In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of love as the purpose of God's commandments. He explains that through embracing Christ and the law of love, believers are renewed and no longer live for themselves but for Christ. The preacher also highlights that the commandments containing ordinances, such as "do not taste, do not touch, do not handle," have no profit against the desires of the flesh. Instead, the law of love, which is the fulfillment of the law, is what truly brings profit. The sermon concludes by cautioning against mere religious practices and legalism, emphasizing the righteousness that comes from faith rather than the law.

Legalism isn't obedience to the word of God. Legalism is obedience to the commandments of men. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay a tithe of mint, and anise, and cumin, and you have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. Blind guys should strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! If you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, the inside of you will be full of torture and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, then the outside of them may also be cleaned. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is barfed on me, and in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. That's it, they're teaching the commandments of men. He says, for laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men. That's legalism. That is legalism. The washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He says to them, also too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your traditions. And then in verse 13, he says, you make the word of God no effect to your traditions, which you have handed down. And many such things you do. Many of us in the church can do that by having a form of godliness. It can be just going to church once a week. If I go to church once a week, and I do this religious practice, or three times a week, and I do this religious practice, then I shall be white and clean on the outside. That's legalism. That's religion. That's not life. Doing things, perhaps if I take communion once a month, perhaps if I be baptized, just the act of it. Perhaps if I do these certain things, this is a form of godliness. And instead of thinking about the righteousness that comes from the law, and the righteousness that comes by faith. And these are two very distinct differences. The righteousness that comes from the law, and the righteousness that comes by faith. But the righteousness that comes from the law, we count it as done. Paul counts that righteousness as done. But it says, the righteousness that comes from the law says there is none righteous, no one not one. And it says also that our righteousness is as filthy rags. When we do these things, and keep the traditions of man, and do things we don't do by faith, that's the righteousness that comes from the law. The righteousness does not produce the righteousness of godliness, that's not the righteousness of life. Righteousness by faith produces a changed heart. What does it say? Righteousness by faith speaks in this way. It says, no longer shall we, who shall send to heaven for us? That then brings, let's say, the gospel down to us. Or the good news, or Jesus Christ himself, who may descend into the abyss to bring that up to us. Because it's so far off, it's so far, we need to go to the sea, across the sea, we're searching here and there. Who's going to bring the gospel to us? It says, no. It says, the gospel is, it says the word is near you, it's in your mouth and it's in your heart. Because that's to bring Christ down from above, and to bring Christ up from the dead. Because he has done it. He's the one that brought the gospel to us. That's the righteousness of faith, speaks in this way. And that's the gospel which Paul preached. And he says, if anyone brings another gospel, they will be accursed. Because curse is everyone who is under the law. But Christ, he says, is the one on the tree, who took that curse from us, and prepared the curse of the lost. Curse is everyone who is under the tree, he got under the tree, he took that curse for himself. And he made up the righteousness to come to my feet. That brings us life, that brings us peace, that brings us the spirit. Paul says, I through the law, die through the law. What does that mean? I had some brothers who encouraged me, teach me that. It says, I through the law, the law of the spirit, the law of love. What does the royal law say in James 2, I believe. It says, the royal law is love. Love you, love yourself. That's the royal law. I through the law, die through the law. That's the law of sin and death. We die through that law, in Jesus' name. We die through it. Now we have the law of love right here. It's the key of the grace, Christ. Think of our cross, and it says to me, The longer I live, the greater lives it means. The life that I know will be blessed by faith in the Son of God. The life that I know will be blessed by faith. The hour I first believed. He's abolished in His flesh the commandments contained in ordinances. He's abolished in His flesh the commandments contained in ordinances. Do not taste, do not touch, do not handle, which have an appearance of self-imposed wisdom, that have no profit against the indulgence of the flesh. Nothing. The only thing that profits against the indulgence of the flesh is to eat your cross, and allow the love of liberty, the love of life, the love of the Spirit to come and burn in our hearts, that love, because love is the fulfillment of the law. Love is the fulfillment of the law, in Jesus' name. Everything, the whole law, the prophets, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, whatever it may be, everything is all summed up in one word. What is the purpose of love? What is the purpose of love? From a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. Then when we first begun,