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Bro. Otis Fisher
All right, I have a question for you. The first thing, are our sins or is sin accumulative with God? What do you think, Joy? Well, let's talk about unbelievers. All right, so they accumulate. What do you think, Burge?
All right. Who's that on the back? What do you think? All right. Let me read you a story. This actually happened. There was a prince in Italy who was one of the most merciful and that ever ruled a nation, but at the same time a terrible punisher of wickedness.
When once he wrote, he rose to justify. Among his servants, there was one who abused his goodness in numerous transgressions, not only against his rules of the palace, but also against the laws of the state.
He was an oppressor of the poor, quarrelsome with his fellow servants, and neglectful of his duties to his master. The prince had several times seriously rebuked him, but as the servant found that punishment never followed, he became imprudent and reckless.
One day, he allowed his passion to get the better of him so that he caused a fellow servant's death. He entreated his master's pardon, and his master forgave him once more. This token of mercy, instead of softening his heart, made him more reckless still.
He now thought he could do anything. So one morning, he ventured to approach before his master with his hat on. The prince, in a calm voice, asked him why he thus came covered into his presence. The answer was that he had caught a cold.
His master's patience was now exhausted. I'll take care, said he, that you never catch a cold again. Call the officer of the guard. The servant soon came with that personage. Take that man to prison, the prince said, and order the executioner to nail his hat to his head.
One of the prince's friends expressed his surprise at the severe sentence, seeing that the servant had been pardoned for more serious crimes. The prince took a goblet, and having filled it with water, requested his friend to put an apple into it.
This made the water rise to the brim. The prince thereupon told his friend to drop in a coin. This made the water to run over. How is it, the prince asked, that the small coin caused the water to run over, whereas the large apple raised it only to the brim?
The long-suffering of God is very great, but it has its limits. And when matters have risen to such a height as to cause the cup of God's patience to flow over, that same God who is slow to anger proves a God of great power who will not at all acquit the guilty.
The longer my wife and I live together, but yes, yes, definitely, the longer my wife and I live together, the more we are of one mind. I think anybody is. The only problem I have is that I won't do too well today because today is her day.
We start now in Romans, the second chapter, verse one. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judges doest the same things.
Now, he's saying that you judge somebody. What does that tell us about yourself, Greg? That's right. Can a man make an unbiased decision, Virg? Bill? David? Well, you can't make one even then. That's right.
Only God can do that. Now, God doesn't make decisions. You do the same thing, otherwise you would not recognize it. Here's something to think about. To find fault or to complain about your circumstances is approaching worshiping the devil.
There's only two, God and Satan. There is no in between. Second verse. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to the truth against them which commit such things. The Jew is ready enough to judge the Gentile, but he forgets that the same principle on which the Gentile is condemned, namely, that he does evil in spite of better knowledge, he condemns himself also.
Now, we as Christians act like Jews sometimes. Three. And thinkest thou... Now, this thou is emphatic. It means you. This old man that judges them which do such things and doeth the same, that thou, again emphatic, shall escape the judgment of God?
How is it that we as the saved do escape the judgment of God? David? That's right. Does that give us license then to do whatever we want to do? Yes. In Habakkuk 1 .13, thou art a purer eye than the behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.
Now, this is God himself. I want to give you something this morning that I've been thinking about for a while. I want you to help me iron out the kinks in it. In Habakkuk 1 .13, thou art a purer eyes, thou art a purer eyes than the behold evil.
Joey, all sin is hateful to God. Is that right?
All right.
That jumps to the question itself. Can God see sin? What do you think, Greg? In his holy wisdom, he cannot endure to look toward iniquity. As man turns, he cannot coexist with darkness. Fire cannot coexist with water.
Heat cannot coexist with cold. Deformity with beauty. Deformity. Foulness with sweetness. Nor is sin compatible with the presence of God. Now, we're talking about God the Father. Thou canst not look at it.
There is an entire contradiction between God and his holiness and God and his unholiness. Wherefore, lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
This morning, as soon as I can get this, I ask you a question. I have asked you a question. Can God look at sin? I have been for two or three weeks now asking you to think about what's involved in this.
Can God look at sin? And I have asked you to think about Jesus the Christ. What role does he play? Why does he, why did God bring him into existence? He's always been with him. It is as though, and I'll have to put my words to it, that God, in the determinant counsel, said, I'm going to create a universe, but I myself will not deal with it.
There will have to be somebody else to deal with it. So he created Jesus Christ himself in form of a man. You see, it's because of Jesus that we have a go-between between us and God. It's because of him that we're safe and saved.
Jesus is the one. Jesus Christ is the one. The son of God. God in the flesh. Just as God, as much God as God himself. Only this personage created everything. The Bible proves that. It's because of him that we obtain heaven.
Only because of him. For God would have to cut off, if he can't look at sin, this world would not stand if it was not for his son. Everything would crumble. Everything would disappear if it was not for his son.
It is in his son that everything is sustained. God would be left alone. Even his universe would not be here if it were not for his son. You see how important his son is? He is the one that made it. He is the one that holds it together.
Without him, there would be nothing. And he is the one through whom we obtain salvation. Jesus. If God cannot look on sin, it means it's already been judged. God has someone else to look on sin. That's Jesus the Christ.
I leave this with you to think about. Explore. To prove or disprove in your research of the Bible. If it were not for Jesus Christ. Questions? Good. Think about it. Study it. Find out just what role Christ plays.
Now the Jews look for a Messiah. The wrong kind of Messiah. We know the Messiah has come. But he is far more important than I ever suspected. And I dare say than you suspected. Pressing on in verse 4.
For despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering. Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. They who take occasion from God's longsuffering to go boldly on in sin.
Throw contempt upon his goodness. Not knowing it is a willful and guilty ignorance. For it has its ground in forgiveness, forgetfulness of God. When the goodness, patience and longsuffering of God. Encourage men to sin instead of leading them to forsake it.
It is fearful evidence that they are ripening for doom. They had their hat nailed on. By but after thy hardness and impotent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath. And revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
These people, and I hope it's other people not you. Are treasuring up wrath. That's a strange term, Greg. What do I mean by that term? It's all being saved. Spew forth gushing out upon you at that day of judgment.
We won't be there. But they will. Who will render to every man according to his deeds. Now this has nothing to do with salvation. Every man according to his deeds. Revelation 20 .12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.
And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.
And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
You were written in his book. You're here today. He's going to pay everybody that which is due to them. Exactly what they deserve. Our payment will come through Jesus the Christ, thereby filtering out the punishment of it that was absorbed by him on the cross.
7 To them who by patient continuance and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality eternal life. Remember, man of himself can do nothing but sin. I have to tell myself that every morning when I get up.
By myself, all I can do is sin. Eternal life is not a reward for effort, but a gift of God. I tell myself that. It's in Christ himself. 8 But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath.
Them that are contentious, intend against the truth, rebel against God, do what they know to be wrong. I think some people have done wrong for so long that they've forgotten that it's wrong. 9 Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.
But glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. This is a general statement of how God punishes evil and rewards good. Now Christ is the one that will be at the judgment seat.
God in Christ will punish these people. This has nothing to do with salvation, only his judgment. All good thoughts come from God, such as Philippians 2 .13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure.
Psalms 37 .4,. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee thy desires of thine heart. 1 Samuel 16 .7,. But the Lord saith unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him.
11 For the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. I'm so glad that's what he does. 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. Does this mean that there are some people that God does not respect, Greg?
That's right. The word respect is made up of two words in Greek. We have the word face and the other word receive. The compound word is receive face. So it means there is not a receiving of face in the presence of God.
That is, God does not receive anybody's faith. God gives no weight to man's condition. High, low, rich, poor, and so forth. God has no favorites among his people. Hebrews 4 .12, For the word of the God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Man has not sharpened an instrument that sharp that can divide the soul and the spirit. Greg, what is your soul? Does the soul control the body? That's true, but I don't want to get off on a trail. 12, For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.
Each person will be judged according to the light God has given him. Now please note, it's the light he has given to them, not according to what they've learned. There's a big difference. 12, For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
What's the difference between a person that hears and a person that does? Bill, what's the difference? All right, we all hear and we all do a little.
Yes, that's right.
If it were not for Jesus, I wouldn't be justified. If it were not for Jesus Christ, I wouldn't know how to love. 13, For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
This word is not the usual word of a kale to give ear to a teaching or a teacher. It is acroacetic, those who hear with an understanding. Now, everybody can hear me. Some of you understand more than others.
The Lord is revealing to each one what is necessary in your life. John 6, 28, they said, then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might inherit the works of God? Now, notice their question. What can I do to inherit the works of God?
And what does inherit mean, Joy? All right. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God. This is the work of God, that you believe on him who has sinned. You cannot do anything except believe.
Now, Greg, how do we believe? There was a time when you didn't believe. Then there come a time when you do believe. All right. So we cannot even believe without Jesus. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves.
There is a law in nature, and it's engrafted in each person, written by God in their hearts of men, whereby the common notions of good and evil are found with them. Why is that true, Virg? All right. Russell, why is that true, that we know good and evil?
Everybody. All right. David, when and where did he do this? That's it right there. Man has eaten of the tree of good and evil, so he knows good and evil. Doesn't mean that he's good, but he knows what to do.
And everybody. I see these people in the Middle East on the television every day, and as far as I can determine, every one of them are going to hell. I hope not. But they know what's right. Everybody does.
Which show the works of the law written in their hearts and their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts, the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. Our conscience is not only that which I know, but that which I know and someone else also knows.
If you could, the thing you could know just yourself, it wouldn't bother you. But it always bothers you. Why? Yes. All right. Well, that's right. Because everything you do is known of who? Of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
He knows. He's the other one. And that someone else is my wife and the Lord. Right. That's right. That's right. Our conscience is known by me. I know I did wrong. But it wouldn't bother me unless somebody else knew it also.
And that's God. And my wife. You didn't have to agree with that. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. Now, Paul says he's going to judge the secrets of men by who?
By Jesus Christ. If it were not for Christ, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be anyplace. Now, he's talking primarily distinguished from Paul's teaching. Behold, or assuming that you are called a Jew and restest in the law and makest thy boast of God.
Now, there's three titles. The Hebrew, the Jew that speaks Hebrew as compared to one not speaking. Jew denotes nationality. Israelite, a Jew who is a member of the theocracy and thus an heir to the promise.
Eighteen. And knowest his will and approvest the things that are more excellent being instructed correctly out of the law. And are confident that thou thyself are a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness.
This has led to conceit and arrogance on their part. I know, just ask me, I know. An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which has the form of knowledge and of the truth of the law. By the word babe, nepios, it means one that does not speak yet.
And it comes from morphos and that has nothing inside of it. Of the foolish, the word foolish is used in the scripture in two ways to denote those who are void of understanding and to note the wicked.
Here it is clearly used in the former state signifying that the Jews esteemed himself qualified to instruct those without knowledge. Twenty-one. Thou therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself.
Greg, this is why the teacher learns more than anybody else. Thou that preachest, a man should not steal. Dost thou steal? One good way to keep from stealing is just don't pick up that which you laid down.
Don't pick up that which you did not lay down, I meant to say. Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhors idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? You know, most of us wear a wedding ring.
It's a disgrace for me to wear that if I don't act married. There are Christians that conduct their business and money and make money in ways that they would condemn if it were done by their church. Think about it.
There was, in this town, a deacon of a church. Not this church. But he wanted to go to Las Vegas. Now he told this on himself. I don't know why. I guess it shows his ignorance. He said, I told the Lord I would give him half of what I made if he would just bless me as I go.
Do you practice what you preach? You should. If you don't, you're lying. For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you as it is written. Sceptre. Thou that makest the boast of the law through breaking the law dishonors God.
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you as it is written. The word of God suffers most by those who do not practice. Do not ever say, and I heard a preacher say this, it makes me no difference if people laugh at me that my grammar is poor or my dress is not neat.
Believe you me, it does make a difference. If your dress is sloppy or your clothes are dirty, for everything we do, say, and think causes others to come closer or drives them away, even those that you don't see.
For circumcision, verily profit if thou keep the law, but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. The mere sign cannot be of value. The mere fact of being a Jew is not what God requires.
It may be a good thing to have his law, but the mere possession of the law cannot be a title to be in favor with God. So it's a privilege to be born in a Christian land. David and I were talking about this Monday.
I count myself very privileged to have been adopted by Christian parents. I have a sister that was a Jehovah Witness, a sister that was a Catholic, and a brother that was nothing. I don't understand it.
It's so privileged to be in the ordinance of religion, to be trained in schools, and to be devoted to God. All these are favorable circumstances for salvation, but they are not salvation. None of them are called to the grace of God, and unless they are developed as they should be, they may only be means of increasing our condemnation.
Knowing what I know, being raised as I was, I would be in worse shape than my sister, that was a Jehovah Witness, was simply because of where I was raised. Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
If the Gentile be found to act according to the spirit of the law, his acting according to the life which God has afforded him, will be reckoned to him as if he were circumcised and walking agreeably to the law.
And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision doest transgress the law? The evident meaning here in the original is this. Shall not a heathen man, who has none of your external privileges, if he keep the law, condemn you who are Jews?
Think about it. Who, although you have the letter and circumcision, are nevertheless transgressors of the law. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh.
For he is not a Jew, and so forth. He who is merely descended from Abraham, and is circumcised and externally conforms to the law only, does not possess the true character of a Christian. Don't think that you're a Christian and will go to heaven just because you were raised in a Christian home.
29. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Only Christ can see this person or that person.
You cannot worship God in the carnal. Anything you do does not worship. God is spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. How is it that we worship God in spirit and truth?
Greg, I tell you what, we're going to stop here. My time is up, and we'll start next week with Romans 2 .29. You were right, Greg, but we'll take it up next week.