Alright guys, what time is it? Time to preach the Word. Alright, here we go. We've been looking through Romans. Romans through Romans, right? Right? And it's all about the Gospel, right? Right? And the gospel, we're not ashamed of the gospel. Why? Because it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And so the point is that I've shared and I've emphasized again and again and again and again and again and again and again is that when Paul begins to describe the gospel, something he's not ashamed of, he doesn't start with God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. He doesn't start there, and there's a reason, guys. He starts with God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, okay? And so it starts, guys, the gospel starts with a diagnosis, okay? We have to know, are we sick? And if we're sick, what's our problem? Do we have cancer? Do we have a cough, right? You don't take cough medicine if you've got cancer, okay? You don't take chemo if you've got a cough. And so we've got to figure out, are you a good person or not? That's what the gospel addresses. Are you a good person or not? Begins with, are you guilty or are you innocent? And so that's where, again, Paul doesn't take us for this diagnosis. He doesn't take us to the doctor's office. Where does he take us? to the courtroom. Good job, Rowan. Courtroom. So we've got in our courtroom, we've got the judge. He is to give a verdict of either what he hears all the facts of the case and he judges whether the person is guilty or not guilty guilty or not guilty. That's what the judge is doing and we have a. prosecutors and the prosecutor accuses the guilty okay so Josh is the prosecutor okay and that's what the Apostle Paul is he begins to share the gospel the Apostle Paul in Romans 1 through 3 he's the prosecutor for God he is charging sinners okay and who's he charging We're gonna see he charges and shows that all people both Jews who are the Jews? People with the Bible and the Greeks who are the Greeks people without the Bible in other words, that's Everybody that is accused. That's you. That's me. We stand. Okay Before God we're going to give an account. Are we guilty or are we innocent? And that's what the got the gospel begins with it. I've already told you it ends with this All are under sin. All are guilty. But Paul doesn't just jump to that. He doesn't just say, you're guilty. He gives witnesses and shows. So, Tashi, who was witness number one? It was God through nature. God has made the truth obvious. Everybody knows it. God speaks. The heavens are declaring the glory of God. And yet people, what do we do with that truth? We suppress it. At the end of witness number one, it shows that we are without excuse. We are guilty and without excuse. Who is witness number two, Joshi? Your conscience. Remember, what is your conscience again? It is your soul's warning system. Just like God gave you pain, you feel pain, so you learn not to stick your finger in fire. Why? It hurts. Your conscience, it's not the voice of God in it, your conscience lets light in. So it judges everything you do. Is it right or wrong? And if you do things that are wrong, your conscience accuses you. You feel guilty. If you do what's right, your conscience commends you, excuses you. Everyone has this conscience. And the point is, what we saw last week, is what? According to your conscience, witness number two, you're guilty. And not only that, you're guilty because You condemn yourself. So is it looking good for us? Are we looking guilty or innocent? Now guys, God can end there, but we've got a third witness that Paul goes to. Okay. What's your third witness? The law of God. Okay. The law of God is the third final witness that we're going to see in this courtroom. Okay. What does the law say? Well, let's see, we'll jump down to Romans 3.20. It says, for by the works of the law, there it is, works by the law, doing what the law says, obeying the law. By works of the law, no human being will be justified in God's sight. What that's saying is this, nobody is gonna think that they obeyed the law, stand before the judge, who won't be John in that last day, it'll be God, and expect the judge to say, you're not guilty. How many human beings will stand before God and say, God, I obeyed the law pretty good. And God will say, you're righteous. How many people is that going to happen to? Nobody. That's what that first part of the verse says. By the works of the law, by obeying the law, no human being will be justified, declared innocent, declared righteous in the sight of God. And this is the point I want to emphasize. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Through the law comes the knowledge of sin. This is the main thing I wanna get you guys to understand. I want you guys to understand it's called the pedagogical, I can't even say it, the pedagogical use of the law. Now if I can't even say it, that's pretty hard for you guys to understand, isn't it? Pedagogical. Most of you guys already understand this. And so you're gonna help the whole congregation in here, okay? Because what we're getting at is this, guys, okay? Elliot, how many commandments does God give on Mount Sinai? Ten commandments! Very good! Ensley, what is God's law? What are the ten commandments sometimes called? God's moral law. Now, the rest of these, I don't know if you guys are going to remember them, so if you remember, raise your hand and you can say it, okay? What is it? The first commandment is you shall have more of the gospel before me. What does the first commandment teach us? to worship God only. Second commandment, you're not to make any idols. What does the second commandment teach us? Not to worship idols. Does anybody know? Aiden? To worship God in the right way and avoid idolatry. You're half right. Good job, Rowan. The third commandment, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God's name in vain. What does the third commandment teach us? So reverence God's name, word and words. Very good. The fourth commandment is to remember the Sabbath. What does the fourth commandment teach us? To keep the Sabbath holy. Very good. Those commandments are our duty to God. The fifth commandment is to honor your father and mother. What does the fifth commandment teach us? Remember, you guys remember? To love God. To love and obey your parents, and not just on Mother's Day, guys. Every day. The sixth commandment, do not murder. What does the sixth commandment teach us? Not to kill, but more than that, what does it teach us? To avoid hatred and all that leads to it, all that follows from it. The seventh commandment is you shall not commit adultery. What does the seventh commandment teach us? Remember this one? We appear in heart, language, and conduct. That's right. I'll do that in the Catechism for you guys. Get some dancing in church. The 8th commandment is you shall not steal. What does the 8th commandment teach us? Do not take the things of others and be honest. The 9th commandment is you shall not bear false witness. What does the 9th commandment teach us? Not to lie. What else? To be honest, to tell the truth, not to lie, to tell the truth, and not to speak evil of others. The Tenth Commandment, do not covet. What does the Tenth Commandment teach us? Very good. To be content with what you have. So that is the Ten Commandments. You guys knew it a while ago, but you still were able to get them pretty good. Now, here is the thing, guys. Can any man keep these Ten Commandments? Be right. Perfectly! That's what he said. Perfect. He loves that one. No mere man since the fall of Adam. No mere man. Why? Why isn't it a mere man? Because there's a God-man who did. But there's no mere man who ever did or can, since the fall of Adam, keep these Ten Commandments. Well then, what's the purpose of them? And see guys, this is what we're looking at right here. This is what the first part of the verse says. By the works of the law, how many human beings will be justified? None. Why? Because no mere man can keep them. The law can't save. So what's the point of the law? The next question in the Catechism. Of what use are the Ten Commandments to us? They teach us our duty, they show us what we ought to do, they make clear our condemnation, and they show us our need of a Savior. Guys, what I'm emphasizing today is that through the law comes the knowledge of sin. What we're saying is this. God's law wasn't given so that we could keep it and then find ourselves approved by God at the judgment seat. No human being would be justified that way. The point of the law is to make clear our condemnation. What does that mean? our condemnation. That means when we stand before the judge, every one of us will. What is God going to declare? Guilty. Guilty. For sure, guys. And what the law does, guys, is it makes it obvious for us now to see it. The law, guys, is not intended to save us. The law is a mirror. to show us, to reveal our sin to ourselves. We all think we're pretty good. We all flatter ourselves. God would never send me to hell. I don't deserve that. But the law comes and shows, you're a guilty sinner. See, and that's why, guys, I only shave half my face. You didn't tell me. But the point is this guys, the mirror shows, I missed a little spot, right? None of you guys told me. I looked at you, I was waiting for something. I only shaved half my face. See a mirror guys, I take a mirror and I look and I think, oh man, I need to shave the rest, right? Now, should I take this mirror and try to shave my face? That would be foolish to try to use the mirror to change my face the purpose of the mirror is to what is to drive me The purpose of the mirror is I see something's wrong and it drives me to a razor where I can shave the rest of my face. That's the purpose of the law. The law of God is not to say not the purpose. The purpose of the law, the Ten Commandments that we can't keep, is to drive us to the Savior, to Jesus. It's not that God wants us to feel bad, it's that God wants us to know we have a problem, there's something wrong, we're guilty sinners, and guilty sinners don't go to heaven. But God sent a Savior. And so the law should send us to the Savior. And that's what the law drives us Jesus so let's thank God that he gave us the Ten Commandments not so we can be good And so that we would see we need Jesus. Let's pray here God. We thank you for your word We thank you for the law that shows us how badly we need Jesus Thank you for sending him that he came to keep the law for his people and to pay the punishment due to their sins