25-1116sc - Detailed Summary

The lesson begins with the teacher, Steve, announcing the topic as lesson six, Law and Justification, on November 16, 2025, for the class titled The Scheme of Redemption, Chapter 6. He leads the group in a prayer to the Heavenly Father, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to gather on the first day of the week to study God’s Word. The prayer emphasizes that the subject of redemption aligns with God’s will, acknowledging the need for redemption provided by God and seeking blessings to open hearts and understanding for the study. The prayer concludes in Jesus' name, followed by an amen. There is a brief interruption as the teacher stumbles on a cord but quickly recovers.

Steve introduces lesson number six, Law and Justification, providing background before diving into the book’s printed page. He explains that the author aims to help understand the law of Moses, given by God to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai. This law was part of a proposition where God would be their God if they would be His people, including instructions on how to live, expectations, worship practices, the tabernacle, its outfitting, the altar, and rules for daily life. He stresses that it’s more than rules; it’s a law as referred to in scriptures, though many might see it only as behavioral instructions. The author wants recognition that the Mosaic law is indeed a law. Steve discusses the nature of laws, using the example of immigrants expected to fit in, learn the language, and obey laws to integrate socially and in business.

Laws provide direction on what to do and not to do, with punishment for non-compliance, such as suing or other penalties. He illustrates with a guilty person, like one cheating on taxes or committing murder, noting that a judge cannot change the law or declare the guilty not guilty; the judge can only apply it, perhaps leniently, but cannot justify the offender. Only higher authorities like the president or governor can pardon or change it.

Referencing Paul in 1 Timothy, chapter one, Steve notes that law is not made for the righteous but for the lawless and unruly, designed for those who refuse to cooperate or comply. Shifting to the concept of sin as humanity’s problem, he ties it to the law, particularly the Mosaic law, in contrast to Christianity. A righteous person has not sinned or violated the law and stands pure. Paul mentions not knowing covetousness until the law said, "Thou shalt not covet." The law judges: if sinless, it declares righteous; if one covets or sins, they miss the mark.

Steve explains "sin" as an archery term, where an archer aims at a bullseye from a distance, releases the arrow, and a spotter reports the result. If it misses, the spotter shouts "sin low," "sin high," "sin to the right," or "sin to the left," meaning the mark was missed. Thus, sin means missing the mark.

A righteous individual does well until guilty of something like covetousness, then becomes a sinner for missing the mark and is no longer righteous. The Bible judges: if on target, declares righteous; if missed—high, low, right, left, even closely—it condemns. The condemned status arises because the person is no longer righteous, having missed the mark.

The Bible judges and declares one righteous or condemned based on whether they hit or miss the mark through sins like coveting, stealing, or lying. No one is righteous except Jesus, whom the Holy Spirit vindicates and the Bible declares righteous. Jesus takes on sins, but that’s for later. Chapter 6 emphasizes that the Mosaic law judges, declaring righteous or condemning, but lacks power to make one righteous—it’s limited to declaration or condemnation.

Steve illustrates with a carpenter needing a 4-foot 2x4 from scrap wood. Measuring a piece that’s 3 feet long condemns it for missing the mark; the ruler can’t add length. Another too long can’t be shortened by the ruler; it’s condemned. Only an exact 4-foot piece is declared righteous and usable. The law or judge can’t adjust to make righteous. God, through Jesus, can make one righteous, as mankind cannot self-correct after sinning. Once sinned, condemned; staying righteous is possible, but sinning requires external help. The lesson starts with the law condemning without power to justify, leading to how one becomes righteous for eternal life, contrasting law and justification.

Man’s condemnation is established as a lawbreaker standing justly condemned before a righteous God; for salvation from wrath, God must rescue. In human laws, only the president or governor can justify, not the law or judge; a jury might, like the Sanhedrin of 60 members from various tribes judging. God must intervene for redemption. The means of redemption questions how law, which condemns transgressors (Romans 7), undoes man.

This lesson and the next establish the need for redemption and its process, contrasting the Mosaic law’s nature with the Christian law of liberty. Christians are freed from the law; Romans 8 states no condemnation for those in Christ, set free from the law of sin and death. The Mosaic law condemns without justifying power; Christianity does. Law’s nature makes self-salvation (bootstrap method) ineffective—pulling oneself up by bootstraps, like deciding to start anew. Only God’s act saves lawbreakers. Definitions clarify this. Steve wrestles with "bootstrap method," equating it to self-reliance. He begins an illustration with bowling, noting he’s a bowler, but it cuts off.

Steve continues the illustration of the bootstrap method using bowling, where a player has twelve frames. If performing poorly with open frames and no strikes or spares by the fourth frame, the player might decide their luck will change, drawing a heavy line or "fence" to signify perfection from that point onward. However, this fence does not affect past performance or guarantee future success; one might get a strike or spare afterward, but the earlier poor frames remain. Striving for a perfect 300 game requires strikes in all twelve frames, and even striking out the remaining frames does not erase the initial failures, leaving an imperfect game.

The individual attempting self-salvation thinks they can "jump the fence" by bootstrapping, relying on themselves to be perfect henceforth. Yet, this is impossible, as past sins are not accounted for, and future perfection is unattainable.

The term "law" without the definite article "the" typically refers to a legislated system of regulation, such as civil laws in cities like Cleveland, states like Ohio, or the federal government. When specifying "the law," it often means the Mosaic law. Quoting 1 Timothy 1:9, law is not for the righteous but for the lawless and unruly. If all were morally upright following their innate sense of right and wrong, no restraining laws with penalties would be needed, as people would live without violating conscience.

However, since humans are not morally upright, legal systems regulate society and maintain order, penalizing and condemning lawbreakers. Law enforcement does not free violators, like not letting speeding motorists go. The law of Moses was a perfect legal law legislated by God, expressing truth and righteousness, requiring strict obedience as in Galatians 3:12 and Psalms 119. It condemned sinners, making it a legal system, as argued by Paul in Galatians 3, where without "the," it emphasizes legal law cursing those not continuing in all the law’s requirements, quoting Deuteronomy.

Paul reasons from the general principle of legal law, which condemns violators, to the specific Mosaic law, thus it condemns too. Legal law penalizes for a single violation, declaring the sinner condemned, referring to it as the administration of death and condemnation. The punishment for sin, as in the Garden of Eden, is death for eating the forbidden fruit, a law still applying today: sin leads to death. The Mosaic law could not justify violators, as it’s not in legal systems' nature.

Paul teaches law’s threefold nature in Galatians 3: demanding perfect obedience (Leviticus 18:5), condemning at first infraction (Deuteronomy 27:26), and unable to justify (Habakkuk 2:4). The Pharisees erred in believing the law could justify sinners, misunderstanding legal systems. When some from Jerusalem insisted Gentiles needed circumcision and the Mosaic law, Paul argued it rejected Jesus' purpose, as even Jews couldn’t uphold it. The law’s purpose is to realize self-effort in keeping commandments cannot atone for sins; it shows the need for a Savior.

Justification is God’s act of declaring one righteous (Romans 4), where sins are forgiven and not reckoned, regarding the sinner as righteous not by own efforts. Referencing Abraham, who obeyed God’s command to sacrifice Isaac without argument, building the altar and preparing, only stopped by God, who then knew Abraham’s faith and declared him righteous. Justification cannot be by law; sinners must appeal elsewhere, as all lawbreakers need it.

Legalism, though not a Bible word, is a Bible subject; Paul wrote Galatians to crush it. Legalism is a code of deeds and observances for justification, illustrated by dieting, like the Atkins diet. When dieting strictly but tempted by cake or ice cream sundae, breaking the diet leads to thinking it’s busted, discarding it entirely.

Instead, one should resume the diet after the mistake. Legalism thinks one can keep the law perfectly from then on, relying on self-ability, but reality shows otherwise, hence God’s provision through Jesus. As in 1 John 1, walking in the light lets Jesus' blood cleanse continually; if sinning, confess, and God forgives faithfully.

Jesus' blood continues cleansing, and God views as righteous despite breaks, as long as one asks forgiveness; on Jesus' sacrifice basis, cleansing persists in the walk. Steve opens for questions, none arise. Legalists misunderstand that law condemns without offering pardon legally, as it’s not legal systems' nature.

Many Christians, trying sincerely to serve, view the law of liberty legally, thinking one transgression condemns, citing James (referring to Mosaic law, not liberty). This makes Christianity seem too hard due to imperfection, causing uncertainty in destiny or abandonment of faith, the fruit of legalism. Steve interjects about the Black Panthers in Chicago years ago, guilty of heinous crimes, but the transcript cuts off.

Steve recounts the story of the Black Panthers in Chicago, where all but one were caught by the law for heinous crimes. The escaped member lived as a model citizen in New Hampshire for nearly 25 years before turning himself in. He relied on testimonials from neighbors about his perfect life to justify him, hoping it would override his past crimes. However, the law did not allow this; he was sent to prison despite his model behavior.

This illustrates legalism’s flaw: believing a perfect life from a certain point can erase prior condemnation, like bowling strikes after a fence but not achieving a 300 game. The law cannot justify or override past sins. The phrase "Law of Liberty" from James 1 seems contradictory, as law condemns sinners, not frees them. Similarly, Paul’s "law of faith" in Romans 3 and "law of the spirit" in Romans 8 contrast with Christians not being under law in Romans 6:14, where "the" is absent, indicating Christianity is not a legal system.

Boasting about justification as self-accomplished is excluded by the law of faith, as works under legal law cannot make one right with God. After condemning all under law in Romans 1-3 (see chapter 5), Paul announces redemption through faith in Christ’s blood. Faith in Christ as continual sacrifice (Hebrews 9) cleanses despite sins (1 John 1:7), making it a law of faith for justification, not condemning at next transgression but trusting Christ to justify while struggling against sin and keeping commandments.

The Mosaic law condemns, while Jesus offers sacrifice for atonement—two systems: one condemns, the other does not. No condemnation in Christ (Romans 8) because where no law, no sin; law ceases at baptism or cross. The gospel frees from law; walking in light lets blood cleanse continually. Walking in light means rising to newness of life, declaring effort to live as God wants. Paul states no condemnation because reckoned righteous under Jesus' blood, set free from law of sin and death. Justification by obedience of faith illustrated by Abraham.

James teaches Abraham’s faith was perfected by obedience, reckoned for righteousness. Logically, Abraham obeyed offering Isaac because he believed God would raise him from the dead, as in Hebrews 11.

Abraham’s faith in resurrection enabled obedience; scripture says faith wrought with works, making faith perfect, fulfilling Abraham believed God, reckoned for righteousness.

We must believe God saves and forgives through Jesus; faith in Jesus' sacrifice atones, saving us. What was reckoned righteous was Abraham’s faith, not works, when he obeyed offering Isaac—a perfect, working faith. Continuing in the perfect law of liberty blesses or liberates from sin’s condemnation; references Genesis 22:18, Galatians 3, Psalms, Romans 4 show blessing means justification.

This does not mean perfect continuance in law of liberty for justification, as perfection needs no forgiveness. Contrasting perfect Mosaic law that condemns sinners with perfect law of liberty that justifies sinners while doing His will; Paul wrote Christ set us free for freedom. Steve concludes the lesson, opening for questions; none, lesson dismissed.