Joe Crews: The mirror doesn't remove any spot on our face, it will show you that spot and show you that you need cleansing and points you over to the sink and the soap and the water, but the mirror can't take it off. You could stand there rubbing the mirror over your face all day long and it probably wouldn't take that spot away. It was not made for that. Mirrors were not intended to remove the spot, only to reveal it. The Law of God will ...
Announcer: Today Amazing Facts Crusade speaker Joe Crews talks about mirrors and Laws and how they both have trouble removing spots. The crusade subject when Protestantism follows the beast.
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Joe Crews: I'd like to introduce our study tonight by reading that same text that we've read over and over already here in our crusade. That's Revelation 13:1-3, this is describing that terrible beast you remember that will cause millions of people to be destroyed at last. This is the way the Revelator describes it in the first three verses of Revelation 13, "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. The beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power, and seat, and great authority. I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast."
Now, friends, this is the artist's conception of what John describes there, and I think is a very good portrayal. This beast would come up out of the sea, and as we said, would cause millions of people to be lost. Now, I'm not going to try to identify it tonight, we've done that already in two previous messages. In fact, we found these nine marks of identification came right down to identify without any doubt and without any question whatsoever.
In brief, we found out that this beast that was going to rule the earth for 1260 years, it would get a deadly wound in 1798 later that wound would be healed, and then the whole world would wonder after the beast. Now the question tonight is this, how is the whole world going to wonder after that beast, friends? Specifically, how is Protestantism going to do it? Our subject tonight is when Protestantism follows the beast. What is that beast going to do that Protestantism will follow after and imitate and copy? That's the question. Now look at point number eight on our board up there. Those marks are characteristics, it said he would think to change times and Laws or would try to change God's Law.
Now, friends, the devil hates God's Law. In fact, he's declared war on the government of God. He's done that from the very beginning. In fact, it was disobedience to God's Law back in the very beginning that brought all of this 6000 years of sorrow and tragedy and death upon the human family. That has been the devil's program all the time to make people disobey God. You see, Satan knew something and understood something way back there long before the Apostle Paul ever wrote it in the pages of the New Testament. Come with me now for our first text tonight in Roman 6:16, and I want you to see something that was very, very well known by the great deceiver long, long ago. Maybe even before this world was created.
Paul writes this, "Know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom you obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience under righteousness." Now Paul says that, whoever you obey, you become a servant of that power. If you obey God, you become a servant of God. Now the devil doesn't want you to serve God, of course. His plan is to make you disobey God, make you turn away from His Law, look down on His Law, despise His Law, and if he can do that, then you cease to be a servant of God.
Now, friends, when we come down to the book of Revelation, the very last chapter of the Bible even, you will find that the keeping of God's Law and obedience to God has made the great test of loyalty, it really is. All through that book of Revelation, you'll find text indicating that the outstanding characteristic of the saints of God's people, the ones that are going to be redeemed out of this earth are those that obey God and keep His commandments. Revelation 14:12, here's the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.
Revelation 12:17, "The dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 22:14, "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." You see, friends, the devil knows that sin will never go to heaven.The Bible says nothing that defileth will go through those gates into heaven and in the sight of God sin is the only thing that defiles. Now, if he can make you sin and keep on sinning, he will keep you out of heaven.
This whole matter balls down to just one great issue, which is revealed very clearly in the book of Revelation. That is, it's the sin issue. It's the obedience issue. It's the loyalty issue. Now listen, the devil has made a final attack upon the Law of God through the beast power, by trying to change one of the commandments. In fact, removing that second commandment, we discovered, but do you know something friends? The devil has made an indirect attack upon the Law of God through Protestantism today.
Did you know that? Did you know, my friends, many great church bodies and religious bodies within Protestantism today do not believe in the 10 commandments at all? Why? They say they're old fashion, they are out of date, they were nailed to the cross, have been done away with, all kinds of expressions, have been used. To downgrade and denigrate the great moral Law of God, the 10 commandments. Now that may shock some of you and surprise some of you, but it's true friends, and they use these expressions to do it. Now, these expressions are fine, Biblical expressions, but they're distorted, they're misapplied.
For example, they say, "Well, it's nailed to the cross and we're not saved by works, we're saved by Grace. We're not under the Law we're under Grace. We're not under the Old Covenant, we're under the New Covenant." Now those things are fine and the Scripture teaches that, but what do those expressions mean? They're confusing millions of Protestants Christians tonight, friends, because they've been misapplied. They make people feel that the 10 commandments are out of date old fashioned, been done away with, discarded and we don't need them anymore.
We're going to discuss this subject tonight, and I believe it will bring a lot of light into a very confused area of modern theology. Now, since we're going to be talking a lot about sin. That [unintelligible 00:07:23] word sin. Let's go to our Bibles and find a very simple clear definition of sin that all of us can agree on. 1 John 3:4. I do not know of any more succinct definition of sin in the Bible than this, 1 John 3:4, it says, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the Law for sin is the transgression of the Law." Now isn't that plain to say sinners are breaking the Law?
You say, "But, brother Joe, I don't know what Law that's talking about. What does that mean? What does it refer to?" Let's go back now to Romans 7:7 and let Paul explain to us exactly which Law is involved here in this act of sin. Paul says in Romans 7:7, "What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the Law, for I had not known lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet," and he quotes right out of the 10 commandments, the one that a lot of modern theologians are simply throwing out the window.
Paul didn't know anything about it being old fashioned or out of date or irrelevant, did he? No, no, he said, "Look, I wouldn't even know what sin was, if I didn't have that Law of the 10 commandments to speak to me." What Law then do you think John was talking about when he said, sin is the transgression of the Law? Well, he was talking about the same one that Paul wrote of here saying, that he wouldn't even know what sin was unless he also had the Law. Now, please don't misunderstand me tonight, friends, there are some things that the Law can do for us and there are some things that it can't do for us. For example, they won't save us, will it?
Works will not justify anybody before God. That is not God's way of saving man to have a struggle and try and work our way to heaven. No, no, the Bible says, For by Grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves? It's a gift of God. No, no, we're justified by faith friends. We are never saved by being good, or by working hard, or by keeping the commandments or obeying the Laws of God. No, no, it is a free gift from God that we're saved, but now does that mean that the Law is not important and that we don't have any kind of a relationship to the Law.
Let's read text here again in Romans 3:20. This is very important. I want you to carry this with you tonight and please don't misunderstand anything I'm saying concerning the Law and salvation and Grace. Paul says, "Therefore, by the deeds of the Law their shall no flesh be justified in His sight. For by the Law is the knowledge of sin." Now, notice Paul says that we're not justified by the Law. We can't be saved by keeping it, but he said it gives me a knowledge of sin, it shows me when I'm wrong, it points out when I get off the track, it reveals to me that I need the saving Grace of Christ, the forgiveness of Christ and the justification of Christ.
The Law, my friends, is just like a mirror. It shows me when I deviate from the track and when I come in need of forgiveness, and in need of justification, and in need of forgiveness, I wouldn't know that I had error-ed. I would not know that I had digressed from God's will unless I had that great looking glass of the Law there in front of me to show me what God's perfect plan for my life is. If I know what His code of life is, and His plan, His lifestyle, His conduct for me. By the Law, then I can tell and recognize when I deviate from that Law.
It's like a mirror. In fact in James 1 it is actually referred to as a mirror or a looking glass. In James Chapter 1 beginning with verse 23, notice this, "For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect Law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." Now, this speaks about the Law as being a mirror or a looking glass to show us what manner of person we are.
Well, that's right. You wouldn't know whether you were good or bad right or wrong, unless you had that great Law of God to show you what was right and what was wrong. The mirror is there for us. Now, friends, the mirror can't take the spot away. It can't. The Law cannot remove the sin, it only points us over there to the foot of the cross where we can have that sin removed, you see.
The mirror doesn't remove any spot on our face, it will show you that spot and show you that you need cleansing, and point you over to the sink, and the soap and the water, but the mirror can't take it off. You could stand there rubbing the mirror over your face all day long and it probably wouldn't take that spot away. It was not made for that. Mirrors were not intended to remove the spot, only to reveal it. The Law of God was not intended to remove your sins, only to show it to you and then point you to where you could get the cleansing done through the Grace and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, let me try to illustrate this a little clearer tonight so that you will understand that we cannot possibly be justified by our works. Let's imagine that somebody has been found guilty of stealing. A man has been found guilty and he's sentenced to jail, let's say 10 years in prison. The man confessed his guilt. He had a trial by jury. The judge sentenced him there and here he is now under the Law serving his 10 years in prison. Now, my question is this, can this man who's guilty and condemned, can he justify himself now in the eyes of the Law for what he did wrong? Can he justify himself by his works?
How many of you think that this man can justify himself by works? Let me see your hands. All right, that's interesting. Every single person here is dead wrong. You get a D, an absolute zero. Now, let me tell you something friends, the man can justify himself by his works, can he? He can serve 10 years, and when he's fulfilled that requirement of the Law by serving that 10 years, he's a free man. He is justified in the eyes of Law now, he has paid his debt to society. He can walk out of there and not a policeman can lay hands on him because he's fulfilled the sentence that was brought against him and has perfectly justified himself in the eyes of that broken Law.
Now, listen. Suppose that a man is found guilty of murder and sentenced to 50 years in jail. Can that man justify himself by his works? Yes, he can. He can serve that 50 years' time, and the Law is satisfied and he's free. He can go out. Nobody can accuse him now. He's not guilty anymore because he's satisfied the penalty. Now, here's my next question. Suppose a man is found guilty of murder and is sentenced to death. Can that man justify himself in the eyes of the Law by his works? Absolutely not. He could work 100 years if it were possible and the sentence would still stand there saying you must die because of your sin.
Now, if the wages of sin was 10 years in jail, all of us would go to work our way out of it, friends. We could serve that time and be free and we'd be perfectly justified before God. But the wages of sin is what? It's death. No matter how good we are, no matter how hard we work, the Law is not going to be satisfied until the death sentence is brought to bear for the sin we committed and either we've got to bear that punishment in that sin or let Jesus take it for us.
We can see then why it is impossible for anybody to be justified by his works. Now, I've had some people say, "Well, you know, brother Joe, we're living in the New Testament now under the age of Grace. Back in the Old Testament ... that was the age of the Law and of works. Back there they had to keep the Law and now we don't have to worry about that because we're living under Grace." Friends, let me tell you something, that's one of the greatest delusions that anybody ever expressed. Do you think there are two ways of salvation in the Bible?
Did people in the Old Testament live under a period of works where they could really work and earn their salvation by keeping the Law of God? Then we come on into the New Testament and find that there's a new way of salvation introduced in the New Testament. Absolutely not, friends. In fact, the Bible says that Noah found Grace in the eyes of God. Abraham found Grace, and all the people in the Old Testament were saved by Grace exactly like they are in the new. Heaven is not going to be divided between the people who lived then and now.
Can you imagine any kind of scene like this in heaven? A group of people are standing here in heaven, now you've got to project yourself forward in imagination. Here comes another group along, and they say, "Well, hello there folks. How did you get here?" And these folks say, "Well, we lived in the Old Testament, we got here by works. How did you get here?" "Well, we lived in the New Testament we got here by Grace."
No, friends, that will never happen. Everybody that gets to heaven is going to be there as a sinner saved by what? By Grace. Abraham in the Old Testament is actually given to us in the writings of the New Testament writers as an example of how to be saved and he lived back there under the Law so to speak. Now, other people say, "Well, you know, Brother Joe, we've got a new Law now. Jesus gave a new Law and we don't have to worry about the 10 Commandments that's the Law of love. If we just love each other, that's the big thing and that's what Christ introduced to take the place of the 10 Commandments."
Don't you believe that my friends. Now it's true that Christ said, "A new commandment I give under you that you love one another." Then He quoted the two great principles of that Law of love of His. He said, "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all my heart, soul, and mind this is the first and great commandment, and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. That's the second commandment." Now, was that a new commandment friends? Was He displacing the 10 Commandments to put into two new Laws in place of the 10? Well, of course not.
In fact, do you know something? He was actually quoting out of the Book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. You think it was new. It was not new in point of time. It was only new to those legalistic Pharisees because they had forgotten it. They were trying to work their way to heaven and earn their salvation and so Jesus said to them, "Look, you've forgotten something. I want to give you something new, a new Law. You love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind," and He quoted right out of the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy. Then He went on to say, "Love your neighbor as yourself." No, friends, there wasn't anything new about that, and that Law of love did not come in to take the place of the 10 Commandments.
Come with me in your Bible to Matthew 22 and let's read this experience of how our Lord spoke of these Laws. Matthew 22 beginning with verse 35, then one of them which was a Lawyer asked him a question tempting Him and saying, "Master, which is the great commandment in the Law. Jesus said unto him, "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, this is the first and great commandment, and the second is like under which thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets."
Why, friends, Jesus said all the Law's hanging there on those two great principles of love? What He really was saying is that love is the fulfilling of the Law. If you love God supremely, you're not going to put up idols and worship them. You're not going to take God's name in vain, you're not going to break any of those first four commandments that have to do with our relationship to God. Then if you love your neighbor as yourself, you're not going to break the last six. You won't kill him. You won't steal from him. You won't lie about him if you love him as you love yourself.
Really, Christ was not replacing the 10 commandments. He was summarizing the 10 commandments. He said, "All of those 10 Laws are really built upon the foundation of loving God's supremely and loving your neighbor as yourself." And he said, "If you do these two things, then you'll keep them all." They're all hanging there. They're all suspended upon these wonderful principles and we need to remember that.
One more thing that people often bring up, they say, "Well, you know, we're not under the Law. We're under Grace." That means we don't have to worry about the 10 commandments anymore. Have you heard that argument friends? We're not under the Law we're under Grace. That's what the Bible says, but what does it mean when it says that? Come with me again to the book of Romans, which is a book we'll be dealing in a great deal here in the next few nights.
Romans chapter 6:14, Paul says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the Law, but under Grace." I believe that, friends. Paul says, "We're under Grace. We're not under the Law." Fine, but what does he mean by that? Some people say, "Well, but he means that we don't have to keep the 10 commandments anymore. He means that we have no obligation any longer about not stealing and not lying and not committing adultery and so forth." No, that's not what he meant friends.
Read the next verse and he explains a little bit more. He says, "What then? Shall we sin because we're not under the Law, but under Grace? God forbid." He says, "Absolutely not." Now what is sin? Sin is the transgression of the Law. We read that didn't we, and so Paul says, "Shall we break the Law because we're not under the Law, but under Grace?" He says, "No, God forbid, never should we do that." Friends, listen, whatever it means to be under Grace, it does not mean that we have a license to break the Law. That's it. Paul says, "No, never should we think that we can do that just because you're under Grace."
He says, "Should you sin? Should you break the commandments of God?" Never and yet that's the modern idea, that's the teaching that's going around today in religious circles that you can break the Law now because you're a Christian, you're under Grace you're not under the Law. Let me tell you something. You know what Paul often meant when he said under the Law, come back with me to a text here that will make this clear? Romans 3:19, Paul says, "Now we know that what thing soever the Law say at this, say it to them who were under the Law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God."
He said, "To be under the Law means to be guilty." It means you're breaking the Law, you're condemned by it. you're under it's condemnation. No wonder then Christians are not under it friends. They're not breaking it, they're not walking in violation of those great moral principles. He says, "As Christians, you are not under it, you're under Grace. You're not being condemned by it, you're not violating it." Let's remember this as a very basic principle that to be under the Law does not mean, my friends, that you're a Christian. To be under Grace does not mean that you can violate the Law at all. It simply means that you have now accepted the salvation offered freely by Christ and you have turned away from those sins that would bring guilt and condemnation upon you.
Announcer: Perhaps no subject in all the Bible has been so distorted as the message Joe is dealing with in his present series. In our next telecast, he will conclude the two part message on Law and Grace. In a moment, I'd like to tell you how to receive a copy of his message in print, but first, here are the Amazing Facts Singers with a song of praise to the Lord.
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