Amazing Husband

Welcome to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. Today, Pastor Robert is continuing his series, Amazing Grace, with a message about the incredible grace-filled relationship God offers us through His Son, Jesus. Well, I'm your host, Patrick, and I'm here with my co-host, Janelle. Hey, everybody. I'm excited about today's message, Patrick, because I love talking about the kind of relationship we can have with Christ, a relationship based in love and not on rules.

I totally agree. And, you know, that doesn't mean that we take advantage of God's love by just going around and doing whatever we want. In this message, Pastor Robert explains the difference between law and grace so well, and as you'll find out, it really comes down to relationship.

Right. And I remember the first time I realized I didn't have to try to gain God's favor by following a bunch of regulations and rules. Obviously, I wanted to live a moral life, but I just need to be me and love Him out of the truest and deepest part of me. It was such a breath of fresh air.

For sure, for sure. Well, Pastor Robert is going to elaborate on this amazing relationship, so let's dive in. We're in a series called Amazing Grace, and this week's message is called Amazing Husband.

Amazing Husband. It's not a message on marriage, by the way, so don't think, thank God. Finally, the pastor heard to preach on marriage, and it's going to help this jerk I'm living with. But anyway, the reason is, is because by grace, we become married to Christ. But what a lot of people don't realize is, according to Scripture, you were married before. And it wasn't to Satan, by the way.

It may have felt like Satan, but it wasn't Satan. You were married to the law. That's what the Bible says. So I'm going to show you that scripture exactly. And you need to understand the law is not bad. The law is not bad. God gave the law. The problem is, though, that in the same way the Jewish people and the Pharisees, they took 10 commands and turned it into 613.

In the same way, we do that today. And we try and please God by following a list of rules and regulations. But I want you to understand that we're in a relationship now.

It's a relationship. Romans 6, verse 14, very clear scripture, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. So no, we're not under law.

Well, what does that mean? Does that mean we do anything we want? Does that mean we're not under the laws of the land?

Yes, of course, we're under the laws of the land. This is Paul writing in Romans 13, later, same book, he writes to obey the governing laws of the land. So what does that mean that we're not under law? Well, in Romans 7, he's going to give us an analogy to help us understand what that means, okay?

So look at Romans 7, beginning in verse 1. He says, Or do you not know, brethren, for I speak to those who know the law, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives. For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. Now he's giving an earthly example from the law. But if the husband dies, she's released.

Remember the word released. She is released from the law of her husband. So then, if while her husband lives, she marries another man, she'll be called an adulteress. If she's marrying, she goes and marries another one, she's called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she's free from that law, so she's no adulteress, though she's married another man. Verse 4 is very important. Here's where he brings it to us. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another.

Another. In other words, you were married to the law. Now you could be married to another, and who would that be? To him, capital H, Jesus, who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. Okay, so you were married to the law.

Now you're married to Jesus. Now again, let me say the law's not bad, but there is someone who is bad. His name is Satan. He's the accuser of the brethren.

Accuser. He accuses us, and let me tell you one thing he'll use to accuse you. He'll use the law. Some of you say, you sure you really think he'd use the law? Well, he used Scripture to tempt Jesus.

So yes, he will use it. Okay, so let's think about the law as a husband and Jesus as a husband. Okay, so what kind of husband do you think the law is? Do you think he's forgiving? Do you think he's kind? Do you think he's merciful? Do you think the law is merciful? You do this and you're stoned to death? Any mercy in the law?

Any kindness? Let me tell you what the law is. The law is an overbearing, fault-finding, critical, judgmental husband. The law says you did that wrong, you did that wrong, you did that wrong, you did that right, but you did that wrong, you did that wrong, you did that very wrong, and you did that wrong. That's really all the law has the power to do is point out what you do right and wrong.

That's all it does. You have to understand, again, the law's not bad. The law contains the moral absolutes of God, and it tells us where we fall short. That's what the law does, and it brings us to Christ.

We'll talk about that some. But here's the amazing thing, and here's the problem. You're married to the law as long as you live. That's what we just read in Romans 7 and 1. So how can we be married to Christ? Well, here's what he tells us.

Because God comes up with this brilliant plan. You're married to the law as long as you both shall live. Till death do you part.

And you need to understand something about the law. The law's not going to die. It'll never pass away. Heaven and earth will pass away, but not one jot, not one tittle will pass away from the law.

Not one. Because it's God's Word. So the law's not going to die. So how can you be married to Christ? Get this. The law's not going to die, but you can.

Not physically. You can die to self. It's the only way you get saved. Romans 6 also says before you read verse 14, you've been buried with Christ. Galatians says I've been crucified with Christ. See, God came up with this brilliant idea if you'll die to sin and if you'll die to performance, if you'll die to rules and regulations, you can be married to a relationship. You can be married to Jesus. This is extremely good news when it switches in your mind because it's much better to be married to a person than it is to a list.

It's much better. Well, thank you for listening to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. If you've missed the first couple of messages in this Amazing Grace series, you can find them as well as other messages online at pastorrobert.com. You know, today he's sharing a message titled Amazing Husband, and as he stated a couple times, it's not actually about marriage. So I hope none of you nudged your spouse in the middle of this.

I hope not. And I've never thought of the law like this, but I find it interesting that he said the law is an overbearing, fault-finding, critical, judgmental husband. Yikes.

Yeah, that's not exactly something you put in a greeting card. Right? Well, we'll find out next week that there's a reason God gave us the law in the first place. But it's really amazing that he worked out a way for us to get out of our marriage to the law. We are crucified with Christ and died to the law's hold on us. Yeah, you know, when we give our lives to Christ, we're not only born again and have the promise of eternity with God, but we get to live every single day with Jesus by our side.

It seems like a win to me. Well, Pastor Robert has an eye-opening illustration for us next, so let's tune back in. So let me let me tell you a couple of things law can't do, all right? Number one, law cannot justify. Romans 3.20, therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. Romans 3.28, therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

So we're justified by faith in Jesus, not by the law. Paul dealt with this most of his ministry. Paul wrote a little over a third of the New Testament.

About half of his writings are trying to get people to understand grace. In Galatians, he's dealing with one particular group that said you had to be circumcised. And they're preaching this to Gentiles. They said, OK, we believe in, yes, salvation by grace, but you also have to be circumcised.

Now, here's my point. There were these groups that went around saying, yes, you're saved by grace, but in order to keep it or mature or be sanctified, you also have to do this. Now, that was about 2,000 years ago.

Now, aren't you glad that we've come a long way since then? Or is that message still being preached today? Yeah, you're saved by grace, but you better not do this and you better do this and you better do this and you better do this. Galatians 3, look at verse 1. Galatians 3, 1.

O foolish Texans. O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? This means put a spell on you. That you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified. In other words, if he died for you, that's how you're sanctified and justified.

This only I want to learn from you. In other words, I have a question for you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Faith, right? OK. Then watch this, verse 3. Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect or complete by the flesh? Now, I want to read this passage again but out of a different version.

I want to read it out of the message version. You crazy Galatians. Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses?

Something crazy has happened. For it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough. Let me put this question to you. How did your new life begin?

Was it by working your heads off to please God or was it by responding to God's message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think that they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God.

If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it or finish it? Is that good? I just love this. Now, remember he's using the analogy of marriage, that your first marriage was to the law, your second marriage is to Christ. I want you to think about that for a minute. You were married to the law. If you're a believer, now you're married to Christ. I want you to think about what I'm about to say.

This is going to just blow you away. Many, many Christians are trying to impress their new husband, Jesus, by keeping a good relationship with their former husband. Now, if you've been married before, try that in the natural and see how it works out. Can you imagine a wife saying to her husband who's been married before, honey, I'm so excited to tell you what I've been doing. I have been going over every day and serving my former husband and doing things for him. And I think it's going to make our marriage better. Paul would say, you crazy woman.

Right? Now, I'm not saying we're lawless people, because I'm going to bring you to the point to show you what actually does cause us to walk in holiness and righteousness, because God does want us to walk in holiness and righteousness. But what causes us to walk in holiness and righteousness is not trying to follow a list of rules and regulations, but it's falling in love with your new husband. Okay, so law cannot justify. Here's the second thing law can't do. Law cannot empower. It cannot empower you to live a righteous life.

Law can't do it. Romans 7, 4, we read a moment ago, Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, you were married to the law, now you can be married to Christ, to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. Okay, the only way you're going to bear fruit to God is to be married to a fruit-producing husband. He's the vine.

Remember, we talked about this in root cause. That Greek word vine means a fruit-bearing vine, as opposed to a wild vine. He's the one that produces fruit in your life. Galatians 2, 21, I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

That's amazing. If we could have been right with God through keeping the law, then Jesus died in vain, for no reason at all. The only way we can be right with God is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. In other words, the knowledge of the law does not empower you to do the law. That's what I'm trying to tell you. It's like if you said to me, Pastor Robert, did you steal things before you were saved? Yes, I did. I had a big problem with stealing. As a matter of fact, I remember one of my teachers was trying to be kind, and she was talking to another teacher, and she said, he picks up things rather easily. Okay, yes, I had a problem with stealing. Okay, well, what helped you overcome stealing? What caused you not to steal? Well, I was reading the law one day, and it said, Thou shalt not steal. And as soon as I read that, bam, I've never stolen again.

All I did, I said, that was it. I just read it, and that empowered me to never steal again. The same way, I read the same day, Thou shalt not covet, and I've never coveted again. I didn't even notice that you got a new Lexus. I didn't even notice that you got a new red Lexus.

I didn't even notice it. Okay, is that your testimony? I'm talking about before you were a believer. Because now, obviously, we read the Word of God, and the Word of God empowers us.

I understand that. But before you were a believer, did knowing that you shouldn't do it ever help you not to do it? Or give you the victory?

No. A relationship with Jesus brings us into victory. Okay, and then it says, you've been released. We've been released. Okay, that word released, it's amazing to me how God plans these messages out. That word released is a military word.

It's not used very many times in the New Testament. It actually means discharged from military service. So those of you who are veterans, you understand this word. Discharged. Let me say it this way. Now, I did not serve in the military. I tried to, but they did not have any openings for generals, so it wasn't my fault. So, but, you know, I have friends and family that did, and I have utmost respect for those who do.

And I mean that seriously. But, you know, you see television programs and movies, and I hear from those who served the military that they do portray this one character pretty well, this one function of the military. That's the drill sergeant. And he normally starts by saying something like this, I am not your mama. And then that sergeant tells you what to do, and when to do it, and where to do it, and how to do it, and how long you're going to do it, and why you're going to do it.

And the why is because I said so. And he tells you when you're going to get up, and when you're going to eat, and when you're going to go to bed. And he tells you what your shoes are going to look like. And he tells you what your bed is going to look like when you make it up. Right?

All right? All right, so you serve and then at some point you're discharged and you're walking across the compound in, you know, civilian clothes and all of a sudden you hear that same familiar voice say, soldier, and before you realize it, you turn around to salute, but you've been discharged. That's the word Paul uses. You've been discharged from the military, and again I'll go into more of this detail next week that the law was to bring us to Christ. But now we've come to Christ and we're not in this do, do, don't, don't, don't system anymore. We're now in a love relationship with Jesus Christ.

Welcome back. You're listening to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. I really love Pastor Robert's illustration about the law as your ex-husband and Jesus as our new husband. The way he talked about it is comical, but also really puts things into perspective.

I loved that illustration too. It's definitely not something that we should be doing, but it's crazy how we sometimes still try to live by the law. This makes me think of the Israelites after their captivity, dreaming of Egypt instead of enjoying their freedom. Like them, if we're not careful, we can miss out on enjoying the freedom and love a relationship with the Father offers us. It's so crazy because living in a relationship is so much simpler and rewarding. I think like Pastor Robert said, it's a tactic of the enemy to get us to focus on the law and works on our ex-husband of sorts so that we forget we have a better, more loving and devoted husband. It sounds funny to say, but being married to Jesus is amazing.

It is amazing. Now, let's get back to Pastor Robert. So the law can't justify. The law can't empower. But here's the third point, love can. Love can justify and empower. Love can do it. Love can. Now, you say, now, Pastor, you're just talking about love, you know, just love, everybody just love each other, just love. No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the Bible definition of love.

You know what that is? God is love. So God can justify and God can empower. He's the only one that can. And Jesus is the fulfillment of love and us having a love relationship with Him. Love is the strongest governing force in the world, not law, love. It's that you want to do it, not that you have to do it.

It's the strongest governing force in the world. Think about this, I hear this a lot, okay. So let me just, let me just tell you how I feel about this, all right, okay. Y'all all right? Okay. All right. Well, let me say anyway. Okay.

Pastor, you better not preach too much on grace because people just go out and sin. Okay. Now, can I, will you give me permission to just be a little forceful here? Are you okay?

Are you sure you're okay? All right. Let's just, just listen to me. I'm going to say something and it's, it's, it's actually can be taken arrogantly.

I don't mean it arrogantly, I mean it factually. Okay. Just, just, just stay with me. Okay.

Will you stay with me? Okay. I know what I'm doing. I know how to build a spiritually healthy church and I've been doing this for a while. If I, if you're a firefighter, you know how to fight fires. You've been doing it 30 years and you've been trained to do it.

Okay. Why would I tell you how to fight fires? I don't know how to fight fires.

If you're an eighth grade school teacher, I do not know how to teach eighth graders. If you're a nurse, if you work in construction, you work in computers, okay, listen to me. I'm a pastor. I know what I'm doing.

I'm going, I'm going to explain it to you though. Our natural mind says if you want people to live holy, preach law. Churches that preach law, people do not live holy because it's going to blow you away. Do you know what gives sin strength? Wouldn't it be good to know what gives sin power? Strength in my life.

Let me, let me read it to you. First Corinthians 15, 56, the strength of sin is the law. See it's all opposite with God. It's opposite of our natural thinking. God says if you want to receive, give. Here's an opposite with God. If you want to live, die. Now listen to me. If you want people to live holy, preach grace because the law cannot empower you to live holy but grace can because it's love. It's a love relationship. All right.

One, one last example. Paul uses the analogy of marriage, marriage to the law, marriage to grace. Okay. So I'm, I'm married to Debbie. How would Debbie feel if I said to her, I want you to understand something, I'm not going to commit adultery. And the reason that I'm not going to commit adultery is because the law says not to.

Now I want to. This is just an analogy. It's not the way I feel. I don't want to and I don't think about it all the time by God's grace. I don't ever think about it by God's grace.

Okay. But if I said that to her, I'm not going to commit adultery because the law says not to. How do you think that makes her feel? But what about if I said to her, when you open your eyes in the morning, the sun rises. And when you close your eyes at night, the stars shine.

So when you walk in a room, I can't see anyone in the room other than you. And I love you with all of my heart no matter what and forever and always and you will never have to worry about me being unfaithful because I am madly and passionately head over heels in love with you. Which one of those husbands do you want to be married to?

Here's the great thing. You're married to the second one if you're a Christian because Jesus says to all Christians, when you open your eyes in the morning, the sun comes up for me. When you close them at night, the stars shine and I will never leave you or forsake you. Even when, here's a scripture, even when you're faithless, I'll be faithful. I love you with all of my heart no matter what and forever and always. You know why grace is so amazing? Because we have an amazing husband.

Yes. What Pastor Robert said right at the end about how much God loves us, so powerful and exciting. I feel like I should write that down and hang it up somewhere to remind me every day.

That's a great idea, Patrick. And to everyone listening today, I encourage you to take a moment and really listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you about this message. We really do hope you will take some time to think about all Pastor Robert has shared. We're about halfway through this Amazing Grace series, but if you would like to get a copy of this message or any of the messages in this series, visit pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD.

You can get the complete eight-part series for yourself or to share with a friend or family member. So be sure to visit pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD. You can also follow Pastor Robert on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Next time, we're continuing this Amazing Grace series, and Pastor Robert will be sharing more about why we were given the Old Testament law and what it means to us today. Thanks for listening and for your support. We pray God's blessings over you this week.