August 23, 2009

SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
Of Princeton, New Jersey

Matthew 5: 21: Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:

MEETING LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd floor
150 Washington Street, Rocky Hill, NJ, 08553

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
Sunday 10 AM Bible Class
11 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7:00 PM Mid-week Service

WEB ADDRESSES AND MAILING ADDRESS
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www.freegraceradio.com

7 Birch Street
Pennington, New Jersey, 08534
Phone: 615-513-4464
Email: clay@sovereign-grace.us

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Let no one imagine that the gospel lowers either the law of God or the holiness of his saints.

BREAKING AND TEACHING
Matthew 5: 17-19

The very fact that God sent his Son into the world to fulfill the law declares two things: 1) It declares the absolute inability of any sinner to fulfill the law by his own obedience; 2) It declares how absolutely necessary it is for the law of God to be fulfilled by each child of God who shall enter into his glorious presence.

The Lord says, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so" shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. The word "break" means to loosen from or to lessen in importance. Whosoever unlooses himself from even one of God's commandments or whosoever shall lessen God's requirements and teach men so shall have no place in the kingdom.

This does not mean that Christ's ambassadors are able to fulfill the law or that one should teach sinners to imagine they are able to do so. It means we must believe on Christ who has fulfilled the law as the Representative and Substitute of his people and we must teach others to do the same. This is how the law is done and taught (Ro 3: 31.)

If we do not rest all our hope of righteousness in Christ then we are forced to either unloose ourselves from the requirements of God's law or lessen the law's requirements in order to bring the law down to a level which sinners can keep. All who teach obedience to the law for: 1) righteousness, 2) for an improvement of ones standing with God or 3) for spiritual growth not only break the law, but teach others so.

True spiritual growth is not through the law. It is by the Holy Spirit, in the spiritual virtues of the new man, through the knowledge of Christ Jesus as proclaimed in the gospel (2 Pet 1: 1-9.) Growth in grace will result in a mortifying of the deeds of the flesh. But the growth comes through the gospel not through the law. The Lord Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me." He did not say take my yoke upon you and learn of you and your law keeping. (Mt. 11: 29.) It is impossible to take the yoke of Christ and to learn of Christ while continually concentrating on the message of law and man's morality. Such is not the light and easy yoke of Christ, but in those high places you always find the same oppressive, hard bondage of the Pharisees who accused even Christ of being against his own law.

THE CURSE OF THE LAW
The Pharisees and scribes made the whole law of God void by simply dividing the law of God into greater and lesser law. They only regarded the letter of the law with no regard that the law is spiritual, that the law requires heart obedience and condemns the hidden man of the heart. They could only enforce the law as long as murder was simply in the physical killing of another man; they could only appear to have kept the law by regarding murder to be a physical act; but they omitted the fact that the transgression of the law of murder has occurred when a sinner is angry with another in the heart (Mt 5: 21, 22.) So it is with all the law. So the reason that those who are of the works of the law are under the curse.

Galatians 3: 10: For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11: But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12: And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

THE SAME SHALL BE CALLED GREAT
Matthew 5: 19:...But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Truly, there is but one who himself has done the law and who teaches others how to do the law. The Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God said, "I came not do destroy the law but to fulfill." Isaiah 54 says "They shall all be taught of the Lord." He is the doer. And he is the teacher. The same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

DOING AND TEACHING
Only the believer understands how holy, just and good the law of God is; only the believer establishes the law through faith in Christ; only the believer has a God-wrought desire to honor the law in all areas of his life. God's true ambassadors are the only ones who truly teach others the necessity of perfect obedience which no sinner can do which required God's Son living and dying as the Representative and Substitute of those given him before the foundation of the world.

When God gave the law to Moses, God knew when he said "this do and live" that not a sinner in time would ever do his law. But God was not unjust in saying it. The weakness was in us, not in the law. So it is in this verse when our Lord says, "whosoever shall do and teach shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." It is not that there is a sinner, who himself, can do the law. But we "do the law" by trusting Christ who did it for us. We teach by declaring to others the demands of holy law, that others might trust Christ as well. When the Spirit of God makes a sinner to behold the spirituality of the law, that it condemns even the thoughts and intents of the heart, that it must be upheld in absolute perfection, then the sinner is brought to cast all their care on Christ. This is what we do and what we teach.

We teach that by faith in Christ the believer is dead to the law and married to Christ. The believer walks in newness of life under the law of, the rule of, Christ, not the oldness of the letter of the law of Moses. The law is not dead our old carnal man is dead. In our new resurrected nature we are married--ONE--with Christ. Therefore the fruit we bring forth is of Christ's production. Through the Spirit of God in us, through the doing and dying of our Savior, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us and all our works are accepted of God.

Therefore, believers no longer use the law of Moses to bind, drive or motivate but now use the law for the purpose in which Christ gave it, to give the knowledge of sin to those who think they have acceptance with God by their works of law-obedience.

SERMONS
The Wings of our Salvation
Breaking, Doing, Teaching
A Vow Unto the Lord

ARTICLES FROM OTHERS
Let There Be Light
An Eternal Union With Christ
Unless Christ
Water and Blood
He Gave His Only Son