Today’s Your Day (Romans 3:21-26)

“Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:5

We find in this portion of the scriptures and others that there are those who can never be saved. Who are they, and what circumstances lead to their fate?

“Now – we come to the greatest news that a human soul could hear in all of life and it’s my prayer that not one word is lost on anyone here” ~ Pastor Jack Hibbs

We are coming. Now. In fact, I feel like where we’re heading now announced you last week that now it’s time to take off our sandals, take off our shoes or boots or whatever were wearing.
Because from here on out, we are standing on holy ground.
We have been ever since we started Romans chapter one, verse one.
But the first, predominantly the first three chapters, uh Paul the Apostle delivered those three chapters uh in a very specific way in manner.
And now we enter into the glories of biblical doctrine and what it means to us.
So, uh today’s message and I’m praying that we finish it today, please pray that I do.
It would be great. But today’s message is titled Today’s Your Day.
And today is your day to make a decision.
And by the end of this message, no matter how far I get into this message, I’m gonna end this day by giving you an opportunity to make a decision.
And by the way, everyone’s going to make a decision, believe it or not.
I agree with Billy Graham who said, if he’s faithful to preach the gospel of God, decisions will be made always some will say yes, some will say no, but there’ll be no gray area.
You will know who or what you’re accepting or you’ll know who or what you’re rejecting. Amen.
What’s wrong with that? God doesn’t dwell in the gray, right?
So we come to this setting, I guess we have been in the setting of like a grand celestial courtroom When God from Romans, one began to Levy his indictments against humanity.
And it’s fascinating because just the nature of how it’s being delivered.
You’ve got this man who according to uh history, Gamma Liel was one of the greatest professors, teachers, scholars of the first century.
And Gamma Liel was Paul’s tutor, which means Paul came from a home of great wealth because you had to hire these guys.
Paul being a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, but he was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, which is an area of Rome under Roman control.
Born into a Jewish family, 1000 generations or 100 generations I should say.
And yet he’s born with a Roman free citizenship. Uh and he became in Jerusalem, a pharisee.
And the Bible tells us that he was the number one overseer to hunt down Christians and have them persecuted, arrested or killed.
And I don’t know if you saw the news this week, but North Korea for 11 years, North Korea was number one ranked as the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian.
And it got bumped this week, it got bumped this week by Afghanistan where they are slaughtering Christians wholesale in the streets and hunting them down.
There’s a mass exodus of Christians fleeing the desert and not unlike Paul’s Day or Saul of Tarsus.
And while he was doing that very thing and while he was giving orders to go to Damascus, because rumor was, there was a lot of believers in Damascus Syria.
So he was en route and what is known as the King’s Highway.
Some of us have been in that area of Jordan’s heading up north in Jordan goes into Syria, the King’s highway and Paul was on that roadway and he was heading up that way to catch slaughter in prison.
Christians. When the Bible tells us that he encountered Christ in a vision in an appearance of Christ.
And the Bible tells us that the entourage that was with Saul uh saw what happened.
They were all greatly affected by whatever was taking place atmospherically, none of them heard any words, they heard what they thought was thunder, but Paul heard specific words, spoken to him and those words were Paul or Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
And his brilliant response was who are you Lord?
It’s, it’s a good day when I know it all gets knocked to his knees and says, who are you Lord?
That’s a good start. And reminds me of Martin Luther.
And I quoted this last week it’s too good to not quote it again.
Martin Luther said, the principal point of the law.
It’s not only the first five books of Moses that is considered the law, the Pentateuch, but we know from reading Romans, the book of Romans, it’s the law and all the profits.
But the principal point of the law is to make men not better but worse.
That shocks a lot of people if you’re a legal ist that just smacks you, That is to say to show them their sin.
That’s why there’s 10 commandments. They’re awesome. They’re pure their holy.
But you can’t get past the first one because you and I do not love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind.
In fact, when we wake up to the reality of it were convicted that by the knowledge thereof, there may be, they may be humbled, terrified, bruised and broken and by this means may be driven to seek grace.
And so come to the blessed Christ, the Catholic reformer, Martin Luther.
And the next quote I is new to you, Dr Leonard Ravenhill, uh an evangelist.
He’s long gone now out of leeds in England.
He said, Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good.
No good men get to heaven.
You have to understand that nowhere in the Bible has to say good people go to heaven again.
I’m laying it on kind of heavy. I hope hopefully you’re getting kind of shocked here for a moment.
Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good.
He came into the world to make dead men live and that is true.
And that’s what we need to remember. The book of Ezekiel.
Easy got prophecy, prophecy to the nation of Israel through the prophet Ezekiel starting in chapter 36 37.
Go ahead and read it later. But he said, listen, all the nation of Israel.
I will draw back together in the last days from all the corners of the earth.
I will bring my people back into their own land.
And Ezekiel saw them as dead bones lying on the land of Israel.
And God said to Ezekiel at a certain time, I’m gonna breathe upon that land. He hasn’t done it yet.
It’s gonna happen soon. He said, I’m first gonna gather them and then I’m gonna breathe on the land of Israel and the people of God will once again be restored.
And Ezekiel saw them standing up, all these skeletons stand up hipbone connected to the and he, that bone that, that skeleton stood.
And Ezekiel said, he saw it getting wrapped with muscle and meat and sinew and skin and a personality.
And God said, I breathed into it, the breath of life and Israel became the nation that God had intended it to be all along and that’s forthcoming.
By the way, that’s the future God makes dead.
Things live he’s not interested in making bad things good because when he puts his life in you, then God begins, listen, God begins to do good things through you.
God does it through you from the inside out.
You don’t try to do good stuff to impress a God who is perfectly holy and pure.
You can’t do that. None of us.
Somebody, somebody said, Chuck Miss Lor said years ago, uh, none of us can disappoint God.
And it’s like what I thought, I’d disappoint him all the time.
And he said, none of us can disappoint God because God knows He knows us that well, that when we mess up, he’s not disappointed.
He knew it was in us in the first place. Charles Spurgeon says, I’m so grateful God called me before.
I was a believer because if I would have, he wouldn’t have called me after being a believer or he said, I’m glad God called me before I was born because he wouldn’t have called me after I was born.
That’s cute. But that’s not good biblical theology. The God of the Bible knows all and sees all.
So church, let’s stand and open our Bibles to Romans chapter three verse 21.
We’ll be reading verses 21 to 26.
And man, it’s like we flew through the clouds and we’re out now in the sun because Romans one, Romans too much of Romans three uh condemned the right, the, the paganism of an indulgent culture.
Romans one remember that the Bible condemned those who worship nature instead of God.
The Bible condemned those who practiced all sorts of sexual immorality from adultery to homosexuality.
The Bible there in Rome one graphically announced homosexuality and lesbianism all because of a culture that’s driven, that forgets God that people become bored with what God created and they wind up doing other things outside of God’s parameters.
Then he went to Romans chapter two and he said that the Jew is guilty because the Jew rather than love God with all of his heart winds up trusting circumcision to be his ticket into heaven, that he was circumcised.
And we, we, we were reminded that the Bible tells us that God declared Abraham righteous before Abraham was ever circumcised.
And before Moses was ever born, there was no law and there was no circumcision when God told Abraham I’ve declared you righteous And a box of Chapter two verse forces and you know it by now, right?
The just shall live by faith. Yeah, you guys should get up here and teach this.
So I’ll read the odd number verse verse 21.
If you pick it up in the even numbered verse Down to verse 26.
But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Right?
Yes, whom God set forth as a mercy seat as uh as the lid to the ark of the covenant pra pri she ation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness.
Because in his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.
Yes.
Oh my goodness lord, we pray today.
You’d give us the ability to learn this. This is so amazing. Father.
We, we feel like we should take off of our shoes for these words, bring to us Lord a place, a position that you have provided that you have purchased.
It’s all by and from you that truly Lord God, the believer stands every moment of his or her waking day and sleeping night on holy ground.
Blessed. Are you o Lord our God in Jesus name and all God’s people said amen.
You can be seated church.
I have repeatedly told you in the book of Romans, which by the way, the book of Romans and I don’t know if they still do it today in law schools today.
I do know that is that they did it at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law.
But the book of Romans in old times was studied regarding you getting your law degree because it is known to be the apex of how to present an argument uh in a hostile environment, to state the case, to build the evidence and to be clear about it and to bring about a verdict that is in favor of your argument.
Paul the apostle was a master at this, probably one of the greatest intellects that ever lived.
And it’s quite remarkable. So not only are we indebted to the entire word of God from Genesis to revelation.
But I’ve repeatedly told you that scholars throughout the last 2000 years have viewed the book of Romans as the Magna Carta of Christian doctrine.
It’s been labeled as the Believers Constitution. I like that.
And the Great American evangelist of yesteryear Dwight L Moody declared that this is the Christians Declaration of Independence.
What a great statement that is. Let’s remember why.
Now we have broken out of the darkness and we’re into the sunlight because we ended that section in Romans three verses 19 and 20 where the Bible told us there last week.
Now we know that whatever the law says, think about that.
It says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and the, and all the world might or may be condemned or guilty before God.
Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight.
That’s God’s sight for the for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Remember how fundamental that is?
That’s what He, that’s the argument he’s been laying.
You never would have known that you are doing wrong in the sense of being convicted.
You do have an internal witness.
You have a consciousness that God put within you But when you see the law, when you open up the Bible and you read the first five books of Moses, you, you realize something real quick.
Boy, do I need a lot of blood. I need a lot of sacrificial animals.
I need a lot of innocent lambs. I need my day of atonement. Why?
Why is it that when God gave moses the 10 commandments that on the same time he gave moses the instructions that in the day that you break this law, you have to offer up innocent blood, the blood from an animal because God is holy.
We’re not holy and I’m gonna say it now rather than risk it and miss it later hear me out.
Everybody listen up what I just said a moment ago is what is known in theological arguments as God’s big problem.
You ever think about God having a problem? You don’t think about God having a problem.
God’s big problem is this, I’m holy. Mankind is not wholly the problem is I love mankind.
I’m just, I am righteous.
I am God, I am spirit and they are my creation, but they fell, they rebelled, they turned their back on me and they ran from me yet I love them.
And how does he bring us together from the beginning?
It was announced that from Eve would come the redeemer In Genesis chapter 3: verse 15.
Can you imagine the conversation of early man talking and wondering how is this gonna get fixed?
Can you imagine able, talking to even saying how is this gonna work? Mom again?
We’ve fallen. It was really you, you said there was a time when you didn’t have any pain and wrinkles And you and what did God say to you again?
Oh, that he was going to provide the seed, the seed from the woman in Genesis 3 15.
That will bring about salvation for all of mankind. That’s prophecies in the Bible.
The first prophecy in the Bible is about salvation. Remarkable.
But all of this God is announcing that we need him.
And the big problem is how does a holy righteous God who cannot have sin in his presence?
Get you and I into his presence for all time and eternity. There has to be a mediator.
There’s got to be blood. There’s gotta be a lamb but no animal blood and no animal could ever do such a thing.
And I think everybody, I think if you would have stopped the Jew going to the temple back in those days and said, you know, like man on the spot, reporter, do you for a moment?
Do you really believe that the blood of this animal will take away your sins?
And that Jew would have probably said, no, it doesn’t really take away my sins, but God has required it Again.
Cain and Abel one brought an offering of blood and the other one brought an offering of no blood and one offering was accepted and the other was rejected.
Why? Because wherever there is sin and wherever there is wrong, there must be innocence that pays the price.
See, I don’t like that. I don’t either. But it’s tough. That’s the way that it is.
If anyone has ever sinned against you, isn’t it interesting that the person that sins against you is the one that winds up asking you to forgive them?
And the one listen, are you with me?
The one that is sinned against always has to pay the price for the sinner.
There’s nothing fair about it.
Did somebody hurt you? Did somebody come against you?
Did somebody defame you and slander you and they get caught and then they come to you and they say I’m so sorry.
Will you forgive me? And you know what are human responses?
Which is a trap, by the way, boy, am I off my notes? We’ll never finish, will we?
The human trap is this. I will never give you the opportunity.
And the satisfaction of hearing me say I forgive you, don’t do that friend.
That’s the way the world teaches you about forgiveness.
God’s not like that and He didn’t give you an eye, the ability, listen, listen, he didn’t, he gave, he didn’t give forgiveness to in your mind.
Grant to somebody for their benefit.
God gave you and I the ability to forgive people to set us free from the bitterness that chokes us because of what they did to us.
You flip it around 180° from what you’ve been thinking.
God gives you the ability to set yourself free by forgiving that individual. Why?
How oh read the fine print because God in Christ forgave you the same way.
He was the one sinned against. He was the one that was offended. He’s the one that paid the price.
Remarkable. And so we see the remarkable news of this portion of scripture.
Something’s to jot down as we get ready for this.
Romans chapter 15, verse four, Paul writes for whatever things were written beforehand.
Remember, that’s the old testimony is referring to, were written for our learning that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope that’s Genesis to Malachi.
I’d love to get you to write something down as we go through this study today.
And it is the word, an old English word impute or imputed. We don’t use that word anymore.
If you look up in any modern dictionary, they always give you the negative definition of it.
The Bible says in a very powerful way that God not only imputed to us, the righteousness of God in Christ, Jesus because of that sacrifice that He is to us.
But God also stops taking a record of our sins.
Once we come to Christ, once we come to Messiah makes perfect sense.
If you think about it the old English meaning is assigned designated or to point.
The Greek word is Allegra meaning charge to one’s account, to impute, imputed, to take away, watch this, to take away but not diminish And to place upon another with full effect or value.
In other words, watch God imparts to you righteousness without taking a part of his righteousness and being a little less righteous.
Are you with me? If God gave 10 people by faith, like Abraham, his righteousness did God’s righteousness go down 10 points.
No, God impute and he’s the only one who’s able to do that.
And you need to remember that. And here’s a backup to this second Corinthians 5 18.
Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, think of through the sacrifice.
How would lost man be reconciled from being alienated from God through the sacrifice.
The New Testament teaches that we are reconciled to God through the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ and has given us the Ministry of Reconciliation verse 19.
That is that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
That’s the believer’s life. What an amazing ongoing ministry life that you and I have that we don’t count any longer people’s offenses.
We go about pointing them to how their offenses can be remedied and removed, almost done before we get into the study, which is an introduction.
I haven’t started yet. Matthew 24 verse 36 Jesus says, but of that day and of that hour, no one knows that’s when he’s coming back.
Not, not even the angels in heaven, but my father only.
But as the days of Noah were so also will come, will be the coming of the son of man.
Think about that just the evilness of the day and the age, the grace of God, the message of God for 100 and 20 years, the Bible tells us that Noah preached righteousness.
Did you know that? That’s in Second Peter chapter two verse five, but God saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness Bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.
But for 120 years, they heard the good news. Think about that.
Don’t be in that camp. So church, we begin our study right here.
Today is your day this way point number one, because of what you’re learning today, will you mark that down versus 21 to 23?
Today’s your day based upon what you’re learning today.
Very, very important, very, very important for what you’re hearing today.
The first thing is this versus 21 and 22, you should be able to ride alongside the margins of your bible or in your notes that you should be hearing freedom right now.
Today’s your day, my friend. If you are hearing God’s word to you about freedom. Here it is.
I told you last week, two words. But now, but now puts chapter one to rest.
But now chapter two, but now much of chapter three.
But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law.
So outside the law, bypassing the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
That’s an awesome statement. Listen, if you know your Old Testament scriptures, the declaration is this the law meaning Moses, we will, we can personalize, personify the law in the man, Moses Moses and the prophets.
According to Paul, the Jew is saying Moses and the prophets spoke about the very thing I’m having you here right now, having you listen to right now is what the Apostle is saying and it should begin to stir your heart for freedom.
But now remarkable statement, these two little words are more powerful, then you can possibly imagine.
But now whatever is going on.
But now if you read Romans 12 and three, and you’re just so lost and you are so sick to your stomach about how alienated you are from God, then read Romans 3 21.
But now it’s like a door swings open And fresh air in light and grace and mercy comes.
But now answers all of these indictments.
But in that verse 21, but now the righteousness of God, apart from the law is revealed, this is such an incredible radical declaration.
If you think about what God is saying here, the righteousness of God can be imparted to you apart from the law.
And again, please listen, this predates Abraham God’s truth. Never changes. He’s eternal.
He can’t change his mind before it ever wound up on parchment or spoken.
Even to Abraham himself. It was eternal truth.
The law and the prophets announced what would come.
That’s why I know this church, many of you have come during COVID from other churches.
And you’ve told me many of you have told me that the church you came from never opened up the Old Testament, which I found interesting because I asked you immediately, didn’t, I, I asked you immediately this, if you didn’t open up the Old Testament, tell me, what’s your view on marriage?
If you never opened up the Old Testament? Tell me, what’s your view on abortion?
Micah chapter six? And if you’ve never opened up your old Testament, the church that you were going to tell me, what’s your view on the nation of Israel and God’s promises?
Because I got news for you friend.
If God doesn’t keep his promises to Israel, us gentiles ain’t got nothing and ain’t, is a Hebrew word.
By the way, you should know that, oh, it is God is faithful.
He said he will keep his promises to Israel.
The only time that he will ever break his promises to Israel is when the heavens ceased to exist, he’ll never break it and he’s never gonna break his promise to you.
The second thing we see here is that, do you hear the heart of God?
God wants you to experience freedom? There is a righteousness that’s apart from the law.
And do you hear the God’s heart?
He says that through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all, what’s the qualifier? Who believe for?
There is no difference, no difference.
I have found in my own personal life that the more Jesus Christ takes hold of my life, the less difference I see myself with others now, don’t get me wrong.
If somebody is a flame throwing Satanist, there’s a big difference between us.
If someone is an atheist, there’s a big difference between us.
But if someone is poor, middle class or rich who loves Jesus, there’s no difference.
If someone is black or white or some color in between, there’s no difference.
The Gospel of God is the greatest cure for the nation and for our state right now and for your heart, by the way, think about that.
Listen to the heart of God that he’s announcing that there’s no difference so that all could come to him through faith in Jesus Christ.
As I said last week, I want to say it again because it means so much to me.
Go find, go listen to every other religious founder of something and see how shallow they are.
There’s only one in all of the history of mankind.
There’s only one That an entire Old Testament book has written about one individual and for me to sum it all up in Proverbs 30 verse four, it tells you.
Proverbs 30 verse four. Solomon announces that God is the one who holds the wind in his fist in the hollow of the season.
His hands in the, in the fold of his robe. And he says, what is my name?
And what is the name of my son?
If you can tell me, you’ll find that nowhere else my friend in all the world, this entire book was written about your salvation and that you today can experience a dramatic change in your life because God is alive and God proved that to us in a physical sense.
Because again, as I’ve told you before, affectionately, you can fly 15 hours from, listen from L A X to Tel Aviv.
It’s a 15 hour flight on L L Airlines nonstop.
You’d wish you were dead by the time you got there.
But thank God, the moment you land, you get so excited, you drive up to Jerusalem, you go past the old city, you go to the garden tomb and it’s empty.
It’s empty. No, you’re never gonna find the bone.
You’re never gonna find the bones or the DNA or the remnants of our founder because he rose again from the dead just as the Old Testament prophecy, by the way, that death could not keep him read Isaiah 52 53.
The heart of God is that He wants you with him. And Jesus Christ is that object of your faith?
See, I’ve got faith. Let me ask you, what, what or whom do you have faith in?
You want your faith in Jesus Christ?
I read this, I wrote it as a note to myself, but I’ll share this with you personally and it’s means something to you.
It’s, it’s on the notes that are online regarding faith in Jesus Christ to all and upon all who believe, how can this possibly be true?
That with God, there is no caste system. What does he mean?
When he says there is no difference, no caste system like in India Where you can buy people today still were living in the 21st century.
Ladies and gentlemen, and we can go to India and by people in cages, young girls, young boys.
We don’t want to hear about that stuff.
I would rather have pretend that it’s not real.
I convinced human trafficking today’s slavery today is probably more alive and better than it ever has been.
It’s just cloaked and wrapped.
No, God says there’s no difference, no matter where you’re at in the world, you can escape the world that you’re in.
Even if you’re in a cage, God can set your spirit free. That’s what Jesus Christ does.
Hmm In Isaiah 53 verses six and 10. I quoted this.
I made reference to it a moment ago. Isaiah 53 verse six and 10. Gotta remember.
This has written 743 years before the birth of Christ.
Isaiah says all we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him.
Look at it all you want. It’s not an, it, it’s a him. It’s, it’s a person.
Some will say it’s a nation Israel. No, it’s impossible.
Israel didn’t die for the sins of the world. All we like sheep have gone a straight question.
Do you go straight prone to wander, prone to roam the hymn sings and the Lord.
Look at capital L O R D.
That’s that holy name that the Jewish community will, will now will not pronounce because of reverence.
I appreciate that. But the truth of the matter is L O R D is.
Yeah, that’s the name of God. You know this. You all know this right?
You’ve been coming here for a while, you know this.
Yeah, has laid on him the iniquity of us all Verse 10.
Yet it pleased to bruise him. He has put him to grief.
When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.
Did you hear the dialogue church?
He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Read that entire chapter later. It’ll bring you to your knees in gratitude and thanks to God.
God’s heart is for you.
By the way, this reality is better caught than taught as some of the old puritans used to say in John chapter six verse 27 starting there, there’s a whole narrative going on.
You can read it later. But in John chapter six verse 27 Jesus said, do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life which the son of man will give you.
Because God, the father has sent his seal on him verse 28.
Then they said to Him, what isn’t this just human?
What shall we do that we may work the works of God.
Oh Jesus, this is great news, eternal life, tell us how to, how to work it, tell us how to get it.
And Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe in Him whom he sent That’s just dovetails to Isaiah 53 Beautifully.
And then thirdly in verse 23 is, do you hear the honesty of God?
His honesty, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
He’s quoting the prophet Isaiah, by the way, that’s right out of the book of Isaiah.
Paul is quoting them. So you say, well, wait, what, what does that mean? Really?
What God is just being so absolutely honest with us.
He announces to us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Does that look, first of all, if that offends you, I’m, if that offends you, that’s a good thing because that means it struck your heart good for you.
This is a good thing. That means God is getting your attention. All have sinned question.
Don’t say anything allowed all of sin if you ask the question, does that include you?
You should say yes, it does and falls short of the glory of God all fall short to God’s standard.
What is God’s standard? Perfection.
J Vernon mcgee tells a great little story and I’m gonna steal it.
I guess it’s not stealing if I studied it in his book and then I give him the credit for it, right?
It’s research. Dr mcgee used to say that this verse is a great verse to say, let’s all go down to Santa Monica pier or we would go to Huntington Beach Pier and he said, run down the pier and jump off the end of the piers straight towards Catalina and whoever gets the Catalina wins.
So There might be some young people here today.
And you said, man, I got that, I can probably, I can probably leave.
I can go, I can probably go 50 ft off the end of that beer. You’re still gonna get wet.
I can’t go five ft off the end of the pier.
I’d just probably just slither off the end of the pier.
Do you understand that for the person who is a legal ist who said I’m keeping all the rules and I’m doing all this right.
And I’m doing this and I do this and I do the other and I do this and the other.
Do you understand how short you’re coming up on perfection?
She wouldn’t know nobody’s perfect, but God only accepts perfect. This is God’s big problem.
I mean, it’s yours too. But God’s problem is He loves you. He’s perfect.
You can’t be in his presence unless you’re perfect. Well, how did that happen?
Oh, you have to be covered with the atonement, the atoning work of the sacrifice. That’s what makes you acceptable.
Just like in the Old Testament, the blood of the animal allowed God to pass over your sin.
Listen, thank God. The Bible never says because of Jesus, does God pass over your sin?
Now, the New Testament announces that the Messiah doesn’t pass over your sin.
The Messiah removes your sin by listen, by absorbing your sin.
He the Bible tells us that’s why Jesus went to the cross.
David said in Psalm 22 1000 years before Jesus was born, that they pierced my hands and my feet and they mocked me and plucked out my beard.
David prophesies that why?
Because the Bible says that God put on Him the iniquity of us all.
What have you done in life?
Jesus says, give it to me and at this stage in human life.
Jesus is saying quick, but God is so incredibly wonderfully honest.
Yes. Jump from Huntington Beach Pier to Avalon Bay.
You’ll never make it be as good as you can and we want you to be as good as you can and you should be good.
But don’t think that’s gonna save you, you need blood, Not just any blood.
two Is in verses 24-25. And that today is your day my friend.
At least it can be because of what you’re learning right now.
Today you’ve heard that now, learn this verse 24 um is beyond our, I believe it’s beyond our ability to comprehend.
I personally believe this being justified freely by his grace through the redemption.
That is in Christ Jesus verse 24 is in my opinion, the Holy of Holies of Truth.
If you could dream up a path of forgiveness, you couldn’t dream this one.
It’s beyond your dream. It’s beyond your wildest expectations, being justified freely.
You have to remember this word in the Greek language is being watched. Everybody. Are you guys with me?
You’re very quiet and don’t tell me you’re listening. You look kind of sleepy today.
The word being here in the Greek language is be being perpetually ongoing.
It’s a very cool statement. You begin justified.
The moment you come to faith, you’re justified and all the way through life until you breathe your last breath, you’re justified.
Wow. God does that for me. Yes, he does it for you because he’s got a big problem.
He wants you with him. But he’s holy and you’re not.
So how does God maintain his holy character and his integrity without compromise?
He’s just, if he’s just, he can’t turn his back, he can’t turn his eyes away and act like you didn’t commit adultery or rob a bank or have a dirty, prideful thought that’s got to be dealt with.
What does he do? He’s got a problem.
How does he retain his character of being just and justify the ungodly?
It’s gotta be big.
It’s gotta be amazing, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Messiah Jesus Yeshua Yamashita verse 25 whom God set forth the word set forth is put on display.
Think of that, put on display apr appreciation by his blood in some of your study Bibles.
The word appreciation don’t let the word scare you. It is a big word.
You don’t, you don’t read it every day.
Pra pri she ation is both in this context of scripture, is both a person and a place.
Hear me out, especially those of you who know your old testament.
You say, wait a minute, Jack, the Mercy Seat Appreciation. The place of the blood.
That’s the lid that goes on top of Steven Spielberg’s Arc and Raiders of The Lost Ark.
Um That’s true. The lid with the cherry bomb on top, right?
That said, remember on the day of atonement, blood was sprinkled upon that and put upon that lid.
So that when the glory of God looked down, he saw a watch. Please get this.
Do you guys remember what’s inside the box? What’s inside the Ark? The law? Thank you.
Somebody simply went right to it. Aaron’s Rod that budded Manna In the 10 commandments.
But we’re going regarding the 10 commandments right now.
The law, the laws in the box and on top of the lid of gold acacia wood overlaid with gold are two cherubim bowing their face down toward the lid with their wings touching in the middle.
I gotta, I gotta tell you with all due respect.
Steven Spielberg’s rendering of the Ark of the covenant is genius, Lee, brilliant and extremely biblically accurate.
Go look at that picture. The angels are looking down and they would be looking at the blood.
And above that, the glory of God would appear, the Chicana glory of God would appear and he would cover the sins of the nation for the whole year.
The day of atonement. Are you with me? Are you tracking? So watch this.
The glory of God is here, the blood is here. Where’s the law down here? This is holy.
I’m not, I need blood to shield me from the law that blood that shields me from the law pleases God, but only the blood of Himself could please him because he only is holy, pure and righteous and just does that make sense?
A good man could not have died for us.
My friend, the best man in the world could never have died for us. God.
Problem was he had to come into the world and become incarnate like you and I and live among us so that he would fulfill the law.
Jesus lived a perfect life. He absolutely by merit, fulfilled the demands of the law.
And then he turned around and assumed our guilt and then his blood, read the book of Hebrews carefully.
The Bible tells us that he took his blood and presented it upon the arc that is in heaven above of which Moses made a copy on earth.
Are you hearing me? Are you excited? I hope you’re excited. My goodness.
I need to calm down. Actually, I’m getting so I should pace myself.
There’s three more services I have to just calm down.
We learned in verse 24 that there’s a recreation from God.
And I did this deliberately. I could have, I could have said with a dash R dash creation.
Recreation, but recreation means recreation. Did you know that when you go on vacation, you’re supposed to recreate?
That means recreate. Learn that there’s a recreation from God arrest.
Does the rest of the believer? See, we’re justified freely.
Don’t worry, don’t let the word free fool you. We are dumb Southern Californians.
If somebody comes along and says, I can, I can put shingles on your roof for $500.
And another guy comes along and says I can put shingles on your roof for $500,000 were tempted by that.
What decision am I gonna make here on this?
We think, we think the more we pay, the better off it’s going to be, that’s not always true.
By the way, contractors will tell you that it depended upon the zip code.
They’re going to go do that. Estimation changes the price of the job.
I had a contractor tell me that I some. It’s true.
Mm Just remember this.
Now we get to that point where that, that which is free, it’s free to us cost God everything.
This is maybe as far as well. Go here.
I have to show you this regarding the fact that God recreates, gives us recreation being justified freely by his grace.
How Lindsay said He, he invented the acronym Grace. God’s riches at Christ’s expense.
Grace means unmerited favor in the Greek language. It means that God gives you something that you could never earn.
You can’t buy it. You can’t be good enough.
Just the word caress alone, indict every legal list on the planet.
The word grace insults pride, the man, the woman who says I’ve got my, my life’s put in order.
I’m doing pretty good then explain to me the grace of God.
You see God paid to afford you and I grace at his own expense.
Hmm, I want to show you something which is so precious.
It actually shocked me when I found this out. I actually found it out by accident.
It’s a long time ago, June 11, 20 or 2000. Can’t remember that far back.
Judge settles rent dispute with own money. Fairfax, Virginia. Judge Donald macdonell. How do you say that?
His name? Donohoe? None of you know it either.
So, Judge Donald handles about 100 and 50 landlord tenant disputes a day.
But the verdict, he gave a deaf couple facing eviction was unique.
The case involved Deborah Morris and Louis Swan Who were taken to court by their landlord because they were $250 short on their rent.
After hearing arguments, the judge abruptly left the courtroom Then returned a minute later holding to $100 bills and $150 bill and said, consider it paid.
He said leaning over the bench and handing his own money to the landlord’s stunned attorney on Friday.
As a sign language interpreter translated Morris pressed her hands to her chest.
I couldn’t say a word said Morris 48. Who just, it just blew me away.
There’s more I think is that there are more. Yes, as a sign language interpreter chest.
Um The couple listen to this.
The couple married in October learned only recently that their married status meant a drop in Morris’s disability benefits what a rip off Virginia is, was, is, was without the aid.
They couldn’t pay their $630 a month rent. Morris said, Judge Donald, what’s his name?
55 years of age declined to be interviewed only in America said, Prosecutor Robert Heron Horon, whatever his name is.
I’ve heard of judges suspending judgments.
I’ve never heard of a judge chipping in and that’s pretty cool because listen, if an earthly judge can chip in the holy heavenly judge, he does more than chip in.
Okay. You can’t pay your debt back to God. You can’t pay your bill back to God.
God is the one who says I’ll pay for it, I’ll pay for it and He does that we’re gonna end right here.
I’m gonna ask you right now today. Where are you with Jesus Christ on these matters?
Where is your heart on these matters? Today’s your day?
If you think about it, listen, this is what you’ve heard that by the works of the law, no flesh can be justified in the sight of God that by the keeping of the law, you wind up finding out that it cannot be kept.
In other words, you break it before you even get started because God gave the law to not make us better, but to show us how bad we are is God’s law pure and awesome and holy.
Absolutely. Should we not seek to uh perform it and do it? Yes.
But not to think it’s gonna give you salvation. I said it last week, I got in trouble for it.
So I’ll say it again. Nowhere in the Old Testament is salvation promised to anyone.
It’s only prophecy seed to come through. The prophets.
Moses himself said, you’re not listening to me, Israel, you’re not listening to me.
But I tell you what God will raise up a prophet like unto me, Him, you shall listen to Moses said that prophesying about faith and God’s atoning work.
Everything that we’ve seen in life in God’s word was pointing to Jesus Some 40 says, behold, in the volume of the book, it is written of me.
And if you study psalm 40, it’s speaking about the messiah.
We just came through a season here.
We call it Christmas Micah chapter 5: verse two said the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem.
Dear friends, listen. No, there’s no prophecies of Joseph Smith.
My Mormon friends, listen, there’s no prophecies of Joseph Smith. Listen, my Catholic friends.
There’s no, there’s no potpourri. That’s a real word. What do you like that?
You’re thinking of the other thing, the Papacy is also referred to.
Anyway, the Old Testament doesn’t promise an earthly priest coming to be able to set you free, think of it.
So what will you do?
God’s word says that if you believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again and if you confess that with your mouth, you shall be saved.
So that’s too easy. It’s too easy to the person who’s not getting it.
The person who’s getting it says, oh my gosh, thank you for throwing me a lifeline.
The person who says that’s all you gotta do.
Say that and keep, I can say that and then go do whatever I want to come back next Sunday and say it again.
What a deal. No, you didn’t get it.
No, I’m talking about being a believer for real.
Z’s where God moves into your life.
God moves in personally because I don’t have the time to tell you how the Bible says, there would be a day when the temple would have to be destroyed.
There’s no temple in Jerusalem. And God says in his word, I will no longer dwell in the temple made with stone.
I will dwell in your hearts. By the way.
He said that first in Jeremiah, then he said it again in Ezekiel and it’s spoken again in Romans and in first Corinthians, God must have lived inside of you.
He says the body I’ve given you the body, I’ve made you.
I want that body of yours to be my temple. Does that make sense?
I mean, honestly, come on, it makes perfect sense. It really does.
Don’t pass up this opportunity to know the God that if Abraham were standing here today, he’d say he’d say what’s wrong with all you people believe me vain, believe like me.
Abraham would say Rebecca would shout to us from his book.
The Just Shall Live by Faith, father, we praise you and we thank you Lord, that we will learn in later chapters of this book that the gentiles will be grafted into the commonwealth of Israel.
And here we are nearing the end of the age.
The church is almost all done on earth Israel’s back in our land.
Exactly as your profits for its old.
It’s about time we see you in the great dividing point.
No matter who we might be, no matter what we’ve ever done will be our opinion of who Christ is.
That’s exactly what Jesus said to describes in Pharisees.
Tell me the messiah whose son is he?
And they shouted back to Jesus, the son of David. And Jesus said to them.
Then why is it that David said to his Lord that I saw the Lord say, sit here at my right hand until I make you your enemies to be your footstool.
God sent his son into the world today.
I’m asking you to say yes to him. Today’s your day.
If any of this made a bit of sense to you today is your day.
So father, I pray that you would move upon this body of believers, Lord, all week long, may your holy spirit be reminding them that which was from you in this study over and over again, like waves of truth that each and every one of us would check all the boxes again and say, Lord, how am I doing with you?
Am I seeking to impress you?
Am I seeking to try to get your attention or am I resting and my Sabbath theme in you?
Because you are by all and all?