Speaker 1: Yeah, that worry. You are God. Four Glory to the
Speaker 1: Father and to the Son and to the Holy Fear.
Speaker 1: Now I driver not today until the Lord and I mercy. Lord,
Speaker 1: have mercy Lord, and I mercy me.
Speaker 2: Ri Star drew God who rose to the ad with
Speaker 2: the intercessions while making all blame His Holy Mother, the
Speaker 2: power depression, I pain cross, the protectnble, everybody's powers, the
Speaker 2: supplication of the Glorious Prophet from Baptist Sean.
Speaker 1: Of the Holy Lors Off Possis, the.
Speaker 2: Holy glors Rife, victorious Martyrs all right and got grandfathers
Speaker 2: are Father and Saint Jean Sasser Constantinople, the Holy Marge
Speaker 2: Sansus of Goddokeimana, Holy Heart Marybus bishopsist Our Fathers, Holy
Speaker 2: Martzen Zenas a servant in Philadelphia, Arabia, the Holy Martyrs
Speaker 2: Compunnis and Blacke, and the Holy Marts Juanna her Sunsetay Name.
Speaker 1: This was an album First Martyr of Britain Execution Your.
Speaker 2: Belief in Christ to the same album The Holy Marts,
Speaker 2: Aaron Julius, The Multitude Mary thro Britain sat Believes Bishop Milose,
Speaker 2: you never keep this thing of all the Sames have
Speaker 2: murderss and save us free is good and loves man
Speaker 2: member Pavins in the Holy Spirit corn to Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: Let's see if you want.
Speaker 1: Too cool today?
Speaker 2: You know, the Church gives us an especially powerful pairing
Speaker 2: of readers. In the epistle, Saint Paul speaks of israel
Speaker 2: zeal for God God, but says that it's not according
Speaker 2: to knowledge, and he grieves for his own people and
Speaker 2: praise that they might be saved because although there is
Speaker 2: zealous for God, they've sought to establish their own righteousness
Speaker 2: rather than submitting themselves to the righteousness of God in Christ.
Speaker 2: And then in the Gospel we're given Matthew's account of
Speaker 2: the Greatest Indamiac, a man tormented by demons, dwelling among
Speaker 2: our tombs, so fierce that going to pass by the life.
Speaker 1: And when Christ comes.
Speaker 2: Near, the demons immediately cry out, what have we to
Speaker 2: do with thee Jesus, say us, on God, art thou
Speaker 2: come hither to torment us before the time. Now at
Speaker 2: first glance, these two readings may seem very different. Saint
Speaker 2: Paul is speaking about Israel the law of righteousness, faith
Speaker 2: and confession, while the Gospel is speaking about demonic.
Speaker 1: Possession swime in a town that begs Christ to.
Speaker 2: Leave that if we listen carefully, we end up hearing
Speaker 2: the same warning in both of the readings, that it
Speaker 2: is possible to be very near to holy things.
Speaker 1: And still not be here. But it is possible to
Speaker 1: have zeal and yet not have saving knowledge.
Speaker 2: It is possible even to recognize Christ and confess true
Speaker 2: things about him and still remain far from him. Saint
Speaker 2: Paul begins his epistle with sorrow and love, brethren, by
Speaker 2: heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that
Speaker 2: they may be saved.
Speaker 1: This is that hatred is not contempt, and it's not
Speaker 1: a rejection of Israel.
Speaker 2: It is the grief of when apostle, whose heart burns
Speaker 2: for the salvation of his own people. He acknowledges that
Speaker 2: they have zeal for God. But zeal alone is not.
Speaker 1: Enough when it's separated from the knowledge of Christ.
Speaker 2: The tragedies that they're seeking righteousness, they're seeking it in
Speaker 2: the wrong way. They're seeking to establish their own righteousness
Speaker 2: instead of receiving.
Speaker 1: The righteousness of God. Saint Augustine explains this very directly.
Speaker 1: The Jews thought that they could fulfill righteousness.
Speaker 2: By their own power. They did not acknowledge the grace
Speaker 2: of Christ, and they stumbled over the stumbling stone and
Speaker 2: the rock of ruining. Their error was not that they
Speaker 2: had no concern for God. Their error was that they
Speaker 2: tried to stand before God by their own power, by
Speaker 2: their own observance, their own righteousness, and apart from the
Speaker 2: grace of Christ.
Speaker 1: And this is a danger of brothers and sisters, not
Speaker 1: only for the.
Speaker 2: Jews of Saint Paul's time, but for every religious person
Speaker 2: even to this day. Because we can have zeal, we
Speaker 2: can care about the doctrine, we can care about fasting,
Speaker 2: the services, customs, rubrics, all things. All of these things
Speaker 2: have in their proper place. But if they do not
Speaker 2: lead us to Christ, if they do not humble us
Speaker 2: before Christ, if they do not bring us to repentance,
Speaker 2: then even our zeal becomes just a way of establishing
Speaker 2: our own righteousness. We can be outwardly religious and remain
Speaker 2: inwardly unchanged.
Speaker 1: Theodora says that Paul.
Speaker 2: Calls this their own righteousness because they were clinging to
Speaker 2: the law after its proper time had passed, while the
Speaker 2: righteous that comes from graceing and the faith in Christ
Speaker 2: is the righteousness to God, and he adds faith in
Speaker 2: the Lord does not opposed, but actually conforms to thela
Speaker 2: Since the Law led us to Christ, the world, the
Speaker 2: Law wasn't evil, and the Law wasn't opposed to Christ.
Speaker 1: It was a teacher. It was a preparation for the people,
Speaker 1: but it was.
Speaker 2: Only a shadow him to the ultimate reality, whichwus Christ.
Speaker 2: And once Christ has come, we cannot cling to the
Speaker 2: shadow of the things before while rejecting the arm to
Speaker 2: whom the shadow pointed. And this is why Paul says
Speaker 2: Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
Speaker 2: everyone who believes.
Speaker 1: Notice he doesn't say the annulment of the Law, because.
Speaker 2: Christ is the fulfillment, the goal, the meaning, the life
Speaker 2: of everything that God has revealed and intended for his people.
Speaker 1: The Law pointed to Christ, the prophets.
Speaker 3: Proclaimed Christ, the sacrifices foreshadowed Christ, and the righteous dead
Speaker 3: waited for him because no man had ever been saved
Speaker 3: under the Law.
Speaker 2: But when He descended into Hades, he did what the
Speaker 2: Law by itself could never do.
Speaker 1: He broke the bonds of death and opened the way
Speaker 1: to eternal life.
Speaker 2: And then Paul says, somebody can also be misunderstood and
Speaker 2: turn away from the whole life of the church.
Speaker 1: He says, if thou.
Speaker 2: Shalt confess with thy mouth, Lord Jesus Christ, and shall
Speaker 2: believe in thine heart that God is raising from the dead,
Speaker 2: thou shalt be saved with the heart and in believe
Speaker 2: of under righteousness, and with a mouth, confession is made
Speaker 2: under salvation. Now some will hear this and reduce salvation
Speaker 2: to amone believing something inwardly something out They might believe
Speaker 2: something inwardant say something outwardly. But for them the matter
Speaker 2: has been finished. But the Church has never taught that.
Speaker 2: They've never understood salvation in that way. Yes we must believe,
Speaker 2: yes we must confess, and yes we're saved by our
Speaker 2: faith in Christ. To be sure, but the faith that
Speaker 2: saves is not a dead opinion. It's not a bare acknowledgment,
Speaker 2: and it's not merely seeking.
Speaker 1: Or saying true words. Saint Paul says, with the heart one.
Speaker 2: Believes under righteousness, that means that the heart has changed,
Speaker 2: the heart is turned, the.
Speaker 1: Heart begins to bear fruit.
Speaker 2: But this is where the Gospel reading becomes such a
Speaker 2: powerful commentary on.
Speaker 1: The epistle, because in Matthew's account.
Speaker 2: The demons see Christ and immediately they know who he is,
Speaker 2: and in fact, they confess him more clearly than many
Speaker 2: people around.
Speaker 1: Him at that time did. Because the demons say, Jesus
Speaker 1: thou son of God.
Speaker 2: They know he has authority, and they know the judgment
Speaker 2: is coming, because they asked art thou come hither the
Speaker 2: torment us before the time.
Speaker 1: In other words, the demons have correct doctrine in certain areas.
Speaker 1: They know that Jesus is the son of God.
Speaker 2: They know they will be a judgment, and they know
Speaker 2: they're going to be subject to his power, and they
Speaker 2: even tremble before him.
Speaker 1: But are they saved?
Speaker 2: Oh no?
Speaker 1: This is why the apostle James says, thou.
Speaker 2: Believe is there's one God? Thou doest well? The devils
Speaker 2: also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know the bank
Speaker 2: magic faith about words his death? The demons believe. The
Speaker 2: demons trembled, But the demons never repentance. They confess Christ,
Speaker 2: but they did not love him or their name. They
Speaker 2: acknowledge his power, but they did not submit to it
Speaker 2: in obedience. Their confession may be true in its words,
Speaker 2: but it's not a saving confession because it's not joined
Speaker 2: the repentance, humility, love, and communion with God. And so
Speaker 2: the Epistle of the Gospel together guard us from two
Speaker 2: opposite errors. The Epistle warns us against religious zeal without Christ,
Speaker 2: and the Gospel warns us against fair confession without repentance.
Speaker 1: One man may.
Speaker 2: Say I'm righteous because I kick through rules. Another may
Speaker 2: say I'm saved because I confess Jesus. But both must
Speaker 2: hear the word of God today.
Speaker 1: The first must learn that no one establishes righteousness on
Speaker 1: their own.
Speaker 2: To the second of us to learn the defeating the
Speaker 2: demons confess through things about Christ. Simply saying the worlds
Speaker 2: is not enough. Saving faith is not self righteousness, and
Speaker 2: it's not empty words, because saving faith is a living
Speaker 2: union of the heart with Christ. And notice also the
Speaker 2: reaction of the townspeople in today's hospital, after the demons
Speaker 2: are cast out and the swine rushed wildly down to
Speaker 2: see the whole city comes out to meet Jesus. They
Speaker 2: have before them an undeniable sign of the divine power.
Speaker 1: Men who have been enslaved and tormented have been lived them.
Speaker 2: The tyranny of the demons has been broken, the authority
Speaker 2: of Christ has been revealed to all of them. Instead
Speaker 2: of rejoicing, they begged him to depart from their region
Speaker 2: because they would rather have their swine than their safety.
Speaker 2: They or rather here old life than disturb than to
Speaker 2: have to change and embrace Christ.
Speaker 1: This too, was part of the war.
Speaker 2: Israel and paulsle Men has deal for God doesn't submit
Speaker 2: your righteousness. While the demons and the townspeople know Christ,
Speaker 2: but neither love him nor welcome him. In all three
Speaker 2: cases they are so close to the truth but resistant
Speaker 2: to the grace of God. They have contact with the
Speaker 2: things that are holy that they don't have for the
Speaker 2: healing of the heart, and brothers and sisters, this is
Speaker 2: where we must bring the readings home to ourselves.
Speaker 1: It's not enough to be near the church. It's not
Speaker 1: enough to know the wise.
Speaker 2: It's not enough to know the services of the counters,
Speaker 2: to be the best, faster, to make the illustrations numerous,
Speaker 2: to bow deeper than they.
Speaker 1: All these things are good when they are in Christ,
Speaker 1: and they lead us to Christ.
Speaker 2: But if they become a substitute for repentance, they are
Speaker 2: dangerous to us.
Speaker 1: If they make us proud, they're being this to us.
Speaker 2: If we use the establish our own righteousness in our
Speaker 2: own minds. They're dangerous to us because the question is
Speaker 2: not simply doing no Christ because the demon's new. The
Speaker 2: question is not simply do we have zeal for God Israel.
Speaker 1: That's zeal. It's not to the witness of divine power.
Speaker 1: Because if irges Sing saw it and the told crisis.
Speaker 1: The question is do we receive him? Do we painful
Speaker 1: for him? Do we allow him to cast out from
Speaker 1: us everything is unclean, violent, everything.
Speaker 2: That dwells among the tunes and death? And do we
Speaker 2: believe with our heart unto righteousness? Because the heart is
Speaker 2: the thing battlefield Saint Paul doesn't say merely that a
Speaker 2: man that thinks correctly, thought things correct thoughts under righteousness.
Speaker 1: He says, with the heart man believes under righteousness.
Speaker 2: If the heart is full of pride, our order is
Speaker 2: filled with hate for our neighbor, then w these religious
Speaker 2: words just become proud of us. The heart's full of
Speaker 2: fear the same fashion, and we would have come truly
Speaker 2: without the dance.
Speaker 1: But when we hollow our hearts before God, then becomefession
Speaker 1: in constilation. Because the mouth speaks from our heart that
Speaker 1: has begun to live and.
Speaker 2: This is why our faith must bear fruits, because we
Speaker 2: don't earn salvation by the works.
Speaker 1: If we believe that, you'd be like he is trying
Speaker 1: to stabish our litions. But neither say just with the work.
Speaker 1: The living faith that receives Christ follows from us.
Speaker 2: It pretends, It forgives of praise, It struggles, It feeds
Speaker 2: a hundred clothes and naked.
Speaker 1: This is a stake in prison, and.
Speaker 2: It shows mercy because Christ himself is merciful, and it endures.
Speaker 2: If fruits don't replays faith, they would feal whether our
Speaker 2: faith is alive. And so, brothers and sisters, as we
Speaker 2: depart from this divin motion, let us not ask Christ
Speaker 2: to depart from us as the hero Sings did. Let
Speaker 2: us not cling to our own life as Israel did.
Speaker 2: Let us not be satisfied with merely saying true things
Speaker 2: about Him as a used. Rather, let us receive him
Speaker 2: with humility. Let us confess him with faith. Let us
Speaker 2: weave in our hearts under righteousness. Let us bring him
Speaker 2: to the places and us that are still wooing and
Speaker 2: now have to receive the precious gifts his body and wed.
Speaker 2: Let us go forth not only as those who confess
Speaker 2: Christ with are mouth, but as those who supplies their
Speaker 2: witness that He has truly come to save, to heal,
Speaker 2: and make us war.
Speaker 1: And followed the Son of the Host period on them