Last Sunday I began a series
of grace messages beginning with regenerating grace as our first
of nine. Different characteristics, you
might say, of God's sovereign grace. each character relating
to the electing grace found only in Jesus Christ our Lord, who
is the giver of grace. You may recall a message not
too long ago that I entitled, Unmerited Favor. So let us forever
keep in our minds, grace is given, not earned. Nothing about you
can make you deserving of it. Nothing you have can be used
to purchase it, and nothing you can do will make you worthy of
earning it. Grace is grace. If it could be earned, then it
would no longer be grace. It would be something that we
deserve. If it could be bought, then it would no longer be grace
because somebody could buy it no matter what they deserved. You see, grace is something that
God is. In reality, grace is a character
of God. For He is gracious to those for
whom He is loved from before time began, before the foundation
of the world. And gracious is God to this people
for his son's sake and for his son's sake alone. God is merciful rather than pouring
out his wrath on these he calls my people. He poured it out on
His only begotten Son, the very wrath that they deserve, not
because we chose to follow Him, but because He chose us and predestinated
us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus the Lord, before
the foundation of the world. You don't need to turn there,
but in Romans 8, 29-30, for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. 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. Again, in Romans 9, we see in
16-18, it says, So then it is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture
saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised
thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name
might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy on whom he will, and whom he hardeneth. Electing grace. If you were here
last week, you may recall it was suggested that I have a tenth
message on grace and use electing grace as one by itself. Electing
grace is part of every message of God's. Grace is election. We just read where the Lord hardens
who He will and has grace or mercy upon whom He will. That's
God's Word, folks. That's not mine. I'm not making
it up. It's not an interpretation of John Reeves. That's God's
Word. It says it plainly. Yet the world
will ignore that Word. So our next character that we
want to see of this thing called grace, this action called grace,
grace our Lord, is what we call justifying grace. We saw regenerating
grace last week. This morning I want to talk about
justifying grace. Are you with me in Romans 5?
Let's begin by looking at verse 1, shall we? It would help if I was there
with you. Being justified by faith, let
me start, let me do that. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now before we go any further,
I want to take a couple of, look back a couple of verses into
chapter 4, and let's look at verse 18. We're talking about
Abraham here. Now remember, Abraham was promised
to have a son. He would have a child, and through
that child, the world would be blessed. Through that child,
eventually it would come all the way down, and our Lord Jesus
Christ would be born in Bethlehem. A child of promise is what he's
called. And here Abraham is 100 years
old. His wife is up there with him.
long past childbearing. Verse 18, Who against hope believed
in hope that He might become the Father of many nations, that's
the promise. That's the promise our Lord gave
Him. According to that which was spoken, see, so shall I see
be. And being not weak in faith,
He considered not His own body now dead, when He was about a
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb,
And he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded
that what he had promised, he was also able to perform. Now isn't that exactly the same
kind of promises that we look to? Our Lord says, all that the
Father giveth me shall come to me. Is that not a promise we
can count on? Where two or more are gathered in my name, I shall
be in the midst. Is that not a promise we can
count on? I shall never leave you nor forsake
you. Is that not a promise that we
can stand on? Let's continue. And therefore it was imputed
to him for righteousness. He believed. He was fully persuaded that what
God had promised, he was also able to perform, even though
he and his wife were of years, and therefore it was imputed
to him for righteousness. He believed God. Whosoever believeth
in me shall have everlasting life. That's what our Lord says,
right? Not as it was continuing, verse
20, now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed
to him, But for us also, for all of God's elect, all the way
down through time, we're reading God's Word to us. If we believe on Him that raised
up Jesus our Lord from the dead. Remember the day you believed? Did you just get smarter? Was
it all of a sudden, a light comes on and I've... I'm a smarter person now. No, God did a work in your heart. It was God who gives us the belief
to believe in His Son. Continuing on, who was delivered
for our offenses? This Son, this One who was delivered
on the cross, who shed His own blood for our sins. who has the
power to cleanse us completely clean, as white as snow, He says. He says that. I know it's hard
for us to remember and believe that, especially when we look
in the mirror and we see the sin in ourselves. But in the
Father who sits in heaven, He sees us as clean and white as
His Son, because of that blood that was shed on the cross. It's
on the doorpost of our hearts now. just as Israel was to put
it on the post of their door in Egypt, and death passed them
by. God Himself has put His blood
on our doorpost of our heart. He deals with the hearts of men
and women. And He put His own blood on those posts, and death
will pass us by. He who was delivered for our
offenses and was raised again for our justification. You see
the grace of justification? It's all about Christ. He's the
one who justifies. Now let's go back to verse 2
of chapter 5. This one Jesus, who was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. This one
who we have peace through God, our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand
and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so,
but we glory in tribulations also. We've got some serious
stuff going on around here, folks. A $14,000 heater no longer works.
It's been around. Now, for you who don't know,
these heaters and air conditioners went in over 37 years ago, and
they were only made to work for 25. That alone shows the blessings
of God right there, doesn't it? They're going out on us now.
We've got some pretty big things. Trials and tribulations we're
going to have to deal with here. Our Lord, He supplies everything.
We got nothing to worry about. He's going to take care of it
for us. Might have to put a couple of extra coats on. That'll be
a way of taking care of it, huh? We rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. Not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. I know people who've gone through
severe work shortages in just the last few years and barely
gotten by. And I've heard them turn to me
and say, but God will get me through it. The Lord will get us through
it. And even when we go through those
times of trials, it works patience in us. Patience to rely on our
Savior for provision. I need that more than anybody.
This center before you needs that a lot. I get a little anxious
and try to get things done on my own many, many times. Thankfully,
I have brethren that say, whoa, whoa, John. Hang on a minute. Let's take another look at that. I love you, brothers. I don't
know what I'd do without you. And patience, experience, and
experience Hope. We see how our Lord works through
these things after we've gone through them and oh, the hope
that we have. Even when we watch the government
falling apart and lies and all the stuff that we see going on.
All the murders and all that stuff that's going on in the
world around us. We still have peace knowing that our Lord works
all things out for our good. And I hope make it not a shame
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, but God commendeth His
love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us." Do you see? Do you see the justifying grace? Much more than being now justified
by His blood. By His blood. We shall be saved
from the wrath through Him. Now turn back over to chapter
3 of the same book. You might want to mark your spots
there. We will come back to it. Did you hear what we read in
the Scripture? Do you recall what we read there? In Psalms
110 verse 3 it says, Thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. Now who do you think put that
Scripture there specifically for today? I don't look through
to see what the Scripture reading is for today. I had no idea. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power." We didn't have any will before. Our will
was wicked. Our nature was evil. All mankind, women, children,
men, come into this world born dead in sin and trespasses. That's
our nature. Sin. We must be made willing to come
to the Lord or we will never come to the Lord. We are justified by faith, justified
by His blood. How does this relate to justifying
grace? We must understand what it is
to be justified. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God, right? The heart is desperately wicked,
right? All have come from their mother's
womb, speaking lies, right? If these words are true, and
they are for sure, then all have earned the wrath of God. for
all have sinned against our maker." Right? To be justified, one must have
paid their debt. That's what justified means.
And the wages of sin is death. And those who are not of God
will spend an eternity of torment and anguish trying to pay that
very debt, yet never, never succeeding. In Ephesians 2, 4, verses 4 and
5, we read, but God, but God who is rich in mercy for his
great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us. given us life, together with
Christ, by grace you're saved. To be justified means to have
your debt paid. In other words, as Pastor Gene
likes to put it, just as if I'd never sinned. That's the power
of God's blood. Our blood doesn't have that kind
of power. It doesn't have any power to wash it away. It's tainted.
It's tainted with the sin that we come into this world with.
Yet He who knew no sin walked this earth for His people perfectly,
fulfilling the law completely. Everything He did satisfied the
Father. Everything He did pleased the
Father completely. even the death of the cross. It pleased him to strike his
son. By God's grace, some will be
saved. He will send a Savior to save
His people. He will send His only begotten
Son to be a propitiation, a payment, the complete and full payment
of said debt. Are you with me in chapter 3?
Look at verses 19 through 26. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may become
guilty before God. All the world stands guilty before
God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be what? That means there's nothing you
can do. There's no righteousness in you anyway, but if you think
you are, even if you think you are, it can't help it. There
is no justification by the law. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. That's what the law is. It teaches
us what sin is. It teaches us that we need a
Savior. It teaches us that we need someone
to justify us before God, because we can't do it ourselves. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law of
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith,
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Being justified
freely by His grace, there we go. Justifiable grace. being justified by His grace. It was by His grace that He went
to the cross. You know, God didn't have to
do that. He could have just started over. But He's a gracious and
merciful Lord. And He's loved the people from
the beginning. He's loved you, Mike. He's loved you and your
wife and all of you. Not the whole world. He says,
I pray for them, Lord. I pray for them that Thou has
given me. I pray not for the world. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. People like to change that around
too. Oh, that doesn't mean he hated Esau, it just means he
loved him a little bit less. God has never done anything that
isn't perfect. His hate is perfect, and His
love is perfect. That's something we can count
on, folks. Because if He loved us, we are perfect in Him. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation, there's our payment, through
faith in His blood. Trusting in His blood, that the
blood that was shed is powerful for it is the blood of God that
was shed on that cross. 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 justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. There you go. Justifying grace. In John 3.16 we read, For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Redemption
is to those who believe in Him. Now that does not mean that you
believe He exists. It means to believe everything
about Him. His whole Word. He says, I have
a people I have chosen unto myself. You need to believe that. The
world won't believe that He has an elect. They believe that He
loves everybody. But that's not what His Word
says. I just quoted to you a minute ago from John 17. Redemption is to those who believe
in Him. To believe His Word, for He is
the written Word, and it's all about Him. He Himself expounded
on the road to Emmaus the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself. The devils know that Christ Jesus
is real. They just don't believe His Word.
And neither does the world around us. And to believe His Word,
God must be gracious with the gift of faith. You see how it
works? You see that? God gets all the
glory, including His works in giving us faith. Our faith, yeah,
it's our faith, but it's His works that we have it. By His grace, He sent His Son
to save all of those whom He had given to Him before the world
was ever created. Because of His grace, we are
justified through the blood of His righteous Son. Our debt is
paid in full. God poured out His wrath on His
Son, the just. He who knew no sin was made to
be sin for us. And He cannot punish sin twice,
that would be unjust. We read in Romans 8 this morning,
again I'll read 32-34, He that spared not His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? This is God's Word. It is God
that justifieth. Grace is God. He is grace. Who is He that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, also to make intercession for us.
Oh, how great it is, because I get up every morning and mess
up. I was just reading the other
day, I don't remember where it was, actually I think it's in
there on the freezer in the dining room. Let's see if I can remember how
it goes. Something about, Lord, so far I've had a good day. So far everything's going well.
I haven't done this and I haven't done that and everything's going
good. Now I'm about ready to open my eyes and get out of bed.
I'm going to need your help from here on out. That's something John Reeves
needs to pray every morning. I need to think those very thoughts
every time I get out of bed. Yet I have one who is making
intercession for me right here. That's what it tells me. One
who has justified me before the Father. One who has made me just,
just as His Son is. Who looks upon me just as if
I'd never sinned. Remember our opening text back
in verse 5? What did it say in verse 8? But
God commendeth His love toward us, that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved through the wrath through Him. So again, we see it comes down
to this point. The very point that we read in
John 3.16, whosoever believeth. Do you believe God's Word? Not
just part of it. Do you believe all of God's Word? In the 10th chapter, you don't
need to turn there. In the 10th chapter, verse 12,
it says, For there is no difference between a Jew and a Greek. For
the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. But notice what it says next. Notice what it says next. How then shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? How shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good news. But it doesn't stop there. It
continues, but they have not all obeyed the gospel. Some have heard and turned away
from it. Who makes us to differ? Amen. Christ and Christ alone. We are justified by His blood
and His blood alone. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel, for Isaiah saith to the Lord who hath believed
our report, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of God. There we go. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood hath not revealed this, but my Father
in heaven. Look back at verse 4 for just
a moment, and we'll bring this to a close. Chapter 4, I'm sorry. Chapter 4. What shall we say, then, that
Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For
if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory,
but not before God. For what saith the Scripture?
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him
for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned. not reckoned of grace, but of
death. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly." There you go. Justifying
grace. His faith is counted for righteousness. We have no righteousness of our
own, but if we have that God-given faith, The faith to believe the
Word of God. And the Word of God is about
Christ Jesus and His blood that was shed on the cross for His
people. If we have that faith, then God
has been gracious to us. For faith is a gift of God, not
of works, lest any man should boast. Amen?