The Way of Law

The Way of Law Romans 3:19-20 Introduction: A. Rock of Ages, vv. 2-3 2 Not the labors of my hands Can fulfill thy law's demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and thou alone. 3 Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to the cross I cling; Naked, come to thee for dress; Helpless, look to thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die. B. This song demonstrates that there are two ways to be right with God, two choices and only two. 1. There are two kinds of righteousness: a. personal (v. 2) or b. God’s (v. 3) 2. READ Phil 3:8-9. 3. “Righteousness” means “satisfying the requirements of the law.” a. Our own personal righteousness is how well we satisfy (or obey) God’s law. b. To satisfy God by personal righteousness, we must live perfect lives. c. What kind of personal righteousness do we have? Isaiah 64:6, “And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” 4. But God’s righteousness is His decision to pay the penalty of his own law. a. He did this the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. b. God offers to give to sinners this righteousness and let them count it as their own and be saved. c. READ 2 Cor 5:21. C.There are two gates into heaven: Law or Grace. 1. To be “under law” means that you are now in the Law line, waiting to get into heaven through the law gate, according to the rules of God’s Law, the Ten Commandments. 2. To be “under grace” means that you are now in the Grace line, waiting to get into heaven through the Grace gate, according to the rules of God’s Grace. D. Two methods of entering the gates: Working for our salvation or trusting God for our salvation. 1. We enter the Law gate based on our own personal righteousness or works. a. If your life is good enough, you can go through the law gate into heaven. b. How good does your life have to be to enter the law gate? c. It must be perfect. 2. We go through the Grace gate by faith, by believing and trusting in the righteousness earned by Jesus on the cross. 3. Today, we’ll talk about the Law way of salvation. I. The Word “Law” Is Used in Two Ways. A. Law can be a code or law can be a system. 1. The Law Code is the set of rules one is required to obey—the Ten Commandments. 2. The Law System is the way you follow the law code. a. You are under the law system if you are trying to use your law code as a way into Heaven. b. This means you are trying to get into heaven by how well you obey God’s Ten Commandments. 3. Is it possible to enter heaven under the law system? Theoretically, yes. B. Everyone is under some sort of law code, and always will be because God created us. 1. In the Garden of Eden, God had a law code for humanity. a. READ Gen 2:16-17. 2. Jews prior to Christ were subject to the Law Code of Moses. a. READ Josh 1:8. 3. Since the day the church began, everyone is subject to the New Covenant Code, or what is called the New Testament. a. READ Heb 8:8-11. b. READ Heb 8:13. Under the Old Covenant, you just had to be born a Jew. Then, as you grew older, your fellow Jews told you what the Covenant was: The Ten Commandments, and you were on your own to obey them. C.Under the New Covenant, things are different. 1. The Ten Commandments still apply because they are in the NT in some form or another. a. Under the NT, some of these commandments are stricter, like adultery. b. Adultery is not just the physical act but if we lust after someone in our hearts, we have committed adultery. c. Murder is not just the taking of someone’s life but also includes hatred. 2. But under the New Covenant, you are not on your own to keep the law. a. You have help in two forms. b. Acts 2:38—Constant forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. II. Being Under a Law Code Is Good and Essential. A. We are under some Law Code because God is our Creator, and we are his creatures. 1. READ Psalm 24:1. 2. This never changes, and we should not want it to change. 3. Rom 1 tells us that the Gentiles did not like having God as their Creator, so they changed God to gods. a. They made God in their own image. b. We see the horrible results in Rom 1:29-31 (READ). B. In this kind of environment, the only thing that restrains sin, depravity, and corruption, is the fear of government punishing the evil doer. 1. This is pretty much all we have today to restrain sin and you see how well that is working. 2. The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners. 3. The United States has 2.3 million criminals behind bars. 4. We have an imprisonment rate of 743 per 100,000 people, the highest in the world. 5. Rom 3:18, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” C.Someone may ask, “What about those Scriptures that say: ‘You are not under law, but under grace?” 1. Paul is not saying, “You Christians are no longer under a law code.” a. I once had a Sunday school teacher who said that since we are under grace, we don’t have to go by the Ten Commandments. b. I thought that she meant that we no longer have any rules as Christians. c. However, my parents set me straight on that. 2. He is saying, “You are no longer under a law system.” III. Who Is Under the Law System? Can It Work? A. Anyone who tries to get to heaven by obeying the Law Code (the Ten Commandments) is under the Law System (good works for salvation). 1. Is it possible to get to heaven by obeying one’s law code? 2. Theoretically, yes: if you follow your law code exactly right, you can be right with God through the law system. B. How does the law system work? 1. How is it possible to get to heaven by obeying one’s law code? 2. Here are the rules of the law system: a. Keep the commandments; escape the penalty. b. Break the commandments; suffer the penalty. 3. The “commandments” are The Ten Commandments, and the “penalty” is hell. C.So how does one get to heaven by the law system? 1. By doing everything the Law Code requires. a. There is one qualification: you must keep all the commandments, perfectly, all your life. b. One little sin disqualifies a person under the law system. c. READ James 2:10. IV. The Bad News and The Good News. A. The bad news for those under the law system: Rom 3:23 – “all have sinned.” 1. This is the main point of Romans 1:18—3:20. a. No one will get to heaven by using the law system because everybody sins. b. No one is righteous (Rom 3:10) and no one is good (Rom 3:12). 2. Once you sin, never be perfect again; and being perfect is the only way you can get into heaven through the law gate. 3. According to a George Barna poll about 63 percent of Americans contend that if a person is good enough, he will earn his way into Heaven. 4. READ Romans 3:19-20. B. The good news is that God has provided another way to get to heaven, one that does work. 1. This other way of getting to heaven is the system of grace. 2. Grace as a way of salvation is God’s alternative to law. 3. He prefers law, but he provides grace. Conclusion A. An active, dedicated, hard-working church member dreamed that he passed away after a long and satisfying life. 1. As he approached the heavenly gate, a sign read: “ENTRANCE REQUIREMENT: 1,000 POINTS.” 2. The man looked a bit worried. 3. He walked up to the angel guarding the gate and said, “That requirement seems pretty high. Do you think I could possibly have accumulated that many points?” 4. The angel kindly replied, “Well, tell me what you have done, and I will tell you how many points you have earned.” B. “OK, then,” the man said enthusiastically. 1. “I was an immersed believer in Jesus for 32 years, 2. I taught a Sunday school class for over 12 years, 3. I was a youth chaperone whenever they needed me. 4. I was a regular member of the church choir!” 5. “That’s wonderful!” said the angel. “Now let me see. That’s worth one point.” C.The man turned pale and began to perspire, but he went on. 1. “Well, I tithed all my income, and sometimes gave even more. 2. Also, I was an elder in the church, and I served on the finance building committees. 3. I attended every workday at the church; 4. I mowed the grass and did repairs and painting. 5. At every fellowship supper I helped set up the chairs and tables and then stayed late and helped take them down.” D. He looked expectantly at the angel, who smiled sympathetically and answered politely, “That sounds great! That’s worth another point. Now you have two points.” 1. The man looked as if he were about to go into shock. 2. “I invited a lot of people to church, and often went calling on visitation night. 3. I won quite a few people to Christ. 4. I supported the camp program, and for a while was a forwarding agent for a missionary family. 5. And I never cheated on my income tax!” E. The angel tried to be upbeat as he said, “That’s a good record of works! That’s worth still another point. Now you have three points.” 1. By now, the man was truly depressed and resigned to his fate. 2. “I may as well give up,” he blubbered. 3. “I don’t think I can ever be good enough to get into Heaven. In fact, it seems impossible for me or anybody else to get in there without the grace of God.” F. “Wait a minute. Did you say grace? 1. You know what? You’re in the wrong line! 2. This is the law gate; that’s where you need the 1,000 points. 3. Look over there: do you see that other gate, with another line of people leading up to it? 4. That’s the grace gate. 5. You don’t need any points to get in there. 6. Under grace, heaven is free!”