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This is WB7AOT in Ham Lake, Minnesota. You got a nice signal, both of you guys. Roger and Max here. It's one hour after sunrise here. And I'll be listening on the side using the e-time signal. So this is WB7AOT, have a great day. All right, Darrell, WB7AOT copy all. And yep, an hour after sunrise makes a... 75 meters struggle. So appreciate you listening there on the Utah SDR. That works really well. And thank you so much for that, Roger, WB7VZL, for the relay. I did not hear him. So anyway, Roger, we got you checked in. Go ahead there. How you doing? Well, we're sore, a bit sore. It was quite a wonderful performance again. There were, of course, comparisons between the first two. You know, the second one, there was some miking of the soloist that one of the listeners said she went to both. And she said it wasn't quite as good, it seemed. But, yeah, well... One of the providential experiences, well, this is a story, I shouldn't hold up in that. Anyway, yeah, we got through it and we got a good night's rest and I really needed it. WB7, Visa Dell. Yeah, real good, Roger. And glad things went well, and we got you checked in. Appreciate that. And, yeah, you know, the thing of it is that every time we serve the Lord, it's a little different, and it's okay because our intentions are good and His Spirit is there. And sometimes even an effort that's not as good as we had hoped will be used by God in extraordinary ways. So no worries there, Roger. It's all about God taking imperfect situations and people and using them for His glory, and that's where our confidence is. Okay, real good. All right, BertW7RKD, got your email. I will respond to that after the net's over with. Okay, let's see. Who else do we have here? I just got a text message from somebody. Okay. And let's see who that is. But that's Will, QMY5 Foxtrot. Okay, Gordon passed away. All right, I'm sorry to hear that, Will. Haven't heard your voice this morning, Will. If you're on the radio, come back to me. And if not, we'll just go ahead and come back to me, Will, if you're there. Okay, I think Will is traveling. and he went to a men's retreat, and we've been praying about that men's retreat. He said he would be listening on Monday but not necessarily able to talk on the radio, so understand that, Will. Appreciate that. All right, so Gordon passed away. Let's pray for that family and for their peace and comfort in the loss of their loved ones. All right, well, appreciate that. Okay, any other check-ins and/or prior requests, please come down. KB7, ZXN. KB7, ZXN, good morning, Kevin, how are you doing? Well, good morning, Max and the group. We're doing just fine. Good to be here this morning and looking forward to a net here. KB7, ZXN. Copy that. Okay. Let's see. We've got Dawn. Yep. And Peter, KJ7BA, there he is. Good morning, Peter. See you there on the Utah STR. Good to have you with us and appreciate you checking in. All right. And Peter says good morning to everyone. So good connection there. Peter says it's 31 degrees where he's at. up there in Washington. So it's still cold, cold, cold. All right, we are ready to get started with the net here in about 30 seconds. Any more check-ins, please come down. Alright, I see you. Oh yeah, there's Will. Okay, Will, I see you there on the SDR. I had to scroll down. Sometimes that black box is a little big. So Will, KWX-5 Foxtrot is listening on the Utah SDR. See you there, Will. Thank you for that. Alright, there's Brian, KJ7PWM. Good morning, Brian. Are you able to be on the radio with us? All right, Brian is listening. So we got Brian, KJ7PWM checked in. And yep, there is Keith, K7NEB, just running through the list here. Carol's there, Dawn, yep, George, yep, a bunch of people that we've already checked in. Okay, I think we are caught up on the SDRs for the moment. Any last minute voice check-ins, please come now. Alright, this is WB7MX, Net Control for the West Coast of Bible Study. We are looking at the last part of Galatians chapter 2. And we're looking at verses 17 to 21 today. That's what we're going to be reading. I'm going to ask Steve, W6YSI, to read for us, Steve, if you would, when the time comes. So if you can get ready to read Galatians 2. And go ahead and read verse 16, Steve, as well, because that's all part of the context here, okay? So read 16 to 21. though we did discuss 16 yesterday, it does lead right into 17 to 21. But in any event, before we get there, we want to look a little bit about this passage. And, of course, the overall thrust here, beginning back at chapter 1, is Paul is extremely concerned that the Galatians... are beginning to leave the true gospel and embrace a false gospel, another gospel. As he says in verse 7, a perverted gospel. So there's only one gospel, and Paul identifies very clearly what that is in verse 16. And of course, he had to spend some time defending himself against scurrilous attacks that his gospel wasn't true because he was a real apostle. So he spent some time talking about that in the latter part of chapter 1, first part of chapter 2. and how that all the apostles recognized him as a true apostle. So the critics who said he wasn't, their testimony certainly was not valid because they're contradicting not just Paul, but all the apostles who endorsed Paul and his message as being biblical. We talked a little bit about some of the controversies, some of the false gospels that are introduced, and we looked at the gospel of repentance and faith in Jesus plus circumcision. And we looked at that yesterday as we looked at Acts chapter 15, which of course... was referred to here in Galatians chapter 2. And so people always want to add something to the Gospel. So it's the repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ plus nothing that results in salvation. Some in our day and age want to add baptism to that formula, but baptism is a human work. And it's the first work of... sanctification, it's not the last work of salvation. So we'll be talking about that some more, too. All right. We are in the section that Steve is going to read to us, but before we do, we want to open in prayer. And so, Ed, in 6XOH, could you please open in prayer for us today? Okay. Sure, let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning and we ask that you bless our study this morning as we open the scriptures to learn more about you. We just ask, Lord, that you send your Holy Spirit to each one of us. Watch over us through the day, Lord. Help us to be able to take the things that we learn from you and the scriptures and to be able to apply it to our own lives, Lord. I just ask that you bless each one of us here. I ask that you bless Pastor Max as he leads out and brings us the bread of life. And I just ask a special blessing on him. Watch over us all, Lord. Keep us all safe and help us all to be ready when you come to take us home. I pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you so much for that prayer. I really appreciate you bringing us to the throne of grace. All right, Steve, W6YSI, if you could read for us Galatians 2, verses 16 to 21. Appreciate that. Okay, Galatians 2:16-21, and I'll be reading from the New American Standard. Verse 16: "Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus." that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law; since by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! "For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in the place. And I stop at the beginning of chapter 3. All right, Steve, real good reading. Thank you for that. Okay, any comments on this section? Please come down to the call line. Zedek, sir. Kevin, KB7 Zedek, go ahead. Well, good morning. Y'all get the ball rolling here. You know, this is an important section here, and as Paul defends the gospel here in its purity and simplicity, you know, as we studied yesterday, he points to Peter and says, "Hey, look, we're both Jews. We know it's impossible to keep the law." And it's not that there's anything wrong with the law. I mean, it shows us that we're sinners, but we're justified by faith. It's not the law. And the problem is us. We are sinners. We are sinners by nature. And the only way we can be saved is by grace, through faith, by the gift of God, by His grace that He initiated through faith. But then Paul anticipates an argument, and we still hear this argument today. Well, there are many who believe that grace is a dangerous doctrine, that if you just preach grace, then you're just giving people a license to sin. Because if there's no works involved, if there's no requirements involved, if there's no other standard other than to repent and come to... Christ, God in faith, to receive that gift of grace, well, then you're just giving a license to sin. But nothing could be farther from the truth because not only is justification something done to us and for us, but justification is something that takes place in us. And the principle is that when we are justified by faith, it is a change of our motivation. We are transformed by the Holy Spirit. We are new creations created in Christ Jesus, and our motivations change. Our motivation changes to serve God, to afford good works. It's not a license. to sin, but may grace much more abound in our service to God. KB7, Reddickson. Yeah, Kevin, extremely well said and very clear. Thank you for that. You know, justification is never divorced from sanctification. And the same gospel that saves us, as you well said, also transforms us. I like the way you phrased that. Salvation is something that is not only done to us, but in us. That is an excellent statement, Kevin. I think it really captures the issue at hand, and that is that we understand that salvation is by grace through faith apart from human works. As you said, people think, oh, well, then I can set up a storm. No, you can't. And the reason why you can't, It's because you don't want to. Your nature has been changed. And so your motivations, as you said, have been changed. And as a result, we want to serve the Lord. We want to be done with sin. And like Paul said in Romans 7, I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Yeah, I find a principle in my flesh that still wants to serve sin, but I don't want to serve sin. I want to do the right thing. So, you know, we do have a struggle with sanctification, and we have a struggle with overcoming remaining sin in our lives, but what's our direction? Where are we pointed? We're not pointed towards sin. We're pointed towards holiness, towards Christlikeness. So, verse 17, If while we seek to be justified by Christ, We ourselves also are found sinners as Christ, therefore, the minister of sin. Christ is not the minister of sin. Christ is the minister of holiness, isn't he? And so I think it's really important that we not give in to the false accusations that are raised when we talk about salvation, as it says in verse 16, by faith in Jesus Christ plus nothing. Um, and that that doesn't leave us in a state of freedom to sin, it leaves us in a state of freedom not to sin. A great comment, Kevin. All right, other comments, please come down. K2KJX? George, K2KJX, please go ahead. Yeah, I really love Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live, I live in the flesh, by faith, by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me." And I heard this, I don't know, a long time ago, but... we're once we're saved we're saved from the penalty of our sins and uh you mentioned that doing the right thing uh we're also saved from the power of sin because we want to do good things and right things and be in harmony with our brothers and sisters and then when we pass on into eternity we're um saved by the presence of sin and i don't know where i got that from but uh somebody I must have wrote it down but yeah I love Galatians 2:20 and how we are involved into trying to be good citizens and good people in the Lord Jesus over amen well said well said I love that three-step thing you were talking about we're saved from the penalty of sin in justification We're also saved from the power of sin in sanctification, because our nature has been changed. And then, of course, we're saved from the presence of sin in eternity. So salvation is immediate when it comes to our justification. it is progressive when it comes to our sanctification. And so our standing before God is instantaneously one of perfect righteousness when we become saved. And that's declared by God in the courtroom when he says that we have kept the law perfectly because all of our sins, are transferred to Jesus, and all of His obediences are transferred to us. The Bible uses the word imputation to explain that. And so when we appear before God, there's no sin on our record because it all was transferred to Christ, and there's perfect obedience on our record. because his obedience was transferred to us as a gift. And so we stand before God completely righteous, and he says, well, you're justified. And to be justified means to be declared righteous according to the standard that the law demands, the moral law of God demands. But while our standing was perfected, our persons, still are less than perfect. And so while we're born again, the heart of stone is taken out, we're given the heart of flesh, the old nature is removed, we're given a new nature. It's not a perfect new nature. And we still have a fallen body. And so we're progressively saved from the practice of sin. Over time, we grow more and more in obedience and we leave our sins behind more and more. But then there's that wonderful step of glorification when we die and go to heaven. And as it says in Hebrews, we become the spirits of just men made perfect. And then, of course, in the resurrection, our bodies are made perfect. And so the body and soul, we are perfect throughout eternity. And that's more saved from the very presence of sin. So well said, Brother George. Saved from the penalty of sin and justification. Saved from the practice of sin and sanctification. And saved from the presence of sin and glorification. And, of course, all that, as you said, is based on chapter 2 and verse 20. And that's what Kevin was talking about. Verse 17 is talking about justification. And verse 20, George, that you were talking about, is talking about our sanctification and our transformation. And those two things always go together. And so how do you know somebody's been justified? Well, you can see that they have a new life. they have been crucified with Christ at the cross. That death to sin has been manifested in our lives so that we have his life in us. And if you've got the life of Christ in you, you're not going to just say, oh, I can sin all I want because I'm saved. the life of Christ in us would never say such a thing. And if we had our druthers, we'd rather never sin again. So, George, thank you for tying verse 20 together with verse 17, because those two things really are complementary of the nature of salvation, that it's declarative and it's transformative. All right, great comments there, the two of you. Any other comments, please come down. ZXN. ZXN, Kevin, go ahead. Yeah, KB7, ZXN. Yeah, very good. You know, and that's exactly correct. We keep in mind when we are justified by faith, you know, that's -- we often think that's the legal term, and it is. And a traditional statement, as we are now, stand justified before God. because of the work of Christ, which is the gospel. But as pointed out, we are, the justification is an inward thing, a transformation that takes place. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. And we are, you know, as 2 Corinthians 5.17, which we recently studied, We are transformed into a new creation created in Christ Jesus. And not only are we transformed by the Holy Spirit, we're sealed by the Holy Spirit. And, you know, we're living in Christ. We're guided by the Holy Spirit. And, you know, whether you're looking at one of the key principles throughout the Word of God is that the just shall live by faith. whether Habakkuk 2 and 4, "The righteous shall live by faith," or you look in that first chapter of Romans, "The just shall live by faith," well, that is those that are justified, you know, by the promise. And the promise, of course, is the justification by grace through faith. And so that transformation, and I guess another way to articulate it is, of course, the salvation, the sanctification, and the glorification, you know, the final outcome. But in this process, in this argument that Paul is anticipating of those that would say, well, you can't promote... The grace, because grace is a dangerous thing. Well, isn't freedom a dangerous thing? Isn't freedom something that cuts both ways? But in Christ, it really, like we see in Hebrews, the word of God is like a two-edged sword. It is the ultimate discernment. And we're in Christ. and we're justified by faith, but also the just shall live by faith. And that's an eternal principle as well. KB 7 said, except. Yeah, Kevin. And, you know, you asked the question rhetorically, isn't grace a dangerous thing? And, of course, you were voicing the objection that those raised who deny salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, Christ alone. And grace would be a dangerous thing, if it weren't accompanied by regeneration, by the transformation of our natures. And so grace without the new birth would be like a car that had a gas pedal and no brake. You know, in a car, you've got a gas pedal, which makes you go, and you've got a brake, which helps you to stop. And you need both. Otherwise, it is a car would be a very dangerous thing. And in the same way in a Christian life, you know, there are those who teach that we are saved by grace, and so therefore how we behave doesn't matter. Well, they're stepping on the gas, but they don't have any brake. And, of course, the brake against sin for the Christians is, as you said, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. The old things pass away. All things become new. Because there's not only this declarative aspect of justification, there's this transformative aspect of sanctification where we become different people. And because we're different people, because our nature has been changed in the new birth, therefore we have different desires, we make different choices, and we long for holiness. And Paul says, you know, I delight in the law of God after the word man. I want to obey because I'm a new person with new desires. So that's why the gospel of salvation by grace is not a license to sin. It is a liberty. to be able to vigorously pursue sanctification without fear of condemnation and without fear of rejection. So a lot of people have the attitude, okay, you know, I repented and I trusted Jesus as my Savior and now I'm saved and, oh, I committed a sin. Am I going to lose my salvation? No. The answer is no. Justification can never be undone. You know, God isn't going to reverse his verdict that he made on you when he justified you. And so we can have peace in the struggle with remaining sin, knowing that our status with God is firm and certain and secure. And therefore, we can work on our struggle with sin without fear, knowing that where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. And that if we confess our sins, be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So the struggle after we're saved with sin is part of the normal Christian life. And as we trust in Jesus more and more, we learn more and more about him, the Spirit works more and more of his image and character in us, we make progress. And, you know, you might not see much progress in any one day, right? But as you look back over the last 10 years, you can say, you know, I'm not who I want to be, but I'm sure not who I used to be. And you can see that progress. And you can see how Christ has preserved you and how he's kept you in that narrow way that leads to life. And that you didn't give up in despair on the one hand. You didn't go off into sin in the other hand. You just kept fighting the good fight of faith and going forward with Jesus. And continue to trust him and having the humility to say, you know, I haven't arrived yet, but the life of Christ as George said, is being more and more manifested in me, as is described there in verse 20. All right, other comments, please come out. WB7VZL. Roger, please go ahead. I'll bounce this off of you, and I appreciate your highlighting the new birth is God giving us a new capacity to know and to appreciate God. That's what it is, and that leads to all that you have just said. That's exactly right. I would agree. It's a new capacity. And, you know, the Bible uses various terms to describe that new capacity, Roger. It talks about circumcision of heart. It talks about the new birth. We were dead in trespasses and sins, and we were born again. It talks about resurrection, you as He made alive who were dead. And it talks about being a new creation. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. So these various metaphors are used of circumcision of heart, being born again, being raised from spiritual death to spiritual life, and then being a new creation. All of that language speaks of a radical transformation, as you said, and results in a new capacity. And not just a new capacity, but also new desires, okay? So I used this illustration with a guy the other day, Roger. So you got a pig and a cat, right? And the pig loves to wallow in the mud. And the cat doesn't want anything to do with mud, right? And so if you could take the nature out of the pig and put the nature of the cat in the pig, suddenly the pig wouldn't want anything to do with the mud anymore. He'd want to be clean. He'd want to groom himself. And he would have a completely different pattern of behavior because even though he still has a pig body, he now has a cat nature. And so his choices, would be radically changed as far as how filthy he allowed himself to be and what he indulged in. And that's kind of the way it is in salvation. You know, our nature that loved sin and hated God is taken out, and we're given a new nature now that hates sin and loves God. And that's the reason why our choices change, because our nature has been transformed in the new birth. And so that's why Jesus said, unless a man be born again, he can't see the kingdom of God. He can't even comprehend it. And except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. He said that in John chapter 3 when he's talking to Nicodemus. So you're right. It's a new capacity, Roger. And that's why Christians are demonstrably different after they're saved than before they're saved. And if someone claims to be saved and doesn't live any different than they did before, or they live just like the world, or they say, oh, now I can sin because I've got grace, Then you know that person was never really saved because they were never really transformed. And transformation and salvation always go together. They're never separated from each other. Back to you there, Roger. Roger Cohn: Yes, thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that. I never thought of that. Yeah, the nature of the cat is to groom and clean. And the nature of the pig, of course, is enjoying the dirt. Thank you for that metaphor. favorite verses that is often overlooked is Ephesians 2:10. You know, Ephesians 2:8 and 9 are focused on for salvation, but in the very same breath, in the very continuing thought, we have Ephesians 2:10, you know, following We are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves, not of works, lest anyone should boast. But it also says, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that he has prepared for us beforehand. And, you know, it's quite interesting as you examine that text, we are his workmanship. We are his poema in the Greek, which is really translated to masterpiece. Now, when we are saved, Paul is saying we are the Lord's masterpiece. And I don't know if you feel like a masterpiece, but when you are saved, You are. You're in the hands of God. He is working not only to justify you, but He's working in you and on you. And I always like the illustration, you know, when Michelangelo had finished carving the magnificent... to update with Adam Marvel. And I'm not seeing him personally, but all that has to are in awe of the magnificence and the beauty of that. And one person came to my client one time and said, how did you ever do that? He said, well-- I just showed him the way and took everything away that did not look like David. Well, that's what God does with us. His work begins in us following salvation. We are His workmanship and He starts chipping away at our own nature and the things that that are, as Paul put it, you know, putting off the old man and putting on the new. We have the new nature. It's the process of removing all that old baggage, of getting off all those old, filthy rags that we have been closed in. So this workmanship... that we are now Christ's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for work that He has already prepared for us. And part of those works is the process of that sanctification, of that becoming more in the likeness of Him. KB7, the next show. Yeah, Kevin, I really appreciate you tying together Ephesians 2:8 and 9 with Ephesians 2:10. You know, in Ephesians 2:8 and 9, good works are denied as the basis of salvation. It says in 2:8 and 10, or 2:8 and 9, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and not of yourselves, as the gift of God, and not of works, lest any man should boast." So works are denied as a basis of salvation. But then, as Kevin said, verse 10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." And so good works are demanded. as a result of salvation, they're denied as the basis of salvation. So Ephesians 2.8 and 9, good works are denied as the basis of salvation. Ephesians 2.10, works are demanded as the result of salvation. Why? Because Christ has been at work. And you know, George pointed out verse 20 here. He says, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I. But here it is, Christ lives in me. Now, if Christ is living in you, what's that going to look like? Will Jesus want to go off and indulge in sin if he's living in you? Absolutely won't. And if the life of Christ is in us and Christ is indwelling us, then our whole disposition is going to be oriented towards holiness and godliness and righteousness and, as Kevin said, good works, Ephesians 2.10. And so what is going on there, as he said, is that remaining sin is all being chipped away so that the image of Christ in us can be fully revealed and exposed. And, of course, it will be in the day of judgment. You remember it says in 1 John 3 and verse 1, that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And so I'm looking forward to the day when the image of Christ is fully manifested in me and all that remaining sin has been chipped away, and so that the beauty of Christ can be revealed. Good illustration there of the statue of David and Michelangelo, Kevin. All right, other comments on this passage? Please come down. Well, if our good friend QMIK5Foxfra was on the radio, I think what he would say is, "Look at verse 20 there. The life which I live, I live, here it is, by the faith of the Son of God. Will is always emphasizing the life of faith. And he's exactly right. We walk by faith and not by sight. And here it says we live by faith. And what's the object of that faith? Well, it's the Son of God. And who is this Son of God? Well, he loved me, which is amazing. And then he gave himself for me, which is also amazing. And so what we see is that the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus that was motivated by his love for us is what not only justifies us, verse 17, but also sanctifies us, verse 20. So, you know, nobody's commenting on verse 18. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. And so there could be two understandings of that. One is if I start preaching work in addition to grace, after having preached salvation by grace, well, I am contradicting myself. The other way it can be taken is if I build again the things which I destroyed, that is, the sinful life which was crucified with Christ, then I make myself someone who's not accurately echoing or reflecting the gospel. So the point is that once we've built the foundations, of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone. We don't go back and then change that. We don't go back and add to that or subtract from that. We maintain that. We don't start preaching a false gospel of salvation by works or a false gospel that says you can sin any way you want after you're saved because after all, you're saved by grace. So we don't want to go off on the right hand. We don't want to go off on the left hand. We don't want to be changing the terms of the gospel. And you'll notice circumcision is expressly ruled out in the first part of Chapter 2, and baptism isn't mentioned at all until we get to Chapter 3 and Verse 27. Okay. where it's discussed not in terms of a requirement for salvation, but as a visible manifestation of salvation. So if baptism were essential to the gospel, then baptism would be mentioned in these passages where the debate over what the gospel is is so powerfully set forth at such great length. All right. Somebody needs to comment on verse 21. Any comments out there on anything, please come down to the call sign. That makes sense. Kevin, go ahead. Yeah, KB7, just I think one important point here too, as Paul makes his point very clear, his, again, articulation of purity of the gospel. But the motivation here too I think is very important as well, because Paul is saying, you know, we're not motivated by keeping the law. When we are saved and justified by faith, our motivation is the love of God, the love of God that bestowed His grace upon us, the love of God that Christ had for us and He gave Himself a ransom for us, the love of the Holy Spirit in us that is doing the work in us. You know, we are now motivated by love to live for Christ. not motivated by the law, in keeping of the law. So the motivation, I think, is a key element here that we see in that transformation in our sanctification, KB7. Yeah, well said. We're not keeping the law in order to earn the love of God. We are keeping the law in order to show our love for God. And he loved us. God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, right? And so we reciprocate that love. We love him because he first loved us, as it says in 1 John. And so what did Jesus say? He said, if you love me, keep my commandments. And so, look, we all love our wives, right, or our husbands, as the case may be. And so because you love them, you do that which pleases them. as an expression of that love. And so now, I work hard at defeating sin, I work hard at keeping God's moral requirements, because that's how I love Jesus, not because that's how I keep my salvation. not because that's how I earned my salvation, but rather that's how I expressed love. Because, you know, Jude says, keep yourself in the love of God. And what he means by that is stir up the love for God. And you recall that the rebuke to the Ephesian church in Revelation chapter 2 there was that they'd left their first love. So, yeah, love is the motivation for keeping the commandments and for serving God and for sacrificing ourselves for his people. It isn't some legalistic motive that says, now God's going to be happy with me because I've done all these things. No, God's happy with you because of what Jesus did for you. All right? His smile on you is permanent. There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ. And now, because we're free from condemnation, we can serve God, however imperfectly, with peace and with joy. knowing that the struggle with remaining sin is not determinative of our salvation, but rather it's declarative of our love. And so we rest in the arms of justification as we pursue the race of sanctification. All right, Kevin, thank you for pointing that out. Alright, I just want to comment there on verse 21. Here's the summary of the whole matter. Verse 21 says, "I do not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." So to frustrate the grace of God is to say, "We're not saved by grace alone. We have to add human works to it." Well, if that's the case, then as Paul says in Romans chapter 10, "Grace is no more grace." Grace is always unmerited saving favor given to undeserving sinners. And if you try to throw some human merit in there, any kind of human works, then you're saying grace really isn't grace. It requires the addition of some human action in order to complete and fulfill it, which is a denial of the very definition of grace. By its very definition, grace excludes any human work. And so we don't frustrate the message of salvation by grace by mixing any kind of human works in with it. Because righteousness comes by obeying some command of God. by some action that we do, then there's no point in Christ dying on the cross. If we have to add our works to the works of Christ, well, then we just won't use our works and exclude the works of Christ. They're not necessary. If we could be saved by our works, then we don't need the works of Jesus. So that is a very powerful closing argument there in verse 21, that salvation is by grace. apart from the works of the law, as he declared so powerfully in verse 16. All right, we are out of time, and it is time for us to go to prayer. Are there any final prayer requests? Please come down to your call, sir. Brian, KJ7 PWM, I heard your voice. I'll try to understand. Go ahead. Go ahead. Okay, can anybody provide me with a relay of what Brian said? Okay, Brian, unable to copy. I hear your voice. I heard your call sign, but unable to discern what you said in the static. You're welcome to text message me, but, Brian, we got you checked in. We saw you earlier on the SDR. Now I would also like to acknowledge Keith, WB7RKR. Keith has been here forever, and I saw him a long time ago and said to myself, got to check in, Keith. Keith, you're checked in. We love you, brother, and thank you for being here. Thank you. Okay. And Brian, KJ7PWM, we got him checked in also. Okay. Any final prayer requests before we go to prayer? Please come down. Oh, there's the KRLBP. There's JR. JR, I see you over there on Half Moon Bay. Haven't looked at this stuff in a while. And there's Phillip, K6HSV. Phillip, we got you checked in. Wow, I've been negligent. All right, we got our FDRs checked in. Thank you guys for being there, and thank you for your patience with me. Got a text message here. Let's see who this is. Brian. Yeah, just checking in. I would like prayer for continued success in lambing season. Copy that. Okay, George, K2KJX. We need to pray for Brian. KJ7 PWM and he asked for continued success in the lambing season. Brian has a bunch of livestock and he has some baby goats and he has some baby lambs and so let's pray that the rest of the ewes will throw healthy and well baby lambs. So George, let's stick that on the list. All right, any other prairie questions, please come now. All right, George, K2KJX, go ahead and close in prayer for us, please. Thank you. Please pray with me. I would like to lift up W6YSOI, Chuck Galloway, a friend of his, I think. He's going to a cardiologist to have his checkup for some heart issues, and I pray that all goes well, Lord, that you heal him. and gives them the courage to face any issues that Chuck may have. And for WP7MAX, this Zoom meeting, I think you should ask for it, sir, and that's pretty far away. But I pray all goes well with the Zoom meeting. and the fellowship and the understanding with any language barriers that may come up. And we'll be praying for you, I guess, I think it was today or tomorrow, so maybe tomorrow, but we'll pray for you, Pastor Matt. For Glenn, KJ7, UNW, I pray for your thermostat repair. I'm a little knowledgeable on electrical stuff, but be careful turning the breakers off, and I know you will do that. For Lee, AL7, KG, Safety on the road. Boy, I heard that you are up there in age. Be careful. There's crazies all over the place. But I will just pray for your safety and that you come home this evening well. For Roger WB7, leave it out. Thank you for a good night's rest. For Brian, thank you. I hope to have a successful landing season. My wife and family, they're in calving season, so it's about that time, and I'm sure they're nursing their calves. For KBJS, my son Thomas and his wife Anna and the four boys, find a house that is in a good school district and that they find a place that you want them to have. And also for my wife, too, who's having some thyroid issues. One side is swollen. She's a doctor. This Tuesday around 10:00, I pray that all goes well there. AK-6 OK's success in meetings and back to back and pray for his home safety. And I don't know what Operation Worship is, but I know it's a good Bible to military members that truly need them. And I thank you for that. Will, KM5, KM5F. He's at a men's retreat, and I think we got a text from him that I think it's his friend Gordon passed away. I pray for their family, for peace and comfort, and also for blessing and growth from the men's messages and the fellowship. What a time together when men get together and they can hear the gospel and put it to practice. For Mike, W7TWO. I'm going to read this. I'm going to read this. I'm going to read this. I think his eye issues are cleared up. My wife does have floaters and she always gets them lasers somehow. And I thank you that they have a new church home and he's well enough to attend church, even though it's a big distance away. But I pray for their safety on their way back and forth from church. For Al, KJ7QQ8, I pray for his healing of his son John from cancer. and Al's neighbor Lucas, who suddenly lost his hearing. I can't imagine what that's like. And he needs a diagnosis as his cause and treatment plan. And I just pray Lord that the doctors will come up with a good plan and you will heal him. For Rick Boffinger, who's a Christian who had malignant melanoma, which having been through that myself, it is a very serious thing. And he's receiving immunotherapy treatments. to stimulate his T-cells to fight the cancer. They just hacked it all out of my head, so I got a big scar, but I pray for him and that his T-cells are stimulated. I know appetite is probably another issue and I'm sure he's struggling with that. And most of all, Lord, he needs to sell his business. And I pray that a buyer will come and purchase it, somebody that just is the right fit for that business. For Roger WB7DL, for Daly, his wife is having more radiation treatment for cancer. And I pray for them. And what a thing to have to go through tonight, Lord. I just pray for your healing, your peace of mind, and your comfort. I guess when I'm praying for Gordon, I just pray for their family, that they get this comfort. And for Carol, KK7, TPO. Judy is a Christian who has gained two lung cancers, and I pray for her healing. And Amy, a Christian who had recent breast cancer surgery, pray for her recovery. And Joanne, healing from shingles. I hear that that's a terrible thing to have, it's very painful, and I just pray for all those three ladies that they find comforting you, Lord Jesus, and that they are healed. I thank you for your goodness and mercy and grace to each one of us, our Father, and for the gift of your Son, the Lord Jesus. And I pray that you fill us with the Spirit today and guide us in the truth. and I thank you for all your love and kindness. In your name we're Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen, George. Thank you so much for that prayer. I really appreciate you bringing us to the throne of grace, and may God be pleased to answer each of those. This is WB7MAX Net Control for the West Coast Bible Study. I want to thank all the stations you checked in this morning and those who stood by to give us a clear operating frequency. We meet here seven days a week at 6 a.m. in order to read the Scriptures, understand their meaning, message, and application, and then pray for grace and mercy to live out what we learn and for God to meet the needs of those that are in our circle of fellowship. I'll be returning this frequency now to regular amateur use. This is WB7MX, I'll be clear and standing by. WB7, is it out? Roger, WB7 is out, go ahead. Thank you, again. for highlighting us and going through this very essential passage. I have a story as a musician that happened to me yesterday that I'd like to share. This is WP7VZL and it is only, it kind of only relates to musicians, so forgive me, but If anybody has played a violin or string instrument, when it starts to unwind, when it wears out, it's very irritating to the fingers. It gets progressively worse. and you can't shift, because as we know, there's no frets, so you can't move your fingers up or down the string to find the right pitch without getting snagged on the string that's basically unwinding or falling apart. Well, yesterday I really wasn't planning on playing, but I got this call from a friend of mine. This is a fellow pastor who said his mother was dying and would you come and play for her. And I said, "Well, yeah, I'm on the way to a memorial service. I'll stop by the nursing home." And so I did. And I opened the case, and I started playing some hymns. "Jesus, a Friend of Sinners," and let's see, there was a couple. Oh, yeah, "Because He Lives." And then the other one, well, anyway, I felt something weird on my finger as I went to the lowest string, the C string in the viola. And I looked and that string... had fallen apart. I mean, it's starting to unwind. And here I had in front of me the, well, basically two hours, hour and a half of music that evening. And if you know anything strings especially well thanks to the world of synthetics the breaking of the break break in of a string is not nearly as long the synthetic core strings are that you can put them on and in several hours they stabilize enough that you can enjoy playing without turning and turning and that string Because I was, I guess in the Lord's providence, because I was asked to play, I discovered the string before opening, instead of opening the case and looking at the string that was and looking into that concert with a bad string. So I had enough lead time to get me by. At the end of the concert, I was being very careful because I think the string was a bit flat. So I put my finger near what we call the nut, of that string. Anyway, that's a long story, and we haven't got to Beck's joke yet. Anyway, I am a grateful violin viola player because it was revealed to me. WB7, visit out. of a 45-year-old whose breast cancer went immediately, apparently, to the liver. He killed her at 45. Anyway, I attended that, and I skipped the meal because I wasn't in charge. It was by enemies. But anyway, I skipped the meal and got home right away. I've got to get this string on this instrument so that it can have several hours to stretch. Over. Yeah, copy that. So you were able to get that done and play with a new string at the major concert that evening. Well good, Roger. Praise the Lord that that didn't happen in the middle of the concert. I guess you just kind of have to stop playing and let the other violas carry it unless you're the only viola there. And then that would be very difficult. Anyway, Roger, sounds like God looked out for you, over. Yeah, long story short, yeah, God looked after me in the providence of sequences. So anyway, I was very, very grateful. And today is her 95th birthday. She's barely alive, but it's 95, and I've got to go back and play some more hymns for her. This is WB7VisitAlp, and I wonder, did Beck check in today? Uh, Beck did not check in today, nor did Sandy. Um, uh, Beck, Alpha Alpha 5 Yankee, are you out there on the radio? Yeah, apparently no, Roger. I think they're, you know, out doing something or whatever. So, in any event, um... Good to hear the story. Thank you for relating that. And, you know, it's just such a kind providence of God that you were called to play for that person. And she made it to 95. That's fantastic. Good for her. I think that it's wonderful ministries. to go and play for people who are in the last hours of their lives, or maybe the last days, and bring the beauty of the music of God to their souls. You know, we're going to be doing a lot of singing in heaven, Roger. There's going to be lots of stringed instruments there. The Bible talks about harps, right? And so anyway, I don't think those strings are going to unravel on us, Roger. So you'll trade your viola in for a harp or whatever. So looking forward to that day and hearing you play music in heaven, over. Oh, well, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, it's going to be quite an interesting experience to see what we're given to play on up there. Because I know these wooden instruments won't survive the purification fires of planet Earth before it's remade. Over. Yeah, copy that. Well, when it's remade, either we'll make the instruments or God will have them made for us. I'm not sure how that's all going to work, but I know it's going to work. And that's what matters. So anyway, praise the Lord. Roger, thanks for sharing the story. Really appreciate that. And anyway, you and Daylene have a great day. We continue to pray for Autumn to find a new place to live and for Daylene's upcoming radiation treatment. Has she had her first one yet? No, I think it's Tuesday if I recall, Tuesday or Wednesday. So yeah, it's kind of a new world. I know that they sure try to minimize the downsides. I guess the tiredness is quite remarkable for some. At any rate, it's time for a change here and for both parties. So, thank you so much for your intercession. When the Lord asks you to pray for us here, She's brought in so many assets in the kitchen. In fact, I got up and I saw a note by a huge crock pot of another sous president of her specialty. And, oh, my, we have thoroughly enjoyed her kitchen gifts. But she needs, and we need, well, she needs a new perspective. And to live with two old people at her age, she needs to really get into... the mode of living with a job, contacts for sure. Yeah, six days, Sheltel neighbor. And anyway, but we're so grateful. It's been quite a ride in many ways, but yeah, for both her sake and the D-lane's sake especially. WB7VZL. Yeah, copy that. Well, you know, ministry to people always has its ups and its downs, and there's always some blessings, but also difficulties. And, you know, we're not called to minister to the same people for a lifetime unless we're married to them. And so, yeah, people come and they go in the sphere of our ministry, and that's okay. And as you said, there's a time to move on to a new ministry and to leave the former ministry to someone else to take over and carry on and carry out. And you're exactly right. It is not good for people to be unoccupied. The Fourth Commandment, Rogers, you well know. is a commandment to work for six days as well as a commandment to rest for one. So God intended his people to be productive. He intended them to work. And so the lack of work ethic and work attitude is a sin to be resentful of. So I'm glad that you're pushing her in the direction of not thinking she's retired and can lay around for six days. and do nothing but cook and watch movies. She needs to get up, get out, become productive, earn her own way in life, and be responsible. So that's what we're praying for. And, Roger, I appreciate the patience that you and Darlene have showed in this difficult ministry. I appreciate it. I know what you're going through. I've been there, done that with people living in my house for months at a time, and it's never an easy thing. All right, Roger, God bless you and Dailene. Have a great day, 73, and we will chat with you tomorrow, God willing, this is WP7MAX. Thank you, Max. Yeah, your prayers have been amazingly in sync, led by the Spirit of God. I'm convinced when I hear your prayers for the people of the world. for her on the net. And I said, "Well, that was what was needed." And yeah, thank you so much for your experience as well and the sharing of that. I've already gone to the Christian Aid Center without her knowing, so they're prepared for whenever Darlene sets WB7VZL, bye bye. WB7VZL73, give Dailene a hug for me and for all of us and we'll talk to you tomorrow. This is WB7MX, Clarence standing by. and standing by. Alright, this is WB7MAX, clear in QRT. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.