Justification

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.

Genesis 3:20

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.

2 Corinthians 5:20

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,

Isaiah 61:10

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,

Titus 3:4

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

Galatians 2:16

verse 16.

I only have two more

places where you return.

So,

our one after this.

Galatians 2

Galatians 2:16

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

Galatians 2:16

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

Romans 8:1

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

Romans 8:1

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,

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.