← Back to sermon library

You may turn in your Bibles to 
Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3, this morning 
we considered verses 13 and 14. Specifically verse 13, we considered 
the nature of the curse. Those who are not in Christ are 
currently under the curse of the law. It is a universal curse, 
it is a just curse, and it is a terrifying curse. We then consider 
the nature of the Redeemer. He became a curse, just like 
John 1 tells us that he became, or the word became flesh. and 
dwelt among us, just as we learn in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, that 
though he was rich, yet he became poor. Christ became something 
so that we could be freed from the curse of the law. And in 
this instance, Paul tells us that he became a curse. Also, 
he is our substitute. He did this for us, and the primary 
means by which he freed us from the curse of the law is that 
he hung on a tree or he was crucified at Calvary. Well, this evening 
we're going to consider the nature of redemption. The nature of 
redemption, several blessings, several observations concerning 
Christ buying us back or redeeming us from the slave market of sin. I'll just read verses 10 to 14 
to remind us of the context in which we are looking. For as 
many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for 
it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all 
things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But 
that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, 
for the just shall live by faith. Yet the law is not of faith, 
that the man who does them shall live by them. Christ has redeemed 
us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. 
For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, 
that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles 
in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit 
through faith. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
thank you that we get to reflect now on this doctrine of redemption. 
We thank you that you have made us partakers of this blessing, 
not because of our works of the law as we read here, but solely 
by your grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank 
you that he became a curse for us. Thank you for his life and 
his death and his resurrection. And thank you for his current 
session at your right hand. We pray even now we would know 
the power of your spirit, and that we would receive encouragement 
as we consider this biblical doctrine concerning redemption. 
We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, certainly there 
are several things that we could say about redemption in terms 
of the biblical teaching, but I just want to look at four this 
evening, and then I want to close with some practical applications 
of the whole. First of all, redemption is covenantal 
in nature. The word covenant means an agreement 
between two or more persons. As it is used biblically, it 
is that agreement made by God to save his people by Jesus Christ. Generally, theologians speak 
of two covenants. They speak of the covenant of 
redemption, which is that covenant made between the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Spirit to save a people from their sins, and 
then the covenant of grace. which is the historical application 
of that promise to save sinners. Now why is this important? Because 
throughout this context, we see our relationship not only to 
Jesus Christ, but to Abraham. This is why we're Reformed Baptists. This is why we believe in Reformed 
theology. because Reformed theology teaches 
the centrality of covenant thinking. And this is steeped, or the Bible 
is replete with this theme in terms of God's covenantal dealings. Notice in verse 14, as those 
who have been redeemed by Christ, we read that the blessing of 
Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus. Going back to 
verses 8 and 9 in this chapter, notice in verse, we'll go back 
to verse 7, Therefore know that only those who are of faith are 
sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing 
that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel 
to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations shall 
be blessed. So then, those who are of faith 
are blessed with believing Abraham. We are part of a comprehensive 
plan. We're not a plan B. We're not 
an afterthought in the mind of God. In fact, notice the scripture 
here in verse 8. Paul says, "...and the scripture." 
He is speaking primarily in this place of the book of Genesis. Foreseeing, not thinking, you 
know, that they might not. No, it's foreseeing that God 
would justify the Gentiles by saying, preach the gospel to 
Abraham beforehand. If you neglect Genesis, you're 
neglecting gospel. That's one of the outflowing 
doctrines or applications of covenant theology. We have a 
whole Bible which reflects the thinking of a whole God to save 
a whole people by Jesus Christ the Lord. We are part of a comprehensive 
plan. And it's good for us to see that. 
It is good for us because I think it promotes worship, it promotes 
praise, it promotes adoration, and it promotes camaraderie with 
our brothers in the Old Testament. There is a disdain or a disrespect 
for the Old Testament in much of evangelical and even in reform 
circles today. But when we see that we're right 
there with Abraham, we ought to esteem the documents that 
record the life and ministry of Abraham. God's blessing upon 
the Gentiles is a fulfillment of the gospel preached in Genesis 
12, Genesis 15, and Genesis 17. Another reason why we ought to 
include the Old with the New Testament when we engage in evangelism. Because if you look at the New 
Testament, it's like looking through a keyhole. It's great, 
what you see is beautiful and marvelous, but when you open 
that door, you get a perspective that sort of blows your mind. 
It blows you away with how expansive and how wondrous it is. And that's 
what the whole Bible does in terms of promoting the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The language that is used in 
this section echoes the promise made to Abraham. The doctrine 
is very simple. Those who believe in Jesus Christ, 
notice that verse 29 of Galatians 3, are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to 
the promise. Now this flushes itself out practically 
in church life, ecclesiology, baptism, various things like 
that, which we won't develop here, but suffice it to say that 
this presents to us the plan of God in its comprehensive nature. It is good to focus on one tree 
when you're in the forest. It's also good to take a helicopter 
and fly over the forest to get the panoramic view. It's good 
to study one New Testament book, but it's also good to get the 
whole teaching, the whole thrust of scripture, because you will 
see in it that there is a perfect mind with a perfect plan to save 
people perfectly through His perfect Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And incidentally, if you look 
at Galatians 3 verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham 
might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might 
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. This is very similar 
to what the men of Jerusalem were told on the day of Pentecost 
through the preaching of Peter. Remember when he says, repent 
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift 
of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and 
to your children and to all who are afar off, as many as the 
Lord our God will call. That is certainly the case. The 
promise is to you. It is to your children. It is 
to all those who are far off, all the nations of the earth, 
that it is modified there, as many as the Lord our God will 
call. Those whom the Lord calls to 
himself by the preaching of the gospel, those who believe the 
truth, are those who are now Abraham's sons, or Abraham's 
seed, Abraham's sons and daughters, and they are then entitled to 
all of the blessings of the covenant of God's grace. It's a wonderful 
thing. I encourage you to be students, 
not only of the New Testament, but to be students of the Old 
Testament. As Augustine said, the new is 
in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed. And 
we ought to be diligent students of both so that we can see God's 
plan to save His people from their sins. The second observation 
with reference to redemption is that it is instant. Sanctification 
is a lifelong thing. We are growing in the grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord. We are becoming, hopefully, more 
holy and more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. The language 
of John Newton, I'm not what I want to be, but I'm not what 
I once was. Justification is different. Justification 
happens the moment you believe. You don't grow in your justification, 
you don't get more justified. It's not as if Abraham is really 
justified, and Paul is really justified, and we're just kind 
of justified. Though the moment a sinner believes 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, he is saved. The moment a sinner 
lays hold of Christ in faith, that moment his sins are forgiven 
him. Justification is a legal declaration. This was a big thing during the 
Protestant Reformation, and it ought to be a big thing with 
us. A legal, a forensic affair. God regarding sinners as if they 
had never sinned. Not for any good in them, but 
because of what Jesus Christ has done. The moment you believe, 
you are saved. The moment you believe, you are 
justified. Paul preaching in Pisidian Antioch 
in Acts 13 verses 38 and 39. In Acts 13, he summarizes or 
he brings his sermon to a close. And he says in Acts 13, after 
tracing redemptive history essentially through Israel and how it came 
to the Lord Jesus Christ, he says in Acts 13, 36, for David, 
after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, 
was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption. But he whom 
God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore, let it be known to 
you, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness 
of sins. And by him, everyone who believes 
is justified from all things from which you could not be justified 
by the law of Moses." The moment the sinner believes, the moment 
they're justified. We don't grow in this. We don't 
get better at this. We don't become more justified. It is a one-time legal declaration 
made by God when you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Acts 
16.31, Paul and Silas tell that Philippian jailer, believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Romans chapter 
5 verse 1, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are justified 
by faith, we have peace with God. Romans chapter 10, Paul 
says how, on the one hand, how simple it is for a man, a woman, 
a boy or girl to be saved, to know the blessing of the gospel. 
Romans 10, verse 9, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord 
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from 
the dead, you will be saved. Isn't that glorious? We're not 
out preaching some good works doctrine that says, okay, if 
you just try harder, you get better, you do more. No. The 
moment you believe, you're saved. Remember the analogy that our 
Lord Jesus Christ used in John 3. It says, just as the serpent 
was lifted up in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted 
up. Remember what happened in the 
wilderness? A bunch of serpents bit Israelites, and they were 
holding their wounds and dying. and they were instructed to make 
a brazen serpent, lift it up in the wilderness, and all those 
who would look upon that would live. Just like that. You mean they wouldn't have to 
go and recover, and go hang out in the Bahamas, and nurture their 
wounds, and take a good medicine break, and engage in some—no, 
you look and you live. That's the analogy that Jesus 
Christ gives. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent 
in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. What's 
the implication? The implication is that when 
you look in faith, you live. Not you look in faith and you 
might live. You look in faith and hopefully you'll live. But 
you look in faith and you live. I was talking to a buddy of mine 
recently in Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5, verses 1 and 
2. Therefore, having been justified 
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
He was writing a thesis for Whitfield Seminary. Scott MacArthur, some 
of you probably know him. But he said his thesis was on 
assurance tied to justification. What do we do? We tie our assurance 
to sanctification. Don't miss this. I know these 
are theological terms, but listen, because they affect you. We tie 
our assurance, our comfort, our hope, our steadiness, we tie 
up our assurance, more often than not, in our sanctification. So that if we're reading our 
Bibles, we're going to church, we're doing what we're supposed 
to do, we have a lot of assurance. Right? We neglect our Bibles, 
we don't go to church, not that I'm saying that's okay, I'm not 
saying that's okay, but then we think we're not saved. This 
whole thesis was, no, our assurance is connected to our justification. We have comfort in Christ because 
of Christ, not because of us. That's the point of Romans 5.1. Therefore, having been justified 
by faith, justification, not sanctification, we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not based on your 
performance. It's not based on your good works. 
It's not based on what you do or you don't do. Your peace with 
God is vitally connected to justification. to Christ's cross work, to Calvary, 
and to the redemption that He has engaged in on your behalf. Brethren, please, this is where 
comfort lies, in the cross, not in your performance. This is 
where hope dwells, at Calvary, not in your performance. Now some, again, are probably 
saying, I don't know all this. In a couple years, when you're 
feeling down and you don't feel like you're a Christian, I'm 
going to ask you, why don't you feel like a Christian? And you're 
going to say, because I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't. And 
I'm going to say, what did Jesus Christ do? That's what it's about. Jesus is called the author and 
the finisher of our salvation for a reason, because he really 
is. Please read that, we all, yeah, 
of course he's our author, but he really is. He is the author, 
that means he initiated it, he started it, and he finishes it. 
And in the middle, he sustains it. Because as Paul says in Galatians 
2.20, the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith 
in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So you 
see, author, finisher, doer, all throughout. It's all about 
Christ. That's why this doctrine is so 
important. Romans chapter 10 verse 10, for 
with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation. This is good news for ex-Roman 
Catholics, for those who are involved in Roman Catholicism. 
This is good news for people that live by guilt. Gospel forgiveness is given in 
Christ, not because of what you do. to earn. Joseph Hart, the 
hymn writer in the Gadsby hymnal, a collection of Baptist brothers 
that wrote some very excellent hymns. He writes, The moment 
a sinner believes and trusts in his crucified God, his pardon 
at once receives. Redemption in full through his 
blood. It's at once. It's right now 
when you believe the gospel. A third observation on the nature 
of redemption is that it's complete. When Paul says in Ephesians 1-3, 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ, Paul's telling the truth. Our salvation is complete. Our salvation is secure. Well, actually, that's the next 
point. but it's complete. Just as our depravity is total, 
and the effects of sin are comprehensive, so is the redemption of Christ. What does 2 Corinthians 5.17 
tell us about the... 2 Corinthians 5.17? We are new 
preachers in Christ Jesus. But it will feel that way. I've 
got to tell you, I don't always feel that way either, but it's 
what the Bible says. It's amazing how all of us who 
say inspired, infallible, inerrant, don't always treat it that way. 
We are real new creatures. The whole has been done. It is complete. Watts, in a hymn 
that we sing during the incarnation season or at the Christmas season, 
says, No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings 
flow far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far 
as the curse is found. Where do we learn that in the 
Bible? Romans chapter 8, the whole creation is in bondage, 
waiting for liberty. The sons of God will be liberated 
at the coming of Christ, at his second coming, but the point 
for us right now and right here is that when we are redeemed, 
it is complete. He doesn't redeem part of us 
and leave the rest of it up to ourselves. If that is your view 
of redemption, you need to go learn afresh at Calvary. He redeems us completely. In fact, in Hebrews 7 at verse 
25, it says, Therefore, he is also able to save to the uttermost. Isn't that great? That's how 
our Jesus saves. He saves to the uttermost those 
who come to God through him, since he always lives to make 
intercession for them. It is a whole salvation. It is a complete salvation. We are new creatures in Christ 
Jesus. All the old has passed away, 
and everything is new. So the scripture is, the idea 
is there, that this is what happened, live in light of it. We try to 
say, oh I've got to make this happen. No, it's happened definitively 
because of what Jesus has done. You need to live in light of 
it. You need to conduct yourself like that. And then the fourth 
observation is that it's secure. One of the things that has always 
been a debate in Christianity is whether a man can lose his 
salvation or not. That's the big dividing line 
in Calvinism and Arminianism. Of course, Arminians say, you 
can lose your salvation. Calvinists teach, no, you can't 
lose your salvation. You know that that question deals 
not with the person. It deals with Christ and his 
ability. Because if we say that a man can lose his genuine salvation, 
well certainly it reflects on that man, he should have done 
better, but it ultimately reflects on the Savior. Eternal security 
or perseverance of the saints is bound up first and foremost 
with Christ's work at Calvary. And the Bible knows nothing of 
a man being genuinely saved and losing his salvation. The Bible 
recognizes apostates. The Bible recognizes that there 
were some who went out from us, that they were not of us, for 
if they were of us, they wouldn't have gone out from us. The Bible 
recognizes fake faith. The Bible recognizes what some 
call temporary faith, but when a man actually believes the gospel, 
he is saved never to be lost. That is the consistent teaching 
of the Bible. Jesus, in John 10, said that 
no one can pluck one of mine out of my father's hand. It can't 
happen. You can't even do it. You can't 
unsave yourself. And then that declaration of 
Paul the Apostle in Romans chapter 8 at verses 29 and 30. I'm sorry, 
verses 8, 29, and 30 for short. Notice in Romans 8, 29 and 30, 
for whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to 
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among 
many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, 
these he also called, whom he called, these he also justified, 
and whom he justified, these he also glorified. There's no 
room in there for us to lose our salvation. It's a golden 
chain of redemption, as some have called it. He foreknew, 
he predestined, he calls, he justifies, he glorifies, right? 
Now this is a bare-bones skeleton we would put between justification 
and glorification with the rest of the scripture. That's where 
our sanctification lies. But even in that, we're not alone, 
as the Bible tells us. Work out your own salvation with 
fear and trembling. Why? For it is God who is at 
work in you, both to will and to do, for his good pleasure. 
But then drop down to the very last two verses in Romans chapter 
8. Paul says in verse 38, For I 
am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate 
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
No way! Spurgeon commenting on a gospel, 
so-called, that teaches a man can lose his salvation. He says, 
such a gospel, I abhor. And we ought to abhor it as well. 
because it reflects on the Savior, it reflects on Jesus, it reflects 
on the salvation that he accomplished. In Philippians 1.6, the Apostle 
says, being confident in this very thing, that he who has begun 
a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Top Lady, the hymn writer, said, 
My name on the palms of his hands eternity will not erase. impressed 
on his heart it remains, in indelible grace. Yes, I to the end shall 
endure, as sure as the earnest is given. More happy, but not 
more secure, the glorified spirits in heaven." Don't you love that? 
More happy, but not more secure. We're just as secure as those 
happy spirits in heaven right now. We trust and we believe 
when Christ is ours and we are his, we are as secure as those 
spirits of just men made perfect. Well, brethren, again, those 
are just a few observations on a blessed passage of Holy Scripture. I want to close with three thoughts. First, the law and the believer. 
As we have been studying, the law is holy and the commandment 
is holy and just and good, but it was never meant to justify 
us. That's not why it was given. Abraham, again, is the paradigm, 
the example. Abraham believed God and it was 
reckoned unto him for righteousness. The very proto-gospel in Genesis 
3.15 presupposes the whole economy of God's grace and salvation 
by a champion. Let us praise the Savior. He sang this morning in number 
127, who has hushed the law's loud thunder and has quenched 
Mount Sinai's flame. When we see the law of God, when 
we see our curse, when we see our breaking of it, it ought 
to lead us to appreciate and to adore the Lord Jesus Christ 
who has hushed the law's loud thunder and quenched Mount Sinai's 
flame. And let us make sure we do not 
fall into the heresy of preaching salvation by law. Now, I doubt 
any of us are going to go out and say, look, you all need to 
believe and be circumcised in order to be saved. I don't think 
that's our temptation. But it may be you need to believe 
and you need to do this in order to be saved. We may not even 
be that bold as to, you know, vocalize that, but we may in 
our culture, we may in our families, we may in our approach, send 
a message that contradicts the gospel of free grace. This is 
why when you look in the beginning portion of Galatians, you see 
Paul withstand Peter to his face. Do you ever think about that? I mean, Paul did not roll that 
way. Peter at one time would eat with 
the Gentiles, but when certain people from James, that means 
from the Jerusalem church, would come, Peter would meet with the 
Gentiles. What's Paul doing? I withstood him to his face. 
Why? Because the gospel is at stake 
here. You're going to make people think 
that acceptance with God is included and involved with Jewish customs. And that's wrong. Paul in 1 Corinthians 
said, I will become all things for all men, so that they might 
be saved. But never compromising the grace 
of God. Never ever compromising the grace 
of God. And we need to be very careful. 
We as a church have a culture. Whether we like it or not, every 
single church has a culture. Every single church dresses a 
certain way, they think a certain way, they do a certain way. That's fine. It's not wicked. But we mustn't make that culture 
a part of salvation. Jesus Christ alone saves. Faith in Christ alone. Not faith in Christ alone plus 
the 1689 Confession. Faith in Christ alone plus the 
New King James Bible. Faith in Christ alone plus whatever. This is a reality in our circles. If we're not careful, we can 
be guilty of the Galatian heresy. It may not be circumcision, but 
it could be any number of things that we either spoken or unspoken 
attach as a condition for acceptance with God. This is a reality. A second observation. Notice 
verse 14, Galatians 3. That the blessing of Abraham 
might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus that we might 
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. I read something 
this week that concerned me. And it basically said that me, 
Jim Butler, didn't say me by name, called me an old Calvinist. basically said that Old Calvinism 
is afraid of the Holy Spirit. Because Old Calvinists don't 
believe in tongue speaking and in prophesying and in some of 
the supernatural expressions of the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
Because we don't affirm that those are continuing for today, 
somehow Old Calvinists are afraid of the Spirit. Brethren, let 
me just encourage you to fight against that accusation by making 
much of Jesus Christ, celebrating the Savior by all means, loving 
the law of God in its lawful uses, to be sure, and making 
much of God the Spirit. We are Spirit-filled Christians. We have received the Holy Spirit. He is a person. He indwells us. He is our resident guide and 
aid. The Bible is very clear on how 
we can commune with that spirit. Luke's Gospel, in Luke chapter 
11, Jesus says that if you being wicked men love to give good 
gifts to your children, how much more will our Heavenly Father 
give the Holy Spirit to what? To those who ask. In your prayer 
life, ask God that you would know more of the power of His 
Spirit in your life. In Acts 5.31, we read that Jesus 
gives repentance, and He gives the Holy Spirit to those who 
obey Him. Obey God for more of the influence 
of the Holy Spirit. And then in Ephesians 5, the 
apostle says, do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, 
but be filled with the Holy Spirit. What does it look like, according 
to Paul in Ephesians 5, to be filled with the Holy Spirit? 
Well, it will affect the way you talk. You will speak to one 
another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs. It will affect 
the way you worship. You'll be singing and making 
melody in your heart to the Lord. It'll affect the way that you 
relate to one another. Ephesians chapter 5. The way 
that you relate to God. Verse 20. Giving thanks always 
for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. That's what it looks like. And then how we relate 
to one another. Submitting to one another in 
the fear of God. So let not this accusation concerning 
Old Calvinism, which I don't believe is true to begin with, 
be hard-pressed to concede that Spurgeon was afraid of the Spirit, 
or that Paul was afraid of the Spirit, or that Isaiah was afraid 
of the Spirit, or Moses, or Jesus was afraid of the Spirit. I will 
not concede that whatsoever. That is out there. If you don't 
speak in tongues, if you don't believe in the supernatural expressions 
of the Spirit, then you must not believe in it at all. Well, 
that's a false dichotomy. That's wrong. That ain't biblical. There is a biblical doctrine 
to be made for what's called, theologically, cessationism. 
That means, not that the Spirit has ceased, Not that his power 
is gone, not that his influence isn't felt, but that some of 
the more supernatural outworkings of the Spirit's power in the 
first century were due to the fact that the New Testament canon 
was not complete. Now that the New Testament canon 
is complete, we don't need to speak in tongues because we have 
the Word of God. We don't need to have a direct 
line to God in terms of a prophet because we have the written Word 
of God. That's not to deny His presence, it's not to deny His 
power or His influence. It is not to say we don't pray 
that God will fill us more and more with the Spirit so that 
Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And then finally, 
the law and the unbeliever. We need to use the law lawfully 
because sinners are under the curse of the law. And we need 
to tell them that. And we need to highlight for 
them those commandments that they have broken. We need to 
point them, as Paul says, to that law that serves as a tutor. Verse 25. After faith has come, 
we are no longer under a tutor. Let me just tell you something. 
Sinners don't generally wake up one day and say, I want to 
find out what the Bible says, I want to read what it says, 
I want to learn about all my sin, and I just want to hear 
it. No, they don't do that. We need to shine as lights on 
a crooked and perverse generation. We need to hold forth the word 
of truth. We need to take that word by 
the grace of God, and we need to be faithful witnesses and 
show men where they have sinned. Because if a man does not know 
he's a sinner, if a man does not know that he has violated 
the Holy God, he will never see his need for the Lord Jesus Christ. 
This is the whole point of our Savior's statement. I did not 
come to call the righteous, the sinners, to repentance. He doesn't 
mean there's a bunch of righteous people over there that don't 
need His redemption. He's talking about those who are self-sufficient, 
those who think that they're all right. called sinners. One 
of the means by which we convince man that they are indeed sinners 
is God's written rule. So we owe it to sinners to know 
the Bible, to know the lawful use of the law, to avoid pressing 
on sinners justification by law, but pressing on them the fact 
that they are guilty and need a Savior, even Jesus Christ. 
Well, let us pray. Father, we thank you for the 
the teaching of Galatians, thank you for the teaching of Romans, 
for all of these epistles that we have touched on this evening, 
God. We thank you for that redemption 
that you have given us, and the covenantal context, and the fact 
that all those who believe on Jesus are sons and daughters 
of Abraham. How we thank you, Lord God, that 
we are connected to that father of faith because of his seed, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you as well, Father, 
for that that instantaneous, when a sinner believes, they 
are justified. And the fact that it is secure, 
and that moth and rust cannot destroy, that no one can take 
it from us, and that no one can rip us out of the hand of an 
almighty God. We pray that you would fill each 
of us with your spirit, that you would go with each one of 
us now, that you would help us truly, God, to walk in a manner 
that is worthy of your gospel. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.