the 32nd Psalm, Psalm 32. begins with the word blessed. A man can only be blessed if
God blesses him. No power in heaven or in earth
apart from God who can call a man blessed. And it says here, Blessed is
he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered. Covered out of the sight of a
holy God. It means that the man who is
blessed by God is hid, covered up in the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. His hope is in Him and Him alone,
in His blood and His righteousness. His hope is in the blood. I dare not trust any other frame except the name of Jesus Christ. His blood and His righteousness. His blood and His righteousness
is my hope. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered, whose sin will never be resurrected and brought before Him in judgment. When God covers our sin with
the blood and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, it
is a finality. There is therefore no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. No more condemnation. No judgment. whereby we shall be embarrassed
before the holy angels and all the saints that have went to
heaven before us. We will never be embarrassed.
Our sins will not be brought up before us and charged against us because our transgression is
forgiven and our sin is covered. And if man will fix this in his
soul, in his heart, in his intelligence, and in his conscience, get that
fixed, he will have no fear of the hereafter if he understands what this verse
says. And then the next verse says,
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no guile. Then over here in,
I think it's a book of Romans, He speaks of Abraham, our father, in that
first verse. What shall we say then that Abraham,
our father, as pertaining to the flesh, that family? Well, he found out one thing,
that he wasn't justified before God by his works. He found that
out. And it would be a good thing
if all of us could find that out this morning, that we're
not justified before God by works. For if Abraham were justified
by words, then he would have reason to glory. He hath whereof to glory, but
not before God. For what saith the Scriptures,
Abraham believed God. He believed the testimony of
God, and he certainly believed the testimony concerning him
who was to come. the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah,
the seed of Abraham. What saith the Scriptures? Well,
they believe God was counted unto him for righteousness, that
it was imputed unto him freely for righteousness. Righteousness
is what God requires. and righteousness is revealed
in the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled
all righteousness for him that believeth. And it says, But to him that
worketh is a reward not reckoned of grace. Grace and works cannot
live together. not reckoned of grace, but of
death. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness." Is that not what God requires? Righteousness? It says here in the first chapter
of Romans, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Paul in the 16th verse says,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power
of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek, the gospel that Paul preached. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed in the gospel. So a man cannot be saved apart from the gospel because
God requires righteousness and the righteousness that God requires
is revealed in the gospel. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and all unrighteousness of man. God requires righteousness. He requires perfect righteousness. A righteousness without flaw,
without spot, without blemish. A righteousness that even God
himself cannot mar. A righteousness that the devil
cannot mar. A righteousness that will please
the holiness of God. And that is only to be found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. and we can only have it by way
of imputation. Whosoever believeth the testimony
of God concerning his son certainly believes in the righteousness
of his son, and that righteousness is imputed to him. Well, let
me try to talk to you a little bit here this morning about this
righteousness that is imputed to the believer that entitles
him to the kingdom of God. This righteousness entitles him
to all of heaven's glory. The righteousness of God is what
entitles him to eternal salvation and all of heaven's the righteousness of God that
is revealed in the gospel. Now, what is the righteousness
of God that God requires and He says that is revealed in the
gospel? Well, let me tell you here this
morning. That righteousness includes all
that Christ did and suffered as the substitute and surety
of His people. That's the righteousness of God.
All that Christ did, not just that he suffered on the tree,
all his suffering and his rejection from the time he came until the
time he left, his whole life was about fulfilling righteousness. establishing righteousness. And the only way that a man can
have this righteousness is to have it freely imputed to him. And thereby God justifies him
before the holiness of the throne. Now, there is a common misunderstanding
of the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed
in the gospel. And this misunderstanding comes
about in this fashion. It fails, this misunderstanding
of the righteousness freely imputed by God to the believing sinner. It fails to recognize the merit and the complete, undivided obedience
of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in his perfect life and his atoning
death, as the ground of the sinner's eternal salvation. Now, this
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ is a specific righteousness. It is the merit. It is the doing
and the suffering of the Lamb of God which enables God the
Father to be both both a just God and Savior. And it demands
and secures the complete salvation of all of them whom the Lord
Jesus Christ represented in His obedience and in His death. All of them. whom he represented
in his life of obedience and his death on that tree. And that righteousness that he
wrought and established through his righteous works and righteous
deeds and through his rejection and through his suffering gives
those that he represented in this life and in death. He gave
his righteousness freely to them and that gives them the full
right to the whole inheritance of grace and of glory. One thing we need to realize
at the beginning, at the outset is that many people talk about
the blood of Christ. They say the blood of Christ
is their hope. That's what they say. As a matter
of fact, about all so-called evangelical people at any given
time here in this world, that have any religion at all, they
say, if you ask them or put them in a place where they must answer,
they say that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is their hope. But now, wait a minute. If, in which I believe they are,
they are simply, when they say that, They are simply talking
about the blood without substance or without definition. The righteousness
of God is defined in the gospel, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
these people that talk so much about the blood being their hope
are simply talking about the blood without substance and without
definition. and it means nothing. It means
nothing and gives no evidence of being truly under the blood. The Bible tells us that God's
people, God's elect, the Bible talks about God's people and
God's elect, both the same. Now, this Word of God that endures
throughout the eternities to come and never changes. It is
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And it
tells us that God's people have been forgiven of all their sins
and are redeemed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. over in 1 Peter chapter 1 and
verse 19, tells us that the people of God are redeemed with His
precious blood. Now, what is redemption if the
people of God are redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? What is this redemption? It means
that the full price has been paid, and this redemption means
that Christ also paid the price with his own precious blood. Now, if he paid all that was demanded
with his own precious blood, then he will have all those that
he redeemed with his blood. Now, over here in John, I think
it is, chapter 6. Turn there with me, if you will.
I want to read this verse. John, chapter 6, verse 37. familiar verse with all of us,
but it defines what I'm trying to say. John 6 and 36. Here's what it
says. Well, first you get a picture
of it here. It says, And Jesus said unto
them, I am the bread of life. And he that cometh to me shall
never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
I said unto you that ye also have seen me, and believed not. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. Here is where we see the substance
and definition of the blood of Christ. Now, the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ speaks of death. The shedding of his blood speaks
of death, the death of Christ. Death speaks of satisfaction. Satisfaction to the law and to
justice, and satisfaction to law and justice speaks of righteousness. Let me say that again. In this sixth verse of John,
or sixth chapter and thirty-seventh verse, we see the substance and
definition of the blood of the saints. Blood speaks of death,
and death speaks of satisfaction to the law and to God's holy
justice, and satisfaction to law and justice speaks of righteousness. Jesus Christ in himself, as a
man, and God in one person, established all that God requires in order
for you and I to be entitled to all that heaven has by his
blood which speaks of his death. He not only kept the precepts
of the law, which is what the law demands. The law demands
out of every man that he love God supremely and love his neighbor
as himself and goes on down. The law of God demands that out
of you and I. Well, the Bible says that that
God requires that our mouths be shut and we plead guilty before
that law because we're lawbreakers. But the Lord Jesus Christ, if
we can establish a law that meets the requirements of God, then
our righteousness will take us through. But the law shuts our
mouth and we plead guilty, but we've got to have someone that
will establish a righteousness for us. And the blood here speaks
of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, paying the penalty. The
penalty of the broken law is death. That's the penalty. Blood speaks of death. He satisfies
holy justice and holy law in his death, And at the same time,
he keeps all the precepts of the law by loving God with all
of his heart and his neighbor as himself. A sinless perfection
is what it is. Well, the shed blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shed his blood, no doubt about that. No doubt about
the fact that it was precious blood. Now, the shed blood of
the Savior shows us plainly how that sin demands death. And when the sins of God's people
were legally and judicially charged or imputed or transferred to
Jesus Christ, God's justice then demanded His death. The justice of God demanded His
death when our sins were laid on Him. Demanded His death. Now, we know that His death was
real. It wasn't fictional. It was not just a made-up tale
of some old people, but his death was real. How do I know it was
real? It's because he was buried. I
know his death was real. He died not for his sins, he
had none. He's the one that has established
righteousness, righteousness that meets the requirements of
God's holy law. And so he shed his blood, which
is death. And I know he died because they
buried him. And he stayed in there for three
days and three nights. And his burial symbolized the fact that all
the guilt and defilement of all the sins of all whom he represented
in his obedience unto death was put away and put away forever
and forever. Did his death pay the full price
for our sins? Did his death pay the full price
for all the sins of his sheep? We know it did because God raised
him from the dead. He was raised from the dead because
righteousness demands life. Righteousness. If you can bring before God a
perfect righteousness, that righteousness demands life. But all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. We cannot bring righteousness
of our own unto God and demand life because we are ungodly and
unrighteous. But the Lord Jesus Christ, man
and God in one person, established a righteousness by his obedience
unto death. We know it did because God raised
him from the dead. And he was raised from the dead
because righteousness demands life. Praise the Lord from whom
all blessings flow. He was raised from the dead for
our justification. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. The only way we can be justified
is by and through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ freely
imputed to us. And that's what the text means
when it says, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not
charge sin. He hasn't got any. It's laid
on his table. He needs a perfect righteousness.
His Savior produced and established that righteousness and freely
charged it to our camp. Well, all his people then, God redeemed his people from
all their sins by the precious blood, the shedding of his precious
blood. then all of his people, all of
them, every one of them, all that the Father giveth to me
shall come to me. And him that comes to me, my
people that comes to me, I will under no wise circumstantial
situation cast them out. Their mind, they have been paid
for by the blood and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
we can say, if we've experienced this, we can say, Thou art my
God forever and forever. Thou art my God. Salvation of all that heaven
provides. Well, all this people must be
saved and secured and entitled to the whole inheritance. of
grace and glory. And righteousness now gives substance
and definition to the blood so that we see the value of His
precious blood. And when we see the value of
that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that enables us
as hopeless, helpless, doomed, damned, dead sinners to trust
Him by His shed blood and trust in that blood, precious blood. We could plead His righteousness
and His blood as the only ground of our salvation, the only thing
that entitles us to God's salvation is his blood and his righteousness. Now many I know from listening
to and reading various publications, newspapers and religious tracts
and books and listening to the preacher preach on televisions,
many speak of the blood not as that which demands eternal salvation and final glory
for all for whom he died. But as that which merely makes
salvation possible, if sinners will only meet certain conditions,
if you believe on Christ, If God will help you to believe
on Christ and then you are baptized, you'll be saved. That's adding
something to the blood. They speak of the blood, not
as that which demands the eternal salvation and final glory. for
all for whom Christ died, but as that which merely makes salvation
possible, if sinners will meet certain conditions." If you'll
do this and if you'll do that. You've got to help God out a
little bit here. No. They go so far as to say this. They say this and they claim
that His blood was shed even for those that finally perish
in hell. They say that Christ died for
everybody. Is this what the Bible teaches? That Christ died for every single
solitary member of Adam's race? They say His blood was shed for
them. So they know not anything of
the substance and the definition of the blood of Christ or the
righteousness of Christ. They claim and profess that by
his precious blood he redeemed those that are in hell as well
as those that are in heaven. To them the difference between
the saved and the lost between heaven and hell, to them is not
the precious blood of Christ. To them it is not the righteousness
of Christ that demands and secures salvation for His people. The difference to them is something
the sinner is unable to do with the help of God. The blood of
Christ in and of itself, according to their doctrine and their teaching,
does not cleanse from all sin. They are cleansed by their confession
and their repentance. I confess I believe in Jesus
Christ, but what about His? I am under the blood. Is there anything left for you
to do? Yes, I must repent and I must believe. But your repentance
and your belief is a gift of God. The blood, they claim, has
no power to save any sinner. That is the power of themselves.
There's something they've got to do. and his precious blood means
the establishment of a righteousness that enables God to justify the
ungodly and ensure to that individual the eternal salvation of all
whom Christ represented and this is the substance of his blood. Yes, I'm under the blood. But
they know nothing about this precious, priceless blood. Precious! Precious blood. Why is it so precious? Because
there's only one man. One man of all the billions of
men that ever lived, is it said of his blood that it's precious. Precious because of himself. Precious because of who he is. Precious because of what he done. That gives value, the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, That's the reason His blood cleanses
us from all sin. It's His blood, precious blood. Oh, my soul. Precious blood means the establishment
of a righteousness that enables God to forgive the sinner, to
cast his sins Whenever we refer to Christ's
righteousness, when we are talking to you, when we're teaching,
when we're preaching, we're trying to define it as a perfect satisfaction
to God's holy law and justice accompanied by Christ's
obedience unto death. It includes both Christ's perfect
obedience to the law's precepts and perfect satisfaction to the
law's penalty. That's what we mean. The righteousness
of Christ, freely imputed, received by faith, refers to the entire
or the merit of the entire life and obedience of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Not merely His perfect life,
not only His suffering just prior to or during the experience at
the cross, We're talking about from the time he came till the
time he left. He established a perfect sinfulness
to all those that he died for, all those that he represented
from the start to the finish. His whole life makes up the righteousness
of Christ. You understand what I'm talking
about? I think you do. His whole life, every step that
he took, he didn't take a step in this direction for himself
and another step in this direction for you, but every thought that
he had was in the process of establishing
a perfect righteousness that God requires. We can't even make
one step. You can't move an inch. It's
all outside of you. Everything's outside of you.
His blood's outside of you. Repentance is outside of you.
Faith is outside of you. Righteousness is outside of you.
It's all shut up, tied up, lodged up in this one man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. We talk about his blood. We talk
about his righteousness. His blood means death. His righteousness
means satisfaction to God's inflexible law. Now, how many understand
that, who talk about and claim, well, are you a Christian? I'm
under the blood. They don't know what they're
talking about. They don't know what the blood
means. The blood means death. Christ
died. Why did he die? He wasn't no
sinner. Because my sins laid on him. Because my sins was laid
on him. That's the reason he died. That's
the reason God turned his back on him. He can't look upon sin.
That's the reason he said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? God can't look upon that mass
of sin on the Lord. It was so identified, our sin
was so identified with him that God said, I can't look upon you.
Turn my back. blood and righteousness. People
talk about, well, I don't go to picture shows, I don't smoke,
I don't chew, I don't do this, I don't do that. I'm under the
blood! I'm under the blood! I wonder
if they're under the blood or not. I wonder. If it's so, and I believe it
is with all my heart, as Paul said over here in Romans chapter
3, when he said he wasn't ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
He goes on down and says, For therein, in this gospel, is the
righteousness of God revealed. And that righteousness is revealed
through His blood and through His sinner's perfection, freely
imputed to us. That's what the gospel is. It's
the good news that Christ died in the stead of sinners, establishing
them a righteousness, a righteousness, that can stand the test of time
and eternity. The Lord bless us and give us
some understanding. All that the Father gives me,
he said, every one of them, for whom I represent it. Now, don't
tell me that someone here says that the Lord Jesus Christ represented
some people that were in hell. All of those that you gave me,
he said, I represent. All that the Father giveth me,
he said, sooner or later they'll come to me. They shall come to
me. You say, well, you've been doing
this for years and years and years, not very many ever come.
Well, that's true. Now, man, I don't know whether
that's my fault or who you can lay the blame to. But I know
that they'll all come to him, whether they come here at this
place or some other place, they'll come to him by and under. the working of the Spirit of
God in their hearts, and he will bring them to know who the Lord
Jesus Christ is and what his righteousness is and what his
blood, the value, and the merit of it is. And if he comes, they
won't cast him out. God is not trying to save people.
He saved people. His name should be called Jesus
because he is going to do something. He is going to save his people.
What is he going to save? He is going to save them from their sins.
by paying the debt that they owed. Well, what about the law?
He made satisfaction to the law. The penalty is death. He died. The requirement of the law is
sinless perfection. He supplied that too and said,
well, I'll discharge it to their account. They're righteous. All right, let's stand.