Once again, we're in our text
of the book of Romans, chapter one. And I want to take one more
lesson from this 17th verse of Romans chapter one. Romans chapter
one, again in verse 17, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live
by faith. We've already looked at the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. We've seen that the revealed
righteousness that we see is only in God's Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. We looked into this righteousness
of God and it was revealed last, that He was revealed last week.
But today our concern is the just shall live by faith. Let's
consider the first part of this statement. Shall live, or the
last part of this statement. Shall live by faith. Notice the
word shall. The just. Shall. Not might. Not maybe. Folks, when our God
says shall, it means exactly that. Shall. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. That means all that the Father
giveth him shall come to him. That means that if you and I
are in the faith, if we're in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ,
We shall live by that faith. We shall live by everything is
controlled by our sovereign God. I was talking with Brother Mike
out there earlier. I said I was a little disappointed even though
I shouldn't be. I really thought we were going to get some rain
today. My weather app, which is all very obviously very faulty,
and I probably should delete it and stop using it because
it seems like it's faulty a lot more nowadays than even the news
on TV, but they were claiming right up until last night when
I went to bed that there was going to be some rain today. And then
I get up this morning and sure enough, it looks, nope, no rain
today. And that's the whole point right
there, Pauli Mary. Absolutely. That's the exact,
that's the point right there. We live by faith that our God
rules everything. He doesn't just rule the weather.
He doesn't just rule this or that. He rules everything. He's
sovereign over all that is. That's what the just shall live
by. We walk through this valley of
the shadow of death with all the things that are going around
us, whether they be good or evil, and we give our Lord the glory
for it. We glory in our infirmities because we know that our infirmities
bring us to our knees to make us look to our Savior, do we
not? The just shall live by faith. There is no question of this
coming about. No, God's word is sure. Those
who are seen as just or justified shall live by faith, is what
it's saying. So let's look at a few verses about the just shall
live by faith. First, we must consider how some
are just. Turn over to 2 Peter, if you
would, chapter two, 2 Peter chapter two. Let's consider how some
are considered to be just. 2 Peter. Chapter 2, look with
me if you would, beginning at verse 4. For if God spared not
the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered
them into the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment,
and spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person,
a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the
world of the ungodly, Noah and eight people were all that were
saved. God's judgment fell on the whole world at that time.
The whole world was buried in water all the way around. Water
covered the whole earth. Yet Noah, the eighth person,
a preacher of righteousness, was saved, and the ungodly were
flooded upon him. Verse six, and turning the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them, with an overthrow,
making them an ensample unto those, making them an ensample
unto those after should live ungodly. And delivered, look
at here, just lot. That's the same word. The just
shall live by faith. That's the exact same word. Just
lot. Our Lord delivered just Lot,
who was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. He
lived among the wicked. And he accepted where he lived.
Instead of leaving the place that he was in, he accepted it.
In fact, if you remember right, the story tells us that when
the angels came, they had to drag him out of there. They had
to drag him, his two daughters, and his wife out of Sodom and
Gomorrah so they would not be destroyed by it. And then his
wife turned around and looked back and turned into a pillar
of salt. You remember the story. Lot was vexed with filthy conversation
of the wicked. He was just as conversing with
the wicked as the ones who were all around him. Verse 8, for
that righteous man dwelleth... for that righteous man dwelling
among them and seeing, hearing, vexed his righteous soul from
day to day with their unlawful deeds. He was surrounded by it.
And then in verse nine we read these words, the Lord knoweth
how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve
the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. So we see, we
see that there are some who are just and the unjust. To understand
why some are called just, we must first understand something. Some are not. And we all come
into this world with a natural understanding of good and evil.
Yes, we got that from our daddy Adam and Eve, eating the forbidden
fruit. But that's not all that we got
from them. Our natural heart is enmity with the ways of God.
Our Creator, so, the ways of God, our Creator, so naturally
we are all unjust. The word just means this. It
means equitable in character or act. By implication, it means
innocent, holy. Or you could look at it this
way. Relatively, it means meet or righteous. Lot, the righteous. Oh, folks, how it is to be seen
as righteous in our God's eyes. There are of mankind none righteous,
though, is there? None, there are none just. We
have all gone our own way, the way of sin, so how can one be
called just? We know that some were. So we
can clearly see by the description of Lot, who is declared to be
just, that some must be delivered. And I know you know this, but
does it not bear true to be reminded of our fleshly standing before
God? To be reminded our standing now is not what it was at one
time? Do we not need the reminding
it is His grace in delivering us from our wickedness? We need
one who is holy to be our propitiation, our payment, our justifier, our
substitute. Look over at Acts chapter three.
We're gonna look at several verses over in Acts, beginning in chapter
three. Acts chapter three if you would,
please. one to be our justifier. In Acts chapter 3, we read in
verse 12 through 23, and when Peter saw it, he answered unto
the people, when he saw them greatly wondering about the healing
that Peter and John had done, when Peter saw it, he answered
unto the people, he said, ye men of Israel, why marvel ye
at this, or why look ye so earnestly on us as though by our own power
or holiness We had made this man to walk. Peter saw himself
just as you and I see ourselves. This flesh is unjust, but my
spirit is just only because of the power of my Savior, who is
my substitute. And therefore, because he was
made sin for me, I am made the righteous of him, or the just.
Verse 13, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God
of our fathers, hath glorified his son Jesus, whom ye delivered
up and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined
to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and
the just, and desired a murder to be granted unto you. Now look
over at chapter seven, if you would. Acts chapter seven. We're
talking about those who are unjust needing one to be our propitiation,
our payment. One who is completely just. And
we just saw there, this is the very one that Israel had taken
and hung on a cross, who condemned him to the cross. In fact, so
much so that they desired a murderer to be let go. They deny the Holy
One and the just as it read in verse 14. Over in verse 7, or
chapter 7, we read these words. Chapter 7, beginning at 51. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised
in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as your
fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not
your father persecuted? And they have slain them which
show before the coming of the just one of whom ye have now
been. of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and the murderers. So we see again, the just ones,
spoken of our Lord and Savior who hung on the cross. One more,
if you would. Turn over to chapter 22 of Acts. Acts chapter 22. Look at verses 1 through 14. Acts chapter 22, beginning at
verse 1. Men and brethren, fathers, hear
ye my defense. This is Paul's defense. When he was brought before the
rulers of Rome, my men, brethren, fathers, hear ye my defense which
I make unto you. And when they had heard that
he spake in Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence.
And he said, I am merely a man which am a Jew born in Tarsus,
the city of Cilicia, yet brought unto this city at the feet of
Gamaliel. and taught according to the perfect
manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as
ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto
the death, binding the delivering into prisons, both men and women,
as also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the
estate of the elders, from whom also I received letters unto
the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring them, which were there
bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. And it came to pass
that as I made my journey and was come nigh to Damascus about
noon, suddenly there was shown from heaven a great light round
about me. And I fell into the ground and
heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, who art thou,
Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou
persecutest. And they that were with me saw
indeed the light, and were afraid, but they heard not the voice
of him that spake to me, and said, What shall I do, Lord?
And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto
me, Arise, and go unto Damascus, and there it should be told thee
of all the things that are appointed for thee to do. And when I could
not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand
of them that were with me, I came to Damascus. And one Ananias,
a devout man, according to the law, having a good report of
all the Jews, we quote there, came unto me and stood and said
unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. In the same hour I
looked upon him and he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen
thee that thou shouldest know his will and see that just one,
The very one who laid down his life for Paul, that just one,
and should hear the voice of his mouth. Now, turn over to
Romans chapter 3, and we'll look at this in a little more detail
at another time. But I want to begin Romans chapter
3, and I want to take us right on through to verse 31. Beginning at verse 10, as it
is written, There is none righteous. There is none just. That's the
same word. No, not one. There is none that
understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. How do we become this just who
live by faith? Their throat, it says in verse
13, is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they have
used deceit and poison of Aspens under their 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. Verse 23, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, here
we're talking now about the just, whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation, a payment, a mercy seat, through faith in His blood. What are we talking about this
morning? We're talking about the just shall live by faith. I have
no righteousness of my own, but I have all the righteousness
I need in my Savior, Christ Jesus. just as all of you are in that
same boat. How shall the just live by faith?
By faith in our Savior's blood, that our Savior's blood was the
blood with the power and enough power to fulfill what needed
to be done. Verse 25 again, whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation 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, his righteousness, that he might be just and what? There's our justification. The
very one who is just. The very one who was made to
be sin, that we would be made righteous, that we would be made
just in God's sight. The just and the justifier. of
him which believeth in Jesus." Where is the boasting then, verse
27? It is excluded by what law? Of
works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Faith in Him. We are saved by
grace through what? Through faith in our Savior,
the Lord Jesus. Not of works, lest men should
boast a gift of God. I know I said that a little backwards,
but I should have did that for a reason. Therefore, we conclude,
verse 28, that a man is justified. Here's the just. A man is justified
by faith 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 as one God, we shall
justify the circumcision by the faith of uncircumcision to faith.
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yea,
we establish the law. We establish the law of God by
our God-given walk in faith, belief in his son, the just and
the justifier. One more time, if you will, please,
in Romans chapter five. And look with me in verses one
and two, one more. Therefore, chapter five, beginning
in verse one, therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have
access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice
in the hope of the glory of God, amen. The children of God who
are justified in our Savior, Christ Jesus, will live by faith,
trusting not in our flesh, but only in His Word. Amen.