Romans chapter 5 with me this
morning. Romans chapter 5. Those who have had the mercy
and the grace of God revealed to them, those who were blind
to that very fact that God rules over everything. Those who have
had the mercy of God in giving us sight to the truths of His
Word. Seeing God revealed in the face
of His darling Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, because that's
what the Word of God says. It says, all the fullness of
the Godhead dwelleth in Him. If you see the Son, you see the
Father. That was His words to His disciples. You have seen Me, you have seen
the Father. Those of us who are blind, but
now we walk in the light of Jesus Christ, we continually look to
Scriptures, don't we? For solace and for peace. Our own sin will be before us
until the Lord takes us out of this world. That's just the way
it is. Many religions want to teach
you that you'll be more righteous knowing who God is. That you'll
act more righteous. That you'll become more as time
goes by. That's not true at all. We will
fight this body of death, this flesh that we walk in, until
the day the Lord takes us out of it. That's all there is to
it. That's His Word. It's the battle
that Paul declared when he said in scriptures that, I do not
the things that I wish to do, and he doesn't say it in those
exact words, but I'm paraphrasing, and I don't do the things that
I should do. Our sin is ever before our eyes.
Our only peace is to see and to believe the wonderful promises
that our dear Lord makes to His loved people. Are you with me
in Romans chapter 5? Read verse 9. Much more than being now. Being now justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Being now justified
by His blood. The title for this message this
morning is Justified by His Blood. Now I want to bring out two points
and I won't be long. First, what is it meant by being
justified, being now justified? Why is being justified such a
wonderful phrase to a sinner? Well, many make the claim of
being a sinner, don't they? I know a lot of people who go
to a church and they say, oh, I was a sinner. I'm not a sinner
anymore, but I was. I used to drink, smoke, cheat
on my wife, cheat on my husband. I used to do this and do that,
but I don't do that anymore. I chose. I made a decision to
begin following the Lord Jesus. I did this. I did that. I got
baptized. I worshiped on Saturday. I worship on Saturday now. I'm
not a sinner like those that don't anymore. There are many who claim to be
sinners. But only God can teach a person of what it is to be a sinner, to be born of the flesh. It takes God to teach a heart,
a new heart that He has given to His people the depth of that
sin. You ever stop to think about the
depth of your sin? How about this for just a moment?
The depth of your sin cost the Son of God His life. The depth of our sin drove the
One who has loved us from before the world was to become flesh
and die for us. Sacrifice Himself for our sins. Oh, I know I'm a sinner, but
I'm not as bad as that sinner over there. The true child of
God will say this, just like Paul said it, Christ came to
save sinners of whom I am chief. I don't care what anybody here
has done. I don't care what any man who's ever walked this earth
has done. I see my sin. And my sin is greater than anybody's.
Because it's mine. And I know that because my sin
is so deep, that the grace of my Lord in giving Himself for
me is greater than anything, greater than anything that can
be, anything that can come. Who can separate me from the
love of God that is in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? Nothing. And that goes for each and every
one of His people. Each and every one of you, if
you belong to Him, If He went to that cross and shed His blood
for you, it's the same for you. Christ came to save sinners,
but not everyone will be saved. So what does it mean to be a
sinner? To be what I call a true sinner, or for lack of better
words, a sinner who has had the truth revealed to him or her,
One must know that it is not just what we do, it is what we
are. One must be brought to understand
that we came into this world dead in trespasses and sin, and
that we sin because we are sinners. We're not sinners because we've
done something. We do things because we're sinners. One must be brought to know this.
that we can do nothing of our own to change our position before
God. If there was something we could
do, then there wouldn't be any need for a Savior, would there?
If I could make a decision in my natural estate to follow Jesus,
then I wouldn't really need Jesus, would I? Because that would be
a righteous act. One must be brought to know that
our just reward is God's justified wrath. To understand why being
justified is so wonderful, let me read in your hearing the definition
of justification from the Strong's Dictionary. In the Strong's Dictionary,
we read this. It means to render, or that is,
to show or regard as just. Innocent. Free. It's a forensic term that is
the opposite of condemnation. To be condemned. Justified is
the opposite of being condemned. One who is justified cannot be
condemned. This is why Paul states over
in Romans in chapter 8, Verse 1, he says, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The justice
of he who is just has been met. His justice is satisfied. Now
isn't that good news to a sinner? I know I deserve, if you put
me up before a judge, I'm guilty. But aren't we thankful that the
judge is Jesus Christ himself who says, I have taken your guilt
upon me. That's hard to deal with. That's
hard to deal with when you walk in the flesh. How can he be guilty for something
I just did because he knew I was going to do it? And the perfect
blood of Jesus Christ was shed in my stead. His justice was satisfied, and
that's good news to a bankrupt sinner. As regards to our text,
it is the judicial act of God by which He pardons all the sins
of those who believe in His Son. And it's his account and accepts
that what his son did. And he treats those who are justified
as righteous in the eye of the law. In addition to the pardon
of sin, justification declares this, that all the claims of
the law are satisfied in respect. It is the act of a judge. The
law is not relaxed, nor is it set aside, but it is declared
to be fulfilled in the strictest sense. To be justified means
that we have the law. Whoever looks at us now looks
at us and says, there's nothing I can charge you with. You fulfilled
the law. How can I fulfill the law? One who is nothing but sin. My
Lord and Savior. My substitute. Our substitute fulfilled it.
You see, if the Lord Jesus Christ had just come and gone to the
cross and that was it, if He didn't fulfill the law for us,
it wouldn't be justice. An unjust man would have been
condemned. It's fulfilling the law to the
strictest descent. And so the person justified is
declared to be entitled to all the advantages and the rewards
of arising from the perfect obedience of the law. Again, reading at
verse 1 of Romans chapter 5 with me, if you would, please. Therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. By whom? By Him, by the Lord
Jesus. Also we have access, by faith, by faith in Him, into
this grace wherein He stand and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations, also
knowing that the tribulation worketh patience, and patience
experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed,
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost, which is given unto us. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. for scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet preadventure for a good
man some would even dare to die. But God commandeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if
when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, Much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus
substituted Himself in our place. He took our just reward. Not
just in paying our debt for sin, but He was our substitute in
righteousness. He was our substitute in fulfilling
the law. He completely justified each
and every one of us for whom the Father hath given Him by
imputation. The children of God receive His
imputation through faith, God's gift to the ones that He loves.
That's what we read in Ephesians 8. Faith. You are saved by grace through
faith. It is not of the works of man lest man should boast.
In Romans chapter 1, we read these words 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. In Romans 3, verse 25 through
26, we read these words. Whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation, that's a payment, a full payment. through faith
in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remissions 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 the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus. Whosoever believeth in Me shall
have everlasting life, is what the Lord says. The point is this. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and perish not, but have everlasting life. To be a depraved sinner,
the words being now justified, is beyond good news. They are
precious words. They are words of grace. I know
what I deserve. I deserve the wrath of God, but
by His grace, By His grace, His Son endured
that wrath for me. Again, I see my sin ever before
me, yet I also see the promises of God and I believe. God has by His mercy and grace
given me faith. He comes to us when we're dead
and trespasses in sin and He says, live. The whosoever that believeth
on Him, or the whosoever that God comes to and gives a new
heart. A heart that says, I believe
this is true. I don't understand. I'm the worst
anybody could be at understanding Scripture, of knowing Scripture. In my heart I am. In my eyes
I think I am. I know, people tell us that we're
our own worst critics, right? I don't understand so much of
all these words, but by His grace I believe it. And the more He teaches me to
believe it, and that's what it is too. We have to be taught
to believe it. We have to be taught of God to
believe His Word. That's what trials and tribulations
in this world for us are. All this chaos that's going on
in the world around us, the sicknesses that we all go through. The very
fact that I laid there in that hospital, it was all for my good. It's all for our good to teach
us to believe Him. Oh, how thankful that I am in
believing my Lord. Read verse 1 back in our text,
chapter 5 again. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. I have peace, not in my flesh,
We have no peace in this flesh that we have. Every time I get close to thinking
I'm doing something right, the Lord lets me step in it. And I step in it deep. And I'm
reminded of the weakness of this flesh. But I have peace with my Lord
because He has fulfilled the righteousness for me. Listen, there's no righteousness
in John. Do you see that in yourself? Do you see that in yourself that
there's no righteousness in you? That's because God has shown
it to you. Our Lord shows us His righteousness. And it is in His righteousness
that we stand on the promises of God that we shall have everlasting
life. I have peace not in my flesh,
but in my spirit, where my Lord dwells. I have peace not in what
I have done, but what in my Christ has done. Look at verse 2. By whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope
and the glory of God. Our hope is in Christ Jesus the
Lord. We glory in Him and Him alone. Look over at chapter 4. Look
over at chapter 4, just a page over to the left there. Look
at verses 19 through 22. And being not weak in faith,
we're talking about Abraham, he considered not his own body,
as you recall the story of Abraham, that he was almost 100 years
old when the Lord gave him his son that he was promised. He considered not his own body,
now dead, when he was about 100 years old, neither yet the deadness
of Sarah's womb. Sarah was much older than the
women of that day when they were having babies. How's that old
lady going to have a baby? That would kill her. Being not weak in the faith,
as it said. He staggered, verse 20, not at
the promise of God through unbelief. You tell me that's not God-given
faith. Can you imagine that yourself?
Can you imagine what Abraham thought at first when the Lord
told him to go up into the mountain to sacrifice his son? I can tell
you what he thought. He thought this, the Lord promised
me that his seed would come from that boy. I may kill him, but
God's going to raise him up from the dead. That's God-given faith. Only
God could give any human being that kind of faith. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God, and being fully persuaded, as it says in verse 21, that
what he had promised he was able also to perform. And then in verse 22, "...and
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." Righteousness
was imputed to Abraham because he believed. And the fact that
he believed is the very reason that you and I believe, and that
is because God has given us the gift to believe. You see how
God gets all the glory for everything? From beginning to end. True children
of God, we don't take God's glory. We give it to Him. In everything. I didn't make a decision for
Jesus. He made a decision for me before the world was. Great
is the grace of God for that. You didn't make a decision for
Jesus because Christ made a decision for you before the world was.
Great is the grace of God for that. Now look over at verses 8 and
9 of chapter 5 again. But God. Aren't you thankful that there's
but Gods in His Word? But God. John wants you to do
it this way, but God. But God. But God commendeth His
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more than. We come to this
table, I brought this out in one of our short messages. We come to the table of remembrance,
and it's not just to remember what God has done, but it is
to remember where He is now. It's not just that our Lord gave
His life, gave His flesh, gave His blood for you and I, but
that He arose again. You know what that means. Have
you ever stopped to think about what that means, that the Lord
Jesus arose again? It means that God Almighty, God
the Father, accepted the sacrifice. It was accepted. It was good
enough. It justified His people. It's just as if we had never
sinned. He remembers them no more. When
the Lord God Almighty looks down upon you and I, He sees the blood
of His Son and the righteousness of His Son
in us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were one, If
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.
Much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. By His blood. Our Lord's Word
tells us that the wages of sin is death. It also tells us that
there is no remission of sin without blood. For God so loved the world, Those
in the world that were given to Him by the Father, that whosoever
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believeth
on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The very blood of God Himself
was shed at Calvary. God became a man so that He could
establish a perfect righteousness for His people. He is the just
and the justifier. Turn back to chapter 3 for just
a moment if you would please, and let's read verse 23-26. Romans
chapter 3. Beginning at verse 23. For all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Look at these next words. being
justified freely, meaning freely to you and I. It was free to
you and I because we are justified freely through His grace, by
His grace as it says there. But it cost Him something, didn't
it? Through the redemption, through the redemptive blood that is
in Christ Jesus. 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 passed 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. So I ask you, I ask you, do you
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe Him as to be the
sovereign Lord of all? Everything that is? Do you know
that if you call Him Lord, truly call Him Lord with all your heart,
the only way you can do that is if the Spirit of God is in
you? The true Spirit of God. Oh, there's a lot of people who
say the Lord Jesus. They call Him the Lord Jesus that, but
they're not talking about the Jesus of Scripture. They're talking
about a Jesus of their own imagination. One who works according to their
will. Do you believe in the Jesus that
is sovereign Lord of everything? Do you believe in the Jesus,
the Savior of all that the Father hath given Him? When the Lord
God became flesh and walked this earth, it was for the purpose
of saving His people. His name shall be called Jesus,
for He shall save His people. Christ came to save sinners.
And He did. Not some Jesus who's wanting
to save people, but one who has. and did, for our God does everything
perfect. Do you believe in the Jesus,
the one that is sitting right now on His throne, grueling and
working all things out according to His own counsel? Did you know
the covenant of grace was before the world was? God the Father
gave God the Son of people. On the account that God the Son
would come and pay that price to justify His people before
God? Our Lord sits on His throne right
now, making intercession for each of us. Oh, there's plenty
of those out there in the world and in the underworld who can
say, what about this? What about what John fought here
today? Lord, did you see what John said
to that guy? Did you see John murmuring about
who's running his country today? Well, there's a lot of things that
you could claim against John. But my Lord sits on His throne
and He says, I've covered that. He's justified in me, is what
He says. And He says that about each and
every one of you. Remember that. Remember that
when you think about, that's against God. When it goes through your mind
about that guy who just cut you off in traffic, that's going
against God. My Lord paid for that already. I'm justified from it. If your faith is in Christ Jesus
and Christ Jesus alone, if your faith is in the sovereign will
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, then these words that we read
in verses 9 and 10 of Romans chapter 5 will be precious. precious in the sight of a sinner. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the faith of His Son, much more
being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Amen.