This episode takes a deep dive into the mystery of the gospel of grace, highlighting the shift from the law to a life defined by faith. Discussions revolve around the abolishment of physical circumcision as a requirement for God’s covenant and the powerful image of the law being nailed to the cross alongside Jesus Christ. Discover how love and righteousness are fulfilled not through legalism, but through intimate relationships with God and others, providing a clear path for believers to navigate their spiritual journey.
Greetings to the brightest audience in the country and welcome to Theology Thursday. I’m Nicole McBurney. Every weekday we bring you the news of the day, the culture, and science from a Christian worldview. But today, join me and Pastor Bob Enyart as we explore the source of our Christian worldview, the Bible.
SPEAKER 02 :
If there were no God, there’d be no such thing as right and wrong. Because God is the standard on which we can say what’s right and what’s wrong. There could be no such thing as wisdom without God’s existence. Because wisdom requires right and wrong as its foundation. If there was no such thing as right or wrong, how could you make an unwise decision? It wouldn’t matter what happened. Any outcome of any event could not be right or wrong. Righteousness and wisdom flow from God as descriptions of his nature. But Paul goes further. writing that in God, all wisdom and knowledge exist. All wisdom and knowledge exist in God. Or more technically, all wisdom and knowledge proceed from God. If God did not exist, knowledge itself could not exist. You couldn’t know anything. Well, of course, you wouldn’t be here and neither would I. Without God, there’s no such thing as knowledge. Albert Einstein said, did not believe in God. But he wrote in 1944 about what he called, quote, the gulf logically unbridgeable. Einstein wrote about an unbridgeable gulf between ideas and matter. And he wrote, how could you get from matter to ideas? How can you have knowledge, concepts? Those things don’t flow from atoms and molecules, right? You can’t go from just like we often say, since there’s love in the world, since a mother can love her child and love cannot arise from chemical reactions. That alone is proof that there’s a God of love. If you can think clearly about such things. Well, Einstein said there’s this unbridgeable gulf between matter and ideas. And since his time, Since he wrote that, linguists, those who study language, and some scientists have referred to this as Einstein’s gulf. Atheists cannot explain anything at all. Every observation challenges atheism, and every observation is direct evidence for God. Every observation, not just some, every observation threatens atheism and provides direct evidence for God. So atheists cannot explain anything at all and are especially unable to explain how the universe can begin with matter alone and then develop to where knowledge is possible. They attempt to defend their atheistic worldview with tools which they can only rely upon if God exists. For example, without God, There is no reason. There’s no reason. There’s no right or wrong. Your answer can’t be right. It can’t be wrong. There’s no knowledge. There are no ideas. There could be no science, no language, and no logic apart from God’s existence. Paul writes that all wisdom and knowledge exist in God. It all proceeds from God. Nothing inherent in matter should reliably give rise to any knowledge whatsoever and then especially not to wisdom. For information science shows that knowledge does not arise randomly and chance cannot increase knowledge. So if there’s an atheist who thinks otherwise, if you come across an atheist who thinks that knowledge can exist apart from God, just ask him, well, since Albert Einstein, what evidence, what proofs have been discovered that indicate that? Because Albert Einstein admitted that there’s no reason that ideas should exist if you only have a material universe. So maybe you think you’re smarter than Albert Einstein, or maybe you think that since he died, some atheist has discovered the proof or the evidence that ideas can flow from matter. Paul said, in God are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And in verse 2, we Christians, in addition to simply having access to raw knowledge, because the atheist, even though he denies God, he uses the tools that God enables. Reason, knowledge, understanding. The atheist uses those tools. It’s like being in a debate about whether or not oxygen exists. And the one opponent says it does not exist while he’s breathing it in order to utter the words. But he’s a fool and he’s denying that which sustains his own argument. And the atheist does that. But we Christians, in addition to having access to raw knowledge, just like an atheist does. In particular, we also have what Paul wrote in verse two, the full assurance of understanding. Wow, the full assurance of understanding. That doesn’t mean that I know everything or that any Christian knows everything or that we will ever know everything. Do you think when you get to heaven, you’ll know everything? No, you won’t know what your good friend in heaven is thinking. unless he tells you. We’re not going to become God when we get to heaven. We’re not going to be able to read other people’s thoughts. And we’re not going to be omniscient. We’re going to be created beings. But we have the full understanding of the mystery, a term that Paul uses, the mystery of the gospel of grace. Whereas throughout the entire Bible, from Abraham’s in Genesis 17, right up until the Apostle Paul got saved, everybody was getting circumcised. Right and left. Well, on the eighth day, or when you convert it, God said, you need to be circumcised or I will cut you off forever from my covenant. And so Jesus himself was circumcised. The apostles themselves had been circumcised. And then God saves the Apostle Paul and says, you know the covenant of circumcision? That was so central to my message. People no longer have to be circumcised to be counted among the members of my covenant. This is a new covenant by grace alone. No longer will I require circumcision as an entrance into covenant relationship with me. That’s what Paul calls the mystery. And when God made that change, That was a change in the rules. The rules changed. Until then, you had to be circumcised. Now, if you get circumcised for religious reasons, Paul says it’s a curse because you’ve become a legalist and you put yourself under the law that you have been delivered from. What did God do with that law? That law that we have been delivered from? God nailed it to the cross with Jesus Christ the law was nailed to the cross. Where in the whole Bible do we read that? In this chapter, Colossians chapter 2. And we’ll get to that in a bit. This verse, Colossians 2 verse 2, lends support to the security of our salvation. For the mystery that is the gospel of grace gives us full assurance of our salvation. Now let’s continue with verse 4. Now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For though I am absent in the flesh, Paul hadn’t been with them personally, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Now Paul there, he didn’t just say some nice warm fuzzy. He made a very technical point. Did you catch it in verse 6? There’s a very technical point. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. There’s an extremely technical point being made. He makes it more clearly in Galatians chapter 3. That you have been saved by faith. not by the works of the law. How do you propose to live out your Christian life? Do you think you’re being saved by faith and then you should live by the works of the law? No. Just as you were saved, that’s how you’re to live your Christian life. As you have therefore received Christ, so walk in him. The same method you used to receive Christ, as you have received, so shall you walk in Christ. By that same method, shall you live your life. Let’s look at Galatians 3. You might want to keep your finger in Colossians 2 and just turn to the left just a few pages. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. So Galatians 3, we can see this together. Verse 1, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? That verse just is an introduction. We’re going to focus on verses 2 and 3. This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? That’s the question. A or B? A or B? A wise man often when he’s asked A or B, he answers C. Neither of those. When an atheist says, is it this or is it this? The Christian often says neither. That’s a false dilemma. But Paul is not an atheist. He’s not a fool. He’s inspired by God. And he’s giving us a valid alternative. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? How did you receive the Spirit? When you got saved, the Holy Spirit came and took up residence within you. How did that happen? By the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Now, most Christians today would answer by faith. I was saved by faith. Martin Luther rediscovered Salvation by faith alone, apart from works. How did you receive the Spirit? By the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit? So Paul answers it. You began in the Spirit. Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? What’s interesting here is this passage uses a couple terms interchangeably as synonyms. By this third verse, Paul is using the term spirit and faith as though they were synonyms and works and flesh as synonyms. Let’s read it again. Oh, foolish Galatians. Now let’s go to verse two. This only I want to hear from you. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish that Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Paul’s number one issue that he communicates to believers in the body is to beware of those who would put you under the law and rob the liberty that you have in Christ. That is his number one issue. Many Christians have a hard time grasping What’s the big deal about law or grace? Are we under the law or are we under grace? The Apostle Paul says, when you’re a child, when you’re being raised, you need to be raised by a tutor, by a schoolmaster. And the schoolmaster imposes many laws on you, many rules, because you’re a child and you’re growing up. Like at Maranatha Christian Center in Arvada, hundreds of students there, and it’s the most extraordinary place environment I have ever been in seeing kids just behaving so maturely, so politely, so respectfully. I’m sure as with any group of human beings, there are problems to overcome, but they impose a lot of rules on these kids and the kids do really well. But then the kids will become adults and those who are Christian, they’re going to have to make a decision. Am I going to try to live by the law, my Christian life, by the set of rules, or am I going to try to live by faith, my relationship with God? There’s my choice. Many Christians, millions, think, what’s the difference? Aren’t you just beating an issue that’s not very important? And I’d like to give just a couple illustrations as we do to show people who are maybe new to this dilemma that The impact of it. If you have a young couple, they’re married and they have their husband’s car and the wife’s car. And one day the wife gets into the husband’s car and she flips down the sun visor and she sees he put a note to himself. And it says, remember, do not commit adultery. How is that going to make the wife feel? Right off the bat. First reaction. I don’t know. Are there any women in the room Now let me call on somebody who’s not here all the time. Yvonne, is that going to make a young wife feel good? No. Make her feel terrible. Why is that? Instead of that note, what if he had written what Paul wrote, husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church. Would that make her feel terrible? No. Why would she feel terrible if he just put one of the Ten Commandments up there? Thou shall not commit adultery. Why would that make her feel terrible? Because her heart knows what 10,000 theologians do not. Her heart knows that righteousness cannot come by the law. In fact, the law is the forbidden fruit. The law gives passion to our evil desires, Paul says. The law makes wickedness exceedingly wicked so that when you tell someone, You can’t touch that book in the corner. All of a sudden, it’s the only thing they want. And if you tell a room full of kids, there’s a book in the corner, you could all play, but don’t touch that book. In fact, especially, I don’t want you to look at the book. None of you kids look at that book and then you leave the room. They’ll be obsessed with looking at the cover of that book. And that’s how the Apostle Paul, that’s why he says that the law gives passion to our evil desires. And that the law was made so that wickedness might abound and become exceedingly wicked. Why would God want that? Why would he give the law if it would make wickedness abound? It’s because God wants men to know that they need Christ. And if they think they can be good enough on their own, they’re very unlikely to trust in Christ. So God initially gave one law, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was it. Just one. Don’t eat of that tree. and they ate of that tree. And then he gave the Ten Commandments. And if he gives ten laws, well, then there’s ten opportunities for men to disobey God all the more. And what if God continued through Moses to give 300 laws? You think they would break all 300 laws? Oh, but I know how to resolve that. Give another 300. Another 300 laws, and then you’ll really resolve the problem of sin in a believer’s heart. Oh, 600 laws are not enough? 3,000 laws. And just as the tree of the knowledge of evil grew and its branches multiplied so that the birds of the field could nest in its branches, so too mankind multiplies laws by the thousands, by the millions. How many laws are in America? Too many. How many laws are in the Soviet Union? Well, they collapsed under the weight of their wicked laws. How many laws are in the European Union? The you. Or in the un. What, Carl? And they just started, right? How many laws are in the un, the United Nations? Man multiplies laws by the thousands, by the millions, and he only becomes increasingly wicked. There is one way for a man to be faithful to his wife, and that is by love. A man who loves God and loves his wife will be faithful to his wife. If you love God… and love your wife, you will be faithful to your wife. If you don’t love your wife, or if your love for your wife is weak, then you are much more inclined not to be faithful. So is it by obeying a set of rules that I’m going to be faithful? Or is it by growing in my love relationship with my wife and with my God? That’s the answer. And to the extent that Christian’s think the answer is I have to keep the Ten Commandments, to that extent they are denying themselves their ability to grow in their relationship with God. So Paul says that the law, the law will give passion to your evil desires. And you’ve been delivered from the law and you’ve been freed from the law and we’re no longer under law but grace. And that the law is not made for a righteous man but for the wicked, for murderers and adulterers and and kidnappers and perjurers. That’s what Paul wrote to Timothy. Well, let’s get back to our text. Verse 6, As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. You’ve been saved by faith. Don’t think you can get saved one way and live another way. How is God righteous? Is God righteous by following a set of rules?
SPEAKER 1 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Is that how God stays righteous? Or is he righteous because he is righteous and he’s simply living out his nature? That’s how he’s righteous. And does God want us to be righteous the same way he’s righteous or a different way? I think God wants us to be righteous as he is righteous. And we are righteous because we’re identified with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit indwells us And as we grow in that relationship, in that knowledge of who we are in Christ and that Christ is in us, then we live out righteousness, not by trying to keep a set of rules. The more rules we try to keep to overcome temptation, the more we will give into temptation. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. I think of the millions of students who’ve been taught various atheist cliches. Even though they’re so easy to refute, millions of these little mindless automatons are walking around And they’ll say, there is no such thing as truth. Or you can only know that which your five senses tell you. Or since there’s suffering in the world, that proves there cannot be an all-loving God. Just consider those three cliches and how hard is it to refute them. Cliche one, there is no truth. Rebuttal, is that true? Now, if it takes a mere six seconds to to dismantle your world view, consider getting a better one. If that’s what you’re depending on for your life’s worth and value, that there is no truth, therefore I can do whatever I want because there’s no truth. If it only takes six seconds to dismantle your world view, consider picking up a new one. There is no truth. Is that true? We’ve utterly dismantled that world view. showing it cannot be internally consistent. Cliche two. Only your five senses. What are the five senses? I always get them. Touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. God gave us those five physical senses. Only your five senses provide real knowledge. Rebuttal. Says which of the five? Which of those five have given you that knowledge? Is it your Hearing your touch. Did you touch the sentence and you knew it was true? Did you taste it? You licked the page that it was on? Did you smell it? You smelled it and it smelled true. If your worldview could be dismantled in six seconds, then pick up a new one. Because, of course, that cliche undoes all reason, logic. God says, come let us reason together. Well, reason can’t get you anywhere. It’s not one of your five senses. It undoes revelation from God. It undoes the conscience. Because if your conscience tells you, I shouldn’t steal my boss’s money. Well, which of your five senses told you that stealing was wrong? Taste? You can steal the money and buy a surf and turf, lobster and steak. Stealing tastes great. You could steal the clothes that you want to wear and feel that fabric. You can steal the music you want to hear. Sounds great. Cliche number three. Suffering proves that an all-powerful, loving God cannot exist. Actually, I like to say that a powerful, loving God cannot. Suffering proves that a powerful, loving God cannot exist. Rebuttal. Rebuttal, love cannot be forced and suffering has value. Love cannot be forced and suffering has value. So in that cliche, there are these unstated assumptions that love can be forced. If there’s a loving God and suffering in the world, that can’t be true. There can’t be a loving God if there’s suffering. But love cannot be forced and suffering has value. Vain philosophy, empty deceit, the tradition of men, but not according to Christ. For that which is according to Christ cannot be refuted in six seconds, as can such absurd atheist beliefs, which have been accepted by millions of people, even by those who claim to believe in God. They accept these foolishness, these foolish ideas. Verse nine, for in him, in Christ, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now what I would like to do is just read ahead a bit for our last couple minutes so that we know where we’re coming up next week. In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, in which you also were raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses, in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us. Does anyone know what that means, the handwriting of requirements that was against us? What does that mean? The Ten Commandments. When God wrote with His own hand this law that condemns mankind. We are all guilty, condemned by the law, that God has forgiven us all trespasses. How? By wiping out the handwriting of requirements That was against us, which was contrary to us because of our flesh. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. The law was nailed to the cross. It sure was with Jesus Christ. He was the fulfillment of the covenant of circumcision. To circumcise is to cut off the flesh. And Jesus Christ was cut off in the flesh. He fulfilled the law. And by fulfilling the law, then he was nailed to the cross, not for his own sins, but for ours. And he freed us from the law and delivered us from the law. Wow. God did so much for us in providing us with the mystery, the gospel of grace, which Paul says that God gave to him for us Gentiles and Jews in the body of Christ, that we can be saved and we can live apart from the law by grace through faith alone. May God bless you all. Let’s pray. Lord, I want to thank you so much for our fellowship at Denver Bible Church. We ask you, Lord, to help us to really make a difference in our world, but especially, Lord, in our own families, within our own friendships. And Lord, what’s more important than anything else, more than what you’re doing through me is what You’re doing in me. So help me to love You. And we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
