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1:01It's a helpful analogy to understand what the book of Galatians is really addressing. It's addressing this difference between law and gospel and the jurisdictions in which law and gospel operate. To bring this to your mind, I just want to read to you that section from Pilgrim's Progress. This is in the Interpreter's House. When the interpreter takes Christian into the room, into this dusty parlor, and shows him the things that you just witnessed here on the platform. Then he, the interpreter, took him, Christian, by the hand and led him into a very large parlor that was full of dust, because never swept. The which, after he had received it a little while, the interpreter called for a man to sweep. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust became so abundantly that Christian had almost been choked. Then said the interpreter to a damsel that stood by, Bring water and sprinkle the room. The which, when she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure. Christian then said, What does this mean? The interpreter answered, The parlor is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the gospel. The dust is his original sin and inward corruptions that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first is the law, but she that brought water and did sprinkle it is the gospel. Now, whereas you saw that so Soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about the room that by him it could not be cleansed, and that you were almost choked therewith. This is to show you that the law, instead of cleansing the heart by its working from sin, does revive it and increase it in the soul, even as it discovers it and forbids it. For it does not have the power to subdue. Again, as you saw the damsel sprinkle the room with water, upon which it was cleansed with pleasure. This is to show you that when the gospel comes in, the sweet and precious influence thereof to the heart, then I say, even as you saw the damsel lay the dust by sprinkling the floor with water, so sin is vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean through faith in it, and consequently fit for the king of glory to inhabit.

4:09Now think for a moment, applying this analogy to your own life. Think of your heart prior to your salvation. For those of you who don't know Christ, this is the current state of your heart. But think of your heart. Prior to your salvation, as a large parlor. Now, what is a parlor? We don't use that language today. A parlor was a room in a house, usually that was kept very clean and was used largely for entertaining guests. So think of your heart as a large parlor prior to your salvation. You can think of the dust in that room as your inherited sin and corruption. You sin because you're a sinner. Where did that come from? The law is like the sweeping of a broom in a person's heart. What does the law do? It only stirs up the awareness of the sin, it doesn't vanquish it, it makes you aware: do not lie, do not steal, do not commit adultery, and you go down the line and it becomes very evident that what the law does is it brings to your awareness what's wrong in your soul.

5:40You may not even have been aware of your sin until the law comes and starts to stir it up. The gospel, with its news of Christ's death for the payment, is like water that washes away that guilt of sin and imparts a clean spirit, and in this way, The soul is cleansed and made ready for the king of glory to come in. Well, Bunyan's dusty parlor aptly illustrates what Paul has been saying throughout Galatians. The law never had the ability to transform a person.

6:22The law never has performance keeping to some standard doesn't have the ability to transform, but only reveal. That was the law. It could only reveal what's in a person. And what does it reveal? Sin and corruption are in the fallen human heart. It was never meant to save. It was never meant to sanctify. You know why? Because nobody can perfectly obey it. As Paul declared back in chapter 3 and verse 24, the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith. You see, the law is a tutor to school you to Christ. That's its jurisdiction. To school, to tutor, to lead you, to point out the righteousness that you need and the one who's going to bring about that righteousness in you. That's the purpose of the law.

7:30It's to point you to Christ. And those who follow the teaching of the law under the Spirit receive the gospel. And they have their sin dealt with, the guilt of their sin. That's the burden that comes off. But they also get new clothes. That's the imparting of a new nature. You pilgrims ought to know that, right? Burden comes off at the cross. New clothes put on. Only the gospel has the power to transform. As Galatians 4:6, Paul has already said, Because you are sons, God has sent forth his Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. A new paradigm, the Spirit of God comes in and becomes the rule, the leader of life, not the law. You see, those who receive the gospel are transformed from slaves to sons.

8:35That's the power of the gospel. And see, when a person receives Christ, the Holy Spirit enters in at the same time and continues to lead us toward Christ-like maturity. That's the freedom we're to run in. Mothers, you know this. Children have to grow up, don't they? Sometimes you talk about a struggle between flesh and spirit, and sometimes flesh and flesh. Mothers know that children have to grow up. Well, we have to mature in holiness. We have to be born from above, and then we have to mature in that holiness, in that growth, in Christ's likeness.

9:21How does this happen? Well, it happens through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. First in salvation, and then in the continual sanctifying process until one day we are fully conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit of freedom. This is the freedom that has been granted to us by the Spirit and that we are to run in. And so, this morning, as we continue this series through freedom and looking at freedom and what it is, I want you to see this ministry of the Spirit of freedom so that you will run in the way of Christ. So, I want to just take some time looking at this Spirit of freedom and his ministry. First of all, the Spirit of freedom frees from fleshly bondage. He frees from fleshly bondage. Look at verse 16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. But notice, Starts with an adversative conjunction there. Instead, but look back at verse 15, but if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Instead of biting and devouring one another, which is a work of the flesh, is another kind of life, a life under the direction of the Spirit. One that fulfills the law, which if you look back at verse 14, for the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this statement, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

11:06Believers have been called for freedom. Look back at verse 15, for you were called for freedom. Called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. So this freedom, you are called to freedom to this wide open space to run in the way of Christ's likeness, thus learning how to love one another as you love yourself and fulfill the whole righteousness of the law. And that jurisdiction is under the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

11:42But this verse brings to our minds two very different lifestyles of humanity and the inner struggle that as true Christians we all are engaged in. Two lifestyles, inner struggle of true Christian. And really, Paul's, if you've studied Paul, you understand his paradigms. There is the paradigm of the flesh, and there is the paradigm of the Spirit. And this is the struggle while we wait for our Lord that we find ourselves in. Look back at verse 15: there's a command. But I say, walk in the spirit.

12:23Y'all be walking. You be walking in and by the Spirit. It's a command. You be walking. Now, what he's talking about is a habitual routine of life. You be going about the affairs of your day-to-day life, your hour-by-hour life, your moment-by-moment life. You go through that under the guidance of the Spirit. Now, how do we do that today? Of course, the Spirit isn't walking around like a drum major leading the band. No, no, no, no, no. You know, it's not, and you can see where he goes.

13:15No, the Spirit of God moves internally in the spiritual realms, in that parlor where you entertain guests and thoughts in your own heart. That is where the Spirit of God. Works and moves. And you are to understand and follow and learn to walk in his promptings. And so the paradigm of life for the believer is to be under the daily and hourly direction of the Holy Spirit. That's the command. I say to you, be walking in the Spirit. But notice the promise. And you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Strong language. Double negative. And you will in no way at all be carrying out the desires of the flesh. That's how strong the language is. Be walking by the Spirit, and you will certainly not, no way, carry out, that is, bring to completion the desire of the flesh. What is the flesh? Well, we'll talk a little bit more about that in a minute, but it certainly refers to those lusts, those passions, and intense longing. Notice the word, the desire. That's the word desire of the flesh. Passions, lusts, intense longings, and specifically of the fallen human disposition.

14:47These are the inclinations of our unredeemed humanness. I'll comment on that in a moment. But Paul is going to go on in verse. 19 and provide us a list. Now, the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and the things like these. We'll spend some more time on that when I pick up this series again in July. But for now, I want to focus on, I want to jump ahead because there's something I think very important to point out here.

15:34Luther calls these the infectious diseases of the soul, certainly pride, hatred, covetousness, impatience, sexual lust, wantonness, revelry, the things like that. I think you get the idea of the passions of the fallen human flesh. We see it all around us. We see it in us. We are very familiar with these things. But look back and notice, but I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. At first glance, you might be inclined to think that those who walk in the Spirit will never have a sinful thought.

16:14That's not what he's saying here. Not precisely. The idea is that if you live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you're not going to bring sinful inclinations to completion. You will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Do you see that? Bring to completion, fulfill. It's that word. There may be an impulse, but if you're led by the Spirit, you will not carry out where that goes. Your anger will not culminate in murder, etc.

16:54Luther once said, You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest on it. I think that's the way we are in life: thoughts, impulses, reactions, sinful are expressions of sinful inclinations. But if you are living and walking by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, those things will not reach their conclusion because they will be stifled, cut short. You see, because the Spirit of God frees people from their ongoing bondage to the flesh. Just because you have a sinful thought, you are not bound to carry that out. And if you will live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, you certainly in no way will.

17:49That's what Paul is saying here. So, not only does the Spirit of freedom free us from the guilt of our sin and the curse of the law at the Point of salvation, but he frees us from the ongoing bondage to our sinful, fleshly inclinations. You don't have to live like that. And I don't care what your pet sins are or those things that seem to dominate you, there is an influence that is far greater. Learn to walk in step.

18:22In fact, you are commanded to learn and to walk in step with the Spirit. All we have to do is follow his leadership. He'll take care of the rest. He'll do something so wonderful in us that at the end of it, he will bring about the fulfillment of the law in us. Something the law could never do. Because it was, it needed our flesh to bring it about, which was unable to. So how does the Spirit of freedom set us free? Or why does he do it? Well, because he opposes fleshly desires. The Spirit of freedom frees us from fleshly bondage. Why? Because he opposes fleshly desire. Look back at verse 17. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. So this verse.

19:30Really identifies and brings to focus this great spiritual conflict that we, as believers, are all caught up in. We're waiting for our Lord's return, but we still live in this flesh. Paul is going to write about this in a lot of different places. In fact, Jesus Himself, as we read earlier, said He didn't come to bring peace on earth, but a sword. And that conflict that He came to bring is ultimately a war between flesh and spirit. A war between flesh and spirit. What is the flesh?

20:10Well, the flesh, as I already said, it is our unredeemed humanness. You know, there are still things about us that are not redeemed. There are still things in us that are trending toward death. What is that? What is death? Well, death is those things that have a shelf life, things that trend, they have an expiration date. There are certain things about us that have an expiration date. And the older you get, you really realize it and you feel it. Our bodies are still under the curse of death. Our bodies have not yet been redeemed. And all that fallen humanness associated with the fallen body, there's an unredeemed humanness.

21:01That awaits our Lord's return. So, you know, until that day we are confirmed in holiness, until we are confirmed in a perfect disposition toward righteousness, both body and soul, we're going to live in a war zone. And that's the conflict we're in right now. We're in a conflict. We're in a war zone, a battle between flesh and spirit. In fact, as you look around us, what's going on in the world? Much of the world is just conflict. Conflict between flesh and flesh. Fallen flesh wanting to get its way, and somebody else getting in the way, and then that fallen flesh having its own desires. And so we have a world of competition. You see this on the national level. You see it on a local level. You see it on an individual level. And if you pay attention, you'll see it in your own heart.

21:58If you're a believer, a war zone between spirit and flesh. At least with believers, there is this conflict between flesh and spirit. I mean, I think that's what parenting is about. It's a constant battle between flesh and spirit. A lot of times it's dad's flesh or mom's flesh against junior's flesh. And it's just a battle of flesh. And that happens a lot. Sometimes in that dynamic, it's a battle between spirit and flesh. Recognize that. Largely, what Paul is talking about here, and we need to focus on, is this war that goes on inside of us between flesh and spirit. And if you are born again, this is a real dynamic. If you are not, if you have not received the gospel, then you are enslaved to your flesh. You don't have objections to, you don't really have a regard for God. And that's why you can continue in sin and be at complete peace in it and even defend your sin because you have not the Spirit of God. You have not received the gospel. But for those who have, there is this presence of a holy invader, the Spirit of God, who just opposes fleshly desire.

23:30Notice verse 17: the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. There is no agreement between the two. They're not ever going to reconcile. The Spirit's desire is irreconcilably opposed to fleshly desires. Note that. As you meditate in the parlor of your heart about things to do and things to say, remember, there is. War between your spirit, between God's spirit and your flesh. Why? Why is this? Why does he oppose fleshly desires? Look back at the end of verse 17, so that you may not do the things you please.

24:18The reason why those who walk by the Spirit, look back at verse 16, but I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. The reason those who walk by the Spirit will not carry out the desires of the flesh is because the Spirit is going to navigate all who follow Him away from the desires of the flesh. That's what He does. He is in opposition to fleshly desires. He doesn't like fleshly desires. They elevate man. They sin against God. They're statements of rebellion. And so, of course, he's going to lead in a way that is holy and clean and pleasing to the Father.

25:10And in this way, the Spirit releases people from the bondage of the flesh. You can be sure that if you want to follow the Spirit, you can. If you are in Christ, because the Spirit of God is opposed to your fleshly desires. Very strong. Strongly. The Spirit of God is given to make sure that you don't proceed in the way of your evil desires. That's his ministry to you. The Spirit is antagonistic to that whole mindset that we read in the Old Testament, especially in the Judges. Everybody doing what is right in his own eyes. The Spirit is very antagonistic to that. He wants you to do what is right in God's eyes. What is right in God's eyes, that which conforms to the perfect character and beauty of Jesus Christ. And so his ministry is going to be to shape and mold you and transform you and lead you in that direction. That's the freedom that he's given you, and he has given it to you so that you can run in that way, run toward the goal line of Christ-likeness.

26:25But notice that the Christian has a choice. You can allow the fleshly impulses of your unredeemed humanness to guide you, or you can allow and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit. We have a choice. As Christians, we have a choice. As un-Christians, you have no choice. You're enslaved to the flesh, and you will follow its desires. Even your religion will be a statement of your fleshly desires. But those who are really in Christ, who are Receive the gospel, they grow in discerning between good and evil and learn in choosing what is best. Why? Because God wants a relationship with you.

27:13And to have that relationship, it involves daily choices constantly going on. You can choose to serve the flesh, but to serve the flesh, you're going to have to abandon the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Or you can choose God. And to choose God and to choose to serve God, you have to abandon the leadership of the flesh. Boyce says it like this. Naturally, the flesh is to become increasingly subdued as the Christian learns by grace to walk in the Spirit. But it is never eliminated. So the Christian is never released from the necessity of consciously choosing to go in God's way. There is no escape from the need to depend on God's grace. Even after we come to Christ, we are dependent upon the Holy Spirit's leading.

28:18And so we must cry out for it and look for it. But what is the point of all this? Understand the conflict that you're in. Your fleshly desire. Are at odds with the Spirit's desires for your life. Understand. There is a remnant of your fallen humanness that is still with you, and it is the source of your ongoing struggle with sin in this life. And this is why we must be led by the Spirit. This is why you must choose a daily lifestyle that is in step with the Spirit, or you will be deceived by the flesh and will result in the fruitless ministries that are associated with the workings of the flesh.

29:18Well, why? Just review. Why does the Spirit free Christ's people from their sinful inclinations? Why? Because His desire is irreconcilably opposed to the desires of the fallen human disposition. And, so he's opposed, but there's something else. He is far more powerful than the inclinations of the flesh. If you will listen to him and inquire of his ways and let him lead you, you will find the impulse, the desire, the beauty of following the Spirit will far. Overwhelm your sinful inclinations and desires for the flesh. Those are short-lived. But as you grow and mature, you start seeing the value and the overwhelming beauty and powerful leadership of the Spirit. That's why you will not serve the flesh if you follow the Spirit.

30:23So the Spirit of freedom, he frees us from fleshly bondage because he opposes fleshly desires. And third, third, third, third, third. I'm sure they'll figure it out. Put number three back there. And three. And the Spirit of freedom replaces the jurisdiction of the law. He replaces the jurisdiction of the law. He frees from fleshly bondage because he opposes fleshly desire and he replaces the jurisdiction of the law. Look back at verse 18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. It's a classic conditional statement. If, then, if you are led, it's a present verb. If y'all are being led, it's a passive verb. If you are allowing the Spirit of God to lead you, you can be. You're not under the law.

31:33It's a beautiful term if you are being brought along by the Spirit. It's even the word for arresting. If you are being arrested by the Spirit. Or it's even a sailing term, like the wind behind the sails. If you are being driven by the wind of God's Spirit, you are not under the law. Listen, his ministry is one of leading you. That's what he's going to do. That's what he was commissioned to do. That's what he was sent to do. He is going to lead you. That's what he does. He is leading you. In fact, you don't have to ask the Holy Spirit to lead you because he is leading you. What you need help with is recognizing where he's leading and how, and to help you come under that leadership. But he is always leading. That's what he does. Our problem is we don't always want to see the direction where he's going or we don't want his help because we are so enmeshed in our flesh. But he is leading you. You need to ask him to help you to come under his leadership. But listen, when a person is led by the flesh, guess what? It shows up in everything they do. You just saw that in verse 19 and 20. He's going to enumerate those and itemize those. It shows up in everything. The flesh knows how to wage war against God's desire.

33:00And it can get very sophisticated. It shows up. It defends itself in that parlor room of your heart. It shows up in pre-commitments. It shows up in your philosophy. It even shows up in the way you'll read your Bible. I mean, it's astounding that we have now with us today entire denominations that sanction the immoral. How did we get there? The battle of the flesh. A desire for the flesh and coming up with a theology and an approach to Scripture that allows it to have place.

33:44And if you're not careful, you can do the same thing. Where does the Spirit lead? Well, it's very clear. He leads to Christ. He leads to glorify Christ. Remember John in the upper room. John's gospel. Jesus said this to his disciples in John 16, 13. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of mine and disclose it to you.

34:27You see, the Spirit leads to connect us to Christ. And listen, when you're connected to Christ, it shows up. When Christ is welcomed into the parlor of your heart, it is cleansed. His thinking then starts dominating your thinking. And what happens in the parlor of your heart then shows up in the deeds that you do, in the words that you say. But the Spirit of God, he leads us to connect with Christ. He connects you with Christ in salvation in order to remove your sin, grant pardon, forgiveness. And you know that? He convicts you of sin so that you will confess it, so that you will seek pardon and receive forgiveness. That's his work in salvation. He connects you with Christ in salvation. He also connects you with redemption to redeem you. What does he redeem you from? We sing about it. We've read about it. He redeems you from the curse of the law, death.

35:37He redeems you from the curse of the law. But he does more than he connects us with Christ in redemption, in salvation, and he also connects us with Christ by putting us in spiritual union with his Son. And so to do this, he imparts the very spirit of sonship in us. This is what. Paul was saying, chapter 4 and verse 6, because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

36:15That becomes the new paradigm. He puts His Spirit, the Spirit of sonship, into our hearts to connect us with Him. But He also connects us with Him as teacher. So He connects us with Christ in salvation. He connects us with Christ in redemption. He connects us with Christ through spiritual union. And certainly that involves a connection with Him as our teacher to grow in the skill of the ways of sonship. He is our teacher. He is the Son. And we are to grow in our skill of sonship.

36:57But once that connection is made, guess what? People are no longer under the jurisdiction of the law. The law has a different jurisdiction. The Spirit of God has a different jurisdiction over the Christian. Look at the result. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. You are not under the law. You know, it's interesting, after reading these verses, I would have expected Paul to say, you're not under the flesh. Look back at verse 16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Then verse 17, for the flesh sets itself against the Spirit, etc. You see that flesh. It's all about the flesh. And then he comes to verse 18. But if you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law.

37:52You see, the Spirit takes over where the law left off. The tutor connects us to Christ. And thenceforth, the Spirit takes over. The Spirit of Christ. The Tutor tutors us to Christ and then must yield to the Spirit of Christ Himself. And once you are connected to Christ, you are no longer under the law. I appreciate what John MacArthur said about this. A person cannot come to God by means of law-keeping, nor can he sustain living for God by keeping the law. Not even the God-given law of Moses, in which the old covenant centered, because no man can perfectly obey it. It was given by God to reveal God's holy standards and to make men despair of their own failing human efforts at pleasing him, thus driving them to Jesus Christ, who will By grace, they can make them acceptable to the Father. The law was never meant to be a Savior, but only a tutor to lead men to the Savior. And once you're connected, you're not under the law.

39:15Look, the reason why you and I are pleasing to God, who are in Christ, has nothing to do with our law-keeping ability, but everything to do with the law-keeping perfections of Jesus Christ. It is God's favor that He gives us because of His work. We didn't earn God's favor. Think about this: the law's jurisdiction is condemning non-conformity to Christ. The Spirit's jurisdiction is about transforming people into Christ-likeness. Our sanctification is under the leadership of His Spirit, and He will always lead in a way that is consistent with Jesus Christ. That's why, if you'll follow the Spirit, life gets simple. He will take care of the rest.

40:15But also, there is no longer a need for the law that deals merely with outcomes of the flesh. Why? You see, because the Spirit deals with those sinful inclinations. Nations long before they make it to the fruits of the flesh. I appreciate what John Chrysostom said way back in the fourth century, bishop there at Constantinople. Listen to what he said: he that has the Spirit, as he ought, quenches thereby every evil desire, and he needs no help from the law. He who is never angry, what need has he to hear the command, thou shalt not kill? He who never casts unchaste looks, what need has he of the admonition, thou shalt not commit adultery? Who would discourse about the fruits of wickedness with him who has plucked up the root itself? For anger is the root of murder, and adultery, inquisitive gazing.

41:26Hence he says, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now that grace is given, and I continue, Chrysostom. Now that grace is given, which not only commands us to abstain from them, but both quenches them and leads us to a higher rule of life. What more need is there of the law? He who has attained an exalted excellence from an inner impulse has no occasion for a schoolmaster, nor does anyone.

42:00If he is a philosopher, would he need a grammarian? No. Chrysostom goes on to declare that those who begin in the spirit yet go back to a performance-based standards of the law degrade themselves. Listen, what did the law do? The law killed people by condemning them. The law can have no jurisdiction over one it kills. Christ resurrects. Christ guides people to fulfill the righteousness in the law. And so Christ's spirit replaces the jurisdiction of the law.

43:02So of course he has jurisdiction over those he resurrects. The law killed him. Christ resurrected him. And so, of course, he has jurisdiction over them, and he administers this jurisdiction through his Holy Spirit. So, though, there's a spirit of freedom. We've looked at he frees from fleshly bondage because he opposes fleshly desires and replaces the jurisdiction of the law. Led by the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of your fallen flesh. And you will not be under the jurisdiction of the law.

43:44You see, we are free to run in the way of Christ's likeness, and we can expect, you can expect, the full measure of heavenly support as you run in that way. That's what Christ, that's what God wants for you. So run in it. Well, and think for just a moment. I know it's Mother's Day. I want to say something about, I know many of you all are going to go and celebrate motherhood today. And they should be celebrated. The standards of motherhood are something to be celebrated. But let me ask you something.

44:31Do you think the celebration is about how perfect of a mother you've been? Let's think about the law for just a moment. Let's think about our Mother's Day celebration. Have you ever lied to one of your kids? I mean, mothers shouldn't lie, right? Of course not. There we go. See, his spirit's already at work. Convicting, right? Have you ever made a promise to one of your children that you didn't keep? That's a lie, right? Mothers should keep their word.

45:17Right? Did you even want your child in the first place? Have you always been there? Were you always engaged? Were you always helpful? Did you never have an outburst of anger? I mean, mothers shouldn't just blow up at their children. That's, I mean, that's not motherhood. That's not something we're celebrating today, is it? Could you partake in a celebration today of motherhood if motherhood was, if our celebrations were all based upon how perfect of a mother you are?

46:00No, but aren't you thankful? Aren't you thankful that the celebrations today are filled with grace? Now think about this, about heaven for a moment. Think about heaven. What is heaven about? It's a celebration of humanity in God's image. Yeah, it's a celebration about the glory of God and perfect humanity. Humanity. But are you perfect? Are you going to be, are you able to enter into that celebration of perfect humanity? That's what heaven's about. It's about a celebration, an eternal celebration of the invisible God becoming visible in humanity. And so the invisible God is now on display. But have you perfectly embodied that? The answer is no. And that's the jurisdiction of the law: to tell you you don't comply. But then comes the gospel. And what is it? It tells you. It tells you that there is one who perfectly did embody the perfections of humanity. And it is he who has laid down his life, loved his neighbor as himself, and that neighbor was you, and laid down his life so that you can have his righteousness, so that you could have the favor of God that he enjoyed upon yourself.

47:41That's perfect humanity. And then it is the work of the Spirit that brings us to that place, brings us to the realization of the beauty of Christ and the desire for the things. And then we enter in his school of growing in his likeness. That's how he cleanses us. Our souls, and then one day he's going to conform, he's going to complete that work and put us in that glorified state where we are forever perfectly like him. That's the celebration to come, and it is only possible through the gospel. And so, you're invited to come to him today, and you are invited to run in his way in his likeness. And you can expect all of heaven's support when you do. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the truth that is so plain and so convicting and so nourishing. Father, we thank you for the great grace of your Son. We thank you for the ministry of the law that exposes and makes us know our need for you. And we thank you for the gift of your son and the jurisdiction he now has over our life. Help us to come to him and to keep coming to him and to run hard after him and to take up our cross daily and to follow him. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.