WEBVTT 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:07.419 Howdy. Have you ever had an obligation that you 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:10.439 wanted to get out of? Maybe you had plans with 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:13.580 somebody, maybe you had committed to attend something, 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:16.519 and by the time the day arrived, all you wanted 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:20.260 to do was just to stay home. And your solution 00:00:20.260 --> 00:00:23.339 was something like, what if I call them and just 00:00:23.339 --> 00:00:28.519 let them know that I died? Now, my sister was 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:31.070 hanging out with me earlier this week. And I 00:00:31.070 --> 00:00:33.869 asked her if she wanted to go see The Hunchback 00:00:33.869 --> 00:00:37.149 of Notre Dame. Not the Disney movie, but the 00:00:37.149 --> 00:00:39.609 actual musical performance, which apparently 00:00:39.609 --> 00:00:41.350 makes all the difference in the world because 00:00:41.350 --> 00:00:43.810 the ending of the musical is very depressing. 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:47.149 It is not the happy ending, just warning you 00:00:47.149 --> 00:00:50.090 in case you're going. But while we were driving, 00:00:50.590 --> 00:00:53.210 she kept saying, are you sure you want to do 00:00:53.210 --> 00:00:56.420 this? What if we just stayed home and watched 00:00:56.420 --> 00:00:58.880 TV? We could watch some British crime dramas, 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:01.000 which is my sister's solution to everything. 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:04.959 But she has this habit of wanting to stay home 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:08.879 even when she already has plans. While I'm the 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.260 extrovert between us, she's the introvert, which 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:13.680 is funny because I'm the socially awkward one. 00:01:14.019 --> 00:01:17.920 And she'll oftentimes say things that make me 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:21.019 shake my head. Because she'll just say, what 00:01:21.019 --> 00:01:23.879 if we just stayed home and pretended that we 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.299 were dead and now if you were dead would you 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:31.079 have to go to a party well would you have to 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.879 drive across town would you have to keep your 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:37.959 social obligations no and if you did that would 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:42.640 be creepy so obviously she's not actually wishing 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.540 that she were dead she's joking because this 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:51.180 would end her obligations Once someone is dead, 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:55.340 people stop expecting you to show up. And this 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:59.620 is actually what Paul is getting at in Romans 00:01:59.620 --> 00:02:02.799 seven. Because he starts with something that 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.180 everyone understands. Death changes the relationship. 00:02:07.939 --> 00:02:11.400 He uses the example of marriage. And if a husband 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.599 dies, his wife is no longer bound to him by that 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:19.099 covenant. The relationship has changed. And Paul 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:22.439 says something very astonishing. Likewise, my 00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:26.360 brothers, you also have died to the law through 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:29.460 the body of Christ, so that you may belong to 00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:33.000 another, to him who has been raised from the 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.939 dead. And notice what Paul does not say. He doesn't 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:40.000 say that we escaped the law. He doesn't say that 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:43.060 God lowered his standards. He doesn't say that 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:47.699 sin stopped mattering. He says we died. And this 00:02:47.699 --> 00:02:51.580 changes everything. If the law requires death 00:02:51.580 --> 00:02:54.419 for those who have broken it, and Jesus has taken 00:02:54.419 --> 00:02:57.400 all the punishment upon himself, then what is 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:01.000 there left for the law to do to us? It's like 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.780 we are dead to it. It's condemnation no longer 00:03:04.780 --> 00:03:09.919 has the final word over us. Jesus, true God and 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:13.719 true man, took upon himself sins that he had 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:17.090 never committed. He bore our guilt. He received 00:03:17.090 --> 00:03:20.990 our condemnation. The punishment has been carried 00:03:20.990 --> 00:03:25.770 out. The law, its debt, has been paid. So there's 00:03:25.770 --> 00:03:28.050 nothing left for the law to hold over our heads. 00:03:29.110 --> 00:03:32.889 Paul's point was not about the marriage. Paul's 00:03:32.889 --> 00:03:37.590 point was about belonging. We have died to one 00:03:37.590 --> 00:03:41.389 relationship being bound to the law so that we 00:03:41.389 --> 00:03:44.840 might belong to another. by the Spirit to Jesus 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:49.099 Christ. His point is not so that we can be independent, 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.300 but so we can simply, not so we simply do the 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:55.580 things that we want, but rather to belong to 00:03:55.580 --> 00:03:59.020 Christ. Now I made a mistake when starting this 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:01.780 sermon when I was writing it because I did so 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:04.259 when I was hungry. So every metaphor in here 00:04:04.259 --> 00:04:05.879 is about food. So you're just going to have to 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:08.280 accept that. We've got great food at the picnic 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:10.719 today, but you'll have to get through this in 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:12.919 order to get to it. But you see, I was thinking 00:04:12.919 --> 00:04:15.039 about Thanksgiving when I was reading through 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:18.519 the passage and about how every family has traditions. 00:04:19.050 --> 00:04:22.569 And sometimes a person may decide that they want 00:04:22.569 --> 00:04:25.610 to be the Monica of the group and put place cards 00:04:25.610 --> 00:04:28.050 to show where everybody should be sitting for 00:04:28.050 --> 00:04:30.449 Thanksgiving meals. And they may decide that 00:04:30.449 --> 00:04:32.670 this aunt and this uncle should not sit next 00:04:32.670 --> 00:04:34.930 to each other because they've been having a fight 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:37.170 for the last month. And they decide that this 00:04:37.170 --> 00:04:39.329 cousin and this in -law should not sit next to 00:04:39.329 --> 00:04:42.250 each other because they dated once. It was East 00:04:42.250 --> 00:04:46.730 Texas, just go with it. Every group though, you 00:04:46.730 --> 00:04:49.310 end up realizing that sometimes people assign 00:04:49.310 --> 00:04:51.790 the seats and sometimes people do not because 00:04:51.790 --> 00:04:55.230 who actually does that? But nobody has to wonder 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:58.350 though whether or not they belong at the table 00:04:58.350 --> 00:05:01.269 because they see that their name is written. 00:05:01.850 --> 00:05:04.889 The relationship, it's not that it's mandated, 00:05:05.350 --> 00:05:09.410 it's a relationship though of love and cornbread 00:05:09.410 --> 00:05:12.129 stuffing which I think is much the same. That's 00:05:12.129 --> 00:05:15.540 what Paul is describing. In Christ, your place 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:18.319 has already been prepared because He loves you. 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:21.579 In Christ, you don't spend the meal wondering 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:24.699 if your name will be on a place card. You belong 00:05:24.699 --> 00:05:28.040 because the host invited you. And that changes 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:32.220 the whole atmosphere of the meal. Now, here's 00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:34.980 where people, though, struggle with God's Word, 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:39.060 because they will oftentimes see the condemnation 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:42.509 of the law. and that ends up sticking for them. 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:45.750 They hear what God commands and the first instinct 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:48.730 is almost always to push back on it. Whenever 00:05:48.730 --> 00:05:53.209 someone tells us what to do, our nature is to 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:57.730 respond often in one of three ways. First, maybe 00:05:57.730 --> 00:06:00.629 we just rebel against it. We're just like, I'm 00:06:00.629 --> 00:06:02.990 gonna do the exact opposite of whatever it is 00:06:02.990 --> 00:06:06.990 just to prove that I can. I can do whatever I 00:06:06.990 --> 00:06:09.910 want and you cannot stop me. That's one option. 00:06:10.610 --> 00:06:13.949 Second, maybe we just decide to reject it altogether. 00:06:14.550 --> 00:06:17.370 We tell ourselves that the issue, it's not really 00:06:17.370 --> 00:06:21.149 important after all. Nobody really cares about 00:06:21.149 --> 00:06:23.889 that issue, so I don't need to worry about it 00:06:23.889 --> 00:06:28.290 either. Or third, maybe we just justify ourselves. 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:30.810 We convince ourselves that maybe the command 00:06:30.810 --> 00:06:34.410 didn't really apply to us, or maybe we're really 00:06:34.410 --> 00:06:38.850 not guilty after all. Haven't you noticed? How 00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:41.709 often our culture celebrates this way of thinking, 00:06:42.250 --> 00:06:45.029 you know, whenever we are being true to ourselves 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:47.449 and following our heart and making sure, you 00:06:47.449 --> 00:06:51.250 know, whatever makes us happy. The assumption 00:06:51.250 --> 00:06:55.110 is that freedom means doing whatever we feel 00:06:55.110 --> 00:06:57.850 like doing at whatever time we feel like doing 00:06:57.850 --> 00:07:01.800 it. And I'm gonna give another example. I'm gonna 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:04.899 talk just briefly about Thanksgiving because 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:08.959 our family would go to East Texas for years to 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:11.480 see my memo. I have a grandma on my father's 00:07:11.480 --> 00:07:13.339 side. I have a memo on my mother's side. It's 00:07:13.339 --> 00:07:16.060 very important to distinguish the two. Every 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:18.980 year, there's that moment while we're driving 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:21.519 where we would wonder, why are we always the 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:25.129 one making this drive? You see, My memo was a 00:07:25.129 --> 00:07:27.649 little bit of a hermit, and she hated Houston, 00:07:28.250 --> 00:07:30.810 and she mostly wanted to keep to herself and 00:07:30.810 --> 00:07:33.649 stay away from our traffic. But we still wanted 00:07:33.649 --> 00:07:36.889 to see her. It was a long trip, but sometimes 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:39.970 it felt more like an obligation than a celebration. 00:07:41.149 --> 00:07:44.050 Sometimes, though, the problem is not the journey, 00:07:44.670 --> 00:07:49.389 because looking back now, after she's gone, we'd 00:07:49.389 --> 00:07:52.709 gladly make that trip again, if we could. You 00:07:52.709 --> 00:07:56.519 see, the obligation sometimes becomes something 00:07:56.519 --> 00:08:01.120 that we wish we could do. Because it's more about 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:04.220 the attitude that we bring to it. The same thing 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:07.339 happens with God's law. When we think someone's 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:10.839 forcing us, we push back. When love changes the 00:08:10.839 --> 00:08:13.620 relationship though, obedience begins to look 00:08:13.620 --> 00:08:17.399 very different. It's like standing there thinking 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:22.009 about a pumpkin pie. And your memaw says, don't 00:08:22.009 --> 00:08:24.449 touch that pie. And all of a sudden, you're starting 00:08:24.449 --> 00:08:28.430 to think how much of it you could slice off just 00:08:28.430 --> 00:08:31.110 slightly that nobody would notice any of it's 00:08:31.110 --> 00:08:34.289 gone. And technically, I only touched the whipped 00:08:34.289 --> 00:08:38.490 cream. But you see, the command didn't create 00:08:38.490 --> 00:08:41.549 the desire. It just magnified something that 00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:45.409 was already there. See, Paul says, but sin seizing 00:08:45.409 --> 00:08:47.690 an opportunity through the commandment produced 00:08:47.690 --> 00:08:50.470 in me all kinds of covetousness. The problem 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:53.730 is not the command, the problem is the heart 00:08:53.730 --> 00:08:57.610 that immediately wants to negotiate. And that's 00:08:57.610 --> 00:09:01.549 why Paul is, he says something that sounds confusing. 00:09:02.110 --> 00:09:04.250 All right, let's just be honest. Romans is a 00:09:04.250 --> 00:09:05.809 little bit hard if you don't take it a little 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:08.809 bit at a time, okay? And he says, apart from 00:09:08.809 --> 00:09:14.259 the law, sin lies dead. He doesn't mean sin doesn't 00:09:14.259 --> 00:09:17.000 exist without God's law. It's not as if it's 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:20.580 God's fault somehow for making up all these expectations. 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:23.600 He's already spent six chapters explaining that 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:28.340 sin is very much alive. What he means is that 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:32.779 without the law exposing it, we can fool ourselves 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:37.700 into thinking that everything is fine. So then 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:41.679 Paul asks the obvious question. What then shall 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:48.139 we say that the law is sin? By no means. Just 00:09:48.139 --> 00:09:50.480 because the law causes us to feel uncomfortable, 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:53.720 just because we sometimes want to push against 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:56.919 it or wish that we could simply ignore it, does 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:01.159 that somehow make the law bad? No. The law just 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.360 simply tells us the truth. Now there are certainly 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:08.639 human laws, okay? that they're more a reflection 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:11.960 of what people want than what is actually best. 00:10:12.059 --> 00:10:14.419 I mean, that's just, we know that. That's human. 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:16.940 That's normal, okay? Human laws, they're written 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:19.820 by human beings. And human beings, we don't always 00:10:19.820 --> 00:10:23.740 get it right. It happens. But God's law is different. 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:28.980 God's law reflects reality that God created. 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:33.360 It shows us how life from God was designed to 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.559 work. And that's why Paul says that while we 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:38.620 were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:42.779 they were aroused by the law and were bearing 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:47.500 fruit for death. The law wasn't producing death. 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:51.919 Our sinful hearts and passions were. The law 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:54.580 simply revealed that our hearts are broken and 00:10:54.580 --> 00:10:59.129 are yearning for what is wrong. It's a little 00:10:59.129 --> 00:11:03.009 like baking cookies. Suppose someone hands you 00:11:03.009 --> 00:11:05.370 Memaw's famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, 00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:08.129 and you look at it, and you think, I don't really 00:11:08.129 --> 00:11:12.009 need this. I know how to make cookies. I've seen 00:11:12.009 --> 00:11:16.509 it on TV. And so you start adding stuff, but 00:11:16.509 --> 00:11:19.750 you kind of substitute things, and, oh, I think 00:11:19.750 --> 00:11:22.169 there should be more flour here, and I don't 00:11:22.169 --> 00:11:24.350 think we need that much butter, and I want really 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:26.090 sweet cookies, so I'm going to add twice the 00:11:26.090 --> 00:11:30.259 sugar, right? add three eggs instead of one because 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:32.200 you're about to go work out and these are protein 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:35.940 cookies clearly so and heaven forbid you put 00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:37.899 the raisins instead of the chocolate chips don't 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:42.500 talk to me now could you do that of course you 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:46.860 could nobody's physically stopping you but cookies 00:11:46.860 --> 00:11:50.519 still work a certain way and those protein cookies 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:53.500 yeah that's gonna be terrible but you see the 00:11:53.500 --> 00:11:57.039 recipe is not trying to ruin your fun The recipe 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.279 is just describing how ingredients turn into 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:04.139 cookies. Ignore it if you want, but the cookies 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:08.940 won't. God's law is like that. It doesn't invent 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:12.940 reality, it reveals it. The law, the issue is 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:17.659 not the law, the issue is us. We're the ones 00:12:17.659 --> 00:12:20.519 who want to ignore the recipes. We're the ones 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:23.200 convinced that our own way will somehow turn 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.419 out better. And then Paul comes to one of the 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:28.779 more difficult statements. He thought it was 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:32.480 difficult already. I was once alive apart from 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:36.399 the law, but when the commandment came, sin came 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:41.100 alive and I died. Paul is not saying that we 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:43.320 were all perfectly fine until God came along 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:46.490 and started making up rules. That cannot be what 00:12:46.490 --> 00:12:48.450 he means because everything in Romans up to this 00:12:48.450 --> 00:12:52.230 point has been saying exactly the opposite. He's 00:12:52.230 --> 00:12:56.029 speaking rhetorically to say not that we were 00:12:56.029 --> 00:12:59.610 spiritually fine before God gave the law, but 00:12:59.610 --> 00:13:03.309 about the perception we keep having of it. Before 00:13:03.309 --> 00:13:07.149 God's law confronts us, we can imagine we're 00:13:07.149 --> 00:13:10.309 doing just fine. We compare ourselves with other 00:13:10.309 --> 00:13:13.570 people. You know what? I'm a pretty good person. 00:13:13.610 --> 00:13:15.429 I see that one over there. You know, I'm definitely 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:18.149 better than that one over there. And you know, 00:13:18.470 --> 00:13:22.649 God's law then, it shines into our hearts. And 00:13:22.649 --> 00:13:26.649 then suddenly all the pride, the envy, the selfishness, 00:13:27.190 --> 00:13:31.669 the resentment, the coveting, it's all exposed. 00:13:32.629 --> 00:13:35.610 The law didn't create those sins. It revealed 00:13:35.610 --> 00:13:37.789 what had been there all along. You see, diagnosis 00:13:37.789 --> 00:13:41.509 is not the enemy. The disease is the one of sin. 00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:44.850 And that's exactly Paul's point. The law doesn't 00:13:44.850 --> 00:13:48.809 create sin. The law diagnoses it and shows us 00:13:48.809 --> 00:13:53.129 the truth. And then we see it, and we're dead. 00:13:54.350 --> 00:13:56.750 Paul even says the very commandment that promised 00:13:56.750 --> 00:14:01.669 life proved to be death to me. Because the commandment 00:14:01.669 --> 00:14:06.700 was bad? No, we were. And Paul reaches a conclusion, 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:09.799 so the law is holy, the commandment is holy, 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:13.679 and righteous, and good. Notice how strongly 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:18.820 he even says it. Holy, righteous, good. The law 00:14:18.820 --> 00:14:21.679 reflects God's own character, it's not the enemy. 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:24.590 It's like when you left those cookies in the 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:27.509 oven for way too long and all of a sudden the 00:14:27.509 --> 00:14:30.230 smoke alarm starts going off and nobody enjoys 00:14:30.230 --> 00:14:33.669 hearing it. Especially because somebody may or 00:14:33.669 --> 00:14:36.149 may not have burned the cookies. But you see 00:14:36.149 --> 00:14:39.269 the smoke alarm is not the danger. It's the fire 00:14:39.269 --> 00:14:42.210 on those cookies that is. See the alarm is just 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:45.669 revealing something's wrong. And God's law sounds 00:14:45.669 --> 00:14:49.090 the alarm. It tells us the truth and reveals 00:14:49.090 --> 00:14:52.539 where the burning truly is. because the problem 00:14:52.539 --> 00:14:55.559 was never actually the law. And that's something 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:57.799 we need to make sure we understand. Whenever 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:00.960 Paul says apart from the law, sin lies dead, 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:04.620 he's not saying the consequences disappear just 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:07.500 because we don't know about them. The consequences 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:11.220 of our sin are still there. The law simply uncovers 00:15:11.220 --> 00:15:15.600 them. Now the law doesn't make you worse, even 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:20.789 as the law also doesn't make you better. The 00:15:20.789 --> 00:15:25.090 law doesn't make us righteous. Just because the 00:15:25.090 --> 00:15:27.669 cookie recipe wasn't written down didn't mean 00:15:27.669 --> 00:15:30.809 that somehow your cookies came out better, but 00:15:30.809 --> 00:15:34.889 also writing the recipe and reading it word for 00:15:34.889 --> 00:15:38.289 word doesn't magically make them any better either. 00:15:39.149 --> 00:15:41.850 It simply tells you where things could go wrong. 00:15:42.970 --> 00:15:46.769 See, the law never makes us righteous. It shows 00:15:46.769 --> 00:15:49.870 us where we've wandered away and as uncomfortable 00:15:49.870 --> 00:15:53.850 as it is, believe it or not, that's actually 00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:57.690 a gift. Because if we never knew what was wrong, 00:15:57.929 --> 00:16:01.330 and yet we still keep feeling and knowing the 00:16:01.330 --> 00:16:05.129 brokenness, we'd never know that we needed a 00:16:05.129 --> 00:16:08.610 Savior for the brokenness. We'd never see where 00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:12.450 it truly came from. Because the law can diagnose 00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:15.889 it cannot heal. It can expose the wound, but 00:16:15.889 --> 00:16:19.190 it cannot bind up. It can tell us the brokenness, 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:23.769 but it cannot make us whole. Because only Christ 00:16:23.769 --> 00:16:29.169 can. So where does that leave us? Does Paul just 00:16:29.169 --> 00:16:31.909 make us sure we know how hopeless our diagnosis 00:16:31.909 --> 00:16:36.610 is? No. He reminds us of what he said at the 00:16:36.610 --> 00:16:40.549 beginning of the chapter. You also have died 00:16:40.549 --> 00:16:43.750 to the law through the body of Christ, so that 00:16:43.750 --> 00:16:47.669 you may belong to another to Him who has been 00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:52.470 raised from the dead." That's the Gospel. The 00:16:52.470 --> 00:16:56.190 condemnation that the law demands, it's already 00:16:56.190 --> 00:17:00.789 happened. It fell upon Christ. The cross was 00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:04.509 not ignoring sin. This is not God saying that 00:17:04.509 --> 00:17:07.630 there is no such thing. It was God bearing the 00:17:07.630 --> 00:17:10.369 sin. And the law did exactly what it was meant 00:17:10.369 --> 00:17:16.289 to do. It exposed our sin and drives us to Christ. 00:17:17.230 --> 00:17:23.470 But now the law doesn't define us. That's where 00:17:23.470 --> 00:17:27.069 we often get confused. Because we still ask ourselves, 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:31.049 have I done enough? Am I a good enough Christian? 00:17:31.250 --> 00:17:33.890 And we're often times trying to convince ourselves, 00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:37.049 yes I am, because I followed all the things I'm 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:40.339 supposed to be doing today. But you see, we're 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:42.339 asking the law questions that it was never meant 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:45.119 to answer. Because the law can tell you where 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:47.660 you fell short or what might need to happen. 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:53.319 It cannot tell you who you are. Only Christ can 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:56.680 tell you who you are. Because the Christian life 00:17:56.680 --> 00:17:59.599 begins with a different question. Not how do 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:03.240 I earn God's love, but since I already belong 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:07.039 to Christ, how does someone who belongs to Jesus 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:12.299 live today? See, one begins with fear, but the 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:17.019 other one starts with belonging. You see, imagine 00:18:17.019 --> 00:18:20.200 somebody spent all that afternoon making those 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:23.720 cookies. Imagine they followed the recipe perfectly 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:29.039 or imagine that they didn't. Maybe they did add 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:32.339 too much flour. Maybe they put the cookies too 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:34.599 close together and they blurred into one giant 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:39.289 cookie. I know. Maybe they forgot an ingredient, 00:18:40.410 --> 00:18:44.029 like sugar. And if you're trying to enter a baking 00:18:44.029 --> 00:18:48.130 competition, probably not a good thing. When 00:18:48.130 --> 00:18:50.089 you're bringing the cookies to the family dinner, 00:18:51.289 --> 00:18:54.170 well, something beautiful happens. Your family 00:18:54.170 --> 00:18:58.769 smiles. Somebody reaches for one anyway. Somebody 00:18:58.769 --> 00:19:01.289 says, and it's probably my dad, these are pretty 00:19:01.289 --> 00:19:06.460 good. He does that for everything. Someone else 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:09.839 quietly reaches for a second one, and you know 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.220 that the cookies were not perfect, but you're 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:17.339 loved. You see, you're family, and you belong 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:22.420 there. Your work done in love is not about expectation, 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:26.480 but it's appreciated because you are a part. 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:30.180 See, maybe next year it probably wouldn't hurt 00:19:30.180 --> 00:19:32.640 to follow that recipe a little more closely, 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:35.900 learn a thing or two. The recipe still matters. 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:39.059 It's not that it's wrong, but your place at the 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:42.299 table wasn't determined because of the cookies. 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:45.500 Your place was determined because the family 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:48.339 had already set the chair for you. See, that's 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:51.740 the Gospel. God really does forgive and love 00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:56.799 us, period. But it first required sacrifice in 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:01.500 Christ because God's law is holy. So, His commandments, 00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:05.640 they're good. They're righteous. They're true. 00:20:06.119 --> 00:20:09.440 And the truth is that we've fallen short. Every 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:13.140 one of us still struggles. And every one of us 00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:15.779 still needs grace today just as we did the day 00:20:15.779 --> 00:20:19.140 we first believed. But thanks be to God, our 00:20:19.140 --> 00:20:22.880 identity is no longer trying to justify ourselves. 00:20:23.779 --> 00:20:26.279 It's not found in checking off the commandments. 00:20:26.619 --> 00:20:28.940 It's not found in convincing others that we're 00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:34.380 good people. It is only saying, I belong to Christ. 00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:38.099 The one who did fulfill the law. The one who 00:20:38.099 --> 00:20:41.980 did bear the condemnation. The one who did rise 00:20:41.980 --> 00:20:45.880 again and bring us with Him. The one to whom 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:48.900 we belong. So you don't need to spend your life 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:50.579 trying to prove that you have a seat at that 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:52.920 table and that the cookies are good enough to 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.160 be let in. Christ already prepared the place. 00:20:57.140 --> 00:21:01.599 So listen to His Word. Walk by His Spirit. Become 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:03.900 more and more like the one who has already called 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:06.619 you his own, because being a Christian is not 00:21:06.619 --> 00:21:10.079 about being good enough yourself. It is about 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:13.980 belonging to the one who is good, and then living 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:17.299 the new life that Christ has then given to you. 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:21.299 Because the law tells us what we are in sin, 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:27.279 but Christ tells us who we are in Him. In the 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:29.640 name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:21:30.230 --> 00:21:39.529 Amen. Please rise for prayer. Lord God, as we 00:21:39.529 --> 00:21:42.170 come to you today, we know that there are so 00:21:42.170 --> 00:21:44.930 many times whenever we are constantly struggling, 00:21:45.650 --> 00:21:47.829 and Lord, the times whenever we do not know where 00:21:47.829 --> 00:21:50.450 to turn. We ask you, Lord God, that we would 00:21:50.450 --> 00:21:53.920 not spend the time asking, how is it that that 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:57.420 I am the one to fix all these things, but rather, 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:00.400 Lord God, that we would say, I trust You, and 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.559 Lord, would You lead me each and every day, even 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:05.759 at the times I know I will not do it perfectly, 00:22:06.460 --> 00:22:09.559 but I will still try because of love and gratitude. 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:13.950 Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Lord God, 00:22:14.269 --> 00:22:16.309 we ask that you would bless those who are currently 00:22:16.309 --> 00:22:19.109 in need, especially for Carol Osborne, who has 00:22:19.109 --> 00:22:22.650 been in care in the hospital. Lord God, for Reverend 00:22:22.650 --> 00:22:26.089 Fleischhauer, who has gone through smoke inhalation. 00:22:26.309 --> 00:22:28.849 Lord God, that Don's father would be cared for, 00:22:29.029 --> 00:22:31.829 and that he'd be able to recover, Lord. Lord 00:22:31.829 --> 00:22:36.069 God, for Pastor Pete's son, Nathan, as he has 00:22:36.069 --> 00:22:38.759 been going through various heart issues. And 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:40.359 Lord God, for those who have been struggling 00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:43.900 with cancer, especially for Sharon and for Stephanie, 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:46.119 and Lord God, that their treatments would be 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:49.359 successful and would go well. Lord, in your mercy, 00:22:49.859 --> 00:22:52.440 hear our prayer. And Lord God, for those throughout 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:55.119 the world who struggle in various ways, Lord 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:57.240 God, you know all the things that Venezuela has 00:22:57.240 --> 00:22:59.740 been going through. Lord God, there is so much 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.240 that has been brought heartache, but Lord God, 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:04.460 especially now in the midst of these earthquakes, 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:08.410 Lord God, we pray for those who are recovering, 00:23:09.130 --> 00:23:11.829 those who have yet to be known that they have 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:14.369 survived, that if there would be anyone left 00:23:14.369 --> 00:23:17.049 that they would be found, Lord God, for those 00:23:17.049 --> 00:23:20.369 who are mourning the losses, that you would comfort 00:23:20.369 --> 00:23:23.029 them and that you would provide resources and 00:23:23.029 --> 00:23:25.349 support as they go through the task of rebuilding. 00:23:26.109 --> 00:23:29.369 Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. And Lord 00:23:29.369 --> 00:23:32.410 God, as we prepare to celebrate the celebration 00:23:32.410 --> 00:23:35.579 of our own country, We ask you, Lord God, that 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:38.359 we would do so not as those who claim to have 00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:40.680 done everything right, but Lord God, as those 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:42.859 who are grateful for this place in which we live, 00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:45.299 and that Lord God, that we can look toward all 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:48.420 the things that we aspire to, and that we would 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:51.579 still try harder tomorrow and the day after to 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:54.259 live those out. For this and for all the things 00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:56.880 that you have led us and shown us, Lord God, 00:23:56.920 --> 00:23:59.519 for so many things by your word, we thank you 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:01.460 and trust you even as you've taught us how to 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:04.900 pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:08.640 be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:11.920 on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:15.059 our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:18.220 as we forgive those who trespass against us, 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:21.279 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:24.339 us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:27.720 power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:30.869 You may be seated. At this time, we bring our 00:24:30.869 --> 00:24:33.910 offerings onto the Lord. The cards that are in 00:24:33.910 --> 00:24:36.150 front of you, make sure that it has your email 00:24:36.150 --> 00:24:38.170 and phone number so that I can reach out and 00:24:38.170 --> 00:24:41.009 get to know you. Sometimes these things fall 00:24:41.009 --> 00:24:44.410 through the cracks. Do it again. We're just happy 00:24:44.410 --> 00:24:46.910 to make sure that we can reach out to you. And 00:24:46.910 --> 00:24:50.509 however that you feel called to, if you feel 00:24:50.509 --> 00:24:53.190 called to partner with us in this ministry, we 00:24:53.190 --> 00:24:55.910 thank you and we appreciate the opportunity to 00:24:55.910 --> 00:24:58.450 serve the Lord alongside you. With that, we bring 00:24:58.450 --> 00:25:00.150 our offerings onto the Lord.