Our Standing with God

Fred R. Coulter—March 21, 2009

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(Transcript begins at 25:36 of Track 1)

So let's ask the question: What is our standing with God? Now we saw last night in Romans 1 how every civilization comes to the condition that is summarized there in Romans the first chapter, and we are there with this country right now.

Now in the midst of this, God is still doing a work and God's work is with people, and God's work is not restricted to a separate organization. There are many people out there that God is using separate from us, and that's fantastic, and we pray for them that God will continue to use them. Did you know that there are even Seventh Day Adventists who keep the Holy Days now? And we have one pastor who is on our mailing list, and one of these days I am going to meet him because he lives in Terra Bella, California, which is on the way down to southern California.

Now let's come to Romans 2 and let's see something very important that in spite of all the difficulties, the godlessness, the corruption, the sex sins, the crime, and everything that we talked about last night, God is still working with people. Because whenever there are times of trouble and difficulties, God made us that we start seeking God. That's why in the foxhole an atheist prays.

So he's kind of castigating the Jews a little bit here, but we won't get into that. Romans 2:1: "Therefore you are without excuse, O man, everyone who judges another; for in that in which you judge the other. you are condemning your own self; for you who judge another are doing the same things…. [Sound a little bit like Congress? The way that most people are—because one of the ways to divert from yourself is to look at someone else and point the finger.] …But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth upon those who commit such things" (vs 1-2). Which are all listed up there in chapter one. God is going to take care of it and remember this: one of the things that God alwaysdoes for those who are sinning is He gives them a space to repent, if they will. And if not, He gives them more rope. And then one day it will catch up with them and they'll be all entangled.

Verse 3: "Now do you think yourself, O man, whoever is judging those who commit such things, and you are practicing them yourself, that you shall escape the judgment of God?…. [So he says, 'Now I want you to understand what God is doing.' I want you to think about your life and how you're standing before God, which since we are only three weeks and three days from the Passover this is good for us to go over.] …Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the graciousness of God leads you to repentance?" (vs 3-4).

Now when you read the Gospels, there are many accounts of those who repent and sometimes when they are at the extremity of helplessness, and overwhelmed with evil, and problems are coming in upon them, that's when they begin to repent. Just like the example of when Jesus was invited to have lunch with the Pharisee Simon. When He went in, there was a woman of the street and she came in crying and weeping and washed Jesus' feet, dried them with her hair. You know the rest of the story. Jesus said, 'Simon, I have something I want to ask you.' He says, 'Now what do you think? There were two debtors and one owed him a great amount of money, and the other owed him a little bit of money, and he forgave both of them. Now tell me which one of them loved the most?' And he said, 'Oh! That's an easy one. I'll answer this. The one to whom he forgave the most.' So he fell right into Jesus' trap. He said, 'Simon, I came in here and you didn't wash My feet. And this woman, not only has she washed My feet, but anointed them, and you didn't do any of this to Me, so I say to her: your sins which are many are forgiven.' So we need to be very careful because we need to understand that many times people have to come to a very low point in their lives, which all of us had to, in order to repent to God.

Now notice: "…not knowing that the graciousness of God leads you to repentance." (v 4) So repentance comes from God. So when we look out and see all these troubles and difficulties that are happening, realize 'all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.' And this is going to result in more people coming to God. Now whether they will be truly converted or not, that's another question. But many will. And remember, right smack in the middle of the Great Tribulation, what happens? Rev. 7, sealing of the 144,000and the great innumerable multitudewho repent half way through the Great Tribulation and God spares them.

So we need to understand; though God brings all of these things, God is going to make it work for good in the long run. Verse 5: "But you… [Sounds like he's talking to Simon the Pharisee here—doesn't it?] …according to your own hardness and unrepentant heart, are storing up wrath for yourself against the day of wrath and revelation of God's righteous judgment, Who will render to each one according to his own works…. [Now notice, what's happening in all of these troubles and difficulties that he just enumerated in chapter one.] …On the one hand… [which is us] …to those who with patient endurance and good works are seeking glory and honor and immortality—eternal life… [that's the goal] …On the other hand, those who are contentious and disobey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath… [which is what we're seeing] …tribulation and anguish… [which is what is coming] …upon every soul of man who works out evil, both of the Jew first, and of the Greek" (vs 5-9).

Now let's stop and ask a question here. What is happening in the unholy land called Palestine and Israel today? Do they have tribulation, anguish, anxiety? And right at the right time somewhere down the road, as I covered on Elijah and the Two Witnesses, God is going to flip the switch and there are going to be many Jews who are going to repent. So, all of that is going to take place. Now v 10: "But glory and honor and peace to everyone who works good, both to the Jew first, and to the Greek; because there is no respect of persons with God" (vs 10-11).

Now let's come to Romans 3 and here he describes how human beings behave; because in order to understand how we stand before God, we also need to understand what our true nature really is. So Paul talks about it. Romans 3:1: "What then is the advantage of the Jew, and what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way... [that is if they have the circumcision of the heart as well, as he talks about at the end of chapter two] …Primarily, in that they were entrusted with the oracles of God…. [Which then means the Levitical and Aaronic priesthood within the Jewish community.] …For what if some did not believe?.… [Today we have the highest number of atheists among the Jewish community] …Shall their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God" (vs 1-3). Now you see what's important is this:

• God is always true;
• God is always faithful;
• God is always loving;
• God is always kind and merciful for those who seek Him and repent.

Those who don't, we read what's going to happen. He says, "MAY IT NEVER BE! Rather, let God be true, but every man a liar, exactly as it is written: 'That You [God] might be justified in Your words, and might overcome when You are being judged by men'" (v 4)—which is the correct translation. Do men judge God? Do women judge God? All the time!

So he continues: "But if our unrighteousness brings to reality God's righteousness…. [because there's repentance granted and forgiveness of sin] …what shall we say? Is God unrighteous to inflict His wrath?.… [So we need to get the perspective as to why all of these things are taking place.] …(I am speaking according to man's view.) MAY IT NEVER BE! Otherwise, how shall God judge the world?….[ That's what we are seeing taking place.]
…For if, by my falsehood… [because they accused Paul of preaching falsehood] …the Truth of God has shown itself to be supremely great, to His glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner? But not, as according as we are being blasphemously charged, and according as some are affirming that we say, 'Let us practice evil things in order that good things may come.' Their condemnation is deserved. What then?.… [Now let's apply it to ourselves because we are to be spiritual Jews, circumcised of heart.] …What then? Are we ourselves better?.… [no, because our calling is what? The poor, the foolish, the lowborn, etc., the weak.] …Not at all! For we have already charged both Jews and Gentiles—ALL—with being under sin" (vs 5-9).

Now you can say there are degrees of sin. That is true; but sin, nevertheless, is still sin. So here he shows what human nature is like. And this is why God reaches down and upon repentance calls those who repent, if they are truly seeking Him. Because Jesus gave the promise, 'Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened, ask and you shall receive.' Exactly as it is written of ourselves. We need to understand this. Though we can do good things, are we good of ourselves? No, only God is good.

"…'For there is not a righteous one—not even one! There is not one who understands; there is not one who seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way; together they have all become depraved. There is not even one who is practicing kindness. No, there is not so much as one…. [And you see that manifested over and over and over and over again in human behavior.] …Their throats are like an open grave; with their tongues they have used deceit; the venom of asps is under their lips, Whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known'" (vs 10-17).

Now you take these Scriptures and you just overlay it on human nature. Isn't that what you find? Yes, indeed. I have a book that is called Langer's Encyclopedia of World History. It's an abbreviation of world history. And the most notable thing is: human history is wrapped up in war and fighting and killing and stealing and looting and everything that we just read here in these previous verses.

Now, Paul then shows how we can come from thiscondition to being in right standing with God. That becomes very important. So let's read on. Verse 19: "Now then, we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God…. [Now let's think about that verse for a minute. What does this tell us? Everyone in the world is under law to God, everyone whether they know it or not.] "…so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."

Now how is God going to solve that problem? Well the Jews thought, 'Let's create all kinds of laws so we won't sin.' That's why I have advertised the Code of Jewish Law many times. If you've never read the Code of Jewish Law, you do not have a clue. Now I've mentioned this many times when I am out preaching. You do not have a clue as to what it means to seek justification by law, because they have so many rules and regulations to try and govern the behavior. It is the most controlling, oppressing kind of thing that could ever be. But you see what is true is this: it doesn't matter what form of external righteousness man made that there may be. If your heart is not right before God, all the good that you do, or seemingly do, is really not good, because you're still a sinner at heart and mind because you haven't repented; and you haven't turned your life to God. Now for those who are do-gooders in the world, that's hard to take.

So let's read on. So you can't do it by law, though we're to keep the commandments of God; and this is where then, the Protestants and Catholics get way off. Because the truth of the matter is, it takes faith to keep the commandments of God, does it not? Doesn't take any faith to keep Sunday; just open the phone book and decide where you want to go. If you keep the Sabbath, what may happen? Your job is on the line. It goes against what you may have been taught. It may make all of your relatives angry; your father and mother may even disown you! And all of those things have happened.

Verse 20: "Therefore, by works of law… [includes all law] …there shall no flesh be justified before Him; for through the law is the knowledge of sin." Now why can you not be justified by law?

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Now v 21 is perhaps, in the King James Version, one of the most difficult verses to understand because of the way it has been translated. Let me read it in the translation here The Faithful Version, "But now, the righteousness of God…" Now that is showing God's righteousness, and also the righteousness which then is justification. Now this becomes very, very important, because you're standing before God is based upon justification; and justification means being put in right standing with God through the forgiveness of your sins based upon repentance and baptism. Now the King James reads: 'But now the righteousness of God without the law…' This is wonderful for Protestants, because they say, 'See, you don't need any law!' But that is not what it means; because we are going to see there are two different operations:

• Justification through repentance, forgiveness, and baptism, to be put in right standing with God.
• The keeping of the commandments of God by faith to walk in the way of God, after you have been justified.

Withoutimplies the elimination of. But this means lawis not the means of forgiveness. Law was never designed to forgive. Only God forgives because you repent to Him; and to be justified by God is an action that He does because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is payment for your sins. No law can accomplish justification and forgiveness. Law can only tell you what sin is. Law has no power! Because a law has been stated does not keep people from breaking the law.

Now I walked up to the Seven Eleven because I wanted to get some bottled water and here's a sign right there: Do Not Litter or Throw Trash—you'll be subject to arrest. So I looked at this land, no building there; it was covered with blackberry bushes and so forth, and guess what I saw? Litter all over; and the fence separating Seven Eleven from that piece of property a lot of stuff was thrown over there and the biggest part was right up there near Seven Eleven, which proves the point: Law can make no one do anything. It can define what sin is or transgression is. So that's why law cannot forgive; law cannot justify—because it's only through Christ. That's what it's talking about here. So this is how we come to have right standing with God, to be justified of past sins through forgiveness, and also puts us in the condition that we need to remain in, in our relationship with God. But this is the beginning and also the continuing of our relationship with God.

So let's read it. "Therefore, by works of law there shall no flesh be justified before Him; for through the law is the knowledge of sin. But now, the righteousness of God… [as evidenced by His mercy, compassion, and forgiveness and justification] …that is separate from the law… [It doesn't exclude law, but the operation of what God does is separate from law-keeping.] …has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets" (vs 20-21).

I remember the first time I read that I couldn't understand it. Here we are keeping the Sabbath, keeping the Holy Days, keeping the commandments of God, and it says, without law. And when I came to understand it means separate or apart from law, then everything cleared up. And here is what it is: "Even the righteousness of God that is through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe; for there is no difference" (v 22).

Now when you believe in Christ, the way that the Bible defines belief, this requires action of the heart and mind and a change of life. That's repentance. That's why when you read the prophesies of the crucifixion of Christ in Psalm 22 and how His body was so disfigured in Isaiah, and how He took all of our sins upon Himself, and He is our sin offering before God—

• you believe that God did this;
• you have proved that God is true;
• you have proved that His Word is true.

God's Spirit has come to be with you to convict you of sin, to convict you in your own heart and mind and conscience, because the truth is no law and no man can make you in right standing before God—only Christ upon your repentance.

That's why even after we have initially repented and are baptized, what does the daily prayer tell us? What do we ask God every day? Forgive us our sins. Why? Because:

• We are in the process of overcoming.
• We are in the process of having our minds converted.
• We are in the process of having, through this conversion, the evil in our minds being replaced with:

• the love of God,
• the truth of God,
• the laws of God,
• the way of God,

and our whole lives then are converted through a change that takes place. And this occurs over a lifetime, after the initial conversion. "…through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe; for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…. [Then he defines what justification and forgiveness is through Christ.] (v 24): "But are being justified freely by His grace… [You can't buy it; no man can give it; no amount of good works can accomplish it—given freely by His grace. And grace means the unmerited pardon, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, and then it establishes our relationship with God. (We'll see this in just a little bit.)] "…through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; Whom God has openly manifest tobe a propitiation… [for the forgiveness of sin] …through faith in His blood…" (vs 22-25).

So it is the blood of Jesus Christ as our sacrifice that forgives sin. No law can accomplish that. Now let me give you a good example. You take a paper-mache man, and you have printed on all the paper that you use, law, law, law, law, law, law—everything. You nail that to a cross; you beat it to a shred; you annihilate the whole thing. Question: Was one drop of blood shed? No.

So that's a good example of how, of only through Christ, because He, being one of the Elohim of God, came in the flesh—who is previously Creator of all mankind in the world—to redeem us from our sins and be the perfect sacrifice. There's nothing greater than that, is there? Is there anything greater that any other person could do? No. So that's why it's only the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, "Whom God has openly manifested to be the propitiation through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness… [Now, as we are reading righteousness in this part of Rom. 3, you can also substitute the word justification. 'To demonstrate His justification'] …in respect to the remission of sins that are past" (vs 25). No indulgences you can buy for the future, because you make a pilgrimage to Rome.

Now let's understand something about sin. Though you will sin in the future, God has not forgiven the sins that you will do in the future because they have not yet been committed—have they? And who knows what you may do tomorrow. Something may come along and you really flip your lid. I know that's happened to none of you, but it's happened to me many times. Or you sin, or you lust, or whatever it may be. Now you have to be justified from that; and it is a propitiation for it. When you sin, in a moment of time, it instantly becomes a past sin. So the truth of the matter is this: sin is accounted when the sin takes place; it is not accounted before it's done, because you haven't sinned yet; and when you do sin, it is in the past tense immediately; and when you repent of that, as it comes along, it is forgiven.

Now just think what would happen if it were this: God says, 'If you repent and are baptized, allof your sins are automatically forgiven the rest of your life. Your behavior would make no difference as long as you accepted Jesus and have forgiveness of sin, and that extends for your whole life.' Don't you think how many people would run and be baptized? So they could be as evil as they wanted to be, but, 'Hey! I've been baptized. Everything's cool.' So that's why it's this way.

"In respect to the remission of sins that are past, Through the forbearance of God; yes, to publically declare His righteousness [or justification], in the present time, that He might be just, and the One Who justifies the one who is of the faith of Jesus…. [So it's by faith.] …Therefore, where is boasting?…. [You can't say, 'Look what I've done. Oh, I've kept the Sabbath my whole life; God give me salvation.' God would look down and say, 'Well, you did keep it that was fine, but did you ever repent?'] …Therefore, where is boasting? It is excluded. Through what law? The law of works? By no means! Rather, it is through a law of faith…. [And that law of faith is belief in Jesus Christ, belief in God, belief in the forgiveness of your sins, and that puts you in right standing with God.] …Consequently, we reckon that a man is justified by faith, separate from works of law" (vs 26-28).

Now then he makes a statement that at the time that he wrote this, really for the Jews, was highly controversial. You can read the problems that they had with preaching to the Gentiles as it began there in Acts, tenth chapter. "Is He God of the Jews only?…. [And to this day the Jews think they have an inside track to God because they're Jews, and no one else does.] …IsHe not also the God of the Gentiles? YES! He is also God of the Gentiles, Since it is indeed one God Who will justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. Are we, then, abolishing law through faith? MAY IT NEVER BE! Rather, we are establishing law" (vs 29-31). How is law then being established?

• Through the forgiveness of past sins;
• Through the receiving of the Holy Spirit;
• Through having the laws and commandments written in our hearts and in our minds,

—that in loving God we have the motivation to want to obey Him, rather than like the littering up there where the sign says that if you litter you'll be subject to arrest. No one cares! But now, because it's written in your heart and in your mind, you desire to. And God's Spirit will motivate you to do this.

Then he talks about how Abraham was justified by faith because he believed God. And that was really quite a profound thing. What if you were seventy-five years old, no actually eighty-five at this time? (Now I've got ten years to go on that. I don't know if anybody here is eighty-five, well, one man who is eighty-five or older.) You walk up to this man, now he may be in better health than we are today, so maybe his eighty-five was a little younger eighty-five than we are; but God comes to Abraham and He says, 'Abraham, you're going to have a son from your own loins.' Because God is going to do the impossible thing. And He says, 'Furthermore, I want you to know how much I'm going to bless you, so you come on out here, and you look at all the stars that are up there in heaven and you number them if you can count them.' Now here's God telling Abraham this. God cannot lie; God will not lie, and He says, 'So shall your seed be like the stars of heaven.' Now, he believed God. That was 'imputed to him for righteousness' and he was justified before God, because He believed God. Then also he had hope, believed in hope, trusted in God, and at the right time, Isaac was born. It was such a phenomenal thing at old age that even Abraham laughed at one time when he was told that it would happen, and Sarah laughed and the LORD said to Sarah, 'You laughed.' And she said, 'No, I didn't laugh.' He said, 'Yes, you did laugh.' Nevertheless, Isaac was born. Now, the same thing with Christ, God did another impossible thing: A virgin Mary conceived to bring forth Jesus. And so all of these things show the power of God and that we can believe in Him and have hope.

So let's come here to Romans 4:16 and let's read the last few verses concerning what Abraham did. "For this reason it is of faith, in order that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be certain to all the seed—not to the one who is of the law only, but also to the one who is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all."

Now we can look back and see, 'Yes, that's been true.' But remember Abraham. He had the false alarm with Ishmael, right? Yes! So we are stuck with that problem today. We know the twelve tribes of Israel where they are today, and we know the descendants of Ishmael who are the Arabs. So we can look back and we can see, 'Yea, God really said He was going to do it.' But there is one part of it that has yet to be fulfilled, which will not happen until the first resurrection. And that's what we're looking forward to. That's why we are to have hope.

Verse 17: "(Exactly as it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations')… [before he even had a son] …before God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not as though they are." That's why the promises of God are sure. You can claim the promises of God. You can:

• believe God
• have hope in God
• understand about God through that

Verse 18: "And who against hope believed in hope, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, 'So shall your seed be.' And he, not being weak in faith, considered not his own body, already having become dead. being about one hundred years old, nor did he consider the deadness of Sarah's womb; and he did not doubt the promise of God through unbelief; rather, he was strengthened in the faith, giving glory to God… [And that's how we need to have the faith in Christ, you see.] …For he was fullypersuaded… [that's what we need to be. Not almost persuaded as Felix was. A lot of people are almostpersuaded, but they don't know. You have to be fully persuaded.] …that what He has promised, He is also able to do. As a result, it was imputed to him for righteousness" (vs 18-22).

Now here's the lesson. God didn't do it just for him—He did it for us. "But it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; rather, it was also written for our sakes, to whom it shall be imputed—to those who believe in Him Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Who was delivered for our offences… [Because not only did He carry the sins of the world, but that is individually applied to each one of us—He carried our sins. Our sins crucified Christ, collectively the whole world, because He was the Creator of all mankind.] …[He was] delivered for our offences and was raised for our justification" (vs 23-25). To be put in right standing with God.

Now think about how great and precious that is.

• You cannot buy it
• You cannot work for it,

but you have to:

• repent,
• confess your sins,
• be baptized, and
• enter into the covenant of life.

So I want you to go back and put together the Covenant of Eternal Life,Jesus is Your Friend, and this sermon today, and that will help prepare you for Passover. Because God, through this, though we do have things we do collectively together as part of the Body of Christ, God Himself, through Christ, is working with each one separately, individually, and in particularly, because He is molding His character and love within each and every one that He has called. Now that's an awesome thing that's taking place—isn't it? So when we look at our lives and look at the world and look at the conditions around us, and we wonder: 'Where is God? What is God doing? We can now understand it even more.

Now let's continue on in Romans 5:1, because this becomes important. "Therefore, having been justified by faith... [put in right standing with God] …we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Whereas, what was happening before? We were at war with God—carnal minds, enmity.

Now let's notice something else that happens. It puts us in a relationship with God that no one else has. And it's not because of a church, though we all constitute part of the Church. It's not because of a minister or preacher; though we need teachers and preachers, and so forth. It's because of the individual action of God in each one our lives by His Spirit.

Verse 2: "Through Whom we also have access by faith into this grace…. [Now that's something—isn't it? So grace is like an umbrella that covers us; and from God comes:

• His love
• His mercy
• His kindness
• His forgiveness
• His correction

—and all of these things are part of the operation of grace. It's not license to sin. It is permission by God to have a relationship with Him.] …access by faith into this grace in which we stand…. [so you are standing under this umbrella] …and we ourselves boast in the hope of the glory of God"—because we are looking for the resurrection. Now isn't that a marvelous thing to contemplate? That God is going to give us eternal life through this whole operation. And what is it that everyone down deep inside reallydesires? To live forever, because God put that in us. But the means to accomplish that comes from God. And then we become His workmanship.

So that is really something, 'standing in this grace, boast in the glory of God.' "And not only this….

• because we have this faith;
• because we have this confidence;
• because we believe and trust in God,

notice: …but we also boast in tribulations… [I'm not quite there yet, but hopefully I am a little closer. No one likes trials, but they come.] …realizing that tribulation brings forth endurance…. [and we have to endure to the end, correct? Yes indeed!] …And endurance brings forth character, and character brings forth hope. And the hope of God never makes us ashamed because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us" (vs 3-5).

Brethren, that is fantastic! That's why we keep the Passover; that's why we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because of what God has done and His calling for us, and to keep us in right standing with God. So when we partake of the Passover every year, we are renewing the New Covenant of eternal life. We have access to God the Father through grace. When we pray, our prayers go directly to God the Father in heaven above. Now think about that for a minute!

You know, there are a lot of people who listen to these various talk shows, and I would have to say that from just hearing them through the years, Rush Limbaugh has to be the most noted, or notorious, depending which side of the political spectrum you're from. But people will get on the phone, spend time on the phone to call his number, and do it for years before they finally get through, and they say, 'Oh, I've been calling for years and I finally got through!' Well, God does not have a single-line phone number. You have direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ any time, any place, anywhere, under any circumstances; God will hear your prayers because you are in a covenant of life with Him and have established a relationship with Him. And He is working with you:

• to mold you,
• to give you His character,
• to give you His love,
• to give you the understanding of why we are here and where we are going, and His plan for all mankind.

Now I'll just finish with this. You've heard me say it quite often here recently, and you're going to hear it more often because it is true and so fundamental. The three most important things:

• The Sabbath, because that puts you in contact with God.
• The Passover, because that puts you in a relationship with God and forgiveness of sin.
• The Holy Days of God, which tell us His plan.

Now Satan has his counterfeits:

• Sunday, which takes you away from God.
• The Lord's supper, communion, Eucharist, sacrifice of the mass, which is really an addition that came from Mithras. It has nothing to do with Christ.
• The holidays of this world.

And he makes all of those very attractive, and he has his faithful servants every Sunday lambasting the Sabbath, the Passover, and the Holy Days. So the very thing that will give them understanding, they reject.

So that's why God has called us, and that's why he has put us in this relationship free of charge, through faith in Christ Jesus. This will help you have a deeper understanding of keeping the Passover, which will be in three weeks and three days.

Scriptural References:

• Romans 2:1-11
• Romans 3:1-17, 19-31
• Romans 4:16-25
• Romans 5:1-5

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Romans 1
• Psalm 22
• Isaiah
• Acts 10

Also referenced:

Books:

• Langer's Encyclopedia of World History
• The Code of Jewish Law by Solomon Ganzfreid & Hyman E. Goldin

Sermons:

• Elijah and the Two Witnesses
• Covenant of Eternal Life
• Jesus is Your Friend

           
FRC:lp
Transcribed: 5-5-09
Formatted: bo—5/24/09