Sin. Sin. How lightly we use the word,
how lightly we think about, how lightly we engage in sin. Sin is transgression against
God. It is rebellion against the king
of kings. Sin is the violation of God's
character. It is man's denial of God's right
to be God. Sin. Every transgression, every
evil thought, every act of iniquity All sin is man's denial of God's
right to be God. John Bunyan put it this way,
sin is the dare of God's justice, the rape of his mercy, the jeer
of his patience, the slight of his power, and the contempt of
his love, sin. The scriptures very pointedly
identify nine specific things that God calls sin. Let me give
them to you. You can look at them later. Nine
specific things God calls sin. In Proverbs 21, 4, the wise man
says, and high look, and high look, Who do you think you are standing
before me? A high look, a haughty look, a proud heart, and the
plowing of the wicked, he said. Man's proud appearance so that
he looks down upon others as not quite his equals, a proud
heart, and the plowing of the wicked, the most common deeds
of unbelieving men is sin. Proverbs 24 verse 9 declares
the thought, the thought of the foolish is sin. Every unregenerate
man, every fallen natural man, his every thought is sin. You can't think and not sin. The thought of the foolish is
sin. Whatsoever is not of faith, Paul
tells us in Romans 14, is sin. Whatsoever is not of faith, that
is anything that is done apart from faith in Christ, apart from
conscious surrender to, Confidence in and seeking the glory of Christ
is sin. Then he tells us the sting of
death is sin. The thing that makes it uncomfortable
for men and women when they come to die or think about death is
sin. Guilt. Oh, guilt. You can only suppress it so much.
You can only stifle the screaming conscience so much. And then
James tells us that to him that knoweth to do good and doeth
it not, it is sin. When you know what's right and
you don't do it, sin. John tells us, whosoever committed
sin transgresseth the law, for sin is the transgression of the
law. Sin is walking up to the law
of God and kicking it down and trampling it over, saying, God,
get out of my way. I'll do what I want to. All unrighteousness,
John tells us, is sin. All unrighteousness is sin. All
of those things the scriptures identify for us and identify
clearly as sin. But without question, the most
abominable, the most insidiously evil, the most terrible of all
sins is self-righteousness. Self-righteousness, I'm confident
I can show you from this book. is more offensive and more abominable
to God than any other crime. Murder is a horrible, horrible
thing. We read about it every day. But
I would rather be charged with murder before the law of God
than be charged with self-righteousness. Stealing is a dreadful offense. But I would rather be charged
with stealing before the bar of justice than with self-righteousness. Lying is a fearful breach of
God's holy law, but I would rather appear before God guilty of lying
incessantly than to appear before Him guilty of self-righteousness. Adultery is a loathsome evil,
but I would rather stand before God as an adulterer than as a
self-righteous man. This matter of self-righteousness
is no new sin. Ever since man became a sinner,
he's professed to be righteous and pretended to be righteous.
When Adam and Eve found themselves naked in the garden, they made
some fig leaves, sewed them together, and made them aprons by which
they thought they could hide their sin, their nakedness from
God. self-righteousness, most difficult
thing we'll ever have to deal with. Anger, wrath, envy, hatred,
lust, we can't in measure overcome because they're easily identified. But pride and self-righteousness
are well covered, well covered by religion. Self-righteousness
flourishes best right here. Right here. Not across the street,
right here. Self-righteousness flourishes
best in religious people. Here, it's watered by prayer
and cultivated by profession and fertilized by ceremony. The
fact is, most of what is done in the name of religion, most
of what is done in the name of worship is nothing but outward
works of self-righteousness. I want you to turn to Matthew
chapter 6. I want you to read it with me.
Matthew chapter 6. I'll be getting to James chapter
2 in a few minutes, but I want you to read this. Matthew 6.
I'm trying to think. I can't think of anything that's
done by men to show themselves Christians, to show themselves
devoted, to show themselves godly, to show themselves men to be
looked upon as godly, righteous, believing men. I can't think
of anything you can do to show that there's not self-righteousness.
Not one thing. Not one thing. People pray in
public. And if you ask them why, you
ask them why I sit down at the table and I try to be tolerant
of things, I'm just not going to sit down over here at the
restaurant and lead this group in prayer. It's not going to
happen. It's not going to happen. You can go ahead if you want
to, I'm not going to do it. And when they see folks do it, and
if you talk to them, ask them about it, they say, well, I want
folks to know I'm a Christian. How's that going to show it?
How's that going to show it? How's that going to show anything?
That only shows that you're religious. That's all it does. That's all
it does. There's nothing about it that shows Christianity. Most
of the religious works people do, especially when they do them
and talk about them, just self-righteousness. Matthew 6 verse 1. Take heed
that you do not your alms before men to be seen of them. That
is don't give to the poor and then brag about it. Otherwise
you have no reward of your father which is from heaven. You do
something to help folks? Don't tell anybody. Don't tell
anybody. Sure as you tell somebody, you
got what you did it for. Oh my, did you hear what Bill
said he did? Isn't that something? And Bill
got what he wanted. Don't tell anybody about it.
Read on. Verse 2. Therefore when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound the trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory
of men, Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when
thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right
hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret. And thy father
which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And
when thou prayest, when you pray, it is presumed by our Lord's
language here that his people are charitable. He didn't say
if you do alms, he said when you do alms. That's just a presumed
thing. If you know God, you're charitable.
It's just presumed. Notice the Lord's language. He
didn't say if you pray. He said when you pray. When you
pray, it is presumed. God's people pray. When thou
prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. Well, what
are they like? They love to pray standing in
the synagogues and in the corners of streets that they may be seen
of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. I think I told you this. One
day I was playing golf. I first started playing golf.
Played about as good then as I do now. But we were playing
golf at West Virginia, myself and one of the men in the church
there and a preacher who was visiting, a former pastor. And
we're out in the middle of the golf course. And I had no idea
what was said or transpired. I don't have any idea what was
going on. And this preacher said, well, let's pray. and right out
in the middle of the fairway expecting me to get down on my
knees and have a prayer meeting with him. I stood there looking
around like I'd like to run somewhere and hide. What kind of foolishness
is this? Love to stand in public places
and be seen praying. Read what it says here. Standing
in the synagogues and in the corners of streets that they
may be seen of men. You mean that's the reason they
do that? That's what he said. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. Well, Brother Don, you can't
presume that's what people intend by that. I didn't presume it.
That's what the Lord said they did by it. That's exactly what
the Lord said they intend by it. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray
to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly. But when you pray, use not vain
repetitions as the heathen do. Just don't keep saying the same
words so that by your repetition you think God's gonna hear you
For they think that they shall be heard for their much-speaking
Be not ye therefore likened to them for your father knoweth
what things you have need of Before you ask them skip down
to verse 60 moreover when you fast when you fast Be not as
the hypocrites of a sad countenance, for they just figure their faces
that they may appear unto men to fast. The hypocrites, they
walk around kind of looking serious. And you ask them, would you like
to go get a milkshake? Oh, I can't. You can't, he's
sick. No, I don't want to talk about
it. Don't talk about what? Well, I'm fasting. Oh, well,
let's don't get a milkshake then. Why'd they do that? Why'd they
do that? Verily I say unto you, they do
it to disfigure the faces that they may appear to men to fast.
Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when
thou fastest, anoint thy head, wash thy face, that thou appear
not unto men to fast. In other words, make a deliberate
effort, do the best you can to make certain your wife doesn't
know you're fasting. To make certain your husband doesn't
know you're fasting. Don't show it to men. Don't show it to men.
But unto thy father which is in secret, and thy father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Self-righteousness. Oh, how the
wrath of God burns against you. And the hottest place in hell
is reserved for the self-righteous. in the eighth chapter of John.
Our Lord Jesus gives us a marvelous picture of self-righteousness
in action. You see, self-righteousness hates
grace. Self-righteousness is at the
root of all gossip, all slander, all persecution. Love covers
sin. Just covers it up. Larry Brown sees Don Fortner
do something he ought not to do. And somebody else says, did
you see that? No, he didn't mean that. No,
that's not what he intended to do. That's not what he meant
by that. I know Don too well. Love covers it up. Well, I wouldn't
do that. That's pretentious. You would if it was your son,
or your wife, or your brother, or your daughter, or your husband. No, I wouldn't. Oh, yes, you
do. We cover up for each other all the time. cover up for each
other. She covers up for me all the time. You're not about to
get her to tell you the truth about me. You're not about to
get her to tell you everything she knows about me. How come?
Because she loves me. Because she loves me. Just that
simple. Love covers evil. Self-righteousness
digs it up and keeps it stirred. Here, smell this pile of manure.
Smell it. Smell this, will you? Take a
good look at this. Self-righteousness likes to expose evil in others. Pharisees took a woman in the
act of adultery. A lot to be said about that,
how they figured that thing out. But they took her in the very
act, caught her committing the act. That's, oh, we've got two
or three witnesses now. Two or three witnesses now. And
they brought her to the Lord Jesus while He's teaching in
the temple and said, Moses in the law says kill her, stone
her to death. What do you say? They came not
because they had regard for Moses, not because they had regard for
God's law, not because they were interested in right and justice
and truth. Oh no, they came only for one
reason, because they loved their righteousness and despised free
grace. And that made them religious
zealots who cared for nothing but themselves. Self-righteousness. is the most deadly of all sins. That's the subject of our text,
James chapter 2. James chapter 2, verses 10 through 13. Here James
gives us a picture of a poor man in rags. Now understand this
and you will begin to understand the book of James. The book of
James was written to reinforce and reinforce again our Lord's
warning. Beware of the leaven of the scribes
and Pharisees. The book of James was written
to reinforce and reinforce again our Lord's warning. Beware of
the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees. Eleven of the scribes
and Pharisees, our Lord Jesus tells us in Luke 16, 15, is self-righteousness. It's described by the Son of
God as trusting in yourself. He says specifically, self-righteousness
is trusting in yourself that you are righteous. Trusting in
yourself that you are righteous. not that you have been made righteous
by the grace of God, not that you've been made righteous in
Christ, but trusting in yourself that you really are good, that
you really are righteous. Self-righteousness, our Lord
describes as the act of justifying yourself before men. Justifying yourself before men.
Read it for yourself. Luke 16, 15. Luke 18, verse 9. He's not saying that self-righteousness
is doing something and then justifying it. He's saying that self-righteousness
is the act of making men think you're righteous. Trying to get
men to think you're righteous. Believers, by all means, ought
to seek to live blamelessly in this world. That means Don Ranieri
and Don Fortner, you and I ought to behave as neighbors, as friends,
as husbands, as fathers, as believers, as business people. We ought
to behave in all things in this world blamelessly. Endeavor to
live blamelessly so that men who see you have no reason to
accuse you of anything except their own perverse imagination.
That's our responsibility. But don't ever attempt to justify
yourself before men, to make yourself appear righteous and
holy before men. Self-righteousness, our Savior
teaches us plainly, is that that always looks down upon, judges,
despises, and condemns others. Now look here in James chapter
2. Let's back up to verse 1 and read verse 1 through 9 again.
Here, James warns us against this self-righteousness. In these
first nine verses, he gives us a horrible example. My brethren,
have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
with respect to persons. For if there come in under your
assembly a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel, and there
come in also a poor man in vile raiment, a poor man in rags,
One man comes in, he's rich. It's obvious that he is. Another
one comes in and he's poor, and it's obvious that he is. And
you have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and
say unto him, sit thou here in a good place. And say to the
poor, stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool. Are
you not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil
thoughts? Hearken, my brethren. Hath not
God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the
kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Now, James
draws a clear picture, and it happens all the time. Somebody
comes in who's rich, and folks just fall down all over him. They fall over the top of themselves
trying to impress him. And a fellow comes in who's poor,
and folks ignore him, push him aside. But James tells us by
inspiration, I'm not just talking about physically, monetarily
rich and poor people. I'm talking about somebody who's
rich in his own esteem, in his own eyes before God, and somebody
who's poor in his own eyes before God. How do you know that? Because
God didn't choose all the poor folks to be his own. Not everybody who's on welfare
is one of God's elect. Not everybody who's poor is one
of God's elect. Not everybody who has to struggle
for a living is one of God's elect. Oh no, that's not what
it is. But poor in spirit, God did choose. They're rich in faith. Not just the poor physically,
the poor spiritually poor. Look here what it says, verse
five. Hath not God chosen the poor
of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which
he hath promised to them that love him? But you despise the
poor. Do not rich men oppress you?
He's not talking about because somebody's rich they're oppressors,
though that commonly is the case. He's talking about those who
are rich in their haughty, high opinions of themselves. They're
persecutors. They may not have the power to
put you in prison, They may not have the power to have you beaten
publicly. They may not have the power to
see to it that you're banished from the community. But they
oppress and oppress and oppress and oppress because they think
they're good and you're not. Do not rich men oppress you and
draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme
that worthy name by the which you're called? If you fulfill
the royal law according to the scriptures, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself, you do well. But if you have respect to persons,
you commit sin and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
That the poor man, that poor man in vile raiment is held before
us here as a sinner saved by grace. Every saved sinner comes
to God and stands before God trusting Christ alone as a poor
sinner in filthy rags, a poor man in vile raiment. Just as our Lord Jesus, though
he was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty
might be made rich. Every sinner who is brought by
the grace of God to trust the Lord Jesus is made poor and made
to confess that he's such before God. Poor in spirit. Poor in spirit. Praise ye the
Lord, David said. Praise, O ye servants of the
Lord. Praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. The Lord is high above all nations
and his glory above the heavens. who is likened to the Lord our
God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the
things that are in heaven and in the earth. He raiseth up the
poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill,
that he may set him among princes, even with the princes of the
people." Our Savior declares, blessed are the poor in spirit. Before we look at our text, turn
back to Zephodiah. Zephaniah chapter 3. Zephaniah chapter
3. The poor in spirit are men and women
who confess their sin, acknowledging that their best righteousnesses
are but filthy rags before God, that there is an unclean thing.
That's that publican. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. I beg of you, my God, let me
never grow above this. God, be merciful to me, the sinner."
That's the prodigal who comes with all the filth and mire and
muck of the hogpen, the stench of the hogs clinging to him.
And he comes to his father with his head bowed in the dust and
he says, I'm no more worthy to be called your son, make me as
one of your hired servants. Opens his heart before his father
and he's received graciously by his father. Look here in Zephaniah
chapter three, verse 11. In that day, in the day when
God visits in grace, shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings
wherein thou hast transgressed against me. For then I will take
away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride,
and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and a poor
people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. All
right, now let's read our text, James chapter 2. Remember, James is showing us
the difference between those who think they're rich before
God and those who know they're poor before him. The difference
between those who are true believers and those who are just religious
hypocrites. The difference between saints
and those who think they're saints. James 2 verse 10. Excuse me. For whosoever shall
keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of
all. For he that said, Do not commit
adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery,
and yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the
law. Now that's the first thing to
be learned. We are all of us. by nature and
by practice, guilty, law-breaking sinners all the time. We are, all of us, by nature
and by practice, guilty, law-breaking sinners all the time. Whosoever
shall keep the whole law. No man since Adam except the
God-man can keep the whole law. Jesus Christ kept the law and
kept it perfectly as the God-man, our mediator. But our Lord here
tells us by his servant James, whosoever shall keep the whole
law and yet offend in one point, he's guilty of all. He's guilty
of all. People like to talk about keeping
the law, living by the law. But they always bring the law
down just as low as man is. And they say, well, we know we
don't keep the law perfectly, but we do the best we can. In
other words, they're telling us they prove their righteousness
and they prove their sanctification and they prove themselves God's
people by breaking the law. Because keeping it the best you
can is just breaking it. It's just breaking it. Well,
nobody can keep the law perfectly. That's just what James is saying.
And he makes a supposition. Suppose there is a man who keeps
all of it except one command. Breaking one command is breaking
all. If you have a legal contract, And you have certain stipulations
to the contract, whether they're 2 or 20 or 200 or 2,000. And
all those stipulations make the contract valid. Any single broken
stipulation nullifies the contract, much more so with God's law.
Tell me you that desire to be under the law, don't you hear
the law? Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things
written in the book of the law to do them. You see, breaking
God's law in one point or in all points is but man showing
his utter contempt of God. Whatever it is that you say,
I will not do that. You say, God, you've got no right
to be God. You've got no right to tell me
that. You've got no right to forbid me what I want. More than
that, if you and I don't violate this command or
that command, this thing revealed in the book of God or that thing
revealed in the book of God, it's not because we're better
than another. It's only because we have not
been tempted with the same circumstances that another has, I would have
done the same thing. I remember years ago, a preacher
sitting in my house. This had been a long, long time
ago before I learned to be real quiet and not say things. And
he was leaning back at my desk, had his feet propped up on my
desk. I was sitting across the room from him. He said, well,
I'm very thankful I can say I've never touched another woman other
than my wife. And I immediately looked at him. I said, did you ever have the
chance? And almost took the starch out of him. He was shocked by
it. You see, we don't have the same
temptations and trials and difficulties. We all have different temptations
and trials and difficulties. We all have the same weakness.
And the only reason you don't engage in all the evil that another
does, the only reason I do not engage in all the evil that another
does, is God stops us. That's all. That's all. James
is here specifically telling us that the breach of God's law
in any point is a declaration of universal depravity and universal
guilt. Second, look at the next line
in our text. Our rule of life as believers,
as sinners saved by the grace of God, that by which we are
judged is the gospel of God, the law of liberty. Look at verse
12. So speak ye, and so do, as they
that shall be judged, or are being judged, by the law of liberty. This perfect law of liberty is
the whole Word of God. The whole Word of God by which
God makes known the gospel. The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple. Paul tells us in Romans 1 and
2 that the heathen, who never heard the gospel and never seen
the scriptures, shall be judged by God by the light of nature,
and are being judged by God by the light of nature. Those who
lived in the Old Testament, from Moses until the coming of our
Redeemer, they shall be judged by the law given at Sinai. And
all who live in this gospel age, having heard the gospel, are
being judged and shall be judged by the law of nature and the
law given at Sinai and by the law of the gospel of God's free
grace in Christ Jesus. James specifically tells us that
we who are saved Saved by the grace of God, we are to walk
in this world and to speak in this world, to talk and do in
this world like sinners saved by God's free grace. We're to
walk and live and do in this world as men and women who are
being judged by the perfect law of liberty, by this perfect law
of liberty called the gospel. Grace, the gospel of God's grace,
teaches us as believers to live soberly and righteously and godly
in this present world. Grace teaches people to be gracious. Grace teaches people to be merciful. Blessed are the merciful, our
Lord said, for they shall obtain mercy. Religion, self-righteousness,
teaches folks to be hard, unforgiving, exposing, gossiping, oppressing
persecutors like the Pharisees. Believers, men and women born
of God, are forgiving. They are forgiving. Let us ever pray as you prayed
a minute ago, God, make us forgiving. But if I'm a child of God, I
am forgiving. And, Lindsey, if we don't forgive, we've not been
forgiven. That's exactly what our Lord
says, isn't it? If you don't forgive me, you're not going
to be forgiven. Not that our forgiveness earns anything. Believers
learn forgiveness. They're taught by the gospel.
Believers are forbearing. Forbearing. They're overlooking.
They're people who are taught of God to love one another and
overlook things. Overlook things. Not just things
that don't matter. Overlook things that do matter.
Overlook them. They cover sin. saw his father Noah and went
in and uncovered his father's nakedness. Ham saw Noah falling
down drunk and he said to his brother Shem and Japheth, hey
boys, come here, let me show you our good daddy now. What
do you think of him now? What do you think? I always told
you what he was. And Shem and Japheth went in
backwards and covered their father's nakedness. Ham represents the
reprobate of this world. Shaman, Japheth, God's elect.
Folks who know God cover evil. They don't expose it. I told
the folks down in Cornelius last week was dealing with church.
And so many times over the years, I've had folks come to me and
say, well, man, I couldn't go to church with somebody like
Bobby Estes. I can't go to church where he goes to church. Do what? I can't worship God if Mark Henson's
gonna worship God. I know things about Mark Henson.
I just, oh, I can't worship God with him. What? Merle, the son
of God, broke bread and passed the wine to Judas Iscariot and
knew full well who he was and what he was doing and what he
was about. I expect I can manage to eat with you and worship with
you. Believers, believers don't deal
with folks that way. Believers don't have that kind
of attitude about folks. If I'm not merciful, I haven't
obtained mercy. If I'm not forgiving, I haven't
been forgiven. Now I want you to turn tonight,
that passage I've quoted to you for several weeks now, in Ephesians
chapter 4. Ephesians 4, verse 32. Be ye kind one to another. Oh God, write your word on my
heart. Tenderhearted, forgiving one
another. Well, if he asks me, I'll forgive
him. That's not what he says. Forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore
followers of God. That word followers would better
be translated imitators, copycats. Be copycats of God as dear children
and walk in love. as Christ also hath loved us
and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet-smelling Savior." Lindsay, if we'd heed that, we'd
get along anywhere with just about anybody who walks with
God. Let's be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving. Walk in love. Always imitate God, you get along
pretty good. Always be copycats of God, and
you get along pretty good. Now, look back at our text in
James 2. Here's the third thing. James tells us that merciless,
self-righteous judges of men, graceless religious people, shall
be judged without mercy. For he shall have judgment without
mercy that has showed no mercy. Like the rich man who showed
no mercy to Lazarus. Like that servant described in
Matthew 18 who demanded to be paid all and showed no mercy. That evil servant in Matthew
24 who beat his fellow servants and showed no mercy. He shall have judgment without
mercy, without mercy. Oh, what judgment? He shall have
judgment without mercy that has showed no mercy. Now, look at
the fourth thing. Sinners saved by God's free grace,
saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, washed in his blood and
robed in his righteousness, rejoice in the prospect of judgment.
Taking my place as a poor man in rags, I rejoice against judgment. I rejoice in the prospect of
judgment. I am triumphing and I shall triumph
against judgment. And mercy rejoiceth against judgment. wrote to the Corinthians and
fellows that come around charging him with hideous things. Paul
said, I don't pay any attention to
your judgment. It's a small thing to me that you judge me. In fact,
I don't judge myself. I'm waiting for a day. I'm waiting
for a day when God's going to bring all things to trusting Christ, standing here
before God, this poor sinner, whose righteousnesses are but
filthy rags before God, washed in the Savior's blood, robed
in his righteousness, rejoices at the prospect of judgment. I rejoice at the prospect of
that great day. For our Savior declares, he will
say to me, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Come and inherit the kingdom
prepared for you. from the foundation of the world,
set down with me in my throne. Now I challenge you, I challenge
you, find me any place in this book, any place in this book
that speaks of Judgment Day as a day to be dreaded, feared,
or terrifying to God's people. You won't find it. You won't
find it. we shall have mercy everlasting in Christ our
Savior on the grounds of perfect righteousness, justice, and truth. See the love of God, amazing,
in the sacrifice of Christ. See His justice, truth, and mercy
in our Savior's sacrifice. Look, O sinners, See God's glory,
a just God and Savior too, justly now in holy mercy. God can save
and pardon you. Justice called and mercy answered. Jesus' blood has satisfied. Yes,
the blood our debt has canceled. By the blood we're justified. Amen.