Well, as David has already alluded to, this is not a typical stage for a normal Sunday morning.
!
Standing center in this stage is a ziggurat, which has been used in many different ways.
But this coming week, it's to help call attention or reminder to Genesis chapter 11 and the ziggurat
that stood there in Genesis chapter 11 where the people who were in existence at the time,
descendants of Noah, came to build.
Now, there are two things that stand as observations for me,
and maybe perhaps stand as an observation for you as well, when you see this behind me.
First is there was a time when all the nations were combined and collected together.
All descendants of Noah, there as one massive group speaking one language, part of one assembly,
having one purpose, and there they were in this plane building this ziggurat.
In one manner of speaking, they were fulfilling the command of God to be fruitful and multiply,
and certainly they were numerous.
Many, many people had come as one body collected to orchestrate this one purpose of building this monument to themselves.
And this coming week, kind of playing off of the one nation,
the incredible race that is one people all connected through not only Adam,
but connected together because of Noah and his sons.
Everyone represented in this room have a common ancestry in that we all go back to Noah.
And here, as a signpost of that, is this ziggurat behind me.
But it's also a remembrance or observation of the absolute rebellion of people.
Because although they had been faithful in fulfilling one mandate to be fruitful and multiply,
they had not been faithful to carry out the remaining mandate,
and that was, and fill the earth.
Instead, they decided to congregate together.
Their goal was not to celebrate the glory of God as much as it was to celebrate the glory of their own personal accomplishments.
As a matter of fact, we find in Genesis chapter 11, verse 4, it says,
Mankind was bent on self-sufficiency, building a monument.
Come and see.
Look what we've done.
Let's congregate together.
Let's have a reason for staying put.
So God, as God will do, helped to intervene and carry out his purposes
because man was bent on doing his own thing.
So God came and confused their language and, in a sense, also dispersed them across the face of the earth.
God did for men what man would not do for himself.
Well, that is exactly what we've been looking at in Romans chapter 8.
And if you are as encouraged as I am to understand the continuity of the scripture,
that the same that happens in Genesis is the same pattern that we see of a faithful God
who is the same yesterday, today, and forever,
and continues to do for man what man cannot do for himself.
We've been looking at Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 1.
It says,
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
For God did, and here it is,
For God did what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
By sending his Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,
he condemned sin in the flesh.
In order that, the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us
who walk not according to the law or according to the flesh,
but according to the Spirit.
You see, Jesus accomplished victory when man could not accomplish it for himself.
And since the beginning of time, mankind has been bent on sin.
And even though he provided a perfect and good standard,
a righteous standard in the law,
man, because of being weakened by his sinful flesh,
rather than rising to the occasion,
found himself consistently,
and to man, woman, and child,
every single individual who has ever walked the planet,
unable to measure up to the standard.
Because the law, instead of helping to encourage mankind to do what was right,
actually was a fuse to lead him to greater sin.
It was a fuse that led him to want the very things that were prohibited from him or her.
Or on the flip side, to do what the law required,
but then to rejoice in his own ability or her own ability
to perform the standard that God had set,
and thus to then turn it all around and make it about me,
instead of making it about representing and glorifying God.
So whether you were a law keeper or a law breaker,
you were a sinner.
Because, as we find in Isaiah,
all our righteousnesses were as filthy rags
before Jesus came to intervene.
Jesus came to do what the law could not do.
Not because the law was not good,
but because we were unable to do what the law required.
So as a matter of recap,
I want to just bring us back to some of those same points we discussed last week.
And then that will help as a segue to then get to our second point.
I want us to talk about the significance of righteousness.
The righteousness that comes, first of all, because of Jesus.
And that is our first point this morning.
We are righteous because of Jesus.
And if you haven't already, please turn with me to Romans chapter 8.
It's on the page...
...of Jesus.
And there were two things that Jesus did
in order to be the righteous fulfillment
of what all that God expected.
First, Jesus fulfilled the law.
Jesus fulfilled the law first through His humanity.
Fulfilled the law through His humanity.
He sent Jesus as the incarnate Word of God.
The Word of God made flesh for us.
Jesus was able to accomplish in His flesh
what no man, woman, or child was ever able to accomplish.
But He must do that as a man,
as weakened by sinful flesh.
We find from Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15,
that He was tempted in all points,
just as we are, yet without sin.
If you're here this morning and you are saying,
there is no way that anyone can really understand
what I'm going through.
No one can really appreciate the struggle that I'm facing.
No one can really understand the burdens that I carry.
And we find from this verse that Jesus can.
He is the great high priest who can sympathize with your weaknesses.
Because He was tempted in every way,
just like you are, yet without sin.
There is nothing that you can experience in life,
no pressure, no injustice,
no burden, no crisis,
no conflict, no accusation,
that you can endure or experience,
that Jesus has not experienced Himself.
And in His experience,
He shows you and points you to the better way.
Jesus was able to fulfill the law
by being the sum total of all that the law expected.
And He did that in His flesh.
He did that in His humanity.
But He also did that through His holiness.
Fulfilled the law in His humanity.
He fulfilled the law in His holiness.
Because of His perfection,
Jesus fulfilled all the righteous demands of the law.
Not only fulfilling the demands of the law
in an external and outward way,
but fulfilling the demands of the law internally.
His motivations, His purposes, His attitudes.
I'm sure you've heard the story of that little boy
who is told by his mother at the breakfast table
to sit down.
And she continued to say,
Well, son, sit down.
And He demanded to stand up.
And finally, He sat down,
and she thanked Him for His obedience.
And He said to her,
this little five-year-old,
Well, I might be sitting down on the outside,
but I am standing up on the inside.
Jesus had perfect alignment,
not only with His external attitudes,
and actions,
but His internal motivation,
His internal purposes,
His internal heart.
He measured up to all that the law demanded.
As we find in the Sermon on the Mount,
where Jesus says,
Well, you have heard it said,
but I say to you,
and raises the bar to the next level.
You have said that you should not commit adultery,
but I say to you,
if you even look at a woman to lust after her,
you have committed adultery in your heart.
I say to you,
you should not murder.
Or the Bible says you should not murder.
But I say to you,
if you hate your brother,
you have committed murder in your heart.
Jesus,
in His life and actions,
but also in His internal motivation,
demonstrated consistency
in meeting and measuring up
to all that the law demanded.
Of course, the religious Jews
were very good at meeting external expectations.
They were very good at the piety
that was required of those
who were in their position.
But Jesus identified
the true corruption of their hearts
when He says in Luke 11, 39,
Now you Pharisees,
you make the outside.
...to go and anoint a new king.
King Saul had messed things up in Israel
and God was searching for a new king.
And Samuel goes to the family of Jesse
and he begins to look at each of the sons
and each one that he goes to,
it is clear that they are
head and shoulders above the rest
and they're handsome and they're strong,
but they're not the ones that God selected.
The criteria that was important to God
was as what we find in 1 Samuel 16, 7.
Man looks on the outward appearance,
but God looks at the heart.
Jesus honored the law to the letter
both internally and externally
and as a result of fulfilling the law,
Jesus positions Himself
to condemn sin in the flesh.
...
And we looked at this
a bit last week.
He condemns sin in His ministry
as He heals individuals
and says,
Go and sin no more.
The mandate that He gave to them
was to live in the purity of life
that the law demanded.
Of course, they could not do that
because of the corruption of the flesh,
but that was still the overriding command
that God had given to His people.
He condemned sin in the flesh
by calling people to righteousness,
but He also condemned sin in the flesh
through His ministry
by reversing the effects
that sin had on sin-ravaged bodies.
Lazarus, who had died,
Jairus' daughter who had died,
and Jesus raised to show
that He had power over the grave,
power over sin and death.
Jesus, in healing those
who had blindness
or lameness or leprosy,
able to demonstrate
that He alone
had the ability
to reverse the effects of sin
and that to stand
as an illustration
of what He would do
not on a temporary basis
but on an eternal basis,
a picture in a physical way
of what He had hoped to do
for them spiritually
through His death.
Through His ministry,
He condemned sin
by reversing the effects of sin,
but finally and fully
satisfying the righteous demands
of God for sin
by dying for sinners.
He condemned sin in the flesh.
Jesus agreed with the Father
that sin was worthy
of eternal judgment.
1 Peter 3.18 says,
For Christ also suffered
once for sins,
the righteous for the unrighteous,
that He might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh
but made alive in the Spirit.
Romans 5.6-9 says this,
For while we were still weak,
at the right time Christ died
for the ungodly.
Since therefore we have now
been justified by His blood,
much more shall we be saved
by Him from the wrath of God.
It is because of the work
of Jesus' death
that Paul concludes
there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
It is because of the final
and full work of Christ
on Calvary
to purchase for us redemption.
Well, what does this righteousness mean for us?
There are so many things
that we could say.
First, this righteousness means
our salvation is secure.
If you are in Christ today,
the righteousness of Christ
rests on you
and your salvation is secure
because there is nothing more
that is required.
The debt has been fully paid.
So there is nothing that you need to do
to work your way to God.
There is nothing else that is demanded
because Jesus paid it all.
All to Him I owe.
And if you are in Christ,
all to Him you owe as well
because Jesus paid it all.
And if He is the full
and complete righteousness
that is demanded by God,
there is nothing left to do
so your salvation in Christ
is secure.
It should provide for you
not only peace of mind
but also motivation for worship,
urgency in the Christian life,
cause for devotion
because Jesus provided a way
that is secure.
It also means that righteousness
is obtained through faith
and not through law keeping.
And that's important.
Righteousness is obtained
through faith
and not through law keeping.
We touched on this
a couple of weeks ago
when we were looking through
no condemnation
and we saw in Romans chapter 4,
we saw that Abraham was righteous
because of faith.
Faith was counted to him
as righteousness,
not the things that he had done
in terms of circumcision
or an offering Isaac
as he was commanded to do.
It wasn't his works
that merited any kind of favor
in God's eyes.
It was faith alone
that stood as the standing precedent
for us,
for those who seek to be blessed
like Abraham
and being called children of God.
We can be children of God
in Christ through faith.
And righteousness is obtained
through faith
and not through your law keeping.
You cannot add
and you cannot subtract
to perfection.
There is nothing more to be done
that Christ has not already accomplished.
It is his righteousness,
not yours,
that stands in God the Father's eyes
as being acceptable and pleasing.
It is credited to your account
but is unaffected by anything
that you could do.
It rests on him
fulfilling the law's demands.
It rests on his sacrifice,
paying the full price
of sin's penalty,
obtaining for us
what we could never pay.
Hallelujah.
Jesus' sacrifice
was not about temporary benefits,
though,
of just removing sin's effects.
And that's where we begin
to move next.
It was not just about
declaring you righteous.
It was about making you righteous
through the power
of the Holy Spirit.
And that's where we go next.
Not only the righteousness of Jesus,
but now we are righteous
because of the Spirit.
Righteous because of the Spirit.
Notice, picking up in verse 4,
in order that the righteous requirements
of the law
might be fulfilled in us
who walk not according to the flesh
but according to the Spirit.
God is after complete transformation.
God is interested in the gospel
having power to save you
from everything that is corrupt
in this world.
We're going to see that more
in verses 5 to verse 11.
Verses 5 to 8 speak
of the transformation of God
in transforming our mind.
In verses 9 to 11
speak of God
transforming our bodies.
Mind and body
all align to the purposes of God
transformed by the Holy Spirit
in helping us
to be a sanctified people.
But tucked between verse 3
and verse 5
is verse 4.
And you say,
oh, you're a rocket scientist.
You must be really smart.
Good job there, Andrew.
What's difficult about verse 4
is the way it starts.
It says,
in order that
the righteous requirement
of the law
might be fulfilled in us.
Well,
whose righteousness is that?
Is that Christ's righteousness
applied to our account?
Or is that the Spirit's righteousness
working itself out
through a transformed life?
Well, I want to make a case
for the fact that
it is personal righteousness.
It is Spirit-transformed righteousness.
And I want to give you
three reasons, I think,
why that is the case.
Now, I want to be really careful
because theologians
that are much smarter than me
differ on this point.
But I think there's a really good case
for seeing it as personal righteousness.
It really boils down to two words.
The first word is the word fulfilled,
which is completed.
And as we would evaluate the text,
we would begin this thing to ourselves,
now, time out.
The only one who has fulfilled
or completed
or met the perfect standard of righteousness
is Jesus himself.
Obviously,
this is infused righteousness
of Christ on us.
righteousness.
The difficulty with that is
that it also uses
the words in us,
which would indicate
it is not for us.
It is actually righteousness
that's being worked out
from within.
It's personal.
I want you to notice,
first of all,
verses 1 and 2
and then verses 3 and 4.
I want you to notice,
first of all,
the parallel nature
of these verses.
Notice the similar words
that are used.
In verse 1,
notice,
no condemnation.
In verse 3,
notice,
he condemned sin in the flesh.
Obviously,
verse 1 and verse 3
are synonymous.
Speaking and describing
the same thing.
Notice in verse 2
that the law of the spirit of life
has set you free.
And notice in verse 4,
who walk according
to the spirit.
The parallel nature.
It seems to indicate
that what is ever happening
in verse 2
is also happening
in verse 4.
Notice reason number 2.
Notice the cause
and effect relationship
that is reinforced
in 1 and 2
and also repeated then
in verse 3 and 4.
As we spoke
in previous weeks,
we saw that the reason
for no condemnation,
the cause
for no condemnation
is met by the evidence,
the result that we see
in verse 2,
that the law
of the spirit of life
is the one
who is working out
sanctification,
a renewed life
that is happening in us.
Justification
precedes sanctification
in verses 1 and 2.
Notice a similar thing
that is going on
in verses 3 and 4.
The cause and effect
relationship.
We see in verse 3
that the cause
for what happened
is God sent his son
in the likeness
of sinful flesh
and for sin
he condemned
sin in the flesh.
That is the reason
for what we find now
in verse 4.
the cause
or the result
is in order
that
that we might,
the righteous requirement
might be fulfilled
in us.
The final reason,
reason number 3,
is notice
the inseparable link
between the phrases.
Verse 1 begins
with therefore.
Verse 2 begins
with for.
Verse 3 begins
with for.
Verse 4 begins
with in order that.
Notice the prepositions
and the purpose clauses
that are used throughout
but then
now in the middle
of verse 4
there is no transitional word
which means
that it is connected
to the first phrase.
Who walk
not according
to the flesh
but according
to the spirit
then describes
what's happening
at the beginning
of verse 4.
Now you might be saying
Andrew,
you are so technical.
what is the point
of all of this?
The point of all of this
is to help you
see that you can
do this for yourself.
Okay?
As you begin
to take notice
of what is happening
in the text
you can begin
to pray
that God helps you
lead you by the spirit
to arrive
at certain conclusions
and I believe
the right conclusion
the best
the best conclusion
that we can draw
from verse 4
is that verse 4
is actually talking
about personal righteousness
that the Holy Spirit
intends to give to us
because he wants
not only to declare
us righteous
he wants
to make you
righteous.
God is not
interested
in so much
the positional
righteousness
although that is
important obviously.
He is not interested
in distant righteousness
that is somebody
else's righteousness
although that is
important
to lead us
to the next step.
God is interested
in practical
real
tangible
true
sincere
righteousness
that you have
because of the work
of the gospel
in your life.
Because God
is living in you
just like
the spirit
was living
in Jesus.
the same
resources
that were
given to Christ
to live
the righteous
life
are given
to you
so you would
expect
the same
results.
And certainly
that is what we see.
We see
this cause
and effect
that God
has stated
and declared
righteousness
for his people
so they have
right and perfect
standing
before God
but he is also
in doing that
given his Holy Spirit
to work
real
and practical
and true
righteousness
out in you
so that when people
see you
they don't see you
they see God
so that God
gets the glory.
That's the point.
And up until this point
no man
woman or child
has ever been able
to work righteousness
on their own
because all their
righteousnesses
were as filthy rags
but now
because of Christ
and because of justification
and now the work
of the Spirit
in our life
we can actually
work out
some righteousness
in our life.
We have a choice
to make
as we find
in Romans chapter 6.
We are not
slaves to sin anymore
we are slaves
to God.
Our members
belong to him
and as we saw
in verse 2
the law
of the Spirit
of life
has set you free
from the law
of sin and death.
the power
of the Spirit
is working
to overcome
all of the sin
and corruption
of your life
to help lead you
to real
and true righteousness
so that when people
see you
they see
the gospel
and when they hear you
there is consistency
between what you say
and what they see.
There is evidence
just like with Jesus
in performing miracles
that they confirmed
the work of God
in his life
they confirmed
the message
of God
on him.
The same is true
for you and for me
when we talk about
the power of the gospel
we talk about
Jesus' ability
to save us
from sin
and then they see it
show up
in our relationships
they see it show up
in the way we treat
our spouses
they see it show up
in the way
we treat our children
they see it show up
in the way
that we work
they say
God must be
living in them
the gospel
must be true
and that is the point
of righteousness
being fulfilled
in you
and in me.
God desires
for us
not to be
enslaved by sin
but to be
given
and
enslaved
to righteousness
the spirit
working
and directing
and guiding
our lives
helping us be
the kinds of people
that God has created
us to be
no longer
tainted
no longer
polluted
no longer
self-oriented
but oriented
to
the glory
of our savior
it's not only
a personal righteousness
it is also
a progressive
righteousness
a progressive
righteousness
notice it says
that the second
part of verse 4
who walk
not according
to the flesh
but according
to the spirit
this word
walk
is
peripeteo
which is
a
present active
participle
and the
the benefit
of that
is it talks
about and speaks
of a life
that continues
it is
a life
that is not
static
but a life
that is
dynamic
it is moving
it is active
it is progressing
it's not satisfied
with how things
are today
it's not always
looking back
at what you
accomplished
for God
in the years
gone by
it's not
what Paul says
looking to the
things behind me
but looking forward
to the things
that Christ wants
to continue
to accomplish
not being satisfied
with what God
has already done
in your life
but looking for ways
for God
to make you
more
like him
and I love
this word
walk
because if it
was run
it would not
be a word
for me
walking
helps us
see the
consistency
of life
that God
is calling
us
to live
we see
this all
over Romans
and we don't
have time
to look at them
but I just
want to call
your attention
to a few
Romans chapter 6
verse 4
says this
we were buried
therefore with him
by baptism
into death
in order that
just as Christ
was raised
from the dead
by the glory
of the father
we too
might walk
in newness
of life
that's what
Jesus' death
and resurrection
accomplished
for you
not just a
declaration
of righteousness
but real
righteousness
through the
power
of the
Holy Spirit
we see it
in Romans
chapter 14
verse 15
we see it
in Romans
chapter 13
verses 13
and 14
okay I just
want to
just take notes
read them later
we don't have
time for them
this morning
Galatians
chapter 5
verse 16
says
but I say
walk
by the spirit
and you
will not
gratify
the desires
of the flesh
there is
a way
of life
that must
mark
every believer
not because
you muster
in yourself
some ability
to carry out
some supposed
righteousness
but because
there is a
yielding
of your
life
to the
power
of God
allowing
his power
his spirit
to work
through you
to create
in you
what you
cannot
create
for yourself
so much
to say
and the
greatest
fulfillment
of the
law
is love
the
culmination
of the
entire
Old Testament
and law
is encapsulated
in two
commands
love the
Lord your
God
with all
your heart
soul
and mind
love your
neighbor
as yourself
you cannot
do this
on your
own
we are
called
to a
standard
that totally
blows us
up
who has
ever imagined
that we
could love
our enemies
but that's
what Jesus
calls us
to
who could
ever imagine
that you
could love
your unjust
employer
but that's
what Jesus
calls us
to in
1 Peter
chapter 2
verses 18
through 23
who could
ever imagine
that you
could love
somebody who
is not like
you and
that's exactly
what God
calls us to
in James
chapter 2
love that
is impartial
love that
is not
prejudiced
and that
is so
in us
isn't it
but who
could ever
imagine
that we
could love
our brothers
especially
those
who offend
us
and hurt
us
and take
advantage
of us
but in
1 John
chapter 4
verses 19
and 21
it says
we love
because he
first loved
us
if anyone
says I
love God
and hates
his brother
he is a
liar
for he
who does
not love
his brother
whom he
has seen
cannot love
God
whom he
has not
seen
and this
commandment
we have
from him
whoever
loves God
must also
love his
brother
if you
don't love
your spouse
if you
don't love
your parents
if you
don't love
a brother
or sister
in this
room
John
calls
into
question
if you
really
love
God
at all
and if
you are
loved
by God
you will
demonstrate
the character
of one
who is
filled by
God
and the
fruit of
the spirit
is first
love
well what does
this righteousness
mean to us
that brings us
to our time
of communion
first
this righteousness
means for us
a reminder
of the
body
and blood
of Jesus
and the
costliness
of sin
it reminds us
of how
gruesome
and how
disgusting
sin is
to God
it caused
him to
bring his
son
and to
crucify him
on the cross
he was bruised
for our
iniquity
he was
crushed
for our
transgressions
he did
that
because
of the
costliness
of sin
I would like
to invite
the deacons
to come
forward
as I read
Hebrews
chapter 9
verses 15
to 22
this is
perhaps
another way
to look
at our
communion
passage
and as
they come
I'm going
to read
it says
this
verse 18
Hebrews 9
therefore
not even
the first
covenant
was inaugurated
without
blood
for when
every
commandment
of the
law
had been
declared
by Moses
to all
the people
he took
the blood
of the
calves
and goats
with water
and scarlet
wool
and hyssop
and sprinkled
both the
book itself
and the
people
saying
this is
the blood
of the
covenant
that God
has commanded
for you
that sound
familiar
and in the
same way
he sprinkled
with blood
both the
tent
and the
vessels
used in
worship
indeed
under the
law
almost
everything
is purified
with blood
and without
the shedding
of blood
there is no
forgiveness
of sins
but as it
is
he appeared
once and for
all
speaking of
Jesus
at the
end of the
age
to put
away
sin
by
the
sacrifice
of himself
Jesus
did it
through
his body
through
his blood
let me pray
miracle
Thank you.