jim mcgowan, mts, th.d. law & grace session 21 …...law & grace session 21 7/28/2019...

Sugar Land Bible Church 1

Jim McGowan, MTS, Th.D.Law & Grace Session 21

7/28/2019

Special thanks to Dr. Vern Peterman for access to his insights and resources.

Law and Grace: An OverviewJim McGowan, Th.D.

Sugar Land Bible Church07‐28‐2019

For the Law was given through Moses…

…but grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ ‐ John 1:17

Session 21 Outline

I. Review

A. Purpose, Aim, and Objective

B. Session 20

II. John the Baptizer – Matthew 3

A. General Information

B. Comments and Commentary

III.Concluding Observations

OUR PURPOSE, AIM AND OBJECTIVE

…is to Compare and Contrast Lawand Grace so as to properlyunderstand these two importantthemes and how they are relatedto the life of the New TestamentBeliever.

Law and Grace

1

2

3



7/28/2019

We have, most of us, been reared and now live under the influence ofGalatianism. Protestant theology, alas, is for the most part, thoroughlyGalatianized, in that neither law nor grace are given their distinct andseparated places, as in the counsels of God, but are mingled together inone incoherent system.

The law is no longer, as in the Divine intent, a ministration of death (2Cor. 3:7), of cursing (Gal. 3:10), of conviction (Rom. 3:19), because weare taught that we must try to keep it, and that by Divine help wemay.

Nor, on the other hand, does grace bring us blessed deliverance fromthe dominion of sin, for we are kept under the law as a rule of lifedespite the plain declaration, “Sin shall not have dominion over you:for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). (emphasismine)

C. I. SCOFIELD, D. D.The Grace of God, The Fundamentals Vol. 3, Chapter VII, p. 98

It is because Reformed theology has kept usGentiles under the Law,—if not as a means ofrighteousness, then as “a rule of life,” that allthe trouble has arisen. The Law is no more arule of life than it is a means ofrighteousness. Walking in the Spirit has nowtaken the place of walking by ordinances.God has another principle under which Hehas put his saints: “Ye are not under law, but,under grace!” (italics mine)

William R. NewellRomans Verse‐by‐Verse (p. 274).

Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Session 21 Outline

I. Review


B. Session 20





4

5

6



7/28/2019

Law and Grace: Review Session 20

• This gospel that was written by the apostle Matthew, andwe could say the gospels are the last of the Old Testamentbooks.

The Last of the Old Testament Books

Matthew’s Purposes

• To explain that Jesus in whom theyhad believed was the long‐awaitedJewish Messiah.

• To explain why the kingdom hadbeen postponed despite the factthat the king had arrived.

• To explain the interim program ofGod during the kingdom’s absence.


Matthew’s Message

• Jesus is the predicted Jewish kingwho ushered in an interimprogram by building the sons ofthe kingdom into the church inbetween Israel’s past rejectionand future acceptance of her king.


7

8

9



7/28/2019

The Genealogy of ChristMatthew 1:1‐17


• Matthew begins with a genealogy made up of threelists of 14 names.

• The three lists of 14 names are designed to be amemory aid.


The Genealogy of ChristMatthew 1:1‐17

• Significant women are also named: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth,Bathsheba andMary.


According to Jewish tradition Matthew 1:18‐19

• The betrothal and the ‘coming together’ only aftermarriage was all according to the Jewish law andtraditions.

• For Joseph to be righteous meant that he was observantof the Law of Moses and all of the traditions of Judaism.

10

11

12



7/28/2019


According to Jewish tradition Matthew 1:18‐19

• For Joseph to ‘send her away secretly’ meant that sinceshe was pregnant before marriage, and he didn’t want todisgrace her, he would seek a divorce from the court ofRabbi Hillel, where they didn’t ask ‘why’ you wanted one.


The Magi, Herod, & to Egypt & backMatthew 2:1‐2:23

• The Magi, likely received theprophecies of the Old Testament,first through Daniel (Dan. 5:11‐12)and then through the other Jewsliving in the Babylonian and thePersian Empires.

Galatians 4:4–54 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth HisSon, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that Hemight redeem those who were under the Law, that we mightreceive the adoption as sons.

13

14

15



7/28/2019


Key word in Galatians 4:5

• By Roman law the adopted son had a position far betterthan any natural‐born son: a full heir, irreversible, andthe adopted son was legally severed from any priorsonship (see Ephesians 2:2; 5:6 and Colossians 3:6).


Consequences of our adoption!


16

17

18



7/28/2019

Session 21 Outline

I. Review


B. Session 20





Matthew 3:1, 4‐61 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in thewilderness of Judea, …4 Now John himself had a garment ofcamel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his foodwas locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going outto him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6

and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, asthey confessed their sins.

Who is John the Baptist?Matthew 3:1, 4‐6

Law and Grace: Session 21

19

20

21



7/28/2019

Baptist?Matthew 3:1, 4‐6


Baaaptist?Matthew 3:1, 4‐6




• John the Baptist, a relative of Jesus through His mother(cf. Luke 1:36), ministered along the Jordan River, northof the Dead Sea.

22

23

24



7/28/2019



Sea of Galilee

Jordan River

Dead Sea

John the Baptist

• He lived out in the wilderness.

• According to Christian tradition hewas born in Ein Karem, an ancient andseparate village, originally locatedsouthwest of Jerusalem.



Matthew 3:1

Now in those days John theBaptist came, preaching in thewilderness of Judea,…

Ein Karem


25

26

27



7/28/2019

• August 16, 2004, an announcementwas made regarding the discovery of acave, believed to be identified withthe ministry of John the Baptist.



https://biblearchaeology.org/research/new‐testament‐era (search for “John the Baptist”



• He wore rough and wild clothing andate a rough and wild diet of locustsand wild honey which was allowed bythe Law of Moses (cf. Lev. 11:22).

Matthew 3:44 Now John himself had a garment ofcamel’s hair and a leather belt aroundhis waist; and his food was locusts andwild honey.

Leviticus 11:22

‘These.. you may eat: the locust in its kinds, and thedevastating locust in its kinds…’

28

29

30



7/28/2019



• “Some persons have assumed that the reference tograsshoppers being eaten by John the Baptist should beunderstood not as the insects but as carob pods, butthere is neither linguistic nor cultural evidence tosupport such an interpretation.”

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek‐English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 45). New York: United Bible Societies.



• John the Baptist is reminiscent of the Old Testamentprophet Elijah, who is described as a hairy man with aleather girdle or belt (cf. 2 Kings 1:8; Zech. 13:4).

2 Kings 1:8

They answered him, “He was ahairy man with a leather girdlebound about his loins.” And hesaid, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Zechariah 13:4

“Also it will come about in thatday that the prophets will eachbe ashamed of his vision…andthey will not put on a hairyrobe in order to deceive;

Session 21 Outline

I. Review


B. Session 20





31

32

33



7/28/2019

Matthew 3:1–21 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in thewilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom ofheaven is at hand.”

• Unfortunately, the word ‘repent’tends to invoke a sweepingvariety of images in the minds ofpeople including:

– being emotionally impacted,flowing tears, weeping andwailing, and/or…

– Coming forward ‘to the altar’at the pastor’s invitation.


Repent!Matthew 3:2

THAT’S A JOKE, FOLKS!

• At SLBC we don’t have one of these…


Repent!Matthew 3:2

34

35

36



7/28/2019


Repent!Matthew 3:2

• Repenting means to have ‘a change of mind’ thatmoves us from unbelief to belief in what God says istrue.

• The terms ‘kingdom of God’, ‘kingdom ofheaven’ and even just ‘kingdom’, have bysome, been erroneously transferred to‘the Church’. These same groups alsomistakenly identify ‘the Church’ as thosepeople past, present, and future, whomGod has saved or will save, or ‘thespiritual domain’ of all those saved.


The Kingdom of HeavenMatthew 3:2

• But to the Jews of New Testamenttimes these terms meant thecoming kingdom of the Messiah,the King of the Jews, reigningfrom Jerusalem over the peopleof Israel in the land of Israel, but...


The Kingdom of HeavenMatthew 3:2

37

38

39



7/28/2019

• …also over the entire planet, in a long ‘golden age’.


The Kingdom (of)…Matthew 3:2

• The Jews, John the Baptist, and Christ, all used the terms‘kingdom of God’, kingdom of heaven’ and ‘kingdom’ assynonyms.


The Kingdom (of)…Matthew 3:2

• Matthew alone used theeuphemism ‘of heaven’ toreplace the name of God,which was a point of habitand concern among theJews, further indicating thatMatthew is written to theJews.


‘Heaven’ was and still is a euphemism for ‘God’Matthew 3:2

40

41

42



7/28/2019

• We still carry on the sameeuphemism in our own languageand culture today:

• “Heaven knows…”

• “Oh, heavens!”, or “My, heavens”,or “Oh my heavens!”

• “For heaven’s sake”

“Oh my heavens!”

We also say “goodness” as a substitute for “God”.


‘Heaven’ was and still is a euphemism for ‘God’Matthew 3:2

Matthew 3:3

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when hesaid, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘Make readythe way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”

• The long‐standing tradition in all ofthe middle east was to clear,smooth, level and straighten roadsin preparation for a comingdignitary, such as a king or other

royal person.


Make ready the way!Matthew 3:3

43

44

45



7/28/2019

• So, that is what John the Baptist does, morally andspiritually. He clears and levels and makes straight theway both morally and spiritually for the coming of JesusChrist, the true son of David (cf. Isa. 40:3‐4).


Make ready the way!Matthew 3:3

• The Pharisees and Sadducees were two Jewish groupsthat were not of the same viewpoint, but together theyhad a grip on the control of the practice of Judaism inIsrael, at that time.


Pharisees & SadduceesMatthew 3:7‐10

• The Pharisees believed in all of theOld Testament but added to andmade rules around it (cf. Mattew23:16‐22).



46

47

48



7/28/2019

• The Sadducees on the other hand,claimed belief in the Pentateuchbut rejected anything supernatural.



• John immediately and openly describes these two groupsin strong and graphic negative terms.



Matthew 3:7‐107 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadduceescoming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers,who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8

“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and donot suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We haveAbraham for our father’; for I say to you that from thesestones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 “Theaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore everytree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and throwninto the fire.

49

50

51



7/28/2019

• John called them a ‘brood of vipers’, creatures that arepoisonous, and by the Law, unclean.



• John boldly told them that theywere subject to ‘the wrath to come’and would not be exempt justbecause they were descended fromAbraham! They needed to repentand live out that repentance.



Matthew 5:20

"For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpassesthat of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter thekingdom of heaven."

52

53

54



7/28/2019

• In v. 9, John the Baptist alsointroduces a shocking piece of newsfor the Jews, that Jesus willcontinue later:

• Entry into the coming kingdom forJews is not to be assumed, based ontheir ancestry.



• John echoes what the Old Testament prophets hadsaid, that judgment would precede the kingdom, andno Jew, be they Scribe, Pharisee, or Sadducee, wouldbe exempt! (cf. Isa.1:27; 4:4; 5:16; 13:6‐19; 42:1; Jer.33:14‐16; Dan. 7:26‐27)



Zechariah 13:8‐9a8 "It will come about in all the land," declares the LORD, "Thattwo parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will beleft in it. 9And I will bring the third part through the fire…"

55

56

57



7/28/2019

• Trees that are well‐planted and bearing fruit werepictures of godliness in the Old Testament (cf. Psalm 1:1‐3, Psalm 92:12‐14).

• The Law allowed that trees not bearing fruit could be cutdown (cf. Deut. 20:19‐20).



Matthew 3:11‐1211 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, butHe who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fitto remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spiritand fire. 12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He willthoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather Hiswheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff withunquenchable fire.”

• John baptized as a sign ofrepentance, but he also pointed tothe One who was coming…bothsooner and later.

• In His soon coming (vv. 13‐17) Jesuswas coming as the Lamb of Godwho ‘lifts up’ our sins (cf. John1:29, 36).


Baptized as a ‘sign of repentance’Matthew 3:11‐12

58

59

60



7/28/2019

• In His later, Second Coming, Jesuswill come in judgment, ‘winnowing’in order to separate the wheat(those Jews who will be entering thekingdom) from the chaff, which willbe burned up.


John the Baptist baptized as a ‘sign of repentance’Matthew 3:11‐12

Matthew 3:11‐1211 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but Hewho is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit toremove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit andfire. 12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He willthoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather Hiswheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff withunquenchable fire.”

Matthew 3:11‐1211 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but Hewho is coming after me is mightier than I, and *I am not fit toremove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit andfire. 12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He willthoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather Hiswheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff withunquenchable fire.”

* The duty of the lowest householdservant was to remove the sandals ofguests and other members of thehousehold and wash their feet.

61

62

63



7/28/2019

Matthew 3:11‐1211 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but Hewho is coming after me is mightier than I, and *I am not fit toremove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spiritand fire. 12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He willthoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather Hiswheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff withunquenchable fire.”

Matthew 3:11‐1211 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but Hewho is coming after me is mightier than I, and *I am not fit toremove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit andfire. 12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He willthoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather Hiswheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff withunquenchable fire.”

• John the Baptist said he baptized as abaptism of repentance.

• When the Jews came to John, theydidn’t proclaim their own righteousness,but confessed their sins (vv. 5‐6).


John the Baptist baptized as a ‘sign of repentance’Matthew 3:11‐12

64

65

66



7/28/2019

Matthew 3:5‐6

“5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and allthe district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptizedby him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.”

Matthew 3:13‐1513 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming toJohn, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him,saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You cometo me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at thistime; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill allrighteousness.” Then he permitted Him.

• Jesus didn’t need to repent or toconfess His sins.

• Jesus’ baptism had a three‐fold effect:

– It authenticated John’s ministry andmessage of repentance.

– It presented Jesus as the spiritually,ethically, and morally, clean,Messiah, Who fulfilled God’s will.

– It identified Him with sinners.


Why would Jesus be baptized?Matthew 3:13‐15

67

68

69



7/28/2019

• After Jesus was baptized, we seethe presence of all three personsof the Trinity: The Father, Sonand Holy Spirit.

• We also see the approval of Godthe Father toward God the Sonin this event.


After Jesus was baptizedMatthew 3:16‐17

Matthew 3:16‐1716 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from thewater; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw theSpirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 andbehold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My belovedSon, in whom I am well‐pleased.” (cf. Isaiah 42:1)

Session 21 Outline

I. Review


B. Session 20





70

71

72



7/28/2019

John 1:2929 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of theworld!

1 Peter 2:24

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so thatwe might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by Hiswounds you were healed. (cf. Heb. 9:29)

John 1:35–3635 Again the next day John was standing with two of hisdisciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said,“Behold, the Lamb of God!”

73

74

75



7/28/2019

Matthew 3:16‐1716 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from thewater; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw theSpirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 andbehold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My belovedSon, in whom I am well‐pleased.” (cf. Isaiah 42:1)

• In our next session we will be taking at look atMatthew 4, Firsts & Beginnings in Christs ministry.


In our next session…

Special thanks to Dr. Vern Peterman for access to his insights and resources.

Law and Grace: An OverviewJim McGowan, Th.D.

Sugar Land Bible Church07‐28‐2019

For the Law was given through Moses…

…but grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ ‐ John 1:17

76

77

78

jim mcgowan, mts, th.d. law & grace session 21 …...law & grace session 21 7/28/2019...

Documents