Our scripture for this morning is taken from the Psalms 103. Psalm of David. A lot of Bible scholars and commentators think that this may have been when he was a little older in life because of some of the things he says he has had a chance to experience. a lot of things in life. And this, this song is very dear to my heart because as you'll hear on some of these scriptures, it just, it applies to how merciful our God is and what a great refreshing re-encouragement is for us as sinners. That's how merciful he is. Psalm 103. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits. who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord excited righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass, as a flower of the field, as he forest. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. but the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto his children's children. To such as keep his covenant and to those who remember his commandments to do them, the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word, Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Would you open your Bibles to the fifth chapter of Romans? You can take your Bibles there and the book of Romans just there, right down your lap. We're going to talk about That's what the Lord says there in verse 1. Romans 5 verse 1. Therefore being justified by faith. Let me back up again. Speaking of Abraham. Go back to verse 20 of Romans chapter 4. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." People want to take Abraham and they want to use him as an example of, see, he did what God told him to do. And he did. And that's a good thing. And he had no fear of taking his son up on a mountain to sacrifice him. as God told him to do. Why didn't he have any fear? You and I would have fear, wouldn't we? I wasn't there with Abraham, so I don't know what he struggled with in his mind, but obviously what he knew about God and what he believed about God overcome whatever he might have thought or believed in the flesh. Those feelings of, oh, what am I going to do with my son? I'm going to take my own son's life? He had to have those thoughts. He was a man just like you and I are human. He staggered not the promise of God through unbelief and fully persuaded, verse 21, that what he had promised he was able also to perform and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also. to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Therefore, because of that, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to talk to you this morning a little bit about justified by faith. I can't think of a more important message. If you're as weak as I am in the flesh, forgetful. I don't think any of you are as forgetful as I am. I couldn't even remember what congestive heart failure was. I forget stuff unless it's written out completely for me, word for word, I'm going to forget what it is. Speaking in regards to things such as the fruit of the Spirit, the conversation earlier this week, We were talking about the responsibility of men and that there should be a fruit produced. That faith should produce a fruit. We should be a new creature. And I talked a little bit about this last week, about being a new person, a new man. I brought out the points that being a new person is, all of a sudden, I see sin for what it is. It wasn't the good old John that used to be there, that wasn't out there to hurt anybody. No, I'm a new man who sins against my God. Who sins against the one who created me. Who sins against the one who loves me. That's the new me. Well, there's other things that should be new too. I just don't see them. Others might. I pointed out, I think it's Colossians where Paul is thankful because he has heard. He's heard the good news. He's heard that the folks in Colossia, they believe God. What a great thing. What a great thing to hear. I heard about some folks down in San Diego that love the Lord. They love the gospel like I do. They're sinners. They claim to be sinners. They know they're sinners. And they know the only good news is that Jesus Christ died for His people. That's the only good news. I heard it was great. You go down and talk to them down there, all they see is their sin. That's why we're all chiefs. We're always seeing our sin before us. We're always seeing the one thing in this flesh that we don't like. And why don't we like it? Because we're like God now. We hate sin. I know. Just like forgetting. Everything I do, folks, is full of sin. Even the good that I do. brings up pride and makes it sinful. There are all kinds of other reasons too. Justified by faith. It says, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What a verse. What a verse to speak. To speak to our hearts. Now, first of all, being justified before God, do you know what the word means? Do you know what that word means, justified? It means to be holy. It means to be righteous. The only person that God can receive into His presence is a holy person. That's it. You got a little bit of sin in you, you can't be before God. He can't be in the presence of sin. Sin has to be put away. It has to be put away. Justification means to be holy without sin, without guilt, absolutely pure, perfect in the sight of God. It's justified. The other thing in which we ought to be interested in, in this word of justification, justified by faith, is having peace with God. I'm not talking about the kind of peace that false prophets talk about. Isaiah said this, he said, they cry, peace, peace, when there is no peace. There's a big, big movement going on in this country right now. Do not be deceived by men. Look, that crazy idiot who took that man's life that day while he was on that college campus, that's absolute insanity. But I've heard that man say this, if you'll just let God be your Lord, He'll be your Lord. And that's hogwash. There is no greater tragedy in this country right now than a man who stood up and spoke was killed. That's a tragedy that nobody should take any pleasure in whatsoever. But that movement That so-called religious movement that's going on right now is not after the God of Scriptures. It's the God of men's hearts. I. I determined my own way. I. I. I. I gave myself over to God. I take of the Lord, so I go to church on whatever day you want to go to church on. It's all about I. That's not what we're talking about here. Justification means to be holy without sin, without blame, absolutely pure, pure of heart, and only those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in their heart are pure of heart. I'm talking about genuine peace. The peace that you get when you drop to your knees and you say, Lord, have mercy on me because I just thought this wrong thought of this person over here. being delivered from the curse and the condemnation because I can't follow God's law, not even to the slightest. How many of you know what it is to be pardoned? Do you know a man still has a record, even if they're pardoned? You know that president we had who gave all those pardons out? That did not make those people not guilty. Pardon means you can't punish them, because I just wrote it off. That's what pardons are. How many know what it is to be paroled? To be paroled means that you can go, but you're still guilty, and if you do anything, we're going to bring you back and charge you double what you were. How many knew what it really means to be justified? To be justified is not just to be pardoned, paroled, or forgiven. It's to be justified. It's not to be guilty at all. If a man is justified, that means he is literally without sin. It means that there is no charge against you on the books, no charge against you in the presence of God. You are justified, just as if you'd never sinned. What do you think being washed white as snow means? It means being washed as white as snow. We talked about the word purge. That's exactly what purge did. In Hebrews, where it talks about being purged of our sins, that means being washed completely, as if they'd never been there. Excuse me a minute. Tickle. It means being perfected, as it says in Hebrews chapter 9. Perfected forever. Them that are sanctified, set apart. Set apart and made holy. I'm talking about being justified without guilt, without blame. It says in God's Word, holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight. That's what holy is. That's being holy. It's unreprovable. How can that be to John, the greatest sinner there is that ever walked this earth? I have water, but thank you. Holy. Unblameable. Unreprovable in the sight of God. That's what it means to be justified. How is this possible? when you talk about justifying a sinner. Here comes the good news! Here comes the gospel of Christ Jesus and Him crucified. Do you know that's the gospel? Plain and simple. That's what we're to go out into the world and preach, is preach the gospel. People think, oh, you've got to dive deeper into God's Word. You've got to dive into Matthew 24 and see what the Lord says about the return of God, the end of times. You've got to dive into Matthew 23 and look at the woes. Look at how you're supposed to walk. It doesn't matter how John walked. Don't get me wrong. Like Gabe said this morning, the new man is the one So I'm talking about being justified. We already went over this, holy, unblemishable, unapprovable, inside of God. That's what it means to be justified. That is what justification is. It means that we are forgiven, we are pardoned, but in Christ, is what the scripture says, we are justified. That means we are not guilty in Him. How is it possible? There we are. Now I know where I'm at. If I go back and repeat something, you'll forgive me. How is this possible, since the Word of God says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God? How is it possible for somebody who sins as bad as John Reeve, for somebody whose mind is as corrupt as mine, for me to be justified, holy, unapprovable in God's sight? Scripture says this, it says, there is not a just man on earth which doeth good or sinneth not. It says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. It says, the Lord looked down upon from heaven to see if there was any that did understand, and if there were any that did seek God, and he said, they are all together become unprofitable, there is none good, That's what the book of Romans is all about. If you want a key to this book, it is this, that the book of Romans declares an answer to Job's question, where in Job we read, how can a man be just with God? Job and his friends asked it two or three times, how can a man be just with God? How can he be clean that is born of a woman? Behold the moon, it shineth not. The stars are not clean in God's sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man who drinks iniquity like water? How can he be clean that is born of a woman? We're talking about being God clean. That's what we're talking about. We're not talking about going and taking a shower after working after a hard, heavy day, and sweating, or working with the animals and getting all dirty. We're talking about perfect, righteous cleanliness. Unapprovable in His sight. How can a man who is a sinner be holy and righteous in God's sight? The scripture says this, who shall stand in His presence He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who has never lifted up his soul to vanity. How can God be just and justify the ungodly? In the first three chapters of this book of Romans, Paul lays bare our sinful hearts. He deals with the Gentiles first, then the pagans, and the heathen, and the idolaters, and then he just lays bare our wicked hearts as Gentiles. In Romans 1 verse 29 he says this, being filled with unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covenants, being filled with maliciousness, being full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, backbiters and whisperers, haters of God, proud boasters. Not only do we delight in those things, but we delight, are delighted in those that do them. That's what we are by nature. Paul just lays it all out. The wicked sins of our evil hearts. He comes to verse 9 of Romans chapter 3 and he says this, Therefore, both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin. We've been reading a book Our brother Rick gave us, some of us, about Israel not being Israel. There's a lot of advertisement on TV right now about the folks over in Israel and the persecution that they're receiving and the war that they're fighting. And there's many who believe that God's going to come back and establish a throne over there in that land. They are all under sin, is what Paul says. All under the curse. All under the judgment. We are not on probation. The trial is over. We are all guilty. We are all guilty before God, so therefore when Paul deals with these things in Romans 1, 2, and 3, he says finally over in Romans 3, there is none good, there is none righteous, there is none that seek after God. He said this, our hearts are an open sepulcher, the poison of snakes is under our lips, our feet are swift to shed blood, there is no fear of God before our eyes. That was John Reeves in the old nature. He goes on that way and comes to this conclusion. He says, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Speaking of the fruit of the spirit, we are justified by faith. without the deeds of the law. There is no possibility of any of us keeping the law. You see, our sins and our guilt rules out any possibility of being justified or made righteous before God by what we do. What we do is wrong, what we do is evil, what we say and what we think are evil. Paul says this, he says, even the good that I do, I see evil. That's Paul. He wasn't talking about his self-righteous man, the old man, when he was a Pharisee going around persecuting God's church. He was talking about himself right then, after God had blinded him and called him into the light of Jesus Christ right there on that road to Damascus. Folks, this flesh doesn't get any better. So how is it that we can be considered justified? Well, look at verse 1 again with me. Look at this and consider this is what is in your heart. This is that new heart that God has given you to believe Him, who He is, God in the flesh, to believe what He's done, He's established the law for us. I thought it was the tide. I guess not. Romans 3.19 says, Now we know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith to all who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped. There are no alibis, there are no excuses. All the world hath become guilty before God. Because of that, because of our guilt and sins, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified. Paul said, just rule it out. Rule out salvation by works. Rule out salvation by deeds of the law. Rule out acceptance with God by anything that man does or says and gives. It is impossible knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law. That's what Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 2 and 3. He says, no man justified by the law and the sign of God. It is evident, it is perfectly evident, that the just shall live by faith. Therefore, being justified by what? Faith. Faith in what? Faith in Christ. He's done it all for me. I can't do any of it. But here's the deal. What Christ has done is perfect. That means every single one for whom He went to that cross and died for. He didn't die for the whole world, did He? No. That's what makes grace so wonderful to a sinner who needs grace. That's what makes Christ such a wonderful thing. It's a diamond on a black felt. The black felt is what I was before God moved in and took over my heart. Yes, yes, He moved in and took over. He kicked out, got rid of that old heart that shook His fist and said, I'll not have this one rule over me. And now I gladly accept Him as my King. Here's a question for you. If God is to receive folks like you and I, if this holy and righteous, perfect, infinite God is to receive us and accept us into his fellowship, into his kingdom, into his communion, then he has to find a way to make us holy, doesn't he? You can't just sweep it under the rug. He wouldn't be a just God. The word justified starts with something very important. Just. That means right. We don't know what that is in this country. We think we do. But too many get away with being unjust, don't they? I don't know about you folks, but I'm unjust all the time. And there's all kinds of ways we can be unjust. God is not unjust. He is perfectly just in what He did. He's the just. and the Justifier. When God sent His only begotten Son to this world, He sent Him here for one reason. You realize now, if you take your... I want you to just kind of try to... it's tough for me, but try to get a grasp on that. Everything! I brought it out in Friday night study. the world. Everything in it. As scaffolding. What do they use scaffolding for? They use scaffolding to build things up. You know, things that are too tall for us to do big, long buildings. Think of every single thing that's happening in the world as scaffolding. Being used. That's what scaffolding is. To be used. To build things. Being used to build God's church. Everything. Having a child. Having a child. You don't know. How many people thought at the time when Ruth and Naomi came back to Bethlehem, back to the City of Bread, when they came back to the City of Bread, how many people there do you think thought Ruth from Moab, of Moabites? be the great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother of Jesus Christ himself. How many people do you think would have thought that? That's the scaffolding I'm talking about. God caused every single step of what we read in the book of Ruth to happen for that very reason. Everything in the Bible that has happened, for real, everything. I'm not talking about the parables, although I believe parables, and it's just my own personal belief. I believe they're real, too. I believe they actually happened. He presented it as a story, but I think it's something that really happened. Every single step of that story about Ruth. was part of that scaffolding building up God's church. Setting the stage for Jesus Christ to come to this world. For God Almighty to be manifest in the flesh. Setting the stage for you and I to be saved is really what it's all about. For God to shine His mercy and His grace in the lives of His people, and we just happen to be a part of that. Isn't that good? That's good news. I can't do it on my own. I can't justify myself by the works of the law. That's what Scripture tells me. You know what? I know that. I see it plain as can be in how I act and how I think and what I do. How can a man be holy before God when the Just One justifies us through His works? We can't wrap our minds around the depth of that, how Christ was made sin for you and I. I was asked, what is it you don't understand about that, John? Everything. You've heard me say this. I wish men would stop trying to explain it. What part of it are you struggling with? Every bit of it. The perfect, righteous, holy God who knew no sin, who was manifest in the flesh, was made sin for me. I can't even imagine that. You can use whatever words you want to try to describe it, to understand it. Not this sinner. But I believe it. You see, I'm justified by faith. By the faith that He has given me. I believe everything He says in His Word. This is the Word of God. I don't care what you say. I don't care what anybody says. This is more important than anything this world has ever produced. Because I believe. God does not lower the standard of His law. He doesn't bring His law down from perfection to fix it so that we can keep it. God Almighty does not make the new law. His law is just, and it has always been, and His law is unchanging. The perfect, holy law of God, the infinite, majestic, immaculate law of God requires perfection, and Christ is that perfection for us. I've been talking about holiness. So let's consider this for a moment. What is holiness? What is this righteousness? This righteousness is what the law demands. The law demands holiness. This righteousness is what God must have. It's what the character of God demands. It's what he must have to receive you and I. Abraham didn't have it by himself. He was a sinner, just like we were. Yet he staggered not, as we read there in verse 20, at the promise of God through unbelief. In Romans chapter 4, verse 5, we read this. It says, he that believeth on Christ, that justifieth the ungodly his faith, is imputed for righteousness, or it's counted for righteousness. It is not in doing, but believing. Look at Romans chapter 4, verse 6. Blessed is the man whom God imputes as righteousness without works. Romans 1, chapter 4, verse 6, even as David also describes the blessings of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works. Do you mean you can have righteousness without doing any good works? Without having the so-called fruit of the Spirit? Without seeing the fruit of the Spirit in your own works? That's exactly what I mean. That's exactly what it says right there. whom God imputeth righteousness without works. It says in Romans 4 verse 22, Abraham believed God, as we read a moment ago. He believed that God was able to do all that He had promised to do. And that's exactly what I'm trying to tell you this morning. We are justified, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace, knowing that God is able to do, He's able to save to the uttermost. When we get to a point in our lives, and I know some of you have been there. Some of you will have to go through it again. Those of you who haven't been there yet, you can count on it. You will be there someday. You're going to be so stressed out at something that's in your life that you're going to be, where is God today? Where is my God? I know all this stuff that it says in the Bible. I just don't think God is hearing me. I don't think he's with me sometimes. Yet because I believe, he brings me through that with peace. Sometimes I don't see it right away. Those of you who've been through it and are shaking your head going, yeah, I've been there, I know what he's talking about. Those of you who haven't, You will, but He'll bring you through if you just remember this, I believe who He is. I know that I cannot believe who He is without Him being in me. I believe what He has done and I know I cannot believe what He has done without Him being in me. You go through something like that, My brother has been through it twice now. And despite the lowliness that it has taken him down to, Jesus Christ is still God. God Almighty. My ruler, he's Lord of my heart. I willingly give myself to him as my Lord. And every one of God's people will do the same because of our Lord. Not anything for us, not any strength of us, but because of him. Abraham did not have it in himself. He was a sinner just like you and I are. He had the same struggles. They're not at the promise through unbelief. It is written, for us also whom it shall be imputed. That's what it says down there in verse 23 and 24. But it is not written for our sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also. When you're on your knees, from the stress of this world, from the things that go through this world, from the things that we have to go through in this flesh, remember this. I believe. Alright. What the law could not do, that is to save us or to redeem us, or to make us acceptable because it was weak through our flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh. He did it. He did it all. He covered it all. When we look to that post that's sticking up, And we see the brazen serpent, the Lord Jesus Christ, being held up for all the people. He took care of it all. Did you notice they didn't have to go down to the post and do something? No, they just looked to Christ in belief. In the belief of their hearts. God's law says, do this and live. Christ did and earned salvation for us. The law says, walk before me perfectly. Christ did that also. God's law said, love me with all your heart, my soul, and my strength. Don't even think of an evil thought. Christ fulfilled it all. In that conversation I was having about the signs of the Holy Spirit being in you, the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is looking to Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is trusting Christ. The fruit of the Spirit. And that's what the Spirit does. He points us to the Lord Jesus. He never talks of Himself. Am I looking to Christ? Martin Luther said this, he said, Although I am a sinner, I know Him yet. I despair not for Jesus Christ, who is my Redeemer, and my righteousness liveth. Death couldn't hold him, folks. That's what Paul is saying, like I read earlier, therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified, therefore we conclude that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith, those who walk by faith. We read over in Romans chapter 8, who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Folks, if Christ died for my sins, they're paid for. If I'm justified in Him, I'm justified perfectly. If I'm justified in Christ, look at the last part of that verse of chapter 5, verse 1 once again. We have peace with God. but only through our Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over to Ephesians chapter 1, and I'll bring this to a close. We're like Tom Sawyer. Some of you remember Tom Sawyer, our brother. Now, I wasn't here for a long time before... My brother Lee was here for probably 5 or 6 years before I came. And I remember him telling me, it seems like that's all he ever read was Ephesians chapter 1. Everything we need about the Gospel is right here. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, where? In Christ. According as He has chosen us, in Him. before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame, justified before Him. In love, having predestinated us under the adoption of Jesus Christ, children by Jesus Christ, to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us Accepted. But notice what it says next. In the Beloved. Folks, if we're in Christ, and that's another message right there, isn't it? If we're in Christ, we're justified before God, just as if we'd never sinned. I know, you get up in the morning, you look in the mirror, and you say, John, that just doesn't match what I'm looking at. Quit looking at it. If you're like me, all I do when I see you in the mirror is somebody who's getting fat and can't wear a shirt and a tie without making them choke. I love you, brethren, sisters. You folks mean so much to me. Stand with me, if you would. Turn to page 175. You know, what a fitting song for us to sing. Justified in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hallelujah! What a Savior. Amen.