The Gift of Righteousness

Well, as David has already alluded to, this is not a typical stage for a normal Sunday morning.

!

Standing center in this stage is a ziggurat, which has been used in many different ways.

But this coming week, it's to help call attention or reminder to Genesis chapter 11 and the ziggurat

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

that stood there in Genesis chapter 11 where the people who were in existence at the time,

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

descendants of Noah, came to build.

Now, there are two things that stand as observations for me,

and maybe perhaps stand as an observation for you as well, when you see this behind me.

First is there was a time when all the nations were combined and collected together.

All descendants of Noah, there as one massive group speaking one language, part of one assembly,

having one purpose, and there they were in this plane building this ziggurat.

In one manner of speaking, they were fulfilling the command of God to be fruitful and multiply,

and certainly they were numerous.

Many, many people had come as one body collected to orchestrate this one purpose of building this monument to themselves.

And this coming week, kind of playing off of the one nation,

the incredible race that is one people all connected through not only Adam,

but connected together because of Noah and his sons.

Everyone represented in this room have a common ancestry in that we all go back to Noah.

And here, as a signpost of that, is this ziggurat behind me.

But it's also a remembrance or observation of the absolute rebellion of people.

Because although they had been faithful in fulfilling one mandate to be fruitful and multiply,

they had not been faithful to carry out the remaining mandate,

and that was, and fill the earth.

Instead, they decided to congregate together.

Their goal was not to celebrate the glory of God as much as it was to celebrate the glory of their own personal accomplishments.

As a matter of fact, we find in Genesis chapter 11, verse 4, it says,

Genesis 11:4

Mankind was bent on self-sufficiency, building a monument.

Come and see.

Look what we've done.

Let's congregate together.

Let's have a reason for staying put.

So God, as God will do, helped to intervene and carry out his purposes

because man was bent on doing his own thing.

So God came and confused their language and, in a sense, also dispersed them across the face of the earth.

God did for men what man would not do for himself.

Well, that is exactly what we've been looking at in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

And if you are as encouraged as I am to understand the continuity of the scripture,

that the same that happens in Genesis is the same pattern that we see of a faithful God

who is the same yesterday, today, and forever,

and continues to do for man what man cannot do for himself.

We've been looking at Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 1.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

It says,

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

For God did, and here it is,

For God did what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

By sending his Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,

he condemned sin in the flesh.

In order that, the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us

who walk not according to the law or according to the flesh,

but according to the Spirit.

You see, Jesus accomplished victory when man could not accomplish it for himself.

And since the beginning of time, mankind has been bent on sin.

And even though he provided a perfect and good standard,

a righteous standard in the law,

man, because of being weakened by his sinful flesh,

rather than rising to the occasion,

found himself consistently,

and to man, woman, and child,

every single individual who has ever walked the planet,

unable to measure up to the standard.

Because the law, instead of helping to encourage mankind to do what was right,

actually was a fuse to lead him to greater sin.

It was a fuse that led him to want the very things that were prohibited from him or her.

Or on the flip side, to do what the law required,

but then to rejoice in his own ability or her own ability

to perform the standard that God had set,

and thus to then turn it all around and make it about me,

instead of making it about representing and glorifying God.

So whether you were a law keeper or a law breaker,

you were a sinner.

Because, as we find in Isaiah,

all our righteousnesses were as filthy rags

before Jesus came to intervene.

Jesus came to do what the law could not do.

Not because the law was not good,

but because we were unable to do what the law required.

So as a matter of recap,

I want to just bring us back to some of those same points we discussed last week.

And then that will help as a segue to then get to our second point.

I want us to talk about the significance of righteousness.

The righteousness that comes, first of all, because of Jesus.

And that is our first point this morning.

We are righteous because of Jesus.

And if you haven't already, please turn with me to Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

It's on the page...

...of Jesus.

And there were two things that Jesus did

in order to be the righteous fulfillment

of what all that God expected.

First, Jesus fulfilled the law.

Jesus fulfilled the law first through His humanity.

Fulfilled the law through His humanity.

He sent Jesus as the incarnate Word of God.

The Word of God made flesh for us.

Jesus was able to accomplish in His flesh

what no man, woman, or child was ever able to accomplish.

But He must do that as a man,

as weakened by sinful flesh.

We find from Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15,

Hebrews 4:15

that He was tempted in all points,

just as we are, yet without sin.

If you're here this morning and you are saying,

there is no way that anyone can really understand

what I'm going through.

No one can really appreciate the struggle that I'm facing.

No one can really understand the burdens that I carry.

And we find from this verse that Jesus can.

He is the great high priest who can sympathize with your weaknesses.

Because He was tempted in every way,

just like you are, yet without sin.

There is nothing that you can experience in life,

no pressure, no injustice,

no burden, no crisis,

no conflict, no accusation,

that you can endure or experience,

that Jesus has not experienced Himself.

And in His experience,

He shows you and points you to the better way.

Jesus was able to fulfill the law

by being the sum total of all that the law expected.

And He did that in His flesh.

He did that in His humanity.

But He also did that through His holiness.

Fulfilled the law in His humanity.

He fulfilled the law in His holiness.

Because of His perfection,

Jesus fulfilled all the righteous demands of the law.

Not only fulfilling the demands of the law

in an external and outward way,

but fulfilling the demands of the law internally.

His motivations, His purposes, His attitudes.

I'm sure you've heard the story of that little boy

who is told by his mother at the breakfast table

to sit down.

And she continued to say,

Well, son, sit down.

And He demanded to stand up.

And finally, He sat down,

and she thanked Him for His obedience.

And He said to her,

this little five-year-old,

Well, I might be sitting down on the outside,

but I am standing up on the inside.

Jesus had perfect alignment,

not only with His external attitudes,

and actions,

but His internal motivation,

His internal purposes,

His internal heart.

He measured up to all that the law demanded.

As we find in the Sermon on the Mount,

where Jesus says,

Well, you have heard it said,

but I say to you,

and raises the bar to the next level.

You have said that you should not commit adultery,

but I say to you,

if you even look at a woman to lust after her,

you have committed adultery in your heart.

I say to you,

you should not murder.

Or the Bible says you should not murder.

But I say to you,

if you hate your brother,

you have committed murder in your heart.

Jesus,

in His life and actions,

but also in His internal motivation,

demonstrated consistency

in meeting and measuring up

to all that the law demanded.

Of course, the religious Jews

were very good at meeting external expectations.

They were very good at the piety

that was required of those

who were in their position.

But Jesus identified

the true corruption of their hearts

when He says in Luke 11, 39,

Now you Pharisees,

you make the outside.

...to go and anoint a new king.

King Saul had messed things up in Israel

and God was searching for a new king.

And Samuel goes to the family of Jesse

and he begins to look at each of the sons

and each one that he goes to,

it is clear that they are

head and shoulders above the rest

and they're handsome and they're strong,

but they're not the ones that God selected.

The criteria that was important to God

was as what we find in 1 Samuel 16, 7.

Man looks on the outward appearance,

but God looks at the heart.

Jesus honored the law to the letter

both internally and externally

and as a result of fulfilling the law,

Jesus positions Himself

to condemn sin in the flesh.

...

...

...

And we looked at this

a bit last week.

He condemns sin in His ministry

as He heals individuals

and says,

Go and sin no more.

The mandate that He gave to them

was to live in the purity of life

that the law demanded.

Of course, they could not do that

because of the corruption of the flesh,

but that was still the overriding command

that God had given to His people.

He condemned sin in the flesh

by calling people to righteousness,

but He also condemned sin in the flesh

through His ministry

by reversing the effects

that sin had on sin-ravaged bodies.

Lazarus, who had died,

Jairus' daughter who had died,

and Jesus raised to show

that He had power over the grave,

power over sin and death.

Jesus, in healing those

who had blindness

or lameness or leprosy,

able to demonstrate

that He alone

had the ability

to reverse the effects of sin

and that to stand

as an illustration

of what He would do

not on a temporary basis

but on an eternal basis,

a picture in a physical way

of what He had hoped to do

for them spiritually

through His death.

Through His ministry,

He condemned sin

by reversing the effects of sin,

but finally and fully

satisfying the righteous demands

of God for sin

by dying for sinners.

He condemned sin in the flesh.

Jesus agreed with the Father

that sin was worthy

of eternal judgment.

1 Peter 3.18 says,

For Christ also suffered

once for sins,

the righteous for the unrighteous,

that He might bring us to God,

being put to death in the flesh

but made alive in the Spirit.

Romans 5.6-9 says this,

For while we were still weak,

at the right time Christ died

for the ungodly.

Since therefore we have now

been justified by His blood,

much more shall we be saved

by Him from the wrath of God.

It is because of the work

of Jesus' death

that Paul concludes

there is now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

It is because of the final

and full work of Christ

on Calvary

to purchase for us redemption.

Well, what does this righteousness mean for us?

There are so many things

that we could say.

First, this righteousness means

our salvation is secure.

If you are in Christ today,

the righteousness of Christ

rests on you

and your salvation is secure

because there is nothing more

that is required.

The debt has been fully paid.

So there is nothing that you need to do

to work your way to God.

There is nothing else that is demanded

because Jesus paid it all.

All to Him I owe.

And if you are in Christ,

all to Him you owe as well

because Jesus paid it all.

And if He is the full

and complete righteousness

that is demanded by God,

there is nothing left to do

so your salvation in Christ

is secure.

It should provide for you

not only peace of mind

but also motivation for worship,

urgency in the Christian life,

cause for devotion

because Jesus provided a way

that is secure.

It also means that righteousness

is obtained through faith

and not through law keeping.

And that's important.

Righteousness is obtained

through faith

and not through law keeping.

We touched on this

a couple of weeks ago

when we were looking through

no condemnation

and we saw in Romans chapter 4,

Romans 4 · chapter mention

we saw that Abraham was righteous

because of faith.

Faith was counted to him

as righteousness,

not the things that he had done

in terms of circumcision

or an offering Isaac

as he was commanded to do.

It wasn't his works

that merited any kind of favor

in God's eyes.

It was faith alone

that stood as the standing precedent

for us,

for those who seek to be blessed

like Abraham

and being called children of God.

We can be children of God

in Christ through faith.

And righteousness is obtained

through faith

and not through your law keeping.

You cannot add

and you cannot subtract

to perfection.

There is nothing more to be done

that Christ has not already accomplished.

It is his righteousness,

not yours,

that stands in God the Father's eyes

as being acceptable and pleasing.

It is credited to your account

but is unaffected by anything

that you could do.

It rests on him

fulfilling the law's demands.

It rests on his sacrifice,

paying the full price

of sin's penalty,

obtaining for us

what we could never pay.

Hallelujah.

Jesus' sacrifice

was not about temporary benefits,

though,

of just removing sin's effects.

And that's where we begin

to move next.

It was not just about

declaring you righteous.

It was about making you righteous

through the power

of the Holy Spirit.

And that's where we go next.

Not only the righteousness of Jesus,

but now we are righteous

because of the Spirit.

Righteous because of the Spirit.

Notice, picking up in verse 4,

in order that the righteous requirements

of the law

might be fulfilled in us

who walk not according to the flesh

but according to the Spirit.

God is after complete transformation.

God is interested in the gospel

having power to save you

from everything that is corrupt

in this world.

We're going to see that more

in verses 5 to verse 11.

Verses 5 to 8 speak

of the transformation of God

in transforming our mind.

In verses 9 to 11

speak of God

transforming our bodies.

Mind and body

all align to the purposes of God

transformed by the Holy Spirit

in helping us

to be a sanctified people.

But tucked between verse 3

and verse 5

is verse 4.

And you say,

oh, you're a rocket scientist.

You must be really smart.

Good job there, Andrew.

What's difficult about verse 4

is the way it starts.

It says,

in order that

the righteous requirement

of the law

might be fulfilled in us.

Well,

whose righteousness is that?

Is that Christ's righteousness

applied to our account?

Or is that the Spirit's righteousness

working itself out

through a transformed life?

Well, I want to make a case

for the fact that

it is personal righteousness.

It is Spirit-transformed righteousness.

And I want to give you

three reasons, I think,

why that is the case.

Now, I want to be really careful

because theologians

that are much smarter than me

differ on this point.

But I think there's a really good case

for seeing it as personal righteousness.

It really boils down to two words.

The first word is the word fulfilled,

which is completed.

And as we would evaluate the text,

we would begin this thing to ourselves,

now, time out.

The only one who has fulfilled

or completed

or met the perfect standard of righteousness

is Jesus himself.

Obviously,

this is infused righteousness

of Christ on us.

righteousness.

The difficulty with that is

that it also uses

the words in us,

which would indicate

it is not for us.

It is actually righteousness

that's being worked out

from within.

It's personal.

I want you to notice,

first of all,

verses 1 and 2

and then verses 3 and 4.

I want you to notice,

first of all,

the parallel nature

of these verses.

Notice the similar words

that are used.

In verse 1,

notice,

no condemnation.

In verse 3,

notice,

he condemned sin in the flesh.

Obviously,

verse 1 and verse 3

are synonymous.

Speaking and describing

the same thing.

Notice in verse 2

that the law of the spirit of life

has set you free.

And notice in verse 4,

who walk according

to the spirit.

The parallel nature.

It seems to indicate

that what is ever happening

in verse 2

is also happening

in verse 4.

Notice reason number 2.

Notice the cause

and effect relationship

that is reinforced

in 1 and 2

and also repeated then

in verse 3 and 4.

As we spoke

in previous weeks,

we saw that the reason

for no condemnation,

the cause

for no condemnation

is met by the evidence,

the result that we see

in verse 2,

that the law

of the spirit of life

is the one

who is working out

sanctification,

a renewed life

that is happening in us.

Justification

precedes sanctification

in verses 1 and 2.

Notice a similar thing

that is going on

in verses 3 and 4.

The cause and effect

relationship.

We see in verse 3

that the cause

for what happened

is God sent his son

in the likeness

of sinful flesh

and for sin

he condemned

sin in the flesh.

That is the reason

for what we find now

in verse 4.

the cause

or the result

is in order

that

that we might,

the righteous requirement

might be fulfilled

in us.

The final reason,

reason number 3,

is notice

the inseparable link

between the phrases.

Verse 1 begins

with therefore.

Verse 2 begins

with for.

Verse 3 begins

with for.

Verse 4 begins

with in order that.

Notice the prepositions

and the purpose clauses

that are used throughout

but then

now in the middle

of verse 4

there is no transitional word

which means

that it is connected

to the first phrase.

Who walk

not according

to the flesh

but according

to the spirit

then describes

what's happening

at the beginning

of verse 4.

Now you might be saying

Andrew,

you are so technical.

what is the point

of all of this?

The point of all of this

is to help you

see that you can

do this for yourself.

Okay?

As you begin

to take notice

of what is happening

in the text

you can begin

to pray

that God helps you

lead you by the spirit

to arrive

at certain conclusions

and I believe

the right conclusion

the best

the best conclusion

that we can draw

from verse 4

is that verse 4

is actually talking

about personal righteousness

that the Holy Spirit

intends to give to us

because he wants

not only to declare

us righteous

he wants

to make you

righteous.

God is not

interested

in so much

the positional

righteousness

although that is

important obviously.

He is not interested

in distant righteousness

that is somebody

else's righteousness

although that is

important

to lead us

to the next step.

God is interested

in practical

real

tangible

true

sincere

righteousness

that you have

because of the work

of the gospel

in your life.

Because God

is living in you

just like

the spirit

was living

in Jesus.

the same

resources

that were

given to Christ

to live

the righteous

life

are given

to you

so you would

expect

the same

results.

And certainly

that is what we see.

We see

this cause

and effect

that God

has stated

and declared

righteousness

for his people

so they have

right and perfect

standing

before God

but he is also

in doing that

given his Holy Spirit

to work

real

and practical

and true

righteousness

out in you

so that when people

see you

they don't see you

they see God

so that God

gets the glory.

That's the point.

And up until this point

no man

woman or child

has ever been able

to work righteousness

on their own

because all their

righteousnesses

were as filthy rags

but now

because of Christ

and because of justification

and now the work

of the Spirit

in our life

we can actually

work out

some righteousness

in our life.

We have a choice

to make

as we find

in Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

We are not

slaves to sin anymore

we are slaves

to God.

Our members

belong to him

and as we saw

in verse 2

the law

of the Spirit

of life

has set you free

from the law

of sin and death.

the power

of the Spirit

is working

to overcome

all of the sin

and corruption

of your life

to help lead you

to real

and true righteousness

so that when people

see you

they see

the gospel

and when they hear you

there is consistency

between what you say

and what they see.

There is evidence

just like with Jesus

in performing miracles

that they confirmed

the work of God

in his life

they confirmed

the message

of God

on him.

The same is true

for you and for me

when we talk about

the power of the gospel

we talk about

Jesus' ability

to save us

from sin

and then they see it

show up

in our relationships

they see it show up

in the way we treat

our spouses

they see it show up

in the way

we treat our children

they see it show up

in the way

that we work

they say

God must be

living in them

the gospel

must be true

and that is the point

of righteousness

being fulfilled

in you

and in me.

God desires

for us

not to be

enslaved by sin

but to be

given

and

enslaved

to righteousness

the spirit

working

and directing

and guiding

our lives

helping us be

the kinds of people

that God has created

us to be

no longer

tainted

no longer

polluted

no longer

self-oriented

but oriented

to

the glory

of our savior

it's not only

a personal righteousness

it is also

a progressive

righteousness

a progressive

righteousness

righteousness

notice it says

that the second

part of verse 4

who walk

not according

to the flesh

but according

to the spirit

this word

walk

is

peripeteo

which is

a

present active

participle

and the

the benefit

of that

is it talks

about and speaks

of a life

that continues

it is

a life

that is not

static

but a life

that is

dynamic

it is moving

it is active

it is progressing

it's not satisfied

with how things

are today

it's not always

looking back

at what you

accomplished

for God

in the years

gone by

it's not

what Paul says

looking to the

things behind me

but looking forward

to the things

that Christ wants

to continue

to accomplish

not being satisfied

with what God

has already done

in your life

but looking for ways

for God

for God

to make you

more

like him

and I love

this word

walk

because if it

was run

it would not

be a word

for me

walking

helps us

see the

consistency

of life

that God

is calling

us

to live

we see

this all

over Romans

and we don't

have time

to look at them

but I just

want to call

your attention

to a few

Romans chapter 6

Romans 6:4

verse 4

says this

we were buried

therefore with him

by baptism

into death

in order that

just as Christ

was raised

from the dead

by the glory

of the father

we too

might walk

in newness

of life

that's what

Jesus' death

and resurrection

accomplished

for you

not just a

declaration

of righteousness

but real

righteousness

through the

power

of the

Holy Spirit

we see it

in Romans

Romans 14:15

chapter 14

verse 15

we see it

in Romans

Romans 13:13

chapter 13

verses 13

and 14

okay I just

want to

just take notes

read them later

we don't have

time for them

this morning

Galatians

Galatians 5:16

chapter 5

verse 16

says

but I say

walk

by the spirit

and you

will not

gratify

the desires

of the flesh

there is

a way

of life

that must

mark

every believer

not because

you muster

in yourself

some ability

to carry out

some supposed

righteousness

but because

there is a

yielding

of your

life

to the

power

of God

allowing

his power

his spirit

to work

through you

to create

in you

what you

cannot

create

for yourself

so much

to say

and the

greatest

fulfillment

of the

law

is love

the

culmination

of the

entire

Old Testament

and law

is encapsulated

in two

commands

love the

Lord your

God

with all

your heart

soul

and mind

love your

neighbor

as yourself

you cannot

do this

on your

own

we are

called

to a

standard

that totally

blows us

up

who has

ever imagined

that we

could love

our enemies

but that's

what Jesus

calls us

to

who could

ever imagine

that you

could love

your unjust

employer

but that's

what Jesus

calls us

to in

1 Peter

1 Peter 2:18–23

chapter 2

verses 18

through 23

who could

ever imagine

that you

could love

somebody who

is not like

you and

that's exactly

what God

calls us to

in James

James 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

love that

is impartial

love that

is not

prejudiced

and that

is so

in us

isn't it

but who

could ever

imagine

that we

could love

our brothers

especially

those

who offend

us

and hurt

us

and take

advantage

of us

but in

1 John

1 John 4:19

chapter 4

verses 19

and 21

it says

we love

because he

first loved

us

if anyone

says I

love God

and hates

his brother

he is a

liar

for he

who does

not love

his brother

whom he

has seen

cannot love

God

whom he

has not

seen

and this

commandment

we have

from him

whoever

loves God

must also

love his

brother

if you

don't love

your spouse

if you

don't love

your parents

if you

don't love

a brother

or sister

in this

room

John

calls

into

question

if you

really

love

God

at all

and if

you are

loved

by God

you will

demonstrate

the character

of one

who is

filled by

God

and the

fruit of

the spirit

is first

love

well what does

this righteousness

mean to us

that brings us

to our time

of communion

first

this righteousness

means for us

a reminder

of the

body

and blood

of Jesus

and the

costliness

of sin

it reminds us

of how

gruesome

and how

disgusting

sin is

to God

it caused

him to

bring his

son

and to

crucify him

on the cross

he was bruised

for our

iniquity

he was

crushed

for our

transgressions

he did

that

because

of the

costliness

of sin

I would like

to invite

the deacons

to come

forward

as I read

Hebrews

Hebrews 9:15–22

chapter 9

verses 15

to 22

this is

perhaps

another way

to look

at our

communion

passage

and as

they come

I'm going

to read

it says

this

verse 18

Hebrews 9

therefore

not even

the first

covenant

was inaugurated

without

blood

for when

every

commandment

of the

law

had been

declared

by Moses

to all

the people

he took

the blood

of the

calves

and goats

with water

and scarlet

wool

and hyssop

and sprinkled

both the

book itself

and the

people

saying

this is

the blood

of the

covenant

that God

has commanded

for you

that sound

familiar

and in the

same way

he sprinkled

with blood

both the

tent

and the

vessels

used in

worship

indeed

under the

law

almost

everything

is purified

with blood

and without

the shedding

of blood

there is no

forgiveness

of sins

but as it

is

he appeared

once and for

all

speaking of

Jesus

at the

end of the

age

to put

away

sin

by

the

sacrifice

of himself

Jesus

did it

through

his body

through

his blood

let me pray

miracle

miracle

Thank you.