25-1228sc Transcript

(0:04) Okay, let’s begin with the prayer then. Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we’re so (0:12) grateful that, weather permitting, that we’ve been able to come together on the (0:16) first day of the week to study your Word. We pray that you will give us (0:20) understanding and insights to your Word and to, and the wonderful (0:26) understanding and insight that our brother Ed Wharton had concerning (0:32) redemption is.

We ask your blessings upon us that we do have that understanding (0:37) and insight that be able to come out with that understanding of redemption (0:45) that you desire for us to have, and therefore us to be able to, as Paul would (0:50) say, share it with others. We pray that you continue to bless this congregation (0:57) in our study. This is a prayer off in Jesus' name.

Amen. As I said, I want to begin with (1:07) the very beginning of chapter 9 again so that we can have a continuation of the (1:14) thought that is there. So as we were looking at chapter 9 out of the (1:24) book Redemption Is, we have studied that redemption through the bootstraps method (1:30) is impossible.

Sinful flesh simply does not have enough power to be righteous (1:37) through self-effort. If God does not provide to save man, man will continue (1:45) without hope and without God in the world. It is the aim of the following (1:51) three lessons to study the person and work of Christ as the ground of our (1:56) justification, which God has provided.

First, we must see Christ’s work at Calvary as (2:04) sufficient to provide that justification, and then see that Jesus Christ is (2:11) himself the object of our faith. God told the man and the woman in the Paradise (2:17) Garden that sin would bring their death, Genesis 2, 17. Their transgressions (2:25) ushered in the law of sin and death, which is yet operative in the earth.

In effect, (2:33) that law says if you sin, you must die. And in relation to this subject, consider (2:41) what death is. Isaiah said that, quote, your inequities have separated between you and (2:49) your God, Isaiah 59, 2. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, quote, and you dead he make (2:58) alive.

When you were dead through your transgressions, transpasses, and sins, (3:06) Ephesians 2, 1. Sin brings death to the lawbreaker by separating him from the (3:13) life of God. Inasmuch as we are alive physically prior to the time of our (3:19) salvation, being made alive must necessarily speak of another quality of (3:24) life. That quality of life which God gives to the sinner is eternal life, (3:32) 1 John 1, verses 1-4.

This is what is lost through sin and what is (3:39) regained at the point of justification, 1 John 5, 13. Consequently, the death which (3:47) sin brings is separation from eternal life, which every man possesses at birth. (3:56) Satan’s power.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of, quote, him that had the power (4:03) of death, that is the devil. He’s quoting Hebrews 2, 14. The word for power means (4:11) dominion.

Thus, when one sins, he is held in the dominion of Satan. Satan’s power (4:20) to dominate men, to reign over their destiny, is sin, 1 Corinthians 15, 56, and (4:28) Romans 6, verse 23. Since men are themselves powerless to break free from (4:35) that dominance and gain their life back, that death hold must be broken by one (4:43) stronger than the devil.

At the cross, Christ paid the price for sin and broke (4:51) the power of the adversary. In this great act lies the very heart of Christianity, (4:58) for the death of Jesus not only gave us a new and better covenant, but made it (5:05) for us a provision unto salvation without which the new covenant would be (5:11) worthless. That provision was Christ’s own sacrifice of himself to God.

Christ’s (5:20) death substituted for ours. Jesus' death was substitutionary. He died the death we (5:28) should have died and paid the penalty for our law-breaking.

God’s love for us (5:35) caused him to substitute Jesus at Calvary for the death we sinners should (5:41) die. Isaiah is quoted as saying, he was cut off out of the land of the living for (5:49) the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due, Isaiah 53, 8. Humanity (5:57) committed the crime, but Jesus took the wrath. The word for in each of the (6:04) following passages is the word huper, which is Greek.

This word is word of (6:11) substitution. It means in behalf of. Thus Paul taught that while we were yet (6:19) sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5, 8. In place of us. He that spared not his own son, but (6:28) delivered him up for us all, Christ died for our sins. Four is in place of.

(6:37) 1 Corinthians 15, 3. One died for all, therefore all died. 2 Corinthians 5, 14. Our Lord (6:47) Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins.

Galatians 1, 3-4. The Son of God gave (6:57) himself up for me. Galatians 2, 20.

Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, for an (7:07) offering and a sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5, 2. The real meaning of Christ and him (7:15) crucified clearly emerges from these passages, when we understand that Christ’s (7:22) death took the place of our death. Therefore, we who are in Christ do not (7:29) have to pay the price of our sins.

He died in our stead for us. He is, and we’re (7:46) Christ himself became sin for us. At the cross, Jesus died the death which unsaved (7:55) sinners must experience.

Notice carefully what happened. He was separated from God (8:01) for our sakes. And Isaiah is quoted as saying, but he was wounded for our (8:08) transgressions.

He was bruised for our inequities. The chastisement of our peace (8:16) was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.

(8:24) We have turned everyone to his own way, and Jehovah hath laid on him the (8:31) iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53, verses 5 and 6. Isaiah continues to teach that God (8:38) would make, quote, his soul an offering for sin, verse 10. That he shall bear their (8:47) iniquities, verse 11.

And that he bear the sin of many, and make intercession for the (8:55) transgressions, verse 12. The language is unmistakable that Christ is our sin offering. (9:05) This is just what the Apostle Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21.

Quote, (9:11) Him who knew no sin, he made to be sin on our behalf. Christ at the cross died the (9:20) death of a sinner. God viewed him as he views a sinner, in his sin separated from (9:29) God.

This explains quite easily the otherwise difficult statement from the (9:37) cross. Jesus said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27, verse 46. (9:45) Jesus said this because God had forsaken him.

For our sakes, thus fulfilling Isaiah’s, (9:55) Jehovah laid on him the iniquity of us all. Notice carefully that the agony of (10:02) the cross was not merely physical. The physical agony of Christ on the cross (10:09) was surely the same as the physical suffering of ten thousands of (10:13) crucifixions by the Romans.

His suffering is best described by Isaiah when he says (10:20) of God, quote, He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. (10:29) Isaiah 53, 11. There is the agony of Calvary, agony of soul actually separated (10:38) from his God.

He prevailed in his separation from God so that we would not (10:46) have to be separated. The price of our indebtedness has been paid by another at (10:53) Calvary. Thank God for his unexpected, unspeakable gift.

He erased the record (11:01) of our sins by his own death. And Paul’s quoted as Colossians chapter 2, having (11:11) blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was (11:18) contrary to us, and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. (11:25) Colossians 2, 14.

The word bond in this passage is equivalent to our IOU, which (11:34) is a debt one cannot pay. Also, the ink used in Bible days did not have acid in (11:41) it so as to bite into the writing material as ours does. The ink would (11:50) simply dry on top of the material.

Often the same writing material would be used (11:56) over and over. The old ink would simply be wiped off with a rag or sponge. In this (12:04) way, a bond, or IOU, would be blotted out, and the record of the debt would be no (12:12) more.

It is this figure Paul uses in Colossians 2, 14, when he says that Christ (12:18) blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us. Our debt (12:25) was wiped away by Jesus' blood. It is as if one occurred a large hospital (12:36) debt which he could not pay, but a friend, because he loved him, paid the debt for (12:43) him.

The debt is paid. There is no debt against him. He has become our continual (12:55) sin offering.

Jesus continues to bear our sins, that is, of those who are in (13:04) Christ. For he became our sin bearer, so Isaiah, quoted, he bear the sin of many and made (13:15) intercession for the transgressor, Isaiah 53. And in Hebrews, quote, now once at the end of (13:24) the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

So (13:33) Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, Hebrews 9, 26-28. By that (13:44) sacrifice for sin, he continues to benefit the faithful. Peter states that Christ also (13:52) suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us (13:59) to God, 1 Peter 3, 18.

We can continually stand in God’s presence, justified because Jesus' (14:11) sacrifice continues to satisfy God for all our sins. When we’re looking at this (14:18) particular aspect, oftentimes, I know that when I was growing up, listening to my adult (14:28) teachers and so on, one of the things that they were concerned about was the teaching of (14:35) once saved, always saved. And so this is one of those things that comes into my mind, are we (14:43) advocating once saved, always saved? And because Jesus, the way he’s going to be pointing this (14:50) out to us, that Jesus not only paid the debt, but he took his blood up to the Holy of Holies, (14:59) not made with hands, but with God, and places the sacrifice and places God on the mercy seat, (15:06) and God accepts that, and then Jesus continues.

And this is one of the reasons why he compares (15:15) the thought of Jesus living forever and not dying. When you look at the priesthood (15:23) under the Mosaic Law, the priest continually died, and so they had to continually bring (15:28) a different priest and a different priest and a different priest. And so Jesus is not dying, (15:35) and he will not die.

And so he’s the one and only priest, and he’s standing there in front of God, (15:42) and he’s offering his sacrifice for all his followers, all his disciples, and he continues (15:50) to offer it to them, and he’s not leaving. And that’s the reason why, and as we move more into (15:59) this lesson, and this is one of the reasons why I’m really excited about this, because (16:05) in all my life, I’d never heard this, never perceived this particular concept, (16:11) and this is what makes me excited about why this ought to be taught. And so I want to make sure (16:21) that my fellow Christians don’t have the wrong concept of what is happening, because Jesus (16:31) continues to offer his sacrifice for our sins as long as we are faithful and remain faithful and (16:41) not continue to be in our sins.

And so it’s not a once saved, always saved. It is saved, period, (16:53) unless you separate yourself from God. You can fall from mercy, and that’s the main thing, (17:00) because whenever I heard my brothers defend or condemn the concept of once saved, always saved, (17:11) is because, and they would say, well, you can always fall from mercy, and that was their (17:16) thought.

You can fall from mercy. So then you would have that concept. Do you know, (17:22) and I always ask this question quite often, because it’s something I learned during (17:30) trying to become a soul winner and going out and doing personal work, (17:36) if you were to die today, do you know that you would be with God eternally in heaven? (17:45) If you ask that question in the presence of my fellow brothers and sisters, they would say, (17:51) how can you know? You can know, and that’s the reason why 1 John says there in the fourth chapter, (18:00) or the fifth chapter, I believe it is, I write these things so that you can know that you are (18:06) saved.

And so as long as I am faithful to God and do not want to continue in my sins and so on, (18:16) Jesus continues to cover my sins, and that’s the reason why John writes in 1 Corinthians, (18:24) or not in 1 Corinthians, 1 John, first chapter, as long as we walk in the light, (18:29) as he is in the light, his blood continues to cleanse us. And that’s the concept. Yes? (18:37) After that, 1 John also where it talks about that you walk in the light, that he’s in the light.

(18:45) So after the verse, just before it talks about (18:50) walking in darkness, and you say you love God, you’re a liar, but he’s talking to the same (18:57) group of people. So some people in that group walk in darkness, some people in that group (19:04) walk in the light, but it’s different. So the light is, the enlightenment of his Word.

(19:14) If we are striving to learn more about Jesus, to transform from the world’s thinking and conform (19:22) to him, that’s walking in the light. But if all you’re doing is coming to church to pacify your (19:31) guilt, and you’re not studying, you’re not reading, you’re not advancing as a Christian, (19:37) and you say you love God, well, that’s actually walking in the darkness, and you’re a liar. (19:45) So walking in the light isn’t just showing up in a church and taking communion and making sure (19:51) they’re all the time.

There’s an effort on our part. It’s not worthy of saving, (19:59) salvation. It’s mercy that comes from God, and it’s a gift.

It does require effort on our part. (20:09) Not just, yeah, I believe in God. And if you don’t do anything, James says that’s not faith.

(20:17) So anyway, remembering a comment that you made many years ago on this particular passage, (20:24) he says that if we sin, they are going to be faithful to forgive us of our sins if we ask (20:31) for forgiveness. And so there is the fact that Christians will continue to sin, but not on (20:40) purpose. Christians will sin and make mistakes, and they will err, but if they ask for forgiveness, (20:50) God will be faithful to forgive us.

And so he’s talking about the fact that, you know, (20:56) Jesus continues to, his sacrifice, it continues to cover our sins because he’s right there in the (21:08) priest, the function of a high priest, his sacrifice for mankind’s sins, whosoever will. (21:17) And so this is where he is. And so any other comments or any questions? Let’s go on because (21:26) he’s going to really stress this point as we get a little bit further into the lesson itself.

(21:36) Let’s go back up there to where it says he became our continual sin offering. (21:42) Jesus continues, you know where we are? Jesus continues to bear our sins, that is, of those (21:51) who are in Christ, for he became our sin bearer. So Isaiah is quoted as saying, (21:59) he bared the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors, Isaiah 53.

And in Hebrews, (22:10) now, and Paul’s quoted as saying, now once at the end of the ages has he been manifested to (22:20) put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. So Christ also having been once offered to bear (22:29) the sins of many, Hebrews 9, verse 26 and 28, by the sacrifice for sin, (22:37) he continues to benefit the faithful. Peter states, and he quotes, Christ also suffered for sins once, (22:47) the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, 1 Peter 3, 18.

(22:56) We can continually stand in God’s presence, justified because Jesus' sacrifice continues (23:04) to satisfy God for all our sins. Any questions about what he’s saying there? (23:14) He’s, Ed Wharton is adding that, we’re looking at Ed Wharton’s, you know, commentary, obviously, (23:21) when he’s writing. And here is where he points out what I said to my brothers, we’d always say, (23:36) some think that at baptism, all our past sins are forgiven, but the rest is up to us.

(23:47) And I’ve heard that many times. Okay, you’re baptized, now you got to walk in the light. (23:57) That’s really why, if you ask him, do you know if you were to die today, you would be with God (24:02) eternally in heaven? Well, they’re going to say no.

Why? Because it depends, in their minds, (24:09) it depends on whether or not you ask God for forgiveness just before you die. (24:16) If you don’t ask for forgiveness just before you die, then you’re lost. But what is walking in the (24:23) light, as he is in the light, talk about? It’s our demeanor.

It’s the way we control ourselves. (24:32) My demeanor is, I want to be a Christian. I want to be God-fearing.

I want to do what (24:39) God wants me to do, and I want to live my life the way God wants me to live. That’s my demeanor. (24:45) And so I use an illustration, and that is, suppose, just suppose, you’re a truck (24:53) driver, and you’re hauling gasoline, a highly volatile component, and you’re driving down the (25:02) road, and you’re content, and you think everything’s going real well, and then all of a sudden, (25:08) an occasion comes that you’ve got a swerve, somebody cut in front of you, or something fell (25:13) out, and you had a swerve, and all of a sudden, that tanker, being so volatile and everything, (25:20) and uncontrollable, flips over.

You’re caught in the cab of the truck, and all of a sudden, (25:28) it’s leaking, and the gas is burning. You’re going to have a prayer on your lips at that time. (25:38) But if you are consumed by the fire, and you haven’t said a prayer, does that mean you’re lost? (25:49) No.

It doesn’t have to be verbal, but I’m sure that when you’re in that condition, you ain’t (26:00) going to be saying a prayer to God at this point. It could be cursing about that person who just (26:09) cut in front of you. It could be cursing on your lips.

So what happens? My thoughts are, (26:20) you’re walking in the light, and that’s not your demeanor. Your demeanor is, (26:27) you wanted to do what God wanted you to do, and under normal circumstances, you would not say (26:33) the things you would say. You would not think the things you would think.

God’s not going to hold (26:38) it against you. Jesus is not going to hold it against you. Jesus is there in heaven, interceding (26:44) for you, and he’s praying for you, and he’s presenting to you his sacrifice.

His sacrifice. (26:56) You get that? Understand that? You would expect the person walking in the light over time to (27:06) progress as what God wants them to be, rather than regress. Right.

So you wouldn’t see a backward, (27:17) a downward. He’s not going to be a worse person in the future. He should be better.

Well, he’s (27:24) definitely a much improved person. He is closer to being righteous. (27:35) He’s closer to being righteous.

Right. And he’s progressing towards righteousness. (27:46) And not that he will ever become righteous.

He is righteous in the sight of God because of the (27:52) blood of Jesus. Right. Right.

Right. So we’re on the path of righteousness, and Jesus' blood (28:10) provides us with that righteousness, and that’s the reason why when Satan stands before God and (28:16) says, Hey, did you just see what Steve did? God looks down and he says, I see nothing but the (28:24) blood of Christ. You know, I see nothing but the blood of Christ.

So that’s for some. So (28:34) any other comments or questions? That’s all mine. So let’s go on.

Restating. Some think (28:46) that at baptism, all our past sins are forgiven, but that the rest is up to us. (28:53) They do not understand the nature of Christ’s sacrifice.

Jesus' present position before God (29:01) is as a sin offering, which God continues to accept on our behalf. In other words, (29:12) Christ actually became something at the cross. What did he become? He became a sacrifice for sin, (29:22) which God continues to accept as full payment for all our past, present, and future sins.

(29:32) Any perversion of this is an attempt to turn this matter into a license to commit sin as blasted (29:43) by Scripture, Romans 3, 8, Romans 6, 1, and 15. And Jude says that they take that righteousness (29:57) and give themselves a license to sin, because they think that as long as they’re in the blood of (30:04) Jesus and Jesus, so that gives me the opportunity to sin, continue to sin. And of course, (30:14) the Hebrew writer points out to us that if we continue to walk in sin, we (30:21) disqualify ourselves from the sacrifice of Christ, and we’re no longer under the sacrifice (30:27) of Christ, and we’re thrown back into that continued law, the law of sin and death, (30:37) which was established in the Garden of Eden.

So as long as, you know, that’s the punishment, (30:46) if we sin and continue to sin. Any questions? So any perversion of this, (30:54) in an attempt to turn this matter into a license to commit sin, is blasted by Scripture. (31:02) God forbid, if we practice sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, (31:13) there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, Hebrews 10.

Christ is that sacrifice and will (31:23) not tolerate the intentional practice of any sin. That would be walking in darkness. Yeah.

(31:36) And I think about that darkness, and you hit on that quality of darkness. (31:43) And the other thing is, there is no darkness in God. So we’re told there is no darkness in God.

(31:51) So what does that mean? It means that He is not going to do anything to harm us. (31:59) He will not come up with anything that would harm us, to trick us, or to present falsely. (32:11) He is not capable of being false.

He’s not capable of doing anything treacherous. (32:20) He’s not dark. The average person, if he’s dark, he will lie to you, he will deceive you, (32:28) he will do things that will not be to your benefit.

That person is of darkness. (32:36) And so I’m reflecting on God is, in Him there is no darkness. So that would reflect that (32:44) you can take Him for His Word.

You can take Him for what He says that He’s going to do. (32:52) He’s not going to do anything, put us in a position where it’s going to harm us. (32:58) Any, anything else? So let’s…​ Yes, Steve.

Yes, go ahead. I was thinking of (33:09) what He says in Psalms 32, 2, blessed is the man to whom sin is not imputed unto him. (33:25) So if we’re walking in the light, then we’re continually being cleansed by the blood of Christ, (33:35) so we’re being cleansed from all sin.

Blessed is the man in whom sin is not imputed unto him. (33:44) Yeah, but we talked a little bit about that last week, and that’s one of the reasons why (33:49) we ran out of time and didn’t have it. But the thing is, you see, when God gave the Ten (33:56) Commandments and the law on Mount Sinai to the Israelites, it was a commandment, covenant, (34:05) it was a covenant.

And He established the priesthood that was going to serve the Israelites (34:13) and mankind and be the advocate between man and God. So He had the high priest and the priesthood (34:24) set up so that they would be offering the sacrifices on our behalf, and God would be (34:30) receiving them. But God, in Jeremiah 31, declares to us that God was not pleased with man’s (34:42) performance.

It was man’s performance that He was not pleased with, and the law that He set up was (34:49) not giving him the opportunity to forgive them. The law that He set up was not giving him the (34:57) opportunity to forgive them and to say to them, I do not hold it against you. And so He wanted to (35:04) change that.

But in order to change that, He had to change the priesthood. And so He gives us (35:13) what the new covenant is going to be in Jeremiah 31-31, which is reiterated in Hebrews 8, (35:20) chapter, and 10th chapter. But that covenant that He wants to put into place cannot go into place (35:28) until He changes the priesthood and that the new covenant is established under the blood (35:37) of a perfect or better sacrifice.

And so that’s the reason why He sent Jesus to die, (35:46) to be that new priest. And so He establishes Jesus to be the priest after the order of Melchizedek, (35:57) and He will be forever, and He will not die. And so consequently, when Jesus goes to the cross, (36:05) He’s offering Himself and not the blood of bulls and goats.

He’s offering Himself, which is the (36:11) pure sacrifice, which is sinless, and it is of a human being and not of an animal. And so He is (36:22) able to pay the debt that man had with his own death. And so when He goes to the cross, (36:34) He is able to establish Himself as the High Priest.

God had already established Him as the (36:42) High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, so He had to have an offering. He had to have a (36:47) sacrifice. He provided Himself as that sacrifice so that He could usher in the new covenant.

(36:55) That new covenant could not go into place until there was a death of the testator. (37:02) So it’s just like a will that you and I enact. When we enact a will, that will does not go (37:11) into effect until we pass away.

So my children cannot anticipate whatever my will says. I don’t (37:21) have one, but it’s whatever the government says that they can do. So anyway, the will does not go (37:32) into place until the person actually dies.

So Jesus dies. He’s able to provide His blood as (37:45) the sacrifice, and He presents it before God, and the Scripture says God was pleased with it. (37:51) He accepted it, and it was for the forgiveness of man’s sins.

So Jesus is going to be there. (38:02) And He’s not going to die, so we don’t have to worry about a new High Priest. We don’t have to (38:09) worry about whether or not we’re going to have any changes.

He’s going to live forever. So He’s (38:19) ushered in the new covenant, and the new covenant then does what? Provides God the opportunity to (38:30) forgive sins, and to declare us righteous. So He takes us out from the old covenant.

He takes us (38:40) out of the bond, and so therefore He disarms Satan. He disarms Satan because Satan’s power (38:49) only comes from the Old Testament. It comes from the old covenant, and where is Satan’s power? (38:59) It is sin, because he knows that sin separates man from God.

And if he can then stand there and say, (39:11) one of the things that I love to do is to give my little illustration about this (39:17) young man, and my time is almost up. But anyway, my illustration is, here’s a young man, (39:28) and he’s just turned 16. He’s got his driver’s license, and he’s now going out, and he’s (39:36) celebrating, and he’s speeding, and he runs a stoplight or a sign, and the cop pulls him over.

(39:45) Where does the cop get the power to stop him? From the laws on the books. If the law is not on the (39:57) books, the cop doesn’t have the power at all to stop this young man from speeding and running a (40:05) stoplight. Satan gets his power from the laws that are on the book.

And so he says, (40:15) did you know that he used your name in vain? Did he know, or do you know that he cursed? (40:23) Do you know that he got drunk? And so he’s able to use all of that against us, because that’s sin. (40:33) And sin separates us from God. And God has to be an honest judge.

He has to be a forthright judge, (40:40) and he has to say to you, young man, how do you plead? And he has to say, no, your honor. (40:50) So we have this young man standing there in front of the judge, and the policeman has got (40:56) the ticket that says that he violated this ordinance, this ordinance, and this ordinance. (41:02) And so he says he’s guilty.

The judge looks at the young man, and the young man says, or the judge (41:11) says, how do you plead, young man? He says guilty. But his mom and dad and many of his loved ones (41:19) are sitting there in the courtroom, and transfer this now to heaven, where God is saying, how do (41:29) you plead, young man? And so the mother stands up and says, your honor, does it matter who pays the (41:36) debt? And the honor says, no, it doesn’t matter who pays the debt. He said he’s subject to death.

(41:45) So can I pay for him? Satan stands there and says, your honor, she can’t pay for his debt. (41:56) Why? Because she’s guilty of her sins. Father stands up and says, if it doesn’t matter who (42:04) pays the debt, let me pay for his debt.

What is Satan doing? Satan’s going to stand up and say, (42:12) your honor, he can’t pay you the debt. Why? Because he sinned, and he’s got to pay for his (42:22) own debt. She’s got to pay for her own debt.

And person after person stands up and says, (42:28) can I pay for his debt? And Satan says, no, I’m sorry, you can’t. Why? Because we have all sinned (42:37) and fall short of the glory of God. And all of a sudden the doors open and Jesus comes in (42:45) and says, your honor, can I pay for his debt? And yes, he can pay for our debt.

(42:58) And so what has Jesus done? He’s blotted out all of those lawsuits against us, all of the (43:09) tickets that Satan has got against us. He’s blotted it out because he’s removed us from (43:15) the law of sin and death. Jesus has covered our sins.

We’re suffering. So consequently, (43:28) Satan does not have any power over a Christian because he has been removed from the law of sin (43:34) and death. And where there is no law, there is no sin.

And where’s the power that Satan has? (43:44) It lies in sin, the word sin, the actual accusation that you sin, we sin. Where’s the law that says I (43:57) sin? I’ve been removed from it. I’ve been freed from it.

I’m no longer under the law of sin and (44:05) death. Therefore there is now therefore what? Romans 8. There is now therefore no condemnation (44:13) to them who are in Christ Jesus. Where does the condemnation come from? Sin.

Where does the (44:21) sin come from? The law. We have been removed from the law of sin and death. So just quickly, (44:32) my time is up.

I’ve overruled. There’s 20 after. But let’s really quickly look at the conclusion.

(44:43) In conclusion, since Christ’s death was an offering to God to pay to him the debt we owed (44:49) for sin, we conclude, one, that in Christ’s death as a sacrifice for sin, God showed himself to be (44:57) just in passing over the sins of men like Abraham and Moses and David. And I love that illustration (45:03) because he was able to forgive their sins because he looked forward to the fact that Jesus was going (45:08) to die on the cross. And God is God, and his will is not going to be thwarted.

So God’s foreknowledge (45:17) of Christ coming to pay that debt and their own obedient trust in God, not for their justification. (45:25) Two, that Christ broke the power of Satan at Calvary. Satan no longer has dominion over sinful (45:32) man, Hebrews 2 verse 14 and 15.

Satan’s power to accuse sinners who are in Christ is no more, (45:40) Revelation 12, 10. There is no sin the devil can accuse us of that God will not justify if we are (45:49) in Christ. And remember that statement.

Remember that statement. I believe it. (45:58) There is no sin that God will not justify if we are in Christ.

No exception. (46:08) You got to stop and think about that because we’re going to have exceptions after exceptions, (46:14) and there is no sin that God will not justify if we are in Christ. And he quotes Romans 8, (46:25) 33 and 34.

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is (46:33) he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, (46:40) who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (46:47) And so I use that particular thing because what happens to the average person? (46:54) He keeps thinking about his past.

He keeps thinking about who he is. And so he says to himself, (47:00) I am nothing. I’m not worthy.

You don’t have the right as a Christian to say that. (47:06) You have been forgiven. Period.

You are right. Don’t let your past condemn you. (47:17) Don’t recriminate yourself.

And I have a sermon on that too. (47:27) And number three, the adversary is powerless to demand that God (47:31) condemn Christians for their lawlessness because Jesus died to condemn sin in the flesh. (47:39) Romans 8, 3. Thus Paul triumphantly states, there is therefore now no condemnation to them (47:47) who are in Christ Jesus.

Therefore Christ Jesus is the object of our faith. He is the one we trust, (47:56) will save us in spite of our imperfections. It is that faith, faith in the sacrifice, (48:05) and in that person, which assures the Christian that he can live for the Lord, the life of (48:12) obedience.

For though Christians are not sinless, James 3 and 2 and 1 John 1 and 8, we can know (48:23) that Christ’s sacrifice will continually satisfy God for the mistakes we commit while we struggle (48:30) against sin to do his will. 1 John 5, 18. It is faith in Christ and his work at the cross which (48:41) empowers the Christian to conquer the world by saying yes to God and no to Satan.

1 John 5, 4. (48:51) Thank you so much for your listening to Lesson 9. And 10 is coming up.