God's Decree and Man's Folly | Sermon 03/05/2023

Apologia Utah

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I'm happy to be here and I will admit as well that um these last few days

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I've been going through quite a bit of spiritual warfare before even coming up here to give this sermon and this sermon number one

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It's not about me. It's not about our church. It's not about pastor Wade. This is about the power of God Unto salvation and it's funny how the enemy tries to creep at you to make you worry about the things you're going to say

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But again, it's not what I'm saying that matters It's what the Word of God says and how it convicts us of our sin and brings us on our knees to come to the holy in just God Before I begin our sermon on 1st

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Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18 through 25. I just want to give a brief introduction to the sermon so we can have an understanding

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Coming into it Because I believe understanding God's decree his sovereignty will really help us understand this section of Scripture Which is so rich with biblical truth

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So if you would like you can turn to Isaiah 46 verses 8 through 10 quickly the words of the

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Lord say this it says Remember this and be assured Cause it to return to your heart you transgressors

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Remember the former things long past for I am God and there is no other I am

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God and there is no one like me Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done

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Saying my counsel will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure

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Calling a bird of prey from the east the man of my counsel from a far country Truly I have spoken truly.

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I will bring it to pass. I have formed it. Surely I will do it

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Do you hear it in Isaiah that God has declared the end from the beginning?

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From ancient times. This is a council that has been Established he has formed it and he will bring it to pass

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This is what we know is God's decree In God's decree is played out through human history

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We can find a glimpse of his divine omniscience right the knowledge and wisdom of God through history so we can understand that wisdom of God in hindsight when looking at the past through the lens and only through the lens of gospel and scripture so every

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Millisecond of our lives is not outside of God's control because he has declared the end from the beginning

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Meaning that all things between the beginning and the end are also within his decree

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So every word I'm saying Every breath I take from at this moment all of the people dying to the cries of that newborn

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Baby all exist within the decree of God Now, what does that mean?

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It means that all things have a purpose and are working towards the counsel of his goodwill means nothing is meaningless

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All things means all things and I hope you may be thinking of this verse when I say it Romans 8 28 and we know that for those who love

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God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose

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Therefore we can only understand the wisdom of God within his decree

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Through salvation and the power of the gospel We can't understand the mind and the wisdom of God without first being regenerated so hindsight is only 2020 when we look at the past when we perceive it through the correct lens and that lens for us

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Christians is our salvation For the worldly man in all of his own glory

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They cannot perceive the purposes of God throughout his decree

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The fallen man has a fallen understanding. It's enough not to save him

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But to condemn him Meaning that men When they try to understand history outside of God's providence

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They cannot and will not make sense of history in an effect The fallen person creates a fictional realm of wisdom that leads not to repentance

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But to a hardened heart So throughout time we have two perspectives at play.

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We have time unfolding explained through secular worldly knowledge in Two we have time that is decreed by God and understood within the realm of God's revealed wisdom

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Which is Scripture? There's only one way though to Understand the world only one correct way and these two foundations though have been in conflict

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Since the fall of man, right the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil man takes of it

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They get the knowledge of good and evil, but not the wisdom to discern between the two, right?

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So I want you to ask yourself this question Can I understand anything? Outside of God's omniscience

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Outside of God's wisdom and knowledge does truth exist The answer is no

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Johans Kepler is famously quoted. He's a scientist that Science, which is a methodology is thinking

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God's thoughts after him. It's thinking his thoughts after him It doesn't exist outside of God's omniscience therefore

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The meaning of history can only be understood through the life and death of Jesus Christ all things that come after the resurrection and all things that came before the

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Incarnation are centered around the person and work of Jesus Christ He is the focal point of history and the gospel is the key to making sense of not only the past Not only past but the future as well in our future remember

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God works all things together For good for those who love God who were called according to his purpose

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And that was the problem with the Jews the Gentiles Greeks after the resurrection

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Each tribe and people group had its own misunderstanding of who God is and that led them to the wrong

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Conclusion whether in history or theology or their mythology, right? None of that knowledge or wisdom was enough to bring them to the true saving faith in God It is impossible to think yourself into a relationship with God when you can't even think for yourself you're a slave to sin and Today we face the same issue

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The secular culture at large has a cloud databank of worldly knowledge go ask chat

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GPT, right? all of which think that the cross is foolish and The Christian realm at large claims to believe in Christ, but then we live our lives.

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I'm guilty of it as well as Inconsistent Nietzsche followers with the mantra. God is dead

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What do I mean by that? God has decreed the beginning from the end in all things in between He says he works all things for my good for his glory.

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Yet when something comes up in my life that gives me trouble I forget that I Act functionally as God is dead in my own life

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That is the point of the sermon today to make it known through God's Word that the decree of God viewed in the light of the gospel is the only way to make sense of anything that is only through the power of God that we can obtain a true understanding of ourselves and of salvation past present and future

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You can only have a justification for knowledge when we are first in a relationship with our

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Creator and In this relationship with our Creator we can trust that in his decree

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All things have a purpose and are working for my good in his glory which produces fruits of the

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Spirit love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self -control

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How do we react when things get hard right if we trust in God's decree?

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We can see outside of our circumstances and exhibit fruits of the Spirit But instead if we rely upon our fleshly knowledge, we tend to produce not the fruits of the

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Spirit But the deeds of the flesh and you know them from Galatians 5 19 through 21 sexual immorality impurity sensuality

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Idolatry sorcery enmities strife jealousy outbursts of anger selfish ambition dissensions and factions

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Hold on to that because that's we're gonna go over in 1st Corinthians here Envying drunkenness carousing and the things like these of which

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I forewarn you Just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things will not Inherit the kingdom of God.

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So before we get into the sermon today, let's pray Lord I Thank you for allowing me to be up here.

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I Pray that I can speak clearly that you will be magnified in all of your glory honor in Majesty God you are

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God and we are creatures We do not deserve the mercy and grace that you have given us.

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We just don't Lord But if you were well pleased you say through the foolishness of the gospel to save the ones who you called

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That is us and we praise you We are creatures. You are the creator.

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You are sovereign. You are in control Lord, I pray That I can speak clearly today just to give us a glimpse of the glory that you have

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So get get me out of the way Lord, please and let your words speak clearly You are so amazing and gracious to give us your word

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We praise you and thank you Holy Spirit for dwelling within us Jesus we praise you for dying on the cross for our sins and father.

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Thank you for giving us to Christ Without you the triune God life would be meaningless

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Jesus name. Amen All right. So if you'd like you can turn with me to 1st

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Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 18. Oops.

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Here are the words of the living and true God For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing

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But to us who are being saved it is the power of God For it is written.

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I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever. I will set aside Where is the wise man?

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Where is the scribe? Where's the debater of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world?

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For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe for indeed

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Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach

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Christ crucified to Jews a stumbling block into Gentiles foolishness But to those who are the called both

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Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God stronger than men

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Praise God for that. So let's begin with verse 1 now For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved

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It is the power of God How are we to take this guys? I mean, I remember when I first read this verse to myself

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I was like this is a weird juxtaposition to be had here foolishness in the cross

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Right. I rely on the cross for for everything as a Christian Why in the

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Word of God would we put foolishness next to the cross? Well, we have to understand that Paul is

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Trying to communicate something the Greek word for foolishness here, which is key to understanding what is being said is

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Moria Moria and foolishness in a biblical in the biblical definition Isn't is more than just somebody who is acting in a way that seems to be ignorant or stupid

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The deeper meaning of foolishness is that someone is doing something that is unethical

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Unethical so we can think the word of the cross is unethical To those who are perishing to say that God has done something in human history.

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That is actually unethical therefore to those who are perishing

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The cross which is a representation of Christ and what was accomplished was unethical or stupid

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Just hold on to that We hear it all the time right think in this modern -day concept the angry father who abused his child the divine retribution of the sky

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God People say it that's a reality of the world that we live in the context fits then and it fits now

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But why is Paul even talking about this? Why is he well the answer lies in the beginning of 1st

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Corinthians? I know we're jumping in here at verse 18 But just to give you some context of the conversation that's happening here

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We're gonna read from verses 10 in chapter 1 all the way to 17 because it's gonna give us the key to actually understand

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Why Paul is stating what he's stating? I'll read it right now Now I exhort you brothers

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By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you

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But that you be made complete in the same mind and then the same judgment For I have been informed concerning you my brothers by Chloe's people

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Chloe. There's like, oh man It's probably there's like Oh Paul you say to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you now

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I mean this that each one of you is saying I am of Paul and I of Apollos and I have

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Cephas and I of Christ Has Christ been divided was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

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I? Thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus or Gaius so that none of you would say you were baptized in my name

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Now I did also baptize the household of Stefanus beyond that I do not know whether I baptized any other and here it is for Christ did not send me to baptize

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But to proclaim the gospel not in wisdom of word so that the cross of Christ will not be made empty

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So it was not the wisdom of the words in which Paul preached to the people in Corinth to save them

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No, it was the power of the gospel so that no one may boast That's the key in verse 17 there is division

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Occurring within the church in Corinth and Paul essentially states that it was the power of God Not the wisdom of men and eloquent arguments that brought upon the salvation of the people at Corinth For it was if it was the power of eloquent arguments the cross of Christ would have been made empty

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That's the word that he uses. It's can all without power or void Where does the faith come from does it come from the man?

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Who's giving a convincing argument or does the faith actually come from God who regenerates the individual?

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It's not the argument Meaning that the division coming from within the body in Corinth is occurring through the wisdom in thoughts of men

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This is earthly and fleshly Thinking wisdom that is bringing about divisions the salvation of the

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Corinthians Was not of Paul Apollos or of Cephas but of God and the work of Christ on the cross

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The source of division though comes from a lack of wisdom in Christ so Paul now in verses 18 through 25 begins to set up the argument that all wisdom of the world or Fleshly is of those perishing and is the source of foolishness and is it indeed void with its power to save?

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So to settle all arguments of division within the church Paul is about to put the so -called wisdom of men on display for the church in Corinth Not just theirs in their division, but wisdom in general wisdom in general in effect.

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We have one of the most amazing displays of the omniscience of God The wisdom of the

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King of Kings and Lord of Lords the divine decree of God in which only Salvation can bring about the fear of Yahweh with some which amounts to knowledge

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This is a work that is fully done by God by no will of man ever

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Therefore again, let no one boast among you But those who are perishing

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Boast in their own accomplishments While those who are being saved see the cross and the work of Christ alone as the power of God So let's go back to the first verse in Totality we find for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing

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But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. You've already heard it. There's two groups of people

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There's the people who are perishing and the people who are being saved each with two different viewpoints of the cross first We have the person who is storing up wrath awaiting the judgment of God and that is the person who is perishing

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Then we have the person being saved who is the one in which

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Christ died for the elect But I find it interesting that the

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Bible talks about the person perishing as if they're perishing as an active thing typically when we think of someone who is perishing we think of After death and the judgment and hell and perishing in the lake of fire

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But the Bible describes this person as being alive like you and I Maybe they don't think it they may not know it, but they are actively perishing before the second death

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Perishing is the active display of death through the outworkings of people enslaved to sin

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The opposite are those people who are saved you do all things to the glory of God by the grace of Jesus Christ and There's scripture that can give us a really good

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Representation of both parties the perishing and the ones who are being saved and it's in Romans 2 5 through 11.

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It states this But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself

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In the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God Who will repay to each according to his works?

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To those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality eternal life those being saved

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But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the what the truth the truth

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But obey unrighteousness wrath and anger There will be affliction and turmoil for every soul of man who works out evil of the

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Jew first and also of the Greek Greek And Gentile is being interchangeable the world But glory and honor and peace to everyone who works good to the

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Jew first and also to the Greek for there is no Partiality with God and that's the reality of the one who is perishing the judgment of God and then the second death

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This indictment in Romans Like we stated and we showed here in Scripture that it applies both to the

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Jew and then to the Greek the Gentile But again, it also describes the one who is being saved.

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Listen again in verse 7 of Romans 2 So those by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality and eternal life but glory and honor and peace to everyone who works good and Again God describes the one perishing as a person in in verse 8 is someone who does not

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Obey truth and that is the reality of the person who's perishing in 1st Corinthians 1 18 They think the cross is foolish stupid unethical not according to true knowledge though, but because they actually

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Despise the truth. That's the fool in what book of the Bible Can you think of off your own head talks about the fool more than any other book in the

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Bible? Proverbs exactly. I went and I counted every single verse

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That mentioned the fool not every time the word fool was using use But when it was mentioned it was about 44 times in the book of Proverbs and I do recommend

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I know Wade said it before I've pastor Jeff said it you can read a Chapter in Proverbs every single day for the month and read the book of Proverbs at least 12 times in one year.

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I highly Highly recommend it. It's been a blessing to me and my family But here's just a couple of verses to hit home at the point.

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Paul is making in verse 18 here Okay, this is from Proverbs. There's so many there's so many I just chose a few

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Proverbs 1 7 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline

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Proverbs 18 7 a Fool's mouth is his ruin and his lips are the snare of his soul

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Proverbs 28 26. This is this is one of my favorites whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool

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But he who walks in wisdom will be delivered Honestly guys we can go on and on with how

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God speaks about the fool and foolishness But the point being made by Paul is that the fool is the one who is perishing who thinks the cross is

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Foolish, this is the argumentation Paul is using right? He's like showing the fool their own folly the foolish person does not live in reality

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What does the Proverbs say that they trust in their own mind? They have created a world of their own making

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While the person being saved right who is being sanctified? Understands that it was not their own wisdom that brought about their salvation

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But it was purely the work of Christ and the work of Christ alone So he's telling the church in Corinth at this moment

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Who saved you? Was it by the wisdom of Apollos was it the wisdom of myself was it

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Peter? By no means it was purely by the work of God and work of God alone

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He's trying to settle the division by being bringing truth into their falsehood But in effect, he's actually condemning all of the wisdom of the world.

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So amazing So the one perishing right which is what we have to understand

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When we get the secular argument argument of today where they say God abused his son on the cross That's the person perishing and they need the gospel because it's the gospel that has the power of God for salvation

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But then in contrast the person being saved understands that their salvation number one Number one their salvation and their own lives can only make sense

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Through the light of the gospel and then hold on to this verse right here the last section of verse one

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But to us who are being saved it is the power of God Notice Paul right now is placing himself in the same line as all believers

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He is also one who is being saved. I love how Paul always does that Peter actually does it as well

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But he puts himself on the same level as us. We tend to think Oh Paul as the Apostle We put him on this magnifying stage.

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We're committing the same thing the same sin as the church in Corinth Yes, great man. Listen to him He speaks the oracles of God, but just as us and as a fallen human nature

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He needs Jesus just as much as we do and he places himself on the same line showing his humility

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But the word saved here means to be rescued or delivered from the question

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We should ask though is what is what exactly is someone being rescued or delivered from?

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Well those who are being saved are rescued from the divine judgment of God therefore in this verse there is a group of people who are being saved through the present act of sanctification of People who are being delivered currently from the divine judgment of God by God through the power of God And I like to think about this verse in a

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Trinitarian nature It's quite beautiful when you think about it in in this way. Let me read it to you

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But to us who are being saved it is the power of God What are we given as regenerated believers?

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Or who shall I say we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit Right. How does the

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Holy Spirit dwell within us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that forgives us for our sins by the power?

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Of God, what does that mean? Think John chapter 6 the father gives a certain people to Christ and I praise

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God for that. So I am being saved by the Holy Spirit in my sanctification, right?

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Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ by the power of the father who has given me to Christ It's so beautiful to think about it.

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So there's a group again of people who are being sanctified a present deliverance from the grasp of sin through the power of the

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Holy Spirit by the Shed blood of Christ who have been chosen by the father and in Christ who raised himself from the dead

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Therefore this deliverance this salvation has nothing to do with human will or exertion There were no arguments or crafty philosophy that saved the individual

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It is God who rescues God who saves and God who brought about this through his own divine decree through his own divine decree and some people error when reading this verse and they read being saved a

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Salvation that is held secure. They don't read it as something that's held secure at the moment of regeneration right, like we think about in a

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Romans 8 with the golden chain of Redemption, but in stain instead they think about it as a process in which we can fail

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That we are being saved right now, but you don't have to be saved later if you work at it see

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Andrew We are not just saved at the time of regeneration But I would argue this negates the whole point that Paul is making up You have to read an external philosophy into the text in order to come to that conclusion

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You must have a pre -commitment to a philosophy outside of the wisdom of God brought into the text

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Which then creates a contradiction in the text and that's not how we read scripture. Why? Because we are being saved how?

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not through my human will or exertion but by the power of God and Again, if it was by your own will this would negate the argument

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Paul is making about settling divisions among the church Because it's about the power of God Furthermore when you read the whole verse in context again we are being told that the rescuing or deliverance that we currently have in this life is done through the power of God and this week at we had man camp and it was extremely fun for everyone who was there and Pastor Wade did a nice teaching on Ephesians 2 8 through 10

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And while he was doing that teaching it reminded me to put this in here because it is so beautiful in terms of the consistent

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Thought throughout scripture about how we are saved. I'm gonna read it to you now Ephesians 2 8 through 10

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We always need the reminder. We need the reminder. We always have that ability to boast in ourselves, right?

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For by grace you have been saved through faith in this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God Not of works so that no one may boast

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For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works

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Which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in in them Romans 3 23 through 28

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For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom

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God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith for a Demonstration of his righteousness because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed for the demonstration of his righteousness at the present time

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So that he would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus where then is boasting it is excluded

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By what kind of law of works? No But by a law of faith for we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law

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Do you hear it here? Paul is telling us in Romans 3 that he actually publicly made a demonstration in a human history of being

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Just and the justifier through his sovereign decree The father was pleased to crush

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Jesus That's a reality. We must understand why because he had appointed it to happen.

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But again, we can't understand history without salvation without Salvation God's decree to us looks as if it is foolishness

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But to those who are being saved it is the power of God But the difference between what is happening is that we are without excuse now.

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God has publicly made it known in history That he has fulfilled the past right all of the prophecies from the

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Old Testament and that there is an end and that will actually happen as well and we need to Remember that we need to remember that like Ephesians states

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You have been saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves that no one may boast and like Roman states

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God is both the just and the justifier Therefore Paul is stating to the

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Corinthians. He says What leg does himself Peter or Apollos have to stand on with regards to your salvation?

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None at all It's purely the power of God through the gospel that regenerated the hearts of those in Corinth Romans 1 16

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The gospel is the power of God for salvation and it is this gospel

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Which is the power of God that those who are perishing find foolish and the foolish person does not

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Understand God's decree through the light of salvation They cannot they cannot and that's why

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Paul makes this declaration now in verse 19 in verse 19 Verse 19 states this it says for it is written

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I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever. I will set aside So in my

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Bible, it's in all caps and I go why is this in all caps? Well, it's a quotation from the Old Testament Well, I'm gonna go to the

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Old Testament and see why he is quoting this and where it is even coming from By God's grace we have had thousands of years of scholars who look

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Through the Bible and they can tell me where this is from so I didn't have to actually start in Genesis and go all the way

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To Malachi to find this quote. Nope. I pushed a button and told me where it was Thank you Jesus that the road to Emmaus is actually being fulfilled through us every single day through the people of God who do biblical research

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Thank you God. Anyways, he's quoting from Isaiah 29 14. So I wanted to go to Isaiah and read the text

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I'm gonna start in verse 13 and I'm gonna end in verse 16 because verse 16 is very very powerful

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This is what it says. If you want to go to Isaiah 29, I'll give you a minute to get there and we'll read it together starting in verse 13 then the

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Lord said Because this people draw near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips

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But they remove their hearts from me and their fear of me is in the command of my men Learned by rote you hear that the fear of God is only known through memorization, but their hearts are far from me

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Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people wondrously marvelous and earlier in Isaiah He's talking about Ariel and Ariel is a reference for Jerusalem.

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So this is a prophecy Concerning Jerusalem and here it is. Here's the part of the quotation It's a little bit different than what is being said by Paul But it means essentially the same thing it states and the wisdom of their wise men will perish and the discernment of their discerning men

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Will be hidden Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh and whose deeds are done in a dark place and they say who sees us

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Or who knows us you turn things around the condemnation to Israel Shall the

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Potter be considered as equal with the clay that what is made would say to its maker

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He did not make me or what is formed say to him who formed it. He has no understanding

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Do you see it? Paul when quoting

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Isaiah 29 is not merely relying on his own opinion. He's quoting from Isaiah to make a point

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He's showing that this prophecy has been fulfilled in agreement with Christ in agreement with Christ in Isaiah We find that those who only fear they only fear

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God through memorization, but their hearts are not after God And what's funny when I was actually doing some research for this section

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I was reminded because we hear it actually all the time if you do studies into Mormonism, you've heard that before Then the

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Lord said because there's people drawn near me with their mouth But there they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are not their hearts are far from me

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It's funny how the actual context of this quotation relates to a specific point of time that is actually nowhere near what

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Joseph says It's about in Nephi. I find that extremely funny. That has nothing to do with it. This is referring to Israel But we can find that there's those who call themselves wise but these people held their own traditions over the law of God and enslave the people instead and Jesus echoes this in Isaiah 29 when he's condemning the

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Pharisees with his seven woes We find that in Matthew 23 verses 13 through 36 as a prophecy fulfilled

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And I'm gonna read to you Jesus's seven woes to the scribes and Pharisees It's very important because very

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Many times when you're reading the the prophets in the Old Testament We find woes that are be giving to Israel and this is before coming

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Judgment of Israel whether destruction or whether people are being put in held captive, right?

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But now we have the King of Kings and Lord of Lords the last final prophet giving not just a few woes to Israel But seven woes to Israel before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ad

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And we need to understand the fulfillment of this prophecy to get what's going on in 1st Corinthians here when he's quoting from the

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Old Testament Here's the words of our Lord Jesus Matthew 23 13 But woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people for you do not enter in yourself

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Nor do you allow those who are entering to go in? Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites because you devour widows houses and for a pretense you make long prayers

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Therefore you will receive greater Condemnation woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites because you travel around on Sea and land to make one proselyte and when he becomes one you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves

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These are the rabbis man who commit their lives to memorization of the law And he says to them you make someone twice a man of hell than you

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Woe to you blind guides who say whoever swears by the sanctuary that is nothing But whoever swears by the gold of sanctuary is obligated you fools in blind men

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For which is more important the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold and whoever swears by the altar that is nothing

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But whoever swears by the offering on it. He is obligated Condemnation here we go you blind men, which is more important the offering or the altar the altar that sanctifies the offering therefore whoever swears by the altar swears both by the altar and by everything on it and whoever swears by the sanctuary swears both by the sanctuary and by him who dwells within it and Whoever swears by heaven swears by both the throne of God and by him who sits upon it

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Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law

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Justice and mercy and faithfulness, but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others

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You blind guides you strain out a gnat but swallow a camel Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish but inside they are full of robbery and self -indulgence

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You blind Pharisee first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish so that the outside of it may become clean also

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Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful But inside they are full of dead men's bones and uncleanliness

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In This way you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness

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Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous and Say if we had been living in the days of our fathers

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We would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. Do you hear that? He's saying that you

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Build the tombs of the prophets and you adorn them with jewels and you say you would have been better than your fathers

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So you bear witness against yourself says Jesus that you are Sons of those who murdered the prophets fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers

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You're you serpents you brood of vipers How will you escape the sentence of hell on account of this behold?

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I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes Some of them you will kill and crucify and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from city to city

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So that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth from the blood of the righteous able to the blood

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Of Zechariah the son of Berechiah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar Truly I say to you all these things will come upon this generation

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Jesus tells them you think you wouldn't kill the prophets who are the ones who put Jesus on the cross the final prophet

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You he says you think you wouldn't Are the same ones who put him on a cross and then the first martyr

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Stephen his condemnation is just an axe chapter 7 verses 51 through 53 you men

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Stiff -necked and uncircumcised and hardened ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit as your father's did

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So do you and which one of the prophets did your father's not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one whose betrayers and murderers

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You have now become you who received the law as ordained by angels and yet did not observe it

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So what's the point that that we are that I'm trying to make here? the point is this we find throughout the history of the

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Jews a Lack of trust in God and his decree.

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He gave them his word and he told them he would do it Here's some examples the golden calf after the parting of the

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Red Sea The turning back into the wilderness after fearing the Giants in Canaan the failed

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Conquest in Canaan the complaining over the manna that was provided in the wilderness food from God the disobedience of the people during the time of judges the wicked

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Kings the killing of the prophets and finally the crucifixion of the Messiah All of this occurs because a lack of trust in God's decree

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But he has declared the end from the beginning and will he not Achieve his plans.

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He shamed the wise through their mistrust. The Messiah was yes killed But again, he was appointed to die

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God was well pleased to shame them through the death of Jesus Christ And that is the reason why

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I continued into verse 16 It's because of exactly what it Paul is getting at verse 16 in Isaiah 29

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It's in the section of Scripture that we find where it says you turn things around in the condemnation to Israel Turning around of trying to understand what

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God is doing. They turn it around they say and he condemns him He says shall the Potter be considered as equal with the clay that what is made would say to his maker

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He did not make me or what is formed to form say to him who formed it. He has no understanding The foolishness of those who are perishing is to say that God's decree his counsel his

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Declaration of the end from the beginning is unethical and is stupid Really think about what is being said the clay which

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God has molded looks back up to his creator and says to him things are Not what you think you must not know what you are doing, right?

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The fool is the one who thinks in his own mind But this is the response right?

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This is how I would picture it Can you oh man save yourself from death, which will inevitably overtake you?

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Can you oh man add time to your life by the very words you speak? Can you oh man raise yourself from the dead?

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Can you oh man understand the mind of God? Can you oh man separate the wheat from the chaff and weigh the hearts of men?

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Can you oh man tell me the beginning in the end and the purpose for all things in time? Even in our own thinking we must be corrected like Job when

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God graciously replies to him. Where were you? When I did these things Where were you?

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the point Is that this is God's decree He declared the end from the beginning the cross in his wisdom is the turning point of all history

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And he publicly declared it to all men. He did not do it in secret And this is what he declared from sin the fruit taken from the tree right which was declared to not eat of it

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To the God -man Jesus Christ placed on a tree to save the world from sin When Jesus Christ was on that cross and died

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He fulfilled the very covenant with Abraham thus making everything we find in the

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Old Testament a hundred percent certain Hundred percent certain in his declaration and in this

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God made a public spectacle not just to the Jew but to the Gentile as well It was a spectacle to the world

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Colossians 2 15 Having disarmed the rulers and authorities. He made a public display of them having triumphed over them in him

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So in this moment God showed on the cross not through mystery shadow or type

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But instead through the glory of the unique and only Son John 1 18 that his decree is sure his counsel will stand

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There is no power of man that could stand against the decree of God Instead all things done by men are within the decree of God to bring about the fullness of time

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You can't do anything different other than Further along the goal of God.

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You can't stop it. It's not on you Ephesians 1 7 through 10 states in him.

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We have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our transgressions according to the riches of his grace Which he caused to abound in us in all wisdom and insight making known to us here

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It is making known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in him

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For an administration of the fullness of times that is the summing up of all things in Christ Things in heaven and things on earth in him

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Therefore we find now going back to verse 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verses 20 through 21

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Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?

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Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its own wisdom did not come to know

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God God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe

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So where is the wise man who can save himself from the judgment of God? Where is the scribe who can wash away the sins of the world?

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Where is the debater who can set the captives free? I can tell you his name was Jesus His name was

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Jesus The issue is is people think that they do it, right? That's the condemnation of Paul.

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Can I speak? eloquent words of wisdom that free men from death

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No, absolutely not. You cannot talk your way out of hell when you're born enslaved to what confines you to it

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We're born sinners. It's not it doesn't happen our Limited sense experience through general revelation, which is the things that God has made right trees birds you me mathematics

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The methodology of science these types of things they cannot save us They cannot produce salvation eloquent arguments about the trees or about any of these things cannot save us

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It can only condemn us as we use our own minds to glorify and create idols out of the things which are made

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Here's God's condemnation of the Jew and the Gentile in Romans 1 18 through 25 just to really hit this in We should know this.

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I believe we've done this in the Catechism or we have probably even done this yet Have we have we done this in the Catechism yet? I don't think so.

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Anyways, this is part of a Catechism question Romans 1 18 through 25

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For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness

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Because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them For since the creation of the world is invisible attributes

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Both his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse

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For even though they knew God They did not glorify him as God or give thanks

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But they became futile in their thoughts and their foolish heart was darkened professing to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible

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God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four -footed animals and crawling creatures

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Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity So that their bodies would be dishonored among them

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For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the

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Creator who is blessed forever Amen Romans 2 right they they despise truth.

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They despise truth And they traded that truth of God in for a lie So only

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God in his power right not general level revelation in the things that are made

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God in his power and power alone can produce within us Salvation through his righteous decree

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Right our expert knowledge of mathematics cannot save you from the wrath of God without Christ.

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You will worship the things he created Your eloquent philosophy cannot save you from the wrath of God without Christ.

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Your philosophical system is meaningless Your waxing poetic cannot save you from the wrath of God without Christ Words just strewn in sentences seek to glorify yourself rather than the

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Creator your high level of theological Theological knowledge cannot save you from the wrath of God without Christ.

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You are just a noisy gong Your good works apart from Christ cannot save you from the wrath of God without Christ.

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Those are nothing but filthy rags Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age, right?

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Only God and his good pleasure can save you by himself from himself for himself

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We've heard that somewhere before by an awesome theologian. I wish I could remember who said that I didn't

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Google it to give them The credit in the quote I didn't figure that myself, but it's true Only God in his good pleasure can save you by himself from himself for himself

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And this he has declared and will achieve his counsel his goodwill

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We read it first in Isaiah and now continuing into verse 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know

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God God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preach to save those who believe

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And I think this is an extremely profound section in Paul's address to the Corinthians and we must truly

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Let this sink in the world through its own wisdom did not come to know God Let's think of some examples in the

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Old Testament to show us exactly how this has played out throughout human history Cain killed

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Abel Jealousy over God being pleased with the sacrifices that Abel offered Cain in his own worldly wrist wisdom

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Rejected God's warning about sin crouching at the door and he killed his own brother Noah built an ark at the direction of God to the world around him.

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This was foolish all Perished on the earth. Yes the whole earth Except for eight people in the ark

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That's how foolish it seemed to the people who are here. We're watching Noah build an ark, right? But God was pleased to save Noah in what seems to be foolish

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Joseph's brothers and their jealousy of him threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery For the prophecy that they would one day bow down to him

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Yet it was through Joseph a slave in Egypt that God preserved the line of Abraham through the drought that wrought

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Cain in Egypt What do we find in Genesis when it talks about what when Joseph talks about what happened to him?

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What man did for evil God intended for good to bring about what his purpose is?

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Seems foolish doesn't it that a slave from Egypt would save God's people Then we have

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Moses He was rescued from a wicked decree by Pharaoh who said to slaughter the firstborn of the the

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Hebrews And he was saved by being placed in a basket and sent down the Nile. He wasn't even eaten God saved him and he was rescued by who

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Pharaoh's daughter Raised in the royalty and then he led millions of people out of Egypt where they were stopped by a sea

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Right in this like being stopped by the Red Sea God still then delivers them through his power through the sea and destroys

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Pharaoh's army at the same time Do you can see how the world would call this foolish? I mean, what would you be looking at like an

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Egyptian seeing two three million people just Humping it on foot with their things just getting out.

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It's like what is gonna happen to these people? They got everything they need over here in Egypt or there. They're the ones working for us, right?

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The thing about this to the Passover the last plague on Egypt God told

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Moses to tell the people to shed the blood of a lamb and put it over their doorposts So that the angel of death would pass over their firstborn

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Imagine how that looked to the Egyptians What are these wacky Hebrews doing slaughtering their food that they barely ever get to eat and putting it over their doorposts

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What is that going to do for them? How did that end? Pharaoh's own son died right and the firstborn of many

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Egyptians and Again, Joshua led an army to walk around Jericho for six days

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Then on the seventh day to walk around seven times and then the walls would come crashing down Foolish I'm guessing even some people that were in the armies of Joshua were like what in the world are we doing here?

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And then we got the people in Jericho and I grew up watching VeggieTales So it just reminds me of like the little vegetables looking down on them like what are you doing with their little accents?

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But they probably thought these people were idiots Right. Look how it ended and then again

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David verse Goliath The Lord used the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse to kill the giant

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Philistine with only a smooth stone in a sling Imagine the Philistine army seeing

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David walk in to face Goliath While it ended with a severed head in the hands of David Goliath decapitated by his own sword

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And those are just a few examples, right? There's tons more Examples we can give through the biblical precedent throughout human history

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Where what we would find foolish in our own wisdom We find that it's actually the power of God that did all of these things would

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Noah have built the ark without God's instruction Would Jericho have fallen down? Do you really think it was trumpets that knocked down the wall?

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No, it was the power of God example after example after example in the Old Testament. It's not about the human

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God makes it known that it's purely by his power and he's the one who gets to boast Alone, even with Deborah and Barak and judges right when they're gonna face off the armies.

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I think it's the Moabites What happens there Deborah and Barak are leading the armies, but what does

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God do? He makes a river come and swallow them up There is no boasting in the people throughout all of human history.

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It's boasting in God Boasting in God, but we find the same error is committed time and time again where people

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Think that they are the ones who are to boast but there they are wrong, right? We are wrong and the

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Jews as well are without excuse. They had the scriptures. They had these stories They had the prophecies of the

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Messiah and yet in the hardness of their hearts God was well pleased in his decree to provide salvation by the death of their

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King And again, this was publicly made known to the Jew and to the Gentile So think about this to the

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Jew the death of their Messiah was a stumbling block to them We've heard Wade go over it in John the

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Jews think and wanted him to come for Rome and to rule No, but he didn't come just for Rome.

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He came for the whole world. This was a stumbling block for them So how in Christ in his weakness does the world get conquered?

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Well, it's so much bigger and it always has been but they've always made the same mistake for just as the seven woes of Christ show in The condemnation from Stephen it shows that the

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Jews did not have a correct understanding of God's providence Throughout their history.

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Remember Jesus states if you would have believed the words of Moses you would have believed in me

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You would have believed in me So God was well pleased to show that only through his work to his glory alone that no one can be saved under any other

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Name or other work than that of Jesus Christ Continuing on we're gonna go to verses 22 through 24 in 1st

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Corinthians chapter 1 For indeed Jews ask for signs in Greek search for wisdom But we preach

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Christ crucified to Jews a stumbling block into Gentiles foolishness But to those who are the called

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Both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God We find that the

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Jews in this condemnation were seeking only things after the flesh They were constantly looking for signs while ignoring the scriptures

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Matthew 12 38 through 40. This is Jesus talking to the Pharisees. He says Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying teacher

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We wish to see a sign from you, but he answered them an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign

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But no sign will be given to it except the sign of the Prophet Jonah For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish

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So will the Son of Man be three nights and three days in the heart of the earth?

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What's interesting about that is what had just occurred previously in Matthew? Jesus was performing signs and miracles to them and they contributed the work of the

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Holy Spirit to the work of the devil He was already doing signs. It wasn't enough.

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Why because they they only feared God through memorization But their hearts were far from them

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What does it constantly say time and time again in the Gospels? Those with eyes who do not see and those with ears who do not hear it was appointed for them to make this offense

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There are vessels formed for wrath and there are vessels formed for grace

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First Peter 2 8 gives us a nice little look deeper into what we can see here with the stumbling block

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Peter states this and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense they stumble because they are

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Disobedient to the word and this stumbling they were also appointed into the stumbling.

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They were also appointed The point is that the life of Christ was enough to show them that the

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Messiah had come just his life Just his being there the scriptures plainly declared the prophecy of the coming clean the coming

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King They even showed his sacrifice burial his death and resurrection. They should have known with just him being there

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They should have known as Peter said, I mean they were even given John right John the lamp

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John the lamp and Still Christ was a stumbling block. But again, did you hear what

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Peter said? They were also appointed to this stumbling Isaiah 29 and we read it earlier 13 through 16.

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He will destroy the clever of the cleverness and the wisdom of the wise God's decree was to make known the foolishness of those who considered themselves to be educators of God to the world

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But they were whitewashed tombs. He says he appointed this therefore to the

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Jews Jesus Christ is Yahweh in the flesh dying on a Roman cross and then rising from the dead is a stumbling block

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For they were a people who longed for signs. They wanted a physical King but ignored constantly the

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Word of God They wanted what they want. They were the clay looking back up to the Potter You have no understanding so much so that they put the

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God of the universe on a cross When Jesus stated that they were a wicked and adulterous generation is because they longed for signs and again

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Jesus was already performing miracles Keep doing them Jesus and one day we'll believe

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Signs are not enough They're not maybe some people were saved in the signs that Jesus was doing

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But that's because God used it through the power of God to save them because he has decreed

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Who the elect was from the beginning his sheep hear his voice But now to the

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Gentile to the Greek God man, Jesus his humiliation and raising from the dead These wise people who searched and longed after philosophy thought this was foolish right not

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Zeus Not their Greek Pagan gods. Why would I believe in the God man who would take on flesh and then die?

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This is silly to them like they have so much knowledge that they don't need Jesus But we're forgetting and they're forgetting that they also come from two people

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Adam and Eve and The wisdom of the wise is not enough to save them from the judgment of God Is this not the world that we live in today?

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People are too smart to need a Savior People are too smart now to need God But all of their wisdom is just to ignore the inevitability of their own death

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We will all die for the wages of sin is death They will die one day too.

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They need the gospel. They need the gospel. But again, they do not understand history Because they are not regenerate

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Their wisdom in the world is not the wisdom from God They despise the truth and they seek after the thoughts of their own mind, but they will die one day

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We don't have elect goggles. We don't know who the elect are. We need to preach the gospel to them But note first Corinthians 2 verse 14

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Paul states this But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him

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And he cannot understand them because they are spiritually examined Thus it is to be the one perishing

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The one who is not the elect of God They are not the ones who are appointed to eternal life.

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They are not the ones who are given to Christ by his father Right John chapter 6

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They are the natural man at enmity with God void of the Spirit and the Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth

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So we must not be dismayed at the wisdom of the world We must understand that though are there though?

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There are some that do not believe we should not harden our own hearts in their Unbelief or just be dismayed has not

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God declared the end the beginning from the end and what is our hope in? Our hope is in the completed work of Christ on the cross

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I have faith that God will accomplish all that he has been set out to do because he publicly made it known and we are

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All without excuse and we should all bow down to the glory and Savior of our Lord Jesus Christ because he fulfilled the covenant with Abraham if we sit now between Jesus's death on the cross and the resurrection

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We know that the the second coming of Christ is going to be made sure Because he completed it on the cross in terms of where our hope can lie.

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He does not lie to us We have a hope it's so beautiful So beautiful when we go into the next verse, which is a restating of verse 18

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But in a different way he says but to those who are the called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God There are those again who are being saved like we talked about earlier.

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These are the called in Greek It's the kletos, which means summoned by God the elect of God who consists of the not just the

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Jew but the entire World and think about that as a stumbling block to the

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Jew as well that the death and burial Resurrection of Jesus Christ the God -man himself bring salvation not just to the ones that God had separated earlier

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Right to said do this and do that so I can dwell with you But now to the unclean person, it's a stumbling block to them

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No, this is my God says the Jew and God says no I am God to all descendants of Abraham and I will make them clean by the blood of Jesus Christ And that is the called ones right the ones who understand that through the power of God That the gospel and their salvation is purely the work of God alone

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Which now brings us to our final verse Because the foolishness of God is wiser than man and the weakness of God is stronger than men

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It's God's plan of salvation His decree from the beginning to the end is that is what man finds foolish in our own wisdom

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Paul is not stating here that it's actually foolish But he has demonstrated that apart from God in his decree any knowledge that sets itself in opposition of God is in itself

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Meaningless for none of it has the power to save What the

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Jews may find offensive with the Gentile inclusion God sees is gracious What the

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Greeks see is weak God dying for man God exhibits salvation for his people Nonetheless, this is not just words

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They're not just words guys God made himself known in Jesus Christ. This happened in time and space

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He publicly made a spectacle of all that sets itself apart from him We are all without excuse

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There is no way to the father other than through Jesus Christ No other name in which we are to be saved all of human history and God's omniscience

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Through which has been revealed to us has to be viewed in light of the gospel in the Scriptures This can only be achieved through the work of God in God alone because in Christ are hidden all the treasures of Wisdom and knowledge.

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We must not be like the Jews and Gentiles. We must not think like they did

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And don't think that you're any better than them. I Know I'm not When something comes up in your life that is difficult for you to handle

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What is Romans 8 28 saying? What does it say? It's for your good and for his glory.

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Do you look back and say why did this happen to me? Are you not understanding now that you're a misunderstanding the decree of God?

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He says this is to happen to you suffer righteously suffer justly Do you look at him and say why did you do this to me?

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Well, he told you have faith in Christ, right? Do not lean on your own understanding acknowledge him in all your ways and he will make your path straight

01:04:12

Don't think you're any better because we all struggle with the same thing. That's something that we must put to death We must trust in God that he states

01:04:22

It's for our good for his glory as hard as it is guys as hard as it is. We must be humble We must observe our own circumstances in the light of God's previously revealed knowledge rooted in his word

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Whatever hand we are dealt we must believe God in his word when he states that it is for our good And for his glory, this is not a lie.

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It's not a lie we have a whole Bible that shows us what it looks like when we do not trust in God in his word and Again, we're without excuse

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Because he did die on the cross. He publicly made it known to all of us We can't look at God one day and say

01:04:57

I'm sorry I didn't trust you in this way and think that we can push away our sin Now the only way for our sin to be placed on somebody else is for to actually be placed on Somebody else and that is

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Jesus Christ the God -man who took on flesh and died on the cross for our sins We are imperfect.

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We will never be perfect. He who says they are without sin John demonstrates that the truth is not in you

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We need God and his word and his power But we also guys have the ability to see

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God's decree play out throughout human history in God's Word Again, he declared the beginning from the end, but he tells us the end he gave it to us

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Why not trust a minute? Right Psalm 110 1 and the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make all of your enemies a footstool for your feet

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Isaiah he says this is my counsel. This is my decree. Will I not accomplish it?

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Will he not accomplish all that he has decreed? Think about that in your own life when you come up with the struggles that you face

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You must not rely on your own worldly wisdom when looking at your current circumstances

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You must trust in God in order to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit through difficult times the church in Corinth didn't do it

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That's why he's correcting them What did they suffer they suffered divisions? They didn't exhibit fruits of the

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Spirit, but they exhibited deeds of the flesh Right worldly wisdom in boasting deeds of the flesh exhibited in a in the church in Corinth in the first chapter

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Paul condemns them and states that your salvation is purely a work of God And the word the world calls that plan of salvation foolish foolish lesson do not be like the world

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That's a lesson do not be like the world praise God for his grace and mercy to tell us in his word not to do those things

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I Can I can promise you this? You will not exhibit the fruits of the

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Spirit during difficult times if you build a golden calf and call it Yahweh It's not possible. It cannot and will not happen

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It won't our application from this section of Scripture is to understand that God has declared the end from the beginning and in his knowledge

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He has graciously revealed to all of us And all things that happen to the elect are for our good and for his glory and again throughout biblical history.

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We have proof Proof that God upholds his promises to rely not on ourselves but on God The world may call it foolish, but they are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power the power of God Do you look at your current circumstances and again, do you do you shake your fist at God?

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Are you not the clay telling the Potter and Isaiah or what is formed to him who formed it? He has no understanding

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I assure you God understands everything in your circumstances. You want to know why? Because he decreed it

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For your good for his glory God has a purpose for your life Even the hard times you not seek to call

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God foolish or unethical Because you do not like the hand you've been dealt put it to death

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Again if you look Anywhere other than the scriptures relying on the Holy Spirit Through the means of grace that God has given us right the church the preaching and proclamation of the word you reading your

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Bible You're a prayer time with God. You're not going to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit in times of difficulty

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Instead you are going to exhibit the deeds of the flesh But guess what? You are a new creation called to walk in the ways of our

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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ And though we fail there is grace and mercy for us every single day every new morning every single second

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Why Because our salvation is the power of God and God alone. Let's pray dear

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Lord. I thank you that my salvation Is not dependent upon me

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That it's purely through the power of God That Lord that you put me in my place in your word.

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You say you are nothing but a creature and That I rely on you and that you are the one who never breaks your promises

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We are the great covenant breakers But you are the covenant keeper Let us Lord live our life in that reality to not trust and be the fool who trusts in his own mind

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But instead to say outside of our circumstances to look at and say God says this God says that so I can live a life

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In obedience to you and exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. Thank you for your word Thank you Holy Spirit for preserving it throughout time

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I praise you for that Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins and thank you father again for giving us to the son

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Thank you for decreeing all things meaning that nothing is purposeless We praise you and love you in Jesus name.