Read verses 1-6 with me.
And if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress.
Will you pray with me for the preaching of God's word?
Father, your word is powerful.
It is living and is active and it pierces between the joints of marrow to the intentions of the heart.
And we ask this morning that your word would work in us to humble us.
To remind us freshly of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And to find great joy in him and in communion with Jesus Christ.
Lord, we ask that the word would cause us to rejoice.
That it would make the simple wise and it would make the unclean clean.
And that it would be richer than gold and sweeter than honey this morning.
In Jesus' name, amen.
So to introduce today's sermon, I would love to share a little bit about the life of Martin Luther.
Martin Luther was educated under medieval theology.
In this education, Luther was taught that justification is to make oneself righteous.
Righteousness, in this thought, began with baptism and was continued through taking the Catholic sacraments.
In addition to being made righteous through the sacraments, they would teach that one could have a claim on God,
even demand certain things from God, if they just did their very best.
Their natural abilities and their good works would merit or would provide merit that would then justify them.
If we just did what was in us, if we just did our very best, we can be disposed to God's grace.
That was the doctrine that Luther came out of and that was in his mind as he became a monk.
And it was the doctrine that eventually drove him to despair.
Between 1516 and 1517, Luther abandoned these teachings.
He called them the rancid rules of the philosophers.
He realized that we don't have a disposition towards God, but actually indisposition.
We're actually naturally rebellious towards God.
Luther came to an awareness that the sinner is utterly helpless to save himself
or to have any right standing before God based on their own merits.
As he came to this reality that he was sinful and God was holy and just, he was undone.
All his attempts to satisfy God, his prayers, his fasting, his vigils, his good works,
all the things he did left him wholly disquieted.
His mood swung from despair to anger at God over this reality.
And it began to produce an experience that he called infectum.
It's a German word and it doesn't translate well into our language, but it carries lots of meaning.
For Luther, this was dread.
He would see God's righteousness and feel dread and despair.
This sense of foreboding doom.
This assault on his soul and anxiety.
And it left him lowly.
Luther felt as if his whole sinful life was exposed before God's presence.
As Luther went to the word in the season, he saw the righteousness of God through the law.
Later in his writings, Luther would say,
God gave the law then to put us to death, to kill us, so that we would see the enormity of our sin.
Luther would talk about God's law as a hammer.
He says,
This presumption of righteousness in us is a huge and horrible monster.
To break and crush it, God needs a large and powerful hammer.
That is the law, which is the hammer of death, the thunder of hell, and the lightning of divine wrath.
To what purpose?
To attack the presumption of righteousness, which is rebellious, stubborn, and stiff-necked beast in us.
The law was the hammer of God that would expose Luther's seething rebellion against God,
and it would ultimately show his deep need for Jesus Christ for salvation.
Between 1518 and 1519, Luther, in studying the book of Romans,
discovered that justification is not to be made righteous.
It's not a progressive work that we justify ourselves before God.
Justification is to be declared righteous based on the works of another.
Justification is not doing one's very best, as if we are good and can show approval to God.
But justification is based on Christ and his righteousness.
Luther says justification is by faith alone,
because it looks to Christ alone for forgiveness of sins and salvation.
Faith itself doesn't save, but faith saves because we receive Christ by faith,
because we possess and grasp Christ by faith.
In Luther's theology, before salvation, the law exposes our need for Christ.
It reveals our complete inability to be righteous,
that our good works don't give anything to God.
There is no hope and freedom found in our own works,
but only through Jesus Christ and his works.
What Luther discovered is that true and lasting freedom comes through Christ.
He has done all the work.
Because of Christ's work and his fulfillment of the covenant of redemption,
we are freed from the law.
We are freed from its rigor and its curse.
The Holy Spirit has given us new hearts and unites us to Christ.
In Christ, we are free, and the law now serves as a rule of life.
It's a means by which we express love to God and to please him.
So today, the main point I want you to see in this sermon
is that in Christ, we are freed from the law
so that we can serve God, serve Christ by the Spirit.
So in Christ, we are freed from the law
so that we can serve Christ by the Spirit.
So point number one, the law had rule over us.
Point one, the law had rule over us.
If you look at verse one with me,
and do you not know, brothers, for I am speaking to those who know the law,
that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives.
Paul begins Romans 7 with another rhetorical question,
which as we have been following Nathan's preaching,
we see that this is how he forms his arguments.
He proposes a good concept,
and then he then starts to explain it
and asks a question about it, and then answers the question.
So here we have another question,
and this question is meant to explain the relationship
between the believer and the law.
What relationship does the law play in the believer's life?
So questions I hope to answer today is,
what was the relationship between those in Adam and the law?
So as we're thinking about Romans 5,
what is the relationship that those in Adam, unbelievers, have with the law?
Second question I hope to answer is,
what relationship are those in Christ have with the law?
What relationship does believers have in regards to God's law?
Is it no law, or is there still something
that bounds us that is good,
that we love, that frames the way in which we live?
So if you look at verse 1,
there is a gentle but firm rebuke to the church.
He asserts that they know the law.
The audience of the Jews and the Gentiles
would know the law in which he speaks about.
And as we've made our way through Romans,
we see that Paul is building a case.
And if we look at the way in which Paul has talked about the law
in the first six chapters,
and the way he talks about the law in chapter 7,
I think that we can understand which law he is referring to.
And from this letter,
I propose that this law that he's talking to
is what we call the moral law,
or the Ten Commandments.
So throughout this law,
Paul's case he's building is that
all are unrighteous and deserving of God's wrath.
So as we talked about last week in Romans 1,
that people see God's glory in creation,
they see his righteousness,
but they suppress the truth,
and they exchange his glory for creation.
In Romans 2, we discuss that all people
have the law of God in their hearts,
and their conscience bear witness against them.
The law of God in Romans 2
is the law that forbids stealing,
idolatry, idolatry,
and the misuse of the Lord's name.
And it's referred to as the law of the letter
that was written on stone.
In Romans 7, verse 6 tells us
that the law came in the old way of written code.
And then verse 7 goes on to say,
we would not have known what it is to covet
if the law had not said,
you shall not covet.
So at this point,
Paul's talking about this law in Romans 7
that forbids stealing,
adultery, idolatry, blasphemy,
and covetousness.
The law was written on stone
and is referred to as the law of the letter.
I believe that from all these things,
Paul has in mind the Ten Commandments,
which God wrote on stone.
This moral law has been revealed
in the hearts of all men in creation
and was put in writing on Mount Sinai.
This is the law of creation
that is made explicit in the Mosaic law.
So with that said,
John Calvin has proposed
three uses of the moral law
that I think we will find very instructive today.
He says,
use number one is the civil use.
This is the use of the law
that restrains evil
and promotes righteousness.
It restrains the wicked inclinations
of the heart from manifesting itself.
And we see this law being applied
in how we tell people right or wrong,
but we ultimately see it
in how we create and preserve a society.
There is always some sense of civil use
throughout society
that upholds and sustains a society.
Number two is the pedagogical
or the evangelical use of the law.
This law functions like a mirror.
It's supposed to expose to us
our sin or reveal our unrighteousness.
It shows our complete inability
to be righteous
so that we would see our need for a savior,
see our need for someone who was righteous.
And the third use
is what Calvin called the normative use.
This use of the law
reveals God's will
and frames the law
as a rule of life.
It's the way that believers
express their love to God
and delight in him.
So the three uses of the law
are the civil use,
the evangelical use,
and the normative use.
So in verse one,
Paul is applying the evangelical use.
We see that the law is binding.
It has an authority,
authority.
But this isn't just authority.
This word is used in this context
to mean a rule,
a mastery.
BDAG,
which is the Greek lexicon,
supports that this is a rule over,
that it has authority
that's not just,
it tells us what is right and wrong,
but it is binding,
it's domineering over us.
And Paul here describes us
being married to the law.
All men are obligated
to the law's demands,
and if they break
the demands of the law,
it's penalties.
The ten commandments
bind all in Adam.
In this marriage,
we are under a taskmaster.
The law reveals
the ways in which
we cannot keep the commandments.
And in doing so,
according to verse five,
the law arouses sin in us.
It exposes sin in our hearts.
The law shows us
our utter inability to keep it.
So James 2.10 says,
whoever keeps the whole law
but fails one point
is guilty of it all.
To be bound under the law
is to be bound
under the rigor
of its obedience
that it requires from us.
The law lays this heavy yoke upon us
and gives us the least help
or necessary strength
to fulfill it.
It doesn't offer life or salvation,
but offers a requirement.
The law has an impossible demand
of exact obedience.
As James 2 says,
if we fail in one point,
we've broken it all.
Samuel Bolton says,
the law looks for exact obedience
in every jot and tittle.
The demands of the law
are unbearable
and they leave the subjects
beat down and condemned.
The law's requirements
are too great for any.
This is why Paul says,
no one is justified
before God
by the law in Galatians.
So we see that
the demand of the law
is great.
The consequences
for breaking the law
are severe.
In Galatians 2.10,
all who rely on the works
of the law
are under a curse.
For it's written,
cursed be everyone
who does not abide
by all things written
in the book of the law
and do them.
The severe consequences
of those who rely on the law,
that means those who rely
on their own works,
those who rely on their own will,
or those who rely
on their innate goodness,
is death.
We see this in 6.23,
the verse right before verse 1.
For the wages of sin
is death,
but the gift of God
is eternal life
through Christ Jesus.
So in Adam,
we were under
this rule of law.
It had authority
and rule over us
and sin had dominion in us.
The demands of this master
were great,
the consequences severe.
It was an impossible yoke
and an eternal punishment
for breaking it.
This is why
when we sing the hymn
Rock of Ages,
we say,
Not the labors of my hand
can fulfill
thy law's demands.
Could my zeal
no respite know?
Could my tears
forever flow?
All for sin
could not atone.
Thou must save
and thou alone.
This is where we see
the evangelical
use of the law.
This is where we see
the law shows
our complete inability
to keep it.
That we need someone
greater than us
who can fulfill
all demands.
It can fulfill
every jot and tittle
of its requirements.
But not only that,
we don't only need
someone to meet
the demands,
we need someone
to also bear the penalties
because we've all
broken the law.
So the evangelical
use of the law
takes the law
and shows us
that we need the gospel.
Samuel Bolton says
the law is subservient
to the gospel.
It's under the gospel.
It serves it.
Its purpose is to convince
and to humble us.
And the gospel
is to enable us
to fulfill the obedience
of the law.
The law sends us
to the gospel
for justification.
It doesn't justify,
but it sends us
to the gospel.
And the gospel
sends us to the law
to frame our way
of life.
And we see this exact thing
in Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan.
In Pilgrim's Progress,
the main character
named Christian
is making a journey.
And along his journey
through the Christian life,
he meets a man
named Faithful.
And Faithful and Christian
now are journeying together.
They're sharing
how they came to salvation.
They're sharing
their experiences
as being a believer.
And Pilgrim asks Faithful
about how he came to Christ,
but then his experiences
from it.
Faithful retells
that he comes
to the hill of difficulty.
And as he comes
to the hill,
he meets someone
named Adam the First.
And Adam the First
tries to appeal
to Faithful
with all the world's pleasures.
I'll give you
the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life.
And you can come
and enjoy my estate
is what Adam the First says.
But Faithful
has this thought
that he needs
to put off the old man
and turns away
from Adam the First
and starts climbing
the mountain.
And as he's climbing,
Adam the First yells,
I'm going to send
someone after you.
So Faithful
tells his story
from there.
He says,
so as soon as the man,
or as he's going
up the hill,
in the next scene,
he sees someone
coming after him.
And he says,
so as soon as the man
overtook me
without saying a word,
he struck me
and knocked me down
unconscious.
When I came to,
I asked him
why he had thus
assaulted me.
And he said that
it was because
of my secret inclination
to follow Adam the First.
And with that,
he struck me
with another deadly blow
on the chest
and beat me down
backwards.
And I laid at his feet
as if I were dead.
So when I came to,
I cried to him
for mercy.
I said,
I do not,
he said to me,
I do not know
how to show mercy.
And he knocked me
down again.
And he would have
beaten me to death
except one who came
and told him to stop.
So Christian then
asked Faithful,
who came
and told him to stop?
And Faithful says,
I did not recognize
him at first,
but as he went by,
I saw the wounds
in his hands
and in his side.
Then I concluded
that it was our Lord.
Christian then explained
the incident to Faithful.
The man who overtook
he was Moses.
He spares no one
and does not know
how to show mercy
to anyone
who transgresses
his law.
So here,
Bunyan is picturing
the law
as one who came
and beat him down.
And the law
pointed that he had
no ability
to fulfill it,
no ability to do
the demands of the law.
But then came someone
with wounds in his hand
and wounds in his side
who stopped the beating
and this was his Lord.
The point he's making
is that the law
should point us
to our need for a Savior.
We need the law
to point us
to our need for a Savior
because we cannot be justified
by the law.
So the law
had great rule over us
with its demands
and its severe consequences.
Christ has set us free
from the law's demands
and consequences
by his work
of redemption.
So point number two,
Christ has set us free.
The law of Romans 7
is binding on all
and the only way
to be freed from this law
is death.
According to verses 2-3,
the married spouse
is bound to her husband
by the law of marriage.
This union is for life
for as the text says,
as long as one lives.
The married woman
would only be free
to marry another
by law
if her husband died.
Paul uses this picture
to portray the freedom
that we have
through our union
with Jesus Christ.
Because we've been
united to Christ,
we have died to the law
through his body,
according to verse 4.
Verse 6 explains
that we've been released
from the law,
having died to that
which held us captive.
How can this be?
How can our union
with Christ
provide us freedom?
It is because
Jesus was our federal head.
He was our perfect representative.
The covenant of works
that God made of Adam,
Adam broke.
The covenant of redemption
that God made of Christ,
Christ kept.
When we are united to Christ,
we are represented
in his life,
his death,
and his resurrection.
In his death,
we died with him.
It says we were crucified
with Christ,
and in doing so,
we died to the law.
And in his life,
we were raised with him
and are justified.
His life and resurrection
provide us justification.
That means true freedom
comes from the works
of Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
you are free indeed.
John 8.36 says,
So if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed.
Galatians 5.1,
For freedom Christ
has set you free.
2 Corinthians 3.17,
Now the Lord is spirit,
and where the spirit
of the Lord is,
there is freedom.
In Christ is where we experience
true and lasting freedom.
There is freedom,
and you are free indeed
through our Savior.
And this is an essential part
of your gospel,
of the gospel that we believe.
John Calvin says,
Liberty is a necessary
attendant to the doctrine
of justification.
John Owen calls
Christian freedom
the second principle
of the Reformation.
Our gospel is a freeing gospel
that has fulfilled the law
and broke the bonds
in sin and death
that we were under.
We see this in the work
Jesus has done for us.
The heavy demands
of the law
and the severe consequences
that we deserve
were credited to Christ,
were counted on him.
He fulfilled the demands,
and he took the consequences
for us.
Jesus was placed
under every rigorous demand
of the law
and obeyed it
in every way.
Jesus obeyed the law,
every dot
and every tittle.
Jesus perfectly offered
obedience to God,
fulfilling the law.
That's why Romans 8 says
that the righteous requirement
of the law
might be fulfilled in us.
While blameless,
Jesus,
in fulfilling his covenant
and being the better
representative for us,
he also became a curse
and he took
all the severe consequences
that you deserve.
Every breaking of the law,
every sin
that you have committed,
Jesus took for you
and he died once and for all.
Galatians 3.13 says,
Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us.
For it is written,
curse it to everyone
who is hanged on a tree.
Because Jesus fulfilled
the covenant of redemption,
we are free.
We are free from the dominion
of sin.
The sin that you once served,
that once held you captive
and that you labored for,
you've been set free from.
We are free from Satan
and the tyranny of Satan
and his dominion.
Colossians 1.13
We are free from the demands
of the law
and the exact obedience
that it renders,
that it asked for.
And we are free
from the curse of the law.
All your penalties
were taken by Jesus.
The Reformation song,
which we will sing
after the sermon,
says,
In Christ alone,
we're justified.
His righteousness
is our plea.
Your law's demands
are satisfied.
His perfect work
has set us free.
Brothers and sisters,
do you see this amazing love
that Christ has for us?
There is no labor.
There is no work.
There is no decision
that you can offer to God
for his approval.
You are not under
a magnifying glass.
There is no perfect
and foreboding standard
that makes you lie worthless,
that makes you feel inadequate,
because Christ has done it all.
God looks at Christ's works
and finds great approval for you.
Therefore,
you don't have to work.
His work has provided you
a sweet and amiable relationship
with the Father.
You are valued
on Christ's merits
and now have access
to the Father,
now have communion
with him.
Brothers and sisters,
there is nothing
this world can offer you
for your godliness.
The self-help mantra
that says,
you are enough,
be the better you,
be your true self,
is not to be trusted.
You are not enough,
but that's okay
because Christ is.
He was enough
and is enough
and he has purchased
all for you.
All the spiritual blessings
and the sweetness
of his communion
are given to you
in Christ,
to those who repentably,
to those who the Spirit
has made new.
And we see in Romans 7-4
that Christ has set us free
that we may bear fruit
for God.
We have been set free
from the law's rule
and sin's dominion
so that we may live
for another,
that our lives now
may be lived
to our faithful Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Verse 4 says,
we belong to another.
We are now united
to Christ.
We have died to the law
and we now live
for another.
But the implications
of this are so wonderful.
As we go in Romans,
you'll continue to see
these implications.
Romans 5 is a book
of saying implications
for being united to Christ.
But get this,
those who are in Christ
are now bound to Christ
for life.
And nothing can separate
them from His love.
See, chapter 6,
we are now united to Him.
In chapter 8,
at the end of it,
nothing can separate us
from Him.
You are secure in Christ
and you are in His love.
And there isn't any sin,
any principality,
there is nothing on this world
or in heaven
that can separate you
from Christ.
You are free indeed,
brothers and sisters,
and you are free
to worship Him
and to live for Him.
So point one,
we had been under
the rule of the law.
Point two,
Christ has set us free
from the law.
Now point number three
is we live by the Spirit.
Verse six says,
we have been released
from the law
so we serve in the way
of the Spirit
and not in the way
of the written code.
The new way of the Spirit
is what we call
the covenant of grace.
This is the new covenant
promised in Ezekiel 36
and Jeremiah 31.
Will you turn to
Ezekiel 36 with me?
In Ezekiel 36,
this is the new covenant promise
that is to come
for the Old Testament believers
that is fulfilled in Christ.
When Christ at the Lord's Supper
said,
this is my blood,
the new covenant for you.
He is enacting,
He is initiating
the new covenant
now being applied
to believers.
Verses 25 through 28 say,
I will sprinkle
clean water on you
and you shall be clean
from all your uncleansliness
and from all your idols
I will cleanse you
and I will give you
a new heart
and a new spirit
I will put within you
and I will remove
the heart of stone
from your flesh
and give you
a heart of flesh.
I will put my spirit
within you
and cause you to walk
in my statutes
and be careful
to obey my rules.
You shall dwell
in the land
I gave to your fathers
and you shall be
my people
and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36 promises
a work in which
God has already done
for those who are in Christ.
This is the work
to cleanse us.
This is the radical work
of heart surgery.
We are all born in Adam
with a heart
that is hard to God,
that hates God,
that does not want
to love and serve Him.
And this promise here
says that God will
remove this heart of stone,
remove this hard heart
and put a heart of flesh,
a heart that desires
to love God,
desires to follow Him.
We see it right here,
it says that
they will desire
to do God's law,
that they'll walk
in my statutes.
Now will you turn
to Jeremiah 31 with me?
This is another promise
of the new covenant.
Verses 31 through 34 say,
Behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will make
a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah,
not like the covenant
that I made
with their fathers
on the day
when I took them
by the hand
to bring them
out of the land of Egypt.
My covenant they broke
though I was their husband,
declares the Lord.
For this is the covenant
that I will make
with the house of Israel
after those days,
declares the Lord.
I will put my law
within them
and I will write it
on their hearts
and I will be their God
and they shall be my people.
And no longer
shall each one teach
his neighbor
and each brother
and each his brother
saying,
Know the Lord
for they shall all know me
from the least
to the greatest,
declares the Lord.
For I will forgive
their iniquity
and I will remember
their sin no more.
So Jeremiah 31
is building on this promise
of giving the spirit
and in this promise
he says that he's going
to put his law
within their heart
and he's going to write it
on their heart.
It calls back to Ezekiel
or calls forward to Ezekiel
where it says
that he'll cause them
to walk in his statutes.
What we see
in Ezekiel 36
and Jeremiah 31
is the promised new covenant
and it's the new way
of the spirit.
The way in which
we now have the spirit
that caused us
to love God
but also to obey his law,
to please him,
to express love to him.
Before in Adam
we had a heart of stone
that hated God
and loved sin.
The law had bound us
and we were in captivity.
Sin reigned over us
and we served it
as an instrument
of unrighteousness.
God has done
an amazing work.
His spirit has done
the work of regeneration
and given us new hearts.
By the work of the spirit
we partake in the covenant
of grace.
We've been united
to Christ
and in the new way
of the spirit
the law is within us
and written on our hearts.
So to remind you
of Samuel Bolton's quote,
the law sends us
to the gospel
for justification.
The gospel sends us
to the law
to frame our way of life.
The law is now
within us.
In Christ
we serve
by the new way
of the spirit.
And we can say
with Paul
as in Romans chapter 7
I delight in the law
of God
in my inner being.
And at the end
of chapter 7
he says
I serve the law
with God.
I serve the law
of God in my mind
but my flesh
serves sin.
The law
is no longer
a hammer for us
but a staff
that guides us.
As those in Christ
walking in the statutes
of the moral law
is the expression
of love to God
and to delight in him.
That's why
when it says
that we should love
our God
and love our neighbor
as ourself
that's the summary
of all the law
and the prophets
because the first
four commandments
is to love God
and the first six commandments
is to love
our neighbor
as ourself.
So the commandments
should be something
that we see
as a delight now.
I want to worship God.
I want to bear
his name well.
I want to give time
to worship him well.
And then
I want to serve
my brothers and sisters well.
I want to do
the one anotherings well.
I care for your soul
so I want to make sure
that there's no lust
in my heart.
I want to make sure
that I don't consider
stealing
or being covetousness.
I want to love you
as my own soul.
This is the life
in the spirit.
The life that we say
Father I love you
because I keep
your commandments.
Our religion
is not law based
works based righteousness.
It is heart based.
This is what
Calvin would call
the third use
of the law.
What Calvin calls
the normative use
of the law.
It is the way
believers normally
use the law
for life and godliness.
This is how believers
relate to the law.
Compared to the unbeliever
who relate to it
in a civil
and evangelical way
the believers now
relate it in a normative
way.
If you turn to the
back of your bulletin
there's a quote
by Richard Sibbes
and it says
when we come
to be religious
we lose
not our pleasure
we don't lose
our pleasure
but we translate it
before we fed
on common notions
now we live
on holy truths.
Do you see the change?
Before we lived
on the things
of the world
common notions
are sin
but now we live
on holy truths
and they are
pleasurable
they are delightful
they are great
to live by.
The 1689
London Baptist
Confession
is very informative
here.
In chapter 19
paragraph 7
it says
these uses
of the law
are not contrary
talking about
the civil
evangelical
and the normative
use.
They are not
contrary to one
another
they don't
oppose each other
these uses
of the law
are not contrary
to the grace
of the gospel
but are in
sweet harmony
with it
for the spirit
of Christ
subdues
and enables
the human will
to freely
and cheerfully
do what
the will of God
requires
in the scriptures.
The gospel
doesn't do away
with the moral law
but actually
strengthens it.
There is a sweet
harmony between
the law
and the gospel
but the law
is subservient
it serves
the gospel.
Through the gospel
and the work
of the spirit
believers
can freely
and cheerfully
do the ten commandments
we have them
as a joy
for us
but this
harmony
of law
and gospel
is essential
to the Christian
life.
As Christians
the light
of Christ
should shine
in every domain
of our lives.
It should affect
all of us
every aspect
of us.
So just two
places of application
for today
and then we
will be concluding.
Number one
our friendships
and our marriages
how does
law and gospel
harmony
law and gospel
distinction
affect our
friendships
and marriages?
In our
friendships
and or our
marriages
while we
greatly enjoy
both of those
relationships
the aim
is to please
and glorify
God.
That's what
they're designed
for.
He's given
these relationships
to us
as a gift
and in these
relationships
the law
and the gospel
are significantly
important.
If we live
these relationships
based on
perfect obedience
or extreme
expectation
we will be
left discouraged
and angry.
We must be
careful not to
build our
relationships
just based
on law
and to be
those who
bear our
friends with
the law
and our
marriages
with the
law
to enact
perfect obedience
from our
spouse
or to enact
perfect obedience
from our
friends.
Gospel living
is always
accompanied
with the
gospel.
We need
to hold
our friends
and spouse
to the
law of
God
as a
frame of
life
and when
they fail
we bring
it to their
attention
gently
and as
we bring
it to their
attention
we say
brother
sister
honey
whoever
you're
speaking
to
this
thing
you
said
or
this
thing
you
did
does
not
honor
the
Lord
the way
that it
should
and it
grieves me
that that
happened
and I
see my
own sin
too
but we
need to
be careful
and quickly
to ask
God
for help
so we
can repent
and enjoy
the life
in the
spirit.
It is a
beautiful
thing to
live by
law and
gospel
because the
law is
now a way
of life
that we
instruct and
love each
other by
and then it
provides gospel
interactions.
Your friendships
and your
marriages can
now be
built on
the gospel
because you
are faithful
to the
laws of
frame of
life
the normative
use.
So some
brief verses
faithful are the
wounds of a
friend
profuse are the
kisses of an
enemy.
See the
difference there
the comparison
faithful are the
wounds
profuse are the
kisses
proverbs 27
6
iron sharpens
iron and
one man
sharpens
another
proverbs
27
17
when we
are doing
this well
when we
are balancing
law and
gospel well
we can say
of our
friendships and
marriages
oil and
perfume make
the heart
glad and
the sweetness
of a friend
comes from
earnest
counsel
proverbs
27
9
so number
one
friendships and
marriages
number two
parenting
the same
goes for
parenting
it should
affect every
aspect of
our lives
and there is
so much
parenting advice
out there
we've all
heard so much
and honestly
we're probably
affected by so
much even
stuff we don't
agree with
subconsciously
from what we
hear
some of this
advice is
really great
some of it
we should
keep and
use
some of it
is not so
great
some of it
is stuff we
shouldn't be
using because
it doesn't
advocate gospel
living
good parenting
advice preserves
the harmony
between law
and gospel
as parents
we have
delegated
authority
given by
god to
exercise
godly
homes
we are
ambassadors
of the
gospel to
our
children
and there's
two ways
we typically
err or we
drift to
in our
parenting
number one
the use
of the
law
without
the
gospel
we give
our children
commands
and we
discipline
them without
bringing
them to
the
gospel
this type
of parenting
is law
based
parenting
and this
is binding
our children
under the
law
without giving
them any
hope in the
gospel of
jesus christ
number two
the use
of grace
without
the law
this type
of parenting
is when parents
give their
children a
command but
do not
discipline
them
the common
phrase tossed
!
around is I'm
giving them
grace
another way
this grace
based parenting
is applied
is that we
give commands
but we do
not require
first time
obedience
we do not
require them
to obey
us but we
let it
happen or
we excuse
their actions
both of
these areas
using the
law without
the gospel
and using
the gospel
without the
law do
not keep
the distinction
of law
and gospel
not keep
gospel living
primary
both areas
do not
preserve the
beauty of
law and
gospel
and Calvin's
use of the
law is very
helpful for us
here
the first
use is the
civil use
and if you
remember this
is the use
that restrains
evil but
tells us what
right and
wrong is
this is a
use that you
shouldn't want
to sin because
you don't like
the consequences
and this use
is used in
parenting we
tell our kids
do not do
this and if
you'll do
this this is
your consequence
and there's
expectations that
clear and right
and if they
break those
expectations we
discipline
them the
second use of
the law is
the evangelical
use in the
use of law
and discipline
we're aiming
our children
towards the
gospel all
parenting needs
to be needs
to have a
second use so
we can point
them to the
hope with
that said all
parenting needs
to have the
civil use so
we point our
children towards
the need for
the gospel if
we go into
one we veer
to more law
base if we
go to the
other we veer
more towards
cheap grace
we offer
grace without
the undergirding
of the law
but the
third use
the sweet
use is the
normative use
and this is
when your kid
professes faith
and in this
if your kid's a
believer we now
get to teach them
how to frame
their life around
the law
how do the
ten commandments
instruct us to
live to god
in a way that
is pleasing
in a way that
shows love
but in the
meantime i think
most of us
that are parenting
right now tend
to be under the
first and second
use we're
tending to
use the
civil use
to show
right and
wrong and
then we're
using the
second use
to point
them to
jesus we
disappoint and
we give
instruction and
all of this
should bring
point them
to jesus to
the grace that
jesus offers and
it should lead us
to pray much
because our
meager
our meager
abilities our
meager instruction
isn't going to
save our kids
they're not going
to be saved by
us but by
jesus christ and
the holy spirit
so we should
pray often in
parenting and
often in our
friendships because
it is the spirit
who works in
their hearts that
brings them to
salvation and it
is god who is a
great savior for
us so praise god
for this great
salvation he's
a pride he's
provided may he
equip us to live
out his gospel in
a way that is
worthy in christ
jesus so in
conclusion in
adam the law
has rule over
us it had great
demands and gave
severe consequences
jesus as our
federal head
fulfilled the
law's demands
and bore the
consequences by
becoming a curse
because of christ's
work we are free
we partake of the
covenant of grace
and all of its
benefits the spirit
gives us new hearts
and the law is now
within us while the
law exposes our
sins and sends us
to the gospel it
now while it did do
that it now frames
our life and we
serve christ by the
spirit so in christ
we are free from
the law so that we
can serve him by the
spirit pray with me
and we are free from
our sins and sins and
sins and sins and sins
and sins and sins and
sins and sins and sins and
sins and sins and sins and sins and
sins and sins and sins and sins and sins