Alright, so the last time we were together we talked about Phariseeism, and we reproved Phariseeism, and we showed that the Pharisees really weren't interested in obeying the law of God. The Pharisees were interested in creating a system and furthering a system that allowed them to feel self-righteous and as if they were doing something. Jesus brought the true Word of God to them. He was the Word, the living Word. Even when he reproved Satan, he didn't bring his own words, but he said, it is written. And so all throughout the scriptures, Jesus returns to the law and the Pharisees crucified him for it. Because they didn't really love the word of God and the law of God. They loved their own ideas and systems that they built around it. And so we discussed that in depth last time. So we started with the validity of the law, that the law is still valid. We don't say that the law is of no use to us anymore. But we also said that it's not just about the externals, but it's about the heart. And so now this evening we're going to look at the inability of the law for our justification. And then if we have time, the integrity of the law. We're going to start with the inability or inadequacy of the law for our justification before God. Now the word justification... means to have the righteousness of another. Literally, it means to be declared righteous by the judge. That's what justification means. The method by which we were declared righteous by the judge is by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. So Jesus perfectly kept the law, lived 33 years from the best we can understand of the timeline given to us in scripture. perfectly kept the law in every way, died a sinless death, lived a sinless life, died a sinless death, and therefore the justice of God was satisfied in his obedience. And so now, that righteousness is applied to our account. It's like you owed a debt, and it was in the ledger that you owed this debt, and someone else's excess was applied to your need. And so now, your sin is covered by His grace and His righteousness, right? The problem is that in every age, and in every religion, and every place, men want to imagine that they can be made right with God by their own actions. They just want to think that they can do something to aid in their being made right with God. And so in many religions, both among Pharisees and even in so-called Christianity, There have been those who have taken that which the Bible says is holy and good. That's one of the verses we're going to look at tonight. The law is holy and good. That's even in the New Testament. And they've made it something. evil and wicked by their own twisting of it. And so they take the law and they try to make it the means by which they're justified before God. The means that they're declared righteous because they kept the law and that's not what the law does. It doesn't make us right with God. The Pharisees not only missed the heart issue that was taught in the Law, that's what we talked about last time, that the Law is about the heart, not just about external actions, but they also missed the extent of the usefulness of the Law. They went too far with that. They didn't go far enough in the actions, they only went skin deep, they didn't go to the heart of the matter. But then in what the Law was supposed to be used for, they went too far and said that the Law was supposed to make them right with God. Even to this day, there are those who believe that salvation in the Old Testament came by obedience to the Law. And that's not the case. That's what the Pharisees got wrong. No one has ever been saved by being obedient enough to the Law. Adam and Eve failed in that. Jesus Christ succeeded in obeying, but He didn't need to be saved. But so many people believe that either in some time past, or maybe in some time in the future, or maybe even in today's day and age, that there is some way for man to be declared right with God by his obedience to the law. And the Holy Scripture makes it evident that that was never the case. That's what we're going to look at this evening. Sister Gladys, would you look up Jeremiah? Chapter 23 and verse 6. Sister Debbie, would you look up Genesis 6, 8 and 9? Anna, would you look up Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6? And Sister Ida, would you look up Psalm chapter 32 and verse 2? We'll start with those and I'll look up, let me pull it back up over here, Isaiah 53. Alright, so what does Jeremiah 23.6 say, Ms. Gladys? shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is the name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. Okay, so how would Israel be saved? Because the Lord was their righteousness. Not by their own righteousness, but by the Lord our righteousness. What does Genesis 6, 8, and 9 say, Miss Debbie? But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man. He was perfect in his generations. And Noah walked with God. Okay, so Noah was a just man. He was perfect in his generations. And he walked with God. So many times, for years I can remember, I had this idea in my head, and I don't know that I'd ever even put it into words, but it just was this idea in the back of my mind, Noah was saved because he was the last man walking with God. But what does the verse right before that say? Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. His justice, his perfection, his walking with God, all was an outflow of the fact that he'd found grace. God gave him grace. It was grace that caused Noah to walk with God. Noah wasn't saved because he was walking with God. Noah walked with God because he'd been saved. Because of grace that had been given to him. What does Psalm 32.2 say? Oh, I'm sorry. We missed one, didn't we? Genesis 15.6, Anna. What did that say? "...And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness." This is the famous classic argument that Paul calls back on in his famous treatise on justification, which is that their father, the Jew's father, Abraham, how was he justified? He believed the Lord, and that was counted to him for righteousness. So the Lord looked on his faith, and that was counted as righteousness. Not that his faith was some works of righteousness, but the fact that he believed in the Lord. that was counted to him. And then Psalm 32.2. What does that say, Miss Eva? So, blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. So, David isn't assuming that there are some who never commit iniquity. He doesn't say, blessed is the man who never has iniquity, but to whom the Lord does not impute his iniquity. The Lord doesn't count that to His charge. Now, how could God not count our sins to our charge? Only if someone else had paid for them. Only if Jesus Christ had, right? And then, maybe the most famous out of all of these is in the book of Isaiah, chapter 53. The most famous prophetic passage of the Messiah, I believe. Verses 4 and 5 in particular, "...surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes We are healed." And even verse 6, "...all we like sheep have gone astray, we've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." So when the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees were missing this, it wasn't because God hadn't giving them enough information. It wasn't because there was nowhere in the scriptures that they had that taught salvation was by grace or by faith. No, it was there. They didn't want it. They didn't want to believe that. They'd rather imagine that there was something that they could do for themselves. The last passage I'll read on this paragraph is Psalm chapter 62, verses 5 through 8. And this is the passage that the Pharisees should have been driving home. My soul wait thee only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times. Ye people, pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. So, the sweet psalmist of Israel, David, is going on and on about how all our expectation, all our hope, all our trust, all of our salvation, all of our glory, our rock, our strength, our refuge, is God. We don't have anything of our own that we can rest this upon. But we rest in God and His righteousness, not a system of our own work's righteousness. The ancient Pharisees, along with the modern hyper-dispensationalists, have an unlawful view of the law. Scripture says that the law is good if it be used lawfully. Now, it almost sounds like we're repeating ourselves, we're stuttering or something, right? But there's a lawful use of the law and there's an unlawful use of the law. The lawful use of the law is what God created it for. What the lawgiver said, this is what it's for. Can you imagine if you're sitting in your driveway and a police officer pulls in behind you and says, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to give you a ticket for impeding traffic. I'm sitting in my driveway. Yeah, but didn't you see there's a sign right down the road that says minimum speed limit 45 miles an hour. But that was for the road. That doesn't count for my address. Well, that's what the sign says. I'm going to have to hold you to it. That would be an unlawful use of the law. That wasn't what the law was intended for. And that's what the Pharisees had done with the law that God had given them. He had given them a law, which we're going to look at here. The uses for it was to show them their sin, and to show them how they ought to walk when they've been given grace. And they were using it to try to gain righteousness with God. They were using it in an unlawful way. And anyone who believes that there's any justification, any rightness with God in a saving way, that comes from obedience to the law, is using the law unlawfully. That's not what God gave the law for. The law does not and never could save a man. But it does and always has shown him why he needs to be saved and how he is to walk after he's been saved. So it's a before and after mechanism. It's not a conduit. It's not how to get you there. It's to bring you to it and to cause you to walk correctly after it, not a means of salvation. Because God's moral nature and holiness is revealed in the Law. That's what the Law does. It reveals to us just what the holiness of God is. You know, Jesus told us, "...Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." How do I know how to be perfect like Him? Without anything else, that puts me in a more hopeless state than I was before. But the law tells us what the holiness of God looks like. The holiness of God is such that God never steals. The holiness of God is such that God never murders. The holiness of God is such that God It keeps His name holy and hallowed. The holiness of God is what the moral law reveals to us. And so we say, oh, that's what God expects from us. When I do that, that's how I strive to be perfect, even as my Father which is in heaven is perfect, right? So, God's moral nature and His holiness is revealed to us in the law. And because it does that, it convicts us of our sin. Because if we couldn't see the holiness of God, we would do what we're so often tempted to do anyways, even having the holiness of God revealed to us, which is to compare ourselves with something or someone else. I'm not that bad. You know old so-and-so. He's a lot worse than me. So many false religions and unbiblical systems have created some definition for morality. That's what Pastor Michael was talking about in his sermon last night. Eating animals is immoral. Says who? Based on what? How are we going to define that? That's what inevitably happens when we cease to realize that the law that God gave us reveals to us God's holiness and His moral nature. Let's start back over down here. Sister Gladys, would you look up Romans chapter 3 and verse 20? Sister Debbie, would you look up Romans 7-7? Romans 7, 7. Yes, ma'am. Anna, would you look up 1 John chapter 3 and verse 4? And Sister Ida, would you look up Romans chapter 4 and verse 15? Galatians 3, 10 here. Alright. So, Romans chapter 3 and verse 20 when you get there, Ms. Gladys. No, I'm sorry. Romans 3.20. Therefore, by the deeds of the Lord, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, Well, by the law is the knowledge of sin. Well, by the law is the knowledge of sin, right? And Paul says that, I think, more explicitly in another place. Except the law said, Thou shalt not steal, I wouldn't have known I was a thief. But the law said it, and it showed him that he was a sinner. Sister Debbie, what does Romans 7, 7 tell us? What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin. But by the law, for I had not known much, except the law had said, Thou shalt not kill." Okay, so that was the passage I was thinking of, right? So the law showed him, the law wasn't sin. Kind of like what Brother Doug was talking to me about before, you know, we want to cast the blame on something else, right? That law made me a sinner. Now, that law showed you were a sinner. The law didn't sin, you sinned. The law showed you that you sinned, and so don't blame the law for your sinfulness. It's just, you're a sinner, and the law was the light to show you that. Now, this is so because sin, by definition, is the transgression of the law. 1 John 3 and verse 4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is the transgression of the law. what sin is. Like the pastor's sister Debbie said, I wouldn't have known sin except for by the law. Except for the law said it. Sin is completely and only transgressing God's law. That's what sin is every time. Every time someone breaks God's law, they're sinning. And every time someone sins, it's because they're breaking God's law. It works backwards and forwards. You can't say I remember that story that Pastor Michael has told several times. A boy knocks over a glass of milk. I can't believe a Christian would do something like that. That's not sin. He didn't break God's law. Nor can you say, well, I know they fornicated, but I don't really think that was sin because X, Y, and Z. No, if they broke God's law, it was sin. So it works both ways. Where there is no law, there can be no transgression. That's what Romans chapter 4 and verse 15 tells us. Because the law will work with man. For where no law is, there is no transgression. Right? They say ignorance of the law is no excuse. Right? You get pulled over for speeding. You say, I didn't know that was a speed limit. They say ignorance of the law is no excuse. But, if you were on What's that called in Germany? The autobahn? That supposedly doesn't have a speed limit, right? They can't pull you over for speeding because there is no speed limit. If there isn't a law, then you can't break the law. And so that's what God's law did for us. When He gave us the law, He gave us boundaries to stay in, and every time those boundaries are crossed or not met up to, it's sin. The magnitude of the sinner's condemnation becomes glaring only in the light of the law. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 10 says, "...for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." So, we say, God gave us ten commandments, I've completely kept nine of them, and I've mostly kept one of them." Then the Scriptures say you're cursed. Because it says, "...cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." So the sinners left. Hopeless, hopeless, under condemnation. He realizes, wait a second, I thought I was doing pretty good, and now you're telling me that I'm under the curse. James also tells us in James chapter 2 and verse 10 that Whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." So you think you did great. You think you were keeping most of the law. But you slip up once, and now you've sinned. You've come under condemnation. Now, anyone who understands the reality of Galatians 3.10 and James 2.10, which both tell us that every bit of the law has to be kept or else condemnation comes, anyone who understands that about the law can't tell you that the law brings justification, that the law brings salvation. Because it just defies any reality to say there's someone who's kept every point of the law at every point in their life. We just know from experience that's not true. We completely understand that. And so, the scriptures have to be paid close attention here when it tells us this thing. Romans chapter 4 and verse 15 is the verse that Sister Ida just read to us about. The first part of that verse tells us that the law brings the wrath of God. Right? The law works wrath against the sinner. Because it shows you, you're under a curse. You can't match up to this and therefore, God's wrath is rightly against you. unconverted, carnal mind, says, well, that's not fair. It's not fair that God would cause His wrath to burn against someone who just told one lie, who just made one little slip-up, who just took God's name in vain, who just did a little bit of coveting. Surely God wouldn't do that. That's not fair. You don't understand the law. The law was given. It told us. You slip up once, you're under the curse. And so it then proves to us that no man can be justified by... let's see what it is... Galatians chapter 3 and verse 11. I just read Revelation 3.10, "...cursed is everyone that continues not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them." The very next verse, verse 11, says, "...but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident." So Paul says, it's just evident that this can't be, for, "...the just shall live by faith," which is a quotation of the Old Testament. Thus we can correctly say that the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Right? Isn't that what Galatians tells us? Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24. Wherefore, the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." So this is a lawful, proper use of the Law of God, to prove to us that if God cursed you, if God punished you, if God condemned you for one sin, He would be just, and you would deserve it. The law revealed that to us. And so it brought us to a place that taught us that we needed a substitute. We needed someone else to take our place, to be our righteousness for us. That was a proper use of the law. That's what the law was made to do. And once it's brought us to that point, once someone sees in the law, you're right, it's not about whether or not I'm a better or a worse person than Doug, or I'm a better or a worse person than Debbie. It's all about, did I match the standard of God's law? And once I realize I haven't, then it brings me to the point of gratitude and an understanding that when Christ perfectly obeyed the law, that released us from the necessity of being justified by the law, if we are but found in Him." Philippians chapter 3 and verse 9. Paul is saying, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I count them but done that I may win Christ and be found in Him. Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. The righteousness which is of God by faith. Paul says, that's what I'm looking for. I'm not looking to stand before God and unroll my list of achievements and tell Him I kept the law here and here and here and here, but simply say, I'm in Christ. And Christ kept the law. That's our whole hope. due to the lingering effects of the Pharisees' false teaching, particularly among the Judaizers. Remember, they were the ones who were tormenting the church in Galatia, that Paul wrote Galatians about, because the Judaizers were coming in and saying, you have to be circumcised, and you have to keep the feast days, and all of these things. And so, because this was so prevalent, not just among the Jews, but it was infiltrating Christian churches. And Christians were beginning to Be bewitched is the word that Paul used into this dogma, this doctrine. So because that was so prevalent there in the first century, we might say, as the primary application of these letters being penned, but the Holy Spirit preserved them for us because it's been prevalent in every generation. Because of that, a great deal of the New Testament is given to refuting this heresy. Acts chapter 15, Romans chapter 8, the whole book of Galatians, the whole book of Hebrews, are really given over to this one theme. The law can't make you right with God. No works of righteousness, nothing you can do can justify your soul. An old hymn we sing by Coratius Bonner wrote it, not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul. But only what Christ has done for me. That's the whole idea of the law, is that we can't do it, we can't match up to it. The law gave the demand. So the law demanded Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Thou shalt not make unto thee any grave and images. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Honor thy father and mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet." He gave you the demand. But the carnal mind, which is at enmity with God, can't meet that demand. They can't. It's impossible to. The Scriptures tell us neither can they. I keep this. Only grace can give the power, both for the law's justice to be satisfied in Christ, and for the believer to conform to it. So it's only by grace that we get to have Christ's righteousness imputed to our account, and our sin not imputed to us. That's only grace, the power that grace brings. And it's only by the power of grace that the next lawful use of the law that we're going to be talking about before long, which is to direct our steps after we've been saved, that's all of grace. Even the ability after we've been saved to begin to, how does 1 John put it, If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Right? So, if we're being cleansed from unrighteousness, if we're being made more and more holy, more and more righteous, more and more conformed to God's law, that's only by the power of grace. God gives us that. God changes us to make us be able to do that. And so as we become increasingly obedient to the law, with increasing consistency and comprehension in the ability to obey it, that's all a testament to the power of grace. Not a power of the law. The law was powerless. It only gave the demand. Grace gives the power. This is what we mean when we speak of the abiding validity of the law. That was our first or second, I think, lecture was about how the law is still valid. But I think we're so tuned in so many wrong thinking from so many false influences out there to think that the law means work salvation, that someone says, well, the law is still valid. And you think, so you're trying to work for your salvation? No, that's not what we mean when we say the law is still valid. We mean it's valid for what God gave it for. which was to bring us to Christ and to teach us as Christians how we are to live. We must use the law biblically and not misconstrue it to be what we would like it to be in our imagination. The law biblically, lawfully, it is the standard which proves our condemnation in the light of God's holiness. It shows us, here's the holiness of God, and we say, wow, I'm not that. And it's the benchmark which we strive for in our Christian sanctification. So now that we've been saved, now that God's changed our hearts, now that the Holy Spirit has empowered us, we say, oh, God said not to covet. And I realize I've had a covetous heart. So I'm going to strive toward that benchmark of not coveting. I'm going to try to obey God in that way, and I believe that because of the Holy Spirit indwelling me, I'm going to be made able to do that. It doesn't mean I'll never covet again, but I'm going to become Lord-willing, I'm going to learn to put that sin to death." Scripture says not to lust, not to hate my brother without a cause, not to use the Lord's name in vain, not to have any idols. All of these things, as Christians, as an unconverted person, we say, wow, I can never do that. As a converted person, we say, I'm going to try to do that. It's all about the difference in the power of what grace did for us. in the Holy Spirit's indwelling of us. So it's those two things, but it's never since the Fall been a means, been a way of right standing with God. It's amazing. Again, similar I think to Noah, we look at Enoch. Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him. But you know where else Enoch is mentioned? in Hebrews chapter 11, which talks about those who by faith. So it wasn't that Enoch kept the Law good enough that God went ahead and took him up to heaven. Even Enoch's taking up was by faith. It's always by grace through faith. So that's the inability of the Law for justification. Secondly, and this will be shorter, we should be done around 8 o'clock probably tonight, is the integrity of the law. The integrity of the law. When I say the integrity of the law, obviously the law is Certainly inanimate. The law isn't a person. There's not four people in the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Scriptures. God the Law. That's not what we believe at all. It's inanimate. You might even say, in a sense, it's abstract. The paper and the ink in front of you isn't the law. It's the words that they contain, the ideas behind them. So we might even say it's kind of ethereal, abstract, not something you can really put your hands on. And yet, all throughout the Scriptures, the Law is given these attributes that are parallel with the attributes of God. And that is because, although the Law is inanimate and abstract, at the same time, it's full of life and real, because it's the Word of God. And so Jesus took to Himself the title of the Word. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Now, we understand that Jesus isn't the Bible we hold in our hand, but this is the closeness that God takes to His Word. His Word, in a sense, in a real sense, is a part of Him. It's the mind of God revealed to us in His Word, in His Law, right? So, the Law is full of integrity, we might say. Sister Gladys, would you look up Romans chapter 7 and verse 12? Sister Debbie, would you look up Luke chapter 18 and verse 19? And Sister Ida, would you look up James chapter 1 and verse 17? I'll look up Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48. Let me get back over here. Okay, yeah, go ahead. Romans chapter 7 and verse 12. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. The commandment is holy, and just, and good. Now in light of that, we think that God said the law is holy, and the commandment is just, and holy, and good. What does Luke 18, 19 say to us, Miss Debbie? And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? Thou didst good, saying, One, that is God." So, the Pharisees, I think, in that passage had said, Good master, good teacher. And he said, Why did you call me good? There's none good, except one, and that's God. And yet, in Romans chapter 7, verse 12, we saw that the law and the commandment were holy and just and good. So the law is good, the commandment is good, because it comes from the only One who is good, God. In fact, James chapter 1 and verse 17 tells us that. Would you read that for us, Messita? Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights. Within is no wearableness, neither shadow nor turning. So, if the Law is good, it must have come from God, because He is the only one that is good. And therefore, everything that is good in this world comes from God, because He is the only source of goodness. And so, after God had created all the world, He looked at everything that He had made, and He said that it was very good. Why? Because it had come directly from Him. And God cannot give anything but goodness, and anything that is truly good in this world comes from God. There's nothing good that we have, according to James 1, verse 17, that didn't come from God. Ultimately, if it's good, it came from God. Earlier I mentioned, I think more just in passing, Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48, "...Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Right? Well, we sing Psalm chapter 19 so often, and we start in verse 7. Remember what the first line of that psalm that we sing is? The law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul, right? Psalm chapter 19 and verse 7. So the scriptures tell us, be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. And the word of God tells us in Psalm chapter 19 and verse 7, the law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul. So it has that integrity of perfection, because it comes from God. Now it's not just goodness and perfection that the law has because of its intrinsic connection to God. Let's go ahead and read these. Sister Ida, would you look up Zechariah 7, verses 9-12? Sister Debbie, would you look up Psalm 119? and verse 142. And Sister Gladys, would you look up Psalm 119 and verse 86. Now Psalm 119 deals exclusively, really, with the law of God, the word of God, the commandments of God, the statutes of the Lord, all of those things. And so as we're doing this study on the law of God and its ability to define for us what's good and what's evil, it's a critical text in understanding that. So one of the further attributes of God, which is applied to His law, is the attribute of justice. God is just. and the Scriptures tell us that the Law of God is specifically inclined to justice. Would you read Zechariah 7, verses 9-12 to us? Let's speak of the Lord above today, and execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion to every man for his brother, and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor, and that none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears that they should not hear. Yea, they laid their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent in his spirit by the former prophets. Therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts." They pulled away the shoulder. Have you ever seen a kid do that? A parent reaches out, hey, hey, don't do that. That's what the Israelites, that's what we, are so often guilty of doing. The Law of God said, be just. I'll do what I want to do. Don't try to tell me what I have to do. But justice, that's kind of a rabbit trail, justice is an attribute of God, right? God is just. He's the just one. And the law is about justice, showing justice. And yet they wouldn't listen to that. They wouldn't incline their ear to that. Truth. The Scriptures tell us that God is truth. He's the source of all truth. And what does Psalm 119 and verse 142 tell us? Yes, ma'am. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. Thy law is the truth. So God is truth, therefore the words that He gives, the commands that He gives, the law that He gives is truth. Just like God is truth. What about Psalm 119 and verse 86? Okay, so all of God's commandments are faithful. Now, who's the faithful one? God. His mercies are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness." It's in the Scriptures, it's the psalm that we sing, and the Scriptures tell us God's commandments, His law, are faithful. Because they proceed from the faithful one. A few verses down in Psalm 119 and verse 140, the Scriptures tell us, "...thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant loveth it." And obviously, the only pure one is God. God is pure, and therefore, His Word, His Law is pure. So, if God is good, and God is perfect, and God is just, and God is true, and God is faithful, and God is pure, and His Law, His Commandments, His Word is good, is perfect, is just, is true, is faithful, is pure, Then to distinguish between those who are righteous and those who are wicked, we simply have to look at those who obey God's law and those who don't, and we'll see who it is that's being godly and who is being ungodly. Because all of the attributes of the law are the attributes of God Himself. And that's why we can compare someone to the standard of the law, and by the standard of the law, make the distinguishing consideration, are they like God or not? Why? Because we can't see God. You can't stand someone up next to God. Let's see, how much like God is He? We can't do that. What can we do? We can lay the law down. We can say, here's the Word of God, here's the mind of God, here's the revealed will of God, and compare someone to that. In fact, in Malachi 3.18, The Bible says, Then ye shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked. How are we going to discern between the righteous and the wicked? Between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. The catalyst for who it is that's serving God and who it is that's not serving God is who it is that's obeying His Word and who it is that's disobeying His Word. Okay, let's all turn to Psalm 119, and I'll give us each a verse once again from that chapter. And that'll be the last time I'll have you read. Sister Gladys, would you look at Psalm 119 and verse 53? Debbie, would you look at Psalm 119 and verse 85? Ms. Ida, would you look at Psalm 119 and verse 150? Let me turn over there and I'll read 155. Alright, so we just saw that the law was all those things that God is. So then we can probably deduce from that that the ungodly is the opposite of all those things, right? But let's look at what some of these verses tell us. 53, yes ma'am, would you read that to us? Harm has taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsakes the law. Okay. Thy law. So, he's horrified. Why? Because the wicked forsake God's law. So that's a distinguishing mark of the wicked. It's someone who forsakes the law, who leaves it behind, who goes another way. How about verse 85? Yes ma'am. So they're not after God's law. So they've forsaken the law. They've gone away from it. But really, he takes it even a step closer. He says it's not just about the people who are running away from God's law, but about those who aren't after it, who aren't following it, who aren't trying to attain to it, who aren't looking to be obedient to it. They just don't care. They're apathetic. I mean, I know what the Bible says. I'm not God's enemy. I don't hate God. I just don't know if there is a God. I'm just diagnostic. I'm just trying to make do the best I can. Well, the Bible calls them wicked. They're not after God's law. What about verse 115, Ms. Ida? They draw nigh that follow after mischief. They are far from the law, from thy law. So they're far from it. So you're seeing varying degrees here. They're not after it. They're forsaking it. They're far from it. And verse 155 says, salvation is far from the wicked, for they seek not thy statutes. Kind of similarly to the one that Miss Debbie read to us, which is they're not after it. They're not seeking it. They're not following it. So that's all definitions, attributes of the wicked. In fact, in that same chapter, Psalm 119, the law of God is and ought to be so intertwined in our minds with the person of God, with who God is. When we think of the law, it ought to be so connected to who God is, that to remember Him would be a reminder to obey Him, to keep His law. And in verse 55 of Psalm 119, David says, "...I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law." So when he remembered the name of God, that was a reminder to him, I need to be obeying Him. Not funny, but we use that word, and interesting, isn't it sad? How many people, oh I know God, I love God, I don't do anything He told me to do, you know, I'm living with my girlfriend, and I don't go to church, and I don't care about obeying Him, but me and God have an understanding. Well David said just to think of God's name in the night, reminded me to keep His law. Because that's who God is. He's the lawgiver. He's the one who gave it to us. And that's the way we need to think of God. Not as some grandfatherly Santa Claus who's there when we want to come to Him with a request, maybe He'll give it to us. But a reminder of God ought to be a reminder of His commandments. In fact, 1 John chapter 2 and verse 3 tells us if we don't obey His commandments, we can't say that we know Him. We can't say that we know God. And if we do say that we know God without keeping His commandments, 1 John says that we're a liar. 1 John 2, verses 3 and 4, "...and hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." This is Old and New Testament, how intertwined God is with His law. You can't have one without the other. The Pharisees really, in a sense, wanted the law without God. Emotionally driven, selfish people want God without the law. But you can't have either one without the other. To have the law must mean to have God in your heart in reality. And to have God in reality must mean to have His law and to have His commandments. The satanic temptation for all of us, for every human, is to be like God, determining good and evil. Remember that was the first thing that Satan did when he was tempting Eve. He said to the woman, you shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. That's what he tempts us with. You can decide for yourself what's right and what's wrong. You don't need a book written by a bunch of old Jews to tell you what's right and wrong. You can be God to yourself. But that's a lie from the devil. What the scriptures tell us is that the law undeniably comes from God. God decides what's good and evil. God gives that to us. He has given it to us. Only God has the prerogative to decide good and evil, to show us what good and evil is. And He's done it. That's how good He is. And He gave to us good and evil. And He told us, this is good and this is evil. Follow after good and abstain from evil. And so that is the integrity of the Law and its God-likeness. Have any questions or comments on any of that? No? Alright, let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer then. Father, again, we're grateful for your goodness to us in a million different ways, but we're particularly thankful tonight, as we stop to consider this, that you didn't leave us in ignorance You didn't have a law that we were bound by without knowing what it was, but you gave it to us. You showed us that this is right and this is wrong. And then a step further, for all of the adults in the room, you empowered us by your grace You placed Christ in our stead and His righteousness, and You've given us the Spirit of God to walk after these commandments. And we're eternally indebted to You for that level of grace. We again ask that You please be with those who aren't able to be with us tonight for varying health needs and things of this nature that they might be. strengthened and brought back. We thank you for answering our prayers that Lila was born safely for both her and Lauren. Pray that there would be a quick recovery there for Lauren, that you'd cause Justin and Lauren to be faithful in their parenting of Dean and Lila, and that you'd continue to give health and safety. Please bless us as we go our separate ways, particularly Doug, as he still has work left to do, that you'd cause that to go smoothly and quickly, and that you'd bring us back together again at the appointed time. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.