Recognizing Our Need for a Savior Through the Law

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"Now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." [00:00:32]

"We've been discovering and we need to reaffirm it today that the law of God was never given to save us. The Ten Commandments were not given as a step ladder up which we were to climb into heaven. Rather, what we've discovered is that the law of God has been given to pinpoint sin, to define it, to bring it out of its hiding place as it were and to show us the immensity of our problem." [00:02:36]

"The wrath of God is not some uncontrollable emotional outburst. That's how we understand wrath or anger from a human perspective, and we have great difficulty in conceiving of it in any other way. But we must understand this: God is absolutely pure, God is absolutely holy. Therefore, God cannot tolerate that which is impure and unholy." [00:06:10]

"Now let me work this out in your mind for a moment if I may. Modern man is not prepared to face that. Modern man is prepared to accept the notion of wickedness, albeit under other terms. The fact that things are not the way they ought to be, the fact that we have some problems here and there and everywhere actually." [00:08:40]

"The purpose of the law, the purpose of the Ten Commandments, is to close our mouths. That's what he says in verse 19 of chapter three. The law speaks so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be accountable before God. The whole object of the Ten Commandments then is to show us that we must be saved and secondly to show us that we cannot save ourselves." [00:19:57]

"Faith is not the cause; it's the conduit. It's a big difference. It is not by our faith that we cause ourselves to be saved. It is that faith is the conduit through which God's grace is ministered to us. We are simply that the only thing that I bring to getting saved is my sin." [00:26:04]

"To be justified freely by God's grace is not to be made righteous. To be justified freely by God's grace is to be declared righteous, is to be regarded as righteous, it is to be set in a right standing before God. You see, many of us who are trusting in our own righteousness are hoping that our behavior will eventually prove good enough to merit the approval and acceptance of God." [00:30:02]

"Because God is just, sin must be punished. Because God is a God of grace, he punishes his own Son who is in himself sinless, in order that we who are the bearers of the earth may be put in a position and declared to have an A. The man or the woman of faith has committed themselves to the truth of Jesus." [00:27:08]

"To believe in Jesus means to quit believing in myself, it means to quit believing in my religion, it means to quit believing in my good deeds, it means to quit relying on anything that I believe would make me acceptable before God and it means to come to him and say, just as I am, without one plea in my defense." [00:38:09]

"Have you faced your condition? Has your mouth been stopped before God? Have you understood the wonder of this provision? And if so, have you ever decided to accept the A and give up the F, and if you have, have you ever done it? I urge you to today. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." [00:39:39]

"God pronounces a man righteous at the beginning of his course, not at the end of it. You sign up for the course and he gives you an A before you even begin the first class. He says you got an A. He said wait a minute, you haven't seen my program, you haven't seen what I'm going to do, you haven't read any of my reports." [00:32:18]

"Augustus Toplady in the great hymn Rock of Ages puts it perfectly: nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling, naked come to thee for dress, and helpless come to thee for rest, I the foul one to your fountain fly, wash me, Jesus, or I die." [00:34:33]

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