Benefits of Faith in Jesus Christ

Transcript

GR 2213
07/07/2019
Benefits of Faith in Jesus Christ
Romans 3:21-26
Gil Rugh

We’re going to Romans chapter 3. We have moved through the first major section of the book of Romans where after the introductory remarks in the first 18 verses, a summary kind of remarks is given. The first major section began with chapter 1 verse 18 and ran through chapter 3 verse 20. Paul spent the greater part of these opening chapters as we have them laying the foundation. They weren’t chapters obviously when he wrote the letter. To understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, you must understand the issue of sin and guilt. You can’t just run by that. If there’s not an awareness of the issue of sin and guilt, what are you coming to Christ for, what are you trusting Him for? So that foundational matter.

Paul has concluded in chapter 3, verses 19 and 20, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law…” because the Jews became the hesitant group here, of not seeing themselves as sinners like other people. They have the Law and so on, we’ve talked about that, so they thought that they were safe. They’re God’s chosen, the nation. God gave them His Law and so on, they were the descendants of Abraham, but none of that would get them into a right relationship with God. We have shown that Gentiles, in chapter 1 basically, and Jews in chapter 2, have one basic similarity. They’re all sinners, and the purpose was “…so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God...” That’s God’s word. Now people can choose to believe it or not believe it. You can’t change it. The eternal God has given His eternal word. All the world is guilty and accountable to God, every mouth is shut, there’s nothing else to be said, and no matter what you say, it’s irrelevant. You are a sinner, I am a sinner, and there are no other kinds of people on the whole face of the earth. Verse 20, “…because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight…”

The reason that has to be said, is the Jews agreed all the world, meaning all the Gentile world, is guilty and accountable to God. But they didn’t see themselves in that position, so that’s why he said, with this final demonstration that the Jews were just as guilty, if not more guilty than the Gentiles, because additional revelation, additional light brings greater responsibility. All the Law could do was bring the knowledge of sin. Now the Jews could have more awareness. We’ll talk about this as particularly we move into chapter 7 and so on. Everyone’s been demonstrated to be a sinner, now what do we do about sin? Well, sinners need righteousness, but they can’t obtain righteousness by trying to keep the Law. This becomes an ongoing struggle through our New Testament. Paul is having to deal with Jews who professed to have become believers in Christ but trying to win the Gentiles over that believing in Christ is not enough, you have to keep the Law. So, we need to talk about the righteousness of God and the righteousness that we need from God.

That will begin in verse 21 of chapter 3 and that will go all the way through chapter 5, verse 21 of the righteousness of God provided for us in Jesus Christ. Verses 21 through 26 are really the heart of the book of Romans. Everything else will be a development of what he sets out here based upon our need, our condition as sinners. Here’s the provision of God’s righteousness in one of the most important theological sections in the Bible. It begins in verse 21, “But now apart from the Law…” so you can see we’re going to stress this because this Gentile church in Rome is being infiltrated by this Jewish teaching. It gets confusing because you have Jews with their background in the Old Testament and in the Law, and the Prophets seem to have an inside tract, and these Gentiles in Rome coming out of paganism. Now you have these Jews coming and saying we too are believers in Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection, but the keeping of the Law is a necessity. And you’re aware the Jerusalem Conference in Acts chapter 15 was held to deal with this. It’s an ongoing struggle. You understand verse 21 because, “…now apart from the Law….” The Law can do nothing to bring righteousness to an individual.

“…the righteousness of God has been manifested…” So, God has made known His righteousness. And I’ve mentioned this on other occasions, but a point and it has some theological significance. This is the expression. The expression “…the righteousness of Christ” is not used in the New Testament. It is “…the righteousness of God”. I mention that because there is some developing a theological point, and I’ve mentioned this to you before. They believe Christ earned righteousness for us by keeping the Law, so that He would have righteousness that He acquired by keeping the Law to pass on to us. But when the Bible talks about the righteousness that is credited to us, it’s the righteousness of God. Now I realize Christ is God, but in the expression used in the New Testament it is this expression, “…the righteousness of God has been manifested”. This is what we need, we need to become acceptable before a holy and righteous God, we need His righteousness credited to us. He has manifested that apart from the Law, so this promotion of trying to keep the Law to acquire righteousness or have a complete package to acquire righteousness. No! This comes “…apart from the Law the righteousness of God…”

Back in chapter 1 verse 16, “…I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek…” indicating there the Jews need it just as much as the Greeks. “For in it (note this) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” We’re picking up now, having established the sinfulness of man, how the righteousness of God is credited to us, to our account from God. “…the righteousness of God has been manifested…” It’s made known, it’s revealed, now we can know it and understand it. “…being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets…” So here we see this is not new in the sense that it had never before been made known, the Old Testament had revealed it, the Old Testament prophets had spoken of it.

You have to come back to chapter 1 again, verse 1, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures…” We’re just unfolding now with clarity what the Old Testament prophets anticipated, and they prophesied about. And we think of a passage like Isaiah 53 which prophesies with such clarity the suffering and death of the Messiah. So, it’s “…witnessed by the Law and the Prophets…” All the sacrifices in the Old Testament, they testified to the fact. What? We are sinners. When they put their hand on the head of that animal being sacrificed, they were saying this animal is taking my place, acting as my representative. But the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. Through the Old Testament system, the Law and the Prophets, there is the anticipation, the telling, making known sin, guilt, the need, and the coming provision of a Savior. I don’t know where I wrote this down from, but there were over 330 prophecies relating to Christ in the Old Testament, and there are books that list those out, all those passages and they’ll connect them to the New Testament. The Old Testament scriptures were filled with that revelation.

Come over to the book of Galatians. In Galatians chapter 3. Remember we’ve talked about that Galatians is somewhat of a brief outline of the book of Romans. It’s much briefer in six chapters but it covers much of the same material as the book of Romans. In Galatians chapter 3, verse 19, “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, (note this) until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.” So, the Law was given, and it revealed how sinful man is. It was intended to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah.

Come down to verse 24, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ…” until Christ would come. We have to be careful. You note those words “to lead us” are in italics. They’re not in the text, and some people think, well, you preach the Law. Reformed Theology often does that, you have to preach the Law before people can be saved. The Law reveals sin. All the scripture can be used, but the purpose of the Law was to serve as an authority for Israel. That one who was in charge of the young people, the children, till Christ would come, “…so that we might be justified by faith.” And we’ll talk more about justification by faith because that’s always been true. You’ll get into that in chapter 4 even in more detail showing in the Old Testament particularly with Abraham that was the case. The Law had a purpose, it was to prepare Israel for the coming of their Messiah, to help keep them on the track so they would be ready when the Messiah would come who would be the Savior. They took it as a way of salvation. Somewhere along the line they made an adjustment in their thinking. It never was intended as a way of salvation. No one was ever saved by keeping the Law and he shall show in chapter 4 that it always was the same way before the Law was given and he’ll use Abraham as the example.

Back in Romans chapter 3, verse 21, “…the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ…” So that repeated, “the righteousness of God”, this is what we need, the righteousness of God. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21, “He made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That’s what he is talking about here, the righteousness of God. How does that get credited to us? “…through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…” It’s the same way for everyone. He has stressed in verses 19 and 20 that everyone is a sinner and he’ll repeat that in a moment. Everyone needs the same Savior and it’s provided the same way, it’s “…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…”

You know the object of faith is foundational to everything. Everyone has faith. You hear this, people use it on television. They’ll be having a discussion and they’ll talk about, “I have my faith, my faith will get me through.” And we’ve talked about it. They talk about, “Well, we’re people of faith and people of faith need to join together in these days to oppose the secular, whatever.” But what does that mean? Faith doesn’t do anything to save you anymore than the Law did. Everyone has faith. The value of faith is dependent on what you believe and here it is, through faith in Jesus Christ. Now that involves who He is, what He has done. Who He is, and what He has done, we usually express it, the person and work of Jesus Christ, He is the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, He’s Son of Man, He’s the God Man, that’s His person. His work, He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, which is what He’s going to talk about. It is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who have faith.

The word believed is faith and believe, believe being the verb and faith being the noun, but they come from the same word. Listen to it, the word, the noun, is pistis, faith. It’s used even “through faith . . . for all those who believe…” and he’ll come down to verse 25, it’s “…through faith.” You’ll come down to verse 26 and at the end “…the one who has faith.” You may have these marked, at the end of verse 27, “…but by a law of faith.” Verse 28, “…a man is justified by faith…” and verse 30, He’ll “…justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith…Do we nullify the Law through faith?” And that will continue down through chapter 4. The verb is pisteuo, you see, so you have the same basic root here and you just have the ending for the verb. So, this is going to be repeated, these words faith, believe, or faith and having faith. Repeated use of faith, believe, stressing this is the way it is applied or credited to our account. “…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all of those who (have faith) believe.” This is a narrow way because this is the only way, faith in Jesus Christ. But it’s a broad provision, because it’s for all who will have faith.

It doesn’t matter, Jew, Gentile, whatever your particular situation. Why? “…for there is no distinction…” there is no difference. Why? “…for all have sinned…” so the provision God made is for all. He made a provision for all because all have sinned, and I don’t think you can limit the provision any more than you can limit the condition of those who need the righteousness of God. It’s for all who will believe, because “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Then that “…all have sinned…” that’s a summary of basically the first three chapters of Romans that we’ve looked at demonstrating everyone is a sinner. That’s what he said. That’s basic and one of the situations we deal with in our day is people don’t like to be considered a sinner. They never liked that, but some would admit it like the Jews. But they are a sinner in a different class because God has accepted them because of their uniqueness, and you have all kinds of religions, practices, and ideas.

People have a sense and awareness of what we’ve seen. People know they’re sinners. They suppress that knowledge, but the reality of it is there. And even in our country with the exploding of all kinds of practices that we would say are sinful, there are still things people continue that really, that is wrong. And if you called that sinful, they’d agree with you because that’s bad enough to be considered that. That to see themselves personally in that situation is the challenge, “…for all have sinned…” and here’s the standard, “…and fall short of the glory of God…” the majesty of the perfection of His Person, His righteousness. We have studied Ecclesiastes, there’s not a righteous man on earth who always does good and never sins. The reality of our condition. But God requires the perfection of His character, that’s why we need righteousness from Him. His righteousness applied to us because in our sin we fall short of His glory. He has made a way to provide His righteousness for us so that we can be cleansed.

Verse 24, “…being justified…” There’s one of our key words; justified means to be declared righteous. It’s a legal term, being justified. The word righteousness, and the word justified come from the same basic word, so to be justified is to be declared righteous. “…being justified as a gift by His grace…” You note, he begins to pile up terms here. A gift is something undeserved, unearned. Somebody gives you a gift you thank them. Well, why would you give me a gift? Well, I appreciate what you do, it’s your birthday, it’s your anniversary, it’s Father’s Day, it’s Mother’s… We give gifts, but you work for a paycheck. We are “justified as a gift by His grace” and it emphasizes the same thing, it’s something unearned, unmerited, undeserved. It is what grace is. Come over to chapter 11 of Romans, verse 6, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” You can’t mix grace and works, otherwise grace is no longer grace because grace by definition is something unearned, something undeserved. For those who would try to say, “Yes, but you must also do this, keep the Law, be circumcised, whatever.” Now wait a minute, then grace is no longer grace.

Come back to chapter 3, we’re “…being justified as a gift by His grace...” Now how is this carried out? You have to come to another key word “…through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…” So, what Christ did by dying on the cross in our place, we call it substitutionary atonement. We need to understand these basis truths. They are under attack from within evangelicalism today, there is a movement denying substitutionary atonement. They begin to twist the scriptures and come up with these anti-scriptural ideas. Redemption, the word means to set free by paying a price. If you went to the slave market and you paid the price to set a slave free, and here’s the redemption price, I’ll pay it. Now you say, “You’re free!” That’s what God did. He set us free from our slavery to sin, the bondage to sin, He paid the penalty. He that sins, is the slave of sin, Jesus said. “…the whole world lies in the power of the evil one,” 1 John chapter 5, verse 19 says. But we were redeemed from the power and penalty of our sin, that’s redemption. Christ paid the price.

Come back to Matthew chapter 20, verse 28, just to see another verse that many of you have memorized, it’s the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. How do we get it? We receive it as a gift, it’s bestowed on us by God’s grace. What’s our part? Faith, we believe what God has done for us in Christ. “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus paid the price to set us free, He paid the price for our sin, He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Back in Romans chapter 3, verse 24, we are “…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus...” You see, everything comes back to what Christ has done, it’s found in Him. Verse 22 said, “…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ…” I believe Christ was acting on my behalf, I believe that One who was God’s Son became a man, died in my place to pay the penalty for my sin.

It’s amazing how the grace of God works, how much of the theology of this is all clear in our mind. I can still remember when I was saved as a young person and the meeting it was in. How much of this did I understand? If you had said, “Young man, do you believe in the Theanthropic Union?” “I don’t know, who is he?” “Well, don’t you think you need redemption?” “I don’t know, where do I get it?” All I knew, there was a conviction of sin and that Jesus Christ is the Savior. That was clear, clear to this day. I need to be saved, I need Christ and what He has done so I can be forgiven by God. I want to be careful we don’t think, “Well, boy, people have to be able to explain the theological details of this. But we must come to understand it otherwise pretty soon we have faith in Jesus and every Protestant and every Catholic says, “Well, yeah, I believe in Jesus too,” and then we think, “Oh yeah, everybody’s good to go, we’re all in the same position.” That’s not the case!

I don’t want to go so far as to say, well I don’t know if I understood. If you had asked, do you need to be justified? I don’t know. Do you need redemption? These are the foundational terms explaining what is happening, and it’s important or God wouldn’t have had it laid out for us, so we understand. He provided redemption, so justification comes through faith in Jesus Christ because of the redemption provided by Christ. He took our place, paid the penalty, so we could be set free. Now he’s going to bring in another word. This “…redemption which is in Christ Jesus,” note verse 25, “…whom God displayed publicly….” Now these things have gone on in a way that we can know. In verse 21, “…the righteousness of God has been manifested…” Verse 25, “…whom God displayed publicly (Christ) as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”

Now here we are again to talk about propitiation. What is it? Well, it’s a word that involves turning the wrath of God away from us. We are under the wrath of God. Remember back in chapter 1, verse 18? “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” and that includes all of us because “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” All sinners are the object of His wrath, His anger. And people don’t like that, they like to talk about the love of God. It is great to talk about the love of God, but the demonstration of God’s love is that Christ Jesus died for us sinners. And so, God provided a way for the wrath directed toward us as sinners, deserving of condemnation. That’s propitiation, God sent Him as the propitiation in His blood. It took His death to pay the penalty for our sin, so that through faith in Him God’s wrath would be turned away from us.

Come over to 1 John chapter 2, almost all the way back to the book of Revelation, as you are aware. But 1 John chapter 2, verse 1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, (that One who is representing us) Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” Why? Because all have sinned. He provided a Savior for all. The sad thing is not all are taking advantage of the benefit. They have not responded in faith and thus have not received the gift. They don’t have to work to own it, they just have to receive it. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that whosoever believes in Him, and those who believe in Him are those who receive Him, they become His. John chapter 1 talks about that. As many as received Him to them He gave the authority to become children of God, that’s how it is applied, He’s our propitiation for our sins.

Come over to chapter 4, verse 10, still in 1 John. Chapter 4, verse 10, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us…” He took the initiative, “…and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” He was the One who would do what was necessary to turn God’s wrath away from us because the wages of sin is death. The full expression of the wrath of God that will culminate in an eternal hell, but Christ bore that. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and when we get to chapter 6 of Romans, we’ll talk about that identification with Christ in His death and subsequent resurrection.

You’re on your way back, stop in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 17. Verse 14 talks about Christ becoming a man, verse 14, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Then he goes on to tell us he doesn’t give help to angels. That’s a reminder we’re dealing in the realm of grace, there was no grace provided for angels, no savior provided. That’s the point. He took to Himself flesh and blood to pay the penalty for humanity, but he didn’t take upon Himself the nature of angels to pay the penalty for angels. Angels sinned, that was it for eternity. There will be no such thing in eternity as a saved angel, an angel who sinned and was saved. All those angels who sinned will be in hell but look what He’s done for us.

Verse 17, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren…” He became like us, He became flesh and blood, “…in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make…” here’s our word hilasterion, “…propitiation for the sins of the people.” That’s what He did. These words all bring a different flavor, they’re all part of our salvation. Justification is God the Judge declaring us righteous, absolved of all guilt, the slate is clean, the penalty is paid, His wrath is turned away from us, we are set free. These words that God uses to bring all the dimensions of the wonder of our salvation, what is accomplished for us in Christ.

Hard to believe that there are those who claim to be evangelicals today that say this whole doctrine of Christ taking the wrath of God upon Himself so it can be turned away from us is divine child abuse. That’s the expression they use. They reject it. They reject it with substitutionary atonement, but they claim they’re evangelicals. They claim to be Bible believers. They’re like the Judaizers infiltrating and corrupting the truth and the beauty of the gospel with their distortion and it brings confusion, so the pattern of the devil continues.

That’s why we have to be clear and recognize the best defense against error is a thorough knowledge of the truth, and that’s why we work again through the book of Romans. Let’s come back to Romans chapter 3, verse 25. It took place “…in His blood…” “…the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…” it is “…propitiation in His blood through faith.” This all takes place. It’s that simple. That’s why you go out, you share the gospel. What do they do? They need to believe it. You can’t make them do it. All we can do is share the Word, trust that God will prepare a heart, use the seed that is sown. If not immediately, later, that’s why we leave information, a tract, so that maybe the Spirit of God will cause them to look again at what they heard and now read it. You know, sometimes it’s a process, some sow seed, some water, some reap, but as we’ll see when we get to chapter 10 of Romans, nobody gets saved who doesn’t hear the gospel. How will they believe in someone they haven’t heard, the gospel, if they haven’t heard it, and so on as we’ll see in chapter 10. Great truths. Romans 3, verse 25, “…whom God displayed (Him) publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed…”

God is going to demonstrate He is a righteous God, because if He forgave us just because “I love them, I’ll write it off,” He would not have been righteous. That would have been the sacrifice of His righteousness. We know that. Someone commits a terrible crime and the judge says, “I’m in a good mood today. You know what, I’m just going to write it done, you’re free, go.” There’d be an outcry, there’s no justice, that wasn’t righteous to do that. That’s what God is doing here. He’s demonstrating His righteousness because there could be a misunderstanding. Look at the history of Israel, look through the Old Testament, God was saving people, as we’ll see in chapter 4 when we get there, God declared Abraham righteous when Abraham believed in Him.

Well, how could He do that? He provided salvation to Old Testament saints like David, the prophets. How could He do that? We know the blood of bulls and goats, the death of an animal couldn’t pay the penalty for sin, yet God was declaring them forgiven, righteous. He’s publicly now displayed the sacrifice, Christ, which demonstrates His righteousness. “…because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed…” He did not require an immediate payment. Abraham was saved, it is on the basis of what God would provide in the future. It’s the death of Christ that was the provision that enabled God to declare Abraham righteous, even though it hadn’t occurred yet, but in God’s plan He had made the provision. It came time now to demonstrate and manifest how He could pass over those sins. He was patient. He didn’t have to, but He did, “…He passed over the sins previously committed…”

Now that didn’t mean those who didn’t believe in God and the revelation He gave of Himself, (we’ll get to this in chapter 4). They weren’t saved, they were lost, so don’t get the idea everybody’s sin got passed over, because you had to believe in God and the revelation He had given of Himself. Abraham believed God, God credited it to Him as righteousness. Those who did not believe including those in Israel who did not believe, they did not have their sins forgiven. But even for those who believed, they were passed over in the sense the sacrifice had not yet occurred. Like somebody, I hate to use the illustrations because I’ll get myself in trouble, but if someone who has ample money tells you that if you trust me, I’ll pay that bill and there’s enough. So, along the way you charge things and that, but the payment is based on the payment will be made.

That’s the kind of picture he has developed here, because the penalty had to be paid, so verse 26, “…for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time…” the righteousness of God. Remember this was to demonstrate His righteousness, the public display of the death of Christ. Verse 26, “…for the demonstration…” now he’s repeating what he said in verse 25 “…of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Now it’s clear which had only been anticipated, prefigured, told in prophecy like Isaiah 53. Now the clarity of it is here, the sacrifice that’s needed, that the others could only prefigure and anticipate, and remind you of the need. God said I’m going to pay it in full. So, in that sense Abraham, so to speak, is forgiven on credit, God’s credit of what he would do. He passed over that because Abraham believed Him and the provision is for those who believe God and the provision He would make, so He is just, He is righteous.

The word just and righteous, the same basic word, it is all the same family of words. He’s righteous and He’s the one who declares righteous, so He can’t give up His righteousness and declare an unrighteous person righteous just because He feels like it. God has to function consistently with His own character. So, He Himself intervened to provide the sacrifice of His own Son to pay in full the penalty for my sin so that God could righteously declare me righteous because He paid the penalty for me. Amazing! No wonder it’s identified as God’s love, His grace. He didn’t have to do it. He didn’t do it for angels. He created angels, angels sinned, from that action they have been on their way to hell, there are no provisions made.

So, it’s a reminder we are saved by grace. We don’t say, “Well, He saved me but I’m not a sinner like other people.” This is the Jews, “Well, I’m not perfect but I’m way up here compared to the Gentiles way down here.” That’s not how God sees them, He says the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, Jeremiah 17: 9 and 10. He also says, I’m the only One who knows the depths of the heart’s wickedness. He’s not talking about some people’s heart, He’s talking about your heart, my heart. When I lose this perspective, then I’m out here wandering around talking about salvation and sometimes denying it by a slide into self-righteousness. No! God’s done it all and He’s done it all for people who were all in the same boat so to speak, lost, lost, lost. Well, I never did some of those bad things. I was just as bad at heart, and the provision is made in Christ.

Let’s have a word of prayer and then I want to address some questions. Lord, thank You for the clarity You’ve given. What a beautiful day we are privileged to live in, a day when the full manifestation of Your grace in providing a Savior has been made! We have that clarity of understanding how a holy, righteous God can save, forgive, cleanse, declare righteous hell-deserving sinners. And now You have revealed and made clear that You did it at great cost to Yourself to offer to us that which is free, because You paid our price, and we give You thanks in Jesus’ name. Amen.

QUESTION AND ANSWER

Okay, a couple of questions. I even had a question that came in on my e-mail after the service today from someone who was listening to the morning service in Virginia. I don’t know them personally, but I appreciated their e-mail. And we talked about obeying leaders, we’ve talked about it before. And I’ll respond to their e-mail. I don’t know that they are able to join us on Sunday night. They wanted to know about how we got started as a country, and about the 13 colonies and those people that originally rebelled against the King of England in sin. You think about that, where the line grows, and revolutions occur. You see the hand of God in it, because of what God was doing obviously, because we know how it turned out. We know that was God’s plan that we would become our own separate country, but in the process, there was rebellion against the existing authority.

I’ve shared before about the view I would have on that. Looking back, when you’re in the situation you trust that God will give you the grace to make the right decision, but I would say in light of Scripture probably as a believer, I would remain neutral. Get killed by both sides, but I don’t know that I would join in the rebellion, but probably remain an observer. That process, because some revolutions don’t turn out that way and the people leading the revolution lose, and so the person in authority God has kept in authority. Well, then the issue was should you have been rebelling against that authority in the first place, so I want to be careful. Would we look the same if the United States as we call it had lost that war for independence? Then the king would have still been the king over us and that would have been a failed rebellion against the king, and we’d say well, they shouldn’t have done that. I want to be careful how things go, but internal we see it going on in countries. Was the leadership in Venezuela going to be overthrown? Is the leadership in Syria going to be overthrown? If you were a believer in this country, do you join the rebellion? Well, my personal view is probably certain things I would stay out of, in light of I respect the authority, but I realize God may be doing something here. As much as possible probably stay out of certain things, which is not a bad thing for politics period. There were Roman rulers changing in Paul’s day. You don’t find him addressing it at least in anything we have. There were Roman rulers that came and went during New Testament times, but you don’t find Paul taking a position in that. A little bit just an observation.

QUESTION 2
I had a question on the Sabbath and a good question. It comes out of a little different perspective although if you read on the Sabbath some have this concern. Does the Sabbath, take out the religious connection, provide a pattern that we should follow, that we should be taking one day of rest a week and that would refresh us? Maybe we’re too busy.

A couple of things. When it talks about God rested on the seventh day, He wasn’t taking a rest because He needed a break. That idea there was He ceased from what He was doing. Now there is a pattern the Sabbath was made for man, but what becomes involved in the Sabbath when we have any development or explanation of it. When we get into like the Book of the Law, and established in the Law there it was a day set aside from all our normal activities, for focusing our life and devotion on the LORD and His word. The fellowship with God’s people in God’s Law as some put it, and there a commentary on it, so it takes on a religious perspective. It wasn’t a day to go golfing because that gives me a break from my normal exhausting routine or riding a motorcycle or doing whatever you like to do for a break. It was a spiritual activity.

Hebrews chapter 4, we are in our Sabbath rest, so there is a Sabbath rest that we are enjoying, and remember like in the Book of Leviticus chapter 23, it is called a Sabbath to the LORD, so it was a day devoted to Him. So, it wasn’t just a day for recreation to bring a break. In fact, the man who went out and gathered sticks, maybe he just enjoyed picking up sticks. He got stoned to death for that, because God wanted a break from that and it was probably a benefit naturally, physically, but the Scripture doesn’t deal with that as much when you come to Hebrews chapter 4. If you want to pursue it, just to touch on it with you, Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1. “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest…” and he’s connecting it to Israel going into the Promised Land because in a moment he’ll talk about the Sabbath rest, that promise to enter His rest. “… any one of you may seem to come short of it. For indeed we have had the good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” That becomes a connecting passage to what we just talked about in Romans chapter 3.

In the Old Testament, they had the word, the Law and the Prophets. It didn’t profit them because they didn’t believe it, so faith was lacking. The faith would bring them salvation, but here when you’re talking about going into rest, they couldn’t go into the Promised Land. Why? They wouldn’t believe God, so they spent forty years wandering in the wilderness because of their unbelief. But note here. “For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He said, “…I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY WILL NOT ENTER MY REST,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.” Now he connects it back to Genesis, God rested. You know in six days He made everything, the seventh day He rested, so he does connect it to that back where it gets picked up. Then when we connect it to the Law and so on, His works were finished from the foundation of the world. This is the rest of God. That’s why the Sabbath rest gets connected to God and a relationship with Him, a devotion to Him and a developing of that relationship. Verse 4, “For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS” (in Genesis chapter 2, verse 2, so he’s connecting it to that.) and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.” He’s connecting that rest of God, resting to Israel going into the Promised Land, and experiencing God’s rest because that’s what He had promised for them if they would believe in Him, that they could be in the land He promised. The land of milk and honey, the land where God would bless them, care for them, they would live in relationship with Him. This was the rest to be figured in their Sabbath rest as you read about in Leviticus 23, that day devoted to the LORD in Israel’s religious system.

Verse 6, “Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had the good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, (their refusal to believe) He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.” Now David is writing this in Psalm 95. The Exodus is around what 1450 B. C. If I get off on the wrong date, scream, but we’re four or five hundred years later. He’s talking about “Today” that’s what he stresses. David says after so long a time and then going into the land, “‘…DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS. For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of a day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” We entered the rest of God in that relationship with Him.

That brings us to what we’re talking about, forgiveness, the peace of God, which surpasses understanding. It’s begun, now there is yet the culmination of that but obviously will come because of what we’ve been going through in Ecclesiastes. We still live in this sin cursed world, but we are enjoying that rest now and He’s warning some of these unbelievers, these Jews who are not yet believers. You should enter this rest now. This is offered now. Well, don’t harden your heart now, so as He talks about it, it goes back to the end of chapter 3 and into chapter 4. So, on a Sabbath rest I don’t know that we would say that is a pattern to follow for physical rest from the labors. We have that provided the way our weeks are, you know five days and two days, and that’s generally the pattern, but I don’t think it’s primarily focused on freedom from the exhaustion of the labors. A freedom from that and the involvement in it was to have the time for more devotion to the Lord and that is being experienced somewhat in a preliminary way, in our relationship with the Lord in our salvation.

I think that’s what Hebrews is talking about, and yet we all acknowledge that the full realization of all that God has promised us in Christ is yet to be realized, so in that sense we have begun. We have entered into His rest, but there’s more to that rest that we have in Christ than we have yet to experience. Just like our glorified body that is an added dimension of our salvation yet to come, so I wouldn’t connect the Sabbath to that. But Ecclesiastes has said, have a balance. Rest and work, joy and labor, the balance in life is good but I wouldn’t necessarily connect it to what the bible says about Sabbath, the Sabbath rest in that relationship with God that was to be expressed by Israel in that day. They set themselves apart from everything else to concentrate on their relationship with the Lord. We experience that in the relationship we now have with Him in salvation.

QUESTION 3
Another question here, let me pick up part of a question. It said, you mentioned last Sunday night, and this would have been a little bit ago, so one of the Sunday nights in the last year where the church’s role was not social reform, yet the bible does command us to care for widows and orphans. Would you say this is only to happen within the church body? And I’d say yes, that’s where the church says we have responsibility?

You might want to go to 1 Timothy 5 just one passage. That doesn’t mean you can’t do something nice and thoughtful as an individual for an unbelieving neighbor or a friend or a co-worker. We are to be gracious and kind, but the church’s responsibility is to see that it cares for fellow believers and I mentioned 1 Timothy 5 because you can read that. That’s where it gives instruction regarding widows, caring for fellow believers, family members. Even unbelievers biblically have a responsibility for family, and many family members recognize that even when they’re not believers. They take care of elderly parents, but for the church, the church’s responsibility is for widows for example, that have no family to take care of them, and need assistance, and we help others in need, it doesn’t just have to be a widow. A person has need in an area, we have the benevolent fund that you’ve given generously to. We haven’t resupplied it recently, because there’s adequate funds for the needs that come up.

We do have some things in our society, elderly things like Social Security and Medicare that help during those years that would not have been present in biblical times that helped through some of that, but we need to be sensitive and aware, the bible is clear. Verse 8 of this chapter 5, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith…” We as believers need to be careful that we’re taking care of our family. That would include not just parents, but brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles. Any need there we want to be sensitive to, but then the church is responsible for those who would have need. Now you want to be sure it’s a need. There are restrictions given in that 1 Timothy 5. I didn’t want to read the whole passage, but if you read there, you just don’t enroll all. There was an enrollment that could take place, so he uses widows because those were the most vulnerable, and where the government plan, so to speak, that have certain benefits. We don’t like government involvement, yet there are certain benefits to come and with things that are there we have certain retirement plans and so on that have benefited some. You know a woman’s husband may die, but he may have retirement from work that she can draw on and so those kinds of things are there. But there are those who don’t have that or that’s not adequate, then I think the church needs to be aware of that and we want to be aware of that. We don’t have a formal enrollment, Paul talks about in 1 Timothy 5, but that wouldn’t relieve us from the responsibility and anyone who has a need you can be a younger person and working but a medical thing come up, something goes wrong in the house, the roof leaks and you don’t have the cash.

We sometimes provided financial council. You want to be sure of, well you know I bought a new car and I took an expensive vacation and now I find out I can’t pay my electric bill. Well, you want to help that person through that, so we try to provide that as well, but we provide various areas. They don’t become known, because it’s a personal thing. There are requests that come to the elders, directed there. Sometimes it’s to pay a utility bill, a costly repair and there are people in the body that have that genuine need, and so yeah, I think we’re responsible there. So, when I talk about social actions, social reform I’m talking about what the world does. I see a church, I think it was in Texas just gave two, I think it was over 2 million dollars for—I forget what it was for, some of you may have read it, but it’s some kind of social program. It doesn’t have anything to do with the church or connected to any kind of religious identity or they just thought that would be a good thing to do. But I don’t see that’s what the church is directed to do.

I have more questions that you’ve submitted so I’ll try to work through them. Some take a little more work, so I put them on the back of the list but appreciate the questions. You can submit them, send an email to Jeff, send a text, write it down on the back of a card and they all come into Jeff then, and he collects them and prints them out for me, and I can address them along the way. I appreciate you being here tonight.

Let’s have a word of prayer and get on our way. Thank You Lord, for a good day. Lord, this is a refreshing day for us to be together as Your people. Lord, just to be reminded of Your grace and be part of Your family in this place, to share together with one another, be caught up in what is going on in our lives and share together in ministry. Then we look forward to the week before us, and the opportunities there, as we are in different places, and then as we have opportunity to be together again. Pray You’ll bless our testimony wherever we are. Pray that we might live wisely the days that are before us as You give them to us. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
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