Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession

2 Sanctification & Sexual Purity

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2007-10-22

Synopsis: John Weaver continues his study of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, focusing on verse 2. He explains that the commandments given by the apostles are by the authority of the Lord Jesus and are not contrary to God's law. Weaver then expounds five lawful uses of God's law: to educate (revealing sin and pointing to Christ), to restrain evil, to convict of sin, to condemn, and to sanctify. He emphasizes that the law is the means of sanctification, with the Holy Spirit as the agent, and that true holiness comes from obeying God's commandments, not man-made rules.

[John Weaver] First Thessalonians chapter four. Now, for those of you who were not here last week, I will take a few moments and review, since I did not have a tape to copy to bring you. Roy faithfully gave me my tape to duplicate for you, and I have lost it. I can't find it anywhere. I'd normally blame it on Alice, but I'm the one that put it in the car. So I don't know where it is, but I got another copy today, which I gave to her. So I do not have a tape next week.

[John Weaver] It will be her fault. OK, this week is my fault. All right. First Thessalonians chapter four, beginning with verse one. Furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God. So you would abound more and more, for you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification that you should abstain from fornication. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel and sanctification honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles who know not God, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any manner because of the Lord is the avenger of all such as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit." Now, last week I began a study on 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 1-8.

[John Weaver] And I told you it's going to take several weeks to get to through this passage in at least a couple of weeks to get to what I would call the main thrust of this passage, and I believe the main thrust is verses three and verses and verse four, where he says that for this is the will of God, even your sanctification. that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor. So last week, by way of review, we looked only at verse one. We looked, first of all, at an exhortation. The Apostle Paul says, furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus. That is, you have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more." Now, one of the very plain, evident statements in Scripture, it is the will of God that we be sexually pure. That is part and parcel of our sanctification. And in verse 1, Paul is giving his exhortation.

[John Weaver] I told you that there were three things in verse 1. Primarily, I want you to recognize before I even give you these three things, that the exhortation that the Apostle Paul is giving us is in or by the authority of Jesus Christ. For he says, we exhort you by the Lord Jesus. That is, it is in His name and it is by His authority. Now, there are three things that you have in this first verse. First of all, you have a practical necessity. You find that he says that as you have received of us how you ought to walk. The practical necessity is this, that we must be taught the word of God.

[John Weaver] And I went through the Bible and I showed you very clearly how that he gave some pastor teachers and he gave them the gifts and the ability to teach. And so here's the very practical necessity, we must be taught the word of God.

[John Weaver] Secondly, here's the personal application, he says, that you have received with us how you ought to walk and to please God. So it does no good then to have someone teach you if you do not make a personal application and apply that truth to your life and put it in practice. And then thirdly, I shared with you, here was a progressive reality, he said, so that you would abound more and more. And so our life then is not to be a life of neutrality, it is not to be a life of regression, it is to be a life of progression, where we're going from holiness to holiness, sanctification to sanctification, faith to faith, and glory to glory, as the Word of God says.

[John Weaver] So the very first thing we have in verse 1 is an exhortation. Now today I want to only cover verse 2. And that is an explanation. And I think you're going to see how important verse 2 is. He says in verse 2, for you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. Now, I want you to note, first of all, the connection between verses 1 and 2. Look at them very carefully. He says in verse 1, furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus. Now, here it is.

[John Weaver] that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk in to please God. Well, how did they receive of the Apostle Paul and those with him, how they ought to walk in to please God? Well, look in verse 2. For you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. So he says, the way that we taught you was based upon the commandments. It was based upon the word of God.

[John Weaver] So the connection is simply this. You cannot know how to walk and to please God unless you know his commandments, unless you are being taught. So a life then that is well pleasing to God is a life that is brought into conformity to his word. which means very clearly we must obey his commandments.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note verse 2. He says, For you know what commandments we gave you. Note this phrase by the Lord Jesus. In other words, you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus or in the name of the Lord Jesus or by the authority of the Lord Jesus. So these commandments then were commandments that were honored and recognized by Christ, blessed by Christ. And so these commandments are to be received by us and applied to our daily lives.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just cover the word commandments before we even get started today. There are several Greek words in the Bible that refer to the word commandments. One of the first and primary words is the word entole. And that is not the word that is used here. The word that is used here is the word perigaleos. Now, the word perigaleos is sometimes translated in our Bibles as charge. Or command, or sometimes it is simply an announcement. Now, let me just show you this word.

[John Weaver] I want you to hold 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. But look in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16 and verse 24. Acts chapter 16 and verse 24.

[John Weaver] Now, this is referring to the prison guard, the jailer. The Bible says, who having received such a charge or such a commandment thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

[John Weaver] Now, what in the world had happened? Paul and Silas had been arrested, and they were brought to the jailer, and they said, you keep these men fast. And let me put it to you like this. In those times, the jailer's life went for the prisoner's life. If the prisoner escaped, the jailer died. And so when he received this charge, you put these men in prison to keep them safe. When he received that commandment, he thrust them into the inner prison. That is, there were two walls and he made their feet fast in the stocks, so he was not going to lose his life. So he had a charge. He had a commandment.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look back in your Bibles, Acts chapter 5 and verse 28, You'll see this same word, perigaleos, used this time, once again, it is translated by the word command, but this time it has a prohibition attached to it. Note what the rulers say to the disciples, saying, did we not straightly command you that you should not teach in this name, that is, in the name of Christ? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

[John Weaver] So they said, we gave you a charge. We gave you a commandment. It was a negative. It was a prohibition. We told you do not preach any more in this man's name. So here was the command that you received from your superiors. But of course, the disciples ignored it because it was a wrong and a wicked command.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy, chapter three, and let me show you how this is used. First Timothy, chapter one, I should say, show you how this is used in a positive sense and show you the broad spectrum of the word perigaleos. Now, in first Timothy, chapter one and verse three, the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy and look what he tells him.

[John Weaver] As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine. Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than godly edifying, which is in faith so do." Now watch verse 5.

[John Weaver] Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and a faith unfamed. Now I want to challenge you to do something. I want to challenge you to read 1 Timothy 1 very thoroughly and show me the word commandment any other time used in this context when he's giving it to Timothy. You say, well, it's not there, and very clearly it's not there, and I'm going to tell you why.

[John Weaver] Look back to verse 3. Paul tells Timothy, I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia. Now look what Timothy was to do, that thou mightest charge some that they teach nor the doctrine. So Timothy, Paul says, I'm giving you a direct command from an apostle. based upon apostolic authority. Timothy, you charge others, that is, you command others that they preach no other doctrine. In other words, we don't want any heterodoxy. We want orthodoxy. We want the pure word of God. Now, the word charge in verse three is the word perigaleos, which is often translated command. If you look down in verse five, he says now the end of the commandment, the end of what commandment? The commandment mentioned in verse three, but there it's translated charge. The end of the commandment that you preach nothing else but the word of God is this. The ultimate end is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith in faith.

[John Weaver] So what is he doing? He's using the word commandment here now, the word perigaleos, to cover the entirety of the word of God. Let me tell you something that we fail to comprehend. All of God's word is law. Why? Because God is the sovereign king and a king rules by his law. And Paul uses this word here in 1st Timothy 1 and verse 3 and 1st Timothy 1 and verse 5 to cover the entirety of the Word of God. So he's telling us in 1st Timothy chapter 1 that the Word of God, when it is preached in its entirety, When it is illuminated and applied by the Holy Spirit and personally received, will produce a right living which will be love out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of unpretended or unhypocritical faith.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. If you look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 2, when the Apostle Paul says, for you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. Here's my question. Do you think that the Apostle Paul and those who were preaching with him were doing nothing more than reciting the Ten Commandments? Well, of course not. What they were doing was this. They were making application out of those Ten Commandments and applying case laws and showing you how the Word of God applied in personal situations. They weren't just simply going around quoting the Ten Commandments.

[John Weaver] One truth is absolutely certain. The commandments that they were giving in verse 2 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 were not contradictory to the law of God. How do I know that? Because the charges, because the commandments that they were giving in verse 2 were given in the name of the Lord Jesus.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. If the commandments in verse 2 were given in the name of the Lord Jesus, that is, by His authority and with His approval, do you think that anything they said would be contrary to the total law of God? And the answer is no. Why? Because Christ came to fulfill the law.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to turn in your Bibles, whole 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, but look in your Bibles to Isaiah 42 and verse 21 first. Isaiah 42 and verse 21.

[John Weaver] Now, it's very important that you understand this point. Isaiah 42 and look in verse 21. Here we're talking about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Watch. He says in verse 21, the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake. He, the Messiah, will magnify the law and make it honorable. So where the first Adam violated the law and broke the law and sinned against God, the second Adam obeyed the law, he magnified the law, he made it honorable. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Notice, if you would please, verse 17. Here it is very plainly, straight from the lips of our Lord. Matthew, chapter 5, verse 17, Christ says, Think not that I am come to destroy the law of the prophets, I'm not coming to destroy, but to fulfill.

[John Weaver] For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." So Christ said, I did not come to abrogate the law. I didn't come to set it aside. I didn't come to nullify it. I came to fulfill it. I came to put it into full force as continuous. That's why the Bible says in the book of Galatians chapter 4 verses 4 and 5, now listen, but when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son made of a woman, help me with this next phrase, made under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. So Jesus Christ was made under the law and Jesus Christ magnified that law, he honored that law, And he offered unto God a full, total obedience to the law of God. Now many people try to evade, elude, and even abolish the law of God. And what they try to do is this.

[John Weaver] They then make spirituality or sanctification absolutely subjective. In other words, being spiritual or being sanctified or being holy is now dependent not upon the law of God, but dependent upon how they feel, what their whims are, what their desires are. Let me give you an illustration. There has been a massive amount of advertising on Christian news stations and Christian radio stations And I got a Christian magazine the other day, and I looked at it, and I showed Alice. Here were two full pages advertising jewelry, headbands with WWJD on them.

[John Weaver] Come on, tell me what that stands for. What would Jesus do? I get so aggravated at that. Everybody just sits around and says, now, what would Jesus do in this situation? You say, when do you get aggravated to that? I don't have to guess what Jesus would do in a situation. I know what Jesus would do in every situation. He would obey the law of God. That's what he came to do.

[John Weaver] And a lot of people who wear the jewelry and wear the headbands, and man, they were book satchels, everything with all these initials on it, a sweat band. Listen, let me just give you a little scenario. Let's say we're a group of modern day Christians and we're into this subjective spiritualism, subjective spirituality, and we're sitting around and all around us in the church Or thieves and robbers and money changers. And we're sitting there and we're saying, now, what would Jesus do in this situation?

[John Weaver] I'll tell you what he did. He made himself a scourge of small cards and beat the devil out of him and drove him out.

[John Weaver] Now, you show me a Christian's willing to do that. You see what I'm saying? Why did he do that? Because Scripture said, then they remembered it was written in the law of God. You've made my house a house of thieves. My house shall be called a house of prayer." And he said, the zeal of the Lord had eaten him up. Because what Jesus did, he did in obedience to the law of God.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bible to John 8 and verse 29. That is why I'm telling you, In one sense of the word, I think that is absolutely silly to sit around and try to meditate on what would Jesus do. You don't have to meditate. Just look in the book. The book will tell you what Christ would do because Christ obeyed the law of God. Look in John 8 in verse 29. Here it is. Jesus says, And he that sent me is with me.

[John Weaver] The Father hath not left me alone. Watch this next statement. For I do always those things that please Him. Did you hear what Christ said? I do always those things which please Him. Let me ask you a question. What pleases God? Obedience.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is this. The word please is arestos in the Greek. And it literally means to be agreeable with. How did Jesus Christ please the Father? By agreeing with Him that His law was perfect and demanded a perfect obedience and that He needed to do exactly what the Father had demanded He do.

[John Weaver] Now, with that in mind, look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 1. First Thessalonians 4 and verse 1. Furthermore, then, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as you have received us, how you ought to walk and to... What's that next word? Please God. Now, remember I told you back in John 18 verse 29, the Greek word was arestos.

[John Weaver] It meant to be agreeable to. Guess what? When you get to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 1, the Greek word is aresko, which is the verb from which the noun comes. Back in John 8 in verse 29. So literally, he says in verse one that you have received of us how you ought to walk and to agree with God or be agreeable to God, so you would abound more and more. So how do you walk agreeably with God? How do you walk to please God?

[John Weaver] And the answer is by obedience. by obedience to the law.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just emphasize this. I preach this and preach this here. You ought to know this by heart, but I'm going to tell it to you again. I'm going to show it to you from Scripture. The law was never given for our justification. Okay? I want you to understand that. There are many, many verses in the Bible that condemn the law as a means of justification. The law was never meant to save us.

[John Weaver] OK, look in your Bibles. First of all, the Romans chapter 3 verse 20. In fact, we'll come back to a few of these verses. We'll look in Romans chapter 3 in verse 20. Look what he says, Romans 3 verse 20. Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. So no one is going to be made acceptable to God in a matter of salvation by keeping the law. Why? Because the law demands a perfect obedience, a personal obedience and a perpetual obedience. And the only one that's ever given that to the law has been Jesus Christ. So no man can be justified by keeping the law. Look in verse 28, Paul says, therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Look at Romans chapter six and verse 14, Romans six and verse 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you, why?

[John Weaver] For you are not under the law. That is, you're not under it is a standard of justification for you're not under the law, but under grace. Grace is our standard of justification, not the law.

[John Weaver] Now look in your Bible to the book of Galatians chapter two and verse sixteen. Paul says it again this time, I think even more plainly. Galatians two verse sixteen. Watch carefully, Galatians two verse sixteen. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Now, listen to me.

[John Weaver] I am not talking about legalism. Most people don't even know what legalism is. When you mention keeping God's law, they say, you're a legalist. No, you know what legalism is? Legalism is trying to earn your salvation by the law. You're not a legalist if you obey God's law after you're converted, after you're saved by the grace of God. You're not obeying God's law. I'm going to show you in just a moment. You're not obeying God's law in order to be saved. You're obeying God's law because you have been saved. That's not legalism. Legalism is when you try to earn your salvation by your works. And since you're in the book of Galatians, look in chapter 3, verses 10 and 11, and you'll see that's absolutely impossible. Galatians 3, verse 10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all the things that are written in the book of the law to do them, but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of

[John Weaver] God. It is evident, for the just shall live by faith. There is no man that can be good enough to get into the sight and the presence of God by its own works. It is impossible to be justified by the law. So the law was never, ever given for our justification. You got that? You understand that? Now listen carefully. Just because the law was not given for our justification, just because the law was not good for one thing does not mean that it is not good for anything. And what most people will do is say, oh boy, you can't be justified by the law. And they just throw the law out. No. God does indeed give us in the Bible the proper uses of the law. And let me just put it right now. First Timothy chapter 1 in verse 8, the Bible says this. But we know that the law is good. If a man use it lawfully. So there is an unlawful use of the law. And there is a lawful use of the law.

[John Weaver] So the Word of God teaches us that God's law must be used lawfully. How do you use God's law lawfully? And the answer comes back, you use the law of God lawfully by using it for that which God intended it to be used for.

[John Weaver] Now, what I want to do in the rest of my time this morning is this. I want to show you, very generally, five ways the law may be used lawfully.

[John Weaver] Now, I've got a confession to make. I believe these five ways is what I would call an irreducible minimum. There can be some overlapping in them. I'm not saying this is an exhaustive listing of the lawful uses of God's law, but this is certainly a primary listing of the lawful uses of the law. So why did God give us his law? If he never intended the law to be our standard of justification, why did he give us the law? First of all, the law is used to educate. The law is used to educate. And I could preach all day right there, but I'm going to show you just two areas. There are two specific areas that the law educates us in. Look in your Bibles, first of all, back to Romans 3 and verse 20, Romans 3 and verse 20. The very first way the law educates us is to the knowledge of sin. To the knowledge of sin, look in Romans 3 and verse 20.

[John Weaver] He says, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. That is an improper and unlawful use of the law to try to use the law as justification. But here's a lawful use of it, he says, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

[John Weaver] Now, folks, let's be honest. You and I cannot know what sin is apart from God's law. How do we know that it's wrong to steal? For God says thou shalt not steal. How do we know it's wrong to commit adultery? God says thou shalt not commit adultery. I want you to look in your Bibles to 1st John 3 and verse 4. I could quote many scriptures. I think this one will be sufficient. 1st John 3 and verse 4. Now look carefully at what he says and young people pay close attention. 1 John 3 and verse 4, whosoever committed sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. Now, what is sin? It is transgressing God's law. Whoever commits sin breaks God's law.

[John Weaver] Let me put it to you plainly. You cannot sin without violating God's law. Chester can put a sign up, do not walk on the grass. And I can walk on that grass, but just because I've walked on his grass does not make me a sinner. He might get angry with me, but I am not a sinner. I have not violated God's law. I may have violated man's law, but I have not violated God's law.

[John Weaver] You could come to my house and I could say, no salt is to be used in this house. You say, well, Brother Weaver, I've got to have salt on my food. And you start salting the way you brought your own salt. Now, I might get mad at you, and I might say, well, take that old salty food and eat it outside. But you haven't sinned against God. And my wife knows better than that, because I'd ask you for some of your salt.

[John Weaver] Now, but you see what I'm saying. You can't sin by breaking men's laws. You sin by breaking God's laws. Now, you can't know what sin is without God's law. God's law is a means to educate us. Look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24. Here's the second area. The law is used to educate us in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24. He says, wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. So the law then is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. What does the schoolmaster do? He teaches, he educates. How does the law work as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ?

[John Weaver] Well, a number of ways. Number one, it shows us that we're sinners. Number two, it shows us we cannot save ourselves. Number three, it shows us there's a great chasm between an unholy sinner and a holy God. And number four, it shows us that if we ever get to that holy God, we must get to him through the merits of someone else and not our own. And that someone else is Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] So the law then is a lawful means of education. God gave us the law to educate us, to teach us, number one, as to the knowledge of sin. In number two, as to the perfection and the satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Here's the second use of the law. The law is used to restrain. The second lawful use of the law is the law was given to restrain. Let me just show you a passage that occurs over and over in the Bible. Turn in your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verse five. Deuteronomy 13 and verse 5. God is here talking about a false prophet. He says in that prophet or that dreamer dream shall be put to death.

[John Weaver] because he has spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust you out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in, so shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note something. Whenever God uses capital punishment He will always include this phrase, so shalt thou put evil away from mischief. Look in Deuteronomy 17. And verse seven. Deuteronomy 17, verse seven, in fact, let's read verse six. At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death, but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people, so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." Look in verse 12. And the man that will do presumptuously and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth and minister there before the Lord thy God, or to the judge, even that man shall die, and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel." Look in Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 19. Here's a false witness. God says, Then shall you do unto him as he thought to have done unto his brother.

[John Weaver] So shalt thou put the evil away from among you. One other look in Deuteronomy 21 verse 21. This is just a few of the verses. Deuteronomy 21 verse 21. And all the men in his city shall stone him with stones that he die. So shalt thou put evil away from among you and all Israel shall hear and fear. So the law then has a restraining influence. If you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy chapter one. First Timothy chapter one. And note, if you would, verse nine, first Timothy chapter one in verse nine. He says, knowing that the law was not made for a righteous man. But for the lawless. and disobedient for the ungodly, for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." Now, what does he mean when he says, knowing this, the law is not made for a righteous man?

[John Weaver] That is, the law does not have to restrain someone who is doing right. It only has to restrain someone who is doing wrong. You see, folks, let me tell you. You can argue about it all you want, but it's really simple. The death penalty restrains sin. It restrains evil. It restrains wickedness. You say, I don't think so. Well, the one it is executed on, it's very effective, I can assure you. He will never commit any more wickedness. And if you know, if you know, if you do something, you're going to get the death penalty. I'll guarantee you'll think twice before you do it. So the law then is given as a restraint. That is a lawful use of the law. Thirdly, the law is used to convict. To convict, look in your Bible for Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there with verse 7. Romans chapter 7, verse 7 through 13. Look what the Apostle Paul says, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I have not known sin, but by the law. For I have not known lust, except the law hath said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. Now watch what he says. For without the law, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment which was ordained to life I found to be death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me and by it, it slew me. Wherefore, the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. Was that It was then that which is good may death unto me, God forbid, but sin that it might appear sin working death in me by that which is good that by that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

[John Weaver] Now, what am I talking about when I said the law is used to convict? Well, go back to what Paul said in verse nine. Well, in verse eight, the latter part, he says, for without the law, sin was dead. Then he says, for I was alive without the law once. And then he says, well, when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. What is he talking about? If you were to go to Philippians chapter 3, you would read all the pedigree of Paul. Paul said he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, and then he makes this statement as touching the law blameless. Now, was the Apostle Paul perfect before he was converted? No. As touching the law blameless, what was he talking about? Well, he was a Pharisee. As touching the Pharisaical interpretation of the law, he thought he was blameless. So he says when he was he was alive without the law was that is without the true understanding of the law without the true into the law.

[John Weaver] But he said when the commandment came that is when he saw the law in its true light that it reached inwardly as well as externally. He says sin revived and I died. And what happened? The law of God convicted him.

[John Weaver] Now look in your Bibles to the book of James chapter two. James chapter 2. Let me tell you the reason one of the reasons there are not the multitude of conversions today as there used to be, is because the law of God is not preached. One of the lawful uses of the law is to convict men of their sin. Look what he says in James chapter 2, beginning there with verse 9. But if you have respect of persons, you commit sin and are convinced or convicted of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all." For he that saith, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art to become a transgressor of the law. Now look at what he says in verse 9. But if you have respected persons, you commit sin and are convicted of the law as transgressors. How are you convicted? Because God's law says, Do not do this.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm not going to take the time. I jotted several scriptures down. But if you will notice, When our Lord witnessed in the New Testament, he always used the law of God. I don't care if you're talking about the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10, the woman at the well in John chapter 8, he always used the law of God. So the law of God then is given to convict. Fourthly, the law of God is given to condemn. Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 27, Deuteronomy 27, and I'm not going to take time to read all of this because I've got a lot more I want to give you. Deuteronomy 27, but I think you can get the idea when I say that the law of God is given to condemn. Look in Deuteronomy 27, begin reading there with verse 14.

[John Weaver] And the Levites shall speak and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image and abomination of the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and put it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. Cursed be he that speaketh like by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark. And all the people shall say, Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way, and all the people shall say. Cursed be he that perverted the judgment of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and all the people shall say. Cursed be he that lies with his father's wife, because he uncovered his father's skirt, and all his people shall say. Cursed be he that lies with any man or beast, and all the people shall say.

[John Weaver] And then he goes right on down and look in verse 26. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of the law to do them, and all the people shall say... Now wait a minute. Let's look at verse 26 again. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say what?

[John Weaver] Now hold Deuteronomy chapter 27 and look in your Bibles to the book of Relations chapter 3. And let's read verse 10, Galatians 3 verse 10. Let's see if there is a similarity between Deuteronomy 27 and verse 26 and Galatians 3 and verse 10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under its curse, for it is written, curse it, is everyone that continues not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Did we just read that? Yes, back in Deuteronomy 27. What is he doing? He is confirming the law, and he's saying that one of the lawful uses of the law is that it condemns. That's why back in Romans 7 verse 23 or verse 13, it was that the Apostle Paul said that by the law, sin might become exceedingly sinful. Now, I've given you so far four uses of the law. The law is used to educate. The law is used to restrain. The law is used to convict. The law is used to condemn.

[John Weaver] Here's the fifth one, and the one I want to develop just for a little while, and that is the law is to be used to sanctify. Or let me say it another way. The law is the means of sanctification. Now listen. The law was not given for our justification, but it was given for our sanctification. You know what I could have done? I could have used another word, and there would have been no theological eyebrows raised by any individual who ever heard this tape. I could have said the law is given for our direction, and it is. But it's more than our direction. It is for our sanctification. It is true that God's law directs us, but it is also the means of sanctification. Now, listen to me.

[John Weaver] I am not discounting the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent in sanctification. He is the one that must make the law of God effectual in our lives. He is the one that must enlighten our minds and illuminate our understanding and lead us and guide us and direct us. He is the agent. But I'm not talking about the agent in sanctification. I'm talking about the means. I'm going to show you that the agent will always lead us and guide us and direct us in accordance with the means. And the means is the law of God.

[John Weaver] Now, if I only had one little point to prove this one, I think this would be sufficient. In regeneration, the law of God is written on our hearts. I want you to look in your Bibles, first of all, Jeremiah 31. I'm going to show you this in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament. Well, look in Jeremiah 31, and let's begin reading with verse 31. Jeremiah 31, verse 31. Look what God says. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant. Would someone like to tell me what the word Testament is? What does it mean? What is it? It's a covenant. So we're talking about the New Covenant or the New Testament. He says, For the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Testament or New Covenant with the house of Israel, the house of Judah. Now watch. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant may break, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Now that's the new covenant. It's not going to be written in stone, it's going to be written in our hearts.

[John Weaver] Now look at the book of Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel chapter 36 and let's begin reading there with verse 26. Ezekiel 36 verse 26. Look what he says. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh. And I will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and call you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgments and do them." Whoa, whoa, back up. What? Verse 27, and I will put my spirit within you, watch, and call you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgments and do them. What's this new covenant going to do? This new covenant is going to write the law in our hearts. We're going to have the agent of sanctification living within us, and he's going to cause us to walk in his statutes. And he's going to cause us to keep his commandments. Now, look in your Bible to the book of Hebrews chapter 10.

[John Weaver] Hebrews chapter 10, verse 16, and then we're going back to 2 Corinthians. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 16. What does the author of the book of Hebrews say? Well, he says the same thing Jeremiah and Ezekiel said. He says this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days set the board. I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds. Will I write them?

[John Weaver] So what does God do in the New Testament? He writes his law.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 because here the Apostle Paul is contrasting the old covenant with the new covenant. Watch carefully. He's contrasting the old covenant with the new covenant. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 1. Do we begin again to commend ourselves, or need we, as some others, the epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

[John Weaver] Now look what he says to these Christians. You are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men, forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in the flesh and tables of heart, right out of Ezekiel. Right out of Jeremiah. And such trust have we through Christ to God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything is ourselves, but our sufficiencies of God, who have also given us, who have also made us able to ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth to life.

[John Weaver] But if administration of death, that's the old covenant. But if administration of death, written and engraven in stones was glorious, So that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away with. How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? Now, wait a minute. When Moses received the law written in stone, his face shone and so greatly that the children of Israel could not look on his face. Now, Paul said that was glorious. But it was to be done away with. and replace with something more glorious. Verse 8, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather or more glorious? Now watch, for if the ministration of condemnation, that is Moses, be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness, that is with Christ and the new covenant, exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that excelleth." So he says that the ministration of Christ in the New Testament is so glorious, the glory of the Old Testament looks like nothing compared to Christ.

[John Weaver] What's the difference? The Old Testament is written in stone, and the New Testament is written in our hearts. This is the distinction between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In the New Covenant, we have the law written in our hearts. We have the Holy Spirit living within us to lead us and guide us and direct us. By the way, if you were to read Romans 8, 11, 16, Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 through 26, and I had them down, but to save time, I'm going to turn there, where it talks about the leading of the Holy Spirit. So many people try to Well, the Holy Spirit led me to do this. The Holy Spirit led me to do that.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something. The only thing the Holy Spirit will lead you to do is to obey the Word of God. And if whatever anybody does is contrary to the Word of God, and they say the Holy Spirit led them, they're a liar. A spirit may have led them, but it was not the Holy Spirit, because He only leads us and guides us and directs us in conformity to the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, 2 Corinthians 7 in verse 1 is one of the clearest definitions of sanctification in the Bible. I want you to see it. Look in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1. I can quote it, but look there. Look at what he says. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves, small filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now, here's my question. You say, Brother Weaver, I want to be holy. How am I to be holy?

[John Weaver] And the answer is very simple. Cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit. You say, well, how do I know what is filthiness of the flesh and how do I know what is filthiness of the spirit? Well, let's go back to verse John 3, 4. Whosoever commits sin transgresseth the law. For sin is the transgression of the law of God. Filthiness of the flesh is anything that's contrary to the law of God. Filthiness of the spirit is anything that's contrary to the law of God.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something, folks. When we get quote-unquote bad attitudes, it's not that we just had a bad day. It's sin. If our attitude's contrary to the law of God, Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 20. Leviticus, chapter 20, verses 7. Well, we'll start with verse 7. Leviticus 20, verse 7. Look what God commands. Leviticus 20, verse 7. Look what he says.

[John Weaver] Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be ye holy. Prime the Lord your God. Whoa, whoa, back up. Did you hear what he said? Sanctify yourself and be holy. You say, what do you mean, Brother Weaver? How can I sanctify myself? It's God who must sanctify me. How am I to sanctify myself? He said, sanctify yourselves and therefore be ye holy. How do you sanctify yourself? Look at verse 8.

[John Weaver] And you shall keep my statues. Watch. And do them. I am the Lord, which sanctify you.

[John Weaver] Now, let's put this together. He just said, sanctify yourself. How do you sanctify yourself? By keeping your statues and doing them. And then he says, I'm the Lord that does sanctify you. Well, are you sanctifying yourself or is God sanctifying you? Both. Your responsibility is to obey God. It's God who enables you to obey Him. And when you bring your life into conformity to the Word of God, it is only through and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Listen, no one wants to obey God apart from the Holy Spirit. Everybody wants to do his own thing. If you want to obey God, if you want to bring your life into conformity to His Word, someone greater than you is working in your life. Because man by nature wants to be unholy and rebellious and wicked and do his own thing. It's only the supernatural work of God that makes us want to do what's right. And so when God says, I'm commanding you, you keep My statutes, you keep My judgments, you do them.

[John Weaver] It's your responsibility to obey Me. But when you obey Me, I want you to understand something. It's Me that's sanctifying you. It's Me that is empowering you to obey Me. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6. Verse 24. Deuteronomy 6. Verse 24. Watch this one carefully. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes to fear the Lord our God for our good always.

[John Weaver] Let me just stop there. Why does God give us His commandments? Because He's mad at us? He's mean to us? Why does God say, Thou shalt not commit adultery? He just doesn't want us to have fun. Is that it? Why does He say, Thou shalt not kill? He just wants us to live amongst our enemies, huh? Is that it? No! Whatever God commands, what is for our good always, that He might preserve us alive as it is at this day. Whatever God commands is for our good and His glory. Now watch verse 25. And it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God as He has commanded us. Now, we're not earning righteousness. It is God who's making us righteous. But how do we know that we're righteous? Because we're obeying God's law.

[John Weaver] Now look at Deuteronomy chapter four. And let's read the first nine verses, Deuteronomy four, beginning with verse one. Oh, I like this. Deuteronomy four, verse one.

[John Weaver] Now, therefore, hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and the judgments which I teach you for to do them, that you may live and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal Peor. For all the men that followed Baal Peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But you that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive, every one of you this day. Hey, paste, obey God. Behold, he said, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me that you should do so in the land where you go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them.

[John Weaver] Watch for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations which shall hear all these statutes and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all the things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, and hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I have set before you this day?

[John Weaver] Only take ye to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently." Lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons." What's God saying? God says it's His law that in our wisdom, it's His law that in our understanding, it's His law that is our righteousness, it's His law that is to be communicated to our children and our children's children. And here's my question. Has God changed? No. Malachi 3, verse 1, I have a more changed mind. Has God's law changed? No. Psalm 119, verse 89, Forever, O Lord, is thy word settled in the heavens. Has God's way of sanctification changed? No.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. Let's begin there with verse 13. 1 Peter 1, verse 13. Look what Peter writes. Wherefore, Gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you with the revelation of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now watch this next phrase. As obedient children. What are we to obey? God's law, which is the totality of his word, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the form of lust in your ignorance, watch, but as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy as I am holy. How can I be holy as God is holy? The answer is by obeying his law. Why? Because the law is an expression of his will. It is an expression of his holiness. It is an expression of His righteousness. And the only way I can be holy as He is holy is by obeying the totality of His Word.

[John Weaver] Now, let me quote one scripture here. I read it earlier, Romans 7, verse 12. The Apostle Paul wrote, We know that the law is holy and the commandment holy, just and good. So how can I be holy as God is holy? And that is by obeying His commandments.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and I'm going to make an application in closing, but I want you to watch carefully. It's very vital. It's very important. He says in verse 1, Furthermore then, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as you have received with us, how you ought to walk and to please God How you ought to walk and please God, as you have received of us. How you ought to walk and please God, for you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now how do you know how to walk and please God? Based upon His commandments. Based upon His word.

[John Weaver] You see, the law is the means of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit is the agent. You know, this is this is very difficult for me to say in one sense of the word. But I have had preachers take me to task. Over what I just preached to you. They said the law has been done away with. Well, you don't need sanctification. You don't need the law on sanctification. Oh, well, just let me ask you a question or two.

[John Weaver] I want you to think this thing through. Here's a Christian that says he's sanctified. Here's my question. Is it possible to be holy and to be sanctified and at the same time be an idolatry? No, it's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified and at the same time profane the name of God? No, it's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified and at the same time be in rebellion to God and your parents? No, it's impossible. Is it possible to be sanctified and holy while at the same time you are actually a murderer? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you're an adulterer and a fornicator? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible for you to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you're a thief? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible for you to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you are a covetous, wicked, desirous individual and at the same time you are bearing false witness against your neighbor?

[John Weaver] No, that's an impossibility. So that must mean this then, sanctification by the law. Because it is impossible to be sanctified and holy without the law of God. I want you to remember this, folks. Sanctification does not consist in keeping the rules of man. It consists in keeping the law of God. You know what we've done in our churches? In our churches, we have set aside the law of God, and we've made up our own little standards.

[John Weaver] If you're here Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, if you come to visitation, if you tithe, if you do this, let me tell you something. You can do those things in the average Baptist church and they don't care if you're a fornicator or a thief or a liar or whatever. You're in good standing. Because we have substituted man's rules for God's rules. Now, we ought to be faithful and we ought to tithe. But you don't do those things in order to be holy in one sense of the word. You do them because you are holy.

[John Weaver] They are expressions of our holiness. But we must bring our life in conformity to the Word of God. One last statement. That is this. No one will receive any benefit from any of the teaching and preaching of the Word of God unless they personally apply The Word of God. He said in verse 1, as how you ought to walk and to please God. It's your responsibility to walk and to please God. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your grace and for your mercy. Teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. May we bring our lives in conformity to the totality of your word. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

2 Sanctification & Sexual Purity

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	111071310196
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2007-10-22
Dictation Name
Book	Book 042: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: God's Answer to America's Problems — Chapter 9
Source Timed Segments	100

Formatted Transcript

Review of Verse 1: The Exhortation

Weaver reviews the three elements of verse 1: practical necessity (being taught), personal application (receiving and walking), and progressive reality (abounding more and more).

First Thessalonians chapter four. Now, for those of you who were not here last week, I will take a few moments and review, since I did not have a tape to copy to bring you. Roy faithfully gave me my tape to duplicate for you, and I have lost it. I can't find it anywhere. I'd normally blame it on Alice, but I'm the one that put it in the car. So I don't know where it is, but I got another copy today, which I gave to her. So I do not have a tape next week.

It will be her fault. OK, this week is my fault. All right. First Thessalonians chapter four, beginning with verse one.

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit."

Now, last week I began a study on 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 1-8.

And I told you it's going to take several weeks to get through this passage, at least a couple of weeks to get to what I would call the main thrust of this passage, and I believe the main thrust is verses three and verse four, where he says, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour." So last week, by way of review, we looked only at verse one. We looked, first of all, at an exhortation. The Apostle Paul says, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more." Now, one of the very plain, evident statements in Scripture, it is the will of God that we be sexually pure. That is part and parcel of our sanctification. And in verse 1, Paul is giving his exhortation.

I told you that there were three things in verse 1. Primarily, I want you to recognize before I even give you these three things, that the exhortation that the Apostle Paul is giving us is in or by the authority of Jesus Christ. For he says, "we exhort you by the Lord Jesus." That is, it is in His name and it is by His authority. Now, there are three things that you have in this first verse. First of all, you have a practical necessity. You find that he says, "that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk." The practical necessity is this, that we must be taught the word of God. And I went through the Bible and I showed you very clearly how that he gave some pastor teachers and he gave them the gifts and the ability to teach. And so here's the very practical necessity, we must be taught the word of God.

Secondly, here's the personal application, he says, "that ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God." So it does no good then to have someone teach you if you do not make a personal application and apply that truth to your life and put it in practice. And then thirdly, I shared with you, here was a progressive reality, he said, "so that ye would abound more and more." And so our life then is not to be a life of neutrality, it is not to be a life of regression, it is to be a life of progression, where we're going from holiness to holiness, sanctification to sanctification, faith to faith, and glory to glory, as the Word of God says. So the very first thing we have in verse 1 is an exhortation. Now today I want to only cover verse 2. And that is an explanation. And I think you're going to see how important verse 2 is. He says in verse 2, "For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." Now, I want you to note, first of all, the connection between verses 1 and 2. Look at them very carefully. He says in verse 1, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus." Now, here it is.

Introduction to Verse 2: The Explanation

Verse 2 explains how the Thessalonians received instruction: through commandments given by the Lord Jesus, which are based on God's word.

So the very first thing we have in verse 1 is an exhortation. Now today I want to only cover verse 2. And that is an explanation. And I think you're going to see how important verse 2 is. He says in verse 2, "For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." Now, I want you to note, first of all, the connection between verses 1 and 2. Look at them very carefully. He says in verse 1, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus." Now, here it is.

"that as ye have received of us, how ye ought to walk and to please God." Well, how did they receive of the Apostle Paul and those with him, how they ought to walk and to please God? Well, look in verse 2. "For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." So he says, the way that we taught you was based upon the commandments. It was based upon the word of God.

So the connection is simply this. You cannot know how to walk and to please God unless you know his commandments, unless you are being taught. So a life then that is well pleasing to God is a life that is brought into conformity to his word, which means very clearly we must obey his commandments. Now, I want you to note verse 2. He says, "For ye know what commandments we gave you." Note this phrase "by the Lord Jesus." In other words, you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus or in the name of the Lord Jesus or by the authority of the Lord Jesus. So these commandments then were commandments that were honored and recognized by Christ, blessed by Christ. And so these commandments are to be received by us and applied to our daily lives.

The Meaning of 'Commandments' (Parangelia)

The Greek word parangelia is examined in Acts 16:24, Acts 5:28, and 1 Timothy 1:3-5, showing it can mean a charge, command, or the entirety of God's word.

Now, let me just cover the word commandments before we even get started today. There are several Greek words in the Bible that refer to the word commandments. One of the first and primary words is the word entolē. And that is not the word that is used here. The word that is used here is the word parangelia. Now, the word parangelia is sometimes translated in our Bibles as charge, or command, or sometimes it is simply an announcement. Now, let me just show you this word.

I want you to hold 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. But look in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16 and verse 24. Acts chapter 16 and verse 24. Now, this is referring to the prison guard, the jailer. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Acts 16:24

"Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks."

Now, what in the world had happened? Paul and Silas had been arrested, and they were brought to the jailer, and they said, "You keep these men fast." And let me put it to you like this. In those times, the jailer's life went for the prisoner's life. If the prisoner escaped, the jailer died. And so when he received this charge, "You put these men in prison to keep them safe," when he received that commandment, he thrust them into the inner prison. That is, there were two walls and he made their feet fast in the stocks, so he was not going to lose his life. So he had a charge. He had a commandment.

Now, if you look back in your Bibles, Acts chapter 5 and verse 28, you'll see this same word, parangelia, used this time, once again, it is translated by the word command, but this time it has a prohibition attached to it. Note what the rulers say to the disciples, saying,

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:28

"Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?"

that is, in the name of Christ?

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:28

"And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us."

So they said, "We gave you a charge. We gave you a commandment." It was a negative. It was a prohibition. We told you do not preach any more in this man's name. So here was the command that you received from your superiors. But of course, the disciples ignored it because it was a wrong and a wicked command.

Now, if you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy, chapter one, I should say, show you how this is used in a positive sense and show you the broad spectrum of the word parangelia. Now, in first Timothy, chapter one and verse three, the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy and look what he tells him.

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 1:3-5

"As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."

Now watch verse 5.

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 1:3-5

"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."

Now I want to challenge you to do something. I want to challenge you to read 1 Timothy 1 very thoroughly and show me the word commandment any other time used in this context when he's giving it to Timothy. You say, well, it's not there, and very clearly it's not there, and I'm going to tell you why.

Look back to verse 3. Paul tells Timothy, "I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia." Now look what Timothy was to do, "that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." So Timothy, Paul says, I'm giving you a direct command from an apostle, based upon apostolic authority. Timothy, you charge others, that is, you command others that they preach no other doctrine. In other words, we don't want any heterodoxy. We want orthodoxy. We want the pure word of God. Now, the word charge in verse three is the word parangelia, which is often translated command. If you look down in verse five, he says, "Now the end of the commandment," the end of what commandment? The commandment mentioned in verse three, but there it's translated charge. The end of the commandment that you preach nothing else but the word of God is this. The ultimate end is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith unfeigned.

So what is he doing? He's using the word commandment here now, the word parangelia, to cover the entirety of the word of God. Let me tell you something that we fail to comprehend. All of God's word is law. Why? Because God is the sovereign king and a king rules by his law. And Paul uses this word here in 1st Timothy 1 and verse 3 and 1st Timothy 1 and verse 5 to cover the entirety of the Word of God. So he's telling us in 1st Timothy chapter 1 that the Word of God, when it is preached in its entirety, when it is illuminated and applied by the Holy Spirit and personally received, will produce a right living which will be love out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of unpretended or unhypocritical faith.

Commandments in Harmony with God's Law

The apostolic commandments are not contrary to God's law because they are given in Christ's name, who came to fulfill the law (Isaiah 42:21; Matthew 5:17).

Let me ask you a question. If you look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 2, when the Apostle Paul says, "For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." Here's my question. Do you think that the Apostle Paul and those who were preaching with him were doing nothing more than reciting the Ten Commandments? Well, of course not. What they were doing was this. They were making application out of those Ten Commandments and applying case laws and showing you how the Word of God applied in personal situations. They weren't just simply going around quoting the Ten Commandments.

One truth is absolutely certain. The commandments that they were giving in verse 2 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 were not contradictory to the law of God. How do I know that? Because the charges, because the commandments that they were giving in verse 2 were given in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Now let me ask you a question. If the commandments in verse 2 were given in the name of the Lord Jesus, that is, by His authority and with His approval, do you think that anything they said would be contrary to the total law of God? And the answer is no. Why? Because Christ came to fulfill the law.

Now I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, but look in your Bibles to Isaiah 42 and verse 21 first. Isaiah 42 and verse 21. Now, it's very important that you understand this point. Isaiah 42 and look in verse 21. Here we're talking about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Watch. He says in verse 21,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 42:21

"The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable."

So where the first Adam violated the law and broke the law and sinned against God, the second Adam obeyed the law, he magnified the law, he made it honorable. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Notice, if you would please, verse 17. Here it is very plainly, straight from the lips of our Lord. Matthew, chapter 5, verse 17, Christ says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." So Christ said, I did not come to abrogate the law. I didn't come to set it aside. I didn't come to nullify it. I came to fulfill it. I came to put it into full force as continuous. That's why the Bible says in the book of Galatians chapter 4 verses 4 and 5, now listen, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." So Jesus Christ was made under the law and Jesus Christ magnified that law, he honored that law, and He offered unto God a full, total obedience to the law of God. Now many people try to evade, elude, and even abolish the law of God. And what they try to do is this.

The Law and Justification

The law was never given for justification (Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16; 3:10-11). Legalism is trying to earn salvation by works; obedience after salvation is not legalism.

OK, look in your Bibles. First of all, Romans chapter 3 verse 20. In fact, we'll come back to a few of these verses. We'll look in Romans chapter 3 in verse 20. Look what he says, Romans 3 verse 20.

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:20

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

So no one is going to be made acceptable to God in a matter of salvation by keeping the law. Why? Because the law demands a perfect obedience, a personal obedience and a perpetual obedience. And the only one that's ever given that to the law has been Jesus Christ. So no man can be justified by keeping the law. Look in verse 28, Paul says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:20

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Look at Romans chapter six and verse 14, Romans six and verse 14. "For sin shall not have dominion over you," why?

"For ye are not under the law." That is, you're not under it as a standard of justification, "for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Grace is our standard of justification, not the law. Now look in your Bible to the book of Galatians chapter two and verse sixteen. Paul says it again this time, I think even more plainly. Galatians two verse sixteen. Watch carefully, Galatians two verse sixteen. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Now, listen to me. I am not talking about legalism. Most people don't even know what legalism is. When you mention keeping God's law, they say, you're a legalist. No, you know what legalism is? Legalism is trying to earn your salvation by the law. You're not a legalist if you obey God's law after you're converted, after you're saved by the grace of God. You're not obeying God's law—I'm going to show you in just a moment—you're not obeying God's law in order to be saved. You're obeying God's law because you have been saved. That's not legalism. Legalism is when you try to earn your salvation by your works. And since you're in the book of Galatians, look in chapter 3, verses 10 and 11, and you'll see that's absolutely impossible. Galatians 3, verse 10. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of

God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith." There is no man that can be good enough to get into the sight and the presence of God by his own works. It is impossible to be justified by the law. So the law was never, ever given for our justification. You got that? You understand that? Now listen carefully. Just because the law was not given for our justification, just because the law was not good for one thing does not mean that it is not good for anything. And what most people will do is say, oh boy, you can't be justified by the law. And they just throw the law out. No. God does indeed give us in the Bible the proper uses of the law. And let me just put it right now. First Timothy chapter 1 in verse 8, the Bible says this. "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully." So there is an unlawful use of the law. And there is a lawful use of the law.

Five Lawful Uses of the Law

Weaver presents five lawful uses: to educate (knowledge of sin and schoolmaster to Christ), to restrain evil, to convict of sin, to condemn, and to sanctify.

Now, what I want to do in the rest of my time this morning is this. I want to show you, very generally, five ways the law may be used lawfully. Now, I've got a confession to make. I believe these five ways is what I would call an irreducible minimum. There can be some overlapping in them. I'm not saying this is an exhaustive listing of the lawful uses of God's law, but this is certainly a primary listing of the lawful uses of the law. So why did God give us his law? If he never intended the law to be our standard of justification, why did he give us the law? First of all, the law is used to educate. The law is used to educate. And I could preach all day right there, but I'm going to show you just two areas. There are two specific areas that the law educates us in. Look in your Bibles, first of all, back to Romans 3 and verse 20, Romans 3 and verse 20. The very first way the law educates us is to the knowledge of sin. To the knowledge of sin, look in Romans 3 and verse 20.

He says, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight." That is an improper and unlawful use of the law to try to use the law as justification. But here's a lawful use of it, he says, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Now, folks, let's be honest. You and I cannot know what sin is apart from God's law. How do we know that it's wrong to steal? For God says, "Thou shalt not steal." How do we know it's wrong to commit adultery? God says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." I want you to look in your Bibles to 1st John 3 and verse 4. I could quote many scriptures. I think this one will be sufficient. 1st John 3 and verse 4. Now look carefully at what he says and young people pay close attention. 1 John 3 and verse 4,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:4

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

Now, what is sin? It is transgressing God's law. Whoever commits sin breaks God's law.

Let me put it to you plainly. You cannot sin without violating God's law. Chester can put a sign up, "Do not walk on the grass." And I can walk on that grass, but just because I've walked on his grass does not make me a sinner. He might get angry with me, but I am not a sinner. I have not violated God's law. I may have violated man's law, but I have not violated God's law. You could come to my house and I could say, "No salt is to be used in this house." You say, "Well, Brother Weaver, I've got to have salt on my food." And you start salting the way you brought your own salt. Now, I might get mad at you, and I might say, "Well, take that old salty food and eat it outside." But you haven't sinned against God. And my wife knows better than that, because I'd ask you for some of your salt.

Now, but you see what I'm saying. You can't sin by breaking men's laws. You sin by breaking God's laws. Now, you can't know what sin is without God's law. God's law is a means to educate us. Look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24. Here's the second area. The law is used to educate us in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24. He says, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." So the law then is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. What does the schoolmaster do? He teaches, he educates. How does the law work as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ?

Well, a number of ways. Number one, it shows us that we're sinners. Number two, it shows us we cannot save ourselves. Number three, it shows us there's a great chasm between an unholy sinner and a holy God. And number four, it shows us that if we ever get to that holy God, we must get to him through the merits of someone else and not our own. And that someone else is Jesus Christ.

So the law then is a lawful means of education. God gave us the law to educate us, to teach us, number one, as to the knowledge of sin. And number two, as to the perfection and the satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Here's the second use of the law. The law is used to restrain. The second lawful use of the law is the law was given to restrain. Let me just show you a passage that occurs over and over in the Bible. Turn in your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verse five. Deuteronomy 13 and verse 5. God is here talking about a false prophet. He says, "And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death;

because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee." Now, I want you to note something. Whenever God uses capital punishment He will always include this phrase, "so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." Look in Deuteronomy 17 and verse seven. Deuteronomy 17, verse seven, in fact, let's read verse six. "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you." Look in verse 12.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21

"And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel."

Look in Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 19. Here's a false witness. God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21

"Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you."

One other look in Deuteronomy 21 verse 21. This is just a few of the verses. Deuteronomy 21 verse 21.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21

"And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

So the law then has a restraining influence. If you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy chapter one. First Timothy chapter one. And note, if you would, verse nine, first Timothy chapter one in verse nine. He says, "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." Now, what does he mean when he says, "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man"?

That is, the law does not have to restrain someone who is doing right. It only has to restrain someone who is doing wrong. You see, folks, let me tell you. You can argue about it all you want, but it's really simple. The death penalty restrains sin. It restrains evil. It restrains wickedness. You say, I don't think so. Well, the one it is executed on, it's very effective, I can assure you. He will never commit any more wickedness. And if you know, if you know, if you do something, you're going to get the death penalty, I'll guarantee you'll think twice before you do it. So the law then is given as a restraint. That is a lawful use of the law. Thirdly, the law is used to convict. To convict, look in your Bible for Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7.

And let's begin reading there with verse 7. Romans chapter 7, verse 7 through 13. Look what the Apostle Paul says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 7:7-13

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence."

Now watch what he says.

Scripture Reading — Romans 7:7-13

"For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful."

Now, what am I talking about when I said the law is used to convict? Well, go back to what Paul said in verse nine. Well, in verse eight, the latter part, he says, "For without the law sin was dead." Then he says, "For I was alive without the law once." And then he says, "But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." What is he talking about? If you were to go to Philippians chapter 3, you would read all the pedigree of Paul. Paul said he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, and then he makes this statement, "as touching the law, blameless." Now, was the Apostle Paul perfect before he was converted? No. "As touching the law, blameless," what was he talking about? Well, he was a Pharisee. As touching the Pharisaical interpretation of the law, he thought he was blameless. So he says when he was alive without the law, that is, without the true understanding of the law, without the true intent of the law.

But he said when the commandment came, that is when he saw the law in its true light, that it reached inwardly as well as externally, he says, "sin revived, and I died." And what happened? The law of God convicted him. Now look in your Bibles to the book of James chapter two. James chapter 2. Let me tell you the reason—one of the reasons—there are not the multitude of conversions today as there used to be, is because the law of God is not preached. One of the lawful uses of the law is to convict men of their sin. Look what he says in James chapter 2, beginning there with verse 9.

Scripture Reading — James 2:9-11

"But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law."

Now look at what he says in verse 9.

Scripture Reading — James 2:9-11

"But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."

How are you convicted? Because God's law says, "Do not do this."

Now, I'm not going to take the time. I jotted several scriptures down. But if you will notice, when our Lord witnessed in the New Testament, he always used the law of God. I don't care if you're talking about the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10, the woman at the well in John chapter 8, he always used the law of God. So the law of God then is given to convict. Fourthly, the law of God is given to condemn. Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 27, Deuteronomy 27, and I'm not going to take time to read all of this because I've got a lot more I want to give you. Deuteronomy 27, but I think you can get the idea when I say that the law of God is given to condemn. Look in Deuteronomy 27, begin reading there with verse 14.

"And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen."

And then he goes right on down and look in verse 26. "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say..." Now wait a minute. Let's look at verse 26 again. "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them." And all the people shall say what?

Now hold Deuteronomy chapter 27 and look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3. And let's read verse 10, Galatians 3 verse 10. Let's see if there is a similarity between Deuteronomy 27 and verse 26 and Galatians 3 and verse 10. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Did we just read that? Yes, back in Deuteronomy 27. What is he doing? He is confirming the law, and he's saying that one of the lawful uses of the law is that it condemns. That's why back in Romans 7 verse 13, it was that the Apostle Paul said that by the law, sin might become exceeding sinful. Now, I've given you so far four uses of the law. The law is used to educate. The law is used to restrain. The law is used to convict. The law is used to condemn.

Here's the fifth one, and the one I want to develop just for a little while, and that is the law is to be used to sanctify. Or let me say it another way. The law is the means of sanctification. Now listen. The law was not given for our justification, but it was given for our sanctification. You know what I could have done? I could have used another word, and there would have been no theological eyebrows raised by any individual who ever heard this tape. I could have said the law is given for our direction, and it is. But it's more than our direction. It is for our sanctification. It is true that God's law directs us, but it is also the means of sanctification. Now, listen to me.

The Law as the Means of Sanctification

Sanctification is by the law written on the heart in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36; Hebrews 10; 2 Corinthians 3). The Holy Spirit is the agent who leads us to obey God's law.

I am not discounting the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent in sanctification. He is the one that must make the law of God effectual in our lives. He is the one that must enlighten our minds and illuminate our understanding and lead us and guide us and direct us. He is the agent. But I'm not talking about the agent in sanctification. I'm talking about the means. I'm going to show you that the agent will always lead us and guide us and direct us in accordance with the means. And the means is the law of God.

Now, if I only had one little point to prove this one, I think this would be sufficient. In regeneration, the law of God is written on our hearts. I want you to look in your Bibles, first of all, Jeremiah 31. I'm going to show you this in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament. Well, look in Jeremiah 31, and let's begin reading with verse 31. Jeremiah 31, verse 31. Look what God says. "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant." Would someone like to tell me what the word Testament is? What does it mean? What is it? It's a covenant. So we're talking about the New Covenant or the New Testament. He says, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD."

"But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Now that's the new covenant. It's not going to be written in stone, it's going to be written in our hearts. Now look at the book of Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel chapter 36 and let's begin reading there with verse 26. Ezekiel 36 verse 26. Look what he says. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Whoa, whoa, back up. What? Verse 27, "And I will put my spirit within you," watch, "and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." What's this new covenant going to do? This new covenant is going to write the law in our hearts. We're going to have the agent of sanctification living within us, and he's going to cause us to walk in his statutes. And he's going to cause us to keep his commandments. Now, look in your Bible to the book of Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews chapter 10, verse 16, and then we're going back to 2 Corinthians. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 16. What does the author of the book of Hebrews say? Well, he says the same thing Jeremiah and Ezekiel said. He says, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them."

So what does God do in the New Testament? He writes his law. Now, go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 because here the Apostle Paul is contrasting the old covenant with the new covenant. Watch carefully. He's contrasting the old covenant with the new covenant. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 1. "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?"

Now look what he says to these Christians. "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." Right out of Ezekiel. Right out of Jeremiah. "And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." "But if the ministration of death," that's the old covenant, "written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" Now, wait a minute. When Moses received the law written in stone, his face shone and so greatly that the children of Israel could not look on his face. Now, Paul said that was glorious. But it was to be done away with, and replace with something more glorious. Verse 8, "How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" Now watch, "For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth." So he says that the ministration of Christ in the New Testament is so glorious, the glory of the Old Testament looks like nothing compared to Christ.

What's the difference? The Old Testament is written in stone, and the New Testament is written in our hearts. This is the distinction between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In the New Covenant, we have the law written in our hearts. We have the Holy Spirit living within us to lead us and guide us and direct us. By the way, if you were to read Romans 8, 11, 16, Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 through 26, and I had them down, but to save time, I'm going to turn there, where it talks about the leading of the Holy Spirit. So many people try to—"Well, the Holy Spirit led me to do this. The Holy Spirit led me to do that."

Let me tell you something. The only thing the Holy Spirit will lead you to do is to obey the Word of God. And if whatever anybody does is contrary to the Word of God, and they say the Holy Spirit led them, they're a liar. A spirit may have led them, but it was not the Holy Spirit, because He only leads us and guides us and directs us in conformity to the Word of God.

Now, 2 Corinthians 7 in verse 1 is one of the clearest definitions of sanctification in the Bible. I want you to see it. Look in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1. I can quote it, but look there. Look at what he says. "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Now, here's my question. You say, "Brother Weaver, I want to be holy. How am I to be holy?"

And the answer is very simple. Cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit. You say, "Well, how do I know what is filthiness of the flesh and how do I know what is filthiness of the spirit?" Well, let's go back to 1 John 3:4. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." Filthiness of the flesh is anything that's contrary to the law of God. Filthiness of the spirit is anything that's contrary to the law of God. Let me tell you something, folks. When we get quote-unquote bad attitudes, it's not that we just had a bad day. It's sin. If our attitude's contrary to the law of God. Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 20. Leviticus, chapter 20, verses 7. Well, we'll start with verse 7. Leviticus 20, verse 7. Look what God commands. Leviticus 20, verse 7. Look what he says.

"Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God." Whoa, whoa, back up. Did you hear what he said? "Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy." You say, "What do you mean, Brother Weaver? How can I sanctify myself? It's God who must sanctify me. How am I to sanctify myself?" He said, "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy." How do you sanctify yourself? Look at verse 8.

"And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you." Now, let's put this together. He just said, "Sanctify yourselves." How do you sanctify yourself? By keeping my statutes and doing them. And then he says, "I am the LORD which sanctify you." Well, are you sanctifying yourself or is God sanctifying you? Both. Your responsibility is to obey God. It's God who enables you to obey Him. And when you bring your life into conformity to the Word of God, it is only through and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Listen, no one wants to obey God apart from the Holy Spirit. Everybody wants to do his own thing. If you want to obey God, if you want to bring your life into conformity to His Word, someone greater than you is working in your life. Because man by nature wants to be unholy and rebellious and wicked and do his own thing. It's only the supernatural work of God that makes us want to do what's right. And so when God says, "I'm commanding you, you keep My statutes, you keep My judgments, you do them."

Application: Holiness and Obedience

True holiness is conformity to God's law, not man-made rules. Sanctification is impossible without keeping God's commandments (1 Peter 1:13-16).

It's your responsibility to obey Me. But when you obey Me, I want you to understand something. It's Me that's sanctifying you. It's Me that is empowering you to obey Me. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6. Verse 24. Deuteronomy 6. Verse 24. Watch this one carefully. "And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always."

Let me just stop there. Why does God give us His commandments? Because He's mad at us? He's mean to us? Why does God say, "Thou shalt not commit adultery"? He just doesn't want us to have fun. Is that it? Why does He say, "Thou shalt not kill"? He just wants us to live amongst our enemies, huh? Is that it? No! Whatever God commands, it is for our good always, "that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day." Whatever God commands is for our good and His glory. Now watch verse 25. "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us." Now, we're not earning righteousness. It is God who's making us righteous. But how do we know that we're righteous? Because we're obeying God's law.

Now look at Deuteronomy chapter four. And let's read the first nine verses, Deuteronomy four, beginning with verse one. Oh, I like this. Deuteronomy four, verse one. "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day." Hey, paste, obey God. "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them."

Watch, "for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?" "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons." What's God saying? God says it's His law that is our wisdom, it's His law that is our understanding, it's His law that is our righteousness, it's His law that is to be communicated to our children and our children's children. And here's my question. Has God changed? No. Malachi 3, verse 6, "I am the LORD, I change not." Has God's law changed? No. Psalm 119, verse 89, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." Has God's way of sanctification changed? No.

Look in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. Let's begin there with verse 13. 1 Peter 1, verse 13. Look what Peter writes. "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Now watch this next phrase. "As obedient children." What are we to obey? God's law, which is the totality of his word, "as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." How can I be holy as God is holy? The answer is by obeying his law. Why? Because the law is an expression of his will. It is an expression of his holiness. It is an expression of His righteousness. And the only way I can be holy as He is holy is by obeying the totality of His Word.

Now, let me quote one scripture here. I read it earlier, Romans 7, verse 12. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." So how can I be holy as God is holy? And that is by obeying His commandments.

Now, I want you to look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and I'm going to make an application in closing, but I want you to watch carefully. It's very vital. It's very important. He says in verse 1, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God." How you ought to walk and please God, as you have received of us. How you ought to walk and please God, "for ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." Now how do you know how to walk and please God? Based upon His commandments. Based upon His word.

You see, the law is the means of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit is the agent. You know, this is—this is very difficult for me to say in one sense of the word. But I have had preachers take me to task over what I just preached to you. They said the law has been done away with. Well, you don't need sanctification. You don't need the law for sanctification. Oh, well, just let me ask you a question or two.

I want you to think this thing through. Here's a Christian that says he's sanctified. Here's my question. Is it possible to be holy and to be sanctified and at the same time be an idolater? No, it's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified and at the same time profane the name of God? No, it's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified and at the same time be in rebellion to God and your parents? No, it's impossible. Is it possible to be sanctified and holy while at the same time you are actually a murderer? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you're an adulterer and a fornicator? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible for you to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you're a thief? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible for you to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you are a covetous, wicked, desirous individual and at the same time you are bearing false witness against your neighbor?

No, that's an impossibility. So that must mean this then, sanctification by the law. Because it is impossible to be sanctified and holy without the law of God. I want you to remember this, folks. Sanctification does not consist in keeping the rules of man. It consists in keeping the law of God. You know what we've done in our churches? In our churches, we have set aside the law of God, and we've made up our own little standards.

If you're here Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, if you come to visitation, if you tithe, if you do this, let me tell you something. You can do those things in the average Baptist church and they don't care if you're a fornicator or a thief or a liar or whatever. You're in good standing. Because we have substituted man's rules for God's rules. Now, we ought to be faithful and we ought to tithe. But you don't do those things in order to be holy in one sense of the word. You do them because you are holy.

They are expressions of our holiness. But we must bring our life in conformity to the Word of God. One last statement. That is this. No one will receive any benefit from any of the teaching and preaching of the Word of God unless they personally apply the Word of God. He said in verse 1, "as how ye ought to walk and to please God." It's your responsibility to walk and to please God. Let's pray.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Authority of Apostolic Commandments

Summary: The commandments given by Paul are by the authority of the Lord Jesus and are consistent with God's law.

Evidence: Verse 2: 'For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.'

The Law and Justification

Summary: The law was never intended for justification; salvation is by grace through faith, not by works of the law.

Evidence: Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16; 3:10-11 are cited to show no flesh is justified by the law.

Lawful Uses of the Law

Summary: The law is good when used lawfully: to educate, restrain, convict, condemn, and sanctify.

Evidence: 1 Timothy 1:8: 'But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.'

Sanctification by the Law

Summary: The law is the means of sanctification; the Holy Spirit is the agent who writes the law on our hearts and enables obedience.

Evidence: Leviticus 20:7-8: 'Sanctify yourselves...keep my statutes...I am the LORD which sanctify you.'

Holiness Defined by God's Commandments

Summary: True holiness is conformity to God's law, not man-made rules. Sanctification is impossible without keeping God's commandments.

Evidence: 1 Peter 1:15-16: 'Be ye holy; for I am holy.'

Key Arguments

The commandments in verse 2 are not just the Ten Commandments but the full application of God's word.

Summary: Paul and his companions taught more than the Decalogue; they applied case laws and personal applications of God's law.

Evidence: Weaver argues that the apostles were 'making application out of those Ten Commandments and applying case laws.'

Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, so apostolic commandments cannot contradict it.

Summary: Since Christ came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17), any commandment given in His name must align with God's law.

Evidence: Isaiah 42:21 and Matthew 5:17 are cited to show Christ magnified and fulfilled the law.

The law is not for justification but is essential for sanctification.

Summary: While the law cannot save, it is the means by which believers are sanctified, as the Holy Spirit leads them to obey it.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The law was not given for our justification, but it was given for our sanctification.'

The New Covenant writes the law on the heart, enabling obedience.

Summary: In regeneration, God writes His law on the heart (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36; Hebrews 10), and the Spirit causes believers to walk in His statutes.

Evidence: Ezekiel 36:27: 'I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.'

Sanctification is both God's work and our responsibility.

Summary: Believers are commanded to sanctify themselves by keeping God's statutes, yet it is God who sanctifies them.

Evidence: Leviticus 20:7-8: 'Sanctify yourselves...I am the LORD which sanctify you.'

Man-made rules have replaced God's law in many churches.

Summary: Churches often substitute attendance, tithing, and other activities for true holiness, ignoring sins like fornication and lying.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We have substituted man's rules for God's rules.'

Scripture References

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Context: The main passage under study; verses 1-2 are the focus of this sermon.

Acts 16:24

Context: Used to illustrate the Greek word parangelia (charge/command) in the context of the jailer receiving a charge.

Acts 5:28

Context: Another use of parangelia, showing a prohibitive command given by the rulers to the disciples.

1 Timothy 1:3-5

Context: Shows parangelia used for the charge to teach no other doctrine, with the end being love from a pure heart.

Isaiah 42:21

Context: Prophecy that the Messiah will magnify the law and make it honorable.

Matthew 5:17

Context: Jesus states He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it.

John 8:29

Context: Jesus says He always does those things that please the Father, demonstrating obedience to the law.

Romans 3:20

Context: By the deeds of the law no flesh is justified; the law gives knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:28

Context: A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Romans 6:14

Context: Sin shall not have dominion because we are not under law but under grace (as a standard of justification).

Galatians 2:16

Context: A man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:10-11

Context: Those under the works of the law are under a curse; the just shall live by faith.

1 Timothy 1:8

Context: The law is good if used lawfully.

1 John 3:4

Context: Sin is the transgression of the law.

Galatians 3:24

Context: The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21

Context: Examples of capital punishment with the phrase 'put the evil away from among you,' showing the law's restraining function.

1 Timothy 1:9-10

Context: The law is made for the lawless and disobedient, listing various sins.

Romans 7:7-13

Context: Paul's experience of the law convicting him of sin, showing the law is holy, just, and good.

James 2:9-11

Context: Respect of persons is sin, and the law convicts as transgressors.

Deuteronomy 27:14-26

Context: The curses pronounced for disobedience, showing the law's condemning function.

Historical References

Pharisees and their interpretation of the law

Context: Paul, as a Pharisee, thought he was blameless according to the Pharisaical interpretation, but the true law convicted him.

WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) merchandise trend

Context: Weaver criticizes the subjective spirituality of the WWJD movement, arguing that Jesus would always obey God's law.

Important Quotes

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.

Significance: Weaver identifies this as the main thrust of the passage, emphasizing sexual purity as part of sanctification.

But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.

Significance: Introduces the concept of lawful uses of the law, which structures the remainder of the sermon.

The law is the means of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit is the agent.

Significance: Summarizes the relationship between the law and the Spirit in the believer's growth in holiness.

We have substituted man's rules for God's rules.

Significance: A pointed application criticizing the replacement of biblical standards with human traditions in churches.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding that the apostolic commandments were given 'by the Lord Jesus' affect our view of New Testament ethical instructions?

Context: Based on the explanation of verse 2 and the authority of Christ.

In what ways might we be guilty of using the law unlawfully, such as for justification or as a mere external checklist?

Context: Stemming from the discussion of 1 Timothy 1:8 and the lawful uses of the law.

How does the law function as a 'schoolmaster' to bring us to Christ in our daily lives and in evangelism?

Context: From the explanation of Galatians 3:24.

What is the difference between the law as a means of sanctification and the Holy Spirit as the agent of sanctification? How do they work together?

Context: Central to the sermon's argument on sanctification.

What are some examples of 'man's rules' that have replaced God's law in contemporary church culture, and how can we refocus on biblical holiness?

Context: From the closing application about substituting man's rules for God's rules.

Applications

Personal Application of God's Word

Summary: Believers must personally receive and apply the teachings of Scripture to walk in a manner pleasing to God.

Evidence: Verse 1: 'that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God.'

Obedience to God's Commandments

Summary: A life pleasing to God is one brought into conformity to His word through obedience to His commandments.

Evidence: Connection between verses 1 and 2: knowing how to walk and please God is based on His commandments.

Using the Law Lawfully

Summary: Believers should use God's law for its intended purposes: education, restraint, conviction, condemnation, and sanctification, not for justification.

Evidence: 1 Timothy 1:8 and the five lawful uses outlined.

Pursuing Holiness Through God's Law

Summary: Sanctification involves actively cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit by obeying God's law, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Evidence: 2 Corinthians 7:1 and Leviticus 20:7-8.

Rejecting Man-Made Standards for Biblical Holiness

Summary: Churches and individuals must not substitute human traditions for God's commandments; true holiness is defined by obedience to God's law.

Evidence: Weaver's critique of substituting man's rules for God's rules.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:20:32Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:43:33Z

Clean Transcript

2 Sanctification & Sexual Purity

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

First Thessalonians chapter four. Now, for those of you who were not here last week, I will take a few moments and review, since I did not have a tape to copy to bring you. Roy faithfully gave me my tape to duplicate for you, and I have lost it. I can't find it anywhere. I'd normally blame it on Alice, but I'm the one that put it in the car. So I don't know where it is, but I got another copy today, which I gave to her. So I do not have a tape next week.
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It will be her fault. OK, this week is my fault. All right. First Thessalonians chapter four, beginning with verse one. "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit." Now, last week I began a study on 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 1-8.
#2 | 0:33 to 1:38 | cleaned
And I told you it's going to take several weeks to get through this passage, at least a couple of weeks to get to what I would call the main thrust of this passage, and I believe the main thrust is verses three and verse four, where he says, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour." So last week, by way of review, we looked only at verse one. We looked, first of all, at an exhortation. The Apostle Paul says, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more." Now, one of the very plain, evident statements in Scripture, it is the will of God that we be sexually pure. That is part and parcel of our sanctification. And in verse 1, Paul is giving his exhortation.
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I told you that there were three things in verse 1. Primarily, I want you to recognize before I even give you these three things, that the exhortation that the Apostle Paul is giving us is in or by the authority of Jesus Christ. For he says, "we exhort you by the Lord Jesus." That is, it is in His name and it is by His authority. Now, there are three things that you have in this first verse. First of all, you have a practical necessity. You find that he says, "that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk." The practical necessity is this, that we must be taught the word of God.
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And I went through the Bible and I showed you very clearly how that he gave some pastor teachers and he gave them the gifts and the ability to teach. And so here's the very practical necessity, we must be taught the word of God.
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Secondly, here's the personal application, he says, "that ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God." So it does no good then to have someone teach you if you do not make a personal application and apply that truth to your life and put it in practice. And then thirdly, I shared with you, here was a progressive reality, he said, "so that ye would abound more and more." And so our life then is not to be a life of neutrality, it is not to be a life of regression, it is to be a life of progression, where we're going from holiness to holiness, sanctification to sanctification, faith to faith, and glory to glory, as the Word of God says.
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So the very first thing we have in verse 1 is an exhortation. Now today I want to only cover verse 2. And that is an explanation. And I think you're going to see how important verse 2 is. He says in verse 2, "For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." Now, I want you to note, first of all, the connection between verses 1 and 2. Look at them very carefully. He says in verse 1, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus." Now, here it is.
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"that as ye have received of us, how ye ought to walk and to please God." Well, how did they receive of the Apostle Paul and those with him, how they ought to walk and to please God? Well, look in verse 2. "For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." So he says, the way that we taught you was based upon the commandments. It was based upon the word of God.
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So the connection is simply this. You cannot know how to walk and to please God unless you know his commandments, unless you are being taught. So a life then that is well pleasing to God is a life that is brought into conformity to his word, which means very clearly we must obey his commandments.
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Now, I want you to note verse 2. He says, "For ye know what commandments we gave you." Note this phrase "by the Lord Jesus." In other words, you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus or in the name of the Lord Jesus or by the authority of the Lord Jesus. So these commandments then were commandments that were honored and recognized by Christ, blessed by Christ. And so these commandments are to be received by us and applied to our daily lives.
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Now, let me just cover the word commandments before we even get started today. There are several Greek words in the Bible that refer to the word commandments. One of the first and primary words is the word entolē. And that is not the word that is used here. The word that is used here is the word parangelia. Now, the word parangelia is sometimes translated in our Bibles as charge, or command, or sometimes it is simply an announcement. Now, let me just show you this word.
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I want you to hold 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. But look in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16 and verse 24. Acts chapter 16 and verse 24.
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Now, this is referring to the prison guard, the jailer. The Bible says, "Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks."
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Now, what in the world had happened? Paul and Silas had been arrested, and they were brought to the jailer, and they said, "You keep these men fast." And let me put it to you like this. In those times, the jailer's life went for the prisoner's life. If the prisoner escaped, the jailer died. And so when he received this charge, "You put these men in prison to keep them safe," when he received that commandment, he thrust them into the inner prison. That is, there were two walls and he made their feet fast in the stocks, so he was not going to lose his life. So he had a charge. He had a commandment.
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Now, if you look back in your Bibles, Acts chapter 5 and verse 28, you'll see this same word, parangelia, used this time, once again, it is translated by the word command, but this time it has a prohibition attached to it. Note what the rulers say to the disciples, saying, "Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?" that is, in the name of Christ? "And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us."
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So they said, "We gave you a charge. We gave you a commandment." It was a negative. It was a prohibition. We told you do not preach any more in this man's name. So here was the command that you received from your superiors. But of course, the disciples ignored it because it was a wrong and a wicked command.
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Now, if you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy, chapter one, I should say, show you how this is used in a positive sense and show you the broad spectrum of the word parangelia. Now, in first Timothy, chapter one and verse three, the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy and look what he tells him.
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"As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do." Now watch verse 5.
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"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Now I want to challenge you to do something. I want to challenge you to read 1 Timothy 1 very thoroughly and show me the word commandment any other time used in this context when he's giving it to Timothy. You say, well, it's not there, and very clearly it's not there, and I'm going to tell you why.
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Look back to verse 3. Paul tells Timothy, "I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia." Now look what Timothy was to do, "that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." So Timothy, Paul says, I'm giving you a direct command from an apostle, based upon apostolic authority. Timothy, you charge others, that is, you command others that they preach no other doctrine. In other words, we don't want any heterodoxy. We want orthodoxy. We want the pure word of God. Now, the word charge in verse three is the word parangelia, which is often translated command. If you look down in verse five, he says, "Now the end of the commandment," the end of what commandment? The commandment mentioned in verse three, but there it's translated charge. The end of the commandment that you preach nothing else but the word of God is this. The ultimate end is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith unfeigned.
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So what is he doing? He's using the word commandment here now, the word parangelia, to cover the entirety of the word of God. Let me tell you something that we fail to comprehend. All of God's word is law. Why? Because God is the sovereign king and a king rules by his law. And Paul uses this word here in 1st Timothy 1 and verse 3 and 1st Timothy 1 and verse 5 to cover the entirety of the Word of God. So he's telling us in 1st Timothy chapter 1 that the Word of God, when it is preached in its entirety, when it is illuminated and applied by the Holy Spirit and personally received, will produce a right living which will be love out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of unpretended or unhypocritical faith.
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Let me ask you a question. If you look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 2, when the Apostle Paul says, "For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." Here's my question. Do you think that the Apostle Paul and those who were preaching with him were doing nothing more than reciting the Ten Commandments? Well, of course not. What they were doing was this. They were making application out of those Ten Commandments and applying case laws and showing you how the Word of God applied in personal situations. They weren't just simply going around quoting the Ten Commandments.
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One truth is absolutely certain. The commandments that they were giving in verse 2 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 were not contradictory to the law of God. How do I know that? Because the charges, because the commandments that they were giving in verse 2 were given in the name of the Lord Jesus.
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Now let me ask you a question. If the commandments in verse 2 were given in the name of the Lord Jesus, that is, by His authority and with His approval, do you think that anything they said would be contrary to the total law of God? And the answer is no. Why? Because Christ came to fulfill the law.
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Now I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, but look in your Bibles to Isaiah 42 and verse 21 first. Isaiah 42 and verse 21.
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Now, it's very important that you understand this point. Isaiah 42 and look in verse 21. Here we're talking about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Watch. He says in verse 21, "The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable." So where the first Adam violated the law and broke the law and sinned against God, the second Adam obeyed the law, he magnified the law, he made it honorable. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Notice, if you would please, verse 17. Here it is very plainly, straight from the lips of our Lord. Matthew, chapter 5, verse 17, Christ says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
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"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." So Christ said, I did not come to abrogate the law. I didn't come to set it aside. I didn't come to nullify it. I came to fulfill it. I came to put it into full force as continuous. That's why the Bible says in the book of Galatians chapter 4 verses 4 and 5, now listen, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." So Jesus Christ was made under the law and Jesus Christ magnified that law, he honored that law, and He offered unto God a full, total obedience to the law of God. Now many people try to evade, elude, and even abolish the law of God. And what they try to do is this.
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They then make spirituality or sanctification absolutely subjective. In other words, being spiritual or being sanctified or being holy is now dependent not upon the law of God, but dependent upon how they feel, what their whims are, what their desires are. Let me give you an illustration. There has been a massive amount of advertising on Christian news stations and Christian radio stations. And I got a Christian magazine the other day, and I looked at it, and I showed Alice. Here were two full pages advertising jewelry, headbands with WWJD on them.
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Come on, tell me what that stands for. What would Jesus do? I get so aggravated at that. Everybody just sits around and says, now, what would Jesus do in this situation? You say, when do you get aggravated at that? I don't have to guess what Jesus would do in a situation. I know what Jesus would do in every situation. He would obey the law of God. That's what he came to do.
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And a lot of people who wear the jewelry and wear the headbands, and man, they were book satchels, everything with all these initials on it, a sweat band. Listen, let me just give you a little scenario. Let's say we're a group of modern day Christians and we're into this subjective spiritualism, subjective spirituality, and we're sitting around and all around us in the church are thieves and robbers and money changers. And we're sitting there and we're saying, now, what would Jesus do in this situation?
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I'll tell you what he did. He made himself a scourge of small cords and beat the devil out of him and drove him out.
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Now, you show me a Christian willing to do that. You see what I'm saying? Why did he do that? Because Scripture said, "Then they remembered it was written in the law of God, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but ye have made it a den of thieves." And he said, "The zeal of the Lord had eaten him up." Because what Jesus did, he did in obedience to the law of God.
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Now, look in your Bible to John 8 and verse 29. That is why I'm telling you, in one sense of the word, I think that is absolutely silly to sit around and try to meditate on what would Jesus do. You don't have to meditate. Just look in the book. The book will tell you what Christ would do because Christ obeyed the law of God. Look in John 8 in verse 29. Here it is. Jesus says, "And he that sent me is with me."
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"The Father hath not left me alone." Watch this next statement. "For I do always those things that please him." Did you hear what Christ said? "I do always those things which please him." Let me ask you a question. What pleases God? Obedience.
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Now, the interesting thing is this. The word please is arestos in the Greek. And it literally means to be agreeable with. How did Jesus Christ please the Father? By agreeing with Him that His law was perfect and demanded a perfect obedience and that He needed to do exactly what the Father had demanded He do.
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Now, with that in mind, look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 1. First Thessalonians 4 and verse 1. "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to..." What's that next word? "Please God." Now, remember I told you back in John 8 verse 29, the Greek word was arestos.
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It meant to be agreeable to. Guess what? When you get to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 1, the Greek word is areskō, which is the verb from which the noun comes, back in John 8 in verse 29. So literally, he says in verse one, "that ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to agree with God or be agreeable to God, so ye would abound more and more." So how do you walk agreeably with God? How do you walk to please God?
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And the answer is by obedience. By obedience to the law.
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Now, let me just emphasize this. I preach this and preach this here. You ought to know this by heart, but I'm going to tell it to you again. I'm going to show it to you from Scripture. The law was never given for our justification. Okay? I want you to understand that. There are many, many verses in the Bible that condemn the law as a means of justification. The law was never meant to save us.
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OK, look in your Bibles. First of all, Romans chapter 3 verse 20. In fact, we'll come back to a few of these verses. We'll look in Romans chapter 3 in verse 20. Look what he says, Romans 3 verse 20. "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." So no one is going to be made acceptable to God in a matter of salvation by keeping the law. Why? Because the law demands a perfect obedience, a personal obedience and a perpetual obedience. And the only one that's ever given that to the law has been Jesus Christ. So no man can be justified by keeping the law. Look in verse 28, Paul says, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Look at Romans chapter six and verse 14, Romans six and verse 14. "For sin shall not have dominion over you," why?
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"For ye are not under the law." That is, you're not under it as a standard of justification, "for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Grace is our standard of justification, not the law.
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Now look in your Bible to the book of Galatians chapter two and verse sixteen. Paul says it again this time, I think even more plainly. Galatians two verse sixteen. Watch carefully, Galatians two verse sixteen. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Now, listen to me.
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I am not talking about legalism. Most people don't even know what legalism is. When you mention keeping God's law, they say, you're a legalist. No, you know what legalism is? Legalism is trying to earn your salvation by the law. You're not a legalist if you obey God's law after you're converted, after you're saved by the grace of God. You're not obeying God's law—I'm going to show you in just a moment—you're not obeying God's law in order to be saved. You're obeying God's law because you have been saved. That's not legalism. Legalism is when you try to earn your salvation by your works. And since you're in the book of Galatians, look in chapter 3, verses 10 and 11, and you'll see that's absolutely impossible. Galatians 3, verse 10. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of
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God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith." There is no man that can be good enough to get into the sight and the presence of God by his own works. It is impossible to be justified by the law. So the law was never, ever given for our justification. You got that? You understand that? Now listen carefully. Just because the law was not given for our justification, just because the law was not good for one thing does not mean that it is not good for anything. And what most people will do is say, oh boy, you can't be justified by the law. And they just throw the law out. No. God does indeed give us in the Bible the proper uses of the law. And let me just put it right now. First Timothy chapter 1 in verse 8, the Bible says this. "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully." So there is an unlawful use of the law. And there is a lawful use of the law.
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So the Word of God teaches us that God's law must be used lawfully. How do you use God's law lawfully? And the answer comes back, you use the law of God lawfully by using it for that which God intended it to be used for.
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Now, what I want to do in the rest of my time this morning is this. I want to show you, very generally, five ways the law may be used lawfully.
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Now, I've got a confession to make. I believe these five ways is what I would call an irreducible minimum. There can be some overlapping in them. I'm not saying this is an exhaustive listing of the lawful uses of God's law, but this is certainly a primary listing of the lawful uses of the law. So why did God give us his law? If he never intended the law to be our standard of justification, why did he give us the law? First of all, the law is used to educate. The law is used to educate. And I could preach all day right there, but I'm going to show you just two areas. There are two specific areas that the law educates us in. Look in your Bibles, first of all, back to Romans 3 and verse 20, Romans 3 and verse 20. The very first way the law educates us is to the knowledge of sin. To the knowledge of sin, look in Romans 3 and verse 20.
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He says, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight." That is an improper and unlawful use of the law to try to use the law as justification. But here's a lawful use of it, he says, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
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Now, folks, let's be honest. You and I cannot know what sin is apart from God's law. How do we know that it's wrong to steal? For God says, "Thou shalt not steal." How do we know it's wrong to commit adultery? God says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." I want you to look in your Bibles to 1st John 3 and verse 4. I could quote many scriptures. I think this one will be sufficient. 1st John 3 and verse 4. Now look carefully at what he says and young people pay close attention. 1 John 3 and verse 4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." Now, what is sin? It is transgressing God's law. Whoever commits sin breaks God's law.
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Let me put it to you plainly. You cannot sin without violating God's law. Chester can put a sign up, "Do not walk on the grass." And I can walk on that grass, but just because I've walked on his grass does not make me a sinner. He might get angry with me, but I am not a sinner. I have not violated God's law. I may have violated man's law, but I have not violated God's law.
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You could come to my house and I could say, "No salt is to be used in this house." You say, "Well, Brother Weaver, I've got to have salt on my food." And you start salting the way you brought your own salt. Now, I might get mad at you, and I might say, "Well, take that old salty food and eat it outside." But you haven't sinned against God. And my wife knows better than that, because I'd ask you for some of your salt.
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Now, but you see what I'm saying. You can't sin by breaking men's laws. You sin by breaking God's laws. Now, you can't know what sin is without God's law. God's law is a means to educate us. Look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24. Here's the second area. The law is used to educate us in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24. He says, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." So the law then is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. What does the schoolmaster do? He teaches, he educates. How does the law work as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ?
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Well, a number of ways. Number one, it shows us that we're sinners. Number two, it shows us we cannot save ourselves. Number three, it shows us there's a great chasm between an unholy sinner and a holy God. And number four, it shows us that if we ever get to that holy God, we must get to him through the merits of someone else and not our own. And that someone else is Jesus Christ.
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So the law then is a lawful means of education. God gave us the law to educate us, to teach us, number one, as to the knowledge of sin. And number two, as to the perfection and the satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Here's the second use of the law. The law is used to restrain. The second lawful use of the law is the law was given to restrain. Let me just show you a passage that occurs over and over in the Bible. Turn in your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verse five. Deuteronomy 13 and verse 5. God is here talking about a false prophet. He says, "And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death;
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because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee."
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Now, I want you to note something. Whenever God uses capital punishment He will always include this phrase, "so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." Look in Deuteronomy 17 and verse seven. Deuteronomy 17, verse seven, in fact, let's read verse six. "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you." Look in verse 12. "And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel." Look in Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 19. Here's a false witness. God says, "Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother:
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so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." One other look in Deuteronomy 21 verse 21. This is just a few of the verses. Deuteronomy 21 verse 21. "And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear." So the law then has a restraining influence. If you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy chapter one. First Timothy chapter one. And note, if you would, verse nine, first Timothy chapter one in verse nine. He says, "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." Now, what does he mean when he says, "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man"?
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That is, the law does not have to restrain someone who is doing right. It only has to restrain someone who is doing wrong. You see, folks, let me tell you. You can argue about it all you want, but it's really simple. The death penalty restrains sin. It restrains evil. It restrains wickedness. You say, I don't think so. Well, the one it is executed on, it's very effective, I can assure you. He will never commit any more wickedness. And if you know, if you know, if you do something, you're going to get the death penalty, I'll guarantee you'll think twice before you do it. So the law then is given as a restraint. That is a lawful use of the law. Thirdly, the law is used to convict. To convict, look in your Bible for Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7.
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And let's begin reading there with verse 7. Romans chapter 7, verse 7 through 13. Look what the Apostle Paul says, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence." Now watch what he says. "For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful."
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Now, what am I talking about when I said the law is used to convict? Well, go back to what Paul said in verse nine. Well, in verse eight, the latter part, he says, "For without the law sin was dead." Then he says, "For I was alive without the law once." And then he says, "But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." What is he talking about? If you were to go to Philippians chapter 3, you would read all the pedigree of Paul. Paul said he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, and then he makes this statement, "as touching the law, blameless." Now, was the Apostle Paul perfect before he was converted? No. "As touching the law, blameless," what was he talking about? Well, he was a Pharisee. As touching the Pharisaical interpretation of the law, he thought he was blameless. So he says when he was alive without the law, that is, without the true understanding of the law, without the true intent of the law.
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But he said when the commandment came, that is when he saw the law in its true light, that it reached inwardly as well as externally, he says, "sin revived, and I died." And what happened? The law of God convicted him.
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Now look in your Bibles to the book of James chapter two. James chapter 2. Let me tell you the reason—one of the reasons—there are not the multitude of conversions today as there used to be, is because the law of God is not preached. One of the lawful uses of the law is to convict men of their sin. Look what he says in James chapter 2, beginning there with verse 9. "But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." Now look at what he says in verse 9. "But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." How are you convicted? Because God's law says, "Do not do this."
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Now, I'm not going to take the time. I jotted several scriptures down. But if you will notice, when our Lord witnessed in the New Testament, he always used the law of God. I don't care if you're talking about the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10, the woman at the well in John chapter 8, he always used the law of God. So the law of God then is given to convict. Fourthly, the law of God is given to condemn. Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 27, Deuteronomy 27, and I'm not going to take time to read all of this because I've got a lot more I want to give you. Deuteronomy 27, but I think you can get the idea when I say that the law of God is given to condemn. Look in Deuteronomy 27, begin reading there with verse 14.
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"And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen."
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And then he goes right on down and look in verse 26. "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say..." Now wait a minute. Let's look at verse 26 again. "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them." And all the people shall say what?
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Now hold Deuteronomy chapter 27 and look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3. And let's read verse 10, Galatians 3 verse 10. Let's see if there is a similarity between Deuteronomy 27 and verse 26 and Galatians 3 and verse 10. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Did we just read that? Yes, back in Deuteronomy 27. What is he doing? He is confirming the law, and he's saying that one of the lawful uses of the law is that it condemns. That's why back in Romans 7 verse 13, it was that the Apostle Paul said that by the law, sin might become exceeding sinful. Now, I've given you so far four uses of the law. The law is used to educate. The law is used to restrain. The law is used to convict. The law is used to condemn.
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Here's the fifth one, and the one I want to develop just for a little while, and that is the law is to be used to sanctify. Or let me say it another way. The law is the means of sanctification. Now listen. The law was not given for our justification, but it was given for our sanctification. You know what I could have done? I could have used another word, and there would have been no theological eyebrows raised by any individual who ever heard this tape. I could have said the law is given for our direction, and it is. But it's more than our direction. It is for our sanctification. It is true that God's law directs us, but it is also the means of sanctification. Now, listen to me.
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I am not discounting the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent in sanctification. He is the one that must make the law of God effectual in our lives. He is the one that must enlighten our minds and illuminate our understanding and lead us and guide us and direct us. He is the agent. But I'm not talking about the agent in sanctification. I'm talking about the means. I'm going to show you that the agent will always lead us and guide us and direct us in accordance with the means. And the means is the law of God.
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Now, if I only had one little point to prove this one, I think this would be sufficient. In regeneration, the law of God is written on our hearts. I want you to look in your Bibles, first of all, Jeremiah 31. I'm going to show you this in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament. Well, look in Jeremiah 31, and let's begin reading with verse 31. Jeremiah 31, verse 31. Look what God says. "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant." Would someone like to tell me what the word Testament is? What does it mean? What is it? It's a covenant. So we're talking about the New Covenant or the New Testament. He says, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD."
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"But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Now that's the new covenant. It's not going to be written in stone, it's going to be written in our hearts.
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Now look at the book of Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel chapter 36 and let's begin reading there with verse 26. Ezekiel 36 verse 26. Look what he says. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Whoa, whoa, back up. What? Verse 27, "And I will put my spirit within you," watch, "and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." What's this new covenant going to do? This new covenant is going to write the law in our hearts. We're going to have the agent of sanctification living within us, and he's going to cause us to walk in his statutes. And he's going to cause us to keep his commandments. Now, look in your Bible to the book of Hebrews chapter 10.
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Hebrews chapter 10, verse 16, and then we're going back to 2 Corinthians. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 16. What does the author of the book of Hebrews say? Well, he says the same thing Jeremiah and Ezekiel said. He says, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them."
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So what does God do in the New Testament? He writes his law.
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Now, go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 because here the Apostle Paul is contrasting the old covenant with the new covenant. Watch carefully. He's contrasting the old covenant with the new covenant. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 1. "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?"
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Now look what he says to these Christians. "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." Right out of Ezekiel. Right out of Jeremiah. "And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
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"But if the ministration of death," that's the old covenant, "written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" Now, wait a minute. When Moses received the law written in stone, his face shone and so greatly that the children of Israel could not look on his face. Now, Paul said that was glorious. But it was to be done away with, and replace with something more glorious. Verse 8, "How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" Now watch, "For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth." So he says that the ministration of Christ in the New Testament is so glorious, the glory of the Old Testament looks like nothing compared to Christ.
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What's the difference? The Old Testament is written in stone, and the New Testament is written in our hearts. This is the distinction between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In the New Covenant, we have the law written in our hearts. We have the Holy Spirit living within us to lead us and guide us and direct us. By the way, if you were to read Romans 8, 11, 16, Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 through 26, and I had them down, but to save time, I'm going to turn there, where it talks about the leading of the Holy Spirit. So many people try to—"Well, the Holy Spirit led me to do this. The Holy Spirit led me to do that."
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Let me tell you something. The only thing the Holy Spirit will lead you to do is to obey the Word of God. And if whatever anybody does is contrary to the Word of God, and they say the Holy Spirit led them, they're a liar. A spirit may have led them, but it was not the Holy Spirit, because He only leads us and guides us and directs us in conformity to the Word of God.
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Now, 2 Corinthians 7 in verse 1 is one of the clearest definitions of sanctification in the Bible. I want you to see it. Look in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1. I can quote it, but look there. Look at what he says. "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Now, here's my question. You say, "Brother Weaver, I want to be holy. How am I to be holy?"
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And the answer is very simple. Cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit. You say, "Well, how do I know what is filthiness of the flesh and how do I know what is filthiness of the spirit?" Well, let's go back to 1 John 3:4. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." Filthiness of the flesh is anything that's contrary to the law of God. Filthiness of the spirit is anything that's contrary to the law of God.
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Let me tell you something, folks. When we get quote-unquote bad attitudes, it's not that we just had a bad day. It's sin. If our attitude's contrary to the law of God. Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 20. Leviticus, chapter 20, verses 7. Well, we'll start with verse 7. Leviticus 20, verse 7. Look what God commands. Leviticus 20, verse 7. Look what he says.
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"Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God." Whoa, whoa, back up. Did you hear what he said? "Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy." You say, "What do you mean, Brother Weaver? How can I sanctify myself? It's God who must sanctify me. How am I to sanctify myself?" He said, "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy." How do you sanctify yourself? Look at verse 8.
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"And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you."
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Now, let's put this together. He just said, "Sanctify yourselves." How do you sanctify yourself? By keeping my statutes and doing them. And then he says, "I am the LORD which sanctify you." Well, are you sanctifying yourself or is God sanctifying you? Both. Your responsibility is to obey God. It's God who enables you to obey Him. And when you bring your life into conformity to the Word of God, it is only through and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Listen, no one wants to obey God apart from the Holy Spirit. Everybody wants to do his own thing. If you want to obey God, if you want to bring your life into conformity to His Word, someone greater than you is working in your life. Because man by nature wants to be unholy and rebellious and wicked and do his own thing. It's only the supernatural work of God that makes us want to do what's right. And so when God says, "I'm commanding you, you keep My statutes, you keep My judgments, you do them."
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It's your responsibility to obey Me. But when you obey Me, I want you to understand something. It's Me that's sanctifying you. It's Me that is empowering you to obey Me. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6. Verse 24. Deuteronomy 6. Verse 24. Watch this one carefully. "And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always."
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Let me just stop there. Why does God give us His commandments? Because He's mad at us? He's mean to us? Why does God say, "Thou shalt not commit adultery"? He just doesn't want us to have fun. Is that it? Why does He say, "Thou shalt not kill"? He just wants us to live amongst our enemies, huh? Is that it? No! Whatever God commands, it is for our good always, "that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day." Whatever God commands is for our good and His glory. Now watch verse 25. "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us." Now, we're not earning righteousness. It is God who's making us righteous. But how do we know that we're righteous? Because we're obeying God's law.
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Now look at Deuteronomy chapter four. And let's read the first nine verses, Deuteronomy four, beginning with verse one. Oh, I like this. Deuteronomy four, verse one.
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"Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day." Hey, paste, obey God. "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them."
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Watch, "for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?"
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"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons." What's God saying? God says it's His law that is our wisdom, it's His law that is our understanding, it's His law that is our righteousness, it's His law that is to be communicated to our children and our children's children. And here's my question. Has God changed? No. Malachi 3, verse 6, "I am the LORD, I change not." Has God's law changed? No. Psalm 119, verse 89, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." Has God's way of sanctification changed? No.
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Look in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. Let's begin there with verse 13. 1 Peter 1, verse 13. Look what Peter writes. "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
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Now watch this next phrase. "As obedient children." What are we to obey? God's law, which is the totality of his word, "as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." How can I be holy as God is holy? The answer is by obeying his law. Why? Because the law is an expression of his will. It is an expression of his holiness. It is an expression of His righteousness. And the only way I can be holy as He is holy is by obeying the totality of His Word.
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Now, let me quote one scripture here. I read it earlier, Romans 7, verse 12. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." So how can I be holy as God is holy? And that is by obeying His commandments.
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Now, I want you to look back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and I'm going to make an application in closing, but I want you to watch carefully. It's very vital. It's very important. He says in verse 1, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God." How you ought to walk and please God, as you have received of us. How you ought to walk and please God, "for ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus." Now how do you know how to walk and please God? Based upon His commandments. Based upon His word.
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You see, the law is the means of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit is the agent. You know, this is—this is very difficult for me to say in one sense of the word. But I have had preachers take me to task over what I just preached to you. They said the law has been done away with. Well, you don't need sanctification. You don't need the law for sanctification. Oh, well, just let me ask you a question or two.
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I want you to think this thing through. Here's a Christian that says he's sanctified. Here's my question. Is it possible to be holy and to be sanctified and at the same time be an idolater? No, it's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified and at the same time profane the name of God? No, it's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified and at the same time be in rebellion to God and your parents? No, it's impossible. Is it possible to be sanctified and holy while at the same time you are actually a murderer? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you're an adulterer and a fornicator? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible for you to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you're a thief? No, that's an impossibility. Is it possible for you to be holy and sanctified while at the same time you are a covetous, wicked, desirous individual and at the same time you are bearing false witness against your neighbor?
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No, that's an impossibility. So that must mean this then, sanctification by the law. Because it is impossible to be sanctified and holy without the law of God. I want you to remember this, folks. Sanctification does not consist in keeping the rules of man. It consists in keeping the law of God. You know what we've done in our churches? In our churches, we have set aside the law of God, and we've made up our own little standards.
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If you're here Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, if you come to visitation, if you tithe, if you do this, let me tell you something. You can do those things in the average Baptist church and they don't care if you're a fornicator or a thief or a liar or whatever. You're in good standing. Because we have substituted man's rules for God's rules. Now, we ought to be faithful and we ought to tithe. But you don't do those things in order to be holy in one sense of the word. You do them because you are holy.
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They are expressions of our holiness. But we must bring our life in conformity to the Word of God. One last statement. That is this. No one will receive any benefit from any of the teaching and preaching of the Word of God unless they personally apply the Word of God. He said in verse 1, "as how ye ought to walk and to please God." It's your responsibility to walk and to please God. Let's pray.
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Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your grace and for your mercy. Teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. May we bring our lives in conformity to the totality of your word. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:20:32Z

2 Sanctification & Sexual Purity

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver continues his study of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, focusing on verse 2. He explains that the commandments given by the apostles are by the authority of the Lord Jesus and are not contrary to God's law. Weaver then expounds five lawful uses of God's law: to educate (revealing sin and pointing to Christ), to restrain evil, to convict of sin, to condemn, and to sanctify. He emphasizes that the law is the means of sanctification, with the Holy Spirit as the agent, and that true holiness comes from obeying God's commandments, not man-made rules.

Review of Verse 1: The Exhortation

Weaver reviews the three elements of verse 1: practical necessity (being taught), personal application (receiving and walking), and progressive reality (abounding more and more).

It will be her fault. OK, this week is my fault. All right. First Thessalonians chapter four, beginning with verse one.

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit."

Now, last week I began a study on 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 1-8.

Introduction to Verse 2: The Explanation

Verse 2 explains how the Thessalonians received instruction: through commandments given by the Lord Jesus, which are based on God's word.

The Meaning of 'Commandments' (Parangelia)

The Greek word parangelia is examined in Acts 16:24, Acts 5:28, and 1 Timothy 1:3-5, showing it can mean a charge, command, or the entirety of God's word.

Scripture Reading — Acts 16:24

"Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks."

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:28

"Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?"

that is, in the name of Christ?

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:28

"And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us."

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 1:3-5

"As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."

Now watch verse 5.

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 1:3-5

"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."

Commandments in Harmony with God's Law

The apostolic commandments are not contrary to God's law because they are given in Christ's name, who came to fulfill the law (Isaiah 42:21; Matthew 5:17).

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 42:21

"The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable."

The Law and Justification

The law was never given for justification (Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16; 3:10-11). Legalism is trying to earn salvation by works; obedience after salvation is not legalism.

OK, look in your Bibles. First of all, Romans chapter 3 verse 20. In fact, we'll come back to a few of these verses. We'll look in Romans chapter 3 in verse 20. Look what he says, Romans 3 verse 20.

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:20

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:20

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Look at Romans chapter six and verse 14, Romans six and verse 14. "For sin shall not have dominion over you," why?

Five Lawful Uses of the Law

Weaver presents five lawful uses: to educate (knowledge of sin and schoolmaster to Christ), to restrain evil, to convict of sin, to condemn, and to sanctify.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:4

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

Now, what is sin? It is transgressing God's law. Whoever commits sin breaks God's law.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21

"And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel."

Look in Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 19. Here's a false witness. God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21

"Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you."

One other look in Deuteronomy 21 verse 21. This is just a few of the verses. Deuteronomy 21 verse 21.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21

"And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

And let's begin reading there with verse 7. Romans chapter 7, verse 7 through 13. Look what the Apostle Paul says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 7:7-13

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence."

Now watch what he says.

Scripture Reading — Romans 7:7-13

"For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful."

Scripture Reading — James 2:9-11

"But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law."

Now look at what he says in verse 9.

Scripture Reading — James 2:9-11

"But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."

How are you convicted? Because God's law says, "Do not do this."

The Law as the Means of Sanctification

Sanctification is by the law written on the heart in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36; Hebrews 10; 2 Corinthians 3). The Holy Spirit is the agent who leads us to obey God's law.

Application: Holiness and Obedience

True holiness is conformity to God's law, not man-made rules. Sanctification is impossible without keeping God's commandments (1 Peter 1:13-16).

2 Sanctification & Sexual Purity

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	111071310196
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2007-10-22
Dictation Name
Book	Book 042: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: God's Answer to America's Problems — Chapter 9
Source Timed Segments	100

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Verse 1: The Exhortation: Weaver reviews the three elements of verse 1: practical necessity (being taught), personal application (receiving and walking), and progressive reality (abounding more and more).
Introduction to Verse 2: The Explanation: Verse 2 explains how the Thessalonians received instruction: through commandments given by the Lord Jesus, which are based on God's word.
The Meaning of 'Commandments' (Parangelia): The Greek word parangelia is examined in Acts 16:24, Acts 5:28, and 1 Timothy 1:3-5, showing it can mean a charge, command, or the entirety of God's word.
Commandments in Harmony with God's Law: The apostolic commandments are not contrary to God's law because they are given in Christ's name, who came to fulfill the law (Isaiah 42:21; Matthew 5:17).
The Law and Justification: The law was never given for justification (Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16; 3:10-11). Legalism is trying to earn salvation by works; obedience after salvation is not legalism.
Five Lawful Uses of the Law: Weaver presents five lawful uses: to educate (knowledge of sin and schoolmaster to Christ), to restrain evil, to convict of sin, to condemn, and to sanctify.
The Law as the Means of Sanctification: Sanctification is by the law written on the heart in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36; Hebrews 10; 2 Corinthians 3). The Holy Spirit is the agent who leads us to obey God's law.
Application: Holiness and Obedience: True holiness is conformity to God's law, not man-made rules. Sanctification is impossible without keeping God's commandments (1 Peter 1:13-16).

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The commandments in verse 2 are not just the Ten Commandments but the full application of God's word.

Paul and his companions taught more than the Decalogue; they applied case laws and personal applications of God's law.

Weaver argues that the apostles were 'making application out of those Ten Commandments and applying case laws.'

Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, so apostolic commandments cannot contradict it.

Since Christ came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17), any commandment given in His name must align with God's law.

Isaiah 42:21 and Matthew 5:17 are cited to show Christ magnified and fulfilled the law.

The law is not for justification but is essential for sanctification.

While the law cannot save, it is the means by which believers are sanctified, as the Holy Spirit leads them to obey it.

Weaver states, 'The law was not given for our justification, but it was given for our sanctification.'

The New Covenant writes the law on the heart, enabling obedience.

In regeneration, God writes His law on the heart (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36; Hebrews 10), and the Spirit causes believers to walk in His statutes.

Ezekiel 36:27: 'I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.'

Sanctification is both God's work and our responsibility.

Believers are commanded to sanctify themselves by keeping God's statutes, yet it is God who sanctifies them.

Leviticus 20:7-8: 'Sanctify yourselves...I am the LORD which sanctify you.'

Man-made rules have replaced God's law in many churches.

Churches often substitute attendance, tithing, and other activities for true holiness, ignoring sins like fornication and lying.

Weaver says, 'We have substituted man's rules for God's rules.'

Scripture References

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8: The main passage under study; verses 1-2 are the focus of this sermon.
Acts 16:24: Used to illustrate the Greek word parangelia (charge/command) in the context of the jailer receiving a charge.
Acts 5:28: Another use of parangelia, showing a prohibitive command given by the rulers to the disciples.
1 Timothy 1:3-5: Shows parangelia used for the charge to teach no other doctrine, with the end being love from a pure heart.
Isaiah 42:21: Prophecy that the Messiah will magnify the law and make it honorable.
Matthew 5:17: Jesus states He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it.
John 8:29: Jesus says He always does those things that please the Father, demonstrating obedience to the law.
Romans 3:20: By the deeds of the law no flesh is justified; the law gives knowledge of sin.
Romans 3:28: A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 6:14: Sin shall not have dominion because we are not under law but under grace (as a standard of justification).
Galatians 2:16: A man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:10-11: Those under the works of the law are under a curse; the just shall live by faith.
1 Timothy 1:8: The law is good if used lawfully.
1 John 3:4: Sin is the transgression of the law.
Galatians 3:24: The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.
Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21: Examples of capital punishment with the phrase 'put the evil away from among you,' showing the law's restraining function.
1 Timothy 1:9-10: The law is made for the lawless and disobedient, listing various sins.
Romans 7:7-13: Paul's experience of the law convicting him of sin, showing the law is holy, just, and good.
James 2:9-11: Respect of persons is sin, and the law convicts as transgressors.
Deuteronomy 27:14-26: The curses pronounced for disobedience, showing the law's condemning function.

Historical References

Pharisees and their interpretation of the law: Paul, as a Pharisee, thought he was blameless according to the Pharisaical interpretation, but the true law convicted him.
WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) merchandise trend: Weaver criticizes the subjective spirituality of the WWJD movement, arguing that Jesus would always obey God's law.

Important Quotes

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.

Weaver identifies this as the main thrust of the passage, emphasizing sexual purity as part of sanctification.

But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.

Introduces the concept of lawful uses of the law, which structures the remainder of the sermon.

The law is the means of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit is the agent.

Summarizes the relationship between the law and the Spirit in the believer's growth in holiness.

We have substituted man's rules for God's rules.

A pointed application criticizing the replacement of biblical standards with human traditions in churches.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding that the apostolic commandments were given 'by the Lord Jesus' affect our view of New Testament ethical instructions?

[Context]

Based on the explanation of verse 2 and the authority of Christ.

[Question]

In what ways might we be guilty of using the law unlawfully, such as for justification or as a mere external checklist?

[Context]

Stemming from the discussion of 1 Timothy 1:8 and the lawful uses of the law.

[Question]

How does the law function as a 'schoolmaster' to bring us to Christ in our daily lives and in evangelism?

[Context]

From the explanation of Galatians 3:24.

[Question]

What is the difference between the law as a means of sanctification and the Holy Spirit as the agent of sanctification? How do they work together?

[Context]

Central to the sermon's argument on sanctification.

[Question]

What are some examples of 'man's rules' that have replaced God's law in contemporary church culture, and how can we refocus on biblical holiness?

[Context]

From the closing application about substituting man's rules for God's rules.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:43:33Z