“So closely does he identify with his church; so significant is his union with his people. May this encourage our hearts today. The Lord Jesus, beloved, is jealous for us. He protects us. He has always fought for us, just like David and Goliath. We thought about that last week, right? How David stood. He fought on behalf of God’s people.”

“Grace is to receive something you don’t deserve. And what is it that you received that you didn’t deserve, right? Which was forgiveness and righteousness. And how did that come to life in you? Faith. All of that is a gift to you. That’s the good news of the gospel. It’s that you have nothing to boast of.”

“We all felt it this week. How many of you felt the shame of your sin this week? I did. And how many of you went, “I can’t believe I fell for that lie again, that if only I have this, I will be satisfied. I will be happy. I will be safe. I will be secure. I will be liked. I will be wanted. I will be beautiful. I will be of value. I will be of worth.” How many of us believed that this week?”

“So he’s not saying that everything’s easy, you know. Just deny the hardness because it’s all great because God is good. That’s not how he’s thinking. He’s talking, though, about the comparative greatness of the glory that’s coming. It’s so great we can’t fathom it. By comparison, what we’re going through is light and momentary.”

“If you don’t understand these uses of the law, you’re going to butcher passages like the good Samaritan and like the rich young man. Because – and here’s how we do this – we collapse law and gospel, and we confuse the way the law is supposed to be used rightly.”

“Blessed is the one who endures, meaning circumstances cannot change the satisfaction that I have. Do you know what we look for every single day? We want to be satisfied. We want to be satisfied. That’s what joy is. Joy is ultimate satisfaction. And James says you’ll have ultimate satisfaction in Christ when you follow his truth, and you don’t wander from it.”

“What is saving faith? I accept. I receive. I rest. Is there anything in that equation that you’re doing – that you’re accomplishing? No, you’re passive. You receive it; you rest; you trust in Christ alone. For what? Justification, absolutely, the declaration of righteousness, but also for sanctification that you will be conformed unto the image of Christ because his spirit is in you and you’ve been united to him, and he will see it through.”

“What does it look like to live in a way that God would say is good? And what does it look like to live in a way that’s good for my neighbor? How do you know? Well, you know, from the law, as given in the moral law and the Old Testament, and also as expounded upon in various commands and imperatives in the New Testament.”

“So what’s interesting is that when we think about strength, when we think about, okay, when I am weak, and I am dry, and I cannot see clearly that God should be praised and that I accomplish his will, and I want to do my own will, and I want to do it my way, and I’m wrestling with it, what do we try?”

“He’s building his church that he tells us the gates of hell will not prevail against. You and I are evidence of that. He’s building his church. Two thousand years after he ascended here, we sit covered in his blood and righteousness, singing praises to his name, encouraging one another to trust him. Why? Because he’s building his church, he’s saving his people.”

“There’s nothing more that Satan wants to do and sin within your heart than to turn your heart hard to justify yourself in your bitterness. It will destroy not only you but everyone in and around you, and it will not restore what was lost.”

“But you see, our purposes are so skewed. And so he says, you need to constantly be, daily be washing yourself with the purpose of your life, which is to glorify God and to be a part of his kingdom and to do his will.”