been dealing, and that's what
we've looked at over the last few weeks, with the glorious truth, the
doctrine. That's what doctrine means, the
truth of justification. The Scripture reveals in Romans
3.24 All of God's elect are justified freely by His grace. God graciously justifies, that
is, declares that there is no record. Ever get a hold of what
justification means? That's a word that understanding
what that word means. That means there's no record
of wrongdoing. I mean, that's an amazing word. Justification. No record. Being justified freely by His
grace through because of the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. Now, Romans 4, 25 sets forth that the Lord Jesus
Christ was delivered. Now, we are as being found in
Adam. We're sinners. Now, here's just
two outstandingly so statements. Being found in Adam, being born
in Adam, we come forth liars. Liars on God. Sinners. By one
man's transgression, many were made sinners. That's what we
are. Being born in Adam, we are sinners. But here's the good news. To
some, God Almighty reveals to them that they're sinners. There's another word that we
need to kind of understand. When we say a sinner, I'm talking
about an out-and-out, bald-faced rebel against God. I'm talking
about God-hating, God-despising rebel against God that says in
my heart, I'm not going to have this man rule over me. Now, that's
a sinner. I'm not talking about somebody
that stubs his toe and just says, man, that hurt. I'm talking about
one that is absolutely dead, realizes, Chuck, he's dead spiritually
and can do nothing to help himself. I'm telling you. I'm talking about Not one that's
just out in the ocean that somebody throws a life preserver to. At
least I can grab hold of that. I can do a little something,
you know. You might say, well, you know, the person on the ship
was the one that threw it out there. Yeah, but at least I hung
on. I mean, come on now, give me a little credit for it. No,
I'm talking about a corpse. You throw a life preserver to
a corpse, you know what he's going to do? Nothing. I'm going to call my dad. Christ was delivered, Romans
4.25, for our offenses, or because of, that word for there, and
the word for in the latter part, for our justification, who was
delivered because of our offenses. That's why it was delivered.
Why did Christ come into this world? Because God had some sinners
that He was actually going to redeem and save. He was delivered. He came into this world because
God had a people that He had everlastingly loved. Delivered
because of our offenses and was raised again. Why did God raise
Him? Because God had justified us. That's why. He came into this world to seek
and save that which was lost. He laid down His life for His
sheep. He died for the sheep. He was raised again because God
had justified the sheep. And when He came out having paid
our debt to the law of God, He came out of that because God
had justified us. We came out with Him justified.
Raised again. Almighty God had justified His people. declared them in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ, chosen in Him. He declared them just
before the foundation of the world. Now look at that again. Romans 8, verse 30. Moreover, whom He did
predestinate, determined the destination glory, heaven, with
Him. He determined the destination
before Him. That's what predestinate means,
to destinate beforehand. Whom He did predestinate. Then
He also called. Remember what called means? Named. He named them. He said, You're
mine. He named them. He named them. I told you, my son was born I
named him Gabe. That's why I named him. The reason
I did is because I wanted to name him that. But God named
him to be His before whom He did predestinate, them He also
named. And whom He named, called, them
He also justified. And whom He justified, those
He glorified with Himself. before the foundation of the
world. God Almighty did all that He did in one everlasting covenant
that was ordered, arranged, 2 Samuel 23, 15, if you want to get that. That's what David said, this
is all my salvation. God Almighty hath made with me
an everlasting covenant in Christ arranged, ordered in all things
and stands sure. That's all my salvation. God
Almighty justified His people. He does not justify them in time. He reveals it in time. You know
it in time. He quickens me in time. He enlightens
me in time. He regenerates me in time. But
Almighty God, who never changes, I change not, Malachi said. That's
what God spoke to them. I change not. That's good. That's why you're not concerned.
Because I don't change. He looked upon those that He
had everlastingly loved, those that were represented by their
federal head, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who has always
stood for them, always answered for them. The one who has always
answered. The one that God's dealt with. If God was going to deal with
His elect, He was going to deal with them in a representative.
One that He trusts. Who first trusted in Christ. That's what Ephesians 1 says.
He first trusted in Christ. Who first trusted in Him? God
the Father first trusted in Him. To what extent? God justified
them. Predestinated them. Named them. Justified them and glorified
them. Before the foundation of the
world. Chosen in Him. Ordered in all things. Sure.
And then what did God Almighty do? They were going to have to
have their sin put away. They were going to have to have
their debt dealt with in absolute justice. A man had rebelled against
God. A man is going to have to please
God. By one man's sin, many were made righteous by one man's obedience. Many, many have been set forth
to have been justified by Almighty God. God the Father, who justified,
forgave His people, who had always said, remember, who changes not,
He says, you're a blessed man. Why? Because I didn't charge
you. with iniquity. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Charge him with it. Charge him
with the debt of it. Charge him with the penalty of
it. Charge him with the burden of it before God's law. That's a blessed man. Somebody
said, well, I tell you what, have you seen my bank account?
What does that mean? If a man gained the whole world
and lost his soul, People are dying every day. Millionaires, billionaires. People
say, how much did he leave? All of it. What does that mean? What has that got to do with
it? God Almighty, who justified His people and trusted His Son,
that come into this world and pay their debt. I'm telling you,
that's some hope. That's some peace. The Lord Jesus
Christ, Romans 3, verse 25, sent forth, foreordained to be a propitiation,
an appeasement, a satisfaction through faith in His blood. You
know what God's people truly do? They trust Him. That's what
they say. You know, my little fickle thoughts
of what I've done for God or trying to serve the Lord. I just
don't find any confidence in that. But that Almighty God would
tell me, I've justified you in My Son. Look to Him. Trust in
Him. I trust in Him. Almighty God places no confidence
even in the angels of heaven, charges them with folly. The
stars are not pure in His sight. How much less a man that drinks
iniquity like water. Almighty God trusted one. He trusted His Son. He said,
This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. You hear Him.
If Almighty God tells me By the Spirit, through His Word, I justified
you. I forgave you. I adopted you. I called you. I named you mine. I wrote my law on your heart
in time. I regenerated you. I called you
out of darkness. by My Spirit that blows like
the wind sovereignly. No man stays here. No man stops
Him. He does as He wants to. If God
tells me that, then that's enough. That's enough. What do I do? I behold that Almighty God has
had mercy on a sinner that is justified beyond godly. Justified
one that couldn't do anything to justify himself. I came forth
a loser and never have done anything
to make it any better than myself. Therefore, we looked at last
week, I'll just read them, the first two verses, and we'll go
on from there. Therefore, being justified by faith, we realize
that we've got peace with God because of Through. That's what
that word means. Many times you find for and through. It means because of our Lord
Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by
faith into this grace. God has graciously told us about
it. He justified it, but He told
me. That's the amazing thing. He told me. And gave me a heart
to believe it. And I rejoice in it. With my mind, I rejoice in this
thought. And then I've got an old nature,
the flesh, that Paul says that just no good thing dwells in. I've got a nature about me that
doesn't more care about this than the man in the moon. Is that too hard a statement?
No. Paul says, in my flesh, I serve the law of sin. I bow to it.
I say to it, you're good. I like you. You and I, you know,
we see eye to eye. That's what the old nature says.
The old nature says just what Adam did in the garden. God told him, he said, don't
eat of the fruit. And Adam said, I think I will.
I think I'll just take a bite of that. That's what I do. I've got an old nature in me.
that does not love God. And you that believe, do too.
But there's a nature that has been imparted, put in. I'll give you, that's what the
Lord said in Ezekiel. He said, I'll give you a new
heart, a new will. I'll write my law, law of love,
love for Christ. I'll write and I'll reveal to
you that I'm your God and you're my people. I've got a new mind
that sinneth not. That which is born of God, born
from above, sinneth not. You say, is there a nature? Are
you saying that there's a nature in me that does not sin? Yes,
sir. How can you say that? God said it. That's good enough
for me. That which is born of God sinneth
not. That which is born of Adam doesn't
do anything but sin. And they strive against each
other. Oh, but being justified by faith,
I realize the peace and the access by faith into this grace wherever
we stand. And I rejoice in the assuredness,
in the hope of the glory of Almighty God. I rejoice in that. Thank
you. going through this world, and I see the frailty of my flesh,
and I don't like it. I don't like it. Job said, I
loathe myself. I hate, I hate, I hate this.
I hate every time I find myself just joying in rebellious thoughts
against God. I don't like that. Why do you
not like that? Because a new mind that has been
imparted, that loves God Almighty, strives against it. And I just
go through this life battling. And the older I get, the more
I realize it. And I hate it. Well, in verse 3, Paul says, and not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh
patience. Now, he had just said that realizing
that God had justified us freely by His grace, by God-given faith,
and that's the only way I know it, I realize the peace that
has been established, not by me, Christ is my peace. Christ obeyed God for me. He obeyed God and established
that there was peace before God for me. He obeyed God. And I know it. But now in verse
3, Paul says, but not only do we
rejoice in knowing that God has justified us. We rejoice in that. But listen, we're in this world.
We're in this world. Now, I'm going through this world
and I'm going through this world with some problems. I've got
some troubles. I've got some trials. I've got
some tribulations. But not only do I rejoice in
the thought that God has justified me, that He's dealt with me in
a substitute, But here's something else. We glory in tribulations
also. We glory because of the tribulation,
the afflictions, the burdens. Now listen. You know that all
things that happen are providentially ordered by Almighty God. Now you know that. I see the battle. I'm talking about the physical
battle that is raging over in Iraq. Evan, you just came back. I've been over there. And there's
a bunch of people that say it. that this is all a religious
thing. I mean, that's what they say. It's a battle. And it's a real
war and it's real bullets that are being fired and people are
really dying over there. But let me ask you something.
If you believe that all things are ordered by Almighty God,
do you think that Satan is the source is the power behind everything
that's going on over there? If Almighty God is all-powerful
and all things are ordered by Almighty God, do you think that
Almighty God is in control or is Satan in control? Now, you
know the answer to this. But that Almighty God would allow
Satan and be the means by which... I'd go along with that. When
Katrina came through, and hit in New Orleans. Glen and myself,
Glen and Gene, we were in Louisiana when that hurricane hit. Flooded. I mean, New Orleans is still
devastated. I mean, you know, Super Bowl,
I mean, the stadium there might look okay. And, you know, the
street where Mardi Gras, you know, Canal Street and all those
streets, they might look okay. Bourbon Street might look okay.
But the rest of it is devastated. Who is behind all things? Almighty
God. Who orders the tribulation and
the chastisements that God's people go through? Who orders
those things? God does. God Almighty does. And He does all things well. And Paul the Apostle says that
these burdens and these trials and tribulations, they are grievous. Your great-niece got the news,
Mike, that she had cancer. That's a tough thing to hear. I mean, we're human beings and
they're tough. So when Paul says that not only
so, but we glory, we rejoice, that's what that word means there.
I looked up. There's certain words glory means
Speaking of God's glory, that talks about God's opinion. This
word right here means rejoice. Paul says, we rejoice in tribulations
also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Now, what is
it about the rejoicing? When we hear something that's
tough and it's hard, and I'm thinking, you know, I get phone
calls from my children. I don't mind my kids calling
me, but don't give me any bad news. If this is going to be
bad, I don't want to hear it right now. These trials and tribulations
are tough, but what is Paul saying that we rejoice in? What is it
that we find to rejoice in concerning these things? Well, I can tell
you this. Believers rejoice not only in
the God that sent those trials the God that supports us and
sustains us, knowing that He is preparing us to leave this
world. But I'll tell you what they do.
We rejoice in the effect that is produced. Not only so, but we glory in
the effects, in the tribulations that God has sent, knowing that
that tribulation worketh produces patience, patience, a hopeful
endurance, patience to me. In the weakness of our flesh,
we initially are taken back at the magnitude of some of the
trials that we endure. Believers get sick just like
unbelievers. Believers have problems just like unbelievers. And I'm
telling you, when a believer hears of some of the trials that
they've gone through, when you first heard them, they were tough. They were tough. I know what
it sounds like to hear somebody say in your family, I have cancer. I know what it feels like. It's
tough. But I'll tell you that for God's
people, and this is what Paul was saying that we glory in,
in the patience, day in, day out, week in, week out, month
in, month out, year in, year out, you behold the enduringness
of Almighty God keeping His people. And He settles them down. And
they, by the teaching, the washing of the Word, they endure. They're resolved. This is the
Lord's will. Like I said, it's tough when
you first hear it. But I'm telling you to behold
the enduringness. We glory in tribulations also,
knowing that tribulation works patience. He just settles His
people down. Settles them down. And in that
settling down, preparing them to leave this world. And God's
people, they leave in peace. They leave with some peace. It's tough. But God's people
are convinced by God's Spirit. All is well. And patience, verse
4, Paul says, experience. Experience. Tried integrity. That's what it means. Experience. Pride, trustworthiness. They endure. The proof of God's
grace, not only with the patience in me, but others see it. I feel inside that God's settled
me down. But there's an experience of
it. It actually comes out. In my heart, I say things. In my heart, I react in a certain
way. God's people act like those that
have been settled down by God. They act like it. And they behold
the trials and tribulations of this world to be sent by Almighty
God, and they rest in it. Patience works experience, and
experience works hope. A joyful expectation of future
perfect sightedness of the glory of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.
They've got a good hope. They expect from Almighty God. They expect from Him. Wait on
the Lord. That's, if you know the Scripture,
wait. You know what that word wait means? Expect from God.
Expect from Him. What's He going to do? whatever
is best for me, whatever is for His glory, whatever His purpose
to do. Nothing I do is going to change
it. He orders all these things. But by His grace and mercy, He
settles me down and teaches me. In these trials and tribulations,
Paul says, we rejoice in them because God is working patience
in me. and evidencing it outwardly through
experience gives me a good hope, an expectation in Him. And hope,
verse 5, that joyful expectation, that hope maketh not ashamed
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost which was given unto us. That hopeful, joyful, expectation,
that hope, maketh not a shame. A believer possesses, by God's
grace, this realization, I'm not going to be ashamed before
God. I won't be ashamed before God.
Now, I'm a little disappointed, to be honest with you. No, I'm
a lot disappointed in the way I act. around you. Times that I hear something or
something and I just react just like that in a negative, I'm
shamed. Shamed of what I did, shamed
of what I thought, shamed of what I said. But I'm going to
tell you this, those that Almighty God has lovingly, graciously
sent trials and tribulations, God worked in them. He worked
in them patience. God worked in them experience
and worked in them hope. And that hope that they have
in Christ, they know this. They're not going to be ashamed
when they stand before God. Not in that day. They know it
now in part. They know it now, but in them
and then, they're going to know it. with perfect sight. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. You know, you could ask yourself
this. If a man doesn't come to Christ in faith and dies in unbelief,
what do you conclude about that based on this Scripture? That
God didn't give them to him in mercy. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me." If a man comes to Christ, he was already
given to Christ. All that the Father gives me
shall come to me. And Him that cometh to me in
faith, I will in no wise cast out. He'll never be ashamed.
He'll never be ashamed. Why? Because when I stand before
God Almighty, and I stand there to answer, Someone else answers for me.
I'll take care of you. He said. I'll answer. I'll answer. He is my mediator. He is my great
high priest. He answers for me. And how do we know that we're
not going to be ashamed before God? Look at this. Because the
love of God That is the love that God Almighty has had for
His own before the foundation of the world, Neal. Because the
love of God that would look upon an object of His mercy and choose
the object of His mercy in Christ, because He said, I loved you!
That's the reason I called you. That's the reason I redeemed
you. I've loved you with an everlasting love. The love of God is shed
abroad, poured out, is what it means, in our hearts by the Spirit
of God which is given unto us. God Almighty tells His people
like water from heaven, freely, graciously, mercifully. And this
love that He has for us, is the reason that we, in time,
love Him. We are creatures of time. He
is eternal. 1 John 4, 19 says we love Him. Why? Because He first loved us. Because He first loved us. God's
love for His own is sovereign, infinite, immutable, holy. Romans 8.35, "...who shall separate
us from the love of Christ." And that love is shed abroad,
poured out powerfully. Shed. Just the same word that
was used for the blood of Christ that He shed. Poured out. That love is taught us by the
Spirit of God. The Spirit of God who is sent
by the Father," that's what the Lord Jesus Christ said, "...whom
the Father will send in My name. He shall teach you all things
and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have
said unto you." He'll bring all things back to your mind. Do
you realize that every time you hear the Word, every time
you think of the truth, every time you think of Christ, Every
time that thought is brought back to your memory, the Spirit
of God just taught you that. He brought it to your memory.
I don't have any ability to even remember. He said, without me,
you can do nothing. You mean not even remember? Nothing. You can do nothing. Without me,
you can do nothing. He said, the Spirit of God will
bring it back to your memory. Refresh you. Refresh you. You
know, we have an intimate relationship with Almighty God. Father, by
Son, by Spirit. The Spirit of God teaches God's
people. Teaches them and teaches them
and teaches them. That's why every time you hear
the gospel of God's free grace, every time you hear it, it's
like it's brand new. It was freshly taught you. freshly brought back
to your memory. God Almighty, like a flood by
His Spirit, speaks by His Spirit to His people. And we know of
God's love for us by His blessed Holy Ghost. Romans 8.16 says, beareth witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God." God justifies His people freely
by His grace. He tells them of it through the
preaching of the Gospel. He tells them. Paul said, I'm
not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God. through the gospel is the revelation
of the power of God. Through the preaching of the
gospel, the revelation of God's power, God's will, God's pleasure,
to show mercy to a people is through the preaching of the
gospel of Christ, gospel of grace, gospel not of works, but of grace. And God teaches of His justifying
mercy. He declared them in His Son,
guiltless in Christ. And He teaches them that, and
they have a realization of the peace that they have with God.
Not by anything that they've done, but by His mercy. And then He teaches them, now
I've justified you. Your standing before Me is established
in your substitute, My Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we walk
through this world. And we go through and you think,
well, man, if I'm justified before God, if God's loved me with an
everlasting love, why am I going through what I go through? Why
do I have problems? If God's always loved me, why
have I got trouble? Well, Paul says, but also, we
glory in the tribulations. Don't think that these things
that have happened, don't think that that's by luck or by accident. All these things have been ordered
by Almighty God. He does as He will in the army
of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth. God does as He
will, but He does all of this for the good of His people. And
in those troubles and trials, Paul says we rejoice, we glory,
that Almighty God has given us patience. In my heart, God's
taught me. It's okay. All is well. If it's a disease, if it's an
automobile accident, which it's not an accident, but you know
what I'm saying. That's the means that God ushered
me into His presence. It's okay. It's going to be fine.
And that comes out. And others see it. They see a
believer and they see the endurance. He's got patience in his heart
And endurance, they're okay. And they've got a joyful expectation.
They've got a hope. And they glory in the effects
of those tribulations. Why do they happen? Because that's
the way God ordered them to happen. And believers rest in it. And
they rejoice in it. And they're thankful that they
realize every day they get up. This is the day the Lord's made.
I'm going to rejoice in today. Whatever happens, It's for his
glory and my good.