WEBVTT 00:00:01.149 --> 00:00:04.769 We live in a society with an imperfect criminal 00:00:04.769 --> 00:00:08.570 justice system. It's one of the best that man 00:00:08.570 --> 00:00:12.609 has created, in my opinion, but yet it's not 00:00:12.609 --> 00:00:19.969 fair, let alone truly just. Jim Baker, for example, 00:00:21.030 --> 00:00:23.210 as much as we may not have agreed with what he 00:00:23.210 --> 00:00:30.250 did, and as it is true, he broke the law, and 00:00:30.250 --> 00:00:36.049 needed to be punished, received 45 years in prison 00:00:36.049 --> 00:00:41.369 because of his misdeeds. And yet within the last 00:00:41.369 --> 00:00:44.170 month, a man who had killed his wife here in 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:47.530 the state of Minnesota was found guilty and sentenced 00:00:47.530 --> 00:00:52.729 to 12 years. That is but one example of what 00:00:52.729 --> 00:00:55.009 many of us have talked about with friends from 00:00:55.009 --> 00:00:59.049 time to time, and that is the inequity in our 00:00:59.049 --> 00:01:05.170 criminal justice system. Operation Rescue demonstrators 00:01:05.170 --> 00:01:09.189 are held in jail. They are charged and tried 00:01:09.189 --> 00:01:13.049 and many times sentenced. But on the other hand 00:01:13.049 --> 00:01:15.969 it seems that demonstrators for political causes, 00:01:16.310 --> 00:01:19.829 for example those at Honeywell, may be arrested 00:01:19.829 --> 00:01:25.430 but often the charges are dismissed. Why is this? 00:01:25.569 --> 00:01:30.019 That there is unfair treatment. Well, the system 00:01:30.019 --> 00:01:34.659 is only as good as the people who operate it 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:39.680 and use it. Imperfect knowledge of circumstances, 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:45.040 bias which is inevitable with any human being, 00:01:46.140 --> 00:01:52.299 mistakes, political agendas, all of these influence 00:01:52.299 --> 00:01:57.659 our criminal justice system. Because of what 00:01:57.659 --> 00:02:04.060 we observe in man's justice. We sometimes think 00:02:04.060 --> 00:02:10.219 that God's justice must be similar. We reason 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:16.360 this way. Sin probably bothers God a lot because 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:22.360 he's holy. But God will in the end surely some 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:30.530 way find a means to excuse. The fact is that 00:02:30.530 --> 00:02:34.849 nothing could be further from the truth. Because 00:02:34.849 --> 00:02:40.770 God is perfect, God knows all, there is no bias, 00:02:40.870 --> 00:02:44.870 He is impartial, He doesn't make any mistakes, 00:02:45.990 --> 00:02:50.129 and therefore in the end, He will judge every 00:02:50.129 --> 00:02:55.979 man according to the works of his life. and then 00:02:55.979 --> 00:03:02.879 God will meet out perfect eternal justice. If 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:06.780 the record of your life is like that of mine 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:10.780 and all other persons in the world, that is marked 00:03:10.780 --> 00:03:15.460 by sins and transgressions against God's holy 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:19.479 law, it means that you, like the rest of us, 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:28.479 are in deep trouble. You see, God does not ever 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:36.099 become angry. God doesn't become anything. God 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:42.219 eternally is. And today, God, as well as being 00:03:42.219 --> 00:03:47.800 a loving God, is an angry God. The Bible says 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:51.620 that God is angry, is angry, now, at this moment, 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:57.539 is angry with sinners every day. That's hard 00:03:57.539 --> 00:04:01.580 for us to grasp because so often our anger boils 00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:06.020 up in a moment of frustration or disappointment 00:04:06.020 --> 00:04:14.780 and It may or it may not be righteous anger Because 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:17.319 of our own experience and struggle with anger 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:20.660 we seem to think that somehow for God to be angry 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:25.540 is wrong But the fact is that God's anger is 00:04:25.540 --> 00:04:32.139 a very normal expression of the justice which 00:04:32.139 --> 00:04:39.100 is one of his attributes. God is a just God and 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:43.680 meets out perfect justice to all people, including 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:53.250 those who are saved. That's why you and I can 00:04:53.250 --> 00:04:56.769 consider the good gift of God which we call justification 00:04:56.769 --> 00:05:01.790 with such genuine elation. Because if we understand 00:05:01.790 --> 00:05:05.670 what justification is really all about, we cannot 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:12.310 help but be filled with a joyful gratitude. We 00:05:12.310 --> 00:05:15.310 cannot help but fall on our knees and say thank 00:05:15.310 --> 00:05:23.079 God for justification. I'd like for us to think 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:25.959 about the basics of the term justification for 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:29.240 just a moment. Let's talk about a definition 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:33.600 for it first. What does it mean? Well, it is 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:38.180 a legal act of God. Let's begin there. Justification 00:05:38.180 --> 00:05:41.759 is a legal act of God. It's not something that 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:47.339 we do, it's God's doing. It is a legal act of 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:53.480 God whereby He declares the sinner who trusts 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:58.939 Jesus Christ. Notice that qualification. The 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:02.699 sinner who trusts Jesus Christ. He declares that 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:10.699 one to be righteous in his eyes. God says from 00:06:10.699 --> 00:06:14.279 this moment forward, this individual is righteous 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:20.209 as I see him. And whatever else has happened 00:06:20.209 --> 00:06:23.949 or may happen, I see this one as righteous in 00:06:23.949 --> 00:06:28.350 my sight." He passes mustard. He measures up 00:06:28.350 --> 00:06:34.129 to perfect justice. There is no longer any transgression 00:06:34.129 --> 00:06:39.110 on the record of this one. Now in saying that, 00:06:39.250 --> 00:06:41.029 there are two aspects that you have to think 00:06:41.029 --> 00:06:45.930 about. First of all, God has to deal with the 00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:51.689 record. He has to pardon the record that records 00:06:51.689 --> 00:06:56.430 your transgressions in mine. God has to go to 00:06:56.430 --> 00:07:01.029 that record and expunge from it, remove from 00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:05.170 it the record of our guilt because we are guilty 00:07:05.170 --> 00:07:09.649 before God. He has to remove that. That's one 00:07:09.649 --> 00:07:14.689 thing. God going to the record and taking away 00:07:14.970 --> 00:07:18.970 the guilt that is recorded there. But that's 00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:22.269 not what justification is all about. The other 00:07:22.269 --> 00:07:26.230 side of it is just as wonderful because it means 00:07:26.230 --> 00:07:34.230 that God gives to me righteousness along with 00:07:34.230 --> 00:07:37.410 a share in all the blessings that He has promised 00:07:37.410 --> 00:07:42.110 to those who are justified. So God not only removes 00:07:42.110 --> 00:07:47.149 from me the sin that is so prominently recorded 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:51.009 in my life's history. He takes away the guilt 00:07:51.009 --> 00:07:56.750 of that. But He also gives to me perfect righteousness, 00:07:58.509 --> 00:08:02.290 even the righteousness of Jesus Christ. If you're 00:08:02.290 --> 00:08:04.110 thinking with me, you'll say, well, how can God 00:08:04.110 --> 00:08:11.350 do this? If God is just, as we say He is, then 00:08:11.350 --> 00:08:14.329 how can He justify somebody who's truly guilty? 00:08:14.980 --> 00:08:17.680 Isn't that just like our criminal justice system 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:22.699 at times? Finding the guilty to be innocent by 00:08:22.699 --> 00:08:27.160 some quirk in the law. Well, the answer is no, 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:31.060 it's not the same. Because, you see, God has 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:36.320 a basis for doing this. God does not merely wink 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:40.460 at sin. God doesn't overlook it or just put it 00:08:40.460 --> 00:08:45.000 under the carpet where he can't see it. But God 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:50.379 has dealt with our sin. That's why He can declare 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:54.700 us righteous. He has dealt with it in the death 00:08:54.700 --> 00:09:01.200 of His Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 5 .9 says, Having 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:11.019 now been justified by His blood. You see, being 00:09:11.019 --> 00:09:14.879 good may keep you out of prison. But only the 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:17.899 blood of Jesus Christ will keep you out of hell. 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:26.059 God deals with our sin by the death of His Son 00:09:26.059 --> 00:09:30.879 Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf. There 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:35.220 He poured out His justice. There He poured out 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:42.440 His wrath. There He punished our sin in the person 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:48.000 of our substitute. the Lord Jesus Christ. And 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:51.980 now because God has dealt with our sin justly, 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:56.000 He can turn to us and say, you are now forgiven, 00:09:56.379 --> 00:10:00.100 and I give to you the righteousness of my Son. 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:04.879 In the Bible, particularly in Romans chapter 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:08.519 4, there is a truth that is termed imputation. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.799 Imputation. The idea is familiar to an accountant, 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.440 one who is used to transferring funds from one 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:24.100 account to another. What the Bible teaches about 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:28.440 imputation is that God put to the account of 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.860 Jesus Christ my sin. He imputed it to Christ. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:39.179 He ascribed my sin to Christ. And when I trusted 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:42.750 in Christ, He imputed Christ's righteousness 00:10:42.750 --> 00:10:47.789 to me. He put all the righteousness of Jesus 00:10:47.789 --> 00:10:52.190 Christ in my account. It says in 2 Corinthians 00:10:52.190 --> 00:10:57.450 5, 21, God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be 00:10:57.450 --> 00:11:03.090 sin on your behalf, that we might become the 00:11:03.090 --> 00:11:08.750 righteousness of God in him. Our sin was ascribed 00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:13.110 to Christ so that then his righteousness could 00:11:13.110 --> 00:11:18.789 be ascribed to us. Writing in the Moody Handbook 00:11:18.789 --> 00:11:22.769 of Theology, Paul ends, says, Through justification 00:11:22.769 --> 00:11:26.590 God maintains his integrity and his standard, 00:11:27.490 --> 00:11:30.070 yet is able to enter into fellowship with sinners 00:11:30.070 --> 00:11:34.330 because they have the very righteousness of Christ 00:11:34.330 --> 00:11:39.049 imputed to them. The meaning of justification 00:11:39.049 --> 00:11:41.710 is that God declares the believing sinner to 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:46.210 be righteous in his sight. He has a basis for 00:11:46.210 --> 00:11:50.090 doing that, a legal basis. The death of his son 00:11:50.090 --> 00:11:55.509 Jesus on our behalf. Because Jesus died our sins 00:11:55.509 --> 00:11:58.570 are forgiven and we are counted as righteous 00:11:58.570 --> 00:12:03.049 in the eyes of God. We who have believed. And 00:12:03.049 --> 00:12:05.029 that's the important thing I want to stress now. 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:09.080 It is only for those who have believed on Christ 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:12.860 that this is true. Our text in Romans chapter 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:20.820 5 says, having been justified by faith. It is 00:12:20.820 --> 00:12:24.100 faith alone which brings this justification. 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:27.799 It is apart from human efforts or human merit. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:31.799 We contribute nothing toward it. It is all by 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:36.039 faith. Harry Ironside was for many years the 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:40.580 pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago. Years 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:42.700 before that and shortly after his conversion, 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:46.539 he was an officer with the Salvation Army and 00:12:46.539 --> 00:12:48.720 during that period of his life lived in California. 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:53.940 He recounts occasions such as one on the street 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:57.200 of a California city where he and his fellow 00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:00.940 Salvation Army soldiers were conducting an open 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:04.419 -air meeting. Someone on this particular occasion 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:07.779 came and said, look here, there are hundreds 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:10.360 of religions in this country and followers of 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:13.279 each sect thinks theirs is the only right one. 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:16.820 How can poor, plain men like us find out what 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:22.159 is really the truth? Ironside responded, hundreds 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:25.159 of religions you say? That's strange, I've only 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:30.980 heard of two. The man responded, Surely you must 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:33.820 know there are more religions than just two. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:40.019 Harry Ironside said, well not at all sir. I find 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:42.179 many shades of difference in the opinions of 00:13:42.179 --> 00:13:45.539 those comprising the two great schools, but after 00:13:45.539 --> 00:13:48.820 all is said there's only two of them. The one 00:13:48.820 --> 00:13:54.460 covers all who expect salvation by doing, the 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:57.120 other all who have been saved by something that's 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:01.600 been done. You see, the whole question is very 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:04.960 simple. Can you save yourself or must you be 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:08.860 saved by another? If you can be your own savior, 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:13.039 you do not need our message. If you cannot save 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:18.000 yourself, then you must listen to it. You see, 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.500 he put his finger on a very important point. 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:24.720 You strip away all the denominational labels 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.970 and the names of sects and groups. And you come 00:14:27.970 --> 00:14:31.889 down to about two religions in the world. The 00:14:31.889 --> 00:14:38.669 one where you do and you try and you work and 00:14:38.669 --> 00:14:41.330 the other where you simply receive as a gift 00:14:41.330 --> 00:14:45.610 what God provides. Those two cannot be mixed. 00:14:46.389 --> 00:14:50.370 They nullify each other. They stand in distinction. 00:14:54.570 --> 00:14:59.190 The religions of the world. are but two. And 00:14:59.190 --> 00:15:01.269 all of us gathered here this morning follow one 00:15:01.269 --> 00:15:05.730 or the other. Either we think that somehow we're 00:15:05.730 --> 00:15:12.730 going to justify ourselves before God or we recognize 00:15:12.730 --> 00:15:17.409 that we are sinners in need of a Savior and we 00:15:17.409 --> 00:15:20.590 receive the gift of righteousness that God desires 00:15:20.590 --> 00:15:23.590 to give us. And we simply receive it by faith. 00:15:27.389 --> 00:15:33.210 Justification is God's saving act, which is directed 00:15:33.210 --> 00:15:36.409 toward the person who trusts in Jesus Christ 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:41.309 as the only sufficient sacrifice for him and 00:15:41.309 --> 00:15:46.250 for his sin. It is through justification that 00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:49.889 God permanently cares for the legal issue of 00:15:49.889 --> 00:15:58.000 man's sin. the sin by forgiving its transgressions 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:03.019 and replacing the sin with the perfect righteousness 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:09.279 of Jesus Christ. When God sees me, He sees me 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:15.679 in Christ. And He accepts me just as He finds 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:23.720 His Son perfectly acceptable. Roy McLean. used 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:28.779 to tell of a beggar who stopped a lawyer on the 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:32.639 street one day in a large southern city. And 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:34.600 he asked the lawyer for a little bit of money 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:40.419 to help him on his way. The attorney taking a 00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:43.519 hard look at the man's unshaven face said, don't 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:50.100 I know you from somewhere? The beggar said, well, 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:55.500 you should. I recognize you. You're one of my 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:59.179 former classmates. Remember the second floor 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:04.099 of Old Main Hall? And the attorney with a look 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:07.700 of recognition said, why Sam, of course, I know 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:12.119 you. Without further question, he pulled out 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:15.480 his checkbook and he wrote a check for $100 to 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:19.690 this man. He said here take this and get a new 00:17:19.690 --> 00:17:21.890 start. I don't care what happened in the past. 00:17:22.450 --> 00:17:26.930 It's the future that counts And with that he 00:17:26.930 --> 00:17:31.170 had to hurry on to his appointment Tears welled 00:17:31.170 --> 00:17:34.529 up in the eyes of the beggar as He looked at 00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:37.210 the check and he walked to a bank nearby, but 00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:41.210 he stopped at the door He looked in the window 00:17:41.210 --> 00:17:44.450 and he saw through the glass well -dressed tellers 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.880 a spotlessly clean interior to the bank, and 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:55.779 here he was dressed in filthy rags. And he said 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:59.240 to himself, they won't take this from me. They'll 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:03.420 swear that I forged it. And he stuffed it in 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:09.359 his pocket and he turned away. Amazingly, the 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.779 next day the two men met again on the city street. 00:18:14.970 --> 00:18:17.910 The attorney said, why Sam, what did you do with 00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:22.730 my check? You're still dirty. Did you gamble 00:18:22.730 --> 00:18:27.829 it away? Did you drink it up? No, said the beggar 00:18:27.829 --> 00:18:30.250 as he pulled it out of his pocket and showed 00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:33.910 it to him. And he told him why he hadn't cashed 00:18:33.910 --> 00:18:37.789 it. And the attorney said to him, listen, my 00:18:37.789 --> 00:18:42.289 friend, what makes that check good is not your 00:18:42.289 --> 00:18:46.210 clothes or your appearance. but it's my signature 00:18:46.210 --> 00:18:52.509 on the check. Sometimes we look at our lives 00:18:52.509 --> 00:18:57.789 and we say, how can God accept me? I profess 00:18:57.789 --> 00:19:02.890 faith in Jesus Christ and yet I blow it. And 00:19:02.890 --> 00:19:05.190 all of us would have to confess that this last 00:19:05.190 --> 00:19:07.930 week our record would include several incidents 00:19:07.930 --> 00:19:12.789 undoubtedly that we can point to where we know 00:19:12.789 --> 00:19:18.049 we've blown it. Isn't it wonderful that our acceptance 00:19:18.049 --> 00:19:23.710 by God does not depend upon the condition of 00:19:23.710 --> 00:19:27.289 our lives, but the position of it, the position 00:19:27.289 --> 00:19:34.309 of it, that we're in Christ. God has already 00:19:34.309 --> 00:19:37.589 forgiven us all of our sins, past, present, and 00:19:37.589 --> 00:19:42.549 future. They have been dealt with fully by the 00:19:42.549 --> 00:19:48.259 blood of Jesus at the cross. And now He accepts 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:53.220 us without reservation. No conditions. He has 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:58.220 signed the check, as it were, because of Jesus. 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:01.779 And when He looks at us, He sees not the condition 00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:06.539 that we may be in today, but He sees the position 00:20:06.539 --> 00:20:14.119 of our faith as being in Christ. The benefits 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:17.329 of justification are many. Let me point just 00:20:17.329 --> 00:20:21.349 to two or three of them. Because of this truth 00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:25.509 of justification, I can know that God accepts 00:20:25.509 --> 00:20:29.049 me right now in Christ and that he will never 00:20:29.049 --> 00:20:33.549 cast me away. In Romans, our text, look at this, 00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:36.269 verse 1, we have peace with God through our Lord 00:20:36.269 --> 00:20:40.990 Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained 00:20:40.990 --> 00:20:47.109 our introduction. By faith into this grace in 00:20:47.109 --> 00:20:52.569 which we stand The whole context of the verse 00:20:52.569 --> 00:20:55.849 says that right now every day Continuously you 00:20:55.849 --> 00:21:01.809 and I stand in the place of grace Not judgment 00:21:01.809 --> 00:21:05.670 And he says we have been given our introduction 00:21:05.670 --> 00:21:10.029 that means our access to God We have an entrance 00:21:10.029 --> 00:21:16.000 to God himself God accepts us right today in 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:20.099 Christ and He will never cast us away because 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:28.920 we stand in grace. The story is told of a family 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:34.779 who many years ago lived on the plains and one 00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:40.829 day in the midst of a drought. A dry thunderstorm 00:21:40.829 --> 00:21:45.029 came with lightning and thunder, no rain. The 00:21:45.029 --> 00:21:49.450 lightning struck the tall prairie grass, and 00:21:49.450 --> 00:21:52.230 a fire was kindled. And before a few minutes 00:21:52.230 --> 00:21:56.430 had expired, that small blaze had become a roaring 00:21:56.430 --> 00:22:00.230 prairie fire that was moving right toward them. 00:22:02.470 --> 00:22:08.980 The family was trapped by fire. nearly every 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:11.839 side. They couldn't move fast enough to get out 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:16.720 of its way. And so wisely, the Father lit another 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:21.759 fire and allowed it to burn on. And then the 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:23.819 family gathered as many things as they could, 00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:26.200 and they stood in the area that had already been 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:29.799 burned out by that fire that the Father had started. 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.799 And they watched as the flames came toward them, 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:40.839 roaring, popping. blistering heat until the flames 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.519 came to that patch of ground that had already 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:46.980 been burned and immediately they died down there 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:49.900 and went around and on their way. The family 00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:53.920 was spared because you see they stood on ground 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:59.900 that had already been dealt with by fire. You 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:03.380 and I stand upon ground like that folks. It's 00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:07.609 the ground of grace that we stand on. And already 00:23:07.609 --> 00:23:14.490 God's justice has fallen here. Already the white 00:23:14.490 --> 00:23:19.890 lava of His fury against sin has fallen in this 00:23:19.890 --> 00:23:23.569 place. It's the place where the cross has stood. 00:23:25.329 --> 00:23:28.230 And Jesus has absorbed all of that fury on our 00:23:28.230 --> 00:23:33.730 behalf. And now we stand in grace. And God accepts 00:23:33.730 --> 00:23:39.259 us in Christ. and will never cast us away. What 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:41.299 a wonderful benefit that is. If you're struggling 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:44.680 with your salvation today and whether you are 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:46.779 saved or whether you're not saved, let me tell 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:50.099 you that once you have trusted in Jesus Christ 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:53.400 and you stand in grace, you are accepted by God. 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:58.700 Just as your works could not save you, your works 00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:03.819 cannot unsave you. It is grace and grace alone. 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:11.079 Secondly, I can rejoice in hope. Because of justification, 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:13.359 I can know not only that God accepts me, but 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.900 I can rejoice also in hope as I contemplate my 00:24:16.900 --> 00:24:19.960 future destiny. Look at verse 2 again. He says, 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:24.920 we exult in hope of the glory of God. We can 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:29.180 have a triumphant confidence about us. There 00:24:29.180 --> 00:24:32.579 is a joy that comes from deep within that exudes 00:24:32.579 --> 00:24:39.710 every pore of our beings. and trying to find 00:24:39.710 --> 00:24:42.529 some way to illustrate this idea of boasting 00:24:42.529 --> 00:24:48.410 or exalting, I thought of a friend of mine who 00:24:48.410 --> 00:24:54.150 is quite a sports person. He enjoys watching 00:24:54.150 --> 00:24:58.170 and when the team does well and there is a good 00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:01.849 play, he is so into it, he jumps out of his chair 00:25:01.849 --> 00:25:06.710 and says, yes! Have you ever done that? Yes! 00:25:08.350 --> 00:25:12.869 That's exactly the thought here. Paul says, when 00:25:12.869 --> 00:25:15.630 I think of my future, when I think of what's 00:25:15.630 --> 00:25:21.289 coming, I stand on my feet and I say, yes! I 00:25:21.289 --> 00:25:27.490 exalt, I boast in hope of the glory of God because 00:25:27.490 --> 00:25:31.029 of justification. There's no doubt about the 00:25:31.029 --> 00:25:35.329 future. I know what it holds, and it's yes in 00:25:35.329 --> 00:25:40.470 Jesus Christ. I will inherit all things in the 00:25:40.470 --> 00:25:44.809 Son, including the coming Kingdom. And then in 00:25:44.809 --> 00:25:47.150 the remaining verses of our text this morning, 00:25:47.250 --> 00:25:49.950 in Romans 5, and we'll stop with that, we can 00:25:49.950 --> 00:25:53.490 rejoice not only in the hope that's coming, but 00:25:53.490 --> 00:25:57.970 we can also say yes in the midst of our tribulations 00:25:57.970 --> 00:26:01.890 and trials, because they flow out of God's loving 00:26:01.890 --> 00:26:06.309 purpose for us. The tribulations that Paul speaks 00:26:06.309 --> 00:26:09.190 about here are those experiences that create 00:26:09.190 --> 00:26:14.089 burden and pressures in our lives. Does that 00:26:14.089 --> 00:26:20.650 sound familiar? Situations that cause us to suffer. 00:26:21.829 --> 00:26:24.970 Tribulations. Warren Wiersbie points out that 00:26:24.970 --> 00:26:29.509 in the Roman days there was a heavy rake that 00:26:29.509 --> 00:26:35.549 was used in the harvest fields. It would be pulled 00:26:35.549 --> 00:26:39.769 over the grain and this instrument would result 00:26:39.769 --> 00:26:45.049 in the grain being separated from the the staff 00:26:45.049 --> 00:26:48.430 of wheat for example. They would pull the cross 00:26:48.430 --> 00:26:52.450 there and it would cause that wheat grain to 00:26:52.450 --> 00:26:57.150 be separated out and fall to the ground. That 00:26:57.150 --> 00:27:00.970 rake was called by them a tribulum and that's 00:27:00.970 --> 00:27:04.150 where we get this word tribulation. There are 00:27:04.150 --> 00:27:06.829 times when God puts a rake, as it were, in our 00:27:06.829 --> 00:27:10.369 lives and He pulls us across circumstances that 00:27:10.369 --> 00:27:14.390 are really very uncomfortable. Circumstances 00:27:14.390 --> 00:27:17.890 that we would not in ourselves choose. But God 00:27:17.890 --> 00:27:23.130 is saying here tribulation has a purpose and 00:27:23.130 --> 00:27:26.950 its character. That's what God's after. The fruit 00:27:26.950 --> 00:27:31.750 of the Holy Spirit in our lives. You and I can 00:27:31.750 --> 00:27:35.490 say in the midst of pressure and sorrow and disappointment 00:27:35.490 --> 00:27:41.730 and trials, yes to God. We can exalt in those 00:27:41.730 --> 00:27:44.730 things because God has a purpose in them that 00:27:44.730 --> 00:27:48.809 flows out of His loving heart for us. You and 00:27:48.809 --> 00:27:52.730 I are a people in process. God is in the midst 00:27:52.730 --> 00:27:56.769 of doing something wonderful in us and for us. 00:27:57.480 --> 00:27:59.960 And all of these benefits flow out of the good 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:04.200 gift of justification. If we understand what 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:07.460 justification is, our hearts cannot help but 00:28:07.460 --> 00:28:12.559 be filled with gratitude and joy. The Apostle 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:15.099 goes on in Romans to talk about the wonders of 00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:17.700 this justification. He comes to Romans 12 and 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:20.980 he says, Therefore, because of these great mercies 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:24.819 of God, because of what God has done for you 00:28:24.819 --> 00:28:29.390 in justification, Because of this gift, I urge 00:28:29.390 --> 00:28:34.430 you, present your bodies a living sacrifice, 00:28:35.029 --> 00:28:39.190 holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable 00:28:39.190 --> 00:28:44.930 service. When we understand what justification 00:28:44.930 --> 00:28:49.369 means, it brings us to service which is reasonable. 00:28:51.410 --> 00:28:55.009 If God has done this for me, how can I do anything 00:28:55.009 --> 00:28:59.430 less than give Him my everything? When he says, 00:28:59.509 --> 00:29:02.549 present your bodies, he's saying your body and 00:29:02.549 --> 00:29:05.950 everything it contains. That's pretty much all 00:29:05.950 --> 00:29:10.690 of you, isn't it? To present is the word for 00:29:10.690 --> 00:29:13.869 offering up a sacrifice. It means to place beside 00:29:13.869 --> 00:29:17.690 something. He is saying here, I want you to place 00:29:17.690 --> 00:29:21.720 on the altar everything that you are. because 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:25.119 of what God's done. Folks, that's our challenge 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:27.299 this morning. That's the point of application 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:31.940 that we need to write across our hearts because 00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:34.619 of the good gift of justification and what that 00:29:34.619 --> 00:29:40.099 means to give our all to Him. Hold nothing back. 00:29:40.819 --> 00:29:45.099 Say, Lord, I put it all in the altar. He says 00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:49.220 that's only reasonable you should do that. It's 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:54.210 your reasonable service. Let's bow together. 00:29:56.670 --> 00:29:59.269 With our heads bowed and our eyes closed as we 00:29:59.269 --> 00:30:04.589 come to the end of this service, in which we 00:30:04.589 --> 00:30:06.950 have thanked God for his good blessings in our 00:30:06.950 --> 00:30:12.049 nation, we have seen the good blessings of God 00:30:12.049 --> 00:30:16.049 in our salvation, I want to ask you a question. 00:30:17.589 --> 00:30:24.279 How much of you is on the altar? Is it just your 00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:33.700 little finger? What about your feet? What about 00:30:33.700 --> 00:30:38.819 your tongue? What about your eyes? Your ears? 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:46.140 What about the potential of your life? What about 00:30:46.140 --> 00:30:51.599 your plans for next week? What about the relationships? 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:59.599 that you now are struggling with. Will you say 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:06.740 to the God who has justified you, my everything, 00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:11.880 Lord, goes on the altar because of what you've 00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:17.079 done? I hope you can and I hope that you will. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:22.539 I urge you that action because of the mercies 00:31:22.539 --> 00:31:32.160 of God. O Father, you are a gracious God, and 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:36.039 in your grace you have provided for us what we 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:41.380 could never have in ourselves, a righteous standing 00:31:41.380 --> 00:31:46.319 before you. Thank you so much. But Lord, may 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:52.180 we respond with a no -holds -barred sacrifice 00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:57.019 of ourselves. May we willingly and joyfully put 00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:01.640 everything on the altar and submit to your Lordship 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:06.519 in our lives and walk this week in the freedom 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:10.779 that comes with that kind of a reasonable service. 00:32:12.519 --> 00:32:14.859 In Jesus' name, amen.