Philippians chapter 3, I'll begin reading in verse 4. We need to be reminded of how the Apostle Paul speaks of those matters of his own life, those things which he might credit to himself, things of the flesh, things in which people consider themselves to be worthy of reward, things that people consider in themselves to be meritorious in some measure, things that people boast about. Paul had more things to boast about than anyone. And yet Paul discounts all of these for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ. Number one, because no man shall boast before the Lord. Number two, because unless we renounce all those things in and of ourselves that we might boast in, then there can be no coming to the Lord. For the Lord will not share his glory, that is the glory of salvation, with anyone. God will either save us by his Son alone, or he will not save us at all. There is no half salvation, which then we make up, nor a half salvation on our part, which Christ makes up. There is a whole salvation by a whole Savior, or there is no salvation at all to be had in God. So let's listen to the Apostle Paul as he deals with those things which people thought he might be able to boast in. Verse four, Paul says, though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also, If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Amen. Well, it might be a little difficult for you to remember where we were a couple of weeks ago now, where we left off with Lesson 13. Elder Lee taught that lesson for us. If you have your notes, you can just glance back at that. But basically, a couple of weeks ago, that lesson ended with Evangelista making clear to his audience, that is to anti-nomista, to the legalist nomista, and of course to Neophytus, the young believer, making clear to them that they are not only unable to do enough to be saved by their own works, but that they are unable to do anything to be saved by their own works. Remember the point that was brought out toward the end of that lesson was that their works are not only insufficient, but they're rather non-sufficient. Our works don't just fall short of reaching the mark. Our works in no way access or even move towards the mark. Our works are in no way an asset, though less than they need to be. Our works are in every way a deficit. And that becomes clear by the Apostle Paul here, as he points out in Philippians 3, that in this passage here, that all the things about which he could boast in and of himself, things of the flesh, things of his own self, all of those things, Paul says, I count those things as rubbish, as dung. I count those things as useless and worthless for the surpassing worth of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. We can't balance things with God. We can't add to the work of Christ. And so God, therefore, calls us to deny ourselves, to renounce all that we are, and to renounce all that we have done, all our knowledge, all our gifts, all our hearing, all of our reading, praying, fasting, weeping, mourning, all of that has to be renounced when we consider what is the ground of one's salvation, or what is the ground of one's favor with God. What is the ground of acceptance by God? All of that has to be renounced entirely. Renounce all our wandering. The ways of works and strict walking must fall to the ground in a moment. That's what we came to last time. Whatsoever we have counted as gain to us in the case of justification, We must, with the Apostle, count it all as loss for the sake of Christ, and we must judge it to be worthless, useless, rubbish, not merely insufficient, but altogether non-sufficient, having no place. In order that we may be found in Christ, As Paul writes, not having a righteousness of our own, which is by the works of the law, but rather having that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God, which comes by faith. Turn over to Romans chapter one and chapter three, and you'll be reminded here how Paul deals with this very thing. Romans chapter one, Paul says in verse 16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, that is, the good news of Jesus Christ and salvation by him alone. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, in this gospel, in the preaching, in the proclamation of this good news in Christ, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written. The righteous shall live by faith. There's always a lot of debate about those two prepositions. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. There's all sorts of debate about the from and the for. It might best be rendered, the righteousness of God is revealed by faith unto faith. That seems to maybe best capture what Paul is saying and what he goes on to say. As he quotes as proof from Habakkuk 2, the righteous shall live by faith. The righteousness of God is revealed by faith unto faith. That is, by faith, we understand it and receive it, and it is revealed to be based entirely and received by faith and through faith, and not at all of our own works. Turn over to Romans 3, verses 20 to 22. Romans 3, beginning in verse 20, for by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. The law reveals, the law rebukes, the law exposes, it convicts, it condemns. How can justification be by the law? It cannot be by the law, because the law does nothing but condemn. It calls us to that which we have failed to do. It demands of that which we have not rendered, and therefore it condemns us. because it demands a perfect, personal, perpetual obedience. But, verse 21 of course, but now the righteousness of God has been made manifest or has been manifested apart from the law. Not a righteousness by your own works, apart from the law as a covenant of works. Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, that is the Old Testament has testified to this very thing. Verse 22, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the law. We think, wow, that sounds like the New Testament. If it's been revealed apart from the law, then that must not have been found in the Old Testament. Paul says next, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The very covenant of grace revealed in the Old Testament has been attested now again in the coming of Christ and the gospel being preached by him and now by his apostles and all to come after him. So, Having set this as a backdrop, Neophytus now has a word to speak, and this will open up Evangelista's treatment of the covenant of grace, and in particular, dealing with Christ and his work as our surety when it comes to the law of God. Neophytus asks at this point to Evangelista, he asks, what would you have me to do? You remember, we've heard Nomista's testimony. You remember Nomista's testimony, the legalist. There was an extensive testimony, and we found ourselves in his testimony again and again, didn't we? We found ourselves where we thought the same way, or we might still think the same way. And of course, Nomista is convinced that he is certainly a true Christian, a Christian indeed. And Evangelista told him he was not at all, because he was trying to add to the work of Christ and trying to bring his righteousness. And his confidence was that whatever his righteousness, failed to accomplish Christ's righteousness would make up the difference. And Evangelista blew that out of the water and said, there's no such thing. There is no salvation by yours and Christ's righteousness. There's salvation by Christ alone, and that's it. Neophytos then, well, what would you advise me to do, Evangelista? And he now gives a very brief testimony. And there it is on your page. I'll read what I have here. It says, not long ago, the Lord visited me with so great a sickness that I was near to death. This caused me to consider where my eternal soul would go if I died. I knew that it must go to either heaven or hell, as these are the only two places of eternal abode. I then considered my wicked life, which I had been living, and I concluded that hell was the place to which I was headed. This terrified me and made me very sorry that I had lived an evil life. I then desired of the Lord that he would give me a little longer to live in which I might reform my life and amend my ways. And the Lord was pleased to grant me that desire. But since that time, though I have not lived so wickedly as before, yet I have come far short of that godly and religious life which I see other men live, and especially which Nomista has lived. And yet you seem convinced that he is not in a good condition. He's not a believer. Therefore, I must surely be in a miserable condition. What do you think will become of me, he asks. Well, we can see here that Neophytus' testimony reveals that he also is convinced and inclined to think that justification before God must come by one's own works. I thought myself reformed, I thought myself near to God, but I have fallen short in terms of my own works. I have fallen far, far short of other godly men. whom I know and I've certainly fallen far short of Nomista in his testimony, surely then it cannot be well with me if it is not well with him." Evangelista now transitions and he says, I see that it is time for me to explain how God fully accomplished the deliverance and salvation of sinners by his Son, Jesus Christ. Now let me alert you to this. At this point, we reach a critical transition in the book, a critical transition in the dialogue. Up to this point, the aim of the book and what we have done, the aim of the book is to empty all of us of all of our self-righteousness. And up to this point, I think we've done that pretty well. We've come to the end of ourselves. If we've been tracking with the book and if God's word has had its role in our lives, which it's supposed to have by the book being written, Then we've all been emptied of our righteousness. We've all been emptied of any boasting. We've all realized that there is no good in us. There is nothing meritorious of us. There is nothing in us that would lead God or warrant God's acceptance of us or God favoring us with salvation. There's absolutely no good in us. And so we have been brought to a place of utter destitution before God, that there is nothing good about us at all. As we just read from Philippians 3, no ground of boasting. And so we have been emptied of all of our works. And that is all by the book and its argument and its development. All of that has been done away. Now we are left standing along with Nomista and Antonomista and Neophytus. We are, each of us, left standing, desperate for salvation, and yet realizing that we don't have it and we can't get it. That's kind of where we're left. We're left realizing our need for salvation, our need for reconciliation with God, might be the better way to put it, our need for reconciliation, and yet realizing that our hands are now emptied of every resource and means by which to acquire it. And we have no means by which to reconcile ourselves to God. That's where we're at. At this point now, Evangelista transitions and he turns away, having emptied us all of our own self-righteousness, and he turns to Christ. And this is what he does. In the next page, after page, after page, after page, he loads Christ with all the righteousness, which is the ground of our salvation. He places all the glory on Christ, and he points out so clearly and so wonderfully that Christ has done absolutely all for you. You cannot be saved by the covenant of works. That's been made clear. Now I'm going to show you that you are so saved and so completely saved and so totally saved by a covenant of pure sovereign grace, because this surety and mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, has done everything for you. That's where this is going. And so if on the one hand, we felt how bad we are, that's a good thing. Now, on the other hand, we're going to see how good Christ is. On the one hand, we've been emptied of any ground of boasting in the law of God, and we have been brought away from any hopes that any of us had that we could be saved by the covenant of works. Right? That's been shattered now. What we're going to see now is that we're saved by a covenant of pure grace. But here's the thing. This section in the book, on Christ and His righteousness is so wonderful and so glorious and so full that you're going to feel like an antinomian by the time we're done. You're going to feel like by the time we get to the end of section two, let me say, you're going to feel like, wow, I don't have to do anything, which is exactly right. You don't have to do anything because Christ has done it all. You're going to realize, and let me just capture this briefly, you're going to realize why a person comes to an antinomian position. Because once you see, now not that they arrive at this place rightly, of course they don't, otherwise they wouldn't stay there and they wouldn't be that, but I want you to understand and appreciate what's going to happen here in this next section. We're going to see that Christ is such a complete Savior, such a full Savior, and His righteousness is so full and complete, and He's done absolutely everything for you that you don't have to add anything to it. Because our natural thinking as children of Adam is that we've got to add something. Even a mite. Just a penny. You've got to add something. There's no way that salvation is so free as to not have to require anything of me. And this section is going to make clear the scriptural testimony that salvation is so free that nothing is required of you. Nothing. as a basis of your salvation, as a ground of your salvation, your justification is absolutely free. So I'm warning you in one sense, but I'm also preparing you because you need to appreciate this full testimony. And don't be afraid. Here's why I don't want you to not glory in it. Because if you're not careful, what's going to happen is, as Christ gets put forward in all of His fullness, you're going to say to yourself going home every Sunday evening, yeah, but. Yeah, but. And you're going to walk out of here and you're going to rob yourself of the glory and you're going to rob yourself of the blessing and the comfort of glorying in a full and a complete Savior. Because you're going to always have a but. We're going to get to the but. Right? Your righteousness, your holiness, your grateful obedience is the response that comes after this second section. The first section is to empty you of all righteousness and all boasting and all your hopes of the covenant of works. The second section is to show that you're saved by pure grace and Christ has done it all. Don't you dare try to add a single thing to it and glory in a wonderful and full Savior. Glory in a full salvation. because it's only when that is done, and it's only when Christ is so glorious, and salvation is so free, and so complete, that then our response is free, and loving, and grateful. And then we pursue the Ten Commandments as a rule of conduct, because we love a God who's done all, and we rest in a God in whom is plentiful redemption, and tremendous mercy, and forgiveness, and pardon. Right? Because if you hold on to the yeah, but, then when we get to the Ten Commandments section, you're going to say to yourself, okay, now here's my portion. What do I have to do? And you're going to be no better than Nomista trying to add to a salvation that was told to you for months that it was absolutely free and absolutely complete. And you're going to be trying to bring something to it. What we need to bring to the salvation on the Ten Commandment end of it all, on our duty, on the imperative end, what we bring is nothing in the way of contribution. It's everything in the way of fruitfulness. Right? It's the effect and the result of what God is working in us by His Spirit. So, I hope you grasp that. That's where we're going. So, even now, right here, Christ is beginning to be put forth and it's going to go on like this for a while. So, just Don't rejoice in a wonderful Savior, in a complete Savior, in a complete salvation. Don't miss that comfort because it is true. Okay, so Evangelista now says, I need to make this clear. Letter A in your notes there, just as sinners are by nature in Adam under the law as a covenant of works, so it pleased Christ as the surety of his elect standing in our place and paying our debts, fulfilling our obligations, And according to the eternal covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son, which we talked about before, remember that comes before everything, it pleased Christ to put himself under the law as a covenant of works in their room and stead. Just turn over a few pages in your Bible to Galatians 4, and we'll have Paul say it as only Paul can say it. Galatians 4. Galatians 4 and 5. Just as sinners are by nature under the law as a covenant of works, that's where we are in Adam. We are under the law as a covenant of works. That's where we are in Adam. In order for Christ to redeem the elect out of that condition, Christ has to submit himself to that condition. Now get this, this is big stuff. Christ has to submit Himself to that condition in every way in which we are submitted to it, in order to deliver us from it, in order to satisfy as our surety in that condition and to bring us out of it. So Paul says in Galatians 4, beginning in verse 4, but when the fullness of time had come, the New Testament, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law. Born of woman makes sense. Why born under the law? Why did God subject his son to all the demands of the law as a covenant of works? Why? He's God and God of the law. He's above the law, we might say. He is the law. Why then would God send his son, though to be born of a woman we might understand, but to be born under the law? Which means, in that phrase Paul is telling us, Christ was born subject to the demands of the law of God. All the law you read in the Old Testament, which we've been reading and studying, Christ subjected Himself to every single iota. Why? Well, verse 5, to redeem those who are under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. Christ subjected Himself to where you are in every way. that He might redeem you from where you are, and you might receive what He came to give, which is adoption as sons. Okay, keep that in mind. Number one, when Christ stood in our place, born of a woman, born under the law, when Christ stood in our place with our sins placed upon Him and accounted to His charge, and the law as a covenant of works found Him guilty of our sins, It cursed Him to death on the cross, which Christ did willingly and freely. Christ was born of a woman, born under the law, as the surety of His elect, of the people given to Him, committed to His charge. He took our place, and when He took our place and our sins were accounted to Him, what did the law do for due to Him? The just and righteous law of God, what did it do to him? It condemned him. Though no sin of his own, yet having taken our sins upon himself, standing as our surety in our place, legally considered, Christ bore the punishment and the penalty of the law. The law found him guilty of our sins. And what did the law do? It judged him. Christ did this willingly and freely, which was required. If he was to be our surety, he had to submit to it. freely, because if he owed anything of his own, then how could he deliver for us? Hebrews 10, 5-7, one of my favorite passages in the scriptures. Hebrews 10, 5-7, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings, you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God. as it is written of me in the scroll of the book. I have come to do your will, O God. How eagerly, how freely did Christ come, how willingly did Christ come to be born as our surety in our place. The only possible explanation for Christ's cursed death, which is the wages of sin, the only possible explanation for this is that he was either a sinner really, that is, in and of himself, or he was a sinner by imputation. We learn from Deuteronomy in the unfolding of God's plan. In Deuteronomy, we read that him who hangs upon a tree is cursed. That's a cursed death. We read that in Deuteronomy. Then Christ dies now upon a tree. So Christ dies a cursed death He dies in a cursed man. He dies under the curse of the law of God. If that's the case, we only have one of two possibilities. Either he died under the curse of the law because of his own sins, or he died under the curse of the law for the sins of others. And of course, the only possible explanation is that he died under the sins of others. He was not a sinner, really. Christ himself was pure and holy in every way. undefiled and without blemish. In Hebrews 7, verse 26, we read of our Savior. It was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Notice how it repeats the same theme. There was no sin found in our Savior. Holy, separated from sinners, unstained, innocent, and exalted above the heavens. So Christ in no way was a sinner really, a sinner in and of himself, therefore he could have only been a sinner by imputation. As Martin Luther once coined it, he died the worst sinner, the chief of sinners, because he died under the guilt of the sins of all of his people. Isaiah 53, 6, we know this passage is a prophecy of the Lord's suffering. Remember what it says here, for the Lord One too many pages there. Isaiah 53, verse 6, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. That iniquity was laid upon him, credited to him, accounted to him. He died under the condemnation of our sins. 2 Corinthians 5.21, of course, he who knew no sin became sin for us. Leviticus 16.21 and 22, we read, of course, about the goat being offered up on the day of atonement. And the hand of Aaron was placed on the goat, and the guilt of the people of Israel transferred to that goat, and it was slain under the guilt of the people. It paid, if you will, though the blood of bulls and goats purchased no forgiveness, but typically it paid for the sins of the people, so that upon the slaying of that goat, and signified further by the scapegoat going into the wilderness, on that account, and these goats receiving the guilt of Israel's sin, Aaron could turn away on that day of atonement, having offered up and shed the blood of that goat and taken it to the mercy seat, Aaron could turn to the people afterwards, the Lord bless you and keep you. And he could announce and pronounce and proclaim forgiveness and pardon. How could he do that? What had been done to clear their charge? The Lord God laid the guilt of his people, typically through the goat, typically on Christ, but through the goat, laying the sins of the people on the goat. that it might die in their place. Dying the death they deserve to die. By imputation, the goat was found guilty. And by imputation, because of imputation, it suffered the penalty of the people, and the people were set free and blessed. This explains letter B. This explains what stood behind the travesty of Christ's trial before Pilate in the Sanhedrin. What a mock trial! He was an innocent man. They sought witnesses and found none. And even as Jesus said on an earlier account, for what sin do you condemn me? Why was Jesus silent? If He said that earlier in His ministry, why was He silent here? Why did Jesus willingly suffer mistreatment? Why did Jesus willingly suffer such a mock trial? Why did He willingly submit to this unjust treatment at the hands of men? Because it was a picture of what He was justly undergoing at the hands of God the Father. Because the Father placed the sins of His people on the Son, and the Son was found guilty. And the law of God condemned the Son. And the law of God required the death of the Son. And the law of God, in that sense, the justice of God, took the Son's life. He was found guilty by imputation. The trial, the real trial of which we read With regard to Pilate and Sanhedrin, behind that is a real trial of Christ in heaven before the bar of the Father's just judgment. And what we see on earth, despite all of its injustice, is a picture of what's really going on as Christ is found guilty by the law of God. It is necessarily the case that Christ did not take upon himself the sins of all mankind. Neither did he then die for all mankind, for all are not his sheep. As he tells the Pharisees in John 10, 26, you do not believe because you are not my sheep. And neither, of course, therefore, are all saved. Matthew 11, 23, we read, Matthew 11, 23, Jesus says, And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day here. Christ pronounces judgment upon Capernaum for having seen and heard his works and his teaching, yet rejecting him, how great was their guilt. Christ here pronounces a woe upon them He shall be brought down to Hades. Surely not all men are saved. How clear is it even as we continue reading in verse 25 of Matthew 11. At that time, Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Why would God do such a thing? Why not reveal these things to all? Surely all men need a Savior. All men are sinners. All men need to hear the good news. Why wouldn't the Father reveal the good news of Jesus Christ to all men without exclusion? Well, we read what it says in verse 26. Notice how Jesus reconciles if He needed to reconcile, which He did not. But notice how Jesus reconciles Right? God's sovereign, God's sovereignly revealing the good news, not to all men, but to some. How does Jesus deal with that in his own heart and mind? Notice what he says in verse 26. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. It pleased the Lord to make the good news of Christ known to those whom he will save and not to make it known to others. We talked this morning about the parables and the nature of parables to veil the truth to those who do not believe and to reveal it to those who do. It pleased the Father. And so it's clear that not all men will be saved. In Revelation 14, verses 9 and 11, turn over there in your Bibles, Revelation 14, verses 9 to 11. And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast in its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Verse 11. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, these worshipers of the beast in its image and whoever receives a mark of its name. We don't need to get in to try to answer all of that, but here's what is very clear. There is a place of eternal torment for those who are part of the beast, those who are connected with the beast, that is, with the enemy. Not all men are saved. That much is clear. We know that. It's so clear from Scripture. And here's the point we're making, that if all men are not saved, then how clear is it that Christ did not die for all men? How can we conclude that? Simply because of this. Those for whom Christ came, those in whose place Christ was a surety, those in whose place Christ bore the penalty of the law of God, and satisfied the law of God's demands by his righteousness, yes, but those in whose place Christ satisfied the law of God, those are free and clear of its demands as a covenant of works and of its condemnation. Right? We cannot but be free of the demands of the law as a covenant of works. We cannot but be free of its condemnation because Christ suffered it. And therefore, if the Bible testifies to us that there are those who will be eternally damned and perish in hell, then it is clear that Christ was not the surety for every child of Adam and that Christ did not die for every child of Adam. Because those for whom Christ was a surety and those for whom Christ died are free of the law as a covenant of works and free of its condemnation and penalty. And so therefore we must conclude, and there is much more in Scripture to testify to this, we're being brief in this treatment tonight, but only the sins of God's elect were laid upon him by the Father, and therefore it was for their sakes only that he died. It was for the sake of those for whom he came, those who were given to him, that he died. As he says in John 10, I lay my life down for the sheep. And in the same breath, practically, you are not my sheep, as he speaks to the Pharisees who rejected him and condemned him. In Acts 20 and 28, we read that God purchased the church by his own blood, that is, by the blood of Christ. In Ephesians 5.25, Jesus Christ is there said to redeem His people. And in Titus 2, what do we read? But the Son laid down His life for His own. Let me turn over to Isaiah 53, verse 8. We've already looked at verse 6. The Father laid on Him the iniquity of us all. That is, all of the elect, all of the church, all of the elect of God, their sins have been laid on Christ. Isaiah 53, verse 6. Verse 8, notice what the father says through the prophet Isaiah, by oppression and judgment he was taken away, that is my servant Jesus, he was taken away by oppression and judgment. And as for his generation, for those of his generation, those who were alive when he was alive, those who witnessed his crucifixion, his condemnation, as for those of his generation who considered Who in Jesus' own day, who considered, the Father says, that He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of My people? Who considered? Who knew? Who could see in that day and in that hour what I was doing in the condemning and the offering up? the giving up of my own son, who could see what I was doing? You remember through what eyes were we looking? We were looking through the eyes of the wise and the understanding. We were looking through the eyes of the Pharisees and the religious leaders. We were looking through the eyes of the Sanhedrin. And what did we see? None of us considered that he was being offered up for the sins of my people, says the Father. We were blind to what the Lord was doing. And we had a wicked hand in the offering up. We had a wicked hand, I should say, in the death of the Son. And yet the Father brought about His will through it all. When Christ came to earth, He came for those for whom He had volunteered to be a surety before the Father in that eternal covenant of redemption. Jesus was born, He lived, He died, He rose again, He ascended, and He now intercedes to save those and those alone who were given to Him, and not one will be lost. Turn over to John 6, such a clear passage for us in this regard. John chapter 6, Jesus' own words. As he's speaking of himself as the bread of life, the bread of God come down from heaven for the souls of men. Verse 35, Jesus, of course, speaking to so many who rejected him here. Verse 35, Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." Notice the harmony of the triune God. All that the Father gives to me will come to me. They will come to me in time. When were they given to me? In eternity past, in the covenant of redemption. That's when the Father gave us to the Son. And now the Son will draw us unto Himself in time by His own Spirit. All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 4, verse 38, I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me, the will of the Father. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing or no one of all that He has given me. but raise it up on the last day, for this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." The Father gave the people a son in the eternal covenant of redemption, in that pactum salutis, that covenant of peace between the Father and the Son before time was, before we were. That eternal covenant and then plan of redemption between the father and the son. The father gave a people to the son to redeem and the son committed to be their surety. And the son agreed to come and to be born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law. And when he came and he was born of a woman under the law, what did he say? Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of your book. I have come to do your will. And so Jesus came freely and willingly And all that he did from his birth to his death to his resurrection, his ascension, and now ongoing intercession, all that Jesus has done and is doing, every single bit of it pertains directly to his elect, his people, those given to him by the Father. So that every act of Christ, every action of Christ, and every active or passive part of his obedience was all done as a surety. standing in the place and in the stead of all who will believe. And so continuing, he notes in letter D, whatever benefit and good the world of men gets by Christ's coming and cross. And there are many benefits and many good things that the world gets by the coming of Christ. The world benefits from Christ's coming. Let's face that for what it is. Right? God's common grace abounds for the sake of Christ's gospel and His coming and the Bible and its influence throughout the world. But whatever benefit and good the world of men gets by Christ's coming and cross, only the elect get salvation. Only the elect get the full benefit of what He came to do because He came for them and in their name. This is an act, of course, of free grace. We could have easily been left as the others All others are justly left in their sins to perish under the covenant of works by which they stand guilty before God in Adam. We've laid that as a bit of a foundation, and you might be wondering, well, why have we established that? Why have we established that Christ only came for the elect and that he only obeyed for the elect and that he only died for the elect, that he only rose for the elect, that he only ascended for the elect, and that he only intercedes for the elect? Why have we gone so far as to establish that when Christ was born of a woman under the law that he was born in the stead of and in the name of and for the sake of the elect? It's because of what's next. Number two, the law of God thus proceeded in full scope against Christ, set upon him as guilty. when he was brought to the cross, set upon him as guilty, and slew him as cursed. And it was by this means, Christ bearing the full penalty of the law of God as the surety of his people, in your name and in my name, it was by this means that the justice of God was fully satisfied. His wrath which was against you, fully appeased. And all true believers are acquitted from all their sins, both past, present, and future. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For those for whom he came, for those for whom he died, your sins are done. He paid for them. The law has been satisfied. The covenant of works is silenced with regard to you. It demands no more of you. How can it? I'd like to read that section from the Westminster. You can turn in the back of your hymnals if you like, or just listen. This is chapter 8 of the Confession on Christ the Mediator. Chapter 8, sections 4 and 5, page 853 in your hymnal. The office of mediator, section 4, This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake. Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, Hebrews 10, which that he might discharge this office. He was made under the law and did perfectly fulfill it, endured most grievous torments immediately in his soul and most painful sufferings in his body, was crucified and died, was buried and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day He rose from the dead, with the same body in which He suffered, with which also He ascended into heaven, and there sitteth at the right hand of His Father, making intercession, and shall return to judge men and angels at the end of the world. The Lord Jesus, Section 5, the Lord Jesus, by His perfect obedience and sacrifice of Himself, which He, through the eternal Spirit, once offered up unto God, hath fully satisfied the justice of his father, and purchased not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all those whom the father had given unto him." Look at letter A there under 2, and let's carry this thought to its logical conclusion. Believers are freed by Christ's death. from the guilt of eternal wrath." What a comfort. We are freed by the death of Christ, our Savior, from the guilt of eternal wrath. Believers are legally pardoned of all sin forever. And the law as a covenant of works is forever silenced towards believers because their guilt is actually and formally done away with. The law is silenced with regard to you because you have no guilt. The law of God as a covenant of works looks upon you as guiltless and sinless because he took your guilt and died under it and he paid for your sins in full. Their obligation to the wrath of God is dissolved. They can never come under that kind of guilt again. You can never come under the guilt of the law of God again as a believer. Christ bore it, suffered it, and it is finished. Not only shall believers never be damned and sent to hell, but they shall never come under the guilt of breaking the covenant of works again. as we talked about in one of our earliest lessons through this book. Speaking about the legalism that is embedded in all of our hearts, and we imagine that Moses stands behind us with a big stick in his hand ready to beat us over the head when we break one of the commandments. We can never come under the guilt of breaking the covenant of works again. Turn over to Romans 4, and then we'll look at that passage in Romans 8, Romans 4, verses 7 and 8. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. You see, we're talking about justification. We're talking about acceptance before God. We're talking about standing righteous. How can we as sinners stand before a righteous and holy God and be counted righteous? The only possible explanation is by imputation, that is, the credit of Christ's righteousness to us. How is it possible that the innocent and holy and undefiled and unstained Son of God could die a cursed death? Only, it's only possible by the imputation of our sins to His account. And so just as our sins were imputed and He died under them, so His righteousness has been imputed and we stand in that righteousness before God. Free of guilt. All of our sins are pardoned forever. Forgiven. And under the blood. And the law is silenced and it will never ever condemn us. It can never condemn us. Not only are our lawless deeds forgiven, not only are our sins covered, but the Lord will not count our sins against us ever. He can't. It would be unjust. Which is why John says, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Turn over to Romans 8 and how clear it becomes here for us. Romans 8, 33 and 34. I'll begin in verse 31, the beginning of that section there, after all the wonders and the glories of our salvation. After Romans 6, Romans 7, and most of Romans 8, no wonder Paul comes to verse 31. What then shall we say to these things, beloved? If God is for us, who can be against us? If there's no condemnation for us in Christ Jesus, then who in the world can condemn us? As he goes on. He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? That is, all things with regard to the covenant. If He gave us His Son and satisfied everything on our behalf, then how would He withhold anything, any promise or any good in the covenant? All the covenant promises will be fulfilled in us and fulfilled to us. Who shall bring any charge, verse 33, who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Who's left? There's only one judge in the seat and he's justified you. Where is there a judge who can condemn you if God has justified you? And more than that, where are their sins? anywhere in the universe that can be laid to your charge. Christ Jesus. Who is to condemn Christ Jesus as the one who died? More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? What a glorious, glorious gospel. Although sin remains in us, Yet it is not imputed to us, but it is forgiven and it is covered by Christ's righteousness. Sin remains in God's people. Look at Romans 7, look in the mirror. But it is not imputed to us as a breaking of the covenant of works. Because the covenant of works has no more to say to you. Therefore, now we come to the conclusion, we'll wrap it up. Therefore, the law of God, as it is the covenant of works, has nothing at all to say to any true believers, because they are dead to it, and it is dead to them. Back up in Romans 7, verse 4. Likewise, my brothers, You also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. I'll continue reading. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law as a covenant of works, having died to that which held us captive. so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. And of course, Romans 8, 1. Nothing condemns but the law of God. And what does 8, 1 say? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. The law of God has nothing at all to say to any true believers because we are dead to the law and the law is dead to us. The law only speaks to those who are under it. Look at Romans 3, 19. Now, we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law. Any law only has jurisdiction over those, or excuse me, any law can only command those over whom it has jurisdiction. That's obvious, right? We don't come under the laws of the UK, right? We're not subject to the obligations nor subject to the penalties of a law that has no jurisdiction over us. But what does it say in 3.19? We know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. Paul is making it very clear there that all of us by nature are under the law as a covenant of works, all of us. The law of God as a covenant of works has shut the mouth of every human being, condemning them, and they have nothing to say because they are guilty before it and they stand under its condemnation. But believers have been freed from that because Christ came as a surety, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive adoption as sons. So that we're no longer under law, but we're under grace. We're no longer captive under the law and in bondage. We're now sons and daughters of God. Believers are not under the law as a covenant of works anymore. Romans 6.14, Paul makes it clear. For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace. It's a fact. It's a statement of truth. It's an indicative, not an imperative. You're not under law anymore. You've been delivered. You've been redeemed by Christ. And therefore, the law of God says nothing to believers as it is a covenant of works. It is silenced. Whatever the law of God, And here's where we bring it all together. This is the point of it all tonight. Whatever the law of God had to say as a covenant of works, whatever it had to say to believers, it said in full to Christ who stood in their place. And it cannot now say a single word to any of those for whom he stood without doing dishonor to Christ himself. It cannot repeat its demands upon them, which it made upon him, especially since he so fully and completely satisfied. The law. Who is there to condemn? Christ has paid. All the sins that we've committed, Christ has paid for it. The law of God cannot condemn us of a single sin. Not one you have committed, not one you will commit. It cannot condemn you. Get a hold of that, beloved. Can it convict you? Absolutely, and it's designed to do so. as a means to bring you to repentance. We'll get into that much, much, much later. But for now, this is what we need to grasp. That the law of God, as a covenant of works, is silenced to believers. It has said, whatever it demanded of you, it demanded of Christ. And Christ satisfied it and shut its mouth forever. It now demands nothing of you as a covenant of works. Meanwhile, and this is a little hint to what's to come eventually, meanwhile, The law of God, as a rule of conduct for believers, says to us all it has to say, in the name and the authority of God, our Creator and Redeemer. So, see the two things. On the one hand, as the law of God is a covenant of works, it is silenced and it can say nothing to you, because it already said it to Christ and he satisfied it. But as the Law of God is a rule of conduct, as the Ten Commandments are a rule of conduct for the Church, the Law of God speaks loud and clear to you, and it says everything it has to say to you, even that which it doesn't say. That is, with regard to, as we were talking earlier this afternoon, with regard to what the spiritual nature of the Law of God. In other words, it says what it says literally, And then it says what it says spiritually as well. So that even if a man lusts after a woman in his heart, he has committed adultery. If we are angry at our brethren, we nurse that in our heart, we are guilty of murder, heart murder, et cetera, and et cetera. The law of God exhausts itself on the church and on believers as a rule of conduct. It shouts loud and clear, but as a covenant of works, its mouth is closed. Being under a covenant of grace, however, though the law requires no less of believers, the law of God still requires a perfect personal perpetual obedience, even of believers. Yet the law of God accepts less from believers. And we'll explain that in full as we go on, but we need to say it at least here, that the law of God accepts less from believers. It requires no less, but it accepts less. It accepts a sincere, will and effort for the sake of Christ our covenant head. Right? Think of how the Lord will accept your poor obedience, how the Lord will accept your imperfect obedience, how the Lord will sometimes accept even the will for the deed. So that though we fail in the deed, yet the Lord knows we longed in our hearts to do that very thing. And yet we were prevented and hindered. God will accept the will in the place of the deed and bless us as if we had done the deed itself. And that'll be made clear, very clear as we go on. But here we need to appreciate that while the law speaks loud and clear as a rule of conduct, it accepts less because we're not under law, we're under grace. And that is the mercy of God. And while we're talking about the law there, what are we talking about but God himself? We're not talking about some impersonal rule of conduct. The law of God is the reflection of the character of God. And therefore we're talking about the Lord our God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who looks to the heart, who looks to the motive, and will overlook, will overlook poor obedience out of his love for his people and for the sake of Christ. How many parents have pasted, at least with a magnet, pasted to their refrigerators the most ridiculous of pictures from their children. Drawn with a crayon all over, what a mess. And yet how is that picture loved and adored because little Johnny drew it and it's so cute, right? It's It's ridiculous, right? If you were to grade it, if you were to treat it as it deserves, it's poorly done. Handwriting's terrible, as it were. And yet, how many parents accept that and put it on their refrigerator, oh, look what my little child drew. Look at this beautiful picture. It's not beautiful, right? If you were to measure it against what an artist, a skilled artist might do, but is that the measurement? No, it's not the measurement, right? Where do we fall back on? We fall back on a heart and love with our children who accept that sincere effort and crown it as if it was the work of an artist. And who accept the will and the desire even though there was an absolute failure in the deed done. We recognize that as parents. And how much more then does the father do the very same for his children. For we are not slaves. We are sons and daughters. Right? Man was not made for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man. And the same is true holistically. We're not under law, we're under grace. Let us not take anything away from the laws as a rule of conduct. It demands of us greater obedience than we'll ever realize, because it demands hard obedience, which is so difficult to render. But let us thank God for his mercy and his grace, that he will enable us to will and to do of his good pleasure by his own spirit, and that all of our faltering efforts will be crowned with an eternal reward for His love and for the sake of His Son, because we are in a covenant of grace and not in a covenant of works anymore. Okay, so you can see how now we're beginning, we're beginning to get at just this very thing. Christ is a whole Savior and He gives us a whole salvation. And we're starting to crack that nut and open it and it's going to become more and more glorious and beautiful, and will be called to praise our God more and more for what wonders He has worked by His sovereign grace in our salvation.