Now would you take your copy of the Word of God
and turn with me please to the Book of Romans.
We're going to look at the last few verses in
chapter three. There are few teachings of the
Bible which are found so incomprehensible to
unregenerate man as that of justification by
faith. Now why is that? Well, it's because man
likes to think of himself as capable of making
at least some contribution toward his acceptance
by God. It's humiliating and irksome to his self
-esteem, his ego, to think of himself as a helpless
sinner in need of a Savior, in need of having
his sin forgiven by the shed blood of another.
Unregenerate man resists that kind of teaching.
As an example of that, I brought with me this
morning a paragraph written by a religious leader
of a denomination that will remain nameless.
His name is Dr. John W. Graham. I believe he
is dead now. He knows better than what he's written
here at this point. But this is what he writes.
The evangelical doctrine of atonement, as I am
using the word historically, ascribed the salvation
of mankind here and hereafter to their annexing
for themselves, even how yet sinful, the infinite
merits of the crucified Redeemer, who shed blood
was regarded as the equivalent in the divine
sight for the sins of the world. This doctrine
most people now find incredible, unspiritual,
and even immoral. And so even religious people
who are unregenerate find the doctrine of Christ
shed blood for the sins of mankind to be something
to be resisted, is distasteful to them. The simplicity
of the message of salvation by faith alone is
offensive to our cultured, educated, proud world.
Its response to the Gospel message apart from
the work of the Holy Spirit is not unlike that
of the Corinthian intellectuals who called the
simple message that Paul preached foolishness
or moronic. The text that we have before us today
underscores, however, the simplicity of the Gospel
message. It is key to biblical teaching, this
doctrine of justification by faith alone. Perhaps
with the Jew in mind, Paul poses three basic
questions in the text, Romans 3, verses 27. through
31. You see they reacted to the simple message
that he preached. Race, good works, the possession
of the law, these were very important to the
Jews. With them in mind, the apostle writes these
words as he concludes this introductory section
dealing with salvation. Where then is boasting?
It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works?
No, but by a law of faith, a principle of faith.
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith
apart from works of the law. Or is God the God
of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also?
Yes, of Gentiles also, if indeed God is one.
and he will justify the circumcised by faith
and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then
nullify the law through faith? May it never be.
On the contrary, we establish the law. And so
the three basic questions which the apostle thinks
that a Jew might ask are these. Where then is
boasting? Is God the God of Jews and Gentiles?
Do we nullify the law through preaching justification
by faith? Now it may be difficult for us, since
most of us are Gentiles, to appreciate the significance
of those questions. But I hope as we look at
them today that we will find some practical applications
for our own lives. And we'll be able to put ourselves,
in some respect, into the Jewish mindset as we
ask them. The first question is, where is boasting
then? You see, the Jews boasted of their self
-sufficiency, of their privileges, their law
keeping. And then along comes this apostle, so
called, who preaches a gospel which condemns
man and closes the mouth of every man so they
cannot boast before God." The Jew pride himself
in those things that were especially Jewish.
Back in chapter 2, verse 17, the apostle suggests
this when he says, if you bear the name Jew and
rely upon the law and boast in God and know his
will, and approve the things that are essential
being instructed out of the law, and are confident
that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a
light to those in darkness, a corrector of the
foolish, a teacher of the immature, and so on."
You see, that's how the Jew regarded himself.
He was Jew, whereas everybody else who was non
-Jew was Goyim, nations, Gentiles, nothing. But
he was Jew, and he knew God, and he had the law,
and he boasted about those things. That's why
the question, what happens to boasting then?
Well, lest we think that there is no place at
all for boasting, let me assure you that the
Bible does give us some things to boast about.
I'm going to suggest three of them this morning.
The list is not complete by any means. But let's
look quickly at three things that we may rightly
boast about as Christians. There is a place for
boasting. The first one I want to look at is
in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. The worldly Corinthians
regarded themselves above that which they should
have. And so to remind them of their roots, The
apostle says in verse 26 in chapter 1, consider
your call, brethren, that there are not many
wise according to the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to shame the wise, and God
has chosen the weak things of the world to shame
the things which are strong, and the base things
of the world and the despised God has chosen.
the things that are not, that he might nullify,
things that are, that no man should boast before
God. He says, dear people, let me remind you
of your lot. You see, God hasn't chosen many
who arise. He doesn't say any. He says, not many
who arise or who are strong. He says, on the
other hand, God has purposely chosen the weak.
and what the world considers foolish and base
and despised. Yes, most things that the world
says are nothing to nobodies. He says, God has
chosen those people to be his saints so that
no man should boast before God. Verse 30, but
by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became
to us wisdom from God. and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption, that just as
it is written, that him who boasts, boasts in
the Lord. Now when the apostle writes that last
sentence, he's thinking of a passage in Jeremiah.
So let's turn back to the prophet of Jeremiah
in the Old Testament and look at the whole text.
It's in Jeremiah chapter 9. Jeremiah, chapter
9, verses 23 and 24. Thus says the Lord, let
not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not
the mighty man boast of his might, let not a
rich man boast of his riches. But you destroy
the things that most people boast about in that
one verse. Though its intellectual capacity,
one's degrees, his scholarship, etc., or his
might, his power in the corporation, or his physical
might, or his riches, the money, the bank account,
the things he owns, the material things he possesses.
Those are the things that people brag about,
aren't they? For God says, Let not a man boast
in any of these things, but let him who boasts
boast of this, that he understands and knows
me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness,
justice, and righteousness on the earth, for
I delight in these things, declares the Lord.
What may we rightly boast in? Not what we are.
not what we possess, but we may boast in the
Lord. We may boast in him and who he is and what
he's done. If you're going to brag about something,
don't brag about yourself, brag about the Lord.
Secondly, we may boast, according to Galatians
chapter 6, in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beginning in verse 12 of this last chapter of
the book of Galatians, it says, What's he talking
about? Well, there were some false teachers who
were trying to seduce the Galatian believers
away from the simplicity of justification by
faith. And part of their doctrine was, well,
yes, you need to believe in Christ, but you also
need to keep the Jewish right of circumcision.
Faith alone is not enough. You must be circumcised
according to the law of Moses. Then you will
be accepted by God. Then you will be justified.
Earlier in the book, the apostle calls that kind
of teaching another gospel. It's not the gospel
of Christ at all. And he says that these false
teachers want to cause you to go through that
rite. They want to brag about you being added
to their numbers. But then he says, may it never
be that I should boast except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross to these other
people was an offense. Paul says, I boast in
the cross. You see, the cross is offensive to
the world because it implies three things. It
implies that man is a sinner. It implies that
he is under the just curse of the law for his
sin. And it implies that he can do nothing to
save himself, that he can only receive God's
provision for his sins. That's why the cross,
the preaching of the cross, is such an offense.
You can talk about Jesus being a great teacher,
being the moral example that all of us should
follow, and nobody will ever lift an accusing
word against you. They will pat you on the back
and say, my, what a marvelous teacher and preacher
you are. But the moment that you try to share
the cross of Jesus Christ, you put yourself in
the place of persecution. because the cross slays
the pride of man. It means that man is helpless
to save himself and all he can do is call out
for mercy from God. The apostle says, I boast
in the cross if I'm going to boast in anything.
He says these Judaizers, that was the name applied
to these false teachers, he says they want to
add you to their number so they can brag about
you. When I read about them doing that, I'm reminded
of those people today that brag about the numbers
of converts that they have, or the numbers who've
been baptized this last year in their church.
In fact, I used to receive a newspaper that listed
the churches that had baptized over 200 people
during that year. And I know some of the people
who pastored those churches, they would do anything
to get on that list for the fame and the acclaim
of being announced by that publication as having
over 200 baptisms. I know in one church the organist
was baptized three times. Then there are those
that brag about the, quote unquote, decisions
for Christ in the meeting. I remember one pastor
relating how he was reading a publication from
a certain mission which was boasting of its tremendous
results in a certain foreign land. And they showed
a picture of the vast crowd that had gathered
to hear their evangelist. And as the pastor was
looking at that picture he noticed something
strange. Here was a gal in a hat over here, and
here was another gal in a hat just like it here.
And here was a man who had his legs crossed,
and here was a man over here on this side who
had his legs crossed, the same way. As they examined
the picture, they had duplicated the picture,
put them side by side to double the crowd that
was there to hear the guy preach, see? That kind
of stuff goes on, even among some of God's people,
and I believe that it disgraces God to stench
to him. When we boast about converts and numbers,
don't misunderstand me. I thank God for every
convert. And when numbers represent individuals
whose lives are changed by the grace of God,
and when we baptize people and it's an indication
of their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and their
desire to walk in the newness of life, we rejoice
in that. But God forbid we should ever get the
numbers out there and boast about numbers. That
doesn't please God. That's what these false teachers
wanted to do. Paul says, if I'm going to boast
about anything, I'm going to boast about that
which is an offense to the world, the cross.
Then back up a few pages to 2 Corinthians chapter
12. This may blow your mind. Here's a third thing
that we may justly boast about. In 2 Corinthians
chapter 12, the apostle relates this thorn in
the flesh that he received and how that he prayed
three times that God would remove it. In verse
9 he gives the Lord's response. He said to me,
my grace is sufficient for you, for power is
perfected in weakness. And now the Apostle's
response is, most gladly therefore I will rather
boast about my strengths. Is that what he says?
Does he say, I'm going to boast about my strong
points? No. He says, most gladly therefore I
will rather boast about my weaknesses that the
power of Christ may dwell in me. If you are now
going to boast about anything concerning ourselves,
let it be boasting about our weaknesses. Why?
Because then, as people observe our lives, they
are going to see the power of God evident in
those areas of our lives. Why is it unpopular
to boast about weaknesses. Well, in the first
place, it runs contrary to the world, which boasts
only about strengths and hides weaknesses. But
secondly, because when we boast about our weaknesses,
it means that we have to be transparent and allow
people to see us as we really are. And we're
vulnerable, and that's scary. That's exactly
what the apostle says. I'm going to boast about
those things that are weak about me so that when
people see my life they will know it's the power
of God and not me. I praise God for that. If
we're going to boast, let it be in the Lord or
in the cross of Christ or in our weakness. But,
going back to our text, let it not be in our
good works. Boasting of one's own goodness is
not allowed before God. It is forbidden. He says,
where is boasting? It is excluded. By what law?
Works? No. If the principle of works were involved,
then people would boast about what they did.
You know, if you and I got to heaven because
of something we achieved or accomplished in this
life, when we get to heaven, it would be simply
an eternity of comparisons. We would walk around
with our list of what we had done and everybody
else would have their list and we would be bragging
about what we did and how we did better than
they or whatever. And God will have none of that
in heaven. Where is boasting then in our own
goodness? It's ruled out. The door is shut by
the law of faith. Warren Woosby in his book on
Roman says that it's like the rescued swimmer
who was drowning. He doesn't brag that he had
faith to hang on to the lifeguard. When you and
I understand that we are sinking in our sin and
lost and helpless, that all we've done is reached
out by faith and trusted the Savior, we have
nothing to brag about in ourselves. But we brag
in the one who saved us. You see, when we're
saved, it's like a beggar coming to the king.
And with nothing in his hands, he reaches out
and the king puts what he needs into his possession.
That's what salvation is. It's simply receiving
what God has to offer. Oh, there's a place for
good works, but not as the cause for salvation,
rather as the overflow of it, the results of
it. Quote with me, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. For
by grace are you saved through faith. And that,
not of yourselves, is the gift of God, not by
works, lest any man should boast." Not by works,
lest man should boast, but it goes on to say,
but we are His workmanship created in Christ
Jesus unto good works. God has created us in
Christ so that we may now perform good works,
having been justified by faith alone. We see
this illustrated in a parable that Jesus told.
I'd like you to take your Bible and turn to Luke
chapter 18. Luke chapter 18 and verse 9. Jesus
told this parable to certain ones who trusted
in themselves that they were righteous and viewed
others with contempt. Two men went up into the
temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax
collector. That was next to nothing, if not nothing,
in the society in Israel on that day to be a
tax collector. He says the Pharisee stood and
was praying thus to himself. That's very well
put. Even like this tax collector, I fast twice
a week. I pay tithes of all that I get. Jesus
was on to say, but the tax collector, standing
some distance away, was even unwilling to lift
up his eyes to heaven and was beating his breast
saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. When
he says, be merciful to me, He literally says,
be propitious to me. If you were here last week,
you remember that term we studied, propitiation.
He's not just asking God to show mercy, but he's
saying, God show mercy to me because of the blood
that is shed as an atoning sacrifice for my sin.
Now today we don't have to pray this prayer because
that atoning sacrifice has been made once and
for all in Jesus Christ. But you see the attitude
we do need today. For one cries out to God for
mercy and sees nothing in himself whereby he
deserves to be saved. Jesus goes on to say, I
tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other. For anyone who exalts
himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles
himself shall be exhausted. God will have no
flesh, glory, and his presence. You know, it
bothers me sometimes when I hear certain testimonies,
which in subtle ways promote and exalt the testifier.
I guess I think particularly of those testimonies
where the person gets up and tells us how bad
he was before he was saved, and he drags out
this grocery list of sins. And the way it comes
across, it almost sounds as though he's bragging
about all the things he did before he got saved.
You know, he lived a more life before he was
five years old, armed down the list, exaggerating
sin after sin, and then it concludes as, but
God saved me, and he sets down. The rest of the
testimony was not the grace of God and how good
God is, but... seems to be more of all the bad
things he did. He promotes himself in some subtle
way. Then there are those who think that a testimony
is only really worth hearing when it's given
by some evangelical superstar, some person out
of Hollywood or out of the athletic world. That's
a real testimony. That's the one that's really
worth hearing and excludes or at least overlooks
the testimony of the common person. God is not
pleased with that, folks. When you and I testify,
whether we be a superstar or like most of us
here, the common person, in our testimonies let
us bring glory to God. Where it is boasting,
it is excluded. Question number two. Is God the
God of Jews and Gentiles? Well, you have to put
yourself in the place of a Jew to appreciate
that question. That's hard for us to do. Most
of us are Gentiles. We say, well, of course God
is the God of the Jews and the Gentiles. What
else? Well, you've got to put yourself back in
a first century Jewish mindset. For centuries,
the Jews have been taught, you are an elect people.
You are separated from the nations. You worship
the true God, they worship false gods." That
was true. So now along comes this Gospel that
Paul is proclaiming, and he says it's for Jew
and Gentile, that now in the eyes of God in this
age, there's no distinction between Jew and Gentile.
The God we worship is the God of Jews and Gentiles.
And the Jew says, now wait a minute. Wait a minute.
You're trying to tell me that that Gentile doesn't
even have to become a Jew before he becomes a
Christian? Paul says that's right. That Gentile,
uncircumcised, having followed the pagan religion
of his forefathers, can trust Jesus Christ and
be in the family of God without ever coming through
the door of Israel. The Jew shakes his head.
It's hard for him to comprehend. Now maybe I
can can create some kind of a parallel that's
not a parallel, but will, I hope, help you understand
the difficulty that this presented to the Jewish
mind. I suppose that there was some fellow that
came into the church this morning and got up
here in the pulpit and said to you, I have an
announcement to make. We have blessed news. The
God that we Christians worship is the same God
that the Moslems worship. We just call them by
different names. Your God and the God of all
is the same God, and God has further revealed
himself through Mohammed his prophet, and we're
worshipping the same God. Well, what would be
your response? Well, we probably would throw
the bum out on his ear. In love, of course. We
would totally reject that. That doesn't square
with the scriptures. It's not true. But you see,
if you carry that back to the Jewish mind, that's
sort of how the Jew looked at it. When the apostle
came along and said that God's the God of the
Jew and the Gentile. It was hard for him to receive.
But the blessed truth is that God is the God
of all nationalities. And God has a certain relationship
to all men, despite race or culture. He is the
creator of all men, for example. He is the provider
for all men, whether they realize it or not.
In His providence, He provides rain and the seasons
and food and so on for all men. He is the judge
of all men, again, whether mankind realizes it
or not. So He has a certain relationship to all
peoples, but He is not the Savior of all men,
regardless of their attitude toward Him. He is
the Savior only of those who believe. Now, there
are those who promote the lie that we all worship
one God and just call him by different names.
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No man comes to the Father but by me. And
he did not say, but by me, and Muhammad, and
Buddha, and others, et cetera. He said, no man
comes to the Father but by me. Biblical Christianity
is an exclusive religion. It claims to be the
only way to God. You see, just as God is one,
so the way to God is one. I'm reminded of the
unbelieving apostate seminary professor who teaches
in the classroom and who says that Christ is
the better way of salvation. A missions professor
to top it off. Christ is not the better way of
salvation because that implies there are alternatives.
He is the only way of salvation. God is one.
And He has one way by which we come into relationship
with Him as Savior. That is through faith. That's
what the Apostle says. That it is justification
by faith. Over to Timothy, he writes, there is
one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus. That's why he writes here,
he will justify the circumcised, the Jew, and
the uncircumcised, the Gentile, through faith.
That's the only way we come to God. Is that where
your trust and your hope is today? Or are you
in some way still trusting in your birth? You
say, well, I'm an American. I was born into a
Christian country. Were you? Nonetheless, your
birth does not influence God. You say, well,
I've been a good boy. I've tried hard. I may
not have kept all the Ten Commandments, but I
think I've kept most of them. Not only are you
wrong, you are self -deceived. Yes, but I may
not have been religious too much, but I was confirmed,
I went through these certain rituals in my church,
that my friend God justifies only on the basis
of faith, apart from works. Faith alone recommends
the soul to God, and if today your faith and
your trust is in anything or anyone but Jesus
Christ, you're lost. Even if you're trusting
99 % in Jesus Christ and only 1 % in your good
works, you are lost. Our total faith, 100 % of
our faith, must be in Jesus Christ and His finished
work on our behalf at the cross. We are justified
by faith alone. Question number three. Maybe
the most difficult of them. certain to the Jews,
he says, do we nullify the law through faith?
Do you understand what's in the Jewish mind here?
I mean the law was his boast. This was his covenant
with God. And now Paul comes along and over and
over again he preaches and writes, apart from
the law, without the law, justified by faith
alone. And so the Jew says, yes, but wait a minute,
what about the law? Does this message of the
Gospel nullify the law? The Jews accused Paul
of saying that when he was arrested in the temple
prior to his being sent to Rome. The accusation
leveled against him by the mob was, This is the
man who preaches to all men everywhere against
our people, Jews, and the law." They said he
preaches against the law. Is that true? No. The
apostle makes it clear here that the gospel message
of justification by faith does not contradict
the law. On the other hand, he says, it establishes
the law. How is that? Well, think with me a moment.
What was the purpose of the law? This is not
a complete answer, but I'm going to give you
a three -fold answer as to why God gave the law.
Number one, to reveal His holiness and righteousness
to man. You see, God's more perfections are revealed
in the Ten Commandments. and other aspects of
the law. The law demands perfect righteousness
if a man is going to be right with God. The law
reveals how pure God is. God is light and in
him is no what? No more darkness at all. That's
what the law does. Secondly, the law shows the
awfulness of man's sin. In fact, the very existence
of the law says that there is sin. If there were
no sin, you wouldn't need law, would you? We
wouldn't have to have laws in this country. There
wouldn't have to be laws against murder and rape
and stealing. If everybody was perfect, we'd
just write them off the books. A perfect society.
But we have laws in this country because man
is a sinner. And that's why God gave the Ten
Commandments, to expose the sinfulness of man.
In chapter seven of this very book, the apostle
will testify that he would not have known, but
covetousness is, if God's law hadn't said to
him, you shall not covet. Now it wasn't that
the law made him a covetor. It was that the law
turned the light on and he saw for the first
time what covetousness is. He was practicing
covetousness. You put a speed limit sign out
here that says 35 miles an hour, it doesn't make
a person a speeder. It simply exposes his speeding,
you see. You say, thou, you will not commit murder
in this state. Does that make a person a murderer?
No, it simply exposes his deed if he does it.
That's the purpose of the law. It exposes the
awfulness of man's sin. And thirdly, I would
say that the purpose of the law is to bring then
the sinner to God's provision for his sin. Now
in the Old Testament what that meant was that
the Jew would bring a sacrifice to the temple,
the blood would be shed and offered up in the
prescribed way, and his sin would be atoned for.
We won't do that today. You didn't bring a lamb
or a pigeon to church with you this morning.
because the great sacrifice for all ages has
been offered by Jesus Christ. Now the purpose
of the law is to reveal God's holiness, to expose
my sin, and to bring me to the Savior. In Galatians
the Apostle says that the law is our school teacher
to bring us to Christ. Now when a man trusts
Christ, what does he do? Well, in the first place,
he is recognizing God's holiness and God's righteousness.
Then he is seeing himself as he really is before
a holy God, helpless and sinful. He is confessing
Christ as the one who bore the law's penalty,
as his substitute. What is he doing? Well, he
is simply vindicating the law. He is saying that
the law did its work. It brought me to Christ.
And so you see this doctrine that we teach of
justification by faith honors the law in its
justice and its demand for righteousness. When
we say that it establishes the law, I want to
emphasize it does not mean that we're under the
law. We've been delivered from it, but it still
doesn't work in our hearts. When I say this,
I am not saying either that the law has any power
in itself to transform the heart. It doesn't.
A person can memorize and quote every day the
Ten Commandments and never be a Christian. But
what the law does is to repair our hearts with
a gospel message so that we see our need and
seek God's provision. It concerns me when I hear
some people talk about their testimony. And I
see that in some subtle ways they are expressing
faith in works. I think William Newell puts it
this way and puts it well when he writes these
words in his commentary. If God announces the
gift of righteousness apart from works, why do
you keep mourning over your bad works and failures?
Do you not see that it is because You still have
hopes in those works of yours that you are depressed
and discouraged by their failure? If you truly
saw and believed that God is reckoning righteous
the ungodly who believe on him, you would fairly
hate your struggles to be better, for you would
see that your dreams of good works have not at
all commended you to God, and that your bad works
do not at all hinder you from believing on him
that justifies the ungodly. Therefore, in seeing
your failures, you should say, I am nothing but
a failure, but God is dealing with me on another
principle altogether than my works, good or bad.
A principle not involving my works, but based
only on the work of Christ for me. As we bring
this message to its conclusion, I wonder if that's
where your faith is today, in Christ alone. If
in one percent you find yourself trusting in
your works, thinking that somehow though you're
trusting Christ, your goodness is still going
to commend you to God, then today flee and repent
from that way of thinking and recognize that
salvation, that justification, that being made
right with God comes by faith in Jesus Christ
and by faith alone. I want to make this application
to us Christians. In what or in whom is your
boast? As you review this past week that you've
lived through, have those around you been aware
that your boast is in Christ and in him crucified?
Or have you boasted in your accomplishments or
claimed your rights, pushed for your recognition
and your strengths and your sufficiency. You
see, my friend, the only boast that we should
have is our boast in the Lord. We need to choose
to die to self -sufficiency and self -boasting,
to turn away from our wisdom, our might, and
our riches as a source of pride. and to see our
boasting as being alone in Jesus Christ. Will
you boast in Him this week and point others to
Him? Will you choose to die to self? Will you
choose to boast in your weaknesses, be vulnerable
and transparent? You know most people out there
in the world think of a Christian as somebody
who's perfect, who's got it all together. who
doesn't have any problems. Do you know why they
think that way? Because that's the act that we
put on. That's the impression that we try to
give. And it's wrong, isn't it? I've never met
a Christian yet who had everything put together
in his life. So instead of putting on a masquerade
out in the world, Let's be what we really are
by the grace of God. And if we must boast in
anything about ourselves, let it be a boasting
in our weaknesses, being transparent, so that
as God's power then is made real in our lives,
people will know that glory belongs to Him and
not to what we are. Boast in the Lord. Bring
glory to Him this week. And now, Father, I pray
that that will be very practically applied to
my life and to the life of every Christian here
today. I'm aware that as I talk, there are some
of us who are living in sin out of the will of
God. I pray, Father, that those of us who know
Christ Every one of us will today be in that
place of obedience where we can know your blessing.
I pray that you'll call back to a place of fellowship,
that Christian who's wasting his life living
in sin, who's priding himself in his accomplishments
and his sufficiency and his riches. I pray that
today there will be a renewed humility before
the cross. that there will be a dying to self,
and the pushing for one's own rights, and a yieldedness
to God. And I pray for that friend who's here
today without Christ altogether, that today that
one will know the meaning of these words being
justified by faith alone. We pray for this in
Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to close by singing
a hymn. As we do this, it is an opportunity for
you to make a public response as the Spirit of
God would lead you. It may be that you today
would want to make a public profession of your
faith in Jesus Christ and you want to come forward
just like Jesus called all of his disciples publicly.
You want to come forward and in so doing say
before men, today I am trusting Jesus Christ
alone. For my salvation, I am not ashamed to
say it. As a Christian, you may need to come
today and say before God and before your brothers
and sisters, I've been away from the Lord, wasting
my life, living in sin, but today I want to come
back to the Lord and be faithful and obedient.
I'm coming today to give myself afresh and anew
to Christ, that he may be the Lord of my life.
or maybe that you want to come in a commitment
for a church membership or some other desire,
but if the Spirit of God is ruling your heart
and tugging with it today, I pray God that you
will do what you need to do in this hour to be
in obedience to Him. We're going to sing together
number 298, which pretty well summarizes what
we've been talking about. Come every soul by
sin oppressed. There's mercy with the Lord. Only
trust Him now. Let's stand as we sing together.
I wait right here in the front. You slip out
and come if we can help you.