Why We Need the Passover

I appreciate it very much. The sermonette Mr. Oliver brought us here today. It leads very well into what I'd like to discuss as well. Because we are coming into a very important time of the year as we approach the Passover. The Days of Unleavened Bread, now just barely over three weeks around the corner. And shortly we're going to be examining our homes for leavening. That physical symbol that points to sin during the time of that feast. Already Darla's been bringing things out of the pantry and put them on the countertop and says, eat this! You know, we have some priority eating going on in our house and we're giving away like, you know, you buy a box of ritz from Costco. You've got to, you know, you can't digest that healthily. You just kind of have to pass it along or toss it out, I guess. Not in my notes. Let me stay with my notes. We're searching, right? The cupboard, the refrigerator, the pantry, probably between the couch cushions. We don't want to miss anything. We want to see what's there. But at the same time, we're meant to be examining something far more important than breadcrumbs at this time of the year. We're meant to be examining our own hearts. That which we are internally. Again, I appreciated the sermonette that opened the door on this topic. We're to be examining who and what we are on the inside, our thoughts, our motivations, who and what we are growing to be. And this is the time of year to be examining as we get rid of the leavening. The leavening that still resides within.

The Apostle Paul instructs us in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 28. He said, But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. And so order matters in this process. Order matters. First, we examine ourselves.

Again, we take that look, heart look, deep inside. We see what's there. And then with that recognition, we approach. We come into the Passover at the appointed time of the year. We partake of the symbols of the bread and of the wine. So we examine, and then we partake.

In this order, the heart-searching comes before taking the symbols.

So this year, as we approach the Passover, I want to speak about something that should be deeply personal to all of us. It's not going to be a message on the doctrine of the Passover. I've covered that at length in the past, and it's in the archives. And it's not going to be a message on the timing or the order of the Passover. I've covered that as well in times past. That is also in the archives, but I want to talk about something that I believe will be deeply personal to all of us. And for me it is. It is, speaking for myself, my confession.

Okay? My confession on this time of the year, and that confession is my need for the Passover.

My need for the Passover. It's realization I come to every year when I undertake this self-examination process. My absolute need for the Passover. And as we walk through today's message, I think you're going to find that my confession of need is also your confession of need. As we consider what that service is that lies before us. And in light of the examination process we are walking through today. So the title of the sermon is, Why We Need the Passover.

Why we need the Passover. For those who have been called by God, made covenant with him through baptism, received his Spirit, this is not an optional matter. This is a calling before him to partake. But also it's more than that from our perspective, it is our absolute need for the Passover. In context, when I speak of the Passover, I'm not referring only to the event. Okay? That event that we come to on that night and take of the symbols is called the Passover clearly in the Bible. But so is the Lamb. I'm also referring to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who laid his life down for us. He is also called the Passover. The Apostle Paul makes reference to him in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7, where he says, For indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. So I'm going to refer to the Passover throughout this message, but when I do understand I'm expressing both the event, okay, my need to return annually, if I can use somewhat of a illustration that for me draws a picture to the foot of the stake, okay, because I believe that's literally what we're doing as we come to the Passover. We're coming back annually to the foot of the stake, to the point of what was given for us, the life of Jesus Christ, and we're reflecting, we're remembering. But also then beyond that, we come back to the fact of remembrance as well, that I need to live under the sacrifice of the Passover each and every day of my life.

So as I refer to the Passover as we go forward, it will be both the event as well as the Lamb. Today we're going to walk through three reasons why we need the Passover. This is what I've come to through my own self-examination, but I believe we would share in all of this together. It applies, I believe, to the heart of us all. So reason number one, we all need the Passover because the standard is higher than we are on our own. We all need the Passover because the standard is higher.

than we are on our own. I want you to notice Jesus' admonition in Matthew chapter 5. Here he begins with what our spiritual character should be and the reflection of it through our words and through our actions. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 43. This is something we've read through often, read Letter of Jesus Christ, and it's easy to read through. It's much harder to do. And actually, it's in the doing that the heart and character of God in Christ is reflected in us. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 43. Jesus says, "'You have heard it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.'" Christ says, "'Do you want to be a child of God? Do you want to reflect the character of God, the mind of God, and actually walk through life showing forth that you are His?' Jesus said, "'Actually, you're going to do something that is counterintuitive to this world.' And as we understand it, it is something that God did when He reached out to offer the sacrifice of His Son for us, loving your enemies, giving for those who actually persecute you, blaspheme you, direct all this malice towards you. It's something we're to take on in our own lives. He says, verse 45, "'That you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes the Son rise on the evil and on the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Isn't that what you can find anybody in the world doing?' You know, the reference to the tax collectors were those that the Jews looked down on because they were, you know, Roman collaborators. They were Jews, but they collected taxes for the Romans. So if you said even the tax collector does that, you're saying even the lowest esteemed in society does this minimum. How much more the people of God?" Jesus says. Verse 47, "'And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore,' verse 48, in light of this, "'Therefore you shall be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.'" So this is the standard, the standard that Jesus Christ himself said, "'You shall be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.'" And I do believe we would all acknowledge that is a standard that is higher than any of us on our own. And it is one of the absolute reasons we need the Passover. The fact is, I am a sinner. Okay, that is the truth of my life. I am a sinner. I had to come to repentance, come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and be forgiven. But the fact is, that forgiveness process didn't stop on the day of my baptism. God has had to continue to extend that to me throughout the course of my life. Okay? And for all of us, Christ would not have had to die were we not sinners. So that's where we begin. Even on my best day, humanly, I can't say that I measure up against this level of perfection. Right? The glory of God. That's the standard that Jesus Christ sets. Now, you notice that he doesn't lower the standard to something more attainable in the flesh. You know, Christ doesn't say, just be sincere.

Just be good people. Or just, you know, do better than you did last year. I think sometimes maybe we come up to our examination process. And I would say, rightly so. Consider, how am I doing this year, compared to last year? Are things I was struggling with last year, are they gone? Are they put away? Are they getting better? We examine those things and think through those things in the process. But last year to this year isn't the standard. The standard is between where I stand today and the glory of God. And upon that assessment, every year I come back to the point, I need the Passover. I need that event and I need the sacrifice because Jesus said the goal is be perfect as your Father is perfect. That word perfect actually kind of boils down to meaning and representing completeness, maturity, whole. Okay, it's all that God is in His character. It's fully reflecting His mind and it's not partially formed in us is good enough. It's not, I'm moving in that direction is good enough. Indeed, we should be and we must be. But it's a time of the year we stop and we measure against the standard and we ask ourselves, where do I stand? And if the standard is nothing less than the character of God Himself, His purity, His selfless love, His unwavering righteousness, we recognize that the only one who attained to the standard in the flesh was Jesus Christ. Okay, He lived perfectly in the flesh. He was without sin. And that's why He qualified to be the sacrifice for our sins. And that's also why we say, you know, the stature of the fullness of Christ. That is also our goal. He was God in the flesh, walking through, showing in action the character of God that we must live by.

So we understand the goal. We understand the standard. And when Christ says, be perfect, it exposes to me just how far Paul Moody still has to go. I think if somebody lived this way their entire life, they would acknowledge if they were truly walking through this process correctly, I still have a ways to go. You know, if a man walked up here at 95 years old and said, you're looking at Him, the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ, I think he would say, I think you better go back and work on that pride thing just a little bit more.

Okay, it is something we cannot attain to on our own. Notice Paul's words in Romans chapter 3.

Romans chapter 3, indeed the book of Romans, and specifically Romans 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, is an incredible read-through prior to the Passover because it really causes us to look deep and consider. But in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, Paul says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Okay, so this, for me, removes any illusion that I'm in this all by myself, that I'm the only one right in this position. He says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And I don't know what to say. Maybe, you know, misery loves company, I guess. But the point is we're all in this together. All means all, all right? And it doesn't merely mean that this falling short was passed. He says, all have sinned. He says, we fall short of the glory of God, not have fallen, as in this is a continue and an ongoing process in our life that we do indeed have a deficiency when measured against God's glory. And so that's where this comparison lies, not against one another. I don't get to examine my spouse. I don't get to examine any of you in this process, not my neighbor, not comparison between me and the world. The comparison is between myself and the example of God, the example of Jesus Christ. And when I take that measuring line against myself, I am forced to admit every single year I fall short. I fall short.

On my own, I fall short. That reality doesn't mean we're to be crushed, though. So I appreciated the introduction to the message. And as we go through today's message, I want to actually encourage us. This isn't meant to have beat us down message. Ultimately, this is meant to be an encouraging message over what has been done for us, and indeed the liberty that we all live under. But again, I don't want us to come up to the Passover crush by what we find in our examination process. We shouldn't come into the door beat up, oh, woe is me, I'm a horrible person over what we find as we examine ourselves. But again, we need to come recognizing what God and Christ have done for us. This time is meant to clarify something very important in our minds, brother, and that is our need for the Passover, both the event and the sacrifice. Our absolute need. I need the lamb every day. I need to return to that sacred observance every year to refresh my focus and my mind again, because it's only through the Passover that God has provided that the solution to who and what I am is here. Verse 24, then, still continuing on in Romans chapter 3, Paul says, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God sent forth as a propitiation by his blood. A propitiation essentially means an atoning sacrifice, a covering. The blood of Christ covers, if you come under that sacrifice through baptism, your sin, sent forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance, God has passed over the sins that were previously committed. You wonder why we call it the Passover? Why God calls it the Passover? It's not just going back to Exodus 12 that he passed over the Israelites. Today he has passed over through the blood of his son, the sins of a repentant people. If we return to him on our knees humble, repentant, God has passed over the sins that were previously committed. Verse 26, to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness, that he might be just in the justifier, the one who has faith in Jesus. And so indeed, we should enter the Passover service encouraged, uplifted, recognizing the price that was paid for us, recognizing the grace that God was willing to extend to us, even while we were enemies of his. It should not be a discouraging moment. It should be sobering. It should be humbling.

But understand, God the Father and Jesus Christ rejoice in what that service portrays. The reconciliation, the reunion of the relationship that God intended from the beginning. And we should come in recognizing, you know what, I fall short on my own, but thank God what he has done in my life to give his only begotten son that I might live. It needs to be a recognition as we walk through this process each and every year. Indeed, the day will come if we remain faithful until the end that we will no longer fall short of the glory of God. You know, the day is coming, 1 John chapter 3 says, we will see him as he is, because we will be as he is in the same form, in the same glorified likeness of God, when our change comes, relieved from the flesh, glorified in his likeness. That day will come when the sinful man will be put off, but it starts with the Passover and our need for it. Point number two, we need the Passover because sin runs deeper than our actions.

We need the Passover because sin runs deeper than our actions. It runs all the way to the heart.

When we think about it, sin is often something that we see in the outward behavior.

The works of the hands, the words of the mouth, and oftentimes that's what we think about when we think about sin, what needs to be curved in the open expression, the outward expression, of our lives. And that is rightly so. The Bible defines sin as lawlessness, or the transgression of the law, 1 John 3 verse 4, and that is manifested oftentimes in the outward behavior. But as Mr. Oliver told us here in the sermonette, where does the fruit come from? Where do the outward actions come from the behavior? It comes from the heart. Out of the heart flows forth, things that are either good or not good. And our hands can actually, and our words can deceive, we can even deceive ourselves. Hey, I did pretty good. I didn't rob any convenience stores this last year. I must be doing okay, right? But the fact is, from the heart is where all of this begins. What the Apostle Paul realized, and what we must all realize, is that sin isn't just something we do, it is something that operates within us. In Romans chapter 7, Paul moves beyond the outward conduct, and he begins to describe the internal conflict we all face as part of the human condition. Romans chapter 7, and I'm going to pick it up in verse 14. Here in the run-up to this, and even through what we'll read, Paul in background is actually addressing the law. And some people will look at his words and say, well, the law's been done away. And Paul's argument actually is, no, it has not. Right? The point is, the law can't save you. The law can't change truly the inward man. We'll discuss what actually changes the inward man fully and completely. But he says, the law's not done away. The law is actually, as we know, Christ said, raised to a higher level. It's not just the Ten Commandments plaque on the wall, what you say, what you do with your hands. It elevates to the heart level. Christ says, you know, you shall not kill, but if you look at your brother and you hate him in your heart, you're guilty of murder. And you shall not commit adultery, but if you look upon someone to lust after them, you've committed this in your heart. So, ultimately, Paul is going to get to the core of where this is and the fact that the law written on our heart is not the doing away. In fact, it raises it to the level of being now our character. If indeed we are as Jesus Christ is. But I want you to notice the struggle that Paul is going to describe. I think you'll recognize that it is something that you and I face, perhaps even at this time of the year in our examination. Romans 7, verse 14, Paul says, for we know that the law is spiritual. Okay, if it was physical only, erase it from the chalkboard and it's gone, right? But he says this is spiritual, which means it's according to the character of God. He says, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Understand, this is the Apostle Paul 20 years after his conversion. He says, I am carnal, sold under sin. This isn't the day after he was struck down on the road to Damascus, where he has an enlightenment, right? By Jesus Christ. And he says, oh, I've messed up. Now, Paul says, 20 years down the road, this mature Christian, this Apostle, who went out boldly for God in Christ, performed miracles, raised people from the dead, proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ, and brought people, Gentiles, to an understanding and a belief. This man who endured so much, you know, shipwrecked and stoned night and day in the deep, all these things he endured, a mature Apostle of Jesus Christ, 20 years after his calling, says, I am carnal, sold under sin.

Even after years of walking with God, Paul acknowledged the fact that I'm flesh, he says. I'm carnal, and sin is still a part of my nature. And you know, the law isn't the problem. Sometimes people will say, again, that old law, do away with the law and walk in the liberty of Christ. The law is not the problem. The problem is the human heart. The problem is the struggle within. And Paul acknowledged that clearly. It's where the conflict with the righteous nature of God took place in his life, and it's where it takes place in our life, ultimately as well.

Verse 15, Paul says, for what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, you know, I want to do God's way. That I do not practice. But what I hate, that I do.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever been there recently? I have.

Have you ever walked through that, through the examination process, and thought, you know, here I am again. And Paul says, what I hate, that I do. What I will to do, that's not what I find myself doing. I struggle, he says. And the point is, we need to recognize this is unique to the people of God, but it's going to highlight the incredible blessing and gift of God. We must always do our part. We must always repent. We must always work to grow.

But don't let the recognition of what it is we go through as God's people be something that just turns you aside in discouragement or depression. Actually turn to God in joy for what he is doing in your life. So again, the law is not the problem. The heart is the challenge. This isn't a man excusing wrongdoing. Understand, Paul's not going out lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery. All right, this is a man who, before Christ, called him was Pharisee of the Pharisees. Right? He lived according to the letter of the law. He defended the law, valiantly so, and yet he discovered that sin is more than an outward behavior. Sin dwells within us, and sin motivates us. It impacts our desires. It impacts what springs forth from the heart to the actions.

So knowing we should not commit the actions is good, and not committing them on recognition that God said, don't do it is good, but ultimately the goal moves into being, this is a part of my nature and character not to do it. And that's where Christ was, but that's not where we are completely. We're a mixture of the carnal man and Jesus Christ. We're a mixture of God and who we were actually before we went down in the water. God forgave us at baptism, but we still walked forward from there with our carnal nature, now warring against the Spirit of God that's within us. And it is a war. It's a battle each and every day. And Paul is describing this rather intimately, and I'm glad he gave us this glimpse. It's a rare, unique glimpse.

Verse 16, he says, if then I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it's good. He says, I did something, it pricked my conscience, and it brought me back to the fact that, you know, God's way, God's law is good, and I'm a sinner. Verse 17, but now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me that is in my flesh nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, he says, I want to do right. But how to perform what is good I do not find. Again, he isn't saying he lives in constant rebellion. He's saying I struggle. He says, there's a war going on inside of me. There's turmoil between the nature of God and the nature of Paul. And there's this wrestling match that I'm going through still 20 years after my conversion in my baptism. How many years, brethren, has it been since your baptism? Can you relate to what Paul is describing? Verse 19, he says, For the good that I will to do, I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Verse 21, I find then a law, that evil is present with me the one who wills to do good. Again, this is a converted Christian, an apostle of God, a man who was instructed by Jesus Christ himself, full of the Spirit of God. And he's saying there is a war inside of me, this persistent internal challenge that comes as a result of sin dwelling in my very nature. And he says it's not something that's going to be resolved simply by the keeping of the letter of the law. And that's why sometimes people say, oh, see, the law is done away with, or that law of death. Well, contained in the law was the penalty. The wages of sin is death.

Right? So what has been relieved is not the law, it's the penalty. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. But Paul recognized there's a struggle and a conflict of natures that are butting heads in my life. And if I'm honest with it, it's been there for years. So he builds this tension throughout Romans chapter seven, and then he comes to this very honest, very raw declaration in verse 24. He says, oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death. A wretched man that I am, Paul says. You know, that's deep. That's heavy. That's brutally honest. Upon examining his heart, Paul says, I am a wretched man. Have you ever been there?

Again, I can, this is a self-confession. I have been there, and I've been there often. And it's part of, I think, what we find when we examine ourselves against the standard.

It's a moment when we see the gap that exists between our humanity and the holiness of God. And you know what? It can feel overwhelming. And we cry out the same way the Apostle Paul did, oh, wretched man that I am, oh, wretched woman that I am. And there's a moment in time, I think, where we're in that sense struck down in the same way as he is. But understand, you can't stay in verse 24. Hopefully you recognize verse 24, but you cannot live there. Paul did not live there. He goes immediately on to verse 25. He says, I thank God. I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.

Okay, so Paul said, I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And that changes everything, because the cry of frustration is followed by gratitude. He examined himself and he says, this is still warring inside of me. There's still a part of me that is this nature, but I thank God that he sent his Son. And I thank him for the blessing he has provided in my life. He's acknowledging the deliverance which only came through that sacrifice. And the great blessing is that you and I, year after year, as we come up to the Passover, are reminded of the very same thing. First examine, see honestly what is there, and then partake with gratitude for what it is that God has done. If we've repented of our sins and been baptized and received God's Holy Spirit, then life of Christ is dwelling in us, helping to clean us up. Okay, so understand what the law does and does not do, and understand what then Christ in us does, and we begin to see where actually the true heart work begins. The law does much for us, okay? It gives us the righteous standard of God, but it can't in many ways get in and do the hard heart work. It is God and Christ in us that does the heart work to remove that heart of sin. And so I would say if you're dealing with the same internal struggle that Paul is describing, I would say, good. And I say, how is that good? Well, okay, yes, it does show we fall short of the standard, but it shows God is there, Christ is there, the Spirit is there working within you. The struggle, you know, if there was no struggle, I'd be worried. If you came up to the Passover and said, you know, I've looked around and pretty good this year. I'd be worried. If the war was gone, if the conflict was gone in the flesh, I say we are deceiving ourselves. The reality is we need the Passover. Romans chapter 8 and verse 1, there's no chapter break in Paul's writing. It's a continuous flow. Romans chapter 8 verse 1, he says, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. That's so encouraging. Paul says those who are in Christ, right, are not condemned. They're not condemned if that sacrifice has been applied to them. So when we renew our covenant commitment every year at the Passover, we're reminded, I hope when you walk in the door, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Please don't walk into the Passover feeling condemned.

Like I need to take the symbols because I'm condemned, and once I take the symbols, I am reconciled again. Walk into the Passover recognizing you are under the blood of Jesus Christ. You are already reconciled with God. We're here to be reminded and to renew our covenant commitment of what he has already done and continues to do in our life. There is no condemnation in Jesus Christ, and that's because he has already paid the penalty for you and for me.

We are already reconciled and living under the shadow of God's mercy. That doesn't mean we take sin lightly. That doesn't mean we don't respond to what we find when we've examined ourselves. It doesn't mean we don't feel badly about it. We must confess our sins and continue striving to improve and put sin out, but we must also remember as well that the law by itself can't fix the internal struggle. The law defines what sin is, defines right and wrong. It shows us God's standard, but the law can't reach into the human heart and remove what's there. You can post the Ten Commandments on the wall by your door. Every day as you go in and out of the house, you can see the Ten Commandments. You can remember them frontways, remember them backways.

Do that. That's a good thing. You can remind yourself daily of what is right, but that alone can't wipe away the inward pull of pride, envy, and fear that lives within the human heart.

Only the presence of God and Christ living in us through the Spirit can begin the internal cleansing work, and only they can transform in us what the law exposes.

Again, we look in God's Word, as Mr. Oliver said, and that's a mirror, and we see how am I reflecting back against God's Word. The law oftentimes will convict us as well of where we stand. But the cleansing work comes through this reconciled relationship with God and Christ.

And yes, we still stumble during this process, and we will never reach perfection in this life. As long as we are in the flesh, there will always be the struggle. But we're not called to beat ourselves up onto discouragement and depression and walk into the Passover dejected. Okay?

Paul said, O wretched man that I am, but he did not stay there. He said, Thank God, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, what he has done in my life. He acknowledged who he was, but he did not live there. He lives in the shadow of God's mercy, under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So for you and I, as we reflect on the sacrifice of Christ this year, we also do so knowing that he lives. We don't come to the Passover and mourn a Savior who remains dead. We're sobered because it is a memorial, and we remember what he endured on our behalf. And we take the bread and the wine, which symbolize his broken body and his spilled blood, but we also do so with the recognition that he lives and that he ever lives to make intercession for us. He lives at the right hand of the Father, and he lives in you and I today. And it is there that he is doing the heart work and making the real difference in our life. That brings us now then directly to the next reason why we need the Passover. Because Romans chapter 7 teaches us a very important lesson, and that is we can't set ourselves free. We can't do it on our own. You and I struggle on our best efforts according to the law, and we recognize by comparison with the standard, I am wretched, but Romans 7 teaches us that we cannot free ourselves. And that is point number three. We all need the Passover because we cannot free ourselves. You know, that's exactly where the Apostle Paul takes us.

Romans 7 exposes the struggle, but Romans chapter 5 and 8 explain the intervention of God in Christ. So let's go to Romans chapter 5. Again, we can't free ourselves. Romans chapter 5 and verse 6, the Apostle Paul writing, and he says, for when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. This is another very encouraging string of scriptures we're about to go through. Without strength, Paul says. That describes our human condition when God looked down on humanity when he decided, I will send my son. Without strength. We weren't gradually fixing ourselves. We weren't overcoming, you know, just give us some time and we will get there. We were simply without strength, completely unable to free ourselves from the wages of sin, which is death. Maybe we could improve our standard a little bit by recognition of the law, but nothing we could do for ourselves could bring us freedom, indeed, from the bondage of our actions. I want you to think about the pattern God established with ancient Israel. Is that not their story as well? On the night of the first Passover, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, right? They were in bondage under Pharaoh, and there was nothing they could do for their own freedom. It wasn't like Israel somehow just fought their way out, not against Egypt. They couldn't have drawn the sword and led a revolt and fought their way out of Egypt. And it wasn't even that Israel was, you know, such a helpful nation to the Egyptians. Pharaoh didn't say, you know, you've been some really good slaves, really built some nice monuments for me. I think we'll give you your freedom. You've deserved it. That's not the point at all. For Israel, at the time of that first Passover, they were slaves of Egypt. In fact, they were completely powerless to free themselves, but God provided a way.

God opened the way before them. And we know the story. Each household placed the blood of a perfect lamb on their door posts, on the lentil of their houses. They stayed in. The destroyer passed over, and when he came over, the houses that had the blood, the people under that sacrifice were passed over. And the destroyer delivered, passed over the people. Their deliverance began under the protection of that blood. And it didn't start with their own strength.

It didn't start with their ability to lift themselves up out of their position of bondage. It started with God's intervention. And so when God brought them out of Egypt, he led them across the Red Sea, another event which is symbolized as a baptism. Right? We're told in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians, the fact that they were baptized in the sea and into Moses. And as that sea closed in on the Egyptian army, God cut that tether, at least physically, of the bondage that was behind them.

They walked forward from their baptism in a liberty, in a freedom, with God leading them. Again, nothing they could have done humanly by their own strength. But even after crossing the sea, Israel still struggled. They were still physically free, and yet they carried Egypt with them in their thinking, in their habits, right? In their heart. As Stephen says in Acts chapter 7, and in their hearts, they turned back to Egypt.

It's a heart matter, brethren. Our freedom is a heart matter, ultimately. God has brought us out. He's brought us through the baptism, those who have come into covenant with Him. But are we still dragging Egypt with us? Is our heart still turning? This is the struggle, I think, we examine and acknowledge each and every year. In so many ways, Israel's example reflects our experience as well. When God delivers us from the sacrifice, or by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we're free. We're forgiven. We're reconciled, and we're brought into that relationship with God. And yet, we still spend a lifetime learning to leave Egypt behind, learning to overcome sin, and learning to walk in the freedom God has already given us.

It's the heart we're focused on today. Verse 6, still in Romans chapter 5, it says, For when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely, for a righteous man will one die.

Yet, perhaps for a good man, someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love towards us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God's love was so great that He reached into the very core of who we are, and pulled us out from that place, offered us a way of escape long before we could ever reach out to Him. Again, there was a gap in relationship, a breach, because of sin that we could not cross. And we could not just sort of reach out to God and grab hold of God. God had to reach across that gap with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in order to reach us where we were in order to bring us to Him.

What an incredible blessing that is to consider this time of the year. There was nothing we could do of our own strength to bring about or to earn what it is that God has provided. We are saved by grace. Absolutely. We are saved by grace. We don't believe that we're saved by works of the law because our best efforts fail.

But, you know, God extends His grace and His love to mercy to His obedient children. Those who are parents here love to give gifts to their children who are obedient. God gives us great gifts as we respond to Him in this manner of obedience. But even at that, there's no way we can measure up. It comes by His grace. Verse 9, Romans chapter 5 verse 9, much more than having now been justified by His blood, okay, made right in God's sight, justified by the blood of Jesus Christ, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

For when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoiced in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. If you've come into that baptism relationship with God, if you've received His Holy Spirit, you're already reconciled.

And in that relationship with God, you are no longer an enemy. You might feel like an enemy as you examine yourselves.

Well, indeed, that prod could be good. It reminds us we have work to do. But never forget, we have been reconciled by the blood of Jesus Christ already. It doesn't mean we're perfect. But reconciliation isn't based on our perfection. It's based on the perfection of Jesus Christ, so that even in our weaknesses, God has not cast us away. I want to repeat that.

I want you to write it down, and I want you to meditate on it as you walk through this examination process. Our reconciliation isn't based on our perfection. It is based on the perfection of Jesus Christ, so that even in our weaknesses, God has not cast us away.

Brethren, that is so encouraging to remember at this time of the year that we live under the mercy and the grace of this sacrifice. And that actually is not just permission to go do what you want. That ought to be the motivator to give it your all, to respond in the same love towards God that He has extended towards us. Paul further adds that we're saved by His life. I gave a sermon a couple of years ago on what it means to be saved by His life. Christ's resurrection isn't just history. His life is active in us today. Yes, He died, but He lives. Three days and three nights, and He was resurrected from the grave, and He lives. And indeed, brethren, He lives in us, and His life is active in us today, guiding us, giving us the strength to overcome. He is our living Savior. Indeed, He lives, and He's at the right hand of the Father. That's why the Passover matters. It matters because it brings us back every year to the foot of the stake, again, back every year face to face with the price that was paid for your forgiveness and my forgiveness, so that we remember what He has done for us, and frankly, as He lives, and He lives in us, what He continues to do in us day by day. As you approach the Passover this year, brethren, be encouraged. Remember, you're already reconciled. You're already accepted. And the one who has died for us lives for us, and He lives in us, and that is where and how the heart work truly is taking place. Yield yourself to the process. Paul continues the thought in Romans chapter 8.

So let's wrap up in Romans 8 today, back to verse 1.

In Romans 7, he said, I'm carnal, sold under the law, that which I will to do, I don't do, a wretched man that I am. But he comes back to Romans chapter 8, verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. No matter how condemned the Apostle Paul felt in chapter 7 over his struggles, his conclusion in chapter 8 is, I am not condemned. I'm not condemned. Verse 2 says, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, and he condemned sin in the flesh. Again, the weakness is not the law, the weakness is the human heart. And what God could not actually do in the human heart by the letter of the law, he did by sending Jesus Christ, who died and now lives in us. And that law, Christ in you, the hope of glory, hopefully is becoming our character, it's becoming our nature. And as it does more and more, recognize there's going to be a war that takes place inside of you. And as long as you come back in repentance, as long as you recognize the mercy of God is the blessing in your life, and as David did, humble yourself before God, God is winning. The blessing is there. Verse 4 says that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life in peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to the law in God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. We can't do it on our own. That's the point Paul's making. We live in the flesh. We recognize we are flesh. Paul recognized, I am carnal, sold under sin, but the mind cannot live in that place. It has to move to allowing the mind of God and the Spirit of God to do in you, not what is carnal, but what is spiritual. Verse 9, but you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. The very presence of Jesus Christ is what enables our transformation from the inside out. The same one who died for us now lives with us and in us, and his work is ongoing. His work is ongoing.

Understand, his work didn't end when our sins were washed away at baptism, and we walk forward from that point, still having a carnal nature to overcome. And so the process is continual, even today. And yet all along the way, God says, you're reconciled. You're no longer my enemy.

You are my son, and you are my daughter, justified in my sight. As long as we're willing to get back up again like David did and return to God in repentance, he will continue his work of creating a clean heart in us. And that's why our need for the Passover continues, because the work continues, because our dependence on Jesus Christ continues, and his Father's grace towards us continues. We might ask the question, how long, right, how long will this battle keep going? How long will the struggle endure? How long do I have to put up with this wrestling in the flesh, knowing I fall short, reaching for the glory of God? How long?

Well, Paul provides the answer in verse 11. He says, but if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, which dwells in you. As our at our resurrection into the likeness of God, our struggle with sin will be done. At our change from flesh into spirit, the last remnants of sin will be removed. Again, we're carnal. We're fleshly sold under sin, but God's Spirit is bringing us more and more into the direction of his likeness. And when the day comes of our change, and we see him as he is, and our glory is as his glory is, no more sin will be in us because we will no longer be capable of sin. That's the day we all look forward to with great anticipation, isn't it? But it starts here, starts today, starts with the Passover, right? The first step that we're going to walk through, the God's plan of salvation for all of mankind. It starts with the ongoing help we receive from God the Father and the Passover sacrifice, Jesus Christ, each and every day. Every year when we partake of the bread and the wine, we're not simply remembering a historical event. Brethren, we're looking forward. We're looking forward. We're recognizing what Christ did in the past. We're receiving the gift and the mercy of God, but this is a forward-looking trajectory, the door unto reconciliation, eternal life, right? Our ultimate salvation that is opened through Jesus Christ the door. This event is about looking forward, being renewed, acknowledging that we could not free ourselves, but God in his mercy has. We do examine ourselves soberly this time of the year. We do acknowledge our internal struggle honestly, but we should never come to the Passover crushed or dejected by what we discover. Again, we walk in the door to that service, remembering that we are reconciled, we are justified, and that the grace of the sacrifice of Christ is upon us. And we walk in the door joyful for the blessing that God has extended to us. Brother, all who have entered into a covenant relationship with God through baptism and need the Passover. We need it because the standard is higher than we are on our own. We need it because sin runs deeper than our actions. It runs all the way to our heart.

And we need the Passover because on our own strength, you and I cannot free ourselves. And so, brethren, be encouraged. As you walk through the examination process this year, be encouraged. There's going to be things that we see that we don't like to see. It's going to be things that we have to do the hard work to overcome. And maybe you've been working and it's still there.

Continue to work, but be encouraged. Be encouraged knowing that Christ has freed us by his sacrifice, that we dwell in the shadow of God's love and mercy, and that because he lives, we shall live also.