Understanding the Law's Role in Embracing the Gospel

It is really fitting that we come to the end of this great unit in the Book of Romans on sin and guilt the Sunday before Good Friday because Good Friday is when Jesus died for our sins. Good Friday means that Jesus came into the world to die for Sinners and we stand at the end of this tremendous section on our guilt and our sin that stretched from Romans 1:18 to 3:20 ready to make a turn now into a long season of gospel reveling in the next chapters of Romans. [00:50:44]

There is a righteousness that is not our own righteousness. It's not of our making, it's not of our striving. It is the righteousness of God to be received by faith and it's the only way we will be accepted with God and have eternal life. But if we don't understand sin and if we don't understand law and if we don't understand justification and if we don't understand the stopping of the mouths of the whole world we will not understand the gospel and it will not be precious to us as it ought to be. [00:98:00]

The greatest thing in the world is to be saved. The greatest thing in the world is to have passed from death into life and hear the words there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and that the judge of all the universe as he does right by his unimpeachable and impeccable standards will with all Justice and all Grace welcome us into his ever joyful presence forever and ever because of what was done on Good Friday. [00:171:40]

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. Christianity even when it is focused in preaching in on the Jews say or on the church is for the Nations and there's a message in every message to the church for the Nations, there's a message in every word of the law to the Jews for the Nations and here the word is your mouths are going to be stopped someday. [00:401:00]

Everybody in the whole world is guilty before God no exceptions guilty before God every one of us. No mouth anywhere in the world primitive tribe University lecture hall is going to be able to lift an a legitimate objection against God at the Judgment Day not one the mouths will be stopped. The mouths of those who now raise objections deride God they will one day be silenced. Therefore do not fear the voice of man his railing will cease fear God. [00:450:24]

By The Works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight because what well because the law can't do that. The law when it bumps up against real life ordinary carnal unregenerate fleshly human people has no power to justify. That's the connection between verse 20b the second half of the verse and 20a the law only brings out sin it doesn't bring out righteousness it brings out Rebellion it doesn't bring out faith and therefore it justifies nobody. [00:1185:48]

What the law could not do and that's what we're concerned about here works of the law don't justify anybody the law seem so powerless to help me do what I need to do why what the law could not do weak as it was through the flesh there's the reason it's not a problem with the content of the law it's a problem with the content of John Piper's heart heart that makes the law powerless in my life weak as it was through the flesh. [00:1288:64]

The law is focused on the Jews they're the ones who have the Oracles of God chapter 3:1 to them was given the Oracles of God. So that here's the effect the result the purpose so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. So how does that work we'll come back to figure that out how does the address to the Jews stop every mouth. [00:598:12]

Through the law comes the knowledge of sin because it brings out the dorcy of it. I thought of this analogy, suppose one of my teenage boys goes to get the mail in the mailbox on the porch and brings it in shuffles through it quickly to see if there's anything for him puts it on the kitchen table starts to walk away no evil there right nothing evil here no nothing going on in the heart that's bad here is there and then suddenly he notices written at the top of a postcard for parents only. [00:1042:16]

The law doesn't awaken Faith, the law doesn't justify, the law doesn't produce humility. The law meets a carnal unregenerate heart and reveals the dormy of sin brings it to life multiplies it and shows its true character. By The Works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight because what well because the law can't do that. The law when it bumps up against real life ordinary carnal unregenerate fleshly human people has no power to justify. [00:1155:44]

The law is not sin in fact elsewhere he says it's just it's holy it's good it's spiritual verse 12 verse1 14 of this chapter may it never be on the contrary I would have not known n ASB come to know I would not have known sin except through the law that's what verse 20 means I came to know sin through the law but what does that mean next verse brings it out or keep reading in verse 7even for I I would not have known about coveting if the law had not said You shall not covet. [00:861:959]

The law will not justify anyone because through the law comes the knowledge of sin now how does that work how does the truth or the knowledge of sin being revealed by the law show that no one is justified by the law which in turn shows that every mouth will be stuck because God addressed Israel with the law this is Paul at his most ordinary so let's go backwards now and see if we can follow this train of thought in Reverse from foundations to Pinnacles. [00:664:839]