Gospel-Lite and Law-Heavy Living | Theocast

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Does the Christian life ever feel like you're sitting on a bicycle and you're pedaling as hard as you possibly can And you're not going anywhere because you realize well, there's no chain on the bike

00:10

That's what we call gospel light heavy law living You feel like you're putting a lot of effort in and you're not going anywhere because we've been emphasizing the wrong power source

00:21

That's what Justin and I want to talk about today where the true source of life and power come from Stay tuned if you're new to theocast, you may not have heard of this word

00:29

It's called pietism you ever felt like the Christian life is a heavy burden

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Versus rest and joy that you wake up worrying about how well you're gonna perform

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Instead of thinking about what Christ has done for you. It's dread versus joy.

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Really? That's pietism pietism causes Christians to look in on themselves and find their hope not in what

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Christ has done, but what they're doing and We have a little book for you, it's free We want you to download it and we're gonna explain the difference between pietism and what we call confessionalism

01:02

Reform theology really how it is that we walk by faith Seeing the joy of Christ and when

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Jesus says come to me and I will give you rest What does that look like you can download it on our website just go to theocast .org

01:25

Welcome to theocast encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ Conversations about the

01:30

Christian life from a confessional reform and pastoral perspective here at theocast we aim to take the clutter off of the gospel because we tend to throw a lot of clutter on top of it and In doing that we seek to reclaim the purpose of the kingdom of Christ What it is to live in Jesus and be a part of his kingdom now and forever

01:48

Your hosts today are John Moffitt who is pastor of a grace reform church in Spring Hill, Tennessee And I am

01:55

Justin Perdue pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina A couple of things really quickly before I throw it over to John To give us the the lowdown on what we're talking about today.

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I want to thank very personally I want to thank so many of you who have prayed for me and for our congregation and for our city and Even those of you who have donated financially to try to help in the relief effort

02:18

We're we're thankful for you and for the love of the Saints from all over We do still plan along these lines to have the

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Theocast conference next April 11th and 12th with a Thursday night hang on April the 10th.

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So next April god -willing 2025 We plan to have that conference here in Asheville So there still is enough infrastructure and in all kinds of good things to be able to give you places to stay

02:42

We're gonna places to go my favorite cigar bar in the city was under about 12 feet of water.

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That's really sad So, I don't know if it'll be open or not But there will be plenty of things for us to do so do register for that event next

02:53

April We're gonna have a our first kind of Bigger I mean I say bigger like really plan get out in front of it conference and Not in addition to John and myself

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We've got our friends Chad Byrd and Ken Jones coming to join us And we're gonna be thinking about the law and the gospel and giving messages along that theme.

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We're gonna panel discussions We're gonna sing we're gonna hang we'll eat and drink. We'll have a wonderful time together So I trust it'll be encouraging would love to see you would love to meet you.

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So register. There are limited spots available and In addition to that I'll just throw a little tip of the cap to the theocast community that is growing if you want to interact with other people who

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Are thinking through the same things you are and learning some of the same things you are if you want a good place to be able to ask questions and and not have all the nonsense and the ads and just the

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Flame throwing that you experience on social media the theocast community would be a good place for that So you can find all the information that you need about that on our website theocast .org

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and we entrust that to you You guys are smart folks. You'll figure it out John I've done the best that I can to announce in a way that would please and honor you my friend

04:00

And so now why don't you? Why don't you tell the dear listener out there what we're gonna talk about today?

04:07

Yeah, I have so many thoughts About what to say here. We were having some fun the

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Sometimes we should just record what we talked about before we record because those are the real fun conversation outtakes

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No, we're just talking about like no when you think about I mean the title is gospel light law heavy living and You're like, oh guys you talk about this stuff all the time.

04:30

Yeah, kind of but We have a lot of thoughts about it. I mean, it's it's such a big problem

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The scary thing is we've only said a fraction of what we could what we think. Oh, man, that's right. It's true

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I mean you could go your whole life and frightening plum the depths of the gospel and yet It's simple enough for a child to believe and have eternal life.

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So The complexity of that is we know what's interesting is we think about going off of last week's episode

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So if you didn't hear last week's episode shame on you Guilt and shame be upon yourself

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Yeah, that's a joke. You're talking about obedience. You want to you want to have significance? You want to know if you're saved go back

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It's like quit picking up seashells on the beach and go listen to last week's episode. Good grief. What are we doing? I mean,

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I can't do I can't even do law It's too it's too disgusting to do law law a lot of way.

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That's inappropriate inappropriate law Maybe that's what we should say gospel light inappropriate law

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Yeah law heavy anyways we think about the Christian life and really what propels us forward in like loving others

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Advancing the kingdom bringing glory to the Lord. We often put our faith in and you know, it's just and it's like We just don't we rely on the law and we put so much faith and trust in the law and either a crash and burns

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Us, you know as a kid I used to jump BMX bikes and it's like when you jump off that jump and that front tire comes off Yeah, like that's what happens we use the law it's like if the law gets us enough juice to get us up the ramp and then all of a sudden you're like This is not gonna end.

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Well, and by that you mean people can be motivated by law for a season of time Because it's all about yeah, it it works.

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You don't even have to be a Christian, right? Like there are Athletic coaches and people in the military and in every industry in the world all over the place that can motivate people with law

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Yeah, and then like, you know, sometimes people think well you guys should make it sound like there's no effort in the Christian life I'm like man

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Christian life is a lot of effort. It's very hard because that because that's exactly what we've said over the years Yeah, I'm kidding.

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But we Know But when I look a lot of people doing the Christian life and they are they're working so hard Justin They are peddling while trying to balance because they ain't moving anywhere because they got no chain on the bike

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It's like the very thing that drives you forward is not on the bike And so you're using a lot of effort more than you probably should be

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Yeah, and you're not you're not helping you you're not helping anybody and you're just exhausting yourself So we were joking around about these analogies and kind of being silly in the way we were expressing it

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But it is it is a good analogy that like you're peddling like crazy on the bicycle and the the chains popped off like you've got

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No ability to transfer power or you know, it's like a car like the engines revving but the drive trains broke

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And so it's like right we we got no power. So it's it really is this we've said this before, you know

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When it comes to salvation the law can only kill it can't save but even when it comes to the Christian life and sanctification

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The law can only guide it cannot Transform there's no power in the law.

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That's right. Yeah So I preached a sermon I led to this this last

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Sunday from 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 in light of kind of what's happening in our country It's so we don't talk about the election

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What plan on it? This will come out like November 27th.

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Anyway, so the election yeah people I mean, I basically yeah, it'll all be over by that Can we do cake can we do fantasy fantasy football, but fantasy election queen see who wins

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You know John, I wonder whether Jesus will still be on the throne on when people listen to this episode I don't know man may not be if the

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Lord will be thrown in heaven. Yeah, I wonder But it is interesting Now I'm gonna take a turn here.

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Yeah, go heavy. Yeah, I mean it's being as being as funny as we are Sometimes you do have to laugh at yourself because we are such ridiculous creatures

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We are such ridiculous take the gospel serious and do not take yourself serious. I've been around people who take themselves serious and Man, they're so sharp and rigid

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It's like it's hard to get close to you man, because I feel like you're gonna poke me to death But then you've been around somebody who's had the edges worn off because of life

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Yeah And all you want to do is hug him and bro It's like I will stay next to you and I might even say the edges weren't off by life and by failure and by weakness

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That's exactly you know, they grind it down man. Exactly and then That's right

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Yeah, I love when new visitors show up and you can see it on their face. They're just like Barely making in the door.

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I'm like, yeah, you're gonna do well here Anyways, so listen

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Anybody listen to this podcast unless you've been under a rock now world is Pretty rough right now, right?

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I mean, I think I think the world goes in cycles where at times you can see some some relief and prosperity and then at times it's

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Satan comes back and sets us up to fail and I think in the past the United States has seen some relief and some some

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The got the success of the gospel being preached in churches. And now I think the gospel's been

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Removed or replaced or the reason why we're doing this podcast. It's gospel light

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It's it's there and it's it's you can see it

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But it's not the full weight of the gospel and what's been replaced is the weight of the law and So Paul Paul is dealing with this very thing in st.

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Corinthians in the reason why we like to go back to the law and and Twitter I feel like Twitter is like Law heavy man.

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It's like every time I get on that thing. I'm our ex. Sorry. Sorry Ilan I know you listen to this. I apologize my friend.

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I'll text you later But I'm on a whole nother level today, but Justin it's true.

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Look out. It's true. It's true that because of our flesh and God's beautiful design in our in our capacities

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We like to trust in them. And so sure Paul is dealing with it in the in the church Corinth Paul is dealing with these leaders who've arisen and they are

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Robust the way what they sound is that they are robust leaders who are Well spoken sure and they come across the thank you.

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They come across impressive You just kind of look at him and you're like, what a what a specimen of a man, you know, he's got the deep voice

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He's fit. He's young. He's intelligent and then he comes on strong Like I've got the solution for the city, which the

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Corinthians would they they were feeling the same thing We were like hey, our city's in chaos There's paganism everywhere and our church is in chaos and Paul left here when

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Paul was here He was like this weak leader who'd like did nothing and these guys are stepping up and what they're doing

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According to Paul is they're leading them back into the flesh under the law.

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They keep he's giving them worldly wisdom So this is how he opens it because there's a difference when a man understands meekness

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Meekness, I love this definition. It might have been Warren Worsby. I can't remember. He says meekness is power under control

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And so Paul understands where his power comes from and therefore it controls him and he doesn't have to come across as this power

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Impressive leader he can actually be what he actually is a weak man that houses and controls power

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So he starts this way. I Paul myself and treat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ I who am humble when face -to -face with you, but bold toward you when

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I am away so he's kind of mocking them because they were accusing him of When now now that he's not there he can write kind of like right how we text each other

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You know, we send strong text, but we're in person. We're a lot Yeah, you know hiding behind a keyboard, you know that expression, right?

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They're accusing him of hiding behind the pen Exactly and so he goes ahead and points out where the difference between where real power is

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Which is not in the flesh not in these leaders who are leading them back under the law, but it's somewhere else

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So we'll jump down to verse 3. It says for though we walk in the flesh We are not waging war according to the flesh.

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So what we're fighting It doesn't matter how strong you are how bold you are.

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It doesn't matter what talents you have Paul Paul and this is important Justin my goodness

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This is important because people look at well -spoken fit strong powerful influential people and think to themselves

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I'll never do anything for the kingdom because I don't have those talents Paul's like maybe just reword this we are not waging war according to talents and abilities.

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That's what he means by the flesh God doesn't care what your height is How much you can binge press or how much is in your bank account or how many people follow you and listen to you on Social media, right?

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That's all fleshly We're not waging a war as Kingdom citizens based upon that power

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What power are we talking about? First four for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but the divine power to destroy strongholds

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So let's get into this Gospel light would mean well, yes We need Jesus's help law heavy would mean we're gonna use the law in order to do this fight and Paul's flipping it

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He's flipping the switch Completely not that the law isn't necessary and not that the law isn't relevant

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But where the power rest it should be Gospel heavy where we are using the power of the gospel and the law because he does get to the law here in a minute

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The law is the way in which we apply the gospel It's like here's the power by which we are going to fulfill this and the gospel is our direction by which it's going to be

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Fulfilled listen to this we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought

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Captive to obey him now. It's interesting. He's using He's using battle

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Language he's using warfare language He's using stronghold So stronghold would be like the safest part inside of a castle the safest part inside of you know

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Like you've got the moat around the castle dolls you got the war you got the walls got the door and then inside that you got the stronghold and That's where the mind is being held.

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And so he's talking about the people of the city who are Carrying out all kinds of evil

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They're carrying out all kinds of atrocious things and Paul's like you you're not gonna stop them by the flesh

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By all this wisdom in the law. It's not going to do it We have to destroy the very thing that Satan has because he earlier on he says the

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God of this world Blinded the eyes of the men. So if you're gonna tear down this stronghold that's happening here

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It has to happen through a power that is stronger than your flesh not only for the unbeliever

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But I think he's also talking about the believer She's at times we can be captured by sin again certain and then he goes on to say

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We destroy arguments of every lofty opinion raised up so he's talking about these these pillars that kind of uphold and protect the mind

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When we use the knowledge of Christ in the gospel, that's the weapon that God ends up using

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So the reason why we want to emphasize the gospel and I think what even need to clarify What is the gospel here in a minute is that Justin in a moment of atrocity?

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No matter what time period you live in no matter what country you live in We want to set people

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Justin We want to set people free from the burdens that their brain thinks that abortion is a good thing

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That transgender is a good thing that homosexual that murdering people that hurting people that trafficking people

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I mean all of these things are horrible In the end of the day God is in place the law to help suppress some of that down But it doesn't remove the ultimate problem

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The law cannot change the heart. So we want the law there, you know the common law so that it protects the innocent

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But in the end if we want to see people truly changed It is using a weapon that is far so that being said your children and my children can tear down strongholds

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Right. They don't need to be strong or influential or powerful They literally out of the mouth of a babe can destroy the stronghold of a president of a tyrant of a

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Hitler that now That's fascinating to think about Hey guys real quick. Some of you are listening to this and it's encouraging to you, but you have questions

17:23

So, where do you go? How do you interact with other people who have the same questions and share resources?

17:28

We have started something called the theocast community We're excited because not only is it a place for you to connect with other like -minded believers all of our resources

17:36

There past podcast education materials articles all of its there and you can share it and ask questions

17:42

You can go check it out. The link is in the description below So you said let's define the gospel.

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I'm gonna do that by kind of picking up on the theme We're getting at here Using some of Paul's words in his in the letter to the

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Corinthians that he had written before this one, right? It's the first Corinthians here. So good chapter one, right?

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So, you know, he says Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. All right, so let's talk about that for a second

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The Jews that he's referring to it's effectively like hey show us something powerful Show us something that we can look at and be like right now.

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That was that was epic, dude and Then we'll yeah, that's what we're after right then we'll believe or then we'll do

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X or whatever Observable power you need to show us something that we can see that's right, right

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Greeks seek wisdom. All right, so they're like hey give us the insight give us the principles take us to another plane of Intellectual and spiritual thought

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Give us the the inner knowledge, right show us the way to think and live that will be

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The key that unlocks it all give us wisdom and we'll crush it

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Hmm So Paul says Jews seek the signs or demand signs the Greeks seek wisdom, but we what preach

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Christ Crucified so this is the gospel. It's not show us something shiny and powerful that we can see with our eyes

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It's not give us the the insight the inner knowledge. Give us the principles and we'll crush it Show us how to live.

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No, it is Christ for us. It is Jesus taking on our guilt taking on our shame taking on our sin

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He's gonna say that in 2nd Corinthians 5 He who knew no sin was made to be sin why for us so he died

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To pay the penalty that the law requires that we deserve because we broke the law

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So he did that for us then he gives us the great exchange, right? He takes our sin

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He gives us his righteousness so that in him we might become the righteousness of God Through faith, right so by faith were united to Christ his death counts as our death

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He took our punishment bore the wrath We deserve his righteousness is counted as our righteousness because he lived a perfect life fulfilling the law always and so His righteousness as a human is now counted as mine and as yours

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So Jesus for us is the gospel and he conquered the one who has the power of death. That is the devil

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So that we no longer have to live in slavery and fear So this is the difference between the gospel and what people generally speaking here

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Paul talks Jews and Gentiles What people naturally look for? They look for things naturally that are impressive that we can see or they want the insight.

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They want the wisdom I mean in that sense they want the law right they want to be told how to do it how to thread the needle

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Give it to me and I'll do that and Paul says the gospel is neither of those That's right it is

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God taking on flesh and coming down to die under the law that he gave because we broke it it is

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God in the Flesh coming down to fulfill all righteousness because we can't right and we receive him

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And we receive all of his benefits by faith apart from anything we do And so it is so contrary

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To the way that we naturally think Yeah, amen to keep going with that verse 26 for consider your calling

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Brothers not many of you were wise. This is 1st Corinthians 1 again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah 126

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Oh, it's interesting. He says for considering your calling. So the calling one into the gospel to the work that we're supposed to accomplish and This is where he's gonna get into where you're going to boast

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And this is why it's gospel heavy and law light because you have to have a power You have to have a hope beyond you

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But not many of you were wise according to the standards worldly standards Not many were powerful and many of you were of noble birth

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But God's chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong do

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Justin I love these verses because I reminds me of why I can't preach on Sunday God chose what is low and despised in the world even the things that are not to bring up to nothing the things that are so That no human being might boast in the presence of God And because of him you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God righteousness

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Sanctification and redemption so that it is written. Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord This is why if you're showing up Sunday weekend and week out

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Paul's like hey, this is who you are. Yeah, and then then you're handed things to do You should go

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I am NOT strong enough to do that, right? I am NOT wise enough to do this I don't have the capacity to do this, right?

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So what what can you give me dear preacher? I mean, what can you give me dear sister or brother? Not that we have sister preachers

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The answer should be well great. I'm glad you're in desperation Because now

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I have the ultimate power and balm of the gospel Yeah, and this is why we at the

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Ocas have been so many years trying to help people understand that You want to continue to dive deeper and deeper into the knowledge of the covenant of grace this

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Wonderful power that God's grace is upon you by his work. Not your work

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And this is what allows you in your it is good Justin. I have found it. It's good for me

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I've seen you do this as well. It's good to embrace your weakness. Sure. This isn't defeativism.

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This isn't me. I'm quitting I'm not gonna try this isn't me giving up and I don't want to fight my sin.

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No, no No, I want to fight my sin, but I go I don't have the path I don't have the capacity to fight my sin.

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I I gotta have something that's bigger than me and this is why Paul So many times but here he is pointing to the gospel

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Not the flesh so that at the end of the day we can look at what God has done

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You and I are all for it's okay to look at your good works because you're gonna go well boast in the

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Lord How did I do that? I didn't do that because I'm affirming myself chapter 16 of our confession the ability

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That's not come from ourselves at all That's right only from Christ, right? So that's right.

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Yeah, we were boasting that like yet not I but through Christ in me like we sing Yeah, you can tell if your heart is in a gospel like moment or if you're in a gospel like church where they are

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Pushing you towards the flesh and they aren't pushing you towards Christ Yeah, or like you talked about the preacher a minute ago where the emphasis of the sermon and again

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We've talked about these things before like you don't have to be a false teacher in order to inculcate this kind of law -heavy

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Mentality because the question is all right. What is the emphasis in the tone in the tincture of preaching?

24:48

am I Sunday over Sunday and am I is the emphasis Christ or is it? Me something

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I'm doing when I'm left like what am I left with if you were to ask your people? What is the ringing note of the sermon?

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Is it something that we need to be doing? Law, or is it

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Jesus for us gospel, right? That's the question there that if I can pick up super brief on first Corinthians 1 sure and Then we'll we'll pivot to maybe talk specifically about word and sacrament like the weapons that we've been given

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We've already kind of talked about the word part a little bit and first Corinthians 1 is talking about preaching and so that's fair like one of the weapons that we've been given in this war that is not against flesh and blood is the preaching of the

25:33

Word because we believe that Christ inhabits that When when he is preached, right? And I love the the language there at the very end of first Corinthians 1 and of course

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It's like, you know, let him who boasts boasts in the Lord. He cites Jeremiah It's it's

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Jeremiah 9, but he he cites that here in first Corinthians 1 He's gonna cite it again in 2nd

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Corinthians 10 and he's gonna allude to it and cite it also in Ephesians chapter 2 so like Paul Repeatedly is emphasizing that the gospel and salvation is all of God It is all of Christ so that if we're boasting in anything, it's never in Anything that we have done it is only in the

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Lord for us in our place right and in verse 30 is incredible you know as he's laid out all of this stuff how he uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong and the

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Foolish things of the world to shame the wise and all of this and then he says because of God We are in Christ who has become everything, you know again.

26:32

He is everything He is wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption. I think it's so epic, right?

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This is the thrust and the ethos of the Apostle Paul's ministry it is never to To boast in himself or to demonstrate his own strength

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It is to point completely away from himself to the only one who can save us all To the only one who is our strength in the midst of our weakness and he was criticized for it

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And he was he had people questioning the legitimacy of his ministry because of it Hmm Yeah, we should expect nothing different Yeah, you know, amen you know something we talked about a little bit alluded to last week and then

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I think we'll jump on a little bit more and now Justin is In 1st

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Corinthians and in 2nd Corinthians, we often want something to point to I'd say there There it is.

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I'm serious. Look at that. Yeah And this is what they were doing in second things and Paul was rebuking for it

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They were they were pointing to their strength there and and then their leaders They're like look, he's a strong leader.

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Look at the way he talks like his wisdom. Look at the capacity You know, I put this tweet out, you know

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Where does the power of the preacher come from if you look up and say wow that guy's a powerful preacher Yeah, versus that man preaches the power of the gospel.

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Sure. There's a difference, right? This is why Paul's like I came to you in much weakness. He's like I didn't try and use flowery like Language that would impress you

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I wanted to make sure I didn't obscure the gospel so when we're thinking about Pointing to things and saying there is my significance.

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There is my assurance Satan always wants us to point to ourselves because at the end of the day he can knock us over He can he can he can just he can get he can get to us and he can get to us multiple ways

28:24

I mean just to be reductionistic for a second Satan does want us to look at ourselves because he will cause us either to boast in the things that we think we can do

28:31

Yeah, the things that we've done or he'll cause us to despair of the things that we haven't done and can't do

28:37

That's right. And so he gets at us multiple ways when our eyes are off of Christ and on ourselves

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It never goes well, and that's what Satan would have. No, I mean just going back. He goes he's shooting fiery darts at you

28:48

Whatever that means Getting that a whole nother day, but then he says stand in the strength of the Lord Yeah, well everything we're talking about law heavy is standing in your own strength

28:58

Yeah, you would not go law heavy unless you think you could do it, right? And I mean to be fair, you know when we say law heavy we acknowledge that many people that are legal preachers

29:08

We'll acknowledge the gospel and we'll acknowledge and we'll even preach You know the plan of salvation and we'll even talk about now by the by the

29:16

Spirit by God's grace stand You know, but then it still is like the emphasis is still on how we're standing

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You know and what we're doing So even when the there's kind of the acknowledgement in the tip of the cap to grace in the

29:28

Spirit of God, etc The emphasis and the sounding note is still law So Justin, I've never used this illustration before but I think it'd be interesting

29:39

You know if I came to you and I said hey man If you show up on Sunday, I have this elixir if you drink it

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It'll give you It's gonna give you special power The power that you can't get anywhere else and then

29:54

I have a protein bar for you that Literally has like it when you eat it the spirit like unpacks inside your body

30:02

You're gonna be like dude this Sunday's it sounds pretty exciting like sure. I'll give it a shot

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This what's interesting is that What we get excited because we are connecting drinking and eating something to a result

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Well God in his kindness Literally did this. Yeah, he points your finger away from you and he points it towards means and he goes

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Hey, you see those means right there. That's my guaranteed power towards you.

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That's the gospel in You that's the gospel in you like you are going to literally receive the power of the gospel in You by these means and what are those means word and sacrament, right?

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Right and all of the words sung prayed read Fellowship and then the sacrament of the table and baptism now we say this and Justin there's such a disconnect and the reason why there's a disconnect and why we wanted to do this podcast is

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Because we have been trained in gospel light living exactly We have been trained that we are saved by God's grace

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But now we do God's living by the law and that's what we want to take this last few Minutes of her on how long we were recording over a podcast to talk about The power of the heaviness of the gospel we live by the gospel instead of living by the law

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Yeah, for sure. So I'll talk a little word and sacrament high level and then we'll just go from there

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Yeah, the Lord has been very clear that there is the message of Jesus Christ I mean,

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I'm thinking like Romans 10 17 for example that's a verse that people often go to faith comes by hearing and hearing by the

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Word of Christ and the The language that's used there is the message of of Christ It's not faith comes by hearing and hearing by the

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Word of God Like it's the message of Jesus Christ. And so God has given us a word to speak that has supernatural power

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That when this word is proclaimed when Christ for sinners is proclaimed

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The Lord actually inhabits that word and that word saves sustains nourishes and protects his people and I mean when

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I say saves us, I mean brings us from death to life, right and Unites us to Jesus and then nourishes and confirms us in him

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Protects us and keeps us in him the Word of God has that power and the

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Word of God in particular Like we've said many times man, you can you can open the

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Bible and say a lot of good things you can say a lot of good law stuff, but if you have not held

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Jesus Christ out for sinners as their everything Forgiveness righteousness and eternal life by grace not works through faith alone

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Then you are not preaching Christian sermons and it does not have this kind of power. That's right

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But then the sacrament piece we were talking last week about how we so desperately you alluded to this already we so desperately want to have something that we can literally hold on to that we can hold up and show everybody and say this

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Is evidence that I'm legitimate. This is a demonstration that I'm enough Well, God has given us that we want things that we can see and touch and taste and feel and measure and all the things

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So that we can know well, he's given us stuff that we can Experience with our senses that we can feel that we can taste that we can eat and drink

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It's called the waters of baptism and the bread in the cup And the Lord loved us so much and loves us so much that he gave us these things

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Because he knew we would need him. He knew that we'd be weak And so he and he also knows that we we need this kind of tangible

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Ministry of his word and of his grace that we can eat and drink and that can become part of us

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Right and water that we can be immersed in that washes away our sins. It's about our union with the

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Lord Jesus Christ All of that is what God has given us. And so yeah, let's let's talk about that some more.

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Yeah I got you know going back to 1st Corinthians You know

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Paul has this this phrase that he uses and This is this is

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Understanding how the gospel works. Okay, sometimes to us the gospel is just this message

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That's facts and that's not how the no. No, no, no. No, no. No, it's living

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It's alive. It moves and breathes throughout our soul. It empowers us and it animates us

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It's it's crazy when you start thinking about it Paul's like it it pierces down into the marrow of the soul.

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You're just like whoa What crazy language is this right? Look at listen how he describes the Gospels In in the cup.

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So this is 1st Corinthians 1016. Oh, yes Come on, let's go the cup of blessings that we bless it is is it not a

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Participation koinonia, is it not a participation in? The blood of Christ, right?

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This is so important. So what you're saying is there's functional participation in the communion table

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According to Paul every time that you take we're saying is it's way more than a memory That's absolutely right that the benefits of Christ are

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Ours once we are reborn but he's there's a refresh and renewing there's a bringing to remember because of them we get in we get contaminated and intoxicated with the world and we get beat down by our flesh and we come back to that table and we take it again and The spirit comes and says there's this refreshing and renewing this participation that happens

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So we we want to be constantly thinking and holding and looking unto the gospel.

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We walk around every day remembering our baptism Remembering what he did to us in the past and when we come up out of that water

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That we are adopted children that wear priestly robes that are representatives to the world like we have a new purpose

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We have a new we have a new place in the kingdom, right? So we carry that all the way around every day remembering our baptism in the spirit and our physical baptism

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Which is a reality of God's blessing upon us and then when we come to the table We first here by the way

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You can I'm just gonna say this now. This is important. You cannot disconnect the word the church and the table

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This is where the power is. You can't go home and pull up wine and bread and have a communion moment

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Doesn't work like that. Okay, it's the word and his people in the table.

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There's a guaranteed power Justin I'm telling you what's interesting is you can't go anywhere else in the world and get this. No, you just can't and it is necessity for I mean literally

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Jesus says That you're gonna need to drink my blood and eat my body in order to be sustained by me

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And this is what he's talking says that in John 6. That's right. Yeah, which they accused him of cannibalism

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By the way, I'll just throw this out there. I do think it's interesting in paganism and Worship of other gods you often see the drinking of blood and eating of flesh

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Sure yeah, as a as a like as a promise to the person doing it that it will see the power of the

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God and It's interesting how God actually says. Yeah that that that's a mockery.

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It's it's it's a it's a ripoff and there is no I mean anyways, I'm getting off track, but I'll let you comment on 1st

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Corinthians 10 16 Well, no you you said it well I mean, you know already mentioned the the way the

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Lord inhabits the preaching of his word in the preaching of Christ in particular Well, the

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Lord also inhabits these means I mean the power of God Is we understand is in the water of baptism and is in the bread in the cup

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And then it there is real grace Imparted and that they're the real presence of Christ with us is a thing

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You know and that all of the sacraments are about our union with the Lord Jesus Christ And they are always about his faithfulness to us before they're ever about our faithfulness to him in a law -heavy environment

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The emphasis is always when it's baptism It's always about your testimony your profession your public profession the fact that you're becoming a part of the church

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None of those things are illegitimate But that that is only like a small fraction of what we need to be discussing in the language of our confession

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The emphasis on baptism is completely about what God has done and what baptism is significant of and it's about being brought from death to life being united to Jesus having our sins washed away and remitted

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You know and being raised to walk in newness of life in Christ or when it comes to the supper same thing in a law -heavy

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Environment the emphasis is always on you. Are you coming appropriately and by that it's not me

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We don't mean are you coming trusting in Jesus alone for forgiveness and righteousness and eternal life

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Are you coming agreeing with God that you're a sinner and that your only hope is Christ? We don't mean that what we mean is have you done well enough.

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Are you serious enough? Are you devoted enough? Do you feel the way that you should enough, you know, etc

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And so we work ourselves up into this frenzy, you know, and the table produces anxiety rather than giving nourishment and comfort but the table too is about Our union with the

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Lord Jesus and about how he nourishes us and sustains us unto Even obedience right and in a life lived for him

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So the Lord actually gave us the supper for our piety and he gave us the supper for our godliness

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We don't come because we're pious and because we're godly, you know We come so that we might be fed and so we might be sustained and so that's the difference

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I think in a in a gospel light law -heavy environment Versus what we would be advocating for which is a gospel environment where the law is rightly understood and used

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Yeah, the Lord has given us these weapons to wage war against not flesh and blood right, but against the principalities and powers of darkness in the heavenly places and Even against the the power of sin and the corruption of the flesh

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Yeah, it's a great point Justin because we often forget what the gospel is for. Mm -hmm

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And you know and it's like And I've said that we said there's so many different ways, but it's like it's somehow good

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The gospel is like entry fees and then it's like now yeah, it's time to get yeah It's time to get work time to get to work and and I look at that and I go

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Paul's like man It saves you it sustains you and it becomes the weapon That's like there's nothing the gospel can't do that's what's fascinating to me

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Nothing the gospels not for now amen people use this phrase a lot and it's true

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That we never move beyond the gospel And that when we say that the things that we're talking about right now is what we mean

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That we really don't ever move beyond it. The gospel isn't back there But like that was the way

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I got in and now I get to work It's like know that I live in and under the gospel all the time

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Like it is Christ for me and my union with him that saved me back there, you know And is carrying me all the way through until I I see him with my own eyes, you know,

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I mean, that's it And so yeah, we don't ever move beyond the gospel But sadly in many of our churches you might gather it would never be stated that we've moved beyond the gospel

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But the way that things are done and the emphasis again, I go back that you don't have to be a false teacher

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To inculcate a different kind of thing in your church or amongst your your Christian friends

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Yeah, I heard Read or something. I can't remember us Get this data somewhere where a pastor

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Paul. It's it's it's written somewhere. It's read somewhere. Yeah They Paul said that on how public someone said that To solve the problems of the

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United States. It's not just a gospel problem because there are many Christians who claim to believe the gospel and yet promote homosexuality and abortion things like that That's the point of this podcast

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We're saying is that that's a gospel light moment where if someone who has been set free by the legitimate gospel and Understands the place of the gospel in our life and the place of the law

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That we would say they wouldn't come to those conclusions that those conclusions are inappropriate And what what the solution then becomes when

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I hear guys like this talk the solution then becomes we need to emphasize the law and become law -heavy and the reason why people have these beliefs is because well, they they haven't been under the fear of the law and I have this quote just I'm gonna read it to you and we'll kind of end with this but It's an interesting it's an interesting statement by Clement of Alexandria and I don't have it up here.

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Give me a second. I'll pull it up. Well, I'll just remember this I'll just do it from he says Basically, there is no restraint for lust where there is no fear

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Right. So in our it seems like in our culture. There is this constant like Unashamed promotion of sin

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And lust right and when you hear Clement speak you would think oh we need to just bring in the law

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Well, unfortunately the law Can't bring fear within the heart of man

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As crazy as it sounds what actually opens the heart in the mind to see

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God for who he is and to see self for who they are is The gospel believe it or not

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It's the power of the gospel that opens the heart of the man that gives them faith to see that they are

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Oh -wow, what have I done? What have I done to my God? and what's interesting is that if you only preach the law you won't change the heart of men and Because in this particular letter, it's a book.

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It's a book three of his books to the Greeks anyways, his conclusion is is that We are not trusting in a power source.

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It's very gospel light we're not trusting in a power source to bring the because Justin you and I would agree that the

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Conviction and comfort of God comes from the gospel, right? I I do think that the law accompanied by the power of the

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Holy Spirit can convict I do well, I understand but that's very different than what we're talking about politically and in the geopolitical situation

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Yeah, right. But what I'm saying is that if one only preaches the law sure Then the power to believe that one is convicted under the law is not given it

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We have to preach the law and preach the gospel because the gospel is what brings to light I mean you eat of the law you you can't you have to preach the the law in the gospel in wholeheartedly agree on that and because the reason why

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I mean this is an interesting conversation the reason why I say it like this way Is that Paul says I'm not ashamed of the gospel

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It is the power of God sure bring people to salvation and it's interesting that he doesn't say I'm not ashamed of the law

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Right. He says I'm not ashamed of the gospel And that's why I think we have to be law gospel preachers Of course because we have to convict people with the law but to bring them to life

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Oh, yeah, it has to be the gospel. No agree. I mean in you and I would say that This is a whole other podcast for another time

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I know in terms of how The law of God and the gospel and the church relate to a nation -state like the

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United States of America That's a whole other thing but then and you know the law of God and the light of nature and natural law and all that kind of stuff and what

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That would mean for civil government. That's a whole other conversation but agree, yeah, but To the point that you're saying it's like the law has its functions and its uses and when it's preached

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You know and the power of the Holy Spirit accompanies that it's kind of that Roman seven reality It it shows me that I'm a sinner, right?

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But that's a that's assuming that we're preaching the law in light of God and who he is in his character but then also we're preaching the gospel alongside the law because that also is a revelation of God in his character and ultimately is what is the power to bring sinners to life?

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And so if you're only preaching the law like thus saith the Lord and you're wrong and he's right

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Yeah, that's powerless in order to to do anything for a fallen human Amen, this is why

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Paul says things like the love of God constrains me. Sure the holy Powerful all -creator who loves me causes me to go.

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I don't want to act that way, right? And even That's what our culture does not have and even in the letter to the

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Romans right like you mentioned Romans 1 17 It's the power of 1 16 and 17 is the power of God Unto salvation right for in it.

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The righteousness of God is revealed by faith Then he goes all about I mean he doesn't bring the gospel up again for the better part of three chapters

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I mean he he then lays out a very law -based Argument to damn everybody, but then he that's all he mows everybody down and then he brings the gospel in To say that but the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the law, right?

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And and that's where the life comes Yeah, you know and and the reason he's preaching the law to mow everybody down is because he's trying to demonstrate how

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Gentiles and Jews alike Are condemned under sin so that no one would ever look to themselves

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But then look to Christ alone. Anyway, I think we've covered it. Yeah. All right. Well, it sounds like we got another pod

47:54

We always come up with more material in our podcast, yeah, it's funny how that goes Record one and then it's like we need to do that and that and that anyway should the

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Lord Terry will get after it and hopefully Have these conversations This podcast, I guess will be coming out around Thanksgiving like the day before Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your with your friends with your family with your fellow church members

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And have an opportunity to reflect on the Lord's goodness to you in Christ We are thankful for you and the fact that you would ever give us a listen we're thankful and humbled by how the

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Lord has used a couple of broken vessels like us to encourage Saints all over the place and The Lord Jesus is good and he is enough

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I hope that you have heard that today and that we live in the power of Christ and look to him alone and not to Ourselves.

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So with that we'll sign off until next time grace and peace. Hey everyone before you go

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Justin And I first wanted to say thank you. And if this has been encouraging to you in any way, please feel free to share it

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But we also need your support and it's when you give that it really helps us financially reach more people