Is The Law Relevant Today?

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Hey, everybody, I'm Pastor Jeff Durbin with Apologia Church. I want to thank you all so much for watching the content right here on Apologia Studios channel.

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So thank you again so much for watching these and sharing them. God bless you. Brothers and sisters, if you would, turn with me in the

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Bible to Jeremiah 31 31. Jeremiah 31, verse 31.

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It's a familiar passage, hopefully, to many of us and critical to understand the context.

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The people of God have come out of Egypt. The people of God have gone through the wilderness.

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People of God have been given all the dress rehearsals of the Old Testament. The dress rehearsals.

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They've been given the training wheels. The law of God given to the people of God as a blessing to the people of God.

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Consider that for a moment. We think about the law of God in the way today that people express it, that it was this harsh, strong sort of God of justice and righteousness and wrath.

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And we have in the New Testament is the God of love and peace and grace. Jesus comes to help the father out from his

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Old Testament revelation. The law of God is given in a different way in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy chapter 4,

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God actually says that his law given to his people was supposed to be their wisdom in the sight of the peoples.

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And the people were going to look into the law of God as it was given to his people and they were going to say, what kind of people is this that has a

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God so near to it as them? And have statutes and rules so righteous as this law.

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The law was supposed to be seen as a gift, but also at the same time the law was given with promises of blessings and curses.

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It was a particular covenant where God says, I'll bless you if you obey. I'll curse you if you disobey.

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Here's what I want you to do. And so they had temple, they had priests, they had these dress rehearsals.

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They were doing a play. The substance wasn't the temple. The substance wasn't the sacrifices.

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The substance wasn't the gold. The substance wasn't in all the things that they were given to mark them out from all the other nations.

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Those were training wheels to teach the people of God about separation, about the holiness of God, about the holiness of the people of God.

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The law of God had rudimentary elements in it that were never meant to last forever because they were only the shadow.

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They were not the body. They were the shadow and not the substance. The substance was Jesus and he was coming.

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So they have the dress rehearsals. They have the acting this out. They have the stage play going on to teach the people of God about what was to come.

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They knew the Messiah was coming. They knew someone was coming that was going to have dominion over the earth. They knew that salvation was coming to the ends of the earth.

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The nations were going to come to God. God was going to give his grace and his love to even pagans.

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They know what's coming. They don't know all the details. God is giving them promises in Revelation over time and here is one of those promises.

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It was anchored into the hearts of the people of God long before Jesus comes.

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Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years go by after this is given. This promise just sort of hangs there, suspended, just over them and they're waiting.

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They're waiting which explains, by the way, the excitement in the first century about Jesus. Not only do they know from other prophecy like in Daniel chapter 9,

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Messiah is coming. He's coming at this time. They could count down the days in Daniel chapter 9 about when

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Messiah was coming. They knew the angel Gabriel had told them when to start counting down. They knew that this was the moment

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Messiah is going to show up and that's why they're going, who's the Messiah? Where's the Messiah? You the Messiah? Are you the Messiah? Where's the

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Messiah? Who is he? And by the way, that prophecy you can show lands, I believe, on the baptism of Jesus Christ to the day.

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However, there's this excitement about what is going to happen. When is God going to finally reveal this

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Messiah that brings salvation to the ends of the earth and Jeremiah 31 is just hanging over them.

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Just waiting to be fulfilled. Expectation, expectation, promise, waiting.

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Is God going to be faithful to this promise? He's always has in the past. He's always, he's always kept his word.

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He's always done everything that he says he's going to do. He's done it. But goodness gracious, it's been hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.

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Where is this fulfillment? When's it going to happen? So just think about that as you read this text together with me.

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It's hung over them waiting for the fulfillment. Jeremiah 31 verse 31.

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God says, Hear now the holy and inspired word of God.

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Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

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Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

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My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the

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Lord. I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts.

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And I'll be their God and they should be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother saying, know the

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Lord, for they will, they all, they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest, declares the

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Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.

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Thus far as the reading of God's holy and inspired word, let's pray as his people. Father, we come into your presence thanking you for the gift of your word.

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Thank you that we stand on the other side of this promise in fulfillment. Thank you that we get to look back,

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Lord, at this perspective of history where we just get to see you saying and then you doing.

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Lord, you put us in a time where we just get to receive all these benefits. There's no expectation of, is it going to happen?

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Is it going to happen in these promises? They're all yes and amen. They've all landed on us and here we sit now,

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Lord, most of us, the descendants of pagan ancestors, Lord, with the benefits of the new covenant and salvation and forgiveness and God, we praise you.

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Help me, Lord, to teach your people today in a way that honors you and glorifies you. Speak through me, God, to your people.

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Teach according to your word and by your spirit. In Jesus' name, please change us. Amen. Jeremiah 31, 31.

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A new covenant is coming. It is powerful. It is different. It is new.

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But God says he's going to do something. He says about Israel that Israel was seen as his wife.

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He was in a marriage relationship with Israel. That was his wife, his bride, and he says, even though I was your husband, you broke a covenant with me.

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And in God, also in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel, just read from about 16 onwards, you'll see that God even describes his relationship with his people as,

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I'm your husband, you're my wife. He says, but you're different. He says, because even though I beautified you and made you amazing and I put a ring in your nose and all these beautiful jewels all over you, he says that you wouldn't play the harlot with all the other nations.

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You wouldn't gave yourself away. And he says you're different than other other harlots in that they usually get paid for what they do and you didn't even ask for payment.

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You just gave yourself away to everybody. That's how he describes it. And that's the context of this.

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The unfaithful wife of God. Unfaithful Israel. And God says this, despite your unfaithfulness, despite the fact that you've broken covenant with me, despite the goodness that I've given to you, he says,

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I'm going to make a new covenant with you. And he says, and this one's going to be different. He says this way,

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I will take my law and I'll put it within you.

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I want you to consider for a moment this very critical detail. Before God talks about the forgiveness that he's going to give to his people, forgiving their iniquity, and listen closely, remembering their sin no more, he says this substantial promise.

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I'm going to take my law and I'm going to do something different.

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I'm going to put it within you. And he says, I'm going to write it on your hearts.

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Now, just go backwards for a minute now. This is vitally important to get. When God comes into relationship with his people and he delivers them out of bondage from Egypt, and they're starting to make their way into the promised land, you remember all the faithlessness even after all the crazy miracles?

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I mean consider for a moment now, you saw God turn water into blood.

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You saw the locusts come across Egypt. You were there when they had the goats, or sorry, the sheep with no spot and no blemish, with the blood over the doorposts and the judgment of God passing over, and you saw the water crash down on the enemies of God.

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And yet they go into this land. They're making their way. Moses goes up to receive the law.

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And what are the people of God doing down there? They're like, man, this is taking kind of a long time with this, you know, hanging out with God and receiving all these instructions and everything.

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Maybe he's not coming back. I'll tell you what, let's get all of our gold, all of our jewelry. Dudes, take the earrings out of your ears.

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Yes, the guys had earrings in their ears too, right? Take the earrings out of your ears and ladies too. Take all this jewelry and let's do something.

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Let's make an image we can worship, right? We can't see this Israel God.

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He's like spirit or something, like all the pagans have a God in their temple to worship.

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Let's get one we can put together and stand before and start worshiping, right? And so they get down there, have a little celebration.

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But we know the story about the Ten Commandments. Where did God write the Ten Commandments? On tablets of stone.

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Right? On tablets of stone. So here's the covenant made to the people of God. Faithless Israel.

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They see all God's amazing acts in the history and they still won't obey, won't obey, won't obey.

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And God gives them his law, which is an expression of love for God and love for who?

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Neighbor. Love for God, love for neighbor. The two tablets represent, here's how you love

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God. And the other one says, here's how you love your neighbor. Like, don't steal from them, don't commit adultery, don't lie, don't kill them, don't covet their stuff, that kind of stuff.

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Love for God, love for neighbor. And then when Moses comes down, we know the moment of the tablets and the stone.

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We know this epic moment in history. But that's the story of Israel. And then the story of Israel just sort of goes in and out of disobedience and obedience, disobedience.

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And then God blesses them with his love. They come out of all these epic moments of failure and then love.

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Failure and then love. Failure and then love. And then here God says in a new covenant, listen, he's doing something new.

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But we need to consider what that newness is. Is the newness devoid of the law of God?

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Consider that for a moment. We think about the new covenant today as Christians in the West, in a way that denies what scripture says about the new covenant, what

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Christians have historically believed about the new covenant. We talk about the new covenant in this way. It's just about forgiveness.

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It's just about going to heaven one day, escaping this world and getting there someday, right?

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We just want to escape this physical world and go to the spiritual. The new covenant is just about forgiveness.

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But notice when God introduces the new covenant, what's he say about it? It's going to be different in that I'm going to write my law within you.

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Whereas before the people of God, watch, have stone tablets outside of them, exerting pressure on top of them.

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It's outside of them directing towards them. God says in a new covenant, not only am

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I going to forgive you your sins and your iniquity, but I'm going to take that law, that law that you constantly despise and you break, and I'm going to take it and do something new.

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I'm going to put it inside you. And rather than writing it on stone tablets outside of you, exerting pressure on top of you,

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I'm going to write it in your heart. Do you see the difference?

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The new covenant, of course, is about forgiveness. But also the law of God is a constituent element of the new covenants.

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It's not irrelevant to the believer. The goodness of God's law is just that.

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Goodness, righteousness, faithfulness, it is the expression of love for God and love for neighbor.

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What does Jesus say when he's asked, Master, what's the greatest commandment in the law?

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What's Jesus say? One, love God. Two, love neighbor.

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And Jesus says all of the law and the prophets are built upon these two commandments.

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Love God and love neighbor. All of the law of God is built upon those two commandments.

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And so Jesus calls us, of course, to obedience, to love for God and love for neighbor.

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But the glorious thing about the new covenant is that it's not like the old. Now we have the spirit of God who's made us alive.

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We have the law of God written inside of us now as believers by God's own hand and, and this is the kicker, the amazing part of it, all of our iniquity and our sin is gone.

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Now watch, here's where we have to make application as brothers and sisters. Do you really believe that?

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And I mean on a moment -to -moment basis as a child of God. All of us have to face our own sanctification, our own failures as children of God.

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God will say things often in his word that are glorious, powerful, amazing truths, that we will check the box as Christians and say, yes,

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I believe that. But the question is, do you actually believe it? And does it actually transform your worship and your intimacy with God?

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So for example, did you hear it? I'll forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

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Is that how you approached God this morning when you woke up? Did you approach

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God in that way? Did you came before your father in his throne room?

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By the way, there was no veil there. There was nothing separating you from him.

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Did you come before God this morning, Sunday morning? Did you come before him into his room, his throne room?

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Did you come before him as he is singing over you as the scriptures say? By the way,

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I mentioned this a little earlier today. I don't have any ability to comprehend what that even sounds like.

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What's that even like for God to sing over me? Did you walk into his throne as he was singing over you?

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Did you walk into it with a recognition that all of my sins have been washed away, all of them?

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He's not holding it somewhere in the back of his heart going, well, I'm supposed to love you because I promised to, but I know what you were up to.

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Or I know what you've been thinking. Or I know what you did. Did you walk into his throne room this morning with the knowledge, the full knowledge and understanding and rejoicing over the fact that your iniquity is completely forgiven?

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That your sins are completely washed away. That there's nothing else remaining.

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No more personal beatings to be done. You don't have to flog yourself and spill any of your own blood.

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That God isn't impressed with your weeks on end grieving over your sin when you've pled for forgiveness.

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He isn't impressed with it. It's not adding anything to the story. God in Christ has washed away all of your sin.

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You've been declared righteous in his eyes, not because you are worthy of it, not because it's deserved, not because it's something you've done.

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It is all an act of his grace and love because of all of his promises.

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There's nothing left to do. It's all God's glory and it's all based upon his own promise.

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Do you believe it? Because listen, if you believe it, it ought to affect as a Christian. It ought to affect how you approach

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God daily. Somebody says I struggle so much with sadness all the time and depression and I struggle with loneliness or I struggle with guilt and despair.

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Let me just say first and foremost, the answer is Christ and the gospel. Have you turned from sin to trust in him?

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But if we're there now, if we're God's people and we say, yes, I trust in Christ. God lives in me.

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I've received his forgiveness and salvation. Then I want to say this to you. The answer to freedom and healing out of the guilt and the shame is not going to be found in personal exertion of effort.

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It's not going to be found in you trying really, really hard to get over the guilt and the shame. The answer is simple.

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Do you believe him? Because you can believe one of three voices. You can believe yourself and let's be honest.

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We are historically unreliable. Amen? Only some of you said that.

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You're still deceived. Two, you can believe the devil and the bible says that he is the father of lies.

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So, not a good choice. Or you can believe God. And God cannot lie.

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So the answer to freedom from loneliness and sin and shame and depression and all the rest is as God's child who's been bought by him into this new covenant with his law written within you with all your sins washed away is to believe him over you.

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We believe our experiences. We believe our circumstances. We believe our let's be honest about this.

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Be truthful. You believe your own inner monologue much more than you believe

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God's word very often. Your interpretation of your circumstances.

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Your interpretation of how things ought to be. Your interpretation of your guilt and your shame.

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And here's here's the answer. Do you trust in Christ? Yes. Are you trusting in Christ today?

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Then this is what God says. He has made a covenant. He cannot lie.

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And he says he's going to put his law within you. And he says that he's going to forgive your iniquity and all your sins never even remember them.

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So take that guilt and shame. Take that loneliness and despair.

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Take that when you feel like there is no pleasure and joy and delight in your life.

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The answer is ultimately be standing on the rock of his word and getting off the sinking sand of your own autonomous interpretation of things.

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The answer is this right here this promise in Jeremiah 31. But here's what I want you to hear from me today.

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This is so vital in terms of what does God do in the new covenant? He says he's going to put his law.

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Now watch real fast. Which law is Jeremiah referring to? The known law.

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The law that God has given. The law that the psalmist says we've read it today in service.

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Psalm 119. Is a light unto my path. That law.

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God's going to take his law and write it now inside of you. That's a constituent element of the new covenant promise.

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Not just forgiveness. But the people of God we're going to carry now God's law out into the world and broadcast his standards of righteousness.

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His standards of justice. You want to see it? I want you to see it. Isaiah chapter 2.

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Go to your bibles. Isaiah chapter 2. Go backwards from Jeremiah. Isaiah chapter 2.

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Glorious promise. About what God's going to do in the new covenant. I want you to see this. Because it is a light and a blessing to the world in so many ways.

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Isaiah chapter 2. It says in verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 2.

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The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. About 600 years before Jesus.

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Shall come to pass in the latter days. That the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains.

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And shall be lifted up above the hills. And all the nations shall flow to it.

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And many peoples shall come and say come. Let us go up to the mountain of the

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Lord. To the house of the God of Jacob. That he may teach us his ways. And that we may walk in his paths.

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For out of Zion shall go the law.

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And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Brothers and sisters that is a very beautiful picture.

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A portrait of the future of what God's going to do in salvation for the world. First thing I want you to hear in that is did you hear the uniqueness of that?

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What do the Jews think about themselves and their relationship with God? Who are they? We're God's chosen people.

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We're his people. We're the distinct and separate nation. We're the people he set his love upon. The unique people of Israel.

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We've got the genealogy. We've got father Abraham had many sons. Many sons.

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I hear the kids laughing. They're like, what is this fool doing today? Many sons had fought.

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That's what they're saying. Like that's our song. Like father Abraham. Like that's our guy. And this is the nation we are.

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We're very special in all the world. And they were. They were. Absolutely. But here

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Isaiah is saying about 600 years before Jesus. That many nations are going to come now.

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Stream up to the mountain of God. And by the way, if you haven't noticed water doesn't go up.

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It goes down. So what is this very amazing picture of nations?

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Streaming like water being pulled up a mountain. That's the father drawing his elect from all over the world.

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He's drawing them up his mountain to himself. But notice what it says they're going to do.

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Not only are they going to be drawn now. Pagan nations drawn up to God's mountain. Coming to Zion.

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To the place of the people of God. Now we're going to have pagans who love Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel.

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What kind of new covenant is this? This is crazy. This is amazing. This is the whole world.

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It's not just Israel. It's the world coming to God. That's redemption. That's a new creation.

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That's something entirely new. And God's going to draw the nations. But what's it say the nations are going to do?

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They're going to say as they come this. Come, let us go up to the mountain of God.

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Of the Lord. To the house of the God of Jacob. That he may teach us his ways.

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That we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion, that's the place of the people of God, shall go the law.

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Brothers and sisters, Isaiah is a Jew. About 600 years before Jesus. Long after the time of Moses.

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Please come with me here on this. Think with me now. Which law is Isaiah referring to?

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The known law. The law of God. The law is going to go forth from the people of God.

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That is a constituent element of what God is going to do in Messiah. Salvation. Forgiveness.

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He'll justify the many as he'll bear their iniquities. He's going to be pierced through for our transgressions.

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But what else is God going to do? He's going to put his law within the people of God. Write it on their hearts.

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And the law is going to go forth from the people of God into the world. As a blessing to the world.

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They're going to say come, let's learn his ways. Look with that law. Look at the blessing of that law.

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Look what God is doing. Another promise. You're still in Isaiah. Just move over now to Isaiah 42.

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Another promise about what God is going to do in the new covenant. What he's going to do with this Messiah.

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Isaiah 42. Isaiah chapter 42. My wife tells me that I go too fast when

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I go through scripture. So I'm slowing down. She's my helpmate.

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And she's helping you now too. So. Isaiah 42. Watch. Verse one.

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Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights.

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I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth. What's the word? Justice. He will bring forth justice to the nations.

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He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.

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Did you catch that? Be honest. You look at that and don't we go, we go.

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What's exactly? What's that? What's that mean? A faintly burning wick he will not quench.

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He's not going to break a bruised reed. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street.

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Well, this is really strange. God's servant, the one he upholds, wait, hold on, is going to bring forth justice among all the nations.

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Righteousness, justice is going to now fill the nations. He's going to bring it forth, but he's going to do it without breaking a reed, without crying out, being aggressive.

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A faintly burning wick he will not quench. Here is this humble, gracious Messiah and servant who's going to do something that governments throughout history have tried to do apart from God and his law, but he's going to accomplish it.

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Just consider for a moment, don't government systems try to enforce or employ standards of justice, do they not?

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You're like, not this country, not any longer. Think about it. In the last 100 years how many government institutions have been raised up pretending to actually raise up the standard of justice in a society, and what they have brought is tyranny.

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Tyranny. Why? Because they're not enforcing God's standards of justice. They are enforcing man's standards of justice.

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And have you noticed when human governments try to actually enforce justice in their nation, it becomes a tyranny.

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And when you walk into the hall with all the books and the law and the code and the standards of justice, it is a hallway that you can't see the end of.

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And it is paper upon paper and ink and ink. It is this extended hallway that never ends.

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And when people try to employ justice apart from God, apart from God's law, it is tyranny.

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It is harsh. It is heavy -handed. It is hard. And oftentimes in human culture, it leads to death.

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It leads to genocide. You cannot even fathom, I cannot even fathom, the bodies that are piled upon each other under the earth over the last 100 years of human governments that have tried to enforce what they say is justice.

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And here's what Isaiah says. This chosen one, this Messiah, he's going to bring forth justice in the earth, but he's not going to do it like human governments.

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He's not going to do it by lifting his voice loud in the streets. He's not going to do it with physical power and domination.

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And it says this, he will not grow faint or be discouraged until he has established justice in the earth and, here's the word, the coastlands wait for his

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Ready? Torah. The word is Torah. The coastlands wait for his

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Torah. So one of the promises of the Messiah's kingdom, of the new covenant, is the law now goes from stone tablets outside of us to inside of us.

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God is going to have his law go forth from the people of God. The nations are going to come to God and this messianic figure is going to establish justice in the earth.

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The coastlands are waiting for his Torah. They're waiting for it and God's going to do it and he's not going to be faint or discouraged until he has accomplished it.

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Take that discouraged Christians in 21st century North America. God's going to accomplish this work.

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It's not up to us ultimately. He will accomplish all of his purposes. Another promise

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I want you to see is Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel chapter 36 is a favorite one for reform folks.

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We have it on our t -shirts. We put it on memes. We say it all the time and that's that God takes a heart of stone and gives a heart of what?

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You know, you're in a Calvinist church when everyone goes flesh. That's regeneration y 'all.

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Ezekiel 36. This is a big promise and it is part of the new covenant promise.

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We can divide our bibles up and separate the promises of God from the old testament from the new.

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Our God is not divided. He is, here's the word, immutable. Don't let it throw you.

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Here's what it means. Unchanging. He does not change. These promises are promises for you and I today.

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Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel 36. Here's what I love. Watch this.

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Oh, this is so good. This is so good. Ezekiel 36.

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Start in verse 32. We often don't do that when we read this in church. We start at 33 and on.

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But here's what God says. In 32, well, let me do this.

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Let's let's do this. Everyone start at verse 21. Verse 21.

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God says this. But I had concern for my holy name which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.

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Israel, my people, have profaned my name. I have concern for my holy name, my standards, my righteousness.

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You guys have profaned my name. You've made me look bad. You've given me a bad name among all the nations,

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God says. But look what he says in verse 32 at the end of this discourse. He says, it is not for your sake that I will act, declares the

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Lord God. Let that be known to you. Sounds like such a parent, right? Make sure you know that.

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Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. God is saying that this.

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I'm not doing this for you. I'm not doing it for your glory. I'm not doing it for your name.

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I'm not doing it ultimately because of you. I'm doing it to vindicate the holiness of my great name that you've profaned among all the nations.

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I'm going to act to uphold the greatness of my glory. And by the way, that's the promise you want to hang on.

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Not your obedience. Not your, um, not, not just because of you and your personality and how amazing you are to God, right?

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This is about God and his glory. He says, you know, I'm doing this and I'm doing it for my glory.

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So you can take it to the bank. And God says this in verse 22. Therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says the

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Lord God, it is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I'm about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.

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And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations and which you have profaned among them.

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And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness.

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Before their eyes, and watch, here's how he's going to do it. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.

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I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols.

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I will cleanse you. Hey brothers and sisters, how's that for hope in your sanctification?

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How's that for hope and freedom from drug and alcohol addiction? How's that for hope and freedom from pornography addiction?

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How's that for hope and freedom from the mean -spirited and rude behavior between spouses?

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How's that for hope and freedom from selfishness? How's that for hope and freedom from a lack of love?

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God says I will cleanse you and I will cleanse you from all your idols.

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Your idols, I'll cleanse you from them. That's what God's going to do in the new covenant. He is doing this and then he says this.

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He says and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

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Now pause there. One of um the things that I love the most about the privilege and the honor that I've had to be a minister of the gospel all these years is this the many times that I've sat in front of new believers that God has recently delivered from a life of sin or addiction to drugs and alcohol and to sit and listen to them now tell me their struggle.

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I had to at times make sure that I was clear and explaining myself when

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I had been preaching as a chaplain at the hospital with a room of 50 drug addicts, some of them still on detoxification medicine,

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I had seen people being aggressive with me, arguing with me, trying. I had people that came and it was my fault.

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I would go around the hospital all day and I would put up a little invitations to come and debate the pastor because I couldn't get people to come sometimes.

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So I'll go around the hospital and I'll put invitations 6 30 tonight come and take the pastor down like atheists and agnostics invited, right?

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And that would get them going. They were like, okay. Yeah, I'm coming and so I would invite them. I'd say, okay your your turn to ask questions you can feel free to challenge anything you want and we would sit there for like an hour and a half in a scuffle a good scuffle and it was amazing to see people that were so hostile towards the gospel and me one week

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One week later they're inside my office in the hospital and literally bawling their eyes out over their sin

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Crying I had a grown man He probably weighed 275 300 pounds of man

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He was big And he's on his knees in front of me a foot and a half away from me kind of awkward just bawling his eyes out

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Why? Because he went from a place where he was not a believer to now a week later

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He is so at war with his sin and so hates the way that he's been thinking and so hates where he's been going

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He's like pastor. Jeff. I don't know what's wrong with me. Like I so want to love. Jesus. I so want to honor him

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I so want to obey him. I want to worship him But I was struggling with these lustful thoughts and I don't want to think that way anymore pastor.

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Jeff. I need help I don't want to think this way anymore and I would just be sitting there delighted. I just You know and I just had to explain to myself to make sure they didn't think

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I was making fun of them I was thinking ezekiel 36 God gave you a new heart

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How do I know because you're crying your eyes out over your lust? Were you crying two weeks ago over your lust?

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No You were living it out You were propagating it perpetrating it you were going all the places you wanted to go and you had a needle in your arm

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And now you're telling me that you see the heroine as an idol and now you're telling me you want to live sexually pure This is the glory of the gospel in the new covenants the law written inside of you a new heart that was once Stone So impenetrable by god and now it's this soft malleable heart

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And then god says this ezekiel 36 he says

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I'll put my spirit within you and cause You to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules

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Hey Context always right context not just proof texting

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Ezekiel 36 when he writes this this is in the context of a new covenant that's coming but ezekiel knows about the mosaic covenants

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What statutes and rules? Is ezekiel referring to? the known statutes and rules

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The same promise of torah going out into all the nations the same promise of justice the same promise of the law

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The torah going out from zion to the world the same promise of that law going into the hearts of god's people

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God says new heart and my spirit within you to cause you to observe my rules and my statutes

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That's the promise of the law of god in the life of the new covenant believer Now i'll just say this quickly in terms of a snapshot

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Because we have to ask the question. Okay, so the law of god and proper perspective What do we do with that What's it look like in our new covenant to have the law of god within our hearts the torah going out into the world?

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Well, i'm going to say that watch we should assume the continuity of the laws of god

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Unless god has given us divine revelation to tell us what changes there are and how something is expressed in the new covenant

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For example, listen closely. You already get this you already understand this in the old covenant. I call it a dress

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Rehearsal remember dress rehearsal. What was there a temple? What was there a holy of holies?

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What was there a veil? What was there priests? What was there bloody sacrifices?

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What was there all of these rehearsals going on? But here's what we understand in the new covenant

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Jesus now brings us near because of his blood the veil is torn and that bloody sacrifice on that cross

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Destroys any need for further sacrifice Everything the dress rehearsal was referring to is accomplished in jesus.

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No more shadow. Now we have the substance in Jesus So someone says well if the law is going to be a constituent element of the new covenant

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Then what's that look like in the new covenant brothers and sisters the new testament defines it no more animal sacrifices.

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Why? Because jesus No more physical temple. Why because it was just a play

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It was only a dress rehearsal of what's going on in the holy of holies And now because of jesus you've brought been brought into the presence of god with no more restrictions

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No more need for any continued atonement and now your sins are all washed away

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Well, how about the uh training wheels? You say what training wheels?

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well the ones that paul refers to in ephesians and in galatians the training wheels of circumcision the training wheels of The dress the training wheels of the food the dietary restrictions

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The bible tells us that those things were meant to be training wheels for the people of god To teach them to be holy to teach them to be separate to teach them to be distinct

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But now the new covenant with salvation now going out to the world no more need for the training wheels

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One particular reason is now the spirit of god indwells you and the law of god is written

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Within you and god now dwells within you causing you to observe his statutes.

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So how come we can eat pork? Because number one it's delicious And number two because there are no more restrictions because that training wheel has now been taking off taking off you're now

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Allowed to ride without it Into the world those distinctions have fallen away, but however

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Does that mean? That under the new covenant the law of god in the old testament is totally irrelevant for the people of god

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Not according to the apostles in the new testament nor to jesus Here's a burst and then we're done for today.

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Are you guys ready for this? A lot of writing down now quickly just a burst You see the assumption of continuity in the new testament from the old testament law

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You see the old testament law in terms of the ten commandments even Repeatedly quoted in the new testament with the assumption of continuity not we know that that's over.

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We know that it's irrelevant We know that we don't have to obey those laws any longer, but you see with the assumption of continuity one

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All my kids in here know I hope Let's try this one children of apologia

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Finish this verse for me children obey They're like your parents

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Your parents in the lord, right? What's the scripture say honor your? I love this church

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Honor your father and your mother in ephesians in ephesians Chapter six verse one the apostle paul catch come with me on this post cross

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Post resurrection post ascension after it's all done

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The apostle paul speaks to the children in the congregation by the way High like that family integrated church concept right there.

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He assumes the children are in the congregation That they're there and he says because that letter was read to the church when they were worshiping

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He says children obey your parents in the lord Honor your father and your mother is quoted and paul says for this is the first commandment with what?

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a promise The apostle paul after jesus died rose again and ascended

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Assumes the continuity of the ten commandments and tells children obey your parents in the lord

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This is the first commandment with a promise. He doesn't say brothers and sisters. We know the law is over. It's defunct

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It's no longer relevant. We don't have to obey it But i'm going to go ahead and pull this one over from the old testament.

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He assumes the continuity of the old testament law another example the apostle paul

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In first timothy 5 verse 19 very important in first timothy 5 verse 19 after the cross

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After the resurrection after the ascension of jesus. He says this in timothy.

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He says Receive no accusation against an elder unless it's on the basis of two to what?

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Three witnesses now watch by the way, just real fast Close thing that's not a special privilege for the pastors

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We can we hold that up for a second here Yes, paul's talking to timothy. And yes, he says don't receive an accusation against an elder

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Unless it's on the basis of two to three witnesses, you know, that's not a special privilege for elders That's true for wade

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That's true for all of us That's true for anybody in here in terms of the standard of god is this you don't receive accusations against anybody

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Unless there are two to three independent lines of witness evidence and testimony

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There has to be proof you want to kill gossip in a community and keep unity within the body

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And fellowship within the body I want to say this stand on that stand on that But here's what paul says he says to timothy receive no accusation

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Unless it's on the basis of two to three witnesses brothers and sisters. Do you know where he's getting that from? He's getting that from the judicial standards of god's law to the judges

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Judges were not supposed to receive any accusations unless there were two to three independent lines of witness and evidence

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And here's the apostle paul saying children obey your parents in the lord honor your father and your mother First first commandment of the promise ten commandments just assumed and then he says oh even the judicial law to judges

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He says people of god you keep that now receive no accusation against an elder Unless it's on the basis of two to three witnesses, by the way judges today ought to take that command

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But what's he do ten commandments? Oh judicial law as well. But do you know who else appealed to that law?

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jesus matthew chapter 18 What's he say in terms of resolving sin within the fellowship?

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What's he say? Go to them what? You go to them to restore them.

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You go to them privately And if they won't listen you bring what? Witnesses And if they still won't repent then you bring them before the church

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The discipline that god commands in the church listen closely is based upon god's judicial standards

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From the ten commandments Sorry from the judicial law of god another one

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And this is powerful. Someone says well, yeah, those are good laws. We like those laws honor

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Your father and mother is a good one. We like that. It keeps keeps unity in the home. That's a powerful one The judicial standards there's a lot of good to that.

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We should carry that over But that's you know That's about as far as we should go into the torah in terms of what comes over into the new covenant community in the people

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Of god. Well, how about this one? in first timothy chapter 5 verse 18 post cross post resurrection

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Post ascension. It's all finished. Jesus is now on his throne with all authority in heaven and on earth

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The apostle paul says this in terms of your vocational ministers who are laboring day and night for the people of god

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He says this don't muzzle the ox while it treads the grain

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What? Oh That's from the part of the torah Where god actually tells them don't muzzle the ox while it trains while it treads the grain and paul says this

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You take the general equity of that law To care for those who are laboring for you.

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Don't let them starve And that applies under the new covenant He doesn't say now we know that the animal husbandry laws are over with and done with and those have no place in a new covenant

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He says to timothy you're supposed to know this he assumes its continuity. Don't muzzle the ox while it trains the uh, well it

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Treads the grain. Sorry treads the grain don't muzzle the ox while it treads the grain What's that mean you take that righteous and just principle of caring for what is actually caring for you?

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And you bring that into the new covenant because that's god's standard of righteousness and justice So someone says well what aspects of the law of god are carried over into the new covenant?

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I would say well, we know the training wheels are off. We know the dress rehearsals are fulfilled in jesus We've got the substance and not the shadow any longer

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But the apostles are assuming the continuity of god's law ten commandments still relevant today judicial law of god still relevant today animal husbandry laws still relevant today

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One more and one more example In acts chapter 25 verse 11.

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The apostle paul is on trial People are making accusations against him. They're charging with crimes

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And what the apostle paul says go there later and read it after christ died After christ rose again after he has ascended on his throne with all authority in heaven and on earth

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He's at trial and what he says is very significant. He says this if I have done anything worthy of death

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I do not object to dying But he hadn't But he says this as an apostle

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He says after all of christ's work. He says if i've done anything worthy worthy of death

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I don't object to dying Here's the apostle with a premier opportunity to say

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God's not concerned with justice in the law court anymore God's not concerned with those elements of the world any longer under the new covenant

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He says if i've done anything that's worthy of death I don't object to dying why because god's standards are righteous true

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Holy and just and if i'm truly guilty in a court of law of a crime worthy of death

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I'm worthy of it. I don't object to dying That's under the new covenant brothers and sisters As an apostle so what's paul appealed to ten commandments?

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What's the appeal to judicial standards? What's he appealed to animal husbandry laws what's he appealed to the goodness of god's judicial standard listen even up to the death penalty

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Can I take just a quick excursus on that and we'll finish up with this do you think about today

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How we live today What what have we said in our culture today? What have we said?

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No to god's law No to god's standards no to his justice We'll build our own little system over here of criminal justice systems

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And what have we done? We've created a system of justice. That's actually a system of in justice

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How so? well We say you stole something Okay, what do you guys think?

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What should we what should we do? You stole some? Okay, how about How about a year in jail?

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No, no, how about two years in jail? No, that's not enough How about three years in jail three years in jail three years in jail image bearer of god in a cage

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That'll do it. How are we going to pay for that? How are we going to pay for him in jail in a cage?

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We got to feed the guy. We can't kill him. We got to watch him We're gonna have people like watching him around the clock um

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How about we take from these people over here? We'll take from all these people in the community over here.

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Well, how are we going to do that? Like just take it from them. Well, we'll tell them that if they don't pay They'll go to the same cage

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And what we'll do is we'll say they can never own their property again That's what we'll do if they buy a house and land

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What we'll do is we'll charge them rent for their land. Well for how long? forever

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They'll never actually own property they'll pay rent for their property Well for what to take image bearers of god to put them in a cage

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So that we can pay for their health insurance their sex changes and three meals a day and their cots

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Well, that's that's an amazing cost that's an amazing price Well, what else are we going to do?

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I don't know Maybe listen to god's judicial standards. And if somebody is actually guilty in a court of law for theft, they have to pay it back double

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And then that person comes back to society Whole and reconciled again

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And you haven't taken an image bearer of god and put them into a cage like an animal for years

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Forcing other image bearers of god to give up property by coercion to pay for the problem

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Or how about this when you have a person who has murdered? Raped Injured numerous women and victims

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Who goes to court is seen to be guilty and makes a plea bargain and says i'll confess to all the crimes

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But I just want to be caged up for life And now you have say 10 victims

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Of very disgusting and abominable crimes Who now never actually have justice?

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Going their direction because we have a justice system that says this Well, we couldn't possibly execute this man for these heinous crimes

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What does god's law say? If you steal something what? Pay it back steal something pay it back

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If you kidnap somebody what's the what's the penalty for kidnapping an image bearer of god death penalty

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If you murder somebody what's the penalty? death penalty So you see god's judicial standards have a way of actually

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Stopping people image bearers of god from believing they can get away with these crimes

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The word of god actually teaches us that when the god's judicial standards are ignored in a culture

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It says this in the book of ecclesiastes The heart of men are emboldened to do wickedness

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When justice doesn't prevail in the land People are emboldened to do evil

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And just consider what god says in his word about his law I will leave you with this to go home with some homework.

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Would you do this with your family this week? Would you do this? At some point this week read psalm 119

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Read psalm 119 with your family at some point. It's the longest chapter in the entire bible I'm not telling you to read the whole thing with your family.

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I'm telling you read psalm 119 Just peruse through psalm 119 to see what god says about the goodness of his law and brothers and sisters

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That psalm is an expression of the mind of christ And I want to leave you with this. What are our minds being transformed?

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to the mind of christ The way that psalm reads about the law of god Is the way the people of god ought to feel about the law of god

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And the power to feel that way about the law of god is not something that you're going to muster up in yourselves

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If you've been saved by god's grace through faith in jesus, the spirit of god indwells you and is causing you to love that law

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Oh How I love your what? Law, amen.

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Let's pray father. I pray you bless the message that went out today Cause us lord god to be a light for the good news of jesus salvation in him

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And I pray that you would also cause us lord to be a light to the nations With the goodness of your law in jesus name.