The Law and the Gospel According to Scripture Alone

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “ But the righteous man shall live by faith.” Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
“Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows:" DO not say in your heart, ' Who will ascend into heaven? ' (that is, to bring Christ down), or ' Who will descend into the abyss? ' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." But what does it say? " The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, " Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for " Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." 

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.



Bibliography
The Holy Bible, Updated New American Standard Bible. (1995). The Lockman Foundation. Romans 1:16-17. 1Corinthians 6:9-10. Romans 3:9-18. Matthew 5:21-22. Matthew 5:27-28. James 2:8-10. Romans 3:19-28. Romans 10:4-13. 1Corinthians 15:1-5. Matthew 28:17-20. Acts 1:3-11.

Proof of Jesus' Resurrection

I am so excited about what God has given me to talk about today. I am excited, because it is what brought me to a saving faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ as I read the scriptures. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ! The proof of Jesus' resurrection is found in the changed lives of His disciples.

Many in the time of Jesus considered Him to be a good teacher and a prophet, but He began to say a lot of things that people just could not stomach. He angered the religious leaders of the day who thought they were good people by showing them they were not good people. He began to claim He was God and told people that the only way to heaven was through Him. He called himself the bread of life: “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." (John 6:51). He called Himself the door: “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9). He called Himself the good shepherd: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10:11). He told people that He has the power to lay down His life when He wants to and take it up again when He wants to: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” (John 10:17-18). He goes on to tell people that He is the only way to Heaven: "Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6). He a claimed to be God: "Jesus *said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:9). Jesus said many other things like this, can you imagine how hard it was for some people to swallow? Actually I can, because it was hard for me to swallow as well. During Jesus’ time the people were looking and hoping for the Messiah, the chosen one of God who was promised by God through the Law and the Prophets to save them. Therefore, when the people saw the qualities of the messiah being exhibited in Jesus they began to follow Him, but when He began making these outrages claims about Himself many deserted Him. He was left with a very select few that held on to the hope that He was the Messiah.

Then came the capture, arrest, trial, and death by scourge and crucifixion on the Cross at the hands of the Romans; this left the remaining disciples without hope. If you read in combination the four Gospel Accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John you will get a real picture of what happened. These men left Him, they completely deserted Him and were scattered, they were not even together as a tight net group anymore. Some of them as friends hung out together, but the group as a whole was dispersed. They were not even to be found during the crucifixion, it was the women who stood by and watched. Peter who later became a great leader in the church denied three recorded times that he even knew Jesus. There is strong indication that these men no longer believed Him to be the Messiah and went back to their normal lives. After Peter and John see the empty tomb the bible tells us that they went home: “So the disciples went away again to their own homes." (20:10). The bible talks about two men on the way to a village called Emmaus: "And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:13). When asked what they were talking about they said that they were discussing Jesus and had hoped that he was the Messiah, indicating that they may have lost that hope. In the Gospel According to John: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John were all back in Galilee fishing, they had gone back to their everyday lives. They were referred to as the sect of the Nazarenes, and all indications were that this sect of the Nazarenes had died at the death of their leader Jesus.

So then we move on to “THE ACTS of the Apostles” The book of Acts. You have Peter who had previously denied in his cowardice three times that he even knew Jesus, stand up and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in front of thousands of people. The bible tells us three thousand souls were saved that day. (See Acts 2) Then you have Peter and John both going into the temple in broad day light professing the name of Jesus before everyone without fear. They are arrested and brought before the religious leaders, even the religious leaders marvel at the speech and boldness of these two men. The city of Jerusalem is in an uproar, because these men who formerly followed Jesus where back, and they were back boldly proclaiming throughout Jerusalem and all Judea that the Messiah had come, and His name is Jesus. They were preaching to everyone "Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus". They were doing this without fear of man. All of these men who were formally cowards preached salvation through faith in Jesus Christ their entire lives without wavering one iota. They did this even under the real threat of death, torture, and imprisonment.

So why would these men who were cowardice suddenly be full of boldness? I’ll tell you why, they saw a dead man come back to life! That’s right, they saw a dead man rise from the grave! The same Man who said: “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." (John 6:51). The same Man who said: “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9). The same Man who said: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10:11). The same Man who said: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” (John 10:17-18). The same man who said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6). The same Man who said: "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:9). After His resurrection they saw Him with their own eyes, they walked with Him, talked with Him, ate with Him and touched Him. They could do nothing else, they had to go tell everyone that Jesus died for our sins and is raised, no matter what the threats were against them. The rulers threatened and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. “But Peter and John answered and said to them, " Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20). So I tell you here and now Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and He is risen from the dead.

The proof of Jesus' resurrection is found in the changed lives of His disciples! If Jesus is risen, then all His claims about Himself and His promises are true. So change your mind just as I did. Your own conscience tells you that you have broken God’s law, that you are a sinner fallen short of the glory of God, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23) and what you deserve for breaking God's Law is death: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)! That is the bad news, but there is good news: “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)! How are we saved? "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus said: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40). Just like when Thomas saw and touched the risen Savior he believed and proclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Therefore when you believe, you will also confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. As it was with the disciples, you cannot truly believe in the Son of God Jesus Christ and remain the same: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (1 Corinthians 5:17). If you do remain the same you have not truly believed. Repent, turn away from your sin, and put your trust solely in the Son of God Jesus Christ.

The Father Chooses Who the Spirit Sets apart to Obey Jesus in Repentance and Faith

The apostle Peter begins his first letter by saying to the churches that they were chosen "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. (1Peter 1:2). The following are excerpts from the Gospel According to John regarding what Jesus had to say about this.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.....All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.....For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.....No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.....It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.....For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.....My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”" (John 6:35, John 6:37, John 6:40, John 6:44, John 6:63, John 6:65, John 10:27-30).