Two Kings and Their Laws

Two Kings and Their LawsPart 1 of 2

November 8, 2020AM

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The King of Terrors (Death)

Introduction:

  1. God took a young woman (35), reminding the church of death and eternal life (11/20).
  2. Before that we saw the great importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, declaring His sonship and power and initiating ascension and coronation over all (Acts 13:33).
  3. The theme is the same as the sermon last week (Eternal Life Is a Gift), but the content will be different.
  4. Appreciation for the gift of salvation depends on understanding of death and judgment.
  5. As you heard last week, death is sucking life out of every part and activity of your body.
  6. The Bible is a complete manual of life and death, sin and righteousness, and eternal life.
  7. Your knowledge of these things and resulting faith comes by hearing the word of God.
  8. Christianity is a religion of hope; the God of hope has promised glory (Rom 8:24-25).
  9. The universe is a stage for God’s drama of sin and death … salvation and eternal life.
  10. See the links at the bottom for more about the passages and subjects dealt with here.

Reigning Law of Sin and Death

  1. Experience with civil laws is they can be broken and you may or may not get caught.
  2. God’s laws are different; all will be enforced, especially those He Himself manages.
  3. Laws of creation determine days, seasons, years, ocean bounds, gravity, puberty, etc.
  4. The law of sin and death fixes the limits of life and certainty of death at 73 (Ps 90:10).
  5. The law of sin and death simply stated is … all men are sinners and therefore must die.
  6. A reigning law means it rules; it cannot be altered, avoided, beaten, defeated any way.
  7. Forget gravity or taxes, both of them change all the time and can easily be overthrown.
  8. Adam brought the reign of sin and death upon all men in Eden (Romans 5:12-14,17).
  9. Death is absolutely certain to all living creatures on earth, and we witness it every day.
  10. All men die three ways – (1) born dead to God, (2) their bodies die, (3) second death.
  11. These are certain facts, for you experience the first daily and see the second in others.
  12. Moses’ law did not help sinners; it confirmed the reign of sin and death (Rom 5:20-21).
  13. The law of Moses was a good thing, but it only produced sin in men (Romans 7:7-14).
  14. Remember a simple outline of human history for the 6000 years from creation, the patriarchs for 2500 years; law of Moses for 1500 years; Christ’s reign for 2000 years.
  15. The soul that sins; it shall die (Ezek 18:4,20); the rule is lust, sin, death (Jas 1:13-15).
  16. You can ignore death and/or presume on eternal life, or you can tremble at God’s word.
  17. The curse of Moses’ law is strict and severe – do or die – none can do it (Gal 3:10-12).

Every Person is a Sinner Three Ways

  1. Grasp a helpful Rule of 3 here, twice; you are a sinner three ways for death three ways.
  2. All men die three ways – (1) born dead to God, (2) their bodies die, (3) second death.
  3. All men are sinners three ways – (1) by imputation, (2) by nature, and (3) by practice.
  4. Sinner by Imputation – each person is guilty and responsible for Adam’s sin in Eden.
  5. Adam represented you (Job 14:1; 15:14; 25:4; Romans 5:12-19; I Cor 15:21-22,48-49).
  6. Adam’s sin has certainly been imputed, charged, counted, accounted, reckoned to you.
  7. You are specifically a sinner deserving death by his sin, even without sin of your own
  8. Sinner by Nature – each person has a nature hating God and loving rebellion and sin.
  9. Natural generation creates a person with a depraved nature (Ps 14:1-3; Rom 3:9-18).
  10. This is cured by regeneration, which solves vital condemnation, not legal or practical.
  11. Regeneration does not pay for any sins, for its vital salvation only changes your nature.
  12. Even if you were not a sinner by Adam or your own sins, your nature must be changed.
  13. Compare how your body must be changed, for it cannot enter heaven (I Cor 15:48-54).
  14. Sinner by Practice – each person goes far astray at birth and never repents or reforms.
  15. So God gave the law of Moses to show your own sins exceeding sinful (Rom 7:7-14).
  16. The law was a schoolmaster to condemn Jews and prove the need for Christ and faith.
  17. Thus, even those born before Moses’ law, death by Adam’s sin reigned (Romans 5:14).
  18. Thus, even those born before Moses’ law, were like Adam in nature (Gen 5:3; Ps 51:5).
  19. So, even if you were strong enough to be righteous, Adam and your nature doom you.
  20. So, even before your birth, when free from good or evil, God can hate you (Rom 9:11).

How Bad Is Sin?

  1. The whole creation, or universe, is under the painful, destructive, and dysfunctional reign of sin and corruption that produces vanity and bondage – bad laws (Ro 8:17-23).
  2. The most gifted man with unlimited ability for profit and pleasure, after exploring and analyzing all things in life, cried out in anguish (Eccl 1:1-3,12-14,17; 2:11,17; etc.).
  3. Sin instantly destroyed the perfect, faultless, confident, romantic joy of Adam and Eve.
  4. It causes two once-obsessed lovers to divorce in hate and revenge … then do it to others.
  5. Sin instantly destroyed a comfortable and friendly relationship Adam had with Jehovah.
  6. Causes your nature to revolt or sleep when hearing of God’s love, Son, word, people.
  7. Sin instantly destroyed their love to selfishly blame others and get a harder relationship.
  8. Thus, sin gave Adam a truly harder time earning and Eve a truly harder time birthing.
  9. It causes men very painful and stressful situations at work, then layoffs or termination.
  10. It causes women trouble for a week each month and further pain of pregnancy and birth.
  11. Sin caused Cain to kill his own brother for the terrible offence of being good and godly.
  12. It causes children to mock 20 years of parental care and love to defy and blow them off.
  13. It causes many mothers to arrange for murderers to suction unborn babies into pieces.
  14. It caused the whole creation to go into ugly mode of decay, violence, death, destruction.
  15. It causes roses to fade, pets to die, animals to savagely kill each other, storms to ravage.
  16. It caused hatred and murder, polygamy and sodomy, all painful, perverse dysfunction.
  17. It causes envy, fear, folly, hatred, jealousy, pride, revenge, suspicion in all relationships.
  18. God made man upright, but they sought out perverse inventions and continue to do so.
  19. The current pandemic, protests, and political circus are all a result of sin in mankind.
  20. Your recent uneasy bodily symptoms, trips to a hospital, and/or death are a result of sin.
  21. Everything that hurts, stinks, looks ugly, resists, rusts, and/or causes pain is due to sin.
  22. Sinners are so perverse they will choose an idiotic course over seven perfect reasons.
  23. They flatter themselves as being special while by any measure they are perverse losers.
  24. Bones break, cars break down, and human souls go down in a vortex of eternal terror.
  25. The only things men or women really want are what they do not and cannot have, thus resenting others for advantage and learning discontentment and malice to steal, etc.
  26. Born and unborn children die by nature or malice; in fact, why do babies die? Think!

Death Is the King of Terrors

  1. Bildad called it this when threatening Job with God’s judgment of sinners (Job 18:14).
  2. He said the Firstborn of Death devours a man’s strength to destroy his life (Job 18:13).
  3. He said the terrors are so bad he is afraid of everything and runs to hide (Job 18:11).
  4. So sinners are driven from light into darkness and chased out of the world (Job 18:18).
  5. Read the whole passage for a graphic picture of the terribleness of death (Job 18:5-21).
  6. It is aptly called fear of death; it exists for a lifetime, and it causes terrible bondage.
  7. Men are terrified by death and do all they can to ignore it, whitewash it, defer it, etc.
  8. Job describes death honestly (Job 14:1-2,7-12,19-22; 17:11-16; 21:23-26; 24:18-20).

How Bad Is Death?

  1. Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 describes dying before you get to die as sin ravages your faculties.
  2. Why are age-graded and master’s tables so important for any athletic competition?
  3. David was one of the most virile men but could not retain body heat at the end of life.
  4. We arrive with nothing, build an estate for our pride, then death strips every cent away.
  5. Youth assume life forever – not a thought of decay or dying – yet it happens anyway.
  6. But death is not all there is to your existence, after death comes judgment (Heb 9:27).
  7. Unrighteous do not get in (I Cor 6:9-10); all sinners go to the lake of fire (Rev 21:8).
  8. Sin is measured by death – the terribleness of life sucked out of souls, eyes, and bodies.
  9. Sin is measured by judgment – God’s judgments like the Flood, Jerusalem twice, etc.
  10. Sin is measured by dysfunction – it corrupts and ruins every good thing we could have.
  11. Sin is measured by cure – God had to bruise and kill His beloved Son to pay for sin.
  12. Sin is measured by judgment again – eternal torment in black, dark lake of fire forever.

What Can You Do?

  1. You are a sinner three ways, and you deserve and will get death three ways (Rom 6:23).
  2. You can do nothing to alter, avoid, delay, defer, minimize, or reduce death. It is certain.
  3. Solomon described the situation as being at war where there is no discharge (Eccl 8:8).
  4. A wise woman of Tekoa said life is like water spilt that cannot be gathered (II Sa 14:14).
  5. Death is one of the proofs of Bible inspiration, for it so accurately describes experience.
  6. There is nothing you can do, yet worldlings perpetuate hopeless insanity (Ps 49:1-20).
  7. You are damned and doomed three ways; you have no option or ability to save yourself.
  8. Each and every day you experience disappointment, frustration, pain from sin and death.

The King of Glory (Life)

Reigning Law of Righteousness and Life

  1. The law of righteousness and life is that all elect are made righteous for eternal life.
  2. Here is our hope – believe it, grow in knowledge of it, love it, give thanks and praise.
  3. Adam was the figure, or the example, of Jesus the second and last Adam (Rom 5:14).
  4. Jesus brought the reign of righteousness and life by His solitary obedience (Rom 5:17).
  5. God’s gift by grace of righteousness and eternal life now rules for believers (Rom 5:21).
  6. Saints live three ways: (1) alive by nature, (2) spirits to God at death, (3) eternal glory.
  7. A reigning law means it rules and cannot be altered, avoided, beaten, thwarted at all.
  8. Forget gravity or taxes, both of them change all the time and can easily be overthrown.
  9. Adam prefigured Jesus, who has better quality, quantity, reigning power (Ro 5:14-17).
  10. Jesus is better than Adam by much more, many to one, and much more (Rom 5:15-17).
  11. Moses’ law was given to expose sin, but Jesus saves from it much more (Rom 7:24-25).
  12. All in Christ are not condemned by a new law of the Spirit of life in Him (Rom 8:1-4).

The Prince of Life Destroyed Death

  1. Jesus, glorified Son of God, is the Holy One, the Just, the Prince of life (Acts 3:13-15).
  2. He lives forever with the authority and ruling power over death (Rev 1:18; Deut 32:40).
  3. Jesus declared Himself the Ruler and Giver of resurrection and life (John 11:25-26), so we never die in spirit, permanently, penally, eternally by second death, our bodies sleep.
  4. Jesus died on a tree to save from Adam’s tree for the tree of life (I Pet 2:24; Rev 2:7).
  5. Jesus died on a tree to more perfectly redeem us from the law of Moses (Gal 3:10-13).
  6. God’s unfathomable wisdom designed the means of death to defeat death by His Son.
  7. Jesus not only destroyed the power of death but also the fear of death (Heb 2:14-15).
  8. So sure is resurrection that we bury; our bodies only sleep; Jesus is coming for them.
  9. So sure is the resurrection, Jesus will raise the dead and buried first (I Thess 4:13-18).
  10. So powerful was our Lord’s resurrection that dead rose with him (Matthew 27:50-54).
  11. David believed in power over the grave that does not apply to the wicked (Psalm 49:15).
  12. Jesus is the first begotten of the dead – rose by His power to never die again (Rev 1:5).
  13. Jesus is the firstborn from the dead – He is also king and leader of all raised (Co 1:18).
  14. Jesus is the firstfruits of the dead – in that many others will follow Him (I Cor 15:20,23).
  15. Jesus is the mocker of death and the grave by His victory over them both (I Cor 15:55).
  16. Jesus is the victor over death, and by Him we have victory over death (I Cor 15:57).

Our Savior Saw No Corruption

  1. Preserving power over Jesus’ body was promised and fulfilled for hope (Ps 16:9-11).
  2. Corpses quickly rot, as worms rapidly consume them from inside and out (Job 24:20).
  3. Jesus saw no corruption by promise – God raised Him from the dead (Acts 13:34-37).
  4. Due to our Lord’s victory over death, we see far beyond grave worms (Job 19:25-27).
  5. Jesus’ glorious power will overcome the power of corruption (Ps 49:15; Phil 3:20-21).
  6. Jesus’ glorious power is sufficient to defeat all opposing forces in creation (Phil 3:21).
  7. God will make all things new in a new heaven and earth (Rev 21:5; II Peter 3:10-14).

There is Salvation Beyond Death

  1. For judgment that comes after death, Jesus will come for us without sin (Heb 9:27-28).
  2. When Jesus comes, both dead and living will be forever with Him (I Thess 4:13-18).
  3. All found written in the Lamb’s book of life will escape the second death (Rev 20:15).
  4. Overcomers have access to the tree of life in heaven for eternal life (Rev 2:7; 22:2,14).
  5. What can they wash that glorious fruit down with? Water of eternal life (Rev 22:1,17).

The Glory of Salvation Is Great

  1. The two covenants are gloriously different and compared so by Paul (II Cor 3:6-11).
  2. Jesus broke the curse of Moses’ law by covenant promise to Abraham (Gal 3:10-29).
  3. The choirs of heaven broke forth in praise for Jesus the great Redeemer (Rev 5:8-14).
  4. Jesus has saved us from the plan … penalty … power … practice … and presence of sin.
  5. Eternal life is unsearchable riches of Christ and unspeakable gift (Eph 3:8; II Cor 9:15).

Conclusion:

  1. The law of death says 73 years on average, so we must live in light of it (Ps 90:10-12).
  2. We all were damned to three deaths, so live for Him that died for you (II Cor 5:14-15).
  3. A life of patience, cheerfully enduring negative events, is by hope (I Thess 1:2-4; 5:8).
  4. Jesus came for sinners is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation (I Tim 1:12-17).

For Further Study:

  1. Eternal Life Is a Gift.
  2. Till Death Do Us Part … Till Death Do Us Part (funeral).
  3. Death of the Righteous … The Death of the Righteous – Till Death Do Us Part.
  4. Death Declared, Defied, Destroyed … Death Declared, Defied, and Destroyed (2 sermons).
  5. Appointed to Death and Judgment.
  6. Catastrophe & Cure.
  7. Two Adams.
  8. Consequences of Sin.
  9. Whole Creation Groaneth.
  10. What Happens at 30?
  11. Resurrection Power of Christ … Resurrection Power (2 Sermons).
  12. Eternal Life Is Unconditional … Seven Proofs of Unconditional Salvation.
  13. Five Phases of Salvation … Seven Proofs of Unconditional Salvation.
  14. Health, Sickness, and Death … Health, Sickness, and Death – 1.
  15. Total Depravity … Total Depravity (2 Sermons).
  16. When Was Abraham Saved?
  17. Death Swallowed Up in Victory.
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