Hymn number four, Rock of Ages,
cleft me, let me hide myself in thee. Rock of Ages, cleft me, let me
hide myself in thee. ? We are sinners of the world ?
? Saved from God and made pure ? ? Now the labor of my hands
? ? Can fulfill a multi-man's ? ? Could my tears for ever flow
? ? Could my tears for ever flow ? ? All the sin could not atone
? Loving in thy hand I bring, Simply
to the cross I cling. Native come to thee for dress,
Elders born to thee for grace. Thou art my leader, thou divine,
Watch me, Saviour, all the night. What a great hymn. I'd like us to spend the last
little time we have together contemplating the other side
of this equation. There's a righteous judgment
of God upon all humanity, and there's a righteous judgment
that has fallen upon the Lord Jesus Christ. There is that remarkable
verse in Zechariah towards the end of the Old Testament, and
it says, a sword against my shepherd. Against the man that is my fellow,
says the Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd and the sheep shall
be scattered and I will turn my hand upon the little ones. In our journey through Acts we
are constantly needing to be reminded that these are the works
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the fulfilment of all
those remarkable prophecies, that he would gather his lambs
in his arms and he'd carry the little ones, he'd carry them
close to his heart, he'd carry them in his arms next to his
heart, he'd carry them above this world, between this world
and heaven. He carried them in those arms
that were pierced. He carried them next to that
side from which that water and that blood flowed. That's the
sword, isn't it? The sword of God's holy justice
fell upon the shepherd. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. See, the judgment of God upon
all humanity is going to be a judgment that is a holy judgment because
God is holy. It's going to be a judgment that
is personal because God is personal. It's going to be a judgment where
there will be all of the sin that God sees available for that
judgment. It is going to be a judgment
because God is near to people. It's not a judgment that's far
away. When God judges, His judgment
is going to be on the basis of His very presence. His very presence
in the midst of your sins. Your sins are personal against
Him, and the judgment of God is going to be a revelation of
His glory. and the greatest display of the
glory of God, and the greatest display of the holiness of God,
and the greatest display of the justice of God, the greatest
display of the Godness of God. I love what Todd said. He said,
the most God-like thing God ever did is put his son to death on
Calvary's tree. When he says, Awake, O sword,
against my shepherd, against my companion, and against the
one who is my equal, How on earth can we possibly
contemplate with these finite minds in this finite world anything,
anything about what happened on Calvary's tree when the father
took out that sword of justice and he poured out infinite holy
wrath upon his son. And there's one
simple reason why he must do it. He must, that sword must
be awoken because a righteous and holy God found his son to
be a curse and he made him to be sin. The Lord Jesus Christ
in Gethsemane's garden His heart was broken and sweat poured from
his body that evening. He says, if you've got any way of
taking this cup from me. What was in that cup? There was one thing that was
in that cup, brothers and sisters, and that was the sin of all of
God's people was in that cup. And only a God who is infinitely
holy can look into that cup and be horrified by what he sees. Only a God who is omniscient
and knows all things can look into that cup and see the sins,
the sins that you and I, my brothers and sisters, are committing right
now. and omniscient and holy God. But the wonder of the gospel,
the wonder of the gospel, is that the Lord Jesus Christ was
put to death because of our sins, and he was raised because of
our justification. It is the glory of God in the
Gospel which causes the idolatry of men in religion to be such
an affront and such grievous to behold, isn't it, that God
is so diminished in the eyes of men that His holiness is trashed
and His justice is treated with contempt by people who claim
to honour Him. If you want a description of
what the Scriptures are all about, it's Jesus Christ and Him who
was crucified. It is just one message. There
is just one message through all the Scriptures. It is, as Peter
says in 1 Peter 1, it's the sufferings of Christ and the glories to
follow. The glories to follow are the
glories that are revealed in the very character of God. If
you want to find out The character of God, you take every attribute
of God and you take them to the cross of Calvary. And it's on
the cross of Calvary you see absolute sovereignty. He was
put to death by the determinate counsel and full knowledge of
God. There was no accident. It was a set time. He's appointed
a day. He appointed a day for the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything God does is by appointment. That's why the Lord could keep
saying through John's gospel, he says, my hour has not yet
come, my hour has not yet come. And then the Greeks came to him
and they said, sir, we would see Jesus in John 12. He says,
now is my hour, now is his hour come. Our God reveals his glory. He reveals the glory of all of
His attributes in that one event. There is just one event, isn't
there? It is the simplicity that Paul
was concerned that the Corinthians would be taken from, wouldn't
it? They'd be enticed away from the simplicity that's in Christ. There is a singleness, there
is a simplicity in the Gospel. And that singleness and simplicity
is all about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the glory
of God. If you've seen Him, you've seen
the Father. But it is There is a day, there
is a day when he will judge the world in righteousness by that
man whom he hath ordained, Acts 7.31. God has ordained a day,
and God has ordained a person, and God says that he's given
assurance unto all men." He's brought forward all the evidence.
He's brought forward all the evidence of His character. He's
brought forward all the evidence of all of the promises of God,
a yea and amen. Every sacrifice in all of the
Old Testament is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Every piece of furniture in that temple and the very temple
itself is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of it's about
Him. God has set Him forth. He set
him forth and has risen him from the dead. The wonder of the Gospel is that
there was a righteous judgment upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He, Proverbs 17, 15, he that
justifies the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, but
even they both are an abomination to the Lord. Our God, our God
will commit no abomination. In the salvation of His people,
He declares all of His glorious attributes. He declares His holiness,
He declares His sovereignty, and in particular He declares
His justice. I love that phrase, isn't it?
He's a just God and a Saviour. He's a just God first, and then
He is a Saviour. He will not save anyone. He will
not save anyone. in a way in which diminishes
any of the glory of his attributes. In fact, he magnifies the glory
of all of his attributes. Why did that sword awaken? Because God is holy. Why was
it against his fellow? Because only someone who was
God and man together can suffer as a man and shed his blood and
die and bear the infinite punishment that infinite sins required until
God says, God says, enough. It is finished. God does all that he does for
his holy name's sake. He might be just. He might be
just. and the justifier of them that
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So his throne is a throne of
judgment and justice. Justice and judgment are the
habitation of his throne, says Psalm 89. He dwells in a throne
that's all encompassed by justice and judgment. We have We have in the Gospel
a declaration of a risen Saviour who is glorious in all of his
attributes. I'd like you to turn to Romans
chapter 3. Romans 3. Romans 1 talks about
this pagan Gentile world in Athens. Romans 2 talks about the Jews
in the synagogue in Athens, and the Jews are very well with their
own sort of righteousness that they thought they had. And then
Romans 3 brings all of this together and it says that there's no one,
there's just none from verse 9 down. There is none righteous,
there is none that understandeth. They've all gone out of the way,
together they've become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no not one. Does that describe you? Their throat is an open sepulchre,
and with the tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps
is under the lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery
are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know brothers
and sisters in Christ, we know that whatsoever the law says
to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world may become guilty before God. People talk about they're going
to have a debate with God when they meet Him. No, they won't.
Every mouth will be stopped and they will have no excuse. Therefore by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in this sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. That's all that the law ever
was designed to do, was to expound and to bring sin to light. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets. All of the law and prophets were talking about
the righteousness of God. Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe. For there is no difference, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I love these
next phrases, being justified freely by His grace, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. This is what happened
on Calvary's tree. This is what happened when that
sword was awoken, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood. to declare His righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance
of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness,
that He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. The word justify is used so many
times in the scriptures. It does actually, it's the same
root word that is for righteous. When Paul says in Acts 17.31,
he's going to judge the world in righteousness, he's going
to judge the world with a just right. It's going to be a legally
witnessed righteous judgment of God. See, to justify, someone
comes from the Hebrew word, to have a correct weight. You're
not even allowed under the law of God to have false whites in
your pocket. You're not allowed to have incorrect
balances and beams. You shall do no unrighteousness
in judgment. In the meat yard, in weight,
in measure, the scales of justice, the weights of justice, the ether
of justice, the hint of justice, you'll have them all, everything
you do in measuring. And it's all a picture of this
perfect justice of God. See, a righteous man, A just
man, a justified man, is one who when he is weighed and measured
and assessed by God's whole law is found to be perfect. That's what a just man is. Judgment,
says Isaiah 28, judgment also will I lay to the line and righteousness
to the plummet. It'll be measured perfectly.
There will be a perfect plumbob of righteousness. He's a just
God, as we just read, a just God and the justifier of him
that believes in Jesus. We sin against each other. And
may the Lord grant us the opportunity to forgive each other our sins.
Under the law of our land, we can pardon our sins. But when God justifies a man,
it is much, much more than a pardon. It's much, much more than a reprieve. It's much, much more. So when
God justifies a person, he's always going to judge that person
according to truth. Our God never plays let's pretend. If he's going to declare you
righteous, if he's going to declare you just, he's going to do it
on the basis of all the evidence before his court being there.
All the evidence before all the world will be there. The wonder of the Gospel is that
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, in Him and with
His people and because of His union with them, there is a real
transfer of sin and a real transfer of righteousness. It's not a
pasted-on thing. It's a real thing, which is why
the sword was awoken against Him, because He was made sin. The sins of all of his people
were his and he declares them to be his. He owns them as his because they
are his. He says in those psalms that
we quote often, he says, mine iniquities. He says, mine iniquities,
innumerable evils have come past me, about mine iniquities have
taken hold of me so that I'm not able to look up. They are
more than the hairs of my head, therefore my heart faileth me,
Isaiah, I mean Psalm 40. And it's again and again mentioned
throughout the scriptures. that the Lord Jesus Christ owned
the sins of his people. He owned them because they were
his in that covenant before the foundation of the world. They
owned them because of his union with his people. He is the head
and they are the body. Body sins and the head bears
it. There is, it's not just the removal
of the effects of sin, but the sin itself is gone. That's why a justified man, according
to Romans 8, a justified man has no condemnation. No condemnation. Why? Because God cannot bring any
charge of condemnation. Who is it that justifies? Who
is it that condemns? It's Christ Jesus. There is no
condemnation for them. For by one man's Disobedience,
Romans 5, many were made sinners. We were made sinners in Adam,
so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. The glory of our God, the glory
of the gospel is revealed at Calvary's tree when God made
him his darling son. God hath made
him to be sin for us. He's made him sin for us, who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him. And just for those who want to
nitpick, we have never ever said, nor have we even hinted that
the Lord Jesus Christ ever sinned in his own body. Never ever once
did he sin, but he was made sin. See, a justified man, according
to Romans 3, a justified man is one who is judged and found
to have no condemnation whatsoever. It's the righteous judgment of
God upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why that throne is the
throne of justice and judgment. It's a marvellous work, he says.
It's a marvellous work, a marvellous work and a wonder. For he puts
down the wisdom of wise men, and he puts down the understanding
of prudent men. You see, in the gospel and on
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the holiness of God displayed. In crucifying and putting his
son to death, we have the extraordinary wisdom of God. that God could
find a way to take my sins and cause them not to exist in his
sight. That's what a justified person
is. They have no sin. They have never sinned. Wonder of wonders. Only sinners,
only real sinners will find delight in that. If you have any righteousness
of your own, you'll find no joy in the gospel. It is a display
of the power of God. It's a display of the faithfulness
of God. It's a display particularly of
the justice of God. A just God and a saviour. No wonder Paul could say those
words that I love so much. He says, I have been, it's all
past tense. What was Paul doing when the
Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's tree? We have no idea in particular. These Athenians, what were they
doing when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's tree? They
had absolutely no knowledge of it whatsoever. Where were we
when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's tree? See, that's
what's happened, isn't it? That we were one with him. God
always saw us as one with him. We're united with him. So Paul says in Galatians 2.20,
he says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me. The Son of God loved me and
gave himself for me. Sins have gone, brothers and
sisters, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just the consequences of
sin, but the sin itself has gone. That's why in Numbers 23, 21,
it says, God has not beheld iniquity in Jacob. Jacob was nothing but
iniquity. But God says, I have not beheld
iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel. Jeremiah 50, verse
26, they will search for the sins of the people of Israel,
and they won't find them. Why won't they find them? Because
they're gone. The Lord has put away your sin. That's what Nathan said to David. He put it on His Son, and He
slew His Son. And justice, the very justice
of God slew the Lord Jesus Christ, and the very justice of God demands
that all of those who are united to Him must be saved. They must be saved, which is
why this notion that somehow the Lord Jesus Christ died in
some attempt to save all of the world, if all the world believed,
is an affront to the holiness of God. It is idolatry. It is saying that a God in justice
will punish his son and then he'll turn around and punish
those people in hell. God can't do that, brothers and
sisters. It's His justice and His character. The delight of the cross and
the delight of the gospel is it's a display of the glory of
God. The glory of God seen in all
of His attributes. He blots out our sins and He
does it for His namesake. That's why John said, behold
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. that you have not seen before
me. For a guilty conscience, for a guilty conscience to hear
the Lord say that, and to declare it publicly, and to declare it
before all this world by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's good news. It's not good
advice about what we have to do. It's good news about what
the Lord Jesus Christ has done. It's the righteousness of God. I love what Romans 3.22, it's
the righteousness of God upon all. It's unto all and upon all
them that believe. It was the righteous judgment
of our great God. that fell upon the Lord Jesus
Christ, which is the sole ground of all of our salvation. He's
a just God and a saviour. And simply, what did Dionysius
do? He had been working and studying
all of his life. He just simply believed. God,
might God give you the faith to simply believe what God says
about God and what God says about you? No wonder the children of God declare,
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful
in my God, because he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
and he's covered me with the robe of righteousness. Just as
the transfer of sin was a real transfer, the transfer of Christ's
obedience is a real transfer. We really are robed in his righteousness. He's taken the responsibility
for all of these people that he presents as wholly spotless,
unblameable, unapprovable in his sight. And he gives us faith, and he
grants us repentance, and he turns our hearts from idols,
turns our hearts to love him in his true character, to want
to magnify his character because he magnifies it in the death
of his son. He's going to be a just God and
a saviour. He is a just God and a saviour
and on that great day of judgement when all of the children of God
are brought before all of this world. They won't have to answer
for their sins because their sins are gone. God can't bring
them up because they don't exist any longer. They've been put
away forever. It will just be a display of
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a day appointed in which
he will judge the world in righteousness by that man he has ordained. When the wrath of God fell upon
Noah's ark, it fell upon all of that world, and it fell upon
the ark. And it's a great picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? As much wrath fell on the ark
as fell on all of those people who drowned. And what saved them? What saved them? They were saved
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a who who saved them. Let's pray. Now, Heavenly Father,
we do pray that you would grant us the simplicity of simply trusting
your Son, that we might look upon Him whom we
have pierced, and we might find ourselves, Heavenly Father, simply
trusting Him, simply relying upon Him, simply depending upon
Him. Oh, our Father, we praise you
that your justice demands the salvation of all those to whom
the Lord Jesus Christ died. Your justice demands that their
perfect righteousness that he has wrought for them and he's
robed them in gives them perfect entry into your presence, our
Father. We pray, our God, that you might
cause the blood of your Son to be precious to us and precious
in our sight, that you might cause us to remember Him and
look to Him, that you might turn us from the idols of this world
and the idols that so beset us in our hearts, Heavenly Father.
Again and again, cause us to be drawn and cause us to see
that we are carried by Him through this world. Heavenly Father, magnify Your
Son in our midst by granting us the simplicity of simply trusting
Him. For we pray in His name and through
the glory of Your dear Son, our Father. Amen.