Faith Answers Every Demand.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] All right, go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. My name is Steve, one of the [0:05] pastors here at Village Church, and if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Romans [0:09] chapter 3. We’re, by God’s grace, going to be finishing Romans 3 this morning, moving into [0:14] Romans 4 next Sunday morning. What we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks is the reality that we [0:24] need to be righteous in order for our relationship with God to be reconciled. The problem that is [0:33] posed for us is that we are not righteous. We’re sinners. Therefore, a miracle needs to happen

[0:43] for us to be made righteous. Before I go any further, I forgot to make one announcement. [0:49] Next Sunday morning is the beginning of a two-week class called Membership Matters. [0:55] Membership Matters is a great opportunity for if you’re not a member here, or if you have only [1:00] been here for a few weeks and you’re considering jumping into a community group, but you want to [1:05] find out more information about the church, about what we believe, about the leadership, [1:10] about just different things, about why we do what we do, and what we desire for you, and who the

[1:18] Membership Matters is the place that you can go in an easy way to find out the answers to all [1:25] the questions that you have and then some. We do it over two weeks, two different Sunday mornings. [1:31] It starts at 10-15 for the next two Sunday mornings. It starts right after the first service is over. [1:39] If you’re a real go-getter, you can come to a service, then go to Membership Matters. It’s [1:44] going to last through the second service. There’s going to be stuff about theology, [1:49] philosophy, about our organization, about our affiliations, and there’s also going to be a good

[1:54] time for Q&A. I’m going to pull an Iron Man and somehow be in two places at once. You’re going to [2:01] have to figure out how I’m going to do that next Sunday. It’s next Sunday and the Sunday after that. [2:06] It’s a requirement for membership, but it’s not reserved only for people who are seeking membership. [2:13] If you understand what I mean by that, if all that you want is information to decide whether [2:17] you’re going to keep coming on Sunday mornings, that’s fine. That’s a great place for you to go [2:22] to get that type of information. When Romans 3 is our concern, we’re dealing with the issue

[2:28] of the fact that we need to be righteous. We’re not righteous. Therefore, we need a miracle in [2:34] order to be made righteous. Throughout human history, we see sin as this huge problem. [2:42] Romans is a book that really is about the way in which God deals with sin. For the past two weeks, [2:51] what we’ve seen is the miracle of redemption. We’re in need of a miracle. We don’t know how [2:57] the miracle is going to happen. God does the miracle in a way that, as you see through the [3:02] life of Jesus, people weren’t expecting. Really, even now, if you’re not a follower of Jesus,

[3:08] it’s something that you don’t expect God to do, that you wouldn’t expect God to do, and you have [3:13] trouble believing that God actually did this, which is really the greatest miracle in human history [3:18] is the fact that God became a human being. God became part of His own creation, lived a perfect life [3:28] on our account. We did not live a perfect life. You do not live a perfect life. I do not live a [3:35] perfect life, nor can I really ever have any hope of living a perfect life. God Himself and the [3:42] person of Jesus Christ came and lived the perfect life that you can’t live, and that you won’t live,

[3:50] but God requires. He does that for us. The way that we know He did that for us is because a righteous [3:58] man then dies. The wages of sin is death. Jesus died a death. He did not deserve to die, [4:06] but the scriptures tell us that He did that as our substitute. He did that in our place, [4:13] and in that, because He didn’t have any penalty to pay for His own sin, He then became a just [4:19] substitute for those who did have sin. He became a scapegoat. He became the one to whom a penalty [4:25] wasn’t His own could be put onto, and that is how we know that everything in the life of Jesus is

[4:32] not about Jesus as much as it is about us. He dies that death in our place and then rises from the [4:39] dead victorious over sin and death. So in that redemption, we see the plan of God. We see the [4:48] glory of God. We see God accomplishing salvation apart from us, and so then the question comes, [4:57] okay, if Jesus did all that, what then is required of me for salvation? And the scripture answered [5:04] us last week, faith in Jesus. That’s the requirement. That’s the demand. That’s it. [5:10] Salvation is completely the work of Jesus, and to be redeemed from your sin is about placing the

[5:17] faith for your life squarely on Jesus. So what part do I play? I believe. Where do my good deeds, [5:28] though, factor in? They don’t. To have a faith in Jesus is, in a great sense, as we’re going to see [5:37] this morning, the way that Paul ends chapter 3, is to be humiliated. It is a place for us to realize [5:44] that nothing you have ever done or ever will be able to do is worthy of salvation. Jesus accomplished [5:52] absolutely everything, and that’s the greatest news that a sinner will ever hear, but it is hard news [6:00] to accept for a self-righteous person. In this section of Romans, Paul explains that faith in

[6:07] the only hope that you will ever need or can ever need or must ever need, but the emphasis there [6:16] is on a realization that you are in need. You cannot save yourself. Here’s where Paul goes. Look [6:25] in verse 26. He says, it was to show the gospel of Jesus was to show his righteousness at the [6:37] end of the day, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. [6:45] So what we see in that is that God desires to do the work himself. He desires to get all of the [6:51] credit. He desires to get all of the glory. He desires to be the one that you can look at and say,

[6:58] you have done it all, Lord. You and you alone are worthy of worship. And right there is where that [7:05] idolatry problem that Romans chapter 2 exposes in us that we’ve exchanged the worship of God [7:11] for the worship of creation, because when we talk about that God alone does the work, God alone [7:16] deserves the glory, not on that, but God wants the glory, we then say, I’m uncomfortable with all [7:24] that glory that God’s getting. And you know, the only reason that you are uncomfortable with that [7:30] is because you want some of it for yourself. That’s it. So Paul puts a period there and he’s like

[7:40] gospel, done. But he knows there’s going to be a response from some in self-righteousness. [7:52] And here’s how he answers that response.

[7:56] Then what becomes of our boasting? It’s excluded. By what kind of law? By law of works? No, by the [8:05] law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. [8:12] Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also. [8:18] Since God is one, you will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised [8:24] through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by his faith? By this faith? By no means. On the [8:31] contrary, we uphold the law. I think what happens to us when we’re reading the end of chapter three

[8:36] is we’re tracking when he asks a question what happens to our boasting. It’s excluded. [8:43] It’s like, I’m tracking with you there. But then you start talking about Jews and Gentiles, [8:47] you start talking about circumcision and uncircumcision. And that’s where it’s just like, [8:51] I don’t live in that world. I don’t know what that’s talking about. So this text must not be [8:55] about me. It is completely 100% about you and what you’re going to deal with. Because the same [9:04] issues that the Jews and the Gentiles are dealing with in this first century church are the same

[9:09] issues that you’re going to be dealing with now just with less knives. So you have to understand [9:16] what Paul is dealing with ultimately is the foundation from which all of your sin is going [9:22] to come from. So point number one this morning, pride is the problem. Faith is the solution. [9:29] Pride is the problem. Faith is the solution. When he starts in verse 27, he makes this statement. [9:35] He says, well, what happens to my boasting? So what he’s dealing with is this question that he [9:40] knows is going to come because there have been people who have been attempting to obey the law

[9:46] of God. There have been people that have been doing their best. I mean, they’ve been working [9:53] hard. All right, let me just put you on this one. There were Pharisees and these are the legal [10:00] leaders that Jesus is calling hypocrites. There were Pharisees that had good motives for being

[10:07] Pharisees. There were religious people who had the best of intentions in their religion and they [10:13] were really trying to please God. They were really trying to work hard. They were really trying to [10:17] identify themselves as the people of God. And then they got this warped mentality because of the [10:23] teaching that they were having that Jesus had to undo and Jesus had to deconstruct from them is this [10:29] reality that the work that they had been doing was in no way the path of salvation for them. [10:36] And if you grew up your entire life in that type of culture, then you would ask that question.

[10:44] Because when he says what happens then of our boasting, he’s not talking about the guy on the [10:48] softball field that can hit home run after home run after home run. He’s like, look how awesome I am. [10:55] When we think boasting, that’s exactly where we go. Somebody that’s really good at something and [10:59] wants everyone to know about it or somebody that’s just got everything that I want and man, [11:03] I hate them for it and they brag about it all the time. Paul’s dealing with something different [11:08] here. He’s dealing with the foundation of self-preservation. He’s dealing with the

[11:15] foundation of self-reliance. He’s dealing with the foundation that every single one of us deal [11:20] with in our lives and that is trying to prove that you’re worthy of something. It is trying to prove [11:28] that you’re strong enough. It is trying to prove that you are good enough. [11:34] And it’s trying to prove that you’re lovable. It’s trying to simply prove your worth to others. [11:41] And in this sense, God is saying, where do you take your attempt to prove your worth to God? [11:50] So at a base level, I don’t think Paul is dealing with just simple people who are bad,

[11:55] self-righteous, hypocrites. I think he’s hitting us all where it counts. He’s hitting us all at [12:01] our attempts to please God. He’s hitting us all at our attempts to please our parents. [12:06] He’s hitting us all at the place where our parents told us, do this, we did that and our parents said, [12:11] you’re a good boy or a good girl. And so he’s not dealing with this just like base evil that you [12:18] think someone that’s conniving in their religion. No, he’s dealing with just simple morality. And [12:24] the question that would come when you say, where is salvation found? 100% faith in Jesus. He does

[12:31] all the work. He gets all the credit. He gets all the glory. So the question then is going to come, [12:36] was everything that I’ve been doing to be good up until now completely worthless?

[12:41] Is everything that I’ve been striving for until this moment a waste of time? [12:46] And I think some of us, we’d be tempted to just look at them and say, yeah, because I’m a sinner, [12:51] I’m grateful. You’re religious, so you’re stupid.

[12:58] And so Paul’s coming at these people who have built their entire culture on the fact that we [13:02] are the people of God. We’ve marked ourselves from the eighth day of our lives as the people of God. [13:08] Was it all a waste of time? And Paul’s answer ultimately when you get to the end of the text [13:15] is, no, it wasn’t a waste of time. But I want to get you there this morning. So I want to deal [13:21] with the fact that the gospel is the best news for everyone that knows that they’ve got a problem. [13:30] And what Paul’s getting at first is the fact that you have a problem. You have a need.

[13:38] Verse 27, Paul just kind of asked that rhetorical question and says, what is going to happen to [13:45] your boasting? And his response is something that’s going to sting very hard. He says, [13:51] it’s excluded. Nothing that you’ve ever done by your own hand is going to play any part [14:00] in your salvation. Boasting is about proving your strength. It is about believing that you [14:06] add value. It is about believing that you have something to offer. And in this light, [14:13] it is the belief that you have something to offer God. It is the belief that you have some skill,

[14:20] you have some talent, you have some level of obedience that others may have missed out on, [14:25] but you can give God that and God will say that will play part in your salvation. [14:31] And the apostle Paul is saying, no, it won’t. You do not add worth to the work of Jesus. [14:39] And it is only in that moment that you can have faith. It is only in the moment that you know [14:45] you are a sinner full of just need, that you can know that you need Jesus for everything that you [14:55] are and everything that you need. Here’s how John Calvin puts faith in Jesus in Verse 27.

[15:03] John Calvin wrote that faith receives all from God and brings nothing except a humble confession of [15:10] want. Faith in Jesus is this realization that you come with your hands completely empty, [15:20] but you have a great need before Him. And it is this great cry to God saying, God, [15:28] I do not have what you offer. Would you please give it to me? And then when you see the gospel [15:34] Jesus, you see God will give it to you. How grateful would you be if you’re in that situation?

[15:43] How thankful would you be in your heart if you have nothing but want, you have nothing but need, [15:49] and your need actually earns you great wrath and great penalty. And then God Himself says, [15:55] I’m so glad that you came to me in your time of need because I have everything that you will ever [16:00] need to be worthy of being in my presence. That is something to be grateful for. What is not [16:07] something to be grateful for is coming to God and saying, God, I did it all for you. Look, [16:15] look at what I’ve done. I’ve earned my entryway. I’ve done good stuff. I’ve been working my best.

[16:21] Here you go. It’s all for you. Who’s getting the credit there? I am.

[16:31] I want God to look at me and say, Steve, your life wasn’t a waste of time. [16:35] Steve, you did some good stuff. Steve, you’re good enough. And gosh darn it, people like you.

[16:46] But my gratitude in that moment is me. The person that I’m wanting everyone to look to [16:54] is me. And the person that I’m wanting God to look to is me. And that is the exchange of worship [17:07] that you saw in Romans chapter two, where God says you were created to worship the Creator, [17:13] and instead you turned worship towards the creation. Friend, the largest part of creation [17:18] that you’re going to struggle with idolatry in is yourself. The gospel of Jesus is this great [17:27] pronouncement. Stop looking at yourself and start looking at Jesus. The quest to prove your worth

[17:34] in this world is the quest of idolatry, and Jesus means to replace you on your throne.

[17:44] The very beginning of creation, when Adam and Eve were tempted with the apple or whatever the fruit [17:51] was, Satan did not say, it’s going to taste so good. I mean, that’s just like the best tasting [18:00] fruit that you’ll ever have in your life. What does Satan tempt them with? Satan says, [18:05] you will be like God. The very first temptation that man ever endured was the fact that we wanted [18:13] to be like God. What is that? That is pride. So you want to get to the foundation of every [18:20] sin problem in your life. Everything that you think is owed to you by anyone, everything that

[18:29] you think God owes you in your life for everything that you do, you will not get to the root of those [18:37] issues until you get to the root of your pride. The biggest problem in your life is your pride, [18:47] your self-righteous pride. And the most liberating thing you can do in this moment with this text [18:54] is to say, I have a pride problem. Therefore, I need a pride solution. And what Paul is going [19:03] to take you to over and over and over in your life is to stop looking for the solution to the [19:09] problems in your life anywhere other than faith in Jesus. Because we’re going to try to run around

[19:17] and fix every individual problem with individual things, with different teachings and different [19:24] seminars and different whatever you call them and we’ll want people to help us here and help us [19:28] there. But you will never get the help that you need until you go to the core of all of your problems. [19:36] And the core of all of your problems is pride. The core of all of your problems is worshiping [19:42] idols. And the core of all of your problems is your greatest idol is you. The answer to every one of [19:49] those things is faith in Jesus. The answer is never more complicated than faith in Jesus. Faith in

[19:54] Jesus will unseat the idol of self. Faith in Jesus will bring you an unworldly and supernatural [20:03] form of humility that will change every relationship in your life. Faith in Jesus will change the way [20:09] that you deal with your spouse. Faith in Jesus will change the way that you deal with your children. [20:13] Faith in Jesus will change the way that you do your job. Faith in Jesus will fix the issues in [20:20] your life. Because the issues in your life are all about what are you doing, what you’re doing for.

[20:27] Because when you move on into the realization you say okay I’ve got some pride issues. [20:32] And then you begin to look at what salvation is all about. Look at what Ephesians chapter 2 verse [20:36] 8 and 9 says. It says for by grace you’ve been saved through faith and this is not your own doing [20:42] it is the gift of God not a result of work so that no one may boast. That’s a commentary on [20:48] the question that Paul asks in Romans chapter 3. So what is going to happen to all of your boasting? [20:55] It’s excluded. Why? Because of the grace of God. Because it’s not a result of works. It’s not a

[21:03] result of how much stuff you have. It’s not a result of how much power you have over other people. [21:08] It’s not a result of how much authority you’ve earned. It’s not a result of how much money you [21:13] have. It’s not a result of how nice your home is. It’s not a result of how good of a parent you are. [21:19] It’s not a result of how good of a spouse you are. It’s not a result of anything you will ever do [21:25] in this life good or bad. It’s all a result of what Jesus did. And we’re so often stuck in our [21:36] navel gazing of what we have to add to everything in life that we lose sight of Jesus.

[21:44] We see no greatness in the cross. We see no beauty in grace. We’re not amazed by the work [21:51] of redemption because we’re constantly asking the question what do I do? Well what about me? [21:59] Well I know I’ve got to do some good stuff here.

[22:03] If you are always the center of every question that you have about your faith, [22:08] then what’s the center of your faith? You are.

[22:13] If every question that you ever have in church is about needs that need to be met for you, [22:18] about things that need to be done for you, about work that you want to have done, [22:22] about a ministry that you want to see them doing, about you, you, you, you. What’s the [22:27] center of your faith? You. And so when you come to a text like this, you must come and see it [22:36] as something that’s going to begin to do a very uncomfortable work. It’s going to begin to strip [22:44] you of all of the layers of pride that you’ve built, of all of the certainties that you’ve had,

[22:54] of all of the things about yourself you ever thought were strong. The gospel is going to [23:01] come in and the gospel is going to challenge you on every single one of them. And so when [23:08] Paul begins to deal with the topic of circumcision, he’s dealing simply with the root of pride. [23:16] He’s dealing with the root of why you do what you do, why you want what you want, [23:24] and why you are who you are. He’s just dealing with it with an example that they would understand [23:31] in the first century. So when verse 26 talks about our faith being in God as just and the

[23:40] fire, he begins to flesh out a definition for that in verse 28. Here’s what he says in verse 28. [23:49] He says, for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. [23:59] And that is life shattering to someone who’s been seeking to obey the law with everything [24:04] they have so that they’d be saved. It’s life shattering. He’s saying, what? [24:10] Apart from the works of the law? I can’t even imagine a reality where that’s going to be the [24:16] case. And Paul says, well, that’s the case because he wants them to understand number two this morning.

[24:21] God doesn’t owe you anything based on your works. God doesn’t owe you anything based on your works. [24:29] Tim Keller says, boasting and believing are opposites.

[24:36] Somebody that boasts in what they add and what they do, they don’t need to believe in anything [24:40] because they’ve already got everything that they want. They think they’ve already got everything [24:44] that they need. I’m accomplishing everything that I’ll ever need in this life, so what do I [24:48] need to believe in? You don’t need Jesus if you think you’re good enough. So to believe in Jesus [24:55] is to give up any grounds to boast in yourself. On a practical level, let’s be honest, this is very, [25:01] very difficult. This is a very countercultural aspect of the gospel. In the gospel, we come with

[25:07] great need but nothing to offer. In this world, we’re told that we need to fight any needs and [25:13] have a whole lot to offer. So this world will condition us. Everything that you do in this [25:19] world apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ will condition you to think that the opposite is true, [25:23] and that’s Satan’s great design. Satan’s great design is for you to always be looking for what [25:29] you have to add. The gospel’s great design is for you to understand that you have nothing but great [25:36] need. So those are going to war against each other. Let me ask you a question. When something goes

[25:41] wrong in your life, do you even in the least, right, even if it’s like this tiny little thought [25:48] you’re like, get out of there. Do you even in the least think that God owes you better?

[25:57] Something goes wrong, you’re like, oh, didn’t I pray enough?

[26:02] So what good is it doing me to serve at my church? [26:06] I told somebody about Jesus last week, and this is the thanks I get, Lord.

[26:16] I mean, you know, maybe it was so cold your pipes froze and burst last week. I don’t know [26:21] what it was, but let me tell you, I’m just going to be honest with you here. Don’t tell anybody [26:25] this, by the way, because I don’t want anybody to know I’m a human being. But when things go [26:29] wrong in my life, that’s the first place I go. It’s like, come on, I went to seminary.

[26:39] I deserve better than this.

[26:45] I think we all at some level do that because we all think this real karmic justice in this [26:52] world is going to happen. That if I do the good stuff, well, then I’m gaining all the favor of God.

[27:01] That’s self-righteousness. That’s not faith. That’s you boasting. That’s you thinking you have [27:10] something to add. That’s you thinking, well, I’m good enough, and I’m better than other people.

[27:18] So I deserve better. Yeah, maybe the guy that’s just, he’s drank his life away, he’s done some [27:23] terrible things, and he’s homeless. Maybe he deserves some bad things. But seriously, [27:29] I pay my taxes, I earn an honest wage. And so when I do my taxes and I don’t get back what I [27:36] thought I was going to get back, or worse, I owe and I don’t have anything to cover it, it’s like, [27:41] thanks, God. That’s because we are conditioned to not believe the gospel in everyday life. [27:51] We are conditioned to really believe that supernaturally God owes us something simply

[27:56] because we’re giving him something from ourselves. When the gospel says that when you understand [28:04] that you are owed nothing, you’ll be thankful for everything.

[28:14] You see, friends, the gospel of Jesus Christ comes into our lives and reveals to us this [28:18] sin. It strips everything away and shows me that at my core, I have committed treason against God. [28:25] I’ve sinned the worst sin possible. And so God comes in by His grace and He says, [28:32] I’m not going to make you pay the penalty for that. I’m going to make my innocent son [28:36] pay the penalty for that. And I’m like, what? I don’t deserve that.

[28:42] I’m going to owe nothing by you, God. Nothing. So friends, the only way for you to understand [28:50] how great the gospel is, is for you to realize that you’re not just owed nothing, but you’re [28:55] owed bad things. It’s only then that you can know real thankfulness for the gift of the grace of [29:03] Jesus. And that’s where the gospel gets so wrong sometimes. Because we believe that all of the [29:10] blessings are going to be the material things in this world. And God says, I would be filled with [29:14] hate if that’s what I gave you because the greatest gift you’ll ever receive is God.

[29:18] Because no matter what happens in this sin cursed world, no matter what is taken away, [29:23] no matter if it’s health, no matter if it’s finance, no matter if it’s a person, no matter [29:26] what you lose in this world, you will never lose God because of His great grace in the gospel of [29:31] Jesus Christ. Because then you have to understand that you are not the gold Jesus is. [29:37] You are not the gold Jesus is. Look in verse 29. Here’s what it says. It says, [29:41] or is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also.

[29:49] Since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by faith. [29:56] And so we’ve been through this past few weeks, but I’ll just briefly remind you what he’s talking [30:00] about there is that the Jews thought that because they circumcised their sons on the eighth day [30:05] that they had just done this great step of obedience and so they were God’s people and so [30:09] they reserved themselves off by themselves and they said everybody else in the world is a sinner, [30:13] everybody else in the world is evil, but we’re the people of God. Look we’ve marked ourselves

[30:17] as the people of God and so nobody else has God. And so God looks to them in this moment and He [30:22] says a very offensive thing. He says, look am I the God of the Jews only? Did I not also create [30:28] the Gentiles? Just understand that through faith I will save the circumcised. So I’m not taking the [30:35] gospel away. I’m giving it to you. I’ll save you by faith, but understand that the Gentiles who are [30:42] uncircumcised, I will also save them through faith because the circumcision had become this [30:48] thing where they said look at how great we are. We’re the people of God. Look at me. Look at me.

[30:57] Look at me. And God says they were never supposed to look at you. They were supposed to look at God.

[31:08] So understand you’re not the goal. Everything that you do is to point people to Jesus. [31:16] Everything that you do must be to get people to Jesus. And so when Paul’s dealing with them he says [31:21] look the circumcision they need to get to Jesus. Look the uncircumcision they need to get to Jesus. [31:26] Everybody in this world has one place that they must go, Jesus. So everything that I do, [31:33] if I’m truly grateful for the gospel, if I’m truly thankful for the gospel, [31:36] if I’m truly having faith in the gospel and I understand my bankruptcy and his great worth,

[31:42] then everything that I do will not be for you to see man he’s so good.

[31:50] Everything that I do will be for you to see Jesus is enough. Jesus says. [31:58] That’s the goal of all of your obedience. That’s the goal of all of your faith. That’s the goal of [32:03] everything that you will ever do in this life is for people to look past you and there’s no [32:08] greater humility than that. So you don’t care if they even remember your name so long as they know

[32:18] Jesus.

[32:23] Friend, Galatians chapter 6 tells us that the only good boasting that exists in this world [32:32] is boasting in Jesus. So Paul says, he says far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our [32:41] Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.

[32:53] We understand that what that comes from. It’s an amazing statement

[33:01] that does not come from someone who received the grace of Jesus and then immediately says, [33:08] okay what part do I play? All right how many Bible studies do I need to sign up for to fit [33:14] in around here? How many teams can I serve on to earn my keep? I need the checklist of the [33:20] membership requirements because I’m going to meet them and then I’m going to have you amazed by them.

[33:28] I’m going to show you what Christianity is all about.

[33:33] That’s not the heart that this comes from.

[33:38] The heart that this comes from is a guy

[33:44] who filled his life with religion.

[33:51] Calls himself the Hebrew of Hebrews. The Pharisee of Pharisees. If there was a law, he obeyed it.

[34:01] If there was a duty, he fulfilled it.

[34:07] But then he met Jesus.

[34:14] He was taken to his knees because he realized that no matter how hard he worked, no matter how much [34:18] of the Bible he memorized, no matter how many laws he observed, no matter how many times he [34:24] enforced those laws on other people, that he was not perfect like Jesus. His righteousness was [34:33] nothing in comparison to the righteousness of Jesus. His righteousness was unrighteousness [34:38] compared to Jesus’s great righteousness. And it led this man who had actually built himself up [34:47] to be one of the most famous Pharisees, one of the most powerful. It led him to look at everything

[34:53] that he’d ever done to earn his keep, to earn his worth. It led him to look at it and say it’s a pile [34:59] of rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus.

[35:06] So when he says in this, he says, I’m not going to boast in anything except Jesus. This is a guy [35:12] that had something that I would say might be boast worthy in this world. But note the way he [35:20] finishes the sentence. He says the only thing to boast is Jesus and his cross. If you’re going to [35:27] boast in anything, it’s got to be that. But his next sentence is telling, he says that everything [35:33] in the world can only also find worth if it leads to Jesus. He doesn’t just stop. He doesn’t just [35:42] leave it as this open-ended statement where he’s like, if I’m going to boast, I’m only going to

[35:45] boast in the cross of Jesus. No, he finishes the thought and he says, by which the world has been [35:51] crucified to me and I to the world. So he says that everything in my life must go to the cross. [36:03] Everything that I’m doing, everything that I’m a part of, everything that I’m trying to build, [36:08] everything that I’m striving after. It’s got to go to the cross. Does it point to Jesus? [36:15] Does it make him look great? And if it survives that, then it will bring glory to Jesus. [36:23] If it dies, then it only brought glory to Paul.

[36:30] Faith in Jesus must drive everything. If you have faith in Jesus, then you can only boast [36:41] in Jesus. And so do not think that this is limited to what happens here.

[36:50] This is not limited to what happens in your group.

[36:55] This is your entire life Paul is talking about. That’s why he uses that term, the world. [37:03] Because he wants you to understand that it’s limitless. It’s every hour, every day, [37:08] boasting only in the cross. Because thirdly this morning, the answer is always faith in Jesus. [37:21] Now I grew up in Sunday school. I was one of those church kids and I came to realize [37:28] this thing about quizzes and Bible questions and Bible trivia is that 80% of the time [37:37] I could convince them I was right if I answered Jesus. I could reason my way around the question

[37:44] as to why the answer was Jesus. And I would usually use the verse in 2 Corinthians 1 where [37:53] he says all the promises of God find their yes in Jesus. And I’m like, well, if Jesus is always [37:59] the answer, then isn’t he always the answer? And everyone hated me.

[38:07] I had a little twerp. Always reasoning his way around the rules. But I think sometimes in our [38:14] lives we are tempted to come up with solutions in our lives that only deal with part of the problem.

[38:25] And I think that sometimes we look at what Jesus said and he said, [38:29] you said, come to me like little children. A childlike faith. And we’re so confused and [38:37] we’re so prideful and we’re so stuck on ourselves that it’s like, I don’t, that seems kind of [38:42] demeaning or that just seems like too simple of an answer for what I’m going through in my life [38:46] right now. But that is the answer. And I think that’s the answer. And I think that’s the answer.

[38:55] My children have this amazing ability to believe me no matter what. And I’m the kind of person that [39:05] can really take advantage of that with little kids. So I’ll just tell them these crazy stories and [39:09] I’ll be like, dude, really happened. I killed 17 terrorists on the way home. It was crazy, son. [39:14] Tell me about it, dad.

[39:19] But it’s just this response of, hey, here’s where I’m going. Get in the car. Okay.

[39:28] I mean, I don’t know where you’re going, but it’s going to be fun because I’m going to be with dad.

[39:33] Here’s what we’re doing today. Oh, that sounds good. Here’s where we’re going to eat. Oh, [39:38] there’s something good for me because my children have this belief [39:44] that I’m going to give them something good and I’m not going to give them something bad. [39:50] My children just believe that they have this trust and that is the trust that God wants us [39:55] to go through our lives within him. It’s this trust that no matter what comes into my life, [40:01] he’s going to make it good. He’s got my best interests at a heart because when you are

[40:07] stripped of all of your pride, when you are stripped of all of the authority in your life, [40:12] when you’re looking to the cross, an absolute amazement, it gives you this trust in God. [40:18] It says, God, wherever you’re going, I want to be there.

[40:25] I call out to you because I want you there.

[40:31] Parents, when something scares your children in the middle of the night, [40:34] do they hesitate at 3 a.m. to get you? No.

[40:44] God never wants us in a moment of despair. God never wants us in a moment where even our faith [40:48] is struggling for us to say, I’ll fix it. I’ll figure this out. I can do it.

[40:59] God wants us to have the response of a child who’s helpless and say, God,

[41:04] I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I believe you. I trust you. I have faith in you [41:14] because you worked salvation the best way possible. [41:20] Paul, when he concludes his thoughts here, he says this crazy sentence that is just like, [41:25] well, it’s one of those verses, I think we’ll just go on to chapter 4 now. [41:28] I want us to focus in on it so that we can understand what exactly he’s saying about faith [41:33] here. He says, do we then overthrow the law by this faith? He’s saying, what’s all this good

[41:43] of me obeying? What’s all this good of me doing? What’s all this good of the law? Was it completely [41:49] worthless? Was it completely stupid? Were you this overlord that expected things from me that were [41:54] never ever going to pay off? Do you overthrow the law by this thing called faith, Lord? [42:03] Paul uses that strong no in the Greek. He says, by no means. It’s not even on the radar. It’s not [42:13] possible in the realm of reality. God forbid that ever happen because if it did, he would [42:20] cease to be good. That’s what by no means means in the original language. He says, on the contrary,

[42:29] we uphold the law. Here’s what Paul’s getting at. The beauty of the law is only seen in redemption. [42:39] Was the law a cruel joke? No. The law is completely fulfilled. It’s only seen as beautiful, [42:47] though, through Jesus. Otherwise, as Tim Keller points out, you either need to change the law [42:53] so that you can get by on a technicality, like I would try to, or the law will crush you because [43:02] you don’t fully measure up to it. The law matters because through it, I see my great need [43:09] and Jesus Christ’s great triumph. Only faith answers the demands of the law because only Jesus

[43:17] meets those demands and then because of his perfection, satisfies all of its penalties. [43:23] Only in Jesus do you look at the law and say, that’s beautiful. Only in Jesus do you look at [43:28] the law of God and say, man, that’s good. Only in Jesus do you look at the law and say, man, [43:32] that’s perfect because otherwise all it’s doing is shedding light in eyes that are completely [43:37] imperfect. Jesus upholds the law. Jesus fulfills the law and Jesus makes me righteous to the law [43:45] through faith. Jesus alone. Jesus then takes the pressure of the law off of me through faith.

[43:57] Everything you’re trying to find meaning in apart from Jesus will destroy you

[44:02] because everything apart from faith in Jesus is of the law and it will crush you. You will either [44:08] work yourself to the bone to get it and then die or you will achieve it only to find yourself [44:17] still in need of more. This is the part of the crushing nature of the law apart from Jesus, [44:25] but when you move on from faith in Jesus, when you say, okay, faith in Jesus is okay, [44:32] but I’m going to move on and I’m going to focus on something else because faith isn’t always the [44:37] answer. I’ve got to do something else in my life, but when you move on from faith in Jesus to try

[44:42] to fix your life in this or any area, when you take on this project or that project to try to [44:51] modify behavior here or there in hopes of making you or those around you to be more pleasant or [44:59] happy or obedient, you only continue a cycle that will not bring satisfaction into your life. [45:08] Stop it. Stop. [45:11] Where is your simple, childlike, treasuring of Jesus?

[45:24] Where is your awe of God accomplishing salvation completely, totally without your help? [45:35] Where is your joy in receiving salvation that you don’t deserve?

[45:47] Come to that. Revel in that. Stare at that. Don’t move from that. Keep looking at it. Never move. [46:01] Because does that frighten you?

[46:05] Does it take meaning out of any of the things that you are striving for in your life?

[46:15] Because if it does, if that’s true,

[46:21] then the question you need to ask yourself this morning is, how does faith in Jesus need to redefine [46:27] your life? Friends, God accomplished his salvation without your help.

[46:38] When do we move on to what I need to do? We won’t. Not today. Paul doesn’t.

[46:50] I think a temptation of boasting is for us to quickly move from grace to the work we need to do

[47:01] so we can begin to prove how good we are. That is exactly what Paul is fighting here. He wants [47:09] to strip you of your pride first. Your pride will fight you on that, though. God wants us to sit [47:18] and be captivated by what he did. Nothing you have ever done or will ever do will save you. [47:30] This is where Paul is leading you and is the only place that faith is found. If you’re attempting [47:34] to obey God, to prove your worth to him or anyone else, you aren’t worshipping God in it. [47:39] You need to find your worth in the cross and the cross alone.

[47:47] The cross of Jesus must captivate your vision.

[47:56] It needs to be the defining thing in your life. I make this plea, [48:04] and I hope by the work of the Holy Spirit you grasp what I mean by it. [48:10] Stop working and start treasuring Jesus.

[48:17] Stop trying to cajole God into doing something for you through your behavior.

[48:26] God doesn’t owe you anything. Jesus needs to be the greatest treasure [48:33] and the greatest joy in your life. The vision for your life must find its entire meaning in Jesus.

[48:44] The work of Jesus on the cross for your redemption must be central for you to have faith. That’s true.

[48:57] Real meaning, guys, is only ever found in faith.

[49:04] That is where Paul wants us to sit. That is where Paul and the repentance from sin that he will [49:10] call us to. That is where he will call us to return to. You can always and forever say,

[49:22] I do this because I believe Jesus. And only because I believe Jesus. [49:35] Because the answer to everything in your life, forever, will be faith in Jesus. If it isn’t, [49:46] then you aren’t believing the gospel. Jesus is enough. As the band comes up,

[49:56] I want to invite you this morning to take joy in Jesus. I want you to focus on Jesus. [50:08] And if you’ve ever wondered, that’s why every week we take communion.

[50:13] Because in the action of communion, in the eating and the drinking, it forces us to look [50:21] at the cross. It forces us at least one time every single week to only have one thing to [50:30] focus on. And that is what Jesus did for us. The cup represents the blood that he shed. [50:38] The bread represents the body. It was beaten, broken, hung on the cross to die.

[50:49] And eating and drinking represents a life with great need.

[50:58] And being filled by a great God. When you’re ready, come.