Good morning. It is really good
to see you, all of you. Back row to the front row and
all the way through. I almost had another heart attack
when Curtis announced he was going to work on Romans 4, and
then he backed up into chapter 3. But let's start, this is where
I intended to start, in Job 25. Job chapter 25. Here's the question that I'm
trying to answer today. You've heard this from many different
places in our Bibles. Even this very passage has been
used in that respect. How can a sinner be justified
with God? We're going to take verses 4,
5, and 6 in Job chapter 25. This man, Job, is a wonderful
example of the power of God's grace to save a sinner. This man endured about as many
things as you could expect any dozen people in this world to
have suffered. He lost his wealth. He lost all
of his flocks and herds and lost all of his children. And for
all practical purposes, he lost his wife. She said, why don't
you curse God and die? And by the time we get to the
end of this book of Job, we find a man who has come through some
dark days, but now he knows. He knows who God is, therefore
he knows who he is, and these things are all right. If God
did them, they must be right. They have to be. I mean, ain't
nothing taking place in this world, this whole lived long
day, that God is not the author of. I'm sick to my stomach of
preachers trying to lift the responsibility from God's shoulders. The problem of our generation
is that we've heard that false gospel so long that we don't
have a clue how to find the real gospel. But I'm telling you,
this book will show you the gospel. And we've seen it this morning
already in the Bible class. Alright, now before I get too
worked up, let's beg the Lord's help and presence. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for every day. Thank you for your mercy to us, your love to us, your grace. Lord, there isn't anything that
we have that's worth having that you did not give us. Oh, that
you would come this morning, take the simple, backward words
of this preacher, and use that message to save sinners. Lord, we know this much. Being
saved is not taking a preacher's hand. Being saved is not being
baptized. Being saved is not becoming a
member of somebody's church. But a sinner will be saved When
you speak from heaven and command this wonderful change to take
place within us, we are made whole and righteous through the
perfect righteousness and obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord,
help us this morning not to become sidetracked for our minds not
to be wandering as to other things that so much interest us, but
that we could, at least for the time that we're meeting here
this morning, we could keep our minds focused on what we're about
to read and hear. Help us, we beg, lift up our
precious Lord Jesus Christ in this place. We ask in his dear
name. Amen. Alright, the first verses
are Job 25, verses 4, 5, and 6. Now, you're probably better
off without a reference Bible, but the first verse of Job 25
tells us that these are the words of one of Job's friends, in quotation
marks. You know, they came to comfort
him, and they wound up accusing him. So that's not really a true
friend, is it? So we put quotation marks around
it. Anyway, his name is Bildad the Shuhite. And he said, let
me just read the whole, you know, it's a real long chapter, only
six verses. He said, Dominion and fear are
with him, that is, with God. He makes peace in his high places. Nothing particularly wrong with
that statement. Except this man has come to comfort
his friend. Is there any number of his armies? And upon whom does not his light
arise? And here's the question of all
questions. How can a man be justified with
God? What does that word justified
mean? That is, to be acquitted of all sin and to be given a
perfect righteousness before God, which is none other than
the imputed righteousness of Christ. And if I do not have
it or you do not have it, we cannot be a child of God. We
may later become a child of God. Not that we become that when
it happens, but God shows us that we're His children. Some
of us are converted earlier in life, some middle, some late. Goodness me, it can vary greatly. How then can man be justified
with God? Or how can he be clean that is
born of a woman? Behold, even to the moon, and
it shines not, yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man that is a worm, and the Son of Man which
is a worm. Let's see, which hymn is that,
Craig, that John Newton's statement? Is it, uh, uh, no, it's, uh, Curtis? I shouldn't have asked you guys.
I'm more confused now than I was to start with. It's amazing grace in which he
says, you know, would Christ shed his precious blood for whom? Such a worm as I. And I'll tell you as boldly as
I can say it, he didn't shed his blood for anybody else but
worms. Sinful worms. That's me and that's
you. To be justified before God means
to be free from guilt and shame. Both of those things have to
go. Let me find my printed, see if I can get this out, where
I can glance at it and maybe half quote it or half read it. I'm not sure which it is. But
you'll find these words in Colossians 1.22. in the body of this flesh,
through death, to present you holy, H-O-L-Y, and unblameable
and unreprovable in God's sight. Jude verse 24 says, Christ presents
you faultless before the presence of God's glory. And that's the
only way for us to know or to enjoy the presence of God, is
to have our sin put away completely, entirely, and altogether. And that is the wonderful news
of this Bible. Secondly, this matter of being
justified is to have peace with God, to be at peace with God,
that the war between us is over. We've surrendered, lock, stock
and barrel. And we're content now to be His
slaves, His servant. Whatever He would have us do,
we'll do it, no matter the cost or the outcome. Romans 5.1 puts
it like this, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, to be justified
is to be free from all charges, from sin's curse, sin's penalty,
sin's power. Romans 8.33 puts it like this,
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is
God that justifies. To be free from all charges,
sins, penalty, power, and curse. Oh my, what freedom that is indeed. And that's the only freedom that
will do you any good as far as your soul and God is concerned.
Fourthly, justified means to have eternal life. Not to want it. To have it. to have eternal life. Romans 8 verse 30 declares, Moreover,
whom God did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now I'll have you notice, this
comes out of Romans 8 and verse 30, in all of these categories. There's not a single one lost
between the first one and the last one. All the persons that
God intends it to be for, when it says, whom He did predestinate. People in our generation, and
of course they've been this way ever since this world was created
and man was put on it, but people are scared to death of the word
predestination. I'll tell you when to be scared
if you think you're the predestinator, and you're not. The Holy Triune
God predestines everything that comes to pass every day this
world rolls. Every single day. 300 and whatever
it is a year, 65 or 63 or 66, I don't remember. Whom he did predestinate, those
are the same ones that he called by his grace in the gospel of
his Son. Those he predestinated and called,
them he also did what? Justified. That's what we're
chasing right now is justification. Justified. And whom he justified,
those are the same people that will be in heaven. Then we also
glorify. Now I'm telling you there's not
a single soul lost from the beginning of that statement to the end.
Because it is God, the triune God, who performs this glorious,
glorious work. Let's continue this matter of
being justified. Here's my next statement. I know
how a man is not justified. A person is not justified by
making a decision, walking a church aisle, taking a preacher's hand,
joining the church or being baptized. It's just not there. You can
do that every day for all of your life, and it won't be any
more good then than it was to start with. These things are
nothing. They have meaning only to persons
whom God has saved. And then they might seek some
place among some humble group of people that meet for the worship
of God. I know how a man is not justified. He's not justified by his words. Job 9, verse 20, if I justify
myself, my own mouth will condemn me. If I say I'm perfect, it
shall also prove me perverse. Now, that's a long ways from
being perfect, isn't it? Perverse? Like perversion? Secondly, how a man is not justified,
we're not justified by the law. Galatians 3.10 says, For as many
as are of the works of the law are under the curse, For it is
written, Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which
are written in the book of the law to do them." You and I couldn't
keep one commandment, let alone ten or a thousand. It's not in
us. We give ourselves credit for
what we do not do. I still remember those little envelopes.
Let's see, I went to church today, I brought my Bible, did my daily
Bible reading, did this, that, and the other, and you count
up the points to see if you made a hundred. That's pure garbage. That's human saving himself. That's not how a person comes
to know God. It doesn't come by our doing,
it's what's already done. We're not justified by works,
according to Titus 3.5. It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the
washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Ed, these are Roman numerals,
we uncovered one, here's number two. I know, I'm absolutely sure that
it is God and God alone who justifies. Now I'll read to you out of Romans
8 again. Moreover, verses 30 and 33, moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now here's a conclusion from
that statement. We've already covered that statement.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is
Christ that died. We could have died on that cross
and it would have been completely meaningless. But I'm telling
you, when the holy, righteous Son of God went to Calvary's
tree, the debt was paid in full. And you and I can't contribute
one solitary penny. Not a one. Not a one. It is God who justifies. Nobody
but God could justify us, because our sins are against God. And even more so, not only no
one but God can justify us, but no one but God would justify
us if they could. He's the benevolent one. You
and I are the greedy, grasping tribe that inhabits this earth
at this given hour. Galatians chapter 3 and verse
10. I don't see it on my list, so
I'll just skip over that one. If God justifies us, no one can
condemn us. None can condemn us. Romans 8, 33 and 34. Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is He that condemns? It is
Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. It just sounds like when you
read these statements straight out of the Bible and don't dock
for them up, it sounds like God's done everything. And that's exactly
right. He waits for us to do it. It
ain't going to happen. It's God who justifies. No one
but God can justify us because our sins are against God. No
one but God would justify us, because they're not our friend
but our enemy. If God justifies us, no one can
condemn us. And the scripture says that God
justifies what kind of person. You remember? I'll just read
it straight out of the book for you. Let me check my reference. Yes,
that's correct. That one's correct. But to him
that works not, King James worketh not, but believes on him that
justifies, what comes next? Come on, guys. The ungodly. You remember that? Those are the only kind of people
God saves, the ungodly. Somebody inevitably has got to
say, well, what about good people? There ain't no such thing. There
are no good people. There's a good God in heaven who presents to sinners a message
of salvation that is all of grace. For when we were yet without
strength, then in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans
chapter 5 and verse 6. Now, there's one other question.
This is my third point. There's one other. I'm turning
to the book of Romans. It seems like we've been there
today already. Let's see. Curtis Rogers was here, if I
remember right. I want to read. He all but read
my passage out of here, but he actually didn't do it. He just
hid it here and there. Romans 3, beginning at verse
19. Now, here's what I want to ask
you before we start to read. I shouldn't have told you yet,
but it's already out now. Romans 3.19. How could anybody who's ever
read at least to some degree a Bible, How can we come away
from this book believing that our salvation depends not only
on Christ, but on what we do as well? Where did you find that? It ain't in this whole book.
It's not anywhere in the 66 books of the Bible. It's simply not
there. Oh, but we sure do want it to
be there. We've got to have some of the
credit. You know, what about all those crowns? Oh, you forget
the crowns. We're going to take that crown
and throw it at Christ's feet. It is beyond stupidity for us
to award ourselves in heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ is
everything. Everything. Alright, let me start. I won't ever get through reading
here. Romans 3.19, now we know, do we? Do you? Do I? Now we know that what thing
soever the law says, it says to them who are under the
law. But you and I might protest and
say, we're not under the law. Oh yes, we are. We've conjured
up in our minds and hearts things that we regularly do for God. And if we're doing it expecting
to be paid for it, I'll tell you the pay's going to come in
a place so hot you can't take anything with you. It'll be the
eternal damnation of hell. Whatever the law says, it says
to them who are under the law. You and I are born under the
law. We can be Baptist or Jew. It
doesn't make any difference. It's the same difference. They
believe they have to contribute, and that's what we were taught. That every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world become guilty before God. That, my friend,
is the purpose of this book. This is the work of God the Holy
Spirit. Verse 20, Therefore, by the deeds
of the law, either one of them or ten of them, half of them,
two-thirds, it doesn't make any difference, it's all one and
the same. By the deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified. And that's our subject this morning,
is how can we be justified? It is not keeping rules and regulations. This is the law speaking when
you talk in such terms as that. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin." The knowledge of sin. You remember when Moses was on
Mount Sinai receiving that first set of tablets that the finger
of God wrote. And while Moses is gone a pretty
good while, I don't remember how many days but a bunch, When
he comes back, the children of Israel have already gone into
idolatry. They've built themselves an idol
out of melted-down gold. And Moses is so upset, he throws
those tablets on the ground and has to go back and get another
set. And do you know where they wound
up? In that mercy seat. In the holy of holies, in the
tabernacle, that's where men met God by virtue of animal sacrifices. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. If the law had not said, you
shall not, we wouldn't have been so determined to break that particular
rule. But that's how it works. You
tell me I can't do something, I'm going to show you I can. But now, notice the change from
what it was and still is for untold millions of people. But
now, verse 21, the righteousness of God without the law. is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God which is by faith, O Elf, of, not in, of Jesus Christ. People who think they understand
the gospel There's one little thing they won't turn loose of,
and that is their faith. This is my faith. I produced
it. Oh, you're lying. You didn't
produce it either. You better throw it out of your hand or
you're going to wind up in hell with that false keeping of the
law. Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe. And there is no difference. You
know, some of us are taller, some of us are shorter, some
of us are skinny, some of us are fat. But we're all one. One. There is no difference. Now, the statement to which that
statement points is where? And how do you know this? Because the 22nd verse ends in
a colon. You know, two dots, one on top
of another. Therefore, the following statement
is drawn from that statement. You can't put a period there
because that would interrupt things. But when the punctuation
is a colon, it becomes very helpful now for us to understand the
23rd verse. Because we've already been told
there's no difference. What do you mean no difference?
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Do
you mean everybody? Everybody. Everybody. Now we're back to our original
subject. Verse 24, being justified freely by His grace, by God's
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth The words to be are italicized. They were added by the translators
to make it read more smoothly. But they should have just left
it off. But anyway, I'm going to read
it as though it were not here. Whom God has sent forth a propitiation,
a sacrifice that satisfies God through faith in his blood. To
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at
this time, God's righteousness. Oh, don't miss this. That he
might be just and the justifier of him who believes in the Lord
Jesus. God is the just and justifier. of that people of every generation
who believed and trusted in Christ long before Christ ever came
into this world in human flesh. Ever since the garden, this is
what's been taking place. Where is boasting then? I lost my spot. Oh, verse 27. Where is boasting then? It is
excluded. By what law? The law of works?
No, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude. Here
is the meaning of Romans chapter 3. Here is the conclusion. We
conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of
the law. Completely without the deeds
of the law. That brings me to my final question.
The question is, how is it that we can be justified with God?
How can man, who drinks iniquity like water, be clean? How? How can we be righteous when
we're unrighteous? How can we be holy when we're
unholy? And how can God be just and justify
the ungodly? I'm going to let you turn with
me now. I just didn't look at my watch. But if I'd have thought
about it, I'd have let you look up some of these things. The
book of Psalms, Psalm 85. I thought about this verse. I
don't remember if it was probably before you got up this
morning. Psalm 85, but I didn't write it down. It just came to mind a second ago. Psalm
85. We're going to start at verse 10. Mercy and truth are met together. Now, these words, mercy and truth, are the attributes of God. There
are many others, but these are two. Mercy and truth are met
together. What happened between mercy and
truth? That they weren't already together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. And what caused the argument?
Now you know, I know you must know this, one of God's attributes cannot
truly have a grievance with any other of his attributes, because
everything that God does is right. But when we look at it, we understand what it means to
be at odds with somebody. Let me read it again. And this time I want you to view
these things as taking place on Calvary's tree. God's mercy and God's truth met
together in Christ at the cross. Without his death, These things could never meet
as far as we're concerned. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. What a beautiful expression. So the disturbance between the
attributes of God are but imagined. and not real. But when we get involved, here
we have it stated as plainly as it could be possible. Mercy
and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the
earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the
Lord shall give that which is good, because we can't produce
it. The Lord will give that which
is good, and our land, and in this case our lives, shall yield
her increase. Righteousness shall go before
Him and shall set us in the way of Christ's steps. Boy, I'll
tell you what, that's a passage. and all that.