Welcome to the Power For Life. This broadcast brings to you a message of life-changing revival in the Holy Spirit. We pray that today's program will help to spur you on to experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life. Now here with today's message is Tom Hill. Today I want us to examine a great biblical doctrine called the doctrine of justification. Now that's a big long word to describe a process that goes on in the life of one who becomes a Christian. Perhaps that has happened to you. Perhaps you today are one who does trust and believe in Jesus Christ. Then our study today will reveal to you what Christ has accomplished on your behalf and how that works and functions and operates in your heart and life. It's possible today that you cannot say that you have ever been justified. You have never trusted in Jesus Christ. Then I encourage you to follow our study today and see what provision God has made for people like you in Jesus Christ. For you see, today there is great confusion that abounds on this particular concept that is taught in the Scriptures, the doctrine of justification. There are many people today who are ignorant of its meaning at all. They have no concept whatsoever of the term. Perhaps they've never even heard of it. And that might be your case today. You're not familiar with the doctrine. You've never heard even of the term. Well, for you today, this might be a time for some enlightenment and some teaching from God's Word on a very crucial, important truth that God's Word teaches us. There are others who deny what the Bible teaches about justification. Oh, they're familiar with the term. They have some passing knowledge of the doctrine, but they reject it. They deny what the Scriptures teach concerning justification. For you as well, perhaps today the Spirit of God would open your eyes to understand the truth of God's Word, that it might become a living reality in your life. Well, I want us to look at it because there is this confusion. There's this misunderstanding of how one becomes justified before God. Is it even necessary for one to become justified before God? This is part of the confusion that abounds today in many people, perhaps in your life today. As a consequence of a misunderstanding and not really knowing God's truth, we have grieved the Spirit of God and we have, in a sense, deified ourselves and raised ourselves up to a pedestal and a place in our lives that only God Himself rightly deserves to occupy. And as a consequence of that, we do not experience the reality of God in our lives not only as Christians, but as those who would be new Christians, those who would come to faith in the Lord Jesus. So I want us to examine today this doctrine, this truth called justification, for us to see what the Bible says about it. Perhaps for you today it might be the dawning of a new day, the experience of a transformation in your life. I pray that that will be the case for you. For as we examine these truths, I am trusting that the Spirit of God will take these truths and will apply them to your mind and to your heart and your life, that they might change you. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, that it might make your faith more firm and stronger and cause you to have great joy and rejoicing over what God has done for you. If at the outset of our broadcast you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, my prayer is that by the end of our time together today that that transformation might occur in your heart and life today that will utterly transform your life from now and for eternity. There are many passages of scripture in the Bible that talk about this doctrine of justification. I want us to turn to a very familiar one in the book of Romans. It very clearly describes justification, what's involved, why you and I need to be justified before God, and how God has made provision for that for you and for me and for all who will believe. I'm reading from Romans chapter 3, and I'll start in verse number 20 and I'll read down through verse number 26. and then we'll examine them today. Here's what it says, Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of them that believe in Jesus." Well, the first thing I want us to notice in our passage here, and it's very critical to lay a very simple foundation for this study today, is I want us to get a grasp of the meaning of the word justification. What does that term mean, to be justified? It has a legal definition, in fact. It has its basis and foundation in the courts, in law. Suppose, for example, that you were to come before the judge and you were to be charged with a crime, a violation of the law. And as you are standing before the judge, The judge examines your case. He examines all of the charges against you and the evidence that is brought against you. And the judge were to declare that you were righteous. And he were to declare that you were not guilty of the crime. And he were to publicly declare that you were right. That's justification. It's a legal term. It's a description of a legal transaction that occurs when the judge declares someone who is charged with a crime, he declares them righteous, not guilty, and takes it away. That's justification. It occurs in our courts virtually every day. Perhaps that has even happened to you in a legal sense. You may have had that experience in court where the judge has declared you righteous of all of the charges brought against you. You were justified in that instance. You experienced legal justification. Well, now let's take that legal definition and let's apply it in a spiritual sense. What does it mean in a spiritual sense? Because we notice in our Scriptures here, in verse number 20, it says, no flesh shall be justified in His sight. And then dropping down to verse number 24, it says, being justified freely by His grace. So it's talking here about some kind of a spiritual justification. Well, let's take this legal term and apply it in a spiritual sense here. What it's describing is someone like you and someone like me who comes before the judge of all of the earth, God Himself. And we are charged with violating and breaking His law. Only in this instance, we are guilty. We are guilty of violating His law. Now perhaps in the strict definition that I gave a few moments ago about a legal occurrence, perhaps in that instance you were innocent of the charges and the judge declared you righteous. But in this instance it's a little bit different. For you see, all of us are guilty before God. And God yet provides a basis for justification before Him. So that there is the potential for you and for me to be justified before God, where He would declare you righteous, even though you are guilty. Even though I stand before Him guilty, I can experience Justification from God's hand. He can declare me righteous. In fact, there was a day in my life, in my experience as a young boy, when I recognized that I stood before the judge of all the earth guilty of violating his law. And I experienced that day. Justification. God declared me righteous. even though I stood guilty before Him." That's justification. When God declares and decrees someone righteous, even though that one standing before Him is guilty of violating all of His law, that's justification. I want to stop here. just real quickly and ask you, is that how you understand justification before God? Or perhaps do you have some faint hope that perhaps there's something you can do that will somehow justify you before God? Perhaps you believe that someday, somehow, in some fashion, everyone will be saved because after all, God is love. and He will not condemn anyone to an eternal judgment. Perhaps you believe that all of us, somehow, by simply working things out in a little bit easier fashion, in some way, we can make God pleased with us. Is that your understanding of justification before God? Well, I would call your attention to the meaning of Scripture, God's holy standard, His revelation to us of His eternal truth. Justification can occur. You can experience it. I can experience it by trusting in His provision. We'll look at that in a moment. Justification before God is when He declares the guilty sinner righteous. In fact, we can use just a little bit of a play on words with the word justified by saying it's just as if I'd never sinned. That's the complete transaction that occurs. Well, that's the first thing I want us to notice. We must understand the meaning of the term before we can then go on and see its other revelations here in this passage. That's the meaning of the word justification. Now, I want you to notice the second thing that's very important. And that's its necessity. Its necessity, its requirement, its demand. We notice in the Scriptures here, I read one of the verses that I want to highlight for you. Romans chapter 3, verse number 23. But that's just a summation of what He began to write Earlier in this same chapter, in Romans chapter 3, starting in verse number 10, it says, There is none righteous, no, not one. And then there are several verses that follow, giving a description of mankind in a sinful condition. And then verse number 23, he kind of summarizes it by saying, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You see, not everyone believes that truth. And perhaps that might describe you today. There are many who believe that I am merely a victim of circumstances. If I had been born in a different family, in a different time, a different country, I would think differently. I would live differently. I would act differently. If I had been born into a different family, I would not act the way I do. And we have all kinds of explanations and excuses, don't we, for our behavior. And we say we are merely a victim of our circumstances. There are others who believe that we are born in a state of innocency. And that our lives are simply molded and shaped by the events and things around us. And so, therefore, we can just say, well, it's not my fault. I'm merely a product of how I was molded and shaped. There are yet others who say, I am the captain of my own ship and of my own fate, and it depends entirely upon me and what I do. But you see, that runs completely contrary to what the Scriptures teach us here. For we see very clearly in Romans 3, verses 10 down through verse 23, being summarized in that 23rd verse, it says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That includes me. I put myself right in that verse because I don't stand before you as one who has achieved everything. I don't stand before you today as one who can call himself a paragon of virtue. No, I'm just like you. I have sinned against God and I have violated His law. The Scriptures tell us that we're all the same. There is no difference. We've all sinned. That points out for us the necessity then of justification. For you see, if we have violated God's law, which we have, if we are guilty of disobedience against God, which we are, if we have failed to believe the truths of His Word, which we have, then we stand before Him today guilty. We stand before Him as one who has no excuse. as one who has no explanation, no rationalization for our behavior whatsoever, other than the fact that we stand before him guilty. We have violated his law. That means we need justification. We need to be justified before a holy God, for a holy God cannot accept a guilty sinner only on its own merits, There has to have some transaction occur that can make that sinner worthy and able to stand before God. He needs justification. You and I need to be justified before God because we stand guilty. We have broken and violated His law. And you see, the Scriptures are very clear about that description of you and me. We are guilty before God. We have violated His law. And the Scriptures tell us very clearly in many places. I'll just make reference to a couple of spots that describe this same truth. Ecclesiastes, for example, in the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes, chapter 7, verse number 20, describes our condition before God. And it says that in this fashion, For there is not a just man upon earth. There is none that doeth good and sinneth not. Sometimes we don't like to think that about ourselves, do we? But that's God's description of us. That's how we stand before Him. There is none just. There is none that doeth good and sinneth not. And then we come to the latter part of the New Testament where we read in 1 John, the description of our condition before God is described in this fashion. In 1 John 1, verse number 8, it says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Verse number 10 of the same chapter says, If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and His Word is not in us. No, the Scriptures speak very clearly and describe us as guilty before God. We have violated His law. We are in need of justification. Now, I would pause here for a moment and ask you, is that your condition today? Or like me, have you at some time in your life recognized your condition before God and your need of justification and come to Him and experience that transformation and that transaction? Is it possible today that you have never trusted in Christ? So therefore, you still stand before Him guilty. You need justification today. You need to be justified before a holy God. You need to have a holy God declare you righteous. Now I want us quickly to look at this passage that describes for us its remedy. How you can be justified before God. Perhaps in your mind you're beginning to grasp the truth and you can see that you are in fact guilty before God. And perhaps there's even within you beginning the thought of Well, if that's my condition before God, then how can I be justified? Well, first let me make reference to the passage of Scripture here that tells us very clearly that it is possible. It tells us here that there is that potential available. God has made provision for people like you where we can be justified before God. Well, how does it work? Notice as I read just a couple of verses here. It says, But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Verse number 22 says, Even the righteousness of God which is by faith and Jesus Christ. You see, God has made provision for justification of sinners, like you and like me, through His Son, Jesus Christ. He has sent Him, it tells us in verse number 25, it says, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith, even the remission of sins. So you see, God recognized our condition. He noticed that we were guilty before Him and thus helpless to do anything about it. He sent in grace a provision in Jesus Christ. One who lived a sinless life. The one man who was just. The one man who did good and sinned not. Because he was God in the flesh. And one day upon the cross he died and he bore all the sins of God's chosen people. And thus he accomplished redemption for sinners like you and like me. It's through His blood. His blood paid the penalty. So that now we can stand before God justified. Does that mean all mankind throughout all of history a universal salvation? No. For there is a provision that is stated here as to how that justification is applied in life. And it's done in this fashion. It says in verse number 22, it says, "...the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Christ." And then we notice down again in verse number 24, it says, "...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Moving on to verse 25, "...whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood." So how do you become justified before a holy God, a guilty sinner? It's by simple faith in Jesus Christ. It's by claiming Jesus Christ and what He accomplished on the cross as being for you. As taking that sacrifice, that payment of the penalty on the cross that the Lord Jesus did. The Father having sent Him to make a way for people who trust in Him to become justified before God. So that the phrase is being justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ. There's no way you can earn it. It says here it's by grace, freely given. You can't earn it. You can't deserve it. nor can you buy it, nor can you pay for it. It's given by God the Father in grace. I would ask you today, has that experience come into your life? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? And you say, yes, there was a day when I trusted Christ. I can remember. And you can recall the events of that day and of that time in your life. And you remember very vividly and clearly that day when you trusted Christ. You recognized your sinful condition before a holy God. You recognized your need of a Savior, of someone to do for you that which you could not do. And you saw God's provision in Jesus Christ. And you trusted Him. Then, my friend, you have been justified. God the Father has declared you righteous so that you stand before Him today, not a guilty sinner, but a justified one, one who has been made holy by God Himself through His provision in Jesus Christ. The righteousness of the Lord Jesus Himself has become your righteousness. And when God looks at you, He doesn't see you as the sinner that you once were, but rather He sees you justified in Jesus Christ. Oh, that's a wondrous truth to grasp and to understand and to realize that that is yours because of your faith in Jesus Christ. Now, it's possible today that you might be watching and you have never trusted in Jesus Christ. In fact, prior to today, you didn't even know there was a term like justification. And perhaps even before today, you never really came to grips with the reality of your own sinful condition before a holy God. You've tried to explain away your life. You've given all kinds of explanations and excuses for why you lie and cheat and commit adultery and sin against God and violate His law. And you've got all kinds of explanations until today. And then today, something has occurred in your mind and your heart that you see yourself as God sees you. you recognize your sinful condition before a holy God. God has made provision for people like you. He has made provision in Jesus Christ that all who believe the Scriptures say, that all who trust in His blood for the remission of their sins are justified before God. I would encourage you today to cast your hope upon Christ. Trust Him. He's the one who paid the penalty for sinners like you and like me. That all who come to Him in faith, all who trust Him, all who look to His payment on the cross as being a payment for their sin, the Scriptures say, are justified before God. I encourage you today that you will cast yourself upon Him and trust God's provision in Christ, that today you might be justified by faith in Christ alone.