Symbols of the Covenants V: Greater Glory
I. Review of past topics, Hagar and Sarai, Earthly and Heavenly Sanctuaries (Law on the Stones vs. Law in the Heart). The Tutor: the law added because of transgression to bring us back into a relationship where God can work with us. Finally Children, Slaves and Heirs.
II. Lets begin in Romans 1:16 and 17. (read) I am proud of the Gospel because it has the power to change our hearts. The good news about Christ is the revelation of the righteousness of God in our lives through faith. The Just shall live by faith!
III. That is what we have been talking about through this whole series and today my goal is to bring it all together and really make it clear. To start out with we must look at what this revealed righteousness is. Lets go to Romans 3:19a “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law.” Now this could be a confusing text to those who believe that the Jews were under the Law and the Christian is under Grace. But if we continue on and read the rest of the text we find out who the law is for. “…That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Who is under the Law? “All the world.” Even Christians are under the Law when they sin, that is why we are so desperately in need of a Savior who lived the perfect life for us. Because even born again Christians sin and fall short of the Glory of God. And since the law is not there to give us righteousness but to show us our guilt, prevent us from making excuses, and as we learned earlier in this series to train us to do what is right, we need Christ’s perfect sinless righteousness. We need his life placed over us so that when God looks at us He only sees the perfect life of Christ’s wrapped around us and not our own sinful lives.
IV. So we see that the law is there for three reasons. To train us, to shut our mouth (prevent us from making excuses) and to show that every person in the world is guilty. Go with me to I Timothy 1:8 & 9. (read 8) What Paul is saying in context is that there are some people who are teaching or trying to teach the law but they really don’t understand what they are talking about. That is the problem I believe with much of Christianity today. They try to teach the law but don’t understand how it is supposed to be used. So here he says the law is Good if it is used how it was intended. Do you remember why the law was added? Let’s go on. (read 9) The law was added because of transgressions. The law is brought in to train people, show people their sin and prevent them from making excuses. There are basically three classes of people in the world. Heirs, slaves and Rebels. The Heirs serving from the desire of the heart not because they have to, they are under the law but it is not made for them. The slaves are those who serve the law and regulations out of fear. They are under the law as well but they have not entered into the true relationship receiving the righteousness of Christ on the heart, His righteousness in place of theirs. The Rebels are those who see the law of God and say “I see it and I understand it but I just don’t feel like keeping it and I’m not going to.” Rebels and slaves will not enter the kingdom of heaven it is only the heirs who will enter. So when we through faith accept Christ’s gift of HIS righteousness we become righteous at that moment. We are justified and righteous at that moment. So does the law have anything to say to us then, is it even for us then? No, it does not and it is not. But there is a step beyond this. The law also educates us on how we should behave. (Illustration: When you are transformed into the image of God and his righteousness becomes the desire of your own heart the law is useless to you. For example I am going to give you a command right now. If you do not obey this command you will die. This is no joke. This is the honest truth, if you don’t do what I am about to tell you to do you will die. Are you ready? Ok. BREATH!… That is a pretty pointless thing for me to tell you to do isn’t it? That is how useless the law will be to those who have been recreated into God’s image. It will tell you to do the things you already do instinctively and that you have no desire not to do.)
V. Now lets go back to Romans 3:20. (read 20) The law only shows people their need it can’t save them. (read 21) The law does have the righteousness of God in it. (read 22) But now more righteousness of God is revealed through faith apart from the law. (read 23) All three classes, heirs, slaves and rebels, are under the law. And each and every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. But only the heir, through faith, has put on the righteousness of Christ, thus having no guilt before God their hearts being transformed so the need for the laws education on behavior is also passing away. The slave and rebel stand before God based on their own filthy rags and their own desires. The law was made for them to show them their need. To show them what they should be doing and how they should be acting. Unfortunately they refuse to accept what they need, the new robe of Christ’s righteousness, and a recreated heart. Instead of being driven to Christ and salvation they are condemned by the law.
VI. With this in mind let’s go back and review what Paul says in Philippians 3:4-6. (read 4-6) He was a top-notch slave. (read 7) This must be a tough place to come to. All your life’s work, doing all those things, only to discover that all of it was worthless. I have to respect and admire Paul’s attitude when he does come to this place. “Well if it’s worthless, dump it.” I have to say it is much better to find out now than to find out at the judgment. To be among the goats. (read 8 & 9) Many of those saved at the judgement will be people who dedicated their lives to working for God. People who lived holy and upright lives before God, but the secret is that they did it as heirs and not as slaves. They will have done it through “the righteousness which is from God by faith,” the law in the heart.
VII. Lets go back to Romans 9:30. (read 30) Remember Abraham? The law was not for Abraham, he was a righteous man who didn’t need the law because he served God through faith from the desire of his heart. Now he did make some mistakes and he was not perfect, just read his story to see that, but he received righteousness through faith. (read 31-33) The Jews had their religion all mapped out. They had the rules all lined up and in their face to keep them straight. They were good slaves. Then Jesus comes and falls right in their path. God comes down and stands between them and the law. He says to them, “here I am, I am what the Law and the Prophets have been pointing to. I am the true revelation of the law.” And they said “get out of our way you are keeping us away from our beloved rules.” (read 10:1-4) Adventists for years have had a hard time with these texts. Many Adventists have tried to do all kinds of gymnastics to get around this text. But we don’t need to get around this text. We go to Christ now for our righteousness not the law. When we through faith accept Christ’s sacrifice for us, he then comes into our lives through the Spirit and writes his righteousness in our hearts. So we still serve him, we still follow the law but we begin to do it not out of fear but because it is right. It is in our hearts to do it. Remember the children’s story about Dingo our dog? If dingo had it in his heart not to eat chickens but to protect them and watch them and keep them safe would he need the chain? No! Neither do we need the law once we have Christ. Is the righteousness that we find in Christ different then what we find in the law? No! He just eclipses it. He stands in front of it.
VIII. Ok go with me to II Corinthians 3:1. (read 1-3) We don’t need any written documentation to prove we are from Christ. Your lives prove it. You are serving God from the heart not from the tablets of stone. (read 4 & 5) “It isn’t me (Paul) that has changed you but God.” (read 6) I am not come to preach the law but the work of the Spirit changing the heart. (read 7 & 8) Again we see more Mt. Sinai illustrations. What he is saying is, if it was glorious to see the reflection of God’s righteousness in the law and on Moses face. Just the reflection was Glorious! Just imagine how glorious it will be to actually have the Spirit of God in you! His actual righteousness in your heart not just the reflection on the tablets of stone. (read 9 & 10) In comparison to the real thing, the reflection is nothing. I like to use the illustration of the Sun and the Moon. All we see when we see the glow of the Moon is a reflection from the Sun. Is the light that we see radiating from the moon in conflict with the Sun? No! But when the Sun and the Moon are next to each other the Moon becomes insignificant. There is virtually nor glory there at all. (read 11) The law is passing away. (read 12-17) God is not a slave driver. God is a in full 100% support of freedom. Don’t you think He has proven that by allowing sin to go on this long? GOD DOES NOT WANT SLAVES! (read 18) That is why he transforms us into his image, from the glory of the law, his reflection, into the very image of him. Man was created in the Image of God. I believe that means a lot more than just shape, but character, desire, will. We were created with a spiritual nature. And when the All Mighty King of Kings and Lord of Lords returns, He will be coming for those whose hearts resonate with Him because they have been transformed back into His image!
