This gentleman's got a name if
I can remember, Lance Heller? And that's his commanding officer
sitting over here, Robin. And it's been how many years?
That we've been married? No. since you were here. I don't know. It's been at least
five. Five plus. We'll just call it five plus.
That will work. Thank you. By all means. Let me look at
it. I better do it for you. That's all. Here we go. Now you
got it. No, I'll be fine. Turn with me to Job, Job chapter
9. And you know, as we sang that
hymn just now that Rupert mentioned so many of those great gospel
hymns. are a message in themselves,
aren't they? They take these great truths that we find revealed
to us in the Word of God. And the Lord gifts men and women
to put them to song. And that's, after all, what psalms
are also, isn't it? What a blessing it is to be able
to sing those hymns. I often feel, you know, if I
could just preach like some of those hymns are, wouldn't that
be wonderful? But I do my best. And I'd just like to say how
thankful we are to the Lord for you and for your pastor and his
wife. You know, we're not... We're
not here often, and yet we do think of you, and you encourage
us. I think a lot of times churches
that we have contact with and fellowship with don't realize
that. But when we're on the field in New Guinea, it's a great encouragement
for us to think of you all here, to think of the Gospel going
forth, to think of a faithful man preaching the glorious grace
of our precious Lord and Savior. Well, this morning I'd like to
look at something that I think is a question that is of really
great importance. It always was a question of great
importance. It is a question of great importance,
and it will be a question of great importance until the Lord
returns. And it's found here in Job. It's
a question that was asked many, many thousands of years ago.
And the Lord has transcribed it here, placed it in His Word
for our learning. This is one of the most important
questions any man could ever ask. The importance of this question,
as I said, transcends time. Don't think, because it was asked
some 4,000 years ago, in all likelihood, that it's not relevant
today. You know, so many are thinking
that so much of the Word is no longer relevant. You know, we've
moved on. Every bit of the Word of God is relevant to you and
I. as He reveals it to us through His Spirit. Now, here is a question. Let me just read it, beginning
in chapter 9, in verse 1. And then Job answered and said,
Truly I know it is so, but how can a man be righteous before
God? You know, in the ministry in
New Guinea, there's a question I've found necessary to return
to again and again and again. Why? It's because if there's
anything we're prone to wander away from, it's the answer to
this question. How can a man be righteous before
God? This is a great question that
Job had personally. This was his great concern. How can a man be right in the
sight of God. Now, I think as Job asked this
question, it's important to see what were the circumstances and
what was the life of Job out of which he asked that question.
The Lord reveals a tremendous amount of detail about this man,
Job, and how he came to this place of asking this question.
So turn back to chapter 1, and let's just remind ourselves again
of the circumstances out of which Job utters this question. Job
chapter 1. And beginning there in verse
1, and we read, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name
was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared
God and shunned evil. And seven sons and three daughters
were born to him. Also his possessions were 7,000
sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys,
and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest
of all the people of the East." Now, Job was a man who possessed
everything that a man is concerned to have. He possessed family,
wealth, status, such that the Word of God says he was the greatest
of all the people of the East. And as we know, we can't go through
it all, but I know you're familiar with it. As we know, God, in
his purposes, for his good and for our good, gave Satan leave
to try his servant Job. Just remember, without God's
leave, Satan would not have been able to touch one hair of his
head. But God gave him leave. And Satan
touched Job, And we read that farther down there in verse 13,
there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and
drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and a messenger
came to Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the donkeys
feeding beside them when the Sabaeans raided them and took
them away. Indeed, they have killed the
servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped
to tell you. Well, what a blow, isn't that? What a blow! All of these servants
killed, all of these donkeys and camels, and here is Job staggering
under the weight of this news, and in verse 16, while this servant
was still speaking, another also came and said, the fire of God
fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and
consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. Think of this, how this must
have stunned Joe. Here's another blow, another
devastating blow. But you know, he still has 3,000
camels. He has many sons, many servants,
his sons and his daughters. Verse 16, while this servant
was still speaking, another also came and said, the Chaldeans
formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. Yes,
and killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I
alone have escaped to tell you. Well, here is Job. He's pummeled
by blow after blow. He must have been reeling in
shock. How could all this happen? No doubt Job thought, I've lost
everything, everything I possessed, and all my servants, my great
household, but I still have my sons and my daughters. I still
have my family. I'm sure you've seen often, isn't
that the statement made by people when a devastating tornado, for
example, goes through and they show a picture of them and everything
is leveled where their house used to be. They've lost everything.
And this is what they say. We've lost everything, but we're
safe. Our family is safe, and how thankful we are. Look at
verse 18. While this servant was still
speaking, another also came and said, Your sons and your daughters
were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.
And suddenly a great wind came up from across the wilderness
and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the
young people, and they are dead. And I alone have escaped to tell
you." Well, having lost every possession, having lost every
one of his children, in one day, in one day, what did Job do? Verse 20. Then Job arose, tore
his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground, and
worshipped, and worshipped, And he said, naked I came from my
mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave,
and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Oh, what a declaration of trust in his God, isn't that? Enough. Enough, you say. Enough. What
more could he lose? Well, as you know, Satan came
again. And he said, he's before God and said, oh, skin for skin. Yes. A man will give everything
for his skin. Take away his health and he'll
curse you. And the Lord said to Satan, behold,
he's in your hand, but do not take his life. And so, Sain went
out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with painful
boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head." And
these boils that are being spoken of here, the people that we work
among get these often. And one, one boil is, if such
excruciating pain, the person cannot sleep. They just groan. And Job was struck from the top
of his head to the sole of his foot with these boils. Well,
Job, we could say, lost everything. Lost everything. Everything! He thought so. Not everything.
Not everything. Now, Job had three friends. Three friends. Three caring friends.
Three sympathetic friends. Three compassionate friends.
And they heard of this great trial, this adversity that had
come upon their friend Job. And they came to comfort him.
Look down at verse 12 of chapter 2. Verse 12 of chapter 2. And here they come, and when
they raised their eyes from afar and did not recognize him, They
lifted their voices and wept, and each one tore his robe and
sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. So they sat down with
him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one
spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great."
Well, this is how we find Job. Turn back to chapter 9. This
is how we find Job, in a state of incomprehensible grief and
anguish. You know, there isn't a one of us that
can comprehend the state that Job is in. Can you? Here he is,
in a state of incomprehensible grief and anguish, having sustained
a loss, an incomprehensible loss, struggling with overwhelming
depression. How could this be? Has God left
me? He's suffering excruciating bodily
pain. And he's in a state of confusion
and perplexity. How can this be? Why does this
happen? And, well, he has these friends. We'll speak about them in a minute.
He has these friends who've come to help him. But what is his
great concern? In the midst of all of this,
think of this again. He's lost every possession in
this life. He's lost every son and daughter. And what is his concern? How
shall a man be righteous before God? Isn't that remarkable? This
is his concern. This is his pressing concern.
It's a pressing concern to every one of us. Now Job is responding
to counsel given to him by his friend Bildad. Now Bildad, one
of these three men who come, these three friends come to Job,
the other two, Eliphaz and Zophar, and what do they do? They come
and they preach messages to Job. This is what we find in Job.
These three men come and they each come and they preach messages
to Job. Now, what does Bildad say? What does Bildad say that Job
is responding to? Look back in chapter 8. Let's
just look there. We won't look at the whole thing.
But here is part of what Bildad is saying. He says, look there
in verse 3, Does God subvert judgment? Does the Almighty pervert justice?
If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for
their transgression. If you would earnestly seek God
and make your supplication to the Almighty, if you were pure
and upright, surely now He would awake for you and prosper your
rightful dwelling place. Though your beginning was small,
yet your latter end would increase abundantly. And then just skip
down to verse 20. Behold, God will not cast away
the blameless, nor will He uphold the evildoers. Now, that all
sounds good, doesn't it? That sounds right. How can we find fault with that?
Does God subvert judgment? No, God doesn't subvert judgment,
does he? Does he pervert justice? No. No, God doesn't pervert justice. If you're blameless, he won't
cast you away. That's true. See? That's true. All of these true statements,
but is this truth? That's the question. That's what
I want you to consider. Is this truth? Is this the gospel? Is this how a man can be right
with God? That's the question. That's what
Job is saying. Yes, I know that this is so,
but how can a man be righteous before God? Don't take my word for it. Keep
your place here and just turn over to Job chapter 42 and let's
see what God's estimation is of this counsel. Job chapter
42 and verse 7. We don't have to guess. God himself
tells us exactly what his judgment is with regard to this counsel,
this message preached by Bildad and Job's two other friends. Job 42 and verse 7. And so it
was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the
Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is aroused against you
and your two friends. Why? For you have not spoken
of me what is right, as my servant Job has." That's God's estimation
of Bildad's message and these other two friends of Job. My
wrath is aroused against all who preach this. Don't be deceived. This is a false gospel. This
is representative of false gospels which are out there everywhere
today. They're rampant in this country.
It's a false gospel. It's not characterized by outright
error. It's characterized by an absence
of truth. There's a difference. It's an
absence of truth. Turn back now to Job 9. Job 9, here is Job's response
to Bildad. And Job answered and said, truly
I know it is so. Truly I know, here's wisdom,
truly I know if I am pure and upright, God would prosper me
with an eternal habitation. But I am not pure and upright.
Truly I know that if I am blameless, God will not cast me away. But I'm not blameless. Truly
I know that God does not subvert judgment, nor does the Almighty
pervert justice. But I am guilty. And God will
by no means clear the guilty. How? This is the great question. How can a man be righteous before
God? This is the great and overwhelming
concern for Job. You see, sometimes it's more
significant of what is left out of a message than what's in a
message. To Bildad and all who preach
this type of false gospel, none of these things create any problem
at all. You see, all you have to do is
earnestly seek God. See, this is what Bildad is preaching.
Earnestly seek God. Turn from your sin. You pray
to Him. You commit your life to Jesus. You live a pure and upright life.
You go to church. You read the Bible. You get baptized. You get involved in the church.
What's so hard about all that? Just do it. Just do it. And the men preaching these things
are so caring. They're so compassionate. Sincerely
so. They're not fakes. No, you see,
these three men came and they were friends of Job and they
cared for him. They were compassionate. These men preaching these things,
they're sincere. They're sincere and they're caring.
And these churches are full of all sorts of help ministries. and multiplied millions are being
led away into an eternity of misery, hearing and believing
these things. Why? What's missing? The Gospel is missing. There's
no mention of the alienation of God to man, to man such as
you and I. No mention! No mention! of the
total inability of you and I to do anything to deal with that,
to rectify that. No mention of this need of reconciliation
to God because of this alienation. And how is that reconciliation
going to come about? There's no mention of the wrath
of a holy God against sin and His justice and the need of a
propitiatory sacrifice No mention of the bondage of
sin. And if there's no mention of the bondage of sin, well,
there's no need of redemption, is there? And if there's no need
of redemption, there's no need of a Redeemer. None of that,
see? None of that. No mention of the
Gospel. Yes, there can be many true and
right statements. And no mention of the Gospel.
Now, Job, if there was a man, if there ever was a man who could
feel that he was good enough to be accepted by God, it certainly
would have been Job. Certainly would have been Job.
What does God's Word itself declare about him? There is none like
him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears
God and shuns evil. But Job knew that in himself
it was impossible for him to be right with God. This is why
this great question, how can a man be righteous before God? Look in verse 3. If one wished
to contend with him, he could not answer him one time out of
a thousand. Job knows there is coming a day
in which God will judge the world in righteousness. Now think of
this. God does not judge the world
in mercy. God does not judge the world
in love. God judges the world in righteousness. And in Romans chapter 2, we're
told the judgment of God is according to truth. You know, so many people
believe that God, the judgment of God, will be according to
mercy. Isn't that true? They think, well, yes, I've fallen
here and there, but God is a merciful God. And when I stand in judgment,
He's going to judge. He's a merciful God. God, in
judgment, he is a merciful God. But in judgment, he doesn't judge
according to mercy. He judges according to truth.
He judges in righteousness. And Job knows that. If I wish
to contend with him, he could not answer one time out of a
thousand. Job knows that all men will stand
before God to give him an account. And what will they say? What
will they say? What will you say? He might say
he's righteous. Many do. He might think he's
righteous. He might have been told he's righteous. But when
he stands in the judgment of God, he won't be able to answer
one time. One time. Not one time out of
a thousand. What will he say? This is the
reality. This is the reality. Not that
this will occur exactly this way. Of course not. But this
is the reality. It's as if God will ask you about
the dollar you stole when you were a child. How will you answer? The lies you told your mother.
The lust in your heart. God will ask you. The evil thoughts. What will you say? What will
you say? If God asks you 1,000 questions,
or 10,000 questions, what will you say? You will not be able
to answer. Not one. Not one. Verse 14. Verse
14. How then can I answer him and
choose my words to reason with him? For though I were righteous,
I could not answer him. I would beg mercy of my judge." As I said, a man may say he's
righteous. Many do. Many do. And the people
we work among are very aggressive and conflict-oriented tribal
people. They fight all the time. All
the time. If people fight all the time,
what's the inevitable result of that? Well, courts, right?
And I've witnessed many courts. A person stands up, and I'm telling
you, I have never, never yet heard a person stand up and say,
I am completely wrong. Completely wrong. I am guilty
of everything that's said. It's the same here in the States,
isn't it? Have you ever heard a person in a court of law stand
up and say that? Never. And even in our own personal
interaction, you know, we get into these arguments and disagreements.
Well, well, yes, but. There's always the qualification.
Not in the court of God. This is what Job is saying. Many
might say they're righteous. I didn't do wrong. Or beg for
mercy. But God doesn't judge according
to mercy, does he? No, he doesn't. Many men and
women have said this, justifying themselves. Justifying themselves
in their own minds. Justifying themselves before
others. Justifying themselves before the bar of men. Yes, but
to stand in the court of God and say this is to condemn yourself,
to say, I'm not guilty. It's to condemn yourself. Verse 20, look there. Though
I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me. Though I were
blameless, it would prove me perverse. Well, Job 2. thinks about his
life. How couldn't he? In the state
that he's in. He thinks about his life and
he thinks about the shortness of life. How few do that. You know, we're like a flower. We're like this breath of wind. Gone. But how few think about
their life, the shortness of life. Look there in verse 25.
Now my days are swifter than a runner. They flee away, they
see no good. They pass like swift ships, like
an eagle swooping on its prey. Job knows that the time of death
is fast approaching. He gives this picture, the days
are flying swifter than a runner. You know, in the old days before
all these great technological innovations, way back, If an urgent message was sent,
how was it sent? With a runner, wasn't it? With
a swift runner. He's saying that his days are
passing quickly, swiftly, like swift ships, you know, with these
sails, and the wind is billowing behind them, pushing them forward,
and they're rushing, coursing through the sea. This is the
picture he's giving us. And he says, you know, there
may even be a false appearance, Our days are leisurely passing
by, you know, like the eagle soaring. It seems, you know,
they're wafting on those gentle breezes. But what happens when
it sees us pray? It falls like lightning. Like
that. And this is what Job is saying.
My days are here. Life is going by. Days are rapidly
passing away. The time of death is fast approaching. And if the time of death is fast
approaching, what does that mean? The righteous judgment of God
is drawing nearer and nearer. Verse 27. He says, if I say I will forget
my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile.
You see? See, his reasoning is in the
experience of men. What do men do? What do we do,
so to speak? We put off a sad face and wear
a smile. Don't bother me with all of these. I don't want to ask this question.
How can a man be righteous before God? Don't bother me with that
question. I'll put off my sad face and
wear a smile. I'll forget about this. And men
do, don't they? They put off aside all thinking.
All thinking about their own sin. They put aside their guilt,
their guilt before God. They put aside thinking about
the shortness of life, the nearness of death, and the approaching
judgment of God. They just put it behind them.
Don't do that. You know, in Isaiah 22, let me
read you what the proclamation of the Lord is against Jerusalem. This is what we read there, for
their iniquity. In that day, the Lord God of
hosts called for weeping and for mourning. Why? Because of
their iniquity. He called for boldness, to shave
their heads and for girding with sackcloth. Sackcloth and repentance
for sin. But listen, but instead, joy
and gladness. That's what they did. They put
off their sad face and wore a smile. Instead of joy and gladness,
slaying of oxen and killing sheep, living a great life. Eating meat
and drinking wine. Let us eat, drink, for tomorrow
we die. You know, I look around and I
see that's exactly what's happening everywhere today. Everywhere.
They put off a sad face and wear a smile. Oh, don't do that. Don't do that. See, Job knows
that's not a solution. How can a man be righteous before
God is his great concern. So many people come to church.
hearing even the gospel, but have no concern. They put off
their sad face. They think nothing of their sin,
nothing of their guilt. They find pleasure and happiness
in the things of the world. And boy, the world's out there
ready to offer whatever you want. It sure is. They wear a smile. Yeah, life is great. You know,
I want to tell so many young people, yes, it just seems so
wonderful, But it's not. It's not. Job cannot do this. He just cannot put this off and
wear a smile. No. Why? Verse 28. I am afraid
of all my sufferings. Listen. I know that you will
not hold me innocent. If I am condemned, why then do
I labor in vain? You see, Job knows he's a sinner.
He knows he's guilty before God. He knows the righteous judge
will not hold him innocent. He knows in himself he's condemned. He's condemned. Why then should
he labor in vain? Verse 30, he says, if I wash
myself with snow water and cleanse my hands with soap, what's he's
talking about? Washing himself. Well, he's talking
about religion, isn't he? Isn't that how we spiritually
wash ourselves with soap? It's religion. That's what he's
talking about. He can wash himself with the cleanest water known
to man. That's snow water. I don't know
if any of you have been up to Glacier National Park or one
of these glacier parks. And if you see the lakes there,
it is absolutely stunning. You have never seen water this
clear as glacier water. That's what Job is talking about.
When he talks about snow water, that's what he's talking about.
It is crystal clear. You can be the most religiously
perfect man. That's what he's saying. I can
wash myself with snow water, cleanse my hands with soap. You
can become like Mother Teresa, go to Calcutta, live in extreme
poverty, dedicate your life sacrificially. You can do all that. You can
wash yourself. You can wash yourself. But what
does Job conclude? It's nothing. It's all futility.
This would be nothing but foolishness. Look at verse 31. You can do
all that. Yet, you will plunge me into
the pit, and my own clothes would abhor me. You see, he cannot
make himself righteous. Job knows that. Yeah, I can do
all these things, but I am so vile a sinner, so polluted with
sin, and the filth, and the corruption of sin. Figuratively, it's if
my clothes could flee away, they would. That's what he's saying.
He cannot make himself righteous. And so Job thinks, well, if he
can't, then he needs a mediator, doesn't he? Now he thinks, If
I can't, will I need someone to mediate for me? Verse 32,
he thinks of God. For he is not a man as I am,
that I may answer him that we should go to court together.
Nor is there any mediator between us who may lay his hand on us
both. Now Job understands that God
is not a man as we are. You know, we need to understand
that. Job is not a man, God is not
a man as we are. He is wise in heart and mighty
in strength. He is holy with a burning purity,
and he is righteous with an overflowing righteousness. How can such a
one be satisfied with anything less than a perfect righteousness? If he were a man, Job is thinking,
if he were a man, well, I could get someone to mediate for me,
to lay his hand upon us both. You know, that's what we do,
isn't it? We come into some dispute and we just can't reconcile it,
it can't be resolved, and we get a mediator to come and mediate
for us. But where can a mediator be found? God is not a man as we are. What man can mediate between
Job and God? All men are guilty before God. And Job thinks, where is there
a man who is of such righteousness that he can come before God and
speak to Him for me? Where is the man who is of such
holiness that he can lay his hand upon the Almighty? Where is there a mediator? This
is what Job is thinking. Where is there a mediator? Is
there a man? Well, this is the good news. The gospel of God's grace, isn't
it? There is a mediator. There is
a man. And Paul writes that to Timothy
in his first epistle. He says, there is one mediator,
one mediator, one mediator between God and man. The man, Jesus Christ. The man, Jesus Christ. What a
wonder. What a wonder. A sinner can be
justified in the sight of God. A sinner who is wrong in every
point can be made right in every part, in every part, through
this mediator. We'll look at that. Turn to Romans
chapter 3. The Word of God speaks to us
about this. Romans chapter 3. Well, what does the law say to
you and me? You know, most people think that
the law says good things to you and me. If, you know, we might
do some wrong, and the law condemns us for that, but we do some right,
and the law speaks good things. Really! They might not say it
in those words, but that's really what most people think. They
think the law says good things to you and me. Well, what does
the law say? Does the law tell you that you're righteous? Let's
begin there in verse 19. And Paul is writing, and he's
expounding on this glorious gospel that's been revealed to him.
And he says, now we know that whatever the law says, it says
to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped
and all the world may become guilty before God. Well, you say I go to church.
And the law says, you've stolen. You say, I go to a gospel church.
And the law says to you, you've coveted your neighbor's wife.
Well, you say, wait a minute, I go to a sovereign grace gospel
church. And the law says, you've killed your own brother
by the hatred in your heart. You say, I read God's Word and
I pray, and the law says to you, you've borne false witness. I
could go on, couldn't I? Well, what will you say in response? What will you say in response?
See, this is the law speaking to you. What does the law say
to you and me? What will we say? Your mouth
will be stopped. That's what Job is speaking about,
see? Your mouth will be stopped. The law says only one thing to
you and to me and to all the world. The law says, what? Guilty! Guilty! That's all the law says
to you and me. Why? Because we're sinners. We're
sinners. Will a man be justified by the
deeds of the law? Is there any way, any way a man
might be justified by the deeds of the law? No, look at verse
20. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified
in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Oh yes,
as we've seen, a man may be justified in his own eyes. He may be justified
in the eyes of other men. He may be justified in the eyes
of the church. That no man, no man, no man will
be justified in the eyes of God by the deeds of the law. The
law cannot justify a man. Why? Because man's a sinner. Because man is a sinner. Because
there is none righteous. Just look back in verse 10 of
this same chapter. This is who you and I are. Look there in verse 10. This
is who you and I are. Now listen. There is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that
understands. There is none who seek after
God. They are all gone out of their
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none who doeth good. No, not one. How much stronger can the Word
of God speak to us about who we are? There is none righteous. If I can use the vernacular of
today, what part of none don't we understand? There is none
righteous. The law can only justify what? a righteous man. That's all.
But there is none righteous. No, not one. The work of the
law, as it says here, is to reveal to us that we're sinners, that
we're guilty before God. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. Have you ever thought of the
irony of this? The only man who has this knowledge,
the only man who has the knowledge of sin, his sin, is the righteous
man, isn't it? Is the righteous man. Justification is not found. This is what we're being told.
Justification is not found in the law because we're all sinners. We find only one thing in the
law. Continue there in verse 21. You and I find only one thing
in the law, and what's that? Condemnation. But here, what
we read of something else, verse 21, "...but now the righteousness
of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets." Well, what righteousness is revealed?
What righteousness is revealed? Is it the righteousness which
is of the law, and the righteousness of God? No. It's the righteousness
of God apart from the law. Is it the righteousness of God
and the righteousness of man? No. No. It's the righteousness
of God that's revealed. The righteousness of God apart
from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets. For a man to stand before God
and be declared righteous in His sight... Let me put it this
way. Just think of it in this way. Man stands before God at the
bar of justice. What righteousness does God look
for? What righteousness does God look
for to declare the man to be justified? He looks for the righteousness
of God. He doesn't look for your righteousness. He doesn't look at a man and
consider, is this man righteous? Does this man have a righteousness
of his own? Does he? He looks for the righteousness
of God. He looks for his own righteousness
to justify that man. God does not look for the righteousness
that man has done. How could he? We have none. We
have none. Let me take this a step further.
Consider my father, as I think many of you know. My father and
mother were missionaries in Papua New Guinea for 52 years. Now, if my father were to stand
before the bar of God's justice, before God's righteousness and
say, I gave up my family, I gave up home, I gave up comfort, security,
and I have labored sacrificially, at great cost to my life, for
50 years, in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, preaching the glorious
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that a justifying righteousness?
Is it? No, it's not. That's not a justifying
righteousness. Is this the righteousness which
is a justifying righteousness? No. Even our best works, even
our very best works, our righteousnesses are nothing but filthy rags. Nothing but filthy rags. That's
not a justifying righteousness. God does not look for that righteousness. No, He looks for His righteousness,
the righteousness which is of God. I could say, for all of us, what
do we have after a life of faith? You know, so many people are
confused about this. What do we have if we were to stand before
God after a life of faith? I'm talking about you and I.
After a life of faith, if I were to tally up all the righteousnesses
that I have done, what would I have? Nothing. That's right. Nothing. Nothing. The righteousness of God is apart
from the law. That's what we're told here.
Apart from the law. The righteousness of God is apart
from anything that you or I can do or cannot do. It's apart from
the law. Verse 22, look there. even the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all
and on all who believe, for there is no difference." Well, what are we told here? How is
the righteousness of God to be found? It's found by faith. It's found by faith. Why? Why
is the righteousness of God found by faith? Because it's not found
in you. It's found in another. If righteousness
is found in you and in me, then it's not a faith, is it? How
could it be a faith? Faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. is found in us, in our good works.
Well, we see those things, don't we? We touch those things. We handle those things. It's
right before our eyes, our good works. And that's how we look
at them often, don't we? The one outside of Christ, he
looks at his good works and he thinks, I have such a righteousness. But that's not a faith, is it?
That's not a faith. It's right there before his eyes.
He looks at it. He does it. The righteousness which is of
faith is not found in man, but in God. The righteousness of
God is found, as we know, it's found in Jesus Christ. The righteousness
of God is through faith in Jesus Christ, through faith in the
work that Christ has done, not in the work that you and I have
done. Paul continues, look there in
verse 23. What have you done? What have I done? Verse 23, "...for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Do not
be deceived by false teaching. Do not be deceived by your own
deceitful heart. All have sinned and all fall
short of the glory of God. Is that true of you? Is that
true of me? All the world is guilty before
God. You know, you can fall short.
Think of this. You know, you can fall short
of anything. Anything else. And it doesn't
matter, does it? Really. In the overall picture. You can fall short in everything.
Anything that you can think of, you and I can fall short of.
We fall short of so many things. Oh, but to fall short of the
glory of God. Well, that does matter, doesn't
it? That does matter. All the world is guilty before
God. All fall short of the glory of
God. But here, look in verse 24. Here
is this message. It's a message like no other
message. It's a message that we could
not even dream up if we had 10,000 times 10,000 years to think of. What do we read? Being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. God justifies freely. He justifies by His grace. But the question is, how can
God do this? How can God justify the ungodly? He judges according to truth.
He judges according to righteousness. How can God justify the ungodly? Well, as we've seen, man is not
justified by a righteousness which is found in himself. He's
justified by a righteousness that is found in another. The
one who is justified by God does not perform this righteousness
in his own person, this righteousness is not in his heart, in his mind,
in his will, in his actions, he knew no righteousness. He
knew no righteousness. Isn't that true? He is free of
righteousness. This is what Paul means when
he says there in Romans, for when you were slaves of sin,
you were free from righteousness. We have no righteousness in ourselves. Furthermore, we're told that
we're the very opposite. We're the very antithesis of
righteousness. We're ungodly. How can a just God justify the
ungodly? were justified by the obedience
and righteousness of this one man, Jesus Christ. And this perfect
righteousness of Christ is imputed to this man, according to God's
purpose, is imputed. And as a result, this righteousness
of Christ, which is imputed, is this man's righteousness,
as surely as if he performed it in his own person. It's not as if he is made righteous.
He is righteous. Isn't that what the Word of God
tells us? When he stands before the bar of God's justice, God
will declare him to be righteous with a perfect righteousness.
It's his righteousness. It's not as if he's righteous.
But the righteousness is not found in him, is it? No, it's
not. You know, John Bunyan was one
of the greatest preachers that God has ever been pleased to
gift his church with. And he wrote, indeed, this is
one of the greatest mysteries in the world, namely, that a
righteousness which resides with a person in heaven should justify
me as sinner on earth. The ungodly are justified by
a righteousness which is wholly outside of themselves. Wholly
outside of themselves, but nevertheless, it's theirs. It's theirs by imputation. You know, Paul, when writing
to the Philippians, put it this way, "...and be found in him."
Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of
God." The righteousness which is of God by faith. Why? Because Paul knows, and
he understands, that he has no righteousness in himself. If
he's ever to be found righteous, That righteousness must be found
in another, and it's found in him. It's found in him by faith. Because the righteousness Paul
is in need of, the righteousness that you and I are in need of
for justification, is a righteousness which resides only in this one
person, the Lord Jesus Christ. The righteousness of Christ,
which is imputed to us for justification, is still His righteousness, isn't
it? It becomes ours, but nevertheless
it's still His righteousness and resides with Him, but it's
truly ours by imputation. Do you understand this? But you
know, what of the multitude of our offenses? What of the multitude
of our offenses? Well, we're granted the perfect
righteousness of Christ, yes. But what of the guilt of our
sins? The penalty for our sins must
be satisfied, mustn't it? For the justice of God to be
satisfied. It must be satisfied if there's
ever to be justification. And it is! It is! Look there
in verse 24. "...being justified freely by
His grace." How? through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. The work of Christ and the justification
of the sinner is accomplished through the imputed righteousness
of Christ. But listen, it also includes
the satisfaction of Christ for the sins of his people. And we
know that to be true, don't we? You know, turn over to 1 Corinthians
chapter 5 for a moment, and we'll finish up there. 1 Corinthians
chapter 5. Look there in verse 18. We read
1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse
18. Now all things are of God. Well, we know that to be true
in every sense. 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Sorry,
2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 18. And we read, now all things are
of God. And as I said, we know that to
be true with respect to everything. Everything. All things are of
God. But here, in particular, when
it's speaking about all things, it's speaking about this great
redemptive work of God in His Son, Jesus Christ. Everything
having to do with the redemption of His people is of God. All
things are of God. He says, "...all things are of
God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ,
and has given us the ministry of reconciliation." That is,
that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing
their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word
of reconciliation. Now, how is it, see? God is not
imputing, in reconciling his people to himself, he does not
impute their trespasses to them. How is it that God would not
impute trespasses to those who were clearly trespassers? How is it? Because their trespasses
were imputed to Christ. Look down in verse 21. For He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him." You see, there could be no free
gift of justification unless these many offenses were blotted
out. For He made Him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, for what reason? That we might become
the righteousness of God in Him. Christ made sin for us as a necessary
condition for being made the righteousness of God in Him.
The many offenses, our many offenses, were not in the heart. in the mind, in the will, or
in the action of Jesus Christ, with respect to the many offenses
of His people, the Lord Jesus Christ is said to know no sin. He knew no sin. The sin which
results in the condemnation of the Lord Jesus Christ for the
sins of His people is not found in Him. It does not reside in
Him. It's not because of anything
which God does in Him, nor in anything that He did. He was made to be sin for us,
who knew no sin. Nevertheless, As surely as we
are made righteous by His righteousness, He is condemned by our sin. He is guilty of sin because it
is His sin by imputation. Christ is condemned by sin which
is not found in Him, but resides in all those for whom He died.
Nevertheless, it is truly His sin by imputation, and Christ
is therefore justly judged by God, is guilty, condemned, and
dies. For what reason? Because of the
many offenses of His people being imputed to Him. There, back in
Romans chapter 3, we read, we're justified through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. And the ransom price of that
redemption was the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our sins were
made to be His sins by imputation. And He fully satisfied the divine
justice And satisfaction was made. Satisfaction before a God
who judges in righteousness. Satisfaction before a God who
judges in truth. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And
you know, God in His great grace revealed this redemption once
again in Job 19. We read, listen to this wonderful
declaration by this great father of our faith. Thousands of years
before Christ ever came into the world, this is what Job says,
For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and he shall stand at last upon
the earth. And after my skin is destroyed,
this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God. Whom I shall
see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart learns within me. Amen.