Justified By Faith

while sacred head my wounded
with grief and shame we've known. Blest storm, all we have wanted
we've Which once was bright as morn. What though my Lord hath suffered,
Wilt thou for him again? Here I've lost my fever. Jesus, I deserve my place. Look on me with the fever, the
same. What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest friend? For thee, for dying sorrow, I
pray thee, I won't leave her And should
I faint in grief Don't let me never, never Outlive my love
to thee All right, let's open our Bibles
this morning to Romans, Chapter 5. Romans, Chapter 5. I'm going to read the first six
verses of Romans, Chapter 5. 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 we rejoice in the hope of
the glory of God, and not only so, but we glory in trials and
tribulations also, knowing that 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." Now, this is my text, these first six verses of Romans
chapter five. And I do not intend to go back
and review the preceding chapters except to say this, and this
must be said. The theme of Romans 3 and 4 in
particular, these two chapters, chapter 3 and chapter 4, the
theme of these two chapters is justification by faith. Justification by faith. Look
at verse 28 of chapter 3. Romans 3, verse 28, and Paul
uses these words, "...therefore we conclude," this is my conclusion,
after saying what I've said, Romans 1, 2, 3, this is my conclusion,
"...that a man is justified by faith." That's the way a person
is justified. That's my conclusion. the deeds of the law, the law
having no part in our justification. Therefore, we conclude that a
person is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
And then in chapter four, Paul uses two men as examples of this,
justification by faith. Two men so obviously blessed
of God so obviously favored of God, so obviously accepted of
God. Two men that if you think of
the Old Testament, if you think of Israel, you think of these
two men. Two giants of faith, Abraham and David. See, he says,
chapter 1, 2, and 3, this is my conclusion. that a man is
justified by faith without the deeds of the Lord. Now here are
two examples. Verse 1, chapter 4. What shall we say, then, that
Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Well,
we know what he found. He found acceptance with God.
He found righteousness. He found justification. Abraham
was called the friend of God. God spoke to Abraham as a man
talks to his friend. Well, he says in verse 2, now
if Abraham were justified by works, if that's the way he was
justified, then he hath whereof to glory before men, but not
before God. Because God knows this old boy. Knows his every thought, every
word, every imagination, and knows his every deed. So he's
not going to glory before God. But what does the Scripture say?
What sayeth the Scriptures? The Scripture says in Genesis
15, 6, that Abraham believed God. That's the way it was justified. Abraham believed God. Abraham
believed God, and it was counted to him imputed to him, reckoned
to him, for holiness, righteousness, acceptance with God. God accepting. That's what our apostle said
this morning. What shall we do? That we might work the works
of God. These are the works of God that
you believe on Him. Believe. And Abraham did. Abraham
didn't believe there is a God. He didn't believe there, he didn't
believe in God. He didn't believe only, he believed
God. He believed Him. Lots of people who believe there's
a God who do not believe Him. That's right. Abraham believed Him. When God
spake, Abraham believed Him. What God said, Abraham believed.
What God promised, Abraham believed. Not doubting, he believed God.
Now, verse 4, "...to him that worketh not." Worketh is the
reward. It's not reckoned of grace, but
of debt. It's God paying a man what he
deserves. But to him that worketh not,
but believes on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted,
imputed, reckoned for holiness, acceptance, righteousness, justification."
Then he picks up another man, Eamon. Eamon is David, beloved
of God. man after God's own heart. Even
David! Also, he described the blessedness
of the man under whom God imputed holiness, charges righteousness
and justification without works. David said, Oh, blessed, blessed,
blessed, blessed, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
all of them, past, present, and future. under whose iniquities are not
charged to them. They're forgiven whose sins are
covered with a mercy seat, precious blood. Covered, blotted out. Blessed is that man to whom God
will not charge sin. Now come at this blessedness
then upon the circumcision only, upon Jews like Abraham and David,
or upon the uncircumcision also, we say that faith was reckoned
to Abraham for righteousness." When was it reckoned to him?
After he was circumcised or before? Fifteen years before he was circumcised.
So that's the theme of Romans 3 and Romans 4, justified by
faith. All right, look at my text. That's
the reason that chapter 5 begins with the word, Therefore, being justified by
faith. Therefore, being justified. When
you say the word, therefore, any time you're reading the scriptures
and you come upon a chapter or verse that starts with, therefore,
read what's said before it, and you'll see what it's there for.
You remember that, don't you? You don't start a sentence with,
therefore, unless you're talking about what you just said. Therefore,
these things being true, therefore this is true. Therefore, being justified by faith. Let me ask you a question. What does it mean to be justified? Justified. Well, What do you
say? What's in your mind right now?
What are you thinking? Justified. Abraham was justified. David, justified. You and I,
in Christ, justified. Well, somebody says it means
to be forgiven. That it does. That it does. That it does. Somebody else says,
well, it means to be pardoned. Yes, that it does. But actually,
to be justified means more than that. To be justified means not
only to be pardoned and forgiven, it means to be not guilty. Did
you know that? Absolutely not guilty. Innocent
of all charges. That's what Scripture said. Let
me show you that. Turn to Ephesians. I want you
to turn with me now. I'm going to read these verses,
and I want you to look at them. in your Bible, the Bible you're
holding there, Ephesians chapter 1, to be justified, to be in
Christ, to be saved, to be redeemed, is not only to be forgiven and
pardoned, it is to be not guilty, innocent. In Ephesians 1 verse
4, "...according as he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy." and without blame before
Him. That's what it means to be justified.
It means to be holy. It means to be without blame. Look at Ephesians 4, verse 27,
and here Paul is talking about the church, that one body. We
talked about while ago in the Sunday school class, one faith,
one body. In Ephesians chapter Chapter
5, verse 27. "...that he might present it
to himself a glorious church, not having a spot, or a wrinkle,
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish."
This is what it means to be justified. Holy, without blame, without
blemish. Not a spot. Not a spot. Look at Colossians 1, right on
over a few more pages. I'm describing justification
now. Colossians 1, verse 21. And you that were sometime, at
one time, alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked works.
We were. Christ died for the ungodly.
We kidding. We know what we were. Yet now
hath he reconciled. to God in the body of His flesh
through death to present you how? Holy, unblamable, unreprovable
in His sight. Almighty God today, if you're
in Christ and justified, does not see in you one spot, not
one stain. If He did, He couldn't have anything
to do with you. Is that right? Holy, unblameable,
unreprovable, without blemish, without spot, justified. Look at Jude, verse 24. This is what it means to be justified. Innocent of all charges. Who
can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifies. Not one child. Who is he that
condemns? It's Christ that dies. Look at
Jude 24. Verse 24, Jude. Now unto him
that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Faultless. Now that's what it
means. to be justified, all who were
given to Christ in that blessed covenant of mercy, all who were
redeemed by his blood at Calvary Street, all who were called and
drawn unto Christ by that blessed Spirit, to faith, to loving,
to believing, All who are sealed by the Spirit of God in the body
of Christ are holy, unblameable, unreprovable, without blemish,
faultless in his sight. In his sight. Now, the next question
I know that's on everybody's mind, and the next question I
asked myself when I was preparing this message, how can this be? How can a person be guilty and
be not guilty? How can a person be full and
be empty? How can a person be righteous
and know that he by nature is unrighteous? Come on now, tell
me how. When we look at God's holiness,
we're made to cry with Isaiah, I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean
lips. I dwell among a people of unclean
lips. When we look at God's justice,
we have to cry with David, Lord, if you should mark the nick with
it, who could stand? When we look at God's law, as
Paul did in Romans 7, we're made to cry, O wretched man that I
am. I love God's law, but I find
another law warring in my members, bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin and death. Oh, wretched man that I was? No, I am. When we look at God's judgment,
we're made to cry with Job, don't bring me into judgment with thee. And everybody here has to say
the same thing from the pulpit to the back pew, regardless of
our works or profession or religion or heritage or whatever, man
at his very best state is altogether vanity. Then how can it be that
in his holy sight we are blameless. Holy, spotless, without blemish. One word. Substitution. Turn back to my text. Substitution. Somebody else took my blame. Somebody else took my guilt. Somebody else took my place. He's guilty. I'm not. He's guilty. I took his. He paid the debt. He didn't know. I had a debt I couldn't pay.
He took it. Look at verse 6 of my text, Romans
5. For when we were without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. Verse 8, But God committed his
love toward us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. There it is, substitution. It's a transference of guilt. A transference of guilt. Turn
with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter 53. Here it is, Isaiah
53. Bring forth the guilty that he
may die. That's me. Oh no, that's Christ. He took my place. Bring forth
the sinner that he may suffer. That's me. No, that's not me,
that's Christ. He took my place. The Scripture says, He hath made
him. God the Father hath made him,
Christ, to be seen for us. that we might be made the righteousness
of God, the holiness of God, in Him, transference of guilt. Look at Isaiah 53, verse 4. And that, if you'll go through
this chapter, I don't know how many times the word he and him
are used, but it's used over and over and over and over and
over again. Verse 2, For he shall grow up
before him as a tender plant, as a rose out of dry ground.
He, Christ, hath no form nor comeliness. When we shall see
him, there's no beauty. We should desire him. He's despised. and rejected of men, a man of
sorrow is acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were, our faces
from him. He despised, we esteemed him
not." Transference of guilt! Christ took my place, bore my
sins, bore my burden, took my guilt, and I took his place. Now look at verse four. And when
you see the word our in there, you put your name in there. Now
do it, do it for me, put your name in there. Surely he hath
borne Henry's griefs. He carried Henry's sorrows. We
did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, but he
was wounded for Henry's transgression. That's the reason I'm holy. My
sins are paid for. That's the reason I don't have
any guilt. It's been paid for. That's the
reason God's not angry with me. He's already poured out His anger
on me. He's already completely exhausted
His wrath on me in my substitute. Verse 5, he was wounded for Henry's
transgressions, he was bruised for Henry's iniquitous chastisement,
and Henry's peace was upon him, and by his stripes old Henry's
healed, holy, perfect, without blame. There's two Henry's in
here that believe that. Are there any more? Johns and
Ricks and I believe that's the gospel.
Substitution! That's the reason old Spurgeon
said, learn the gospel, you learn one word. Substitution! He became what he was not in
order that I might become what I am not. Justified. Justified. Now back to my text. And it's
by faith in Him, it's by looking to Him, it's by believing on
Him, it's by trusting Him, by being one with Him. He was numbered with the transgressors. They put His name on theâ€”and
picture on the post office wall. Said, Wanted. Guilty. Took my picture down. put him
up there. Numbered were the transgressors.
Borne the sin of many. Made reconciliation. Put away
our guilt. It's finished. Once for all. If you could look under my name
and your name on the record books of glory, you wouldn't find one
charge. Not one. Not one blemish, not
one stain. Almighty God can't, being God, punish sin that's already been
paid for. He can't bring us into judgment
ever for our sins. We don't have any. That's right. In Christ, we don't have any.
All right, my text. Now, therefore, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God. That's what counts. peace
with God. I hear people say all my life,
I've heard this all my life, I grew up in the country, and
I heard people always say, this is what they always said, have
you made your peace with God? I'd like to know how that can
be done. Wouldn't you? You've heard that. Somebody dies,
they say, well, he made his peace with his Maker. How'd he do it?
Well, I'll tell you how our peace was made. Turn to Colossians
1. It's very clear to me how we have peace, therefore being
justified, being without sin, being reconciled, being without
blemish. We do have peace with God, but
here's how it took place. Here's how it transpired in Colossians
1, verse 19, For it pleased the Father that in Christ should
all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood
of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself. By him,
I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.
And you that were sometime alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled." I have peace with God in Christ at the cross. He made peace for
me with God. God's not angry. I know the religious
world has an idea that God is at peace with everybody, but
believe me, He's not. He's not. Believe me, I'm telling
you the truth, He's not. That God loves indiscriminately
all men the same, believe me, that's not true. He loves men
in Christ. He's reconciled us in Christ. He accepts us in Christ. He seats
us with Christ. That's where it is. That's where
God loves people. He loves the Son, and he loves
those who know the Son. That's just so. Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God. Not only that, but
listen, it's through our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 2, "...and
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand." Now listen to me. Peace is a particular blessing. Therefore, being justified, being
not guilty, being innocent in Christ, we have peace with God. That's a particular blessing,
peace in our hearts, peace with God, peace with one another.
But he says something else. We have access into this grace. In other words, peace is a particular
blessing. Access into this grace implies,
Paul, all blessings. All blessings. I want to show
you a verse that tells you that in 1 Corinthians 3. This is important
here, 1 Corinthians 3, talking about believers We have the same
inheritance Abraham has, same as David, same as the Apostle
Paul. The least of the saints has the
same blessings. Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 3,
verse 21, And therefore let no man glory in me, and all things
are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or
Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present,
or things to come, everything's yours! Because you're Christ, and everything's
His. Christ is God's. It's all yours. Therefore be justified by faith
in Christ. I have peace with God. God's
not angry. God's reconciled. And I have
access into this grace. All things are mine. And thirdly, and I rejoice in
hope of the glory of God. Oh, I have a good hope. You have
a good hope. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians,
it buried some of their dear loved ones. And Paul wrote to him and he
said, we sorrow, we sorrow, but we don't sorrow as those who
have no hope. We have a hope. Christ is our
hope. Christ in you is the hope of
glory. Christ for you is the hope of
glory. Christ with you is the hope of
glory. You in Christ is the hope of
glory. We have a hope. We sorrow, we
cry like anybody else, we hurt like anybody else, we are troubled
like anybody else, but not without hope. He said, for if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so then bodies to be present with Him.
That's our hope. And we, being justified by faith,
we have peace, we have access into this grace. All things are
yours. We rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God. Christ said, glorify them with
the same glory that you glorified me. That's beyond my imagination. I will, that they be with me
where I am, that they may behold my glory, that in my glory thine
there were the same glory." And listen to the next line. And
not only that, this, listen, this treasures of justification
are breathtaking. Breathtaking. Being justified
by faith. I've got peace with God. God's
got nothing against me. I have access into all of his
treasures. They're mine, all the riches
of his grace. I have a hope, a blessed hope,
and I rejoice in that hope of the glory of God. And not only
that, but I glory in tribulation. Now listen to me. I glory in my trials, Paul said. I rejoice in my afflictions.
Now listen to me carefully. We don't glory in the trial itself. Pain is pain no matter who bears
it. A broken heart's a broken heart
no matter who wears it. Trouble is trouble no matter
who's going through it. It's the same. And I don't rejoice
in the trial. Now, I don't like to hurt. I
don't like to cry. I don't like to be disappointed.
I had a good I preached for him years ago, known him all these years. I
preached for him thirty-some-odd years ago down in Georgia in
a little country church. Knew his little boy, Bill, daughter,
wife, Joy, pastor of that little church.
He killed himself. I got a letter from his He just
called me not too many months ago and told me how depressed
he was, and troubled he was, and weary he was, and confused
he was. And he took his life. His boy
wrote me and said, Dad's taken his life. That hurts. That hurts. I don't rejoice in these trials.
I rejoice in him who sent them. You with me now? I don't rejoice
in the trial, I rejoice in him who sent the trial, and I rejoice
in the effect of the trial. I know it's for my good and his
glory. Does that make sense, what I'm saying? A man is a sadist that rejoices
in the trial. Drive another nail in me, I like
it. No, I don't like it. Don't like it at all. And don't
rejoice in suffering, but I rejoice in him who sent the child, knowing
that it's God who's dealing with me as a son. Turn to Hebrews
chapter 12. Is it Hebrews 12? Yes. Turn to Hebrews 12 a moment.
Now stay with me. This is a blessing. This is something
I've learned from the Word and I've learned by experience. Hebrews 12, verse 5. And you have forgotten, you haven't,
but these folks are being reprimanded here, you have forgotten the
exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son,
despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when the
heart rebuketh him. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chastened And he scourged if there was someone whom he received
it. Now, if you endure chastening,
if you're going through trials, if you have these heartaches,
God's dealing with you as a son. And that makes you happy. God's
dealing with you as a son. But what son is he whom the Father
chastened not? If a father loves his son, he's
going to chasten him. Now, let me ask you two questions. Listen real carefully. You fathers
and mothers. Does your love for your children
depend upon their perfect obedience? No. Does your love for your children
depend upon the fact they never offend you? No. Even when they
disobey you, you love them. Even when they offend you, you
love them. Your love to them rests not upon their perfect
obedience, it rests on the fact they are your sons and daughters. relationship. And that's the
way God loves you. And his love for you and his
kindness to you and his forgiveness to you and his mercy to you does
not rest upon or depend upon your actions, but his grace. Now, I'm telling you the truth.
That's so. And somebody can take that and twist it and do what
they want to, but it's so anyhow. It's so in there. God loves me
because I'm his son. Because Christ died for me and
nothing I do, think, or say will change that. And those little
girls of yours, Rick, nothing any of them will ever do will
change the fact you love them. You'd lay down your life for
them. Isn't that right? And am I telling the truth? Nothing
they do will change it. They're yours. I'm my beloved's
and he's mine. All right, second question. Do
you discipline your children and correct your children to
hurt them? Do you like to hurt them? Heaven's no picture. God doesn't either. God doesn't
do what he does and bring into our lives what he does to hurt
us. You don't punish your children. You don't discipline your children
to punish them. You don't like to punish. You're
not punishing them. You're not depriving them when
you say, son, you can't, you're just grounded, you can't drive
your truck anymore this week. You're doing that to hurt him?
To deprive him? To punish him? No. What are you
doing it for? To correct him? To make him a
better boy? To teach him? Isn't that what
you're doing it for? And that's what God's doing,
what he's doing in our lives. He's teaching us. He's correcting
us. He's instructing us. He's showing
us the path we ought to walk. And we get over here and get
back in there now. This ain't the place for you.
And I'm not doing it to hurt you, and I'm not doing it to
deprive you, and I'm not doing it because I like to punish you.
Christ has already been punished for our sins. I'm doing it to
instruct you, to teach you, to make you what you ought to be.
And you're going to be glad I did it. you're going to be glad. I think my dear son Paul, who's
a pastor, father, and all these things himself now, looks back
at some of the things that I said to him and did, and he felt like
deprived him, but he knows better now. Isn't that right? What would he have been without
it? All right, now watch this. Watch
the text. And we, verse 3, Romans 5, we
grow in these tribulations knowing that they work patience. Patience. What's patience? The opposite
of complaining, the opposite of covetousness. What's patience? It works long-suffering, it works
satisfaction, it works peace, contentment, doesn't it? Trials
help us to be more content with what we are and who we are, whose
we are. And then this, this patience,
it works experience or maturity. We learn by experience. And experience
works hope. No question, the more a man grows,
the better hope he has. Isn't that right? So here comes
a trial and the discipline. And it helps us to grow up, helps
us to mature, gives us some experience. And then that experience and
that maturity deepens and strengthens our hope. And hope, make it not
a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. For when we're without,
we're without strength. Christ died for the ungodly.
That's the basis of all this. We're His. Let me give you this,
and I'll close. One of the great old hymn writers
wrote these words in a hymn. He said, I'm a debtor to mercy
alone, and of covenant mercies I sing. nor fear with his righteousness
on my person and praises to bring. The terror of law and of God
with me have nothing to do. My Savior's obedience and blood
hide all my transgressions from view. The work which his goodness
began, the arm of his strength will His promise is yes and amen,
and never was forfeited yet. Things future, nor things that
are now, nor things below or above, can make him his promise
forego or sever my soul from his love. My name from the palms
of his hands eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart,
my name remains in marks of indelible grace. So out to the end shall
endure, just as sure as his promise is given. More happy, but not
more secure are the folks already in heaven." That's right. More happy, but not more secure
are the folks that are already in heaven. We're His. Therefore,
being justified, justified wholly by faith, I have peace with God. I have access into all of His
grace. I have hope of the glory of God,
and even can, by His grace, rejoice in my trials. Knowing that they'll
work patience and experience, maturity, and strengthen that
hope. All of it because He died for
me. All of it. I'll take you right back. If
I live to be 140, I'll keep taking you back to Calvary. That's where
it took place. Not here. Damn. All right. Thank you, Pastor. A more comforting message no
believer will ever hear. Ever. Ever. When I can read my title clear.
When is that? Number 497. When can we read
our title clear? Now. We'll have to wait until
then, do we? It says now, by faith. That's what we just heard. 497,
let's stand and sing a couple of verses. And by my weeping eyes, And by
my weeping eyes, It's my will to make peace. Verse 3. Let cares like the wild days I got my head in my home I got
my head in my home There shall I bathe my weary
soul Not a wave of trouble roll across
my peaceful land. Across my peaceful land. Across my peaceful land. And not a wave of trouble roll across
my peaceful land. What does this mean?

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