It is so very, very good to be
with you again. Shelby sends her greetings and
sorry. Again, she couldn't be here.
She had really made plans to be, but it just turned out that
she couldn't this year and we hope she can next year. If the
invitation still stands, we'll hope she can, but we look forward
to having you in Danville in a few weeks, the Lord willing.
Open your Bibles, if you will, to Romans chapter three, Romans
chapter three. The title of my message tonight
is Five Broad Facts. Five Broad Facts. When skeptics
and agnostics have said all that they can say, there are five
broad facts which they have never honestly dealt with. Five broad
facts that have not been able to answer, have not been able
to explain away, Five broad, plain, simple facts. Facts that
are unquestionable and impossible to ignore and impossible to deny. Without any introduction, I want
us to look at verses 1 through 31, this entire chapter of Romans
3. Romans, the third chapter. I'll
give them to you in plain statements, these five broad facts. I suggest
that you write them down. I promise you they're worth remembering.
Number one, see this in verses one and two, the greatest benefit,
the greatest privilege, the greatest advantage God can give to any
people is the privilege of having the gospel of his free sovereign
saving grace in Jesus Christ established in their midst. I
want, especially for you young people and especially for you,
their mamas and daddies to listen to this. We've had a close relationship
now for over 10 years. God's caused our paths to cross.
And I'm thankful for that. Now God has for the last six
years, given you an established gospel ministry in this place.
It is the greatest advantage, the greatest privilege, the greatest
blessing. greatest opportunity God can
set before any people You and you alone so far as I know in
this part of the country have an established Gospel ministry
in your midst the Romans chapter 3 verse 1 in the first two chapters
Paul has been just demonstrating clearly that all men by nature
are lost and depraved, deserving of God's wrath and judgment,
and shall experience it. Both those who are in the Gentile
world, to whom the gospel had never been preached, and those
of the Jewish world who alone had the oracles of God, who alone
had the word and worship of God established in their midst. God
sent his prophets, his priests, his worship to no one but the
children of Israel for 2,000 years. And Paul says, you who
have had the gospel, you who have had the ordinances and the
oracles of God and don't believe God, you are justly condemned. And you who have never had the
word of God preached to you, but refusing to walk in the light
of conscience and creation that God has set before you, you too
are justly condemned. Now look at what it says in verse
three. What advantage then, or verse 1 rather, chapter 3, what
advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much in every way, chiefly because
that unto them were committed the oracles of God, because all
are alike guilty before God, Jew and Gentile, religious and
irreligious. All are alike incapable of justifying
themselves Because both Jew and Gentile both the religious person
and the infidel without Christ are lost What's the advantage? of having the word of God. What's
the advantage of anyone hearing the gospel preached to them?
What advantage do you have? Of all the peoples in this state,
what advantage do you have having the gospel of God's grace, the
worship of God, the preaching of the God established in your
midst? What advantage is there? It is
a great indescribable advantage. Look at verse 2. Much in every
way Chiefly because under them were committed the oracles of
God Everybody in this country can go down to the store and
buy them Bible You can go in most any motel room and pick
up a Bible Everybody has a Bible most every family's got a Bible
somewhere in the house but to you God has given his word in
the clear exposition of Holy Scripture. Oh, what a privilege. To you, for you, in your midst,
God has established His worship, His oracles, so that this man
week after week studies and prepares and seeks a message from God
to deliver to you the very word of God in the power and grace
of his Holy Spirit. Truly, the greatest privilege
in the world is to have the worship of God established in our midst. What a great privilege it is
to have the gospel preached to you. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching, to save them that believe. Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. And to have a regularly maintained,
established gospel ministry, established in your midst, is
the ascension gift of the Son of God to you, His Church. It is the ascension gift of the
Son of God to you, His Church. I have a few things that are
of themselves of little value. Of little value. But they're
things that were given to me by people who love me dearly.
Insignificant in themselves. But given to me by people who
love me dearly and people that I love. And those things are
treasures. They are treasures. Treasures
that money can't buy. Treasures that are not for sale
treasures. I will not give up to anyone
Because they're the gifts of one who loves me Will you hear
me? The Son of God has given his
church the object of his love this treasure the treasure of
the gospel in an earthen vessel that ain't worth much and That's
just exactly how he described an earthen vessel, a broken clay
pot, something nobody would pay anything for except maybe these
three folks here, just utterly worthless in itself. But Oh,
what a treasure for in this treasure, God gives you the gospel of his
free grace. Turn to Psalm 68, Psalm 68. I want you to look at it. It
is by the preaching of the gospel that God reveals himself to sinners. If you are going to know God,
it will be by the preaching of the word. It is by the preaching
of the gospel that God saves his elect. Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God, and this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. It is by the preaching of the
gospel that God comforts and strengthens and edifies his saints.
We have a tendency, we have a horrible tendency when we have difficulty,
have trouble to neglect the very things that are most helpful.
I can't tell you how many times I've known folks, believers,
genuine believers, folks, folks who love Christ and love the
gospel, and they start to have difficulty, they stay at home,
just didn't feel like coming to church, just didn't feel like
it. This is the means by which God's going to comfort your heart.
by the preaching of the word, by the assembly of his saints
in public worship. This is the means by which God
edifies and builds up and instructs his people in righteousness.
This is the means by which God shows his will. This is the means
by which God teaches you his word. Travel a lot as you know,
I travel all over the English-speaking world and other places at times
and preach the gospel and I constantly have people writing to me calling
me or coming up to me that Don't have a place to worship where
they don't choose to attend in a place of public worship Anywhere
near them and they're always full of questions always full
of questions brother Angus. You know what? I've never experienced
Something I've never experienced. I have never had a man or a woman
who sat under the faithful ministry of a gospel preacher come up
and ask me all kinds of questions. How come? Because if you sit
and listen to the faithful exposition of the Word, sooner or later,
you're going to have every question that's raised in your mind answered.
Sooner or later, they'll all be answered and answered in the
context of Scripture, answered in the context of the gospel,
answered in shoe leather that means something to you, not just
a matter of speculation. Is here in the house of God in
the place of public worship that God meets with his people This
is the only place he's promised to this is the place where our
Lord Jesus Sets forth his glory his grace and exercises his saving
power look in Psalm 68 You're familiar with Ephesians chapter
4, but look at this first Psalm 68 verse 17 This is the prophecy
of which Ephesians chapter 4 is the fulfillment The chariots
of God are 20,000 even thousands of angels The Lord is among them
as in Sinai What's that when Moses went up into the mountain
in Sinai the Lord's among them? The Lord's here as he was with
Moses on the top of the mount in the holy place. Thou has descended
on high. Thou has led captivity captive. Thou has received gifts for men. I love this next statement. Yea, for the rebellious also,
especially for rebel sinners. Thou has received gifts for men,
especially for rebel sinners. that the Lord God might dwell
among them. Blessed be the Lord who daily
loatheth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. And notice that next word, Selah.
Normally when I read the Psalms publicly and audibly, I omit
that word. But I tell you what I always
do. I pause for a few seconds. I pause long enough that folks
think, well, why did Brother John quit reading? Because that's
just what the word intends. It is a long pause. It is intended,
when you read that word, Selah, stop now and think of what you
just read. The Lord daily loatheth us with
benefits, even the God of our salvation. And he's not talking
about having a full pantry at the house. He's not talking about
having enough money to get you through the week next week in
the bank. He's talking about meeting in his house. Through
his word in the worship of his son and the singing of his praise
and prayers offered to him in the fellowship of his saints
here He daily loads us with his benefits. He heaps upon us his
mercy and grace look at verse 24 They these who come to my
house these where I've established my worship They have seen thy
goings. Oh god even the goings of my
god my king What did he say? In the sanctuary. They come here
and they see your ways. They come here and they have
the newspaper explained to them. They come here and they have
history explained to them. They come here and they have
the perplexities of life explained to them. They see God's ways,
even his going forth for the salvation of his people, and
they see it in the sanctuary. Now, turn to Ephesians 4, where
this psalm is given explanation in its fulfillment. Ephesians
4. verses 1 through 8 through 6 the Apostle Paul is urging
us to keep the unity of the spirit the bond the strength of Perfection
in verse 70 tells us that the Lord's given us his gifts now
watch verse 8 wherefore he starts to quote from Psalm 68 and He
saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive
and gave gifts to men. The Lord Jesus took everything
into captivity. That is to say, He took the reins
of everything in heaven, earth, and hell. He took the reins of
light and the reins of darkness. He took the reins of good and
the reins of evil. He took the reins of peace and
the reins of perplexity and difficulty. He took the reins of the universe
in his hands to rule as he will. Read on. Now it's led captivity
captive and gave gifts unto men. Verse
10, or verse 11 rather. And he gave some apostles and
some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers.
Pastors are teachers. In this assembly, many of you
men assist your pastor in teaching the congregation. I had the same
experience in Danville. I'm thankful. I couldn't do the
things I do without them. And I never tell the men what
to preach. I don't tell them what they can preach or can't
preach. I wouldn't presume to do so. If I thought I had to
do so, they wouldn't be there. But I promise you something.
I promise you something. None of them gets in the pulpit
and says, now, I know Brother Don doesn't believe this, but
this is what I believe. He might, but only once. Only once because
there's one person, one person responsible for the teaching
of the word of God in that assembly. And that's the man talking to
you. There's one person given that responsibility here. That's
that man right there. Pastors teaches men who teach
you the word of God, watching over your souls. Read on verse
12. Why did God give us these pastors, teachers for the perfecting
of the saints? for the work of the ministry,
for the work, for the labor of the service. Know those who labor
among you, Paul said. The faithful man labors in the
word and in the doctrine. He's given them for the perfecting
of the saints, for the labor of the ministry, for the edifying,
the building up of the body of Christ. Till we all come in unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the son of god onto a perfect
complete man under the measure of the statue of the fullness
of christ that we henceforth be no more children tossed to
and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the
slight of me and and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in
wait to deceive but angus but played out all but this on the
way over here tonight These days we have internet blogs. Better be called internet slogs.
It's a good place to get mired down in a bunch of nonsense.
I highly recommend that you stay away from them. I highly recommend
that you not bother with them. I highly recommend that you not
investigate every religious idea that's thrown out for men to
consider. God's given you a pastor and in the care of a pastor who
cares for your soul He will give you the instruction of his word
All right, what he says that we come be not children tossed
to and fro with every wind of doctrine verse 15 But speaking
the truth in love That doesn't mean standing up here and smiling
like a possum eating briars and say, oh, we love you. And Jesus
does, too. That's that's fake. It's pretense. It ain't so. I
mean, speaking the truth to you, the cause of love for your soul.
And God's servant does. It may feel sometimes like a
beaten on the bare back. And it may sometimes seem to
be the most delightful thing on the earth. But God's servant
speaks the truth of God from the word of God to you in love
for your soul, in love for Christ. We don't. Speaking the truth
in love that we may grow up into Christ in all things, which is
the head, even Christ. from whom the whole body fitly
joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."
Fitly joined together, compacted together. Back 1987, 88, somewhere
in there, I was preaching in Brother Angus' country in Australia,
New South Wales, in a Bible conference. And sadly, the fellows who were
preaching with me didn't have anything to say. One of them
was a South African. And I don't really remember anything
he said. I probably was studying to get ready to preach when it
got done. But I don't remember anything he said but one statement.
And it was so good. So good. I just locked it in
my mind. When they built the temple in
Jerusalem, you remember God required that not the sound of a hammer
be heard in the process. Well, how on earth did he get
those rocks to fit? Had to get them to fit. They cut the stones
for the walls of the temple a little bit too big. Just a little bit
too big on purpose. And they would bring the stones
and lay them in place and rub them together until they dropped
right where they belong. That's how God builds his church,
living stones fitted together by the hand of God. And it's
done greatly by the rubbing process. You, uh, Shelby and I've been
married for 45 years, 45 years. And that's something she put
me for 45 years. And you know, we fit better together
now than we ever have. We fit better together now than
we ever have. We've been rubbing shoulders
for 45 years. And not too much, but I've influenced
her a little. She's influenced me a lot for
good. I'm so much sweeter and nicer
and milder mannered, all those things than I ever was before.
Just imagine what it was like before. But we fit together as
a house. That's how God builds his church.
by the mutual influence of believers, one on another, in the compacting
of our lives together, joined together in one body in Christ
Jesus. Last night, Brother Scott Keller
said something to me. I intend to share with our congregation
when I preach this message to them Sunday, the Lord will it.
Talking about what God's done for you here. He said, we haven't
gotten over the thrill of it. We haven't gotten over the thrill
of God sending us a pastor, of God establishing his word, of
God establishing for us a gospel church. And I pray you will go
to your grave and not get over the thrill of this gift God's
given you. The greatest privilege, the greatest
advantage, The greatest opportunity, the greatest gift God can give
to any people on this earth is to establish in their presence
the preaching of the gospel. Number two, look at verse three
and four and learn this. The purpose of God is absolutely
unalterable. Like God himself, it's immutable. The Lord our God is God almighty. He's God of an absolute, unalterable,
unchangeable, eternal purpose. God's purpose in all things is
the salvation of his elect for the glory of his great name.
And God will accomplish his purpose. Look at verse three. For what
if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the
faith of God, the faithfulness of God, without effect? Some
of you here have heard the gospel now, regularly preached to you
for six years. You've heard the gospel from
your mom and dad all your life. You've heard the gospel, and
yet you live with your fist in God's face and say, I will not
believe. You surely don't think. You surely
don't think God's not going to accomplish his purpose because
of you. You just ain't that big. You're just not that big. Surely
you don't think something has failed in God because of your
unbelief. Read on. God forbid, yea, let
God be true. And every man a liar, as it is
written, that thou mightest be justified in thy saying, and
mightest overcome when thou art judged. What? When men judge
God? That's what men do all the time.
They judge God to be unfaithful. They judge God to be unrighteous.
They judge God to be harsh and overbearing they judge God to
be wrong. They judge God to be too severe
too strict God's purpose in everything is the saving of his people and
Save them he will listen to the scripture Strengthen ye the weak
hands Confirm the feeble knees say to them that have a fearful
heart be strong. Don't be afraid Behold your God
will come. I love these words with vengeance
even God with a recompense What's he talking about? He's not talking
about dead judgment. He's not talking about dead judgment.
You can read it for yourself in Isaiah 35. God's coming with
vengeance. He's coming to recompense. No,
he's coming with recompense. He's coming with vengeance. God
will come to his chosen at the appointed time of love with Vengeance,
fully pacified, propitiated, recompensed to his holiness,
his law and his justice, fully made by Christ the substitute.
He will come and save you. He's coming with vengeance. He's
coming with recompense to save you, to save his people. In confirmation
of this fact, Paul was inspired by God the Holy Spirit To refer
us here in Romans 3 4 to God's servant David turn back to Psalm
51 if you will Psalm 51 Won't you look at it you're familiar
with the passage God made a promise to David He
made an unconditional covenant promise to David. He said David
You will never lack a man to sit on your throne And your son,
your son, your son is going to be that man of whom God spoke
to Adam and Eve in the garden and said, the woman's seed is
going to come and crush the serpent's head. And the Christ, your son,
he's going to sit on your throne forever. Acts chapter two, Peter
says, this is what was done when Christ was raised and exalted.
David's son sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.
But then something happened. God made this promise to David.
It was a promise made to David unconditionally. And David took
the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba. He took Bathsheba. Horrid, horrid
cry. Horrid cry for which David was
confronted. For nine months, David wrote
no Psalms. For nine months, he played no
instruments of music to the worship of God. For nine months, God
didn't speak to David and David couldn't speak to God. And then
God sent Nathan the prophet to him and told David, you're the
man. And David said, I've sinned against
God. You remember the next word of
God's prophet to him? Well, brother David, we'll see
if you're sincere. We're going to put you on probation.
We'll put you under discipline for a while and we'll see how
things work out. But we've got to watch you for
a while. No, his next word to David was not the Lord will put
away your sin. His next word was the Lord hath
put away thy sin. And David went home and wrote
a song. He wrote two of them. In fact, we know of Psalm 32
and this one here in Psalm 51. Look at it. Here's what David
said have mercy upon me. Oh God according to thy loving-kindness
According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions Wash me throughly for mine iniquity and cleanse
me from my sin For I acknowledge my transgression and my sin is
ever before me Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this
evil in thy sight now. What's this? What's this? David
said I've made all this confession He didn't say I did the sin that
you might you might be justified is I made all this confession
that thou Mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear
when thou judgest He's not talking about David
about God judging him for his sin No God's not going to punish
you and judge you for your sins. Not if you're God's He judged
our sins in Christ He punished our sins in Christ. He satisfied
his vengeance and his justice and his wrath in Christ, our
substitute. He pulled out all his fury in Christ. He chastens
us. Oh, yes, he chastens us. And
he shows us and the world his disapproval. He did it with David
by killing the son that was born to him in Bathsheba. He did it
to David by making the sword never to depart from David's
house. But he didn't judge David for his sins. Well, what's David
talking about? I've studied this. I talked to Clay and Angus about
it today. I've studied this for 45 years, 47 years. And until
this morning, I didn't understand what Paul was saying right here.
Here, God, the Holy Spirit, tells us exactly what David's talking
about. He says, it is written that thou mightest be justified
in thy sayings, in your word, in your promise, in your decrees,
and mightest overcome when thou art judged, when God's judged
a man. The Lord God in his indescribable wisdom, mercy, and grace so overruled
David's great sin that rather than it frustrating God's purpose,
it was used by God as a means to accomplish God's purpose of
grace for David. Do you know who Bathsheba's son
was? The next child born to her and
David? His name was Solomon, through whom came the Christ
of God, David's son, to sit on David's throne to rule the world
for us. Paul says, you who dare to charge
God with folly. You who dare to suggest, who
dare to suggest that God's harsh and God's cruel and God's mean
and God's not just in judging sin, how can you hold David responsible
for this when you say that God ordained everything? How can
you hold me responsible for wickedness when you say God ordained everything?
Ask David if he was responsible. Read what it says. David acknowledged
his transgression. He understood it clearly. And
yet God overrules it for good. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee, and the remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain.
I don't know how things work together for good to God's elect. But bless God, I know they do.
I know they do. That fellow who's in the White
House, and I wish he could hear this. I wish he weren't there.
I really wish he weren't there. I'd much prefer it weren't there.
No, no, I changed my mind. I'm glad he's there. I won't
vote for him, but I'm glad he's there. I didn't vote for him,
but I'm glad he's there. Brother Scott Richardson made
this statement one time years ago. He said, if we had the power
of God, we would change everything. If we had the wisdom of God,
we would change nothing. What's God doing? He's accomplishing
good for his people, glory for his name in the saving of his
people. Keep silence, all created things,
and wait your maker's nod. My soul stands trembling while
she sings the honors of her God. Life, death, and hell, and worlds
unknown hang on his firm decree. He sits on no precarious throne
nor borrows leave to be. Chained to his throne a volume
lies with all the fates of men, with every angel's form and size
drawn by the eternal pen. His providence unfolds the book
and makes his counsel shine. Each opening leaf and every stroke
fulfills some bright design. Here, he exalts neglected worms
to scepters and a crown. And then the following page,
he turns and treads the monarch down. Not Gabriel asks the reason
why, nor God the reason gives, nor dares the favored angel pry
between the folded leaves. My God, I would not long to see
my fate with curious eyes. Hear me, my God. I would not
long to see my fate with curious eyes. I don't want to know what
God has in store for me on this earth tomorrow. I don't want
to know. When I was young and foolish,
I wanted to know. Not anymore. My God, I would not long to see
my fate with curious eyes. What gloomy lines are writ for
me or what bright scenes may rise. In thy fair book of life
and grace, may I but find my name recorded in some humble
place beneath my Lord the Lamb. Number three, look at verses
five through seven. Those who slander God, those
who slander God and blaspheme his holy name, asserting that
his gospel promotes licentiousness are justly condemned. There are
many who slander God, who blaspheme his name, who declare that God
and his gospel is but the promotion of licentiousness. When lost
men and women, both infidels and self-righteous religionists,
Hear us assert what Paul has just declared concerning the
absolute certainty of God's sovereign purpose, the absolute sovereignty
of God in universal providence. They respond by charging us and
charging our God and charging the gospel of God's grace with
promoting licentiousness. Proud man dares to lift his fist
in God's face and says, how dares God judge me? God's ordained
everything if he's purposed all things look at Romans 3 verse
5 But if our unrighteousness Command the righteousness of
God. What shall we say is God? Unrighteous who take vengeance
now notice what Paul says here in his explanatory statement.
I speak as a man I I speak. I'm just using the words that
men use. I'm not telling you what Paul
thinks. I'm telling you what men say. I speak as a man. Now
he says, God forbid. God forbid. For then how shall
God judge the world? For if the truth of God hath
more abounded through my lie unto his glory, why yet am I
also judged as a sinner? And not rather, now watch this,
as we be slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say,
let us do evil that good may come, whose damnation is just. Paul, like Jude, like Isaiah,
declares to us that the damnation of such blasphemers is absolutely
just. We who preach the gospel of God's
grace and God's absolute sovereignty, the absolute freeness of God's
grace, the unconditionality of God's grace, the certainty of
God's grace, are accused by folks who despise God. And that's the
issue. Rather, they despise God. They despise God. We're accused
of saying, let us sin that grace may abound. I've been accused
of it all my life. So was Paul. So was our Redeemer.
So is every faithful preacher of the gospel. But those men
deliberately pervert the word of God. Look at Romans chapter
nine, verse 20. Romans nine. If this is so, why does God find
fault? Listen to Paul's answer. Nay, but old man, who art thou
that replies against God? Rob, when you were growing up,
I don't know a thing about the way you were raised. Well, I
know a little bit, not much. But your dad was a pretty good-sized
fella. And I suspect when you were smaller, whether he told
you why he required things or didn't was entirely up to him.
Is that accurate? And if you insisted, you tell
me why, and stomped your foot, you might have picked yourself
up off the ground. Is that accurate? Case in my house, how dare you
speak to your dad that way? How dare you? How dare you? How dares a man challenge God's
right to do what God does? Any man. Who art thou that replies
against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
under honor and another under dishonor? Is that God's right
or is it not? If he's God, that's his right.
And he is God. While you're turning to Jude
listen to what Isaiah says woe unto him that striveth with his
master with his maker Let the pots should strive with the potsherds
of the earth Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it what
makest thou or thy work? He hath no hands Look what Jude
says Jude verse 4 In verse 4 There are certain men crept in
unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.
Now listen to how Jude describes them. Ungodly men, ungodly men,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness. Now that is not, this is not
what Jude is saying. He is not saying these men who
preach free grace, these men who preach God's absolute sovereignty. He's not saying, they're saying,
go ahead and live like you want to. Go ahead and live like hell
if you want to. That's, oh no, that's not what
you suggest. He's saying these self-righteous workmonger legalists. Say that if you preach free grace,
it'll open the floodgates to see it. He's saying these folks
are ungodly men. They dare say that the free grace
of God causes many women to live in ungodliness. That's what Job
says. He says this is the condemnation
to which they were ordained ungodly men. They turned the grace of
our God into lasciviousness. And in doing so, they deny the
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. What a statement, what
a statement. Here's the fourth thing, verses
nine through 20. All men and women are totally
depraved and helplessly lost. Now that's a fact as broad as
time, as broad as the universe, an undeniable fact. Talk about men's goodness, religious
folks and politicians. Well, I believe the American
people are good people. He had been around ones I've
been around for 40, for 64 years. Now back folks are basically
good people. No, they're basically just like
Paul describes all of the men here in Romans three, the verse
nine. What then are we better than they do better than Gentiles,
black, better than white American, better than Russian. No, in no
wise. For we have all proved, both
Jews and Gentiles, that they're all under sin, under the depravity,
the corruption, the vileness, the baseness of sin, as it is
written. Now here's a description of your
mama and daddy and your grandma and grandpa and your sons and
daughters and you and me. There's none righteous. Well,
I know exception, no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
Not a single person in the human race without Christ, not a single
person in the human race who is not born of God, not a single
person in the human race who is not taught of God, who understands
the things of God. None that understandeth. Kevin,
you run across folks in your business. then folks won't talk
religion. I'll make you a promise. Every
thought they have about righteousness and sin and salvation and sanctification
and justification and meekness and humility and consecration
and devotion, every thought they have is exactly wrong. Thought
they have paid no attention what to say. They don't understand
How can a man see the kingdom of God if he's not born again?
It's what our Lord told Nicodemus in it. There is none that seeketh
after God There's none that seeketh after God No man does no one
does I believe he's seeking the Lord not unless the Lord sought
him. He's not we don't They are all going out of the way and
all at one time stepped aside from God in the sin and fall
of our father Adam They're all together all at one time became
utterly worthless Unprofitable Unprofitable you preach you can't
tell folks. They're worthless. I Shouldn't
do that. Y'all listen carefully. Let me
retract that you are completely worthless Completely worthless
before God you don't have a thing But I love you to death, you
know that don't you you don't have anything to offer God I
pray God will save you and make a preacher out of you. I really
do. But you don't have anything to offer God. Nothing. Utterly
unprofitable. Me too. Read on. There is none
that doeth good. Not even a thought good. You've
never thought a good thing. the imaginations of the thoughts
of their heart is only evil continually. It's not within the realm of
possibility that a man can do good. No, not one. The fact is
every fallen sinful man and woman and everything that man or woman
does is an abomination to God. I looked these up last night
late. The plowing of the wicked is sin. The way of the wicked
is sin. The sacrifice of the wicked is
an abomination to God. The thoughts of the wicked are
an abomination to God. The worship of the wicked is
an abomination to God. You mean, that's all about the
good things he does. An unbelieving man goes out and
labors in the field, labors in the hot sun from sun up to sun
down, plowing the field to provide for his family. God calls it
an abomination. God calls it abomination because
it does it from selfish motives not for God's glory We don't
Romans 3 verse 13 their throat is an open sepulcher Death is inside With the tongues
they lie all the time. They've used deceit The poison
of a deadly snake is under their lips Watch out for the talk. He'll kill you if he can He might
not take a gun and shoot you in the head. He'll take his tongue
and slaughter your character. Whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. That's the way of man. Their
feet are swift to shed blood, quick to retaliate, quick to
take vengeance. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. That's the place you're headed
for destruction and misery. And the way of peace have they
not known. And all of this is because there
is no fear of God before their eyes. Look at verses 19 and 20. So far is God's holy law from
having any ability or any purpose in saving us. The only purpose
of God's law is to identify and condemn sin. Look at verse 19. Now we know that what things
whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. Let me see if I can show you
something about your sin. You're familiar with the Ten
Commandments, aren't you? You heard of the Ten Commandments?
Heard of those things? Who here has ever obeyed one
for just a couple of seconds? Who? Who here has ever loved
God with all his heart for just a second? Who here has ever loved
his neighbor as he loves himself, for just a second. I promise
you, I don't care how young you are or how old, you tell me that,
I'll sit down and let you preach, because I don't know anything
I'm talking about. No, the very commandment of God declares your
sin and declares you guilty. Every oracle of God exposes your
guilt. Paul is telling us in this passage,
you need a savior. I need a savior. That's Paul's
doctrine here. We've got to have a savior, someone
to undertake our cause, to bring in righteousness for us, to put
away our sins, to satisfy justice, to deliver us from sin under
which we were born since the sin and fall of our father Adam,
and do it by honoring God's law and satisfying God's justice.
by an act of omnipotent grace. That brings me to the fifth thing,
verses 21 through 31. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's
darling son, is the savior we need. Here, God the Holy Ghost
shows us that it is Christ by whom and in whom alone God shows
himself a just God and the Savior. You remember what Moses asked
God before he was about to go up to land of promise. He said,
God, if thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence. And
he said, I beseech thee. Lord, show me your glory. Show
me your glory. And God said to Moses, come here,
Moses. I will put you in the mountain, in the cleft of a rock.
And I'm going to pass by you, and you'll see my hind departs,
and I'm going to tell you who I am, and reveal my glory to
you. My face you can't see, but I'm going to tell you who I am,
I'm going to reveal my glory to you. He said, I'm the Lord, the Lord
God. He said, I will by no means clear
the guilty. I will by no means clear the
guilty. That means God is not going to
pretend that you're righteous. God is not going to pretend you
never say it. God will visit your iniquities upon you and
your children and your children's children under the third and
fourth generation. Is that what he said? Read it
for yourself. Exodus chapter 33. Read it for
yourself. What's he talking about? The
next thing he says, the very next word is forgiving iniquity,
transgression and sin. The very next word. Well, how
can that be? How can God refuse to clear the
guilty and still forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin? Forgive
men for breaking down the barriers and deliberately transgressing
His law. Forgive men for iniquity, failing to measure up to the
requirement of His law. Forgiving men of sin, what they
are. There's only one way. And that is if God himself can
so thoroughly punish sin and punish you for your sins that
his justice can require no more and now forgive you your sin
and treat you. No, that's not right. That's
not right. He doesn't treat you just as
if you hadn't sinned. He fixes it. So you hadn't. He takes away sin. And the only
way that can be done is through the God-man Savior, Jesus Christ
our Lord, the sinner's substitute. Look what Paul tells us in Romans
3.21. Now the righteousness of God
without the law. The righteousness of God without
you doing anything to fulfill the law. without any works of
the law performed by you is manifested. That is, it's so plainly seen.
It's like looking in a mirror and looking at your own image.
I see that. I know that. That's God. It's manifested,
being witnessed, testified to by every commandment of the law
and by all the prophets. What is that righteousness? Even
the righteousness of God, now watch this, which is by faith
of Jesus Christ. Not by faith in Jesus Christ.
No, no. Our faith in Christ is not that
which brings about righteousness. Our faith in Christ does not
produce righteousness. Our faith in Christ receives
this righteousness. This is righteousness accomplished
by the faith, by the faithful obedience of Jesus Christ, the
God-man, as our substitute, his obedience unto death, unto all
and upon all them that believe. Here I am, a sinner who trusts
Christ and God's righteousness, God's perfect righteousness,
the righteousness of God performed by my mediator, my substitute,
him whom I trust, is my righteousness. He has made me. the very righteousness
of God in Him, just as He made Him to be sin for me. As fully
as Christ was made sin, so fully I have been made righteous. But
that's not all. If right now you look away to
Christ, if you believe on the Son of God, His righteousness
is your righteousness. His righteousness is yours. It
is that which God gives to everybody who believes, for there is no
difference. Look at verse 23. So it must
be, because the only thing we've ever produced, the only thing
we can produce, is sin. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Now, read verses 24, 25, and
26, and leap with joy. Being then justified freely. justified without a cause. Let me see if I can tell you
what I'm talking about. Where's that bulletin Clay just
gave me? Give me your bulletin there, Clay. You young folks won't understand
this. Older folks will. See this left-hand margin of
paper? See how pretty and straight that is? When I first started
writing bulletin articles, and Shelby would type them up and
print them, I would type I'd write them up, and then she'd
type them out, and you'd have things, well, everything here
is neat. Everything jagged. Some of the sentences end over
here, some of them over here, some of them run beyond it, some of them
be short of it. Everything's jagged. And she'd take a ruler
and draw a line, and then she'd space out the letters and the
words to make everything come out even on the right side. It's
called justifying the right-hand margin. Today, all you do is
hit that J button on your computer. There it is. I think it's Control-J.
It's justified. Here's what it is to be justified.
Here is all the holiness and righteousness of God Almighty
revealed in His law that He requires of me. Here it is. Perfect righteousness. Perfect holiness. Not a spot
of sin. no transgression, no iniquity,
no blemish. And here I am, exactly equal
to it, justified. You got that? That's what you
receive by faith in Christ. Such justification, such justification,
that no matter what you are, And no matter what you do, and
no matter what weakness may be found in you, as it was in God's
servant David, in the teeth of your sin, when you have no reason
at all in any of your conduct to say, look at that, now, now,
there's evidence I'm a child of God. No. when you've got another man's
wife in your house, and you've taken her to be your
wife after murdering that man, and you've got a baby that God's
about to kill laying in the bedroom next door because of your sin,
you can lift your heart to God and confess your sin and say,
God, you promised me life in Christ. And I believe Him in the teeth
of my sin and go to bed with peace. Why? Because my complete righteousness
hinges not at all on anything I say, feel, or do. It's Christ
the Lord, my righteousness. What does all that mean? Here's God's conclusion to the
matter. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law?
Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a
man is justified by faith, without doing a thing, without
the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only?
Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Seeing
it is one God which will just justify the circumcision by faith
and the uncircumcision through faith Do we then make void the
law through faith? Do we just throw the law out
the window through faith? We said a law doesn't count through
faith. Oh, no No, no No By faith We establish the law Believing on Christ I Offer to God all that God requires I Offer God perfect righteousness
and offer God complete satisfaction and God says that's enough. I Want no more I will have no
more I Back a long time ago, Brother
Clay's granddaddy was preaching for us at Danville. And he was
preaching from Romans chapter 3. And he quoted just a couple
of words from a hymn he used to sing when he was a boy. He
couldn't remember the song. I found the song later. It was
a horrible song, but those few words were really good. He said,
justice called and mercy answered. Well, let me give you a real
good version of it. Though I was lost, guilty condemned, the Son
of God bore all my sin, and my great substitute, he died, and
by his blood I'm justified. When justice called, mercy answered. Christ died for him, he must
go free. Justice and mercy are agreed. Since Jesus died, this sinner's
free. I'm an heir of heaven above by
grace and justice, truth and love. Christ gave his all that
I might live eternal life. To me, he gives when justice
called mercy, answered Christ died for him. He must go free.
Justice and mercy are agreed. Since Janet, Jesus died, this
center is free. The justice of God. It demands
as fully as the mercy of God pleads, the righteousness and
salvation of every redeemed sinner. The justice of God demands that
every sinner who believes on God's Son be set free. Oh, God help you then to believe
and go home tonight Freed from sin. Freed from sin. Oh, I can't begin
to tell you what it is. Freed from sin. I recall when
I was a boy, I was arrested. It wasn't a serious crime. I
could have been arrested for something serious, but this wasn't a serious crime.
I was just a kid. I was 15 years old. Yeah, 15. Me and two other boys
arrested down in Davis County. And they locked us up in the
jail, in that county jail. And I was in there for a long
time. Seemed like me forever. From about midday left to dark,
I was in that jail. And I had no idea what was going
to happen. The sheriff terrorized us pretty
good. He intended to. And it worked.
I was scared to death what was going to happen. And when that
fella came and unlocked that jail cell and turned me loose,
oh, I can't tell you how freedom smelt and how freedom tasted,
how good it was to be free. And that's nothing. I was a prisoner,
shut up under the justice of God, deserving eternal damnation,
and I found out I knew it. God sent me to hell is exactly
what I deserved. And Christ came and said, you're free. And I'm Free indeed from sin
and fear and death and condemnation and hell. Free in Christ. Oh, may God make you free. Amen.