We read from Romans 1 this morning. Romans 1. Romans 1, we begin reading at verse 13. We read through the end of the chapter. Hear the word of God. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let hitherto that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead. so that they are without excuse, because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator. who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women that change the natural use into that which is against nature, and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another. Men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meat. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient, being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, biters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. We read that far in God's holy word. We turn now to the Heidelberg Catechism. Lord's Day 23, which we can find in the back of the Psalter on page 13. Lord's Day 23. Question 59 asks, but what doth it profit thee now that thou believest all this? Answer, that I am righteous in Christ before God and an heir of eternal life. How art thou righteous before God? Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ. So that though my conscience accused me that I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God and kept none of them, and I'm still inclined to all evil, notwithstanding God, without any merit of mine, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, even so as if I never had had nor committed any sin, yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me, and as much as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart. Why sayest thou that thou art righteous by faith only? Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, but because only the satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God. And that I cannot receive and apply the same to myself any other way than by faith only. Beloved in Lord Jesus Christ, the Hatterberg Catechism brings us back to the heart of the gospel this morning, to the truth of justification by faith alone, or that we are righteous and that the righteousness of God is imputed unto us by faith alone. The child of God does not tire of hearing this truth, for this is the heart of the gospel. It is the doctrine which is most beloved of the believer. It is the doctrine according to which the church stands or falls. It is the comfort of all of God's people. Because it is such an important, beloved doctrine, because it is the comfort of God's people, because it is that doctrine whereby the Church stands or falls, Satan, knowing that, never ceases to attack this doctrine of justification by faith alone. Let no one here ever imagine, if one has imagined this before, that we are immune to the attacks of Satan against us regarding this truth of justification. He will bring false teaching. He will bring bored natures. He will bring an indifference so that he might take away from us that which is so important. And so one of the applications that we must hear this morning and must hear again and again is that we must defend, we must guard the church against all kinds of doctrines that would attack every doctrine of God's Word, but especially the heart of the gospel. We must be bold as lions to hold on to this truth of righteousness in Jesus Christ by faith alone. But along with that application, that we must defend and guard this doctrine with all the strength that God gives us, is also all kinds of other applications. You see, the doctrine of justification is not theoretical. It's not something that should remain in the heads of God's people to be heard on Sunday morning and to be forgotten through their lives in this past week. But it's a very practical part of your life, it ought to be, and that more and more as you grow in faith and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. In Romans 1.17, a verse that we particularly focus on as we consider Lourdes Day 23, Paul, quotes from the prophet Habakkuk. When he does, he quotes Habakkuk in this way, the end of verse 17, the just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. And Habakkuk means, and Paul means, not merely that you who are righteous will live one day in heaven. Shall live in that sense. But it's a prophecy. It's that of God's Word which will come to pass in your life. You who are righteous by faith will live your whole life by faith. This is how we live. This is how we live. By a conscious faith which relies upon God alone and His righteousness. imputed to us for Jesus sake. For peace at night. For strength in the morning. For power to fight your besetting sins. For motivation to work. For your study as students. To enjoy rightly your summer break. To live your whole life. Live to live. by faith in this God who justifies ungodly sinners like you and me. So that though your conscience accuse you that you have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God and kept none of them, I'm still inclined to all evil. Notwithstanding, God, without any merit of mine, any merit of yours, but merely of grace, grants and imputes to you this righteousness of Jesus Christ. Live in the consciousness of that, beloved. The Catechism brings us to this doctrine at the end of its explanation of the Apostles' Creed. From Lords Day 7 all the way through Lords Day 22, I remind you, the Catechism has been explaining the object of our faith, or whom we believe. Whom do we believe? We believe in the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That has been the outline of the Apostles' Creed. First explaining who the Father is as our Creator, and the Son is as our Redeemer, and then the Holy Spirit as our Sanctifier. When the Catechism asks in question 59, what does it profit thee now that thou believest all this? It means, what does it profit thee that you believe in this triune God? These three persons. Don't misunderstand the catechism. There is a misunderstanding, I think, that can be drawn from this question, and I've heard it among Reformed people, even Protestant Reformed people, that it is my intellectual knowledge of all the doctrines of the Reformed faith that makes me righteous before God. You can understand that question and answer that way. That would be nothing other than a kind of self-righteousness. That I am righteous before God because I, as a Protestant-informed person, have all of these intellectual understandings of all the doctrines, while other people do not. No. That I am righteous in Christ, for His sake alone. Ah, the Christ that is revealed. And the doctrine. As explained in the catechism based on Scripture. I preach this gospel. Under the theme righteousness revealed through Christ, through faith, righteousness revealed through faith, first, the righteousness of God, second, that which is accomplished by Christ, that's the basis of that righteousness, and then finally revealed through faith. Righteousness revealed through faith. I direct your attention to Romans 1.17 as I explain this doctrine of Lord's Day 23. Romans 1.17 is a significant text in church history. You should know that. For it was in this text And with this text, that God changed the life of an Augustinian monk who was steeped in Roman Catholic false doctrine. And it was with this text that God, by His Spirit, opened the eyes of him, yes, Martin Luther, so that he could see this glorious gospel. And it was with this text that God empowered this mere weak man to go forth for the reformation of his church. He describes his experience this way, Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn, having gone through open doors into paradise. The whole scripture took a new meaning Whereas before the justice or righteousness of God had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet and greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven." It's not enough, of course, that Dr. Martin saw the sweet truth and had it change his life, you and I need to see this Gospel here in this text, that it might be a breakthrough text, as it were, for you and me. The Gospel newly discovered by Luther in Romans 1.17 is especially found in the phrase, the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God revealed. You need to understand that. Whether you be an adult, or a younger person. What is the righteousness of God to you? That's what Lord's Day 23 is about. That's what Romans is all about. What is the righteousness of God to you? Therein is the righteousness of God revealed. And Paul says, therein is the righteousness of God revealed. He is saying that it's in the Gospel. There in the Gospel is this Most important truth, the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is the main point of the gospel. The righteousness of God is the heart of the gospel. The righteousness of God is the joy of the gospel. If you don't know what the righteousness of God is, then you've missed the gospel. What is the righteousness of God to you? Does it fill you with joy? Does it make you astonished once again, so that you're amazed, you stand in awe, so that you want to go forth and love Him in thankfulness? Or is it something that you're bored with this morning? Confused about? How is that a joyful thought? The righteousness of God? It's a little too complicated for me. What is the righteousness of God revealed? How is it the gospel? For a long time, Luther and many others in the church, and still in many churches today, did not understand this phrase rightly. The righteousness of God actually became, instead of that which brought joy and peace, brought great fear and even anger. against God. For Luther, who was in the Roman Catholic Church and many around him, including his very teachers in that institution, pulled this verse out of its context and did not explain it properly. This is how the Roman Catholic Church explained and continues to explain this phrase, the righteousness of God. It's the justice of God, period. The righteousness of God is his attribute, whereby he is the just judge. And so as the just judge, he makes righteous laws, laws that we read this morning in the Ten Commandments, laws in his word. And those who obey those righteous laws, ah, they are saved. And those who do not obey those righteous laws are punished. God, the righteous judge, will judge. As the verse after verse 17 says, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. And for Luther and for every human being even here this morning, who views the righteousness of God only in this way, you cannot see the gospel. The righteousness of God to you is a terror, because you know, you know and I know, as Romans 3 verse 10 later on says, there is none righteous, no Not one. If that's all that you understand regarding the righteousness of God, then it's not gospel. It's not good news. It is bad news. Very bad news for you. This tortured Luther for the longest time. And it tortures many today. What was supposed to be gospel became that which inflicted great distress and depression. He felt all the distractions you feel when you pray. He felt what you felt, what you feel. The pride which taints your best works. He felt what you felt. When you worship God, there is not a perfectly righteous sincerity. He felt what you feel, that all your outward works do not fool God in His penetrating eyes that sees right into your heart and your sinful nature. What do you believe about the righteousness of God? When Paul speaks of the righteousness of God here in Romans 1.17, he is not merely referring to an attribute of God, whereby he is the just judge. But we must understand the righteousness of God as that which He freely imputes to ungodly sinners, like you and me. That's gospel. That's what Paul is talking about. That's what the Spirit means here. Only in this way is the righteousness of God good news. Freely imputed to you, the sinner. And that's how the catechism is explaining the righteousness of God. Answer 60, after asking, how art thou righteous before God? Notice the word notwithstanding. Here we get to the heart of the matter. Notice how the Catechism is clear about how it's free. It's a free gift. You cannot with your works get this righteousness of God. It's not this. This is the Roman Catholic teaching, which sometimes sounds reformed. It's not this. That the Holy Spirit works in you to give you a new man, and then by that new man causes you to produce righteous works. And then after you've produced the righteous works, Then God says to you, now you're righteous. Now you've gained, earned righteousness before me. That's merit. And as much as a Roman Catholic may say, and you might insist, well, they say it's all of grace that I can do those righteous works. It's the false gospel. Because the righteousness we're talking about here is free. It's freely given without your merit, and even before the Holy Spirit works in you to produce righteous works. And so I say to you this morning, beloved, give up trying to approve, trying to gain the approval of the righteous God. Give up trying to compete with others to be more righteous than them so that you may feel righteous before God. Give up minimizing your sin and minimizing your errors and refusing to confess those sins because you want to maintain your righteousness before God. Give up the righteousness of God, which is gospel, is freely given you, without all your excuses and blaming and good works, given you who believe in Him. It's free, I say, and it's freely imputed. That's the most important word in describing the righteousness of God here. It is an imputed righteousness. So it's not only given or granted, as the Catechism says, but it's imputed. This is how it is given to you. Imputed. Imputed is a legal term. It's a legal act of God the Judge, whereby He declares You, the sinner, in his courtroom, righteous, though you deserve to be declared guilty. He says, astonishingly, this is imputation. I declare you righteous with my righteousness. The righteousness of God. Even though of yourself, you are. Yet ungodly. You must understand the word impute and distinction from the word. Infuse. The Roman Catholic teaching is that God infuses righteousness into you by his spirit, thereby causing you to live a righteous life. And only then, after you have lived that righteous life, will He declare you righteous. No! That infusion for righteousness is a false gospel. It's imputation. He declares you as such, just as if you had had Not committed a single sin. Just as if you have obeyed all of God's commandments. While you're still of yourself ungodly. This free imputation of God's righteousness. Is what we must understand is the gospel. and that which Paul is declaring here in Romans 1.17 and throughout the whole book of Romans, and that which Lord's Day 23 is teaching, the righteousness of God is that which is freely imputed to puny sinners full of rebellion, as we are. To help put it concretely, beloved, Perhaps in this past week, you were continuing in sin, willful sin. You were on your device, watching that which you knew was ungodly. You were taking up the bottle, and drinking, and drinking, and drinking. And you knew it was wrong. And you continued. You lied about it. And you manipulated others to think, you're innocent. It's not so bad. You were willful. We're not sorry for your sins. Now you come to church. And the worship you brought here is not. Not worship, it's hypocrisy. Just an outward show which God hates, despises. Can you be righteous before God? And here is the offense of the gospel, but the good news. Yes. Yes. To all who repent. And believe in him. The righteousness of God is freely imputed, counted as yours, so that even before you go forth from here, from this worship service, and before you go and try to do something that makes up for your evil works, and you go forth even in the next moment to worship with your heart sincerely, before you improve, you're righteous before God and Jesus Christ. Each one. that puts their trust in Him. I'll make this gospel even more offensive in this way, though it's true. Romans 1 talks about those whom God gave up unto vile affections. For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. Likewise also men, verse 27, leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another. Men with men working that which is unseemly. And you know what that is talking about. It is talking about the gross sexual sins that go on today in this world. What if someone like that is here present this morning? Can they be righteous before God? Yes, that's the gospel. To everyone who turns in true faith to Jesus Christ, even before they go and change their immoral lifestyle, the righteousness of God is freely imputed. I'm not ashamed of this gospel, Paul says in verse 16. I'm not ashamed of it. And many are afraid of it. Many are ashamed of it. And some of you even may be here sitting this morning thinking, there there he goes. Pastor is making it sound like it's OK for people to live in sin. If you heard me say that, you are not listening. Don't accuse the gospel of that. This is the offense of the gospel, so offensive, that even those who call themselves Reformed sometimes will shy away from it. No sin, not a single sin, is greater than God's grace in Jesus Christ. Freely imputing it to those who are the worst of sinners. And it's only Christianity, it's only true Reformed Christianity, that teaches this. Every other religion in Christianity, which is false, will claim that there is something good that you still must do to be righteous before God. And true Christianity says, no. Be freely imputive. for the worst of sinners. And it does not lead people who believe unto antinomianism. It does not lead people to say, I can live like the world, not caring about living a righteous life. You see, the gospel is counterintuitive in this way. You as sinful humans and I as a sinful human being might imagine at times that in order to get people to live a moral life, in order to get people to forsake their sins and do something right for once, that it somehow must be that I have to manipulate them into those good works by telling them, do more. Just a little bit to get God's righteousness. But that unbiblical tactic is not powerful. Counterintuitive to the human. What God in his wisdom knows. Is that this is what is truly powerful. This is what truly changes lives. This is what makes God's people improve. That they know by faith and faith alone. And they're astonished by it. I am righteous before God. without a single bit of my own righteousness. He freely judges His righteousness as my own. And that stirs, that stirs within the heart the child of God into a life of true godliness. This righteousness of God is freely imputed to all of His people on the basis of Christ's accomplished work. Jesus Christ came to accomplish all righteousness in our place. That's why Paul calls this gospel, in verse 16 of Romans 1, the gospel of Christ. It's the good news of Christ's righteousness. He is God. And it's His righteousness that is freely judged as our own, counted as ours, while we are yet sinners. The Catechism says, He imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ. You see, beloved, this is the only way that God may justly count us as righteous. It would not have been just of God. It would not have been fair of God. It is not fair of God to simply look upon sinners, those who has broken his law, and wink at sin. I just won't look at your sin, and I'll think of you as righteous. That would be unjust. If any judge in the courtrooms of Michigan today would do that, and say to a criminal, I'm going to wink at your sin, I'm going to consider you righteous, without any basis. You would say about that judge, unjust, he's a sinful judge. God may not do that. That would be to deny himself. And so. He did. That which was necessary. To justly. Declare us righteous. Don't ever underestimate this God Himself, He didn't just send someone. God Himself came and took on Himself our human flesh and blood to become like us. God Himself did that. He humbled himself that low as the second person of the Trinity to be man. That was the only way to represent us. And that was the only way that he could declare us righteous. He as a man had to come to represent us and in our place live. A life of perfect holiness. And in our place, suffer. For all our unrighteousness is so much more than you can think. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." There are two aspects of this righteousness accomplished by Christ. The Catechism points out that which we must keep in mind. First, it is what is termed by Reformed theologians as the passive obedience of Jesus Christ. The passive obedience. And by passive I do not mean, and theologians do not mean, inactivity, but passive obedience refers to the passion, the passion of Jesus Christ or the suffering of Jesus Christ. When Christ came, God taking on our human flesh and blood, he suffered. He suffered the infinite wrath of God, the punishment, our hell, due us for all of our sins. so that there was satisfaction of God's justice. That's the word the catechism uses, the perfect satisfaction. He imputes to me the perfect satisfaction of Christ so that it is just as if I have never committed any sin. But Christ's righteousness is not only this passion, this suffering, but it is also His active obedience, as it's called. That which He did, that which He put on, that throughout His life He obeyed. All of God's ten commandments with perfect love, without a single bit of covetousness or lust, with the purest of worship, without any destruction, with prayers perfectly sincere, with miracle after miracle, compassion toward all his people. He lived without any sin and with many good works, that in our place as well. So that as the catechism says, it's just as if I have accomplished all righteousness that he has. I speak personally. Because Paul speaks personally here in Romans 1. It is as if I preach and make perfect sermons without any error. Doctrinally perfect. It's as if I live a life in perfect consistency with everything I preach. It is as if I am a perfect pastor, father, husband, example to the flock. It's how God counts me and reckons me and you, his people. And and it's. Also, this. That I don't I don't need to work hard as a pastor. To get this righteousness. And I don't need to preach good sermons. Or be a godly father and husband. An example to the flock to be righteous. because I already am in Christ. And if I am lazy and I fail and I fall into gross sin, I still cannot lose this righteousness. It is mine in Christ. Does that mean, beloved, does that mean that I may go forth and I won't try? On the contrary, the gospel you see is a power in me unto salvation. And to live a godly life. The same. Is for you. All your sin. Already judged as his. And suffered for completely accomplished. And all His good works are ready done, judged as yours. This truth of justification accomplished by Jesus Christ alone is now revealed through faith. Don't stop listening. This truth of how justification is by faith, by faith now, is perhaps the most misunderstood in our circles. This point about the heart of the gospel, you need to get. Why does Scripture and the Confessions speak of it as being by faith? Now negatively, what Scripture and the Confessions do not mean by faith, is this, that we are righteous before God because of faith, or on the basis of faith. Answer 61. Not, not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith. You see, that's Arminianism. And the catechism there is combating Arminianism. It doesn't only combat Roman Catholicism, but Arminianism also. Listen to the Canons, Head 2, Rejection of Errors 4. Here it combats Arminianism again. God, having revoked the demand of perfect obedience of the law, now regards faith itself and the obedience of faith, although imperfect, as the perfect obedience of the law, and does esteem it worthy of the reward of eternal life through grace. The Canons call that a new and a strange justification. That's false doctrine as well. It is not this the canon is saying. It is not this the catechism is saying. That God in the Old Testament once required the law for righteousness before God. And now in the New Testament, because he saw that human beings, well, didn't cut it. He made a lesser requirement and said all you have to do is believe. And that belief is counted as itself obedience to the law. That's Arminianism. That's justification because of faith. And if justification is because of faith, then your faith displaces Jesus. Then your faith is in faith. You're trusting in your faith. And you and I know how weak our faith is. If one were to trust in his faith, one would be constantly wondering if I have faith or if my faith is strong enough. The truth is that each of God's elect people already have the righteousness of Christ Even this, that from eternity, God in his counsel has thought of us as righteous and sent Christ to accomplish righteousness for each of his elect people. For them alone. And then in time, here's the by faith positively. And in time. He reveals. That righteousness, which is yours. Through faith. He declares that to your consciousness through faith alone. I cannot receive, the catechism says, and apply the same to myself any other way than by faith only. To help you understand it, realize that it will not do It will not do for God to freely count you righteous, but keep this gospel in heaven for Himself and the angels to know and for you not to know. It will not do for God in heaven to hide this gospel from you while you through your life are blind to it, without comfort, without hope. God is too gracious. And so when God, the righteous and gracious judge. Declares in time. That you are righteous. In Jesus Christ. He also works. In you. The gift of faith. whereby you hear His voice, you are righteous. The righteousness of God is freely imputed to you in whom He works faith. It is like the ear that God gives to hear the sound God's voice declaring you righteous. without works, for Jesus' sake alone. There is a unique expression in Romans 1.17, for therein, meaning there in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed, and then this phrase, from faith to faith. From faith to faith. What does that mean? Revealed through faith, you understand, but from faith to faith. As some commentators explain, perhaps the most common interpretation is that it is an intensifying faith. That as God reveals this gospel of righteousness in Jesus Christ, faith is given and faith is strengthened, from faith to faith. And that's a possible understanding of that phrase, I believe. A correct interpretation of that, however, is this. That it's from the preacher who preaches by faith. To those who hear by faith. Paul is speaking personally here. He's saying, I am not ashamed of the gospel. He knows this gospel experientially himself. He has been converted to Jesus Christ later on in life. He loves this gospel. He knows he is righteous before God without his works, by faith alone. And so out of his faith, there comes forth the truth of God's righteousness that he knows personally as his own, and he preaches it, and God's people hear it. by faith as well. From faith to faith. That's what you hear this morning. May God grant you that faith. Then, through faith, you live. I end with that, beloved. The just shall live by faith. Again, that does not merely mean that one day you will live eternally in heaven if you're one who believes in the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to you. But it means already now, those who are righteous by faith shall live by that faith. Life, beloved, should become more and more a meditation upon this righteousness of Christ freely imputed. This is a daily thing. When you fall into sin, there is a daily turning from sin to this righteousness of Christ again. Every time you sin, again and again, you give up that blaming and that excusing, and making up for your sin, and turn to the righteousness of Christ again, and rest in that righteousness. And when you seek motivation to improve, to do good works, don't look to yourself again, but look to the righteousness of Christ imputed to you, and then out of thanks, do your good works. Do you struggle with the fear of man? Afraid of what others might think? Then turn to the righteousness of Christ imputed to you, and know the favor of God toward you already, and then it doesn't matter what man thinks. Are you stressed out with perfectionism and performance mentality, anxious to perform perfectly before others? Go back to the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, that He already sees you as perfect, that you don't need to be perfect. When you feel down and depressed and in need of joy, turn back to this gospel. I already have the perfect righteousness of Christ. This is my joy. And cling to that. This is the gospel. That not only broke through the darkness. Of Luther's heart. And Paul's heart. And my heart. This is the gospel and is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Amen. Let's pray. Oh God, we're very conscious of our weakness, our frailty, We live not as we ought by faith. We seek to look for our comfort and our strength in ourselves and our works. So we pray with thy word this morning, focus us not on what we must do, but focus us on what thou has done, what Jesus Christ has finished. Let that be, O God, a power within us so that we live by faith. We confess, O God, that we need Thy Holy Spirit because the gospel itself cannot have an effect upon our hearts unless Thy Spirit has joined each heart to Jesus and does work in each heart. that faith to receive and apply. So may thy spirit, by his power alone, so work in us. In these days we pray, for Jesus' sake, amen.