00:00 Introduction to Romans Chapter Three

02:03 Paul's Audience and Their Reactions

06:34 The Jewish Advantage and God's Words

10:21 The Value of Written Words from God

18:49 Understanding the Bible as a Treasure

20:44 Developing a Love for the Bible

25:46 God's Faithfulness in Judgment

32:33 Avoiding Excuses and Embracing Truth

39:30 Concluding Thoughts and Prayer

We're continuing on in Romans chapter three.

2

So why don't you turn

there in your Bibles.

3

Now, one thing that you may have

noticed about Romans so far is a lot

4

of these sermons sound the same, right?

5

They sound pretty similar, and

that's because we're, we're following

6

someone's train of thought, right?

7

And honestly, though.

8

It took me a long time to, to

really understand some of the things

9

that we're talking about here.

10

When I was in middle school and high

school and I was, especially when I was

11

a freshman in high school, it took me so

long to admit that I wasn't a Christian.

12

It took me like a probably two years

of being faced with God's word and

13

then comparing it to my life and

realizing that I wasn't a Christian.

14

It took me like.

15

A long time to admit.

16

In fact, we used to do these things where

we would, um, our high school, when I

17

was in high school ministry, we would

go and meet on campus and like, um,

18

we would have a Bible study on campus.

19

Like all the true north

students that went to my school.

20

We would go and, and talk

about about the Bible.

21

Sometimes we'd have pizza, we'd do

all this cool stuff and my mom really

22

wanted me to go to those and I hated it.

23

I didn't want to go 'cause

I knew that when I would go

24

there, someone would ask me.

25

Hey, what's your testimony?

26

When did you become a Christian?

27

And I did not want any of that smoke.

28

I didn't wanna deal with it.

29

I was so convicted.

30

I was like, Nope, not for me.

31

So I would tell my mom, I went, and

then I would not go, or I would tell

32

her, oh, I went and the door was locked

and I couldn't get in, and I would just

33

make up all of this stuff to get out

of it because I did not want to admit.

34

Then what I started to do is then I

would make up like a fake testimony.

35

Like, oh, I went to summer camp when I was

in junior high and I, I heard this sermon

36

and whatever, and I became a Christian.

37

When I would try to make up stuff to

like, sound right, I just wanted, I

38

just didn't want to acknowledge the

fact that I wasn't a Christian, right.

39

That my, my whole life up that

point, I wasn't good enough.

40

I didn't deserve to go to heaven.

41

In fact, I deserved God's wrath.

42

And maybe that's you right now.

43

Maybe you've heard a lot of these

sermons and, and you feel like you're,

44

God's almost putting you into a corner

and you're like, I, I need to get out.

45

In fact, that's where a lot of these

people in Paul's that Paul's writing

46

to, that's what they feel like.

47

That's what a lot of them feel like.

48

It's, you're gonna see in our passage,

there's people that are, that are

49

trying to escape what Paul is saying.

50

They're trying to escape what God

is saying in the book of Romans,

51

and they're gonna come up with some

really creative ways to get out of it.

52

There's some really creative ways to

either say, well, that doesn't apply to

53

me or Paul, what you're saying about God.

54

That can't be true.

55

People make up all kinds of things, maybe.

56

For you, you've had a conversation with

someone, you, maybe you are a Christian,

57

you have a conversation with someone about

the gospel, and then they try to throw

58

you like a side, a sidetrack, and they

say, well, what about the person in, in

59

the jungle who's never heard the gospel?

60

Or, oh, well if God is good,

why do bad things happen?

61

Those are real questions, but

usually we ask those things so we

62

can get out of, well, what about you?

63

Right?

64

And that's what I want you to, to

think about tonight is we, we cover

65

Paul's argument and all these questions

that he's answering, I want you to

66

think about, well, what about me?

67

What about me?

68

And so I want you to be able

to affirm something about God.

69

I want you to be able to affirm God's

master plan of faithful judgment.

70

This is the, almost the, the

penultimate step in Paul's argument.

71

So it's the second to last thing before

we reach his like big conclusion that

72

we'll see next week, um, in chapter three.

73

So what happens in the

book of Romans, right?

74

That what we've been seeing.

75

Is that Paul's making a, like

they're all connected, right?

76

These aren't just isolated things that

you can just look at and say, oh, cool.

77

I like that.

78

I like that.

79

I like that.

80

Um, Paul's making an argument, right?

81

And he's, he's getting to

this conclusion right here.

82

No one is righteous, right?

83

No one deserves to go to heaven.

84

Everyone falls short of God's perfect

standard and on his way there, right?

85

We've covered a lot of ground.

86

We've talked about how, um, everyone

is responsible because everyone knows.

87

What everyone knows that God exists.

88

Everyone knows that there's a

God and that every everyone knows

89

that they are accountable to him.

90

And we also know that everyone,

regardless of religious background,

91

isn't good enough, right?

92

No matter how much you know, no matter

how many Bible verses you memorize,

93

no matter who your parents are, no

of us ultimately are good enough.

94

None of those external things

make us good enough for God.

95

And then what we'll see next week

is that all of us inherently are.

96

Sinful.

97

And so when Paul's making this

argument, a lot of the people in

98

his audience are Jewish and like

we talked about last week, they are

99

really holding onto the fact that,

well, I'm part of God's people, right?

100

I'm Jewish.

101

I have the signs of God's people.

102

I know the Bible really well.

103

They, they hold onto these external signs.

104

Maybe that's you, maybe you're

holding onto Well, I was baptized.

105

Or I go to church or I serve in church,

or I know that I'm a sinner, you hold

106

onto these external things that maybe

don't even make you a Christian.

107

And so what these, but what the

Jewish people actually did a lot in

108

the early church is they would not

just respond by objecting verbally.

109

They would actually respond violently.

110

There was a guy, um, his

name's Steven, and in.

111

He, uh, there's a story about him in

the Bible and this guy named Steven, he

112

was like a normal person in the church.

113

He, his, his like serving position,

his ministry, he, his job was to help

114

the widows make sure they had food.

115

'cause the, in that culture,

they didn't have enough.

116

Um.

117

They didn't have, they couldn't get jobs.

118

They didn't have as many rights

as people do in our culture.

119

And so he, his job was to

make sure they got food.

120

And Steven started talking about

some of the things that, that Paul

121

talks about here, how no one's

righteous before God and how well,

122

you know, I know that God, I.

123

His people were, were ethnic in

the Old Testament, but in really

124

what it's about is your heart.

125

It's not about those external things.

126

It's about your heart.

127

And the people got so mad at him, they

said in Acts six that he's blaspheming,

128

he's saying bad things about God.

129

So in the early church, the Christians

actually were accused of disconnecting

130

themselves from the Old Testament.

131

Isn't that crazy?

132

The Christians, they said,

the Christians don't like God.

133

So the Jews would say, oh, the

Christians don't like God, and

134

they actually end up killing Steven

because he believes the things that,

135

that we're teaching in this letter.

136

Isn't that crazy?

137

If you lived 2000 years ago, you

were in danger from some people

138

for believing the things that

you're hearing from this letter.

139

Now, the, the Jews, their

objection to what Paul's saying.

140

It comes in like three

stages in our passage.

141

Okay.

142

And these are those.

143

Three stages.

144

So the first thing, the first

argument that, that Paul is gonna

145

tackle here is that the gospel

is an attack on God's people.

146

So what you're gonna see in the first

couple verses is he's gonna ask,

147

what's the point of being Jewish?

148

Right?

149

If, if really, what a, remember

we talked about last week?

150

I showed you that milk carton, the

fake milk carton I made that said

151

true Jew instead of true moo, right?

152

That if true Jewishness, if really being

part of God's people is about your heart.

153

Then what's the point

of the Old Testament?

154

Right?

155

What's the point of the law?

156

What's the point of the sacrifices?

157

What's the point of the temple?

158

Why do we have all this stuff, right?

159

What, why did God waste 39 books

of the Bible on that part of, of

160

religion when really it's just been

about your heart the whole time?

161

So that's, that's one

thing they're gonna say.

162

They're gonna say that it's,

it's Paul, your, your disconnect

163

from, from the Old Testament.

164

The other thing they're gonna

say is, well, what about

165

all these promises God made?

166

To Israel, right?

167

God made all these promises to Israel.

168

He made promises to Abraham

and Isaac and Jacob.

169

What about those?

170

If God breaks his promise towards

those people, how do you know

171

he is gonna be faithful to you?

172

That's a valid question, right?

173

If you're saying that, well, God's

not gonna fulfill his promises

174

to Israel, then what about you?

175

How do you know that God's gonna

fulfill his promises to you?

176

And Paul's gonna ask that address

that question, and then the next thing

177

he's gonna talk about is there's these

people who are gonna say something.

178

How can God punish my sin if my sin

is actually showing his righteousness?

179

If my sin shows that God is a good

judge, then why is it, how can

180

God punish me for helping him out

because my sin is really helping him?

181

That's kind of a weird argument.

182

That's like saying, well, should I right?

183

Maybe you've heard it this way.

184

You should sin so that

God can forgive you more.

185

'cause it shows how

forgiving God is, right?

186

That's kind of a similar argument

to what they're gonna say.

187

Anyway.

188

So all that to say, that's what

we're gonna be looking at is three

189

objections that people might have to

what we just talked about last week.

190

So look with me at Romans

three, verses one and two.

191

So first objection is

what about God's people?

192

What about the juice?

193

What's the whole point?

194

First one, then, what advantage has the

Jew, or what is the value of circumcision?

195

Verse two.

196

Much in every way, which by the way.

197

That's not what you'd

expect Paul to say, right?

198

You tell him to say no, it doesn't

give you an innate advantage, right?

199

That's the whole point of

Romans two, I thought, is Paul

200

contradicting himself now?

201

What's happening?

202

Why is he saying that Jews have an

advantage when he just said that

203

they're just equally guilty before God?

204

That's confusing.

205

And he says, why?

206

To begin with, first of all, the Jews

were entrusted with the Oracles of

207

God, the words of God the Jews got.

208

They received what God said.

209

So Paul doesn't say, the

Jews have no advantages.

210

He says they have a lot.

211

And then he says, first of all, what's

funny too, I don't know if you guys

212

know who Charles Barkley is, he does

the same thing that Paul's doing here.

213

He says, first of all, he's a

guy, he's a sports guy on tv.

214

He says, first of all, and then he

doesn't say anything after, like

215

he doesn't say second or third.

216

He doesn't make any other points.

217

He just says, first of all, for

everything, that's what Paul's doing here.

218

He says to begin with,

and then he says nothing.

219

He just makes one point, he says,

first of all, and then that's it.

220

But I think what he's

doing is he's saying.

221

This is really the biggest advantage.

222

This is the main advantage.

223

This is the one that you

really need to care about.

224

The first advantage that the Jews have

is that they have God's very words.

225

He doesn't say it's the temple.

226

He doesn't say it's promises to Abraham.

227

He doesn't say it's stories

about miracles that God did.

228

He says it's, they have the very

words of God, and you have that same

229

advantage today if you think about

it, you have the very words of God.

230

In fact, you have more.

231

Of God's words.

232

You have better access to God's words,

and I want you to be thankful for that.

233

But I also want you to feel the right way

about the fact that you have God's words.

234

So for our first point tonight,

write down like this, treasure

235

what God has written for you.

236

I want it to be precious to you.

237

I want you to treasure it.

238

I want it to be special to you,

and I want it to be important.

239

I want it to be valuable.

240

That's why I picked that word treasure.

241

There's no greater privilege anyone can

have than having the written words of God.

242

And maybe you've never thought about

this, but think about it the opposite way.

243

What if you never received

anything from God?

244

No written words.

245

You didn't know who Jesus was.

246

You didn't know how

someone paid for your sin.

247

You didn't know that God loved you.

248

You would be a totally different

person if you had never

249

heard of any of those things.

250

In our culture, we really like

written, original, written things.

251

I saw this recently.

252

There was a sports autographed

card that sold for $12 million,

253

um, which, when you think about it, I

also found that, so George Washington's

254

own copy of the Constitution.

255

That he like signed, like his actual

copy was worth less than this card.

256

George Washington's copy of the

Constitution was 10 million.

257

This card was worth almost $13 million

'cause it has Kobe's signature and

258

it has Michael Jordan's signature.

259

$13 million for this one card

with two signatures on it, right?

260

Two really like what four words.

261

On this card, but because it has

those very original words, right, the

262

very words of Kobe Bryant and Michael

Jordan, it gets sold for $13 million.

263

In fact, this is the second most expensive

sports collective of all time, and it's

264

only half of the most, which is Babe

Ruth, babe Ruth's World series Jersey

265

from the 1930s, which was $24 million.

266

Which is crazy.

267

So people are spending this type of money.

268

Think of all the things you

could buy for $13 million.

269

Think of all the Dr.

270

Pepper you could buy for 13.

271

Um, 13 million.

272

It's a lot of money, right?

273

Someone spent $13 million on

this card just to have it, right?

274

Like, what good does this do them?

275

Like, like, cool.

276

They can show it to you when they,

when you come over to their house

277

like this does not really help them.

278

Like this isn't gonna help them get a job.

279

This isn't gonna help them

be like a good family member.

280

This isn't gonna help them live

a second longer of their life.

281

Like this is not gonna do

anything for them, but they

282

think it's worth $13 million.

283

Right.

284

So what's the advantage

of having this card?

285

I mean, you look cool.

286

You could sell it for

more money maybe, right?

287

But why?

288

Why would you buy it in the first place?

289

Well.

290

I want you to think about

what's the advantage of

291

having written words from God?

292

Right?

293

Why?

294

Why did God write a book?

295

Because I think a lot of us,

if we're honest, we'd say, I

296

would rather God show up, right?

297

A lot of us think, oh, I wish

I was one of the disciples.

298

I could have seen Jesus and talk

with him, or, I wish I was Moses

299

and I could have heard God's voice.

300

Because I think a lot of us, if

we're honest, that's how we feel.

301

I wish God would just appear to

me and show me that he's real and

302

tell me what he wants me to do.

303

Why did he have to give me a book?

304

I don't like books.

305

Books are confusing.

306

Books are old.

307

Books are hard to read.

308

Books are boring.

309

Why did God give me a book?

310

I would, why didn't he

give me a YouTube video?

311

Why didn't, because he

could've done that, right?

312

Why doesn't he just show up

to every single person and

313

show them that who he is?

314

Why did Jesus even go back

to heaven in the first place?

315

Why couldn't he just stay down

here and walked around and, and

316

he could have eventually talked

to every single person, right?

317

Why didn't he do that?

318

It's really easy to, to forget

the advantages and actually why?

319

'cause God's really smart.

320

I hope we all realize that God isn't

like, oh, I never thought of that.

321

I didn't know YouTube would exist.

322

God knew YouTube would exist.

323

God knew that you would maybe

rather see him and hear him,

324

but instead he gave you a book.

325

So why, why would that be?

326

Well, I want you to think about this.

327

Think about even like with,

um, think about with Abraham.

328

Okay.

329

Let's say you're one

of Abraham's servants.

330

Abraham said, you're living with

Abraham in around like Iran.

331

That's where Abraham was from, and

you're one of Abraham's service.

332

And Abraham says, Hey guys.

333

Um, God told me that we have to move

across like hundreds of miles to

334

this land that he's gonna give me.

335

What would you say he'd be like,

one, who's this God that you're

336

talking about, never heard of him?

337

Two.

338

Why do we have to move three?

339

How do you know he said that?

340

Four.

341

What did you eat for dinner last night?

342

Right?

343

You'd be like, what are we doing?

344

And then when God tells Abraham, Hey, you

need to do some stuff to show that you're

345

part of my people, you'd be like, hang on.

346

Why are you sharpening the rock?

347

Let's not do that.

348

Right.

349

That would be weird.

350

That probably went over

most of your heads.

351

That's okay.

352

That you'd be like, what are we doing?

353

Because God only gave

that to Abraham, right?

354

He didn't give it to Abraham's servants.

355

He didn't tell Abraham's servants.

356

Hey, but also what if Abraham

misinterpreted it, right?

357

What if Abraham heard what God said and

then was like, Hey guys, uh, we're gonna

358

move across the, you know, the desert.

359

We're gonna, we're gonna walk

with our camels all the way across

360

and move there side of thing.

361

And what if God really didn't mean that?

362

Or what if Abraham forgot

half of what God told him?

363

Right?

364

So the thing with getting

a vision from God is that.

365

One, you might forget it.

366

You might forget parts of it.

367

Right?

368

You might misinterpret it Also,

how you know it's really from God.

369

Also, eventually you're gonna wanna

write it down anyway because you're

370

not gonna be able to, to just

replay it all the time perfectly.

371

So there's, there's a lot of things

that are wrong with that are maybe

372

disadvantages of having a vision

compared to having a written sentence.

373

Here's what God said, right?

374

Because Abraham can't be like.

375

This is what God said.

376

Don't take it from me.

377

Take it from God.

378

Because Abraham has to

say, God told me this.

379

Right?

380

It's kind of like when you

tell your siblings, right?

381

When your, when your mom says,

Hey, um, can you tell your

382

siblings to take out the trash?

383

And you go, tell your

siblings, take out the trash.

384

Mom said so, and they're like, really?

385

Did you, did she really say that?

386

Or are you just making that up?

387

You are like, no, no, no.

388

Mom said so like, believe me, mom

told, and then what do you have to say?

389

Go ask mom.

390

That's all you have to say.

391

Unless your siblings trust

you for whatever reason.

392

I don't know why they would, but, um,

so I want you to think about if God

393

just gave everyone a vision, you'd

have no way of actually knowing whether

394

those visions agreed with each other.

395

'cause you have to talk about it.

396

And then someone could make it

up, someone could lie about it.

397

But the fact that you have a book from God

means you can say, here's what God said.

398

God said, you know, fill in the blank

and you, you read a sentence, right?

399

God said,

400

Jesus wept.

401

And you can say that.

402

That's what God said.

403

Easy, right?

404

God said in the beginning, God

created the heavens and the earth.

405

You can point to the Bible and

say that if someone says, well, I

406

don't know if he really said that.

407

You can say, well, look,

here's what he said.

408

Don't take it from me.

409

Take it from God.

410

So there's advantages to

having the written words.

411

Also, if you forget it, guess what?

412

You can read it, right?

413

Imagine if you got a vision from God

and then you forgot what he said.

414

You are like, oh, I don't

know if he said this or this.

415

What do you do?

416

You, you said to pick something, right?

417

So there's advantages to

having a written word.

418

Also, they're so accessible, right?

419

Because you can, you can copy it,

you can pass it on to someone,

420

you can give it to someone else.

421

So they're easy to study

because you can sit down and

422

think about it and look at it.

423

There's a ton of advantages to having

a written word, but also, I don't

424

just want you to be grateful for it.

425

I want you to enjoy it.

426

That's why I picked that word treasure.

427

I don't want you to be

like, all right, cool.

428

I know I'm supposed to like the Bible.

429

Great.

430

I want you to feel a

certain way about the Bible.

431

It's kind of like, so, um, I went

to someone's house recently and,

432

um, they were awesome hosts and they

made great food, but unfortunately

433

they put cilantro in their food

and I, I don't like cilantro.

434

So I was very thankful for their food and

I ate it and I enjoyed it a little bit,

435

but I really didn't like it that much.

436

Right?

437

'cause it had cilantro in it.

438

But I was grateful for it.

439

I appreciated it.

440

And maybe that's where

you're at with the Bible.

441

Maybe you're like, I'm grateful

that God gave me a Bible.

442

I appreciate it, but I'd really

prefer if it was something different.

443

It's really just not my thing

444

versus.

445

If you went to In-N-Out, you wouldn't

just be like, well, I'm really,

446

if I thought, you know, if we came

over to that person's house and they

447

said, Hey, let's just go to In-N-Out.

448

I wouldn't be like, oh yeah, thank you.

449

I'm really grateful.

450

I'd be like, that's awesome.

451

Best idea you've had all day.

452

Let's definitely go to Inn Out.

453

Right?

454

I'd be excited about it.

455

I'd be think if they, or if they

told me beforehand, like, Hey guys,

456

we're having In-N-Out for dinner.

457

Right?

458

Imagine if you, I told you, Hey,

we're having In-N-Out at True North.

459

Bet you would, you would be way more

excited about True North, right?

460

You would enjoy it more.

461

You would enjoy the process of

eating more because like I'm sitting

462

there eating, you know, this meal

that I'm really grateful for.

463

I'm sitting there eating this meal

and I'm just like, I'm eating it.

464

I'm digesting it.

465

I'm chewing it, but it's not

like I'm not savoring the meal.

466

You know?

467

And maybe that's you with your Bible.

468

You read it and you're like, it's

like you're going to the dentist.

469

It's like you're eating that,

you're eating that meal.

470

You're like, I'm grateful for

this, but it's not my favorite.

471

I'm not enjoying this.

472

I want you to, to feel like

your Bible is in and out.

473

I want you to enjoy your Bible more

than you enjoy in and out or your

474

favorite food or whatever, because

that's how the Bible talks about itself.

475

The Bible compares itself

to really good food.

476

And so I want you to feel a

certain way about the Bible.

477

I want you to feel like I need the Bible.

478

Like it's, I'm so excited

to, to, to read it.

479

I'm so excited to hear

someone talk about it.

480

I'm so excited to listen to his sermon.

481

I'm so excited to memorize it,

and I want you to enjoy it because

482

that's God's design for you.

483

God's design is for the

Bible to be your food.

484

God's design is for the Bible to be.

485

Like treasure to you.

486

That's what you, that's what

his word says about itself.

487

I want you to see that the Bible is

sweet, that the Bible is enjoyable,

488

that the Bible is precious.

489

That the Bible is awesome because

that's the way God designed it for you.

490

And the the reason is not because it's

some old book that tells you what to do.

491

The reason that you're, that

the Bible is supposed to be.

492

This awesome thing for you.

493

I realize I didn't even

show you this picture.

494

Isn't this just make you smile?

495

Isn't this so good?

496

See, y'all just like visibly

reacted to that, right?

497

When was the last time you had that

type of reaction for God's word?

498

Right?

499

When was the last time that you saw your

Bible and were like, that's awesome.

500

I'm so excited for that.

501

Right?

502

I would say that most of you

probably would rather think

503

about this than think about this,

504

and honestly that that shows that

there's something wrong with us, right?

505

Because we love this more than this, and

506

that shows that there's

something wrong with this.

507

So what if you're like,

oh, how do I get there?

508

What do I do?

509

Well, one, ask God.

510

So many of, so actually the longest

chapter in the Bible is about the Bible,

511

Psalm one 19, and most of it is prayers

for the, it's the guy talking to God

512

about the Bible, and he's asking him,

sometimes he's asking God to help him

513

feel the right way about the Bible.

514

He's asking God to, to help him

feel the right way about God's work.

515

So ask God like, and I've legitimately

prayed this before, I've sat down

516

before my Bible reading and said, God, I

don't feel like reading this right now.

517

Please make this better

to me than inn out.

518

I have actually prayed that

519

I've sat down and been like, God, I

want to like this more than inn out.

520

'cause I know it's better

for me than inn out.

521

Pray that it's, that's,

that's a viable prayer.

522

You can pray that prayer or pick

your favorite food or whatever.

523

And the goal is for your

spiritual taste buds to change,

524

and God can do that for you.

525

But also the, the like.

526

Also kinda like with, with coffee, right?

527

A lot of people don't like coffee at

first, but it's an acquired taste, right?

528

They, they, that's what your parents

tell you because you try coffee

529

and you're like, this stinks.

530

This is terrible.

531

Why do you drink this every day?

532

One 'cause they need it and

then they start to like it.

533

Right.

534

That's a lot of times how your

relationship with the Bible is gonna work.

535

You start because you need it.

536

You say, I'm gonna die without this.

537

God's word gives me life.

538

God's word gives me wisdom.

539

I am foolish.

540

I need help.

541

I need God's help.

542

I don't just need human help.

543

I need God's help.

544

And so where do I go for God's help?

545

I go to the Bible.

546

'cause the Bible is God's word.

547

The Bible gets me God.

548

This is the closest I'm gonna get

to hearing God speak out loud, is

549

reading the Bible and I need it.

550

Then you read it and you read more

of it and you say, oh, this actually

551

God knows what he's talking about.

552

God, there's no one like the God

that I read about in these pages.

553

There's, there's no one like this.

554

God, no one talks like him.

555

No one says the things that he says.

556

No one knows me the way he knows me.

557

And you see those things and you're like,

oh, this, this starts to make sense.

558

And you read it.

559

You encounter God in his

word and he changes you.

560

So I want you to, to

see God's word the way.

561

That God designed it to be for you.

562

God didn't design Bible reading

to, to be boring or lame.

563

And the way you get there is sometimes

an acquired taste, and sometimes

564

you don't feel like it at first.

565

And you start, and then you start

and, and it gets better as you go.

566

But also God will help you with that.

567

And if you, you ask him, there's,

there's a lot of prayers in the

568

Bible that are, God help me, like

the Bible, help me feel the way I'm

569

supposed to feel about this thing.

570

Anyway, I spent way too long

talking about that, but that's okay.

571

So we're talking about objections

to, to God's word, right?

572

Objections to this passage.

573

So the first objection was that the

Gospel's attack on God's people.

574

The second objection is that the

gospel is an attack on God's promises.

575

It makes God unfaithful to the Jews.

576

So look at verse three and four here.

577

So what if some of the Jews

were unfaithful, right?

578

They disobeyed God does

their faithfulness or faith?

579

Let faithlessness nullify

the faithfulness of God.

580

And then Paul says, by no means when you

see that in the Bible, by no means, that's

581

like the strongest way Paul can say no.

582

That's like absolutely not.

583

No way.

584

Not at all.

585

Let God be true.

586

Though everyone were a liar, as it is

written that you may be justified in your

587

words and prevail when you were judged.

588

So this thing right here in quotes,

right, that's a quote from the Old

589

Testament, that's a quote from Psalm 51.

590

Psalm 51, is when David is praying

and he's confessing his sin to

591

God, he's saying, God, I messed up.

592

And part of confessing

sin is acknowledging God.

593

You have the right to judge me.

594

You're God, I'm not.

595

I'm guilty.

596

That's what confessing sin is.

597

It means agreeing with God about your sin.

598

So that's what David's doing in

this Psalm that Paul's quoting.

599

So Paul is saying, actually, this

is what the Old Testament says, and

600

this is what I'm saying, that God

is faithful even when he judges sin.

601

God is faithful even when he

judges sin, which is really

602

interesting when you think about it.

603

You probably.

604

This might be new for you.

605

God punishing sin is him

keeping his promises.

606

God punishing sin is him

keeping his promises.

607

So our second point tonight, see

God's faithfulness in his judgment.

608

See God's faithfulness in his judgment.

609

I want you to see when God punishes sin,

he's being true to who he says he is.

610

When God condemns something for being

sinful or when he sends a person to

611

hell, he's being true to who he is.

612

He's following through on what

he said he was going to do.

613

He's keeping a promise.

614

Usually, we only think of God's

promises in a positive light.

615

Like, oh God promises that he

won't lose any of his people.

616

That's great.

617

That's just an encouraging promise, right?

618

To know that that.

619

No Christian, no real Christian

will ever lose their salvation.

620

That's such an encouraging promise.

621

But another of God's promises is

also that no one will escape his

622

judgment if they're not saved.

623

That's, and so when God follows

through on that promise, he's keeping

624

his promises, he's being faithful.

625

One of my friends from.

626

Seminary from school.

627

He, um, had five kids

and they were crazy kids.

628

And one of the reason they were crazy

kids is because my friend was not very

629

good at following through as a dad.

630

So what happened is he, his, he had

three boys that were like eight to

631

four, and they would do something

crazy and he'd be like, stop it.

632

And they would do it again.

633

He'd be like, stop it.

634

And they'd do it again.

635

He'd be like, stop it.

636

And he wouldn't do anything about it.

637

He would just sit there

and be like, oh, stop that.

638

And then just like keep doing his thing.

639

And he never followed through on anything.

640

He would just tell him to stop

it and then nothing would happen.

641

So they learned, oh, he just says,

stop it, and I can just keep doing it.

642

So they learned that their dad

was not faithful to his promises.

643

They learned, oh, my dad doesn't keep

his word so I can just keep doing it.

644

He's never gonna do anything.

645

Sometimes that's how we think about God.

646

Well, I sinned and nothing bad happened.

647

I sinned.

648

Nothing bad happened.

649

I'll sin more.

650

Nothing bad happens, I'll sin more.

651

Nothing bad happens, and we trick

ourselves into thinking that God is not

652

faithful to His promises, that God is

just gonna keep being patient forever.

653

Like we talked about a few weeks ago, we

talked about that, that God's patience

654

is meant to lead you to repentance.

655

It's not meant for you to keep on

going and going and going down.

656

You're a sinful path.

657

So I want you to remember that God is not

just faithful to keep his good promises.

658

He's also faithful to keep

his judgment promises.

659

So if you think God is like my friend who

just says, stop it, and then doesn't do

660

anything, you're tricking yourself, right?

661

If you're sitting here and, and you

know, oh, I'm sinning and nothing's

662

bad, nothing bad's happened to me yet.

663

You're really saying, God, you're

not gonna keep your promises.

664

That's what you do when you keep

on sinning, even as a Christian.

665

If you're a Christian, you say something

like, oh, God will forgive me anyway.

666

Well, God promises to discipline

his children because he loves you.

667

He doesn't want you to keep sinning.

668

He doesn't want you to keep hurting

yourself by sinning, and so he'll

669

stop you from sinning eventually.

670

He'll either.

671

'cause he, he loves you too

much to let you keep sinning.

672

And so he'll either stop you by

helping you see that it's wrong

673

and repent from it, or he'll stop

you by disciplining you and he'll

674

prevent you from sinning that way.

675

But don't act like God is

unfaithful to his word and keep

676

on sinning and ignoring him.

677

I want you to see that whenever God

follows through on his judgment, it's him

678

being, it's him having integrity really.

679

It's him being who he says he is.

680

God always is who he says he is.

681

He won't ever not be something

that he isn't, right.

682

And so if we say, you know what, God,

you're just, you're a good judge.

683

If we, if we affirm that, then you can

count on him to punish sin, even if

684

you think that you're gonna be the one

person to get away with it, or you think

685

you're the one person that can hide it.

686

God is faithful in good ways.

687

Also in ways that maybe aren't so

good for you, if you think that

688

you can escape God's judgment.

689

And that's what these people that

Paul was writing to thought, they

690

thought, well, we're part of the

right group so we can escape.

691

And that's not true, and that's not true

for you if, if you just come to church and

692

say you're a Christian and have no heart

change, you have no relationship with God.

693

You've never trusted Jesus to save you.

694

You just have all the

external things, right?

695

And you say, well, I'm

part of the right group.

696

I can escape God's judgment.

697

That's not true.

698

God is faithful and he will

follow through on his promises.

699

Then our third objection was

that the gospel is an attack on

700

God's righteousness, and this is

maybe a question that you might

701

feel is more relevant to you.

702

How can God punish my sin if my sin

is actually helping him show hise?

703

If my sin is actually giving

an opportunity for God to show

704

that he's a good judge, how

can God punish me for that?

705

I thought I'm, I'm doing God a favor.

706

Well, that type of objection

really is just us trying to work

707

our way around God's justice.

708

We're trying to get out of

the consequences for our sin.

709

So our third point tonight, don't

try to outsmart God's justice.

710

There's a couple.

711

Arguments that you'll see in these

few verses that are really just

712

people trying to play word games

to not admit that they're going to

713

suffer punishment for their sin.

714

It's really people just trying to, to

outsmart God and, and get around his

715

consequences that he'll give them.

716

I tried to do this with my mom a lot.

717

Um, I, so she would ask

me to clean something.

718

And I'd be like, well mom, I'm not

the one who wants it to be clean,

719

so really you should clean it.

720

I shouldn't have to clean it.

721

That's what I would tell my mom.

722

Right?

723

This is BC Lewis, and I would tell

my mom, well, you're the one who

724

who wants it to be clean, so I'm not

the one who wants it to be clean.

725

I really don't care if it's clean

or not, so you should do, you

726

should be the one who cleans it.

727

That's really me trying to

like just get out of doing

728

what I'm supposed to do, right?

729

That's just me saying,

well, mom, I tolerate more.

730

Gross stuff than you do, so

you should clean everything.

731

Right?

732

That's not really a good argument.

733

And so I would try to use that to get

out of what I was supposed to do, right?

734

Which was what my mom told

me to clean things, right?

735

There's some creative ways

that you might think you can

736

play word games and get around.

737

God's judgment and may maybe not, you

think that maybe someone, you know,

738

might think that, and so the first

one comes up in verses five and six.

739

So if our unrighteousness

serves to show the righteousness

740

of God, what should we say?

741

Right?

742

I'm helping God by being unrighteous.

743

That's what they're saying.

744

You see that here, they're saying, I'm

being unrighteous, that lets God judge

745

me, which shows that God is righteous.

746

So I'm helping God show

that he's righteous.

747

That's what, that's,

that's what they're saying.

748

They're saying that it's not fair for

God to punish me 'cause I'm helping him.

749

And then what does Paul say?

750

Definitely not because how

could God judge any sin?

751

He's saying that, well, if, if you

think this way, you're saying that

752

God shouldn't do anything about

anything bad in the world, which

753

really is how no one lives, right?

754

Because if, if, if you are gonna

argue that, well, God shouldn't

755

punish me 'cause I'm helping him show

his righteousness, then guess what?

756

If I.

757

Stole all your money, then I'd

say, well, I'm just helping

758

God show his righteousness.

759

So you can't do anything bad to me.

760

I don't deserve to go to jail.

761

No one lives like this, right?

762

No one actually lives like this.

763

So it's really just a word game to get out

of something that we don't like about God.

764

The second way this happens

is in the other two verses.

765

If through my lie, God's truth abounds to

his glory, why am I still being condemned?

766

Same kind of.

767

Thinking here, right?

768

I'm lying.

769

It's making God look really good.

770

It's like me saying, oh, well,

um, I should just pretend

771

like I'm an awful person.

772

So that way people think Shay

is super patient and kind and

773

loving 'cause she's married to me.

774

That's a terrible idea.

775

Right?

776

But that's what they're arguing.

777

They're saying I should keep sinning

so that good things will happen.

778

Right.

779

I should keep sinning so that God can

show more of his forgiveness or more

780

of his grace or more of his justice.

781

And Paul doesn't even really

argue with these people.

782

He's just like, look,

they're just playing games.

783

They're just trying to play Word games

and, and get out of what's really

784

true and what they know is true.

785

And I think what happens.

786

Sometimes, and I, I know I've had this

conversation with a lot of people.

787

You start talking about, oh, like you

start talking with someone, you're

788

sharing the gospel, you're, you're

trying to help them understand the

789

gospel and, and become a Christian.

790

And then they bring up all of these other

things, and then it usually comes down

791

to, well, they just want to keep sinning.

792

And, and maybe that's you, maybe

you have all these questions.

793

Some of 'em are valid questions.

794

I'm not saying those questions

are all bad, but if that's you

795

tonight, if you're sitting here.

796

No.

797

And you know, look, I've, I've

tried to just make up a bunch of

798

things and get, get out of this

type of conversation, right?

799

I just don't wanna deal with it.

800

So I'm coming up with all these arguments

of why I shouldn't become a Christian.

801

Because really what it comes down to is,

is you love your sin or you don't wanna

802

submit to God, or you don't trust God,

or you don't think God's good, right?

803

Don't try to.

804

Skirt around those, the real issue, right?

805

If you have a real question,

great, ask your question.

806

But if you're just throwing up

smoke screens, you're, you're,

807

we are wasting your time.

808

'cause you're not helping

yourself, and ultimately you

809

are still under God's wrath.

810

Even if someone answered all your

questions and you said, I still wouldn't

811

become a Christian, then you're just

throwing up smokescreens and you're,

812

you're just wasting your own time.

813

So,

814

and maybe right for you,

maybe it's God will forgive me

815

anyway, so I you keep sinning.

816

Or maybe for you it's, well,

my sins not hurting anyone.

817

Right?

818

And those are just things that,

excuses that we make even as

819

Christians, right, to keep sinning.

820

So really what this comes down

to is that we're all trying

821

to evade the inevitable truth.

822

That we're guilty, we're sinners, and.

823

The problem is if you never admit that

you're a sinner, you're never going

824

to turn from your sin and trust Jesus.

825

Right?

826

You, you can't keep your

sin and embrace Jesus.

827

Jesus says you can't serve two masters.

828

And so if, if that, even if, even if

you are a Christian, maybe there's a

829

sin that you just don't wanna repent

of 'cause you love it too much.

830

You can't hold on to both.

831

You have to admit it.

832

You have to bring it into the

light and let God deal with it.

833

That's the only way you're going to

overcome a sin as a Christian, and

834

that's the only way you can ever

become a Christian in the first

835

place is if you, you bring your sin.

836

You just stop making excuses and you

stop trying to, to get around why.

837

It's okay.

838

Let's pray and we'll go to small groups.

839

God, we are grateful that you love

us enough to tell us hard things.

840

We're grateful that you know that even

though some of us will reject you.

841

You still love us enough to tell us

the truth, and we pray that tonight

842

as we think about what you've said to

us, that um, we would remember that

843

it's coming from your love for us.

844

The reason that you warn

us is because you care.

845

You didn't have to tell us anything.

846

You didn't have to share

the gospel with us.

847

You didn't have to give us

an opportunity to repent.

848

Um, but you put us in the

way of the gospel so that.

849

We might respond to it and embrace

you and be with you forever.

850

So I pray tonight as we go to small

groups, that we would be focused,

851

that we would learn things, we'd

ask good questions, um, and that we

852

would honor you in our discussions.

853

We pray this in Jesus name, amen.