two that are familiar to you,
since we have read Romans 3, not only last Lord's Day, but
we referred to the passage again this morning. And I'm sure that
this section of Scripture is familiar to all of you who have
been Christians any length of time. I only want to use verses
24, 25, and 26. As we read the verses slowly, I want you to see how each word
that follows a great doctrinal subject just amplifies what has
been stated before. Being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his 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. Let me review briefly the high
points of what we sought to bring to you this morning. We stated
that Adam, before the fall, could plead his own merits because
he was created in a state of uprightness or original righteousness,
as the Puritans referred to it. Personally, I like to use the
term uprightness because it is the biblical term. Ecclesiastes
7 and verse 29. He didn't have to plead the merits
of another, therefore he had communion with God. No mention
of justification because justification was not needed. After the fall,
every man since Adam, not only including Adam who fell, but
every person since Adam must plead the merits of another,
because he has no merits of his own to plead. Therefore, every
person needs a mediator, and the only mediator between God
and man is the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Timothy 2 and verse 5. Adam, in an unfallen state, had
first of all the law pronounced to him, and the law preceded
the promise. Therefore, to unfallen man, the
law preceded the promise. After the fall, the promise precedes
the law. The first reference to the promise
was made to Satan in Genesis The promise was then given to
Abraham in Genesis 15 and 17, where it states that to him the
covenant was made. We're talking about the Abrahamic
covenant. Four hundred and thirty years afterwards, the law was
added because of transgression till the seed should come, that
is Christ, to whom the promise was made, Galatians 3 and verse
19. The gospel proclaims the fulfillment
of both the law and the promise, because Jesus Christ came and
in his coming he fulfilled both the law and the promise. Then
when we think about the three words, precept, penalty, and
promise. First of all, the precept. You must not eat of the forbidden
fruit. The day that you eat thereof,
you will die. Then the penalty for disobedience. And finally, the promise. When
Adam and Eve came before the Lord, that is, when the Lord
sought them out, according to the third chapter of Genesis,
they expected to hear from the Lord himself condemnation. Instead of the Lord being against
them, he interposed for them and gave the promise that is
recorded in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. Thus we have the truth
of God meeting with righteousness, where? At the cross. The law
works right, but the gospel proclaims reconciliation. Where do these
two meet? At the cross. Now this one statement,
which I have taken from the works of a Puritan, And this will bring
to a close our introductory statements and the review of what we said
this morning. Christ has made unto us righteousness
as well as wisdom, sanctification, and redemption. He was quoting
1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. Here is the statement that ought
to please us very much. Thus God finds justification
for his act of justifying the sinner by providing satisfaction
out of his own nature for his own nature. Now please don't
forget that statement. Listen to it again. God finds
justification for his act of justifying the sinner by providing
satisfaction out of his own nature for his own nature. Let me amplify
that statement. All sin is against God. God is
infinite and therefore all sin is infinite because it is committed
against the infinite God. Now since sin is infinite, finite
man cannot offer satisfaction for infinite sin. I said finite
man cannot offer satisfaction for infinite sin. Therefore,
we must have an infinite Savior to satisfy the penalty against
sin because sin is infinite since sin is against the infinite God. Since man cannot make that provision,
since he cannot make that satisfaction, then only God himself, as the
Puritan said, can provide satisfaction out of his own nature for his
own nature. That is the meaning, beloved.
of Romans 3 verse 24, being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now I think tonight
before we begin studying the seven points in defining or explaining
justification, I want to give you four major objections to
the biblical doctrine of justification. Before we begin giving you the
objections, maybe I ought to give in just one brief sentence,
for the benefit of some who are with us tonight that have not
been with us the last two weeks since we began this subject,
in order that you will get a clear conception of the meaning of
justification. Justification is a declarative
act, notice what I said, and I'm emphasizing the word declarative,
is a declarative act in distinction from an efficient act of God. Justification is a declarative
act in distinction from an efficient act of God. The foundation of
justification is the redemptive work of the righteousness brought
out by Jesus Christ in our behalf. That is the foundation and that
is what Paul gives us in the last part of the third chapter
of the book of Romans. Now justification is a legal
or forensic term which simply means that God declares us righteous
on the basis of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ to our account.
So it is a declarative act of God. Now we will discuss in detail
tonight the Greek verb that is translated justify or to justify. Now before we get into a further
explanation of justification under seven different points,
I want to give to you the major objections to the biblical doctrine
of justification. I'll begin with Rome. The reason
I am beginning with Rome is because for many, many years, in fact
until the time of the Reformation in the early part of the 1600s,
Roman Catholicism was a predominant religion and anyone who knows
anything about the history of Catholicism knows much about
her bloody history. Now, has she changed? She has
not. Her concept and her desire is
for a totalitarian power. She wants to rule. The same thing
is true with communism. Communism wants to rule the world,
but beloved communism doesn't want to rule the world any more
than Catholicism. Now, I hope that is not offensive,
but if it is, it'll just have to be offensive. If it is offensive
to you, it is offensive because you're ignorant of church history
and you're ignorant of what the real goal of Catholicism is. Now what is the real belief about
Roman Catholicism concerning the doctrine of justification
by faith? I am quoting from the Council
of Trent. I want you to know I am quoting
from the Council of Trent. I am not giving what somebody
says about Catholicism. I am quoting two of the canon
laws concerning the subject of justification taken right from
their own works. Now let me give canon law number
nine. Listen to it. The Council of
Trent says, quote, if anyone sayeth that by faith alone the
impious is justified in such wise as to mean that nothing
else is required to cooperate in order to the obtaining the
grace of justification and that it is not in any way necessary
that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will,
let him be anathema." End of quote. I said that is canon law
number nine taken from the Council of Trent. Now listen to canon
law number 24 taken from the same Council of Trent. It is
rather lengthy, I'll only give a portion of it, that which deals
with the subject of justification. Quote, if anyone saith that the
justice received is not preserved and also increased before God
through good works, let him be anathema. Did you get it? Now, beloved, that is in direct
contradiction to all the scriptures that we have read to you from
the Book of Romans on the subject of justification. I read them
to you this morning. Do you recall them? Did you mark
them? All of them in the third chapter, the fourth chapter,
the fifth chapter, and the eighth chapter of Romans, every reference
that dealt with the subject of justification. Paul said, therefore,
being justified by faith, We have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. And it is by faith that we have
access into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God. Romans 5 verses 1 and 2. Now
listen to the summary. of the Council of Trent concerning
justifying righteousness. I'm going to give four points
now taken as a summary from the Council of Trent. Number one,
we're talking about justifying righteousness. It is said to
be, number one, inherit. Get what I said, inherit, not
imputed. Inherent, not imputed. Beloved, that is in direct contradiction
to the fourth chapter of the book of Romans. What are you
going to believe? Are you going to believe the
counsel of Trent? Or are you going to believe the fourth chapter
of the book of Romans? With me there is no doubt. I
believe what Romans chapter 4 says. That the righteousness of Jesus
Christ is imputed to the believer. And the righteousness of Jesus
Christ is imputed in justification. We'll discuss the word impute
more later, but it means to reckon to one's account. The righteousness
of Jesus Christ has been reckoned or placed on the account of the
person whom God pronounces just before him. It is God that justifies. Now isn't that in direct contradiction?
What? Righteousness, justifying righteousness
is inherent, not imputed, thus ours and not Christ's. Are you following me? Number
two, what is the cause of this justification? The efficient
cause is the Holy Spirit and our will. Notice what I said. The efficient cause of justification
is the Holy Spirit and our will. Number three, the meritorious
cause is Jesus Christ and our own merits. Number four, the
instrumental cause, baptism, and they believe in baptismal
regeneration. We have Dick Schlosser who was
a Catholic for 40 years, we have Mary Ann a top who was for more
than 20 years, and they know that what I am saying tonight
is not contradictory to what they have been taught. Now listen
to this. The instrumental cause of justification, number one,
baptism, and subsequently, penance, and subsequently, penance. It is obtained, listen to this,
it is obtained by sacraments and in an increased amount of
works. It is obtained by the sacraments
or by sacraments and increased by works. Now keep in mind, increased,
you see? Catholicism does not make the
proper distinction, as I said briefly this morning, and we
will discuss it more in detail later, between justification
and sanctification. I hope, beloved, that you are
well-versed enough in the Scriptures that you know the difference
between justification and sanctification. But in case you are not, I'll
give you seven things. on that and I think I better
do it even before I go any further. Are you ready to take them down?
We want to make now the proper distinction between justification
and sanctification. Will you take these seven things
down? Number one, in justification we have the legal change the
legal change which takes place in the standing of the believer. In justification, we have the
legal change which takes place in the standing of the believer.
You may put right beside that statement, Romans 5 verse 1,
therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. And it's by faith that we have
access into this grace wherein we stand, therefore Paul is discussing
the standing of the believer. Now, the other part. Point number
one, in sanctification we have the experimental change which
takes place in the justified person's state. In the justified
person's state. Now, beloved, don't tell me that
you can sit here tonight and take all these things in, that
you can absorb them, that you can retain them because you can't
do it. So I hope that you're taking some notes, or if not,
you listen carefully and get the tape and get these things
down later. I didn't put these things together in a period of
five minutes. Let me give it to you again.
We may not get off of the opposition. to justification. I may not get
any further than this and that's all right if we don't. We're
not in any hurry. I'm not going any place but to glory. So if
it's tonight, that's all right. And if it's next year, it's okay.
And if it's 10 years from now, it's all right. So I don't want
to go too fast in the development of this subject. One of the men
this morning told me after the service, he said, I'm glad you
didn't go any further. He said, you gave enough for
us this morning. Now let me give it to you again. In justification
we have the legal change which takes place in the standing of
the believer. I'm emphasizing the word legal
and I also want to emphasize the word standing. Now, the second
part of point number one. In sanctification, we have the
experimental change which takes place in the justified person's
state. You remember I said this morning
that no person can be justified whom God does not sanctify. Sanctification follows justification. I also made the statement this
morning, if you remember, that the believer cannot pay, or the
sinner cannot pay the debt that is against him out of the pocket of God. Well, I was thinking about that
this afternoon, and that's true. Now, I can pay my debt against
man out of your pocket. And you might be able to pay
your debt against man out of my pocket. But you cannot pay
the debt against God out of man's pocket, and you can't pay for
it out of God's pocket. Only God can pay for it. I couldn't
help but think about an illustration as I was thinking along this
line this afternoon when I laid down to take a little nap. My
Sunday afternoon siesta. Several years ago, Richard and
I, our son, we used the same barbershop. And so as always,
he was always out of money. And so on the way to the barbershop,
he said, Dad, do you have money to let me have for my haircut? So I thought, well, there he
was, about 18 years of age. I didn't want to pay for it,
you know, when I got through it. He didn't want me to. He wanted
to have the money, you know, to pay for it. And so I said, you
don't have any money. He was working, but he didn't
have it. I said, OK, so I handed him a $5 bill. Well, the man
who cut my hair was an elder fellow. The young fellow who
cut Richard's hair was a real young man. And Richard had to
have his kind of style. His cost more than mine did.
And I think a haircut in those days was about $2, if my memory
is serving me correctly. And Richard paid about $3.50,
I think it was, for his so-called styling. The thing that amused
me was when I got up and I paid the barber for my haircut, I
looked around. Richard got through about the same time. And so he
pulled out the $5 bill, you know, and rared back. And he told the
young fellow, he said, just keep the $1.50 for a tip. the way out I said son you surely
are free with my money. Now you see he could pay his
debt and even give a tip out of my pocket. So we might pay a debt you know
out of against a man out of somebody's pocket. But when it comes to
paying the debt against God, no man can pay the debt out of
another man's pocket, and neither can he pay it out of God's pocket.
God alone can pay for it. And this is what we have in the
substitutionary work of Jesus Christ. So the debt has been
paid. And since the debt has been paid
in justification, we have the declarative act of God. In other words, God says, I declare
this person righteous because of the justifying righteousness
that has been imputed to his account. That's justification. Now, sanctification is something
different. Sanctification is the experimental
change the experimental change which takes place in the justified
person's state. In other words, when a person
realizes that he's been justified before God, by faith he recognizes
that he stands just before God. He is going to remain in that
state or in a dormant state, there is going to be a change
in him, and the change is wrought in him by the Holy Spirit that
indwells his heart. So that has to do, you see, with
the state. Do you know the difference? And
I hope you do by this time. The difference between standing
and state. Now nothing can be added to my
state before God. I stand justified before God
and nothing can be added to my justification. Justification
can neither be increased nor diminished. I'm just before God
because I've been accepted in Jesus Christ. I am, as it were,
perfect in His perfection. I'm holy in His holiness. I'm
justified in His righteousness, and on and on I could go. I am
complete in the completion of Jesus Christ. Yes, I have been
made perfect in the one perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
Hebrews 10 and verse 14. Well, we could say a lot. We
could preach for an hour on that point. I'm showing the difference now
between justification and sanctification. Justification works for man,
for man. Please observe the preposition
for, for man. In other words, it is the work
of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Sanctification works in man through
the power of the indwelling Spirit. Now the key to the second point
is the difference between for and in. In justification we have
the work of Jesus Christ for us. It is external to us. In sanctification we have the
work of the Holy Spirit in us, transforming us to the likeness
of Jesus Christ. Number three, justification declares
the fact of imputed righteousness. Imputed. But there's a difference
between imputation and impartation. Now justification declares the
fact of imputed righteousness. Sanctification imparts a righteousness
in us. The first is to and the second
is in. Number four, justification declares
the removal of the guilt. The removal of the guilt. When
God pronounces one just before himself, the guilt of sin is
removed. And beloved, that's when peace
comes to the heart of the believer. Look at it for a moment. What
do you think the Apostle Paul meant? Don't forget, he has given
in Romans chapter 4 an example. An example of justification.
Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
For righteousness. And then in the very opening
statement of chapter five, therefore, in view of what he's already
said, in view of the example of justification, therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Peace comes to the heart of the
individual who knows that he has been justified by God. He stands, therefore, just before
the righteous and holy God, not pleading his own merits, for
faith in him directs him not to himself, not to his own works,
not to his own achievements, but faith within him points to
Jesus Christ in whom he has been accepted before the holy God. So justification declares the
removal of the guilt of sin. Sanctification, and this is important,
removes the love of sin. Now whenever a person comes to
me and he says, I've been justified, and he's living, he's wallowing
in sin. If he's living and wallowing
in sin, he's lying through his teeth. Because the person who
has been justified is sanctified by God, for God has made unto
us sanctification as well as He has been made unto us redemption. And sanctification is the work
of the Holy Spirit in us, removing the love of sin. So when a person
says, well I love this and I can't give this up, If he says, I can't
give it up, that means he loves it so much and it may be something
insignificant to you. But whatever it is, if you love
it more than you do Jesus Christ, then you've never been justified
because sanctification removes the love of sin in the person. Does that make sense? See, this
is preaching materialism. All right, number five. Justification
is a completed act. I'm emphasizing the word completed.
It is a completed act. Nothing can be added to it. When
you're justified, you're justified for time and for eternity. Now
that brings up a great subject. Does the Bible teach eternal
justification? You want me to answer it now? Well, I'll be answering it. In
fact, I'm going to bring one entire message on it. Let me say this at this point
to show you how much is involved in the subject. That's why we
must take it step by step. I just completed yesterday four
messages on the first point of the seven points in the outline.
Number one, I'm going to deal with the subject of eternal justification. I'm going to give the arguments
that persons use for eternal justification. Number two, I'm
going to bring another message on justification by faith in
time. And let me say tonight, beloved,
there are differences of opinion even among grace men on this
subject that I'm discussing with you at this time. Well, where
do you stand, preacher? I assure you I won't leave you
hanging in the lurch. And I'll answer it now. I believe
in eternal justification. But that does not mean that I
do not believe in justification by faith in time. In other words,
these two truths are not mutually exclusive, as some would have
us to believe. So I'll be dealing with that.
And then, after I brought one message, and I might say tonight
that I could bring a message and the arguments for justification
in time, and if you were not conversant with the scriptures,
I believe that all of you, I said if you were not conversant with
the scriptures on this subject, you would leave and say that's
the greatest message I've ever heard. I believe that the Bible
presents just justification by faith in time. And you'd all
even say, that's what the Bible teaches. You come back the next
Sunday and I'll preach a message on eternal justification and
I give the argument, you say, wait a minute, that's true. Why
didn't I see that? So I'm going to bring one on
each of those subjects. And then I have the third message and
the fourth message on the sovereignty of God in justification. So I
have four messages that I've already prepared, which will
take two Sundays, dealing with just the one point we're sovereignly
justified. Now, sanctification, I said,
is progressive. Justification is
a completed act. Sanctification is progressive.
I'm not talking about absolute sanctification. I'm hoping that
you know the difference between absolute and progressive sanctification. The Bible teaches absolute. Absolute
sanctification is taught in Hebrews 10 and verse 14. It is taught
in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. It is taught in many places of
the scriptures. So the subject of justification has to be studied
in the light of its context just like the subject of righteousness
that I discussed with you this morning. Now justification is
completed. It's a completed act. It's immutable. It is God that justifies. Romans
8.33. But sanctification is progressive. That is, the sanctification which
follows justification. Number six. In justification,
the believer sees Jesus Christ on the cross. In justification,
the believer sees the Lord Jesus on the cross and he embraces
Christ, knowing that he stands before God in the righteousness
of Christ and not in his own righteousness, which is but as
filth and rags. In sanctification, the believer
sees self on the cross. Oh, what a difference. I said,
in sanctification, he sees self on the cross. And that's something that most
people do not want to see. Finally, number seven, in justification,
the believer is accounted righteous. He is accounted righteous. Will you turn to the fourth chapter
of Romans and let's read a few verses to show you the meaning
of the word counted. Let's read if you will please
verses five through eight. Romans chapter four. But to him
that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodliness. His faith is counted for righteousness. Now we'll discuss that text later. We can't do it tonight. Verse
6, even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto
whom God imputeth righteousness without words. Righteousness
is imputed to the elect of God apart from works. Now he didn't
stop, that's one side of the coin. Righteousness imputed,
that's the positive. Now let's look at the other side.
Saying blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose
sins are covered. Now he's quoting David from the
32nd division of the Psalms. Finally, in verse 8, blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute or reckon sin. Now let's look at it. First of
all, in justification, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed or
reckoned to the account of the believer. The righteousness of Christ becomes
his righteousness. His righteousness. Jesus Christ,
his substitute. Jesus Christ, his surety. And finally, the latter part
of the seventh point. In sanctification, he is made
righteous. In sanctification, he is made
righteous. In one it counted righteous,
the other made righteous. Now do you see the difference
between justification and sanctification? Catholicism confuses justification
and sanctification. Now we come to the second great
objector to the biblical doctrine of justification by faith. antinomianism. Well, what does antinomianism
mean? The word nomianism comes from
the Greek word nomos, which is the word for law, and antinomianism
means against the law. There are too many persons running
around today with a religious title And they're talking about
their liberty, their freedom. We've been discussing this to
some extent recently in the study of 1 Corinthians 8, 9, and 10. Talking about my liberty, my
liberty, our liberty, our liberty. Beloved, the Christian is free
in Christ, but he is not free to do as he pleases. He is free
to do as God pleases. As God pleases. So antinomianism,
now I can't take the time to go back into the history of this,
that isn't necessary, but antinomianism has no place for justification
by faith in time. Antinomians rest in eternal justification
while denying the biblical teaching of justification by faith in
time. Now, not long ago, well it's
been a few years ago, I was visiting a Bible conference and a preacher
got up and attacked John Gill. He said John Gill was the author
of hard shellism. He brought some accusations against
John Gill that I did not like then and I dislike even more
tonight. The accusations which he brought
against John Gill were not true. They came from an ignorant mind
on the meaning of justification and what John Gill has said in
his Body of Divinity on the subject of eternal justification. Now, those who deny justification
by faith in time are fatalistic. And, beloved, don't accuse me
of being fatalistic. I believe in eternal justification
because the Bible teaches it and I will prove to you conclusively
before we will have finished our study of this subject. But
I also believe in a justification by faith in time. Now you're
going to see how important this subject is before we will have
finished. And I assure you that we'll cover the ground and we'll
not leave you in doubt. about what is being taught and
what the Bible teaches. So I am not an antinomian, not
at all, even though I do believe in eternal justification. And
I do not want to be classified as an antinomian. even though
I probably would be by some who are ignorant concerning the biblical
teaching of justification. I realize I'm speaking rather
harshly, but you would too if you had spent years and years
studying this subject and come to the biblical understanding
of this great doctrine of justification through faith. Now let's look
at Arminianism. Arminianism is the other extreme.
Now there are many different groups that could actually come
under the blanket of Arminianism. I can't discuss all of them with
you. That would take entirely too much time. I'm only giving
to you the four major categories and the four major objections
to the biblical doctrine of justification by faith. Now, Arminianism, as
I've already stated, has many followers of different sects. Now, what about the Arminian? What is his concept? The Arminian
makes faith, follow me now, they make faith the ground or the
cause of justification. Now, beloved, faith is not the
cause of justification. Faith is the fruit of justification,
just as faith is the fruit of divine election. But eternal
justification of the elect of God is manifested in time by
justification through faith. And I say that without any reservation,
and I challenge anybody to refute it but the Word of God. So this is true, you see, when
they make justification follow faith. They make faith the basis,
the ground, the cause of justification. Thus they make a God out of faith. You can hear all the time today,
won't you put your faith in Christ. Try Jesus. These are expressions
you hear all the time. Give your heart to Jesus. Now we come to the last major
objection to the biblical doctrine of justification. It is Neo-Nomunism. Neo means new. Now what do the Neo-Nomunists
teach? It originated in church history
about the time that antinomianism came into existence. Neo-nomianism, now follow this
because you'll see a lot of people who will come under this tent
in today's religious community. Neo-Nomunism taught that Jesus
Christ satisfied divine justice for all mankind. Now follow me closely. For all
mankind, thus bringing man into a salvable state. Thus bringing
all mankind into a salvable state. Justification according to neo-nominism
requires only sincere, though imperfect, obedience to the law
of grace. Now, let's define it. Spend a
little time. We all know what the prefix neo-
means in today's society. It means new. So neo-nominism
taught that there is a new law for pardon. A new law became
effective. In other words, Jesus Christ,
in his death, satisfied the divine law for all mankind, without
exception of one, without one exception, thus making salvation
possible, you see, for all. For all. And that obedience is
necessary to justification. But the obedience which is necessary
for justification does not have to be perfect obedience. Since Persons are now under a
new law, the law of grace, rather than the law of Moses, just so
the person are persons, just so the individual are the individual,
either the person or the individual, just so he is sincere, even though
he knows that his obedience is not perfect, but just so he's
sincere, his sincerity will justify it, even though his obedience
is not perfect. You remember what I said this
morning? Now I have to bring this up again in order to clarify
something here. That may sound good. You can
talk to a lot of religionists today and they will say, yes,
now I believe, I believe that you got to have faith in the
Lord. And you hear this all the time. All you have to do is just
do a little bit of witnessing. And this is what you hear from
most religions. I believe that a person has to have faith in
Christ, but he has to do something. And then you ask the individual.
Now, you mean a person has to perform works? He has to be obedient
in order to stand justified before God? Oh, yes, he's got to do
something. He must do something. In addition
to his faith. And then you ask the person,
well, now. What about those works? Are they perfect? Oh no, I wouldn't
say that they're perfect. If he's wise, he'll have to admit
that his works are not perfect. So he'll have to say, no, my
works are not perfect. He might start out by implying
that they are, and then when you prove to him that they aren't,
then he'll have to get off of that track and start on another
one. He'll say, no, they're not perfect,
but there is sincerity And so he finally acknowledges
that his works are not perfect, but he's sincere in the performance
of them, and that since God under grace is more lenient Because
under the new law, the law of grace, grace is more lenient. And even though his works are
not perfect, he's justified not only by his faith, but by his
faith plus his works. Because of the leniency of grace. Now isn't that great theology?
Now what did I say this morning? I stated that works before faith
are evil. All works before faith are evil.
and works after faith are imperfect. There is not a Christian in this
auditorium tonight who would stand and say that his works
are perfect before God. I'm not going to tell you that
35 years of preaching that my works have always been perfect
and even what I'm doing tonight is not perfect. Do you understand that? Sure
you do. So every work that is performed by a believer, I said
by a believer, which means works that follow faith, they are imperfect
and must be sprinkled by the blood of Jesus Christ in order
to be acceptable to him. Such imperfect works can never
be added to faith to make a person justified before God. Justification
does not mean to make one justified, but it means to declare one justified
on the basis not of man's merits, but the merits of Jesus Christ.
Now I've gone an hour. And I'm not going into the seven
points, I'll just keep that for next week. So I didn't cover
any more territory than the major objections to the subject of
justification by faith. I hope that you have such a desire
to study this subject that you'll not miss a service, that you'll
take advantage of every opportunity. If you miss anything, get the
tapes and get the information because the message is valuable.
Not because I've gotten it together, but because of the truth of the
information that has been correlated. Do you stand just before God
tonight? You say, I have faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Do you? I hope you do. I hope
your faith is the gift of God. And I hope that you not only
stand justified before God, but I hope you're able to make the
distinction between standing just before God and realizing
the work of the Holy Spirit within that removes the love of anything
that is contrary to the will of God. You know how strongly convinced
I am of this? Whenever a Christian, a person
who has been born of the Spirit of God, is shown something that
is biblically true, even though it causes his flesh to smart, he is going to say, that is truth,
I must embrace it, I must apply it, and when it is embraced and
applied, that shows that he doesn't look that which is contrary to
the will of God, but he loves the will of God and he wants
to do the will of God. That's the manifestation of one
being just before God. You may talk about being justified
all you want to, and if you're living in sin and you love sin,
don't talk to me about being justified. I'll tell you, you're
a liar and a truce, not But I'll say to you, if you're
justified, the Spirit of God is working in you and the Spirit
of God that works in you makes you hate everything that is contrary
to the will of God and love everything that is according to the will
of God. The Lord does not save us in our sins, He saves us from
our sins. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God's stand is sure having to seal. Let everyone that nameth
the name of Jesus Christ depart from iniquity. I think I have time to give this
as a closing illustration because it ties right in with what I've
been saying tonight. Will you turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 3? 1 Corinthians Chapter 3. There is some misunderstanding,
and I think it goes back to a footnote in Scofield's reference Bible. Now, what Scofield says about
the natural man is true. I do not argue with that at all. But what he says about the carnal
man I cannot accept. I saw some quotations just recently
from a book by Ryrie, a man I think who was connected with Dallas
Theological Seminary, and his view of carnality. And because
of that, I want to share a few things with you in closing tonight
because it's right along the line of sanctification which
follows justification. Read with me beginning with verse
14 of chapter 2. and go through the third verse
with me. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God. The natural man is the unsaved
man. There is no argument whatsoever about the natural man. I believe
exactly even what Scofield's footnotes, what they have to
say concerning the natural man. But let's go a little further
now. He says, The natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. In other words, it takes a spiritual mind to understand
spiritual things. But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judge of no man. For who hath
known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have
the mind of Christ. In other words, Christians have
the mind of Christ. Now beginning with verse 1 of
chapter 3. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual,
but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I fed you with
milk and not with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear it,
neither yet now are ye able. for ye are yet carnal, for whereas
there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye
not carnal and walk as men? Are ye not carnal and walk as
men? Now, the idea that is left not
only in Schofield's footnotes A Bible which I used for a great
number of years in the first part of my ministry, but I do
not use it any longer and have not used it for a long time.
Not that the King James Version of the Bible is not all right,
but I don't like his footnote. That is a great number of them. But
he leaves the idea, the impression, that a person, talking about
the spiritual man in a contrast between the spiritual man and
the carnal man, that a person can receive Christ, and this
was Ryrie's idea that a person can receive Jesus as Savior and
not embrace him as Lord. I want you to think about this
for a moment. That's deadly heresy. That's
deadly heresy. That is exactly what is being
promoted today, however. The idea is left today you can
just believe on Christ, believe on Christ, receive him as your
Savior, and you may live a long time and never embrace him as
Lord. Beloved, I challenge you to search
the Scriptures and see if that will stand the test of Scripture.
When the question was asked, the Apostle Paul, by the Philippian
jailer, what must I do to be saved? Paul said, give Jesus
your heart. Is that what he said? Come on
now, follow me. Give Jesus your heart. Receive
Jesus as Savior. No, the answer was believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thou hast. I deny that any person can receive
Jesus Christ as Savior without embracing his Lordship. I said that's deadly, that's
deadly. Now the question is asked, but isn't there such a thing
as carnality? Yes. Yes, Paul goes on to describe
carnality, but the Christian life is not characterized by
carnality, beloved. As this view implies, and even
goes further than imply, I said the characteristic of the Christian
is not carnality. The bed of his life is not carnality. Let me use some illustrations.
They like to go back and use Lot as an illustration. Well,
let's just think about Lot for a moment. Was Lot manifesting
carnality as he followed his uncle Abraham? No. The time came, however, when
Lot saw the well-watered plains of Jordan and Abraham said, I'm
not going that way. My eyes are on the city of God. on the city of God. I'm just
a tent dweller here. And the well-watered plains did
not satisfy him. And he did not go in the direction
of Solomon. But Lot went in the direction
of Solomon. Now, when Lot went into Solomon, his going into
Solomon was a manifestation of carnality. But let me raise this
question. When Lot's righteous soul was
vexed by the conversation of the Sodomites, was that a manifestation
of carnality? No. Now he did a lot of carnal things.
Let's think about Abraham for a moment. When Abraham lied about
his wife, about Sarah being his wife before King Abimelech. Was
that a manifestation of spirituality or carnality? It was a manifestation
of carnality. But Abraham's life was not characterized
by carnality. And beloved, the person who is
justified is not characterized by carnality. His life is characterized
by spirituality, but there are many times when there are manifestations
of carnality, as all of you well know. See the difference? Do
you think that Paul was simply saying, now you can embrace Jesus
as Savior without embracing Him as Lord? and you can live all
your life as a carnal Christian. No, that's not what Paul was
talking about. He taught justification by faith
and he went on to teach sanctification by the indwelling Spirit. And
the person who stands justified before God is sanctified by the
indwelling Holy Spirit and his life is characterized not by
carnality, even though there are moments and times of carnality,
but his life is built in the direction of spirituality and
not carnality. Do you see the difference? I
don't like the way scriptures are warped myself. I don't like
the way they're twisted. I don't like the implication
that people are giving to many great biblical truths. So I close
by saying, justified by faith, recognizing that we are just
in the sight of God. We're righteous in the sight
of God. We're holy in the sight of God. We're complete in the
sight of God. There's holiness, there's completeness.
is the work of Jesus Christ that's been imputed to us. And then
the Holy Spirit of God working within us, removing from us the
love of those things that are contrary to the will of God.