Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.gracespringfield.com/sermons/43145/prophecy-and-mystery-contrasted-mystery-13/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] I think you can count on a question and answer period this morning. At least we're going to try our best to work that in. Because my suspicion is that the content we'll be dealing with will provoke a number of questions in your minds.

[0:17] And I want you to have opportunity to answer them. While you are turning to the Sermon on the Mount that begins in Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 5, I want to make an explanatory note.

[0:30] And that is we have dispensed with our planned routine of caring in the 9 o'clock hour for the subject of prophecy and then comparing that and contrasting that at the 10-15 hour with the subject of mystery.

[0:54] And that would allow those who would be present for both sessions to get a larger impact of the prophecy section and then the contrast that would follow at 10-15 with the mystery section.

[1:10] But since it is not prudent for us to continue with the two services like that and to minimize the possibilities of exposure, we have gone with just the 10-15 service and I don't know how long this will continue.

[1:25] That remains to be seen. But that also necessitates our trying to combine these two with prophecy and mystery in the same setting.

[1:36] And I'm not sure how successful that will be because you have to give short shrift to both of them and cannot give either the full treatment that you would like. But we will do the best we can.

[1:47] And what I want you to see is the contrast that exists between content in the Gospels, which as I've said in the past, more appropriately, theologically, doctrinally, belongs to the Old Testament.

[2:05] The four Gospels, doctrinally, theologically, belong to the Old Testament. I know there are many, in fact most, who will look at the frontispiece on their New Testament and say, well, I don't know where you got that from, preacher, because right here it says the New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and it begins with Matthew.

[2:27] But there's nothing inspired about that. That was put there by the printers and by the people, I'm sure, who had very good faith and thought that's the way it was supposed to be. But you see, it was not, it was not the birth of Jesus Christ that changed everything.

[2:46] It was the death that changed everything. It was the death, burial, and resurrection. Those events having taken place absolutely changed everything.

[3:01] And up until that time, Jesus was functioning, operating, teaching out of the Old Testament.

[3:12] In fact, that's all that existed at that time. So when I say theologically and doctrinally, the four Gospels belong to the Old Testament more than they do to the New.

[3:26] And I know that sounds like somebody has really gone off the deep end. I know how that sounds to people who've never heard it before, but I am satisfied that we are on solid ground in saying it.

[3:38] And what I want you to look at now, here in the Sermon on the Mount, is that which was established by our Lord, actually in contrast even to what went before.

[3:51] Well, let's just go into it. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5. And perhaps we should... Let's begin with chapter 6.

[4:05] We'll just have to eliminate this and discipline ourselves to... Well, I don't want to do that. Well, let's just point out a few things. All right?

[4:16] Let's just point out a few things. And I'm thinking, first of all, in Matthew 5 and verse 21. Matthew 5 and verse 21.

[4:28] Jesus said... And by the way, the Sermon on the Mount is without a doubt the most popular and the most famous sermon ever given by anyone at any time.

[4:41] And it has been recognized for almost from the time it was given as to be the premier expression of behavior, of kindness, etc.

[4:52] So let's just jump in with chapter 5 and verse 21. Jesus is speaking, and he says, You have heard that the ancients were told you shall not commit murder, and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.

[5:08] But... And there again, we have the insertion of a grammatical word that really means something. Folks, words mean things.

[5:21] And when Jesus uses the term but here, he is establishing something that he is going to say differs from what he just said.

[5:34] And the but, I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court, and whoever shall say to his brother Raka shall be guilty before the Supreme Court, and whoever shall say, you fool, shall be guilty enough to go into the hell of fire.

[5:57] What is that all about? And how is it that Jesus is contesting what has been written before?

[6:08] Who does he think he is to come up with this, but I say unto you? Well, once again, let me just remind you that in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, absolutely everything hinges on the identity of this person, Jesus of Nazareth.

[6:28] And what he is doing here, he is quoting the law of Moses and the common interpretation of it as it is given.

[6:40] And it is given in a very legal, straightforward fashion. But there is one thing that the law of Moses never addresses and doesn't have the ability to address.

[6:55] And that is the attitude that is behind the giving and the keeping of the law. And this is a very, very important concept.

[7:05] And I don't want to get too far afield here, but I don't want to leave this either. When the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8, and he made the statement for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did in the person of his son and so on.

[7:32] In other words, Paul is stating that the law, yes, the law was in place, but the law had its limitations because the law of Moses was provided by God and it was given to human beings, none of whom had the actual ability to keep it.

[7:50] And what that law did is it revealed human weakness and human foils and human inability. So this is why Paul said then in Galatians that the law served as a schoolmaster to drive us to Christ.

[8:08] What the law is designed to do is show you beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are a sinner and you do not and cannot measure up to the righteous standards that God requires.

[8:24] That being the case, what are you to do? Well, you can never measure up to God's standards, so you have to appeal to the only one who could and who did and that's Jesus and the righteousness that he possessed, he will give as a free gift of grace to you simply for the asking.

[8:52] That's called being justified on the basis of grace. That's part and parcel of the grace message. That is completely different from what we're talking about here in Matthew.

[9:03] Just a couple of others. Now look in verse 27. You have heard that it was said you shall not commit adultery, but, but, I say to you that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

[9:20] Does the law of Moses address that? No! No, it doesn't. It just addresses the act. And the reason is because in the law you can confine people to the act.

[9:38] And you can punish them if they violate by performing the act. But, with the law you cannot change anybody's heart.

[9:52] You cannot make anybody different on the inside. And the reason you can't is because the vessel to whom the law was given isn't made of the right kind of stuff to be able to do that.

[10:06] We are fallen. The law isn't. That's the problem. You see, there was nothing wrong with the law. What was wrong was the human beings to whom the law was given.

[10:17] And so many people are under the impression and this is one of the saddest, saddest misnomers in all of Christianity that after 2,000 years we have not been able to successfully correct.

[10:28] And that is you go to heaven and you receive a right relationship with God on the basis of doing good things. That just sounds so logical.

[10:40] It is so common and everybody knows that except it's a big fat lie. There's no truth in it. And yet, this is the basis on which people operate.

[10:51] Well, I'm a good person. Well, I've never hurt anybody. Well, I've never, I've always tried to do the, and on and on it goes. And all the law is designed to do is show you failure, failure, failure, failure.

[11:03] You don't measure up. You're sunk. What are you going to do? And the answer is you need a savior. And that's why Jesus came. That's what it's all about.

[11:15] Christianity has had possession of this message for 2,000 years. And we have dolled it up and dressed it up and obfuscated it and confounded it and added to it and subtracted from it and the world doesn't even know what the gospel really is.

[11:35] And I lay the responsibility of that to our own doorstep, the church. Pitiful. Absolutely pitiful. But this is what's taking place.

[11:48] And the God of this age is blinding the minds of those that believe not, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, and that adds to it. Verse 28, I say unto you. And what Jesus is addressing here is not the act of adultery.

[12:03] That's what the law addresses. Because the law cannot be imposed on people's attitudes, only on their actions.

[12:14] Do you see how that works? So what is needed is something that will change human behavior on the inside so it is reflected differently on the outside.

[12:29] And only regeneration and the work of God can do that. And even then, you still have the flesh. Even for a believer in Christ, you still have the flesh.

[12:42] And this is what Paul is addressing in Galatians 5. Let's hasten on. Verse 31, And it was said, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of dismissal.

[12:54] But, but, I say to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

[13:08] What is this? This is addressing the real issue. And in verse 34, verse 33, Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, you shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows.

[13:21] But, you see, in each case, Jesus is stepping up the ante. In each case, he is saying, what is needed is a change on the inside, and the law cannot do that.

[13:40] All the Luke, all the law can do is point out your failures and your judgment that you have coming because of the failures. And where grace comes in is it completely overrides all of that, takes into consideration our flawed nature, and is prepared to bestow upon us a righteousness that God will accept that has nothing to do with our works or our inner attitude or anything else, and it is called the gospel of the grace of God.

[14:14] That is so radically different from what we're talking about. You see, this in the Sermon on the Mount has a very intense legal, legal flavor to it.

[14:26] It's supposed to. There's nothing wrong with it in the same sense that there's nothing wrong with the law. Like Paul said, the law, when he wrote the Timothy, the law is good if men use it lawfully.

[14:41] The law is just and righteous and holy. The law is perfect because God who gave it is perfect, but those to whom he gave it are not. And there's where the law breaks down.

[14:53] So, we are all condemned. We are all under the law. We all suffer the just punishment of the law, which means everybody is doomed to be alienated, separated from a righteous God forever.

[15:09] That's the fallout. And the only thing that changed that is the cross because God was in Christ reconciling the world, everyone, unto himself.

[15:31] That is incredible. that is everything. That isn't most of it. That's all of it.

[15:43] That's the whole thing. As I've often said, who Jesus Christ is, why he came, what he did, and why it matters, is everything.

[16:00] And if you are wrong about Jesus Christ, it doesn't make any difference what you've got right. This is everything.

[16:14] It's all writing on this. And the message that we've given times past, what everything is all about is this, is redemption.

[16:26] It is a glorious, glorious thing. verse 33, you shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vow. But I say to you, make no oath at all either by heaven, for it is the throne of God.

[16:38] So let your yes be yes and your statement be a statement. In other words, the law made a provision that you could swear upon this or swear upon that or something else. And what Jesus is saying is, look, you don't swear upon anything.

[16:58] If you say yes to something, that's enough. Yes, let it stand. In other words, your word is your bond. And no means no.

[17:09] Yes means yes. There are no fudge factors here. Your word is at stake. And what Jesus is saying is, a simple yes or no.

[17:22] And the idea, I swear upon my mother's grave, I swear upon a stack of Bibles, I swear, as if that's supposed to lend some additional element of truth and fidelity to it, Jesus said, just a simple yes or no, and your integrity is tied to it.

[17:41] And you don't have to go on with all of the oaths and everything that follows. All I'm trying to do now is show you that this example exists here. And there is one more that is probably even more important that we're going to focus on for the rest of the time we have.

[17:55] And that's found in chapter 6, Matthew's Gospel, chapter 6. And Jesus is contrasting the kind of prayer that was often said by then at that time.

[18:12] And he says in verse 5, when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues, be heard on the street corners, to be seen by man. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

[18:24] But you, when you pray, you do not conduct yourself in such a way in public like you stand on a street corner in a somber position and attitude of prayer so that everybody can walk by and say, ooh, what a holy religious person he is.

[18:44] and they do it to be seen of men to receive the accolades from other humans. Jesus is saying they've got their reward. And that's all it is.

[18:54] The acknowledgement from others. When you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrite. You go into your inner room, shut your door, pray to your father who is in secret.

[19:06] Your father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition. And you know there is a tendency for crass repetition to become very meaningless where it just becomes rote and automatic.

[19:28] And they actually devised a system whereby they could keep track of the prayers that they offered. Hindus have this.

[19:40] It's called a prayer wheel. And they spin this wheel and they offer a prayer and each time the wheel goes around the prayer is supposed to be repeated. It's kind of like it's kind of like recording a prayer on a tape recorder and then playing it over 50 times and congratulating yourself by saying I prayed 50 times about that.

[20:06] such nonsense such silliness such stupidity and yet this is what people are capable of doing. And they devise some kind of accounting system whereby they can keep track of who they prayed for and how many times they prayed.

[20:24] And our Lord says they suppose they will be heard for their many words. therefore do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him.

[20:39] Pray then in this way. And this is a prayer that of course has been considered to be the Lord's Prayer for just for centuries. it is more accurately called and by the way the Bible nowhere calls this the Lord's Prayer.

[20:59] That's just the title that humans have applied to it. What it is is a model kind of prayer that Jesus is giving the disciples when they ask him teach us to pray and what he is telling them in essence is this.

[21:19] Okay, fellows, I'm going to give you a sample kind of prayer and in it certain elements are are are found in it and these are things that you may want to remember in your prayer or touch upon in your prayer.

[21:38] These various ingredients and look at them if you will and they're very standard. First of all you address God as your father. You address him for where he is.

[21:48] He is in heaven. His name is sanctified or holy and there is a prayer for the kingdom to come. That is something that had been on the heart of every Jew from the time of Genesis chapter 3.

[22:02] Well, actually there weren't any Jews then. They didn't come along until later after Abraham but this is the time when the seed of the woman was promised who would right the wrongs of the world and of Adam and his progeny and all the rest of it and that is part and parcel of what they are praying.

[22:23] The kingdom come because when the kingdom comes everything is going to get fixed so that when the kingdom comes I will will be done on earth as it is in heaven and when you pray you look to God for your daily sustenance and you look to God for strength and spiritual power to overcome temptation all of these things but this was never intended never intended to be a rote memorized prayer that you say over and over and over again hey he just condemned that he just condemned that in the same passage and said do not enter into meaningless repetitions and that's exactly what we've done isn't that amazing?

[23:06] that is exactly what we've done you know as well as I do there are churches all over the country that would not think of even conducting a service a funeral a wedding or anything else without including what they call the Lord's Prayer and the vast majority of them really don't even understand what the prayer is for the coming of the kingdom which is evidenced by the fact that they think they think in the replacement theology thing the kingdom is already here it's a spiritual kingdom it has already come well if it has already come why are they praying that the kingdom will come which is kind of nonsensical so the kingdom still hasn't come and when it does believe you me everybody will know it but someone has said if we are living under kingdom conditions where the lame man leaps like a heart sights given to the blind disease is cured dead are raised and all the rest you couldn't prove it by me that's not hardly the kingdom but all of this content and the plot thickens verse 14 must be kept in context with all that has gone before in that prayer if you forgive men if there is another expression that words mean things there is conditionality attached to this big word two letters if if you forgive men for their transgressions your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive men then your father will not forgive your transgressions hmm now the question is what does that really mean and the answer is it really means what it says there is a condition attached there is no question about that your obtaining forgiveness from God is dependent upon your having forgiven others now when I say your

[26:01] I realize and I hope you realize I'm not talking about you personally I'm talking about the context here in which this was delivered which was a strictly Jewish context strictly intended for those people in a covenant relationship with Jehovah which consisted only of the Israelites only of the nation Israel only of the Jewish people this is not for Gentiles Arabs have no call on this at all this was never given to the Babylonians never given to the Assyrians never given to the Egyptians never intended for their obedience this is strictly for Israel that in and of itself ought to tell us something it excludes everybody else he's talking about people in a contractual covenantal relationship with the true God as well as the whole of the Sermon on the

[27:01] Mount the Sermon on the Mount was never given to you never intended for you or for me now there's no question it's got some wonderful things in it there's no doubt about that as to how we should treat our fellow man and all the rest of it and nobody's going to argue with that but these things are not intended for you never were they were exclusively for Israel people in that covenant relationship operating and functioning under the law of Moses and it is as conditional as it can possibly be now if there is a greater need that we human beings have other than enjoying the forgiveness of God I don't know what it would be not health not wealth not position not anything else nothing matters more than forgiveness from

[28:13] God a right relationship with him acceptance by him and the promise that we will be in his presence with him never to be separated again and the reason this forgiveness thing is so absolutely critical is because it has eternal consequences not just earthly consequences eternal consequences and it is as conditional as it can be well now let's come over to Colossians now the problems begin Colossians chapter 2 and let's begin reading with verse 10

[29:13] I want to remind you that Paul is here writing to a group of primarily Gentiles we would call them former pagans former idolaters and there are no doubt some Jews also in this congregation at Colossae who had come to faith in Christ just as there were at Corinth and Ephesus and other places and beginning at verse 10 Paul is speaking of the Lord Jesus and he says and in him that is in Jesus you have been made complete and he Jesus is the head over all rule and authority and in him you meaning the recipients of this letter and actually I think it is extended to all believers as well you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands now it's very difficult for us to relate to this because circumcision to us is just not that big a deal so many people just consider it ritual or tradition or optional or whatever

[30:37] I remember years ago when our first born child if you can believe this he's over 60 now we got the we got the doctor's bill for delivering Timothy Mark Wiseman and the bill was $85 $75 for the delivery and 10 bucks for the circumcision and I didn't even know they were going to do that they didn't ask me they just did it standard operating procedure but in the Jewish community circumcision was never optional it was absolutely essential and it created a real problem when these non-Jewish people otherwise known as pagans heathen Gentiles idolaters when they came to faith in

[31:38] Jesus Christ there was a big ruckus raised because they had placed their faith in a Jewish Messiah and those Jews who had already come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah were of course circumcised they were Jews they were circumcised on the eighth day and the issue then became one of great and I mean great controversy you talk about knock down drag out this is this was this was the fight of the first century is whether these non-Jewish people adult males coming to faith in Jesus as their Messiah don't they have to be circumcised and don't they have to keep the law also and aren't they in effect becoming Jews no no they're not they are not becoming Jews they are still

[32:39] Gentiles and they have placed their faith and trust in a Jewish Messiah that does not make them Jews they're still non-Jews and what's more they have been circumcised what and I I would imagine that any Gentile man who would have heard Paul say this you have been circumcised well I have not I and I ought to know and Paul is saying yeah there is a circumcision that is made without hands that means that the person in the community who is assigned to be the community official circumciser and he keeps a sharpened flint stone for that very purpose can you imagine that an eight day old baby boy and he's being circumcised with a sharpened stone not even a surgical knife and what

[33:58] Paul is saying is you Gentiles who have never been circumcised in accordance with the law of Moses you have been circumcised by a higher standard by a different way it is a circumcision made without hands and not only that you were also baptized with the baptism that had no water in it what is this folks what this is is a whole new thing that's the point and that's why it is so confusing to so many because they were locked into this old way and let me tell you from personal experience there is one thing that is a whole lot harder than learning new truth a lot harder than learning new truth and that is unlearning what you thought was true before but found out that it isn't and there are a lot of Christians stuck on that but I've always believed in other words that makes it right that makes it true no it doesn't but we get so locked in this thing gets stored in our spirit and it is like it's etched in stone repent and be baptized and of course that's water baptism they repented and they were baptized

[35:44] Jesus was baptized don't you want to follow Jesus and on and on it goes and I say this as one who has been a promoter of it in the past so I know whereof I speak and it is a Yaleman's job to move anyone out of that but this is what I've always believed and therefore I know it's true well I don't know who it was that said I'd rather believe a few things for certain than a whole lot of things that aren't so but let's go on anyway this this Ephesia or Colossian passage I'm going to open this for Q&A Paul says you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands that's a spiritual circumcision and by the way ladies this applies to you in the same way that the baptism does and baptized buried with him in baptism and this is a dry baptism this is a spirit baptism in which you were also raised up with him that too is spiritual through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead and so on and when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh as Gentiles of course he made you alive spiritually alive well of course they were physically alive but he's saying he made you alive on the inside alive to God together with him having forgiven us all our transgressions now wait a minute what about

[37:38] Matthew 6 what about the conditionality we tried to make a case and I don't know whether we succeeded that that in Matthew 6 was designated for specific people under a specific covenant at a specific time with specific demands made upon them that were not made on anyone else this is a whole different situation here having made you alive together with him having forgiven us all our transgressions do you realize that when you came to faith in Jesus Christ whenever that was there were at least 33 different things that happened to you instantaneously at the moment you came to faith in Christ and most Christians couldn't even name five of the 33 but there are 33 things that became true of you and of every believer even though you didn't recognize it didn't realize it didn't understand didn't know what was happening to you all of those things happened and they were all spiritual realities all placed to your account and this is part and parcel of having blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in

[38:57] Christ these things all became true of you and they were provided for you as a blanket the whole shebang the whole nine yards that's why Paul is saying and you are complete in him if words mean anything what does complete mean means you aren't lacking anything but what if you haven't been physically circumcised got nothing to do with it you're complete in him but what if you haven't been baptized got nothing to do with it you are complete in him but what if the baptism wasn't immersion what if it was sprinkling that's got nothing to do with you're complete in him you see the effort here that is made is to throw everything where it belongs on

[39:58] Christ and it's all of him it's all of him or it's not him at all and this is the most glorious thing about the gospel you are complete in him which means you lack nothing absolutely nothing that is amazing that's your official position that's the way God views you he not only views you as having been on that cross when Jesus died you were on that cross with him you died with him you were buried with him you were raised with him in newness of life you are even ascended with him in the heavenlies and heaven is our eternal home as far as God is concerned it's a package that's already wrapped up and delivered it's a done deal we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places wow and it isn't true if you're able to believe it it is true whether you believe it or not and if you don't you just don't get the blessing and the benefit and the peace and the joy and the relaxation that comes from it wow what a package can you compare this with

[41:20] Matthew and if you forgive not men there but trespasses then your heavenly father do you not see a problem here and how is this ordinarily approached I'll tell you how it's ordinarily approached it's ordinarily approached the way I approached it as a young man early twenties recently saved reading the Bible stumbling stuttering fumbling through it couldn't make head or tail of it read this passage read that doesn't make sense I don't see how this fits with that that doesn't feel I don't understand that and maybe someday maybe someday I'll find out but for now all I know is it's all true it's all the Bible I believe it all I don't understand it all I don't see how it works I don't see how it says this here and says that there but I just I just in my ignorance I just take it by faith and accept it anyway God's got an answer to it I just don't have any idea what it is and that's as far as I got until until something happened that started making everything fall into place and it's called coming into the truth of rightly dividing the word of

[42:39] God and Miles Coverdale's wonderful rules about helping you to understand scripture if thou mark not only what is spoken of whom and to whom at what time with what circumstances considering what comes before and what follows applying a simple principle makes the Bible come alive and you see things need to be distinguished between this belongs here this belongs here this is the church age this is a dispensation of grace and this is the dispensation of the law and of Israel and this is prophecy and this is mystery and they don't mesh because they're not supposed to mesh they're supposed to be radically different and they are wow incredible absolutely incredible and this is just one of many that we're looking at here it is just well I'm not finished but I've got to quit or we won't have time for any

[43:44] Q&A at all and I've decided I'm gonna stop and let you have your say or your questions and by the way I want you to understand it would not bother me in the least if you completely disagree with me and I would not consider it I would not consider it a lack of respect for me if you've got convictions that are different from this you're entitled to air them and I would not discourage that I want you to feel free to be honest and I'll do the same who has a question or comment okay up here just wait for the mic comment and this is not a disagreement Melchizedek has taken us right into the throne room of the most high God amen amen Melchizedek thou art a priest forever after the order of

[44:49] Melchizedek amen thank you other comments or questions well I wish I had some disagreements that's more fun but you know we through homeschooling meet a lot of different types of Christians and the kids have quite a few Presbyterian and even some Anglican friends yeah bless their heart we've had a great opportunity to talk about their beliefs and they've talked to their friends and find out kind of where they're at and it's been interesting you know they're in that same line you were talking about basically saying you know we are the continuation of Israel and you know the Israelites they circumcised and now instead of circumcision we just do baptism but it's the same thing yeah basically just a little bit of a difference but I also had a or have a good friend that

[46:00] I've known for years and we used to debate about this quite a bit and his big view was well the law was done away with the law of Moses but it was replaced with the law of Christ which is different he'd point to the Beatitudes that we looked at this morning and say well Jesus brought a different law you know Jesus said well you heard this but now I say this and it was interesting I said you know you're you're just replacing one law with another one and that's not the gospel but one of the points that he you know he made was and I think with you know with the Old Testament law it law but something that

[47:16] I think was probably overlooked and neglected and maybe ignored by the people of the time but I will say kind of to follow up now this friend of mine who we debated many years ago is now fully on board with the gospel of the grace of God and the thing that really kind of brought him to that was not necessarily my great theological debating skills but he came to the end of himself and he realized wonderful I'm not doing I can't do this this is not working and that kind of opened his eyes to the scriptures so anyway I thought I'd share that I appreciate that testimony and I know there's so many people and I'm I'm one of them when I first heard these things my first response was oh that can't be and you know what I was thinking why that can't be because that's not what I've always believed that's not the party line that's not what

[48:18] I was taught so that's why it can't be and listen the whole nine yards and I mean the whole nine yards of what is realized today in all of the different denominations and boy if you could name and it includes non denominational churches as well we're not exempt from that but all of these differences that exist Presbyterian Methodist and Brethren and Baptist and Church of God and Nazarene and on and on and on it goes what's going on here I mean they're all looking at the same book what in the world is how do you get all of these different opinions when everybody's reading the same content and the answer is it's all in how you interpret it when you make faulty assumptions then you build doctrine upon those assumptions which you believe to be true and if you have someone at the head of it who is well spoken respected well recognized scholarly and this is what he believes well that's good enough for me and people get on board and voila you've got a new denomination that's exactly how they came into being over the last 500 years that's how they came into being originally it was just pretty much one and that was the

[49:53] Roman Catholic and any other that existed were just very small and and incidental with no reputation and no recognition and no clout but in time in the 1500s when Martin Luther made his break then from that break came the Church of England and from the Church of England came the Methodists and the Nazarenes and the Presbyterians and on and on it goes there there there is a tree of life for individuals you know the genealogy and there is the same thing for denominations and they all hold what they hold in good faith they all really believe it and if really believing something made it so would all be home free but truth is not determined by a poll that you take and see what the percentages are and how many believe it truth is truth even if nobody believes it wow did there

[51:03] Lynette did you have a comment or question yeah when you said when you were talking about the division of the New Testament and the Old Testament and and when everything really changed and you said that it actually didn't change with the birth of Christ but with the death of Christ do you think that it really might have been more so the resurrection of Christ rather than even the death because if he had died it wasn't resurrected I see what you're saying I guess what I was assuming it's a package I was thinking I can't I can't nor should I separate the resurrection of Christ from the death of Christ and I I guess I just stated it as a given but I should have made it more clear you're right you're absolutely right for if

[52:04] Christ be not risen then your faith is vain and you are yet in your sins and we are of all men most miserable because we testified of him that God raised him from the dead whom he raised not from the dead sad to be sure someone else Joe or John as a former Catholic when I was younger the Catholic church not only made prayer repetitious they made it a punishment because that was your penance to say so many Hail Marys and so many Our Fathers and when I did come to know the truth I felt like I was lied to all of my life there yeah I understand I understand and you know what I I would I would venture to say in probably every position that has been adopted by the Roman Catholics and by the Protestants

[53:05] I think probably every single well I don't have any way of knowing this because knowing the flesh like I do people can have people can have impure motives sometimes in the decisions that they make but I would venture to say the vast majority of doctrinal positions that have been established and enforced by the Roman Catholics by the Protestants by the Jews were all based on sincere belief good intentions and good faith I don't have any doubt about that and that that allows us to be somewhat sympathetic and I've said this before matter of fact they aren't released yet but I'm in Christianity clarified I'm now on volume 61 and it it's a little over 1200 segments that we have recorded and we are now just now getting into the Roman

[54:14] Catholic issues of the first century and we will see in these how there was just a natural progression a morphing from Judaism which had become kaput with the destruction of the temple in 70 AD and the Jews being scattered and then there was a destruction of Jerusalem again I think it was 135 AD and there was more scattering and it just became so apparently obvious that God was moving his plan and program and his favoritism away from the Jew and placing it upon this whole new entity because after all the Jews were those who did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah and the Jews who did along with the Gentiles who did are going to comprise the new people of

[55:22] God and the Jew is out permanently gone for good that's called replacement theology and there is no future for the Jew or for Israel everything has been transferred and placed upon the Christian church and all of the promises that were made in the Old Testament that were going to be given to Israel Israel has removed themselves from those as recipients and God has placed them all upon the Christian church and all of the curses that were pronounced upon Israel they get to keep they get to keep but all the blessings go to the church that's replacement theology and let me remind you I say this at the expense of being repetitive because I want you to understand it what I have just shared with you is the majority opinion in most of Christendom this is what the vast majority of Christians

[56:27] Roman Catholics and Protestants believe that we are spiritual Israel we are the people who have taken the place of the Jew and the Jew is out permanently because he forfeited everything and God demonstrated that by allowing Jerusalem and the temple to be destroyed and everything and God was saying I'm finished with all of that I've had it with you Jews you're gone for good that's the position of replacement theology and that is the majority position of Roman Catholics and Protestants today you need to know that before we the clock says the same thing whether I look at it with my glasses or not okay we'll quit in a minute is there one more comment or question anybody okay Mike and Marvis I am feeling confusion over what was said a little while ago about

[57:34] Jesus saying but I say to you you don't call a man a fool and he gave several examples of what he referred to as Jesus law I'm not arguing that but I'm confused when you watch the news selectively get a little closer to the mic when you watch the news selectively and you see the anarchy the thrill seekers trying to get something for nothing and arrests are made and they're released how can you as a believer watch all this and not feel that people are being very very stupid and foolish and they're threatening to take down our society yeah any connection with what the Lord said about calling someone a fool okay well that that's that's a very good point and

[58:40] I'm glad to see that you were following me that closely first of all that is an entirely culturated thing and we'd have to look at it from the standpoint of Jewish culture and the term and the way it was used and how it prevailed in that time which we can do and I'll be glad to follow up on that with you but it it involves a whole lot more than just saying you fool you know although that's what it says on the surface but that's just one of the bridges that has to be gapped one of the gaps that have to be bridged and that's a cultural gap and we could we could look at that maybe I can give you a little light on it next time okay Marvis did you have something I've been thinking about what you said and then how when it started out when the when the actual church started you know where there were Jews and Gentiles together which is this different program at first they

[59:47] I think everybody got it okay but Satan was like oh man this isn't good you know because now Jesus is going to usurp my authority here and I don't want them to believe in him and so then he starts stirring up people with oh well you got to be circumcised you got to be baptized you got to speak in tongues you got to follow the law and what I see has happened over the years is we have even made that worse and now we fight among ourselves and that's how we got all these denominations when what the Lord wants us to do is say Jesus died for your sins believe in that tell everybody else and instead of telling everybody else we're all trying to convince each other why they're wrong so and I'm not saying we all need to pull together in an ecumenical type thing because then you end up having water instead of you know you end up having nothing but it's just that that's what I think I see has happened and if you look at the law and compare it to like raising kids kids have rules and regulations growing up because parents are trying to train them how to live but as they get older you know you still don't go ask your mom and dad do I have permission to stay up late tonight

[61:29] I mean you know you're supposed to use your own common sense so it's almost like scripture starts from childhood and takes us to adulthood and sometimes it's hard to get to adulthood and truly understand it okay okay I'm gonna I'm gonna close with this because I don't want to give the impression that we are antinomian which means that we have no respect for law in fact when it comes to law no one should be more law abiding as a citizen no one should be more law abiding to the things of Caesar than the believer in Jesus Christ because of the Romans 13 principle we are under obligation this is why we're wearing face masks today by the way this is why we have a building code that we had to observe and comply with when this building was built we had to comply with the laws that Caesar rendered to us regarding the hardware on the doors because it involved the safety of people fire extinguishers located throughout because it involved the safety of people the building code and everything that went with it because we need to be subject to the powers that be the powers that be are ordained of God for a decent and orderly society and we are not antinomian we are not against law not at all in fact there is a law that we are under and I'm going to close with this passage it's in

[63:07] Romans chapter 8 where Paul says there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for or because the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death for what the law could not do and he's talking about the law of Moses including the ten commandments and everything else that is found between Exodus 20 and the end of Deuteronomy everything there for what the law could not do weak as it was through the flesh now you've got to keep all of that together the law wasn't weak the law was weak through the flesh whose flesh yours mine the Jew cannot maintain the standards of God because we don't have the ability this is why before anyone can come to Christ they have to come to the end of themselves and say

[64:23] I can't do it I can't be that I can't measure up oh woe is me then Jesus comes to the rescue but you've got to transfer your inability to his ability and when you put your faith and trust in him as your substitute what the law could not do weak as it was through the flesh that's my flesh God did sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us what did the law require perfection perfection in Christ that's what you have don't you understand that that's what it means to be free fully forgiven forever for good wow that's the good news that's incredible it's so good why hasn't everybody heard of it hmm in order that the requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us and you know

[65:47] God in heaven is able to look at every single child of God and point his finger at them and say there is one who is perfect complete entire accepted by me just as if he kept the law perfectly in every job and every tittle even though he didn't he fractured it but Jesus gave him his righteousness that cancels out the demands of the law I've never gotten over that never expect to would you stand we'll be dismissed our father we recognize that there is so much here that has been said that we find so stimulating so incredibly wonderful and yet we'd be the first to admit there's still a whole lot about it that we don't understand that we don't know but we know this we know that if the son sets you free shall be free indeed and we are so grateful for what

[67:06] Jesus was willing to do because there's no way we could do it and he did it and he offers his accomplishment to us as a free gift just for the taking thank you for each of these dear folks who have come to that point in their life where they've received it and taken it accepted it rejoice in it we are so grateful for each and every one and our prayer is for anyone who may be here who perhaps has never really made that conscious decision that they may see how undone how lacking how unable they are in and of themselves to ever affect a righteousness that you would accept and just say Lord Jesus thank you for dying for me in my place I just want you to be my savior and I want to belong to you thank you for your wonderful righteousness

[68:10]  Jesus name amen you are dismissed thank you thank you