So let's start with some prayer. Our Father, we thank you that you are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and the great I am. Father, there'll come a day that we'll know as we're known. And Father, we'll understand as the old song says, we'll understand it better by and by. Father, but now, today, in this flesh, Father, we take on what you've given us. And Father, we ask that you would intercede at this time, Lord, that I would decrease and you would increase in the hearts and minds of my brethren here and those that would hear later at other times. Lord, I do thank you for this congregation. Lord, I thank you, Lord, as Brother Doug pointed out, how precious it is to come in and be in the house of the Lord and among the brethren and father and to strive together for the faith. So, Lord, I pray that you would use the words that are spoken to encourage your people and lift up the name of Jesus. In his name, I pray. Amen. All right. I've never done a series. So I guess this is the one and only Gary series. Unless the Lord does something next week that I'm not currently aware of. Think of the most difficult class that you had in school. The hardest subject. Or maybe if you can't think back that far, think about putting together the most difficult toys for Christmas or whatever. Something that was complicated and hard for you to do and hard to get done and you just didn't have a good understanding of how to make it happen. So if you think about that, What made the difference in you getting it done? Assuming you survived and got it done. Assuming you not only passed the class with a good grade, but you gained understanding. You know, it's possible to do one and not the other. But that you gained a good understanding of that subject that was so hard for you. Think about that. What made the difference in that happening? More often than not, it was probably a teacher. Some instruction that you got from someone who understood the subject more intimately than you do and began to point things out to you. And they didn't point it out in all its complexity, did they? They began with the basics. They pointed some simple things out, some step by step by step. And then you, oh, oh, oh. The understanding grew as the wise master pointed out some things to you that you needed to know. Learning the basics helps us toward a greater understanding. Just knowing the basics helps us towards a greater and greater understanding. And I started with 2 Corinthians 11 one. Let's go ahead and put up verse three. but I fear less by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. What I hope to happen for you and for me today is that we not miss the simplicity that is in Christ. If you, and I was thinking of different analogies of how to point out how important this is. When you begin to teach a young child to read and you start with the alphabet, right? You don't bring out the volume of Shakespeare and say, okay, let's go. No, you start very, very basic and you build they're learning from the very basics. And I think that's what the Lord has done for us. We have the Bible and people look at the scriptures and they think, oh, this is so complicated, this is so hard. It's the basics that God has given us so that we children can begin to understand the almighty God. I mean, think about that. Don't you see that as true? That God has given us a little, as much as we can bear, so that we can begin to have an appreciation for who he is and for what he has done for us. So as we go through this time this morning, I hope that you will keep that in mind, and I pray that the Lord will use what's said, not in a confusing way, but in a very simple and basic way in each one of our hearts. John 16, verse 25. Says, these things I have spoken unto you in Proverbs. This is Jesus speaking. But the time comes, or cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in Proverbs, but I shall show you plainly, plainly of the Father. So what did Jesus want to do? He wanted to show us plainly of the Father. the simplicity that's in Christ. He wanted to show us plainly. Look at verse 27. For the Father himself loveth you because ye have loved me and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father and am coming to the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father. Father loves you and me. Why? Because we've loved Jesus. The Father loves us because we've loved Jesus. And Jesus came forth from the Father. So the Father sent the Son. Does this sound familiar? The father sent the son. But then Jesus says at the end of that verse, I leave the world and go to the father. His disciples recognized what he was saying in verse 29. He says, his disciples said unto him, lo, now speakest thou plainly and speakest no proverb. Now we are sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God. So when Jesus spoke plainly to his disciples of what he was about and what was needed, the disciples understood and believed. and believed. So, having given that little introduction, I'll share with you the basic thoughts that I have on my heart this morning. The title that I wrote on my paper here is Sin the law, and sinners. Back to the basics. So I'm gonna talk about those three areas, sin, the law, and sinners. First I'm gonna talk about sin, the poisoning of sin. the poisoning of sin. I'm gonna ask you to imagine again with me. Imagine if I had a little dropper, an eyedropper, you know, and I could just allow one drop to go out from this. And I drop that one drop, into the ocean. And every bit of life there died. What would you think of that drop? That drop was powerful. That drop was beyond understanding. That drop caused death and destruction over a wide area. I heard about this Puritan preacher whose name was Jeremiah Burroughs. He was in the 1600s and he wrote a book or wrote a series of pamphlets called The Evil of Evils. The Evil of Evils is what it was called. And he made a statement as a part of that. He said, there is more evil in the least sin, in the least sin than greatest affliction. There's more evil in the least. And all of you probably have in your mind the verse in James 2.10 that says, for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one drop. Oh, wait, it says one point. He's guilty of all. So bear that in mind. is a powerful, powerful evil in this world. The world makes fun of it. Sometimes we make fun of it. But it's not a laughing matter. Sin is evil. And it is poison. Romans 5.12 tells us that. Romans 5.12 tells us, wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death is passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. One drop in Adam's life. And what is sin? Sin is actions, sin is attitudes, But even more subtly, sin is by nature. We're born in sin because of our relationship to our father, Adam. So we can't escape it. We cannot escape it on our own. Verse 13 there in Romans 5 tells us something, though, that I think is important. It says, for until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. So what came first, sin or the law? Sin came first. So there was sin in the world before there was a law. And verse 14 there says, nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. So sin reigned. So how is sin, the issue of sin, to be resolved. How is it to be resolved? It's interesting to me, and it has been very interesting to me over my studies the last little bit, the relationship between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. That's been very encouraging to me to think about. that relationship between the Godhead. The Father sent the Son, and when the Son left, the Son sent the Holy Spirit. John 16, verse seven. Jesus says, nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. And what's this Holy Spirit going to do? What is he going to do? Verse eight, and when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment. But we're focusing this morning on He will reprove the world of sin. What does it mean to reprove? To reprove. There are several meanings that I found. Admonish was one. Rebuke was one. Expose, I like that one. The Holy Spirit's role when He's reproving the world of sin is He's exposing sin. Where does sin like to be? In the dark. Sin enjoys being in the dark. You've never gone to some place of ill repute, I hope, or a club or something, and it's just been bright in there. No. Men love darkness, why? Because their deeds were evil. And all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So that's all men, all of us, have at some point in our time loved darkness rather than light. You've never wanted anything that you've done wrong to be exposed, have you? But you know who has always known? Our Heavenly Father, through the Son, through the Spirit. So the Holy Spirit exposes sin. That's important to understand as we're interacting in this world, that the role of the Holy Spirit is to expose sin. Jesus, when he interacted with I believe it was the Pharisees, some Pharisees, and they brought to him the woman caught in adultery, the very act, it says. And when Jesus confronted these individuals, he basically said, you remember the account, you that are without sin, cast the first stone upon her, because that was the rule. Someone caught in adultery should be stoned. And Jesus was doodling in the ground. I can just see him doodling in the ground and looking down, saying, you that without, you know, he that is without sin cast the first stone. And he just continued to doodle. And when he finally looked up, all of the accusers were gone. And only the woman stood before him. Only the woman stood before him. And he asked her, where are your accusers? They left. Why do you think they left? Because they couldn't identify in themselves as being without sin. So they were not without sin. And when Jesus challenged them about this later on in that passage in John chapter eight, verse 45, Jesus said, and because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Which of you convinces me of sin? Which of you convinces me, Jesus, of sin? That word convinces is The same thing the Holy Spirit does to us. Reprove and convince are the same. The difference is Jesus could not be reproved of sin. Why? Because he never sinned. He never sinned. He says, and if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? It's important to know who Jesus is. Our pastor has been putting that into us for several weeks now. It's important to know who Jesus is. And it's important to know from whence he came. He came from the Father. He was sent by the Father. 1 John 3 verse 4 says, whosoever commit a sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is the transgression of the law. You got some rules, and you break the rules. In very simple terms, that's what it means. There's a tree in the midst of the garden. You can eat of every other tree in the garden. I've made provision completely for you. Everything else is yours. Sin is the transgression of the law, the law of God. Verse eight in 1 John chapter three says, he that commit a sin is of the devil. For the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God, Jesus, was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. So Jesus' goal is to destroy the works of the devil. And what are the devil's works? Sin. sin is the devil's works. Jesus, his goal is to destroy that. Important to understand. That's what sin was about. Now how about this thing called the law? The law. Matthew 5, Verse 17, the words of Jesus, he says, think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. 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 does that describe the law as a bad thing or a good thing? The law's a good thing. The law's a good thing. And the reason it's a good thing is because the Holy Spirit uses it to reprove the world of sin. Right? Uses it to reprove the world of sin. You know, again, I think about the similarities here that I've seen as I think about how the Lord knew that there would be sin in the world. And from the foundation of the world, he devised a solution to sin. The law is a very important step in the Lord's plan to destroy sin. The law is a very important step. So what is the purpose of the law? Again, many in this congregation are already ahead of me thinking Galatians chapter 3 verse 24. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24 That says wherefore the law was our schoolmaster To bring us on to Christ that we might be justified by faith And I want to go ahead and read Romans 7 and starting in verse 9 in relation to this Words of Paul He says, for I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. The Holy Spirit exposed sin. There it was. I'm sure many of you have had the experience of driving on a highway and asking the person sitting in the passenger seat, what's the speed limit out here? What is the speed limit? Well, there is one that would let you know quickly what the speed limit is, right, Dakota? They'll let you know quickly what the speed limit is if you're exceeding it, whether you know it or not, whether you know what it was or not. So the law serves the purpose of letting us know what the rules are. What rules are we breaking? How are we failing? Verse 10 in Romans 7 says, and the commandment which was ordained to life I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, and by commandment you can replace with law. 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 to 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. Okay, back to the driving analogy. If there is a huge sign that says speed limit 35, You couldn't have missed it. It was in your face. You couldn't miss it. That's what the Holy Spirit does for us with the law. He puts the huge sign in front of our face that says, this is what God would have of you. This is the will of God. So you can't say I missed it. You can't say you didn't see it. And it was good. It was good that you saw it. So that's the law. And what did I call that? The purpose of the law. I don't usually use the alliterations, but the poisoning of sin, the purpose of the law, and now the plight of sinners. The plight of sinners. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 11 says, But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident. It's evident. The just shall live by faith. Verse 13 there says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. So this, the plight of sinners, part of it is, at least for those who know Christ, there's a good outcome and a bad outcome for sinners. The good outcome for those who know Christ and love him is eternity with the Father. The bad outcome for those who don't know Christ and have not accepted his payment on Calvary is what the rich man in the account of the rich man and Lazarus experienced. A great gulf fixed. Ever separated. a great gulf fixed. So that's the two plights of sinners. Galatians 4 and verse 4 says, but when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. We saw that big sign, we ignored it, and kept doing our thing. But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, so he experienced the same law we did. to redeem them that were under the law. John chapter 14, verse six says, Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father but by me. So remember, the father sent the son, The son sent the spirit. The son's desire is that we would be with the father. The son's desire is that we would be with the father. And now he tells us in verse six, they are the way. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me. It was an interesting conversation in that passage, if you look in verse 8. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Show us the Father, because you're the way. Show us the Father, if you know the way. Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Remember, Jesus set the pattern. Jesus set the pattern for us serving God in this world. He set the pattern as a man. He showed men how men ought to serve God. And he served God by listening to the Father. Jesus served God by listening to the Father. We should serve God by listening to Jesus. When we listen to Jesus, we're serving God. Because he's shown us the way. And that's basically what he said to Philip there. Two more passages. First Peter chapter one, and I want to read verse, well, I'll start in verse 17. Jesus against, or Peter saying, and if you call on the father, who without respect of person judgeth according to every man's work past the time of your sojourning here in fear. For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation, tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was ordained when? Before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. That plan that I've been trying to emphasize, the father sent the son, the son sent the Holy Spirit, the son set the example for us. That was the plan. That was the plan. That's how this, how we're going to carry out our lives in this world. This is how every human being is to carry out their existence in this world, to understand that the Father sent the Son. The Son set the example. And the Son sent the Spirit. And who is it that the Spirit is gonna speak about? He's gonna speak about the Son. He's gonna speak about the Son. Just like the Son spoke about the Father. Get it? So Jesus set that pattern. Oh, it's so encouraging to me to think about that. It really is. And it has been a blessing for me to think about that. So I couldn't think of a final P in my alliteration. So basically what I call this last passage that I'm going to take you to is the final order. The way things will finally be. Okay? And that's going to be found in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, starting in verse 21. And if you would, hear this. This last passage is an overview of everything that I've shared with you, but it's also an overview of the simplicity that's in Christ. it's not complicated what the Lord is wanting to accomplish and wanting to do. Let's read, starting in verse 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. By man, Adam, came death. By man, Jesus, came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, in case you missed it, for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming, then cometh the end. Okay, this is where I got the final order idea. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up to the kingdom of God, even the father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, destroy the works of the devil. For he must reign Jesus must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet, Jesus. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he, God the Father, is accepted. which did put all things under him. And now here is how it all wraps up. Verse 28. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, Jesus, then shall the son also himself be subject unto him, the father, that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. The end. The end. When the Father is all in all, it is the end. And how did everything get there? It got there through Jesus, who showed us the way. And all of us that have accepted Christ will be with Him. We'll be seen in Him. We love Him. because he first loved us. Let's pray. Father, oh God, I'm thankful. I'm thankful that you reveal unto babes the things in your word. I'm thankful, Father, that there remain people in this world who love you. I look out at these faces and I see people that love you. Lord, may we live lives that reflect our love for you. May we understand the simple things that are in Christ, the simple truth that you desire our glory with you. So Father, we want to praise you. We want to lift up your name today. And we will give you that praise in Jesus' name.