Defining the Gospel

Yeah, so before we get started, I did see that in the chat that somebody was asking about the books, and I'll show you them on Amazon real quick.

The first one is The Lutheran Difference, an Explanation and Comparison of Christian Beliefs, and there is a section that's related to Calvinism there, and then

Dr. Cooper's book is titled The Great Divide, A Lutheran Evaluation of Reformed Theology, and that would be, you know, those are the two books that I would recommend as a place to start.

So, you know, let's just say that there are significant differences between the two theological camps, and a major difference between them, between the two, really relates as to what we would call the right use of reason.

Calvinists hold to what's called a magisterial view of reason, Lutherans hold to a ministerial view of reason, and this is one of the fundamental differences.

So there are doctrines that the Calvinists believe that are not taught in scripture, but they will argue are the logical consequence of using syllogisms and logic and things like that, and so they have an interesting use of reason, which is what, in part, informs their theological tradition.

So, okay, all that being said, that's not where we're going to spend our time today, and we are instead going to be doing a primer on law and gospel, because this is one of those things we need to do, due to the fact that because we have the law written on our hearts, you know, when it comes to our theology and our relationship to the law and how the gospel works out, since we have the law written on our hearts, we have an internal ability to steer towards legalism that is just a natural part of us.

You think of it this way, if you've ever driven a high -profile vehicle down the highway when there's a crosswind, a good storm crosswind going, you have to keep your hand on the steering wheel tight, because if you let go of the steering wheel for a minute, you might be able to sing

Jesus Take the Wheel, but he's not, you're gonna end up putting that vehicle in the ditch, and so, because that strong, that crosswind is a constant thing, so as soon as you let go, you're gonna automatically steer right off the road.

Same thing as Christians, because we have the law written on our hearts, we naturally gravitate towards the law and legalism and self -righteousness.

In fact, it just seems to be our default mode. So we have to let the scriptures inform us of the proper distinction between law and gospel, and then how then it relates, you know, specifically to justification.

Now, we're not talking about sanctification in this lesson, we're talking specifically about justification.

So let's pray, and then we will get into it. Blessed Lord, you have caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning.

Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, inwardly digest them, so that through patience and the comfort of your holy word we may embrace and ever hold fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our

Lord. Amen. Okay, now in a discussion of the proper distinction of law and gospel, we're going to need to do a little bit of definitional work.

First of all, we're going to define the law in this way. So we'll note that in Scripture, when you see the word law, there is a sense in which the law is talked about in a wide sense, and then there is a way in which the law is talked about in a narrow sense.

And when we're talking about the distinction between law and gospel, we're not talking about the wide sense, we're talking about the narrow sense.

So the wide sense would be something like this. If you ever heard of the law and the prophets, the phrase the law and the prophets, when you see that in Scripture, the word law is referring to the first five books of the

Bible, the Torah. Okay, that's the law. So in one sense, the law can be the Bible, the law can be the first five books of the

Bible, but that's not what we're talking about. We're not talking about the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, either.

So when we're talking about the distinction between law and gospel, we're talking about the commandments, the ten commandments that inform us, what we are commanded to do, it defines what is right, what is wrong, what is good, what is evil, and so the ten commandments are the specific thing that we are talking about when we talk about the distinction between law and gospel.

Now, the second definition is an important one, in fact a vital one, because of all the confusion that is going on out there.

Now, years ago, when the emergent Church was a thing, it's not a thing anymore, they've kind of disappeared into the wall like cockroaches.

But Tony Jones of the emergent Church, he used to engage in this weird postmodern deconstructionism and word games, and if you tried to pin him down on what his definition of the gospel was, because you could tell he was doing some funny things with the phrase gospel, he made the claim that the

Bible nowhere defines the gospel. That was his claim. And so pretty much, that being the case, it's pretty, that's fair game.

But Scripture does not agree with Tony Jones. So when we're talking about the gospel as opposed to the law, so the proper distinction between law and gospel, we are defining the gospel in a very specific way.

And so what we're gonna do here, we're gonna talk a little bit about what that gospel is.

So by way of preparation for defining it, I want to show you what

Paul does in Romans 1. In Romans 1, verse 15, Paul says something very interesting to Christians.

He says to the churches in Rome, he says, I am eager to preach the gospel to you.

Now, I'm pointing this out because in much of evangelicalism, in my experience as an evangelical, there's this kind of unspoken, understood idea regarding the gospel, and it goes something like this.

The gospel is the thing that you preach to an unbeliever, and then if they make a decision to ask

Jesus into their heart, they don't need to hear the gospel anymore. There's this weird belief that the gospel is only to be preached to really unbelievers, and now that I'm a

Christian, I don't really need to hear it. I would say, note that the Apostle Paul says that he's eager to preach the gospel to Christians in Rome, okay?

So that kind of blows up that idea. We Christians need to hear both the law and the gospel constantly, all right?

We need to hear both. And then he says these words, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it, the gospel, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the

Jew first and also to the Greek, for in it, in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

This is his thesis statement, if you would, as we start to get into the theological portion of the book of Romans, and it begins talking about not being ashamed of the gospel, the gospel being the power of God for salvation, and in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, which is an important bit because we'll see in Philippians 3 what that righteousness of God is used for.

It's used for me and for you, it's given to us. So all of that being said, this doesn't define what the gospel is, but you're going to note that this is the gospel, that this gospel is the power of God for salvation.

In fact, Romans 10 makes it very clear when it comes to how somebody believes in Christ and trusts

Him for salvation, Romans 10 for a scripture says everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame, that's a big deal, right?

Everyone who believes in Jesus won't be put to shame, so there's no distinction between the Jew and the

Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the

Lord will be saved. And by the way, everyone means everyone. So everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And then Paul asks the question, how then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him of whom they've never heard?

And they can't, by the way. How are they to hear without someone preaching? Someone's got to preach to them, and how are they to preach unless they're sent?

As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. But they've not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, who has believed what he's heard from us?

And so watch what he says, faith comes from hearing and hearing through the

Word of Christ. Remember, the gospel is the power of God to salvation. In other words, we need to be about the business of preaching the gospel, which then begs the question, okay, we need to preach the gospel, and faith comes by hearing, hearing by the

Word of Christ, and the gospel is the power of God and salvation. So what is the gospel?

Well, before we answer that directly, let me point out where Paul got his gospel from.

In Galatians 1, in Galatians 1, we have the

Apostle Paul writing a very terse, strong letter to Christians in the churches of Galatia, apparently after he had planted those churches, the

Judaizers showed up. And the Judaizers, that was the first heresy that Christianity had to deal with.

And we get a flavor for what the Judaizers taught, because in Acts 15, you get their teaching.

It says this in Acts 15 about the Judaizers, some men came down from Judea, they were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

So they are taking the requirements of the Mosaic Covenant, and binding people's consciences, and threatening them with eternal damnation if they do not, if they're not circumcised, if they're not keeping the

Passover, if they're not keeping the Sabbath, and if they're eating bacon, alright? So that's the

Judaizing heresy. So what does Paul do? He writes a very terse letter to them, and watch again what he says here in Galatians 1, he says,

I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel.

Not that there is another, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

And then, in probably the strongest language that you could possibly see in the New Testament, he says, even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be anathema.

Anathema is strong, it means to be damned. And you'll note when Paul wrote this, he didn't have the, he didn't have access to Microsoft Word, so he couldn't highlight a text, he couldn't bold it or underline it, and you know, the conventions of written language hadn't evolved that far.

So the only thing he could do in order to emphasize the point is repeat himself, and he does. So as we have said before, so now

I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be damned.

Those are strong words. So you'll note then, to get the gospel wrong, it is an eternal damnation issue.

You preach a different gospel, a gospel contrary to the gospel, the

New Testament, God the Holy Spirit, is threatening you with eternal damnation. That's how important getting this right is, all right?

So where did Paul get his gospel from? So Paul then tells the churches in Galatia, I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.

I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

So the gospel that Paul preached, he got it directly from Jesus himself.

So you could say this is Jesus's gospel. He just gave it to Paul to preach. That's where Paul got it from.

Now the question then is, did Paul ever write down the gospel that he received from Jesus?

The answer is yes. He wrote it down in 1st Corinthians 15.

Here are the words of the Apostle Paul. Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel

I preached to you. Oh, here it is, he's gonna remind us. Which you received, in which you stand, by which you are being saved.

Notice, you are saved, and you're standing, not in the law, but in the gospel.

And you're being saved in the gospel. Now that is if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you, unless of course you believed in vain.

And then notice the words, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.

Who did he say he received the gospel from? Jesus. So here it is. This is the gospel he received directly from Jesus, and this is the gospel.

There is no other. Period. And here it is.

Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures. He was buried, he was raised on the third day, in accordance with the

Scriptures. He appeared to Cephas to the Twelve, he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, he appeared to James and all the other

Apostles, and last of all to one untimely born, he appeared to me. So the gospel is Christ died for our sins, he was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the

Scriptures. Now this is vital stuff here. So you'll note then, the salvation of sins is proclaimed because of the gospel.

The forgiveness of sins, salvation, and grace. But also note this then, that the resurrection,

Christ's bodily resurrection, is part of the gospel, the good news that was given by Christ to Paul to preach.

So if somebody is claiming to be a Christian pastor today, and they deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus, that's a different gospel that they're preaching.

Because the bodily resurrection of Jesus is wrapped up in the gospel. But so is salvation by grace through faith alone, because Christ died for our sins.

How many of them? All of them? Not some of them, all of them.

Alright, so you'll note here. So getting the gospel right. So we've now, we've got a definition of the gospel, it's found in 1

Corinthians 15. We know who Paul got his gospel from, directly from Jesus.

We know that to preach a gospel that is contrary or different than this gospel is, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

That's how extreme the threats of God are regarding those who preach a contrary gospel.

So this is a big, big deal. Now all of that being said, you'll note that we human beings, because we have the law written on our hearts, we have a real hard time believing that gospel.

Salvation by grace through faith alone is what flows from the gospel. So we're gonna look at three texts then.

We're gonna look at Romans 3, Galatians 3, as well as Philippians 3.

So as we look at Romans 3, I'll start off in one just to kind of make a point regarding the structure of Romans.

And in Romans, we already saw the thesis statement, I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

That's his thesis statement. And then Paul, beginning in verse 18, will put together a cohesive, unified thought that is considered a logical argument that begins in 18 and will end in chapter 3, talking about basically how every single human being,

Jew and Gentile, everybody has sinned and transgressed

God's law and is a sinner. And so he'll begin kind of in the wide sense about everybody, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, talking about all of them out there.

But then in Romans 3, in the conclusion of this very well -constructed argument, in Romans 3,

Paul will turn the law on even the Jews, so that at the end of this argument, nobody, nobody can say they are righteous.

Again, and he's gonna explicitly explain what the purpose of the law is.

So here's what Paul writes, Romans 3, 9. He asks then, are we Jews any better off?

Note that in the Church of Rome at the time, there was a substantial number of first century

Christians who were, who grew up Jewish in the synagogues, heard the good news of Christ and that He is the

Messiah, and so within all of the churches, the very first generation of Christians who heard the preaching of the

Apostles, there were large numbers, a significant portion of them, who were genetically

Jewish, and so Paul is telling them, because you'll note that there's this weird thing that we human beings have an ability to do, and that is that we somehow think that because we know the law, that somehow we're better than other people.

Well, the law says, you shall not commit adultery, and da -da -da -da -da -da -da -da, as if somehow just merely invoking the commandment somehow makes you the keeper of it.

It doesn't, it doesn't work that way. Sorry, yeah, Jerry Falwell and the moral majority needed to do more than just quote the

Scriptures. Anyway, all of that being said, so Paul's addressing this issue, so he asks the question, are we

Jews any better off? He says, no, not at all. And then he says this, for we've already charged that all, and I always like to point this out, in the

Greek, all here means all. You know, it's, I know it doesn't sound like rocket surgery, but you get the idea.

All means all. All, both Jews and Greeks, that's the only, those are the only two categories that exist, by the way.

You're either a Jew or you're a Gentile, and if you're a Jew or a Gentile, if you're, and that would mean, Greeks is another way of saying

Gentiles, if, yeah, every one of us falls into one of these two categories, he says they are all under sin as it is written.

And then you're going to note these words, none is righteous, no not one, no one understands, no one seeks for God, all have turned aside, together they have become worthless, no one does good, not even one, their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to see the venom of aspes under their lips.

These words right here, these words appear three times in the

Scripture, almost verbatim, and the first time they appear is in Psalm 14, verses 1 to 3.

The second time they appear is in Psalm 53, 1 to 3.

Third time they appear is here in Romans 3. It's almost as if all three persons of the

Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are speaking their verdict on all of mankind.

None is righteous, no not one. Father, what do you say?

None is righteous. Holy Spirit, what do you say? None is righteous. Son, what do you say? None is righteous.

Three times these words appear in Scripture. Now, by the way, this then, let me ask you this, alright?

What are the implications of what this text says regarding newborn infants? None is righteous, no not one, okay?

You notice this, this nails us all. So, a three -fold judgment from all three members of the

Holy Trinity. None is righteous, no not one, okay? All have turned aside, together they've become worthless, no one does good, not even one, their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive, the venom of asps is under their lips, their mouth is full of curses and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, in their paths are ruin and misery, the way of peace they have not known, there is no fear of God before their eyes.

This is describing me. This is describing you.

And you'll note here that you may be tempted to say, well, this doesn't make me feel good about myself, this is hurting my self -esteem, to which

I would say, right, exactly. And here's the thing, just listen to the phrase, self -esteem.

Do you see a problem there? Because I will note that the devil himself suffers from what

I would consider to be a really large self -esteem, alright?

He esteems himself very highly. In Isaiah 14, we have a picture of how the devil operates, how he thinks.

Here's what it says, Oh how you are fallen from heaven, O Daystar, son of the dawn!

How you were cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart,

I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high,

I will sit on the mound of the assembly in the far reaches of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will make myself like the Most High. Seems to me like the devil has a really healthy self -esteem.

Yeah, you kind of get the idea. But not only that, I mean, also remember in Matthew 4,

I mean, you want to talk about healthy self -esteem. Look at what the devil asked his

Creator to do, okay? So it says in Matthew 4, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world, their glory, he said to him, all these

I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me. The devil wants his

Creator to worship him. Yeah, he has a pretty healthy self -esteem, don't you think?

See, your self -esteem is the problem, it's my problem too, right? So you know, the verdict stands, none is righteous, no not one, alright?

And that's the purpose of the law, to show you that. So watch what Paul says in verse 19, now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law.

Why? So that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God, alright?

The purpose of the law, if I could say it in a blunter way, is to shut you up.

Because over and again, I find this fascinating. You confront somebody regarding their sin, and the most amazing thing comes out of their mouth.

How dare you judge me, God knows my heart. To which

I say, oh yeah, he does. And believe me, that's not good news, right? Right? Because, so you point somebody's sin out, they'll go, yeah, but.

Yeah, but. Or worse, they'll say, well at least I'm not as bad as Hitler. Really, you think that?

Okay, you really, you think that? You see, what do you do with somebody like that? You have to give them more law.

Because they still do not yet understand how ungodly they are, and how much they are in need of a

Savior. They are holding on to the delusion of self -righteousness.

As if somehow the way the judgment works is what God's gonna do, is

He's gonna spread humanity out, okay, and take their sins, you know, cumulatively, and then put it all on a bell curve, right?

All right? And as long as you are above the median, then you're in.

Because, well, everybody knows Hitler's at the bottom of the bell curve right there with Mao Zedong, and Stalin, and all those guys, right?

That's not how that works. No, the judgment doesn't work off the bell curve, and being in the median doesn't help.

And then, of course, Elizabeth says, well, nobody's perfect. That's the problem. The standard is perfection.

And so when you say, nobody's perfect, you sit there and go, right! And don't you understand, you gotta, okay, here's how it works, okay?

When women are pregnant, they are either pregnant or they are not, okay? There's like no in -between, okay?

It's either you're pregnant or you're not. And when it comes to the standard, you are either righteous or you are not.

So if you ain't righteous, then you're not, you're damned.

You are under the condemnation of God. You are guilty. And righteous, by the way, means perfectly sinless.

Perfectly sinless. Like, again, so you're gonna note here, so the purpose of the law is to shut you up, to knock off this nonsense.

Stop telling me nobody's perfect, because you're just making my point, because the standard is perfection. Stop telling me

God knows your heart, because God, in His Word, says, out of the heart, Christ says, out of the heart comes all kinds of vile sin.

So that's, the heart is the wellspring, that's the, that's the, that's ground zero for the problem that you have, okay?

So note the verdict. So the purpose of the law is to silence you and hold you accountable to God, and then you'll note then, all right?

So Stephen, I'm gonna make fun of you, not funny, I'm gonna put you on the spot, because I can see you, you know, you're one of the brave today, and I appreciate your bravery,

I really do. All right, so I'm gonna put you on the spot. So here's our text then. For by works of the law, no human will be justified.

Now, real quick, the Greek word dikaiao means to be declared innocent, or declared righteous.

It's a verdict spoken by a judge, okay? So by works of the law, no human being will be declared righteous in God's sight, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin, all right?

So here it is, all right? I know you're not a prophet or the son of a prophet, and I forgot to ask you to wear your turban so you can do predictions like Johnny Carson used to, but so here, so on the day of judgment, on the day of judgment, how many people will be declared righteous in God's sight by works of the law?

Very good, very good. Yeah, that's right, you get two stars on your Sunday School star chart. Good job, Stephen, good job.

Zero, not one person. But here's the thing, we intuitively think what we need to do is just apply ourselves a little harder to keeping the law, as if somehow

God's going to say, you are righteous because of your obedience to the

Torah, or the law, or the Ten Commandments. It doesn't work that way. Not one single person will be declared righteous in God's sight by the law.

Instead, then, it's through the law comes the knowledge of sin. The primary job of the law is to convince you and to show you you're not righteous.

Remember, Christ died for the ungodly. If you don't recognize that you're part of that group, you're not ready to hear the gospel yet.

You're not, because you don't even think you need a Savior. I'm just a confused person who needs a little bit of life coaching, you know.

You get the idea. It don't work that way. Okay, now, before we get too far, let me check what

Kara says. Our family is NAR, and they act as if they must keep working because Christ died for them.

Yes, but now they must upkeep their salvation with works, or else Christ will say, get away from me. That's not how that works, okay.

It's a great, greatest weight to put on a Christian. When we saw the glorious gospel, the American gospel, Christ alone, our lives were changed.

Such a weight was lifted from both of us, and we wept. Yeah, the gospel does that. The gospel does that.

NAR just cast the devil out, yeah. So Heather says, I'm confused. When you say law, you mean Ten Commandments. Yes, but when you think of legalism,

I think of NAR Pentecostals, for example, even though they all say, Jesus loves you, and you're so great.

Okay, so here's the thing, is that, so when we talk about the law, we're talking about the

Ten Commandments, but note here that within different strains of legalism that have a

Christian veneer, what they often do is they create a different list, because apparently you can keep that different list.

So when I was in Nazarene, the Ten Commandments wasn't the standard, okay?

They would pull out the Ten Commandments, you know, when they were really kind of pushing down hard on the pietism screws, but at the end of the day, they created a secondary list that everybody could keep, and the list was as long...you

could really tell that you were truly a Christian if you didn't dance, didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't chew, didn't play cards, and voted

Republican. Those were, you know, this is a secondary morality list, and so, are me and God okay?

Well, I haven't had a drink today. Are me and God okay? Well, I haven't smoked a cigarette today. And so back in the day,

I can't imagine what the Nazarenes that I grew up with, what they would have thought of TikTok, okay?

Could you imagine if I put a TikTok video together? It would go viral for all the wrong reasons, so I'm just saying.

So the idea here is, when you think of the legalism of the NAR, oftentimes I will note this, that in modern -day evangelicalism, including the

Charismatic Churches and the NAR, the standard is not the Ten Commandments. They never will go there. So the standard instead is something like this.

Do you daily go and meet God and have intimacy with Him in the secret place, wherever that is?

Do you go to the gym five days a week? Are you out of credit card debt?

Have you applied all of the financial principles of that guy who teaches everybody to hair up their credit cards and get rid of that?

Have you, you know, so they create a different list altogether, but it's not the Ten Commandments.

It's more, it's a secondary, but it's an alternative holy list, because you can do that.

But they don't go to the Ten Commandments, because when you start pushing on those Ten Commandments, you realize you're not keeping it. But the thing is, is that we all have the law intuitively written on our hearts.

We know these commandments intuitively, so we all kind of, even though they come up with these alternative lists, we keep steering back into these lists understood via the commandments.

So you get the idea. But the thing is, at the end of the day, you're not going to be able to say to Christ, well

Jesus, I never murdered anybody. Jesus, I never committed adultery, at least not physically.

And Jesus, I never stole anything. And Jesus, I never coveted.

You see, when you start going along those lines, nobody's gonna be able to say that, right?

By works of the law, no human being will be justified, declared righteous in God's sight. Now, here's what it says then, and this is where we're gonna focus in on this text just a little bit, and we'll let

Philippians 3, when we get there, define what this means. But now, the righteousness of God.

And I'm gonna note here, in the Greek, the diakosune theou. Theou here is in the genitive, and I will make the argument that that's a possessive genitive.

This is God's righteousness, all right? This isn't some standard we're supposed to be living up to in order to be saved.

This is, instead, something that God possesses, it's His that He gives to us.

And you can kind of see it as you work your way through the the finer details of how the prepositions work in this passage.

But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, and here

I'm gonna say this first appearance of the law means the Ten Commandments, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, and here it's referring to the

Torah, all right? So this is the righteousness of God manifested apart from the law.

This is the righteousness of God, and watch this, through faith in Jesus Christ for, for all who believe.

This is the righteousness of God for all who believe.

So this is a righteousness for you. For there is no distinction.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified.

There's that Greek word again, dikaiou, means to be declared righteous or innocent, and are declared righteous, are justified, how?

By His grace as a gift. And here's where the self -righteous, the pietists, will just lose their minds.

No, no, no, no, yeah, sure it's a gift, but it's not that free. I know it says it's free, but it's not really free.

You still got to do your part. Really, what's my part of receiving a free gift?

What are exactly my steps in receiving a free gift? And so they bristle at this, at the freeness of this, because here's the other bit about this.

In the pietistic, legalistic, self -righteousness groups, the gospel makes it impossible for them to have control, because they use guilt and fear for the purpose of controlling people.

And if you just freely give people salvation, then they're never going to pay to have, to spring somebody out of purgatory.

If you just freely give salvation as a gift, then people don't have to do penance, and don't have to pay indulgences.

You kind of get the idea, right? Okay? But it's a free gift. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, it is for all who believe there is no distinction, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and they are declared righteous by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom

God put forward as a propitiation. Now hear the Greek word hilasterion, it's a little complicated.

A good way to think of it is just as an atoning sacrifice. This is invoking the gospel that Christ died for our sins.

That's a super loose definition of propitiation, but you get the idea, okay?

Whom God put forward as an atoning sacrifice by His blood to be received by...how?

How is it received? By faith. How is a free gift received? You just go,

I believe. Thank you. This was to show God's righteousness in His divine forbearance.

He had passed over the former sins, it was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He might be the just, and God is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So Stephen, let me put you on the spot again because I can see you. This is what happens, you turn your camera on and, you know, you're fair game.

So, alright, so if salvation is given to you completely as a gift, you've done nothing, not even the smallest amount of work in order to earn it, do you have any ability to boast about your salvation?

No. Did you see what God gave me, man? This is awesome, right? There's no...

when it's totally a gift, there is no boasting, and that's what Paul then says. So what becomes of our boasting?

It's excluded! By what kind of a law? By a law of works? No, by the law of faith.

So there is no boasting, for we hold that one is justified, here it is again, declared righteous by God.

We declare that one is justified by faith, apart from works of the law.

And you'll note, chorus means apart from, completely separate from works of the law.

Now, does this mean that we then can go out and sin like there's no tomorrow and that the commandments have nothing to say to us in our sanctification?

No. Sin is slavery, okay? So you're gonna note here, we are not saying that Christians do not look at the law and know what a good work is because of the law, we're saying that when it comes to the justification column, salvation, period, is completely 100 % gift, there is nothing you have done to earn it in any, even an infinitesimal part, it is given by God as a gift and it is received through faith.

Full stop. So then he asks, is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also?

Yes, of the Gentiles also, since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

So then the question is, do we overthrow the law by this faith? No. No, we do not overthrow it by faith.

By no means. It says, on the contrary, we uphold the law by faith, okay?

So you know, the law still has a place to speak to us, tells us what a good work is, condemns us of our sin.

So yeah, the idea here is, by faith we keep the law, by faith we keep it, not for our salvation, but because we are saved, okay?

Big difference altogether, okay? See? Alright, so next text, that's Romans 3, next text is

Galatians 3. Now, a little bit of a note here, in Galatians 5, if you want to see just how strong the anathemas are regarding mixing works and grace when it comes to salvation, because that's what the

Judaizers are doing. Unless you are circumcised, you are not saved, they said. So here's what

Paul says in Galatians 5. Look, I, Paul, say to you, if you accept circumcision, Christ is of no advantage to you.

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law.

You have fallen from grace. That anathema thing is real, man.

If you want to be justified by the law, you're not even saved. Not even saved. And then, and then, you know,

Paul from time to time gets a little strong. In verse 12, he says to the Judaizers, I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves.

And here the Greek word for emasculate, apokopto, means to castrate.

He says those of you who, you know, those who are unsettling you with the circumcision nonsense,

I wish they would go and have the lop it off of me procedure done. So that's how strong this is, alright?

You mess this up, you're not even a Christian. That's how bad this is, alright?

So coming back then to Galatians 3, Paul is speaking strong words to the churches of Galatia, and here's what he's, actually

I'm in Philippians 3, there we go, he says, oh foolish Galatians, foolish, foolish, who has bewitched you?

It's as if somehow the devil's cast a spell on their mind for them to believe this demonic nonsense.

He says, and watch where he goes, it was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

What's he invoking here? The gospel. The gospel he got from Jesus.

So he comes right back to the crucifixion, right back to the cross. Christ died for our sins.

So then he says, let me ask you this, did you receive the Spirit, and here this is the Holy Spirit, did you receive the

Holy Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

It's the second one, it's by hearing with faith. Are you so foolish, having begun by the

Spirit, are you now trying to be perfected by the flesh? And see, that's the thing, you'll note here, when you're in an

NAR church and everything's all back to the law, you're trying to be perfected by the flesh, not by the work of the

Spirit, okay? Did you suffer so many things in vain? If indeed it was in vain, does he who supplies the

Spirit to you and work miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

And then watch what he says, just as Abraham, and this is a foundational text, just as Abraham believed

God and it was counted, logizimaic, you could say credited here, it's like an accounting term.

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. That's Genesis 15 verse 6, all right?

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Notice, he's applying that to us.

We believe Christ died for our sins, that salvation is a gift given by God apart from works of the law.

You believe God and it's credited to you as what? Righteousness.

Just like Abraham. So know then, it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

And this is huge implications, because another thing, in American evangelicalism, but thanks to dispensationalism and premillennialism, they have a weird view of Israel, all right?

Every single Gentile, myself and you included, who believes in Jesus Christ, we are the sons of Abraham.

We've been grafted into Israel. It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

So the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed.

So then those who are of faith are blessed, along with Abraham, the man of faith.

And then watch this. Now, we got to pay attention to one particular word here, all right? All who rely on.

Rely. Now, as Christians, we keep the law.

We do not rely on it. Jesus Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.

So when you are relying on the law, you are relying on it for your justification.

I don't rely on the law for nothing like that. I rely on the law to convict me of my sin.

I rely on the law to show me what a good work is, but I in no way rely on the law to justify me before God.

So all who rely on works of the law, they are under a curse, for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law.

And keep on doing them. So it's evident. No one. It's evident. It's like self -evident.

This is as evident as the sky is blue. This is, you know, this is as evident as the ocean is wet.

This is evident. No one is justified before God by the law.

Not one single person. No one.

No one. It's evident. It's as evident as skunks stink. No one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith.

Quoting the prophet Habakkuk, chapter 2. Right? So note then,

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, and the curse of the law really is its ability to condemn us, by becoming a curse for us, for it is written,

Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the

Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. And then he gives an interesting example, and when you just, if you need, if you think of a covenant as like a contract, okay, all of us, if you have a house, you have a contract of one kind or another.

Here's the reason why. So if you live in an apartment, you have a rental agreement. That's a contract. If you are leasing a property, you have a contract.

If you own a house, you have a contract with your mortgage company. And we all know this. Once you sign the contract, you can't change it without the other party's approval, okay?

So, you know, I got a mortgage, so if I can't call up Wells Fargo and say, you know,

I've decided that paragraph 14 and 56 in our mortgage contract, I've rewritten them,

I just want to let you know what the changes are that I've made to the contract. Their attorney would contact me in a hot second and go, yeah, no, you're still gonna abide by those paragraphs, we don't care about your creative editing, we haven't signed off on it, okay?

So the idea is, once a contract is ratified, once it's signed, it's set in stone unless both parties agree to changes.

So watch what's going on here, because the Apostle Paul is going to point us to the covenant that God made that is the one that is the ruling one, and that makes it impossible for the

Mosaic covenant, the Mosaic contract, to overthrow it. And that's called the

Abrahamic covenant. So to give an example, brothers, even with a man -made covenant, think contract, no one annuls it or adds to it once it's been ratified.

Now, the promises were made to Abraham and to his Zarah in Hebrew, that would be his offspring, singular.

And Paul is gonna make an important point here. In the Abrahamic covenant, God gave promises to Abraham and to his offspring, singular.

And this is the, this is a very important point, because God the

Holy Spirit is telling us that the Mosaic, the Abrahamic covenant that was made, had two recipients.

Recipient number one, Abraham. Recipient number two, Jesus. Not the entire nation of Israel or people descended from it, from Abraham.

So watch this. So the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring, it does not say offsprings referring to many, but referring to one, and to your offspring who is

Christ. So note, that covenant was struck with two people, Abraham and Jesus.

So this is what I mean. The law, this is gonna be the Torah here, the Mosaic covenant, which came 430 years afterwards, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God.

In fact, I would argue, nor could it, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise.

But God gave it to Abraham by a promise. But not only did

God give it to Abraham, he gave it to Jesus. So you'll note, Jesus was the second and only other recipient of the

Abrahamic covenant, and that's the point. So then the question comes up, why then the Mosaic covenant at all?

Why the the Torah? It was added because of transgression, until the offspring, that's

Jesus, should come to whom the promise had been made. So note, Abraham died, there was still a second recipient of the

Abrahamic covenant, and that's Jesus. And it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. So is the law then contrary to the promises of God?

No, certainly not. For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.

But Scripture imprisoned everything, all of us, under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law. We were imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

So then the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Now that faith has come, we're no longer under a guardian. For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God.

Notice, you are all already sons of God in Christ Jesus. And that's the thing about the law.

If you think you're saved by your law -keeping, or your salvation is maintained by your law -keeping, you don't really know whether or not you're saved.

You can't say that you know for sure you are a son of God. You can only say,

I hope someday to be able to attain to become a son of God.

May I apply myself hard so that I can? But what does

Paul say? You are all already now sons of God, because this is given as a promise.

Through faith, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ, you've put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, you're all one in Christ.

And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, and you are heirs according to promise.

Full stop. So there you go.

So you'll note then that, by the way, Israel, is this covenant theology? This is not exactly the

Presbyterian version of covenant theology, this is just the Apostle Paul explaining how the two covenants work.

And by the way, we are in a New Covenant, that's for sure. You know, that's what the

New Testament teaches. And also, the Old Testament prophesied the coming of the New Covenant, but that would be a conversation for a different day.

So, but you get the idea here. So Heather says, so Israel is the olive tree we are grafted into.

Bingo! That's right. And Israel is now made up of many people and nations, like Canadians. That's right!

Those people who are from Canada, they can be grafted in too, because Canada is where the

Canadians are from. So, exactly. And by the way, Heather, I would note that's exactly what

Paul says in Romans 11, okay? So, all right, so let me find it.

Here it is. Paul says, Now I'm speaking to you Gentiles inasmuch as I am the Apostle to the

Gentiles. I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.

For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what would their acceptance mean but life from the dead? So if the dough that was offered as the firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, and I would say for sure the

Canadians are from a wild olive shoot, but yeah, I, I, man,

I look at you guys over the border, it's really close, and I just go, what on earth is going on up there?

Anyway, but the wild olive shoot for sure, that you were grafted in among the others, and you now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.

So do not be arrogant toward the branches if you are. Remember, it's not you who support the root, it's the root who supports you.

And then you'll say, well, branches were broken off, so I might be grafted in, and that's true, that's true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith, so do not become proud but fear.

If God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. So note the kindness and the severity of God. So you get the idea.

So that's right, even Canadians are grafted into Israel, you know, and I would say the

Norwegians up here in Minnesota, you know, they're grafted into Israel, and whatever,

I'm some kind of weird European mutt myself, you know, I've been grafted into Israel.

Every true believer in Jesus Christ is grafted in, that's why we are the sons of Abraham, via grafting, okay, via adoption, that's the whole point of this.

And it's not something you earned, it was a gift given, that's the point. Now last text, then, before we wrap up for the day, and I'm going a little bit long and that's okay, is

Philippians chapter 3. So if you ever needed to explain proper distinction of long gospel to somebody,

Romans 3, Galatians 3, Philippians 3, these are the core texts to kind of work this out.

In Philippians 3, now, you'll note that Paul continues with his unkind words toward the

Judaizers, okay, they've been anathematized, he wished they would do the Lopidophamy procedure and all that kind of stuff, and here's what he says, look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

That's what he calls their circumcision, it's a flesh mutilation, it's nothing, right? We are the circumcision, who worship by the

Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, and watch this, put no confidence in the flesh.

If you think that you are saved in part by your law -keeping, by your obedience to God, then you have some confidence in your flesh, which is silly, okay?

Note the Apostle Paul, as he's getting close to the end of his life, what does he say? He says, this is a trustworthy saying, that Christ died for sinners, of whom

I am the chief. Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me, died that I might live on high.

You get the idea, right here. So here Paul says, these people, they put confidence in the flesh, he says,

I do not put any confidence, no confidence in the flesh, although he says, though I myself

I have reason for confidence in the flesh also. So if anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh,

I have more. And here's his pedigree, okay? Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a

Hebrew of the Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

That's a pretty good pedigree, right? That's a good biblical pedigree. But this is what he says, whatever gain

I had, I count as a loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing

Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I've suffered the loss of all things, and I count them, all of his works under the law, he counts them as, well, the

English says rubbish, but the Greek is skoubalon. Rubbish, you think, you know, it's way too clean, it's too sanitary, because what do we do with our rubbish?

We put it in a plastic bag and then, you know, we take it out to the big dumpster and just get rid of it. Skoubalon is something way worse than that.

So if your neighbors are walking their dog and your dog squats and leaves a deposit on your yard, that's a skoubalon.

Okay? So watch what he says about his works under the law. I count them as skoubalon in order that I might gain

Christ. And then watch the functional words. Be found in him not having a righteousness of my own.

Well, if you don't have your own righteousness, what righteousness do you have?

The righteousness of God. Remember, the righteousness of God for all who believe.

And here's the next bit. Remember, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

So not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.

This is the righteousness of God, of righteousness from God that depends on faith.

So you'll note, the righteousness of God is the righteousness from God, and it's the righteousness from God that is given for those who believe.

So you are clothed as Christians in the righteousness of God. This is

Christ's righteousness. It's all given as a gift.

So that I might know him, the power of his resurrection, share in his sufferings, become like him in his death, that by any means possible

I may attain the resurrection from the dead. So you get the idea here.

It's so clear. It is so clear. Now, does this mean Christians don't do good works? The question is stupid on its face.

Of course we do good works! We are saved unto good works, okay?

Yeah, and I just would throw kind of into the mix here, like Ephesians 2, the part of Ephesians 2 that we're all familiar with.

For by grace you have been saved, past tense. Through faith. It's not your own doing.

It's the gift of God. What part of that do you not get? It's not a result of works, so that no one can boast.

And then watch this. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.

The reason why you do good works is because you are a Christian. You do good works because you are saved.

You don't do good works in order to become a Christian or in order to be saved.

It's kind of a species thing, alright? The reason why dogs bark is because they're dogs.

The reason why cats meow, aside from the fact that they're annoying, the reason why cats meow is because they're cats, right?

The reasons why Christians do good works is because they are Christians.

So the idea here is just, you are saved, you are a child of God, you are not under the curse of the law, you are forgiven, you are free.

It's all, you're already saved. So breathe, relax, rest, and go joyfully do your good works, because God rewards them for sure.

But your salvation doesn't depend on them. You are free to go and do them for the sake of your neighbor. But here's the thing, as soon as you're doing your good works in order to be saved, they cease to be a good work, because you're not doing it for the sake of your neighbor, you're doing it for your own sake, to save your own skin from the fires of hell.

Good luck on that, by the way, because even our best good works are still tainted with sin. So, alright.

So Elizabeth asked the question, why does somebody fall for works? I think it's kind of speculation. I think the reason why we fall for it is because we have the law of God written on our hearts and we understand the law.

Everything from our upbringing is based on the law. So it kind of goes like this, you know, so when my kids are bad,

I punish them. When they're good, I reward them. When you go to school, you work hard, you get

A's, there's rewards. You don't do your work, you fail, there are punishments, okay? Everything is based on the law, okay, in all societies, a reward -punishment schema.

And so we think that that's how it works, then, with our salvation. So people just kind of intuitively approach

God the same way. If I do these things, I will earn the rewards, and I will be saved, and God will let me in.

And the thing is is that that's not how that works. When it comes to salvation, 100 % gift.

Gift, gift, gift, gift. It's not your own doing, it is a gift from God. And as soon as you try to earn it, it's no longer a gift.

So Carlos says, so much freedom and understanding in this. It elevates us from the burden of performance.

It also shows how deadly works righteousness preaching, or Golospel is. Indeed it does. Thank you,

Carlos and MJ for pointing that out. All right, brothers and sisters, I've got to go, I have to leave and go serve another congregation.

Pray that I don't wrench my back on the way, on the bumps on the road. This is gonna be my first time driving in more than a week.