All that we experience tonight would further what we just sang, that redeeming love, the same redeeming love that has been our theme, would continue to be our theme until we die. And that, that theme of your redeeming love would thread through everything we do, anything we teach, anything we lead, anything we encourage people with. May that be the theme of our song. And we pray for your grace in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. You may take a seat. Well, a couple administrative notes before we jump into the lecture. First, you should have received a packet at check-in that has an outline that you will fill in as we go. And so this is the right time to take out that outline. We're going to be working through that together. And we have another— a couple other things in that packet for you. We'll explain at the break, but this is the right time to take out that outline. And I also get the great privilege of introducing Dr. Chappell. I was in, uh, Wadis earlier today as he was preaching to a group of 400-plus pastors from Mexico and Latin America. And man, it was just breathtaking to see what God is doing in Mexico and in Latin America in terms of gospel-centered ministry and what Wonderful to see Dr. Chappell make an investment, a key, I think, long-lasting investment into that work. So, uh, but I could read many things about Dr. Chappell. He's the stated clerk of the PCA, which means a lot to the PCA guys. And the, the Baptist guy, the Baptist guy at lunch was like, what's that? It's important. Um, it's very important. He does the work of coordinating all 10 of the PCA entities which is quite a job. In addition to that, he has been a seminary president, he's been a longtime pastor, and I think in Dr. Chappell you find a unique blend of pastorship and scholarship. And I think that's what you're going to hear today. He has a pastor's heart but a scholar's mind and a heart to equip the people of God to speak the words of God. And the theme of the Bible in Jesus Christ. And last thing I'll just say, my own personal connection to Dr. Chappell, the reason I was so excited to be able to bring him and host this event at our church is when I was 20 years old, I was probably unwisely asked to deliver a talk at church, had no idea how to do it, didn't know where to, you know, which end of the Bible is up, barely. And our pastor at the time, Tom, said, "Don't worry, I have a great book for you." and he handed me Christ-Centered Preaching. And I read it like the way a man on a desert island drinks a bottle of water, that book, Christ-Centered Preaching, was to me, realizing I'm gonna give a talk about Jesus from the Bible in 2 weeks. And ever since then, I don't think that book has left my shelf. It's been at the forefront of my library ever since. And so, I'm so excited that we get to host this and we get to host Dr. Chappell. So please, let's welcome Dr. Chappell as he comes to teach.
Thank you, Ricky. Well, I thank Pastor Ricky for very kind words. And I love being able to teach this material, and you heard already being with Mexican pastors this day and the last few days, but the privilege of my life is talking about how all the Bible is about the ministry of the Lord Jesus. I mean, you would think that would be so plain, that, that what we want to be talking about and focused on is about Jesus. I mean, that's our distinguishing understanding of why we gather, to lead people in worship. And, uh, so much that I have done in my life has been trying to say It's all about Jesus, but I recognize it's easy to get off message.
And the reason it's easy to get off message is we get focused on some biblical detail, but more commonly, we get focused on somebody's misbehavior. And so I say, "What this Bible is for is to correct your behavior." Or we deal with people who have a different theological background, and we say, The reason for this Bible is to correct your doctrine. Well, there are certainly things in the Bible to correct behavior and to correct doctrine, but the Scriptures have their purpose well declared.
The Apostle Paul said, Romans 15:4, "Everything that was written before us was written for us." "so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Is the hope in your good behavior? Is the hope in your good doctrine? I always tease the Presbyterians present to say, "We are absolutely convinced you are not saved by good works, but we are pretty sure you are saved by good doctrine." But you're not. You are saved only by the mercy of God in Christ, and that alone. We know that. We nod and we give assent. How do we get off message?
You don't know me, but let me just tell you a little bit of my background and how easy it is to get off message. When I graduated from seminary, the same seminary as a few of you in the room, I had a great privilege. So just getting out of school, young man, young pastor, I was asked to take the pastorate of the oldest and the largest church in our region. Now, that was a great privilege, but it can mess you up. I mean, you know what it did to me. You can imagine. Man, am I hot stuff. I mean, look at me. Young guy, historic church, large church. Ain't I something? I had no idea how hard it was going to be.
6 · Describes the economic catastrophe that struck his community when EPA regulations eliminated the coal mining industry, leaving thousands unemployed within months of his arrival
It wasn't just because I was too young for what I was doing. It wasn't just because I was out of my depth for what I'd been called to do. It's because a crisis came upon our community very quickly. That was in the center of the United States, in what was southern Illinois, and the main industry of our area was coal mining. People had been in the mines for generations, and despite your stereotypes of what a hard living it is, coal mining in that era was very lucrative. So people got out of high school, they got married, they went to the mines, and they lived well for the rest of their lives. And then only about 6 months after my arrival at that historic and large church, the Environmental Protection Agency changed the standards for coal that could be marketed in the United States. Southern Illinois coal is soft, high-sulfur coal, and it could no longer be marketed in the United States. And as a consequence, there were quite literally thousands of men and women out of work within only months of my arrival in that community.
7 · Catalogs the cascading human destruction in the community — loss of dignity and hope, domestic abuse, divorce among church leaders, substance abuse, promiscuity, and pervasive depression — as people medicate their pain
In the 6 counties surrounding the church, we had government programs to support, of course, but they were totally inadequate, not just for the loss of income, but the loss of dignity and respect and sense of meaning. I mean, parent after parent said to their kids, "You need to get out of here. You need to leave." There is no future, there is no hope in this community. But that wasn't the only problem. I mean, those of you who are pastoral leaders and leaders and elders in the church and teachers of others, you already can imagine what is happening in people's households. If jobs and income are on rapid decline, you tell me what human dynamics are on rapid incline in people's homes. Job, income, self-respect falling off a cliff. What's going on inside people's homes? What are the dynamics that are rising very quickly? What are people doing? They are fighting. Abuse, common. Divorced people you never thought would even think about getting divorced. Not just ordinary people in the church, the officers in your church and every other church. Marriages are coming undone, families are coming undone, people are hurting, and they will medicate any way they can. How will they medicate? Alcohol, drugs, promiscuity, anything to feel okay again. And depression is everywhere. I mean, like a blanket, over the whole community. There is depression everywhere.
8 · Chapell describes his initial pastoral approach — using Scripture to command behavioral correction ('stop it') for alcoholism, domestic abuse, and depression — and his growing self-loathing as the method crushed people
Now, I'd been to seminary, so I knew exactly what to do. I thought I knew what to do. I'd been taught to preach the Bible, and so I would look at places in the Bible where it dealt with the issues that we were facing, and to people who were struggling with alcohol, I would say, Stop it. Now the Bible says right here, you shall not be drunk on much wine. So just stop it. And if there's problems between you and your wife, stop treating her wrong. The Bible says you shall love your wife as Christ loves the church. You may not hit her. Stop it. And if you're depressed, well, rejoice in the Lord. I'll say it again, rejoice in the Lord. You just stop being depressed. I said stop it so often. I could not stand me anymore.
9 · Describes the crisis point where Chapell recognized his biblical preaching was hurting people, crushing both his congregation and himself to the point of considering leaving ministry entirely
I said to my wife one day, "I did not go to seminary to learn to hurt people, but I stand in the pulpit every Sunday and I hurt people." And you say, "How could that happen?" I'm just saying what the Bible says. I'm focused on what people are doing wrong and I'm telling them to do right, but I'm watching it crush them. But it wasn't just crushing them. Have you already figured out who else it was crushing? It was crushing me. We actually did make that call to my wife's family. "We may be coming to live with you because I do not know what I'm going to do for a living, but it is not this."
10 · Introduces the turning point — reading Sidney Greidanus's book on preaching biblical heroes from a century-old Dutch controversy, which seemed unlikely to help but proved transformative
When we were at that low point, when I was at that low point, the Lord did something wonderful for me. I don't even recognize it anymore. Ricky was talking about having a book of mine on the shelf. There was a book I had of somebody on the shelf, and I had not read it. It was a book called Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone, what's in the Scriptures. And it was a man named Sidney Grodanus who was actually trying to diagnose a controversy in the Dutch church 100 years before. And I hope you're thinking, how in the world is this going to be helpful? But here was the controversy: How do you preach the heroes of the Bible?
11 · Satirizes the common 'be like the hero' approach using David and Goliath, showing how it requires sanitizing the biblical record by ignoring David's adultery, parenting failures, and pride
Now we kind of know what to do. There's a good guy, you should be like him. I mean, David's an example, right? I mean, David was a man of faith. Clearly he's in the Bible so that you'll be a person of faith, and you know exactly how that works. David went up against Goliath. He picked up those 5 smooth stones, and Goliath looked at this little shepherd boy and he said, am I a dog that you come against me with a sling? And David said, you come with sword, javelin, and spear. I come in the name of the Lord. And if you just have enough faith You can beat up the giants against you. You should be like David. Just don't read that chapter about Bathsheba or how he raised bad kids and then at the end of his life numbered his troops as though he was responsible for the glory of his kingdom. And took glory away from God.
12 · States Greidanus's central insight that Jesus is the Bible's only hero, everyone else desperately needs redemption, and the whole canon unfolds one message: you are not your redeemer, but God will provide one
You know what Sidney Renownes did was he kind of took the heroes of the Bible and he just very clearly went through the heroes of the Bible and he came to one very simple, profound conclusion. There is only one hero in the Bible. Who is that? That is Jesus. And everybody else needs him. And if we will read the Bible truly, fully, not clean it up, not sanitize it so the Sunday school will like it okay, if we'll actually tell the true stories and the whole stories, we will find that the heroes of the Bible desperately need a redeemer. They are a mess. And everybody needs ultimately the provision of God, His grace that is revealed in Jesus Christ. And the whole Bible is pointing to that. It's not the mean God of the Old Testament and the nice God of the New Testament. It's not people who could function without grace and then people who need grace. The whole Bible from beginning to end is unfolding the message You are not your redeemer. But God will send one. God will provide him, even for messed-up people like David and you and me.
13 · Returns to Romans 15:4's 'everything' to ground the pastoral application: if God blessed deeply flawed biblical figures, there remains hope and grace for equally messed-up listeners
Romans 15:4, "Everything that was written in the past That's a pretty comprehensive statement. Everything that was written in the past was written for us so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. What I began to say to my people was, listen, if God could bless people as messed up as those in the Bible, maybe there's still hope for you. Maybe there's still grace for you.
14 · Describes the congregation's transformation when they heard a grace-centered message — light returning to eyes, first-ever vocations to ministry and missions, adoptions, renewed hope
I watched light come back into people's eyes. A church at that point was 150 years old. We never sent a single person into ministry or mission, and the Lord began to multiply them out of that crisis, sending men into the ministry, sending families into the mission field. People began to adopt children they never even thought about. There was hope again. There's a reality that God is— for us, and that began to change them.
15 · Reveals that the grace message transformed not only his congregation but Chapell himself, rescuing him from believing he was a ministerial failure and restoring his love for preaching
But it didn't just— can you already figure out? It didn't just change the people. There was somebody else that needed to know maybe God still has hope for somebody who's messed up. Who else got that message? I wasn't even out of my 20s, and I believed I was a failure and needed to leave the ministry. And when I began to believe that there is hope for messed-up people by a Savior who works beyond their failures, beyond their messes, I began to love to preach like I never had.
16 · Asserts his life's work flows from one message — God loves people like me — and that grace properly understood is not license but the true motivation for obedience because love for Christ produces commandment-keeping
Everything I have taught or written since has just got one simple message: God loves people like me. And if we will tell them that, if we will make it known to them, it will actually be the joy of the Lord that is their strength. Grace ultimately is not compromise. It is not permission to sin. It is the motivation of obedience. How do we know that? What did Jesus say? "If you love me, you will keep my commands." What is the source of that love? We love because— Where does strength come from? It comes from really understanding the whole message of the Bible.
17 · Maps the Bible's grand narrative as creation (everything good), fall (everything bad), and consummation (everything perfect), identifying the in-between period as redemption where God is redeeming all things
You may not be able to see all of this. Let me say what is the message of the Bible. If you look at the big picture, because our temptation is just to look at verses on moral behavior, if you look at the big picture, what is unfolding as the story of Scripture? There was from the beginning a creation. You know that. In which God made everything good. How long did that last? Not long. Soon after— I'm going to do this a little differently. Soon after the creation, the sea, there was a fall. What happened in the fall? Everything went what? Everything went bad. We know the other end of the story that we call the consummation of all things. In which ultimately what happens is God makes everything perfect, which by the way is even better than good. Now my question to you is, what happens in the meantime? What happens between everything went bad and God makes everything perfect? What's happening in the meantime? Those of you who've Got some background, say it's the period of redemption. There is God redeeming all things.
18 · Expounds Genesis 3:15 as God's immediate post-fall promise to send the woman's seed who will crush Satan's head despite receiving a heel-strike, establishing redemption's theme at the moment of corruption
How is He doing that? How does He take a creation that is fallen, that brings sin and corruption into the world so that there is not just our failure, but weeds and thorns and pain and tears and darkness that enter our world? And we begin to understand that out of that darkness, out of that pain, and out of that shame, God is saying, "I will bring a redemption that will ultimately result in everything being made perfect." How do we know that's really what Scripture is about? Because God tells us. Right here when everything went bad, do you remember Genesis 3:15? Adam has sinned. The world is corrupt. And of all things, God speaks to Satan. And do you remember what God says to Satan who tempted Adam and Eve? He said, "I am going to put enmity, antagonism, Satan, between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed." and her seed. And here's what's gonna happen, Satan. You are going to strike his heel. What's he going to do? Crush your head. Ultimately, what God has said to Satan himself is, I will send the seed of the woman, a successor down the road, and you're going to strike his heel, you serpent. But he's going to crush you.
19 · Asserts that Genesis 3:15 announces Scripture's theme before John 3:16, establishing that from the beginning God declares He will send a redeemer to crush Satan and save sinful people
The Bible is telling us its theme right at the beginning. It's not waiting till John 3:16. Right from the beginning, we get the theme. God is saying, "I am going to send someone who is going to crush the influence of Satan." And everything that is unfolding is that story, that plan, that promise unfolding. That's why I say the Bible is not just about the bad God of the Old Testament and the nice God of the New Testament. No, from the very beginning, what was God saying? "You are not your redeemer, but I will send him to a corrupt world and to sinful people, and I will save through that."
20 · Frames the Bible's entire structure as progressive revelation where God's grace becomes increasingly clear until it culminates in Christ's work
On your notes, if you're answering the question already, who is the person in focus in the Bible, you begin to understand from understanding the Bible's theme. From the very beginning, what were we told? There is going to come a seed of the woman. What's he going to do? Crush the head of Satan. In essence, what God is doing is he is saying, I'm going to unfold a plan in which my grace is going to become clearer and clearer and clearer until it comes to culmination in the work of Christ.
21 · Distinguishes Christ-centered preaching from allegorical wordplay by satirizing the approach that finds Jesus through arbitrary symbolic connections (ark = wood = cross, gopher wood = ground = resurrection)
Now, the reason I say it that way is sometimes a book title can get you in trouble. And the book that I wrote years ago that Ricky was so nice to talk about was called Christ-Centered Preaching. And sometimes people say, "Now, what that book is about is about preaching Christ from every page of Scripture." It is, but not the way some people mean it. I mean, some people say, you know, "This guy is going to try to take out his magic wand and make Jesus magically appear in every verse of the Bible." You know how that works. You've heard that preaching. I've heard that preaching. All right? So we remember that Noah and his family were saved from the flood by the ark. And you say, "All right, now, where is Jesus? Which animal is he with? You know, how is that about Jesus?" Well, you know, the ark was made of wood and the cross was made of wood. Therefore, the ark is about the crucifixion. And you know, it wasn't just wood. It was gopher wood. And gophers live in the ground. And Jesus came up out of the ground. So the ark is not just about the crucifixion, it's about the— this is not what I'm going to teach tonight. This is just allegorical, imaginative wordplay. This is not Christ-centered preaching.
22 · Demonstrates legitimate Christ-centered exposition of Noah's ark by identifying God's unmerited favor toward Noah despite foreknowledge of his future failures, displaying redemption by divine action, not human effort
What is the ark teaching us? Who closed the door? Who saved the family? If only God had known how bad Noah was going to mess up before he saved that family, he would have— If only God had known. Do you think God knew? I think God knew how bad Noah was going to mess up, and still he saved them. Was there any grace there? Any grace at all? You know, the unmerited favor of God was on much display. I'm not saying that Jesus magically appeared. I'm not saying that Jesus closed the door. I'm not saying that Jesus was on the donkey. No, but what is on display? A God who redeems people who cannot redeem themselves. A God who saves people not by their effort, but by His.
23 · Articulates the governing hermeneutical question that prevents allegorical speculation: 'What grace is displayed here that finds fulfillment in Christ?' rather than 'Where can I make Jesus appear?'
And that message is going to grow and get more mature until it culminates in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Everything is pointing forward. Everything is leading to the person who was promised from the beginning. And it's that understanding, how is God's grace on display, that culminates in the work of Christ, that keeps us from just being kind of imaginative, allegorical, speculative preachers, teachers, and counselors. We're actually saying, what is the grace that is here that will come to fulfillment ultimately in Christ?
24 · Condenses the Bible's message to one sentence — 'You are not your redeemer, but God will send him' — and provides a diagnostic test for Christ-centeredness: who is the hero at message's end?
The Bible's message, item B there, is very simple. You are not your redeemer, but God will send him. That was the message from the beginning. And that message will become clearer and clearer as we go, and we'll talk about that. But what it means is God is the hero of every text. God is the hero of every text. One of the ways in which we look at our Sunday school lessons, listen to our sermons and say, "Now, was that message Christ-centered or was that human-centered?" Well, ask yourself the question. At the end of the message, who is the hero? David or the God who blessed the nations through him? Who is the hero? Adam or the God who would bless despite him?
25 · Shows how the 'be like the hero' approach leaves young Christians defenseless against university professors who accurately point out biblical characters' moral failures, whereas grace-centered teaching equips them to acknowledge the mess and point to the Redeemer
We're tempted at times to only look at the human figures of the Bible because we've been taught to do it and say, "Now, you know, the reason the people in the Bible, they're supposed to be examples for us, so I need to find something good to say about this person so I can tell people they should be like that person." And that messes up our young people. Think of how it messes them up. They go off to university somewhere and they meet some professor who wants to challenge Christian young people, and he says to them, "You want me to be like the people of the Bible? Did you ever read the Bible? The murderers, the adulterers, the cowards, the genociders?" You want me to be like those people? What if our young people had been trained to say, "No, they are a mess in the Bible, and so God sent Jesus for them, just as he sent Jesus for a mess like me." And then if they're really bold, "And for you too, sir."
26 · Returns to Romans 15:4 to ground the claim that God progressively reveals grace like growing dawn light, with each biblical episode adding clarity until Christ appears
Why are they there? Everything that was written in the past was written for us so that we might have hope, not in our behavior, not in our goodness, but in God's provision of His grace. The next fill-in-the-blank there, God progressively reveals His grace that culminates in Christ as light grows toward the dawn. So the grace of God is becoming clearer and clearer and clearer until it culminates in the work of Christ. I'm not just guessing about that.
27 · Grounds the claim that all Scripture concerns Christ in Luke 24's post-resurrection Emmaus road exposition where Jesus interpreted Moses and the prophets as concerning Himself
How did Jesus himself explain it as he explained the scriptures to us? Some of you may remember the account of the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. Do you remember the account? Disciples are walking down the road. They have seen Jesus crucified. And the risen Lord appears to his disciples on the road to Emmaus, and for reasons we don't quite understand, they don't understand who he is. They don't recognize him. But Luke describes the conversation. Do you remember? He says, this is what Jesus said, "Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained what was said in all the Scriptures, the things concerning what? Himself.
28 · Clarifies the claim: not every verse names Jesus, but every page displays the pattern of human fallenness requiring God's gracious provision, which culminates in Christ
Now, we're not saying every verse mentions Jesus. Please don't go there. We are not saying that somehow you have to twist the text or come up with some special glasses to make Jesus appear. That's not the point. We are saying God is making more and more clear You are not your redeemer, but I will provide as a gracious God what you ultimately need. And that is on every page of Scripture, human fallenness and God's provision.
29 · Returns to the fall narrative to establish the universal human condition — fallen creatures in a fallen world unable to fix themselves — which necessitates God's progressive revelation of grace
How do I know that? Because of what happened right here. What did God say would happen when Adam and Eve sinned? He said pain and darkness and sin is going to enter this world. This is all fallen condition, right? We all exist in a fallen condition. We are fallen creatures in a fallen world. And what God is doing is he's saying, because you are fallen creatures in a fallen world, you can't fix this world any more than a man with muddy hands can make his shirt clean. You cannot fix the problem. So God begins to reveal his grace, and it becomes clear and clearer and clearer as we go.
30 · Uses absurdist 'haircut lesson' from Samson to illustrate how misunderstanding Scripture's redemptive arc produces ridiculous moralism
And if you don't understand the story that's unfolding, you'll get the stories wrong. Now just imagine that the Sunday school lesson this week that you're teaching is about Samson in the period of the Judges. Now you all know about Samson, right? And you know, of course, what we're supposed to learn, right? When Samson had long hair, he was And when he had short hair, he was— therefore you should have long hair. Now, for some of you, this is going to be a little more of a stretch than for others of you. But, you know, that's the clear example, right? He had long hair, he was strong. When he had short— so you should have long— now, you know that's wrong.
31 · Expounds Judges' central lesson through Samson and the entire period: doing what's right in your own eyes, no matter how clever or strong, ends in destruction because humans cannot be their own redeemers
But why is it wrong? What happened in the period of the judges? Do you remember? What did everybody do in the period of the judges? Everybody did what was right in their own eyes. How'd that work out for them? That doesn't work. And it does not matter how clever you are, and it does not matter how strong you are, you are not your redeemer. Unless God works, you cannot rescue yourself, and you cannot rescue God's people. Unless God redeems, you are lost. And by the way, that's not just the story of Samson. That is the story of all the judges. Ultimately, we are to understand just doing what is right in your own eyes will only lead to your destruction. What God is reminding us is that we can't fix the problem. You doing what is right in your own eyes will not fix the problem. I will learn other things later. Simply trying to gain merit with God won't fix the problem either.
32 · Introduces 'fallen condition focus' as a teaching implication — every text addresses something wrong because the Holy Spirit intentionally reveals dimensions of human fallenness through biblical narratives
But for the moment, just recognize that what we are learning is God is progressively revealing His grace that culminates in Christ Jesus. Now, there are some implications for our teaching. That's item C there under number 1. One teaching implication is all texts, every Bible passage, has a fallen condition focus. There is something wrong that God is addressing. The Holy Spirit didn't just kind of say, "You know what? I don't know why, but I think I like this story better than that story, so I'll tell them this story." I mean, why did the Holy Spirit give the examples that he does in the Bible? It is because he's revealing to us the dimensions of our fallenness.
33 · Applies the fallen condition focus diagnostic by teaching interpreters to ask 'Why is this here?' and 'What problem must God fix?' rather than 'What good example can I extract?'
And when we teach from the Scriptures, one of the first tasks that we have to say is, why is this here? Why is Samson in the Bible? If it's not about a haircut lesson, why is Samson in the Bible? I'm supposed to learn something, that even if you tell clever riddles because you're so smart, or even if you're very strong, you are not the solution to your problem. And that's just one example. Over and over again, God is more fully revealing to His people not just His grace, but their fallenness. There is something that is wrong. And we begin to rightly interpret the Scriptures not when we look at them and just say, "Now, what good example is here for me to teach?" We actually begin to look and say, "What's the problem here that God must fix? If it can't be a human solution, what is God's solution? Why is this in the Bible?"
34 · Applies fallen condition focus to Thomas, showing he's not in Scripture to be condemned but to give hope to doubters who, despite evidence, struggle to believe when suffering strikes
You don't just have to look in the Old Testament. Think of the New Testament. Think about Thomas. Why is Thomas in the Bible? Do you ever think about that? I mean, what a terrible disciple. I mean, he's been in the seminary of Jesus for 3 years. He's got the testimony of the prophets that Jesus would rise from the dead. He's got the witness of the women who have seen the empty tomb. He's got the witness of Peter, and still Thomas does not believe. What a terrible disciple. Aren't you glad that you're not like Thomas? Is Thomas in the Bible so that you'll be glad that you're not like Thomas? Is that why Thomas is in the Bible? Why is Thomas in the Bible? Because we have the witness of the prophets, and we know what the women said and what Peter saw. And on a good Sunday, even the preacher is able to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. And then our child gets leukemia, and what enters our hearts? Is any of this true? And if it's true, is it any good? And suddenly we know why Thomas is in the Bible, that there's hope for doubters, there's purpose for them, and God is coming to messed up people and saying, "You are not your redeemer, but I will send him."
35 · Introduces 'Swiss cheese effect' as the implication of universal fallenness — all people have holes (incompleteness) that only God can fill
And when we begin to see the Bible as not just a collection of moral tales, not just a collection of good people who you should be as good as, but people who desperately need a Redeemer, we begin to interpret the Bible and people differently. If all texts have a fallen condition focus— I'm on your notes— then 2 Timothy 3:16 is teaching us what I call the Swiss cheese effect. There's something that we share. If it's really true that we are all fallen creatures in a fallen world, then when we look at people, we ought to see Swiss cheese.
36 · Expounds 2 Timothy 3:16-17's claim that Scripture makes us 'complete' (artios), demonstrating this necessarily means humans are incomplete and need divine completion
Now, here's what I mean by that. I mean, for many of us Presbyterians, if John 3:16 is not our theme verse of the Bible, it's 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17. "All Scripture is"— how's this go? "All Scripture is inspired, God-breathed, inspired by God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be"— here comes the hard word in the King James— that the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. All the Bible is inspired to make you perfect. Who qualifies? Actually, it's the Greek word artios that means complete. All Scripture is given to complete us. Now, if that's true, All Scripture is given to complete us, that necessarily says something about us. If all Scripture is given to complete us, what does that say about us? We are incomplete.
37 · Applies the 'Swiss cheese' anthropology to pastoral ministry, contrasting crushing behavioral commands ('just be better') with gospel hope (Christ's righteousness covering our incompleteness)
When we look at people, we ought to see Swiss cheese. They got holes in them. They are incomplete. They are not all that God intends. Now, for us as Christian preachers, teachers, counselors, I got a question. If you see somebody, they got holes in them. They're not a good enough father yet. They're not a perfect mom yet. They aren't perfectly living as they should at work. They got holes in them. What are you going to tell them fills the holes, makes them complete? You just be a better father. You just be a better mom. Don't mess up anymore. What's that going to do to people? Crush them. But what if I say, even though you are incomplete, God is making a way for you to be united to Christ so that His righteousness becomes your own. His clothing covers you. You are made right, not by your work, but by His work. And all Scripture is inspired to teach you that.
38 · Establishes diagnostic sequence: identify the fallen condition, then identify God's gracious solution — failure to follow this sequence inevitably produces human-centered solutions
And the only way we begin to see that is by saying, "What's wrong right there? What is the problem in the human condition that God is dealing with?" Because I'm going to have to identify, in order to say, "How is the grace of God applied to this?" I got to say, "What's wrong that God has to fix?" If we don't do that, if we are not looking for God's solutions, then inevitably we only look at human solutions.
39 · Signals transition to polemical section identifying deadly teaching errors, using humor about dinner and wakefulness to prepare audience for confrontation
And there are implications for this that may scare you, and my goal, because it's evening and dinner's approaching, is to try to scare you and wake you up.
40 · Introduces 'deadly bees' — spiritually toxic messages common in Christian teaching that contradict Scripture's redemptive message by making humans their own saviors
So if it's really true that the Bible is telling us you can't complete yourself, but all the Bible is pointing to the fact that because you're not your redeemer, God has to provide an answer that you can't provide. Then there are certain messages that, if you will, are out of bounds, that don't work even though they sound very familiar in Christian circles. I mean, they're what those who've been my students in the room know what I call not the killer bees. You've heard of the killer bees. These are all the deadly bees, all right? These are spiritually deadly messages. That are very common among us.
41 · Identifies 'be like' as Deadly Bee #1, demonstrating through Abraham how it requires sanitizing biblical narrative, ignoring his wife-trafficking, adultery, and attempted infanticide
The first deadly bee is a message that looks at the Bible and the entire message is, "You should be like." I look at somebody in the Bible and I sanitize the story and I tell the good aspects of their life and I say, "You should be like that person." Now, you already know that you can't do this with David and be fair to the text. But now Abraham, now there was a man of faith, and the Bible calls him a man of faith. And of course, you know that he had much to his credit. I mean, he obeyed the call of God. He went to the land he did not know to become the father of nations. And on that journey from Ur to Israel, he only gave away his wife twice to other men. And then because he did not have patience or confidence in the Lord's promise in order to be the father of nations, he slept with his wife's maid. And then of all things, when his wife got a little upset about that, What did Abraham do with his biological son? He put the maid and his own son in the desert to die of exposure. Well, maybe you shouldn't be like Abraham either.
42 · Concedes rare exceptions (Enoch, Jonathan, Caleb) but argues even their exemplary lives credit God as the hero who enabled their faithfulness, maintaining God-dependence rather than self-dependence
Now listen, I'm going to grant you that you may come up with a couple of examples in the Bible of people that don't have much dirt on them in the biblical record. I mean, you think of Enoch in the book of Genesis, right? Enoch walked with God. What's the rest of the verse say? And he was no more. And you just can't get much dirt in there. I mean, that's just all it— he walked with God and he was no more. I mean, that's all it says. And Jonathan, I don't think we have anything wrong said about— or Caleb. But virtually every other biblical character, we have terrible things things upon. And if you'll think theologically with me for just a moment, if Enoch and Jonathan and Caleb lived exemplary lives, who ultimately gets the credit for that? Who enabled it? Who provided for it? Who gave them the strength? Who gave them the resolve? Who is the hero of the text? God. It changes what we're doing. We're moving people to dependence upon God, not dependence upon themselves.
43 · Asserts that 'be like' messaging inevitably sanitizes Scripture, contradicting the Bible's actual purpose to show God using broken people to give hope to broken people
Because if you only teach people to be good, if that's the entirety, and you're doing that by saying, "Be like this biblical character," unquestionably, you will try to sanitize the Bible most of the time, when the Bible's very purpose was to say, They need a redeemer. I will use sinful, fallen, broken people and still be gracious. And that's the message that broken, fallen creatures need to have hope, that God still has a place for me.
44 · Identifies Deadly Bee #2 as the 'be good' message, distinguishing biblical holiness from moralistic goodness and showing how 'be good' collapses Christianity into Scout moralism
The reason that we're tempted to tell people to be like the good aspects of the people of the Bible is because what our main concern really is. Our main concern when we teach the Bible often is to correct other people's behavior and sometimes our behavior, right? We want to correct behavior. And so our message is, today's lesson is that you should be good. Now I hope inside you're thinking, well, what could be wrong with that? I mean, we surely don't want to teach the opposite, be bad. Actually, the Bible doesn't say, "Be good." That's not the ultimate command. The Bible says, "Be holy." If all we say to people in this Sunday school lesson, if all we say to people in this sermon is, "You should be good. You should be good enough for God. You should be so good that God will be satisfied with you." You should be good. Boy Scouts are good. Girl Scouts are good. Christians are good. It's good to be good. Bad to be bad. So be good.
45 · Uses Rushdoony's critique of moralistic Sunday school teaching to show how 'be good and Jesus will love you' is spiritual poison that denies the gospel of unmerited grace
Some of you may know that chapter from Rushdoony in his book, The Messianic Character of American Education. And I love an appendix even more than I love the book itself. And the appendix has this terrible title. "The Menace of the Sunday School." Doesn't sound very kind. But he talks about somebody who's trying to be kind. It's the very well-intended Sunday school teacher who addresses a little child and says, "Oh, Mary, if you're just a good little girl, Jesus will love you." It sounds sweet. It is spiritual poison. God will not love Mary because Mary is a good little girl. Ultimately, there is none righteous, no, not one, not even Mary. Mary needs hope, not the assurance that she is good enough for God. And Mary's hope comes from knowing that her relationship with God is not based upon her being good enough.
46 · Expounds Luke 17:10 to show even perfect obedience leaves us unworthy servants, demolishing the idea that goodness earns God's favor
You want to scare Christians? Read Jesus' words in Luke 17:10. When you have done everything that you should do, you are still an unworthy servant. But Lord, I did everything I should do. Yes, but what you do is not what gets you a place at the king's table. It's His grace, not your goodness.
47 · Demonstrates through the rich young ruler and Isaiah that 'be good' messaging produces only pride ('I've kept all the commandments') or despair ('I am ruined'), both spiritually destructive
If all we do in the Sunday school lesson, if all that we do in the sermon is say to people, "Be good. Now, you just be good," there are only two possible human responses to that message. The only two possible responses are first pride, the response of the rich young ruler, remember? Jesus is walking down the road, rich young ruler drives up in his Lexus. "Good teacher." Now listen to the landmine in the question. "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Now if you're not careful, you're gonna think that Jesus should have stayed in seminary longer because of his answer, right? Because how does Jesus— what should I do to inherit eternal life? What does Jesus tell him to do? Keep the commandments. Actually, that's not all he said. What did he say? The rich young ruler comes up, he says, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus answers with a question, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good. You know the commandments." Honour your father and mother, do not steal, do not commit adultery. And the rich young ruler says, "All these I have kept since I was a boy." Now listen, Jesus just said, "Only God is good." And 3 seconds later, the young ruler says what? "Me too." In which he gives himself the status of God, which clearly would be an offense against God and for any Jew breaks the very first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me." But he doesn't hear it because he's adjusted his mind and life to thinking what makes me acceptable to God is being good enough. And so if what we just tell people is you be good enough for God, one response is, "I got the boxes checked off." But that's probably not most of us. If I teach you you have to be good enough for a holy God, one response is pride. What's the other response? It is despair. Oh Lord, woe is me. What did Isaiah say when he saw the holiness of God? I am ruined. I'm a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of unclean lips, and I've seen the holiness of God. It ruins us.
48 · Clarifies the critique — 'be like' and 'be good' are not wrong in themselves but become spiritually deadly by themselves when they constitute the entire message, making human performance the savior
We teach people to be good out of good intention. We know that their bad behavior can hurt them. But if what we're teaching people will fix their relationship with God is their goodness, then Jesus got out of the Bible and human performance becomes the Savior. Now, we're going to clean some of this up in a moment, but let me just say it now. Whether the message is entirely be like or be good, I want you to hear me say it very clearly. I am not saying these are wrong messages in themselves. They are wrong messages by themselves. If that's the entire message.
49 · Confesses personal ongoing struggle with lapsing into behavioral preaching and describes how it backfires — people either pridefully think they can achieve it or excuse their sin because 'God doesn't expect perfection
Now, Ricky was nice to say I've been teaching this material for, it scares me to say, almost 40 years now. And sometimes I can still walk down from the pulpit and kind of go, "Oh no, what did I just do? I just gave a whole sermon on human behavior. I just told people to be better and better and better and better." And some of them will actually think they can do it. But most of them will go home thinking, "Well, I'll try. But, you know, God doesn't expect perfection." And so they excuse their sin rather than resolve to be good. The message works against itself because people can't live in the pride of thinking they're perfect enough for God, and they can't live believing that God is not going to love them just because of a few imperfections. So they excuse their sin, and the very thing we were trying to overcome, we're actually reinforcing, and that is people's misbehavior.
50 · Identifies Deadly Bee #3 as 'be more disciplined,' showing how performance-based spiritual disciplines create either pretense or the false belief that God responds to human effort rather than Christ's intercession
There is one more common killer bee, and it is a message that is entirely, "Be more disciplined." How much should you read your Bible? More than you're now. How much should you pray? More than you do now. You should read your Bible more. You should go to church more. Especially, you should go to my church more. What's wrong with the more message? As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His holiness above us. You will not satisfy the more message. So people will pretend, or they'll do things. We preachers go through it at times. They'll say, "Pastor, would you sign my Bible? I read it through again this year." Okay. But what did you just think that you earned by doing that? Oh, it's great to read your Bible. It's great to be disciplined. But is the reason that God will hear you in your prayer entirely because you prayed the words of Scripture, you got up earlier, you prayed longer in the quiet time, you went to a darker closet? Is that the reason that God hears your prayers?
51 · Grounds prayer in Christ's high priestly intercession, not disciplined effort, showing that Christless discipline reduces Christianity to pagan merit-earning ('spinning prayer wheels')
Why does God hear your prayers? Because there is a great high priest who has gone ahead of us into the heavenlies, and he sits at the right hand of God, and he intercedes for us. Yes, we are to pray, but to encourage prayer without Christ is what it says it is. It is Christless prayer that is really only human merit. I mean, we might as well be Hindus and spin our prayer wheels. Okay, how many times do I have to spin this to get God to respond to me? Instead of saying, no, this has a context. Why do we pray? In response to the grace of God, in response to the provision of an intercessor, in response to the provision of a high priest, But I'm not praying to get Him to respond to me. I am responding to Him.
52 · Reiterates critical distinction — 'be like,' 'be good,' and 'be more disciplined' are necessary but insufficient messages, deadly only when standing alone without gospel context
These messages, all of them, let me say it again, are not wrong in themselves. They are wrong by themselves. Actually, all of these messages are necessary. Please hear me say that. All of these messages are necessary in the life of the church. They are not sufficient.
53 · Demonstrates how Paul's 'follow my example' always includes 'as I follow Christ,' grounding imitation in redemptive context, reminding hearers Paul was Stephen's persecutor who called himself chief of sinners
After all, did the Apostle Paul ever say, "Be like me, follow my example"? Did Paul ever say that? Please say yes. At least 5 times. Now finish the verse. "Follow my example as I follow Christ." There is a redemptive Context. Christ-centered preaching is not trying to insert Jesus where He doesn't exist in the text. It's rather saying there is a redemptive context, and we cannot forget that. Whenever we preach or teach, we have to, yes, say what the text says if it's following Paul's example, but don't forget that Paul recognized he needed the Savior even to live as he did. After all, who held the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen? Who took men and women to prison to be tortured and persecuted and killed? Paul. Who at the end of his life said, "I am the chief of sinners"? Paul. And he's the same one who told us everything that was written was written aforetime to give us hope. Do you think Paul needed any hope? You know he did. And it was not in him. It was in his Savior. So he could talk about be like. But it was in the context of what God provided.
54 · Restates the governing claim — not every text names Jesus, but every text relates to His redemptive work by revealing what God must do, fulfilling Christ's own hermeneutical instruction
So number 3 on your notes, just to be under item C there, number 3, I want to make sure you hear me say all texts do not mention Jesus. I'm not saying that. All texts do not mention Jesus, but all have some relation to His redemption. All are helping us to understand what God must do in Christ. Or else we have not seen them for the purpose that Christ said, "Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He revealed what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself."
55 · Signals transition to practical method section, framing the question as ensuring listeners depend on God's work in Christ rather than themselves
We'll do this very quickly. How do we make sure that we are seeing the grace of God in all the Scriptures? How do we look at a text and think, "Am I making sure that people are not depending on themselves but on the work of God in Christ?" And this is under item number 2, the process of Christ-centered exposition.
56 · Maps predictive passages of Christ across all Old Testament genres — Pentateuch (Genesis 3:15), Psalms (16, 22), Prophets (Isaiah 53), and Histories (Davidic covenant) — showing Christ is predicted throughout
How is God revealing His gracious character? There are different ways that we can learn to see the revelation of God's work throughout the Scriptures. Certain passages, particularly in the Old Testament, are predictive of the work of Christ. I'm going to go real fast. You still with me? Certain passages are predictive of the work of Christ. Tell me where they are. What passages in the Old Testament are predictive of Christ? What kinds of passages are predictive of the work of Christ? The Psalms, which is wisdom literature. Okay? So kind of right here in the center of the Old Testament, you know, are the Psalms. And we know the Messianic Psalms, right? So Psalm 16, 22, 8. We keep going. Our Messianic Psalms telling us that Christ is coming. Anywhere else in the Old Testament we're told that Christ is coming? The prophets themselves, right? So we know there's this big chunk of Major and Minor Prophets that are predicting the coming of Christ. Anywhere else in the Old Testament that Christ is predicted? Isaiah 53, a major prophet. Anywhere else? What happened way over here in Genesis 3:15? Ah, even Moses was predicting the coming of Christ. He predicted a greater Moses. Remember a prophet that was greater than Moses? He said that the scepter shall not depart from Judah. That messed up guy is going to be the progenitor of Christ, but he's promised to be. So we understand that in the Pentateuch, in the Psalms, in the prophets. What about the histories? Christ ever predicted in the histories? What did God promise to David? Ah, through you will come in the town of Bethlehem a king who will have what? An eternal and universal kingdom. Aren't you glad that David was such a good guy to deserve that? Any grace there? Yes, there's grace there, but there's prophecy too.
57 · Grounds the predictive approach in Jesus's own Luke 24 hermeneutic, clarifying that not every verse predicts Christ but predictions span all Old Testament genres
Now recognize what I just did. I'm really repeating what Jesus said in Luke 24 after the resurrection. Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He revealed what was said in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself. There are predictions of Christ in all the types of biblical literature in the Old Testament. Now, I'm not saying that every verse is a prediction, but I'm saying there's lots of them. And that's one of the ways in which God is making known, "You are not your redeemer, but I'm going to send Him." Predictions are part of that.
58 · Introduces preparatory passages — Old Testament institutions like sacrificial system and Passover that prepare understanding of Christ as Lamb of God and our Passover
There's another way in which we are being let in on the message of redemption. Certain Old Testament passages are not only predictive, they are preparatory. They are preparing us for the work of Christ. Now, think about this. John the Baptist walking down the road, he sees Jesus, and he says, "Behold the Lamb of God who Now, how do you know what that means? It's Jesus. Why? He said, "Behold the Lamb of God." The Lamb? How do you know what that means? You've been prepared by 1,500 years of sacrifice to understand what a lamb making atonement is about. You have made midnight to understand that when the children of Israel are released from Egypt, the angel of death passes over them as blood is put upon doorposts and lintels. Because without the shedding of blood, there is what? No forgiveness of sin. And so Christ now is our what? Our Passover. How do you know what that means? You have been prepared.
59 · Extends preparatory category to show tabernacle, temple, and kingship positively prepare understanding of Christ's incarnation and work
So much of the Old Testament is bridging, right? It's a positive explanation of what Christ is going to do. John tells us what? Jesus came to tabernacle among us. What did God do in the tabernacle of the Old Testament? He was present with his people. So when John says Christ tabernacled among us, what is he saying about Jesus? God has come to live among us. I've been prepared by the temple, by the sacrifices, by the Exodus, by the prophets, by the kings. By the servant king, David. I've been prepared so many ways to understand positively what Jesus would do.
60 · Maps negative preparation across Old Testament history — failed law-keeping, corrupt priesthood, failed judges, failed kings, murdered prophets — each revealing need for the better mediator Christ provides
But you must know that so much of the Old Testament is also negatively preparing us. It's telling us, "This is a dead end. This doesn't work." Think how that happens. For 1,500 years, what has God been teaching His people? They come out of Egypt, and God says, "Oh, you know, it may be kind of a tough world out here, so I'm going to give you commandments. And, you know, this will be the good and safe path in life. If you'll follow my commands, this will be good for you. It'll be a good and safe path." How well does that work for them? "All right, well then, we'll provide some sacrifices to make atonement for your sin when you do not follow my commandments." One little problem here. What do the priests do to the sacrifices? The priests steal the sacrifices. So what does God say in the period of the judges? He says, "All right, just let them do what's right in their own eyes. Let them see how that goes." How's that go? That does not go well. So what does God say to Samuel? "All right, listen, Sam, you let them choose the king they want. They've not rejected you. They're rejecting me." So you let them choose their tallest, strongest, handsomest, their best guy, and let him be the king. How well does that work? It doesn't work. All right, God, I'll send prophets to the kings, and the prophets will instruct the kings, and then the kings will know what to do. One little problem. What do the people do to the prophets? They kill the prophets. For 1,500 years, we are learning something. We are going to need a better law keeper. We are going to need a better sacrifice, better priest, better judge, better prophet, better king. For 1,500 years, God has said, "Not this." Not this, not this, not this, not this, but this. And he is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets.
61 · Introduces resultant passages — New Testament texts grounding imperatives (pray, forgive) in Christ's completed work (intercession, atonement), making obedience response rather than merit-earning
We have not only been prepared by bridges under our understanding, but by what does not work, so that we turn to the only one who can save. Not only have we been prepared, certain passages are resultant of the work of Christ. The Old Testament is largely predicting and preparing us for the work of Christ. But so much of the New Testament is a result of what Christ has done. By His sacrifice and resurrection. I've already mentioned that a few times. One example, why is it that God hears your prayers? Because you're better than the people down the street. Is that why God hears your prayers? No, as a result of the great High Priest who is interceding for you. What is the reason that you should love people who hate you and hurt your family? Because Christ died for the ungodly. He died for them. And as a result of His work in their behalf, we live in sacrifice for them. As God in Christ has forgiven you, so you forgive. It's a result of what He has done.
62 · Introduces reflective passages as the most important category — texts displaying God's gracious character (provision for the helpless) that culminate in Christ without explicitly predicting Him
One last thing. So much of the Bible, New and Old, is reflective of the grace of God that is fulfilled in Christ. In my mind, this is the most important category. We're kind of at the end of the section, so just hang with me a little bit more. This is the most important thing to understand is happening throughout the Scriptures, that God is reflecting His grace to His people that comes to fulfillment in Christ. So often when God is providing for people who cannot provide for themselves, he's not teaching us Jesus, he's teaching us grace that culminates in Jesus.
63 · Illustrates reflective grace through Elijah — after great victory he flees in cowardice, yet God feeds him in the desert and shows His glory, displaying unmerited provision for the unworthy
Here's an example, all right? Now remember Elijah and the prophets of Baal, remember that? Prophets of Baal go around the altar cutting themselves, Baal. Elijah teaches us what? He says, "Well, you know, maybe he's on vacation. Maybe he's taking a little restroom break." But then Elijah prays, and what happens? Fire comes down and consumes the sacrifice. Oh, what a great spiritual victory. So Elijah comes down the mountain, and Jezebel says to him, "You killed my priests!" And so what does Elijah do? He runs and hides. And of course what God did was God turned his back on Elijah and left him. Is that what happened? What does God do to the— he's just given this great spiritual victory to Elijah and Elijah runs away as a coward. What does God do? He feeds him in the desert and then amazingly shows him his glory. Any grace there? Yes, it's the grace of God being reflected for the unworthy, for the undeserving, for those who cannot provide for themselves.
64 · Generalizes the reflective category — wherever Scripture shows God providing for the helpless (food, rest, victory, strength, pardon), it reveals His gracious character that culminates in Christ
Anytime you're looking in the Bible and you're beginning to see, here is God providing food for the hungry, rest for the weary, victory for the few, strength for the weak, pardon for the sinner. What are you learning about? I'm not saying this is telling me about the atonement. I'm not saying that. I'm saying you are learning about the gracious nature of God. That is what God is teaching us with greater and greater clarity as Christ is coming to the fore. We are learning how desperately we need the grace of God and how generous is His provision of it. That's the message that's unfolding in all the Scriptures.
65 · Provides simple diagnostic — 'put on gospel glasses' and ask every passage what it teaches about God's character and human condition, which reveals God's holiness and our need for His grace
And what we really need to do, because these words can get too complicated, is no matter where you are in the Bible, if you could just do this, this simple thing, if you could put on your gospel glasses and say, "What am I learning about the grace of God in this passage? What is this passage teaching me?" teaching me about the nature of God who provides redemption? What is this passage teaching me about God? At the same time, I'm saying, what does this passage teach me about humanity? You know what's going to result? I'm going to learn that God is holy, and what am I going to learn about me? I am not. And I can't fix this problem any more than a man with muddy hands can make his shirt clean. God has to fix the problem. And if we will put on our gospel glasses, we will begin to see the grace of God everywhere in the Bible.
66 · Demonstrates 'gospel glasses' on 'You shall not steal' — the command reveals God's holiness and human thievery (including reputation-stealing), showing the problem only God can fix
I mean, you just take last example, a commandment like, "You shall not steal." I hope you're thinking, where does he get Jesus out of that? Well, put on our gospel glasses. When a holy God gives holy commands, what do I learn about the character of God? God's command is you shall not steal. You shall not take big things or little things, never. You shall not even take another person's reputation. By speaking ill of them. If it is not yours, you may not ever take it. What do I learn about the character of God from a holy command? What do I learn about the character of God? He's holy. What do I learn about my character from a holy command? You shall not ever take anything that is not your own. What do I learn about myself? I'm a thief. God is holy, and I'm a thief. There's a problem here. I cannot fix it. Who has to fix it? God must fix it.
67 · Grounds the 'gospel glasses' approach in Paul's teaching that the law is a schoolmaster to Christ, then shows how preaching 'don't steal' without grace crushes listeners with necessary-but-insufficient truth
That's what Paul told— the law, he said, was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, not to ourselves, not to our fix-it, to dependence upon God so that we respond in loving gratitude to the provision of the grace that he is freely offering. And so we don't just tell people, "You just be good. Don't steal." You know that message? All right, now don't you ever take anything that's not your own. Stealing is wrong. Don't do it. Don't do it at the office. Don't do it on the internet. If the music isn't yours, don't you take it. Don't take big things, don't take little things. Don't speak of anybody in such a way that you take away their respect. If it's not yours, don't you take it. Don't steal. All right, let's have the benediction. No, no, no, wait. There's a problem here. You just crushed me. Oh, I know you told me what was in the Bible. You told me what was necessary, but not sufficient.
68 · Signals session's end and previews next session's question — how does seeing God's grace throughout Scripture empower actual Christian obedience through joy-producing dependence on God
There is more to the story. And when we come back, we will have to say, if I'm really seeing the grace of God in all the Scriptures, how does that empower the Christian life? How does it give us the ability to actually do what God calls us to do? Because I'm not going to depend on my strength. I'm going to depend upon God, who by His grace tells me His joy is my strength. So we'll do that. Ricky?
69 · Pastor Ricky closes session and begins transitioning to dinner break with administrative instructions
After dinner. Excellent. Can we thank Dr. Chappell for that first session? Outstanding. Outstanding. All right, so here's the instructions for dinner. You're going to be— we're going to be— we're