But Now

[0:00] But now. But before we get to but now, I want to relate something to you that I talked about last Sunday, and I told you that I would today, so here it is. It is just a really extraordinary explanation of a term that is so often used, but very little actually thought of, and when you do stop to think about it, it kind of makes you wonder, well, what is that? What does that mean?

[0:32] And but to as many as believed on his name, to them gave he the power or the right to become the sons of God. And what is this business about believing on his name? What does that mean?

[0:49] And I turned to the pen of Dr. William Barclay from his daily study Bible series, and he's got a really remarkable explanation about that phrase. And if you will get your Bible, we will be looking at some passages in John's Gospel, and this is really stunning stuff. I think you will appreciate it and enjoy it just as much as I did when I first came across it. And you know what? I'm embarrassed to tell you this. Boy. How could I? I don't know. The last series that I brought here at Grace just before I retired the first time, that was in December of 2005, we spent five years in John's Gospel, verse by verse. And I don't ever remember treating this. And that's what I'm embarrassed to tell you about now. How in the world did I miss it? Have you ever read the scriptures and told yourself sometimes, well, where'd that verse come from? That wasn't there the last time

[2:11] I read that. Yeah, well, the nature of the Word of God is, it's simply inexhaustible. This is the book that has no bottom to it. And I was just greatly impressed with what Dr. Barclay had to share about this phrase. So just bear with me and let me share this with you, if I may. And then we'll get to our message, but now. This is from volume one of his two-volume work on the Gospel of John.

[2:42] Dr. Barclay says, All men are the sons of God in the sense that all men owe to God the creation and the preservation of their lives. But only some men become the sons of God in the real depth and intimacy of the true father and son relationship. It is the claim of John that men can only enter into that true and real sonship through Jesus Christ. When John says that it does not come from blood, he's talking about John 1, 12, and 13. You might want to turn to that. John is using Jewish thought. And I don't know how aware you are of it, but I know you're reasonably aware. The Bible is an intensely Jewish book.

[3:29] The whole of the Old Testament is Jewish. All four of the Gospels are Jewish. The book of Acts is Jewish. In fact, about the only thing that cannot be described as completely Jewish are the Pauline epistles, and they often address Jewish issues written by a Jew. So every contributor to this book is Jewish.

[3:55] Jewish. And probably the saddest thing about this is the Jewish people, of all people, are probably benefiting from the record of Scripture.

[4:10] Well, I wouldn't say less than anybody because most Gentiles are. I mean, for most Gentiles, if they even have a Bible, it just collects dust on the coffee table. But it is remarkable what an incredible contribution that Jewish people have made to the Word of God and how few of them appreciate or delve into it. He continues saying, when John says that it does not come from blood, John is using Jewish thought. For the Jews believe that a physical son was born from the union of the seed of the father with the blood of the mother.

[4:51] This sonship does not come from any human impulse or desire from any act of the human will. It comes entirely from God. We cannot make ourselves sons of God. We have to enter into a relationship which God offers us. No man can ever enter into friendship with God by his own will and power.

[5:14] There is a great gulf fixed between the human and the divine. Man can only enter into friendship with God when God himself opens the way. Again, let us think in human terms. Now, he's speaking as a Brit, okay?

[5:32] He's speaking as an Englishman, so he talks about kings and queens, which we can identify with. But if you want to think in terms of a president instead of a king, that's okay, too. But he goes on to say, a commoner cannot approach a king with the offer of friendship. If there is ever to be such a friendship, it must depend entirely on the approach of the king. In other words, you and I are not in a position to ring the White House and say, Mr. President, could I join you for lunch? Would you join me for lunch today?

[6:12] You know, it's okay for him to extend invitations to others, but nobody extends an invitation to him. See what I'm going to say? It is so with us and God. We cannot by will or achievement enter into the relationship of fellowship with God, for we are men and God is God. We can only enter into it when God, in his totally undeserved grace, condescends in love to open the way to himself. But there is a human side to this. What God offers, man has to appropriate. A human father may offer his son his love, his advice, his friendship, and the son may refuse it and prefer to take his own way. It is so with God. God offers us the right to become sons, but we need not accept that right. We do accept it through believing in the name of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Hebrew thought and language had a way of using the expression, the name, which is strange to us. By the name, Jewish thought did not so much mean the name by which the person was called, but the nature of that person insofar as it is revealed and known.

[7:45] For instance, in Psalm 9, in verse 10, the psalmist says, They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.

[8:00] Clearly, that does not mean that those who know that God is called Jehovah will trust him. It means that those who know God's character, God's nature, who know what God is like, will be ready and willing to trust him for everything.

[8:18] In Psalm 20, in verse 7, the psalmist says, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

[8:33] Clearly, that does not mean that we will remember that God is called Jehovah. It means that some people will put their trust in human needs, but we will put our trust in God because we know what God is like.

[8:48] To trust in the name of Jesus, therefore, means to put our trust in what Jesus is. Jesus was the embodiment of kindness and love and gentleness and service.

[9:01] It is John's great central doctrine that in Jesus we see the very mind of God, the attitude of God, to men.

[9:13] If we believe that, then we also believe that God is like Jesus, as kind and loving as Jesus was. So to believe in the name of Jesus is to believe that God is like Jesus, and it is only when we believe that, that we can submit ourselves to God and become his children.

[9:34] Unless we had seen in Jesus what God is like, we would never even have dared to think of ourselves as being able to become the children of God.

[9:45] It is what Jesus is that opens to us the possibility of becoming the children of God. Now look, if you would, please, at John's Gospel, chapter 1 and verse 9.

[10:01] There was the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came into his own, and those who were his own did not receive him.

[10:13] But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name.

[10:26] And in chapter 2 and verse 23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem, when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, beholding his signs which he was doing.

[10:48] And in chapter 3 and verse 17. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

[11:01] He who believes in him is not judged, but he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

[11:15] And in chapter 17 and verse 6. Jesus, in his high priestly prayer, says, I manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world.

[11:32] Thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word. And verse 11. And I am no more in the world, yet they themselves are in the world.

[11:46] And I come to thee, Holy Father. Keep them in thy name, the name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are.

[11:58] And verse 26. And I have made thy name known to them, and will make it known, that the love wherewith thou didst love me, may be in them, and I in them.

[12:14] And then chapter 20. I'm amazed that this is mentioned so many times. Chapter 20. And a very important verse. Verse 31.

[12:24] Verse 30. Many other signs, therefore, Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But, these have been written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in his name.

[12:46] And while we're next door, look, if you would, at Acts chapter 2, and verse 21. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

[13:01] And then 3.16 of Acts. On the basis of faith in his name, it is the name of Jesus, which has strengthened this man, whom you see and know, and the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

[13:23] So it is remarkable, the implications of that phrase, the name, and how it means so much more than what we were thinking. So, let us go now, if we may please, to our text, and that will direct you to the scripture sheet that you have in your Bible, or in your bulletin, if you received a bulletin this morning.

[13:45] I trust you did. If anybody doesn't have one of these, I'm sure your neighbor probably will, but if you will look at the one from the book of Acts, chapter 17, in the upper, in the upper corner, it says excerpted from the 26th translation, New Testament.

[14:06] And as we look at the verses that are involved to establish our case, you will note that each verse begins in the dark, bold print.

[14:17] That simply indicates that that is the King James translation of that particular verse. And then there are other renderings that are given right below that.

[14:28] If you look at the one immediately below, you will see, for in him we have life and motion and existence. And it says B-A-S, that's just an abbreviation for the translation that's called Basic English Translation.

[14:41] And then the next one is, for it is through union with him that, and that's G-S-P-D, and that means that's Goodspeed's rendition. So all of these are just a little bit different in the translation and the way they render the expression, so that if one doesn't communicate, the next one might very well.

[15:00] And this is compiled from 26 different translations. But of course, many of them render the verse identically the same.

[15:10] So there's no point in repeating that. But where they are different gives you just a little bit different nuance regarding that verse. And this is exactly what we have here. The phrase, but now, that we want to emphasize is that which expresses a progression of doctrine.

[15:30] doctrine. And I cannot tell you how utterly, critically important this is. Because to ignore, to ignore the progress of doctrine in the Bible is to open oneself to tremendous confusion where you cannot make things fit and the Bible just doesn't make a lot of sense.

[15:56] It appears to have a lot of contradictions. Point of fact, there are no contradictions. But there are numerous places where that appears to be the case.

[16:06] Yet, when you apply the principle of hermeneutics and understand that the Bible is a book that is on the move, it is developing. It is not a book of static doctrine.

[16:20] It is a book that is progressing and developing. And perhaps the best example of that, the most obvious example with which no one can disagree, has there not been an enormous progress of doctrine between the offering of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament under the Jewish system and what we experience today by way of no animals are sacrificed?

[16:45] And the reason they aren't is because Christ himself fulfilled the ultimate, final sacrifice, paying the price in full for the entire human race.

[16:58] God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. So there's no need for any more sacrifices. That's over and done with. God has done his thing and he did it through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[17:10] But there is an enormous progress. There's a step up. We think of this in terms of an update. And as you go through the Bible, the update between the Old Testament and the New is very apparent.

[17:26] And when you read these things in the Old Testament about animal sacrifices, about feasts, about keeping the Sabbath, about the tithe and all the rest, you can correctly look at those things and say, well, that's not for today.

[17:39] That was for back then. True. Every bit true. But here is where many go astray. There is also a progression of doctrine within the New Testament.

[18:01] Oh. Yeah. That is a big item. Nobody argues about the progress of doctrine between the Old and the New. Even the terms give it away, Old and New.

[18:12] But within the New Testament, and when you think in terms of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they all depict the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ from his birth to his resurrection.

[18:32] In those four Gospels, he is as clearly set forth as anywhere, and nobody disputes that. But do you understand that those four Gospels are a continuation of Judaism and Jewish thought and Jewish application that was established in the Old Testament, and it is carried right over into the New, so that Jesus as a Jew functioned under the Mosaic Law.

[19:06] Jesus kept the Sabbath, Jesus paid the temple tax, Jesus did everything the Law of Moses required. That's why he was able to say, I did not come to destroy the Law.

[19:19] I came to fulfill it. And that's exactly what he did. And because he's fulfilled the Law, there's no law there for us to fulfill. So this is within the body of the New Testament.

[19:31] And when you move on into the book of Acts, the intensity of Jewishness just oozes out of that.

[19:43] As you look at the gathering of people on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, individuals from all over the Mediterranean world, and they spoke different languages and therefore were often unable to communicate with each other, but why were they all there?

[20:00] Why were they present there in Jerusalem on that day? It was a Jewish feast! It was Pentecost! No Gentile is going to be there. In fact, no Gentile is even allowed there.

[20:13] This is strictly a Jewish thing established by Jehovah for the Jewish people. And as you move on through the book of Acts, it is Jewish, Jewish, Jewish, Jewish.

[20:24] Jewish. And then something really dramatic happens. When you get to chapter 10, the first non-Jew strikes a very responsive chord.

[20:40] He was a Roman army officer by the name of Cornelius. He was a Gentile. And did he ever stir up something?

[20:51] If you'll recall, we won't go there, but just let me stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. Peter had this great sheet let down from heaven wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts, creeping things, all kinds of unclean animals and everything.

[21:05] And he was seeing this vision. It was a vision. And the voice and the vision says, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Well, he was up on the housetop in Acts chapter 10 and he was hungry and it was lunchtime and he says, No, I can't.

[21:21] I've never eaten anything unclean. And the voice said, What God hath cleansed, that call thou not unclean. And that sheet had to be let down three times, repeated three times because Peter was a slow learner.

[21:39] Now, why was he a slow learner? This man, Peter, was absolutely engulfed in Judaism in the Mosaic Law.

[21:53] And he had a strict dietary regulation that certain animals were unclean and certain animals were clean and so on. And this sheet was let down from him with all of these different animals and clean and unclean animals.

[22:05] I mean, animals acceptable for sacrifice to God and for the Jewish diet and animals that were not. And they were all mixed together.

[22:16] What's that all about anyway? Didn't make any sense to Peter. And Peter said, No, no, I'm not going to. No, I've never eaten anything. And the voice said, What God hath cleansed, don't you call it unclean?

[22:33] Well, what does that mean? That means that all of those animals, clean and unclean, are now in the same boat.

[22:52] They've all been cleansed. But do you know, he's not really talking about animals at all. those animals represent people.

[23:04] And the first person who was to be a beneficiary of this incredible new thing that was happening was this Roman army officer I mentioned by the name of Cornelius.

[23:16] this is fantastic. And this voice says, Peter, there's going to be somebody knocking at your door, and they're going to ask you to go with them and travel all the way to Caesarea.

[23:30] Peter was in Joppa. This is on the Mediterranean coast. They're going to ask you to go all the way down the coast to Caesarea, which is a Roman military establishment.

[23:41] Rome's headquarters were there. That's where Cornelius was stationed. And Peter didn't want to do it. He said, I can't go there.

[23:52] This guy's a Gentile. I am a Jew, and I am not allowed. But this sheet came down three times, and Peter is completely beside himself.

[24:04] He has no idea what's going on here. What is this all about? So he gets some Jewish brethren to go with him, kind of like bodyguards, you know, when you're going in the Gentile territory.

[24:15] So they go down there, and they come to Cornelius' house, and there's a knock on the door, and somebody comes to the door and invites Peter and the Jewish men who were with him inside.

[24:32] Peter walks into this centurion's house and looks around, and the place is filled with wall-to-wall Gentiles.

[24:42] Now, you talk about one uncomfortable dude. That's Peter. And he looks around and he's, you can tell these are Gentiles just by looking at them.

[24:56] I mean, Jews had their own way of dress and presentation, and he knew all of these people were Gentiles. And you know what Peter says first thing out of his mouth? Peter says, you know how that it is unlawful for a man who is a Jew like me to be here in a situation like this with you.

[25:27] And frankly, Peter had no idea what was going on. This was going to be the initial introduction of a non-Jew into the family of God.

[25:45] Unheard of. The Jews had a corner on God, or so they thought. But Cornelius had already been convinced that the one true God of Israel was the only true God.

[26:00] And the text tells us that he even put his money where his mouth was, and he supported the Jewish synagogue, gave money to it. And an angel came to Cornelius, striking stuff.

[26:15] This is one of the most incredible chapters in all the Bible. An angel came to Cornelius and told him, Cornelius, your prayer has gone up to God.

[26:27] God has heard your prayer. prayer. And this is what you are to do. You send some of your men to the city of Joppa and go to the house of Simon the Tanner.

[26:44] You'll find him and his business establishment right on the coast because the man tans hides and he needs an abundance of water to carry on his craft.

[26:54] And when you find this man, ask and inquire if there's a man there by the name of Peter and ask him to come.

[27:08] Send your men for him. And that's exactly what happened. And this is such a dramatic thing. Now the question that came to my mind is instead of the angel telling Cornelius God has heard your prayer.

[27:27] Now send for Peter and he will tell you what you need to know. Why didn't the angel tell him? Good question. Why didn't the angel tell him? I don't think angels are privy to the plan of salvation as we know it.

[27:42] Angels are so much smarter than we are and so much more powerful than we are but there are some things that they don't know because they are kept from them and they are reserved specifically for humans and there are things reserved specifically for angels too that we can't look into.

[27:59] So the angel could not tell Cornelius what he needed to do but he said Peter can't. Now let me ask you this if this man Cornelius was already convinced that the God of Israel was the true God and he was already putting his money where his mouth was by supporting the local synagogue and giving alms to the Jewish people what do you suppose he was praying about?

[28:24] I don't think it's a stretch at all. I think he was praying for light for information for more data. He knew something about this God of Israel but he certainly didn't know all he wanted to know and he was praying about it and God is answering his prayer and Peter comes in and Cornelius tells Peter all about this and Peter goes on and tells them about the Lord Jesus about his dying on the cross about everything involving that and lo and behold don't you know what happened was the spirit of God descended on that group of Gentiles and the half dozen men that Peter had with him who were Jewish and they began speaking in languages they had not learned just like they did on Pentecost.

[29:30] Folks this is really big big stuff. Peter is dumbfounded.

[29:41] I'm shocked I don't understand what's what's happening? These people are not Jewish they're Gentiles God doesn't have anything to do with Gentiles or does he?

[29:56] Peter goes back to Joppa and he no sooner than gets there than he is requested to come to the local Jewish brethren they want to talk to him and he shows up and these fellow Jews of his sitting there Peter we have heard a nasty rumor that you have actually gone into Gentiles and you ate with them and you fellowship with them and Peter tell us it isn't true and Peter recounted the whole thing it was true and he said and fellas I didn't have any idea what was going on or what God was doing I was just following orders

[30:56] I had so many questions about this but I knew I had to do what this voice told me so I did and guess what when I preached the word to them the spirit of God came down on that place just like he did on us on the day of Pentecost when there were nothing but Jews and now these are Gentile and these people these fellow Jews amazing statement amazing statement they turned to each other and said wow well then God has also granted repentance to Gentiles how can that be and that opened the door and you know Peter was the one

[31:58] God used to do it and I think it ties in with Peter having been given those keys and I think he is using one of those keys right there this and folks listen this event that I just described that admitted the first Gentile to the household of faith this was almost 10 years after the crucifixion and resurrection wow you you mean you mean the first 10 years of the book of Acts which engulfed 30 years total you mean the first 10 years wasn't Christian no nothing Christian about it it was Jewish Jewish Jewish and these were Jews who believed but they weren't Christians and the name Christian didn't even surface until Acts chapter 13 when they were called Christians first at Antioch this thing is so

[33:00] Jewish oy vey it's just Jewish Jewish Jewish Jewish and do you know what we want to do we want to Christianize that which was Jewish and make it Christian and when you do you create an incredible confusion that cannot be solved so let us look at what we have here we are in Acts chapter 17 and we're talking about but now and the but now suggests that something has occurred that has really changed things and the but is a conjunction it is a conjunction of contrast it is like an adversity it means what I said thus and so thus and so but something has been introduced that changes the whole picture that's the meaning that is wrapped up in this little three letter word called but verse 28

[34:08] Paul is speaking on Mars Hill now this is long this is some years after the Corinthians the Cornelius situation and he has been speaking and winning people Jews and Gentiles to Christ now he's talking to a group of Gentiles these are Greek philosophers we would call these the intelligentsia of the world at that time it is arguable to say that these people whom Paul was addressing on Mars Hill were probably the intellectual elites of their day these guys were really smart but their brilliance was marred with their humanity and that's the problem with all human brilliance it's marred with humanity and it is here and Peter Paul is talking to these believers or these they're not believers they're Gentiles unbelievers and by the way as intelligent as these guys are how many times have

[35:12] I been telling you about man reasoning with the warped intellect skewed logic these were probably the most intelligent people on the planet at this time it is from their ilk these at Athens that Socrates and Plato and Pythagoras and all of those really brilliant brainy guys were produced and yet they're idolaters they worship statues and they think there is a god behind each of these statues now let me ask you where is the brilliance in that we would look at that and say well that's just downright foolish maybe even stupid but these were not stupid people they were intelligent people but they are marred with humanity and we all are and this is why we need the word of God to give us a straight scoop so he is talking about them and he says we are all the offspring of

[36:13] God in verse 29 I'm just going to read the bold print and you can read between the lines and see the translation if you want but the apostle Paul is saying for as much then as we we humans are the offspring of God we ought not to think that the God head is likened to gold or silver or stone graven by art and man's device and the times of this ignorance God winked at boy I sure wish I had a better handle on that I don't know how to take that phrase the times of this ignorance God winked at all I can conclude is that there appears to have been a lesser kind of responsibility or demand imposed upon those in the ancient world can we say that somehow in some way that I don't understand and I trust you probably don't either

[37:13] God cut these people some kind of slack God made some kind of I hesitate to use the word exception I believe they were accountable I believe they were responsible but it appears that God held them to some kind of a different standard in days gone by and he says and the times of this ignorance he's talking about the past the times of this ignorance God winked at one translates it God overlooked 20 century New Testament says God looked with indulgence on the days of man's ignorance Moffat translates it such ages of ignorance God overlooked Knox says God has shut his eyes to these passing follies of ours Berkeley renders it however while God paid no attention to those seasons of ignorance and other translations you can see but look at the next bold print but now what does that mean that means everything has changed it's a whole new ball game all of the winking over the things in the past that's done that's over with now a new standard has been developed and provided and that's the order to which we must now march but now

[38:40] God now command that God commands all men everywhere to repent amplified Bible at the bottom says but now he charges all people everywhere to repent that is to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways with abhorrence for their past sins and why does he do that why does he command them to repent now because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man and that is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he has given assurance unto all men in that he has raised him from the dead so

[39:42] Paul is here saying fellas you no longer get a free pass now something specific is required of you this is the message that God gave to Paul charged him with it after redeeming him on the Damascus road and he is to go to the Gentiles and to the Jews and to kings and princes Paul's ministry is not going to be just to Israel and by the way to whom did Jesus go Israel remember the woman who came to him remember the Syrophoenician woman came to him with the child that was ill the little girl and asked Jesus to heal her and do you know what he said he said it is not appropriate for me to take the children meat who are the children the Jews it is not appropriate for me to take the children meat and give it to the dogs who are the dogs the

[40:46] Gentiles and you know what this poor girl did she agreed she said I understand that I know the way you Jews feel about us but but even even the little dogs get the crumbs that fall from the table don't they and do you know the Savior was really moved by that and you know what he did he responded and he healed the little girl of that Gentile woman and he said I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel what does that mean didn't Jesus care about the whole world of course he did God so loved the world not just Jews but the world but listen it is through the Jew that the world is to be reached Jesus was a Jew Paul the apostle was a Jew Abraham Isaac and Jacob were Jews and these people have taken more punishment more persecution more flack more heartache more deaths more everything

[41:50] Holocaust and all the rest amazing how do you account for that I'll tell you how you account for it there is another party involved and he is the adversary he figures into this whole mix don't you forget it we'll be looking at that later on Jesus has already described this adversary in John 12 John 14 and John 16 each time he says he is the prince of this world he is in charge of the planet we like to think that God is God has relinquished control of planet earth through Adam and Eve when he created Adam and

[42:51] Eve he gave them dominion he told them to exercise dominion take charge of the earth you are the boss everything is under your control under your domain and when they rebelled against God they lost their dominion and guess who picked it up Satan he is described in 2nd Corinthians 4 as the God of this world who blinds the minds of those who believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ which is the image of God should shine under them we sing a song beautiful song beautiful message beautiful words this is my father's world I love that song but it's only partly correct and I've likened Satan as a mad dog on the end of a chain and God's holding the end of the chain and he can yank his chain anytime he wants but let me tell you something

[43:53] God allows so much latitude for Satan on this planet that we fought World War I and World War II and Vietnam and Korea and Afghanistan and all of the wars and conflicts that have ever occurred in the history of the planet have been contributed to or instigated by this evil one I've told you before Satan is the destroyer his name is Apollyon he is a destroyer and a deceiver he loves a high body count and if truth be known and there's no way that

[44:56] I can prove it but I am absolutely positive that Satan was involved in El Paso and in Dayton Ohio because he uses people in the same way God uses people but he uses them for an evil end where God uses them for a righteous end well is it not true that many people do not even believe there is a devil that's absolutely right and you know what that's just the way he wants it because after all if we knew he was and what he was and where he was he wouldn't be able to get anything done we would all be on our defenses but we're not we're just dumb and happy and we go along and we're doing many people are doing his bidding and they don't have a clue they think it's all their idea but

[46:01] Satan has ways that I don't understand but I know the text says in John chapter 13 Satan entered in to Judas and Satan calls David the king to number the children of Israel the second time the text says that that's striking the adversary has his finger in more pies but he is always clandestinely under the radar you don't see him but the evil that's going on is described by our Lord as the arch enemy as the deceiver as the one who is the purveyor of death and deception as God is the creator Satan is the destroyer and you know the text says the apostle Paul says that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light wow so deception is afoot and it is rampant in our culture today always has been it's just often not really understood we're going to conclude our but now for now but we will resume this and the progression of doctrine with this reverse page that is dealing with

[47:35] Romans chapter three and if you will hang on to this for next week we'll make up some extras in case you forgot it but meanwhile if you would just put that in your Bible and bring it back with you next week we will look at it and explore this in a little more detail but I want to take just a moment if you have a question we'll entertain that for just a couple okay up here up here in front we don't realize the order that God sets up and we do once we get involved with the word of God and you see I've always seen Simeon up there in Luke chapter 2 he came and he had done all the things but it looks like he was a Gentile and he yet he knew his pecking order that the son was to come and to seek and to save that which was lost and then the centurion at the cross he saw he said funny he speaks up he says truly this was the son of

[48:49] God that Roman centurion but it took a long time it took till Cornelius to see the plan that God had folded out and we can't get a hold of his plan and it's such a blessing to hear you teach on these things and expound on them because it's priceless and it gives us an aid to help people share the gospel with people and point them to the clear message of the cross I just want to thank you and appreciate your hard work and message on this God bless thank you thank you Bill thank you thank you for being here I appreciate that in our next session we want to spend some time especially with the concept of that we are not under law but under grace now that's another big big but now does this mean that Christians then are lawless no we have a law it is the law of liberty in

[49:53] Christ Jesus that has made us free from the law of sin and death so we are under a law too but it's the law of liberty and the other laws that the Jews were under and that the unsaved are under is the law of bondage and if Christ sets you free you shall be free indeed so the implications of this and the commandments and keeping the commandments and all the rest of it and what is that incumbent upon the believer to appreciate how really free you are in Christ but I'm going to do my best to convince you next week and it is a glorious thing would you stand please we'll be dismissed father we recognize that there's so much about this that we don't understand certainly not as well as we would like but we are grateful that you've been pleased to provide the information in your word and we look for the facility of being able to accurately understand it and its implications we are grateful for each one here this morning and our prayer is for any who have not already acknowledged their sin turn from their sin and receive the

[51:16] Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior for any who may not have done that we pray on their behalf that you give them no peace and no rest until they come to know you thank you for all that you've delivered for us and to us thank you for what understanding we have limited though it is we are grateful for what you've been pleased to reveal we ask your blessing upon us now as we dismiss in Christ name Amen