This is lecture number 7 in our course on Romans. Lecture number 7. And we're in Romans chapter 3. Now if you recall our outline, we're still on the section that talks about all mankind being condemned. Paul started out in Romans 1 verses 18 to the end of the chapter. And he told us that the pagan idolatrous man is condemned. Then in Romans chapter 2 verses 1 to 16 I believe he told us that the moral man is condemned. And in the second half of Romans chapter 2 he told us that the Jewish man is condemned. Now Paul is going to sum it up in Romans chapter 3 and tell us that all mankind is condemned. So the pagan man is condemned, the moral man is condemned, and the Jew is condemned. Now, several questions arise. Is God cruel to condemn man? Does God just enjoy condemning man? Is God unfaithful to man? And then the question comes up, and this is the first one that Paul is really going to deal with. What advantage has the Jew? I mean, the Jew was supposed to be God's chosen of God's chosen nation, yet Paul says that the Jew is condemned just as the Gentile is condemned. So what advantage, if any, has the Jew? Paul starts out Romans 3, verses 1 to 8, answering that question, what advantage has the Jew? And he starts out by saying, in the first eight verses here, he says that God is faithful, though the Jews have been unfaithful. God has been faithful to them. The advantage of being a circumcised Jew is found in verses 1 and 2 of Romans chapter 3. That passage reads, Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. So the advantage of being a circumcised Jew is that the Jewish man and woman are trusted with the oracles, or the words of God. In other words, the Old Testament. Now, Paul, often in his writings will, like many preachers and sermons, will start a particular topic, and then he'll break off, and a few chapters later, He'll go back to that topic. So Paul later finishes this point. Now here he said that the advantage of being a circumcised Jew is that they're trusted with the Word of God, the Old Testament. In Romans chapter 9, he picks up the same exact point. Romans chapter 9 verses 4 and 5. And he says, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. And so Paul finishes this point, not only was it advantageous to be a Jew because they were trusted with the word of God, but they were also adopted as God's sons. Now it doesn't mean they were all saved, but they were physically adopted as God's chosen nation. so they were adopted as sons and if they trusted in the Messiah for salvation then they were also adopted as spiritual sons they shared the glory of God which was found in the temple it was found in the Shekinah glory cloud which followed them and actually led them throughout the wilderness and the pillar of fire at night also it was advantageous that they had the covenants Abrahamic covenant, the promised land. The Davidic covenant, the promise that the Messiah would be a descendant of David and would sit on the throne forever. The Mosaic covenant, the Old Testament law. And then that's mentioned also the law, the Mosaic law, the temple service, the animal sacrifices which pointed forward to the day when the perfect Lamb of God would come and take away the sins of the world. The promises that were made to the Hebrew fathers, and the fathers are mentioned, Father Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and down the line and finally the Messiah, the Jewish Messiah. So there's many advantages of being a Jew. However, what the Jews failed to realize was that increased advantage equals increased responsibility. It didn't mean that because God had given them his word and called them his chosen people that they were automatically saved. it meant that they were going to be more responsible than the heathen who had not received that kind of light. And so increased advantage means increased responsibility. Now, Paul tries to answer the question in verses 3 to 8, does unbelief nullify God's faithfulness? In verses 3 to 8, Paul answers this by saying, no, God is faithful. Take a look at verses 3 and 4. What then, if some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be. Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy words, and mightest prevail when thou art judged. And so does unbelief nullify God's faithfulness? Paul says no, because God is faithful. He is true to his word, despite the fact that man is not true to his word. God kept the covenant with the Israelites, though the Israelites often broke the covenant with their God. God's judgment is therefore righteous. Now Paul quotes Psalm 51 verse 4 in verse 4. And the only reason why I'm bringing that up is because I just want to mention, we don't need to go back to the Old Testament passages that Paul quotes, since he quotes them word for word, but I just want us to be aware of the fact that he is quoting Old Testament passages as he continues to teach his gospel, the gospel according to Paul, his systematic presentation of the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, and the key point we're going to stress there a little later on is that Paul is making it very clear that the gospel that he preaches is the same good news, the same salvation found in the Old Testament. He's not He's not proclaiming some new cult or some new teaching. Yes, when Jesus Christ came, it became more clear how God would save mankind, but it is the same gospel message in the Old Testament as is in the New. Our unrighteousness displays God's righteousness, verses 5 to 7. Look at verses 5 to 7 of Romans chapter 3. But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? I am speaking in human terms. May it never be, for otherwise how will God judge the world? But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to his glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say, as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, let us do evil that good may come. Their condemnation is just. And so here Paul states that our own unrighteousness displays God's righteousness. It's as if a filthy car is parked next to a clean car. really helps to emphasize how clean the clean car looks. The clean car, in fact, will look even cleaner than it is, but that still does not make the filthy car clean. Verse 8, Paul talked about others who had slanderously reported that Paul was going around teaching that we should do evil that good may come. By the way, those who teach the security of the believer that you cannot lose your salvation The accusations that are hurled at us, because I do teach that myself, look through Romans and look at all the accusations made against Paul and you're going to find the same accusations made against all those who teach the security of the believer. Somebody will say, well if you're saying once saved, always saved then what you're saying is I can just go on and continue to sin and I wouldn't have to worry about it and this and that and that type of thing. Well those are the exact same accusations made against Paul and of course they were unwarranted but that's further evidence that Paul did teach the security of the believer that God causes the believer to persevere in the faith. Did I... Did I word that wrong there? Let us do good that evil may come. It's actually let us do evil that good may come. I reversed them there. So that's let us do evil that good may come is the accusation. Our plural response to that basically is basically saying obviously that the end does not justify the means. We are accountable to God for our sins just because our sinfulness magnifies the goodness of God, the righteousness of God, does not mean that God is just going to pass over our judgment. God is just in condemning man. And this accusation made against Paul, Paul was accused of teaching licentiousness. He was accused of teaching a license to sin. and because he magnified the grace of God. Now, here in Romans 3.8, the accusation against him is, let us do evil that good may come. So that was a remark made against Paul. Obviously, it's a straw man argument. Paul was not teaching that we should continue to sin. But take a look at Romans 5.20. Paul teaches this, and the law came in that the transgression might increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. So Paul taught that where sin increases, God's grace also increases to cover that. So somebody might say, well then we should just continue to sin so that grace might increase. Well that's the exact accusation hurled at Paul, look at Romans 6 verses 1 and 2. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be. How shall we who died to sin still live in it? And then verse 15 of chapter 6. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be. You see, these accusations were continually directed at Paul because of his teaching his teachings which magnified the grace of God and taught that we're saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone and we're not saved by works. And so, and he taught that once a person is saved, God keeps them saved. And because of that many people were accusing him of teaching that therefore you can accept Christ and become a serial murderer or get involved in sexual immorality, do whatever you feel like doing and God's going to keep you saved. Paul teaches the exact opposite of that. He teaches that once God saves you, if you are truly saved, He works through you and He begins to change you from within. Now Paul gets to the heart of the matter as he closes the section, the second section after the introduction, the section that teaches that all are lost or condemned. And he says that all mankind is condemned in verses 9 to 20 of Romans chapter 3. Verse 9. What then? Are we better than they? We meaning the Jews. Are the Jews better than the Gentiles? Not at all, for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. So are Jews better than non-Jews? No, Paul says, he responds by saying, no, all are under sin. God makes no distinction, he places no favorites. All mankind has fallen, both Jew and Gentile. The Jews have been promised the promised land, which the Gentiles have not been promised. But the Jews were not promised a salvation that is not also promised to the Gentiles. Anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation, Jew or Gentile, can be spiritually saved. And so Paul says, know both Jew and Gentile are under sin. God makes no distinction. We all deserve the flames of hell. Now, in verses 10 and down through Verse 18, Paul talks about the depravity of man, that mankind is fallen. He starts out in verse 10 by saying that no one is righteous. As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one. Now he's quoting here from the Old Testament, which again amplifies the point, it needs to be stressed over and over again, that Paul is not writing something new. This is the same salvation that is taught in the Old Testament that he teaches in the New Testament. The gospel salvation message through Jesus Christ is the same message taught in the Old Testament, though it is more clear in the New Testament. So, no one is righteous. Look at verse 11. Now, he's describing the fallenness of man. There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God. So, he's saying our minds and our desires are corrupt. sin in our minds and we have sinful desires and then we eventually act upon them and have sinful deeds but sin is more than just outward and we see that in the Sermon on the Mouth Matthew chapter 5 especially where Jesus talks about committing adultery in your heart by lusting after a woman so our minds and the desires are corrupt so man is rotten from the inside and because of that he does rotten things on the outside verse 12 all have turned aside together they have become useless there is none who does good there is not even one that does not sound real uplifting to our self esteem I think Paul is really zeroing in here that we are corrupt, we are depraved, we cannot save ourselves. He says that all have turned aside from God's way, all of us are useless to God. Not even one man does good and our deeds are corrupt. And so it's amply clear that Paul is not painting a lovely picture here. Verses 13 and 14, Paul says that our speech is corrupt. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Now, in James, James talks about the tongue and he says that the man who is able to tame his tongue is able to tame the whole person. And so often we think we're doing real good and we're serving the Lord and then we continually insert our feet into our mouth. And it's very, very tough to tame the speech. And so Paul here is saying that mankind is depraved in his mind, his desires. He's useless to God. No one does good. His deeds are corrupt. His speech is corrupt. And Paul says that all are violent. Verses 15 to 17. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths. And the path of peace have they not known. And so all are violent. When you read in the Sermon on the Mount, The Lord Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew chapter 5 that the command, Thou shalt not kill, is broken if you just harbor evil thoughts against your brother. If you just, if you're thinking inside, being tempted to do harm to someone even if you don't act upon it but you continue to entertain those thoughts you've already broken that command now it's not that doesn't give you a green light to then go ahead and do it physically but what Jesus is pointing out is that you can be a violent person inwardly and not even act upon it and Paul seems to be indicating this as well because obviously not all men are Adolf Hitler's on the outside but the fact of the matter is the sad thing is that to one extent or another we all have a little bit of Adolf Hitler in us and we deserve the same flames of hell that he deserves and the only way out is by trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation Verse 18, Paul says, there is no fear of God before their eyes. And so we, the human race, that is, we have no respect for God, reverential respect. Basically, this is why man is sinful. When you look at Proverbs chapter 1, Proverbs 1 verse 7, It lets you know how you begin to move towards God. Now this is what God is drawing us because none of us, as Paul said, none of us on our own seek after God. So God has to draw us. But in Proverbs 1 verse 7 it says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. And so Just to get started, just to get your first taste of spiritual knowledge, even spiritual wisdom, later on a passage in Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You must have that fear of the Lord. Now, the fear of the Lord, the emphasis there is on a reverential awe or respect for God and many The Bible expositors today try to take out every element of fear out of the Word as it's used in the Old Testament. And I disagree. I think the emphasis, it isn't just totally fear of God's judgment, but I think that is a good portion of that reverential respect. If somebody's afraid of the flames of hell and because of that they turn to Jesus for salvation, that's about as good a motive as any to turn to Christ. Now once you do get saved, you learn to love Jesus and you learn to desire the things that He desires for you. But fearing the Lord and fearing His judgment is the beginning. It starts a man on his pilgrimage with the Lord. But we have no respect for God, and this is why man is sinful. Now, Romans 1, verses 18-24, we've already looked at this passage, but I just want to point out, I don't want to read the entire passage to you, but the fact that God states here, Romans 1, 18-24, God revealed Himself to man in nature, but man suppresses this truth, even though God has made his own existence and his power clear to man, he's made it evident to man. And so man is without excuse, but because man turned his back on God, then in verse 24 it says, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity. And in verse 26 it says, for this reason God gave them over to degrading passions. And see the point is, you don't have Paul doesn't say man became immoral and then he turned his back on God. It's the other way around. Man turns his back on God first and then becomes immoral. And that's real clear. Idolatry comes before immorality is what it amounts to. If a man would have that proper and healthy fear of the Lord, he would not turn his back on God but because mankind as a whole until God draws us and then some choose to you know it's like God's got a rope tied to each man on earth and he's reeling us in but he's given us the free will to play tug-of-war with him for the rest of our lives or even take out a machete and sever the rope he draws us and but the fact is Mankind in his basic fallen nature has no respect for God, has no fear of the Lord and because of that indulges in the impurities of immorality. Verse 19 of Romans 3 Paul says, now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. So every mouth is closed. There is no excuse. Paul already mentioned in Romans 2 that even if A man is a Gentile and he did not have God's laws written on tablets of stone, did not have the Mosaic law. He still had God's laws written on his heart and within his conscience. But the fact of the matter is that all mankind, though they know God's laws, all mankind is classified under the category as a lawbreaker. And all mankind is accountable to God. There's no excuse. Every mouth is closed. There's no way anybody's going to be able to come up with an excuse or a reason why they were disobedient to God or whatever. The fact of the matter is there is no excuse. We all deserve the flames of hell. Now, this human depravity, this fallenness of man, This sinfulness, and Paul will talk about this in Romans 5. He'll talk about how we inherit a sin nature from Adam. But this human depravity was taught in the Old Testament. Now in this passage that we just looked at, verses 9 to 20, Paul quotes from Psalm 14, verses 1 to 3. He quotes from Psalm 53, verses 1 to 3. Psalm 5, verse 9. Psalm 140, verse 3. Psalm 10, verse 7. Isaiah 59, verse 7. Psalm 36, verse 1. And so throughout, he's quoting passage after passage from the Old Testament. And so what Paul is emphasizing here is that, you know, Paul could have just said, hey look, Man is totally messed up. He's depraved. He's turned his back on God. He doesn't even seek after God. His mind, his thoughts are not on God. His desires are sinful. He's useless to God. None of them do any good. He could have just said these things in his own words and just given one little paragraph, but instead he chose to quote scripture, and he's amplifying the point that he starts this whole book with. In Romans 1, verses 1-2, that reads, Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, Paul was an apostle set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. So he's talking about the gospel of God, but then Paul says that God promised it beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, in other words, in the Old Testament. And so Paul is amplifying the fact that the gospel that he proclaims is not something new, it is found in the Old Testament, though it is made even more clear in the New Testament, but it is still the same salvation message in the New Testament is taught as well in the Old Testament. There's even a preacher that's on television, a televangelist, that is so off the wall that he's teaching that in the Old Testament, well he basically teaches that the Jews today, you don't need to witness the Jews because they can save themselves by the works of the law, but it's only the Gentiles that need to accept Jesus as Savior. Obviously that goes against the biblical portrayal of Christ who was constantly debating the Jewish Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders because they thought they could save themselves by their works. In fact even the early dispensationalists, even Schofield taught that in different dispensations there was a different way to be saved. and taught that in the Old Testament the Jews could be saved by obeying the Mosaic law but the Scofield reference Bible has been updated and the mistakes that he made have been corrected. I praise God for that. Paul talks about the purpose of the law in verse 20. Now he summed up that all mankind is condemned, no one is righteousness, man is fallen Jew and Gentile alike are condemned by God because of their sinfulness. And now in verse 20, the question would come up, well then what's the purpose of the law? God gives man a law that nobody can keep. What is the purpose of the law? So verse 20, Paul gives the purpose of the law. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. And so the purpose of the law, number one, it does not save. We cannot be justified by the works of the law. Look at this passage in Romans 3, just go a few verses further, verse 23, it says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You see, we can't save ourselves through the law because we're all sinners and we all fall short of God's holy standards. A little bit further in Romans 3, verse 28, Paul says, For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. So he's making it real clear, the law does not save, we cannot save ourselves by the works of the law. Now in Ephesians 2.8.9, this is one of the key passages in Paul's writings on salvation. In Ephesians 2.8.9 Paul says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast. So Paul is saying we are saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It's a free gift of God, we didn't earn it through our works, therefore we have no reason to boast. Galatians chapter 2 verse 21 I once worked with a gentleman in a police department and I asked him if he thought he was if he died that night if he would go to heaven and he thought for a minute he said yeah yeah I think so and I said well why and he said well because I'm a hard-working guy take care of my wife take care of my family and I'm better than my next-door neighbor that guy Cheats on his wife, and he does this, and he's lazy, and this and that. You know, I'm better than the next guy, so I'm going to heaven. And I said, well, that sounds pretty good and all, and you have a right to hold that view, but you got to recognize you're calling Jesus a fool. I quoted to him Galatians 2.21, where Paul says, I do not nullify the grace of God. Grace is, the word is charis, we get our word charity from it. And it's God's unmerited favor, something that we could not earn. I do not nullify the grace of God, says Paul, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly. So if we could save ourselves through the works of the law, then Jesus Christ wasted his time. He was a fool who wasted his time on the cross. He did not need to die for our sins. We could have saved ourselves. But of course the teachings of the scriptures is that the purpose of the law was not to save man because the law does not save. We cannot be justified by the works of the law. All mankind are sinners. We are all sinners. So what is the purpose of the law? If it does not save, what does it do? Well what it does is it makes man conscious of his own sinfulness. The law does not say, but it makes man conscious of his own sinfulness. You see, the law reveals to us the holy standards of God. Thou shalt this, thou shalt this, thou shalt not that. It reveals to us God's holy standards. Now, many Pharisees kept the law outwardly. Paul even states that he kept the law outwardly while he was a non-believer. But he failed to realize that God's laws were not meant to be kept outwardly, but were meant to be kept inwardly from the heart, which also would entail outward obedience as well. But the only way that our hearts can be set on God's will and desire the things of God is if we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. So a person must accept Christ first, And then the Holy Spirit would indwell him, renew the person's mind, begin to work through them. But the purpose of the law is not to save man, but to make man conscious of his sinfulness, because the law reveals the holy standards of God. And because man cannot keep the holy standards of God, the law also reveals the sinfulness of man. You see, if we're honest, if the Jewish man is honest when he's trying to keep the law, the Old Testament law, and if the Gentile is honest, if he's trying to keep the law written on his heart and in his conscience, he would have to admit that he falls short on a regular basis, if not outwardly, at least inwardly. And if he's honest, he's got to admit, okay, these are God's holy standards and I stand condemned before God because I cannot keep God's holy standards. So it reveals God's holiness and it reveals man's sinfulness. In other words, it reveals a gap. It reveals a canyon between man and God. And so the law, what it actually does, is the law leads man to Christ. It shows man that he needs a Savior. Look at Galatians chapter 3, Paul's letter to the Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24, Paul says, Therefore the law has become our tutor, or our substitute teacher, to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. So the law reveals God's holy standards to us, and then because we can't keep those holy standards, the law reveals our sinfulness, the sinfulness of man, so therefore the law shows us that we need a Savior. And so the law leads man to Christ. It shows man his inability to save himself, and it causes man to look to God for the way of salvation. Look at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19. Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verses 25 and 26. And that reads, And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, Then who can be saved? And looking upon them, Jesus said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So Jesus said that a man cannot save himself. It's impossible for man to save himself. But with God, all things are possible. Therefore, man should look to God for the way of salvation. Now in John 14.6, Jesus confirmed God's way of salvation when he said, I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father but through me. And so, the law, the purpose of the law It's not to save man, because we cannot be justified by the works of the law. All are sinners, we fall short. But the purpose of the law is to make man conscious of his sinfulness. The law reveals the holy standards of God, and because man cannot keep these holy standards, the law then reveals the sinfulness of man, hence leading a man to Christ, showing the man his inability to save himself, and causing a man to look to God for the way of salvation. So it's very clear in Romans chapter 3 and verse 20 where Paul says that because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. So in conclusion on this passage here starting with Romans 1 verse 18 straight through Romans 3 and verse 20 All mankind stands condemned before God. The pagan idolatrous man is condemned. The moral man who tries to save himself through works is condemned. The Jews who tried to save themselves by obeying the Mosaic law stand condemned. All cannot be saved by the law. No man, I should have worded it this way, no man can be saved by the law. All need God's salvation. Now next, Paul will explain God's salvation. You see, he has already explained the bad news, i.e. that man has fallen. Next, he will explain the good news, salvation in Jesus. It's real clear, you know, the good news, you haven't shared the gospel if you haven't told people the good news of salvation in Jesus. Sometimes you get somebody who will talk to an alcoholic and the Christian will just slam the guy for his drinking and never tell him about Jesus. Well, you really didn't share the good news if you didn't tell the guy about Jesus. Jesus is the good news. At the same time, Paul says that before he shares the good news, he has to remind people of the bad news that we are sinners and that we cannot save ourselves. Too often we tell people that Jesus loves them and we give them the impression that they've got an option to either accept or reject his love and it doesn't matter, they're going to heaven anyway because Jesus has this mushy love for them. But the fact of the matter is, we need to tell people that Jesus loves them, but if we reject his love until death, we'll burn in hell forever. Because the bad news is, man has fallen, we cannot save ourselves, and we deserve the flames of hell. But the good news is that God provides salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now at this point, We're going to be moving to part 3 in our outline of the book of Romans, part 3, which is salvation in Christ alone. Remember, Paul had that introduction. In the introduction he had his greetings, some personal remarks on the theme in verses 16 and 17 in Romans 1. Then starting with Romans 1 verse 18 to chapter 3 verse 20, Paul talks about the fact that all mankind is lost or condemned. All mankind stands condemned before God. Now Paul begins to discuss the good news of salvation in Christ alone. In chapter 3 verse 20, verse 20 is a transition verse, and so I use it to close out that 2nd section and also to start off the 3rd section. But salvation in Christ alone, so chapter 3 verse 20 through chapter 8 verse 39. Now I'll give you a brief overview of this section because there's three main headings under that. 1st Paul discusses Justification in chapter 3 verse 20 to chapter 5 verse 21. Justification, Romans chapter 3 verse 20 to chapter 5 verse 21. Justification is the act of God whereby he declares a sinner righteous in his sight at the moment he or she first believes. Justification is the act of God declaring a sinner righteous in God's sight at the moment the sinner first believes. Now, justification is one aspect of salvation. Sanctification is the second aspect and glorification is the third aspect. In justification, The believer is saved from the penalty of sin. And my professors used to leave it at that at Liberty University. But actually Paul teaches not only is the believer saved from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. It does not mean that we're sinless when we get saved, but it means we have the power to say no to sin, so that Paul in Romans 6 calls believers no longer slaves to sin, but now a slave of righteousness, or a slave to righteousness. So in justification, a believer is saved from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. So justification is an act. God declares a sinner righteous at the moment he or she first believes. So Paul talks about justification in Romans 3.20-5.21. Then Paul talks about sanctification. After the act of justification, the moment a person first believes, the process of sanctification begins. Now justification is an act. Glorification is an act. But sanctification is a process. Sanctification is the process that begins at justification and ends at glorification. You see, glorification is the moment of total sanctification. Sanctification is the process through which God progressively sets believers apart from sin and for his holy purposes. Let me repeat that. Sanctification is the process through which God progressively sets believers apart from sin and for his holy purposes. Through sanctification the believer is progressively being saved from the practice of sin. Paul speaks about this in Romans chapter 6 and Romans chapter 7. So that's sanctification. Now, when the believer has been totally set apart from sin and set apart totally for God's holy purposes, that's when the believer is perfected. That's the act of glorification. Glorification is the act of God through which he perfects the believer and completes the work that he started in him. Let me repeat that. Glorification is the act of God through which he perfects the believer and completes the work that he started in him. In glorification, the believer is saved from the total presence of sin. and glorification of believers perfected, he is saved from the total presence of sin. That is found in Romans chapter 8. Now Romans chapter 8 Paul also talks about perseverance of the saints, the fact that God preserves those who are justified, those who are saved, God preserves them, he keeps them saved by causing them to persevere in the faith through his power. And so the three aspects of salvation, justification, sanctification, and glorification, that breakdown forms the outline for part three in our overview in the book of Romans, Salvation in Christ Alone, Romans chapter 3 verse 20 to Romans 8 verse 39. So first we're going to be looking at justification, chapter 3 verse 20 to chapter 5 verse 21. And what we'll be looking at in the next lecture is justification through faith in Christ. Romans chapter 3 verse 20 to chapter 3 verse 31.