Live as Light.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] All right, go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. [0:03] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Romans, chapter two. [0:08] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:11] And one of the pastors here at Village Church, you know, in the book of Deuteronomy,

[0:18] the text tells Israel God speaking to his nation through his servant, [0:22] Moses tells Israel that you’re going to go into the land [0:25] and you’re going to to have a bountiful harvest. [0:29] I’m going to bless you. [0:30] Your crops are going to grow large. [0:32] Your your cattle are going to be very fatted so that you can have great dinners

[0:36] and wine is going to flow well in the land. [0:40] And he said that there’s going to come a point where you’re going to forget.

[0:47] Who did it all? [0:49] You’re going to think that you made this and that you provided the harvest. [0:54] But he says, no, I, God, am the provider of the harvest. [0:57] Do not forget me. [0:59] But what he tells them in that is that he wants them to celebrate [1:03] and he wants them to have much joy and he wants them to always take joy

[1:09] and have great celebration in the nation of Israel [1:12] and in each family in the nation of Israel for all that God was going to do. [1:16] But what they were not to do was to forget who provided it for them. [1:21] And they were to live in great celebration throughout Deuteronomy, [1:24] Numbers and Leviticus. [1:25] We actually see God set up is great festivals,

[1:31] multiple festivals to where the nation of Israel was to gather [1:36] and have a great time. [1:38] They were to gather and have feasts. [1:41] They were to gather and take joy in everything that they were to be thankful [1:45] about God for. [1:48] And so here’s what I want to tell you about the next.

[1:51] Thirty five, forty days of your life.

[1:55] We start a season this coming Thursday of Thanksgiving [1:59] and then that ushers us into Christmas and that ushers us into the start [2:04] of a new year. [2:07] And some of you, not all of you.

[2:11] Some of you. [2:13] Are going to be tempted to sin greatly during this season, [2:16] and your sin is not what you think it’s going to be. [2:19] Your sin is going to be having zero joy.

[2:25] And your other sin will be attempting to rob others of their joy.

[2:33] You ever been Jesus juked?

[2:36] I have. Happens to me all the time. [2:38] It’s because I hang out with pastors and I have to Jesus [2:40] juked each other, and I’m the least religious person, so they always juked me. [2:44] A Jesus jukes when somebody attempts to use something [2:46] that they know about Christianity to to like, you know, get a little snide [2:50] remark in about why you’re such a sinner.

[2:52] All right. You’re going to be Jesus juked. [2:55] During the holiday season for enjoying it. [2:59] Rebuke them.

[3:02] Their sinning. [3:03] This Thursday.

[3:06] Eat a lot.

[3:10] Do it.

[3:13] And be thankful to the God of the harvest.

[3:18] You know, some of you, I think, are under the impression, maybe even [3:21] and you’re like, well, there’s reasons why I’m not joyful.

[3:26] And I think it’s because you’re not thinking hard enough. [3:28] You know, we just sang a great song. [3:31] Behold our God. [3:33] He seated on his throne. [3:35] Friends, if you have nothing other than the gospel of Jesus Christ [3:38] to be thankful for, then you have more.

[3:42] Than anyone in this world that doesn’t know the gospel of Jesus Christ [3:45] has to be thankful for.

[3:48] This week, be thankful for.

[3:51] Take joy. [3:53] And surrounding yourself with loved ones. [3:56] Take joy and even surrounding yourself with friends. [4:00] You say, well, I have no one. [4:01] I know of multiple families here that are just opening their family [4:04] and saying, come open in their homes and then come celebrate with us.

[4:08] Do it. [4:09] Have a good time. [4:10] And then Friday, do not let anyone lay a guilt trip on you [4:15] for going and buying people presents. [4:18] Do it. [4:20] If you got it, spend it.

[4:23] And buy people gifts. [4:26] Be generous and ignore the social media posts [4:31] by these Scrooge’s who are going to try to make you feel guilty [4:35] for enjoying a season in which you have set aside time [4:41] to pour love on your family and friends. [4:44] Never feel guilty for pouring love and generosity on other people.

[4:53] And then go into Christmas and eat more.

[4:59] Look, we all know on January 1st, we’re going to promise to lose 20 pounds.

[5:04] That’s because some of us are going to gain 20 before we get there.

[5:11] But here’s just what I want to tell you. [5:13] Our God says in the book of Isaiah that there’s coming a day [5:17] when we will drink good wine and we will eat a feast in heaven with him. [5:22] The book of Revelation tells us there’s going to be a thing [5:25] called the marriage supper of the lamb where we gather around tables, [5:28] at least in my mind.

[5:29] I don’t know if this is the way it’s going to work out, [5:30] but this is the way I think it’s going to work out. [5:32] We’re seated at a table, and at the head of that table is the King of Kings, [5:36] the Lord of Lords, the one who died for me and rose from the dead Jesus Christ. [5:40] And we’re going to celebrate entering into eternal worship with him [5:43] while we eat a lot of good food.

[5:46] I imagine he’s got the best food. [5:48] I mean, he designed it. [5:50] Bobby Flay’s got nothing on God.

[5:56] And I think sometimes we lose the fact that our God is a God who put into his law. [6:03] Think about this. [6:04] He put into his law times in which his people were to gather and be festive. [6:14] He didn’t say, you can if you feel like it, if you’re having a good year. [6:17] No, he said, gather in joy and praise him through it. [6:25] So if you refuse to have joy, you’re disobeying the God who saves.

[6:38] The world will not come to faith in Christ because we were such fuddy-duddies. [6:44] The world will not come to faith in Christ because we are a people who refuses to have fun.

[6:50] So just as a pastoral plea from me to you, have fun this holiday season. [6:59] Enjoy yourself and through it, realize you’re worshiping the King of Kings because you didn’t do it. [7:05] God did. So enjoy life. [7:09] And while some of you have had tough years,

[7:13] realize that this holiday season, you can celebrate the fact that our God endured you through it all. [7:23] And because of Jesus, you know better days are coming.

[7:30] And because of his church, you’re not alone.

[7:37] Happy holidays. [7:39] Romans, Chapter 2. [7:43] Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been taking a look at why we need the Gospel. [7:49] And it is because we have sinned against God. [7:52] And so in the story of Christianity, the preface that Paul puts on explaining what Jesus has done for us, [8:02] he explains the reason for which we need Jesus to do this for us.

[8:07] He explains to us all of the things behind why you’re going to need Jesus. [8:12] Because in every one of our minds, there’s this little place that wants to make excuses and say, [8:17] well, I’m not as bad as, and Paul’s coming into us and saying, oh, yeah, you are. [8:22] You could have been had it not been for grace. [8:27] And last week, we took a look at this whole issue that Paul says there’s no partiality with God. [8:33] And then there’s always that sneaking suspicion when you look at a nation of Israel that had the law of God,

[8:38] that was called the chosen people of God. [8:40] And we look at them and we say, well, God seems to be a little partial to them because they knew what they shouldn’t have been doing. [8:45] And God says, well, actually, they’re more responsible than you because they have more to be judged for. [8:50] And God has actually written his law on every human heart. [8:54] And so those who don’t have the law, when they do what the law requires because it’s written on their hearts, [8:59] is because God did that. And so they’ll be judged for what they did know.

[9:03] We saw what they know in Romans chapter one. [9:05] And it is enough to where the Holy Spirit writes through Paul that they are without excuse. [9:12] So all of us are accountable for the law that God has given us on the human conscience. [9:22] But then we could go further and we could ask another question. [9:24] We could say, why did God give the people of Israel the law then? [9:31] If everyone has it written on their hearts, if everyone has a conscience by which God reveals conviction,

[9:40] God reveals guilt for them breaking his law, then why would he give it to Israel?

[9:46] According to Paul, it actually served to make them more responsible and then thus have more judged for by God. [9:53] And so then the question will be, well, is God partial to everyone other than Israel since he made them more responsible? [9:58] And Paul says, no, no. [10:01] And then from verses 17 through 24, really from 17 to the end of the chapter, but I believe we’ll only make it through 24 today. [10:07] He explains the purpose for which God gave his law specifically in written form through his servant Moses to the nation of Israel. [10:18] And here’s what he says starting in verse 17.

[10:21] But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent [10:31] because you are instructed from the law and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, [10:39] an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, you then who teach others, [10:47] do you not teach yourself while you preach against stealing? [10:51] Do you steal you who say that one must not commit adultery? [10:55] Do you commit adultery?

[10:57] You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? [11:01] You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law, for as it is written, [11:08] the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. [11:15] So Paul kind of flattens religion right there. [11:22] He flattens any thought that you may have that your religious actions, that your religious activity, [11:28] that you kind of attempting to clean yourself up, you attempting to save yourself,

[11:33] kind of flattens it all when he really holds a mirror in front of specifically here the nation of Israel, [11:38] but really to all of us in saying you who tell others that they are wrong for doing this, have you ever done it? [11:46] You who tell other people they are less holy, have you ever been less holy? [11:51] Well in that understand that you have broken God’s law and through that you have caused others to actually blaspheme God [11:59] because you have been such a poor, poor representative of who God is. [12:04] Paul rips Israel and even us of all self-righteousness that we could possibly ever have in this text.

[12:13] But in it, he actually gives us hopefulness because he wants us to understand the purpose for which the law existed in the first place. [12:25] Note the first section of these verses, point number one this morning. [12:28] He’s going to point out that you are made God’s people to be God’s witness. [12:35] You are made God’s people to be God’s witness. [12:40] He says three things about the Jews in this text and he’s speaking specifically about the Jewish audience, those who had the law. [12:50] In our modern context, we can say this of ourselves chiefly because we have the law as well.

[12:57] But he points out three things and he’s going to unpack them in this section of verses that the Jews were specifically hoping for to save themselves. [13:07] He does this in verse 17, he points out three things. [13:09] The first thing he points out is the Jewish identity. [13:13] The second thing he points out is a reliance on the law for salvation. [13:17] And the third one is what it actually means to boast in God. [13:20] This is what he says in verse 17.

[13:22] He says, but if you call yourself a Jew, rely on the law and boast in God. [13:31] So he’s saying three things that every Jew in Israel would have had as a commonality towards themselves. [13:40] The most important thing to them was their Jewish heritage. [13:44] Because they were born a Jew, they were better. [13:49] They were God’s people. They were separate. They were holy. [13:55] And then it went on down. It was then they had this reliance on the law.

[13:59] Paul’s going to point out you haven’t obeyed the law, but obedience to the law wasn’t the chief reality. [14:05] The identity that the law gave them was their chief point of pride. [14:12] He said, well, I’m a Jew. I have the law. Therefore, I can boast in God. [14:19] Because he has chosen us for himself. Not realizing what the purpose for them was. [14:27] First thing was that they were never meant to rely on the law. Never. Never. [14:34] It was meant to actually reveal to them the hope that they needed.

[14:40] Paul begins a section here in Romans that’s actually going to take us through to Chapter 6, really, where he does this a lot. [14:49] But he asks a series of rhetorical questions. [14:52] This is one of Paul’s favorite literary devices to teach someone, and it’s called sarcasm. [14:59] Paul loved it. You’re going to see through the book of Romans. [15:01] And then if you go on to 1 and 2 Corinthians, I mean, Paul absolutely loves making people feel stupid. [15:06] And because the Holy Spirit did it, I guess it’s not sinful.

[15:10] So if you don’t like sarcasm, sorry, the Holy Spirit’s sarcastic. [15:14] And he does it in the book of Romans. [15:17] And so what Paul does is he starts to ask a series of questions that he never means or intentions for anyone to give an answer to. [15:23] And what you’re going to see later on is he gets a little bit worse and a little more facetious. [15:27] And he’s like, do you not know? And in the question, Paul knows they don’t know. [15:32] And so you’d probably say, man, Paul’s people skills were lacking.

[15:37] Well, you know, the Holy Spirit’s in that too. [15:40] So maybe your people skills are lacking. [15:42] But the reality that Paul uses this device to really bring you to an understanding, and it’s actually a very effective tool. [15:51] And I think you’re going to see that as you continue to go from Chapter 2 through to Chapter 6, [15:56] you actually see that some of most Paul’s most specific and helpful teachings in this section are going to come from these rhetorical questions that bring you to a place where you know the answer without him even necessarily spelling it out for you. [16:12] And so it’s actually brilliant because he goes to them and he tells them, he says,

[16:16] Do you not know his will, approve what is excellent because you’re instructed by the law? [16:21] And if you’re sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness.

[16:28] You see, all he’s doing in that section is he’s quoting the Old Testament to them. [16:34] He’s quoting the prophets of the Old Testament. [16:37] And he’s saying, oh, you rely on the law. You call yourself a Jew. [16:41] You boast in God. And then he gives after that explanations as to why they need to stop.

[16:49] Because they would have stopped in verse 17.

[16:53] They would have said, I’m a Jew. I rely on the law. I boast in God. I’m done.

[17:00] Paul’s point is, you’ve missed your entire mission. [17:07] You were made God’s people to be God’s witness in this world. [17:13] You were given the law not to rely on the law, but instead to realize that you were going to need a savior from that very law.

[17:24] See, the point of verse 17 isn’t that those things weren’t true. [17:30] They were Jews. They were given the law and they were meant to boast in God. [17:33] It was the purpose behind it that they missed. [17:38] The purpose was so that everything in verses 18 through 20 would naturally flow out of their lives. [17:44] That they would know the mission of God to bring salvation to all people. [17:49] And through that, they would understand that they were to live as lights to the rest of the world.

[17:57] And then through their sin, through their disobedience to the law, [18:00] they were to understand that there was coming a promised savior to save them from their sin. [18:05] And so there’s this dual anticipation.

[18:09] You see, in the Old Testament, I think some of us get this crazy notion that Jews could save themselves by obeying enough of the law. [18:16] No one’s ever been saved by the law. [18:19] That’s repeated over and over and over again in Scripture. [18:22] Salvation to the Jews, even in the Old Testament, was by trusting in the promises of God. [18:28] That’s how from the very beginning, Abraham, that’s how he was saved. [18:30] It was counted to him as righteousness when he trusted God.

[18:34] It wasn’t because he was so obedient. It wasn’t because he was so much better. [18:37] It was because of grace.

[18:41] And so God brings these people to himself and says, [18:43] If you trust in me that I’m going to do this great work of salvation, you are redeemed. [18:48] And then through that redemption, you’re a light to the rest of the world. [18:51] You’re meant to trust in him. [18:53] And then Jesus was the absolute fulfillment of every promise that God ever made. [18:58] And so through that, salvation did come to the rest of the world, but it was only because of the failure of Israel that Jesus was seen as significant.

[19:07] Note what Jesus even himself says in Matthew chapter 5, starting in verse 14. [19:11] He’s speaking in this section to a mainly Jewish audience. [19:16] The book of Matthew is a book. It’s the gospel. [19:18] All four of them have a different purpose. [19:20] And Matthew has that first one in your New Testament. [19:22] The purpose was for a Jewish audience.

[19:25] It was so that they would see Jesus as their eternal king and stop depending on themselves. [19:30] Here’s what he says in Matthew 5, 14 and 15. [19:32] He says, You’re the light of the world. [19:34] Speaking to Jews, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand and it gives light and all the house. [19:46] This is not just meant for those in our age to understand their mission, because the way we primarily look at Matthew chapter 5, verses 14 through 15 is that’s for us. [19:57] And it is, but not to the original audience.

[20:01] The original audience, they’re looking at Jesus preached a sermon on the Mount. [20:04] They’re all first century Jews. [20:08] You are meant to be a light to the rest of the world.

[20:14] They hadn’t done it. [20:16] Hadn’t been it. They had separated themselves off from society. [20:20] They had ceased to attempt to be God’s witness and instead had seen themselves as those who were just chosen to be more special than everyone else. [20:26] And if they mingled with anyone else, well, then that would take it away. [20:29] It would take away their purity. [20:31] Not realizing that God had meant for them to engage all cultures and all peoples with the news that God saves.

[20:36] Just as we are. [20:39] But note. [20:41] Jesus even says then in John nine thirty nine, he says, you’re the light of the world, were they? [20:48] No, no, there were utter failures. [20:52] But in John nine thirty nine, Jesus explains why he came. [20:56] Jesus says for judgment, I came into this world that those who do not see may see.

[21:05] And those who see may become blind. [21:08] You see, in John nine thirty nine, Jesus is actually explaining how he’s going to fulfill Matthew chapter five verses 14 and 15 for Israel. [21:19] Which is you’re meant to be a light. [21:20] You’re meant to be a city on a hill, not hidden. [21:22] You’re not meant to be hidden under a bushel like you’ve hidden yourself under a bushel. [21:25] Good job. You blew it.

[21:28] And then in John nine thirty nine, through the other apostle, Jesus gives this great phrase where he says, [21:33] The reason that I came is because of the rest of the world that you refused to shine a light into a dark place on. [21:38] I’m going to shine that light for you. [21:41] I’m going to be perfect where you were imperfect. [21:44] I’m going to be obedient where you were disobedient. [21:46] But then what about the other half?

[21:48] Where he says those who see may become blind. [21:51] He’s speaking about the nation of Israel. [21:55] You’ve seen the law.

[21:59] You’ve been able to boast in God. [22:01] But you haven’t understood you weren’t meant to rely on the law.

[22:06] He says you are going to need to understand that you’re blind like everyone else. [22:11] And only when you realize your great need for redemption will you ever take joy in redemption. [22:17] The problem that some of you have with the gospel of Jesus Christ is that you don’t think you’re sinful. [22:22] You think you sin, but you don’t think you’re sinful. [22:26] You don’t start sinning and then become sinful. [22:29] You sin because you’re sinful.

[22:32] It’s the other way around.

[22:35] And the greatest thing that you could do in your life is understand what Jesus is saying in John 9.39. [22:41] He’s saying that you are born a sinner. [22:47] And because of that, all of your morality, all of this stuff that you’re trying to do to prove that you’re better than everyone else, stop it. [22:57] You’re not impressing Him.

[23:02] You know, because of grace, I can relax.

[23:08] Because of grace, I can rest.

[23:12] Because of grace, I have nothing to prove.

[23:18] Israel had this understanding that because of God’s grace on them that they were better than everyone else. [23:26] And they didn’t even realize that in their sin, they weren’t proving it to anyone.

[23:32] I think some of you are trying to prove something that you can’t prove. [23:37] Because it’s not true. [23:39] You’re living a lie. [23:41] You’re living the lie that you’re tougher. [23:44] You’re living the lie that you’re going to work harder. [23:48] You’re living the lie that you’re just going to prove your worthiness to the rest of the world.

[23:53] And once you’ve proven your worthiness, oh, they’ll all know they need Jesus.

[23:59] All you’re proven is that you think they need you.

[24:03] If you’ve lived your whole life and the only thing that you’ve done in your life is proven that people need you, you’ve failed.

[24:10] You’ve failed miserably. [24:13] If you live your whole life and all people see is, man, whew, what a good person.

[24:20] You’re a failure. [24:22] You’re a failure. [24:23] Because they believe a lie about you, too. [24:25] You’re not a good person. [24:27] Get over it. [24:29] Some of you right now, you’re like, yes, I am.

[24:33] No, you’re not.

[24:36] You spend five minutes with me, you’ll know I’m not a good person.

[24:41] The most shocking thing people do with me is when they sit down with me and they realize what a terrible human being I actually am.

[24:49] But guess what? I’ve spent five minutes with some of you and I just didn’t tell you about it. [24:53] You’re terrible people. [24:56] Some of you are like, was he talking about that time we sat down for a call? [24:58] Yeah, I’m talking about that. [25:00] You’re a terrible person. [25:03] And you did not impress me.

[25:06] You know, you didn’t impress me either. [25:07] I know I’m a terrible person. [25:09] I got over that a long time ago.

[25:13] But that’s the purpose of the law.

[25:17] That’s the purpose of Jesus coming.

[25:21] He wants us to understand.

[25:26] We’ve sinned. [25:27] We’ve failed.

[25:30] I mean, none of us have lived up to the measure that God placed for us. [25:34] And God says, but in love, I’m coming to save you.

[25:43] Those of you who think you’re out of reach of salvation, you know you’re blind. [25:47] Jesus will make you see.

[25:51] Those of you who think you don’t need salvation, because you got a little bit of self-righteousness going on. [25:57] Jesus came to make you blind so that you can then see. [26:02] See, that’s the hope is that God never reveals sin to us. [26:08] Unless he wants to save us from it. [26:11] Unless he wants us to see his grace through it. [26:15] And Israel spent so long missing out on the greatest promises of God.

[26:23] Because instead of looking into God’s law and seeing a beautiful picture of the God who saves, [26:28] they looked in a mirror and couldn’t get over themselves.

[26:34] So what’s the point of obeying? [26:36] Number two this morning, obedience is about the mission of Jesus.

[26:43] Obedience is about the mission of Jesus. [26:46] Know what he says starting in verse 19. [26:48] He says, if you’re sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness. [26:54] So he’s saying everyone’s supposed to see through you. [26:57] You haven’t done it. [26:59] Verse 20, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth.

[27:08] See what he says there? [27:09] He says you have the picture of God. [27:12] And then in verse 21 he says this. [27:13] He says, you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?

[27:22] What an indictment. [27:24] What an indictment. [27:25] Have you ever known that you were disobedient in something? [27:27] And to cover up how disobedient you were, you tried to teach others. [27:32] You tried to point out other people’s flaws, but it was really a self-defense mechanism. [27:35] So they wouldn’t know the truth about you.

[27:40] That’s what he’s talking about in verse 21. [27:43] See, you’re attempting to help people understand a grace that you yourself don’t even understand.

[27:49] Because you’re trying to pretend that you’re not exposed under the light of who God is. [27:53] God knows you. [27:54] God can read your mind. [27:56] That’s terrifying.

[27:59] Sometimes thoughts go in there I don’t even mean to have. [28:02] It’s like, do I not have the remote control to this thing?

[28:07] God knows. [28:08] He knows what’s going on in there. [28:11] He says, while you preach against stealing, do you steal? [28:15] You who say that one must not commit adultery. [28:18] Do you commit adultery? [28:21] You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

[28:24] And he’s giving us these general examples to just look at blatant hypocrisy.

[28:32] And we all are.

[28:37] Here’s the reality this morning is that God’s not giving us this section so that we will say, [28:42] man, obedience is pointless. [28:44] I knew it.

[28:47] I’m just going to go do my thing. [28:51] Grace.

[28:53] One of the most irritating things that people do to me is like, if you try to point them out of sin, [28:56] don’t you believe in grace? [28:58] Yes, that’s why I’m pointing out your sin.

[29:02] But what’s the point of obedience? [29:03] Well, first, you need to understand your purpose in life. [29:08] And I think most of us have misunderstood our purpose in life. [29:11] You know, God’s mission has not changed since the Old Testament. [29:14] I think we think that God had some kind of brain transplant in the New Testament because it seems like he’s so much different. [29:19] He’s not.

[29:19] Same God, same mission on a mission to redeem the nations. [29:23] Same God. [29:24] But understand that the history of his work on earth has always been about redeeming sinners. [29:31] Jesus came to save and those that are saved are now God’s people to be used by God as his light in the darkness. [29:38] So how does that translate into your obedience in life? [29:41] What God is saying is, is that if you want those who steal to not steal, the hope is that you will not steal.

[29:49] Just set an example. [29:51] If you want people to worship God, you yourself must worship God. [29:57] When he uses the example of robbing temples, he’s talking about misusing worship, [30:02] as Israel did over and over and over and over again, [30:06] as they would sack the temple of all of the fine things that God told them to have put in it and melt it down [30:11] and use it for what wasn’t meant to be melted down for.

[30:13] Oftentimes, they would melt down the silver and gold in the temples, [30:16] and sometimes they would even make false gods out of them. [30:18] This is blatant blasphemy.

[30:23] Because the priest would say, you can do this, let’s go use it. [30:27] It wasn’t the priests. [30:29] Who owns the temple? God. [30:32] So what God is saying in that text, he’s saying, worship was designed by me to be for me my way, I’m not compromising. [30:39] You do it the way that I tell you to do it, and when you do it otherwise, you’re robbing me of what I deserve. [30:47] You who are poor idols, do you rob temples?

[30:53] It’s how many of you frequently point out other people’s idolatry, [30:59] while never exposing your own false gods in your life.

[31:07] So Paul’s leveling us here.

[31:10] He’s saying, you’ve been redeemed, you’ve been saved, so that you can live the mission of Jesus. [31:15] And in that, you need to obey God. [31:19] So how do you do that? [31:20] How do you obey God without becoming self-righteous? [31:23] Does anybody else have a tough time with that? Or are y’all better than me?

[31:27] Because I struggle with that. [31:30] See, Paul uses this section to point to the actual lifestyle that the people of Israel had failed to live. [31:36] And even sometimes when they were doing it, they were doing it for bad motivation. [31:39] So what’s the proper motivation? [31:41] Well, part of the failure was the reasoning for which they did things. [31:46] They saw obedience to the law as something that just built them up, rather than a witness to God to the rest of the world.

[31:53] So what’s the answer in that? [31:55] Well, the answer in that is to preach the gospel to yourself.

[32:00] Sometimes, you need to stop preaching it to others.

[32:04] And preach it to yourself.

[32:07] Sometimes the greatest gospel witness that you can be in life is the gospel witness that you need to be to yourself. [32:15] Israel was looking at the rest of the world as being wicked.

[32:20] But not because their obedience to God was any better than the rest of the world. [32:24] That’s Paul’s point. [32:26] They thought that their identity as God’s chosen people excused their bad behavior. [32:32] How often do you use the grace of God to excuse your bad behavior?

[32:39] Do not use the gospel of Jesus as an excuse for your sin.

[32:44] Don’t do it.

[32:47] Grace means that you turn from your sin. [32:51] Note what Jesus says one verse before he calls Israel the light of the world in Matthew 5, chapter 3. [32:56] Excuse me, Matthew chapter 5, verse 13. [32:59] He says, you’re the salt of the earth. [33:00] But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? [33:05] It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

[33:12] But then in verse 16, he says, in the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your what? [33:20] Good works.

[33:24] And give glory to your father who’s in heaven. [33:26] You see, salt preserves things that are going rotten, and it keeps them from going rotten. [33:34] And where humanity failed, Jesus perfected. [33:37] You don’t know who salt of the earth is. [33:39] It’s Jesus. [33:41] It’s not you.

[33:42] Thank God. [33:44] It’s Jesus. [33:46] He was obedient on our behalf, but he has now given us the Holy Spirit so that we may progress in our obedience. [33:55] Not so that we can stagnate in our sin. [34:00] So how do you get obedient? [34:03] Without seeing your obedience in your good works as a pathway to salvation?

[34:06] Well, you believe the gospel. [34:08] Your works do not save. [34:11] They didn’t save Israel. [34:12] They won’t save you. [34:14] But they will serve as evidence of your salvation.

[34:19] Preach the gospel to yourself. [34:21] All your obedience is a byproduct of faith in Jesus. [34:26] Therefore, he gets all the credit. [34:31] So preach the gospel to yourself. [34:32] When you see self-righteousness come up, frankly, remind yourself that you’re a sinner.

[34:38] I have to do this all the time. [34:40] I struggle with thinking I’m better than other people.

[34:44] Oh, you didn’t know that? [34:45] You do it too. [34:47] [34:48] Shocker.

[34:50] When self-righteousness wields its ugly head, I have to remind myself, Steve, you’re a sinner in need of Jesus Christ. [35:00] And you will need his righteousness forever.

[35:04] The greatest thing some of you could do is that right there. [35:08] Greatest thing that some of you could do when you see bad things on television, when you see the news and it’s just horrific things happening all over the world. [35:15] You see horrific things happening on college campuses. [35:17] You see horrific things happening in different cities around the United States. [35:21] You see horrific things happening in other countries. [35:23] You see just horrific, horrific, horrific.

[35:25] And that temptation, that ugly root of self-righteousness begins to wield up in you where you’re saying, I’m better than those people. [35:32] You need to remind yourself I’m a sinner in need of Jesus. [35:36] And so are they. [35:39] And so are they. [35:41] When you’re at work, how can you share the gospel with people if you think you’re better than they are? [35:48] At best, you’ll share the gospel of you.

[35:52] You can only share the gospel with someone if you know how much you need it as well as they need it. [35:58] And that you need it just as much, if not more than they need it. [36:01] I think most of the time Christians need to preach the gospel themselves more than anyone else. [36:05] Because we serve a great risk of getting inoculated to the gospel. [36:11] Where it doesn’t affect us anymore. We could become calloused to it. [36:15] We’ve been in it for so long that we forget our great constant need of grace.

[36:23] You’re not better than other people. Jesus is. [36:27] That’s the difference between self-righteousness and preaching the gospel to yourself. [36:32] When you preach the gospel to yourself, you will eventually begin to preach it to other people. [36:36] But when you preach the gospel to yourself, they’re going to see your good works. [36:40] Because you’re going to begin to practice what you preach. [36:43] You ever said that to anybody? Practice what you preach.

[36:48] The reality is that’s something that every single person needs to do. [36:52] In Matthew 5, 16, Jesus presents the purpose of good works. [36:57] We do them so that the world may see them and give God glory. [37:01] That’s it. Do not make it more complicated than that. [37:05] Because I know some of you are going to take that and you’re going to set up this system. [37:10] Of which is a better work, which is a less better work, which is a good work.

[37:13] And at the end of the day, you’ve helped no one. Especially not yourself.

[37:20] Do good works to make God’s glory evident to the world. [37:26] And allow it to be that simple. [37:28] Well, how do I know what to do? [37:31] You be obedient rather than disobedient. [37:33] You read the word, you do what it says. [37:36] And when some good presents itself before you and God through the Holy Spirit says, this is good, do that.

[37:43] You’re like, oh, you’re oversimplifying it. No, I’m not.

[37:48] Do you think God would turn good works into a cosmic jigsaw puzzle with a million pieces?

[37:57] How ruthless would that be? [37:59] And what are you saying about God when you make it out to be like that? [38:04] Well, I just don’t know what to do with my life. Obey God. [38:08] Flee from temptation. Resist the devil. Don’t go into sin. [38:13] Live his mission. Preach the good news. That’s it.

[38:20] Do not attempt to steal God’s glory. [38:24] You see, sometimes when you’re doing good works, people will begin to praise you. [38:29] People will begin to preach a false gospel to you and they will do it in love. [38:34] It’s still a false gospel. You’re such a good person. [38:37] Anybody ever said that to you? No? Okay.

[38:42] Wrong crowd, I guess. I want to go with that. [38:48] But people, if you do good things, people will begin to praise you. [38:53] Preach the gospel to yourself.

[38:56] Remind yourself of the constant need of grace. [38:59] And through that you can explain to people, I’m not good at Jesus. [39:03] And you’re like, man, that would be so corny. So what? It’s true. [39:07] If something’s true, it’s okay if it’s corny. [39:11] Corny is better than a lie any day of the week.

[39:16] Give God glory. Don’t take it for yourself. Don’t rob Him of His glory. [39:20] Do not rob temples.

[39:24] Your life should reflect your repentance by your actions. [39:29] That’s what he’s talking about there.

[39:35] Point number three this morning. [39:39] Don’t give God a bad name.

[39:42] Don’t give God a bad name.

[39:46] I tried to come up with a very crafty way of saying that. [39:50] And I couldn’t. [39:52] Because that’s as simple as it needs to be and as complicated as it needs to be. [39:56] And you say, well, where does that fit in the text? [39:58] Here’s where it fits in the text. Look in verse 23.

[40:03] He says, you who boast in the law. [40:05] And he just, he just, boom. This is where he answers his own rhetorical questions. [40:09] He says, you who boast in the law, dishonor God by breaking the law. [40:15] Saying you’re doing the very same thing that you’re accusing the rest of the world of doing.

[40:21] As it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.

[40:32] You know what Paul’s saying there? [40:35] Saying Israel, you’ve given God a bad name.

[40:40] Because you’ve seen an evil world and it is evil. It is sinful. It is bad. [40:46] And you have pointed your finger.

[40:50] You’ve said, man, you are horrible people. I’m so glad I’m not like you. [40:54] I’m so glad I’m better than that. [40:56] I’m so glad we’re more civilized than that. [40:58] I’m so glad we have more religion than they do. [41:00] I’m so glad we have this. [41:02] I’m so glad we have that.

[41:04] I’m so glad. [41:05] And God says, do you want to know why they’re so bad? [41:11] Because of you.

[41:14] They blaspheme God because of you.

[41:21] Because you have not seen fit to be a light to a world that does not know about Him.

[41:33] And this is what we are tempted to do.

[41:38] I’m so glad I have the Gospel. [41:42] I’m so glad I have the Gospel. [41:42] I’m so glad I’m saved.

[41:47] Those people I work with.

[41:51] Rough. [41:52] Man, those people over there.

[42:00] These unsaved, unregenerate pagans.

[42:08] I’m so glad I’m not like them.

[42:12] The message from the apostle Paul to you is the name of God is blasphemed among them because of you.

[42:23] Because you think you’re better than they are. [42:27] Because you’ve misunderstood your mission in this world. [42:29] Your mission is not to be pretty. [42:33] Your mission is not to be completely cut off from society. [42:38] Your mission is not to cordon your life off and make sure everything is pure and bleached down every aspect of your life. [42:47] So that nothing tainted can touch it.

[42:50] And then when somebody who’s not saved, somebody who doesn’t know the Gospel of Jesus, they start to get close. [42:56] It’s like, no, no, no, no, no, no, I just bleached that. [42:59] Do not bring your dirt in here.

[43:05] That’s what Israel did.

[43:11] And because of the human condition of sin, we are always tempted to do that.

[43:21] When God says to the apostle Paul here, he’s saying, your purpose was to engage these people.

[43:29] Your purpose was to show them the Gospel. [43:32] Understand, your life matters. [43:35] Do you know that? [43:38] God has designed your life to play a part in the story of redemption.

[43:44] He’s done it. [43:45] If you’ve been saved by God’s grace, through Jesus, or if you’re in here and you’re not a believer in Jesus, [43:53] and you’re hearing me talk about Jesus, there’s a purpose for that. [43:56] God has designed that to happen for you. [43:58] He’s designed you to be saved. [44:00] He’s designed you to hear the Gospel today for a purpose.

[44:04] And that purpose is clear. [44:06] It is to point people to Jesus.

[44:10] And that is how you play your part. [44:13] It is not complicated in the context of this passage. [44:16] It’s clear. It’s simple. [44:18] Believe in Jesus. [44:20] Trust Him as your Savior. [44:21] He’s Lord.

[44:22] Therefore, submit to everything that you will learn in His Bible about Him [44:28] and about what you need to do with your life. [44:32] And through that, guess what? [44:34] You are going to learn that you have a lot of sin in your life. [44:40] You’re going to learn that. [44:41] And then what do you do with that?

[44:43] Well, God has given you the Gospel of Jesus for that very purpose. [44:48] And as you learn where that sin is happening in your life, guess what you do? [44:52] You ask God to forgive you, and then you make changes where they need to happen.

[45:00] And as you’re following Jesus, you’ll begin to commit to opportunities to make Jesus known. [45:10] God has given you the Gospel of Jesus for a purpose, and He wants you personally. [45:15] You personally. [45:16] Not the person next to you. [45:19] You personally. [45:21] God knows your name.

[45:24] And He’s saying this to you. [45:26] He wants you to glorify Him through your life and through that, [45:31] to bring others to faith in Him, through your spreading of the good news in word and in deed. [45:40] Live to point people to Jesus.

[45:46] Anything else you do, any other reason that you do it, will give God a bad name. [45:59] Because it’s simply not true about Him.

[46:05] Everything in your life stands to point people to Jesus Christ. [46:11] Everything. [46:13] Worship Him with a life of passionate mission, so that as many people as possible [46:21] can become fully devoted followers of Jesus through your life. [46:29] Everything else robs God of His glory and gives it straight to you.

[46:35] As the band comes up,

[46:40] Chapter 2 is really difficult.

[46:45] Because it’s kind of like you’ve been sitting in a dark closet.

[46:52] And your eyes have gotten used to the darkness.

[46:56] And then somebody comes in, and I mean, it’s not even a flashlight, it’s a spotlight. [47:02] And they shine it directly into your eyes.

[47:05] And often times that’s what the gospel of Jesus does to us. [47:09] And so we think when sin is exposed in our life,

[47:15] like, you know, if you’re human, this should have exposed some type of sin in your life.

[47:20] And sometimes we look at that and we’re like, that’s bad news. [47:24] It’s bad news. Man, I can’t believe I’m learning about my sin. [47:27] I don’t want to learn about that. That’s the grace of God. [47:31] And here’s why. Because when sin is exposed in your life, [47:35] when the light shines in the dark places of your soul,

[47:40] that is the grace of God saying, Jesus died for that. [47:44] God doesn’t want it to be true of you anymore. [47:48] And in grace He wants to do two things. [47:50] He wants to forgive you because Jesus took it to the cross. [47:54] You don’t have to pay the penalty for that sin. Jesus did it. [47:59] But then secondly, He wants to empower you through the Holy Spirit to change.

[48:09] And I know that’s scary.

[48:12] But you know that God’s never been worshipped where change wasn’t happening.

[48:20] The greatest worship that you’ll ever experience will be because of changes that God makes in your life. [48:28] It’s this morning, as we reflect on the God who saves through Jesus.

[48:35] I don’t just want you to really commit in your life right now to not give God a bad name. [48:39] I don’t want you to give God a bad name, but that’s not all I want you to hear.

[48:45] What I want you to hear is that you don’t have to give God a bad name because of Jesus. [48:50] Not because of you.

[48:54] The cup represents His shed blood. The bread represents His broken body.

[49:01] Because He took every moment where I gave Him a bad name onto Himself.

[49:07] He did that for you too.

[49:10] And this morning, there are six stations. [49:14] We don’t have to just be downtrodden.

[49:18] If you need to repent this morning, understand your sin. [49:24] There’s a terrible price for that. [49:27] But in the moment you realize it, in the moment you say, I’m going to change, burden’s lifted.

[49:36] Walk as those who are free. [49:39] When you’re ready, come.