I don't have the time this morning,
but we will be dealing with these verses in a subsequent lesson. But there are a great number
of references in the Old Testament, and you can understand this.
No man, when a person has been brought before a judge, no judge,
no human judge, is to condemn the just and justify the wicked. Now we have many references to
this. The outstanding reference to this is Deuteronomy 25.1.
There's another great reference found in 1 Kings 8.32. There's
another reference in Exodus 23.7. Many, many others. Now you can
understand the wisdom of that. No human judge, when a person
is brought before him, is to what? is to justify the wicked,
and neither is he to condemn the just. Now the question is,
every man by nature is unjust. Every individual is unholy. Every
individual outside of Jesus Christ is ungodly. How can the just
and holy God justify an ungodly man and remain just in the justification
of him? When you look at the fourth chapter
and verse 5, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on
him that justifieth the ungodly. Now how can the just God justify
the ungodly person and remain just in his justification of
that person? All right, the ground of it is
given. And we'll discuss this in explaining justification to
you this morning. Look now at verse 24. being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. The word justified is used first. The word freely simply amplifies
the meaning of justification. And this is followed by the word
grace, which shows that it all comes to us by the unmerited
favor of God. And then it is through what? The redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a mercy seat through faith
in his blood, that is, the blood of Jesus Christ, for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. Now,
in view of the foundation, in the light of the basis of our
justification, Would it not stand to reason that the righteousness
spoken of in verse 25 refers not, not, even though it is included,
that righteousness wrought out by Jesus Christ, but it is a
justification of the righteous character of God, since he alone
can justify an unjust person by justifying him upon the basis
of a satisfied law. So it really speaks of the justification
of the righteous character of God. In verse 25, I think this
is proved not only by verse 5 of Romans chapter 3, but if our
unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God. What shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh
vengeance? And then the 26th verse of the
3rd chapter, that he might be just and the justifier of him
which believeth in Jesus. Now for the discussion of justification. I hope that I will have the time
this morning to give seven things concerning justification as we
seek to explain the meaning of justification. I want us to go
back this morning, back to the very beginning of the Word of
God. Justification is not just a New Testament truth. Justification
was taught in the Old Testament. It might not have been given
the name of justification, but it was taught nevertheless. In view of this fact, justification
is an ancient doctrine. It is older than Martin Luther
who revived it. It is older than the Apostle
Paul who defended it. It is older than Abraham who
exemplified it. When Paul makes a quotation in
the fourth chapter of Romans to illustrate justification,
He uses Genesis 15 verse 6, Abraham believed God and it was counted
unto him for righteousness. Yes, justification is revealed
by God at the gate of the Garden of Eden. Revealed to the very first sinner,
Adam himself. How do we know this to be true?
All right, let's begin with the very beginning. Adam, before
the fall, could stand before God in His created uprightness. Now please follow me because
the things that I'm giving by way of introduction are vital
as a foundation to the understanding of this subject. I stated that
Adam, before the fall, could stand before God in his created
uprightness. He did not need a mediator whose
merits to plead in order to stand before God and have communion
with him. Adam, in his state of uprightness,
was capable of standing before God, having fellowship with God
on the basis of created uprightness. I said man before the fall. In the case of fallen man, fallen
man, it is different. What is the difference? The difference
is that fallen man needs a mediator, a mediator he must have, one
whose merits he must plead in order to approach God. Yes, in
order to have fellowship with God. So man after the fall needed
a mediator. a mediator he must have. Why? Because he has no uprightness
of his own to plead as he stands before God. He is a fallen creature. He is a depraved individual. Now let's look once again. In
the case of unfallen man, the law came first. and then the
promise. Please follow me. These are important
things. I can't emphasize their importance
too much. Unfallen man, to him the law
came first and then came the promise. Is that not the order? Yes, to Adam, in a state of uprightness,
God gave the law. God said to him, you may eat
of the fruit of every tree in the garden, but there is one
tree from which you must not partake of the fruit. The day
that you eat of it, you will die. God gave a law to man in
a state of uprightness and afterwards the promise came. Now let's turn
it around. In the case of fallen man, the
promise came first and then the law. Are you following me? To Adam, the law came first. I'm not talking about the Mosaic
legislation, but it was law nevertheless. I said it was law nevertheless. The law came first and then the
promise. To unfallen man, what? The promise
came first and then the law. After Adam had fallen, what do
we have in Genesis 3.15? We have the promise. And the
promise that God gave was this. The promise was made to the seed
of the woman. To the seed of the woman. I will
put enmity between thee and the woman, Genesis 3.15. Between
thy seed and her seed. We know from that text of Scripture
that the seed of the serpent will bruise the heel of the seed
of the woman, but the seed of the woman will bruise the head
of the seed of the serpent. Now all of you who know anything
about Genesis 3, you know that that is the great promise of
the Old Testament Scriptures. That is the promise of the coming
of Jesus Christ who is the seed of the woman. So to fallen man
the promise came first and then the law. Now what do you mean
by the law? For a long interval, notice what
I said, for a long interval there was what we might say no
written law. Now the promise that was made
in Genesis 315 was again restated to Abraham in the 15th and 17th
chapters of the book of Genesis, known to you and me as the Abrahamic
covenant. Four hundred and thirty years
after the Abrahamic covenant, four hundred and thirty years
later, the law, the Mosaic legislation was given. Now, beloved, the
Mosaic legislation was not given as a means of justification. It was given for one purpose,
and the purpose was to show forth the exceeding sinfulness of sin. It was never meant to be the
means of justification. Abraham was justified by faith
430 years before the Mosaic legislation was given. That's why the Apostle
Paul draws that illustration and uses it to illustrate justification
by faith after the explanation of justification in the last
verses of Romans chapter 3. He not only uses Abraham as I've
already stated, but he used David. And we'll go into that more at
a later date. Now think about this. Fallen
man. To him, first of all, the law
was given and then the promise to unfallen man. Then to fallen
man, the promise was given and then the law. Then there was
a period of 430 years after the confirmation of the promise to
Abraham and his seed. Then the law was given, but it
was not given as a means of justification. The law was never intended to
alter either the ground or the method of a sinner's justification
by substituting obedience to the law for faith in the promise
of God. How was Abraham justified? Turn
to the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews in the 13th verse.
They believed the promises. They believed the promises. Abraham
believed the promise. All the Old Testament believers
believed the promise that God had given. They believed that
even before, the promise was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus
Christ, our Savior and our Lord. Now there's something else we
must explain at this point. I want to show you the beauty
of the study of justification in the light of the very beginning
of God's Word. Someone has said that justification
is not merely a benevolent act of the sovereign God. The Word
itself suggests a legal principle. and it applies to those who are
not unrelated to the law of God. Now let's go back to Adam for
an illustration. God imposed upon Adam and Eve
a positive precept. I want to use three words, precept,
penalty, and promise. Now keep these three words in
mind for a moment. Precept, penalty, and promise. First of all, God imposed upon
Adam and Eve a positive precept as the test of obedience. I said as the test of obedience. Now the precept, thou shalt not
eat of this forbidden fruit. The day that you eat thereof
you will die. This was a test of their obedience
and it required perfect obedience and carried with it what? A penalty, now here comes a second
word, a penalty for disobedience. Were they obedient? No, they
were not. When Adam and Eve fell in the
Garden of Eden, what did they do? We all know the record. They
went out and sought to hide themselves. They knew what the positive precept
of God was. They also knew that they had
disobeyed God's positive precept. They knew what the penalty was. The penalty was death. So they
went out and sought to hide themselves from God. But no one can do that. They didn't then. No person can
do it today, even though he might try mighty hard. Now we come
to the next point, the promise. When Adam and Eve were summoned
before God, what do you think was uppermost in their minds?
They expected to hear from the lips of God, what? Their condemnation. They expected to hear from God,
guilty! Guilty! Thou shalt die. They expected
God to interpose against them, whereas He stood for them by
giving a promise. Have you overlooked that? They were condemned. They knew
they were condemned, just as you and I know that we're condemned
outside of Jesus Christ. So they expected to hear from
the lips of God his condemnation, whereas they heard from his lips
a promise." Now what do we have? We have first of all precept,
we have penalty, and we have promise. I want you to see the
beauty of the message. Now the question is raised, how
can God, the righteous and holy God, who had issued the precept
and the penalty was given How could he justify Adam and Eve?
How could he do it and remain just in the justification of
them? By virtue of the promise. That's
how. That's how. Now let's see the
beauty of it. How can a holy God justify a
sinful man? This is the problem of the question
raised by Job in Job 9.2. How can a man be just with God? How can a man be just with God? How can such justification be
justified? This is possible only, beloved,
on one of two grounds. Follow me. I'm explaining it
now, even before I get to the seven points. We may not have
time to get that far this morning. If not, we'll deal with them
tonight. I want you to see the beauty of this, the beauty of
this. Now how, how could God justify
Adam and Eve? I said this is possible only
on one of two grounds. Number one, either the person
accused must be declared innocent as one by whom no offense has
been committed and from whom no penalty is due. That's number one. Or number
two, if the guilty or if the penalty is paid by someone else,
then the guilty can be justified. Now let's look at that for a
moment. I said justification is possible only on two grounds. Number one, either the person
accused must be declared innocent as one from whom no offense has
come and from whom no penalty is due. Now this could not be
said either of Adam or Eve or of Eve. And it cannot be said
of you and me today, 6,000 years later. Now think about
that for a moment. Or, I said number two, if he
is guilty we know that the penalty of the law must be paid. I like a statement I read by
a Puritan this last week. How in the world can a sinner,
how can an ungodly man pay the debt of sin which is against
him out of the Lord's purse? Are you following me? Are you
following me? You see, the only remedy, you
have to know what he's talking about. I don't have to explain
it. The remedy is found only in God Himself. Only the just
and holy God found an answer, and the answer was found to man's
sin in himself and not in man. Not in man. The answer is not
found in you or me. The answer was found in God Himself. And so in the light of this fact,
The Puritan said, how can an ungodly man pay for the debt
of sin which is against him out of God's own purse? Do you see
the beauty of that statement? Oh, that's rich in meaning. You
see, the penalty is paid from God's own purse. So man cannot
pay for his own sin out of God's purse. So he stands condemned. He stands condemned. So Adam
and Eve stood before God, the righteous and holy God. The precept was perfect obedience
or else. The penalty was death. But don't
forget the promise. They heard that day the promise
that God gave. the promise of the coming Redeemer. Now let's see the simplicity
of the answer. We're told in Romans 4 verse
15 that the law works wrath. Now that statement may have bothered
you in the past. Look at it now. The law works
wrath. Not only the law of Moses, but
even the law that God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden. It
worked wrath. as the law works wrath. Turn, if you will, now to 2 Corinthians
5, 19-21, and in this portion of Scripture, Paul tells us that
the gospel proclaims reconciliation, and this reconciliation is made
possible. How? by Jesus Christ, the perfect
one, being made a sin offering for us, and our sins were imputed
to him, he paid for them in full, his righteousness is therefore
imputed to us, and we are declared just on the basis of imputed
righteousness, not ours, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Now, beloved, if you can't understand that, that it's because you're
a stranger of grace. This may be strange to your ears. If it is, it is because your
ears are estranged. This is the gospel. This is the
heart of the gospel. So just picture, if you will,
in your own mind, Adam and Eve standing before the righteous
and holy God. And they expected to hear what?
Nothing but condemnation. But they heard the promise, I'll
put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her
seed. It shall bruise, the seed of
the woman is going to bruise the head of the seed of the serpent. This was the promise of the coming
redeeming. This was emphasized again. to Abraham in Genesis 15 and
again in Genesis 17, the Abrahamic covenant. Paul quotes from this
in Galatians 3.16, and to thy seed, the promises were made
to thy seed, which is Christ. Which is Christ. So the law works
wrath. What else? The gospel proclaims
reconciliation through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Now, let's
sum it up. Therefore, the penalty of the
law takes effect. The penalty of the law, even
against Adam and Eve, takes effect not upon Adam and Eve, but upon
the substitute. The penalty of sin against you
and me takes effect not upon us, but upon Jesus Christ who
is our substitute. Does that make sense? So the penalty of the law takes
effect not on the elected sinner. It takes effect upon the divine
substitute, and this is what Paul explains in Romans 3, 24
and 25, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
or mercy seed through faith in his blood, to declare God's righteous
character in justifying an unjust man and remaining just in such
justification. Beloved, as we go through this
subject, there will be times when we will feel like saying
hallelujah. But I want you to know there
will be times when you will feel like you are drowning even though
you're only an ankle deep water. So get ready. I said there will be times when
there will be rejoicing and praise that will come forth from your
lips, but there will be times when you will feel that you are
literally drowning in ankle-deep water. This is a great subject,
a great subject. Now what's the answer to all
of this? I think the psalmist gives us an answer to this. Do
you remember the 85th division of the Psalms, verse 10? Truth and righteousness are met. Now where does truth and righteousness
meet? At Calvary. He goes on in the
last part of that text and makes the statement that righteousness
and peace kiss each other. Where do they kiss each other?
At Calvary. There the righteous character
of God is vindicated in the substitutionary death
of his son, making it possible for the righteous and holy God
to justify the unholy man and remain just in his justification. God's righteous character is
vindicated in the sacrifice of his Son. The answer to man's
need is found not in man himself, but in the righteousness provided
in the death of Jesus Christ. The Arminian will come along
and say, yes, we're justified by faith. Abraham believed God
and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Does that mean
in lieu of righteousness? Absolutely not. If that were
true, then man's faith would become his savior. But man is justified through
faith, and justification is a legal term used in that sense. It is a declarative statement
by God himself. It is God that justifies, Romans
8.33. It is God that justifies. God
can declare you just. And He can declare me just. He
does declare all of us just who are covered by the blood of His
Son. I'm a little afraid to try to
go into these seven points that I want to give. because I know
that I'll just get started and not be able to complete. So there
are a few other things that I will discuss with you, and I may get
to that place in the message this morning, and if not, we'll
discuss them with you tonight. The doctrine of justification
by faith distinguishes that view of salvation which regards as
being holy of grace without any admixture of human works. You see, works of sinful man
are as corrupt as man himself. How in the world can corrupt
works justify a corrupt man? We're told in the scriptures
that the tree is corrupt and the tree that is corrupt produces
corrupt fruit. The fountain that is bitter produces
only bitter water. How in the world could bitter
water justify the fountain? How can corrupt works justify
a corrupt tree before God? Now if you think that by your
good works that you can stand justified before God, it is the
same as saying that your evil works are justifying you before
God, and yet too many religionists today believe that. Not a word of truth in it. That's
heresy. You notice what I said? I said
that's heresy of the deepest Now justification is one thing,
sanctification is another. I want you to observe the order
of justification, sanctification, and glorification in Romans 3
through 8. Isn't that the order? First of
all, justification. We are justified, we are declared
just on the basis of Christ's righteousness. We're sanctified, so justification
is involved with the subject of imputation. Now the righteousness
of Jesus Christ is imputed in our justification. It is imparted
in our sanctification. Now I'm talking about progressive
sanctification. So justification is number one
in order in Romans 3, 4, and 5. Then we come to the subject
of sanctification beginning with Romans 6. And it is concluded
with glorification. Now is the order important? It
surely is. I affirm that the person who
has been justified has the assurance that he'll be glorified. And
I read that to you this morning from Romans 8 and verse 30. Moreover,
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. Whom he did
predestinate, then he also called. Whom he called, then he also
justified. And whom he justified, then he also glorified. I do not believe for a second
that a person can be justified without being sanctified progressively. You know how the Puritan stated
it? The Puritan stated it like this. He said for a person to
be justified without being sanctified would mean that God has justified
a person whom he cannot glorify. Have you followed me? Let me
give it again. He was right when he said it
like that. Justification comes first. Declared righteous on
the basis of Christ's righteousness. But every person who has been
justified is going to be progressively sanctified. Because Jesus Christ
has made unto us sanctification as well as justification. 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 30.
And we're told in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 11. We are
sanctified, so sanctification follows justification. I'm talking
about progressive sanctification. So the righteousness of Christ
is imputed in justification, imparted in sanctification. What does that mean? That means
that sanctification makes us right in our actions. makes us right in our actions. Not always right, any more than
Abraham was always right. But the person who has been made
right in his actions, it simply means he is bent in the right
direction. I said bent in the right direction. So justification, number one.
Two, sanctification. Finally, glorification. So the
Puritan was right when he said for God to justify a person and
not sanctify him would simply mean that he has justified one
whom he cannot glorify. Of course that's speaking hypothetically
because everyone whom he has justified he glorifies. And the interesting thing about
those five great biblical doctrines in Romans 8, 29 and 30 is this,
each one of the verbs is in the aorist tense. The same is true
with justification, and don't forget that, because we'll be
dealing with a very important and controversial point of justification,
and it has to do with the eternality of justification. So sinful man must go outside
of himself to find righteous work. He can't find them within himself.
But when he goes outside of himself, where does he go? He goes to
none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. And true faith
points a person to Jesus Christ. Not so much to the works of Christ,
but to the person of Christ who performed the works. Don't ever separate the works
of Christ from his blessed person. That is not proclaiming the pure
gospel. So righteous works are found
only in the Lord Jesus Christ for man's acceptance before God,
and they are claimed as one's own by faith which is God's gift. Christ's righteous works are
mine. I didn't deserve them, but they
were imputed to me and imparted in sanctification. They're mine.
I claim them by faith. And the faith which God has given
to me and the faith which God has given to every person who
is saved, he claims the righteousness of Christ. That's why Paul said,
before the Lord saved me, I claimed my righteous work. And the righteousness
which I had, we're told in Philippians 3, 7 through 9, was that of the
law. But now I'm in Christ. And the righteousness which I
now have as a believer, as a saved person, is the righteousness
that has been imputed in justification and imparted in sanctification
to me. I stand, therefore, not in my
own righteousness, but in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Now, in conclusion, works done
before faith are evil. You might say, do you mean to
tell me that all works which a man will perform before faith
are evil? Absolutely every one of them.
I don't care if you give a million dollars to some religious organization. It's an evil work. You say, I
don't understand that. I didn't expect you to. You do
if you understand grace. You see, you must consider the
motive, and the motive makes it evil. And no unsaved person
has the proper motive. So works done before faith are
evil, not good. Now let's think about works done
after faith. Works done after faith even though
they are the fruits of grace, yet they must be sprinkled with
the blood of Jesus Christ in order to be acceptable to
God. Do you know why? Because even
the works of the believer after faith, though they be fruits
of grace, are imperfect. And since they are imperfect,
They must be sprinkled by the blood of Christ to be acceptable,
and even imperfect works could never justify us before God,
even though they be the fruit of faith. How is a person justified? Not by works. Not by works. Not by the principle of works,
but upon the principle of faith. on the principle of faith. Are
you in Christ? Are you standing in your own
righteousness today? Or are you standing in the righteousness
of Jesus Christ? Tonight we will give seven themes
in defining or explaining justification. I've given a little explanation
this morning, but we'll deal with it more extensively tonight.
I've tried to illustrate it I try to go back to the very beginning
of the Scriptures to show you that this great subject is important. It's an ancient doctrine. Every
person before Jesus Christ who was saved was justified through
faith, and every person who is saved after the death of Christ
is and shall be justified through faith.