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[0:00] Okay, we will engage chapter 5, the last chapter of the Epistle of James, and I want you to feel free to interrupt me at any time if you've got a question or comment, and we will stop right there because sometimes if you don't address it right away when it's in your mind and the study goes on, then people tend to forget about it or the connection.

[0:24] So I want you to feel free to interrupt me if you've got something that you want to share, and we'll give it our attention. We are looking at chapter 5, and as I've checked my New American standard here, I think it's kind of a curious expression as you read it in the King James.

[0:39] Is it the King James go-to? Does chapter 5 start with go-to? And the New American translates it, come now. Now, go-to is, of course, an old English expression. It's part of the Elizabethan English that you find in the King James that more modern translations bring it to an update, and the update of it is, come now.

[1:05] In other words, this is a new thing I want you to think about, and the author James is inserting a new subject. And it is important to note he is addressing one particular class of people here at least at the beginning of chapter 5, and it is those that we would consider the well-to-do.

[1:27] And he doesn't have very nice things to say about them. And one reason is because the criticism that he levels against them is obviously appropriate, and it is deserved.

[1:39] So I want you to keep in mind, as we've tried to mention throughout our study of James, that this is a letter that is written to Jews, to the 12 tribes scattered abroad.

[1:54] And the principal reason that they are scattered abroad is because of persecution, and they're being relocated forcibly by those enemies that have invaded them, and at different times have sacked Jerusalem and burned the city and tore down the temple and scattered the Jews everywhere.

[2:14] This letter is one like those of Peter that is written to those who are scattered all over the Mediterranean basin. So it is a letter to be circulated, as are all the other letters, and eventually different communities and different places will get it and will be able to benefit from it.

[2:34] But in that scattered number of Jews, that labeled, actually that numbered in the, probably in the hundreds of thousands, when you consider all of them and how scattered they were all over, there's a huge mix.

[2:51] And the mix consists of Jews who were firmly convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah of Israel, and Israel was complicit in crucifying their Messiah.

[3:08] And then there were Jews who were completely convinced that was not true. Jesus was not the Messiah at all. It was a huge mistake on the part of those who thought he was, and they were simply blinded by him.

[3:24] But he wasn't the Messiah. And then there was a group in the middle who thought, sometimes I think he might have been, sometimes I think he wasn't.

[3:34] And they were the undecided. So you've got those three different groups. And James, at one time or another, as does Peter, has something to say to each of those groups. And, by the way, so also does the epistle to the Hebrews.

[3:49] You've got to keep in mind, when you study all of those commonly called Christian Hebrew epistles, that they all contain a mix of people.

[3:59] So when the writer addresses them as brethren, you've got to understand, very often, usually he is not addressing them as fellow believers in Christ.

[4:13] He is addressing them as fellow Jews, fellow members of one of the tribes of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So you've got to take that into consideration as well.

[4:26] And the things that he's got to say here, at the beginning of chapter 5, to the wealthy crowd, to those who were able to scatter and take their wealth with them, is not very complimentary.

[4:37] So let's get into it. Chapter 5 and verse 1. Come now, you rich. He's talking, of course, about the wealth of these individuals who were able to escape with it.

[4:51] You rich, weep and howl for your miseries, which are coming upon you. And the idea is, they are well deserved. The miseries that you are receiving, you've earned.

[5:05] You've got it coming. And actually, this also is a kind of plea for these people who are on the receiving end of this criticism to rethink their position about everything, particularly in this case about their wealth.

[5:22] Your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted.

[5:35] And their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure.

[5:48] Wow. This is not good news. And you may be sure that there are people that fit this description to whom he is writing. And as they read this, or as it was read to them, they have to put themselves in this picture.

[6:04] And actually, it is also designed to stir up a spirit of conviction in these people to rethink the value and the idea that was behind the accumulation of the wealth and the hoarding of it and all the rest of it.

[6:23] And as he goes on, the thing is even, the plot is even thickening. And he says, it is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure. By the way, the last days here, I think we've described as the distinction between the last days and the former days.

[6:41] And if I understand this correctly, the dividing line has to do with the Messiah and the cross. The former days were all of those days on the other side of Calvary.

[6:55] The latter days are all these days on this side of Calvary. The Apostle Paul, for instance, as well as the twelve apostles, they lived in both. They lived in the latter days and they lived in the former days.

[7:08] The former days and the latter days. And the Apostle Paul lived in both. He lived in the former days before the cross and he lived after the cross. So it seems as though Scripture addresses the cross of Christ as being the line of demarcation for human history.

[7:25] And along with that, I don't think it's any coincidence that we split the calendar between B.C. and A.D. Before Christ and A.D.

[7:37] Anno Domini, which means the year of our Lord or the year of the dominant one. And it is something that the Jews have always had to contend with.

[7:49] And if you happen to look at anything that the Jews today put a date on and when they refer to B.C., they never refer to it, they never call it B.C. If you get...

[8:01] I used to subscribe to a weekly publication called the Jerusalem Post. And it was information straight from Israel that was wired to the United States and in New York, they printed it and distributed it in different places here.

[8:18] And you look at the calendar at the top, the date on the weekly newspaper. And I think it was... If I'm not mistaken, I think it's the year 50...

[8:30] Like 5760 or something like that. But they reckon time from what they believe to be the beginning of creation and they don't recognize the split.

[8:41] And whenever they use a date in between, they don't use A.D. or B.C. They use B.C.E. And they'll date something like the reign of one of the kings as 725 B.C.E.

[8:59] And we look at that and we say, well, what's B.C.E.? That is, before common era. And that's their substitute because they refuse to say B.C.

[9:15] and acknowledge Christ or even A.D. and Odomini. So for the Jew, it's B.C.E., before the common era. And these people were in that last day thing.

[9:29] In fact, in connection with that, many were looking forward to the, well, the upheaval that's going to take place later on. But let's move on.

[9:39] I won't stop there. It's in the last days you have stored up your treasure. Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields and which has been withheld by you cries out against you.

[9:56] And the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Samoa. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure.

[10:13] You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man. He does not resist you.

[10:25] And I don't think here in verse 6 he's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ who of course was a righteous man. But he's talking about those who were under their influence and under their authority and they treated human lives as if it was not all that valuable.

[10:42] And this is an invective against this wealthy class of Jews who had fled and had made their wealth on the backs of the poor.

[10:54] I guess you would call these maybe ancient robber barons of that type. They were those who had no scruples had no values at all except wealth and the obtaining of it and you depress whomever you have to depress in order to reach your goals.

[11:12] So these are people who had a very dark kind of life behind them and James is taking them to task because he recognizes that there are a number of Jews like that.

[11:24] There were those who had taken advantage of their own brethren their own fellow Jewish brethren beat them down and took advantage of them in every way in order to gain their wealth and he is here bringing them to task.

[11:39] Be patient therefore brethren until the coming of the Lord. Behold here he's giving an example the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil being patient about it until it gets the early and late rains.

[11:56] You too be patient. Now you get the picture here do you not? He's completely changing his address here because he's talking to different people but he's got something to say to each of these classes and actually he's waited until chapter 5 to address these people the invective that he's delivered on the wealthy right before.

[12:16] Now he's talking about others who are in a more legitimate kind of situation. You too be patient. Strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

[12:31] A number of times it's been pointed out that it is rather obvious from statements that the apostle Paul made that he fully expected the return of Christ during his lifetime.

[12:44] He anticipated that and that's what we refer to as the imminence of the Lord's return. That is that it could occur at any moment and when you read Acts chapter 3 and consider Paul's follow up sermon the day after Pentecost he refers to God having fulfilled his part and this is in connection with the coming of the kingdom and he says there are two things that need to be accomplished before the kingdom of heaven can come to earth.

[13:21] And the first thing is that Yeshua has to pay the price for reclaiming planet earth that was forfeited by our first parents.

[13:37] And then Paul goes on to say there in I mean Peter goes on to say there in Acts 3 God did that. He already did that.

[13:48] Christ has fulfilled his part. Now Israel the ball is in your court. The second thing that needs to be fulfilled is for Israel as a nation to embrace Yeshua Hamashiach as their Messiah.

[14:04] And when you do God will send him back. He hadn't been gone that long. You know he'd been gone weeks actually just a couple of months and God will send him back because those two conditions would have been fulfilled for the establishment of the kingdom.

[14:25] But as you read on through the book of Acts it becomes very clear Israel as a nation did not respond. God did not send him back and the whole concept of the kingdom has been put on hold and it remains on hold and will not be realized until Jesus said you will not see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[14:57] And that will be fulfilled when Israel has their backs to the wall the Antichrist is ready to deliver the final blow to completely eliminate Israel and there will be a huge revival of Jews among the remnant.

[15:17] I don't know how many there will be. It will not be all of the Jewish publication because most of the Jewish people two-thirds of them are going to be eliminated in the Great Tribulation.

[15:32] Adolf Hitler succeeded in eliminating one-third of the Jewish population the Antichrist is going to eliminate two-thirds and the one-third that remains out of them there will be a remnant of Jews and if I'm correct about this they will be that group that Zechariah speaks of when he says they will look upon him whom they pierced and they will mourn and it will be a sad time of reflection and repentance and contrition because this remnant of Jews will recognize they're complicit in crucifying the Messiah their ancestors in crucifying the Messiah and there will be a huge time of revival among that Jewish remnant and as a result of that and they're turning to Messiah guess who shows up and just in the nick of time that's when he returns so keep that in mind we'll look at that later if you want to you too be patient strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand and he recognized that as being a possibility because actually the question remains and I'm not sure that I've got an answer that I'm completely comfortable with the question is at what point in time was the kingdom offer that was expended to Israel withdrawn because at that point in time is when the church which is the body of Christ really comes into play but up until that time what we've got is a transition period in the book of

[17:30] Acts that has the gospel of the kingdom being preached and who's preaching it Peter and the other apostles they're sticking with the message that Christ gave them in Acts 1 witnesses unto me Jerusalem Judea Samaria etc they are sticking with that kingdom message repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and Paul the apostle is on the scene and he is preaching but he is not preaching repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand he is preaching believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and the twelve were continuing their message just like they were supposed to to the circumcised this is the Galatians 2 thing it makes it so very clear they are concentrating on their message to the circumcision to the Jew why because they're preaching the gospel of the kingdom who's that for that's for the Jew it isn't just for the Jew but it is to the Jew so that the

[18:35] Jew upon embracing it will reach the rest of the world as the light bearers they were intended to be but they themselves never received the light so God has brought on board this man Saul of Tarsus gloriously converted him gave him a different commission and his commission is simply to preach the gospel primarily to the Gentiles to the uncircumcised so we've got two different messages from two different groups with two different gospels side by side at the same time and that's one of the things that really causes people to be confused regarding the book of Acts and it is this principle idea that I just shared with you that has resulted in so many doctrinal the versions and so many different denominations etc.

[19:34] it's the way they interpret that so what I'm saying is there are two different actually there are multiple gospels there is only one gospel that is in vogue for our day in the church dispensation and that is the gospel of the grace of God it's not the gospel of the kingdom it's the gospel of the grace of God that has supplanted the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of the kingdom has been set aside will be reactivated later on but right now there is but one gospel and that is the gospel of the grace of God other than that there are all kinds of gospels because word gospel simply means good news there are all kinds of good news about everything but we know that there is one legitimate gospel today and that is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ Roger you have a comment or question what do you suppose Peter did in 2nd Peter when he talks about these things of Paul that's hard to understand did he incorporate that any into the kingdom message as far as telling people that that was a gospel for the Gentiles yeah

[20:47] I don't I don't have any question I think I think the Galatians 2 passage and I'm tempted to go we won't we won't go well okay let's do let's go to Galatians 2 because it is so so helpful and so explanatory that we probably ought to spend a little bit of time in it in Galatians chapter 2 I want you to notice that there's a great deal of time that is involved here chapter 2 opens with Paul saying then after an interval of 14 years I went up again to Jerusalem now this is long after Paul's conversion in fact this is this is probably about 20 years after the apostle Paul was converted on the Damascus road and he says in chapter 2 after an interval of 14 years

[21:49] I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas taking Titus along also and it was because of a revelation that I went up and I think what that simply means is it wasn't his idea he wasn't just sitting there one day and said you know I think I'll go to Jerusalem no he's indicating here that this was a divine unction that it was the Lord Jesus was revealing to Paul that he was to go to Jerusalem that's by revelation and he says I submitted to them the gospel the good news which I preach among the Gentiles now the first question that ought to surface is this well why would he do that was that any different from what they were preaching and the answer is yes it was different that's why he's submitting it because it was different he is not preaching the same message that the twelve are preaching they're preaching repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and to whom are they preaching it

[23:01] Jews exclusively because it was the Jew that was the key the catalyst for getting that kingdom concept underway so understand if you will when Christ came and the text says in John's gospel that Christ that he came unto his own and his own wasn't the world his own was the seed of Abraham Isaac and Jacob he came unto his Jewish brethren and his own them received him not well we know that there were probably thousands that did and benefited from his miracles and his teaching but the leadership of Israel the government of Israel continued in a mode of rejection they did not receive him and when the text says he came unto his own it doesn't mean that

[24:06] Jesus had no care or concern for the world that's that's crazy of course he did John 3 16 pretty well sets that up as well as many other passages but what it means is he came exclusively to Israel for the world and the idea was when Israel gets on board with the plan and program of God then they will be the missionaries to the world then they will be the light of the world that Isaiah prophesies and talks about having raised them up to be a light to the Gentiles but they weren't interested in being a light to the Gentiles and that was where the great conflict arose because they were not interested in embracing a Messiah whom they felt was not legitimate and so on and so forth and you know the rest of it so let's go on he says even Titus who was with me though he was a

[25:07] Greek was compelled to be circumcised but it was because of the false brethren false brethren by the way who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus in order to bring us into bondage what would that bondage be it was the law the law of Moses and when Paul says when Paul says we are not under the law we are under grace he's talking to Gentiles and the gospel that he preached and here are these Jews from Jerusalem and they are seeking the requirement that Gentiles who have put their faith in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and have put their trust in him that they need to be circumcised and they need to keep the law of

[26:11] Moses too in other words these Jews were requiring Gentiles to effectively become Jews be circumcised keep the law the whole nine yards and fellas try to put yourself in the position of these people and that's not such a strange thing you can see that can't you see that can't you see what at least on the surface appears to be the logic of that and what we've got here is a situation that the apostle Paul is preaching something totally different that is contrary to what this demand is all about and I can understand they probably really believe that in good faith and Paul had his position in the commission he received from the Lord that's in good faith so we've got two different factions here that are claiming legitimacy and that adds to the confusion of this first century

[27:12] Gary do you have a comment or question question I guess I get the feeling when I read that that immediately after Paul's conversion that what he converted to was the message that was Jesus was the Messiah to the Jewish people and when he first went out and started preaching that he was preaching that same message until he ended up getting all the revelation from God that here's what we're going to start preaching now but there was a period of time which seems like I don't know how much time that he went out and started preaching the same thing that he was after people for yeah well this Paul and this is part of our problem too we do not know because we're not told exactly what Paul received in all of his revelations nor do we know how many there were all we know is there was an abundance of revelations and we know have good reason to believe that Paul did not get all of his commission at one time and it appears that the Lord revealed different things to him over a period of time and he talks about having received an abundance of revelations so the truth that he is going to be preaching will be unfolding as time goes on but he's got he's got a he's got a two-fold kind of mission because even though he is the apostle to the Gentiles and he has a message of grace which is not repent and be baptized and it is not repent and be circumcised it is repent and believe on the Lord

[28:57] Jesus Christ that was the message to the Gentiles but what was he preaching when he went into the synagogues well now here's the problem because we know Paul had a great burden for the Jews every time he got into town he headed for the synagogue and we know that this kingdom thing and Jesus being the king is the focal point of this whole issue this is this is what the book of Acts is all about really and where people come down on this issue so when Paul goes in to the Jewish synagogue he is not going to preach to these Jews the message that he would preach to Gentiles and yet when he preached to the Gentiles you are saved by placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ you are delivered from all things from which you could not be delivered through the law of

[29:59] Moses he preached that message to the Gentiles what do you think the Jews are thinking about that message and they start thinking now wait a minute wait a minute you are telling us Paul and you are telling these Gentiles these uncircumcised goyim you are telling them in order to be brought into a right relationship with God they have to receive this Jewish Messiah as their savior and as their sin bearer and if they do that they come into a right relationship with God known as justification by faith or salvation or going to heaven or whatever you want to call it and do you think the Jews ever got wind of that message of course they did of course they did and then the reasoning starts this way now wait a minute wait a minute this man is telling these

[31:10] Gentiles they can be brought into a right relationship with God simply by believing in the substitutionary death of Christ for their sins as Gentiles well if that's true then why can't Jews be saved the same way God forbid unthinkable what that would do is it would turn the law of Moses on its ears away with this man and what was the principle what was the principle thing that the Jews lodged against Paul he teaches against the law of Moses that was their big item and in a sense they were right so we've got these two do you see the confusion here you see the conflict that is arising in these two different groups man this is volatile stuff and it is so confusing if you don't rightly divide the word and pick out the players and put them in the position they belong it

[32:19] Don wouldn't the psyche of the Jew at that time be that God was ours not yours he was ours oh yeah come with us you've got to come all the way with us absolutely that that I'm sure that entered into it no question about it because the vast majority of the world was and had always been idolaters pagan the Greeks had multiple gods they worship the Romans had multiple gods they worship all these people were into idolatry one kind or another and the Jew was really singular and actually had not the Jew himself been entrenched in idolatry at different times in different places all through the Old Testament hey they hadn't even gotten out of Egypt and been out of Egypt that long until they were in idolatry again and of all people it came from Aaron Moses brother for crying out loud oh we just threw all this stuff into the fire and out came this golden calf well come on they were into idolatry way back then and what was the principal reason that God brought judgment against the northern ten tribes and brought

[33:35] Sennacherib down from the north and decimated them in 722 and carried the people away it was idolatry and why did he bring Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon against Jerusalem in 586 BC and tear down the city and ruin everything and carry the people off into captivity one of whom was Daniel idolatry so they've got a record for that and now Paul is preaching this gospel of the grace of God and telling these non Jews that they don't have to become Jews in order to be accepted of God all they need to do is embrace this Jewish Messiah who was really the Messiah for the whole world yes Paul was real religious and he was for the law before he was converted absolutely that seems strange that God took him to take away the law and put him aside under grace right so he had a different understanding of God give it to him right absolutely good point good point and here keep in mind keep in mind that the Jew for the most part had ingrained in his thinking that

[34:55] God is eternal so is the law the law is as eternal as the God who gave it and the idea that the law of Moses could be done away God forbid are you crazy do away with the law of Moses are you crazy now you've got to remember that civilization existed for 2500 years before the law of Moses ever came into existence keep that in mind and when it did it was given exclusively to Israel wasn't given to the Babylonians wasn't given to the Assyrians it's given to Israel and the law of Moses they considered to be without question intact in place for perpetuity but had they paid better attention to their own scriptures and even considered what the prophet

[36:04] Jeremiah said and Jeremiah said it 500 years before Jesus was born Jeremiah said behold the day is coming said the Lord when I will give a new covenant to Israel not like the covenant I gave them before which they broke that was the law of Moses covenant of Moses but I will give them a new covenant and as you read in the gospels the night that Jesus was betrayed when he took that cup held that cup up of wine and he said this cup is the new covenant in my blood wow what what what what is he saying they didn't understand that at all they would afterwards but they didn't get it then and this bread eat of this bread it represents my body and they're scratching their head and saying looking at each other and saying what's he talking about they didn't get it they didn't get it and it was on that cross when

[37:29] Christ's blood was shed that he instituted the new covenant if you want a good take on that read Hebrews 9 10 and 11 well actually 8 9 10 it really spells it out and it is found in other places as well so what we've got here is that Jesus in the death he died on that cross provided the basis for the new covenant to be established but it wasn't Paul will go on to tell the Corinthians that God has made us able ministers of the new covenant but fellas the key ingredient was then and still is an absent Israel you see and this is an important concept to understand when

[38:30] Moses came down from the mount with the tables of the law and the covenant he did not impose that on the children of Israel he offered it to them God offered it to them and the terms of the covenant were set forth if you will obey my voice I will be your God and you will be my people and I'll watch out for you and I'll protect you and so on and you will be a peculiar people unto me Moses tell the children of Israel that show them the law and see what they say and Moses went down presented the whole thing and their response was all that the Lord has said will we do Moses you go back up in the mount and you tell God he's got a deal for his people and

[39:31] Moses said okay now we're going to ratify the covenant the way we ratify a document is we sign our name on the bottom on the dotted line they didn't do that they would slay an animal Moses took an animal killed the animal took the blood of the animal and this is significant because the sacredness of the covenant was intensified by the shedding of blood that is life given up that's very important life given up and he sprinkled the blood on some of the people and he sprinkled it on the tablets of the law and that solidified the deal that closed the deal that was like signing on the bottom line and Israel signed on so we've got an intact pact or agreement and they are going to operate under the dictates and the provisions of that law as a nation and as individuals and that when

[40:40] Jesus said the night he was betrayed this cup is the new covenant in my blood it was in fulfillment of the prophecy that Jeremiah gave 500 years earlier and Jesus was providing the basis for it and he shed his own blood not the blood of animals but it was his blood and and then the apostles took the deal they took the deal to Israel and they presented it on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 Jews signed on they as much as said we accept and we believe Jesus to be the Messiah and he is the king of the kingdom that has never yet come but we have repented we've changed our mind and when

[41:41] Peter preached that message in Acts 2 about you with wicked hands have crucified and slain the Lord of glory but God raised him from the dead and you need to understand that when the psalmist was speaking you will not allow my soul to see corruption or the body to decay in the ground and Peter says listen when David said that he wasn't talking about himself we know where David's buried we know where his tomb is he's still in it but what the psalmist was speaking of was David's greater son not allow his soul to see corruption or his body to see corruption and God raised him from the dead and when Peter preached that message in Acts 2 3,000 of those Jews were going he's right that that's right that's exactly what happened hey we blew it we blew it and we can't undo it we committed this huge tragedy and we can't undo it we can't go back and have a do over what men and brethren what shall we do what can we do and

[43:14] Peter said you can change your mind you can reverse your position repentance always means changing your mind from something you previously held to something different that's what repentance is it has nothing to do with penance has nothing to do with paying for your own sins or contributing to your sins this is the Roman catholic misunderstanding of it and it's tragic but repent means to change your mind and the reason you change your mind is always the same information you got information that you didn't have before and that caused you to rethink your position and come to a different conclusion that's what repentance is and when Paul preached to the people at Ephesus he said I have not shunned and declare unto you all the counsel of God charging that men should repent and believe on the

[44:20] Lord Jesus Christ and you cannot believe on Jesus Christ as your Savior without repenting it's impossible you can't do it because nobody is born a believer in Christ and as we grow up and mature we develop certain attitudes and certain positions and certain things we believe and assume to be true and whatever that is when you hear the gospel of the grace of God and it does not square with what you always believed which was probably something like well I'm not the best guy in the world but I'm sure not the worst and I'm sure that I've done the best I can do and I'm sure God will accept me and I'm sure that this and that and I think I'm as good as anybody that's what you have to repent of you have to see yourself as God sees you as an undone unworthy sinner in desperate need of a savior and Jesus is that savior and when you come to that conclusion you did so on the basis of information that you gave hey this this is why we're here now it isn't so much evangelism but it's giving out information because we get information and we process the information and when we process it we reach a conclusion and the conclusion leads to an attitude we take or an action that we engage so everything begins with information this is why it is so critical to proclaim the word of

[46:02] God and when Billy Graham held his crusades Franklin Graham holds his crusades now all they're doing is dispensing information they're just giving the crowd that's there they're giving them data information something they give them a reason for changing your mind a reason for repenting and when we do we come from point a to point b and that's where salvation or the new birth occurs when we act on that information in a positive way that's always been the plan and that's the way it works now and that's why the preaching of the gospel is so critical and this is why Paul said listen God didn't send me God didn't send me to baptize that's not part of my thing my thing is to preach the gospel to preach the good news and and the issue of

[47:04] Paul and his baptism and he says things like I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius did did I baptize anybody else I don't know whether I baptized anybody else I don't know because God didn't send me to baptize he sent me to preach the gospel and I think we we need to look at that we need to ask ourselves some questions about that what is he saying here because the background that I come from even though I was never in a church situation wasn't raised in a church or anything like that you know I came to faith in Christ as a 21 year old soldier boy on my wedding day and the issue of baptism never even entered into the thing and I knew there was such a thing but it never occurred to me to be baptized and here I got into scriptures and was interested in understanding the

[48:06] Bible and was talking to people that I worked with as a new Christian about salvation and what happened to me I was burdened for lost people and my own family my own relatives and the subject of baptism water baptism never came up and we came to Springfield but I was discharged from the army brought my new bride back to Springfield and we began attending a Baptist church and really really appreciated the message and what the preacher was saying and everything and I couldn't get enough scripture couldn't get enough Bible and he mentioned one day whether my wife and I would like to join the church and we said well yeah sure yeah that'd be great and he said well if you're going to join the church you'll have to be baptized and I said really he said yeah it requires a now he says it doesn't have anything to do with your salvation but it's an act of obedience and if you want to be obedient to the

[49:09] Lord you need to be water baptized because the scriptures talk about they believed and they were baptized and I said well yeah and I thought well gee does this mean I've been disobedient for almost a year when I've been reading and studying the Bible and witnessing to people and trying to lead people to Christ I guess all that time I was a disobedient an ignorant disobedient Christian because I hadn't been baptized and Barbara said well if that's what it takes she said I was I was baptized as a baby and then we joined the Presbyterian church in the town that I grew up in and I was sprinkled there as a Presbyterian and now I guess I'll get immersed as a Baptist so that's what happened and this was in this was in 1957 wow can't believe so anyway all of these things come into play and this the question is in this new administration new dispensation that is called the gospel of the grace of God so we're not preaching the gospel of the kingdom today we're preaching believe on the

[50:27] Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and this gospel is unencumbered with anything it is justification by faith and by faith alone that means justification that means you become justified or declared righteous before God solely on the basis of believing that's what the word faith means and that is how the grace of God gets to the believing person it is through the pipeline of faith you hear the message and your response to the message is belief or unbelief it is acceptance or rejection and if it is acceptance then you are believing you are exercising faith as an act of your will you are saying I believe that and as a result of that belief you become declared righteous before God and you are given a position that is one of absolute perfection because you are now adorned in the righteousness of Jesus

[51:49] Christ and in that righteousness there is no room for improvement but I hasten to add that is your position that is your official position your practice is an entirely different matter you cannot grow and mature in your position but you can certainly grow and mature in your practice and that is what we call growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and all that means is you become less like the old you and more like the new you which is in the person of Christ so I never got to the text that I was aiming for here in Galatians I didn't want to interrupt you thank you well anyway I have been interrupted by the most wonderful thing that could interrupt us and that is not me hey guys thanks for your kind attention I'm sorry we didn't get back to the

[52:49]  Galatians thing we'll try to finish that next week meanwhile enjoy your meal and the day ahead and thanks again for being here