Presence of Moral Law in the New Testament (3)

The point: Run into Jesus Christ as our only hope of life and salvation, seeing our unfitness through the law.

This analogy describes the common misconception of God as a teacher who awards 'gold stars' for good performance, leading to a works-based salvation, which Martin refutes as a way that leads to death.

what must I do to be prepared to die and go to heaven after I die? And the way which seems right to so many is the way of seeking to make themselves fit for heaven on the basis of what? what they can do to earn the favor of God. They think of God as kind of a celestial school teacher who has a performance chart stuck on his desk, and every time you do your assignment, you get a little gold star.

1:45 - 2:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Run into Jesus Christ as our only hope of life and salvation, seeing our unfitness through the law.

Instead of a ladder to heaven, the Ten Commandments are a mirror reflecting our unfitness for heaven, driving us to Christ and continually keeping us in Him by faith.

Well, for the simple reason that we have begun a series of messages in preparation for a detailed exposition of the Ten Commandments. And I must remind you continually in the course of these studies that we dare not think that these commandments were ever given by God to constitute a ten-rung ladder by which we would climb into heaven. Or some kind of a gold star producing machine out of which we crank our little stars with their stick-em-on-it and can put them on our performance chart. But rather these ten words of God instead of being a ten-rung ladder by which we climb to heaven are a ten-s...

3:48 - 5:08 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin reminds the congregation of New Testament passages previously examined: Matthew 5:17-20 (Jesus' teaching on the law), Romans 7:7-14, 23, 25 (Paul's experience of the law…

This analogy, referenced from a previous sermon, illustrates how Jesus strips away the superficial interpretations of the commandments, revealing their deep, heart-searching power.

And then the illustration of what he established. And then the illustration of what he established. There in the next two paragraphs as he does what I hope you will remember in terms of the illustration of the Rembrandt picture strips away all of the veneer and the soot and the dust over two of the commandments in the Decalogue and cause them to stand out in all of their breath in all of their searching and heart revealing power indicating that the righteousness that will obtain in his kingdom is a righteousness to be measured by the standard of his own holy law. And then we looked at Romans 7...

9:09 - 10:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Through love, be servants one to another, under the motivation and compelling power of love which is the fruit of the Spirit.

Martin explains that Christian freedom should not be used as a 'base of operation' or 'launching pad' to indulge the flesh, but rather for serving others in love.

it's all or nothing all of Christ or all of your own works Christ will save you your works will damn you it's all or nothing but now you see he recognizes there's another danger there's not only the wretched horrible danger of the Judaizers that's legalism but there is the danger of antinomianism or license and turning the grace of God into an excuse for sin so having said you brethren were called for freedom notice the negative admonition in 13a only do not you use your freedom for an occasion to the flesh you are called for freedom you are liberated from all of the dietary laws you are liber...

31:01 - 32:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Have an earnest, scrupulous yearning to fulfill the law of God, without any thought that your obedience adds to Christ's perfected record for salvation.

This analogy illustrates that true freedom is the ability to be and do what one was made for. A bird is free when it flies, not when it tries to swim like a fish. Similarly, humans are free when they obey God's will, for which they were created.

that's like going out here and yanking some bird out of a tree in the church property and sitting him down saying now little birdie I've been watching you for the last week and I've been noticing that never once have you made your way to the nearest pond and jumped in and joined a fish for five or ten minutes you seem continually to be in the trees in the air on the rooftops isn't that miserable bondage you are bound to the air and to the tree tops and to the telephone wires isn't that miserable bondage that you can't go down with the fish in the local pond and if the bird could speak you know...

44:02 - 45:30 Read in full sermon