45 Preaching/Teaching Romans 3
Notes
Transcript
Hell's Best kept secret
EOS-No one is right before God (religious our irreligious people). The only hope any of us have is Jesus Christ.
EOS-We must embrace the Law "Hell's best Secret" Because
DDS- I want us to see the Law freshly and know that we can use it in such a way that it will bring people closer to Jesus.
Intro:
Last week, we saw that creation reveals the creator and how beautiful he is. This week, we are going to look at Hell's Best-Kept secret.
Can anyone name this movie, "Say Hello to my little friend!"
When I was growing up, my friend used to quote Scarface, now I have never seen Scarface, so I looked at this scene for the first time in my life, and honestly, it was a little different than I thought it would be.
Today, I want to introduce us to God's Law, the Ten Commandments. Now, I know a lot of you are like, "Nate, I know about the Ten Commandments. I have grown up in church my whole life. You can quote them." Others of you are like, "What is he talking about?" I mean, you don't even know what I am talking about.
But whether you have never heard of them or know them by heart, I want us to see them again.
How do you view God's Law? There are a lot of laws, but how do you view them?
Did you know that God's Law is Hell's best-kept secret?
Just like Scarface, when used wrong, it can do a lot of damage and even confuse people. But when used right, it will magnify Jesus and draw us and others to Christ.
Time at UCA-
Street preachers would sit out there and yell. Now this was actually a really good time in ministry because people who would never be willing to engage in a conversation about Jesus would be more open to it. But haven't we either seen people who do this or at least heard about.
Or we can even do this in a smaller way when we judge other people in such a way that they feel condemned not because of God's word but because we guilt them.
Here is how beautiful the Law of God is when we use it right.
The Psalmist says it is Psalm 19:10
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Today I truly think that Satan himself does not want us to view his Law in a fresh new way.
He knows that if we view this like God wants us to that we will be closer to God and we will lead others closer to God.
Today I want us to look at the Law in a fresh new way.
Have RAY COMFORT VIDEO here????
1. We must embrace the Law "Hell's best Secret" Because
1. We must embrace the Law "Hell's best Secret" Because
It reveals the perfections of God (1-8).
It reveals the perfections of God (1-8).
Have you ever really thought just how big God is.
And if God is great and perfect, would his law not be great and perfect as well.
The people of God cannot even mess up the Law of God
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?
Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism. Would that not be an awesome heritage if you were Jewish? Jews wrote the Bible. Jesus is the promised Messiah.
The past is connected to the present, but it doesn't guarantee its continuation. One of my seminary professors said the problem with the Puritans is that God does not have grand children.
What does this mean? It means just because I am a Christian does not guarantee that my kids will be Christians.
What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?
May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written,
“That You may be justified in Your words,
And prevail when You are judged.”
Israel's history could be better. Now, there are some great moments but think about this. God told the Israelites I have some land for you in one of those great moments. This story is in the Old Testament. There were 12 spies; now check this out: 10 of the spies said we will not go over and take the land because there are giants and mean people over there. But two said this: Numbers 13:30. My point in telling this story is because even in this great moment, only two of them were willing to trust God and walk by faith.
Israel has a checkered history.
The Law is what shows us we are unrighteousness
But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)
May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?
But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?
And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.
The Jewish people try to follow the Law, but because it is so perfect no one can. Now some can make it look like they follow it better. But you know what the standard is. Absolute perfection.
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
But those who do not even know what the law is even know some of the law. If someone does bad they know that it is bad.
Even if I do not follow any religion and I go and randomly start doing really bad stuff I generally know it’s bad.
God does not bend the Law. He does not change the Law, and if we fail to keep it, it does not make God small. It makes him bigger because he is perfect, and his Law is also perfect.
If you are a believer, there is nothing you can do to shrink the Law of God!
Isn't this freeing?
Application
Three things:
Revelations Cannot save we saw this last week
The Law cannot save, it shows us how much we fall short of God’s great standard no matter who we are.
2. We must embrace the Law "Hell's best Secret" Because
2. We must embrace the Law "Hell's best Secret" Because
It reveals everyone's greatest problem (Spiritual Cancer) (9-20).
It reveals everyone's greatest problem (Spiritual Cancer) (9-20).
Now, if your friend had cancer and you knew the person who could cure it, would you be loving or unloving not to tell that person?
You would be unloving.
Story about when we moved down here and I could not buy Aiden a 20 birthday cake. We were living off the same amount of money that we were living on in Paris TX. I am a positive person I don’t like to deal with conflict, but when I could not buy that cake I knew there was a problem. I sat down with Drew. Drew thought he figured it out, he did not put my mortgage.
PAUL is making it crystal clear that this problem is serious.
Sin- A lack of conformity to the glory of God (Def),
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
Houston we have a problem
v.9-We all have a problem, it does not matter if you are religious or not, we have a sin problem that no one can do anything about, except 1.
10-18-Man is totally depraved
It means that we are hopeless and helpless to do anything to make us right with God.
Here is the description Paul uses about man.
as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
“Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Now, what does that mean? It does not mean that every person is Hitler.
It means that we are hopeless and helpless to do anything to make us right with God.
Repeat what I just said about total depravity. We are hopeless in doing anything that will make us right with God.
another definition of sin
missing the mark-
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;
19-The Law shows us that we are all guilty. What it really shows us is that we are all sinners.
Back to God, a speeding Ticket
because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Example: A Scale
The Law is like a scale-It will tell you what you weigh, but it won't take the weight off.
But when we realize there is nothing we can do to make us right with God, we are finally ready to get right with God.
Application:
Do you realize how desperate you are before God?
Do you really realize you are hopeless and helpless without intervention?
Do you realize those around you are hopeless and helpless without intervention.
3. We must embrace the Law "Hell's best Secret" Because
3. We must embrace the Law "Hell's best Secret" Because
It reveals the only one who can cure our spiritual cancer (21-26).
It reveals the only one who can cure our spiritual cancer (21-26).
These last couple of weeks we have seen the problem and talked about the problem in detail.
It is incredible if you are a follower of Jesus, we actually know who can cure this eternal problem.
But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
21-This is a good BUT- We are in bad shape BUT. As we said earlier, God's plan was put into place way before Jesus came.
When it is talking about
Genesis tells us in chapter 3 that someone would come and defeat Satan once and for all.
Genesis 49:8-10
He made this promise thousands of years before anyone was even thinking about Jesus at the beginning of time. I could walk you through or show you resources that show you how miraculous many prophecies there were about Jesus and the stats of them coming true. It is a mathematical impossibility.
22-Being made right with God
even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23-Reminder of the Problem
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24-26-Why Jesus is the solution
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Grace
Penalty and Sacrifice
blood
Ray comfort illustration of an airplane and parachute
Introduction
Talk about moving down here and how we were in trouble
I am an eternal optimist
Heather's best friend was down here, I could not even charge a cake on our credit card for Aiden's birthday.
Reality set in
We have:
Religious people-Jews
Unreligious people-Gentiles
The law-Point is to show people their sinfulness
Jesus shedding of blood is what makes all people right even int times past
Illustration:
Do we want a ray comfort video clip
Conclusion
I had to deal with this reality-I met up with Drew
Drew did my budget and he said if you eat Ramen for a year you can beat this, but then I said you forgot to put our house payment on there.
