Okay, if you're in Romans 4, both messages today are going
to come from Romans 4, but today, to start with here, I want us
to look at these first five verses. The title of this message is,
God Justifies the Ungodly. Let's read down through these
verses. When we get to verse 5, we'll see a phrase here. You
see where I found the title of this message. Romans 4 and verse
1. What shall we say then that Abraham,
our father, as pertaining to the flesh is found? Has Abraham
found anything based on his works? Did Abraham find any standing
with God based on his works? Look on, for if Abraham were
justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. Now the whole subject of Romans
4 is the basis of Abraham's justification. Was he justified by works or
was he justified by grace? It's not a question of whether
Abraham was justified. It's the basis of Abraham's justification. Verse three, for what sayeth
the scripture? And that's what's important about
Abraham and about any who's justified. What does the scripture say?
Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
I'm not going to explain that yet too much right here, but
we'll look at it further as we get on into the message. Verse
4 and 5. Now to him that worketh is... Let me say a little bit
about verse 3. Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him for righteousness. That's either what Abraham came
up with in believing. It could be the faith God gave
Abraham, or it's the object of that faith. It's who he looked
to. It's what he believed. See, he believed God. And we're
going to see in this message that God showed Abraham a lot
of things. He showed him his glory in the
face of Christ. He showed him the Savior who
would come and work out a perfect righteousness. Now, verse 4.
Now, to him that worketh is the reward, not reckoned of grace,
but of debt. If you work for the reward, the
reward we're talking about here is justification. If you work
for that, then it won't be counted to you as grace, it'll be counted
to you as a debt that you earned. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Now, in this message, we see
right here a phrase in verse 5. It's so important that I've
devoted this whole message to this phrase. That phrase is,
him that justifies the ungodly. And why is that so important?
It's important because this is a judgment executed by God that
identifies Him and distinguishes Him from the idols of men's imaginations. The Lord is known by the righteousness,
by the judgment He executes. That's Psalm 9 and verse 16. And if you remember, I'm preaching
a little series of messages here. I thought it was going to be
three messages, but it looks like it's going to be six at
least. But it's a series of messages entitled, Known by Judgment.
The Lord is known by the judgment he executes. The wicked is snared
by the work of his own hands. So this little phrase, God justifies
the ungodly, is the second judgment that God renders, that he executes. that distinguishes him from the
idols of men's imagination. You remember the first of these
judgments we studied in my last message in this series, and it
was God's judgment against sin. A just God punishes sin. He proved that he was just when
he sent Christ to the cross to pay the sin debt of those he
represented, those he had been given. God was just to punish
him for those sins. And today, we're looking at the
second of those judgments that makes God known, that identifies
Him and distinguishes Him, that God justifies the ungodly. Now,
the first thing we want to consider today is the Him who justifies.
Who is the justifier here? Who does the justifying? The
answer is God and God alone. He justifies. Well, let me cite
several verses that say so. Our text is one. Abraham believed
God. He believed the God who justifies
the ungodly. But then Romans three and verse
six, that's just right up the page there. To declare, I say
at this time, his righteousness, Christ, God's righteousness,
that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. And then one that leaves no doubt
in our minds that it's God who justifies, Romans 8 and verse
31b through 33. If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Men may count you justified.
Men may see evidence in you that causes them to put you among
the justified, but it's God alone that justifies. Now, the next
thing, what is justification? God justifies the ungodly. What
is this justification? The justification of ungodly
sinners is another judgment, as I've already said, executed
by God by which He makes Himself known. What does it mean for
God to justify? Well, justification is a legal
standing sinners have been given by God in Christ without any
consideration of or contribution from their character and conduct
whatsoever. In other words, God does this work. He does it Himself. It comes from Him. It makes no
change in the sinner whatsoever physically. You don't see anything
in a sinner because he's justified. In fact, we'll learn in another
message in this series, the only way you can know that you are
justified is because God delivers you from the ungodliness you're
in. born in into this world. So justification is an imminent
act of God. It's found in him and it makes
no change. Now, it makes a lot of changes
in our thinking and our action, but it doesn't make any physical
change that you can see. To be justified is to be declared
by God, not guilty, but righteous in his sight. Now we already
looked at the verse in Romans 4 which states God justifies
the ungodly. Look back up the page there a
little bit at some verses preceding that statement. Romans 3 and
verse 19. Now we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. The law has something to say. In fact, it has two things to
say, one positive, one negative. It says, do what I command and
live by your doing. That's the positive. And it says,
cursed is everyone that continues not in all things that are written
in the book of the law to do them. That's the negative. In
other words, the law says these two things, positive and negative,
do and live, disobey and die. And the law says these things
to those that are under it. In other words, to those who
are trying to find favor with God by their obedience to the
law. Those who are trying to work
out their own righteousness. to those who are attempting to
please God by their obedience. And the bottom line, it says
that to all who are not resting their whole salvation in Christ
and Christ alone. Now, that includes all the fallen
sons and daughters of Adam as we are born naturally into this
world. By nature, we are under the law
in our conscience. By nature, all are attempting
to find acceptance with God by they're doing by something found
in them. And all the law can say to sinners
who are doing that, all the law can say to sinners making such
attempts is guilty. Cursed. Condemned. That's it. Thus the law's goal to all that
are under it. I'm still telling you what verse
19 says here. The law's goal to those that
are under it is to stop their mouths. That is to stop the mouths
of those seeking to be justified by the law. To stop sinners from
seeking to justify themselves based on their efforts at obedience.
And to bring them in guilty before God. Guilty. deserving of God's
eternal wrath based on the best obedience found in you or in
me. Now that's what the law says
to those that are under. Look on in verse 20. Romans 3.20,
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified
in God's sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. No sinner
will be declared not guilty but righteous in God's sight. No
sinner will be justified by their efforts at keeping the law. Now
we've just covered the two points of total depravity. We're not
righteous by nature, no one is, Romans 3, there's none righteous. And we cannot become righteous
by our obedience. We're not righteous, we can't
become righteous by our obedience. So what are sinners to do? We
need to be justified. We need to be declared righteous.
We can't get there by the law. So what are we to do? Well, I'm
going to tell you the right thing to do. I'm going to tell you
the scriptural thing to do. I'm going to tell you what God's
Word says to do. Remember, what saith the Scripture. We're to learn about God's justification
of sinners. We're to learn about the righteousness
of God that's always revealed in God's Gospel. Read on in Romans
3.21. But now, having said, by the
law, no sinner's going to be justified by the deeds of law.
But now, the righteousness of God without the law, that is,
without a sinner's obedience to the law, is manifested. It's
made known. Being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, the Mosaic law, the ceremonial law, set a picture
of Christ in picture and type before Israel for 1,500 years.
That's by the law. It was witnessed. This righteousness
of God was witnessed by the law. And the prophets told sinners,
Christ, the Messiah is coming to establish righteousness in
the earth by which God justifies ungodly sinners. So the prophets
preached it. Verse 22, even the righteousness of God, which is
by faith of Jesus Christ, that's by the faithfulness of Christ,
the faithfulness of Christ to finish the work he was given
to do. to make an end of sins, as Daniel said, and bring forth
everlasting righteousness. So it's by the faithfulness of
Christ unto all, preached unto all of you the gospel, this righteousness
of God is preached out. Because it's always revealed
in the gospel. If it's not in the message you're
hearing, the righteousness of God is not being revealed. I
can tell you one thing, you're not hearing the gospel. So this
righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ is unto all,
and it's upon all of them that believe. It's imputed, charged
to the account of every sinner who believes, who rests their
whole salvation in Christ and Christ alone. For there is no
difference. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. All right. Romans 3, 24. Here's
the definition of justified right here. The scriptural definition.
being justified freely by God's grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. Sinners are declared not guilty,
but righteous in God's sight. That declaration is without any
cause or condition in those who are justified. They're justified
freely. They're justified by the grace
of God. They're justified through the
redemption that's in Christ Jesus. In other words, justification
is all of grace. It's all of Christ. It's all
of God's mercy towards sinners. Read on in verse 25. through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for
the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness,
that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. According to the scriptures,
we're still looking at what it is to be justified, and according
to the scriptures, to stand justified is to stand not guilty, not condemned,
not charged with sin, not even chargeable with sin. But instead
of these things, guilty, condemned, and charged with sin, is to stand
righteous, eternally, unchangeably righteous in God's sight. It
is God judging, accounting, declaring a sinner not guilty, but righteous
in his sight on the basis of Christ's righteousness imputed
alone. God, in his sovereign mercy and grace, has chosen some
to be delivered from the just punishment they deserve. He's
chosen some. He's chosen some to be delivered
from the just punishment that his justice demands of every
soul that sins. Now these are the justified.
All are not chosen. All are not delivered from the
just punishment they deserve. All are not delivered from the
just punishment God's justice demands of them because of sin. All are not justified. And all
that are not chosen are left to bear in their own persons
the just punishment they deserve. They're left to bear the punishment
God's justice demands of every soul that sins. These sinners,
not justified, they're condemned. Justification is the opposite
of condemnation. To be justified is to be delivered
from the just condemnation we all deserve by nature. It's to
be delivered by the grace of God and through the provision
of Christ exclusively. That's what is spoken of in Romans
9 concerning Jacob and Esau. I'll just quote you this familiar
passage. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. What does it mean that God loved
Jacob? It means that he appointed him a substitute, a surety, a
sin-bearer, a propitiation for his sins. Jacob was justified
based on Christ's righteousness imputed to him, but Esau, have
I hated, it means God left Esau to bear the punishment of his
own sin. He didn't appoint him a surety,
a representative, a substitute, a sin-bearer. So then, A sinner
is justified before God. He's declared not guilty, but
righteous in God's sight, based entirely on the imputed righteousness
of Christ. Next, who does God justify? God justifies the ungodly. Well, surely God justifies those
who've cleaned up their act. Isn't that who God justifies?
Surely he justifies those who made themselves ready. Surely
he justifies those who turned over a new leaf. That's what
we think by nature, isn't it? But it's none of these things.
He justifies the ungodly. And who are the ungodly according
to this word? Un means without. Ungodly, then,
is without God. Ungodliness is being without
any regard for God's true character, especially the honor of His character
in the salvation of ungodly sinners. Ungodly is being without any
consideration of or regard for God's justice in saving ungodly
sinners such as we all are by nature. Romans 3, 10-18 is a
definition of ungodly. If you want to look there, Romans,
I'm going to start in Romans 3, 9b, the end of that verse,
and go on through verse 18. Paul writes here, Jews and Gentiles
are all under sin. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. 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 to seep. The poison of ash 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. Ungodly has not so much to do
with immorality or lawlessness or perversion as it does with
how we see God and how he saves sinners. That last verse is the
bottom line indictment on following humanity. Having said all that
he said in the perceived Proceeding verses, Paul brings it down to
the bottom line. Now, you and I, we like the bottom
line, you know? We go to that car dealer and
that car dealer wants to take us that test drive and he wants
to show us all the luxury of this car and all the features
it's got. But you know, while he's doing
it, we want to see that. We want to experience that. We want to
understand what this car will do for us. But while he's out
there with us, we got one thing on our mind. And that one thing,
now what's it going to take for me to actually take this car
home with me, for me to actually buy this car? What's it going
to take for me to own all this luxury? In other words, what's
the bottom line between me and that car dealer being reconciled
here? We like that bottom line. Well, here's God's bottom line
on fallen humanity. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. This is the crux of ungodliness
right here. We don't know what it takes for
sinners like us to be reconciled to God, a God who must do right. By nature, none of us has any
concern, any regard for what it takes for God to be doing
right and yet show mercy to us fallen humanity. We have no interest
in our regard for what makes it right for God to show mercy
to a sinner like you or me. Don't we all, the best among
us, even the elect of God, don't we all deserve God's eternal
wrath? Haven't we all sinned? And don't
we all continually come short of the glory of God? The answer
is yes, and yes, and yes to those three questions. How then can
God be doing right to save any one of us? How can God be doing
right to show us His eternal mercy? How can God be doing right
to judge us not guilty, but righteous in His sight? Now by nature,
none of us knows the scriptural answer to that question. By nature,
none of us even considers the question, much less knows the
answer. This is something that never
crossed our mind until God brought us to the gospel. By nature,
this is not even an issue we think about, and that's what
it is to be ungodly. It's to be ignorant of or unconcerned
about God's redemptive glory in the salvation of ungodly sinners. It's to not care Not be concerned
whether God is doing right when He saves a sinner and brings
them into His eternal favor and fellowship. And you might say,
well, I just didn't consider whether or not God was doing
right when He saves a sinner. That just never was an issue
to me. That's my point. That's the point of this passage.
That's what it is to be ungodly. You just never considered how
God could be honored in the salvation of sinners. It's to have no regard
for God's justice in salvation. It's to have no fear, no reverence
for the God who saves by Christ alone. And that's what we all
are, without exception, even God's elect before he brings
us to regeneration. It's clear in the scriptures
that there's a before and an after picture for every regenerate
sinner. Every sinner who now believes
the God of the Bible, at one time, we didn't believe the God
of the Bible. We believed in a God, but we
didn't believe in the God. Every sinner who now worships
God at one time didn't worship God. Every sinner who now trusts
Christ for all of salvation at one time did not trust the Christ
God sent to save those he was given. Listen to how the Apostle
Paul described these believers at Ephesus before they were converted. You can look at Ephesians 2 if
you want to, or I'll just read it. Ephesians 2 and verse 11,
he said, Wherefore remember, that you being in time past Gentiles
in the flesh who were called uncircumcision by that which
is called circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that's the
Jews. Now at that time, this is before their conversion, at
that time you were without Christ being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise having
no hope and without God in the world. Without Christ, without
God in the world. Strangers from God's promise
of salvation based on Christ alone. Now that's a description
of all without exception before we hear the gospel. We're aliens
from that which declares Christ and his righteousness imputed
as the only ground of salvation. We're aliens from how God can
be just and justify ungodly sinners such as we are by nature. And
being without God, being aliens, were automatically in league
with Satan. If you found that passage in Ephesians 2.11, look
back at Ephesians 2.1. and you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins, that's spiritual death which
we're all born in, wherein in time past you walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power there, in league with Satan, the spirit that now or still
works in the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others." The apostle puts himself
in this category, along with all of us. And being in league
with Satan, walking with him, we were automatically going about
to establish a righteousness of our own. We were like the
nation Israel in Romans 9 and verse 31. Unlike the Gentiles
who, under the Gospel and by the Spirit of God, found righteousness
by faith. They found righteousness in Christ
alone. Israel was not like them. Israel followed after the law
looking for righteousness. But they didn't reach it. They
didn't find it. They didn't reach their goal.
They didn't arrive at righteousness because they sought it not by
faith. In other words, they sought not righteousness in Christ alone.
Any pursuit of righteousness that's not in Christ alone, based
on His imputed righteousness alone, is a vain pursuit that's
doomed to failure. It's an ungodly pursuit that
will end in eternal misery. And Satan's one goal toward the
ungodly is to keep sinners in their ungodliness. It's not necessarily
to keep them immoral. That's okay if they're immoral.
He doesn't mind that. Or to keep them lawless. He doesn't
mind that. But his goal, he's working in religion. See, he's
working in churches. He's working where men are gathered
to hear about God and about Christ. And his one goal is to keep sinners
in their ungodliness, that is, with no fear of God before their
eyes. Look at 2 Corinthians 4. Verse
3. He's talking about Satan here,
blind in the minds of them that are lost. 2 Corinthians 4 and
verse 3, but if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are
lost. In whom the God of this world,
that's Satan, hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them. The lost are those who
believe not. What don't they believe? They
don't believe the gospel. They don't believe the declaration
of Christ revealed in the scriptures. And to what does Satan blind
the minds of those lost sinners to? Look on in verse 5, 2 Corinthians
4, 5. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Christ's
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Satan's goal is to keep the ungodly,
which is all of us by nature, right where we are in our ungodliness. His goal is to keep sinners ignorant
of the God who justifies the ungodly based on the righteousness
of Christ alone. All right, here's what we've
learned so far. God, who must do right, takes a sinner, a sinner who's
done nothing but wrong, A sinner who does not know God, or follow
God, or worship God, God takes that sinner and declares him
not guilty, but righteous in his sight. In other words, he
justifies the ungodly. Now we've seen that in the scriptures
right here. The last point of the message,
upon what ground, what basis can God do that? How can a just
God declare ungodly sinners righteous in his sight? This is the whole
message of the Bible. Y'all know that because you've
understood this before. But how can God do that? What
makes that right? How can that possibly be right
for God to do that? What makes it right for God to
execute such a judgment as to justify the ungodly? As we've
seen right here in the Scriptures before us, He does execute such
a judgment. And He's known by that judgment.
He's distinguished from idols by that judgment. What's right
about Him doing it? Now, I don't want you to think
lightly about this issue that's before us here. This is an astounding, an amazing
thing that God does. This is one of the judgments
God executes by which he makes himself known. This is one of
the judgments by which God distinguishes himself from the idols of men's
imagination. God justifies the ungodly. But
this is not who the natural man sees God justifying, see? The
natural man, all of us by nature, sees God justifying those who
clean up their act, those who get serious about religion, those
who accept Jesus as their personal savior, those who believe that
Christ died for them, those who believe that God elected a people.
Justification, it's not such an astounding work to sinners
of that mindset. But that's because, as we've
already seen in this message, it never crosses the minds of
natural man that God justifies sinners who don't deserve to
be saved. He justifies sinners who've done
absolutely nothing to obtain, absolutely nothing to earn their
salvation. Salvation is a free gift of God
from beginning to end. now we don't see such an astounding
this is such an astounding work it's not an astounding work by
nature and we don't see it as astounding until god shows us
who he justifies he justifies the ungodly and until he shows
us who does the justifying a just god who must do right he must
judge according to truth god who must do right justifies not
the moral, not the zealous, but the ungodly. If this is what
he does, then he must do it before we become any of the things that
we think we are by nature. You know, we think we're pretty
good. I mean, we compare ourselves with others and we're pretty
moral. We do what's right by our families. We go to work,
work hard. So we look pretty good to ourselves
among men. So if God justifies the ungodly,
he must do it before we're any of these things we think we are.
He must do this work on the ground on a basis that none of us considers
by nature. The question we're answering
is, what is that basis? What makes it right for God to
make such an astounding and amazing judgment? In this series of messages,
we've already seen that it was right for God to punish Christ.
His holy, harmless, undefiled Son. He was just to punish Christ
for the sins of His elect imputed to Him. Christ died for the punishment
of sin. He went to the cross to bear
the just punishment, the legal guilt, the wrath of God that
His chosen people deserve. Second Corinthians 5, 21, for
God made Him to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. The one who knew no sin, God
made him, made sin. He charged the sins of his elect
to him and Christ went to answer all those charges. He went to
pay the debt of punishment if people deserved and owed. He
was there because God is just. He was there because a just God
punishes sin. He was there because God imputed
the sins of his elect to him. Now what I want you to take from
this message today, God is just as right, He's just as right
to declare those same sinners, the ones Christ died for, the
ones Christ was delivered up to the cross for, God is just
as right to declare those same sinners, not guilty, but righteous
in His sight. On what basis is God able to
do such an astounding thing? Now here's the short answer right
here. Here's the answer to the question, upon what ground, what
basis can God justify an ungodly sinner? It's on the basis of
imputed righteousness. That's the short answer. It states
plainly and clearly that God declared Abraham justified, that
is, not guilty, but righteous in his sight, based on Christ's
righteousness, imputed to him alone, without any contribution
from Abraham's obedience. But I want to shore up that short
answer. That is the short answer. And
it's the right answer. It's right according to God's
word. I want to show you some irrefutable details from Romans
4 that Abraham was justified, as well as all in any generation
who are justified. He was justified based on the
imputed righteousness of Christ alone. So I've devoted an entire
message to Romans 4, more verses than we looked at here. The title
of that message is justified by imputed righteousness. The
Lord is known by the judgment he executes. In this hour, we've
learned the second judgment that God executes by which he makes
himself known. We learned who God justifies. He justifies the ungodly. Lord
willing, in the next hour, we're going to learn upon what basis
God can do such an amazing thing as that. We'll learn through
the scriptural example of Abraham that those who are justified
justified based on the imputed righteousness of Christ alone
without any contribution from them. And we'll see that in the
scriptures. There's no cloudiness about it. It's plain and clear in Romans
4. Thank you.