Romans Theology — Colin Peckham

Romans 6 and the Theology of the Gospel

Romans 6 verse 6. Romans 6 verse 6. Romans 6 verse 6. Romans 6 verse 6. Romans 6 verse 6. Romans 6 verse 6. Did you give birth to your servants to justice? The Lord be with you. Friends, last night I spoke in Afrikaans.

And tonight I will speak in English. Last night we spoke about the great illustration in the Old Testament. Tonight we speak about the theology of the New Testament. And we will go to this great chapter that has been read.

It will be good if you keep the Bible open in the Romans. Because we will look a little there. And we pray that the Lord will be with us tonight. Let us bow our heads in prayer. Our Father, we thank you that we can bow our hearts for the God who reigns.

The pilgrims have now sung of it. Jehovah reigns, reigns, reigns. In every heart tonight, we pray. Be with us. We are the greatest theological treatise and book in the New Testament. Martin Luther said Christians should learn it off by heart.

He got his theology from the book of Romans, of course. And from the first chapter, if you look in your Bibles and follow along, you will see this. In the first verse of the book, Paul says, He was separated unto the gospel.

Undeserved in grace. Unparalleled in glory. Separated unto the gospel. Verse 9. God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son. So I'm not only separated unto the gospel. I'm serving God in the gospel.

Not necessarily a council or a church or a Sunday school board. I'm serving God with my spirit. Not doing dutifully the things that I have to do. But doing from my heart the things that I want to do. I'm serving God with my spirit.

A word for every Sunday school teacher and every person who is involved in the work of God. Serving God with my spirit in the gospel. And then in verse 18, he's experiencing the power of the gospel unto salvation.

And then he says in verse 16, sorry that was verse 16, and then also in verse 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel. And then in verse 15, I am ready to preach the gospel. There's Paul's relationship to the gospel.

Paul's relationship to the gospel in the first 16 verses of this book. Then he begins with the text of the gospel. Verse 17, the just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. And that's the text of the book.

The just shall live by faith. And then he starts telling of the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ. Because gospel means glad news, good tidings. And he begins, and this is how he begins. Verse 18, see it?

The Wrath of God Against Ungodliness

Some way to talk about the gospel. Some way to talk about good news. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness.

The wrath of God. It's royal wrath. The wrath of God is revealed. It's revealed wrath. And it's the wrath of God and revealed wrath. And it's the wrath of retribution from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

So here the wrath of God is revealed. And then he says, he tells them all these terrible things in the heart. And he says, God also gave them up. And he says in 2nd and 1st, God gave them up. And the 28th verse, God gave them over.

See, there's a list of sins in Matthew 15. There's a list of sins in Mark chapter 7. There's a list of sins in Galatians chapter 5. But there's nothing like this. There's an open barring of the sins of the people's hearts.

And God gave them up. And the wrath of God. The wrath of God. Wrath upon you. Then it goes on to chapter 2. Notice what he says. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges. For in wearing thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself.

For thou that judgest doest the same things. You don't do the same things. You condemn the man who does all these terrible things. That's what the list says. And he says, but you do all these things in your heart.

And you are worthy. You're going to be judged according to your deeds. Verse 6. Verse 11. You're going to be judged irrespective of who you are. It's no respect to the person. You're going to be judged according to performance.

Verse 13. And not according to knowledge. Verse 15. You're going to be judged according to your conscience. Verse 16. You're going to be judged according to the secrets of your heart. The soldier. He condemned you.

He turned from God against you. He looked and said, who is he? You are the same, and you're under the wrath of God. Chapter 3. What advantage does the Jew have? Or what profit is there of circumcision?

Much every way. Chiefly because to them who committed the oracles of God. The words of God were left to them. He is the God-fearing commander. It's the reckless man. And the 2nd chapter is the self-righteous man.

And the 3rd chapter is the religious man. As it is written, verse 10. There is none righteous, no not one. There is none that seeketh after God. There is none that seeketh. They are all gone out of the way.

They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good. No not one. Verse 19. Half way through the verse. Get out of what I say. And every mouth may be stopped. And all the world become guilty before God.

What a terrible situation. Wrath. Wrath. Wrath. Turn from God against all mankind. No escape. No escape. You're in a terrible dungeon. And may I say to you friend. If you are outside of Christ tonight.

This is your condition. You, this night. You, Pete, Sonny. Whoever you are. If you're outside of Christ. If you're not saved. You are under the wrath. The terrible wrath of almighty God. No hope for you.

You're doomed and you're damned. Good news. You see my friend. That's how Paul preached the gospel. And today we have people preaching the gospel. And they say. Don't you want happiness? Don't you want joy?

Don't you want peace? Come to Jesus. He'll give you all those things. Of course we want those things. So we come down the aisle. Chewing our chewing gum. We're going to do the almighty a favor. We're going to seek Jesus.

We're going to accept Jesus. And we come smilingly to the altar. And off we go. We've accepted Jesus. And they all said. Not a trace of salvation in that. They don't know that they're saved. They don't know that they're lost.

And the greatest thing today is to get people lost. You're under the wrath of God. On the return of God. And there's no way out except through Christ. Now. In chapter 4. In chapter 3. We come to the 21st verse.

Justification by Grace Through Faith

See what they say in the 21st verse. But now. The righteousness of God without the law is manifest. The righteousness of God is manifest. Yes. The first chapter in verse 18. The tower of God is manifest.

Now. Chapter 3 verse 21. Now the righteousness of God is revealed. How is it revealed? But. You see that word but. It's a marvelous word isn't it. The pivotal word in the scriptures. But. But now. When?

When I see myself as I am. Before God. No way out. But now. The righteousness of God without the law is manifest. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Then he says. Verse 20. 23. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Being justified. Freely. By. His. Grace. Here's the great. Wonderful story of justification by grace. See what he says there. Look at these 10 wonderful words. The turn has come now. See. The change. For all have sinned and come short of the.

Listen to it. Glory. Of God. Being justified. Freely. By. His. Grace. Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God has set forth. To be a propitiation. Through faith. In his blood. To declare his righteousness.

For the remission of sins of the past. Through the forbearance of God. 10 mighty words. The scene has changed completely. Where. I. Was. Condemned. Now. By. I am justified. Freely. Verse. 24. By. His. Grace.

Fantastic. God. Stepped. Down. And. He's. Taken. Me. Out. Of. That. Place. Where. I. Was. Under the wrath of God. And. Now. We. Can. Talk. About. The justification. By. Faith. And. Goes. On. In. Chapter. Four. He. Gives. The. Revelation. The. Illustration. Of. Abraham. And. David. Also. Who. Was. Justified. By. Faith. Then. In. Chapter. Five. Now. He. To. You. See. In. Chapter. Five. Now. He. Comes. To. The. Positive. Aspects. Of. Justification. I. Was. Sitting. In. A. Church. Once. With. My. Wife. And. The. Was. Speaking. At. Front. There. And. He. Said. The. Gospel. Is. Only. Positive. Not. Negative. At. All. And. I. Nudged. My. Wife. And. I. Said. No. Because. Gospel. Is. Negative. And. Positive. See. If. You. Just. Say. Talk. About. The. Positive. Things. That. Joy. Peace. And. Everything. Else. Everybody. Will. Want. That. Without. Realizing. That. Condemned. Sinners.

So. You. Got. To. Get. The. Basis. Right. You. Got. To. Lay. The. Foundation. If. You. Don't. Lay. The. Foundation. The. Wall. Will. Fall. Down. So. You. The. Foundation. Now. We. Come. To. The. Positive. See. Chapter. Five. Therefore. Being. Justified. By. Faith. Chapter. Three. Verse. Twenty. Four. Being. Justified. By. Grace. Now. Says. Being. Justified. By. Faith. What. Happens. When. You. Justified. By. Faith. We. Have. Peace. With. God. Through. Our. Lord. Jesus. Christ. By. Whom. We. Have. Access. By. Faith. Into. Grace. Where. In. We. Stand. And. Rejoice. In. Glory. Glory. Of. God. We. Need. Glory. In. This. Convention. Don't. We. We. Need. The. Glory. Coming. In. Sweeping. Through. This. Meeting. Glory. Of. God. And. Not. Only. So. But. We. Glory. In. Tribulations. And. Patience. And. Patience. Experience. And. Experience. Hope. And. Not. A. Shame.

Because The. Love. Of God. Is. Shed. Abroad. In. Our. Hearts. Ah. The. Positive. Aspects. of the Gospel? Here we come to this 9th verse, see what it says there, much more than being now justified by his blood.

See? You're justified by blood, that's the ground of justification. You're justified by grace, that's the spring of justification. You're justified by faith, that's the principle of justification. Oh my word.

We're justified by Christ alone, by faith alone, by blood alone, by grace alone. Hallelujah. What a wonderful saviour, salvation we have. And what a wonderful saviour we have. Amen. A few amens of you poor critters.

Hope you have a few more amens by the end of the day. Wonderful. What a wonderful work of God who comes to us in Christ Jesus. When we were lost and under sin and condemned, Jesus saw me in my blood, and he lifted me out, and he washed me, and he clothed me, and he said to me, live, and I lived.

Hallelujah. So, now that's just the foundation, that's just the introduction. You want some more? Alright, chapter 5. Chapter 6, now we come to the mighty word. So you have introduction, chapter 1 to verse 17, introduction.

And then you have condemnation, chapter 1, 18, right through to chapter 3, 21. And then you have justification from chapter 3, 21, right through to chapter 4 and 5. And then you have emancipation from sin, chapter 6.

And then you have liberation from the law, chapter 7. And then you have jurisdiction from God, communion, chapter 8. And then you have jurisdiction, God in government, chapters 9, 10, 11. And then you have application from 12 right through to 16.

Now, there you are, there's a Bible college for you, if you can absorb all that. Now we have, well we come to chapter 6. Alright, I'd like to get back and give you a whole series on Romans, wouldn't I now?

Crucifixion With Christ and Emancipation From Sin

Alright, now that's chapter 6, verse 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. That's a wonderful text.

And in the fifth chapter, see, in chapter 6 we read, Christ died for the ungodly. Okay? And verse 8, it says, Christ died for us. And in chapter 6, we die with. And in chapter 8, we live in Christ. Those who are in Christ Jesus, chapter 8, verse 1.

So chapter 5, for substitution. Chapter 6, with identification. Chapter 8, in. We go to chapter 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him. And that's the first word I want to bring to you tonight.

The word know. I can know this. What can I know? I can know this, that our old man is crucified with him. That the body of sin might be destroyed. That henceforth we should not serve sin. So I can know that I died with Christ.

Our old man is crucified with him. That's crucifixion. That's what Christ did there 2 ,000 years ago. That the body of sin might be destroyed. That's what the Holy Ghost does when he applies Christ's death to me now.

And then the result is that we might henceforth not serve sin. So here is emancipation. So you've got crucifixion. And you've got destruction. And you've got emancipation in that one verse. Freemaka. And verstaan je dat hoe je mag daar je wordt van destruction.

Sometimes it's used in another way. It's spoken of as being rendered inoperative. Or put out of action. Or destroyed. There's various versions. Translated differently. But however you translate it. And however your theological understanding.

Whatever your theological understanding of that word is. The practical result is that henceforth we should not serve sin. See. So I'm not arguing theologically. I'm arguing practically. This is a freemakende word.

This is something which comes to the human heart and meets my needs. Now. What does crucifixion mean? A .W. Tozer. I hope you know that name. And if you don't. Get some of his books. A .W. Tozer. A .W. Tozer in one of his books says.

An old man was asked on one occasion. What it meant to be crucified. He said. First. A man who is crucified. Is facing only one direction. He keek net inrichten. He can't look around him anymore. He is looking in the direction of God.

And of Christ. And of biblical revelation. And of world evangelization. And of the spirit filled life. That's the man who is crucified. And he said. Secondly. The man who is crucified. He is not going back.

He is finished with sin and carnality. And with the world and the lust of the flesh. He is not going back. And thirdly. He says. He has no further plans of his own. Nie meer plannen. Hoe baie plannen ons allemaal het.

Van ons eigen. Maar nou die man wat gecrucifit is. Hij is in de handen van de Heer. En de Heer geven mij zij plannen. En daar en daarin wil ik wandelen. So it's a difficult thing to be crucified you know.

We will do anything but die. We will make a great show of consecration. Van toe weide. Allemaal moet zien hoe toe gewijd is ons. Als ons net kan leven. It can merely be a manifestation of self. So that others can see how wonderfully spiritually we are.

You know. We were at Kaap Meiden convention long. Many years ago. En die Ferreres was nog daar. Niet die meneer Ferreres. Die andere Ferreres. Gert Ferreres. Gert en Suzy. En Suzy was daar. Ons staan daar en kijken.

Daar stonden 20 .000 mensen dat jaar. Onder in tenten. En Suzy zei. Terwijl ons zo staan en praten. Zij zei. Man weet je wat ik graag wil doen. Hij had wel graag onder die mensen bewegt. En begonnen schop.

Self-Denial, Calvary, and the Life of the Spirit

Hij zei. Wat een zinfel egocentricity. Hindert de flowering of the life of God within us. Spoils the beauty of the Lord coming through. Defiles our souls. Hidden sinful self is always finding lines of supply.

And keeps alive. It's always discovering impenetrable retreats in our own cleverness. We hide away don't we. We know how to do it. We hide from the eyes of our friends. It's subtle poison weakens and sickens our whole life.

It lurks in the innermost recesses of our soul. You know. There can be no sustained walk in the spirit's fullness. Where there has been no identification by faith with Christ's death on Calvary. Calvary precedes Pentecost.

We have to die and make room for the Almighty. There can be no sustained walk in the spirit's fullness. Where there has been no identification by faith with Christ's death on Calvary. Dr. Toza called it.

The hyphenated sins of Christianity. Self hyphen. Self hyphen love. Self hyphen seeking. Self hyphen righteousness. Self sufficiency. Self aggrandizement. As long as self love remains. We are always afraid that it will be discovered by some unexpected incident.

And we will be laid bare before the discerning eyes of our Christian fellow believers. But God doesn't let us off. He puts us in positions where the thing is brought to the fore. And God pursues it. And by some infinitely merciful blow.

Forces it out into the open. And self love forced into the light. Sees itself in all its deformity and despair and disgrace. Fenelon said long ago in the 17th century. You asked for a remedy that your problem might be cured.

You do not need to be cured. You need to be slain. Quit looking for a remedy. And let death come. Roy Hessian called it the Calvary of old. And only one thing happens at Calvary. You die there. Francis Thompson wrote a marvelous poem.

The Hound of Heaven. Speaking of the Holy Spirit following me as a dog. Following me, following me. He says I fled him. Down the arches of the earth. What a beautiful phrase. I fled him down the arches of the earth.

From those strong feet that followed, followed, followed after. But with unhurrying chase. Unperturbed pace. Deliberate speed. Majestic instancy. They beat those feet. They beat. And a voice beat more instant than the feet.

All things betray thee who betrayest me. If you are ill. You are going to go with the feet on the worst of the place. Then it will be. Then it will be. The voice will be. The face will be. All things betray thee who betrayest me.

So. I wrote a poem on this. I was very moved about this on one occasion. We had some things happen. And I wrote this. And I'm going to read it to you. Perhaps I should sing it to you. It's got a tune.

And do you writhe in outraged pride. O soul crushed by remorse. To think that such a thing could hide within. Where blood had been applied. And find not there recourse. The deed is done. The word is said.

And shame brings agony. You have been seen of men and read. And their appraisal is your dread. The carnal self. Beware lest you sidestep the cross. In this your crisis hour. Excuse so subtly selfish dross.

And gain your life. When death seems loss. And miss his path. Pure freedom comes. When that big I. Determinedly is brought. By faith to Calvary to die. No more in hidden forms to lie. Deliverance then is brought.

Then will you come. And bring your load. Of sullen wounded pride. No other way. No other road. To perfect rest and joy in God. Than with him crucified. It's a difficult thing to die. And it's a drastic thing.

God does not give up. But pursues the evil that remains. Oh my dear friends. We must allow him. To strip self love. Of every adornment. Until it stands. Barren and exposed. And what a shameful. And humiliating moment.

Exceed myself. And it's a definite thing. John Wesley said. There is a period of dying. But a point of death. A period of dying. But a point of death. We sometimes. Wrap ourselves in the shroud of death.

You know and say. Oh I'm going to die. I'm dying. I'm dying. I'm dying. And you die for 10 years. And you're still dying. You never get there. There's a period of dying. And a point of death. George Muller said.

There was a day when I died. Utterly died. Died to George Muller. His opinions preferences. Taste and will. Died to the world. It's approval or censure. Died to the approval or blame. Even of my brethren and friends.

And since then. I have studied to show myself. Approved unto God. You see the lust. The just shall live by faith. But the just shall die by faith. See this word crucifixion. Destruction. Paul speaks of crucifixion.

I have been crucified with pride. And this he said. We can know. Knowing this. And you see he's speaking as a Semite here. He's speaking as a Hebrew. He's speaking as a Greek. A Greek. A Greek. Understanding.

And then he says. I know this thing. In my understanding. But the Jews say. I know it. In my heart. In my being. Adam knew his wife. And she bore a son. He knew her. He knew her experientially. So there is an experience.

That the Hebrews look for. When they say. You know something. You know of that. Then go. And he said. We can know this. Not just like a Greek. Knowing it in our heads. But know it in our hearts. Know it in our whole being.

This can be part of us. It's an experiential thing. The second one. Verse 11. Likewise. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. But alive unto God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Reckon.

Reckon. You do it. I am acting upon what I know. What do I know? I was crucified with Christ. My fellow man was crucified with him. The body of sin was not made. And I shall not serve sin anymore. Now I reckon.

I say. I have died with Christ. Now the temptation comes to me. And I say. I have died with Christ. I'm reckoning upon that death. Therefore you have no hold on me. Therefore I am victor in this temptation.

Sin on Khan, you see what Spurgeon said, he said birds can, you can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making nests in your head. We have thoughts of evil, not necessarily evil thoughts.

There are things that come onto and are projected onto the screen of our minds. On the silver screen we see these things. You step there and there are people who have very few clothes on and the devil throws the good on your thought, silver screen.

And then you see it and then he just turns around and accuses you of the temptation that he now is going to bring to you. And he says, you have sinned, look, you will never have a clean mind, you will never be able to walk with God, you will never be filled with the Holy Spirit.

You are hopeless. Didn't you ask the Lord? But look now, how are you? And there you are. And you say, oh, it's just like that. I'll wait for the next conference and then I'll talk to the Lord again. So here we are.

We walk down the street and these things come. But we have to reckon. You see the temptations come through the ear gate and particularly through the eye gate and through the senses and into the intellect and the temptations come and even into the emotions and my emotions are stirred.

But then it comes to the will and the will is the guardian of your soul. Now to say, near, this temptation has come, I refuse it now. I have died with Christ. I will not respond to this because I am dead.

By faith I am dead. This is not imagination. This is the application of faith. What happened to Jesus? The devil came to him. And the devil said to him, And Jesus said, no. And he said, throw yourself off the pinnacle of the temple.

It is written, it is written, said the devil. The devil knows the Bible. He said, it is written, the angels will keep you if you fall. No, said Jesus, it is written. And he did battle with the devil on the word of God.

And he won. And then came the final one. He said, fall down and worship me and I'll give you all the cities of the world. You don't have to go to the cross. And Jesus said, he handled the devil. He responded and he conquered.

Now my friend, how did the temptation come to Jesus? But Jesus didn't sin. He had the thought in his mind, it was thrown onto the screen of his mind, I've got to worship the devil. And it's a mighty temptation.

The thought came into his mind, but he resisted it. And he remained pure. So thoughts can come into our mind and we can resist. And we can say, I reckon myself to be dead indeed unto this thing now. Satan, you have no hold on me.

I am dead to this thing. I reckon by faith in the sun, by the faith in G and Calvary, where I died with Jesus Christ. I'm reckoning upon that death now in these moments of temptation. And that's faith in the cross, which sets me free.

My friends, if you understand this, it will make a change for you forever. George Wyatt in the American Civil War. George Wyatt hired a man by the name of Pratt to wear his name and number and go and fight in the war.

There he is in the war. He paid him $300. Then Pratt with the name of George Wyatt and the number of George Wyatt and he went to fight, as if he was George Wyatt. And he was shot dead. And then after that, the teacher said, George Wyatt, come to the barracks.

You are going to be drafted into such and such a regiment. And he let them know, I'm sorry, I can't come. I am dead. And to say other dead men don't talk. You come to the barracks. They calmed down. They said, George Wyatt, you're drafted to such and such a regiment.

He said, wait a minute, gentlemen, wait a minute, gentlemen. Consult your records. And our scene, George Wyatt, number so and so, killed in action, such and such a date, such and such a place. And he said, gentlemen, I am claiming the documents of death.

I'm claiming the documents of death. I've died. There's the evidence. You have no hold on me. And they had to let him go. When Satan comes and wants to draft me once again into sin's fierce war, I say, there is a man.

And in him I died. And you have no hold on me. I am free. And you have no hold on me, right at this minute. And I am released by faith. Sometimes the battle is, battle rages. Sometimes I breathe fresh air.

Ah, I've reckoned myself dead. Praise God. I'm alive now. I'm free. And suddenly,. And then, Lord, I'm reckoning by faith. By faith in the death of Jesus Christ. I died with him, and I am free from this thing right now.

And you exercise faith. And you rise above it again. And you breathe fresh air. And suddenly,. And it's the battle of faith to get through to a place of victory. Faith, but it's in faith in what Jesus has done and how it can be applied to me now in these moments.

And you see, it says not only, look, it says in verse 11, reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So you're not reckoning yourself to be dead indeed unto sin, but you're reckoning yourself to be alive unto God.

So a Greek can make do it. And a Greek, not a believer, a Greek, not a believer. So I'm reckoning upon the life of Jesus in me. That life can give me victory. I can have no victory in no other way. I die with Christ.

I live with Christ. Christ lives in me. And when Satan comes to confront me, it's Jesus in me who gives me the victory. I am reckoning upon his life now. Lord Jesus, thou has conquered sin. Thou has conquered death.

Thou has conquered all these wicked things that are coming to me now. I reckon upon your overcoming life. Fill me to completion. Lords, come to me and fill me this very moment. I'm reckoning upon your death.

Yes, I'm dead. I'm reckoning upon your life. Fill me now and conquer. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Yielding the Body and Will to God

Yield yourselves unto God. It's a voluntary surrender. It's a free will I'm yielding myself. I don't have to do it. But because of what he has done, I can't do anything else. And gratitude becomes the irrepressible fountain of consecration and service.

And I give badly, willingly. I'm his. What a wonderful thing to do. What a wonderful thing to be able to do. Lord Jesus, you've redeemed me. You've set me free. I have been identified with you in your death.

You come and fill my life with your life. Your life is surging within me. I give. Hallelujah. I'm thine. Hallelujah. Yielding. And it's a total surrender. Yield yourself. See? Yield my mind and its thoughts, whatsoever things are of pure and lovely and good report.

Think on those things. Yield my will and its choices, for it is God which worketh in you both the will and to do of his good pleasure. Yield my body and its instincts. Keep thyself pure, kept by the power of God.

My heart and its affections. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. My personality and its prejudices. My life and its relationships. Everything I have about me, I give all to Jesus.

All to Jesus I surrender. Hallelujah. What a wonderful moment to be able to do that. Lord Jesus, I give, I give, I give. Wonderful. I can give myself everything that I have and everything that I am. I'm thine.

I've been redeemed by precious blood. It's a privilege to be able to give. Sacrifice is the ecstasy of giving the best I have to the one I love the most. It's an intimate surrender. It's to God. Yield yourselves to God.

It's not to some harsh taskmaster. It's not to some strong despot, some harsh man who's got a whip over me. I'm yielding myself to the one who loves me. It's the yielding of a bride to the groom. It's the yielding of Ruth to Boaz.

It's a wonderful yielding, yielding. It's an intimacy of relationship. It's to God, the one who loves me. And I'm taken into his tender embrace. And he pours out his love upon me. And I give my, that poor love that I have, but that which he pours within my soul, give it back to him.

I'm his. It's a grateful surrender. As one is alive from the dead, we live because he lives. We are saved not only by his death, but by his life. And we give ourselves gratefully to him, alive from the dead.

Yield yourselves to God as those that are alive from the dead. And your members, see? Your feet, where you go. Your hands, what you do. Your ears, what you hear. Your tongue, what you say. Your eyes, what you see, where you should switch that box off.

Your eyes, what you see. And your whole being, you're giving yourself, your whole being, how I react. I hear, I give myself. It's where the rubber hits the road. It's where I move amongst people. It's where I am speaking to people here, and as var ek meri mens amen.

It's a social thing. Your, your members, my members are going to meet with people in a moment. I'm going to speak. You're sitting here, you're mingling with people. Your members are mingling. You see, it's where people, where we mix.

It's your members. You see, this, this, this spiritual encounter with God is not something airy-fairy up there in the heavens. It has to do with practical elements. I, my members, here, where I meet people.

It's a social element as well. And so we have a practical surrender, your members. And it's a surrender for service, as instruments. Yield your members as instruments of righteousness. Instruments of righteousness, not ornaments, laborers, not loafers.

Instruments of righteousness. So, this is an instrument being used to perpetuate righteousness, gerechtigheid. I am now, why, how can I be an instrument which perpetuates and extends righteousness? By my death with Christ.

By my reckoning upon His life, reckoning upon His death, reckoning upon His life. By being infused and filled with that spirit, so I can be, so I can be used as an instrument to perpetuate His righteousness and extend His kingdom, His righteous kingdom.

And it all stems from where I meet people. And it's a decisive surrender. This is in the Aorist tense, for those who know Greek. Aorist is an instantaneous happening. It's I yield, I give myself. Have you given yourself?

Young person, have you given yourself to Jesus? What, what you're missing? Living half-heartedly for God? You've just got enough religion to keep yourself unhappy. Because when you're in the world, or when you're doing things which are not exactly what God wants you to do, you're unhappy because you know you shouldn't be there.

And when you're with the Christians, you're unhappy because of the things that you have done already. So you've got enough religion to make you unhappy. It's a hopeless state of affairs. And the only state which brings full joy and full satisfaction to your soul, it's beneficial to you, Mark you, is giving yourself altogether to Jesus.

And when you do that, you rejoice. Hallelujah. What a wonderful life this is, to live actually and completely for Jesus. Yield. Yield yourself. Don't stay away this evening. Don't just sit back and say, I hope I can just get through this conference without having to break.

Without having to bow down to the Lord. I hope I can just get through. I'm here, but I don't want to be here actually, but I just hope that I can just get through. But the Lord is in you and is for you this evening, where you have to say, Lord, I yield everything.