Promises by Grace Through Faith
Romans 4:13-16 · Jim Pool · May 14, 2006
Romans (2005-07), No. 31
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/48262351225760

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Okay, let's start off this morning with a review. We're going to be in Chapter 4, so go ahead and open up your Bibles to Chapter 4. And particularly this morning, we're going to be in verses 13, 14, 15, and 16, is where we're going to be. But for sake of review, Romans chapter 4 and verses 3 through 8, and let's see, Mike and Bob shared this, I think this section, and the emphasis here was faith alone, apart from works.

So we're in this huge section that's talking about faith, It's all faith, nothing else but faith alone is how you enter into a saving relationship with God. So apart from works, faith alone there. And then last week we looked at verses 9 through 12. Again, faith alone apart from the circumcision.

We talked specifically about that. And then this week we're going to talk about the promise is through faith, it was not through the law. And again, he's driving home this point of faith. So it's not through works, it's not through circumcision, and it's not through the law. It's simply through faith. So more specifically, a review of last week. This is going to tie into our lesson this morning.

Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness while uncircumcised. We established that point, if you remembered that last week. And it was reckoned to him while uncircumcised so that he could be the spiritual father of all who believe, either Jew or Gentile, didn't make a difference, circumcised or uncircumcised. Abraham is the spiritual father of all believers. And we're going to tie that back in this morning when it comes to verse 16. And also, because Abraham believed while uncircumcised, he's the spiritual father of all the Gentile believers.

And then, because he believed and was also circumcised, therefore, he is the spiritual father of all the Jewish believers. Just a little bit of a review of what we went over last week. So, let's look at our passage for this morning. Chapter 4, in verse 13 through 16.

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified. For the law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it is by faith that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all."

Okay, let's just dive right in here to this verse 13. The promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world would be Here is interesting, I just wanted to point this out, that it's a verb and it's present active infinitive, and it's interesting that the KJV uses the word should be. Not a whole lot of difference, but I just wanted to point that out. Won't take too much time to talk about that. Okay, the promise, the word promise, I didn't make a mention of that either because it's real straightforward. It's just to declare something as a promise. No need to really elaborate about that. It's a covenant, right? That's right. It means covenant. Exactly right. Because when the Jews talk about the covenant between them and Abraham, that's what they're talking about in the promise. That's right, yep.

And when you, Beth and Henry were, here yesterday and they've received information Henry's brother has converted to Judaism. Okay. Because he married a Jewish gal. Okay. And they're getting ready to have a baby. And so Henry and Beth have received all of this information about the circumcision ceremony. Wow. And it's all tied back to the covenant. Sure. Sure. Yeah.

And I was telling Henry that how interesting it is if you read all this it really means more to us than it does to them. It's just a ritual to them. They don't, I mean, you know, they don't really, many of them don't even believe this is true. I mean, it really was. They do it for cultural things. They do it for cultural things, yeah. Whereas to us, all of this stuff that he sent, you know, for them to study and read and know about is real important to us. That's right, that's right. Particularly the circumcision last week, we elaborated about that a lot. Yeah, that's interesting that I want to come about this week. So, the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world, meaning that he would be the spiritual father of all who believe either the Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised.

That's why I wanted to do that review, because it's tying in to where we're going to be at this morning. Particularly, let's look at Genesis, going back to this covenant agreement, back to Genesis. We read this extensively last week, but I want to look at chapter 17 and this verse here, verse 7. And so it says, I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

So very clear, you know, what's happening here. God's making this promise to Abraham or to his descendants. It's a tie-in right back in to what he was talking about back in Genesis 17, 7. To Abraham and to his descendants and to their generations to come. Let's kind of tie those things together there.

So this promise is not through the law, but it's through the righteousness of faith. Let me just read the verse again. So to the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be the heir of the world, is not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes through faith. So it's not this promise that he would be the heir, it's not through the Mosaic law, it's not through the keeping of the Mosaic law, it's not living one's life in light of the Mosaic law, but it's through faith.

And that's, again, what he's driving home through this whole section of scripture. And this one he's contrasting faith with the law, the four of us works in circumcision. Just a reminder, we've talked about this before too, I mean, I see Mike brought it up, I think Bob's brought it up, so God carrying out the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. He's going to do it no matter what.

This is an unconditional agreement with God, based on God's faithfulness alone, not based on Abraham's faithfulness. Question? No? Okay. So God chose Abraham, a man who believed God, as a person that he was going to make this agreement with. It's a covenant that relies on God's faithfulness, but it's based on faith. And so God's going to Choose a man that is believed, that is a man that is trusted in God, and that's the person he's going to set this agreement up with. He's not just going to choose some, in a sense, some rank pagan center to make this agreement with. He's going to choose a man of faith. So therefore, the man who he chose to make this agreement with was Abraham.

So, Newell states it this way, it's not that faith is a righteous, meritorious thing, but simply a divine mode of blessing. I think we need to remember that, that faith isn't a righteous or meritorious thing where I believe therefore God owes me this. Faith isn't a work, we're going to get into that a little bit more as we get into the lesson, and Mike drove that point home quite well. But again, that's something that we always need to be reminded of.

Let's take the time and read through Galatians 3, because this really talks about a very similar thing that this passage in Romans chapter 4 is talking about. So, Galatians 3, and we're going to read, I might skip a bit because this is a large section, but let's start in verse 6.

Even so, Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Same thing that we're talking about in Romans chapter 4 here. Therefore, be sure that it is to those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham. Same thing that we're talking about in Romans 4.

In a scripture foreseen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, All the nations shall be blessed in you. So then, those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer. See? Those who are of faith are blessed. Not those who are of good works, not those who are of the circumcision, not those who are of the law, but those who are of faith.

That's the whole point. The big drive home point of this passage. Verse 10. For as many as are of works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them. Now that no one is justified by the law before God is evident. For the righteous man shall live by faith. However, the law is not a faith. On the contrary, he who practices them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.

For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, in order that Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham, might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations, even though it is only a man's covenant. Yet, when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. Now, the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, and to seeds, as referring to many, but rather to one, and to your seed, that is Christ. What am I saying? What I am saying is this.

The law came 430 years later. This does not validate a covenant previously ratified by God so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on a promise. But God has granted to Abraham by means of a promise.

Exactly what we're talking about here in chapter 4 of Romans. So why the law then? It was added because of transgressions. having been ordained through the angels by the agency of a mediator until the seed should come to whom the promise has been made. Now a mediator is not for one party only, whereas God is the only one. Is the law then contrary to the promise? Promises of God may it never be. For if the law has been given which is able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the scriptures has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Okay, we'll stop there. Just reiterating the same point that we're getting at. I'm not going to take that verse by verse. We're not doing a study of Galatians. But it's really communicating the same thing that we're talking about here in Romans chapter 4.

So we see a section here of law versus faith. So the law principle is one does something, therefore they are owed a payment for what they've done. I've done this, therefore you owe me because I've done this, and I'm going to expect you to pay, whatever it might be. In the faith principle, one believes, therefore they receive, based on grace, and it's simply a free gift. We all probably understand the big difference between law and faith, but that's really what's being driven at here.

Let's just read this again. In verse 14, for if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified. So basically what we're seeing is this. If a person could become an heir of the promise based on law, that is doing something, some good work there by putting God in a position where God had to do something for them because of what they've already done, then becoming an error based on faith is made void and the promise is nullified.

Do you guys follow that? Exactly. Yeah, that's right. This is a huge biblical theme. And it's no surprise because it's coming in Romans chapter 4. We went three and a half chapters. Everybody's guilty, understood and forgotten. Now we've got this huge principle of faith and grace coming out in Romans chapter 3 and 4 and 5. Yeah. Okay. Let's see here.

So Paul tells us why the promise cannot be attained through the law. For if it could, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified. It can't. The promise cannot be attained through the law. If it could, then faith would be void and the promise would be nullified. It can't happen is what Paul is trying to communicate to these guys here.

Those who are of the law are those who are out of the law, or those who are basing their hope for an inheritance out of the law. That's kind of what it's driving at there when it says, for who are of the law. So, if those living under the law can partake of the promise, then two things happen. And we have a conditional clause that's happened here. If those living under the law can partake of the promise, then two things happen.

One, faith is made void and the promise is nullified. It can't happen, but Paul is saying if they could, then this is what the result would be. Faith would be made void and the promise would be nullified. So let's look specifically at this idea here of the faith being made void.

It's a perfect passive indicative and the perfect tense is an action which has been completed and stands completed in the present. It's past completed and it stands completed in the present. It would be, if someone could enter into the promise based on the law, then faith would be made void, it would be made void. It would not be made void in the sense where it could be overturned down the road. It would be a completed action, undoable again, if that makes sense to you guys. So, that's what he's driving at. So to make void, faith would be made void, it would be derived of its force, it would be rendered vain, useless, faith would be of no effect, or faith would be empty.

And the whole thing crumbles. Everything falls apart. If they could enter into this promise based on the law, everything, I mean the principle of faith of which God has set everything up for man to enter into a relationship with God, everything just crumbles, it falls apart. So, Wiest says it like this, faith has been voided. and as a present result, in a state of invalidation. That's how he described what would be happening here if someone could enter into the promise based on the law. That's what would be happening.

So, first of all, faith would be made void, is made void. And secondly, the promise is nullified. So, if this were to happen to faith, then the promise would be permanently inoperative. If faith was made of void, then therefore there would be no way to enter into the promise, because the way to enter into the promise is based on faith. So, if faith is made of void, therefore the promise would be... 100% made inoperative. The word there, nullified, simply means to null or to render inoperative.

I didn't look up and see what the KJV uses there. Any thoughts or questions about that? Can't enter into the promise through the law. Thoughts? This is going to take us into verse 15. Okay, so then the law is going to bring about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation, is what we're going to see in verse 15. So, verse 14, we saw what the law could not do. It was clearly stated to us they could not secure for us entrance or an inheritance into the promise. So verse 15, we see what the law can do. It can bring about wrath.

Boy, he's really wanting to... So, boy, are we going to want to live under the law or are we going to want to live under grace? It's amazing how easily people get sucked into living under the law. Not only for the audience that Paul was writing to here, but obviously for thousands of believers today that fall into the trap of living under the law.

So, the law is going to bring about wrath, which is in the present, the middle indicative, and it's going to result in or bring about wrath, meaning indignation or anger. I didn't go into too much about this idea of wrath, but ultimately it's talking about bringing about the wrath of God. If you're going to live under the law, it's going to bring about the wrath of God. It kind of ties that back into earlier passages in Romans where we did get into wrath a little bit in the earlier part of chapter 2. Verse 5 here talks about wrath. Okay, so a couple of things just here about the law, just kind of in general. The law gives no life, mentioned that in Romans 3, verse 20. It has no power over the flesh.

It's administration of death and condemnation and the power of sin is in the law. So again, it just baffles my mind when somebody says, or someone lives under the law. Why would you have the operating principle of your life be something that can give you no life, that is lifeless, and the purpose of it is to show you your sin? Why would you want to live your life under an operating principle of that, which purpose is to show you your sin?

It just doesn't make a darn bit of sense. that they put themselves under a lot. I mean, they sort of they know they were saved by grace. They'll they'll say, oh, I was saved by grace, but they have no clue that their whole life is being. Sure, that's right. So give us an example, I like to call it a self-imposed law. We're not under the Ten Commandments. We might not be holding to the 613, whatever they are. But what are some self-imposed laws that we can quite easily put on ourselves? And we all have them, I think.

Did we do this or that today? Did I read my Bible today? We donate to charities. We volunteer for the church, or for the school, or for the charity. What's my attitude been like today? What are the inward things that we might wrestle with in our own minds that nobody else might know about? Have I been nice to Rachel today? If I'm going to put myself under, that's a valid question to ask. no doubt about it, but if I'm going to put myself under a law, then I've got to make sure I'm being nice to Rachel today.

Those are the things that oftentimes get me. I have those things in my mind, as opposed to truly resting my faith in the grace of God, and therefore my work's coming out of that. How's my attitude at work been? Have I been short-tempered or angry? How have I treated Rachel?

Yeah, I know this kind of thing. Tricky, subtle stuff. Stuff we're trusting the Lord for, though, I know. Are those kind of things really laws? Can be. Is it only if you're treating that as some means of gaining righteousness or being righteous? Or feeling like you're in a right relationship with God, or feeling like you're doing okay? I think you're probably feeling like you're doing okay. Yeah. But you take yourself outside of that and just, you do certain things throughout the course of every day. And if it's not for that, if you're not motivated for the righteousness part, then it's not really a law kind of thing, is it? No, if your motivation is right, and if your source is right, it's not a law at all.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. It has to be the source. That's right. Where is the source? Yeah, no doubt. The source is coming from the life. Sure. But we can't micromanage that. That's right. You can't go, let's see, is this from the life, or is this from the flesh? It can't be that.

Things that just flow, that you don't think about, that you just do, a lot of times those are from the right source, as opposed to, like you said, well let's see, was I nice to Rachel today? Or was I nice to mom today? Did I lose my patience? Once I'm there, I'm in the flesh. If I'm trying to evaluate what it is, it was definitely flesh. Yeah.

The ultimate thing is to walk by faith. God desires us, and I think he calls us to walk by faith. And therefore, as we're walking by faith, Christ is living his life in and through us. And therefore, I'm doing the things that it is that God wants me to be doing. with my relationship with Rachel, with my things that are going on at work, and then there is the right source.

But when I get my eyes off of the Lord, and I get them on myself and in my circumstances, and I just simply ask, how am I doing at this for the sake of how am I doing without God as the source and without God in the picture, then I have immediately I think, put myself under a self-imposed law of, how am I doing? Because I want to be feeling better today because I've done well at work or I've been treating Rachel good today. Therefore, I want to be feeling better today.

That's, I think, where we fall into the fleshly trap. But as I'm walking by faith and Christ is living his life in and through me, then I will be. I don't think it's a wrong question to ask. How am I treating my life though? Or how am I doing at work? As long as it's in light of walking by faith and Christ living his life in and through me. Don't you think sometimes too that's the Holy Spirit?

The fact that you're being convicted. Sure. If you're not walking by the Spirit and in Him, I think the Holy Spirit convicts us. Oh, no doubt. Absolutely. Yeah. I need to focus back on the Lord. That's right. I'm not doing a very good job on my own. Yeah, that's right.

I mean, the scriptures say that one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin. And does God desire us to walk in the Spirit? Hands down. Absolutely. So when we're not, what do you think He's going to do? He's going to get us back on that track and going in that direction. No doubt. Okay.

So back to this particular passage, what was happening is, what the point is that Paul's wanting to show that they cannot be inheritors of the promise through the law. And so people were falling into the trap of trying to think they could or to become inheritors of the Abrahamic covenant, the agreement, the promise, through the keeping of the law. And Paul's saying, no way, uh-uh. And here's a few things about the law that is just driving that point home. So the second part of verse 15, it's interesting. He says, where there is no law, neither is there a violation.

I did look this one up. The KJV uses the word transgression. I think that's a much better translation of the word from the Greek than violation. Actually, transgression is what would be correct. I think NES used a little super a bounding of liberty to make a violation. So, let's talk about this because it's an interesting thing.

It says where there is no law, neither is there a transgression or a violation. So, let's just walk through this a little bit. Transgression is really the word there and it means a going over or a stepping over the mark or a disregarding of something. That's what the word transgression So, this is not the same word that's used for sin. It's a completely different word. They're not really similar in any way. It's not a different form of the same word. They're just different words.

So, transgression is going beyond what has been specifically set forth in a law or in a command. So, every transgression is a sin, but every sin is not necessarily a transgression. We think about it that way as well. So because the law was given, there was sin, but there was no transgression. I'm sorry, before the law was given, there was sin, but there was no transgression. The transgression came after the law because there was a going over or a disregarding of the law. Therefore, there was a transgression.

Does that make sense? Kind of track that through? Any thoughts? Is it simple when we kind of break it down? The way that it stands, boy, what in the world is that talking about? You know, when there's no law, there's transgression. But I think it's pretty simple when we break it down.

So then, verse 16 says, For this reason, well, what reason? What's he talking about here? For this reason. because the promise is not through the law, the promise is not going to come through the law, and the law brings about wrath, therefore it is by faith, so that it can be in accordance with grace. So he's stated this point, he's stated this point, he's stated this point, and boom, he comes back to his main point, which he also pointed out in verse 13, that it's through the righteousness of faith. So he's coming back to the same point again in verse 16, it is by faith, in order that In order that, it might be in accordance with grace. So simple faith and trust in the Lord is what it is that he's driving at.

A couple thoughts about faith here. I know Mike brought a lot of these out and Bob did as well earlier in this chapter. But just for review, faith is not a work. and is not something in which God will see as earning a wage. God doesn't owe us because we have believed. Now, does God want us to believe?

Absolutely. I did a study of the word believe, or the verb believe. It's used some 200 and 30 some odd times, I think, in scripture as a verb, and over 95% of the time it's in the active voice. So, hands down, the evidence, the scriptural evidence, that God wants us to be walking by faith, and it's an imperative that we are walking by faith, is scripturally, I mean, the evidence is overbounding. So, it's not a work, it's not something that we gain, something that God owes us.

But does God want us to be doing it? Absolutely. All the time, He wants us to be walking by faith. So because of this, it is in accordance with God's grace, which is a complete a complete free gift from God. Unmeritorious, God completely gives and we just simply receive. And this is the case so that the promise may be certain to all descendants.

It's not going to be based on the law. or based on circumcision, or based on good works, it's not based on any of that. If it were based on circumcision, then only certain people would be able to enter into a right relationship with God. If entering into the promise was based on the law, only those who were able to keep the law would be those who were able to enter into the promise. Now we know that that can't happen, but the point is, it's based on faith, in accordance with God's grace, so that everybody will be able to enter in, because it's based on faith and God's grace.

Not if you are a Jew or a Gentile, or you kept or don't keep the law, all that is removed, so that the only ground remaining is faith and God's grace, and everybody is included. Nobody is excluded from being able to to partake of the promise, the spiritual promise, that Abraham is going to be the spiritual father of all. All who believe, either Jews or Gentiles, circumcised or uncircumcised, that it doesn't matter, it doesn't make a difference one way or the other. Again, these are the exact same points that we looked at in our opening slide for the review. So because Abraham believed while uncircumcised, he's the spiritual father of all the Gentile believers. And because he believed and was also circumcised, he's the spiritual father of all the Jewish believers. I had some miscellaneous thoughts that I didn't put in this slide this morning. That's what that is. I X'd it out. Any thoughts? This isn't real tricky stuff, but I think real profound points.

Is the grace that we read about in the New Testament in the churches and that we know in our lives How does that compare to the Old Testament and the grace that was given to the Old Testament believers? I'm having a hard time seeing if there is any division between the grace that God gave them and the grace that we have. I think the character of God's grace has always been the same.

You know, if you think about the nature and the character of God. Did everybody hear Laven's question? First of all? That's a good question. The character of God's grace has always been the same, because God's character never changes. From eternity past to eternity future, it will never, ever change. I think the way that God has manifested His grace, has been different through history and through time. I think there's tons of scriptural evidence of how he's manifested his grace differently throughout the different dispensations, if you want to use the dispensational term.

I think a gracious move by God, once sin happened, was to give Adam and Eve, to ask them what happened. and to give them an opportunity to confess their sin of eating of the fruit. What did he do? What happened? He engaged in dialogue with them there, instead of just dropping the heavy-handed.

And then throughout, we see all kinds of God's grace being manifested in the Old Testament. And then we see God's grace being manifested differently in the New Testament. We see He's, through the Holy Spirit, baptized people into the body of Christ. He's blessed us with all spiritual blessings. He's superabounded us with grace in the New Testament.

But His character, I think, has always been the same. What are everybody else's thoughts about that? No other thoughts. What are you thinking? I don't know. I mean, just since we started Romans, I had just pictured the Old Testament being just so much under the law, and that's how God dealt with it. I just pictured it more like, if they did this, then God would bless them. And just since we started Romans, I haven't seen that. I guess it's like he's faithful regardless. I don't know, I've just never seen it like that before. God put the law in place there, but that does not exclude the principle of faith. So it's always faith, but then certainly God did put in the system of the law, sure.

It's easy, I think. It's easy when we see so much of the New Testament position on truths. We see such, I mean, the wealth that we've scratched the surface and we're barely scratching the surface of how deep our intimacy with the Lord is and our position with the Lord is. I think when we begin to see it, we just kind of are floored. And we know that that began on the day of Pentecost, when you look at it in a dispensational way. And so we see how great and grand and awesome it is, and therefore it's easy for us to kind of just smother everything else in a way.

And, boy, God's done this now, so what he did back then, boy, it couldn't have been that great. Boy, God's still a great God, and God still loved people, and He was still gracious, and He was still merciful, and He was still patient and loving back then. But He chose to deal with people differently, in different times. I mean, he was, you know, there was a lot of righteous anger and punishment and all those things, but he continued to give them another chance. Yeah, that's right. Over and over and over. That's right. He always loved his people. He would chastise them and discipline them, you know, and then he would always go back and offer them another way to believe. That's right.

And the atonement, the fact that he had the atonement that pointed to Christ, I think, was a huge way, even within the law, to give them a grace. He was being gracious to them because they had the atonement. But there was still so much that pointed forward. Of course, at the time, they didn't understand that. That's right.

And see, people weren't seeing their need for God in the Old Testament. People weren't seeing their sinfulness. And until the law, there was no transgression. We just saw that this morning. So it's almost a gracious move for God to give the law, if you can kind of reconcile that together. Because God wanted people to see their sinfulness so that they would be drawn to Him. They weren't seeing it. They weren't seeing it.

So therefore, boom, He brings in the law. Why? So that it will ultimately drive people to Him. So, but therefore they're under this operating principle, which they can't keep, and it is a legal system, but the point was to drive them to God, and unfortunately, and today, even though we're way post-Paul, we still try to go back under that legal system, which God gave to them to show them the need for God.

It's a tremendous Just shame. But it happens. I have so many friends who they put themselves so much under trying to do right based on their refrigerator list or whatever they're being taught at their church that they're disillusioned and they're frustrated and they're worn out. That's right, that's right.

And then they still are sinning and they kind of go how can I be So in a sense, the law is working. It's showing them that they can't keep up, that they can't measure up. It's showing them, but sometimes, all of us have come to an understanding of God's grace in different ways, in different points in our lives. But they're not quite to that point yet, where they say, boy, it's not me, but it's the Lord. It's not my effort to place God's grace.

You know, one thing is that, And you've gone through the book, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, which is from Creation to Christ. It's kind of a chronological overview. And one thing that I like about that is it brings out the goodness and the greatness of God, but it also lets the sinfulness of man stand. I think there's both of those. God's a loving God, but He's also a just and He's also a righteous God. So, we're going through it with our neighbors and boy, whenever a point comes out about the goodness and the greatness of God, I'm making sure I'm emphasizing that. Because I think too often times, too often we don't see the goodness and the graciousness and the patience and the mercifulness of God. Even in the Old Testament, sure. Yet the New Testament is even grander than the Old Testament is. Does that make sense?

I think it's cool. One more story real quick. Scott McManigal, who was a good friend of ours in Thailand, he took the extended chronological creation of Christ through a tribal situation up in the mountains of Thailand, where we lived for a year. He went through years and years of teaching, learning their language and then teaching these guys about salvation, starting with creation and ending with Christ. And he did that.

He let the goodness of God come out in the Old Testament, yet also let the sinfulness and where man's fallen short in relationship to God. And boy, it was incredible. How they were able to see that and now did that take away from the New Testament truths of God dealing with mankind now? No. But they had such a kind of a neat understanding of God's character that came out of the Old Testament.

So just another kind of story there of how it impacts people. I think we kind of miss that a little bit sometimes. Let's pray. Lord, thanks for our time. Thanks for your word here and conversation following afterwards. And just thanks for your goodness, for your greatness, for your love and your compassion and your care that we do see in the Old Testament. And thanks also for your super abounding grace that we see in the New Testament where you have positioned us in you that we are identified in you where you've blessed us with all spiritual blessings and given us everything pertaining to life and godliness so we can simply rest and abide and believe, walk by faith in you in light of all that you have done for us. Thanks for that too.