| All Fall Short... There Is No Difference Preached By D.L. Moody |
Romans 3:20-26 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the
law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus.
When Chicago was a small town, it was incorporated and made a city.
When we got our charter for the city, there was one clause in the
constitution that allowed the Mayor to appoint all the police. It worked
very well when it was a small city; but when it had three or four hundred
thousand inhabitants, it put too much power in the hands of one man. So
our leading citizens got a new bill passed that took the power out of the
hands of the Mayor, and put it into the hands of Commissioners appointed
by Government. There was one clause in the new law that no man should
be a policeman who was not a certain height — 5 feet 6 inches, let us say.
When the Commissioners got into power, they advertised for men as
candidates, and in the advertisement they stated that no man need apply
who could not bring good credentials to recommend him.
I remember going past the office one day, and there was a crowd of them
waiting to get in. They quite blocked up the side of the street; and they
were comparing notes as to their chances of success. One says to another,
"I have got a good letter of recommendation from the Mayor, and one
from the supreme judge." Another says, "And I have got a good letter from
Senator So-and-so. I'm sure to get in." The two men come on together,
and lay their letters down on the Commissioners' desk. "Well," say the
officials, "you have certainly a good many letters, but we won't read them
till we measure you." Ah! they forgot all about that. So the first man is
measured, and he is only five feet. "No chance for you, sir; the law says
the men must be 5 feet 6 inches, and you don't come up to the standard."
The other says, "Well, my chance is a good deal better than his. I'm a
good bit taller than he is"—he begins to measure himself by the other
man. That is what people are always doing, measuring themselves by
others. Measure yourselves by the law of God, or by the Son of God
Himself; and if you do that, you will find you have come short. He goes up
to the officers, and they measure him ; he is 5 feet 5 inches and nine-tenths
of an inch. "No good," they tell him, "you're not up to the standard." "But
I'm only one-tenth of an inch short," he remonstrates. "It's no matter,"
they say; "there's no difference." He goes with the man who was five feet.
One comes short six inches, and the other only one-tenth of an inch, but
the law cannot be changed.
And the Law of God is that no man shall go into the Kingdom of Heaven
with one sin on him. He that has broken the least law is guilty of all.
"Then, is there any hope for me?" you say. "What star is there to relieve
the midnight darkness and gloom? What is to become of me? If all this is
true, I am a poor lost soul. I have committed sin from my earliest child-
hood." Thank God, my friends, this is just where the Gospel comes in. "He
[Jesus Christ] was made sin for us who knew no sin."
"He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with his stripes we are
healed."
"We'all like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own
way, and the Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all."
You ask me what my hope is; it is, that Christ died for my sins, in my
stead, in my place, and therefore I can enter into life eternal. You ask Paul
what his hope was. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture."
This is the hope in which died all the glorious martyrs of old, in which all
who have entered heaven's gate have found their only comfort. Take that
doctrine of substitution out of the Bible, and my hope is lost. With the
Law, without Christ, we are all undone.
The Law we have broken, and it can only hang over our head the sharp
sword of justice. Even if we could keep it from this moment, there remains
the unforgiven past. "Without shedding of blood there is no remission."
He only is safe for eternity who is sheltered behind the finished work of
Christ. What the law cannot do for us, He can do. He obeyed it to the
very letter, and under His obedience we can take our stand. For us He has
suffered all its penalties, and paid all that the law demands. "His own self
bare our sins in His own body on the tree." He saw the awful end from the
beginning; He knew what death, what ruin, what misery lay before us if we
were left to ourselves. And He came from heaven to teach us the new and
living way by which "all that believe are justified from all things from which
they could not be justified by the law of Moses."
Christ died for me; that is my hope of eternal life.
"There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." If you
ask me what you must do to share this blessing, I answer, go and deal
personally with Christ about it. Take the sinner's place at the foot of the
cross. Strip yourself of all your own righteousness, and put on
Christ's. Wrap yourself up in His perfect robe, and receive Him by
simple trust as your own Saviour. Thus you inherit the priceless
treasures that Christ hath purchased with his blood.
"As many as received Him, to them gave He pover to become the sons of
God." Yes! sons of God; power to overcome the world, the flesh, and the
devil; power to crucify every besetting sin, passion, lust; power to shout in
triumph over every trouble and temptation of your life, "I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me." I have been trying to tell you that
men are sinners.
I may be speaking to someone, perhaps, who thinks it a waste of time.
"God knows I'm a sinner," he cries; "you don't need to prove it. Since I
could speak, I've done nothing but break every law of earth and heaven."
Well, my friend, I have good news for you. It is just as easy for God to
save you, who have broken the whole decalogue, as the man who has only
broken one of the Commandments. Both are dead-- dead in sins. It is no
matter how dead you are, or how long you have been dead; Christ can
bring you to life just the same. There is no difference.
Taken from the sermon "There Is No Difference" by D.L. Moody
©2008 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
----------------------------------------------------
Further Reading:
Jesus Died For Us
The Geese In The Snowstorm
Sermon Illustration - "The Son"
The King Was Born In A Manger
Psalm 40 - The Messiah's Death and Resurrection
God Sent Us The Savior
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the
law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus.
When Chicago was a small town, it was incorporated and made a city.
When we got our charter for the city, there was one clause in the
constitution that allowed the Mayor to appoint all the police. It worked
very well when it was a small city; but when it had three or four hundred
thousand inhabitants, it put too much power in the hands of one man. So
our leading citizens got a new bill passed that took the power out of the
hands of the Mayor, and put it into the hands of Commissioners appointed
by Government. There was one clause in the new law that no man should
be a policeman who was not a certain height — 5 feet 6 inches, let us say.
When the Commissioners got into power, they advertised for men as
candidates, and in the advertisement they stated that no man need apply
who could not bring good credentials to recommend him.
I remember going past the office one day, and there was a crowd of them
waiting to get in. They quite blocked up the side of the street; and they
were comparing notes as to their chances of success. One says to another,
"I have got a good letter of recommendation from the Mayor, and one
from the supreme judge." Another says, "And I have got a good letter from
Senator So-and-so. I'm sure to get in." The two men come on together,
and lay their letters down on the Commissioners' desk. "Well," say the
officials, "you have certainly a good many letters, but we won't read them
till we measure you." Ah! they forgot all about that. So the first man is
measured, and he is only five feet. "No chance for you, sir; the law says
the men must be 5 feet 6 inches, and you don't come up to the standard."
The other says, "Well, my chance is a good deal better than his. I'm a
good bit taller than he is"—he begins to measure himself by the other
man. That is what people are always doing, measuring themselves by
others. Measure yourselves by the law of God, or by the Son of God
Himself; and if you do that, you will find you have come short. He goes up
to the officers, and they measure him ; he is 5 feet 5 inches and nine-tenths
of an inch. "No good," they tell him, "you're not up to the standard." "But
I'm only one-tenth of an inch short," he remonstrates. "It's no matter,"
they say; "there's no difference." He goes with the man who was five feet.
One comes short six inches, and the other only one-tenth of an inch, but
the law cannot be changed.
And the Law of God is that no man shall go into the Kingdom of Heaven
with one sin on him. He that has broken the least law is guilty of all.
"Then, is there any hope for me?" you say. "What star is there to relieve
the midnight darkness and gloom? What is to become of me? If all this is
true, I am a poor lost soul. I have committed sin from my earliest child-
hood." Thank God, my friends, this is just where the Gospel comes in. "He
[Jesus Christ] was made sin for us who knew no sin."
"He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with his stripes we are
healed."
"We'all like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own
way, and the Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all."
You ask me what my hope is; it is, that Christ died for my sins, in my
stead, in my place, and therefore I can enter into life eternal. You ask Paul
what his hope was. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture."
This is the hope in which died all the glorious martyrs of old, in which all
who have entered heaven's gate have found their only comfort. Take that
doctrine of substitution out of the Bible, and my hope is lost. With the
Law, without Christ, we are all undone.
The Law we have broken, and it can only hang over our head the sharp
sword of justice. Even if we could keep it from this moment, there remains
the unforgiven past. "Without shedding of blood there is no remission."
He only is safe for eternity who is sheltered behind the finished work of
Christ. What the law cannot do for us, He can do. He obeyed it to the
very letter, and under His obedience we can take our stand. For us He has
suffered all its penalties, and paid all that the law demands. "His own self
bare our sins in His own body on the tree." He saw the awful end from the
beginning; He knew what death, what ruin, what misery lay before us if we
were left to ourselves. And He came from heaven to teach us the new and
living way by which "all that believe are justified from all things from which
they could not be justified by the law of Moses."
Christ died for me; that is my hope of eternal life.
"There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." If you
ask me what you must do to share this blessing, I answer, go and deal
personally with Christ about it. Take the sinner's place at the foot of the
cross. Strip yourself of all your own righteousness, and put on
Christ's. Wrap yourself up in His perfect robe, and receive Him by
simple trust as your own Saviour. Thus you inherit the priceless
treasures that Christ hath purchased with his blood.
"As many as received Him, to them gave He pover to become the sons of
God." Yes! sons of God; power to overcome the world, the flesh, and the
devil; power to crucify every besetting sin, passion, lust; power to shout in
triumph over every trouble and temptation of your life, "I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me." I have been trying to tell you that
men are sinners.
I may be speaking to someone, perhaps, who thinks it a waste of time.
"God knows I'm a sinner," he cries; "you don't need to prove it. Since I
could speak, I've done nothing but break every law of earth and heaven."
Well, my friend, I have good news for you. It is just as easy for God to
save you, who have broken the whole decalogue, as the man who has only
broken one of the Commandments. Both are dead-- dead in sins. It is no
matter how dead you are, or how long you have been dead; Christ can
bring you to life just the same. There is no difference.
Taken from the sermon "There Is No Difference" by D.L. Moody
©2008 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
----------------------------------------------------
Further Reading:
Jesus Died For Us
The Geese In The Snowstorm
Sermon Illustration - "The Son"
The King Was Born In A Manger
Psalm 40 - The Messiah's Death and Resurrection
God Sent Us The Savior
