WEBVTT 00:00:01.449 --> 00:00:04.250 So, we're in chapter 5 of Romans this morning. 00:00:10.089 --> 00:00:12.830 We'll be in Romans for a little while now, beginning 00:00:12.830 --> 00:00:19.550 here. Is this loud enough? So, the last couple 00:00:19.550 --> 00:00:24.260 of Wednesdays, we... briefly dealt with the first 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:26.600 four chapters there. We talked about the gospel 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:29.920 there in chapter 1, 16 and 17, that Paul is not 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.359 ashamed of the gospel for its power of God and 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:35.719 salvation. And then we talked about what he goes 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:39.600 on to say then from verse 18 through chapter 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:42.899 3, verse 20, and his point being there the condemnation 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:46.560 of all men, Jew or Gentile, without distinction, 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:50.679 are all condemned in the sight of God. And then 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:55.729 we talked... A lot about justification there. 00:00:55.850 --> 00:01:00.350 Beginning in chapter 3 verse 21. 21 through 31. 00:01:00.350 --> 00:01:04.049 Paul there deals with justification. Apart from 00:01:04.049 --> 00:01:06.909 the law. There is a righteousness of God that 00:01:06.909 --> 00:01:10.890 has been revealed. And then he goes on in chapter 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:13.709 4 there. Talks about justification by faith. 00:01:13.909 --> 00:01:17.109 That this justification is by faith. That this 00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:19.909 is nothing new. Gives us the example there of 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:23.540 Abraham. And then in chapter 5 here, he is going 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:27.260 to begin where some would say the blessings of 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:29.400 justification. Others would say the assurance 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.739 of glory or the hope of glory that we have because 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:36.920 of our justification. The same thing, I would 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:38.920 say. Some would make a distinction there, but 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:40.599 I don't know how you really separate those two 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:43.959 things. So Paul here is going to begin to say, 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.560 what are some of the results or the blessings 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:51.900 of this justification that we have? And he's 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:55.439 going to deal with that through chapter 5, and 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:57.900 then he gets into 6 and 7. And Dad mentioned 00:01:57.900 --> 00:02:00.819 this when he was preaching a couple weeks ago, 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:03.480 that chapter 6 and 7 are kind of a parenthesis 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:05.799 here where he deals with some issues that he 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:09.099 has created based on the things that he said. 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:12.060 And so he explains those things in chapter 6 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:14.360 and 7, and then he picks up really this same 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:18.240 thing in chapter 8. So chapter 5 and chapter 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:22.490 8, they go together. If you left out 6 and 7 00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:25.009 and you read from chapter 5 to chapter 8, it 00:02:25.009 --> 00:02:28.409 would flow. There would be a natural progression 00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:32.830 there. And he deals with some of these same things 00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:37.009 in chapter 8. If you read it, if you read 5 and 00:02:37.009 --> 00:02:39.509 you read 8, he doesn't word it the same. There's 00:02:39.509 --> 00:02:41.389 some different words there that he uses for the 00:02:41.389 --> 00:02:43.930 same ideas that he talks about in both chapters. 00:02:44.129 --> 00:02:45.949 And you'll see that if you read that. And we'll 00:02:45.949 --> 00:02:48.969 get to that. But that's where we're going here. 00:02:49.229 --> 00:02:51.689 In chapter 5. The blessings of justification. 00:02:51.830 --> 00:02:55.469 Now before we deal with those though. I want 00:02:55.469 --> 00:02:58.870 to be clear. And so we're going to deal with 00:02:58.870 --> 00:03:02.430 justification. One more week. Because we've talked 00:03:02.430 --> 00:03:05.189 about justification. But we really haven't said. 00:03:05.349 --> 00:03:09.310 What is justification? We've said some of it. 00:03:09.870 --> 00:03:12.389 But I want us to be sure. That we all understand. 00:03:12.870 --> 00:03:16.169 What is justification? What does that mean? We 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:19.539 use that term. Paul uses that term. What is it 00:03:19.539 --> 00:03:25.280 to be justified? Jake, was it two weeks ago, 00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:27.699 talked a little bit about this. Talked about 00:03:27.699 --> 00:03:31.520 justification. And so, what he had to say was 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.020 good. I think I'm going to say some of the same 00:03:33.020 --> 00:03:36.699 things Jake said the other day. What is it to 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.439 be justified? What does that mean? When we use 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:42.620 that term, what are we saying? We all need to 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:44.979 be clear on that. We all need to understand that. 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:48.060 So the word justification, it is a statement 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:51.479 of fact. So when it's used here, it is a statement 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:55.120 of fact. He says in verse 1 of chapter 5, having 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:58.639 been justified by faith. And he goes on, we have 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:04.099 peace with God and so on. Justification is not 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:08.280 a feeling. We are not justified and we feel that 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:13.009 way. This is a statement of fact. What does it 00:04:13.009 --> 00:04:15.310 mean? It means that we have been declared righteous. 00:04:16.029 --> 00:04:19.110 To be justified is to be declared righteous. 00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:24.970 It's not to be made righteous. Okay? Understand 00:04:24.970 --> 00:04:28.810 there's a difference there. We're not made righteous 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:31.829 because we are justified. We are declared righteous 00:04:31.829 --> 00:04:35.790 because we are justified. Now, we are made righteous. 00:04:36.449 --> 00:04:39.970 Okay? And you can't really separate these things 00:04:39.970 --> 00:04:43.100 per se. But we would speak of regeneration, being 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:46.779 made new in Christ. There's the new, the making, 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:51.420 being made new. But justification is a declaration 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:54.660 by a judge, God being the judge, that we are 00:04:54.660 --> 00:05:01.620 right. We are righteous in his sight. Now, if 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:08.779 you want, I wrote down here Luke. Luke 7, 29. 00:05:09.660 --> 00:05:12.720 It speaks there of God being justified. And so 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:15.199 we see there that that word justified, it's not 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:19.040 making God righteous. And so the same applies 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:22.519 to us. It's not being made this way. It's being 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:26.100 declared. So, statement of fact, statement of 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:29.879 truth, being declared righteous. To be declared 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:34.839 by the judge, God, that we are righteous. Now, 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:39.810 if we want to read a couple of verses here. I 00:05:39.810 --> 00:05:42.509 think relate to this, obviously, is chapter 4. 00:05:42.649 --> 00:05:44.569 Again, Paul is dealing with it here. Chapter 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:54.110 4, 6 through 8. He says, Just as David also speaks 00:05:54.110 --> 00:05:56.769 of the blessing on the man to whom God credits 00:05:56.769 --> 00:06:02.290 righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those 00:06:02.290 --> 00:06:04.730 whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose 00:06:04.730 --> 00:06:07.329 sins have been covered. Blessed is the man who 00:06:07.329 --> 00:06:09.490 sinned, the Lord will not take into account. 00:06:10.810 --> 00:06:12.829 That's what we're talking about here. The Lord 00:06:12.829 --> 00:06:15.430 does not take into account. He does not credit 00:06:15.430 --> 00:06:21.750 us what we have coming. This idea of being credited, 00:06:22.029 --> 00:06:24.250 that's what he's talking about here with justification. 00:06:24.350 --> 00:06:28.110 It is not credited to our account. What is credited 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:32.029 to our account in our justification? We talked 00:06:32.029 --> 00:06:34.189 about it on Wednesday, the righteousness of Christ. 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:38.339 That is how God is able to declare us righteous, 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:42.899 is because of Christ's righteousness. Verse 3, 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:46.620 I skipped it here, but this is the positive side 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:49.860 of it. In verse 3 he says, Abraham believed God 00:06:49.860 --> 00:06:53.199 and it was credited to him as righteousness. 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:57.959 Those are the two sides, not crediting to us 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:02.680 our sin, but crediting to us the righteousness 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:06.399 of Christ. The positive and the negative side 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:09.720 to look at those things. So God, they're declaring 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:14.240 us to be righteous, not taking our sins into 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:17.740 account, not holding our sins against us. This 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:19.779 is what I think this is what Jake said the other 00:07:19.779 --> 00:07:23.180 day when he was speaking. He says it's so when 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:25.839 we're justified, it's not that we just get a 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.199 blank slate. Right. God doesn't just say, I'm 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.980 wiping your sins away. That's not that's not 00:07:31.980 --> 00:07:33.800 what we're talking about. That's part of it. 00:07:34.870 --> 00:07:38.029 But God doesn't just wipe the slate blank. So 00:07:38.029 --> 00:07:42.189 you think of it, you think of just the whiteboard, 00:07:42.269 --> 00:07:44.189 right? Maybe we've got all of our sins listed 00:07:44.189 --> 00:07:47.209 on there. God's got his whiteboard and he's got 00:07:47.209 --> 00:07:49.610 everything that we've ever done. And then justification, 00:07:49.910 --> 00:07:53.430 he wipes that board clean. Is that justification? 00:07:55.290 --> 00:07:58.490 Yes and no. He does that, but what does he do? 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:03.759 Writes on there the righteousness of Christ. 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:10.660 That's justification. He fills the slate with 00:08:10.660 --> 00:08:13.439 the goodness, the righteousness of Christ. That 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:17.939 is our justification. Not holding our sins against 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:21.620 us and crediting to us the righteousness of Christ. 00:08:21.779 --> 00:08:27.259 That is justification. He doesn't make us righteous 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:31.259 as Christ. He credits us. That righteousness. 00:08:31.459 --> 00:08:36.139 That is our justification. Again, it's not a 00:08:36.139 --> 00:08:39.360 feeling, right? This is a reality. This is a 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:45.019 truth. You can feel the weight of your sin. You 00:08:45.019 --> 00:08:52.779 can feel that. That's irrelevant. We are clothed 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:55.379 in the righteousness of Christ. We are justified. 00:08:56.700 --> 00:09:04.539 Know that. Understand that. Live in that. Clothed 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:06.639 in the righteousness of Christ. Christ's righteousness 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:10.419 imputed to us. 2 Corinthians 5 .21 We read this 00:09:10.419 --> 00:09:15.399 the other day. I'm going to read it again. Because 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:17.799 this is what we're talking about. This is part 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:22.759 of what we're dealing with here. 2 Corinthians. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:29.850 If I can get there. 5 .21 He made him who knew 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:34.409 no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might 00:09:34.409 --> 00:09:39.730 become the righteousness of God in him. So we 00:09:39.730 --> 00:09:42.769 are declared. We are credited. This is a reality. 00:09:43.110 --> 00:09:46.889 It is not a feeling. What is the opposite then? 00:09:47.049 --> 00:09:49.269 I always think this is helpful. The opposite 00:09:49.269 --> 00:09:51.610 of these things, right? Here's what it is. Here's 00:09:51.610 --> 00:09:53.909 what it's not. What's the opposite of justification? 00:09:56.070 --> 00:10:00.379 Condemnation, okay? So Romans 8 brings in this 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:02.580 exact same point, right? It said these two things 00:10:02.580 --> 00:10:04.299 are parallel to one another. What's the first 00:10:04.299 --> 00:10:07.960 verse of Romans 8? There is therefore now no 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:12.139 condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:10:12.539 --> 00:10:15.179 To those who have been justified, there is no 00:10:15.179 --> 00:10:19.740 condemnation. That's the opposite. So we are 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:23.340 no longer condemned. We were condemned. We dealt 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:27.559 with that, right? Chapter 2, chapter 3. Part 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.679 of chapter 1, all men condemned. What's the good 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:35.519 news of the gospel? There is no condemnation 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:37.860 for those in Christ Jesus. For those who have 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:41.820 been justified, there is no condemnation for 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:46.639 us. So, condemnation is the opposite. I want 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.500 to read a couple of verses I think that are good 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:53.860 in pointing this out. In chapter 8, verses 33. 00:10:55.649 --> 00:11:02.889 And 34. Who will bring a charge against God's 00:11:02.889 --> 00:11:05.950 elect? Who's going to say we're guilty? Who's 00:11:05.950 --> 00:11:07.690 going to say we've done whatever? Who's going 00:11:07.690 --> 00:11:11.669 to say, no, they can't enter heaven? God is the 00:11:11.669 --> 00:11:15.370 one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns 00:11:15.370 --> 00:11:18.289 Christ Jesus as he who died, yea, rather was 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:20.929 raised and is at the right hand of the Father? 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:24.529 Justification, condemnation. God has justified. 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:29.809 Who can condemn? No one. The judge has declared. 00:11:30.850 --> 00:11:35.490 He has declared us to be righteous. He has made 00:11:35.490 --> 00:11:37.970 that statement and that declaration. That is 00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:46.169 the truth. Can you condemn yourself? No. Can 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:52.690 Satan condemn us? No. There is no condemnation. 00:11:53.970 --> 00:12:02.090 Will God condemn? No. We've been justified. God 00:12:02.090 --> 00:12:09.470 is the one who justifies who can condemn. So 00:12:09.470 --> 00:12:11.730 the opposite of justification is condemnation. 00:12:13.149 --> 00:12:15.870 How are we justified? That's the next question 00:12:15.870 --> 00:12:22.620 I want to ask. How are we justified? Okay? If 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:25.259 we wanted to use another term, how are we saved? 00:12:26.019 --> 00:12:28.379 Justification, salvation, these things are the 00:12:28.379 --> 00:12:33.360 same. How is a man saved? How is a man justified? 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:37.840 Well, Paul says here in chapter 5, verse 1, Therefore, 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:44.059 having been justified by faith. Okay, so our 00:12:44.059 --> 00:12:48.649 justification is by faith. But what else does 00:12:48.649 --> 00:12:51.429 Paul say here? If we were to continue reading 00:12:51.429 --> 00:12:54.450 here in this chapter, we get down to verse 9 00:12:54.450 --> 00:12:58.029 and he says, much more than having now been justified 00:12:58.029 --> 00:13:04.309 by his blood. Okay? So, Paul is saying we're 00:13:04.309 --> 00:13:07.990 justified by faith, but we're justified by blood, 00:13:08.149 --> 00:13:11.409 by the blood of Jesus. What else does he say? 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.460 I'm going to read a couple more here. Titus 3, 00:13:16.539 --> 00:13:21.879 7. Paul says that we are justified by grace. 00:13:29.980 --> 00:13:34.080 Titus 3, 7. I'm going to start in verse 5. He 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:36.700 saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:39.840 done in righteousness, but according to His mercy. 00:13:40.350 --> 00:13:43.269 by the washing of regeneration and renewing by 00:13:43.269 --> 00:13:46.230 the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly 00:13:46.230 --> 00:13:49.289 through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being 00:13:49.289 --> 00:13:53.269 justified by grace, we would be made heirs according 00:13:53.269 --> 00:13:57.289 to the hope of eternal life. So Paul uses three 00:13:57.289 --> 00:14:01.649 terms here, faith, blood, and grace, that we've 00:14:01.649 --> 00:14:04.730 been justified by these things. What does this 00:14:04.730 --> 00:14:09.269 mean? Is this the exact same thing? What's he 00:14:09.269 --> 00:14:13.870 talking about here? Which one is it? Ephesians 00:14:13.870 --> 00:14:17.509 2 .8. I think he sheds some more light on it 00:14:17.509 --> 00:14:21.750 for us here. For by grace you have been saved 00:14:21.750 --> 00:14:24.669 through faith, and that not of yourselves, it 00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:28.049 is the gift of God, not as a result of works, 00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:31.350 so that no one may boast. He goes on there. So 00:14:31.350 --> 00:14:35.110 Paul, he links all of them here. Saved, justified, 00:14:35.309 --> 00:14:39.409 by grace through faith. By grace you have been 00:14:39.409 --> 00:14:45.309 saved through faith. All of these things are 00:14:45.309 --> 00:14:48.529 a part of our justification or why we're justified 00:14:48.529 --> 00:14:54.590 or how we're justified. Why? How does a man have 00:14:54.590 --> 00:15:01.029 faith? It's a gift of God. Paul tells us that. 00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:03.309 It's the grace of God. It's the gift of God. 00:15:04.490 --> 00:15:06.929 Not of works, lest any man should both. So our 00:15:06.929 --> 00:15:13.509 faith is by grace. The grace of God. And all 00:15:13.509 --> 00:15:16.649 of these things are only possible through the 00:15:16.649 --> 00:15:20.389 blood of Christ. Charles Leiter says that the 00:15:20.389 --> 00:15:24.009 blood of Jesus Christ is the grounds of our justification. 00:15:25.169 --> 00:15:28.250 The way or the means in which we are justified 00:15:28.250 --> 00:15:36.269 by His blood. He has met the penalty required. 00:15:38.250 --> 00:15:40.549 Something needed to be given. We talked about 00:15:40.549 --> 00:15:43.250 that Wednesday. In order for God to be just, 00:15:43.350 --> 00:15:46.490 payment had to be made. There needed to be payment 00:15:46.490 --> 00:15:49.830 for this ransom that he talks about. Jesus Christ, 00:15:50.009 --> 00:15:56.590 His blood, satisfied that. His death. So, these 00:15:56.590 --> 00:15:59.789 things, the blood of Christ, the grace of God, 00:15:59.950 --> 00:16:04.480 faith. They're not different in the sense of 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:08.799 different ways of salvation. It's one way, by 00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:14.259 grace through faith. Now, I want to make a couple, 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:18.379 I want to be clear here. What do we mean by faith? 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:20.899 What is this faith that Paul says? How are we 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:23.620 justified by faith? It's not just this faith 00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:27.480 in something, alright? It's not faith in my faith. 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.529 Well, I've got faith. I've got faith to believe 00:16:30.529 --> 00:16:34.250 enough, and so I'm saved. No, that's not saving 00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:38.929 faith. It's not faith in your faith. It's not 00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:42.750 faith in just a good God out there. Oh yeah, 00:16:42.769 --> 00:16:44.970 God is good. I believe God's good. He's a good 00:16:44.970 --> 00:16:48.509 God. I believe in this good God. I'm good. I'm 00:16:48.509 --> 00:16:54.610 good to go. No. What is this faith in? In Jesus 00:16:54.610 --> 00:16:58.450 Christ. It's in His work. In His shed blood. 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:05.859 Our faith is in Him. So it's trusting in Him, 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:09.380 in His death, in His resurrection, in His life. 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:13.119 Trusting that He has done what is necessary. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.480 That I don't deserve it, that I have nothing, 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:22.740 and I'm resting and trusting in Him. If you've 00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:27.539 read the book, Bridge Co. So it's Bruce Olson 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:30.750 down in the... maybe not the Amazon, it's down 00:17:30.750 --> 00:17:33.710 in South America. And he's with all these Indians 00:17:33.710 --> 00:17:37.009 and he's trying to tell them what faith is. They 00:17:37.009 --> 00:17:39.569 don't really have a word for that. But they, 00:17:39.710 --> 00:17:43.849 the way they sleep is they hang their hammocks 00:17:43.849 --> 00:17:46.230 way up in the trees and they tie their hammocks 00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:48.089 on the trees and they sleep in there to keep 00:17:48.089 --> 00:17:52.329 them safe. And so he said, faith is tying your 00:17:52.329 --> 00:17:55.990 hammock on Jesus. Right? What are they doing? 00:17:55.990 --> 00:17:58.809 They're relying upon this tree. They're resting 00:17:58.809 --> 00:18:02.589 on this tree to keep them safe, to keep them 00:18:02.589 --> 00:18:05.690 secure, to keep them from falling. That's faith. 00:18:06.730 --> 00:18:11.789 We're tying all of our hope upon Christ, upon 00:18:11.789 --> 00:18:16.630 His work, resting in Him and in what He has done, 00:18:16.789 --> 00:18:21.009 not anything of ourselves, tying upon Christ 00:18:21.009 --> 00:18:23.769 there. I think that's a good example, a good 00:18:23.769 --> 00:18:29.150 illustration. So, it's faith in Christ. True 00:18:29.150 --> 00:18:32.490 faith looks outside of oneself and looks to another. 00:18:32.849 --> 00:18:36.869 So we're not looking in. Am I good enough? Do 00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:40.150 I have enough faith? No, we're looking at Christ. 00:18:40.809 --> 00:18:44.690 Has Christ done enough? Yes, I'm trusting Him. 00:18:45.410 --> 00:18:54.130 So faith in Christ. Grace, a gift. Of God. So. 00:18:55.589 --> 00:18:58.430 Saved by grace through faith. I want to say this. 00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:02.529 And I'll just jump to it now. How are we not 00:19:02.529 --> 00:19:07.109 saved? Okay. So here we have. We're saved by 00:19:07.109 --> 00:19:10.289 faith. We're saved by the grace of God. We're 00:19:10.289 --> 00:19:12.809 saved through the blood of Christ. We're not 00:19:12.809 --> 00:19:15.569 saved in other ways. That are proclaimed today. 00:19:15.809 --> 00:19:18.390 Right. So I already mentioned one. We're not 00:19:18.390 --> 00:19:21.069 saved just because we have some faith. In ourselves 00:19:21.069 --> 00:19:25.269 or something out there. That's not saving faith. 00:19:26.289 --> 00:19:28.710 We're not saved by works. That's why I wanted 00:19:28.710 --> 00:19:32.789 to read Titus 3 .5. Not by works of righteousness 00:19:32.789 --> 00:19:35.869 that we have done, he says. So not some good 00:19:35.869 --> 00:19:39.609 deeds. All of our deeds are what? Filthy rags, 00:19:39.809 --> 00:19:44.130 we're told. So we are not saved by some kind 00:19:44.130 --> 00:19:47.670 of faith in something. We're not saved by good 00:19:47.670 --> 00:19:50.430 deeds. And Paul, we've dealt with that. He says 00:19:50.430 --> 00:19:53.730 that multiple times, not saved by works of the 00:19:53.730 --> 00:19:57.630 law, not by doing or keeping these certain things. 00:19:58.109 --> 00:20:00.990 How else are we not saved? We're not saved by 00:20:00.990 --> 00:20:07.529 baptism. Baptism doesn't save us. We're not saved 00:20:07.529 --> 00:20:10.710 by keeping the sacraments, as the Catholic Church 00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:12.930 would tell us, that we need to do these certain 00:20:12.930 --> 00:20:17.009 things. We're not saved by walking an aisle, 00:20:17.369 --> 00:20:21.339 saying a prayer. We're not saved because we asked 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:25.099 Jesus into our hearts. Right? That's not saving. 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:29.519 We're not saved by repenting. By saying, I'm 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:31.880 sorry. I'm sorry, God. That's not salvation. 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:37.059 Now, some of those things we may do. Once we 00:20:37.059 --> 00:20:41.440 are saved, we are going to repent. We are going 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:45.200 to, you know, maybe when we're praying, ask Jesus 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:47.839 into our heart that we would be saved. Give me 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:50.630 faith. Change my heart. But that doesn't save 00:20:50.630 --> 00:20:54.490 us. Signing a card. And saying I made this decision 00:20:54.490 --> 00:20:59.049 on this day. That's not salvation. Those are 00:20:59.049 --> 00:21:03.990 all works of man. It's something we do. And it 00:21:03.990 --> 00:21:12.029 doesn't save us. So. Know that. Acts. I wrote 00:21:12.029 --> 00:21:18.500 this down. In Acts. What must it be? what must 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:24.099 I do to be saved? I can't find the verse. Is 00:21:24.099 --> 00:21:29.660 that in chapter 6? I want to say 631 maybe? 16? 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:36.000 Okay. What must I do to be saved? Paul and Silas 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:37.759 were there in the jail and the jailer says, what 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:41.000 must I do to be saved? They say, what? Do these 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:46.190 things. Believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:46.309 --> 00:21:49.769 And you shall be saved. Faith in Christ. Tie 00:21:49.769 --> 00:21:52.869 your hammock on Christ. And you will be saved. 00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:59.349 Believe in him. He is the only way. So. We are 00:21:59.349 --> 00:22:04.910 not saved in those ways. We are saved. Only through 00:22:04.910 --> 00:22:11.710 Christ. Faith in Christ. Through his blood. I 00:22:11.710 --> 00:22:15.910 mention this also. On Wednesday, I'm going to 00:22:15.910 --> 00:22:21.829 say it again here. We are not, our justification 00:22:21.829 --> 00:22:28.009 is not a pardon. I want to say that clear. We're 00:22:28.009 --> 00:22:32.329 not pardoned in our justification. Okay? Understand 00:22:32.329 --> 00:22:35.410 the difference there. It's not that we're guilty, 00:22:35.569 --> 00:22:38.150 but we've been pardoned and set free. That's 00:22:38.150 --> 00:22:43.220 not it. Okay? So the judge didn't come to us 00:22:43.220 --> 00:22:46.160 and say, yeah, you're guilty of everything, but 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:48.380 I'm a merciful judge and I'm going to let you 00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:54.480 go. That is not justification. Right? How is 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:57.940 God just and the justifier? How can he be just 00:22:57.940 --> 00:23:01.299 and justify us? Because someone else has paid 00:23:01.299 --> 00:23:06.279 the price. Someone else has taken our sin. And 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:10.339 so God is just. So it's not a pardon. It's not 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:13.880 a pardon. We've been justified. We've been declared 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:19.400 righteous because one has taken our place and 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:23.299 God is satisfied. The wrath of God has been satisfied. 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:33.440 Alright. What else about justification is important 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:37.119 for us to know? Justification is not temporary. 00:23:38.569 --> 00:23:45.349 It's not ongoing. Alright? So, Paul says here 00:23:45.349 --> 00:23:50.609 in verse 1, having been justified. This is a 00:23:50.609 --> 00:23:55.589 past tense. It's not a future or an ongoing thing 00:23:55.589 --> 00:23:58.809 that he's saying here. This is a past tense thing 00:23:58.809 --> 00:24:03.950 that has happened. You have been justified. That's 00:24:03.950 --> 00:24:08.079 it. It's done. One time. It's not a continual 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:13.420 thing. We're not justified once, and then we 00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:17.579 sin, and now we're unjustified. That's not it. 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:20.640 Nowhere will you find that in Scripture, because 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:24.039 what does that mean? We're no longer covered 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:26.259 by the blood of Christ. We no longer have His 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.579 righteousness if we've lost our justification. 00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:31.400 So we're going to hell. That's what that means. 00:24:31.779 --> 00:24:34.380 If we lose our justification, we're going to 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:40.339 hell. Impossible. Impossible. How can that be? 00:24:41.539 --> 00:24:46.140 What does Romans say? It is God who justifies 00:24:46.140 --> 00:24:51.119 who condemns. How can Paul say that if he doesn't 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:52.980 know that once we're justified, we're going to 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:57.819 reach glory? Everything he says is just a kind 00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:01.799 of a, well, if you happen to get justified just 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:05.019 before you die, maybe you're going to probably 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:09.130 make it. Makes no sense. Scripture's clear that 00:25:09.130 --> 00:25:12.430 what? When we have been justified, well, Paul 00:25:12.430 --> 00:25:16.109 tells us in Romans 8, those who he justified, 00:25:16.289 --> 00:25:22.769 what did he do? He glorified. Paul makes it clear. 00:25:23.269 --> 00:25:27.509 Those whom he has justified, he will also glorify. 00:25:28.369 --> 00:25:33.150 So, that's Romans 8, 29 and 30. Let's just read 00:25:33.150 --> 00:25:47.069 it. Romans 8. He goes through here. For whom 00:25:47.069 --> 00:25:53.730 he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed 00:25:53.730 --> 00:25:56.710 to the image of his Son, so that he would be 00:25:56.710 --> 00:25:59.630 the firstborn among many brethren. And these 00:25:59.630 --> 00:26:01.869 whom he predestined, he also called. And these 00:26:01.869 --> 00:26:04.490 whom he called, he justified. And these whom 00:26:04.490 --> 00:26:10.920 he justified, he also glorified. Paul doesn't 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:14.779 say he will glorify. Paul speaks of it as it's 00:26:14.779 --> 00:26:19.420 a matter of fact already. Right? That's the surety 00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:23.579 of it. That's the surety of our justification 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:29.920 is that we are glorified. One day we will be 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:35.460 perfect with Christ. So. It is not a temporary 00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:38.400 thing. It is not an ongoing thing. We don't work 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:43.180 out our justification. We don't do certain things 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:47.460 to become more justified. Alright? What do we 00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:50.200 call that? Perhaps, if you want to think, doing 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:54.180 things, sanctification, working out our salvation, 00:26:54.519 --> 00:26:59.180 being cleansed, as Dave was talking about there, 00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:00.779 I think, was Dave was saying something about 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:06.140 that. Right? Tried to remember properly here 00:27:06.140 --> 00:27:10.099 what all everybody said. So, right? A cleansing 00:27:10.099 --> 00:27:12.779 process. Being more conformed to the image of 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:15.099 Christ, we would say, right? Sanctification. 00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:17.420 That's not what Paul's talking about here. He's 00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:20.579 talking about justification. Declared righteous. 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:26.740 One time for all. So he says that in Romans 8. 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:34.859 Ephesians 2. We've read Quite a bit this morning 00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:38.559 from Ephesians that I was hoping to read as well. 00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:43.519 So we don't have to read it all here, but Ephesians 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:52.059 2, 6. What does Paul say here? That we are seated 00:27:52.059 --> 00:27:55.380 with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:27:58.059 --> 00:28:02.029 How can Paul say that? How can Paul say that 00:28:02.029 --> 00:28:04.390 we are seated with Christ in heavenly places 00:28:04.390 --> 00:28:08.950 now if we're going to lose our justification? 00:28:09.930 --> 00:28:15.349 How can that be? It can't be. When you read through 00:28:15.349 --> 00:28:18.029 Paul's writings, Paul speaks of these things 00:28:18.029 --> 00:28:23.950 as realities now, not just as something future. 00:28:24.049 --> 00:28:27.130 Yes, he speaks of our future glory and our being 00:28:27.130 --> 00:28:29.960 with God in glory. But he speaks of these things 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:34.240 so often as realities now. This is the reality 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:39.460 of who we are. Not just what will be one day. 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:45.400 We are seated now with Christ in heavenly places. 00:28:46.019 --> 00:28:48.599 We're not going to read it because somebody already 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:53.460 read it this morning. Ephesians 1, 7 -14. We 00:28:53.460 --> 00:28:57.099 have obtained that inheritance. Not going to 00:28:57.099 --> 00:29:04.339 obtain. Again, only through, only through our 00:29:04.339 --> 00:29:08.079 justification in Christ. So, we'll leave it at 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:14.480 that. But this is a sure thing that never changes. 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:19.279 Once we've been justified, we are justified forever. 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:44.730 Unchanging. What does this mean for us? Why do 00:29:44.730 --> 00:29:48.829 we need to hold on to this? Why do we need to 00:29:48.829 --> 00:29:53.769 understand this? We need to view ourselves rightly. 00:29:55.970 --> 00:30:00.130 Not only ourselves, but we need to view God rightly. 00:30:00.250 --> 00:30:03.769 We need to view Christ rightly. These things 00:30:03.769 --> 00:30:06.269 that we mentioned this morning are justification. 00:30:10.089 --> 00:30:14.150 It is central and essential to our walk in this 00:30:14.150 --> 00:30:26.509 world. We are right with God. So often, what 00:30:26.509 --> 00:30:35.450 do we feel? We feel unworthy. We feel sinful. 00:30:35.950 --> 00:30:40.819 We've fallen. We feel this guilt or this condemnation. 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:47.200 We feel these ways. Right? Our emotions. These 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:52.059 are not truths. These are not realities. Guilt. 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:56.240 Condemnation. All of these things. Unworthiness. 00:30:58.579 --> 00:31:05.460 Yeah, in and of ourselves. But what are we? Justified. 00:31:06.890 --> 00:31:10.589 What does God see when He sees us? A wicked, 00:31:10.609 --> 00:31:16.750 vile wretch? No. You don't find that anywhere 00:31:16.750 --> 00:31:20.150 in Scripture. Those of us in Christ, what are 00:31:20.150 --> 00:31:27.410 we? Sons. Sons and daughters. Righteous. Clothed 00:31:27.410 --> 00:31:30.490 in the righteousness of Christ. Walk through 00:31:30.490 --> 00:31:36.539 this world knowing the love of God for you. Because 00:31:36.539 --> 00:31:43.920 of Christ. God is for us, not against us. Right? 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:50.720 God is not against us. When we sin, now God's 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:56.500 against us. Right? No. He's still not against 00:31:56.500 --> 00:32:03.339 us. Why? Because He's not taking that sin into 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:08.190 account. He's credited that to Christ. He's credited 00:32:08.190 --> 00:32:12.509 us Christ's righteousness. View these things 00:32:12.509 --> 00:32:18.970 rightly. It should be a joyful thing to remember 00:32:18.970 --> 00:32:22.289 these things. It shouldn't get old and boring. 00:32:22.410 --> 00:32:26.430 I remember feeling convicted of this years ago. 00:32:26.730 --> 00:32:29.029 My brother was preaching and I was thinking, 00:32:29.109 --> 00:32:32.490 brother, we've heard this. We've heard this already, 00:32:32.750 --> 00:32:35.490 right? And then I got to thinking, I'm like, 00:32:35.529 --> 00:32:38.309 how terrible is that to think we've heard this. 00:32:38.410 --> 00:32:41.049 Why are you telling me again? We're justified. 00:32:41.910 --> 00:32:44.950 We should be able to rejoice in that weekly. 00:32:46.730 --> 00:32:49.690 That's the Lord's Supper, right? Our justification. 00:32:50.730 --> 00:32:54.569 That's part of what we're celebrating. Every 00:32:54.569 --> 00:33:00.130 week. Every moment. Every day. Here's a thought. 00:33:07.660 --> 00:33:15.619 Wrap your mind around this. This isn't my thought. 00:33:15.819 --> 00:33:18.779 This isn't some great thought that I had here. 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:27.200 We are no... No. Christ is no more justified 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:36.279 than we are. Have you thought of that? As righteous 00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:42.900 as Christ is, is as righteous as we are. We are 00:33:42.900 --> 00:33:46.940 as righteous as Christ is. However you want to 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:50.460 think of it and however you want to say it. Have 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:54.539 you thought of that? Is that how you think of 00:33:54.539 --> 00:33:59.099 yourself? That's not pride, folks, to think of 00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:03.079 yourself in that way. Because that is what God 00:34:03.079 --> 00:34:10.619 has told us. We are as righteous as Christ. Christ 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:15.840 is as righteous as us. Have you ever thought 00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:17.820 of that? Have you ever thought of it in those 00:34:17.820 --> 00:34:20.900 terms? We think of clothed in the righteousness 00:34:20.900 --> 00:34:26.079 of Christ. We glory in that. Just as righteous 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:30.760 as Christ is what that means. When God sees us, 00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:34.280 we are credited with the righteousness of Christ. 00:34:35.949 --> 00:34:39.070 That's what has occurred. That's what it means 00:34:39.070 --> 00:34:44.710 to be justified. That is a glorious truth. That 00:34:44.710 --> 00:34:48.389 is how we are to live. That is how we are to 00:34:48.389 --> 00:34:55.869 view ourselves. It's sinful to view yourself 00:34:55.869 --> 00:35:00.610 as some wretch. To view yourself as some wicked 00:35:00.610 --> 00:35:09.329 person. That's wrong. So much of the teaching 00:35:09.329 --> 00:35:11.929 that goes on today, what is it based on? It's 00:35:11.929 --> 00:35:17.730 based on a weak God and a powerful man. Salvation. 00:35:17.789 --> 00:35:22.349 Losing our salvation. What does that mean? Well, 00:35:22.429 --> 00:35:26.610 Jesus said, none shall pluck them out of my hand. 00:35:27.329 --> 00:35:29.809 And yet people say, yeah, well, nobody will pluck 00:35:29.809 --> 00:35:32.710 them out, but we can get out of his hand. I mean, 00:35:32.730 --> 00:35:35.909 I can make that decision to run away from Christ. 00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:41.440 Who told you that? Who told you that Christ is 00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:45.559 not powerful enough to hold on to you? Who told 00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:51.800 you that you're more powerful than Him? The power 00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:54.139 of man and the weakness of God, that's the gospel 00:35:54.139 --> 00:35:58.900 today. The power of man to make the decision 00:35:58.900 --> 00:36:02.840 to save themselves and God can do nothing about 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:10.900 it. Arrogance. The power of God. Paul's not ashamed 00:36:10.900 --> 00:36:13.280 of the gospel because it's the power of God. 00:36:14.539 --> 00:36:18.139 We're going to go on in chapter 6. Really? Chapter 00:36:18.139 --> 00:36:21.639 5, 6. We're going to hear about the power of 00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:29.800 God. God is powerful. We say that. Do we believe 00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:35.440 it? Is He able to keep us or not? Is He able 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:39.420 to keep us from falling? Well, according to the 00:36:39.420 --> 00:36:42.639 Gospel today, no, He's not. You've got to be 00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:48.179 strong enough. God is the power. We are the weak 00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:53.219 ones. He has done this for us. We can't undo 00:36:53.219 --> 00:36:59.579 it, and He won't undo it. Should we say He can't 00:36:59.579 --> 00:37:02.019 undo it? Because He would deny Himself there. 00:37:04.460 --> 00:37:08.739 God is powerful. Know the power of God in our 00:37:08.739 --> 00:37:14.559 justification and rest in that. Joy in that. 00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:22.679 Live in that. As righteous as Christ. Amen.