Lesson 23c & begin 7:1-6 Lesson 24a

Okay, we're going to wrap up the last two questions here. Question number 9, lesson 23. What is the proof that sin doesn't pass unnoticed? What's the proof? Let's look at verse 23. Can someone read that for us? For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Okay. So I had to make sure that everybody had these questions. Yeah. Let's get those up there. Does anybody need a printout of the board? Or want one? Thanks. So the wages of sin is what? Death. Alright. Is that the answer? It is. But death is indeed the king of terrors.

A well-known writer says, and this is going to be, I'm going to read for a few minutes, this is interesting. A well-known writer says, man finds in death an end to every hope, to every project, to all his thoughts and plans. The busy scene in which the whole life has been knows him no more. His nature has given way, powerless to resist this master that is death to which it belongs, and who now asserts his dreadful rights.

But this is far from being all. Man indeed, as man alive in this world, sinks down into nothing. But why? Sin has come in, with sin, conscious, with sin, Satan's power, still more with sin, God's judgment. Death is the expression and witness of all of this. It is the wages of sin, terror to the conscious Satan, Satan's power over us, for he has the power of death. That's the reality here.

No way. Yes. That means you have to work for grace. No. Wages are a reward. And what's the reward? Life? Death? Grace? No. Grace you don't have to work for. What comes first? Grace or death? Death. But through that is life. Well, not for everyone. Okay. I give. The wages of sin is death, and that's what we're talking about.

The entire result of our situation without grace is the terror of death and all of its meaning, that three-part meaning. Separation from God physically, which we all are going to face. Separation from God spiritually, which we faced by being born in Adam. Separation from God eternally, if you remain in those sins.

But God can help. Alas, it is his own judgment on sin. Death seems but as the proof that sin does not pass unnoticed, and is the terror and plague of the conscience. As witness of God's judgment, the officer of justice to the criminal, and the proof of his guilt in the presence of a coming judgment. How can it but be terrible? It is the seal upon the fall and ruin and condemnation of first Adam. And he has nothing but this old nature.

Paul using the word slave is painting a picture for the Romans that was very clear to them. We looked at last week, he's using human terms so that they could understand it. Jim's brought up some good points as he's looked at that word. One of the things that a lot of English translators have done with that word is soften it a little bit because of the history of slavery during the times of English translations.

But that's not the case. Paul was in a very, very slave-based system. Romans knew it. Most Romans were dealing with that very slavery themselves. Paul sure did. And so the term here, while in a negative sense, slaves to sin, it is a privilege to be a slave to righteousness. And that's what Paul was really trying to communicate here. There's very clearly this contrast that Paul has made known to us.

But what's interesting is, not only is there a wage of sin which is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So that word free gift is interesting. That word is actually charisma, which would be translated better as gracious gift. Very gracious gift. Not just free, but graciously free. Right? It's the same word as in Romans 5, 15, and 16. Let's look back at that.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For by the transgression of the one, the many died. Much more, did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For on the one hand, the judgment across from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand, the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification."

So grace is the environment in which this free gift was given. We said grace given, and I added that, I think that's on the printout too. Yeah, grace given. Not just free gift, but a gracious gift. It's the expression which describes what is behind God's gift, His grace.

And what is, here, God's grace bestowal, eternal life, in Christ Jesus our Lord. What a bestowment of grace this is. Sins born, pardoned, gone, and more, a welcoming in heaven, and more, life granted to a lost soul, dead in sins, and more, eternal life, to last as long as God its giver. But more, life in Christ Jesus our Lord Himself, and that's now. sharing his life who is the well-beloved of the Father, sharing the love wherewith God hath loved Christ, life, eternal life in Christ Jesus, God's grace gift.

I like that. So what is grace? Well, we got the answer right. I know, I just... Okay, pretend like it's not there. I wanted to share... Did you send this out with the notes as well? It's on the back of the one. Okay, so you guys have this on the back of your notes? Or something? Yeah. Show notes. Let's just work through a few of these. I'm not going to go through all of them.

So the nature of grace. Grace is God's acting freely according to his own nature as love, with no promises or obligations to fulfill. And that's the key part, which is why we can't say the wages of sin is life, right? Grace is based on no promises or obligations to be fulfilled, and acting of course righteously in view of the cross. Just another way of saying some of what we've already defined here. Grace, therefore, is uncaused in the recipient.

Its cause lies wholly in the giver, in God. You can't cause grace. God causes grace. Its cause is wholly in the giver. It's also sovereign, not having debts to pay or fulfilled conditions on man's part to wait for. It can act toward whom and how it pleases. It can and does often place the worst deservers in the highest favors.

Do we like that? No, we don't. The law doesn't like that. We like it as we understand it. But the law would have us earning. And it would have us comparing. Fruit inspections, right? How'd you do this week? To an unsaved person, that's not right. That's right. Why? It's unfair. It's unfair. I'm way better than that guy. That's not grace. It cannot act where there is either dessert or ability. What's that mean? Huh? What's that mean? Dessert? I don't know why that word. Dessert, yeah. I just think about dessert. grace does not help, it is absolute, it does all.

This is an interesting thing. And I think that while not only in most of Christianity grace is not fully understood, where it is very well understood, it tends to miss out on this one key differentiator that we're talking about here. So, you know, we could go to Grace Bible Church, and grace could be the theme. And they could understand some of what's being said here, But more often than not, you end up hearing these pleas for God to help them. We've done that. I've done that.

And so I'm not suggesting that the heart of the prayer or the request is not honest and real. But when understanding grace correctly, it does it all. It doesn't help you accomplish something. Does it come alongside you and say, hey, here's a little super dose of grace for the day. You can do it.

Right? It's an interesting thing. I found that it has changed the way I pray because it is so capable. Right? You're a good prayer. Don't start it. I find also about grace is that God still has you come to him and talk about things and ask him for his blessing on things but it's the attitude that changes and the attitude is that I'm there and asking him because he would have me there but there's a realization that there isn't anything that he would withhold from me and if he does It's because of the grace acting beyond my understanding. That's a good point. Even when we don't know how to pray, right? The spirit intercedes. That's what making or understanding this environment, why it's so important. Because you don't arrive.

You continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, right? While I'm not suggesting that there's anything wrong with pleading for God's help, there's an opportunity to grow in grace with that, and understand that He not only is there to comfort you, but He's given you an entire environment in which to grow in Him, grow in learning more about Christ.

It's Christ-centered. It's not me-centered, if that makes sense. Well, that's a little bit about the nature of grace. Let's flip over to and just cover a few things about the place of man under grace. It's Roman numeral 2 there. He has been accepted in Christ who is his standing. These are interesting points to pray on. I mean, to think about when you do, you know, Have that time with the Lord. These are thoughts that can really help you grow in an understanding of your place under grace.

Man is not on probation. What does that mean? He's not on probation. What is probation? Anybody ever been on probation? I'm just kidding. Don't answer that. What? If you misbehave, you've broken your probation, I guess, and you're back where you were. Back in jail. Or you can be on probation when you're employed. You get employed and you're on probation for 90 days and if it works out then you get the full-time job.

Is that kind of like half law, half grace? Kind of is. But it's based on your results. That's the ticket right there. You can still get fired. Yeah. So you're saying you're in purgatory or something? Yeah, I mean, grace is not a probation. It's not saying, OK, I'm going to give you a second chance. You've got 90 days to prove yourself capable of operating under this grace. And if not, back to the law you go. No, it doesn't happen that way. Number three, as to his life past, it does not exist before God. He died at the cross and Christ is his life. New history? You now share Christ's history, not Adam's history, right?

Let's look at a few under the proper attitude of man under grace. This is interesting. To believe and to consent to be loved while unworthy is the great secret. You ever feel unworthy of His love? Yes. Do you believe that the grace is sufficient? Even if you're not? Yeah. And that's the great secret, isn't it? That's what that point is trying to drive home. What's the trigger there, though? If you're... Are we worthy? in our sin nature? We're not. What must be done on your part to be loved by God? To believe. Yes. You're exactly right. That's the key to that.

We believe that grace is sufficient and we believe that He loves us despite. He loves us even while we were what? Yet sinners. Yet sinners. Yeah. I would say that God has always loved us. The problem is, is that I didn't know it or receive it. And what faith does, it appropriates or opens the door for me to understand, well, gee, God really does love me. And it isn't because I'm anything. He just, that's who He is. But I don't know that unless I believe Him. That's right. And you don't know that without the gospel message. You don't. You absolutely don't. So to refuse to make resolutions and vows for that is to trust in the flesh.

New Year's resolutions? I'm going to walk a lot stronger this year. You better quit drinking. To expect to be blessed, though realizing more and more lack of worth. What does that mean? Talk about the proper attitude of man under grace, to expect to be blessed, though realizing more and more lack of worth. That's so hard. That's really hard because there is this process I think the Spirit of God puts us through that teaches who we are in Adam, who we were in Adam.

Yet in spite of all of that, the blessings come. Jim was saying, the old man just hates that. There's no earning there. There's no I in grace. And I'm seeing increasingly what a terrible dog I am, yet God continues to bless me more and more all the time.

That part of it, I think, is the learning process. It's hard to receive. Sometimes I think some people have a hard time receiving than giving. Especially if they've been performing their whole life under a system. Just having had conversations again with some of my Catholic buddies, or we have some that are very, very frustrated with Catholicism. And this message of grace is a foreign concept. not at peace with how the Catholic Church is working, they have no context for grace.

In fact, I often say, you can't get this anywhere else. It's only in the scripture. This is not something that man comes up with. Did you have a thought, something? Expecting to be blessed is diametrically opposed to everything we have learned while here on earth. We don't get anything if we don't work for it, or if we don't prove worthy of it.

So being blessed by grace with no input on my part is just kind of ludicrous. I was watching True Grit and I think Klaus is There is nothing given, nothing is free in this world but the grace of God. thinking about the old man and trying to polish him up and do all the works and all the stuff.

The only way you can get to the point of grace is understanding that there is no value in the old Adamic man and the best thing that happened was co-crucifixion. You begin to understand grace because I've been placed into Christ. That's, I think, the foundation of trying to understand this. If you're trying to understand why God would reward my old man, there's an automatic conflict there. I'm in his side. And that's really the root, I think, of the growth in grace, is understanding that. Because otherwise you're always, I'm a scum, I'm a unworthy, you know, why am I receiving? I can't receive this because I didn't do anything for it. There's always this conflict that's there.

But when you start understanding who you are, you're in Christ, that I can be blessed in Christ. Yeah, we talk about identification all the time, but what happens here, my old man is put to death, separated, and I'm made alive. You can't understand grace if you don't understand these things first. Now, does your understanding after having understood I died and was made alive and starting to now grow in grace, is it not also become more clear to the believer looking back that God was even gracious to me then.

And you didn't even know it in that way. The most gracious thing he ever did was crucify me. And I think he brings us to the realization that we thank him. It's a good thing you did crucify me and I'm thankful for that. I often see this as the two sides of the same coin. Not only being thankful for the crucifixion, but also the resurrection. A new life. Because if I were just crucified, what would be the problem there? You would just crucify. I would just crucify. Yeah, you're dead. Yeah, you're dead.

But, to be given a new nature, to be made alive in Christ, is that eternal gift that we're talking about. A new beginning. Absolutely. Death is positional. And then it will become actual. And then I think too that new life is in Christ. He didn't have to do that. There are a lot of celestial beings that don't have this incredible gift that God has given us. That's a good point. Very good point.

Things which gracious souls discover. We've just started talking about a few of those. Let's look at the first three. To hope to be better is to fail to see yourself in Christ only. It's good. We just talked a lot about that. To be disappointed with yourself is to have believed in yourself. I like that one the best. Well, because you disappoint yourself a lot. I know, I look in the mirror a lot. I do too. To be disappointed with yourself is to have believed in yourself. I think that's some of the best counsel as believers we can give one another. when we're often down and out and frustrated and well, why are you disappointed? Because I love me.

Yeah, I put some amount of faith in my ability to accomplish something and I'm disappointed because it didn't work out and I have to go back to square one and realize, hey, this isn't about me. This isn't about me at all. Number three, to be discouraged is unbelief. as to God's purpose and plan of blessing for you.

That is a hard one to swallow. Anybody been discouraged this week? These are good points to stew on. Really good points to stew on. Finally, this last one. To be proud is to be blind, for we have no standing before God in ourselves. To be proud is to be blind. Interesting.

Well, that's what I had for wrapping up Lesson 23, so I will transition over. Lesson 24. I keep going back to how foundational this is. We've gone through 1 through 3, which basically tells us what did we bring to the table in all of this? A sinful, horrible, nasty person. And then we get into, that's 1 through 3, and then you get through 4 and 5, and we get justification by faith. And then we get into 6, which tells us all the mechanics, which is, again, what we just said, it's hard to understand grace if you don't understand what transpired in Romans 6.

So these are all really the foundation. And then like I said, as Paul goes on in his epistles, he builds on all of this. So if you don't understand all this, this is really key to your growth or your spiritual growth. And again, I think about what you were just talking about in grace.

And 2 Peter 3.18 is to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the key. In grace and knowledge. As you know Christ, you know who you are, and as you grow, you'll grow in grace, which is understanding the unmerited, unlimited blessings. And so these are all just real key.

Now we get to kind of, I think, the one that was put in for all of us, just to understand that it doesn't happen overnight. that these things, there's growth, and we understand in Romans 6, and think about Paul. Paul spent, what, three years in Arabia with the Lord, and being taught, and all these things, and all that he's bringing out, all these truths, and yet we come to Romans 7. And Romans 7 is, yeah, I'm there. And it's where he kind of explains that man's efforts versus understanding who you are from Romans 6 in Christ and who it is who made these transitions and who is the one that will actually manifest or produce this manifestation of Christ and all this. So 7 is kind of this, I think it's a very comforting one to me because Paul who All of this, and then he comes to 70 and goes, I'm trying to do my best.

I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying. I know all this in my head, but my body is just, it's wrapped in sin and I can't do it. And then you get to the very end, thanks be to God, which is the awesome part. But this is kind of the interesting section, so we're going to start with Romans chapter 7, verses 1-6. I always like to read through the scripture that we are doing.

Pardon me, I have a new laptop and I don't have a mouse yet. It's coming in today. It's driving me nuts. Hopefully it all works. I'm not discouraged. I'm not discouraged. I'm frustrated. Is that a different word for it? I don't know. It's the same. It's the same. Did you plug that in the house? No, I didn't. This thing has only USB-C, which are these little tinies. So, yeah. Anyway, I could do it if I have a thing.

So, Romans 7, verses 1 through 6. Or do you not know, brethren, for I am speaking to those who know the law, that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, while if her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man.

Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, having died that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter."

Some key concepts here that we're going to start exploring. So, the first one, why isn't the believer under law anymore? It should be easy. He's died. So, what does it mean to die to the law? It puts you on the cross and kills you. So, expanding on that, so what does it mean to die to the law? To be separated. Separated from it. Death means what? Separation. Right, so we've been separated from the law. So, let me try something here. I forgot to try that, so I can actually move this without having to do it. This is awesome. Sorry, it's a brand new laptop, so I'm trying to figure it out.

So how does Paul show by death that the Christian is freed from the law? How does he show that? Well, the same way Christ died. When he died, he died completely to the law. And he fulfilled the law and then died. Once you're dead, the law has no effect on somebody who's dead.

And that's what's brought out in the first verses here. That's really why he's bringing up, and he brings up the concept of marriage in this too. And so he'll bring an analogy that they can look at and see. And what it means. And he brings the analogy between the marriage and the law and the believer. So see in verse 1 he says, Do you not know brethren, for I am speaking to those who know the law, that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives. So we talked about that too.

Am I dead? Do I still obey the speed limit? If I'm dead, if I'm traveling in a hearse down I-25, are they going to bust me for going over the speed limit? As long as you're not driving. If I'm driving, there's a whole bigger issue there. Or the concept, like I said, if I'm walking to death row and I drop dead before they put me in the electric chair, Are they still going to throw me in the electric chair? Am I free from the law at that point? I'm dead. Well, maybe if they're sadistic they'll put me in the chair, but I'm not going to go and be put in the chair because the law is no longer in effect because I'm dead.

So, jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives. So, and then in verse 4, therefore my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ and, in verse 6, but now we have been released from the law having died to that by which we were bound. So, kind of expanding on what Jim said, we were made to die to the law through the body of Christ. Again, that crucifixion, Christ fulfilled it, died, and then we died with him. And so we, by that death, are separated from the law system. So, again, we show that we have died. Again, I go back to the point that it's so important to understand Romans 6. How do you understand this if I've died to the law, if you don't understand what Paul just said in chapter 6? What do you mean I died to the law? I'm not dead. And that concept of you don't understand the death and you're trying to fix up the old man. Did the old man die? Wait, no, I'm still trying to fix him up.

Oh, now I have the Holy Spirit so I can really do what I'm supposed to do. And that concept, if you don't understand the death or co-crucifixion, these verses don't really begin to... you can't understand them. Because I died? What do you mean I died? I just had accepted Christ into my heart. How does that... make me die. So a lot of the common Christian theology doesn't pick this up. And so a lot of these, I don't know how, again, I look in the mirror for 20 years or 15 years or 10 years, you know, I never understood the identification. How did I get by these verses that I've died? I'm separated from the law. How did I die? When did I die?

So again, foundationally, 6 is one of the bedrock foundations. I'm a civil engineer. The foundation is the key to all structures. So this is the foundation. It's your death and co-crucifixion. And the most important part, J.D. says, is the resurrection, the other side of the coin. That we have new life in Christ. So, again, this points back to everything that Paul said in verse 6. is that we were separated from the law and you know when you get into Galatians and we're studying that main service Paul goes to excruciating detail to try and convince the Jews who were steeped their whole life was in the law to tell them that it's not a good thing to want the law grace is unmerited you don't have to do anything except say thank you So it was a very hard concept for the Jews to understand this, that they were separated from the law.

When we read through this, are we talking about the law or law as a principle, or both? Both. You'll see in some that it's the law, but then it's the law principle, that we are a reward-based system, a works-based system. So in here there are several, the law, but then also the law principles will expand on that.

That's what I was wondering because I noticed that. Yeah. I take it as a principle that I'm a Gentile. Right, yeah, and we were never under the law. So this is the belief, and it states at the beginning about you who are under the law. So that's the Jewish believers. But it's again, to Joanne's point, is the principle too. Because, again, as we go through this, we've talked a lot, when we've taught the grace class, how hard it is to function under the grace system, because all the world is contrary to grace.

As Mike and I kid when we go out to lunch, who's paying this time? You paid last time. Okay, I'll pay this time. They're all Jews. Well, I'm talking about believers now. For us in the world, we basically do the same thing. If you come over to my house, well, we'll have you over to our house after. Or you came over and helped me with the lawn. Well, I'll come over and help you with It's always, I did something so I need to pay you back.

The wages. It's not a wage-based system. You ate all the peas. Okay. You don't have to reciprocate. What? You shouldn't always have to reciprocate. It's ridiculous. But under a grace system, that's what you want to do. I mean, under a law system, you always want to reciprocate. Under grace, it's totally contrary to that.

Wayne, did you have something? I was just looking at Kenneth Lee's translation. It's kind of cool. He says, Are you ignorant, brethren? I'm speaking to those who have an experiential knowledge of law. Key word, experiential. They know the law. And that's why, like I said, that's why when you see in Galatians, you'll just see he's trying to uproot all And here's Paul going, hey, you're separated. You're gone. You're not under that law system anymore. It's kind of like, I think they kind of suddenly feel naked. That was kind of my comfort blanket. I knew what to do. I knew the rules. I knew this. If I did this, I got this. We knew it. Now you're telling me it's grace and I don't have to do anything?

And so when you read Galatians in the vein of looking at what they were steeped in, and their whole lives were based on, and now Paul comes and says, that's all gone. I understand how it's frustrating to a Jew who comes in and says, your whole system is now vacated. It's like, what? So, you'll see as we get into, as they teach Galatians, you'll see that more and more.

But here, he's telling me what happened. You're now separated from it. But the beauty is what we'll see later is what Paul goes through. I'm separated. And he kind of goes through this where we're like, yeah, I'm now separated. Now I'm trying to do it myself. And what is the end of that? Failure.

It still comes down to grace and God. and where we are placed, our life in Christ. At the end of 7 he realizes, so then you get to Romans 8, which is another key, so therefore there is now no condemnation. In the second verse, which is your favorite, about the spirit of life. The principle of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

So we get to that point. So we see the mechanics in 6. Now we're seeing, okay, we've been separated from the law. swimming in a fishbowl and everybody, you know, I have no walls here. And now what happens? I love this chapter because it makes me understand myself a little bit more when I try and do things myself. And it comes back to God. Holy Spirit working in my life. So, question two. What is the experience when a Christian puts himself under the law? So what is a normal experience when a Christian puts himself, he or she, back under the law?

You just said it, there will be failure. Guilt. Despair. Defeat. All those. And we'll see as Paul suffered those same things. I always put that back to, here's Paul who was taught by the Lord three years, personal, and even his conversion on the road, all this, and yet he struggles with this. I'm like, well, who am I compared to Paul? And yet we have the same spirit, the same everything to be able to overcome this.

So when a believer tries to put it under the law, what is the general result? Failure, frustration, no rest, no peace, no fruit of the spirit? Can you have joy, peace, love, all those things? If you're trying to be a law-based Christian, all those are going to be a frustration.

So why is that? Why do you feel that way? Because the flesh can't do it. Okay. Go ahead. Israel proved that. Yeah. And Paul proved it. Yeah. That the flesh will fail. All that road ends in is frustration, failure, lack of peace, lack of joy, all the things that are the fruit of the Spirit. Those are all pushed to the side when you put yourself back under a law system because you're trying to do it yourself. And who's the focus of that? Me, and my efforts.

And the old man loves that. The old man just loves that. Because it's a, I can do something, I have to earn it, I want to be under a law system, the old man says. But the new man in Christ is under grace. You know when, on New Year's Eve, People say, this is going to be what I'm going to do this year. I'm not going to do this, that, blah, blah, blah. And they can't even keep that. It shows right away how good we are at keeping the law or keeping any resolution or any self-effort.

Self-effort is not going to get you anywhere. I love that at the beginning of the year, like at the gym, Tons of new members on that first month in January. You know, you can't find a machine there for the first month. The second month they open up, by the third month you couldn't tell that there are new people. Because the resolution is, ah, forget it.

So, basically, when a believer is failing to avail himself of the resource of grace, they are a defeated Christian. They're defeated. Because they're trying to do, they aren't seeking the operating system operating system which we are now, which is grace, which is unmerited. Unmerited. You don't have to do anything.

And so you become defeated because you're trying to do it not the way God has us operating as believers. So, and I think we brought it up too, is that was a Gentile ever under the Mosaic law? No. So we get into whether it's a principle or not. And it's the principle still applies. We're not to be under a law principle now, those who are skeptics or contrarians.

Do you mean I don't have to obey the law? I can go out and shoot somebody tomorrow? I can speed down I-25 at 125 miles an hour? Is that what that means? Sure. No. having a right standing before God. What does it take to be standing correctly before God? Can I do it by following His rules? Or how does it happen? And what Paul is saying, the familiarity here with the law system, what you're learning is that there isn't anything you're going to be able to do in and of yourself by obeying a command that will make you righteous or acceptable before a holy God, you can't do it. So, this is after he's talked about grace. The problem I find there is this, is that if there's a comfort in being told what to do and doing it. Who's comforted? The old man. The old man. Yeah, I'm comforted.

The new man should be irritated by that. And it is, because you have no rest, no peace, all those things. And that's the new life, I think, not feeling that rest, which is inherent in who we were placed into. It kind of goes back to what JD was covering a little bit.

It goes back to where it started, growing the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we feel guilty and we don't feel worthy because we start seeing ourselves in the old man and we can't stand before righteous God. It's the understanding of who we are. We're in Christ. That's who God sees us in.

Not in our old man and the failures. We're going to have failures. But does God see that in, well, Mike, you failed this week. I don't think he even sees that. He sees you in Christ. Because he's paid for all your failures. And so we as believers have to grow in the grace and the knowledge of him. As we know him, that's who we're standing before God as.

I mean, I fail all the time. And it goes to the first gentleman, I confess I'm not acting as who I am. But you've already paid for that failure. I think the big fear there is that if under this grace system that I'm not all that familiar with to start, God's going to require things of me and I'm not going to be able to live up to. That's the fear, because that's what the old man tells you. Well, you're not just going to sit there and vegetate. And then you begin to realize that in terms of motivation, there's nothing like grace that will motivate you stronger than the grace itself. Well, Ron, I think it says you understand who you are in Christ.

What did Christ do? He fulfilled God's will. He didn't have a checklist. It wasn't, oh Father, I've got to do A, B, and C today. He knew the Father's will and he acted on it. As we know who Christ is, we begin to understand what the Father's will is too. I think he did have a checklist. He had to fulfill all of those prophecies. But he did it under grace. I guess I don't see a checklist every day where he'd be righteous before God or to have...

He functioned out of a will that was the same as the father's. And that's, you know, as we know Him, we know the Father. And we begin to manifest and understand it's not a reward-based system. It's not, I have to do, because that's the old man saying, I have to do. But as you understand who you are in Christ, you begin to manifest Him. And it's not an effort or a checklist or anything. And that's where I think, you know, a lot of believers miss it because they don't understand Romans 6 and the new life and who we are in Christ. That you still go down to that fundamental thing, foundational, that we are new creatures in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5.17, we're new.

And you know, Galatians 2.20, I've been crucified with Christ. And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

You know, understanding that is, again, comes back down to the only thing we can do is believe. Faith. Do you believe that? Do you believe that? We're new creatures in Christ. We've been crucified. Christ is the one living his life out in me. So, I mean, these are all foundational things. So, that was the second bell? Okay. Well, we need to... So, we'll start with question three next week. So, let's close.

We thank you for this portion of scripture which is just so key to our understanding of who we are in Christ and how we got there and what it means to be in Christ, to be placed into Christ, to be baptized into his death. and to realize the resurrection we have in Christ. New life, new and kind, new and quality, that we have a new life in Christ. That's who we're placed in. Our very life is in Christ.

As we realize that we are positioned, and in Colossians 3.3, that we have been placed, hid in God, in Christ, in God. And that you see us through Christ, who is standing beside you right now. That's who you see us, and our place, our position is in the heavenlies.

And we thank you for that. And that's not something that will ever, ever change. That is a foundational, positional truth that will never change. And we just thank you that we have the very life of Christ in us, and that's who lives in us. And we again thank you that we've not been left alone to do it on our self-efforts, but it's through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit convincing us of the truths that are true about us right now that we have in Scripture.

So we thank you for that and we thank you for the process of growing in the grace and knowledge of your Son. And we just pray for Mike as he gives us the message next meeting. And again, just prepare our hearts to receive it. And we thank you for all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.