1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:26,840 Chapter Matthew, verse 17 through 20 will be our text. 2 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:34,320 Our Lord, the very Son of God, God incarnate speaking, he says, do not think that I came 3 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,280 to destroy the law or the prophets. 4 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:43,120 I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 5 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:50,240 For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will 6 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:55,720 by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 7 00:00:55,720 --> 00:01:00,520 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall 8 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:02,640 be called least in the kingdom of heaven. 9 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:11,320 But whoever does them and teaches them, he should be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 10 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:14,600 This is a very sobering verse, verse 20. 11 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:22,120 For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and 12 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:30,000 the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 13 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,560 Let's pray and ask for God's help. 14 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,680 Lord we read in the book of Isaiah that the man you will regard is the man who trembles 15 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,520 at your word. 16 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:47,320 Father would you produce a deep trembling in us as the holy, sacred word of God is opened. 17 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:53,880 Father we beg of you Lord for the spirit's presence, your help, your unction, your power 18 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,400 Lord. 19 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,200 May there be humility and a boldness. 20 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,840 Lord may a recognition of our own unworthiness and a lifting up to see the worthiness of 21 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:04,840 our Lord. 22 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:06,960 God help us this morning Lord. 23 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,960 Please Lord I beg you speak to your people, feed them with the bread from on heaven and 24 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,080 we pray this in Jesus name. 25 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:14,080 Amen. 26 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:18,800 Now it's been a few weeks since we've been in Matthew, last week homecoming and the week 27 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:24,000 before we looked at just the sovereignty of God. 28 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,000 So today we're going to continue in the Sermon on the Mount and we must remember there's 29 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,840 a central premise of Matthew's gospel and what he really is speaking about, there's 30 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:37,360 a revelation of the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. 31 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:44,760 Now Matthew is a Jewish man, a Jewish disciple, primarily writing to a Jewish audience and 32 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:51,440 he's doing so to prove that the Lord Jesus is the long awaited King of Israel. 33 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:56,520 Matthew wants his entire Jewish readers to know that Jesus is the Christ that had been 34 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,400 promised from God. 35 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:03,160 Now if we go a little bit deeper because Matthew is a Jew writing to a Jewish audience, there's 36 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,240 a lot, there are a lot of Old Testament allusions. 37 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:12,520 The nation of Israel in the Old Testament was called the Son of God. 38 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,840 You hear over and over again God's Son speaking of the nation of Israel. 39 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:22,120 Yet when we come to Matthew's gospel, he said this child born to the Virgin Mary is the 40 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,880 true son of God. 41 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:31,280 In fact, he is the true Israel who will keep and inherit all the covenant promises that 42 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,200 God had made to the nation. 43 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:40,640 In Matthew's gospel, what you see is a recapitulation of the life of the nation of Israel. 44 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,240 Now let me explain. 45 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:50,320 Just as the nation of Israel had an exodus out of Egypt, so also the Lord Jesus had an 46 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,120 exodus out of Egypt. 47 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,920 And we read that in Matthew chapter 2, verse 15. 48 00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:00,680 He said, he, that is Jesus was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled 49 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:05,480 which is spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying out of Egypt I called my son. 50 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,240 Now that was spoken to the nation of Israel and Matthew says no, no, no. 51 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:13,320 It was pointing to the true Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ. 52 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:20,400 But just as Israel passed through the baptismal waters of the Red Sea, so Christ passed through 53 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,280 the baptismal waters of the Jordan River. 54 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:25,000 That's Matthew 3. 55 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:29,320 And immediately when Israel passes through the Red Sea, what happened? 56 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,840 They go into the desert to be tested for 40 years. 57 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:34,680 Well Matthew 3, Jesus is baptized. 58 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:36,600 What happens in Matthew 4? 59 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,680 Immediately following his baptism. 60 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,480 He comes out of the waters of the Jordan and he is immediately led by the Holy Spirit into 61 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,640 the desert to be tempted for how long? 62 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:48,200 40 days. 63 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:53,960 The nation of Israel failed in their wilderness testing, yet Jesus, the true Israel, the true 64 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,280 Son succeeded in his. 65 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:01,640 The nation of Israel failed through unbelief. 66 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,680 Thus they broke their covenantal relationship. 67 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,400 But Christ, the true Son, succeeded how? 68 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:14,960 By completely obeying and completely trusting his father, thus securing all the covenantal 69 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,120 blessings. 70 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:18,720 Israel was made up of 12 tribes. 71 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,520 12 tribes with 12 sons of Jacob. 72 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:26,840 In Matthew 10, we're not there, but we will eventually see the Lord will choose 12 disciples. 73 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:32,400 Just as Israel had 12 tribes, Christ would have 12 apostles. 74 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:33,400 Why? 75 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,920 Because there's a foundation change. 76 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,720 No longer are the people of God built upon the 12 nations of the tribe of Israel, but 77 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:46,560 now the 12 apostles would serve as the foundation for the people of God with Jesus Christ himself 78 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,080 being the chief cornerstone. 79 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,080 Now we're in chapter 5. 80 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:57,520 We see the King, Jesus, and he's preaching on the nature of his kingdom. 81 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,240 The first 12 verses we looked at in depth one by one. 82 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,400 We saw the Beatitudes, and those are just the character. 83 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,260 It defines the character of those who are in the kingdom. 84 00:06:06,260 --> 00:06:10,400 This is not how you get into the kingdom, but this is the character of those who are 85 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,040 in the kingdom. 86 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,180 And then we are told kind of our marching orders. 87 00:06:14,180 --> 00:06:16,240 What do those in the kingdom do? 88 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,920 There to be salt and light. 89 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,560 Light your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your 90 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,160 Father who is in heaven. 91 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,840 But now we start a new section beginning in verse 17 through chapter 7 at the end in the 92 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:31,880 entire sermon. 93 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,800 We're going to see how this kingdom operates. 94 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,960 And again, primarily if you say, what's the theme of it? 95 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:39,320 Righteousness. 96 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:44,820 This sermon that Jesus, the master preacher, is going to unfold what true righteousness 97 00:06:44,820 --> 00:06:48,160 looks like in the kingdom of God. 98 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,720 But as we get into the heart of the sermon, we have to understand something. 99 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:53,640 Put yourself there on that day. 100 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,880 You're on the hillside and there in Israel. 101 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,000 You're listening to Jesus, and he would have been an enigma, a mystery to those listening 102 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,060 to him that day. 103 00:07:03,060 --> 00:07:05,340 He comes out of obscurity. 104 00:07:05,340 --> 00:07:10,600 He comes out of, and let's use the word, podunk Nazareth is where he's from. 105 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,300 He's not a Pharisee. 106 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:13,820 He's not a scribe. 107 00:07:13,820 --> 00:07:18,280 He's not a member of the religious elite, and he's less so a member of the Sanhedrin, 108 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,600 which was an esteemed body there in Israel. 109 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:28,080 You have a poor man from a poor family who grew up in an obscure, poor village. 110 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:30,240 Jesus had no formal training. 111 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,560 He did not sit at the feet of any esteemed rabbi. 112 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,840 He did not attend any rabbinical school. 113 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:39,760 And yet he comes on the scene and he's challenging everything that the religious leaders are 114 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:41,160 now teaching. 115 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:46,000 Well, that's curious to them because the religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees at that 116 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,360 day were held in high regard. 117 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,560 What they taught was considered binding. 118 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:51,560 It was authoritative. 119 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:58,040 And yet this Lord, the Lord Jesus coming out of nowhere, he begins to criticize their teaching. 120 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,280 And at times he publicly rebukes those men. 121 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,920 So the people there, they're wondering, who is this man? 122 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,560 And from where did he get his authority? 123 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:14,120 I mean, he's speaking as though his own word is as authoritative as the law of Moses. 124 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,920 Is he claiming to be greater than Moses? 125 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,760 So he's definitely a mystery, but he's also scandalous. 126 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:26,360 Jesus in his ministry, he keeps company with notorious sinners. 127 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,680 The Pharisees would have never done anything like that. 128 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:35,040 And our Lord on various occasions went out of his way to break or challenge the Pharisee's 129 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:36,120 teaching. 130 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:38,320 He looked for ways to do it. 131 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,120 So there arose a question, a natural one. 132 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,920 Had Jesus come to break the law? 133 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,440 Had he come to break the prophets? 134 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:47,940 So what was his response? 135 00:08:47,940 --> 00:08:48,940 That's our text. 136 00:08:48,940 --> 00:08:49,940 Look again, verse 17. 137 00:08:49,940 --> 00:08:53,720 Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. 138 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:58,040 I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 139 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:03,960 Now today there is a tendency in some churches to classify the scribes and Pharisees as mere 140 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:05,460 legalists. 141 00:09:05,460 --> 00:09:09,000 And then they paint Jesus, he comes along with grace and he has no law at all. 142 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:14,720 So you have the law and you have grace and that could not be further from the truth. 143 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:19,120 If you think the scribes and Pharisees were tough and held to the law, wait till you read 144 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:24,280 the rest of the sermon and see how Jesus raises the bar every single time. 145 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:29,360 Our Lord did not simply emphasize external obedience. 146 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,200 Rather, he goes deeper. 147 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,640 He said if you're going to please God and if you're really going to keep the law, the 148 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:40,320 motivation of your heart behind your actions is what really matters. 149 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:42,880 It's not enough that you just don't commit adultery. 150 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,760 There can't even be lust in your heart. 151 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,880 He's not relaxing the law of God even a little bit. 152 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:53,920 Instead of, he's upholding it and he's showing the true intention that had always lain behind 153 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:54,920 it. 154 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:56,680 He says do not think. 155 00:09:56,680 --> 00:09:59,120 And what he's saying there is don't even begin to think. 156 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:00,720 Don't think for one second. 157 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:05,240 Don't even let that enter in your mind that I have somehow come to destroy the law or 158 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:06,360 the prophets. 159 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,360 And by the way, that's just a way of referring to the entire Old Testament. 160 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,420 Now here at the beginning of his ministry, he's wanting to clear up any confusion that 161 00:10:14,420 --> 00:10:16,240 might exist. 162 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:22,960 He's not in opposition to God's law, but he did oppose the Pharisees and scribes interpretation 163 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:24,480 of it. 164 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:29,240 One of the charges that the religious leaders will level against him was that he was a law 165 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:30,520 breaker. 166 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,120 They said he's breaking God's law. 167 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,080 Now that's a lie. 168 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:38,200 He had never done so, but he had broken their law. 169 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,720 He had broken their interpretation of the law. 170 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:42,400 But how do you do that? 171 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,320 Because these religious leaders had sought to domesticate the law. 172 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:50,480 They wanted to water it down so they could be proud of keeping it. 173 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:54,840 So they developed many sophisticated loopholes to get out from under the heavy demands of 174 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,440 the law that was thundering forth. 175 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:01,480 I mean, the law was just an absolute thundering lion there. 176 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:06,020 And yet they had taken these heavy demands and they morphed into something they could 177 00:11:06,020 --> 00:11:07,020 now obey. 178 00:11:07,020 --> 00:11:10,940 Our Lord looked at this and he said, you're hypocrites. 179 00:11:10,940 --> 00:11:15,920 He rightly saw that this hypocrisy, and he wasn't content to do that privately, he publicly 180 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,000 called them out for it. 181 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,320 And these men were not used to or accustomed to their authority being challenged. 182 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,500 So from the very beginning, this is the beginning of our Lord's ministry, three years later 183 00:11:25,500 --> 00:11:26,500 he'll die. 184 00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:35,040 There was a rift forming between the religious elite and this peasant prophet from Nazareth. 185 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,200 And Christ said, but let me just tell you the truth. 186 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:41,480 I've not come to abolish the law, but I will fulfill it. 187 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:42,720 How? 188 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:48,840 Because he will be the one to render absolute and perfect obedience to it. 189 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:49,840 Look at verse 18. 190 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:55,240 For assuredly, I say to you, that's a signal that what comes next is of the very most importance. 191 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:57,600 Assuredly, listen up what I'm telling you. 192 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:03,000 Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot, one tittle will by no means pass from the 193 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,120 law till all is fulfilled. 194 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:10,520 As long as you see heaven and earth still standing, not a jot, not a tittle. 195 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:12,160 A jot was the smallest letter. 196 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,680 A tittle was the smallest marking of the smallest letter. 197 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:16,680 Should you see what he's saying? 198 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:21,680 The smallest marking of the smallest letter, every minute detail of what God has said in 199 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:25,720 that law will be fulfilled in me. 200 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,000 It's not just rendering absolute obedience. 201 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:34,000 All the prophecies that were given in the prophets, speaking of the Messiah, are fulfilled 202 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,360 in him. 203 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:40,960 The entire Old Testament is like a big arrow pointing to Christ. 204 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,320 Now let me give you a caveat here. 205 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,860 This has nothing to do with the main point of the message, but it's worth listening 206 00:12:44,860 --> 00:12:46,440 to. 207 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:51,520 Since all of the Old Testament is fulfilled in Christ, and it is, that's what he said, 208 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:58,320 then we have warrant to interpret the Old Testament in light of Christ. 209 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,040 That means, I'm going to give a big term, and I don't care if you know about it at 210 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:02,920 all, but I want to explain it for a moment. 211 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,560 We have what was called a Christological hermeneutic. 212 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:12,880 What that means is when you read the Old Testament, you should read it through the lens of Christ 213 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:14,340 because it points to him. 214 00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:16,860 You don't read it in light of the nation of Israel. 215 00:13:16,860 --> 00:13:20,080 You read it in light of Christ who is the true Israel. 216 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:21,280 Now why am I saying that? 217 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:23,080 Because the Bible tells us to do that. 218 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:30,720 In Luke 24, the words of Jesus speaking, verse 27, he said, beginning Moses and all the prophets, 219 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:37,080 he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 220 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:38,560 What is Jesus saying there? 221 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaking to those two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. 222 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:49,840 Christ is the culmination and the eschatological fulfillment of the entire Old Testament. 223 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,120 Everything is summed up in him. 224 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,120 He is the one sent from heaven. 225 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:59,840 Because of that, he has the authority to properly interpret it. 226 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,360 He's not bringing a new teaching. 227 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:07,200 He's rather showing how the law of God was meant to be obeyed. 228 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,800 This means we should never try to separate or divorce the New Testament from the Old 229 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:12,800 Testament. 230 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:15,360 You can't do it, and you shouldn't do it. 231 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:16,360 R.C. 232 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:17,360 Sproul said this. 233 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:18,800 Jared, I don't know where we are in the slides. 234 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:19,800 I may have lost you. 235 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,200 I'm sorry, buddy. 236 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:25,700 The Old Testament is the autobiography of God. 237 00:14:25,700 --> 00:14:33,560 It is God's revelation of who he is, what he plans, and what he commands from his people. 238 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,880 We learn from the Old Testament what pleases God. 239 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:42,600 That is why we must never throw away the Old Testament as if it were of no importance today. 240 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:44,340 And you'll see there on the slides. 241 00:14:44,340 --> 00:14:49,600 We cannot, and I say this dogmatically, you cannot properly understand the New Testament 242 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,240 apart from understanding the Old Testament. 243 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:54,400 It is an impossibility. 244 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,240 For example, you will not understand the work of the cross if you don't understand the Old 245 00:14:58,240 --> 00:14:59,240 Testament. 246 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:00,240 You can't do it. 247 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,600 Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote extensively about this, and I know this is a long quote. 248 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:04,600 Bear with me. 249 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:11,040 The purpose of the cross is not to arouse pity in us, neither is it merely some general 250 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:13,080 display of the love of God. 251 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:14,080 Not at all. 252 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:18,260 It is finally understood only in terms of the law. 253 00:15:18,260 --> 00:15:23,760 What was happening on upon that cross was that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the 254 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:30,160 Son of God, was enduring in his own holy body the penalty prescribed by the holy law of 255 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,400 God for the sin of man. 256 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:37,440 The law condemns sin, and the condemnation that it produces is death. 257 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,320 The wages of sin is death. 258 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:43,880 The law pronounces that death must pass upon all who have sinned against God and broken 259 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:45,640 his holy laws. 260 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:49,360 Christ then says, do not think that I come to destroy the law or the prophets. 261 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,360 I'm not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 262 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:52,360 Listen. 263 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:57,840 One of the ways in which the law has to be fulfilled is that its punishment of sin must 264 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,760 be carried out. 265 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:06,280 This punishment is death, and that was why he died. 266 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,920 The law had to be fulfilled. 267 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:17,080 Christ fulfilled the penalty for us as law breakers, but he was also the fulfillment 268 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:20,560 of all the types and the shadows and the imagery. 269 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,400 He is the perfect sacrifice. 270 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:28,160 He is the true lamb of God that really does take away the sin of the world. 271 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:29,280 He's the true temple. 272 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,520 We read that in John chapter 2. 273 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:34,000 The true temple, the temple is the place where God meets with man. 274 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:35,000 Where is that? 275 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,320 It's Christ. 276 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:40,840 He's the great high priest who mediates the merits not of some other sacrifice, but the 277 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,720 sacrifice of himself. 278 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:45,240 Christ is the true and greater Adam. 279 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:50,240 He's called the second man or the last Adam who successfully represents his people. 280 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:56,440 The last Adam, Christ, he did not fail as Adam did when tempted, but he overcame the 281 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:57,440 temptation. 282 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:03,120 All the types, all the shadows, all the imagery, it was previews of the Lord Jesus Christ who 283 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:07,440 would come and fulfill every one of them down to the very tittle. 284 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,800 The law was not destroyed with the coming of Christ. 285 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:12,880 Look at verse 19. 286 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:17,200 Jesus said, whoever breaks one of the least of these and teaches men so will be called 287 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:22,960 least in the kingdom, and whoever does and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom. 288 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,640 One's greatness in the kingdom of God is determined by one's attitude toward the scriptures of 289 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,880 God. 290 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:30,760 This must be understood today. 291 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:35,440 Obedience to God is not optional in the kingdom of God. 292 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:40,680 The Lord Jesus did not come to loosen the demands of the law. 293 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:45,800 In fact, here's the king, and he's laying down the conditions of his kingdom. 294 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:51,520 Don Carson, D.A. Carson said, the law pointed forward to Jesus and his teaching, so it is 295 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:55,320 properly obeyed by conforming to his word. 296 00:17:55,320 --> 00:18:00,520 His teaching toward which the Old Testament pointed must be obeyed. 297 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,040 So let me say it again. 298 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:08,280 Greatness in the kingdom is determined by your obedience and faithfulness to Christ's 299 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:09,280 teaching. 300 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:11,840 Now, again, that's a big statement. 301 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,320 Can you back it up? 302 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,520 Luke chapter 6, beginning at verse 46. 303 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,520 Why, this is the words of Jesus speaking. 304 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:24,280 Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say? 305 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:26,240 He's not Lord if you're disobeying. 306 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:31,440 Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you what he's like. 307 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,480 He's like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. 308 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:39,440 The flood rose, the string beat vehemently against the house and could not shake it, 309 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:41,320 first found it upon the rock. 310 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:47,320 But the one who heard and did nothing is like a man who built his house on the earth without 311 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:54,120 a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the 312 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,240 ruin of that house was great. 313 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:02,040 Jesus said in John 15 verse 10, if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love 314 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,520 just as I kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. 315 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:11,680 You are my friends if, if you do whatever I command you. 316 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,880 So the question's going to arise. 317 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:19,200 If Christ fulfilled the law, does the Christian have any relationship to it now? 318 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,600 And the answer is yes, we do. 319 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:29,480 Before Christ came, the law was a weapon, and it would hammer us and bludgeon us, condemn 320 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:30,480 us. 321 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:35,920 But because of the work of Christ, the threat, the condemnation law has been removed. 322 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:42,880 Christ paid it, and the law becomes a source of delight for the believer. 323 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:49,260 Because of Christ, God's law, which is a revelation of who he is, a revelation of his character, 324 00:19:49,260 --> 00:19:54,160 no longer is over us threatening us, condemning us, therefore we can take delight in it because 325 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,120 it's revealing who God is. 326 00:19:56,120 --> 00:20:01,520 At the time of the Reformation, they said there are three uses of the law. 327 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:06,560 Number one, the law was given to show that we could never justify ourselves because you 328 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,960 can't render perfect obedience. 329 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:12,000 Remember every jow, every tittle, you and I fell. 330 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,280 Jesus did not. 331 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:19,000 So the law was given, right, show us our transgressions, show us our guilt before a holy God. 332 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,960 As Paul said, it's our schoolmaster. 333 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,520 It's going to usher us over to Christ. 334 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:28,800 But a second reason the law was given was to restrain sin. 335 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:34,120 Now the law cannot change the human heart, but it can help protect society, it can help 336 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:37,720 protect the righteous from the wicked, and that it calls for punishment for those who 337 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:38,960 break it. 338 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,860 This is like his parents saying to him, we lay down a law for our kids, but it doesn't 339 00:20:41,860 --> 00:20:42,860 change our heart. 340 00:20:42,860 --> 00:20:48,160 But it's going to allow for some harmony within our home so that they're not running wild. 341 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:53,440 Third though, a third use of the law, and this is where we as believers live, is to 342 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:58,600 show us what pleases God. 343 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,240 On the Ligonier website, there was no human author here given, it just said, so I put 344 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:03,240 Ligonier website. 345 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:04,720 I don't know who wrote it. 346 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:10,760 By studying or meditating on the law of God, we attend the school of righteousness. 347 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,960 We learn what pleases God and we learn what offends him. 348 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:20,000 The moral law that God reveals in scriptures is always binding upon us. 349 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:25,280 Our redemption is from the curse of God's law, not from our duty to obey it. 350 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:30,080 We are justified, now listen, this is a great quote, we are justified not because of our 351 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:36,480 obedience to the law, but in order that we may become obedient to the law. 352 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,120 Do you see it? 353 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:42,200 To love Christ is to keep his commandments, to love God is to obey his law. 354 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:46,200 Friends, we don't hear this. 355 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,800 The law, it can't justify you. 356 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:54,840 No, but just because we're under grace does not mean that we are without law to God. 357 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:59,600 The moral law, it's never been erased, it's never been abrogated, and it never will be. 358 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:00,600 Why? 359 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,800 Because God would have to change his character because it's based on his character and God 360 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,720 cannot change, he is immutable. 361 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,280 So what you say, well there's some parts of law, yes, the civil law, the ceremonial 362 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:15,040 aspects of law, they were fulfilled in Christ, they are no longer binding, that means you 363 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,920 and I don't go to a temple and offer animal sacrifices, it's no longer sin for the people 364 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:26,240 of God to eat pork, no longer is there a requirement to go to Jerusalem to keep the feast days, 365 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,840 those are ceremonial and civil aspects. 366 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:32,440 But the moral law of God, absolutely it's binding. 367 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:38,520 In fact the Lord Jesus spoke of the moral law when he was asked, teacher, what is the 368 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:40,520 greatest commandment? 369 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:43,040 Do you remember what he said? 370 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,360 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your 371 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:47,560 mind. 372 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:49,560 That's the first and great commandment. 373 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,600 And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbors yourself, and then notice what 374 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,560 he said, on these two commandments alone, he reduced 10 to 2, on these two commandments 375 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:01,400 hang all the law and all the prophets. 376 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:03,520 The ten commandments hang on two commandments. 377 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:04,920 You love God and you love others. 378 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:06,200 What's he mean by that? 379 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,680 If you love God you will have no other gods before him. 380 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:10,900 If you love God you're not going to take his name in vain. 381 00:23:10,900 --> 00:23:12,900 If you love God you're not going to make idols. 382 00:23:12,900 --> 00:23:17,600 If you love God you will honor his Sabbath day of rest and worship. 383 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,480 If you love others as yourself you will honor your parents. 384 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,280 If you love others you're not going to murder them. 385 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,020 You will not commit adultery against them. 386 00:23:27,020 --> 00:23:28,940 You will not steal from them. 387 00:23:28,940 --> 00:23:33,720 You will not lie about them and you will be happy for them and their success if you love 388 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:34,720 them. 389 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,960 But there are so many today that say, yeah, but the law, that's done away with. 390 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:39,060 I'm under grace. 391 00:23:39,060 --> 00:23:42,480 The law has no say whatsoever in my life. 392 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,160 It doesn't matter what I do. 393 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,900 Friends, that's an antinomian stance. 394 00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:49,160 It's an abuse of grace. 395 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:50,720 It's heresy. 396 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:57,280 The grace of God will lead you to keep and delight in the law of God. 397 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:02,240 If the grace he received is not making you holy, you are deceiving yourself. 398 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,400 God's grace leads to holiness. 399 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:10,000 Titus 2, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, we ought 400 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,080 to listen to that, teaching us what does grace teach us? 401 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:19,600 Denying ungodliness, denying worldly lusts, teaching us that we should live soberly, righteously, 402 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,200 and godly in this present age. 403 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:24,360 Grace teaches holiness. 404 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:30,360 Again, I quote Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, we must have this new mind and disposition which 405 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:35,120 leads us to love the law and desire to keep it, and by his power he enables us to fulfill 406 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:36,600 the law. 407 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:41,400 See, grace is not simply a pardon of sin. 408 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:47,560 Grace also gives us a new nature that delights in what God delights in. 409 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,400 It gives us a new nature to delight in his law. 410 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:57,320 It causes us, if you look up at verse 6, to hunger and to thirst after righteousness. 411 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:02,400 The end, the telos of our salvation is conformity to Christ. 412 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,400 Romans 8, 29, for whom he foreknew, he predestined for what? 413 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,320 To be conformed to the image of his son. 414 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,240 You know what pleases God that you and I look like Jesus? 415 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:17,520 God's grace is working in us to make us more like his beloved son. 416 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:18,520 It's transformative. 417 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:24,760 So if you're not being transformed, Houston, we've got a problem. 418 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:29,920 Look at verse 20, for I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness 419 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:34,160 of the scribes and Pharisees, listen, this is Jesus not pointing punches here. 420 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:38,760 You're not in the kingdom, not by any means. 421 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,120 Now those listening to Jesus, they would have been shocked. 422 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:46,280 How could anyone supersede the righteousness of the scribes and especially the Pharisees? 423 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:49,440 And they were the most righteous people of the day. 424 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,200 They were holy. 425 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:52,640 They excelled in holiness. 426 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,800 They're fastidious in their approach to the law. 427 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,800 Zealous students of the scripture, they could quote scripture. 428 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:03,720 They studied it diligently because they said in them they thought they had eternal life. 429 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,760 Jesus said, you're missing it because they testify of me. 430 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:12,240 So no common man ever thought he could be as good as the scribes or the Pharisees. 431 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:16,280 I mean if anyone's going to enter that kingdom, it would have been them. 432 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:18,080 They're so good. 433 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:21,920 And Jesus, looking at those listening to him, said no, unless your righteousness exceeds 434 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,280 theirs, you're without hope. 435 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,560 You will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 436 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:29,560 And there's several ways. 437 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,640 And I think we would be wrong if we said, well, it's because we need the imputed righteousness 438 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:33,640 of Christ. 439 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:38,320 That's true, but that's not what Jesus is teaching here yet. 440 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,400 There's was a self-righteousness. 441 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:44,360 It was a hypocritical righteousness. 442 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:45,360 They did look good. 443 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:46,360 They really did. 444 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,240 They looked good on the outside, but it was a veneer. 445 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:53,000 They honored the Lord with their mouths and their hearts were far from him. 446 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:58,640 In Luke 16, 15, Jesus speaking to them said, you are those who justify yourselves before 447 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,120 men, but God knows your hearts. 448 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:06,040 For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 449 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:11,760 They looked holy, but they lacked what was necessary, which was righteousness. 450 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:17,160 In Matthew 23, Jesus looked at them and he said, you are whitewashed tombs. 451 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:21,440 You look good on the outside, but inwardly you're just full of dead man's bones. 452 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,120 But these men didn't get it. 453 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:30,000 Unfortunately, they did not see themselves as spiritually bankrupt or spiritual paupers. 454 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:35,480 They were busy focusing on the external and the whole time failing to notice they lacked 455 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:36,480 the internal. 456 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:40,120 Friends, it's possible to be like that today. 457 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:42,720 You can come to church and you can certainly look good on the outside. 458 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:43,720 You can give tithes. 459 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:44,720 You can give offerings. 460 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:45,720 You can quote scripture. 461 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,480 You can come to Sunday school and work in a wanna and inwardly be corrupt and the whole 462 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,960 time you're deceiving yourself and other people. 463 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:54,760 But you're never deceiving God. 464 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:59,800 Well, how do you know if you're deceiving yourself? 465 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:02,920 Those who receive grace become, begin to be transformed. 466 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:07,680 Are you being transformed by grace? 467 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,960 Titus 2, verse 11 and 12. 468 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:16,880 Grace is transforming you when your faith begins to express itself in love. 469 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:22,400 Paul said the end of the law, the end of it, the telos, the fulfillment, the culmination 470 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:23,400 is love. 471 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:24,400 Romans 13. 472 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,920 Oh, no one anything except to love one another. 473 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:29,880 You owe them that debt of love. 474 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,320 For he who has loved another, will you fulfill the law? 475 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:36,000 For the commandments, you should not commit adultery, murder, steal, bear false witness, 476 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:37,000 covet. 477 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,720 If there is any other commandment, they're all summed up in this saying namely, listen, 478 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:40,840 you don't need a bunch of commandments. 479 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:41,840 Here it is. 480 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:43,040 You shall love your neighbors yourself. 481 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:44,040 Why? 482 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:45,640 Love does no harm to a neighbor. 483 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:51,320 Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. 484 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,480 The Pharisees, the scribes, they were self satisfied. 485 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:57,040 They went through the washings, fast man. 486 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,080 You didn't find anyone who's better at fasting. 487 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:01,440 Feast days they kept. 488 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,640 Sacrifices they offered. 489 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,520 Alms they gave. 490 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:10,240 Prayers, they loved to pray, especially in public. 491 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,520 And they held the teaching seat of Moses. 492 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:20,800 And the whole time, these men who looked so righteous and were absolutely zealously religious 493 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:22,800 were blind. 494 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,080 Blind to their internal corruption. 495 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:29,160 These men brought glory to themselves and they failed to bring glory to God. 496 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,760 And Jesus is talking and he's being very serious that day. 497 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:36,080 See, these were the men who compared themselves to others and they started to feel good about 498 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:37,080 themselves. 499 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,280 Remember how the Pharisee in that parable, Jesus said, he prayed, I'm not like others. 500 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:42,280 I fast twice a week. 501 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:43,560 I give all that I have. 502 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,080 I'm glad that I'm not like this man here. 503 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:52,480 They failed to ever compare themselves to God and His perfection because had they done 504 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:59,000 so they would have seen that they had fallen so short and they needed much grace. 505 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:03,400 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 506 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,100 You got to know you have no righteousness, friend. 507 00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:09,840 These men talked a lot about it and they possessed none of it. 508 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:14,440 Because the law in which they boasted could never give righteousness. 509 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,840 It shows you what it is, shows you how to live, but it can't offer it to you. 510 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,480 Only Christ can. 511 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:28,080 See, the end of the law is to cause you to look away from the law and look to Christ. 512 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:33,800 Saving faith rests entirely upon Jesus Christ and His work on our behalf. 513 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,440 Entirely, rest in Him. 514 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:41,920 The Bible clearly, clearly, clearly says no one can be saved through works. 515 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,800 For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. 516 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,400 It is a gift of God, not of works. 517 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:49,400 Why? 518 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:50,400 Less any man should boast. 519 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:55,780 Friends, this morning you are not saved by works, but your faith is shown by works. 520 00:30:55,780 --> 00:30:59,420 You are saved by faith alone, but never by a faith that is alone. 521 00:30:59,420 --> 00:31:04,080 In other words, saving faith does not make obedience unnecessary. 522 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:05,320 Let me say that again. 523 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:09,040 Saving faith does not make obedience unnecessary. 524 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:10,560 Faith is opposed to merit. 525 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:14,640 You have no merit, but faith is not opposed to works. 526 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,760 In fact, faith produces them. 527 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:23,560 The scribes, the Pharisees, the religious elite, they had an outward form, but they 528 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:25,720 had no inner reality. 529 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:31,080 You cannot say that you are a Christian and remain unchanged by the grace given to us 530 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:32,080 in Christ. 531 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:33,080 You can't. 532 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:36,640 What is on the inside? 533 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:43,240 The work of God that's being done will work itself out on the outside. 534 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:50,600 Obedience to the commands of God is not optional for the believer. 535 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:51,880 You don't get a pick and choose. 536 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:56,200 I'm going to close here with Kevin DeYoung, don't miss what he's saying here. 537 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,280 This is so good that you can get messed up. 538 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:01,220 You'll just see. 539 00:32:01,220 --> 00:32:02,960 The stakes could not be higher. 540 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:07,280 Now listen, he said this, if we are no more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees, 541 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:09,040 we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 542 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:10,480 That's Matthew 520. 543 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:14,360 If we murder in our hearts, we are liable to the hell fire. 544 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:15,360 Hell fire, 522. 545 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,960 We'll look at that next week. 546 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:21,720 If we give ourselves over to lust, we will end up in hell. 547 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:23,680 Matthew 529. 548 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,960 If we don't do the will of our Father, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 549 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:27,960 Matthew 721. 550 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,360 That's the man who built his house on the earth. 551 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,920 Listen, you can't say no obedience. 552 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,000 It's going to be a house that falls. 553 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:40,760 We must not give up hope of obeying Jesus' commands, lest we give up the hope of heaven. 554 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:46,000 Too many Christians instinctively set aside the commands of scripture as utterly impossible 555 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,600 to obey in any level. 556 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:54,080 Once we convince ourselves that failure is the norm, like no one really obeys Jesus, 557 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:58,160 no one really builds his house on the rock, no one really is pure of heart, no one really 558 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:01,400 enters the narrow gate, no one really bears good fruit. 559 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:05,800 He said once we do that, we won't take seriously the many warnings given to us in scripture. 560 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:09,120 What is the warning? 561 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:14,440 That people who are unchanged by the gospel prove themselves to never really have been 562 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,840 saved by the gospel. 563 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:24,760 By contrast, Jesus in the Shrine of the Mount urges us, choose the right way to live, stick 564 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:25,760 with it. 565 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:31,720 Now this might sound, but pastor, that sounds an awful lot like we're to righteousness now. 566 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,360 Just as in the Old Testament, you couldn't say, hey, I have faith, and then never go 567 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:37,480 to the temple and offer sacrifice, but that offering that sacrifice never saved you. 568 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:39,080 It's by faith. 569 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:41,800 So today you can't say, hey, I have faith, and it never changes us. 570 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,440 It never is producing holy desires. 571 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:49,320 It's never causing us to repent of our sin. 572 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,320 That's grace, friends. 573 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:56,080 And the grace of God that has appeared to all men teaches us, and we must preach this 574 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:57,080 grace. 575 00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:00,320 It is offered freely and exclusively in Christ. 576 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:04,920 You look away from yourself and you look to Christ, and all those who do so are saved 577 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:07,400 by God's grace. 578 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:11,000 But the grace that is true and real is transformative in your life. 579 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:17,800 It begins to take root, and it begins to sprout and produces a fruit, not perfectly, but somewhat. 580 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:22,240 There will be obedience because it is the Holy Spirit of God who is the seal of your 581 00:34:22,240 --> 00:34:27,240 salvation who's been given to you, who's producing this fruit. 582 00:34:27,240 --> 00:34:30,080 We have to understand, let us not deceive ourselves. 583 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:34,120 Jesus wasn't kidding when he was preaching the sermon. 584 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,720 All those, friends, let me just say it again, all those who look to Christ, you will be 585 00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:39,720 saved. 586 00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:44,480 But those who are truly looking to Christ will be changed. 587 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:45,480 Let us pray. 588 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:47,600 Father, thank you for your word. 589 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,120 Lord God, we know that, Lord, it's heavy, but I don't want to water down what Jesus 590 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:52,120 is preaching. 591 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:57,080 Lord, at least the righteousness, if it's hypocritical, Lord, if it's only a self-righteousness, 592 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,520 if it's only a veneer, Lord, we will end up in hell ourselves. 593 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:01,520 God help us, Lord. 594 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:02,520 We fail in many ways. 595 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:04,120 That's why we confessed our sin earlier. 596 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:08,080 Lord, we are a sinful people, deeply sinful, Lord. 597 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:11,600 And we need, Lord God, your forgiveness and your pardon. 598 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:17,320 And today we come to the table and we see the broken body of Jesus and we see the shed 599 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,460 blood of Jesus. 600 00:35:19,460 --> 00:35:22,480 And those who are truly regenerate said, there's my hope. 601 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:23,480 There's my only hope. 602 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,600 It's in his sacrifice. 603 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:28,800 You have sealed pardon of sin at this table. 604 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:30,320 We get to drink down your promises. 605 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,720 We get to eat them as we taste the bread and the juice upon our lips. 606 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:37,600 The covenant promises taste so good. 607 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,600 We get to feast on Christ because the Holy Spirit takes us into the very throne room 608 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:42,600 of God itself. 609 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,960 Where by faith we see him and we feast and we receive his body and his blood. 610 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:50,560 And Lord, the assurance of pardon, Lord, what a great and awesome God you are. 611 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:52,000 God, grow us, Lord. 612 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:53,000 Grow me, Lord. 613 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,560 I feel the weight of my sin, Lord. 614 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:56,880 I see how desperately sinful I am. 615 00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:01,360 And God, continue, Lord, to humble me, Lord, and I cry out for your grace and it's given 616 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:02,600 in Christ freely. 617 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:04,800 Lord, open blind eyes today. 618 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:10,160 Lord, maybe some in this size of this church that are deceiving themselves, Lord. 619 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:11,160 God, help them. 620 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:15,640 Waken them to the hope that's in Christ and only in him. 621 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,920 And we'll give you the praise and the glory and the honor for it in Jesus' name. 622 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:19,920 Amen. 623 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,400 We're going to prepare our hearts for the table. 624 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:24,400 Listen, there is nothing after a sermon. 625 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:35,240 Are you here?