What shall we say then that Abraham, our father, as pertaineth to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned when he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also, and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only. but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had yet being uncircumcised. For the promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect. Because the law worketh wrath, for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations. Before him who he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, calleth those things which be not as though they were, who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken. So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about 100 years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also To whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Thus far the reading of the holy and divine scripture, we consider as our text tonight, verses three through five. For what saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle is explaining the gospel of justification by faith alone. that gospel of justification by faith alone is the law of faith that he refers to in the context he says that boasting is excluded in the kingdom of heaven boasting is excluded in the matter of our salvation and specifically in the matter of our righteousness boasting is excluded by that law of faith. The law of faith is the principle or the truth that God justifies the ungodly, that those ungodly are justified freely by God's grace through the righteousness that God revealed in Jesus Christ they were justified from eternity and that righteousness God manifested in Jesus Christ and that righteousness comes to them now in the gospel and they are justified freely by God's grace through that on the ground of that righteousness and that excludes all boasting that doesn't leave man anything man in that justification is an ungodly sinner and God comes to that ungodly sinner and God says to that ungodly sinner you are righteous you're righteous through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus you are righteous before my face and you are an heir of eternal life all boasting is excluded in that man is nothing in that except an ungodly sinner And understand then too, that's true, whether one is a Jew or Gentile. That's true regardless of man's earthly qualities, position, state, or status. Doesn't matter what his race is. It doesn't matter what his socioeconomic standing is. It doesn't matter what natural gifts he has. It doesn't matter if he's bond or free, whether he's rich or poor, whether he's Jew or Gentile, God justifies the ungodly freely by his grace. And that's because there's only one God. There's a little phrase at the end of chapter three that you can't miss. the Apostle says there's only one God and therefore there is only one way of salvation the opposite of that is that if you deny the free gracious justification of the sinner if you deny that God justifies the ungodly you no longer have the one true God you're really an atheist you're an atheist and you're really an idolater you don't have the one true God but you make man a God man is the author of his own salvation by whatever deed or activity that you posit whereby a man becomes righteous before God now you don't have God you have man as God fundamentally you're an atheist but there is only one God and there is only one way of salvation now the Apostle asked the question then as it were this being true do I by my doctrine of faith do I make void the law When I teach that God justifies the ungodly freely by His grace, the apostle calls that faith. He really summarizes his whole doctrine with one word, it's the doctrine of faith. And that whole doctrine is really this, man does nothing for his salvation. Man does nothing for his righteousness. The righteousness of faith is a righteousness that is absolutely without the law. And he says when I teach that, When I teach that man's righteousness has nothing to do with the law, doesn't matter how much he obeys the law, doesn't matter how much he disobeys the law, his righteousness has nothing to do with the law, do I make void the law? You have to understand, too, when he uses the word law in that question, he doesn't mean the Ten Commandments. He means the whole Old Testament. the Apostle is saying really when I teach faith have I brought a new doctrine in a doctrine that upends and overthrows the entire Old Testament really he's asking there too did the Old Testament teach a different doctrine of justification than I do and he answers with the strongest possible negative God forbid rather I established the law in the Old Testament even though God imposed a law upon the Old Testament That Old Testament was always looking, and that Old Testament taught the Apostle's Doctrine. So that the whole scripture from beginning to end, and at every point in between, that whole scripture teaches nothing else but the law of faith. And to establish that fact, that he brings no new doctrine. The apostle brings up Abraham. What should we say about Abraham? And he means there, what do we say about Abraham's righteousness? How was Abraham righteous before God? What did Abraham find as pertains to Abraham's flesh? And he means there Abraham as Abraham is in himself. What do we say about Abraham? Did Abraham have a righteousness that was by works? That's a possibility. Abraham had a righteousness by works. And the apostle says if that's true, then boasting is not excluded then Abraham has something to boast in but he says not before God and he means there if Abraham's righteousness was by his work he has a boast but he never boasts in God that's true but the denial of justification by faith alone does it it removes God it removes God it might pay lip service to God but it removes God it is not boasting God it boasts in man but what did the scripture say about Abraham scripture says and Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness scripture says that Abraham's faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. And that's the theme of these verses. Faith reckoned for righteousness. And we consider, first of all, what is reckoned. We consider, secondly, how it is reckoned. And we consider, finally, why it is reckoned. Abraham is the great Old Testament example of justification by faith alone. And the Apostle brings up Abraham because his doctrine is no new doctrine. His doctrine was the doctrine that Moses taught and therefore the same spirit who inspired the Apostle Paul and who inspired modus, the same spirit, the spirit had one doctrine of justification. It's a very important point. The apostle does not teach a new doctrine. There are many who say the apostle Paul imposes upon the scripture an entirely new doctrine of justification. The apostle, as it were, was such a large and influential figure in the Old Testament that that apostle really turned the trajectory that the Old Testament was heading in and the apostle turned that trajectory and he taught a whole new doctrine of justification. They were saying that already in the apostles day and they say that yet today but the apostle says I do not bring any new doctrine. My doctrine, my doctrine is the doctrine that Jesus Christ taught in his ministry. My doctrine is the doctrine that Moses taught. My doctrine is the doctrine that was believed by saints, both of the Old and New Testament. It's true that by the Apostle's day, the doctrine of Moses had been buried Beneath the laws of the scribes and Pharisees, the devil hates the doctrine of justification by faith alone. And the devil always has his eye on that doctrine. And the devil always tries to bury that doctrine. He did that in the time of Christ. So that Christ simply summarized the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees that they heap burdens upon the shoulders of the people that they themselves will not lift with one finger. Law upon law and precept upon precept. The way of salvation wasn't the way of faith, but the way of working. Same thing happened in the time of the Reformation. Rome buried the doctrine of justification by faith alone. that happened in the Protestant Reformed Churches too, shockingly. That fundamental truth, the proclamation of which is the power of God to salvation, that was buried in the Protestant Reformed Churches. So that the ministers preach the most shocking things. You and your obedience are the way to God. You and your obedience are the way to peace with God. You and your repentance are the way to the forgiveness of sins. And they buried the doctrine of free, gracious justification. But the Apostles' doctrine is the doctrine both of the Old and New Testament. And he establishes it. on the basis of Genesis chapter 15 verse 6, and Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness in the incident that the apostle lays before us to establish his doctrine is when God came to Abraham and God said to Abraham, Abraham, I am your shield and your exceeding great reward. Abraham, I'm going to give to you a son and you will be the father of many nations. But that was impossible. That promise of God was impossible. That promise of God to Abraham that he would be saved in his seed. and that Abraham would be the heir of many nations and that Abraham would have that seed that was an impossible thing that was an impossible thing first of all because Abraham himself was dead secondly that was an impossible thing because the woman with whom Abraham was to have that heir she was dead in her womb thirdly that promise of God that Abraham would be the father of many nations. That was impossible because Abraham was unrighteous. He was ungodly. He didn't have a righteousness. God had promised Abraham or that he would bless Abraham, that he was the God of Abraham, that he was at peace with Abraham, or that he would save Abraham and his children and bring them to heaven. That was God's promise. But Abraham was unrighteous. God doesn't bless the unrighteous. Abraham believed God. He didn't believe the thing that God promised. He believed God. He believed in God who had made that promise. And that faith of Abraham, that faith of Abraham was that power in Abraham's heart, in his soul, whereby he rested in the power and in the faithfulness and in the grace of the living God. So that Abraham gave glory to God and Abraham said what God promised, God will fulfill. Abraham didn't consider the impossibility of it. That would be unbelief. If Abraham said, oh Lord, I'm dead, and oh Lord, my wife's womb is dead too, and oh Lord, I am unrighteous, how can you bless me? Abraham, that was unbelief on Abraham's part if he did that. He believed God. And that faith of Abraham was a resting in God's Word. He held that Word for true. He didn't say God lies. He said God is true. And he believed that God would bless him because God justifies ungodly people. He believed that. He said before the face of God, and in the face of God's word of blessing to him, he said God justifies the ungodly. That's why God's going to do what he said he's going to do. And that faith, that resting in God, that trust in God, that confidence in God, that was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness and that faith of Abraham is the same for the Christian God says to you that he will bring you to heavenly glory God says to you I am your shield and exceeding great reward God says to you when you come to me I will not destroy you but I will bless you God says when you stand before me then I'm favorable toward you and I seek your good and that's impossible everything in your life and experience testifies against that that God is good to you? that God blesses you? why are you dying? the righteous don't die what explains all the trouble that the child of God has in the world? all this suffering, all this persecution all this heartache God is blessing you? and the very testimony of your conscience stands against that that God is blessing you because the testimony of your conscience is that you have broken all the commandments of God and you have kept none of them the testimony of your conscience is that you are ungodly and added to that testimony is the testimony of the world and the testimony of your flesh that you hate God and faith believes the impossible. Faith believes that God justifies that ungodly person. That's what faith is in you. Faith in you is a resting and a confidence in the promise of God that he justifies the ungodly. it's arresting in a confidence that that ungodly person is righteous before God that everlasting righteousness in eternal life is his for Jesus Christ's sake when God says that I justify the ungodly and when you believe that that faith in you is reckoned to you righteousness that's the source of the whole Christian life you don't come to God you'll never come to God if you do not believe that God justifies the ungodly you will never come to God if you do not believe that God stands at peace with you that there's no war between you and God you will never come to God if you do not believe that God justifies the ungodly because that's all you ever are you're ungodly you're ungodly in your nature you're ungodly with regard to all your deeds and your thoughts and purposes and faith believes God justifies the ungodly we never come to God and say I believed we never come to God and say I obeyed we never come to God and say I repented faith is coming to God saying God justifies the ungodly and that faith is reckoned to you for righteousness it's counted as your righteousness and the question immediately becomes how can that which is not righteousness be reckoned for righteousness how can that which is a doing nothing But that's what faith is. Instead of doing nothing, how can that be counted by God as righteousness? You know what righteousness is, right? Righteousness is God's verdict over a human being, or an angel, God's verdict that that human being when compared to the perfect standard of the law of God, that that human being has no fault in Him. That's righteous. That's always what righteousness is. In righteousness, God always has a standard. And that standard God has revealed in the Ten Commandments, that standard Jesus Christ summarized as love for the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength. And that out of that love for God, you love your neighbor as yourself. That's righteousness. And when God takes you into His judgment, and God compares you to that standard, then your righteousness is God's verdict over you that He finds no fault in you. You can summarize righteousness this way. Righteousness very simply is perfection. It's internal. a perfection an internal perfection of nature first of all so that all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength are are perfect with God full of love for God and full of love for the neighbor and that out of that nature you actually do love the Lord your God with all your strength and you love your neighbor as you love yourself and God compares you to that And God says, I find no fault in that man. That's righteousness. But faith is not righteousness. The doctrine of justification by faith alone is not this, that that faith stands in the place perfect righteousness that that faith really is a substitute for the perfect obedience to the law the doctrine of faith is not this that God says all those poor human beings are those poor human beings the children of Adam they can't obey the law of God perfectly I know they can't and I'm gracious toward them and in my grace toward them i'm going to suspend the the requirement of perfect obedience for righteousness in its place i'm going to substitute the act of faith all man has to do now is believe and that man can be righteous just believe believe believe he could be righteous and to I will substitute faith's imperfect obedience for perfect obedience that was the Arminian doctrine you can read about that in the canons of Dort had to rejection of errors for the Arminians taught a new and wicked doctrine of justification and the Arminians said you see God knows that these poor people can't obey him perfectly and so graciously he's going to allow a substitution and all that is that man all man has to do is is believe and all man has to do is to live thankfully strive to be the best person he can and I will receive that as righteousness that's not how faith is reckoned for righteousness that would make God unjust that's not gracious on God's part either grace isn't that God substitutes imperfection for perfection God must be just when God justifies the ungodly that faith isn't an act of man that man performs in order to be righteous with God that's not faith a two faith is not reckoned for righteousness according to the Roman Catholic doctrine the Roman Catholic says oh yes oh yes man is justified by faith he's saved by Jesus Christ alone he's justified by faith and what the Roman Catholic means by that is Man's faith produces love. And that faith that produces love, that faith with its love, is what justifies. And faith without that love does not do anything. That's really, by the Arminian Doctrines, Processing of Form 2. their ministers write faith is man's act not God's you believe that blasphemy? they actually write that it's not God's it's Arminian faith is what man does to be righteous but they also blend with that the Roman Catholic doctrine faith does not by itself justify faith must have its love for God in order to justify and they teach that when they teach that without repentance you are not forgiven that's simply to teach the Roman Catholic doctrine that faith with its love justifies and that's the temptation of every human soul they don't want to believe faith alone justifies they don't believe God justifies the ungodly they always want to be something they'll say oh God justifies by faith they might even say oh God justifies by faith alone they might say that but what they mean by that is that believer is a good person When that believer goes to God, that believer doesn't say, oh, I believe in God who justifies the ungodly. They say, oh, Lord, I believe in thy son, Jesus Christ, and I was nice to my husband today. Oh, Lord, I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I didn't cheat my customer. They always drag with them something into the presence of God. That isn't faith. And that's not how faith is reckoned for righteousness. Faith doesn't need anything. Faith is the resting. In the perfect work of Jesus Christ, faith is saying, I believe that God justifies that ungodly. Faith is not a substitute for your perfect obedience. You don't say, Lord, I know that I failed to obey that law, but I did believe in Jesus Christ. That's not how faith is reckoned for righteousness. How is faith reckoned for righteousness? And you must say, by grace. And when the text says grace, the text is saying something about faith, first of all. Faith is reckoned for righteousness by grace. And that means that that faith that is reckoned for righteousness, that faith is the absolute opposite of working. Faith isn't a working. Faith isn't a doing. Faith is a doing nothing. that's the apostles contrast to him that worketh and he means by that the one who comes to God to be right with God and to be blessed by God and to receive the promise of God the one who comes to God working the reward which is eternal life or the reward which is righteousness to the one who works any work a sigh and I'm sorry any work to the one who works the reward is not given of grace but of debt that means that with your work you cast all grace out There never is grace in works. Those don't mingle. Those are two antithetical principles. I don't care how you describe that work. It doesn't matter to me. Prophecy-informed churches think they get away with it because they say, well, the activity is repenting and the activity is believing. God doesn't justify repentant people. You better believe that. God doesn't justify believers, you better believe that God justifies ungodly people who are nothing and who have nothing who have broken all his commandments and kept none of them and who are still inclined to all evil God justifies the ungodly and faith receives that and this is the picture in the judgment the sinner comes as ungodly didn't have anything in God's book you might say is the whole record of his sins and that ungodly person hears the proclamation God justifies the ungodly and he believes he rests in that, he says eternal righteousness is mine for Christ's sake alone and God counts that as righteousness he wipes away all his debt and he sees him in his book as having broke none of God's commandments but kept all of them he stands perfect and perfectly righteous in God's sake as an ungodly person he never becomes the believer he never comes the repentant person he never becomes the obedient person he stays ungodly all his life long and that ungodly person God justifies that's the whole point of preaching the gospel the gospel comes to the ungodly that's how I come to you with the gospel that's how the gospel comes to me does it come to us to good people? good church going people? good honest people? good hard-working people? then you don't need the gospel if you're repentant you don't need the gospel if you're a believer you don't need the gospel Gospel comes to the ungodly and That gospel that very proclamation that God justifies the ungodly works the faith And that ungodly person who knows he is ungodly And who knows God's perfect right to condemn him That ungodly person believes and God comes to that ungodly person who believes and he says I justify you and yet how? how is that possible? faith simply isn't righteousness and the explanation is what faith is at its deepest, most basic sense. When you're talking about justification by faith alone, you may never forget this. Justification by faith alone. That means that God counts your faith as your righteousness. And that's because That faith is your union with Christ. That faith is the adhesive power that keeps you in connection with Jesus Christ. That faith is the living bond between you and Jesus Christ so that by that faith you are a member of the corporation called Jesus Christ. By faith you are a member of the body called Jesus Christ. And that body is justified Outside of that body there is only unrighteousness. Inside that body, the ungodly person being joined to Christ, the ungodly person being a member of Jesus Christ, that ungodly person in Christ is covered. The righteousness of Christ is upon him. comes down to him from heaven. And it covers him with its saving umbrella. And that righteousness of Christ is not only upon him, but it's unto him. So that righteousness of Christ is imputed to him as his very own. As though he had never committed any sin. As though he never had any sin. That ungodly person believes Because of that very fact, he is part of Christ, the corporation. And he believes that against all testimonies to the contrary. You can't look at yourself and go to the Lord and simply say to the Lord, Lord, I know that I sinned over here, but I did do some things over here. Then you're not ungodly. You can't say either, Lord, I'm ungodly and there's no way you can forgive me. Because that's precisely who God justifies. And He justifies an ungodly person, not by the ungodly person. doing something, some activity, some condition, some striving, some trying. He justifies an ungodly person freely by His grace, counting faith for righteousness, because by that faith He is joined with the righteous Christ. Believe that. Oh, that the Lord would give us faith to believe that. every day all our life long that we simply become before the Lord the ungodly and that we believe as the ungodly that that is who God justifies for Christ's sake amen let us pray a father in heaven what a glorious unbelievable gospel we stagger at it our mind staggers at it for the whole world is a world of doing a world of merit and in our salvation we come with those who have only demerits as the ungodly and we hear that blessed gospel that thou art to God who justifies such ungodly people and Lord give us strong faith that we might believe that word and that we might live out of that word for we are so slow to believe oh Lord help our unbelief and to comfort us in that gospel and give us thankfulness in that gospel, that we might serve Thee, the gracious God of our salvation. We ask this all for Jesus' sake. Amen.