God Is Just and the Justifier

April 24, 2016 · Romans

Series · Romans · Week 32 of 85

Scripture referenced 9 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Romans 3:21-26 the central text of the sermon, a long sentence on the righteousness of God, justification, redemption, and propitiation

21 But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets;
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction,
23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance;
26 to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.

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Romans 3:27-31

Paul's argument that boasting is excluded and that God is God of both Jews and Gentiles, and that faith establishes rather than nullifies the law

27 Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

28 We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t he the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,

30 since indeed there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith.

31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law.

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Romans 4:1-8

Abraham justified by faith not works, and David's words on blessing credited apart from works

1 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?

2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

4 Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.

5 But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

6 Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works,

7 “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.”

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Romans 4:9-13

faith credited to Abraham while uncircumcised, and the promise coming through righteousness of faith not the law

9 Is this blessing then pronounced on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11 He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they might be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might also be accounted to them.

12 He is the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had in uncircumcision.

13 For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he should be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

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Genesis 12:1-6

God's promise to Abraham to make him a great nation and bless the world through him

1 Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treates you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

4 So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.

6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.

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Genesis 15

God's promise of a son to Abraham, where his belief was credited as righteousness, three chapters before circumcision

1 After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

2 Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 Abram said, “Behold, to me you have given no children: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”

4 Behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”

5 Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So will your offspring be.”

6 He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.

7 He said to Abram, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”

8 He said, “Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?”

9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

10 He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds.

11 The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12 When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.

13 He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.

14 I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth,

15 but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age.

16 In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”

17 It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

18 In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:

19 the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

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Psalm 51

quoted in Romans 4:6-8, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sin the Lord will not take into account

1 Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.

4 Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.

5 Behold, I was born in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.

11 Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

15 Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise.

16 For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.

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Luke 23:39-43

the thief on the cross who believed Jesus and was told he would be in paradise that day, used as the classic example of faith credited as righteousness

39 One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”

40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?

41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

43 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

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Isaiah 43

quoted after the offering prayer: when you pass through the waters I will be with you and the waves will not overcome you

1 But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.

3 For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

4 Since you have been precious and honored in my sight, and I have loved you; therefore I will give people in your place, and nations instead of your life.

5 Don’t be afraid; for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.

6 I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’ and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back! Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—

7 everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.’”

8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.

9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, “That is true.”

10 “You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.

11 I myself am Yahweh; and besides me there is no savior.

12 I have declared, I have saved, and I have shown; and there was no strange god among you. Therefore you are my witnesses”, says Yahweh, “and I am God.

13 Yes, since the day was, I am he; and there is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?”

14 Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing.

15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

16 Yahweh, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters says:

17 who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty man (they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched like a wick):

18 “Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

20 The animals of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen,

21 the people which I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.

22 Yet you have not called on me, Jacob; but you have been weary of me, Israel.

23 You have not brought me of your sheep for burnt offerings; neither have you honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense.

24 You have bought me no sweet cane with money, nor have you filled me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have burdened me with your sins. You have wearied me with your iniquities.

25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.

26 Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together. Declare your case, that you may be justified.

27 Your first father sinned, and your teachers have transgressed against me.

28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; and I will make Jacob a curse, and Israel an insult.”

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

This message was the continuation of a series through Romans, picking up mid-sentence in chapter three and running through chapter four, verse thirteen. The preacher walked through Paul's defense of justification by faith, showing how God demonstrates His own righteousness by being both the just judge and the one who justifies. The whole argument was built on the claim that no one, Jew or Gentile, has anything to boast about before God.

What was said

the pastor opened by pointing out that the long sentence from last week's passage does not actually end where English translations tend to place the period. In Greek, the sentence keeps going, and the phrase "to demonstrate his righteousness" belongs inside that same sentence. God's act of passing over sins previously committed, and His act of justifying the ungodly, are both part of one unified statement about who God is and how He has chosen to show it.

From there, Paul's logic is simple but pointed. God is just. Every person has sinned and falls short. And God justifies, not by accepting our effort, but by crediting righteousness to those who believe. Because the whole thing is God's act, not ours, boasting is completely excluded on every side. No one earns it, and no one can claim credit for needing so much of it.

Paul then calls two Old Testament witnesses. Abraham believed God in Genesis 12, and that faith was credited to him as righteousness. The sign of circumcision did not come until Genesis 15, three chapters later. So the crediting happened while Abraham was still uncircumcised, which means the same access is open to anyone who believes, on exactly the same terms Abraham had.

David is the second witness, quoted from Psalm 51. The blessing he describes, sins forgiven, sins covered, sin never taken into account, carries no ethnic qualifier. It does not say "blessed are those of Israel." The word translated "will not take into account" carries a time stamp, the pastor noted: those sins will never come back. The accounting is settled.

Paul's phrase "justified by faith apart from works of the law" is not a dismissal of the law. The law is good, true, and right. It shows us where we fail. What Paul rules out is the idea that keeping it earns standing before God. Faith establishes the law's purpose rather than canceling it.

The clearest single example in the New Testament, the pastor argued, is the thief on the cross in Luke 23. That man had no works, no religious standing, and no time left. He simply believed that Jesus was who He said He was and asked to be remembered. Jesus told him they would be together in paradise that day. His faith was credited as righteousness with nothing else attached.

The closing application came back to the sentence Paul built across the whole passage. God passed over sins in His forbearance, not because they did not matter, but to leave room for belief. That forbearance is still in effect for anyone in the room who has not yet believed. God can be shown to be just either way, by condemning those who refuse or by mercifully saving those who believe. The choice, as the pastor put it, is simply whether a person will believe God, the same thing Abraham did, the same thing David did, the same thing the thief on the cross did.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

The pastor walked through the idea that God demonstrates his righteousness both by condemning those who don't believe and by mercifully saving those who do. What does it do to your understanding of God's character to hold both of those things together at the same time?
Paul says boasting is completely excluded, whether you're boasting about your good works or even about how much God's grace has covered your sin. Where do you find yourself most tempted to take some credit before God, and what does this passage say to that?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Read the full transcript 7,070 words

Find in this transcript

0:00 They're coming on in. Come on in and we're gonna get started and sing a couple of songs here to start off. How are you doing this morning? Well. Good.

0:09 That's a better answer. Thank you. So, I'm gonna invite Scott on up if you would. Here's a the yellow microphone.

0:16 Yell, I'll yell in this microphone.

0:19 And if you would, stand with us. We're going to sing a couple of songs about leaning, leaning on God, leaning on the everlasting arms, and learning to lean. Good morning.

0:29 Time to worship, Jack. Come on. Come on. Let's worship. What a

0:38 joy divine leaning on the everlasting arms What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms, leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all arms, leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms leaning safe and secure from all arms leaning leaning on the everlasting arms what have I to dread what have I to fear leaning on the everlasting arms I have blessed peace with my lord so near leaning on the everlasting arms and secure from all arms leaning on the everlasting arms.

2:21 Amen. Thank you. We're gonna learn to lean. Hymn number five thirty four.

3:20 I'm learning to lean on Jesus. Learning to lean. Learning to lean. I'm learning to lean on Jesus finding more power than I ever dream I'm learning to lean on Jesus.

3:55 Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements this morning. Like, just like every Sunday, I guess and a lot of em are the same. Awana is happening here tomorrow night, Monday nights at six right in this very room to start off with.

4:09 We've got Monday nights at first be down the hall. Great time. Carl's preaching through Nehemiah. So, meal music and a message and a story about a guy who's driven by purpose and full of God's spirit and love and was an industrious leader. So, Monday nights at First B, 06:00 tomorrow night.

4:27 Connect hour is still happening and this morning, we had a full breakfast down there. I don't know if you've made it in time but we had sausage and eggs and French toast casserole and all kinds of good stuff. So, if you wanna get here a little bit early and connect with some of the folks from the other services, that's still happening at 10:00. This Friday night is a family fun night. Again, so we're doing six of these in a row.

4:49 We've already had two of em but if you wanna come in, they're on the next installment of Visionary Parenting with Rob Rinal and the kids will be watching some Buck Denver. If you don't know anything about that, it's a cartoon puppet type show. It's actually really really funny and really good. So, what's in the Bible with Buck Denver? And that happens on Friday nights at 05:30.

5:14 Youth spring retreat. There's gonna be a voice from the back back there.

5:18 I've been told I have to stay in the back from now on so I can't come up to the stage. Can't leave the soundboard. So, anyway, we've got a youth spring. We've got a youth spring retreat coming up May thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth and we'd love to have any middle school and high school kids to join us on that. We've got flyers in the back.

5:39 So, if you're like, hey, where's the information? I've got it right back here. So grab a flyer on your way out and that's all you hear from me the rest of the service.

5:48 Thank you, Renzi. Appreciate that. And one more reminder, the turning point, every year we have done for last how many years have y'all been doing the baby bottles? Four, five, maybe more? Probably more.

5:59 I remember when I was an intern here. So, at least six, that's right. Before you, before me, So, they've been doing this baby bottle campaign. Our goal this year is twenty five dollars zero. Raise $25.00.

6:10 They hit the goal last year of 20,000, which is great. There are more bottles out there. They're in two ten containers, buckets tens out there. If you would pick one of those up, you can fill it up with change or with bills of any size and checks if you want to but bring em back into the church in the next couple of weeks and we're going to try to get em to turning point and raise funds that way. I think that's it.

6:32 For everything else, if you would check your bulletin for the announcements. It's always full of good information. You can stand up and greet one another and we'll bring you back together with the next song. Jesus,

6:46 Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name, master, savior, Jesus like the fragrance after the rain Jesus Jesus Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim. Kingdoms, may all pass away but there's something One

7:45 more time. Amen. The name that's above every other name that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess. Amen.

8:56 To the glory of God the father. Father God.

9:07 Father God I give all thanks and praise to thee Father God, my hands I humbly raise to thee for thy mighty power and love father God I give all thanks and praise to thee father God

10:08 and amaze

10:10 I stand in awe and worship father

10:20 Amen. Y'all can have a seat and I'll ask the frontline team to come forward. Would you pray with me? God, thank you for the blessings of the week, the blessings of the day, and I thank you that you love us and that you, lord, have chosen to speak your word among us. I thank you that you have had that connect with the hearts of so many in this room, lord, that we realize that you are God and we are not and lord, we want you to continue the message of the gospel, that good old message of the cross.

10:56 Would you use these financial gifts, these blessings that you've given us, that we acknowledge you and give him back. Would you use these to further your kingdom here on this Earth to the ends of the earth? Would you advance the gospel of Jesus Christ?

11:19 When I think I'm going under, part the waters, Lord. When I feel the waves around me calm the sea. When I cry for help, oh hear me loud and hold out your head. Touch my life still the raging storm in me I need lord I need thee every hour I need thee oh bless me now my savior I come to thee I need thee every hour and joy our pain come quickly on the thee oh bless me now my savior when I think I'm going under part the waters

14:35 lord

14:57 Amen. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and the waves will not overcome you because I am the Lord your God. Amen. Isaiah 43. So, last week, we had this up on the screen.

15:10 This is what you're looking at all week last week. It's kinda hard to stand up here right now. So, this was the scripture and I had it up here and we went through and I said, this was one sentence. Well, it is one sentence in English but I've got a little more add to add to it today. I just wanted you to see this but I wanted you to know among other things, this is what I learned last week.

15:31 Yellow and blue are both fine for print but pink doesn't show up very well. And in this service, I had plenty of people that said, don't ever use pink again ever no matter what and so, pink doesn't show up very well so let's use green, alright? So, today, all of the highlights will be in green. And I learned a few other things but I don't wanna talk about that right now. So, this sentence is but now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.

16:07 For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. Without preaching the whole sermon again, that's a power packed sentence, isn't it? It's got it all. It's about God demonstrating his righteousness and that's juxtaposed against him talking about his wrath for two and a half chapters.

16:36 It tells us that we're all equal and that we all have fallen short. We all are falling short and we all have sinned and it talks about the justification, redemption, and propitiation. That's a power packed sentence but in Greek, it goes beyond that. It actually goes on in the next verse. Now, in your Bibles, most of em if they're modern or if they're any English translations pretty much, they put a period in there and they keep going.

17:02 25 B through four thirteen is what the sermon is on today. And Paul is defending justification by faith. Now, he's been mentioning it in that last verse. That's what the major portion of that verse is about. How one is justified and it is by God's gracious act of redeeming, God's gracious act in his grace and it's about Jesus making the final and ultimate sacrifice and that is the way that it happens.

17:29 So, Paul is defending that for this next section as justification by faith and he does it both logically and then biblically. So, we'll go logically, biblically, logically, biblically with Paul as we go through this. And I wanna mention something else. Y'all know the grammar nerd status. Yeah, a lot of y'all are actually grammar nerds too.

17:46 I've heard from a lot of you. Paul is the undisputed master biblically speaking anyway of the run on sentence. When he starts a sentence, you never know where it's going to end up. As a matter of fact, if you look at the beginning of Ephesians, this is the first sentence. That's the first sentence in the in the book of Ephesians.

18:04 Well, it's the second sentence but it's the first long sentence. All of that is one sentence in Greek. It keeps on referring back to itself all the way through. So, he biblically is the master of the run on sentence. In English literate, it's a toss-up between William Faulkner and James Joyce.

18:20 That's one sentence for William Faulkner. 1,288 words. Yeah, it's ridiculous to read. I'm glad you can't read the print because it's not nice but anyway, James Joyce goes on. Victor Hugo goes on like that.

18:33 He has one that's 4,000 something words but it wasn't originally written in English so I can't count it. I want to say that this verse right here where we're starting, we're starting in an English and says, this was to demonstrate his righteousness because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed and that looks great and it makes sense but if you see in any modern English translation, this is the new American Standard Translation. You'll see this was right there is in italics. You notice that? That means that they have inserted.

19:03 The translators have inserted that word. It's not originally in the Greek text. It's there just to make it clear, clear, and make sense in English. Does that make sense to you? So, I mentioned this from time to time.

19:13 I want you to think about this huge sentence that we just saw though and how much was power packed in there and it doesn't stop where I stopped last week. It actually keeps going. So, that this was, I'm gonna remove and I'm gonna put it in context where it normally goes in this sentence and listen to this, but now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. So, we get the faithfulness of Jesus and the belief in that. Jesus, his faithfulness.

19:47 For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith to demonstrate. Did you get that? Through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. Semicolon.

20:10 He's still going. This is still one sentence. It's all one big idea. I'm going to try to back away from it just a little bit in a few minutes and show you just what he is proven in this ridiculously long sentence. We'll leave to this was for right now, okay?

20:26 This was to demonstrate his righteousness because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. For the demonstration I say, of his righteous. Now, now, he said that twice. For the demonstration of his righteousness, to demonstrate his righteousness. God is showing who he is, how he is just, how he is good, how he is almighty.

20:48 He's showing his goodness how? I say of his righteousness that at the present time so that he would be just and that he would be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. If I stop right here for just a second and say, some people hold God responsible for their lack in their life. I was born too poor. I was born too ugly.

21:09 I was born too sinful. I've got this predisposition towards something that's he calls a sin but I feel like it's what I ought to do. Feel like it's what I wanna do. So, they say, God is not good and God is not just because if he were good and just, he would have made me better than this. Well, we all fall short.

21:27 He's already told us that and we fall short in different ways. So, my malady may not be your malady. But so that God would be just and so that God would be the justifier. Take the just part for a minute. God has created us all and we are all flawed.

21:44 Are we going to hold God responsible for the flaw? When he has made a way for us to be made right with him. So that God would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. He has made a way out. So, Paul's been talking about the gospel for quite some time.

22:01 Now, he's mentioned it three times up to this explicitly and now he's saying, this is how God demonstrates his righteousness and shows his goodness is and so that he will be seen to be the truth, just, and good, and that he would be able to be the one that would be justified. Okay. So, let me sum up. God is just. Do you believe it?

22:25 God is just. Do you put him on the hook for your sin? No. You're a free moral agent. He made you that way.

22:31 Do you sin? Oh, yeah. I bet you do. God is just. We have all sinned.

22:37 He makes that very very clear multiple times. But God justifies. So, is God just? He can be just in damning someone and he can be just in mercifully saving someone. God justifies by faith in Jesus.

22:58 This is very very simple. Now, last week, I did mention and the faithfulness of Jesus because Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life because he walked in exactly the path and the way that God had for him. He obeyed the Holy Spirit, never quenched it once. He was able to present his sacrificial life as a ransom for many. Any who would believe, he said, any who would believe.

23:25 So, God is just. We have all sinned but God justifies by faith. That is belief in Jesus and his faithfulness and by doing this, God demonstrates his righteousness. So, I want to emphasize that he demonstrates his righteousness. It's not our righteousness.

23:42 It's not because we did something to deserve it. It's not because we did something to absolve ourselves from the sin. We cannot do that. Remember the divine passive last week? Last week, he is the one who justified.

23:57 Which as far as application points go, he goes immediately into the application of this because he's writing to this Jewish mix, a mixed church, Jewish and Gentile. So, we might say in our day, folks who've been in church their whole life and folks who just came because they just came, okay? Where then is boasting? It is excluded. Nobody has anything to boast about.

24:25 Before God, nobody has anything to their credit unless he credits it to them. Does that make sense? That's Paul's argument here. He'll get to it even more in a minute but it's excluded. By what kind of law?

24:38 Can you legally, legally, can you boast? Because of your good works legally? No. You have nothing to boast about. Can you boast from this side?

24:49 Your license because you are so abundantly sinful and God's grace has abounded towards you. Can you brag from over here? No, he says it's completely excluded. Well, by what kind of law? Is it of works?

25:01 No. But by the law of faith which is right here. Faith in Jesus Christ. That's what abolishes or excludes all boasting at all. So, Paul says, again, explicitly, for we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from any works of the law.

25:26 Or and consider this question, y'all consider this question too. Now, the Jewish people knew the answer to this question absolutely. No doubt about it because it's taught over and over and over and over and over in the Old Testament and they, every morning when they woke up would say something that affirmed this truth. Is God the God of the Jews only or is God the God of the Gentiles too? What do y'all say?

25:49 Yeah. If God is God, he's God. He is God almighty. He is over all. King of creation.

25:56 Every soul that exist was created by God. God is the God not only of Jews but also of Gentiles. Yes, of Gentiles also. Since indeed, God who is one, that's what Israelites would say. God is one.

26:11 Since indeed, God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. God is one of both the circumcised and uncircumcised. Jews and Gentiles. Alright. Next section.

26:26 Do we then nullify the law completely by the fact that we have accepted Christ's sacrifice. By we have accepted God's way out. Do we nullify the law completely? Do we? What's the text say?

26:41 May it never be. Uh-oh. No. Absolutely not. Meganoitode.

26:46 May it never be. Perish the thought. Don't even think like that. The law is proven to be good and true and right but it's only good and true and right for a certain to a certain extent. It can show us where we fail.

27:00 It can show us where we're wrong. Those first four commandments being about God, loving God, the last six, loving your neighbor. We don't nullify the law through faith. When we come to a place of faith in Christ, we see the ways that the law has showed us that we fail. On the contrary, he says, we establish the law.

27:20 We absolutely back it up that yes, everything that is in the law. Is true and good and can point us in the direction of Jesus because there's no mercy in the 10 commandments, right? It's just do and don't do. There's no mercy there. What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh is found.

27:39 Now, this is interesting because Paul trained as a Pharisee, really, really smart guy. When he's presenting an argument and he presents his logical basis which makes sense, logic makes sense, sorry. He makes sense to the Greeks. He makes sense to the folks in Rome who are logicians and philosophers by arguing logically but he always goes back and picks up two or three witnesses from the Old Testament and so right now, he's going to Abraham. Abraham was promised by God in Genesis 12 that he would make him into a great nation, that he would bless those, he blesses and that all of that in the first six verses or so of chapter 12 and then, in chapter 15, he promises him that he'll have a son and that's where these descendants are going to start according to the flesh.

28:28 That's where it's going to start. So, Paul is picking up Abraham's example from Genesis. He's speaking to this mixed church but he's going back for these references for the Jewish people, I think. The Jewish Christians. What then shall we say that Abraham, who is our forefather according to the flesh?

28:46 What has he found? For if Abraham was justified by works, then he has something to boast about. Do you agree with that? If he had done anything, to earn his salvation, then he could say, yeah, that's right. That's right.

28:59 I did this. He could point to himself but he can't do that. Not before God, he can't because God who looks not on the outward appearance but at the heart, he sees every flaw. So, Abraham has no works that he can boast before God. Yet, God still blessed him.

29:18 Yet, God still blessed him temporally and eternally. He has nothing to boast before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God. Amen.

29:32 Abraham believed God and that belief. It was credited to him as righteousness. Now, the term there credited is an accounting term and it means credited. When you put it in the account of, I know, I'm looking around. I'm seeing several CPA types in here.

29:48 Hell, money people. Y'all know this stuff. When you take something and you do a journal entry, you do a journal entry in your books and you put something there that wasn't there. Can you do that? In certain instances, you can.

30:02 God can. God can put it there. He had a credit that was available because Jesus had a perfect life. Amen. And through belief in him, you can access his perfection.

30:13 Now, you can't be perfect. Positioning before God though, you are perfect. Amen. The moment you believe, the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus, a pardon received. So, credited to him.

30:26 It was imputed to him, credited to him, reckoned to him as righteousness. Now, was Abraham actually righteous? No. Is anybody? No.

30:38 But it was credited to him as righteousness when he believed God. Amen. What was God seeking to do? He was seeking to bless the world and he was seeking to bless the world through Abraham. So, that was credited to him as righteousness.

30:55 Okay, more logic. Now, to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor but just what is due. Is that right? If you work reasonable hours for your employer and they pay you reasonable pay for the hours that you have worked, is he doing you a favor? No, it's quid pro quo.

31:13 You did something. He gives you money. Does he have to say thank you? I don't care if he says thank you, honestly, but if as long as he give me the money, right? Because it's a contract.

31:22 I do this for you. You do that for me. That's the way that it goes. It's nice when they say thank you. But it's not a favor for him to pay you what it is that you have earned.

31:30 That's what this verse is saying. It's just what is due but to the one who does not work, So, this is somebody who's not doing anything to earn anything, okay? But he believes in him who justifies the ungodly. Think about that. He has done nothing to deserve any blessing whatsoever.

31:53 He's done nothing to deserve payment whatsoever. In fact, what he deserved to do is die but he believes in him who justifies the ungodly. Just above that, it says that he would be just and the justifier. I covered that this morning already. Who's the he?

32:12 The he there is God. God would be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. So, he believes in him, God, who justifies the ungodly. By faith, God will justify. How many, have you ever heard people on the Discovery Channel or the Learning Channel say that substitutionary atonement is not in the Bible?

32:34 Is it in every single message? I feel like a broken record up here saying, I pointed out every single week. It's there, people. Jesus died to ransom souls. He died to save by faith in Jesus.

32:47 God will justify. Looking at this, have you thought of an example? This is the classic example. This wins a lot of theological arguments over whether the works or whether faith wins. Luke 23, the scene is Calvary on the cross.

33:07 Jesus is hanging between two criminals and verse 39 says, one of the criminals, malefactors, bad guys, one of the thieves, bad guys, who were hanging there was hurling abuse at Jesus. It's interesting because a couple of other gospels said that while they were nailing Jesus to the to the cross, laying on the ground that both of these guys were reviling Jesus and arguing insults but when Jesus prays, father, forgive them for they know not what they do as he's being nailed to the cross. They stand him up and now one of the criminals is hurling abuse and saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us but the other. Now, who's the other guy?

33:47 Had he done anything? I call that other one the one who does not work. He's a bad guy. He was probably, I don't know exactly what his sin was, what his crime was, but he was probably stealing. He's probably taken.

34:01 He's not working, not earning an honest living. The one who does not work, that's that guy. The other answered and rebuking him said, do you not even fear God since you're under the same sentence of condemnation? All three of them were under the same sentence of condemnation. All three of them had been sentenced to hang on those crosses until dead.

34:29 Two of em deserved it. One of them didn't. He'd lived a perfect life. He owed no death but he paid that death in substitution for whoever would call out to him. Listen to this guy and we indeed are suffering.

34:44 He admits his sin. We indeed are suffering justly for we're receiving what we deserve for our deeds. We are being paid for what we have done. But this man has done nothing wrong. He sees the goodness of Jesus.

34:58 And he was saying, Jesus, remember me when you come in to your kingdom. But the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly. That guy showed that he believed in Jesus right there. And Jesus said to him, truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise. Amen.

35:21 That man's faith is credited to him as righteousness. He had no work whatsoever to show for it. It's a great example. The classic one actually. His faith is credited as righteousness.

35:34 I had a professor that said this over and over. I love this phrase. All of Pauline theology is grounded in the medical tradition. Since the probably late eighteen hundreds, there's been a higher criticism, they call it, higher criticism seeks to take the Bible, take it all the way apart, figure out who said what to whom, and figure out ways around and they examine the text and they try to figure out ways that we can get out of some of it. Ultimately, that's what it comes to.

36:03 In their scholarship and in their proclaimed wisdom, they have said that Paul has got a completely different gospel than Jesus. I'm not seeing it. Everything that we see in Paul, we can pick either a story from the life of Jesus and see that that's the way he acted or we can pick a story from the life of Jesus that he used to employ the same points. All of Pauline theology, all of Paul's theology is grounded in Jesus's tradition. Not to mention his Old Testament support.

36:32 So, he's been arguing it logically. I've been trying to argue it logically too pointing out that example from Calvary adding some New Testament support but Paul goes to the Old Testament. In Romans four six, he speaks of David and he says, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. How many times has he said it? Lots.

36:55 And this is what he quotes. It's from Psalm 51. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and those whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. So, is that blessing and I'm asking you just like he was asking them.

37:13 Is that blessing then on the circumcised or is it on the uncircumcised also? Does he say? Look at it. Does he say in there, blessed are blessed are those who are of the nation of Israel whose lawless deeds have been forgiven. Does he say, blessed are those left handed people whose sins have been forgiven?

37:34 No. He doesn't distinguish. He said, blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, whose sins have been covered, whose sin the Lord will not take into account and actually the knot right there, this is a good translation but a probably a slightly better translation, that word and a lot of your Bibles is going say, well, never. Never be taken into account. It has a time stamp on it.

37:56 It's not just that it's not taken into account. It will never come back to haunt you. When God throws him as far as the East is from the West or into the sea of forgetfulness where you'll remember them no more. They'll never come back to you. Sins forgiven, sins covered, and not taken into account.

38:13 Again, the accounting term, the reckoning, or the crediting. He's not crediting something to your account. The debit, he's not debiting your account for what you actually owe. Is this blessing then for the on the circumcised or the uncircumcised also? For we say, faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

38:37 Amen. Now, this is that word I've been talking about. The the credit term for those of you who care. It's an heiress, passive, indicative, third person singular from Logitsamai. The root that we get logic and logical from in English.

38:55 Properly, it is to compute, to take into account, to reckon, to come to a bottom line, or and I like this one the best. To come to a logical conclusion, a settled decision. A settled decision. It is settled in the mind of God. When you believe, it's settled because he's already done all the work.

39:16 So, these are the different ways it's translated in in the NASB. You see, credited is most often because that is the most common way that it is. Sometimes, our English words, the reckon sounds better or regarded but for the most part, credited is a really good translation. So, faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How was it credited?

39:41 Maybe a better question is, when was it credited? Was it while he was circumcised or while he was uncircumcised? When did he believe God? He believed God in Genesis 12. He believed him and the sign was not till Genesis 15.

39:57 Three chapters later, the sign of circumcision that the Jews put a lot of stock in back in the day. They put a whole lot of stock in it because it was the right by which you entered into the family of God. Whenever somebody has a litmus test like that, you have to do this, you have to do that. No. That's not true.

40:19 It's not good. It's not biblical. Now, Paul would say, while he was circumcised or uncircumcised, definitely while he was uncircumcised, not while circumcised but while he was uncircumcised and he received that sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith which he had while he was still uncircumcised. Are you with me? Y'all looking kinda dry today.

40:41 Yeah, it's kinda like, ugh, come on. We still have to go through this. You say the same thing every week. I'm saying the same thing every week because it's come from the same book. It's the same fountain.

40:49 It's flowing the same way. Do you get it? So far, we're just building the foundation. We've got the absolute foundation of Christianity is that it's you are justified only one way by faith in Jesus Christ. Period.

41:01 That's it. That's the only way. There is no other way. So, circumcision is a seal by which he confirmed that. Which while he was uncircumcised and then he has a so that.

41:13 I love the Henticlaws so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised that the righteousness might be credited also to them. That means us. By exactly the same way that Abraham was saved because he believed God. That is the exact same way that we can be saved because we believe God. Alright.

41:34 We're going into the home stretch. We're only going to verse 13. Y'all can wake up. Here we go. The father of circumcision to those who are not who not only are of the circumcision.

41:44 So, not only for Jews but who also following the steps of the faith that our father Abraham which he had while he was uncircumcised. So, these Gentiles have the same kind of opportunity as Abraham. Now, they have a head start. No doubt about it. They've got the law.

42:02 They've got all of these Old Testament books that tell em how good God is but the same access the same way. For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the law but through the righteousness of faith. The good old gospel message. Now, in Abraham's day, he didn't know anything about Jesus Christ. He did not know but he believed God and God would provide a way.

42:29 Now, Jesus doesn't live at exactly the same time in history that we did earthly wise anyway. He still lives and he's still available. Just like Abraham had to look forward to what God would do, we have to look back to what God did do. So, I showed you this a little while ago. This was the one of the opening slides here to demonstrate his righteousness I pointed out for the demonstration of his righteousness I pointed out and I pointed out so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

43:00 I pointed all those out. I did slough off a couple of points and some of y'all are probably wondering, he doesn't usually skip stuff. So, I skipped a little bit. I wanna go back and pick it up now. So, this all was to demonstrate his righteousness because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed.

43:21 If you're in here today and you're a Christian, this might be an old concept but if you're in here today and you have never put your faith in Christ, the wages of sin, what you deserve for your sin like you working at it. You're just not working at some so your wage that you deserve is death. So, if at your very first instance of sin, God were to kill you, smite you, you were to die. He would be right to condemn you. But in his forbearance, if you're sitting in the room today and you're breathing, in his forbearance, he has chosen not to pass judgement.

43:58 He's chosen not to call for what is owed. In the forbearance of God because he is patient and just, kind, loving, he has chosen to pass over for the time the sins that were previously committed. That's a gracious and loving and merciful act of almighty God. For the demonstration of his righteousness at this present time. Now, there are other places where Paul would argue and he he'd be arguing for a while for the logic of his point and all the Old Testament examples and then he'd say, I implore you.

44:37 I implore you. Be reconciled to God. Come to him by faith in Jesus Christ. He calls for it. Today is the day of salvation.

44:44 Come. Come. Take it. Accept it. Believe God.

44:49 That's what Abraham did. That's what David did. That's what the thief on the cross did. So that he would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. He can be shown to be just either way by condemning someone who doesn't believe in or by mercifully saving someone who does.

45:12 Shelly mentioned something. Shelly Donahue mentioned something this week. We know what we we do what we know until we know better. We do what we know until we know better. Now, you can't say that you hadn't heard the message.

45:23 For crying out loud, I've been preaching it for like nine weeks in a row. Same message. You can't say that you haven't heard it. All you can say is I wouldn't listen. I wouldn't believe.

45:33 So, here we go. One more time. God is just. We all have sinned. We can't boast.

45:39 None of us can boast but God justifies by faith in Jesus. So, I'm just going to ask you flat out. Would you put your faith in Jesus? He's the only way God has made available. It's the best news ever ever.

45:53 So, would you put your faith in him? And would you allow God to actually demonstrate his righteousness? That's what he says he's doing this for. He demonstrates his righteousness by crediting that righteousness to you. When God looks at me as flawed as I am and as sinful as I am and have been.

46:14 When he looks at me, he sees the righteousness of Christ. Praise God. Praise God and he's open to doing that for anyone who would just believe. I think that that's the last slide. Cleanse me.

46:30 Would y'all come on back up, Scott and Judy? And would y'all stand with me? I want you to think about that. The only place that cleansing is available is in Christ. This hymn was taken after the Psalm of David where he was calling out to God to cleanse him and he just believed him.

46:46 He believed him that he was dirty in the first place and he believed that he needed cleansing and he knew the only place where he could get that is from God. Alright. If you wanna come forward to pray at the altar, you're welcome. Renzy will mute my microphone if you come forward to talk to me, okay? Amen.

47:09 Search me your God and know my heart today

47:19 try me your savior know my thoughts I pray see if there be some wicked way cleanse me from every sin and set me

47:49 free

47:52 I praise you lord for cleansing me from sin fulfill thy word make me pure within fill me with fire where once I burn with shame grant my desire to magnify my passion self and

49:18 you. Would you pray with me as a benediction today? God, would you bless us as we leave this place to go out and realize that we have absolutely nothing to boast about of our own. Lord, we believe you and when you say something's good, we believe it's good. When you say something's bad, we believe it's bad.

49:38 Lord, what we see in the world around us, so often, people call good, bad, and bad, good. And that stirs up with us, I think, a holy and righteous anger but would you show us, lord, how to approach people who don't keep the same accounts that you do. I'm I have been overcome in the last week, lord. I've heard things that made me mad. I've heard things that were that were just patently untrue and I had my hackles rise up.

50:09 I got angry and then lord, I heard the response and that made me angry too. God, would you strip away from me anything that is self and pride and would you give me a way like Paul to present things logically and reasonably as well as biblically. God, would you give us a voice? Would you give us your voice and would you give us a love for anyone who would be standing up against you, standing up against your will, standing up against us personally. Would you give us a love for those people just like you love em?

50:46 You love that other thief on the cross too and he denied you. God, would you give us the mercy and grace to pass through to each? In Jesus name, thank you that you offer it. Amen. Amen.

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Abraham Righteousness Boasting In Sin Justified By Faith Salvation By Works Thief On The Cross

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