Podcasts about against god

The Book of Jonah illustrates the contrast between doing things “our way” vs. “God's Way.” We can run FROM God, TO God, WITH God or AGAINST God. Jonah had a choice and so do we! -----Official WebsiteInstagramTwitterFacebook

ON JANUARY 12 - Humanity's City, (Genesis 3:1-4:24) with Patrick Edwards, Ph.D.  HERE'S THE DEAL: Where did things go  wrong? How did we get here if the world God made was good and did what  He created it to do? Something clearly went wrong. Against God's good  design for the world human beings tried to devise their own plans and  with that broke God's good world. But even their rebellion couldn't stop  God as His grace is greater than all our sin.

Pastor Levi, Pastor Travis, and Lisa talk about David's sin against God from Psalm 51, including: David's scandalous affair, appealing to God's love, sinning Against God. This is an episode of Pearls & Swine on the Evangel Houghton Podcast from Evangel Community Church, Houghton, Michigan, July 17, 2024.

Science is a gift from God, so why does it often seem to turn AGAINST God? Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro continue to read Henri de Lubac's “The Drama of Atheist Humanism.” The post Episode 20 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Science is a gift from God, so why does it often seem to turn AGAINST God?Support the show

A Bible devotional study about the difference between idolatry in times past, and how it is manifest today. Do we understand what God desires of us here?Colossians 3:5-6 KJVMortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:---If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: BibleQuestions@ASBzone.comRelated Podcasts:God's Promises to me are sureWhy Do We Seek Wisdom?Having the Right PerspectiveSupport the show------During many of our podcasts, you will hear us make reference to “The Key Principles of Effective Bible Study,” a document which outlines core concepts shown in the scriptures that will help you better understand many Biblical themes and doctrines. We have done a whole podcast series on these principles which can be found here (https://BibleStudy.ASBzone.com/357512/8572886).Lastly, we recommend that you check out https://TrueWisdom.buzzsprout.com for additional Bible Study podcasts, covering many different Bible topics, and done in a slightly different format from the podcasts on this channel.We pray that all of these resources will be very helpful to you in your Bible Studies.

Is our nation generally WITH God or AGAINST God? Watch or listen to find out more!

Hari Minggu adalah simbol yang sangat penting, mengungkapkan kelicikan & tipu daya naga yang luar biasa. Ini mengubah hukum Allah, ini mengungkapkan inti dari kebencian naga terhadap Allah dalam konflik alam semesta, merebut penyembahan kepada Tuhan.

Hari Minggu adalah simbol yang sangat penting, mengungkapkan kelicikan & tipu daya naga yang luar biasa. Ini mengubah hukum Allah, ini mengungkapkan inti dari kebencian naga terhadap Allah dalam konflik alam semesta, merebut penyembahan kepada Tuhan.

Two Catholics (Dry Apologist & John Buck) and two atheists (Emerson Green & Chris Rhodes) talk about lesser-known arguments for theism and against theism. Chris joins us a little later, but he makes it in time to rack up several casualties on the battlefield of ideas. Originally hosted on Dry Apologist's channel. 00:00 Introduction 04:00 Evidential … Continue reading Unknown Arguments For & Against God →

“Forgiveness, Episode 12: Against God.” Ultimately, all the wrong things we do are against God.

The post When Everyone Else is Against God – Psalm 3 – Pastor Joe appeared first on Calvary Bible Church - Wrightsville, PA.

The last few weeks we have been looking at hope. It is vitally important in the life of a believer. Hope is the anchor for our soul. Sometimes what we place our hope in can be the difference between enduring or being lost. Many put their hope in their savings, investments, wealth, military, defences or might. Many times in all history the thing that people put their hope in has come crashing down. Think about the walls of Jericho. They had their hopes in their high, impenetrable walls. Against God, they were rubble. Egypt had all its hopes in its military might. It was the superpower of the day. Against God, they were washed up, literally. Those who had their hope in their wealth have seen many stock market crashes over the years. The 1929 crash, which brought on the Great Depression lasted 10 years and saw many people broken, more than just financially. Where do we place our hope? We should place our hope in God. See, where we place our hope is paramount. It is key whether we suffer loss or stand on the Rock, unmoveable. The heroes of the faith placed their hope in God. They trusted Him to see them through some difficult situations. Many times what they faced seemed hopeless except for God coming through for them. Has God come through for you in your life? Listen today to be encouraged by the life of David.

 But those who keep on sinning are against God, for every sin is done against the will of God.  And you know that he became a man so that he could take away our sins, and that there is no sin in him, no missing of God's will at any time in any way.  So if we stay close to him, obedient to him, we won't be sinning either; but as for those who keep on sinning, they should realize this: They sin because they have never really known him or become his. I John3:4-6 (New Living Translation)When we stay close to God we can live a life that is pleasing to Him.

We each have ultimate control of our destiny. God has given us that gift through His son Jesus Christ. So how do we seize control and end up on the right path? Listen as Julie Jenkins unfolds this important teaching from Matthew 15:1-20 and Mark 7:1-23. ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders' podcast. I'm you host, Julie Jenkins. I'm so happy you have joined us today as we study scripture together. If you are new to our podcast, besides this, our Wednesday Bible teaching, we have two other weekly offerings for you. On Mondays, Kimberly Hobbs hosts Empowering Lives with Purpose – a 30-minute interview with a different woman of faith who boldly shares her story with the hope of empowering you to live as God has called you.  And on Fridays, we have a team of leaders who share their wisdom and joy from a life spent in pursuit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Celebrating God's Grace. If you are new to Women World Leaders' ministry, our podcast is just a small part of what we do. We also offer prayer for the ups and downs of life, support through social media, fellowship through events, growth through daily devotions, empowerment through leadership development, encouragement through Voice of Truth – our free quarterly magazine, and creative growth and healing through coaching and writing. At Women World Leaders we offer a place to be served and to serve others. We believe that all Christians make up the body of Christ, and together, we can do what God has called us to today. We walk in faith knowing that God will guide us into projects of His creating and bring us the people He has called to grow together as we take on those projects. If you would like to join us, we would love to have you – and we know that God has a place waiting just for you. We are a 501c3 ministry, and as such we are sustained by donations from all over the world. If you would like to find out more about Women World Leaders or to help support the ministry financially, please visit womenworldleaders.com But, before you do, you have something more important to do than going to a website. God has called you to this podcast for a purpose. There is something He wants to teach you – so please don't put Him off. Allow me to pray before we begin that He will guide our learning… Dear Most Holy God…we give you this time and we thank you for walking with us as we open the Bible together. Father, we know that every time we open the Bible you have something more to reveal to us, and today is no exception. You have called us together for this time because there is something you want us to know – so I ask that you allow our hearts to be teachable. Holy Spirit, cleanse us of any sin and of any strongholds or beliefs that are not from you, shine a light on YOUR meaning, and let us each leave this teaching with the clarity that we have heard directly from you. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.   We are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John chronologically. As we view Jesus' words, actions, and life, we are asking God to show us what He wants us to learn today. Today's teaching comes from Matthew chapter 15, verses 1-20 and Mark, chapter 7, verses 1-23. When we see Jesus in today's passage, He is in the throes of ministry. He has gathered His disciples, and as they travel together, He teaches the crowds, the twelve disciples themselves, and groups or individuals that He encounters. We've seen people amazed and awed by His teaching, and we've seen them turn away. In today's passage, we see the Pharisees and the teachers of the law band together to come against Jesus as they travel to Him from their home base in Jerusalem. They are on a mission to discredit Jesus. But what they accuse Him of this time, might make us scratch our heads. Let's begin with Matthew 15:1 from the New Living Translation. 15 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” Unlike during covid times – the lack of handwashing that they were complaining about had nothing to do with hygiene. Mark chapter 7 verses 3 and 4 explains a little more in depth… 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands,[a] as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don't eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands[b] in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.[c]) To give you some background, the Israelites were God's holy people, and were set apart for purity. The problem was, they couldn't be pure of their own volition any more than you and I can. So they set about making rules, or traditions, and these ideas became more and more entrenched in society. In Exodus, we can read God's law, which included water purification for the priests before they offered a sacrifice in the temple. It is VERY clearly laid out. But the religious rulers extended these teachings saying that any time any Jew ate, they needed to follow the ritualistic hand washing that was, by God's law, given for only the priest to follow. This was just one of MANY man-created rules that the religious leaders enforced, and, for the most part, the Jews followed without question. In that time, it was considered the teacher's responsibility to make sure his disciples were doing the right thing, so the Pharisees accused Jesus on account of the disciples' actions – or inactions in this case. They didn't pour water over their hands before they ate. But Jesus KNEW the law. And what's more, He knew the difference between God's law and man-made law, and He knew which one was more important. So He used this as a teaching moment for all those listening, saying in Matthew 15:3 “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the DIRECT commandments of GOD? That question must have caused a stir. Jesus called out the leaders for violating God's commandments. And before there was an uprising, He explained further…  4 For instance, GOD says, ‘Honor your father and mother,'[a] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.'[b] 5 But YOU say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.' 6 In this way, YOU say they don't NEED to honor their parents.[c] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. Jesus was referring to a well-know practice of formally vowing one's wealth for spiritual purposes alone. When an individual made this vow, his money would be dedicated to the temple, and he would no longer be bound by the fifth commandment – Honor your father and mother – which carried with it the responsibility to care for one's aging parents. So the individual could neglect God's commandment in lieu of a man-made vow, and in fact, would be, according to the religious leaders, bound to that man-made vow OVER God's commandment. This is an example of living life by the standards of the world instead of by God's standards. Of mindlessly bowing to human authority over godly authority. Of crying innocence due to ignorance of the law. I can remember studying for my drivers test MANY years ago, and asking my mom, what if I get stopped for breaking a law and just say I didn't know it was a law? She quickly and forcefully responded that if I was going to drive, it was my responsibility to know the law. You cannot claim innocence due to ignorance of the law when it comes to driving, or when it comes to God's laws. It is OUR responsibility to know God's laws. We do that by reading the Bible for OURSELVES and asking God to reveal His teaching to us. Going to a Bible-teaching church is important, listening to sermons and podcasts is helpful, but we each must control our own destiny by going to God ourselves. By going to the Bible ourselves. And by not taking someone else's word about what God teaches. Our God is personal! He wants to speak directly to YOU. He made sure that the Bible was written in YOUR language. He gave you wisdom and the ability to think, reason, understand, and choose which path you will follow. God wants YOU to choose YOUR destiny. Oh, He has a path for you to follow. One that's better than you or I could dream up. But He wants us to choose the path that HE has for us, not the path that any pastor, teacher, mentor, or best-selling author tells you to take. Many of the Jews were obediently washing their hands, and many were obediently pledging their money to the temple while neglecting God's TRUE law of taking care of their parents. Our job is to know and follow God's true law. Jesus continues emphatically in verse 7, evoking the law and the prophets…  7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,     but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship is a farce,     for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.'[d]”   Mark 7:8-9 puts it bluntly… 8 For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition.” …“You skillfully sidestep God's law in order to hold on to your own tradition.  This was such an important point, that Jesus moves from speaking to the pharisees and addresses the crowd, Matthew 15:10… 10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Those man-made laws that required handwashing also regulated what could and could not be eaten. Jesus was teaching that God's ways overrule man's ways…and He was teaching the people to think for themselves. He wanted them to understand that what we say and how we act, the attitude of our hearts, is far more important than following the regulations of eating given to us by someone who is not even following God's leading. I think this was a pointed attack at the religious leaders as nothing but nonsense was coming out of their mouths and their allegiance was clearly to their own self-made rules and regulations and not to God. I'm thinking the Pharisees must have reacted visibly, because next we see the disciples caution Jesus. But Jesus was fully aware of the Pharisee's response, and He did not shy away from speaking truth to them…verse 12… 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” 13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Jesus wants us to open our eyes, and to be careful to not allow ourselves to be led by those whose eyes are closed. Next, PETER asks for further explanation, and Jesus turns to Peter…to the one…because Jesus will ALWAYS answer every individual directly…and responds…  “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. This is about as direct as I've ever heard Jesus speak! Even so-called holy food becomes waste. God has more important fish to fry. He cares that our hearts are pure! Not that we follow some man-made law…especially not one that goes AGAINST God's own law and desire! …verse 18…  18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that's what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” First, the pharisees approached Jesus about hand washing. Jesus discussed honoring your parents, and now He is talking about what we eat verses what comes out of our heart. The common thread is that Jesus is extoling the fact that God's laws, God's desires, will always trump man-made laws. We, as Christians, are always to put God first. And to put God first, we have to know what He says. The Jewish leaders had made laws about washing, and working, and giving, and eating…there isn't much they didn't make laws about. They were trying to build their staircase to heaven – one law at a time. And should an individual miss a single step, they would fall headfirst into the abyss. But Jesus is teaching that ONLY God can show us the way to the kingdom. God's way is to have our hearts right. And how do we have our hearts right? By entering into a relationship with Jesus Himself. When we do, we will feel the pull of the Holy Spirit and we will understand where He is calling us to walk and what He is calling us to do. We CAN control our own destiny, by giving God the reins of our life instead of blindly following someone else, who may be leading us in the complete wrong direction. Dear Most Holy God – YOU know the way. Open our eyes that we might follow you. Give us a will to open your Word daily so that we will never be ignorant of what you want us to know. Give us the desire to meet with you individually. Give us the wisdom to listen for your voice in all that we do. Help us always remember that Your heart is for the one, and that you love us each as if no one else exists in the world. God, we claim control of our destiny by giving the reins of our life to only you, and never placing them in the hands of a someone who may be leading us blindly. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

48, 5-8, SHOW  NOTES & COPYRIGHTS,  (Scheduled 3/18/2022) Today's poems are all from Living in God's Rhyme.  They can be found starting on page 21 and going through page 30.  I thought it best to read the reflection for the first poem before reading the poem.  It might help us through the reading, discussion and as I read it, understanding what was going through my mind as I was writing. Reflection on Thoughts from the Index Card Box Sometimes I have a good day at work. Today was one of those because I had an idea for today's write. A few years ago I started to write down notes on index cards of Bible verses or thoughts I had while reading. They have sat for a few years not collecting dust because they have been stored in a box. I have found that things stored in my brain get lost. So this idea came to me (you figure out from where) to put a few of the notes into one poem. This is the result of safe storage and God's answer to prayer. TOUGHTS FROM THE INDEX CARD BOX “Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.   If anyone hears my voice and opens the door  I will come out and eat with that person,  and they with me.”   Rev 4:19 (NIV) Jesus, he is here, Here, there and everywhere. We do not always see him Because we have shut the door. So he knocks and calls our name So we may hear his voice and open the door. He seeks us out As in our lives we move about, Here, there, There and everywhere. It is the door to our heart That he wants to enter through So we may have a new start To the lives we are living through. We will sit at his table And be more than able To do more than before We opened the door. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law  by becoming a curse for us.  Gal 3:13 (NIV) His creation falling, sinning  Against God and his Law, Commandments we would not keep. Only occasionally forgiveness did we seek. But God so loved us,  So wanted us to be with him, That he sent his Son Jesus, To be sacrificed for our sin. Accepting and believing  In the final atonement, His sacrifice on the cross Redeems us from our loss. God cursed himself Through his Godly Son, A curse we deserved But now “it is done.” “For my Father's will is that everyone that  looks to the Son and believes in him shall  have eternal life, and I will raise them up  on the last day.”  John  6:40 (NIV) Raised up on the last day, For what more could we pray. But for now on this earth we stay Merely earthen vessels of clay. But through God's grace And our undying faith These earthen vessels of clay Will be made anew one day. We have been made righteous in his sight, Redeemed in his eyes, Our sins forgiven, And through our love for him  We will live in his glory. Starting with the Christmas story We are now with God made right. “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them,  I do not judge that person.  For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.   There is a judge for the one that rejects me and does not  accept my words; the very words that I have spoken  will condemn them at the last day.”  John 12: 47-48 Do we worry when we're in no hurry? As we live our lives do we give Even a thought to what we ought To be praying instead of saying? He's knocking at the door, Open it before it is too late. There is so very much more If you consider your fate. And we who will not be rejected Must spread the word So that those living dejected Will hear God's saving Word. “To the person who is victorious I will give them  the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I  was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”  ...

They are the stuff of sci-fi horror films and mystery documentaries - extraterrestrial life, just waiting to be discovered. Some have speculated we've already made contact, while others theorize they could be the source of our own existence. But what should the Christian believe about life beyond our planet?Ciara and Jessi take a trip into the cosmos to explore the possibility that life exists into the reaches of our universe, using scripture as the guide.  Is it always a battle between science and faith, or is it possible they aren't as mutually exclusive as they seem?Show Notes:UFO Gallup Poll https://news.gallup.com/poll/266441/americans-skeptical-ufos-say-government-knows.aspxRolling Stone: Demi Lovato and aliens https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/demi-lovato-becky-g-aliens-1256457/Rolling Stone: Tom Delonge's UFO research https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tom-delonge-ufo-research-931845/Wall Street Journal: Eric Metaxas article on the odds of life on other planets https://www.wsj.com/articles/eric-metaxas-science-increasingly-makes-the-case-for-god-1419544568PragerU: Does Science Argue For or Against God? https://youtu.be/UjGPHF5A6PoSETI: Drake Equation https://www.seti.org/drake-equation-index

As a Christian, we never want to be in a situation where we end up fighting against God. Yet, we may end up in this position more often than we'd expect. To fight FOR God is to stand for His principles, His Plan and His purposes as outlined in Scripture. This sounds simple, but it really isn't. We find ourselves fighting against Him when we are misinformed or misguided and we take a stand for something that is less than godly. Sometimes we mistakenly or purposefully misrepresent God's word or focus on motivation that is less than spiritually pure. It is easy to look at our thoughts and preferences and interpret them as “God's will” for us and then pursue them with confidence. So, how do we know if we are really on God's side or someone else's in these circumstances? Are we or aren't we? To determine if we are fighting against God is not as easy as you might think. Loving God does not automatically make us lifetime members of the "I fight for God Club."  This dilemma is aptly displayed in what we know about the life of the Old Testament prophet Jonah. Jonah was a mouthpiece of God.  He was chosen to bring God's messages to the people and to bring them in line with the Creator's righteous ways. Jonah was told by God (notice he was told, not asked) to preach to the city of Nineveh about their sinful ways. The end result was that Jonah DID preach but he did NOT want to.  Jonah fought for God in his mission but fought against God in his heart. It is sooooo subtle As odd as this sounds, this is a common challenge, as fighting against God can happen in a variety of different ways. The Bible gives us examples of the creative subtlety we as humans use to appear as spiritually-minded when we are actually going in a different direction. One example of this creative subtlety has to do with identifying and calling out legitimate issues. We can observe someone being wrong or unjust while working in God's service. We might react to this with focus and indignation.  Perhaps we present evidence to show how it is fighting against God, and we would be right. We can and should demand change. The subtlety begins here, as the change we demand fits our personal agenda and not a higher godly agenda. We initially stood for God, only to fight against Him in our proposed solution to the problem. Check out our November 15, 2021 podcast, “Am I Fighting For or Against God?” for more. We look at several biblical examples of how we can end up fighting against God, even when we don't mean to. Identifying when and how we fight against God is one thing, but searching out ways to prevent it is another. Join us for some very practical scriptural tactics that can help us overcome our broken, human approach to godliness. Let's fight the right fight!

Are you fighting Against God? Are you aware of the consequences, or missed blessings? Please have a listen as we discuss.If you found this episode to be biblically true, please share it with one person.My Email: TheChristianStrength@gmail.comThe Christian Strength : 5 Minutes and Coffee is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.Topic: Bible Study: Love Thy Self or Thy neighbor?Time: Nov 18, 2021 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom MeetingMeeting ID: 850 3359 8565Passcode: GZ86zK-Support The Show-5 Minutes & Coffee ApparelBecome A Patreon Make a One Time DonationSupport the show (https://paypal.me/TheChristianStrength?locale.x=en_US)

Week three of our series focuses on the third commandment. Against God's instruction we often use God's name to justify our personal agenda and increase our own credibility. Instead we need to be someone who doesn't need to justify your actions in an effort to prop up your reputation.

It is hard to conceive of a Christian working AGAINST God rather than FOR Him. It is even harder to conceive of an apostle doing that. Today's sermon from Acts 10-23-11-18 shows how Peter avoided that and obeyed God-and how we can too.

It is hard to conceive of a Christian working AGAINST God rather than FOR Him. It is even harder to conceive of an apostle doing that. Today's sermon from Acts 10-23-11-18 shows how Peter avoided that and obeyed God-and how we can too.

Whether it's atheism, Islam, or those who think reality is all a dream, every belief system tries to answer 5 important questions about life. This episode digs into each question, and how those questions can help us understand people and share the gospel.   #1 Why is there something instead of nothing? #2 How can we know what's true? #3 What's our purpose? #4 What is right and wrong? #5 What happens when we die?   One-time support:  PayPal or Venmo Monthly support: www.Patreon.com/OnwardintheFaith   Articles and episodes I mentioned: Why an eternal universe doesn't work (scroll down to "The impossibility of eternity) Proving that things don't create themselves   Listen to some more episodes: Why a Biblical Worldview Is Necessary for Christians Arguments For (and Against) God's Existence Is Science Evil? How to Know God's Will for Your Life   You can find this episode's original article here. Scripture used: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Teamwork by Scott Holmes is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Hi yall! In this episode Tori and I talk about how things are either FOR God or AGAINST God. Each decision we make either points to Jesus, or points away from Him. Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themastersfamOur Instagrams: Tori's- https://www.instagram.com/torimasters/Chad's- https://www.instagram.com/chadmasters/Podcast- https://www.instagram.com/themessymasterpiecepodcast/

AGAINST GOD?

Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on February 14th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH. Outline: I. We must recognize our SIN. (1-3) A. Take PERSONAL responsibility for it. (1-3) Key word: "MY" B. CONFESS it. (Prov. 28:13; Psalm 32:1-5) II. We must recognize that our sin is AGAINST God. (4-6; II Sam. 12:13) A. See sin as GOD sees it. (II Sam. 12:9) B. See the JUSTICE in God's punishment. (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 6:23) *We do not want God to treat us FAIR! (Psalm 103:10) III. We must recognize God's GRACE. (1-2, 7, 9-10, 14) A. The GREATNESS of grace. B. The CLEANSING of grace. (Titus 3:3-7) C. The RESPONSE to grace. (15-17) 1. A REPENTANT heart. (17) 2. A praising MOUTH. (15) IV. We must recognize the RESULT of God's cleansing. (8, 10, 13, 15, 18) A. NEWNESS. (10; Acts 2:38) B. JOY. (8; 12) C. USEFULNESS. (13, 19) *God specializes in NEW BEGINNINGS.

Key Truth: Following Jesus will cost you everything, but it's worth it. Click HERE to Download Sermon Notes

Charles Swindoll wrote, “Seek the truths you most fear to find; they hold the greatest promise of freedom and the gravest threat of destruction.”Click HERE to download Sermon Notes

Chapter Twenty One Martin was a priest of the old school, which meant that for him – as for millions of men, women and children across Germany – that God was alive.God was alive, and God was everywhere. Hell was as real as a car crash; heaven as possible as a good night's sleep. And not just God in the abstract, but God as a vital Christian. God was not a crutch for times of crisis. God was not vaguely present at marriages and funerals. God was not something you dressed up and gossiped on the church steps for. God was not ‘what all religions basically worshipped.' The Muslims and Jews might share the Old Testament, but anyone who denied the divinity of Christ was wrong – sinfully wrong. Against God. A heathen. Going to hell.Now, this kind of faith had its last holdout in certain countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Germany was one. France was not. England, Spain and Italy were not.In Germany, God was the final arbiter. There was no room for doubt. Doubt was evil; it was the cloak of Satan before the sun of God. Germany was the home of the Reformation, the spark in the mind of Martin Luther which set Europe ablaze for a hundred years. Hundreds of thousands died in religious wars. And what of it? Saving souls was grim work. To save the soul at the expense of the body was a virtue. No moral man, no Christian, could stand by and watch his fellow men marching over the cliff of error into the fires of hell. Compassion demanded that error be corrected, before it spread, before it ate like a cancer into the souls of the undecided.Martin had been called to the priesthood early, when the fires of childish imagination were at their strongest. There was hatred, tension and terror in his heart. He hated the world, hated sin, hated the devil. He walked the tightrope of having a pure soul trapped in a fleshy case of sin, in a body which could be played by the devil like an infernal organ. He was terrified of hell.There was love in his heart as well. He loved God. He prayed and wept; his soul soared high as his tears fell. He loved his fellow man, and feared for the errors of their ways.Martin was not a humanist. He did not believe that there were many roads to salvation. God did not allow each man to pick his own path. There were endless paths to hell. There was but one path to heaven. The Protestant path.People were weak. That much was clear. People were weak, and the devil was patient and cunning. To set oneself against the devil was the highest calling of all.Martin had laid low all his doubts. Any which remained had long since left the light of day. He knew that he was capable of error, of misplaced sympathy and false compassion. His particular weakness was a desire to forgive where he knew that God would never forgive. This was true for women in particular. Women who came to him broken in mind and heart, weeping over tainted desires, infidelities, jealousies and thwarted hopes – his heart ached to wave their terrors and losses away. He always hesitated to cast their souls into the pit of despair – though he knew from his own experience that this pit was required for salvation. His own heart contracted agonizingly in the face of their pitiful requests for absolution, for the word from him which would save the remainder of their days.The words always came to him: ‘sister, be forgiven, and go in peace.' They rose in his throat like sugar, but turned to bile on his tongue. For he knew that they were not his to give. Forgiveness was only God's to give.And the rules were clear. The rules were clear.

Luke 1:57-1:80 | Ever tried? Ever failed? Admittedly, some of the gaffs that we can make are worse than others. But what about when we sin against someone? Against God? Are there really second chances to mend harms? The story of God's grace in the life of Zechariah, and his taking advantage of the second chance, teaches us that the answer is yes.

“How to find people who want to listen”, Acts 13.3-14 Introduction, vv3-5 1. Be Active in the Spirit's Mission, vv3-5 A. Partnership B. Proclaiming 2. Trust God to Connect You with People (who want to hear the Word), vv6-7 A. An unlikely introduction B. Who is God connecting you to? 3. Take Opportunities God Provides to Display His Power, vv8-12 A. To be expected B. Against God, not us C. God is more powerful Conclusion, vv13-14 We will find people who want to listen Thank you for listening to this podcast. You can find more episodes in our feed. Our web site is http://www.watfordchurchofchrist.org. Join us in our adventure: 10.30 AM on most Sundays at Laurance Haines School, Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 0DD. Please add your comments on this week's topic. We learn best when we learn in community. Do you have a question about the Bible or the Christian faith? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send us your questions or suggestions. Here's the email: thewatfordchurch@gmail.com. Thanks again for listening. Have a super day. God bless, Malcolm Watford, Watford church of Christ, Malcolm Cox, mccx, Croxley Green, Bushey, Leavesden, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, ICOC, ICCM, Chesham, Chorleywood, Aylesbury, Croxley, Laurance Haines School, Vicarage Road, Bible teaching, Sunday School, Youth Ministry, Watford Church, Churches in Watford, Churches in London, Churches in Hertfordshire, Watford UK, Holywell, Watford England, Watford in Hertfordshire, West Watford, Churches of Christ,

“How to find people who want to listen”, Acts 13.3-14  Introduction, vv3-5  1. Be Active in the Spirit’s Mission, vv3-5  A. Partnership  B. Proclaiming  2. Trust God to Connect You with People (who want to hear the Word), vv6-7  A. An unlikely introduction  B. Who is God connecting you to?  3. Take Opportunities God Provides to Display His Power, vv8-12  A. To be expected  B. Against God, not us  C. God is more powerful  Conclusion, vv13-14  We will find people who want to listen  Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org. If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org. Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review. “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11) God bless, Malcolm PS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, malcolm’s, cox,

In this message, Dave unpacks Jesus' statement on the cross: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?  In this moment, Jesus is not crying out AGAINST God, he's crying out TO him.  

After hearing a bunch of arguments FOR God's existence, it's important to understand what the other side has to offer in terms of arguments AGAINST God's existence. Most of the time, this boils down to the problem of evil, without a doubt one of the toughest questions for the Christian to answer. However, it is not without an answer, as Tim explains throughout this episode. The problem of evil seems fairly intimidating at first, but I think it can be answered fairly well through the use of the so-called “Free Will Defense.” Definitely something Tim and I can get behind! Thanks for listening and sharing the show. Be sure to join our private Facebook group at freethinkingministries.com/facebook and join in on some great conversations and Q&A's! Peace out nerds.

Scripture Passage Acts 5:34-42 {Transcript} The Christian Movement There were two big pillars of Jewish thought. These two schools actually govern the thought of Jewish people during Jesus’ time and before Jesus’ time and one was the school of Hillel and the other was the school of Shammai. The school of Hillel, was a more […] The post Against God appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Acts 5:34-42 {Transcript} The Christian Movement There were two big pillars of Jewish thought. These two schools actually govern the thought of Jewish people during Jesus’ time and before Jesus’ time and one was the school of Hillel and the other was the school of Shammai. The school of Hillel, was a more […] The post Against God appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

DUSTIN’ OFF THE DEGREE - The Adventist Millennium Iranian chess master removed from national team because she didn’t wear a headscarf https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/02/21/teenage-iranian-chess-master-banned-from-national-team-for-refusing-to-wear-a-headscarf/?utm_term=.b188aefce19c A West Virginia bill would make the Bible the official state book http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/02/21/west-virginia-legislators-introduce-a-bill-to-make-the-holy-bible-the-official-state-book/ Mississippi church may get it’s own police force http://abc3340.com/news/local/briarwood-presbyterian-church-seeks-lawmakers-approval-to-establish-police-force Religious groups have filed a friend of the court brief opposing trans Title IX protections http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673693/Utah-LDS-Church-join-friend-of-court-briefs-in-transgender-bathroom-case.html Trump revokes Obama guidelines on transgender bathrooms http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-lgbt-idUSKBN161243 Bryan Fischer says: Court Ruling Against Anti-Gay Florist Is A Modern-Day Kristallnacht http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/bryan-fischer-court-ruling-against-anti-gay-florist-is-a-modern-day-kristallnacht/ Pat Robertson: People Who Oppose Trump Are Revolting... Against God http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/pat-robertson-people-who-oppose-trump-are-revolting-against-god/ Texas State Representative Tom Oliverson is SICK OF IT! https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/22/lawmaker-chile-and-texas-don-t-share-a-flag-yall/ 140,000 families have been dropped from Australia's child care payments for not vaccinating their kids http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/02/18/14/17/more-than-140-000-families-cut-off-from-childcare-payments-under-no-jab-no-pay?app=applenews The Christian Retreat From Public Life https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/benedict-option/517290/ SUPPORTERS This episode is brought to you by: Dark Matter Sponsor - >US$35.00 * Travis Megee Nuclear Sponsor - US$20.00 - US$35.00 per month * Russ from the Kitsap Atheists & Agnostics * Darryl Goossen Platinum Sponsor - US$8.00 - US$19.00 per month * Michael Gold Sponsor - US$4.00 - US$7.00 per month * Rachel * Mark * Nate * Willow * Alice * Alfred * Henry * Alex * Jaded Zappa * LaTonya * Mike * Renee Davis-Pelt * The Flying Skeptic * Grant * Alan Bronze Sponsor - < US$4.00 per month * George * Duncan * Al * Frank * Heather * Archway Hosting provides full featured web hosting for a fraction of the cost of traditional shared hosting. You get all the benefits of shared hosting, without the sticker shock or extra fees. Check them out at archwayhosting.com. You can find us online at www.atheistnomads.com, follow us on Twitter @AtheistNomads, like us on Facebook, email us at contact@atheistnomads.com, and leave us a voice mail message at (541) 203-0666. Theme music is provided by Sturdy Fred.

Controversial things; Who can defend themselves; Zero tolerance gun-free zones; Simple, huge (effective) deterrent; Cognitive dissonance; Minimum wage "security" guards; % US households with guns today; Message to the world; # children dead past year/decade; Sell your coat; Right to bear/responsibility to bear; Against God and the children; In boats without life preservers; Allow competent teachers (and as for the rest,...); Anti-assault rifles; Able to see common sense working elsewhere; Private schools w/armed teachers; Gather with other home schoolers; Death trap zones; "Foolish and complacent"; Vacuums of self-defense; Gun control advocates who call 911; % of shooters on prescribed drugs; 3%. 67%.; Done abroad vs at "home"; Proven, failed policy; Stand, take the chance; Drug warning labels; Contributing to welfare of others; What Moses was able to say – as a given; Christ's system; "Unrighteous Mammon" and it's meaning; Discretionary charity; Being good vs feeling good; Time, money, energy; Fit to be under tyrants?; Time at hand; Systems which divide; "Washed from sins – in blood"; Dividing of the word (and the bread); "Kings and priests"; Access to set up such systems today?; To will, and to do; "The Church" and why established; A new song – available today; Who will say, "Amen"?; The record and the testimony; What the author meant; Walk a little bit in His way; (Job) description of "Kings"; THE offering of Priests.

I. God’s Law Attacked (verse 7) We are looking today at Romans 7:7-12, as we continue in our study of the Book of Romans. Before you came to church this morning, did you check in the mirror? I think many of you did as I'm looking out at you. Most of you, I would say, checked in the mirror and looked a good long time. Be sure that every hair was in place and that you're wearing your best clothes. And as you looked in the mirror you expected (I would hope) that the mirror would tell you the truth. I know that's getting harder and harder for some of you. You don't want to hear the truth as you look in the mirror or see the truth. I know I'm not looking the same as I did before. And we change all the time. We look in the mirror and when we look in the mirror, we want the mirror to tell us the truth, even that wicked queen in Snow White, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" She wanted the truth, but she didn't like the truth when it came back, you remember. Didn't want to hear about it that there was one now fairer than she. Of course, that wicked queen's beauty was only skin deep or there's nothing beautiful about her internally. But she wanted the truth. The Law Functions Like a Mirror... Showing Us Ourselves Spiritually But what would you think of somebody that went to the mirror and looked at it, studied themselves in the mirror, didn't like what the mirror was telling them and in a rage, pulled the mirror down off the wall and hurled it across the room? That's a vain individual. They don't want to know the truth. But you know it is true that James tells us the law of God is a perfect mirror. It tells us the truth, doesn't it? And as we gaze intently into that mirror, we see who we really are. Not who we imagine ourselves to be. But who we really are. Listen to the words of James, "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word, but does not do what it says, is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does." Do you hear what James calls the law? It's like a mirror. It's the perfect law that gives freedom. And as you stare into the law, you see the truth about who you really are. I was reading recently about a soldier in the imperial Japanese army who did not know 29 years after the war had ended that he was to lay down arms. I don't know if you've heard about this guy in the early 1970’s. He finally surrendered in 1974, 29 years after the war was over. Now, that's a soldier who's loyal to his last command from his commanding officer, at least that you can say. But the remarkable thing about this man is that he subsisted in the jungle for 29 years. And they did everything they could to get him out of the jungle, they coax him, and they brought some of his relatives from Japan to talk to him and to convince him that the war was over. He thought it was all a trick until his commanding officer came back and he was willing to meet with him to come out of the jungle. At a certain point, they would fly over in helicopters and use loud speakers and try to communicate with this guy. They didn't know where he was, just the general area of the Philippines. But when he heard the voice of his commanding officer, he was willing to meet with him and they met together and they took a photo of he and his officer, but then he still wasn't convinced and went back into the jungle. And they got the photo to him a few days later and he was amazed. He looked at the picture and he couldn't believe how much he looked like his uncles. He hadn't seen himself in 29 years. He hadn't looked at himself. He didn't know what he looked like. I think there are many Christians like that. They never look intently into the law to know who they really are. Instead, they would rather through defiant pride, hurl the mirror, if it tells them even the slightest truth about themselves. Sinners, apart from the grace of God, do not want to hear the truth from the law of God. And that's because sin deceives us and tells us that we are better than we really are and that we don't need a savior, and that really it isn't as bad as we thought it was. Sin hates the truth and seeks to hurl the mirror away. And that's what Paul is dealing with here in this section of Scripture. If you look at verse 7, he says, "What shall we say then, is the law sin?" He's dealing with the question of the law. Is there something wrong with the law? Paul Defends His Message And the reason he's bringing this up…It seems throughout his teaching, throughout the Book of Romans, that he's been undermining the written law of God, the Mosaic Law. "Thou shalt" and "thou shalt not," the whole law given by God through Moses. He says in Romans 2 that Jews are not justified simply because they possess God's law. Does not prove justification simply because they have God's law. He says in Romans 2:13, "It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." And he actually tells us further on in Romans 3:20 that no one will be declared righteous by observing the law rather through the law, we become conscious of sin. It is actually impossible to be justified by law. The law will not declare you not guilty on Judgment Day, rather it will do the opposite. He says in the next verse, in Romans 3:20-21, he says, "But now, our righteousness from God apart from law has been made known to which the law and the prophets testify this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ." And that's what we've been looking at. This gift of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law, not by our private obedience. But rather because of Jesus Christ's obedience to the law. We'll talk about that more later this morning. And he summarizes this in Romans 3:28, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith, apart from works of the law." Works of the law cannot justify you. You will not be able to stand before God on Judgment Day based on your law keeping. And then in Romans 4, he underscores this all the more by bringing out the father of the Jewish nation, Abraham. And he proves conclusively that Abraham was declared not guilty by God before he was circumcised. A good deal before he was circumcised. He was declared not guilty simply by believing God's promise. He looked up at the stars. God had him look up at the stars and he said "Look Abraham, do you see all the stars? If you can count them, so shall your offspring be," and Abraham looked at the stars. He just looked and he heard the promise. And he believed the promise. He believed God, and at that moment, it was credited to him as righteousness. That was the righteousness he received simply as a gift, not by law keeping. It was later he received circumcision, kind of the first moving of the law. And so, as he's been moving through Paul, it seems that he's been undercutting the law, not at all, but it seems that way. And he says in Romans 5:20-21 the law came in alongside. "The law was added so that the trespass might increase. Where sin increased however, grace increased all the more." So the law comes in and just has the effect of increasing sin. And he says in Romans 6:14, sin shall not be your master because you're not under law, but under grace. Last week we talked about how we as Christians, now that we have come into faith in Christ, we serve God in a whole new way don't we? We serve in the way of the Spirit, the new power of the Holy Spirit, not in the old way of the written code. So that brings us right up to the brink of the text we're looking at today. So he's got to deal with this question. Well, what about the law then? Is the law sin? Is there something wrong with the law? Maybe perhaps if God had written a better law it would've done a better job. Is there something wrong with the law? And that's what he's dealing with. And so, he has to give some clear teaching here in order to vindicate the law, and specifically to vindicate God's word, because was it not God who spoke the law? Did he not say thus says the Lord and then give the law to Israel? Has God's word failed? Did he give a bad law? Is there something wrong with it and he's got to vindicate that, and that's what he's doing in this section. II. God’s Law Explained (verses 7-11) Look at it again beginning at Verse 7. "What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? May it never be!" You can't say it too weakly. "Certainly not!" in the NIV is a little weak actually. May it never be! It's impossible to think so! "Is the law sin? May it never be! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.'" Law Reveals/Exposes Sin Paul says the law exposes or reveals sin. Now one of the challenging aspects of Romans 7 is Paul's use of the word I. He's speaking about himself. He's speaking autobiographically it seems. And that's a challenge and it's going to get even tougher as we go on in the chapter. But he says, "I would not have known what sin was…" So when he brings himself in here he's speaking it seems autobiographically. But I think it goes bigger and deeper than that. I think he's also speaking as a representative Jew. He's speaking somewhat as a man who is a Jew and who experienced the law as a Jew, and all the history of the Jewish people with the law. I think in that way he's speaking as a Jewish man, and the Jewish nation themselves I believe were representative of the human race as a whole. Gentiles should not imagine they would've done any better if they had received the law. That the Jewish nation was somehow defective or there was something wrong with them. In effect, that was a little laboratory, an experiment on human nature wasn't it, as we look at the history of the Jews and what they did with the law. But Paul, when he says I here, I think he's really representing us all. He is speaking about himself autobiographically, he is speaking as a Jewish man, but he's also speaking as a human being and as a sinner. So Paul is I believe relating personal experience, but also representing us all. And he says that law reveals sin. It exposes sin. It actually defines sin. It helps us to know what sin is. He says, "I would not have known what sin was except through the law." If the law had never been given I wouldn't have understood sin and so therefore the law defines sin for us. And it does it negatively and it does it positively. Negatively, it puts kind of barriers around our life, like fences. And it says, live inside here. To jump the fence is to transgress. And as we jump the fence, we become sinners, transgressors. We break the law. And so we look at the representation of that in the 10 Commandments. You look through. I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods besides me. That's a barrier. You're not permitted to have any other gods or worship any other gods. Secondly, you shall not make any idols or worship any idols or bow down to them in any way. That's a barrier. It's a boundary and you can't jump across it. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal or bear false witness and you shall not covet. These are boundaries. These are fences, and if you jump over these you shall nots, you've become a transgressor. And so he's defining sin negatively. Also, sin could be defined positively. In terms of what you are expected to do, how you are expected to live. Therefore, Jesus when asked what is the greatest commandment in all the law, he said "the greatest commandment is this, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind." Have you done that today? Think about that. Have you loved God with everything you have, every moment of this one day? It's still early. It's not yet one o'clock. I know, some of you are checking your watch, it's not yet noon. It's still early. And have you lived every moment for the glory of God? And Jesus said, there's a second command that's like it. It's not equal to it, but it's like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. So sin is defined positively. Negatively there's boundaries, and you're supposed to live in there, you're not supposed to jump the fence. Positively, you are supposed to be energetically powerfully every moment living for the glory of God to love him and for the benefit of your neighbor. That's what sin is. It's not doing what God expects and commands you to do, and doing those very things he commanded you not to do. But actually these themselves are just summaries, aren't they? The 10 Commandments and the two great commandments. Actually Jewish rabbis went through and counted 613 commandments from God. 613. There are 248 mandates. That's thou shalt, you must, right? And then 365 prohibitions. Thou shalt not, you must not. The mandates, the you shalts included worship regulations, laws about the temple, sacrifices, vows and rituals, national regulations, rules about kings, wars, taxes, family duties, all kinds of things you're supposed to do as a Jew. And then there were prohibitions, including idolatry, blasphemy, worship prohibitions, sacrifice prohibitions, priesthood prohibitions, and diet regulations, things you couldn't eat, agriculture and loans, and personal property and justice. So, there's the positive and the negative, the things you're supposed to do and the things you're not supposed to do. And so, therefore this is what sin is. Sin is any lack of measuring up to what God wanted you to do and actively transgressing against the things he commanded you not to do. Okay, so now because of the law, we have sin diagnosed. We understand what it is. But actually we have sins diagnosed. We'll talk about that more later, but there's a difference between sins and sin, as there is a difference between the fruit on the tree and the tree itself. So John says in 1 John 3:4, "everyone who sins breaks the law." In fact, "sin is lawlessness." Lawlessness. Well, Paul brings out a case study, doesn't he, in verse 7. He said, "I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, do not covet." Now, the Greek word is a deep desire for something unlawful. It's a yearning desire for something you must not have. Sometimes the word is translated lust, and relates to sexual desire. But I think here it just relates to the 10 Commandments and that desire for anything that God has said, you must not have it. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, you shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor. So he picks up on that coveting. It's interesting to me, there's a movement, and I think it's well intentioned and it's a good movement, that we should get the 10 Commandments back up in schools and various things. The fact of the matter is, to look at the 10 Commandments, you realize that they are unenforceable by a human government. How could a human government enforce a commandment against coveting? But God can, because he sees your thoughts. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. And so Paul reads the 10 Commandments, and reads this commandment on coveting, and realize that God, the holy God is looking into his very heart, and he's looking at his desires. And is not desire the beginning of all sin? Doesn't it all start with something you want? And you're not supposed to have? So he goes right to the root when he brings up this issue of coveting. And here we get to the issue of sin. "Somebody who's convinced by the law would only be free from the pain of sin," said Stephen Charnock, "But somebody convinced by the Gospel wants to be rid of sin itself." We want to be done with sin itself, not just the pain that sin causes, but sin itself. We want to be rid of the thing itself. Sin, therefore, is a deeper issue than the sins of our lives. It's got to do with a heart of rebellion against our Creator and our King. It's got to do with our very nature. Jesus said, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit." We go through our lives on these moral reformation projects. We start to change certain things. I'm not going to do that anymore, I am going to do this more. That kind of thing. All we're doing is dealing with the fruit. The Gospel gets to the root, the tree itself, the nature of the tree, what kind of tree is it? And so therefore, sin is this heart of rebellion against a creator. Against authority. Against God. Law Excites Sin I think about it in terms of lightning. You know, lightning comes from clouds that bump into each other, right? They rub against each other and they build up static electricity. They build it up and they build it up, but it's not until they have a path to the Earth that they discharge, you see? That's a lightning bolt. And once there's a path, the static electricity can express itself. And that's the way it is with sins and sin. Sin is this attitude of rebellion against God, but until the commandment comes, you can't express it. But once the commandment comes, you can express it. I'm not gonna do the thing God commanded me to do, or I'm going to do the thing God told me not to do. And so it expresses itself like a lightning bolt. And so therefore, the law actually stimulates sin. Look at verse 9 and follow me, it says, "But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death." So basically what happened to Paul speaking autobiographically, is that when he read the Law of God, it actually excited or stimulated sin in him. It put ideas in his mind and then it gave him an opportunity to express his true heart relationship to Creator and King, God. And so what it says is that sin twisted the law. It was intended to bring life, but it actually in him produced death. Sin seized the opportunity, it says in the NIV, it actually, literally has to do with the military base of operation, that expression. We've got troops over there in Afghanistan right now, special ops troops. And when troops come into a foreign area, they're going to set up a base of operations. And from that base, they're going to do all of their work in that region. Well, that's about what the law does for sin, it gives sin a base of operations in our soul. And from that base, it moves out to deceive us and put us to death. Paul says in his case it produced every kind of covetous desire, he started to yearn and want the things he shouldn't have. "And at that moment," he said, "I died." "Once I was alive," he said, "apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died." Now, there's a question about what Paul means when he says, "Once I was alive apart from law," is this teaching that infants, that babies, are alive spiritually, but then the commandment comes, once you understand the laws of God, that you die? And I think there is an aspect of truth, it's very complicated to figure out, but there's an aspect of truth there. It's once you understand the commands, and that they're coming from God, that it's possible to sin against an eternal God. And at that moment, your relationship with God is severed and broken. We are "dead in our transgressions and sins, in which we used to live," Paul says in Ephesians. But it's interesting how he says that sin sprang to life. Martyn Lloyd-Jones uses the illustration of a car idling. Imagine a car, a big powerful engine V8. And do they still make V8s? I don't know. Gas guzzlers. But a quiet, kind of purring engine just sitting there. Just there. It's powerful, it's not doing much, you can't even hear it. But then, at a certain moment, you touch the gas pedal, maybe even jam it down and the engine roars to life. That's the way it was for Paul. He is saying that, as soon as I read the law that sin that was just waiting, it roared to life and moved, and has been moving ever since. Law Condemns Sinners And then the law comes and condemns. Verse 9, "Sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me." Oh, how deceitful is sin? How it deceives us and tricks us and tells us that we're better than we are, and that that isn't really sin. And that's really okay to do that. How it deceives us and kills us. This death is relational with God, I believe we can be living dead. We can be dead while we live. We were dead in our transgressions and sins in which we used to live. It's possible. But then along comes physical death. It is appointed unto man to die once physically, and then comes judgment, and then comes the real death, the second death, eternal death. That is judgment. And what will happen to the sinner at that point, law will stand up and accuse. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that "the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." And so, it is sin and the law as it accuses, that makes us fear death, and we should. If we're not Christians, we should, because the law it says, brings wrath. The court will be seated and the books will be opened. The books of the law and the books of our own life and everything that we've done will be opened and everything will be laid bare. And at that moment, the law will stand to accuse any who have not been justified in Christ. Law Cannot Save Sinners So Paul says, in Romans 3:20, "Therefore, no one will be justified or declared righteous in his sight by observing the law rather through the law, we become conscious of sin." Thomas Adams puts it this way, "The law may express sin, but it cannot suppress sin." Remember the illustration we got last week and we talked about it earlier about Buddhism, but better I think in relation to the law, that basically a sinner is drowning in rebellion. The law stands on the shore and calls out swimming instructions to the drowner. Instructing how to live, but grace through Jesus Christ dives in and saves that individual. It's the grace of God that actually saves. The law just stands and calls out instructions from the shore. And so therefore Paul is able to vindicate God's law. III. God’s Law Vindicated (verse 12) Look at verse 12, "So then, as a result, the law's holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good." The law reflects God's character. God is holy and righteous and good, and therefore his law is holy and righteous and good. He couldn't have written a better law. There's nothing wrong with the Law of Moses. There's nothing wrong with the law at all, he's going to say the rest of the chapter, there's something wrong with us. It's sin. But there's nothing wrong with the law. Psalm 19 puts it this way, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward." Law Reflects God’s Character The law is beautiful, and holy and righteous and good. There's nothing wrong with the law. There's something wrong with us. And therefore the law humbles us and gets us ready for salvation. It gets us ready for a savior. Daniel Cawdray put it this way. "As a mirror, neither washes nor make someone beautiful who looks within it, but gives him occasion either to seek for water or something else that may make him attractive and clean. Even so the law shows to us our sins and makes known to us our miserable state and wretchedness. And how that there is nothing good in us. And that we are far off from all manner of righteousness. And so, it drives us of necessity to seek righteousness in Jesus Christ." That's what the law does. And therefore, the Law and the Gospel are partners in bringing us to salvation. I fear for the evangelical church in America today, because we don't preach the law anymore. What do we tell people? "God loves you. He has wonderful things for you." That is true. But it's not the whole story, is it? We are sinners in sight. We are rebels. And the law is given to convince us of that. Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor but" who? It's "the sick." It's not the living who need a resurrection, but the dead. It's not the sighted who need a miracle, but the blind. And so after Jesus healed the blind man in John 9, the Pharisees came in all their self-righteousness and religiosity. And they came to Jesus. And Jesus said, "For judgment, I have come into the world, that those who see may become blind and those who are blind may be able to see." The Pharisees and their self-righteousness hurled the mirror. They say, "What? Are we blind too?" Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you say, we see, your guilt remains." Jesus didn't come to call the healthy. He came to call sinners to repentance. That's what he came for. And I believe all the miracles of Jesus testify to this. Look at the miracles. What is it but a picture of human weakness and inability. Can't see. Can't walk. Can't live. Can't recover. Can't stop bleeding for 12 years. Can't raise my daughter from death. Can't eat because we have no food out here in the desert. Can't walk on water. Can't use my right hand. Can't be rid of this demon. Can't hear. Can't, can't, can't. And then Jesus comes, and all of a sudden everything changes. By the power of Jesus, Jesus can. Jesus can make you see. He can make you walk. He can make you live, even if you're dead. He can recover you from any illness. He can stop the bleeding for 12 years, by the mere touch of his garment. He can raise his daughter from death. He can enable you to walk on water. He can give you food to eat out in the desert. Human weakness and inability, and Jesus' power and ability. And it's the law that gets you ready to hear that message. You understand what can't, can't, can't, can't means. Because you live it every day. Law’s saving purpose: Drive us to Christ – Christ Accomplishes What the Law Cannot The law proves it to you day after day. You read the 10 Commandments and you say, "can't, can't, can't." I can't stop wanting things. Change my heart God. I can't love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Change my heart God. The law makes you a spiritual beggar, doesn't it? And it keeps you that way. And that's a good place to be. It banishes human arrogance and pride. The law is a cord of justice, but the Gospel is a throne of grace. Ready for any who are convinced that they need it. The law therefore has a saving purpose and it is to drive us to Christ. This is what Paul wrote in Galatians 2:19-21. "For through the law, I died to the law so that I might live for God." Do you understand the meaning of that? Through the law I died and realized the law is not going to save me. And so now what's he ready for? He's ready for a savior. Galatians 2:19-21, "Through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life, I now live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God who love me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness could come by the law, Christ died for nothing." What do you need Jesus to die on the cross if you can earn your way to salvation through good works and law keeping. But you can't. And so he came. Martin Luther commenting on that passage said this, "Although the law kills, yet God uses this effect of the law to a good end. That is to bring life. For God seeing that this universal plague of the whole world, namely 'man's opinion' of his own righteousness. His hypocrisy. His confidence in his own holiness could not be beaten down by any other means. He would that it be slain by the law. God must therefore have a mighty hammer to break the rocks and a hot burning fire in the midst of heaven to overthrow the mountains. That is to say to destroy this furious and obstinate beast of human pride, that when a man by this bruising and breaking has brought to nothing. He should despair of his own strength, righteousness, and works. And exceedingly quake before God. Being thus thoroughly terrified should thirst after mercy and the forgiveness of sins." Does anybody preach the Gospel that way anymore? Paul does. We must be broken. We must be made to be spiritual beggars. We must see that we need a savior or else we will never be saved. And pride must be destroyed, and the Gospel does it. The laws on going work, therefore, is to make us spiritual beggars. Blessed are the spiritual beggars, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who continually mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied by grace, as a free gift, they will be satisfied. The law also reveals God's ongoing will, we'll talk more about this in the future. But William Secker put it this way, "The law by which God rules us is as dear to him as the Gospel by which he saves us." IV. God’s Law Fulfilled in Christ Ezekiel Hopkins said this, "We find the same rules for our actions, the same duties required, the same sins forbidden, in the Gospel as in the law." And so therefore, he sent Jesus Christ to live righteously under the law, to die under the law's penalty, to win for us a righteousness, he is the fulfillment of the law, the perfect fulfillment. Romans 10:4 "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for all who believe." And so, he walked perfectly 33 years under the law's requirements, never broke one. Never jumped the fence once. Never failed to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Never failed to love his neighbor as himself. And won a righteousness in which you will be robed on Judgment Day, if you trust in him. Oh, is that not sweet? And then he puts the spirit inside you, and compels you to walk in his ways. To keep the law, Romans 8:3 and 4 it says, "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering," for us. That is to die on a cross. "And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." The Spirit comes, and he moves you to obey the law. V. Application What is the application of this? Well first, just acknowledge who you are. Stop saying, "We see." Come to him like a spiritual beggar. Come to him broken. Even now as a Christian. We'll get to that in the second half of Romans 7. But even now, we wrestle and struggle, don't we? We still need grace day, after day, after day. Acknowledge that sin is there, a deep-seated resistance, an allergic reaction to the words of God. And to his authority and power. Say it's there, tell the truth. Delight in God's law, it is holy and righteous and good. Don't accuse the law because you can't keep it. Don't hurl the mirror, but look into it, look deeply into it, and find out who you are, and who God is. And flee to Christ. Flee for salvation, flee for sanctification. Flee to Christ day, after day, after day. Let the law keep you continually humble, knowing that you didn't save yourself. And then ask God to fulfill his law in you, by the power of the Holy Spirit.