in this episode of real Christianity we learn why so many people in the church are legalists and what that term really means the more than that we learn how to properly view the law and how it is intended to drive us to Grace ultimately don't miss this essential portion of Roman all that and more coming up right now
 welcome to real Christianity my name is Dale Partridge today's episode is titled Romans 3 19 through 20 are you illegal list now as you know this show is an audio and video ministry of relearn. Org if you're watching the video recording of this episode please be sure to subscribe or follow along for more biblical content if you're listening from Apple podcast Google play or Spotify thank you for your faithful listenership big question for you though do you follow relearn on Instagram or YouTube do you follow me on Twitter if you don't I'd love to have you guys on the journey we are putting our resources and contacts every single day it would be great to have you there folks I also have a big announcement and idea for you Christmas is coming and you are collecting everyone's addresses to mail them your family Christmas card why don't you mail them the gospel with your Christmas card or just mail them the gospel separately you can do either of these options at mail the gospel. Org for
 Veronica and I will be including one of our beautiful gospel tracts from mail the gospel. Org in our Christmas card this year but you can also just go to mail the gospel. Org and just enter the addresses of your family and friends and we will mail the gospel to them for you and again you can do this anonymously or personalized so get don't miss the opportunity to mail the gospel this Christmas season just go to mail the gospel. Org all right guys we're going to jump right in today we finally reached the conclusion of Paul's coordinated multi-chapter argument against legalism and this section of scripture was from Romans 1:18 all the way through 3 verse 20 which we will finish today and the Apostle Paul has systematically Stripped Away any Redemptive Hope from the Jews and the Gentiles and then being justified by works of obedient or by works of the law Paul has laid
 groundwork to present the great Reformation Doctrine is Sola fidei which is justification by faith alone so we are sinners and we cannot be found righteous before God or be justified before God by our works of obedient we do need an alien righteousness that is given to us through faith and so this is really setting the groundwork for what polish can be talking about in chapter 3 4 and 5 which is just a beautiful momentum that moves in through the book of Romans until the last few weeks we read Paul's last-ditch effort to demonstrate
 Humanity's inability to be justified in these two episodes we talked about the doctrine of total depravity they're back-to-back episodes if you haven't listened to them they're in those passages of scripture Paul made it abundantly clear that not only can we not justify ourselves through obedience but our fallen state is so tragic and it's so deep that we aren't even interested in God no one speaks for God no one does good we're essentially God haters were so corrupted and send it without the Regeneration of our heart we hate God we hate others and we love self and so again these are just a basic biblical facts that make up the doctrine of total depravity again this episode the Central Christian. If you haven't got a chance to listen to it please go back and do so now they said it earlier episodes total probably doesn't mean that humanity is as bad as it could be no total depravity means
 a man's Fallen state is total it's there's not an area within his being that is not infected with the nature of his depravity and so his entire being is Spirit his mind is thoughts of Desire his will has words action all of these things have been depraved by sin so more than that we learned that the source of man's depravity is this spiritually dead heart or the spiritually dead soul and other words if the heart is dead dead in sin then everything that comes forth from that heart will also be dead deadness will come out and we talked about because the Heart Is Dead the mouse becomes the sewage Outlet of what do they call it Satan sewer right it just comes from the heart and out of the mouth and so what's the passage from Jesus that he says out of the abundance of the heart
 the mouth speaks and so there's a direct correlation from the words that come from your mouth and the state of your heart again we talked about this in previous episode this is in this place the state of mankind because we're born physically alive but spiritually dead then this is important for you to grasp as a Christian to have a solid view of Doctrine and theology in the mechanics of the gospel and we're dead because our souls are separated we know that this cool death is separation from the body from the soul spiritual death is separation of a soul from God and so our souls and were born are separated from the spirit of Life why the holy spirit is not indwelling in US prior to our convergent because he's not dwelling enough you're separated from us we are dead we need to be born again and we're bored again by the Regeneration of the heart and What Makes Us Alive is the spirit of God coming and uniting together resurrecting our spirit
 giving us a new heart and this is why Jesus would say things and John 6:63 it is the spirit who gives life the flesh is no help at all the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life soaks based on the words of Paul in this letter to the Romans we have to conclude that without a spiritual Resurrection without being born again the Regeneration of the heart the life-giving power of Christ no man will ever see God let alone be able to be justified by his obedience to the law he's not even interested in God now as we get into today's text Paul as a Jew is expecting and anticipating his readers opposition to the words that he said in the previous section and again the previous section was on total depravity was talking about how utterly broken mankind is
 and it was applied in a universal way and so as we know self-love is blinding it's blinding and Paul expected his audience is going to count themselves as an exception to what he just said essentially he expected you to say something like yeah some people are that bad but not me not us sweetly love to be the exception to these doctrines of depravity as a result Paul what he does here in this text that we're going to read here shortly is that he slammed the door of his argument with these two Universal truths that we will be studying it really gives them no option but to see themselves within the jurisdiction of the words that Paul just spoke it so we're going to read Romans chapter 319 through 20
 and it says 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 because by The Works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for through the law comes the knowledge of sin okay so first of all makes this logical observation when the Lost speaks he says it speaks to those who are within the laws jurisdiction let me give you an example Germans don't care about Arizona law here in my state because Arizona law doesn't speak to them in a sense that it doesn't have jurisdiction over them and so now every Jew whose hearing this what he's talking about the law would agree with Paul's statement which is now we know that whatever the law says it's me to those were out of the lock no Jews going to shake
 had at that reality because they knew as Jews that they were under God's law and it did have authority upon them but then Paul tells us why which is nicely marked with a purpose clause and if you've been following this podcast for any amount of time you know that when you see the words so that in a passage of scripture it is a purpose closet is about to tell you Bob Bob Bob Bob the purpose of that passage of scripture will it read it all together here it says 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 so there is two purposes here and these two reasons are separated by a coordinating conjunction which we know as the word and write it says so that number one every mouth may be closed and number to all the world may become accountable to God so a
 conjunction essentially is it important part to study your Bible because when you see these these conjunction you know that that it's saying that both purposes are of equal weight and there's not a lot of people there not hierarchical they are equal until God has two reasons In this passage of scripture again I want to read it one more time now we know that whatever the law says it speaks of those who are under the law so that every mouth may be closed whenever one and all the world may become accountable to God so the first reason was to shut the mouths of men what would I want to point out here is that the passage is intended to eliminate man's boasting it's to demonstrate their failure to meet its demands and really have no room for man to Glory before God. That really is the law is the great equalizer of men
 and they were not able to boast because all of us have fallen short of the glory of God and all of us need to be justified not by our own obedience by keeping the law because we can't keep the law we know the James 2:10 says any man who keeps the whole lot of breaks and one point is guilty of all of it that's James 210 and that passage of scripture is that we've all broken the law so we we have no room to post and its intended to shut our mouths so that we cannot boast and if you stood before God in a court case which we all will men would have no verbal defense or remarks against their unrighteousness that's essentially the language that we're seeing here it's kind of a court case language hear a forensic look up Psalm 130 and gives us a court case dial imagery when it says quote If You O Lord should Mark iniquities oh Lord who could stand against showing that you would be standing before the Lord in judgment and you have
 no room to stand its I think about this moment of Jobe or he tries to question God and blame God at the end of Jobe and God gives them to full chapters of absolute reasons why he's God and joebuz not and the response from jove is Joe putting his hand over his mouth and saying I am vile and so this is really the intention of the law is to show that you cannot be justified by it and so the second reason is that all the world may become accountable to God. Is it all people are equally under the condemnation and equally in need of justification and the term Kelsey translate baby in your passage of scripture may become guilty and said it may become accountable which again it just emphasizes is forensic court case style imagery that is important for us as Christians to understand that there is a legal reality to the gospel that will really help us nurture that relationship
 with Christ and so without Christ as our representative for righteousness all of us will be found guilty and that's where Paul's heading here so get we have to remember this is not common for the you to be lumped in with the condemnation of the Gentiles and so they're going to be struggling to see themselves as equally condemned with the Gentiles before the law of God we seen this if you've been following along not through this Romans series but this is a something to note on how a Jewish person would receive the letter at the time of Paul's writings and even though the apostles has demonstrated that God is impartial over and over and over again between Roman chapter 1 and chapter 3 again it's so difficult for them to believe that they are equally accountable before God
 on the tenants of the law by which no man can keep Jew or Gentile still here and what will work through this passage and then I'll wrap up in a little bit with what I think is a very clear conclusion about legalism give her 20 says because by The Works of the law no flesh will be justified in his side for through the law comes the knowledge so this is probably the clearest statement in scripture against legalism there there is no way for it to be misunderstood you cannot learn or even contribute to your right is standing before God by your obedience to the law. This just not is not possible and this passage again I'm going to read it because by works of the law that you can change that out with obedience or religious Works no flesh will be justified you cannot justify yourself I work for the loss of the religious man this should be the most terrifying passage of scripture in the entire New Testament you can.
 that's basically what Paul is making very clear you cannot earn it and this fact should really leave every Catholic every Mormon every Jehovah's Witness every Muslim every moralist who believes that there obediently earns them salvation or keeps them saved or contributes to the righteous standing before God whatever the case maybe it should really leave them utterly hopeless and crying out for Mercy which is the purpose of the law which will talk about shortly and so it's an impossible and foolish Endeavor to work your way to God's favor and it's actually exactly what separates Christianity from every other religion on Earth the gospel is not do the gospel is done it's been done by Christ you cannot do anything to render yourself Justified before God outside of Christ and so this is not also a one-off the illogical
 holiday either this is not a Romans only or even a Paul only doctor that we see this throughout the entire entire Bible Old Testament and New Testament actually so workspace righteousness is condemned all over the New Testament I am going to give you a handful of passages just so we can reference that Galatians 2:17 says yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ so we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law because by works of the law no one will be justified fusions 2829 says it for by Grace you have been saved through faith and that is not of your own doing it is a gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast Titus 3:5 through 7 says he saved us not because of Works done by us and righteousness but according to his own Mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit
 show me Port out on us richly through Jesus Christ Our Savior so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life now or I guess it's important for you to note that the law wasn't incapable of saving it was it was capable of saving it was just impossible for falling man to be justified by it was impossible for falling man to keep the law perfectly and I say this because I want you to know that your justification through Christ was actually earned through Jesus's righteousness in his obedience to the law mini the Jesus did keep the law perfectly he did obey perfectly into the law is capable of justifying but it's not capable of justifying those of us who have been marred with a sin stained seed of Adam and what I mean by that is that Jesus was not born of the
 and stained seat of Adams was born of a virgin of the seed of the spirit of God which made him like Adam in the sense that he was born without sin but unlike Adam because he actually maintained his sinlessness and continued on through his ministry completely without sin dying for our sins and not his own sins and because the wages of sin is death the reason of Jesus could not remain dead is because he was sinless and so he was resurrected as a result and so this is deep the gospel mechanic theology that you need to know a Romans 5:9 says for as by one man's disobedient speaking to Adam the many were made Sinners so by the one man's Obedience of Christ the many will be made righteous and so this is also why Jesus would say things in British diplomat
 U 517 do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them and so another words Jesus brought about justification by the filling the law he kept the law perfectly he didn't abolish the law because the law is still here having jurisdiction over those who are sinning against the law the law is not gone it is here and it still has authority over men but he fulfilled the law he fulfilled the demands of the law and Paul reiterates this in Galatians 4:4 through five he says but when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as son I'm going to give you one more passage of scripture that's so important for you to grasp the greater picture of the forensic side of the Gods
 call the Jesus comes in for Phil's the demands of the law on our behalf of Romans 8:1 through for says therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death for what the law could not do week as it was through the flash God did sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin he condemned sin in the flash so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flash but according to the spirit you again perfect obedience to the law has always been the only means to justify a person before God but no man but Christ could produce this perfect obedience which organ makes the gospel so much more special and if they said in earlier
 Herman's Christ did not only died for us paying for our sins on the cross but he also lived for us meeting he kept the righteous requirement earning the righteousness that he has to give to us imputing to us through faith and so he keeps the Loft on our behalf so the reality is when you think about it Christ didn't only died for us he also lived for us and that's the two sides of the Gospel we give our sin to Christ on the cross and he gives us his righteousness through faith and so the second Corinthians 5:21 this says he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him and so what is the conclusion of the whole matter in this is T I want you guys to pay attention write this one down memorize it put it on your fridge tell someone about it it's a simple truth that we can draw from this entire passage of scripture from Romans 1:8
 through chapter 3 verses 20 it's this a low view of the law always leads to legalism I'm going to say that again a low view of the law always leads to legal to not let me explain what I mean by that when we don't grasp The Impossible demand of the law what do we do we trust in our own ability to earn salvation through good behavior when we have a low view of the law we essentially say to ourselves I got this I can do this alone view of the law will lead you to legalism if you think that you can accomplish and meet the righteous requirements of the law you have a love you a lot a lot is so big it's like a boulder the size of a city that's going to crush you you cannot keep it you already failed in the fact that you are listening to me tell you this now that you already are a sinner and so when we
 I think that we could accomplish the demands of the law we also do what we eliminate a need for a savior so again a low view of the law always leads to Legal it leads to this attempt to try to justify yourself through obedience through moralism through righteous works when in reality you cannot learn your righteousness standing before God without the righteousness of Christ and so ironically the very purpose of the law was to show man what his his wretchedness his inability in the end of verse 20 says this for through the law comes the knowledge of sin the law becomes the straight edge to show how crooked we are it becomes a mirror to our moral life in Jesus is Ministry what is he constantly do he constantly magnifies the law he doesn't minimize the lot he doesn't tell people that you could probably
 keep this if you just try harder know he says things like you have heard that it was said that you should not murder but I say that if you hate somebody in your heart you've already murdered them within yourself or he'll say things like you for that it is said to not commit adultery but I say that if you even lost after a woman you've already committed adultery with her in your heart these are statements that Jesus is saying the law is not just the outside but it's also the inside so is elevating The Authority in jurisdiction of the law recent it's not just even what you do it either what you think and you can't keep that and it actually sends people to go my goodness if that's the case who could be found righteous who can be found able to keep the law in Jesus goes yeah that's the point nobody can only me only Jesus Christ and so this is essential that Jesus
 is a magnifying the law to drive us to himself to drive us to Grace it's a Jerry Bridges once said quote God's law as a rule of life is not opposed to Grace rather used in the right sense it is the handmaid of Grace or to use an analogy it is like a sheepdog that keeps driving the sheet back into the fold of Grace when we straight out into the Wilderness of works and quote so again the conclusion I say is this a low view of the law will lead to legalism a high view of the law will always lead to Grace when you have a hide you the law when you realize how big it it's how impossible it is how huge it is how you cannot keep it you will always be driven back to Grace in this is essential when we share the gospel with people we need to afflict people with the law to show them their impossible ability to uphold its the man
 so that we can heal them with the healing ointment of the Gospel that's when the gospel must come in is when they realize they cannot keep the law and so it's a disgrace in Jesus Christ when the gospel truly sings and we start to see why the gospel is actually good news so guys I hope that was helpful for you to understand the gospel just a little bit better and this book of Romans wow it's been an incredible blessing to my my own personal walk with the Lord as I've had the chance to study because when I prepare up a sermon that I deliver on Sunday and then deliver here on this podcast there's so much that I have to leave out I have to really sum up what I've learned and put it into 30 or 40 minutes and so this has been just an absolute blessing to do that to serve you in this way and so I hope this was edifying for you that
 continuing to mature in the gospel and that you're understanding the beauty of a really Jesus Christ and the glory of God and so if you are regular listener to this podcast would you guys do me a favor you don't need to write something but would you just leave a review and you just need to tap the stars in your podcast app if you do write something I will read it it is encouraging we have over 6,000 reviews on this podcast because we had so many listeners that have been faithful those reviews really do help the exposure of the show and more people could find what we're doing because of that also would you consider sharing with a friend taking them through the Roman series and so I would love to have more individuals listening here we've already had people write me and telling me that they've actually think they might have been born again listening to this Roman series
 and their understanding gospel mechanics in theology for the very first time and so we would love to have more people on the journey on that note my name is Dale Partridge this is real Christianity and we'll see you next week
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