31:44.259 --> 00:31:46.179
 and I may be getting ahead of myself here a little bit,

00:31:46.659 --> 00:31:49.359
 but not only did He die a gruesome death,

00:31:49.440 --> 00:31:51.779
 but He took on the sin of the world

00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:53.220
 into His body

00:31:53.220 --> 00:31:54.919
 when He hung on the cross.

00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:56.940
 We're talking about

00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:58.159
 a radical,

00:31:58.740 --> 00:31:59.220
 gruesome,

00:31:59.619 --> 00:32:00.700
 horrifying death.

00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:04.240
 The answer to the question

00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:05.299
 is that God has taken

00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:07.019
 the righteousness of Christ,

00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:09.220
 He has taken His righteousness,

00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:11.319
 and He has credited it

00:32:11.319 --> 00:32:12.759
 to the sinner's account.

00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:16.640
 This is 2 Corinthians 5.

00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:19.099
 God made Him who had no sin

00:32:19.099 --> 00:32:20.920
 to be sin for us.

00:32:21.579 --> 00:32:22.460
 And don't miss this.

00:32:22.579 --> 00:32:25.059
 God took all that was in your account,

00:32:25.160 --> 00:32:26.279
 all the unrighteousness,

00:32:26.379 --> 00:32:27.480
 all the sinful acts,

00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:29.539
 all the ugliness of sin,

00:32:29.619 --> 00:32:30.799
 and the willful rebellion,

00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:33.359
 and idolatry that was in your account,

00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:35.879
 and He placed that onto His Son

00:32:35.879 --> 00:32:37.819
 as He hung on the cross.

00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:40.480
 He didn't just sweep it under the rug

00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:41.819
 and pretend like it's not there.

00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:44.819
 See, Jesus, in His life,

00:32:44.879 --> 00:32:46.319
 He never minimized sin.

00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:49.460
 And God never minimizes sin.

00:32:50.119 --> 00:32:51.259
 In Luke chapter 7,

00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:52.019
 we have an account

00:32:52.019 --> 00:32:54.019
 where Jesus was eating

00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:55.079
 with the Pharisees,

00:32:56.019 --> 00:32:56.980
 as He often did.

00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:57.740
 He would eat with sinners,

00:32:57.859 --> 00:32:58.759
 he would eat with the Pharisees,

00:32:58.799 --> 00:32:59.559
 he would eat with whoever

00:32:59.559 --> 00:33:00.440
 invited Him over

00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:01.379
 because He wanted to make

00:33:01.379 --> 00:33:03.000
 an impact on the region,

00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:04.059
 He wanted to make an impact

00:33:04.059 --> 00:33:04.680
 on the culture,

00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:06.039
 and so He often would eat

00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:06.740
 with people who didn't

00:33:06.740 --> 00:33:07.900
 necessarily agree with Him.

00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:08.559
 So He was eating

00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:09.279
 with the Pharisees,

00:33:09.339 --> 00:33:10.680
 and word gets out around town

00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:12.680
 that Jesus is in this,

00:33:12.759 --> 00:33:13.299
 home,

00:33:14.140 --> 00:33:15.680
 and Simon the Pharisee,

00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:16.720
 in his house,

00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:17.660
 he was eating with them,

00:33:17.720 --> 00:33:18.279
 and word spreading

00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:18.799
 all over town,

00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:20.460
 and it gets to this one woman.

00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:22.920
 This woman was,

00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:24.079
 according to Scripture,

00:33:24.180 --> 00:33:24.819
 a known sinner,

00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:26.259
 possibly a prostitute.

00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:28.680
 But nonetheless,

00:33:28.839 --> 00:33:29.519
 we know that she was

00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:31.460
 a known sinner in the town.

00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:32.759
 You know, most of us,

00:33:32.819 --> 00:33:33.339
 we like to kind of

00:33:33.339 --> 00:33:34.539
 keep our sins private,

00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:34.960
 don't we?

00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:36.519
 This woman was not

00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:37.460
 keeping our sins private.

00:33:37.539 --> 00:33:39.200
 She was a known sinner.

00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:41.500
 And word gets to her

00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:42.440
 that Jesus is eating

00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:43.240
 with the Pharisees,

00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:43.660
 and I don't know

00:33:43.660 --> 00:33:44.519
 how all it spreads

00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:45.519
 and how it went.

00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:46.340
 I'm sure that Jesus

00:33:46.340 --> 00:33:47.340
 was starting to make

00:33:47.340 --> 00:33:49.160
 a stir in the land,

00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:49.860
 and so people were

00:33:49.860 --> 00:33:50.460
 talking about Him

00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:51.279
 wherever He goes,

00:33:51.360 --> 00:33:52.019
 and so this woman,

00:33:52.360 --> 00:33:53.240
 she hears somebody say,

00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:53.580
 Jesus,

00:33:53.819 --> 00:33:55.279
 He's over here.

00:33:55.360 --> 00:33:55.960
 He's in this house.

00:33:56.059 --> 00:33:57.080
 I saw Him walk in there

00:33:57.080 --> 00:33:57.920
 with the Pharisees.

00:33:58.960 --> 00:33:59.759
 She says,

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:00.279
 Jesus,

00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:03.860
 He's eating over here

00:34:03.860 --> 00:34:04.420
 in this house?

00:34:05.420 --> 00:34:05.720
 Yeah,

00:34:05.860 --> 00:34:06.980
 I saw Him walk in.

00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:08.079
 And Simon,

00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:08.840
 the Pharisee,

00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:10.000
 went in his house.

00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:11.099
 He went in there,

00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:12.380
 and a couple other Pharisees

00:34:12.380 --> 00:34:12.840
 went in there,

00:34:12.840 --> 00:34:14.559
 and Jesus went in.

00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:16.880
 And this woman,

00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:18.639
 a known sinner,

00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:21.260
 I don't know what makes

00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:22.360
 someone do this,

00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:23.840
 but she was determined

00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:26.260
 to get in there.

00:34:27.380 --> 00:34:28.320
 She was determined

00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:29.019
 to go in

00:34:29.019 --> 00:34:30.219
 and to speak to Jesus.

00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:32.380
 I don't know what makes

00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:33.880
 a sinner do that,

00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:35.940
 but she was determined.

00:34:36.059 --> 00:34:36.480
 So she,

00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:38.740
 slips in the back door,

00:34:39.260 --> 00:34:40.800
 knocks out the cook.

00:34:41.320 --> 00:34:41.519
 I mean,

00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:42.039
 I don't know how you

00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:43.059
 get into these places.

00:34:43.260 --> 00:34:43.360
 You know,

00:34:43.420 --> 00:34:45.360
 there weren't big homes

00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:46.219
 like we have today,

00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:48.579
 so she somehow slips in,

00:34:48.780 --> 00:34:49.559
 gets to the area

00:34:49.559 --> 00:34:50.699
 where they're eating.

00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:52.240
 It says they're reclining

00:34:52.240 --> 00:34:52.820
 at the table,

00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:53.559
 which usually meant

00:34:53.559 --> 00:34:54.920
 that they all had their heads

00:34:54.920 --> 00:34:56.119
 in and tore the table together,

00:34:56.179 --> 00:34:56.900
 and they reclined.

00:34:57.260 --> 00:34:57.960
 It was a custom

00:34:57.960 --> 00:34:59.000
 that they did back then.

00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:00.480
 They didn't really necessarily

00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:01.340
 always sit in chairs

00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:02.079
 like we do today.

00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:03.480
 So they're reclining there,

00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:04.519
 and she makes her way

00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:05.760
 around to Jesus.

00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:07.920
 Remember,

00:35:08.040 --> 00:35:08.860
 a known sinner,

00:35:09.620 --> 00:35:11.340
 and she begins to weep.

00:35:12.660 --> 00:35:13.760
 She begins to weep,

00:35:13.780 --> 00:35:14.660
 and as her tears

00:35:14.660 --> 00:35:16.280
 are falling off of her face,

00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:16.940
 they're dripping

00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:18.520
 onto the feet

00:35:18.520 --> 00:35:19.900
 of the Son of God.

00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:21.840
 And as those tears

00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:22.320
 dripping,

00:35:22.520 --> 00:35:22.900
 accumulate,

00:35:23.080 --> 00:35:24.280
 she takes her hair

00:35:24.280 --> 00:35:26.100
 and begins to

00:35:26.100 --> 00:35:27.840
 scrub his feet

00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:28.620
 and to wash

00:35:28.620 --> 00:35:29.620
 his feet

00:35:29.620 --> 00:35:30.860
 with her tears.

00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:34.099
 she brought in

00:35:34.099 --> 00:35:35.200
 a container

00:35:35.200 --> 00:35:35.880
 with oil.

00:35:36.140 --> 00:35:36.840
 She anointed

00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:37.380
 his feet

00:35:37.380 --> 00:35:37.940
 with oil,

00:35:38.240 --> 00:35:38.760
 perfume.

00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:43.400
 Pharisees

00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:44.660
 had a heyday

00:35:44.660 --> 00:35:45.140
 with that.

00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:46.539
 Pharisees who were

00:35:46.539 --> 00:35:47.039
 eating with him

00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:47.920
 had a just,

00:35:48.579 --> 00:35:48.740
 you know,

00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:49.720
 if he was the Son of God,

00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:51.680
 he would surely know

00:35:51.680 --> 00:35:53.200
 that this woman,

00:35:53.240 --> 00:35:53.760
 they thought they had

00:35:53.760 --> 00:35:54.380
 Jesus trapped,

00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:55.140
 he would surely know

00:35:55.140 --> 00:35:56.180
 this woman was a known

00:35:56.180 --> 00:35:57.079
 sinner in this town.

00:35:57.640 --> 00:35:58.800
 If he was the Son of God

00:35:58.800 --> 00:35:59.640
 like he says he is,

00:35:59.640 --> 00:36:00.640
 he would surely know that.

00:36:00.639 --> 00:36:03.019
 And knowing their thoughts,

00:36:03.139 --> 00:36:03.779
 you gotta know Jesus

00:36:03.779 --> 00:36:04.539
 knew what they were saying,

00:36:04.779 --> 00:36:06.019
 he knew what they were

00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:07.359
 thinking in their minds.

00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:09.139
 He turns to them,

00:36:09.319 --> 00:36:09.619
 he says,

00:36:09.699 --> 00:36:10.519
 can I tell you a story?

00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:13.359
 Two men

00:36:13.359 --> 00:36:14.279
 owed money.

00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:15.920
 One owed a lot.

00:36:17.079 --> 00:36:17.719
 And one owed

00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:19.299
 just a little.

00:36:20.659 --> 00:36:21.579
 Both of their debts

00:36:21.579 --> 00:36:22.059
 were forgiven.

00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:23.019
 Who do you think

00:36:23.019 --> 00:36:24.139
 was more grateful,

00:36:24.259 --> 00:36:25.440
 the one who owed a lot

00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:26.619
 or the one who owed

00:36:26.619 --> 00:36:26.960
 a little?

00:36:28.879 --> 00:36:29.259
 They said,

00:36:29.259 --> 00:36:29.500
 well,

00:36:29.500 --> 00:36:30.719
 the one who owed a lot.

00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:32.440
 He said,

00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:32.679
 yep,

00:36:33.679 --> 00:36:36.519
 she owes a lot.

00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:40.400
 She sinned

00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:42.579
 in a public,

00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:44.320
 horrible way.

00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:46.460
 And her debt

00:36:46.460 --> 00:36:47.900
 is big.

00:36:49.960 --> 00:36:51.139
 She owes a lot.

00:36:51.940 --> 00:36:52.139
 See,

00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:53.059
 it's important to note

00:36:53.059 --> 00:36:53.880
 that Jesus doesn't

00:36:53.880 --> 00:36:55.039
 minimize the sin here.

00:36:56.139 --> 00:36:57.340
 He doesn't minimize

00:36:57.340 --> 00:36:57.659
 the sin.

00:36:57.719 --> 00:36:59.340
 He says that her debt

00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:00.460
 is big.

00:37:03.059 --> 00:37:04.179
 And he looks at the woman

00:37:04.179 --> 00:37:04.759
 and he says,

00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:05.900
 your sins

00:37:05.900 --> 00:37:06.940
 are forgiven.

00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:10.739
 Your sins are forgiven.

00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:11.840
 Your faith has saved you.

00:37:11.900 --> 00:37:12.139
 Go

00:37:12.139 --> 00:37:13.179
 in peace.

00:37:13.179 --> 00:37:15.059
 And even though

00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:15.519
 her sins

00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:16.440
 were never minimized,

00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:17.819
 she found peace

00:37:17.819 --> 00:37:18.779
 with God

00:37:18.779 --> 00:37:19.579
 that day

00:37:19.579 --> 00:37:20.799
 through his son.

00:37:20.899 --> 00:37:21.460
 And you'll notice

00:37:21.460 --> 00:37:22.239
 that it happened

00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:23.440
 in a declaration.

00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:24.879
 Jesus declaring

00:37:24.879 --> 00:37:26.259
 her sins

00:37:26.259 --> 00:37:27.000
 forgiven.

00:37:28.139 --> 00:37:29.019
 It's the picture

00:37:29.019 --> 00:37:29.719
 of justification.

00:37:30.059 --> 00:37:30.399
 And it works

00:37:30.399 --> 00:37:30.960
 the same way

00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:31.399
 for us

00:37:31.399 --> 00:37:32.440
 when we give our lives

00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:33.259
 over to Christ

00:37:33.259 --> 00:37:34.299
 and righteousness

00:37:34.299 --> 00:37:35.679
 is imputed

00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:37.000
 to us.

00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:39.500
 We are declared

00:37:39.500 --> 00:37:40.000
 righteous.

00:37:40.159 --> 00:37:40.799
 We are accepted

00:37:40.799 --> 00:37:41.519
 before God.

00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:42.059
 And this is why

00:37:42.059 --> 00:37:43.280
 Paul adamantly

00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:44.340
 opposes Peter

00:37:44.340 --> 00:37:45.420
 in this circumstance

00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:46.440
 and anyone else

00:37:46.440 --> 00:37:47.639
 who undercuts

00:37:47.639 --> 00:37:48.340
 the gospel

00:37:48.340 --> 00:37:49.639
 by trying to add

00:37:49.639 --> 00:37:50.480
 works

00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:52.840
 by necessity

00:37:52.840 --> 00:37:53.659
 for salvation.

00:37:54.780 --> 00:37:55.639
 Because God

00:37:55.639 --> 00:37:56.440
 has already done

00:37:56.440 --> 00:37:57.739
 the work for us.

00:37:58.800 --> 00:37:59.619
 Christ's work

00:37:59.619 --> 00:38:00.340
 on the cross

00:38:00.340 --> 00:38:01.079
 was sufficient

00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:01.880
 for us.

00:38:01.980 --> 00:38:02.699
 We no longer

00:38:02.699 --> 00:38:03.960
 have to work

00:38:03.960 --> 00:38:05.039
 for our salvation.

00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:07.059
 And I hope you see

00:38:07.059 --> 00:38:07.659
 why the doctrine

00:38:07.659 --> 00:38:08.199
 of justification

00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:09.239
 is such a beautiful

00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:10.679
 thing in the life

00:38:10.679 --> 00:38:11.300
 of the believer.

00:38:11.519 --> 00:38:12.639
 That through faith

00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:13.079
 in Christ

00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:14.079
 we are accepted

00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:15.360
 before God.

00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:16.759
 And you can see

00:38:16.759 --> 00:38:17.179
 why people

00:38:17.179 --> 00:38:17.960
 during the Reformation

00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:18.360
 were saying

00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:18.940
 man that just

00:38:18.940 --> 00:38:20.320
 sounds like

00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:21.340
 it's just too easy.

00:38:21.599 --> 00:38:22.219
 Because they had

00:38:22.219 --> 00:38:22.759
 been living

00:38:22.759 --> 00:38:23.860
 the life of works

00:38:23.860 --> 00:38:24.980
 before their doctrine

00:38:24.980 --> 00:38:25.820
 stated that they

00:38:25.820 --> 00:38:27.259
 had to do works.

00:38:27.340 --> 00:38:27.739
 They had to do

00:38:27.739 --> 00:38:28.500
 good things

00:38:28.500 --> 00:38:29.039
 to credit

00:38:29.039 --> 00:38:29.739
 to their account

00:38:29.739 --> 00:38:30.259
 to credit

00:38:30.259 --> 00:38:30.960
 toward their

00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:31.599
 righteousness.

00:38:33.340 --> 00:38:34.000
 And the church

00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:34.599
 at that time

00:38:34.599 --> 00:38:35.199
 had made people

00:38:35.199 --> 00:38:36.079
 believe this

00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:37.440
 by manipulating people.

00:38:37.579 --> 00:38:38.420
 And so Martin Luther

00:38:38.420 --> 00:38:39.059
 comes along

00:38:39.059 --> 00:38:39.619
 and Calvin

00:38:39.619 --> 00:38:40.099
 comes along

00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:40.480
 and all these

00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:41.079
 reformers

00:38:41.079 --> 00:38:41.759
 come along

00:38:41.759 --> 00:38:42.159
 and they say

00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:42.840
 no that's not

00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:43.679
 the way it works.

00:38:44.219 --> 00:38:44.880
 You get to

00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:46.719
 receive justification.

00:38:47.139 --> 00:38:47.799
 It's an act.

00:38:47.900 --> 00:38:48.199
 It's something

00:38:48.199 --> 00:38:48.759
 that God

00:38:48.759 --> 00:38:49.960
 declares us

00:38:49.960 --> 00:38:50.559
 righteous

00:38:50.559 --> 00:38:52.579
 because of our

00:38:52.579 --> 00:38:53.079
 faith.

00:38:54.079 --> 00:38:54.679
 And they're saying

00:38:54.679 --> 00:38:55.400
 no that's just

00:38:55.400 --> 00:38:56.119
 too easy.

00:38:57.079 --> 00:38:57.759
 You just trust

00:38:57.759 --> 00:38:58.539
 and that's it.

00:38:59.460 --> 00:39:00.019
 And it's the same

00:39:00.019 --> 00:39:00.699
 question that these

00:39:00.699 --> 00:39:01.799
 Judaizers were asking

00:39:01.799 --> 00:39:02.779
 in Galatians chapter 2.

00:39:02.860 --> 00:39:03.259
 Aren't you

00:39:03.259 --> 00:39:04.480
 undercutting the

00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:05.440
 obedience to the

00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:05.760
 law?

00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:07.219
 And Paul says

00:39:07.219 --> 00:39:07.840
 no.

00:39:08.139 --> 00:39:08.960
 Through faith in

00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:09.460
 Christ we're

00:39:09.460 --> 00:39:10.240
 accepted before

00:39:10.240 --> 00:39:10.659
 God.

00:39:10.760 --> 00:39:11.320
 Number one.

00:39:11.400 --> 00:39:11.940
 Number two.

00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:13.039
 Through faith in

00:39:13.039 --> 00:39:13.280
 Christ.

00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:13.840
 And this is where

00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:14.760
 it gets really

00:39:14.760 --> 00:39:16.119
 really really good

00:39:16.119 --> 00:39:16.679
 for the life

00:39:16.679 --> 00:39:17.260
 of the believer.

00:39:18.039 --> 00:39:18.719
 Through faith in

00:39:18.719 --> 00:39:19.559
 Christ we are

00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:21.800
 alive to

00:39:21.800 --> 00:39:22.619
 God.

00:39:24.139 --> 00:39:25.260
 So not only

00:39:25.260 --> 00:39:26.039
 are we accepted

00:39:26.039 --> 00:39:26.860
 before God

00:39:26.860 --> 00:39:27.280
 because of

00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:27.639
 justification.

00:39:27.940 --> 00:39:28.920
 We are alive

00:39:28.920 --> 00:39:29.519
 because of our

00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:30.139
 faith in Christ.

00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:31.340
 We are alive

00:39:31.340 --> 00:39:32.340
 to God.

00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:33.599
 And being alive

00:39:33.599 --> 00:39:34.199
 to God means

00:39:34.199 --> 00:39:34.639
 that our

00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:35.480
 life has been

00:39:35.480 --> 00:39:36.799
 transformed by

00:39:36.799 --> 00:39:37.360
 Christ.

00:39:37.980 --> 00:39:38.400
 And what the

00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:39.000
 work that he has

00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:39.579
 done in our

00:39:39.579 --> 00:39:40.199
 hearts and in

00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:40.699
 our lives.

00:39:40.799 --> 00:39:41.179
 And in verse

00:39:41.179 --> 00:39:42.819
 18 Paul says

00:39:42.819 --> 00:39:44.099
 if I rebuild

00:39:44.099 --> 00:39:44.900
 what I destroyed

00:39:44.900 --> 00:39:45.779
 I prove that I

00:39:45.779 --> 00:39:46.539
 am a lawbreaker

00:39:46.539 --> 00:39:47.460
 for through the

00:39:47.460 --> 00:39:48.400
 law I died

00:39:48.400 --> 00:39:48.980
 to the law

00:39:48.980 --> 00:39:49.679
 so that I

00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:50.920
 might live.

00:39:51.619 --> 00:39:52.460
 So that I

00:39:52.460 --> 00:39:53.539
 might live

00:39:53.539 --> 00:39:55.319
 for God.

00:39:56.579 --> 00:39:57.299
 Died to the

00:39:57.299 --> 00:39:57.880
 law so that I

00:39:57.880 --> 00:39:58.500
 might live for

00:39:58.500 --> 00:39:58.719
 God.

00:39:58.799 --> 00:39:59.860
 Paul is saying

00:39:59.860 --> 00:40:00.519
 that because of

00:40:00.519 --> 00:40:01.139
 our faith that

00:40:01.139 --> 00:40:01.960
 we are accepted

00:40:01.960 --> 00:40:03.360
 before God.

00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:04.599
 But faith is

00:40:04.599 --> 00:40:05.619
 also the

00:40:05.619 --> 00:40:06.339
 only way that

00:40:06.339 --> 00:40:07.279
 we can live

00:40:07.279 --> 00:40:08.239
 to God.

00:40:08.299 --> 00:40:08.900
 It's the only

00:40:08.900 --> 00:40:10.199
 way to experience

00:40:10.199 --> 00:40:11.539
 true life in

00:40:11.539 --> 00:40:12.159
 God.

00:40:12.259 --> 00:40:12.759
 You see Paul

00:40:12.759 --> 00:40:13.799
 is leaving no

00:40:13.799 --> 00:40:15.139
 room here for

00:40:15.139 --> 00:40:15.759
 a one time

00:40:15.759 --> 00:40:16.420
 decision that

00:40:16.420 --> 00:40:17.199
 you walk down

00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:17.579
 the aisle,

00:40:17.699 --> 00:40:18.119
 maybe you

00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:18.539
 prayed a

00:40:18.539 --> 00:40:18.960
 prayer and

00:40:18.960 --> 00:40:19.460
 you lived

00:40:19.460 --> 00:40:20.019
 your life just

00:40:20.019 --> 00:40:20.559
 like everybody

00:40:20.559 --> 00:40:21.019
 else.

00:40:21.460 --> 00:40:21.900
 There's no

00:40:21.900 --> 00:40:22.500
 room for that

00:40:22.500 --> 00:40:23.039
 in Paul's

00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:23.819
 theology.

00:40:24.779 --> 00:40:25.139
 There's no

00:40:25.139 --> 00:40:25.679
 room for that

00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:26.079
 in Paul's

00:40:26.079 --> 00:40:26.539
 doctrine.

00:40:27.279 --> 00:40:27.699
 It's not

00:40:27.699 --> 00:40:28.500
 possible because

00:40:28.500 --> 00:40:28.880
 if we are

00:40:28.880 --> 00:40:29.719
 saved by faith

00:40:29.719 --> 00:40:30.400
 and we also

00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:32.099
 live by faith,

00:40:32.099 --> 00:40:33.039
 our works

00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:33.900
 are a result

00:40:33.900 --> 00:40:34.360
 of our

00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:34.980
 faith in

00:40:34.980 --> 00:40:35.500
 other words.

00:40:36.819 --> 00:40:37.159
 And then

00:40:37.159 --> 00:40:37.579
 Paul gives

00:40:37.579 --> 00:40:38.079
 us a loaded

00:40:38.079 --> 00:40:38.599
 verse in

00:40:38.599 --> 00:40:39.059
 verse 20

00:40:39.059 --> 00:40:39.279
 and I

00:40:39.279 --> 00:40:39.839
 encourage you

00:40:39.839 --> 00:40:40.139
 if you've

00:40:40.139 --> 00:40:40.779
 not already

00:40:40.779 --> 00:40:41.460
 hidden this

00:40:41.460 --> 00:40:42.880
 scripture in

00:40:42.880 --> 00:40:43.199
 your heart,

00:40:43.259 --> 00:40:43.380
 if you've

00:40:43.380 --> 00:40:43.779
 not already

00:40:43.779 --> 00:40:44.400
 hidden this

00:40:44.400 --> 00:40:44.739
 word in

00:40:44.739 --> 00:40:45.000
 your heart,

00:40:45.059 --> 00:40:45.239
 that you

00:40:45.239 --> 00:40:46.019
 hide it in

00:40:46.019 --> 00:40:46.500
 your heart

00:40:46.500 --> 00:40:48.380
 this week.

00:40:48.900 --> 00:40:49.179
 It says,

00:40:49.380 --> 00:40:49.659
 I have been

00:40:49.659 --> 00:40:50.900
 crucified with

00:40:50.900 --> 00:40:51.539
 Christ and

00:40:51.539 --> 00:40:52.500
 I no longer

00:40:52.500 --> 00:40:53.159
 live but

00:40:53.159 --> 00:40:54.239
 Christ lives

00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:55.239
 in me.

00:40:56.239 --> 00:40:56.619
 And the

00:40:56.619 --> 00:40:57.380
 life that I

00:40:57.380 --> 00:40:58.400
 now live in

00:40:58.400 --> 00:40:58.920
 the flesh,

00:40:59.059 --> 00:41:00.119
 I live by

00:41:00.119 --> 00:41:01.019
 faith in

00:41:01.019 --> 00:41:01.719
 the Son of

00:41:01.719 --> 00:41:02.159
 God who

00:41:02.159 --> 00:41:03.799
 loved me and

00:41:03.799 --> 00:41:04.739
 gave himself

00:41:04.739 --> 00:41:05.559
 up for me.

00:41:05.639 --> 00:41:06.579
 What an

00:41:06.579 --> 00:41:08.019
 amazing verse.

00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:08.480
 I've been

00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:09.920
 crucified with

00:41:09.920 --> 00:41:10.259
 Christ.

00:41:10.319 --> 00:41:10.539
 What does

00:41:10.539 --> 00:41:10.980
 that mean?

00:41:11.359 --> 00:41:11.739
 What does it

00:41:11.739 --> 00:41:12.299
 mean to be

00:41:12.299 --> 00:41:12.839
 crucified with

00:41:12.839 --> 00:41:13.039
 Christ?

00:41:13.099 --> 00:41:13.279
 Does that

00:41:13.279 --> 00:41:13.539
 mean that

00:41:13.539 --> 00:41:14.299
 Paul was

00:41:14.299 --> 00:41:15.000
 there with

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:15.679
 Jesus hanging

00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:16.199
 on the cross

00:41:16.199 --> 00:41:16.559
 with him?

00:41:16.619 --> 00:41:17.099
 No, he

00:41:17.099 --> 00:41:17.880
 wasn't physically

00:41:17.880 --> 00:41:18.480
 there with

00:41:18.480 --> 00:41:18.699
 him.

00:41:19.380 --> 00:41:19.859
 But it

00:41:19.859 --> 00:41:20.239
 means that

00:41:20.239 --> 00:41:21.019
 we are

00:41:21.019 --> 00:41:23.799
 dead and

00:41:23.799 --> 00:41:24.480
 we're alive.

00:41:25.279 --> 00:41:25.699
 That makes

00:41:25.699 --> 00:41:26.079
 sense.

00:41:26.179 --> 00:41:27.059
 We're dead,

00:41:27.159 --> 00:41:27.420
 but let me

00:41:27.420 --> 00:41:27.699
 explain.

00:41:28.079 --> 00:41:29.059
 We are dead

00:41:29.059 --> 00:41:30.599
 to our

00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:30.920
 sin.

00:41:31.119 --> 00:41:31.400
 We are

00:41:31.400 --> 00:41:32.000
 dead to

00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:32.779
 sin and

00:41:32.779 --> 00:41:33.679
 alive to

00:41:33.679 --> 00:41:34.119
 Christ.

00:41:36.539 --> 00:41:37.239
 And this

00:41:37.239 --> 00:41:37.500
 is why

00:41:37.500 --> 00:41:38.340
 justification is

00:41:38.340 --> 00:41:38.940
 so important

00:41:38.940 --> 00:41:39.480
 for us to

00:41:39.480 --> 00:41:40.159
 understand because

00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:41.079
 justification is

00:41:41.079 --> 00:41:41.599
 different than

00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:41.980
 forgiveness.

00:41:44.380 --> 00:41:44.940
 Justification,

00:41:45.059 --> 00:41:46.079
 they're related,

00:41:46.900 --> 00:41:47.420
 but justification

00:41:47.420 --> 00:41:49.159
 is different than

00:41:49.159 --> 00:41:49.579
 forgiveness.

00:41:50.380 --> 00:41:50.940
 And this,

00:41:51.039 --> 00:41:51.719
 that when you

00:41:51.719 --> 00:41:53.860
 commit something

00:41:53.860 --> 00:41:54.920
 wrong, you

00:41:54.920 --> 00:41:55.599
 have to ask for

00:41:55.599 --> 00:41:56.400
 forgiveness, and

00:41:56.400 --> 00:41:56.880
 then you go out

00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:57.779
 and commit another

00:41:57.779 --> 00:41:58.980
 wrong, you have

00:41:58.980 --> 00:41:59.619
 to come back

00:41:59.619 --> 00:42:00.179
 and ask for

00:42:00.179 --> 00:42:01.019
 forgiveness again.

00:42:02.300 --> 00:42:02.840
 Forgiveness is

00:42:02.840 --> 00:42:03.599
 kind of a one-time

00:42:03.599 --> 00:42:03.880
 thing.

00:42:04.219 --> 00:42:05.260
 Justification is

00:42:05.260 --> 00:42:06.199
 all-encompassing.

00:42:06.559 --> 00:42:07.039
 In justification,

00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:08.559
 you're justified.

00:42:09.780 --> 00:42:10.780
 You're declared

00:42:10.780 --> 00:42:11.420
 not guilty.

00:42:11.539 --> 00:42:12.059
 You do something

00:42:12.059 --> 00:42:12.960
 wrong, God's still

00:42:12.960 --> 00:42:13.539
 looking at you

00:42:13.539 --> 00:42:14.500
 saying, not

00:42:14.500 --> 00:42:15.900
 guilty, accepted,

00:42:17.360 --> 00:42:18.380
 peace with me.

00:42:20.760 --> 00:42:21.500
 There's no

00:42:21.500 --> 00:42:22.380
 condemnation for

00:42:22.380 --> 00:42:23.139
 those who are in

00:42:23.139 --> 00:42:23.980
 Christ Jesus, for

00:42:23.980 --> 00:42:24.960
 the law of the

00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:25.880
 spirit of life has

00:42:25.880 --> 00:42:26.880
 set you free from

00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:27.840
 the law of the

00:42:27.840 --> 00:42:28.980
 spirit of death.

00:42:29.039 --> 00:42:29.660
 And over and

00:42:29.660 --> 00:42:30.440
 over and over and

00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:32.000
 over again, in the

00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:32.760
 New Testament, you

00:42:32.760 --> 00:42:34.559
 see this justification.

00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:35.940
 You see not

00:42:35.940 --> 00:42:36.460
 guilty.

00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:38.100
 You see accepted

00:42:38.100 --> 00:42:38.940
 before God.

00:42:39.260 --> 00:42:40.460
 Accepted before God.

00:42:40.579 --> 00:42:41.480
 Not guilty.

00:42:42.280 --> 00:42:43.400
 Do we believe that

00:42:43.400 --> 00:42:44.100
 in our lives

00:42:44.100 --> 00:42:44.500
 tonight?

00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:47.500
 I mean, do we

00:42:47.500 --> 00:42:49.280
 really believe that?

00:42:51.059 --> 00:42:52.320
 That we're accepted

00:42:52.320 --> 00:42:52.920
 before God?

00:42:52.920 --> 00:42:53.420
 God, some of us,

00:42:53.500 --> 00:42:54.180
 we might just need

00:42:54.180 --> 00:42:55.559
 to just let that

00:42:55.559 --> 00:42:57.780
 soak in to our

00:42:57.780 --> 00:42:59.300
 hearts right now.

00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:04.180
 You, despite your

00:43:04.180 --> 00:43:05.260
 sin, despite all the

00:43:05.260 --> 00:43:05.800
 things that you've

00:43:05.800 --> 00:43:07.019
 done in your life,

00:43:08.420 --> 00:43:09.019
 you're found

00:43:09.019 --> 00:43:10.900
 acceptable before God.

00:43:10.960 --> 00:43:11.740
 That you are

00:43:11.740 --> 00:43:13.900
 accepted by the God

00:43:13.900 --> 00:43:15.039
 of the universe,

00:43:15.159 --> 00:43:16.659
 a perfect and holy

00:43:16.659 --> 00:43:17.559
 God.

00:43:17.559 --> 00:43:20.559
 God, I think

00:43:20.559 --> 00:43:21.159
 sometimes we

00:43:21.159 --> 00:43:24.519
 struggle to fully

00:43:24.519 --> 00:43:25.579
 believe this and

00:43:25.579 --> 00:43:27.480
 fully realize this

00:43:27.480 --> 00:43:28.619
 in our lives.

00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:30.340
 We like to hang

00:43:30.340 --> 00:43:31.159
 on to our guilt,

00:43:31.299 --> 00:43:31.460
 don't we?

00:43:31.480 --> 00:43:32.119
 We like to hang

00:43:32.119 --> 00:43:33.400
 on to that shame

00:43:33.400 --> 00:43:35.480
 that we experience.

00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:37.059
 And so often we

00:43:37.059 --> 00:43:37.739
 think of our lives

00:43:37.739 --> 00:43:38.619
 like this cosmic

00:43:38.619 --> 00:43:41.599
 lifelong game of

00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:42.519
 Simon Says, where

00:43:42.519 --> 00:43:43.679
 if we don't do

00:43:43.679 --> 00:43:44.639
 what God says,

00:43:45.219 --> 00:43:46.119
 then we're out for

00:43:46.119 --> 00:43:46.500
 the count.

00:43:46.500 --> 00:43:47.159
 We have to sit

00:43:47.159 --> 00:43:47.800
 out for a while

00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:49.320
 until we can feel

00:43:49.320 --> 00:43:50.199
 righteous again.

00:43:50.280 --> 00:43:50.960
 And we have to sit

00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:52.019
 out until we're

00:43:52.019 --> 00:43:53.159
 made right before

00:43:53.159 --> 00:43:53.739
 God again.

00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:54.539
 And that's not what

00:43:54.539 --> 00:43:55.360
 the doctrine of

00:43:55.360 --> 00:43:56.440
 justification teaches

00:43:56.440 --> 00:43:56.940
 us.

00:43:59.039 --> 00:43:59.980
 We've been bought

00:43:59.980 --> 00:44:00.900
 with a price and

00:44:00.900 --> 00:44:01.699
 we have already

00:44:01.699 --> 00:44:02.480
 been forgiven.

00:44:02.900 --> 00:44:03.679
 I used to use

00:44:03.679 --> 00:44:04.400
 this illustration

00:44:04.400 --> 00:44:05.119
 where I used a

00:44:05.119 --> 00:44:05.659
 cinder block.

00:44:05.860 --> 00:44:06.639
 Is Wes still in

00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:06.780
 here?

00:44:07.159 --> 00:44:07.940
 Wes, you might

00:44:07.940 --> 00:44:08.820
 remember this

00:44:08.820 --> 00:44:10.380
 illustration because

00:44:10.380 --> 00:44:11.219
 you're the first

00:44:11.219 --> 00:44:12.019
 person I used as

00:44:12.019 --> 00:44:12.480
 an example.

00:44:12.619 --> 00:44:12.880
 I don't know if

00:44:12.880 --> 00:44:13.360
 you remember that

00:44:13.360 --> 00:44:13.639
 or not.

00:44:13.639 --> 00:44:14.960
 But I used to use

00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:15.920
 an illustration

00:44:15.920 --> 00:44:16.680
 with a cinder block

00:44:16.680 --> 00:44:17.260
 and I was all

00:44:17.260 --> 00:44:18.119
 excited about using

00:44:18.119 --> 00:44:18.720
 this illustration.

00:44:18.860 --> 00:44:19.300
 So I went into

00:44:19.300 --> 00:44:20.139
 the hardware store

00:44:20.139 --> 00:44:21.619
 and I went in and

00:44:21.619 --> 00:44:23.079
 I was like, I told

00:44:23.079 --> 00:44:23.800
 the guy when I

00:44:23.800 --> 00:44:24.260
 walked in, he was

00:44:24.260 --> 00:44:24.740
 like, how can I

00:44:24.740 --> 00:44:25.019
 help you?

00:44:25.099 --> 00:44:26.019
 I said, you know,

00:44:26.119 --> 00:44:26.840
 this is what I

00:44:26.840 --> 00:44:27.000
 need.

00:44:27.039 --> 00:44:27.960
 I need a cinder block.

00:44:28.260 --> 00:44:29.119
 I need about 10

00:44:29.119 --> 00:44:30.159
 feet of the

00:44:30.159 --> 00:44:31.159
 heaviest duty chain

00:44:31.159 --> 00:44:31.800
 that you have.

00:44:32.260 --> 00:44:33.659
 And I need a

00:44:33.659 --> 00:44:34.200
 bolt cutter.

00:44:35.500 --> 00:44:35.900
 And the guy

00:44:35.900 --> 00:44:36.460
 looked at me

00:44:36.460 --> 00:44:37.599
 really strange and

00:44:37.599 --> 00:44:38.019
 he was like,

00:44:39.079 --> 00:44:40.840
 almost like with a

00:44:40.840 --> 00:44:41.340
 worried look.

00:44:41.420 --> 00:44:41.940
 He's like, I need

00:44:41.940 --> 00:44:42.519
 to ask you

00:44:42.519 --> 00:44:42.880
 something.

00:44:42.880 --> 00:44:43.960
 You're not

00:44:43.960 --> 00:44:45.579
 planning on sinking

00:44:45.579 --> 00:44:46.420
 somebody in a

00:44:46.420 --> 00:44:47.019
 lake, are you?

00:44:48.460 --> 00:44:50.660
 And I could look

00:44:50.660 --> 00:44:51.440
 back on that and

00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:52.500
 see this does look a

00:44:52.500 --> 00:44:53.460
 little bit suspicious.

00:44:53.720 --> 00:44:54.220
 You could chain

00:44:54.220 --> 00:44:55.300
 somebody to a

00:44:55.300 --> 00:44:56.019
 cinder block and

00:44:56.019 --> 00:44:57.039
 sink them alive if

00:44:57.039 --> 00:44:57.700
 you wanted to, I

00:44:57.700 --> 00:44:57.960
 guess.

00:44:58.099 --> 00:44:59.340
 But no, I wasn't.

00:44:59.380 --> 00:44:59.940
 I was trying to use

00:44:59.940 --> 00:45:00.780
 a sermon illustration

00:45:00.780 --> 00:45:01.460
 so it was kind of

00:45:01.460 --> 00:45:02.019
 cool because I got

00:45:02.019 --> 00:45:03.519
 to explain that to a

00:45:03.519 --> 00:45:04.280
 guy who was probably

00:45:04.280 --> 00:45:05.640
 lost in a hardware

00:45:05.640 --> 00:45:06.059
 store.

00:45:06.760 --> 00:45:07.640
 But the illustration

00:45:07.640 --> 00:45:08.519
 was this.

00:45:08.640 --> 00:45:10.280
 Before Christ, we

00:45:10.280 --> 00:45:10.960
 were bound up in

00:45:10.960 --> 00:45:11.420
 our sin.

00:45:11.420 --> 00:45:12.000
 That's what the

00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:12.740
 chains resemble.

00:45:12.860 --> 00:45:13.659
 You're chained to

00:45:13.659 --> 00:45:14.460
 this weight and

00:45:14.460 --> 00:45:15.960
 this guilt that you

00:45:15.960 --> 00:45:16.960
 carry around before

00:45:16.960 --> 00:45:17.539
 Christ.

00:45:18.119 --> 00:45:18.940
 You're chained to

00:45:18.940 --> 00:45:19.139
 it.

00:45:19.840 --> 00:45:21.180
 And the picture there

00:45:21.180 --> 00:45:22.300
 was after Christ.

00:45:22.500 --> 00:45:23.360
 And what I had, I

00:45:23.360 --> 00:45:24.420
 actually had Wes,

00:45:24.500 --> 00:45:24.960
 because he was in

00:45:24.960 --> 00:45:25.639
 the student ministry

00:45:25.639 --> 00:45:26.200
 where I was teaching

00:45:26.200 --> 00:45:26.340
 this.

00:45:26.380 --> 00:45:26.760
 Do you remember

00:45:26.760 --> 00:45:27.200
 this, Wes?

00:45:27.860 --> 00:45:28.360
 You don't remember

00:45:28.360 --> 00:45:28.800
 this at all?

00:45:29.400 --> 00:45:29.800
 Amazing.

00:45:29.940 --> 00:45:31.559
 It had no impact

00:45:31.559 --> 00:45:32.260
 on the students who

00:45:32.260 --> 00:45:32.519
 were there.

00:45:32.800 --> 00:45:33.320
 That's good to

00:45:33.320 --> 00:45:33.559
 know.

00:45:34.460 --> 00:45:34.900
 All right, so

00:45:34.900 --> 00:45:36.619
 anyways, you take

00:45:36.619 --> 00:45:37.500
 the cinder block and

00:45:37.500 --> 00:45:39.340
 you put it on to

00:45:39.340 --> 00:45:39.720
 Wes.

00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:41.319
 And he basically

00:45:41.319 --> 00:45:41.779
 at the very

00:45:41.779 --> 00:45:42.419
 beginning or toward

00:45:42.419 --> 00:45:42.959
 the beginning of

00:45:42.959 --> 00:45:43.519
 the sermon, through

00:45:43.519 --> 00:45:44.299
 the whole sermon, you

00:45:44.299 --> 00:45:45.699
 had him sitting up

00:45:45.699 --> 00:45:45.939
 there.

00:45:46.500 --> 00:45:47.019
 You remember it

00:45:47.019 --> 00:45:47.239
 now?

00:45:47.699 --> 00:45:48.579
 Because you remember

00:45:48.579 --> 00:45:50.119
 you didn't just stand

00:45:50.119 --> 00:45:50.779
 there the whole time.

00:45:50.839 --> 00:45:52.039
 He sat down on the

00:45:52.039 --> 00:45:52.799
 cinder block because

00:45:52.799 --> 00:45:53.439
 that's the best that

00:45:53.439 --> 00:45:53.839
 you can do.

00:45:53.919 --> 00:45:54.519
 You can't stand up

00:45:54.519 --> 00:45:54.959
 there the whole

00:45:54.959 --> 00:45:55.259
 sermon.

00:45:56.139 --> 00:45:57.559
 And so in the

00:45:57.559 --> 00:45:58.519
 sermon, the reality

00:45:58.519 --> 00:46:00.639
 is that Jesus, because

00:46:00.639 --> 00:46:01.319
 of the work that he

00:46:01.319 --> 00:46:02.279
 did on the cross, you

00:46:02.279 --> 00:46:03.879
 are broken free from

00:46:03.879 --> 00:46:04.779
 that guilt and that

00:46:04.779 --> 00:46:05.879
 shame, from that sin,

00:46:05.959 --> 00:46:06.839
 the reality of sin.

00:46:06.879 --> 00:46:07.579
 You're broken free

00:46:07.579 --> 00:46:07.899
 from that.

00:46:07.900 --> 00:46:08.980
 You no longer have

00:46:08.980 --> 00:46:09.760
 to be chained to

00:46:09.760 --> 00:46:09.840
 it.

00:46:09.860 --> 00:46:10.519
 You're no longer

00:46:10.519 --> 00:46:11.720
 bound up in that

00:46:11.720 --> 00:46:12.960
 sin that you are

00:46:12.960 --> 00:46:14.900
 before you're a

00:46:14.900 --> 00:46:15.900
 believer in Christ

00:46:15.900 --> 00:46:16.200
 Jesus.

00:46:16.900 --> 00:46:17.539
 And so that was the

00:46:17.539 --> 00:46:18.800
 visual picture there,

00:46:19.380 --> 00:46:21.039
 that you no longer

00:46:21.039 --> 00:46:22.519
 have to carry the

00:46:22.519 --> 00:46:23.340
 weight and the guilt

00:46:23.340 --> 00:46:23.740
 of sins.

00:46:23.780 --> 00:46:24.240
 That's where the

00:46:24.240 --> 00:46:25.019
 bolt cutters came

00:46:25.019 --> 00:46:25.260
 in.

00:46:25.340 --> 00:46:26.300
 And as I recall, I

00:46:26.300 --> 00:46:27.260
 was very careful to

00:46:27.260 --> 00:46:28.780
 avoid your Achilles as

00:46:28.780 --> 00:46:30.320
 you sat there and

00:46:30.320 --> 00:46:31.059
 pinching that thing

00:46:31.059 --> 00:46:31.340
 down.

00:46:31.400 --> 00:46:32.900
 But the reality of the

00:46:32.900 --> 00:46:35.360
 whole thing is, the

00:46:35.360 --> 00:46:36.240
 reality is that we are

00:46:36.240 --> 00:46:37.139
 free from that sin.

00:46:38.900 --> 00:46:40.960
 And ultimately, we

00:46:40.960 --> 00:46:43.059
 can pick it up and

00:46:43.059 --> 00:46:43.760
 we can carry it.

00:46:43.800 --> 00:46:44.660
 I brought something

00:46:44.660 --> 00:46:45.200
 over here.

00:46:46.360 --> 00:46:47.240
 The best thing I

00:46:47.240 --> 00:46:47.700
 could find.

00:46:48.400 --> 00:46:49.320
 I had a cinder block

00:46:49.320 --> 00:46:50.280
 in my crawl space

00:46:50.280 --> 00:46:51.079
 underneath my house,

00:46:51.139 --> 00:46:52.160
 but it was dirty and

00:46:52.160 --> 00:46:53.039
 it wasn't real good.

00:46:53.139 --> 00:46:56.079
 You can pick up the

00:46:56.079 --> 00:46:56.820
 weight and you can

00:46:56.820 --> 00:46:57.780
 carry it around with

00:46:57.780 --> 00:46:57.980
 you.

00:46:59.139 --> 00:47:00.280
 Potentially for your

00:47:00.280 --> 00:47:00.980
 whole life.

00:47:01.860 --> 00:47:02.700
 You can carry around

00:47:02.700 --> 00:47:04.360
 this weight of guilt

00:47:04.360 --> 00:47:05.300
 and shame.

00:47:07.039 --> 00:47:07.880
 And it's going to be

00:47:07.880 --> 00:47:08.640
 really hard because

00:47:08.640 --> 00:47:09.800
 it's hard to walk

00:47:09.800 --> 00:47:10.920
 into a building like

00:47:10.920 --> 00:47:12.340
 we're in right now

00:47:12.340 --> 00:47:13.420
 and to be amongst

00:47:13.420 --> 00:47:14.599
 other believers and

00:47:14.599 --> 00:47:15.780
 to worship God,

00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:17.960
 holding the weight of

00:47:17.960 --> 00:47:19.079
 the guilt and the

00:47:19.079 --> 00:47:20.320
 shame that you carry

00:47:20.320 --> 00:47:21.440
 around in your life.

00:47:21.440 --> 00:47:25.420
 And you find it hard to

00:47:25.420 --> 00:47:26.880
 share with unbelievers.

00:47:28.599 --> 00:47:29.539
 Because you're sharing

00:47:29.539 --> 00:47:30.280
 with them and you're

00:47:30.280 --> 00:47:31.880
 saying, you know,

00:47:32.400 --> 00:47:33.900
 and Jesus is the best

00:47:33.900 --> 00:47:35.039
 way to life.

00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:36.599
 Ignore what I'm

00:47:36.599 --> 00:47:37.420
 holding here.

00:47:37.420 --> 00:47:39.440
 But Jesus is the best

00:47:39.440 --> 00:47:40.019
 way to life.

00:47:40.099 --> 00:47:40.820
 He's the best way to

00:47:40.820 --> 00:47:41.240
 live.

00:47:42.480 --> 00:47:43.260
 All the while you're

00:47:43.260 --> 00:47:44.200
 holding this guilt and

00:47:44.200 --> 00:47:44.720
 this shame.

00:47:46.420 --> 00:47:47.579
 Don't truly believe in

00:47:47.579 --> 00:47:49.260
 the justification that

00:47:49.260 --> 00:47:50.380
 Christ, this Christ's

00:47:50.380 --> 00:47:51.539
 work on the cross that

00:47:51.539 --> 00:47:52.420
 justified you.

00:47:53.460 --> 00:47:54.260
 You go on a mission

00:47:54.260 --> 00:47:55.700
 trip and you say,

00:47:56.639 --> 00:47:57.340
 I don't know how I'm

00:47:57.340 --> 00:47:57.900
 going to get this

00:47:57.900 --> 00:47:59.619
 through the TSA,

00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:01.820
 the metal detectors,

00:48:02.519 --> 00:48:03.740
 the airport security,

00:48:03.840 --> 00:48:04.360
 but I'm going.

00:48:04.440 --> 00:48:04.920
 I'm getting on an

00:48:04.920 --> 00:48:05.360
 airplane.

00:48:06.559 --> 00:48:06.980
 I'm going to have a

00:48:06.980 --> 00:48:07.860
 lot of explain to do

00:48:07.860 --> 00:48:09.219
 when I get to customs

00:48:09.219 --> 00:48:09.740
 in China.

00:48:10.440 --> 00:48:11.199
 But I'm going.

00:48:11.300 --> 00:48:11.840
 I'm going on a

00:48:11.840 --> 00:48:12.579
 mission trip and I'm

00:48:12.579 --> 00:48:13.360
 carrying this with me.

00:48:16.059 --> 00:48:17.139
 The reality is we

00:48:17.139 --> 00:48:18.340
 don't have to carry

00:48:18.340 --> 00:48:19.059
 this anymore.

00:48:21.099 --> 00:48:22.019
 If you want to pick

00:48:22.019 --> 00:48:22.780
 it up, you can pick

00:48:22.780 --> 00:48:23.139
 it up.

00:48:24.420 --> 00:48:25.500
 But I'm here to tell

00:48:25.500 --> 00:48:28.380
 you tonight that it

00:48:28.380 --> 00:48:29.800
 was endaled to the

00:48:29.800 --> 00:48:31.280
 cross when Jesus died.

00:48:31.820 --> 00:48:33.360
 And you can pick it

00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:34.360
 up and carry it if you

00:48:34.360 --> 00:48:35.139
 want to carry it.

00:48:35.139 --> 00:48:37.259
 but it was nailed to

00:48:37.259 --> 00:48:38.099
 the cross and you

00:48:38.099 --> 00:48:39.619
 no longer are bound

00:48:39.619 --> 00:48:41.059
 to the weight of

00:48:41.059 --> 00:48:42.819
 guilt and shame in

00:48:42.819 --> 00:48:43.339
 your life.

00:48:43.379 --> 00:48:44.440
 And let that speak

00:48:44.440 --> 00:48:46.279
 truth over you right

00:48:46.279 --> 00:48:46.639
 now.

00:48:47.279 --> 00:48:47.960
 Because some of us

00:48:47.960 --> 00:48:49.139
 came in here tonight

00:48:49.139 --> 00:48:51.599
 laden with guilt and

00:48:51.599 --> 00:48:53.019
 laden with shame.

00:48:53.460 --> 00:48:54.379
 And maybe you came in

00:48:54.379 --> 00:48:55.099
 here tonight thinking

00:48:55.099 --> 00:48:55.980
 that you are out of

00:48:55.980 --> 00:48:56.739
 the game for a little

00:48:56.739 --> 00:48:58.079
 bit because you sinned

00:48:58.079 --> 00:48:58.960
 earlier, maybe right

00:48:58.960 --> 00:48:59.559
 before you came.

00:48:59.659 --> 00:49:01.219
 Maybe you sinned at

00:49:01.219 --> 00:49:02.940
 some point this week

00:49:02.940 --> 00:49:03.720
 and you know that

00:49:03.720 --> 00:49:04.420
 you're carrying around

00:49:04.420 --> 00:49:05.539
 that guilt and that

00:49:05.539 --> 00:49:06.360
 shame and you brought

00:49:06.360 --> 00:49:07.320
 it in here with you

00:49:07.320 --> 00:49:08.320
 tonight.

00:49:08.420 --> 00:49:09.300
 And I'm telling you,

00:49:09.639 --> 00:49:10.619
 this doctrine of

00:49:10.619 --> 00:49:12.800
 justification should be

00:49:12.800 --> 00:49:13.920
 made real in our

00:49:13.920 --> 00:49:14.300
 lives.

00:49:14.340 --> 00:49:15.179
 And whatever we

00:49:15.179 --> 00:49:16.280
 brought in here, we

00:49:16.280 --> 00:49:17.420
 no longer have to

00:49:17.420 --> 00:49:18.780
 carry that with us

00:49:18.780 --> 00:49:20.940
 because Jesus carried

00:49:20.940 --> 00:49:22.659
 it in him on the

00:49:22.659 --> 00:49:23.019
 cross.

00:49:23.019 --> 00:49:24.440
 This is what God's

00:49:24.440 --> 00:49:25.200
 word tells us in

00:49:25.200 --> 00:49:26.840
 1 Peter 2.4, that he

00:49:26.840 --> 00:49:28.460
 himself bore our

00:49:28.460 --> 00:49:30.980
 sins in his body on

00:49:30.980 --> 00:49:31.800
 the tree that we

00:49:31.800 --> 00:49:33.760
 might die to sin and

00:49:33.760 --> 00:49:35.300
 live to righteousness.

00:49:36.440 --> 00:49:37.619
 For by his wounds

00:49:37.619 --> 00:49:39.780
 you were healed.

00:49:41.800 --> 00:49:47.019
 By his wounds, by the

00:49:47.019 --> 00:49:49.800
 sacrifice of Christ, you

00:49:49.800 --> 00:49:50.360
 were healed.

00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:52.280
 And that's the picture

00:49:52.280 --> 00:49:53.599
 of justification.

00:49:54.639 --> 00:49:55.519
 And it's so important

00:49:55.519 --> 00:49:56.760
 that when we approach

00:49:56.760 --> 00:49:57.579
 the text of Scripture

00:49:57.579 --> 00:49:59.920
 that we see, when we

00:49:59.920 --> 00:50:00.699
 see these tough

00:50:00.699 --> 00:50:01.579
 commands in Scripture,

00:50:01.699 --> 00:50:02.619
 these commands that

00:50:02.619 --> 00:50:03.619
 are sometimes hard for

00:50:03.619 --> 00:50:04.939
 us to follow, that we

00:50:04.939 --> 00:50:05.759
 don't walk away saying,

00:50:05.879 --> 00:50:07.119
 if I do these things

00:50:07.119 --> 00:50:08.299
 and I'm accepted before

00:50:08.299 --> 00:50:10.179
 God, why?

00:50:10.299 --> 00:50:10.839
 Because that's

00:50:10.839 --> 00:50:11.439
 legalism.

00:50:11.779 --> 00:50:12.679
 We don't walk away

00:50:12.679 --> 00:50:13.839
 ignoring these truths

00:50:13.839 --> 00:50:15.619
 because that's

00:50:15.619 --> 00:50:16.279
 hypocrisy.

00:50:17.379 --> 00:50:18.679
 Instead, we walk away

00:50:18.679 --> 00:50:19.779
 with our hearts running

00:50:19.779 --> 00:50:20.779
 toward Christ saying,

00:50:21.139 --> 00:50:21.960
 Jesus, you are

00:50:21.960 --> 00:50:24.000
 everything that I need

00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:25.679
 and I need more of

00:50:25.679 --> 00:50:27.259
 you and more of you

00:50:27.259 --> 00:50:28.579
 each and every second

00:50:28.579 --> 00:50:29.839
 of my life.

00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:31.680
 and I need you to

00:50:31.680 --> 00:50:32.760
 show me the places

00:50:32.760 --> 00:50:33.780
 in my life where my

00:50:33.780 --> 00:50:35.000
 life doesn't line up

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:35.940
 with the gospel.

00:50:36.559 --> 00:50:37.280
 Show me the places

00:50:37.280 --> 00:50:38.300
 where I need to be

00:50:38.300 --> 00:50:39.860
 more conformed into

00:50:39.860 --> 00:50:40.680
 the image of your

00:50:40.680 --> 00:50:41.059
 Son.

00:50:42.360 --> 00:50:43.760
 I need more of you.

00:50:44.340 --> 00:50:45.100
 And in doing so,

00:50:45.160 --> 00:50:46.240
 we honor God with a

00:50:46.240 --> 00:50:47.200
 life that's not just

00:50:47.200 --> 00:50:48.500
 justified by works.

00:50:49.180 --> 00:50:51.579
 It's justified by the

00:50:51.579 --> 00:50:53.360
 grace of Christ that

00:50:53.360 --> 00:50:54.600
 comes through faith,

00:50:54.880 --> 00:50:56.720
 only through faith in

00:50:56.719 --> 00:50:57.419
 Christ Jesus.

00:50:58.739 --> 00:50:59.579
 And it's for this

00:50:59.579 --> 00:51:00.439
 purpose that we are

00:51:00.439 --> 00:51:01.699
 saved by grace alone,

00:51:02.439 --> 00:51:03.459
 through faith alone,

00:51:04.179 --> 00:51:05.039
 and in Christ alone.

00:51:06.339 --> 00:51:07.239
 Let's pray together.

00:51:07.239 --> 00:51:07.359
 Amen.

00:51:07.359 --> 00:51:07.359


00:51:07.359 --> 00:51:07.359


00:51:07.359 --> 00:51:07.359


00:51:07.359 --> 00:51:07.359


00:51:07.359 --> 00:51:07.359