That's just an intro passage. What we're going to kind of focus on tonight is the last little part of that where it says that God was both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ.
And I want to invite you to go ahead and turn flip over to Genesis chapter two, first book in the Bible.
So we're going to talk tonight about the doctrine of justification. And I honestly can say, and I know several guys in here probably agree with me, that when I'm having some of my darkest moments of like doubt and depression and my faith is really, really weak and I feel really far from the Lord.
And this doctrine is one of the first ones that come to my mind that actually gives me comfort and peace and security because it's not because of what this doctrine actually teaches and implies.
And so we're going to talk about tonight is really important.
And I hope that I feel really inadequate to talk about it because it's a a wonderful and glorious truth in the scripture.
And Martin Luther himself actually said that justification was the one doctrine, whether the church would stand or fall.
He really said that's what the whole reformation was about in his words.
So I kind of want to give you like a little intro here.
You ever heard anybody say this is not in the Bible, by the way, but this is something that people really throw out there a lot.
When you die one day and you go to heaven and God says, why should I let you in or why should you come and be in my presence?
A lot of people ask that question and a lot of people might answer differently to that question.
So that's what we're going to kind of talk about tonight.
And I have I have three different things.
Let me think about that.
I think it's for four points tonight to kind of unpack this together.
But the first one is, why do we need justification?
Why do we need justification?
So we're going to look into that by looking at Genesis to.
Verse twenty four to twenty five.
And then we're going to jump forward to chapter three.
Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh in a man and his wife.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
So this is the beginning of the creation of man and woman.
And the purpose of which they were created was to glorify God and to reflect who he was.
They were created in the image of God.
John talked about that a long time ago.
I want that implied where it's being created in the image of God actually mean.
And they were to to walk in a relationship with God and to to honor him and all that they did.
And so we're going to jump to Genesis three.
Just go to one chapter.
I'm going to go to verse six.
And the one condition that God made was that you not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
And that was the only conditional thing.
And as we know, both Eve and Adam ate from that tree and were disobedient.
And because of that, death was brought.
Spiritual death, physical death, everything was brought to mankind.
That's where sin entered the world.
So we're going to like see the consequences of that.
But we read in verse seven, just after they've eaten of the tree.
Verse seven, it says, then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked.
And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord, the Lord God, among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord called to the man and said to him, where are you?
And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked.
And I hid myself.
And he said, who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten of the tree which I have commanded you not to eat?
And we're going to stop right here.
But there's a lot of stuff in here.
But I want you to notice something.
Like what was the first immediate result of life?
What's the consequence of them eating of the tree?
Their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked.
They knew that they had this knowledge.
And they were greatly ashamed, like full with guilt.
Guilt and shame were like the things that followed right after that happened.
And they made coverings for themselves.
An awareness.
Shame, guilt, like in the heart of a sinner that has been disobedient towards God.
And this guilt and shame led them to flee and to run and to hide.
And that's why ever since, like we have that retreat mechanism in us whenever we get caught doing something.
And a desire to hide their nakedness for which they are now ashamed, which they were not before.
And so why did they make, does it say clothes?
It doesn't say clothes at all.
It says coverings.
So they didn't like where the fashion industry started.
I heard people kind of joke around, that's where the fashion industry started.
That's not what the fashion industry started.
They made coverings.
Not for adornment.
To kind of like look good.
They made it because they were ashamed.
They wanted to hide.
And that's where it came from.
Like a covering of fig leaves.
Something that doesn't really cover your body that well.
And from that moment on, man has become like a cosmic fugitive.
Like he's always hiding from the presence of God.
And he wants to hide his sin from the presence of God.
And men are always searching out darkness to hide their sin that they commit.
Who you are in private, who you are in public, could be two different things.
When people are caught, they want to flee.
They want to hide.
They don't want to come into the light of God's presence.
One of God's identifying characteristics is he dwells in light.
He dwells in unapproachable light, it says in Timothy.
John 3 says this.
This is the judgment.
The light is coming to the world and people love darkness rather than the light.
Because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light.
Lest his works should be exposed.
So they've hidden themselves in the presence of God.
And remember, like, before they heard, before the fall, before they disobeyed God, when they heard God walking in the garden, they were filled with, like, joy and delight and anticipation.
They were excited, like, wow, the Lord is here.
The Lord God Almighty is walking with us.
It was a beautiful picture.
So they were filled with joy and anticipation of Him walking among them.
But after the fall, after their sin, they were filled with, like, not joy and anticipation.
They were filled with, like, abject terror.
They were frightened.
And they ran.
They hid.
And of what fear for what God may do to them.
So they hide their sin.
They flee among the trees of the garden.
And God calls out to them.
And He's like, you know, why are you hiding?
They say, well, we're naked.
And He's like, who told you that you were?
Because then He's like, He's trying to show them, like, you do with a child.
Like, you know the answer to a question.
We're trying to get them to see what they did.
You try to lead them down, like, this path.
Like, oh, how did you know that?
The only way you could know that is if you ate at the tree.
So they said yes.
And so we hid ourselves.
And God, I mean, you ever wonder, like, why?
Like, why?
Why would they be so afraid of God?
God's the one who made them, breathed life into them.
He's the one who gave them each other to be with.
He's only done good to them ever.
Like, only good.
And they're afraid.
And they run and hide themselves.
So they betrayed all of God's purpose for which they were created,
which was to walk with Him and honor Him in the garden,
to reflect His character and live in, like, a joyful relationship.
So we all are born in sin and separated from God,
and we cannot be in the presence of God at all.
So, and because of that, we face eternal damnation away from God, separation,
away from His peace, His joy, His fellowship.
And so we've covered that really well.
I think we emphasize sin a lot here.
Because only until you understand, like, how sinful you really are,
or how lost you really were before Christ,
you can't appreciate God's grace at all.
You say I'm saved, you ask, what am I saved from?
And you're saved from something that's almost indescribable,
like the worst thing you ever can imagine.
And so, so what is the response to this?
Leads to our next point, which is,
how is justification possible before God?
How can we be justified before God?
And so we're going to kind of explore this together.
Have you ever heard the phrase,
God helps those who help themselves?
Have you ever heard of that before?
Remember, that's not in the Bible.
That's, Ben Franklin said that in Paul Richard's Almanac,
and actually somebody said that before him in the 1600s.
So it's not in the Bible.
God helps those who help themselves.
And what that's implying is that God will justify or make right
or proclaim innocent the ungodly
when the ungodly have actually made themselves godly on their own.
And, which is not what we just read in Romans 3,
it says that God justifies the ungodly, you know,
because of what Christ has done on the cross.
So we're going to get into this.
A lot of us know that we're not saved by works,
anything that we do.
But a lot of us know that.
But have you ever thought about why?
We can read that in the Bible and think,
well, it says right there, not by works.
But there's actually like a lot of meaning as to why that cannot be.
All right?
And I'm going to kind of unpack this for you a little bit.
Our good deeds cannot save us.
We cannot make ourselves godly so that we will be right in the sight of God.
We can't make amends for the damage that has been done.
And the first reason is that all good deeds,
everything that we do is to be done to the glory of God.
That's in 1 Corinthians.
And secondly, because of the great commandment,
we're going to do all things out of love for God.
And so when you do things to make amends for what you've done with God,
you're doing them almost out of self-preservation.
You don't want to go, you don't want to be separated from God.
You don't want to go to hell.
But you're not doing it because you love Him.
You're not doing it for His glory.
Anyway, so your good deeds are defective for that very reason.
We're to love the Lord our God of heart, soul, mind, and strength.
That's like not negotiable.
So that's one reason why.
And you say, I'm going to do good things so I can justify myself in the sight of God.
That also gives you grounds to boast.
Look what I did.
Even if God did 95% of the work and you did 5%, that gives you some grounds to boast.
And God won't allow that.
He actually says in Isaiah 48,
I will not, will not share my glory with anybody at all.
And at the same time,
it contradicts the fact in Isaiah 43 that God says that He is the only Savior.
Not He partners with man to achieve salvation.
He's the only Savior.
So God will not share His glory.
And He's the only Savior.
So your good deeds are defective.
Because they're not done out of a genuine desire to glorify God
or not motivated by love for God.
They're like all out of self-preservation.
There your will terminates.
You must love God and want to glorify Him in what you do.
So if a judge in a human court makes you do like a lot of hours of community service,
you kind of make amends for what you did.
Some of us may have had to do that before.
I've come close.
But not for anything bad.
It's more like a ticket I got doing something.
I don't know why I brought that up.
But let's just say I did my community service hours.
This is a simple question.
I'm just trying to prove a point.
Does that change the fact that I committed a crime?
It doesn't.
I still committed a crime.
So in the end, like your good deeds are the same way.
Like you can't make amends for this.
You actually committed a crime.
Isaiah 64, 6 says this.
We all have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind take us away.
Our righteous deeds are as filthy rags.
A lot of people know that verse as.
We can't do anything to make ourselves right before God.
Romans 3, 20.
For by works of the law, no human will be justified in his sight.
Since through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
So the law of God doesn't save anybody.
It actually just shows you your sin.
It shows you how helpless you are.
It gives us the knowledge of what sin is.
But it's not meant to save you.
No one has ever kept the law perfectly except one person.
And that's what we'll be going in a second.
And so you just have to walk down the Ten Commandments.
You'll see that you've broken every one of them at some point.
And James says if you've broken one, you're guilty of breaking all of them.
So it's a serious issue.
We cannot be justified by our works or by keeping God's law.
We've all failed.
So then, like, how can we be justified in God's sight?
I mean, justified just means, like, to prove right, to prove just.
You have kept the law.
To be righteous in someone's sight.
That's what being justified means.
So, and so I think we're still in Genesis 3.
But I'm going to show you, like, what happened here.
Genesis 3, verse 20.
So, in this verse, we see the first action of the gospel.
A little bit before that, we see the first promise of the gospel.
Where God tells Satan, you know, through the seed of the woman, there's going to come someone who's going to crush your head.
That's a promise about Christ that is to come.
But in this verse, we actually see the first action of the gospel ever.
Like, what did God do?
And we see him doing something kind of outrageous.
He could have said, you've had your chance.
Oh, well, you blew it.
Get out of the garden and go wander the earth in fear and in terror, hiding from me.
And he could have said that.
And he would have been wrong to do that.
But we see him do something else.
Verse 20.
The man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments and skins and clothed them.
So, that's the first action of the gospel.
He says, you need to be covered.
But this is what you've got going on.
It's not going to work.
So, he actually kills an animal.
And he covers them with the skin.
And there is a covering idea, doctrine, motif, whatever you want to call it, all through Scripture.
I mean, just think about it.
It goes to the idea of the tabernacle, how animals had to be killed.
And their blood had to be sprinkled on the Ark of the Covenant.
It goes to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, where all the animals, again, had to be sacrificed to be a covering for man's sin.
And so, this was the first action that we see.
God stooping to cover, like, the humiliation of his creatures.
Not pronouncing judgment on them.
And, like, taking their life at that very minute.
He did pronounce judgment, but it was more, not immediate.
They didn't die right away.
So, immediately, his grace was at work and preserved their lives.
So, this is the first action of the gospel.
You see a covering idea.
And what we want to call this, we call this in theology, we call it a type.
A type.
Like, what happened right here?
The covering that God put on Adam and Eve is a type.
And it's a symbol.
It's an example of something that foreshadows, like, a greater fulfillment, which would be Christ in the future.
So, all through the Old Testament, we see this idea of, like, the covering.
And what the covering was to do was to hide man from the holiness of God.
And so, the blood of bulls, goats, and lambs, like it even says, it cannot atone for man's sins.
It can't actually change anything between man and God.
So, what happened?
This, again, in Genesis 3, we see the promise of Christ.
And Christ was the final and sufficient covering of man.
And so, how did the work of Christ enable us to be justified before a holy God?
In this, we're going to kind of look.
But we all know that a president can pardon somebody for their crime without, at the same time, punishing them for their crime.
He can't do that.
He has to do one or the other.
He has to condemn them or has to set them free.
But he can't do both.
And we actually see that God can.
Turn to 2 Corinthians.
This is kind of probably like the main theme verse for what we would see in justification.
2 Corinthians 5, verse 20.
God cannot pardon a crime without payment of a penalty.
So, verse 20, chapter 5.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.
God making His appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God.
Some of us need that attitude.
We're sharing the gospel with people.
It doesn't need to be like a nonchalant.
Hey, you want to follow Jesus?
He says, I implore you.
Be reconciled to God.
Like, that's how serious He is.
And sharing about the good news of Christ.
Verse 21.
For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
That verse is huge.
He said a lot in one sentence.
So, how are we to be justified in the presence of God?
How can we be made righteous in the presence of God?
There's two parts to this verse, and we're going to look at both.
And both have to happen, or you cannot stand in God's presence.
The first is, this is still under number two, how are we justified?
The first one is forgiveness and pardon.
That has to happen.
So, Christ's death, shedding His blood, paid the debt of our unrighteousness.
So, we talked before, I don't know how long ago this was,
but I taught on how Christ on the cross satisfied the wrath of God,
how He exhausted it.
We talked about propitiation and all that.
Well, that's actually what happened.
That has to happen first.
Like, forgiveness, pardon, cancellation of sins.
That has to happen.
But back to our verse, it says that God made Him to be sin who knew no sin.
Okay?
What this means, it's talking about Christ here,
but what that does not mean,
and this is an important distinction,
there's been a lot of debate about this,
like, serious debate in the church.
But what this is not saying is that on the cross,
Christ actually became a foul sinner.
Like, while He was on the cross, He actually turned into a sinner like that,
like He was all of a sudden really simple.
Christ was innocent and blameless.
That's what the Scripture teaches.
And so He was on the cross being punished for sin.
What this meant was that God treated Him,
God treated Him as if He were a sinner.
He was not.
He was blameless.
He was perfect.
But He was treated as if He was a sinner.
He was treated as if He was guilty of all the sins of everyone who ever believed in Him,
though He never committed one of them.
That's what this means.
Like, He Himself did not turn into a foul, festering sinner on the cross.
God treated Him that way on our behalf.
So, that's why I read Ephesians 1,
In Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace.
So, cancellation of sin,
forgiveness of sin, that has to happen.
But here's a question for you.
We are forgiven of our sins, okay?
But, does that actually make us righteous in God's sight?
That's a huge question to ask.
We are forgiven of sin,
but does that actually make us righteous in God's sight?
Because according to Proverbs 17, 15,
it says,
He who justifies the wicked,
and he who condemns the righteous,
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
God cannot justify sinners.
So, here's like three analogies for you,
to kind of help you see this.
If you get a really bad grade on a test,
you know, you really mess it up,
you get like an F, you fail,
and your teacher comes and says,
Hey, you know what?
You had a really rough week.
I know what happened.
I'm going to cancel that F, okay?
Just don't worry about that test.
You know, so cancellation of that bad grade.
And your teacher is not saying,
Hey, I'm giving you an A.
See that?
They're just canceling your bad grade.
When you're in debt to the bank,
and you're in great debt,
like up to your eyeballs in debt,
and the bank calls you,
this would never happen,
but the bank calls you and says,
Hey, we're going to cancel your debt.
Don't worry about the sum you owe us.
Just forget about it.
They're not saying,
We're giving you a million dollars.
They're just saying your debt's canceled.
They're not saying you have a million dollars.
At the same time,
if you're in a court,
and the judge pardons you
for a crime that you did commit,
he's not saying,
You know, you're innocent.
He's just saying,
I forgive you.
Go home.
But you did commit the crime.
Like, this,
we have to have this.
We have to have an A.
We have to have a million dollars.
We have to be,
we have to be called a law keeper,
not a law breaker.
That's the difference between these two things.
So,
what happens?
We're forgiven of our sin
because of what Christ did.
But secondly,
there's a big word called imputation.
I'll spell that.
I-M-P-U-T-A-T-I-O-N.
Imputation.
This means,
you think of something
that's not yours,
that's belonging to someone else.
And,
and actually,
in that transaction,
actually makes that thing
belong to that person.
So,
the first part of that
is that Christ lived a sinless life,
a life of perfect obedience to God.
In order to pay for human sin,
it had to be a perfect,
spotless sacrifice.
It couldn't be,
it couldn't be like one of us.
We couldn't do that
because we're just as foul as the next person.
So,
it had to be a pure offering,
just like we see all through the Bible.
And Christ was without sin.
It says in 1 Peter 2, 22,
that Christ committed no sin,
neither was any deceit found in His mouth.
We know that at the Transfiguration,
where He actually was up on the mountain,
and like He was seen in His glory,
He was there with Elijah and Moses.
And His disciples are just like,
that is crazy.
Like they're seeing this on the mountain,
and they're being blown away by it.
And they hear a voice come out of heaven,
and it says,
This is my beloved Son,
of whom I am well pleased.
Listen to Him.
That's what it says.
And so,
Christ was without sin.
All He did was honoring to the Father.
He survived every temptation.
We know that He was tempted by Satan himself,
you know,
three different times.
And every time,
Christ resisted by the Word of God,
just did not fall.
So,
everything He did was honoring to God.
So,
He was the perfect sacrifice.
And this is the second part of justification.
It's where Christ's perfect obedience,
the perfect obedience that He followed in His life,
to honor the Father,
is given to us.
It's like put into our account.
Like a transaction.
We took His righteousness,
and He took our sin.
It was like this exchange that happened.
It's called the great exchange,
like in theology.
It's what Martin Luther called it.
So,
God thinks that Christ's righteousness is belonging to us,
and our sin is belonging to Christ.
So,
Romans 5,
19,
just like this other verse we read,
For as by one man,
one man's disobedience,
the many were made sinners.
It's talking about Adam.
By Adam's disobedience,
we all were made sinners.
And then it says,
So by the one man's obedience,
being Christ,
the many would be made righteous.
So through Christ's perfect obedience,
many would be made righteous.
And that's prophesied about in Isaiah,
that He will justify and make righteous many.
A prophecy about Christ.
And so,
a beautiful exchange.
Martin Luther is a quote that he said about this.
This is that mystery,
which is rich in divine grace to sinners,
wherein by a wonderful exchange of our sins,
are no longer ours,
but Christ.
And the righteousness of Christ,
not Christ,
but ours.
He has emptied Himself of His righteousness,
that He might clothe us with it,
and fill us with it.
And He has taken our evils upon Himself,
that He might deliver us from them.
Lord Jesus,
You have taken upon Yourself what is Mine,
and have given Me what was Yours.
You have taken upon Yourself
what You were not,
and given to us what we were not.
This exchange,
like,
Christ's righteousness given to us,
into our account,
and our sin going to Christ.
a beautiful verse about this.
Turn to Isaiah 61.
And there is a lot of battles in the church today.
A lot of us know that John Piper is.
He's been having this ongoing,
serious battle with this one other guy
about justification,
and what it actually implies,
and what it means.
Isaiah 61,
verse 10.
And this is talking about
what is to come.
Like,
Christ is going to make this possible.
It says,
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.
My soul shall exult in my God,
for He has clothed me
with garments of salvation.
He has covered me
with a robe of righteousness.
As a bridegroom decks himself
like a priest
with a beautiful headdress,
and a bride adores herself
with her jewels.
It's a picture of, like,
being wrapped in Christ's righteousness.
Like this idea that you have,
like,
this filthy garment on.
It's nasty and sinful
and foul.
And you cannot approach God
that way.
So what happens?
He clothes you
in Christ's righteousness.
It's like putting on a robe.
And then that's,
when he looks at it,
that's what he sees.
He's like,
he sees the perfect obedience
of Christ.
He's like,
righteous.
You know,
it's a beautiful exchange
that's happened.
It leads into our next point,
our next statement,
number three.
Justification comes only by
grace
through faith
in Christ.
Grace
through faith
in Christ.
Now,
if you come back next week,
we might talk a little bit more
about this,
but
in the Reformation,
we actually believe this year,
and I know
it's really foundational, too.
If you call yourself
an evangelical
or a Protestant,
this would be
foundational.
These are non-negotiables
in our theology,
what Scripture teaches.
But,
we believe that
man is saved
completely by
grace alone.
And that's
in Latin,
like they use
the Latin for this,
sola gratina.
We're saved by
grace alone.
Through faith alone.
Sola fide.
Faith alone.
In Christ alone.
Solus Christus.
In Christ alone.
And that's what we believe.
Like,
it's not anything added.
It's not faith
and
good deeds
and keeping it up
and doing your best.
It's
by faith alone.
Through faith alone.
In Christ alone.
All by grace alone.
And,
like we go back
to what we were talking about
at the beginning,
how our good deeds
can attribute to salvation
because God does not
share His glory.
And because He's
the only Savior,
we believe in something
called
solidea gloria.
To God alone
be the glory.
And,
and all this
from Scripture alone.
Scripture our only authority.
Not,
and,
what the church might say.
It's
Scripture alone.
Which is
sola scriptura.
We're going to talk about that
more later.
But,
it comes completely
by the unmarriage
in favor of God.
You didn't do anything
to save yourself.
This is all God's work.
when you try to add
grace plus works,
Paul says in Romans,
I can't remember,
I think it's Romans 11,
this grace
would no longer
be grace.
He just cancels it out.
Grace is completely
unmerited favor
from God.
And it says in Titus 3,
verse 4,
that we were justified
by His grace
alone.
Not,
and,
this,
and that.
Paul,
Ephesians 2,
for by grace
you've been saved
through faith.
And this is not of yourself.
It is the gift of God.
Not by works
so that no one
should boast.
So,
by grace alone,
in Christ alone,
through our faith alone.
Alright?
So,
I need to talk briefly
just about our union
with Christ.
This idea of being
in Christ.
If you read Colossians,
that's this constant thing
He says,
like we're in Christ.
In Christ.
What does that mean?
It speaks to our
spiritual union
that we have
with Christ.
A spiritual union
we have with Christ.
Throughout history,
God has only appointed
two men
to represent
the human race.
Adam
and Christ.
Christ is called
the second Adam.
Adam's disobedience
brought eternal death
and separation
from God.
Christ's perfect obedience
brought eternal life
and reconciliation
to God
through
those who believe
in Him.
So,
you see like the difference
like Adam brought
death and separation
Christ brought
eternal life
and reconciliation
with God
and through
only for those
who have faith in Him.
So,
you need to think
about this too.
It does say
that we're saved
through our faith
through faith
but not by faith.
That's important.
Because then you're
trying to say
that because I believed
I have the right
to be saved.
That's not what
you can imply by that
and that's not true.
Your faith
is not what saves you.
Christ is what saves you.
And the difference is
if you're like
drowning in the water
and you are drowning
like you're going down
you do believe
I'm sure that you believe
man,
if I just had a wrath
that could save me.
You know,
if I just had a wrath
well that belief
doesn't save you,
does it?
You actually have to
have the wrath there
to save you.
You know,
so just your belief
in it doesn't really matter.
You have to have it there.
So,
your salvation
doesn't come from your faith.
It comes from the object
of your faith
which is Christ.
He alone saves you,
not your faith.
Christ alone saves you.
And that's really
important to get a hold of.
So,
it's going to lead us
to this idea
again,
not by works.
I want to just show you
one verse of that.
Turn to Galatians 2
really fast.
Galatians 2
verse 16.
I only have two more
places where you return.
So,
our one after this.
Galatians 2
verse 16.
So,
by grace
alone,
through faith
alone,
in Christ alone,
our faith
is what unites us
to Christ.
So,
if you say you're
in Christ,
what united you
to Him
was faith.
Galatians 2
verse 16.
Yet,
we know that
a person is not
justified
by works
and law,
but through faith
in Jesus Christ.
So,
also,
we have believed
in Christ Jesus
in order to be
justified
by faith
in Christ
and not by works
and law
because by the works
of the law,
no one will be
justified.
He says justify
quite a few times
in there.
He says,
not by works
and not by the law
can you be justified.
It's very clear.
And in this context,
Paul is trying
to dispute people
from a Jewish background.
He was trying to say,
yeah,
cool to believe in Jews,
but you also need
to do all this other stuff
in order to be saved
and have a right
saving of God.
He's saying,
no,
not possible.
And he uses Abraham
as an example
on the Father
and he
lived a life
of faith
and that's what
made him right
before God.
Chris had been
talking a lot
about that
on Sunday mornings.
So,
not by works,
by grace alone,
through faith alone
and Christ alone
are you justified.
And our fourth point
and last point,
justification
is a legal
declaration
by God.
Right?
It's a legal
declaration by God.
It's declarative.
It happens
in an instant.
It's instantaneous.
It's not this process
you go through.
Traditionally,
in Roman theology,
Roman Catholic theology,
they teach that
you have to make
yourself
acceptable
in God's sight
and earn
the right
to be justified
by good deeds
and by,
you know,
the works
and all the other
stuff that they pile up.
We'll talk about that
more next week,
maybe.
But,
it's the idea
that God helps
those who help
themselves.
and this is
a process
you go through
like sanctification.
John,
in a few weeks,
is going to talk
about sanctification
and what that is.
But,
sanctification
is not
justification.
They're
two different
things.
Being justified
is a declaration
saying,
made righteous,
like you are
righteous.
You have kept
the law.
You are righteous.
It is instantaneous
and it happens
at the moment
of faith.
rewind to
what we've
been talking
about.
Remember how
I talked
about being
born again
and regeneration
is the act
that God
does to a
dead sinner.
They come
to life
spiritually
and the result
is they
have faith
in Christ
and they
repent of
their sins
is what
John's been
talking about.
And in that
moment,
in that very
instant,
they are
justified
before God.
It's a
one-time
deal.
There's no
double jeopardy,
put it that
way,
in God's
court.
You won't
be tried
for the
same
crime
if you
are right
before God,
if you've
been wrapped
in His
righteousness.
It's an
instantaneous
thing,
not a process
that you
go through.
Once it's
done once,
it's never
done again.
So,
what about
some application
here?
Some of you
may be
thinking,
that's really
cool.
If I'm
righteous
before God
and that
can't change,
it was a
once and
for all
time deal,
I can't
lose that.
I might
just,
that's
awesome.
I can
just sin
and screw
up and
rebel against
God all I
want because
I can't
lose that
if I'm
made
righteous
in sight.
And the
Bible is
aware of
people who
think that
way.
In Romans
3.8,
it would
tell you,
if you do
think that
way,
that your
condemnation
is just.
Because true
faith in
Christ,
as John's
been talking
about last
week,
it produces
a love
for Christ
and a
desire to
follow Him
and obey
Him,
a true
faith in
Christ,
and not
a,
well,
I can
go sin
to my
heart's
content
because I'm
righteous
in God's
sight now.
So,
if you think
that way,
you're probably
not born again
because God's
grace is not,
it doesn't
produce that
kind of result.
It's a sinner
who wants to
keep sinning
against God
and fighting
against God
and say,
man,
I hate my
sin,
I hate my
sin,
and I want
to follow
Christ,
I want to
be like
Christ,
I want to
honor Him,
I want to
have fellowship
with God,
that's what
it looks
like.
So,
stop fooling
yourself and
repent and
believe the
gospel,
and come to
Christ as
your only
righteousness.
And,
there might
be some
people here
thinking,
I do want
to have
right standing
with God,
I do want
to be made
righteous in
God's sight,
but I feel
like I've got to
get my life
straight first,
and I've got to
do this first,
and just
abandon that,
like just
throw all your
good works
away,
and just
come by
faith to
Christ,
and let Him
save you.
Write down
Philippians 3,
and read that
chapter,
if that's what
you think,
because Paul,
in that,
he actually,
the Apostle
Paul talks
about how
he was the
most religious
guy out there,
he had
everything
perfect on
the outside,
he talks
about how
he was a
Pharisee,
he had
the right
pedigree,
everything,
to be like
a perfect
guy,
on the outside,
but then he
says at the
end of that,
I count all
that as
loss,
he throws it
all away,
he counts it
as rubbish,
then at the
end of that,
he says,
and he
accepts Christ's
righteousness by
faith alone,
so he throws
away all these
good works,
he says,
I want to have
a righteousness
righteousness of
Christ that
comes through
faith,
that's what he
says at the
end of that,
so stop
trying to get
right with God
that way,
by doing good
stuff,
and just come
to Christ,
and then,
this is what I
was talking about
earlier,
there's no
condemnation
from God or
for others if
you're justifying
the sight,
there's no
double jeopardy
like I was
saying a minute
ago,
no trial for
the same crime,
and the
last place I
want you to
turn is
Romans 8,
Romans 8
verse 1,
so whenever I
have a fear
of falling
away,
I'm like,
man,
I'm screwed
up and God
is going to
condemn me for
this,
when that kind
of enters
your mind,
Romans 8
verse 1
and 2
says,
there is
therefore now
no condemnation
for those
who are in
Christ Jesus,
for the law
of the spirit
of life has
set you free
in Christ
Jesus from
the law of
sin and
death,
so then jump
down,
the whole
chapter is
worth reading,
so they try
to make this
point in the
beginning,
there's no
condemnation
for those
who are in
Christ Jesus,
there's an
idea in
Christ Jesus,
being united
with Him,
having His
righteousness,
flip down to
verse 31,
and it says
this,
what then
shall we
say to
these things,
if God
is for us,
who can
be against
us?
He who
did not
spare His
own Son,
who gave
Him up
for us
all,
how will
He not
also with
Him
graciously
give us
all things?
Who shall
bring any
charge against
God's elect?
It is God
who justifies.
Really awesome.
That whole
chapter is
so encouraging.
He's like,
who's going to
condemn you?
It doesn't
matter if
man condemns
you,
because God
is the
one who
always
can
wait
to
die
and
he
has
justified
you.
He is the
one who
said,
you are
righteous
in my
sight.
So,
I know,
back to our
question at the
beginning,
what's going to
happen when you
stand before God
and He says,
you know,
why should you
come into
heaven or
whatever?
if I'm
standing before
God and
I know
my sin
very well,
let's say
that Satan
himself is
accusing me,
he's called
the accuser of
the brethren
in Revelation,
he stands
before God
making accusations
against you,
trying to get
God to turn
against you.
That's what the
word devil
means,
it means like
a slanderer,
he just
throws slanders
on you.
He can say
all kinds of
stuff.
He did
this,
she did
that.
He can
hurl every
kind of
insult at
you and
accuse you
of every
kind of
heinous
crime.
And he's
done that,
he's done
that.
And what
God will
probably say
is if he
looks at
me or he
looks at
you,
if you're
in Christ,
he'll just
say,
I don't
see what
you're
talking
about,
I see
the perfect
righteousness
of my
son wrapped
around him
or her,
and that'll
be it.
That's what
will happen.
That's the
beauty of
being justified
by Christ.
God made
him who
had no
sin to
be sin
on our
behalf.
So the
result of
this,
if you
understand
this,
you cannot
lose this.
It was
because of
what Christ
did,
his work,
the great
exchange,
your sin
on Christ,
he paid the
penalty for it,
his perfect
life of
obedience,
honored God,
given to
you and put
on you
for all
time.
Christ will
not do
this again.
It says
that he
died once
for all
time.
That's it.
If that's
true,
then you
can have
a right
staying
with God
in God's
court.
And he'll
say,
righteous,
you have
kept the
law perfectly.
My son
has paid
your penalty.
You'll be
wrapped in a
robe of
righteousness.
So the
result of
this in
your everyday
life,
to me,
it brings
joy and
peace like
you wouldn't
believe.
like,
I'm like,
man,
I've
screwed
up.
Only the
righteousness
of Christ
can bring
this.
I want
to read
this one
verse to
you.
Just listen
carefully.
It's Isaiah
32,
17-18.
It talks
about the
effects of
being justified.
It says,
And the
effect of
righteousness
will be
peace,
and the
result of
righteousness
quietness
and trust
forever.
If you
are righteous,
what will
be the
result?
What's
the effect
of that?
Peace,
it says,
in quietness
and trust.
Like,
man,
I am in
Christ.
I have
Christ's
righteousness.
And the
result of
that is
peace and
quietness.
God goes
on to say,
My people
will abide
in a peaceful
habitation,
in secure
dwellings,
in quiet
resting places.
So that is
the result of
what being
righteous is.
It brings
you peace.
It brings
you joy.
Like,
man,
there's
nothing that
can take
that away
from me.
Christ has
paid my
penalty,
and I
have his
righteousness,
and I
can be
justified in
God's
sight.
This
covering,
Adam and
Eve tried
to run
from God,
hide from
God.
We don't
have to
hide from
God anymore
if you're
clothed in
the righteousness
of Christ.
And it's
a beautiful
thing.
I have no
more time
to really
elaborate on it.
You have
to grasp
one
doctrine.
I
would
go
after
that
one.
It's
beautiful.
And it's
interconnected
to all the
ones I've
been talking
about.
They're all
connected.
It's all
by grace,
alone,
through faith
alone,
and Christ
alone,
all to God's
glory.
And that's the
beauty of our
salvation.
It can't be
taken away
or else
Christ's work
is meaningless
and God's
glory is
diminished.
And he's
not going
to let that
happen at
all.
Once we're
in him,
we're in
him forever.
So,
let's just
pray and
then we'll
just respond
in song
and in
thankfulness
to God.
Holy
Father,
our
Master,
our
Creator,
our
Redeemer,
thank you
for
stooping,
coming down,
and
rescuing
those who
were
foul and
rebellious
against you
who only
deserve
death and
eternal
separation,
but you
sent your
only son
to be
an atoning
sacrifice
for us
and to
cause him
to suffer
the punishment
of our
disobedience.
And at the
same time,
you gave
us his
righteousness,
his perfect
life that
he lived
was accounted
to us,
it was put
into our
account,
and we are
wrapped in
robes of
righteousness,
and you see
us that way.
It is a
beautiful picture,
Lord,
I have
despaired and
thought of
myself unworthy,
thought of
myself not
able to
stand before
you.
I remember
that I have
been justified
by your
blood because
of what you've
done,
and I can
have peace
with you.
The result of
that is peace
because I have
right standing
with you,
and I have
quietness and
trust in my
spirit.
I can trust
you through
whatever is
going on.
It is not
up to my
works.
I can't
be saved
by what I
do,
but completely
through faith
in your
son and
what he did
on the cross.
I pray that
we would
get down
and study
your word
and ask you
to help us
understand these
things in a
greater way.
Lord,
you have
brought great
glory to
yourself and
redeeming man
from the
sinful state
that he was
in and
brought him
back to
yourself.
We love
you,
Lord.
Help us
to sing
now and
to honor
you through
our words.
I pray that
they would
be from
my heart
and they
wouldn't
just be
to sing
along and
be cool,
but it
would be
a response
for your
justifying
work and
our right
standing with
you.
Lord,
I pray this
would move
us to be
missional.
We would
go out and
tell others
that they
can't do
this.
They can't
earn God's
favor.
They have
to just
come to
Christ and
be saved and
repent of
their sin.
God,
we don't
understand the
gospel ourselves
if we're not
sharing it with
others.
We fail.
God,
I pray you
would give
us that.
Let us go
out and
proclaim your
goodness,
your grace,
and your
love to
the lost
around us
or else
we are
hearers of
the word
and not
doers and
unbelievers.
God help
us.
We love
you in
Christ's name.
Amen.