1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,600 Tonight, we're beginning a series that I trust God will use in our lives, dealing with 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:15,360 the new identity that we have in Jesus Christ as a result of our union with Him. 3 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,760 This is not mere theology that does not touch life. 4 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,840 Indeed, the truth that we're going to be looking at over the next weeks as we study 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:31,440 Romans 6, 7, and 8 is a truth that can transform one's life. 6 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:37,160 The human race is defeated by sin and Satan. 7 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:40,500 It is held captive by him. 8 00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:46,800 Those who are lost are enslaved to the course of this world, which has been chartered by 9 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,640 Satan. 10 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:56,920 Things like prisoner, slave, bondage, all of those belong to those who are outside of 11 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,760 Jesus Christ. 12 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:05,400 The Lord Jesus came to the world that He might set the captives free. 13 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:10,280 Would you turn with me before we turn to Romans, back to the book of Isaiah, and notice what 14 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:19,800 God says to Messiah, His servant, in the 42nd chapter of Isaiah. 15 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:25,480 Notice that He is addressing the one who is called, My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen 16 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,260 one, in whom My soul delights. 17 00:01:29,260 --> 00:01:39,040 He says in verse 2 of Isaiah 42, He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice 18 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:40,880 heard in the street. 19 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:47,760 A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish. 20 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:54,080 He will faithfully bring forth justice. 21 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:59,080 Skip on down now to verse 7. 22 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:06,480 He says the Messiah will come to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, 23 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:11,960 and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. 24 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:21,040 So clearly God is addressing here His servant Messiah, whom He says will by His word and 25 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:30,020 by His actions deliver those who are prisoners and who dwell in the darkness of prison. 26 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:38,720 Similar language is used in Isaiah 61, only here Messiah Himself speaks. 27 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:47,240 In the first verse of Isaiah 61, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord 28 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:52,600 has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. 29 00:02:52,600 --> 00:03:00,220 He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom 30 00:03:00,220 --> 00:03:05,760 to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. 31 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:11,080 Up through that part of this text, Messiah is speaking about His ministry in His first 32 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:12,080 coming. 33 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:17,680 Now beginning in the second part of verse 2 on through verse 3, He speaks about His 34 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,240 ministry at His second coming. 35 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:27,200 This is the favorable year of the Lord, which means it is that time, that period when God 36 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:33,220 graciously is offering salvation to the world. 37 00:03:33,220 --> 00:03:41,320 That salvation is described in terms of proclaiming liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. 38 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:46,800 And now turning to the New Testament, we find that when the Lord Jesus appeared to the Apostle 39 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:53,280 Paul, or Saul as he was before his conversion, He gave him a commission that is recorded 40 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:58,400 in Acts chapter 26, beginning in verse 16. 41 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:06,040 Jesus is here before King Agrippa, Paul is here before King Agrippa, sharing his testimony 42 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:07,760 in Jesus. 43 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:13,640 And He says in verse 16 of Acts 26, But arise and stand on your feet. 44 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,920 For this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness, not 45 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:23,960 only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear 46 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:30,280 to you, delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending 47 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:37,440 you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion 48 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:44,400 of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among 49 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,880 those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. 50 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:54,040 And so too the Apostle, the Lord Jesus gives this commission, you are to go and you are 51 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,040 to preach. 52 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:02,480 And the result of that will be the opening of eyes, so that Gentiles in particular may 53 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:09,280 turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God. 54 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:14,800 Those who are outside of Jesus Christ are in the dominion of Satan. 55 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:22,080 It is the gospel message and their faith in it which causes a person to be delivered from 56 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:28,080 that dominion and given the freedom of Jesus Christ. 57 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:34,160 Jesus Christ came to set captives free through His gospel. 58 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:43,640 That gospel is set forth as a beautiful doctrinal presentation in the book of Romans. 59 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:50,480 The key verse to the book of Romans is the first chapter, verses 16 and 17, actually 60 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,080 two verses. 61 00:05:53,080 --> 00:06:01,200 Romans 1, 16 and 17 condense the theme of the whole book of Romans when Paul writes, 62 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:08,200 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone 63 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:13,000 who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 64 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:22,040 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, but 65 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,360 the righteous man shall live by faith. 66 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:33,160 So the apostle Paul is going to write about this gospel of which he says he is not ashamed. 67 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:37,760 He says it is a gospel which reveals the righteousness of God. 68 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,320 It begins with faith, it ends with faith. 69 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:48,040 From beginning to end it is faith in the righteousness of God that brings salvation. 70 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,960 The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals God's righteousness. 71 00:06:51,960 --> 00:07:00,600 Now that does not merely refer to the righteousness which is God's as an attribute, God is righteous, 72 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:06,280 but he is referring to that aspect of God's righteousness in which he brings about a right 73 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:16,040 relationship between himself and the sinner through the sinner's faith in Jesus Christ. 74 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:21,440 Now tonight I desire to set a background for the study that we are going to have in the 75 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:25,200 book of Romans in chapters 6, 7, and 8. 76 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:33,040 To do that we need to understand how that part of the epistle fits into the flow of 77 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,140 the whole book. 78 00:07:35,140 --> 00:07:40,600 Let me remind you of a brief outline of the book of Romans. 79 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:46,680 After some introductory comments in chapter 1 verses 1 through 17, the apostle speaks 80 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:52,640 to this theme, God's righteousness needed. 81 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:58,560 It begins in chapter 1 verse 18 and continues through chapter 3 in verse 20. 82 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:01,920 I encourage you to write that down although it is my intention to have it in a written 83 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,360 form for you next Sunday night. 84 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:10,600 But the first section of the book of Romans deals with this truth that the righteousness 85 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:12,600 of God is needed. 86 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:18,760 Or another way of saying it, it is man's sin which is presented beginning in chapter 87 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:24,000 1 in verse 18 up through chapter 3 in verse 20. 88 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:31,120 Then the apostle speaks regarding God's righteousness provided or man's salvation. 89 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:38,980 God's righteousness provided or man's salvation begins in chapter 3 in verse 21 and continues 90 00:08:38,980 --> 00:08:42,680 through the end of chapter 5. 91 00:08:42,680 --> 00:08:49,560 The third main division of the book of Romans is God's righteousness experienced or man's 92 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:52,660 sanctification. 93 00:08:52,660 --> 00:08:58,600 That is chapters 6, 7, and 8 and that is the focus of our study in the upcoming weeks. 94 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:05,440 God's righteousness experienced or man's sanctification. 95 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:13,040 The fourth major division of the book of Romans is God's righteousness rejected or God's 96 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,040 sovereignty would be another way of saying it. 97 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:21,780 Chapters 9, 10, and 11, the theme there being primarily dealing with Israel and Israel's 98 00:09:21,780 --> 00:09:25,620 place in this age. 99 00:09:25,620 --> 00:09:31,500 And then the book closes chapters 12 through 15. 100 00:09:31,500 --> 00:09:37,480 Chapter 16 is basically some personal comments, but chapters 12 through 15 with this theme 101 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:43,200 of God's righteousness revealed or man's service. 102 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:50,160 God's righteousness revealed or man's service. 103 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:59,040 So that we can see how chapters 6, 7, and 8, God's righteousness experienced, fits 104 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:00,520 into the book. 105 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:07,320 We need tonight to go back and to briefly review chapters 1 through 5 and talk about 106 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:12,940 God's righteousness needed and God's righteousness provided. 107 00:10:12,940 --> 00:10:20,400 To talk about man's sin and man's salvation. 108 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:27,200 Let's think first regarding that division, God's righteousness needed. 109 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:35,760 The apostle Paul in chapter 1 of Romans deals with the Gentile, the pagan world, which is 110 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:40,460 without righteousness and is under God's condemnation. 111 00:10:40,460 --> 00:10:48,400 Notice that he says in verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 112 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:56,680 ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. 113 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:04,520 The apostle Paul is focusing first of all upon the nations of the world in their pagan 114 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,160 idolatry. 115 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:12,560 He is going to speak now about the Gentiles of the world and show that the Gentiles are 116 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:21,680 under the condemnation and judgment of God because they suppress the truth as he says 117 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:23,360 it in verse 18. 118 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,920 What truth is that? 119 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:34,200 Well that is the truth that is revealed to them primarily in two means, through creation 120 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,080 and through their conscience. 121 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:43,880 Notice that he says regarding this truth in verse 19, that which is known about God is 122 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:53,200 evident within them, that's the conscience, for God has made it evident to them, that's 123 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,480 the creation. 124 00:11:55,480 --> 00:12:07,140 God has revealed truth even to the Gentile nations through conscience and through creation. 125 00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:11,400 Now what truth is it about him that is seen and understood? 126 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:18,040 Well through the conscience there is some kind of distinction between right and wrong. 127 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:25,360 The conscience is not a perfect voice differentiating between right and wrong because it is a 128 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,680 voice affected by man's sin. 129 00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:35,920 But the conscience is nonetheless within every person a voice which either excuses his actions 130 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:39,680 or accuses a person of his actions. 131 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:43,920 It either says okay or it says no. 132 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,160 It says go or it says stop. 133 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:55,160 But the conscience within a person tells him or should tell him that there is right and 134 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,220 wrong in the world. 135 00:12:59,220 --> 00:13:04,360 That there is a great morality which God has established, a difference between that which 136 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,420 is right and that which is wrong. 137 00:13:07,420 --> 00:13:14,320 In the creation the Gentile is able to see what he describes in verse 20 as God's eternal 138 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:18,760 power and his divine nature. 139 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:24,920 The Gentile world tonight is under the condemnation of God even though it may never have heard 140 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:32,400 a word of the gospel because of the truth that God has revealed and which it seeks to 141 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:34,980 suppress and to put down. 142 00:13:34,980 --> 00:13:43,000 That truth about God is that there is right and wrong and that God's eternal power and 143 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,740 his deity can be seen. 144 00:13:46,740 --> 00:13:52,000 The rejection of this truth has turned the Gentile world, says Paul, to idolatry. 145 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:58,680 In verse 23 he says that they have exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an 146 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:06,960 image in the form of corruptible man and birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures. 147 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:13,880 The rejection of the truth about God turns man to the alternative of worshiping the creation 148 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,320 rather than the creator. 149 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:22,360 As a result of that idolatry and that wrong worship, man falls into immorality. 150 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,120 The impurity and immorality of his heart bursts forth. 151 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:31,960 He describes that beginning in verse 24 through verse 32. 152 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:38,720 Many times here it says that God gave these people over. 153 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:45,560 Notice in verse 24, therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity. 154 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:52,200 Verse 26, for this reason God gave them over to degrading passions. 155 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:58,800 In verse 28, and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave 156 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:03,200 them over to a depraved mind. 157 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:11,560 That phrase, God gave them over, is a judicial response on the part of God to man's rejection 158 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,880 of the truth about him. 159 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:23,240 Because man has rejected God, God gives man over to his own lusts and his own immorality, 160 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:29,560 his own depravity, which is fulfilled in the kinds of sins that are listed here in Romans 161 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,640 chapter 1. 162 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:37,900 The apostle says that the Gentile pagan world is lost. 163 00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:43,440 It is under the condemnation of God because it has rejected the truth about God which 164 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:49,380 it can know even apart from God's special revelation in the Bible and in the person 165 00:15:49,380 --> 00:15:52,920 of Jesus Christ. 166 00:15:52,920 --> 00:16:00,360 That which may be known about God from the conscience and from the creation around him 167 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:08,880 is rejected and therefore God gives them over to their own sin. 168 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:14,320 Now beginning in chapter 2, the apostle turns slightly to a different group of people. 169 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:19,780 He has been talking to the pagans, to Gentiles in their idolatry. 170 00:16:19,780 --> 00:16:25,880 Now he's going to begin talking to, well perhaps to those moral Gentiles who have not 171 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:31,960 fallen into the gross sins of chapter 1. 172 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:37,240 But primarily in focus, beginning in chapter 2, he has the Jew. 173 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,040 The Jew who did not follow the idols. 174 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:47,120 The Jew who was not caught up in the gross kind of immorality of the Gentiles. 175 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:53,680 The Jew who thought he was righteous before God but his righteousness was a self-righteousness, 176 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,000 an empty righteousness. 177 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:04,480 The apostle says that the Jewish moralistic world likewise is without righteousness and 178 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,020 under the condemnation of God. 179 00:17:07,020 --> 00:17:16,060 He says in verse 1 of chapter 2, you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment. 180 00:17:16,060 --> 00:17:19,480 For in that you judge another, you condemn yourself. 181 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:26,680 For you who judge, practice the same things. 182 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:33,480 He says that self-righteous people, moral people outside of Jesus Christ, that these 183 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:43,880 people seek to excuse themselves from God's judgment, saying I am better than they are. 184 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:48,640 But God through the apostle is saying here that the self-righteous man, be he Gentile 185 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:53,080 or Jew, is likewise under God's condemnation. 186 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:58,520 For the very things that he condemns in others, he himself practices. 187 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:04,680 He speaks about God's judgment and he says that it is according to truth. 188 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:11,440 He says in verse 2, we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice 189 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:12,440 such things. 190 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:17,960 So you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things 191 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:23,920 and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God. 192 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,200 God's judgment, he says, is according to truth. 193 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,960 There is no escape from it. 194 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:37,560 And then in verses 5 and 6, he says that God's judgment is likewise according to impartiality. 195 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:43,800 For example, he says in verse 6 that God will render to every man according to his deeds. 196 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,040 And again in verse 11, there is no partiality with God. 197 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:54,760 And so the man who thinks himself righteous or religious or better than the pagan and 198 00:18:54,760 --> 00:19:00,040 the idolater, that man likewise will come under the judgment and the condemnation of 199 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,000 God in his sin. 200 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,560 God is not partial in that way. 201 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,480 He is impartial. 202 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:12,680 He says that all will be judged according to the light which they have received. 203 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:14,440 Look at verse 20. 204 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:21,680 He says all who have sinned without the law, that is apart from the law, will also perish 205 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,000 apart from the law. 206 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,400 Those are the Gentiles back in chapter 1. 207 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:32,560 They did not have the law of God, the revelation of God that the Jews had. 208 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:37,440 But they sinned nonetheless, even though it was outside of that specific revelation of 209 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,000 God contained in the law. 210 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:44,520 And he says that they will be judged apart from the law according to the light which 211 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,280 they had and have. 212 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:53,980 But he says, and all who have sinned under the law, that is the Jew, the one who had 213 00:19:53,980 --> 00:20:02,680 received the special revelation from God, he says will be judged by the law. 214 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,200 And so all men will be judged according to the light that they have. 215 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:09,280 God's judgment is according to truth. 216 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,800 There's no excusing oneself from it. 217 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:18,480 God's judgment is perfectly knowledgeable of everything that every man does. 218 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:24,680 He says God's judgment is according to impartiality, and God's judgment is according to the light 219 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,120 that every person has. 220 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:34,640 Beginning then in verse 17, he especially focuses on the Jew. 221 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:36,960 The Apostle Paul, remember, was a Jew. 222 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:41,600 He did not hate Jewish people. 223 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,040 But he spoke with great compassion for the Jews. 224 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:51,160 And yet he felt he must point out the truth about them, that the Jewish people in particular 225 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:55,760 were without escape from God's judgment. 226 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:57,640 They boasted in their ancestry. 227 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:03,020 They called themselves Jews, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and thought that 228 00:21:03,020 --> 00:21:05,560 surely they were immune to God's judgment. 229 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:09,840 Paul says in these verses, not so. 230 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,400 They claim to be better than the Gentiles. 231 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:17,240 Paul says, but you practice the same things as the Gentiles. 232 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:22,960 The Jew had his ritual, namely circumcision, mentioned here, and felt that because of circumcision 233 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:26,000 surely he was immune to God's judgment. 234 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,960 Paul says it's not the outward circumcision that counts, it's the circumcision of the 235 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,340 heart. 236 00:21:34,340 --> 00:21:37,440 The Jew felt that he had his privileges, and he did. 237 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:42,680 Those privileges did not give him a right standing with God. 238 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:48,800 The Jew is condemned because like the Gentile, his conduct is sinful. 239 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:57,760 The Apostle concludes this section in chapter 3, verses 9 through 20, by the fact that all 240 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:03,240 people, whether Jew or Gentile, are under sin. 241 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,520 Notice that he says in verse 9, what then? 242 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,960 Are we, that is we Jews, better than they, Gentiles? 243 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:11,720 Not at all. 244 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:20,000 For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks, or Gentiles, are all under sin. 245 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:30,040 When it says they're all under sin, it means that all are under the bondage of sin. 246 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,800 All are enslaved to sin. 247 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:40,440 All are under the condemnation and death of sin, whether Jew or Gentile. 248 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:46,840 Then he quotes from the Old Testament, and he says, there is none righteous, not even 249 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:52,760 one who is righteous in himself before God. 250 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:58,480 Then at the end of this text, in verses 19 and 20, he says, now we know that whatever 251 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:06,320 the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and 252 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:11,600 all the world may become accountable to God. 253 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:16,640 He literally says here that every mouth may be stopped. 254 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:23,160 Every mouth may be shut up before God, and that all of the world may become accountable 255 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:24,820 to God. 256 00:23:24,820 --> 00:23:30,480 He says, because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for 257 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:34,360 through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 258 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:42,120 God did not give the law to bring salvation, but to bring the knowledge of sin to the sinner. 259 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:48,560 The law cannot deliver the sinner from the guilt of his sin. 260 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:53,080 The law cannot deliver the sinner from the power of his sin. 261 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:54,240 It cannot do that. 262 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:59,880 All it can do is expose sin, and that it does beautifully. 263 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:04,060 It accomplishes that good and holy and righteous purpose of God. 264 00:24:04,060 --> 00:24:10,040 It exposes the heart of the sinner and slays the sinner before God. 265 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,500 That is the purpose of the law of God. 266 00:24:13,500 --> 00:24:15,740 But it cannot save. 267 00:24:15,740 --> 00:24:23,800 The law only brings man to condemnation, to death, and to the end of himself. 268 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,920 And so as we conclude this first section of the book of Romans, man is left in a pitiful 269 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:29,600 state. 270 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:40,740 Whether he is Jew or Gentile, he is absolutely without hope in himself before God. 271 00:24:40,740 --> 00:24:46,880 Then the apostle changes his theme, and notice that he begins verse 21 with those words, 272 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:48,840 but now. 273 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,000 But now. 274 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:56,640 He is going to speak now regarding God's righteousness provided. 275 00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,200 Man needs righteousness because he has none himself. 276 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,640 He is not righteous. 277 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:08,200 Whether he be a Gentile who had no knowledge of the law, or a Jew who had knowledge of 278 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:15,600 the law, he had no righteousness by which he might present himself to God. 279 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,620 But God provides righteousness. 280 00:25:18,620 --> 00:25:22,760 That is now the theme the apostle Paul is going to speak about. 281 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:27,980 This is man's salvation beginning in chapter 3 verse 21, which goes through the end of 282 00:25:27,980 --> 00:25:28,980 chapter 5. 283 00:25:28,980 --> 00:25:36,320 Now basically, he says four things regarding this righteousness that God has provided. 284 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:43,400 First of all, it is provided through Christ's sacrifice. 285 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:50,520 Verses 21 through 26 speak to this plainly. 286 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:57,480 He says that there are three results of the death of Jesus Christ, of his sacrifice. 287 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,380 One is manward, another is Godward, and another is sinward. 288 00:26:02,380 --> 00:26:08,340 That is, one result of the death of Jesus Christ is toward man himself. 289 00:26:08,340 --> 00:26:09,840 One result is toward sin. 290 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:13,600 It deals with sin, and another is toward God. 291 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:18,920 Namely, these are the three results of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 292 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:25,680 Justification, redemption, and propitiation. 293 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:36,080 Notice that he says in verse 24, being justified as a gift by his grace. 294 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:41,720 There the word is in a verb form, but it is the word justification. 295 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:49,120 Then he goes on, through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly 296 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:51,720 as a propitiation. 297 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:57,320 So those are the three key words in this first paragraph. 298 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:03,040 Let me just define them for you briefly, although most of you probably understand them. 299 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:11,280 Justification is the judicial act of God whereby those who put their faith in Jesus Christ 300 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:16,600 are declared righteous in God's eyes. 301 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,240 That's the key phrase. 302 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:25,740 Justification is our being declared righteous in the eyes of God so that we're free from 303 00:27:25,740 --> 00:27:30,780 guilt and from punishment. 304 00:27:30,780 --> 00:27:34,140 That is the result of Christ's sacrifice toward us. 305 00:27:34,140 --> 00:27:37,460 We are declared righteous before God. 306 00:27:37,460 --> 00:27:41,040 As God sees us now, he does not see our sin. 307 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,640 He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 308 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:50,000 He declares that we are righteous in his sight. 309 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,800 Then the word redemption. 310 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:57,480 Redemption has to do with a payment of a ransom price. 311 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,680 It's the word that deals with sin. 312 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:05,000 The result of Christ's sacrifice with regards to sin. 313 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:12,560 It is the payment of the ransom price for the enslaved sinner. 314 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:18,320 And it goes on to talk about his removal from the curse of the law and his release from 315 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:20,160 sin's bondage. 316 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:27,160 But the point of redemption is that the price has been paid, that the sinner might be released 317 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:32,480 and freed from his slavery to sin. 318 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,320 And then the third word, propitiation. 319 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:41,040 A simple one-word definition is satisfaction. 320 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:48,120 When it speaks about Jesus Christ being the propitiation for us, it means that he is the 321 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:56,700 satisfaction of God's just demands for judgment on sin. 322 00:28:56,700 --> 00:29:02,600 Because of Christ's sacrifice, it is possible now for God to show mercy. 323 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:08,760 This very same word that is translated propitiation in this verse is also translated in Hebrews 324 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,600 9.25 as mercy seat. 325 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:18,320 Those of you acquainted with the Old Testament know that the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, 326 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:24,360 the main object in the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament tabernacle, the lid of that 327 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:30,240 box which was called the Ark of the Covenant, was made of pure gold, solid gold. 328 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,880 And it was called the mercy seat. 329 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:39,640 And that was the place where on the day of atonement each year, the high priest of Israel 330 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:45,520 would enter in, in the prescribed manner, would sprinkle the blood of the atonement 331 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:55,120 upon the mercy seat, which allowed God to deal with his people Israel in mercy. 332 00:29:55,120 --> 00:30:01,760 What this verse says is that Jesus Christ has become our mercy seat. 333 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:07,440 We no longer need to offer up a lamb and take his blood to a certain place and sprinkle 334 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:13,200 it on an object because Jesus Christ has been the satisfaction for us. 335 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:21,240 He is now the mercy seat for us and his blood has been sprinkled, as it were, as a satisfaction 336 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,840 before God. 337 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:30,440 God's just demands for judgment upon sin have been satisfied by Jesus Christ. 338 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:36,320 So God can now provide righteousness to you and to me because of Christ's sacrifice. 339 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:41,760 Now there's a second thing that he says regarding the righteousness of God being provided for 340 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:42,840 us. 341 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:52,320 Not only is it provided through Christ's sacrifice, but it is received by man's faith. 342 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,920 It is received by man's faith. 343 00:30:55,920 --> 00:31:04,360 From verses 21 through verse 31 in this chapter, you will find the word faith or the word believe 344 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:08,880 no fewer than nine times. 345 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:10,980 And then it continues on. 346 00:31:10,980 --> 00:31:15,880 So from the very beginning as the apostle speaks about the righteousness which God provides 347 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:23,200 the sinner, he lets it be known that it is provided for the sinner who believes that 348 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,640 righteousness is received by man's faith. 349 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:33,040 And he gives the great illustration of this in chapter four, and that is Abraham. 350 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:41,440 Abraham who lived before the law was given believed God's promise. 351 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:45,880 And it says in verse three, it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 352 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:56,320 In other words, God declared Abraham righteous by his faith, not because of his works. 353 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:02,460 The law had nothing to do with Abraham being justified before God because the law wasn't 354 00:32:02,460 --> 00:32:05,200 even given then. 355 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:12,360 Furthermore, this occurred before Abraham was circumcised. 356 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:18,800 Now the Jews felt that circumcision made them righteous. 357 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:23,040 But here the apostle points out that their great patriarch to whom they looked with great 358 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:30,760 respect and admiration, that he was declared righteous before God before that ritual was 359 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:36,160 performed upon him later as a sign of his justification. 360 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:38,960 So it had nothing to do with the ritual. 361 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:46,920 The point is that Abraham was saved by faith, not by works, the same way that we are saved 362 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:47,920 today. 363 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:52,840 And so the righteousness of God is received by man's faith. 364 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:59,300 And then in chapter five, verses one through 11, he says a third thing regarding this righteousness 365 00:32:59,300 --> 00:33:00,300 of God. 366 00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:04,880 It is accompanied by gracious blessing. 367 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:09,360 And he lists here a number of blessings that come along with this righteousness from God. 368 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:13,360 He says, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. 369 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:15,820 That's blessing number one. 370 00:33:15,820 --> 00:33:20,960 No longer is there enmity between us and God, now there is peace with God. 371 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:27,520 He says also we have obtained access or an introduction by faith into this grace. 372 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:30,920 We have access to the very presence of God. 373 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:38,560 And he goes on through these verses to list the blessings that come with the righteousness 374 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:41,640 of God when we're saved. 375 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:46,120 And then beginning in chapter five and verse 12 on through the end of chapter five, he 376 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,480 says a fourth thing regarding the righteousness of God. 377 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,420 He says it is based upon the principle of headship. 378 00:33:53,420 --> 00:34:00,520 Now this is a key thought which is absolutely essential to understand so that we can get 379 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:05,320 the point of chapters six, seven, and eight. 380 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:11,400 In the last part of chapter five, the apostle Paul says that there really are two great 381 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:14,200 families in the world. 382 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:20,780 There is on the one hand the family of Adam, and on the other hand the family of Jesus 383 00:34:20,780 --> 00:34:26,920 Christ, the last Adam, as he is called in 1 Corinthians. 384 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:34,960 There are those who are identified with Adam as their head, as their representative. 385 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:42,560 And there are those who are identified with Jesus Christ as their head or their representative. 386 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:46,840 This is the principle of headship. 387 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:56,480 He points out to us in verse 12, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death 388 00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:57,480 through sin. 389 00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:02,740 So death spread to all men because all sinned. 390 00:35:02,740 --> 00:35:04,720 How did all sin? 391 00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:09,640 They sinned because they were represented by Adam. 392 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:17,200 The point here is that when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he sinned not only for 393 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:25,540 himself, but for all of us who were yet within him in his loins. 394 00:35:25,540 --> 00:35:29,440 For all of the descendants that have come from him, he sinned. 395 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:31,720 He represented us. 396 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:40,080 So that when he sinned, you sinned, and when death came upon Adam, you inherited death 397 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:45,240 at that moment, though you were born thousands of years later. 398 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:48,160 This is the principle of headship. 399 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:56,540 Adam represented his whole race when he sinned in the Garden. 400 00:35:56,540 --> 00:36:06,360 That is important because you see the Lord Jesus Christ in his work of obedience at the 401 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:13,360 cross when he died represented us as well. 402 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:19,680 Just as Adam represented us in disobedience and death, so Jesus Christ represented us 403 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:25,280 in obedience that we might have life. 404 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:32,240 This is the principle of headship. 405 00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:37,720 You'll notice that in most translations, verse 12 ends with some indication that Paul is 406 00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:41,360 going to interrupt himself, and he does. 407 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:45,200 He says, so death spread to all men because all sinned. 408 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:47,760 Then he goes in a certain direction. 409 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:52,320 He doesn't come back to that theme until verse 18, where he kind of sums up and picks 410 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:53,320 up the theme. 411 00:36:53,320 --> 00:37:00,320 So then, as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, that's 412 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:06,800 Adam, even so through one act of righteousness, that's Christ's work at the cross, there 413 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:11,120 resulted justification of life to all men. 414 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:19,000 For as through the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, who are the many, 415 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:22,920 all of those identified with him. 416 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:29,120 Even so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous, who are the 417 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:34,160 many here, all of those identified with Christ. 418 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:41,960 Now this is important because you're going to learn as we get into chapter 6, that when 419 00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:48,240 Jesus Christ died, when he was buried, when he was raised again from the dead, you were 420 00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,400 identified with him in that. 421 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:58,240 You're identified and united to him in his death, burial, and resurrection. 422 00:37:58,240 --> 00:38:06,240 And folks, it is that very identity or union with him that delivers us from slavery to 423 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:09,020 sin. 424 00:38:09,020 --> 00:38:16,160 So that we no longer have to obey sin that still dwells within us. 425 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:23,640 God has set us free from sin's dominion. 426 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:31,800 Sin is no longer our master because we have been set free from it by our union with Jesus 427 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:39,440 Christ in his death, his burial, and his resurrection from the dead. 428 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:45,360 He says in verse 20, and the law came in that the transgression might increase, but where 429 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:54,680 sin increased, grace abounded all the more, that as sin reigned in death, even so grace 430 00:38:54,680 --> 00:39:01,480 might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 431 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:07,880 Before you were saved, sin reigned in you. 432 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:14,560 You were in bondage to sin because you were identified with Adam in his disobedience. 433 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:17,240 And you were in death. 434 00:39:17,240 --> 00:39:22,680 That was your spiritual state and that was your destiny, death. 435 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:27,280 But now God has done a work in you. 436 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:32,440 He has provided righteousness for you by your union with Jesus Christ. 437 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:38,700 And that righteousness is not only a position that you have, but it is a very practical 438 00:39:38,700 --> 00:39:43,740 way of living which you may experience. 439 00:39:43,740 --> 00:39:48,920 He speaks here about grace reigning through righteousness. 440 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:52,540 Now grace reigns in your life. 441 00:39:52,540 --> 00:39:58,400 And righteousness may be the expression of that grace. 442 00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:05,720 The point is this, that you and I no longer have to sin. 443 00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:14,120 We may sin, and the fact is that we do sin, but we don't have to sin. 444 00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:19,800 We do not have to sin, for we have been delivered from sin's dominion. 445 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:24,480 That is basically the theme of Romans 6, 7, and 8. 446 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:31,200 I hope you can see how it flows out of chapter 5 in our identity with Jesus Christ. 447 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:37,640 The dramatic change in our spiritual identity, now we are identified with Christ and no longer 448 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:46,900 with Adam, along with the release from sin which it entails, provides for us the possibility 449 00:40:46,900 --> 00:40:50,840 of a transformed life. 450 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:57,120 Our conduct is those who have been justified by grace through faith. 451 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:07,440 Our conduct will be transformed at different speeds perhaps, but we cannot separate our 452 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:12,720 justification from our sanctification. 453 00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:14,880 Those two doctrines go together. 454 00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:19,400 They flow from the one to the other in the book of Romans. 455 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:28,080 The apostle says that the work of grace in our lives is so complete and so sweeping that 456 00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:33,800 we have been delivered not only from the guilt of our sin, but we have been delivered from 457 00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:39,540 the power of sin which is still within us. 458 00:41:39,540 --> 00:41:46,320 We are delivered from its dominion so that we may experience victory every day of our 459 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:49,280 lives. 460 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:55,960 The fact that we do not experience victory every day is not because God has not provided 461 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:57,240 it. 462 00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:00,800 He has provided that deliverance. 463 00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:09,160 And I hope that as we understand how God has provided it, that that knowledge will be written 464 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:15,840 in our hearts in such a way that a door will be opened so that you and I can experience 465 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:21,040 that victory because we are one with Jesus Christ. 466 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:26,360 Would you bow with me in prayer? 467 00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:36,360 Father, we have covered a lot, perhaps too much tonight as we have sought to gain an 468 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:41,940 overview of these five chapters. 469 00:42:41,940 --> 00:42:48,080 And yet I pray that the Spirit of God will cause us to rejoice in that truth which we 470 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:51,360 can comprehend. 471 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:53,660 Once we were blind, now we can see. 472 00:42:53,660 --> 00:42:57,140 Once we were lost, now we have been found. 473 00:42:57,140 --> 00:42:59,180 Once we were in death, now we have life. 474 00:42:59,180 --> 00:43:05,140 Once we were enslaved by your grace, now we are free. 475 00:43:05,140 --> 00:43:08,360 We are released. 476 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:13,640 I pray that you will work into our lives a greater understanding of and appreciation 477 00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:21,840 for that righteousness which you have provided for us in Jesus Christ. 478 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:24,640 And may that righteousness be our experience. 479 00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:35,280 May grace reign in our lives so that righteousness will be the expression of our thoughts, our 480 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:40,280 words, our actions more consistently. 481 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:44,720 We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 482 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:56,200 I'd like us to sing in closing a verse of 266 that tells us where our hope is placed. 483 00:43:56,200 --> 00:44:02,680 I'd like for us to sing the second verse of this gospel song written by Norman Clayton 484 00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:07,000 who speaks about the righteousness of Jesus Christ in which we are found. 485 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:19,640 Would you stand please as we sing together verse two of number 266. 486 00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:21,960 No merit of my own. 487 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:27,240 No merit of my own. 488 00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:31,480 His anger to suppress. 489 00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:42,040 My only hope is found in Jesus' righteousness. 490 00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:47,040 For me He died. 491 00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:52,040 For me He lives. 492 00:44:52,040 --> 00:45:04,200 And everlasting life and life He freely gives. 493 00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:08,960 Let's bow together. 494 00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:16,360 His grace has planned it all, tis mine but to believe and recognize His work of love 495 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:19,160 and Christ receive. 496 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:23,360 Have you received Jesus Christ, my friend? 497 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:32,920 Or do you still find condemnation within your heart because you are separated from Him? 498 00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:39,560 If tonight you have not the assurance of your salvation, would you come up afterward and 499 00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:46,680 speak to me about that and express your burden, your heart need? 500 00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:53,360 Let me or one of our counselors sit down with you and show you how tonight you can know 501 00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:59,560 freedom from the guilt of sin which weighs down your soul. 502 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:16,280 Father, thank you for the work of grace and for all that you have planned for us in Jesus 503 00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:19,360 Christ. 504 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:24,200 And I pray for someone who is here without Christ. 505 00:46:24,200 --> 00:46:32,440 Lord draw that one to yourself tonight to believe, to receive Jesus Christ. 506 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:37,080 And for all of us who have done that, I pray that we will depart from here rejoicing in 507 00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:43,640 that righteousness that you have provided by grace which we can never know apart from 508 00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:46,480 your work of love. 509 00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:53,200 And let us, I pray, desire with all of our hearts to experience that righteousness daily 510 00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:57,120 in our lives. 511 00:46:57,120 --> 00:47:00,120 In Jesus' name, amen. 512 00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:14,480 Good night.