Reformed Theology Pt 9 | The Mosaic Covenant | The Law of God | Theonomy

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December 19, 2021 Pastor Jeff Rice Covenant Reformed Baptist Church, Tullahoma, TN

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Let's pray. Father. Son and Holy Spirit, we come to you.
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You are our God. And we worship you today, please.
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Please speak to us in the name of Jesus, the
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Nazarene. Amen. Our text.
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Is once again found in Matthew chapter 17. I mean, chapter five, verses 17 through 20.
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Matthew five, 17 through 20. But before I read that,
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I want to look at Hebrews real quick. Excuse me. Hebrews chapter nine.
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Now, excuse me, Hebrews chapter seven verses 11 through 19.
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Now, I'm just going to read this. I will not give any commentary, but listen.
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Listen closely, call to remembrance all that we have been talking about concerning the law.
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Hebrews chapter seven. Verse 11. Now, if perfection had been attained through the
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Levitical priesthood. For under it, the people received the law.
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What further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek rather than one named after the order of Aaron?
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For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
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For the one of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar.
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For it is evident that our Lord was a descendant from Judah. In connection with that tribe,
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Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of legal requirements concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
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For it is witness of him, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
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For on one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness.
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For the law made nothing perfect. But on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God.
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Ladies and gentlemen, we are in our ninth message dealing with reformed theology.
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And I know that this isn't news to you, that it's through Jesus that we draw near to God, not anything else through Jesus Christ.
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Our theme has been the Mosaic Covenant slash the law of God. And we know that God gave this law to the
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Israel people. We read about it in Exodus, chapter 20, that they were at the mountain.
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The the mountain was filled with smoke. This is this is the the theophany.
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God descended upon the mountain in smoke. They were terrified. They heard the voice of Yahweh.
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They cried out to Moses. You speak to God. Now, look, let
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God speak to you. Then you speak to us. They were terrified of God. Even if a beast touches this mountain, it is put to death.
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And upon that mountain, Moses was given the the two tablets, the moral law, which are now written in the hearts of those who follow
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Christ. Our timeless truth is God's law is holy. Like we all agree with this,
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God's law is holy. But we. I would say if you have any love for God's law, you want it to be taught correctly.
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I pointed out last week that the reformed in the Lutheran historically have taught the three divisions in the three uses of the law.
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In short, the three divisions was the moral, the ceremonial and judicial judicial.
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And the three uses were the mirror, the curb and Christian living.
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So the mirror would be we look look at God's law and we can see our need for Christ, whether you're a believer or an unbeliever.
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This for the second point would be the curb that that God's law keeps us on track and it can be used by governments to to establish rules for a believer and nonbeliever.
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And at the third point was Christian living. And it's for believers only of of of those of us who read and study our
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Bibles that as we're doing so, are those of us who who stand behind a pulpit and proclaim this message as we do so, we don't forget what
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Christ has done already. Well, we're not trying to command someone to do what
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Christ has already done. I think a simple point would be the
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Old Testament requires animal sacrifices for sins. Well, I don't get up here and tell you that you need to slaughter a lamb.
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Matter of fact, there's no temple where you can go and slaughter that lamb. It has to be taught correctly.
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I'm sure there's people that teach that you do have to slaughter lambs and they fabricate their own temples.
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I haven't looked into all the world's religions, but I'm sure that's being taught out there somewhere. And I gave another analogy, the the the the idea of a gun and a
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Bible and that you don't want someone swinging a weapon around that that does not know how to use a gun.
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As a matter of fact, if you know how to use a gun, you don't swing it around, right? Like like you want to make sure that it's it's safely kept.
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You don't pull it unless you aim to pull it. The trigger that is. So protection in the same way, this this
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Bible is a sword. And if you're going to wield the sword, you better know how to wield it, how to articulate how to present its message.
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And for Christian living, it's in light of what Christ has done that when we're reading the Bible, when we're studying the
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Bible, when we're teaching the Bible, we want Jesus to be this flashlight that shines like that, that shows us what
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Christ has done so that we can preach gospel. And not law. Of course, we want to preach law to the proud and grace to the humble.
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But if all you're doing is preaching law, you're telling people to do something that they can't do. Our text for today, again, is
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Matthew chapter five, verses seven, I mean, verses 17 through 20.
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And I will read that in its totality, 17 through 20.
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Jesus speaking, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
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I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
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For truly, I say to you, unless heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass away from the law until all is accomplished.
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Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
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But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
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For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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So my sub point outline, we see how Jesus fulfills the law and fulfills the prophets.
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This will be our last message today concerning this topic. And he done so in four ways by fulfilling them, by bringing judgment, by properly teaching them.
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And by the righteousness of faith. And so we'll look at the I know we looked at the third point last week and we will do an overview of the third point and kind of walk through that again.
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But from a different angle, and then we'll get to the final point by righteousness of faith.
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So as we transition, we will be looking at the general principles. I know if you have done any kind of study through theonomy, this is the heartbeat of it.
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The general principles are also known as general equity. Now, in my preparation,
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I did a lot of study through the Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary section, like a lot of information that's coming today.
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It's from this seminary. And from now on, I'm just going to say CBTS Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
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This is a quote. From the seminary, quote, any understanding of the term general equity, which neglects the decalogue, the decalogue is the
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Ten Commandments or natural law revealed in creation or conscience as the essence of general equity is not accurately defining the term according to its historical and confessional sense.
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Any version of general equity theonomy that does not look to the moral law that transcends the
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Old Testament judicial law, but instead sees the Old Testament judicial law as itself.
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A subset of moral law that remains binding is not following the
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New Testament. The example of the New Testament. So what you have here is due to the judicial law versus the
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Ten Commandments, the moral law of God. And so the judicial law was given to a people, a place and a time to the
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Israelite people. The place would have been in Canaan, is where they were to walk this law out at the time as they leave the as they as they leave to go in there, the wilderness.
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So their time, the Israelite people, their time in the land of Canaan would have been when this law was established.
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The moral law, as we read in our confessions, Adam was given the moral law.
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It was written in his heart. The do's and don'ts of of of of of of of this this law that's kind of built into the conscience of all men.
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Like you don't have to read the Bible to know that it's wrong to murder. You don't have to read the
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Bible to know that it's wrong to lie. It's wrong to steal. And I made this point in Sunday school that it might even take that you might not think it's wrong for you to lie or for you to steal or for you to commit adultery or for you to murder.
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But if someone does these things to you. That's when you know it's wrong.
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So these this moral law transcends the judicial law, because we all know when we're wronged.
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You don't need to read a book to know you've been wronged. Theonomy means
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God's law, i .e. the statutes and rules which were given to the
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Israelite people. General principles, general equity is an interpretation of God's law, but concerning the
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Ten Commandments. So when you speak of general equity, general principles, it's looking at the moral law of God, not the judicial law.
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General equity must come out of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, not from the judicial law.
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And we saw this same thing concerning sin last week. Last week we saw you shall not commit adultery.
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Jesus raises the standard to lustful intentions, and he did so by taking the seventh commandment is you shall not commit adultery.
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And what he did to raise the standard is he took the 10th commandment. You shall not covet. And he applied it to the seventh commandment.
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This is called general equity. Concern and sin. He uses the law. What is what is the covenants?
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Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's wife. That's a lustful intentions. He says that is adultery.
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That's general equity. And that in that form of adultery, lust did not call for the death penalty.
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The Jews were not putting people to death for lust. But in First Corinthians, chapter five,
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Paul is dealing with a man sleeping with his father's wife, which is adultery.
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Rather than seeking the death penalty, Paul tells them to remove him from the church.
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Let's look at that real quick. First Corinthians, chapter five, verses one through five.
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Now, just think about this. If the law was establishing the Mosaic law, the judicial law.
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Then Paul would be calling for the death penalty, beginning in verse one.
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It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you of all kind that is not tolerated, even among pagans.
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For a man has his father's wife. And are you ignorant?
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Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
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For though I am absent in body, I am present in spirit. And as if present,
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I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the
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Lord Jesus, and my and my spirit is present with you in the power of our
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Lord Jesus, you ought to deliver this man to Satan for his destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the
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Lord. General principle of that sin is that this man be removed from the church.
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The law called for death. General principle. As you remove him from the church.
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All right, the law of God was for the judicial law.
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The statutes and rules were given to a kingdom people, an actual people in the kingdom, physical descendants of Abraham and a physical land at a period of time.
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This was a kingdom people. This was a earthly kingdom. Jesus comes with the heavenly kingdom and it's no longer earthly curses and blessings.
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You don't to remove someone from the earthly kingdom. You killed them. To remove them from the heavenly kingdom, you remove them from the church.
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Now, is Paul in the wrong? Is he in the wrong for not calling for their death?
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No. He's taking the general equity. And he's looking at it that it's not earthly no more.
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It's the kingdom of God. It's the kingdom of heaven. It's not the kingdom of men. So when it comes to general equity, we don't look to the statutes and rules that were again given to a particular people in a particular land.
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However, we do look to the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, the moral law. Remember, the
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Decalogue transcends. It surpasses the statutes and rules given by Moses to the
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Israelite. The CBTS says this quote. If general equity, theonomy means that the core principles of the judicial law remains in force.
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But those principles do not necessarily entail God's transcendent moral and natural law summarized in the
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Ten Commandments. Then that definition of general equity is contrary to the reformed confessional tradition.
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This is calling them out, those who claim to be reformed and hoe to this theonomy.
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They're calling them out. They're saying here's the line. Don't cross it. You are not reformed.
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Remove the title. I don't care if you're Baptist or Presbyterian.
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If you hoe to this, remove the title. According to the confessional tradition, we must not be.
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We must not begin with judicial law to discover the principles of general equity, but rather listen, but rather we must begin with the
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Decalogue to see whether there is any moral or natural law principle given in the judicial law.
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And as far as the general equity, we'll look at two commandments. The first commandment we'll look at is you shall not steal.
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And the second will be you shall not murder. Now, this is going to give us an idea. There's there's so many that we could go to.
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And I don't feel like that I should keep beating this horse. So we're just going to look at two.
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You shall not steal. This is found in Deuteronomy chapter 25, verse four.
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This is my passage for you shall not steal. You shall not muzzle an ox when it's treading out the grain.
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Without the inspired New Testament commentary on this passage, we might say that the core principle for this passage is you should allow your animals to feed while they're working.
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The CBTS gave a great illustration. Imagine you taking your hunting dog with you to hunt for food.
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You're hunting dog is putting in some work, right? So if you're duck hunting, whatever it is that you
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I've never went hunting with a dog. So I don't I don't know what all dogs hunt. I know they don't go deer hunting.
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So let's say ducks. I played the duck hunting game when I was a kid on Nintendo and you had the dog that would jump into the weeds, right?
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Hallelujah. Are you with me? So let's say that I went hunting for ducks and the dog chased the ducks.
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That dog brought the ducks out so I could shoot them. Well, according to this passage, if I take it literally, then the dog should be able to eat a duck.
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It needs to feast. It's worked for its food. Well, that would be what we would come to the conclusion of, if not for the new test that the inspired
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New Testament commentary. The Apostle Paul interprets this as in general equity dealing with the
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Eighth Commandment. You shall not steal. Look at First Timothy, chapter five, beginning in verse 17.
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We'll look at 17 and 18. But the elders who rule will be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
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For the scripture says you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain and the laborer deserves his wages.
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So Paul takes this this passage from Deuteronomy. Paul interprets
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Deuteronomy as you should take care of your pastors. Not when you go duck hunting.
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To give your dog a duck. This is general equity.
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This is general principles. He's taken something true from the Old Testament, and he has looked at it in light of the
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Decalogue. The Ten Commandments. And he says the labor is worthy of his wage.
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Second one is you shall not murder. Deuteronomy, chapter 22, 22, verse 8.
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When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house if someone should fall from it.
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Now. We don't normally have roofs that we hang out on to build a parapet these days, but they did in that day.
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But we do have second story decks that need to have rails.
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We do have second story decks. General equity will require a rail around a second story deck.
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However, we're not required to put a rail around the second story deck because of the statutes and rules given to Israel.
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But instead, we are to put a railing around the second story deck because of the transcendent
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Decalogue. You shall not murder. We don't do it because of the judicial law.
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We look to the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, this moral law that God has written in our heart.
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We want to make sure that we protect our neighbors. So when we put a pull up in our backyard, we want to make sure that it's fenced in so a little kid can't run over and die.
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Bible says that's murder. It's unintentional murder, but it's murder. We need to look out for our neighbors interest.
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Now, as we transition, I want to read one more time a statement from the
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CBTS. Any, listen, any understanding of the term of general equity, which neglects the
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Decalogue or the natural law revealed in creation and conscience as as the essence of general equity is not accurately defining the term according to its historical confessional sense.
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So when you have someone that's out here that's claiming to be a theonomy and they're telling you what it means, they're outside of the historical reformed confessions.
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They're already outside of the reformed confessions. Any of the general equity theonomy that does not look to the moral law that transcends the
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Old Testament judicial law, but instead sees the Old Testament judicial law as itself a subset of moral law remains binding.
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It's not following the New Testament example. They're not doing what
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Paul was doing. We got people now they're saying, again,
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I think that's a you know, I think what's going on today is horrible. And I'm glad I'm not the one having to make rules or defining the punishment.
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I'm glad that I'm not putting that position to where I have to say what the punishment is. But I'm telling you that that that just because someone murders someone doesn't mean that we should murder them.
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We have to look in light of Christ just because you catch someone and the very act of adultery doesn't mean you should pick up stones.
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We need to look at what we need to look at it in light of Christ. The Bible says it talks about if someone pokes out your eye or knocks out your tooth, you're to do the same to them.
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Jesus, with general equity, says, no, you turn the cheek. You turn the cheek.
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The law says you poke out their eye. You knock out their teeth.
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Jesus said, no, you turn the other cheek. So we have to be graceful.
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We have to be people. Those of us who have been given grace, who have been forgiven, who have been given grace need to be the most graceful people in the world.
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I know it's easier said than done. I know this because I listen.
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I come from a background. I was a hothead. All right, toning this down. God has done some work.
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Let me tell you, he's and for me to tell you there was a time where I said, you know, like if they listen.
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This is me as a new Christian. I would have said, you know what? If I'm in a position to where I don't know if I should hit someone or if I should or if I should turn a cheek, maybe
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I should go ahead and hit him in the repent later. Like, that's my thought pattern. That is no longer my thought pattern.
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God is changing me from the inside out. And how is he doing so? Through his word.
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By looking at what Christ has said and what he's told us to do, we have to be gracious.
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We cannot just be commanding people to die or again,
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I don't want to beat this horse anymore. General equity. This is the last thing I'll say about it.
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General equity must listen, it must come from the Decalogue. If it's not in the
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Decalogue, if you can't draw the principles, the equity from the
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Decalogue, get rid of it, stop it. Don't go any further. Our fourth point is the righteousness of faith.
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And this is verse 20 of Matthew chapter five. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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Just last week, we looked at the kingdom of heaven. I pointed out and I mentioned it earlier.
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I pointed out that there was a earthly kingdom and earthly kingdom people, the
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Jews, and to enter into this earthly kingdom, you had to be born or you had to be made a
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Jew. This earthly kingdom was for Jews, right?
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The earthly kingdom was for Jews. Jesus comes in his incarnation and he ushers in the kingdom of heaven.
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The earthly kingdom? No, the kingdom of heaven, the body of Christ.
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And to enter this kingdom, one has to be born again. Your first birth doesn't grant you entrance, whether Jew or Gentile.
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You have to be born again. You have to be given faith to believe.
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You have to be one second not believing, unable to see, unable to enter, hearing the message of Christ.
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And now I can see and I am entering that kingdom. Let's do the message of Christ.
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This verse that we just read should give a clear indication.
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Listen, this should give a clear indication that Jesus is not preaching gospel.
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Jesus, in this verse, is not preaching gospel, for I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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That is not gospel. That's law. That is the law.
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That's not the gospel. He is preaching the law to spiritually prideful
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Jews who believe that they can obtain this entrance by keeping the law.
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And he says, no, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.
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And they were people that other Jews held up in high regard for their ability to keep the law.
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Jesus is not preaching the gospel here. He's preaching the law. Look at.
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Romans chapter, Romans chapter 10,
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Paul speaking, Romans chapter 10, verses one through four, Romans 10, one through four.
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Paul writes, brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them, speaking of the
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Jews, is that they may be saved. For I bear witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge for being ignorant of the righteousness of God.
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They seek to establish their own. They did not submit to the righteousness of God, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
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Listen, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes
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Christ is the righteousness of God. The righteousness of the
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Pharisees wasn't good enough. If you want to enter the kingdom in your own righteousness, you have to do better.
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That's what he's saying. You want to enter this kingdom with your own righteousness. You have to be better. You have to do better than the
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Pharisees because they fall way short. Read Matthew chapter 23.
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You'll see how short they fall. So when they heard this message, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
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They should have cried out. How is there no other way?
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Is there no other way, Jesus? The standard is too high.
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That's because Jesus brought to them the law. He brought to them do this.
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He didn't mention that it is finished. This is law versus gospel.
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And in the months ahead, we'll dive deep into that. But right here in this passage,
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Jesus is not preaching the gospel. He is preaching the law. So when they heard this message, they should have cried out.
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How? Jesus is. Is there no other way? Is is there no other way,
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Jesus? But in fact, there is another way. Romans chapter three, verse twenty one through twenty six.
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Romans three, twenty one through twenty six. Paul writes, but the righteousness of God.
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Now, what is the righteousness of God? It's Christ has been manifested apart from the law with the law or apart from it.
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Apart from the law for the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.
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The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
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For there's no distinction for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in.
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Christ, Jesus. And God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith, this was to show
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God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance, he passed over former sins.
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It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ.
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The scripture is telling us that Jesus is our propitiation, that although we've broken God's law, Jesus has
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God has paid our fine by sending his son, Jesus Christ. And we have to understand that God is the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ.
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In order for God to be just, he had to punish our sins.
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And he did so by sending his son, the covenant of redemption. God sent his son to accomplish the purpose and to accomplish his purpose.
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He had to live the life we could not live, but he also had to die the death that we deserve to die.
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Jesus took upon himself the chastisement that brought us peace. Isaiah chapter 53.
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And since Jesus has done this, God can be the justifier. We can be justified, made righteous, have peace with God by faith in Jesus Christ, right?
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That's the proclamation of the gospel that having been justified by faith, we now have peace with God through our
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Lord Jesus Christ, not justified by the law, not justified by keeping rules, which there's nothing wrong with the obedience to the law written in our heart.
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But that's still not what justifies us. Having been justified by faith, faith in what faith and what
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Christ Jesus has done for us. Believing that he has accomplished the purpose. We have peace with God.
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We have been made right with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And I know you'll be happy to hear this in closing.
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It's record time in closing. Because, God, listen, this is important.
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If you don't listen to anything else, listen to this. Because God has sent his son to do what we what no mere mortal can do,
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Pharisees are. They prove this. God has sent his son to do what no mere mortal can do, and that is that he kept
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God's law. Jesus is the only one that has ever been able to keep this law.
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Adam couldn't do it. The Pharisees couldn't do it. You can't do it. But Jesus kept this law.
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And because he has done this, you and I are free from the mosaic law. We don't have to keep what he has already kept in the way of this punishment.
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He's kept that law. What are we to do? We are to believe in the name of the son. And we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.
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And listen, that's pretty hard. We are to believe in the name. You want to love
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God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And love your neighbor as yourself.
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With the coming of Christ came the new covenant, and that's what we're under.
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If you have entered, if let me say this again, with the coming of Christ came the new covenant.
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And ladies and gentlemen, that is what we are under. If we have entered that rest by faith alone in Christ alone next week by God's providence, we'll get into the
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Davidic covenant and we will see. The king, who was pronounced in the
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Old Testament, come forth to shine his light.
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I'm available to anyone who wants to talk. Pastor Cal, as well as Josh.
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Let's pray. Father, thank you. Lord, we thank you for your your grace and your mercy.
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We know that it's new every morning. Lord, we are.
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Grateful to be amongst other believers, those who we would have absolutely nothing in common with if had not been for your son.
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We gather together today to worship him. And Lord, we ask that you draw our fellowship closer together through him.
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Lord, we ask right now, as the people are preparing their hearts to partake in the Lord's Supper, God, that you bless this meal, the body that was broken for us and the blood that was shed for us.
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Lord, we do this in remembrance of our Lord Jesus. Please, Lord, use this today to grow us in holiness.
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we continue to confess your son as our savior and Lord. Amen.