Correct Knowledge of Ourselves
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
2/28/2010 AM
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Text:
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Romans 3;
Lord's Day 2
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Psalters: |
425, 1, 159, 364 |
- The knowing.
- The first question of this Lord’s Day assumes two things.
- First, the existence of misery.
- Second, misery is the experience of every class and kind of human living on the earth.
- The only correct way to deal with misery is to identify it properly.
- Man is generally striving to rid himself of misery, but cannot because he does not properly identify it.
- Misery is the symptom of a great problem.
- It is the law of God which correctly identifies sin to be the cause of man’s misery.
- The law reveals that something is wrong in the relationship between God and man.
- Misery and sin go together.
- The law reveals that misery is the experience of the consequence of sin.
- Why does God’s law do this work of identifying sin?
- With the law God commands conformity of His rational, moral creatures - on pain of His curse.
- God’s law, a perfect reflection of His own perfection, requires one thing: love (Rom. 13:10).
- We are to love God supremely.
- And we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.
- We learn not only that we cannot keep God’s law, but also that we naturally do the opposite it requires.
- The law shows that we are prone to hate God and our neighbor instead of having any love.
- We hate (not just love less) God.
- Anyone who does not fear and love God has no respect for his neighbor.
- The true believer is the only one with the ability to admit honestly his natural and constant depravity.
- The same faith which acknowledges sin, also acknowledges justification (5:1 and 8:1).
- God’s law becomes blessed to us as its terrors drive us to Christ.
- With sin is the promise of forgiveness in Jesus.