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October 1, 2021 8:00 am
It is not Christ.
Plus your Bible reading. It is not Christ. Plus your church attendance is not price plus your good deeds Christ pleasure prayers price plus your love others as Christ plus nothing. The apostle Paul lamented that nothing good dwells in me. The wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not, and that's the condition. All Christians find ourselves in. We can't practice perfect obedience to God's word. Fortunately what we cannot accomplish.
Christ already has.
And today on the truthful pastor Don Greene explains the twin aspects of Christ's work for us high on bill right and dons here to get us ready for today's message my friend. This was a brief meditation that I did at a communion service at truth community church communion is a time when we remember Christ and how he died for our salvation. In today's broadcast were going to particularly remember how his life of obedience and his death on the cross, secured our eternal salvation. It's an especially reverent topic today on the true pulpit and I'm glad you're with us to hear. Let's join Don now in the truthful Matthew 517 through 20.
Jesus is clarifying the purpose for which he came and he saying I did not come to abolish the law and so he's helping people to understand the purpose of his mission where they were most subject to misunderstanding Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees, but he was not here to overturn the law.
Quite to the contrary.
He says I am here to fulfill it. Not to abolish verse 17, but to fulfill. Not to set aside, but to bring it to pass.
You might say, in general, the term fulfill has the idea of carrying it out.
Jesus was here to carry out the law to fulfill its requirements. He was here to execute the plan which God had set in motion in the revelation given to Moses, Jesus came to accomplish all that the Old Testament had in mind.
Now peel back the onion just another bit here. Jesus could not possibly have come to abolish the law.
He says in verse 18. If you look at it with me there in verse 18 is your looking at your text. Jesus says, for truly I say to you, here's the explanation why could not possibly be coming to abolish the law. Here's why. It's because, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. There was a binding abiding authority to the Old Testament that could not be abolished. And Jesus says that's why I couldn't possibly be here to abolish it.
I'm here to fulfill it because there is a permanent abiding authority to the Old Testament and therefore I'm not setting it aside, I am here to do it and it's a grand sweeping statement that he is making.
Recognizing the authority of the Old Testament will abide until its purpose has been completely fulfilled.
What I want to show you from as we let Scripture interpret Scripture on that statement is for you to understand as an and appreciate the fact that Jesus is fulfillment of the law is essential to the salvation of your soul. The Jesus was here to accomplish a dual purpose as he was fulfilling the law.
There were two ways that Jesus is fulfillment of the law. There were two aspects twin aspects to his fulfillment that was designed for your benefit is designed to secure your eternal blessedness. It was designed to to provide for your access to heaven.
It was to provide for your justification, your perfect standing with God. That's why Jesus came that is part of what he was doing in the multifaceted splendor of his fulfillment of the law. What I want to do with this is to just walk you through these two aspects of his work so that you would have a greater sense of certainty and confidence in your salvation that you would feel the sense the joy of knowing the Christ fulfilled the law for you that you would be free from a sense of an abiding uncertainty have I done enough to please God. Listen one and the only one who could please God was the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we all fall short of the glory of God, even as Christians and so as we understand the work of Christ, we see where we are supposed to put our trust where it is that we rest our confidence and it teaches us to abandon all confidence in our own righteousness into trust in Christ alone and when we see these things with clarity.
We we see the wonder of the work of Christ on our behalf fulfilling the law that we could never meet on our own. So what are these two ways will first of all, Jesus fulfilled the law with his obedience to the law, he fulfilled the law with his obedience to the law. Scripture teaches us that Jesus was born as a Jew who had the responsibility to obey the law in his own life. If you would turn with me to the book of Galatians for a moment. Galatians chapter 4 in verse four it says that when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law. He was under the law in the sense that he was under the authority of the law. He was responsible to fulfill it to obey it, and throughout his life.
The point is repeatedly made that Jesus obeyed the law with utter perfection without one slip without one mark against his name in John chapter 8 verse 46 when he was being challenged. He asked his enemies which one of you convicts me of sin and there was dead silence in response because there was no crime of which he could be convicted, his own enemies who had every motivation to point something out. Could point to nothing that Jesus had failed in with regard to the responsibilities of the law. They had no answer. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 15 says that Jesus was tempted in all things as we are yet without sin, and so Scripture is abundant in its testimony, the Christ fulfilled the law. He obeyed it to perfection, and there was no defect in his obedience to the law now why does that matter to you and me, it matters profoundly to you and me because you and I without exception have not kept his law, we have not obeyed perfectly. In fact, we have violated it with every manner of sin, and in our in our flesh and our desires and with our minds. We are a shattered pottery vessel with no way of putting it back together and God holds us accountable for our disobedience. There will be a reckoning for sin to every man on earth. Scripture makes this clear term back to Romans chapter 3, I want you to see this in relationship to Scripture's teaching on the law, as we will pull all of this together in a moment. In Romans chapter 3 verse nine, the apostle Paul says, what then are we better than they.
And he says not at all, for we have already charged to both Jews and Greeks are all under sin as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God. Skip down to verse 19 and needs there in verses 10 through 18 is just making extensive quotations from the Old Testament after making those extensive quotations. He says in verse 19 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 because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
You must have a record of perfect obedience to the law.
If you are going to satisfy the standard of God is only on the record of perfect obedience without fail that the doors of heaven can be open to anyone.
Otherwise we are all shut up under sin, and will be held accountable for our lack you've broken the law.
I have to there is an account to be made for that and into an eternal God, who gave an eternal law requires an eternal punishment for the violation of that law. So how do we solve that dilemma. How can we have a piece of conscience. A security of soul, knowing that it is well with us and with God will turn back to Galatians chapter 4 verse five Galatians 4 verse five. Christ as we saw earlier in verse four was born under the law. Why it wasn't because he needed to achieve obedience for his own sake, he was already perfectly righteous in the righteousness of God. So why was he born under the law. Verse five explains, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Christ brought himself under the authority of the law. In his incarnation, he obeyed it perfectly so that he might be able to accomplish our redemption, the obedience of Christ is what is necessary to fulfill the demands of the law. Theologian sometimes referred to this as Christ's active obedience.
His life was a living obedience to the law and he fulfilled its demands to perfection without defect without fail without omission without omission of a violation.
Now just mentioning that reminds me, we think so superficially of sin. We think that if we haven't done X, Y or Z that were okay and we forget that God's word requires obedience and a B and C, and so it's not just that we avoid certain things the word of God requires us to do certain things as well as avoid certain things and the weight of that on our souls is immense because we fall short of the glory of God. Will Jesus Christ in his earthly life. In his obedience to the law met the demands of the law and Scripture says that he did that for us when you put your faith in Christ God looks at you and says I receive you based on the perfect obedience of my son, the, the fulfillment of the law of Christ is put on your account. The significance of that is very far-reaching. There is nothing that you have to do.
There is nothing that you can do to add to that obedience and increase your perfect standing with God. Christ has already met the demands of the law and when we put our faith in him.
His righteousness, his obedience is credited to our account and God treats us as though we had lived the perfect life of Christ that is the basis on which he accepts us.
It is not Christ, pleasure, Bible reading, it is not Christ.
Plus your church attendance is not Christ pleasure good deeds Christ pleasure prayers Christ pleasure love to others is Christ plus nothing is Christ in his perfection anything that we would add to that would only diminish it and degraded because there is no obedience like Christ.
There is no sun like him and in Christ. Everything has already been done on our behalf. And so when you put your faith in Christ for salvation. God credits the perfect righteousness of Christ to your account.
He imputes that righteousness to you. That is the basis of your justification. That is the basis upon which God can look at you and say the demands of the law are satisfied look at second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him we receive a righteousness in Christ, we could never have attained on her look also at the book of Philippians chapter 3, Paul was explaining earlier in chapter 3 at the early part of it that if ever there was a human Jew who had done it all. It was him. He says in verse four I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind of her confidence in the flesh that is for their righteousness before God. He says I far more. I was the perfect Jew verse five. I was circumcised on the eighth day.
I was of the nation of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews as to law, a Pharisee is to seal a persecutor of the church as to the righteousness which is in the law found blameless, but then he goes on in verse seven he says elsewhere that that the law eventually revealed it that coveting was sin in his all of his seeming righteousness was undone under the way that the law applied even to the desires of his heart. So in verse seven he says whatever things were gain to me those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ says I discount I disregard I put away all of that righteousness of my Jewish heritage I don't count that I don't rely on that that was simply that which actually separated me from Christ because it was all in my own self-confidence and he goes on in verse eight, and says more than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, to know Christ was far better exceedingly infinitely better than being the perfect Jew he says is for Christ that I've suffered the loss of all things, and I count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. What I used to post and I now regard as unspeakable Don look what he says in verse nine says I count it that way so that I may gain Christ and may be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. Look what he saying there. He is completely discounting in the righteousness of his own and says I rely solely on the righteousness of Christ and I receive that by faith, not by an accomplishment in my flesh, not by the deeds of my hands. He says it's not my righteousness, which gives me standing before God is the righteousness of Christ on which I rely and so God in light of his eternal law in light of our sin, sent his son to be under the law to fulfill it so that our lack of righteousness could be fulfilled.
And now cod looks on us in his grace through the perfect merit of Christ and looks on us as if we had obeyed the law like Christ. While say that I didn't do that. I haven't done that. That's the whole point is that we have received a righteousness that is outside us, sometimes called an alien righteousness because it's not our own, we receive a righteousness attributed to our account. That is, from someone else and that someone else is Christ. Beloved, it is not your obedience that God accepts is the obedience of your Savior on your be half were humbled under that recognition that there was nothing that I did that motivated God to accept me, except for his grace and except for the merit of Christ, not the merit of me and so it humbles us that we gladly accept that humiliation because out of that humiliation rises, the glory of Christ, and he becomes ever so sweet to the redeemed soul. Yet there is more as we contemplate this fulfillment of the law by Christ. He fulfilled the law with his life with his obedience. But Jesus also fulfilled the law in his death for us see the law requires more than obedience.
In one sense, there is more to the law than its positive and negative demands on us. The law curses disobedience. Look at Deuteronomy 28 verse 15 Deuteronomy 28 verse 15 Moses is preaching to the people of Israel, and he says that it shall come about if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake and then if you've never read the rest of Deuteronomy 28. I invite you to do that at your leisure. The curses are profound.
They are frightening. They are severe and the ultimate fulfillment of the curse of disobedience is eternal hell on those who reject Christ and never come to faith in him curses the law requires curses on disobedience and here you and I are declared and judged by Scripture as those who are guilty and accountable under the laws we read earlier under Romans three just step back from it and realize the desperate condition in which we found ourselves in which we existed apart from Christ, no obedience to offer no no way to improve our standing in the curse of God aligning upon her head. Jesus said those who do not obey the wrath of God abides upon them.
John 336.
The gospel is serious beloved. The gospel matters. The gospel declares things that are found nowhere else in so how did Jesus fulfill that part of the law regarding the curses.
Scripture teaches us that Jesus took the curse in his own body when he was crucified at the cross of Calvary, he received that curse himself theologian sometimes call this is passive obedience as he submitted himself to the punishment of God and received it at Calvary. Look at Galatians chapter 3 now. Galatians chapter 3 in verse 10 where it says for as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written curse. It is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them for Galatians 3 verse 10 verse 11. Now that no one is justified by the law before God is evident, for the righteous man shall live by faith. However, the law is not of faith. On the contrary, he who practices them shall live by them.
If you are relying on your own obedience. That is the standard by which you will be judged and you don't meet it, the law shuts everyone out from its fulfillment except Christ. So what did Christ do. How did he fulfill this aspect of the law. Look at verse 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. He bought us out from under that curse. How did he do that, having become a curse for us on our behalf, for it is written curse.
It is everyone who hangs on a tree that's Deuteronomy 2123 that's been quoted there.
He redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written curse. It is everyone who hangs on a tree in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles. That's almost all of us that many Jews in here if any, in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. And so Christ went to the cross in order to be the substitute of the curse that was upon you. It's as if he said here I am, put his curse put her purse on me, so that they may go free from the demands of the law and he fulfilled the law by taking the cursor pronounced on centers. The curse that was on you the damnation that was assigned to your account. God took that and applied it to Christ, and punished him on the cross poured out his wrath in in fullest measure upon Christ so that the wrath would have been spent and would not have to be expended on you. Your hand would not have been so God gives us based on his suffering. He accepts us in a manner speaking, he accepts us on the basis of Christ's obedience, he forgives us on the basis of Christ's suffering and this is the crux of the eternal blessedness of everyone who believes in Christ and so we realize that Jesus gives us his righteousness in exchange for our sin and he then paid the price for that sin. So we wouldn't have to indeed greater love has no man ever had with pastor Don Greene brings you more from God's incomparable word.
Next time on the truth. Paul, we hope you'll join us. But right now Don's back here in studio with some closing thoughts, my Christian friend. I'd like to talk to simply as a pastor right now. The work of Jesus Christ means that he has done everything that is necessary for you to be saved. He has fully satisfied the demands of God's law. He has paid the penalty for your sin and everyone who believes in him finds a perfect and complete Savior.
What that means for you is this, you can go to God with confidence because he accepts the work of Christ on your behalf.
Jesus satisfied the father completely and now in Christ you have a completely free access to a holy God look to Christ and Christ alone and all will be well with your soul. Thanks, Don, and friend. Remember to visit us@thetruthfulbut.com to learn more about our ministry and great study resources. That's the truth.
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