Well, today we're going to be in a multitude of passages, as many as we can get to, and by no means will we be exhausting the subject of justification by faith. It's an inexhaustible thing, but I want to just point out just a few verses in the New Testament as well as some in the Old Testament that point out that salvation is a free gift from God. And believe it or not, the graphic that we have on the bulletin, I usually put that on Facebook with an invitation for people to join us. And one friend of mine that I grew up with sent me this response. He said, Amen, but I disagree. We need to have works for salvation. And he basically misquoted James chapter 2. So I told him, I said, James, we cannot use that for evangelical purposes. This is a constitution for the Christian. Those works that we have are works that should be in the Christian's life, and those are those visible works that other people see. But it's not salvation. Salvation, justification is entirely a free gift. We have no type of obedience to the law that we must have. We must trust that Christ was obedient. He was the only one that was ever. ever perfect enough to fulfill the demands of God's law. And He's given that to us. The righteousness is given to us. It's imputed to us. He took our sin and He exchanged that for His righteousness in which we stand today. There is no other way but through Christ Jesus. Well, it is sad in many occasions. I think I may have mentioned it last week about hearing a report from the National Religious Broadcasters and a gentleman from a church asking the individuals there that were representing radio stations and colleges and all kinds of things, asked this simple question, what does the doctrine of justification mean? And most of those people had no clue. And I'm sorry to say that's the state of much of the professing church today. Notice I said professing church, but what we need to be is a possessing church. Possessing eternal life. Laying hold of eternal life by what Christ has done. And what's happened is that no longer that view of biblical doctrine, but instead pragmaticism has taken over. In place of the great doctrines of the Bible, there are many churches that are changing course. We don't need those doctrines because people aren't listening to them, so let's get rid of them. Let's take out sin. and call it mistakes. Let's take out being born again. That just sounds too bad. It's so narrow. And replace it with having community together. Those are good things outside of salvation. It's incredible to have community, but the focus is on that community rather than the Savior. So we need to know the justification is by grace through faith. I believe I repeat that over and over and over all the time, but yet it's good to look at the biblical passages that state it by themselves. Though I'm always uncomfortable with stepping out of the context of Scripture, we'll try to keep that context, yet pointing out the wonderful grace of Jesus. Sounds like another song we can sing, doesn't it? So we're going to start by turning to the book of Romans. And we'll be spending a lot of time in the book of Romans. Romans, of course, is known as one of the greatest, even by secular authorities or secular scholars. The Book of Romans is noted to be one of the greatest pieces of writing in history, right up there with Luke's Gospel. So even secular scholars recognize that, because it's as perfect as you can get with how it's laid out. It lays out the sin of the world, then it lays out how that sin needs to be paid for, and then it lays out the person's response. to Christ being the payment for that sin, and then marvelously even looks at glorification, how Israel will be saved. We could actually have that as a fourth part of salvation, as eschatology. The eschaton, the end times, what will happen as well. And so it goes through all that in the ending. The verses 12 through 16 then deal with the believer's response of good works one to another because of salvation. Salvation always has to come first. I listened to a church in the area, One Message, just this past week, and I tried to look for the song that should be the theme song. I wanted to get it down and play it for you, but I'll sing the first couple bars of it. It's, to dream the impossible dream. I won't go anymore because I don't want to offend anyone with my singing. But that has been or become the modus operandi for many people. If I only trust Jesus, He'll give me all the success in the world. He'll give me my wildest dreams. I only have to dream big. And God will grant that. He's tired of our puny little dreams. Well, God's tired of all those things. He wants you to trust His Savior. So, people will take that. That's the things that people are interested in hearing and believing rather than the great old from the Scriptures doctrines which we expose. So, let's turn to Romans chapter number 3. And we'll be revisiting this part of the Scriptures. Romans chapter number 3, I think it's important for us. Of course, 1 and 2 deal with sin. Chapter 3 deals with the penalty of sin and the remedy for sin. So let's start with, I was going to start with verse 9, but let's start with verse number 1. And let's read the entire chapter, and then we'll be visiting Romans 4 and 5 as well, and then later Romans 8. So we'll have a heavy dose of the book of Romans this morning. It says, Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? I'm glad Paul answers it right here. God forbid, let God be true, but every man a liar. Those that had this form of godliness but rejecting his power, they're liars. Just because they didn't believe doesn't make God's word or God's faith void. It truly doesn't matter if somebody believes something that is true or not. The matter is whether it's true. That's the truth. Let's go on to verse number 5. Verse number 4, God forbid, yea, let God be true, but let every man a liar, as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous, who taketh vengeance?" I speak as a man. He speaks as a fool. He's getting at their levels. God forbid, for then how shall God judge the world? That's an evil saying nowadays, because God will judge the world according to His righteous standard. For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto His glory, why yet am I also judged as a sinner? and not rather, as we slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, let us do evil that good may come, whose damnation is just." See, that's still a popular thing today. Well, I'm saved by grace, I can do anything I want. It's not true. That's what Paul is pointing out. Now we get to where I wanted to get to originally. He says, what then? Are we better than they? No, you and I are no better than the person who rejects Christ. Because all men are liars. We can all look at our, back in verse number three, we can look at the mirror, at a mirror, look at the mirror of God's word, and we recognize that we do fall short of the glory of God. And that's what Paul will look at in a little bit. What, then, are we better than they? No, in no wise have we before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin." See, the Jews had the special gift that they had that God's Word came to them. Who was Jesus supposed to be the Messiah of? The Jews. The Jews were God's chosen people, but they blew it. And now Gentiles alike can be in the same position as the Jew because of their rejection of Christ. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. Can anybody define for me the term none? Not a single person is righteous. See, not the Pope in Rome, not the President of the United States, not even the prophets of Israel. The righteousness they had was given to them by God. They worked under God's righteousness, not their own. As Isaiah 64, 6 says, for all of our righteousness is as a filthy rag. A filthy good for nothing, but dirty and blah. That's our righteousness before God. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." The only way that you will seek after God is when God seeks after you through the Holy Spirit of God. Remember, that's one of the only things the Spirit of God does. He convicts of sin and He testifies of Christ and of righteousness. That's it. The Holy Spirit isn't here to pump you up. The Holy Spirit is to pump Jesus Christ up and His finished work on the cross. At least that's what the Spirit of God should be doing on the inside of you and me. It should be putting us down and lifting up Jesus. Now we get to the, I almost said the punchline, but they are who? What's it say? They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one." Their throat is an open sepulcher, with their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Verse number 19 says, We know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." See, that's what the law does. You cannot live by the law. The law only points out how guilty we are. The law is not a solution for sin. It's a description, and the prescription for sin can only be through Christ Jesus, the perfect law keeper. Verse 20 says, therefore by the deeds of the law there shall, how many? Just a few. No flesh shall be justified in His sight." There's our word we're looking at, justified. It's dikaio, meaning declared righteous. That's what justification is. Your works will never, or keeping the law will never make you right with God. It takes God to declare you righteous. It takes God's declaration. Now, there are many people, you'll see them all around declaring and decreeing this, and declaring and decreeing that, trying to make God into their puppet. But yet, God's will is that His righteousness be given. to you, or imputed to you. Christ takes it all, all of your sin, and gives you His righteousness. Now verse number 21 says, But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. See, the law, the lawgiver was Jesus Christ. He wrote the law and it was affirmed to Moses. And Moses said, there's going to be a prophet coming after me. And this would be Jesus. The beginning of John, the John's gospel says that the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Christ Jesus. So there's a new sheriff in town. The law is now no longer has power, but Christ has power over that law. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of or in Jesus. The only way that you, a believer, or anybody can be righteous is by faith in Jesus. No more, no less. You can't add Jesus and, and you can't subtract from that because it nullifies the very gospel message. Verse number 23, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You know, you can do a hundred good works in a day, but you're still unrighteous before God because your works are nullified by your sin nature that you already have. You could try to climb that ladder of success. It may work in the world, But with God, there's none. No matter what we do, we will fall short of His glory because He is perfect. I love verse 24. Being justified. Look at the cost that has to be paid by you. Being made righteous freely. Freely by His grace. through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. See, we were all, before we were saved, we were all in this market of slavery. We were in the slave market. We were cast aside, up for the next bidder, the bidder on us. We were worthless. We were no good. We've all sinned. That's pretty negative today, isn't it? We've all sinned. Our works are useless to God. But He did this, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Christ redeemed you. His redemption is part of justification. He took and paid a price for you, the price of His shed blood on that cross. He who knew no sin, 2 Corinthians 5.21, became sin for us that we can be the righteousness of God. Amen. What good news that is! In the world's eyes, even the most cast down, despised and rejected, those people that we kick our feet at and scoff at, God has given the provision that they too can be redeemed just like us. Amen, there's no more rich, no more poor, no more bond, no more free, but all, or slave rather, but all who believe upon Christ are made free in Christ Jesus. Verse number 25, I already mentioned this propitiation, the full satisfaction of God's wrath. Verse 25, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation. You know, God is fully satisfied with sending His Son to the cross. He's satisfied with a propitiation. That's what propitiation means, a full payment. When you go to the bank, After your 30-year mortgage is done, you go and you get a paper that says that that debt has been paid in full. That's where propitiation is. It's been satisfied. We had a mortgage. Imagine mortgage and mortuary are from the same word. We were dead to that debt. We were dead to sin, but God propitiated that he signed the bill or the certificate of debt that that is paid for in full, complete satisfaction for every one of our sins. Now, even knowing that, and knowing that we are redeemed, that we're made justified by what Christ has done, does that mean we never sin? No, we always sin. I, without even knowing it, when I woke up this morning, I probably committed a few sins. I don't even know because that's our nature. Just as a leopard can't change his spots, a sinner can't change how he is made. But we can, however, have the righteousness imputed to us so that new nature, that new man has more power than the old man within us. That's where our sanctification comes in. That's where we put on Christ. We put on His righteousness as a work of sanctification based on His free gift of salvation. We can't do it without first being justified though. Let me finish this chapter here. "...whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. As we celebrate the Lord's Supper or Communion, think of that, the blood, the symbol of Christ's blood being the full payment or propitiation for our sin. Now, we don't take communion as a means of grace as others do. We take it as a remembrance of grace. It's amazing, there are many people that are Bible believers, they treat the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper as means of grace. You're not saved by them, but you better take them. It's like mandatory that if you want to have the grace of God, you better partake in these. I partake them because I have experienced the grace of God freely through Christ Jesus our Lord and His resurrection is the exclamation point for that. We're freely been forgiven. Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare Whose righteousness does it say? His righteousness. As believers, we don't have our own self-righteousness. We are a picture of God's righteousness, God's redeeming grace, God's saving faith, God's perfect redemption only through Christ. To declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. Our past sins are remitted. They've already been paid for. We have a tendency to look at the things we did in the past. Oh, if I could live my life over, I would do this. But the reality, if you had your life to live over, you would go out and do the same things. But Christ, He has given you a new life. His righteousness. That's why it's a popular thing. That's why I don't like popular things. Some things are good. But Jesus Christ doesn't give you a brand new start. He gives you a whole new start. If we had a brand new start, guess what? It's another start that we can take over and we can do our own thing, but we need a brand new life that's given to us by Christ. For the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. His bearing with us, His steadiness in giving His Son, Jesus Christ, who was ordained before the foundation of the world, that He would take away our sins. Jesus didn't have to make a deal with His Father as the covenant theologians. There's a mythological covenant that Him and the Father signed together, but Jesus Christ was God from the beginning. There was no covenant to be signed. He knew because of His nature that He was going to the cross. There was no deal made in heaven. Christ knew it from the start when He was creating the world or before that one day I'm going to renew the world. And Lord willing, He starts with justification and He ends He starts with justification from the foundation of the world, and the world was created, man fell into sin through Adam. We have the benefit of having the fixing. Is that a right word? That's southern. I don't know where I'm getting these southern phrases. Maybe I'm thinking of Turkey with all the fixings. But Christ was in the world redeeming man. And there's going to be one day, and it could be very soon, where He will be on His throne in Jerusalem, in the Eschaton. That throne is not occupied right now. That's why Jesus isn't king today, He's the future king. But He is in heaven, He is our priest, but one day He will sit on that throne of David and he will rule the world in perfect righteousness. All the world will be in peace after the peace treaty and all that is signed by the Antichrist. The true king will reign in righteousness. But the forbearance of God Even so, today we have the gift of salvation and God is still patient. God desires everyone to repent, to change their mind, change their actions on what Christ has done. He's patient when we lose our patience. He's forbearing in His will. Will be done no matter what we do. Let's continue on and finish this chapter. To declare, I say at this time, His righteousness, again, that He might be just and the justifier of him which believe in Jesus. That's it. The gospel's been given. Christ died, was buried, rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures. If you believe that, you are justified. And by believe, it's not just a mental affirmation that you believe. You ever believe something beyond the shadow of a doubt that you know is true? Well, that's what the gospel is. We have the written record, and we have the application of that written record upon us. So as believers, we have assurance, assurance of what He's done. Verse number 27 says, where is boasting then? It's excluded. You have nothing to boast about. Look what I did. I gave $10 million to the church. Look at me. I did 18 novenas in my lifetime. Woo-hoo! 8-I special. But that's not the truth. If we're going to boast, Paul says this to the Corinthians, boast in the cross of Christ and what He did. Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Seeing it as one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through faith. See, as we know, the early church, as well as many, tried to say you had to do other works. The work of the day was circumcision. There's no difference. Because even those that were circumcised, their justification didn't come through circumcision, but by faith. It's a picture of faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law. See, we have now a law that's been written on our hearts. As unbelievers, we cannot be justified by the law, but as believers, We do those things, not perfectly, of course, Christ is always the one, but we now know right from wrong. We know God's will, or what's not God's will, and we're able to work from that. See, a true believer works from the position of completion. You have a complete faith. We do our works in thanksgiving of that faith. Our sanctification is because of the faith that we've been given. Amen? There's no other way but to be justified by faith. Declared righteousness. Declared righteous. Let's go, I'll start into the sermon now. I was going to pick and choose a few things out of Romans chapter 3 and chapter 4. Of course, as I always do, I think the context of it all is so important. And I think we've seen how Justification is done through faith in Christ and not of the law. Let's go back to chapter 2 for a second, and I'll be closing in about three minutes. Keep a timer on me if you want. Romans chapter 2. Let's skip all the way down to verse 11. He says, for there is no respect of persons with God. It doesn't matter whether you're Jew or Greek, rich or poor. We already said this earlier. No matter what, God is the ultimate in riches, is He not? God is the owner of the cattle of a thousand hills. God is the creator of the universe. God is the creator of you and me. It wasn't just an accident that we were born. It wasn't just an accident that man fell. God didn't cause it, but God knew His righteousness would be displayed through His Son, Jesus Christ, from the foundation of the world. He knew that man would fall. Verse number 12, for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law. A sin is a sin is a sin. A sinner is a sinner is a sinner. Whether you're with the law and know the commandments of God or whether you're without the law, sin is sin, doesn't matter. And as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. That's where an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That's where you have to pay back what you've done. The law will be your judge. If you try to live by the law, you're going to break that law. And that same law that you broke is going to be your judge. Verse number 13, "'For not the hearers of the law are justified before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves. which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, that their thoughts, the meanwhile, accusing or else excusing one another, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." See, the short and narrow of this is if you live by the law, you need to live by the law perfectly. You need to obey every commandment of God. Amen? It doesn't matter. So this shows the futility of trying to follow the law. You cannot reach it. We just read Romans 3.20. No man will be justified by the law, but by faith in Christ. Now, that's justification under the law. You must be perfect. but Christ fulfilled the law and his righteousness is given to you. You're justified freely. Now let's go over the book of Galatians for a second. Galatians chapter number two. Again, always try to read the entire books. But Galatians chapter number two, let's skip down through verse 11. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles. But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimilation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid! For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law. that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." See, even Peter tried to be both a Gentile and a Jew. He tried to live under faith, and he tried to satisfy man's demands by living under the law. You can't do both. So there is no mixture. We're justified. If you're justified by the law, you need perfect obedience to the law fully. But being justified under the gospel means that you've received Jesus Christ through faith. and faith alone. Amen? I think I'm going to end it there because I knew there'd be so much. I narrowed things down a lot. But just keep this in mind. As human beings, anybody a human being in here? As human beings we have our old sin nature, and we have a new nature that they dwell together. And they don't often cooperate one with another, do they? A lot of times that old nature likes to kind of drown out the new nature. But we need to always remember the free justification we have by believing the Gospel. Bottom line, Christ saves you. Bottom line, Christ in you is the hope of all glory. There is no other argument. Oh, I hear a song coming up. There is no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that He rose for me. Sadly, there are many places that don't know these few scriptures about that. and are trying to live a life of purpose. I said it, I talked to a couple gentlemen last night, and they said this, the problem that happens so often is much of the church is trying to treat symptoms of sin. You have the symptom of sexual problems, the symptom of finances, the symptom of relations, the symptom of bad breath or whatever. You can add your whole thing and what's happening is you keep on trying to treat those symptoms while the whole body is dying. We need to treat Even the term treat is hard. But we need to look at the fact that our entire bodies, our entire persons are sold unto sin. And the answer, even the answer for all those symptoms, the answer is that the whole person must be saved. being declared righteous. You can't just be declared righteous over one particular sin because you're under the law. But we are free in Christ. And when we look to His cross and His magnificent gift of salvation, that's when we have complete healing of whatever ails us. It may not be a healing whether emotional or physical in this life. But man, I'm looking forward to the time when we have a new body that will be like unto His, where we see Him as He is. And what does 1 John say in chapter 3, verse 2? He who has this hope, within him purifies himself. That is sanctification. That's why sanctification can only follow justification. You have been declared righteous. Go and sin no more. you won't keep on practicing sin, but you'll be able to look to Him that purchased you. Amen. Why don't we have Gordon and Butch come up and we'll celebrate the Lord's Supper. I just wanna just read a portion of the Gospel of John for a second. I was gonna try to get to this, but we'll get to it in part two of justification next week. The Gospel of John, chapter five. Verse number 19 and following says this, "...then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you," he's talking to the Pharisees by the way, "...verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do, For what things soweth he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth, and he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel. For as the Father raises up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. That's a great thing. Whom He will, whoever wills, come. Jesus will quicken you. He will give you eternal life. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto his Son. It's not Jesus who carries the little lambs around. He's the judge, not Jesus. That's the new Jesus that's around. Jesus wouldn't judge anyone. He's committed all judgment unto Him. and whoever believes in the gospel will not be under God's judgment, which I'm getting to in a second, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." In verse 24, "'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, I love the KJV here, hath. It's already done. Hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Talk about justification. by believing. That's why we celebrate. What was God's will that the Son would do? He would come into this earth. He would become a man, yet he would still be God. And he would take upon himself the wrath of God that was due each and every one of us. So think of this. Jesus is going to come into his kingdom and he will judge the world. He'll separate the sheep from the goats at the great white throne judgment. And, but how has he judged the world today? He's given himself. Think of that while we, while Butch and Gordon will pass out the crackers right now. Think of that. He's judged the world through giving His own flesh to the world. And we celebrate Him giving His flesh for us. That should be your bodies broken. and being judged, but Christ was broken on your behalf. Amen. Perchance if there'd be someone here that doesn't have this hope that purifies himself, that we look at this broken piece of bread And we think and remember what Christ has done on that cross being broken for us. I just say, just believe the gospel. He died for you to have life. And that life is abundant. It's eternal through what He's done. Amen. Take a couple moments and pray. Pray about your position in Christ, pray about your elevating Him over you and vice versa, and remember what He did. He died. He rose again on our behalf. Amen. While we prepare to bring the juice around, represents the body of Christ. I went over, I made a real good deal with Brianna just a few minutes ago, a deal that she can't resist. Here's what I did. I'm giving her a $20 bill. I'm receiving a $10 bill. That's a good deal for me, wasn't it? Who got the benefit of that deal? Brianna. She gained $10 on it. Amen. She's not going to tell anybody that I just traded that 20 so I can make an example of it. I have my original 10 back which I'll pocket. It's about what it's worth in real money. But what I did is exactly what Jesus Christ did through His blood. He purchased us. We have a pittance that we could give but our sins. And he gave this unbelievable currency in exchange for us, our sin nature. Closest I could be would be if Brianna had a $1 billion bill and I could give her a penny. That doesn't even... add up to what Christ did at the cross for us. His blood and what He did is just so amazing. Nothing will measure up in the world, but all I know is it purchased a poor sinner like me, like you, like all of us. And part of that purchase is we're going on an unbelievable trip. I look forward to a vacation every year, going to the mountains or the beach, but Christ paid my way to go to heaven. Think of that while we take part in the juice. His blood paid our way to eternity. It doesn't get any better than that. How can we neglect such great salvation? How can we not live for Him because of what He's done? Amen.