The Righteous Glad In The Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about being righteous in Christ?

The Bible teaches that righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the sole source of our justification and acceptance before God. According to Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no, not one," highlighting our utter inability to achieve righteousness on our own. Instead, righteousness is granted to us through faith in Christ, who fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf. As stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Therefore, our righteousness is not based on our merit but is a gift from God through Christ's sacrificial work.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand their righteousness?

Understanding our righteousness in Christ is crucial because it assures us of our acceptance before God and leads to true joy and gladness. When Christians understand that their righteousness is imputed to them through Christ, they can rest in the assurance of their salvation. This understanding alleviates the burden of performance-based acceptance and fosters a relationship built on grace. The joy of knowing that we are considered righteous because of Jesus's work leads us to glorify God, as expressed in Psalm 64:10, "The righteous shall be glad in the Lord." This gladness propels us to live for His glory, securing our identity as His children without fear of condemnation (Romans 8:1).

Q: How do we know we are considered righteous by God?

We know we are considered righteous by God through our faith in Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. According to Romans 8:16, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." This indicates that the Holy Spirit confirms our status as God's children and the righteousness that comes through faith. When we recognize our sinfulness and place our trust in Christ, the Holy Spirit leads us to plead for mercy and assures us of God's love (Romans 5:5). Thus, our belief in Christ's righteousness and the evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives affirm our standing before God as justified and righteous.

Q: What role does faith play in receiving righteousness?

Faith is the means by which we receive righteousness from God; it is not our works, but faith in Christ that justifies us. Ephesians 2:8-9 emphasizes that salvation and the righteousness that accompanies it are gifts from God, received by faith, and not the result of human effort. This is further evidenced in Romans 5:1, which states, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Our faith connects us to the righteousness of Christ, allowing God to declare us justified. This truth eliminates any ground for boasting, as our righteousness is entirely a gift of grace and rooted in Christ's faithfulness, not our own (Romans 3:27).

Q: What does it mean for the righteous to be glad?

For the righteous, being glad means rejoicing in the salvation and righteousness provided by the Lord through Jesus Christ. Being glad as a righteous person, as expressed in Psalm 64:10, speaks to a deep-seated joy stemming from the security of salvation and acceptance in Christ. This gladness is not dependent on our circumstances but is rooted in the steadfast love and grace of God. The righteous find joy in their relationship with the Lord, knowing that He has saved them and made them righteous through Christ's sacrifice. Their gladness is accompanied by trust in the Lord and an inclination to glorify Him for His great works in their lives (Psalm 126:3).

I felt inclined to change the
order of service and bring this message tonight. It would have
done well for this morning, but I look out here and I see people
who are more fully acquainted with the gospel, with these things
that these blessed truths and may be able to enter into them
a little more so than someone who has not heard them before. I hope the Lord will make this
a blessing to you. If not, it will come out as just
so many statements of truth. I hope you
will bless it to us and truly make us glad. Look at verse 10.
This is the text. Psalm 64, verse 10, "...the righteous
shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him, and all the
upright in heart shall glorify." The righteous shall be glad in
the Lord. Now, throughout the Scriptures,
especially the Psalms, you will see these terms righteous and
wicked. Especially the songs you'll see
how the men are categorized in their sorted into people are
sorted into one of these two groups you have the righteous
than you have the wicked you never noticed that in reading
the song. And it could be that some people
I don't think anyone here would be confused by this but we need
to have these things reconfirmed in our own minds. We do read
the Psalms. At times I read the Psalms, I
read these references to people of being righteous, and I want
to take it as meaning they're good, righteous people in and
of themselves. That's our nature. Like I told
you about that man who made a reference to Matthew 5, verse 20. where the Lord said, Except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and pharisees, you will know why I have entered the kingdom
of heaven. He said very loudly, very boldly, he said, That's
not talking about the imputed righteousness of Christ. That's
talking about your righteousness. And it caused me to stop and
think. He did say there, your righteousness, didn't he? And
it caused me to stop and go back and look at the context and see
what the Lord was saying and what he really meant by that.
That man missed it, because it is talking about the righteousness
of Christ. And I'll not go into that. I've
already done so. We looked into that. It could
be some people are confused by what it means to be righteous
or wicked in the sight of God Almighty. Now, by nature, everyone
in here belongs to the second class, right? Wicked. Look over Genesis chapter six
with me. This is going to be a very basic gospel message,
just as basic As you'll ever hear, and I hope you'll be glad. After it's all over, you will
rejoice in hearing the same. Your same hope of salvation.
I preached a message one time entitled Active and Passive Righteousness. And this will be along those
same lines. Talk about this passive righteousness.
That's the righteousness we need to be considered righteous. And
I may say that word more than one hundred times in the course
of this message, but the Bible says it more than that. I stopped
counting one time at five hundred times. Genesis chapter six. Now, some people say, somebody
told one of our ladies one time, we make too much of sin here,
that we dwell too much on sin. Well, I say, That the reason
there is no fear of God, as Romans 3.18 says, there's no fear of
God before men's eyes. There's no true repentance, no
real heart worship, no need for the gospel. But men and women
seem only to have a desire to have a bigger bank account. You
know, God, they use God as a bank account now or some physician
who's on call. for their every ache and pain.
The reason men and women have no fear of God, no true repentance,
no true heart worship, is because no one knows anything about sin
before holy God. Isn't that, is that not right?
Doesn't that sum it up? Or as Spurgeon said, if you're
wrong at the fall, you'll be wrong on it all. You don't realize
what happened in the garden and what man became then you'll be
wrong on it all on every other point of doctrine or every other
truth here in Genesis six. Let's look and see what the Lord
says about about mankind. Genesis six verses five and following
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. And
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. My margin says every day. And
it repented the Lord, and we saw how the Lord speaks in this
language just to show us how much he hates sin. God is not
a man that he should repent. But he's speaking in language
that we'll understand as if to say, I wish I'd never made you.
That's how wicked man is by nature. You understand that, don't you?
It says it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth,
and it grieved him at his And the Lord said, I will destroy
man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man
and beast, creeping thing, fowls of the air, it repenteth me that
I have made thee. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He's a picture of salvation,
isn't he? Now, these are the generations of Noah. Look, go
on. Noah was a just man and perfect or upright in his generation.
Noah walked with God. Noah begat three sons, Shem,
Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before
God. The earth was filled with violence.
God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt. All flesh
had corrupted his way upon the earth." That's what God says
about man, mankind, doesn't it? Well, you say, well, Noah found
gray, and Noah must have been, it says there, Noah was a just
man, a perfect man, an upright man. Noah was a good man. Noah
was a moral man. Noah was a righteous man. No,
he wasn't. And God had grace or show grace
to I'll show you that look over that chapter eight. Genesis chapter
eight look over there now. And every one of you know what
Noah did shortly after he got off of that boat after beholding
the miraculous salvation of God Almighty. Just as long as it
took for those grapes to grow and to make the wine Noah got
drunk and was laying I hesitate to say this in front of our children,
but it's so. God doesn't hide it, does he? Laying naked in
his tent one day, and Ham came in, and nobody, something went
on. I mean, that's utter, that's
utter, that's sodomy, and I mean, that's Sodom and Gomorrah stuff.
And this is the man that God called perfect and so forth.
Look at, look at here, now Noah and his family were the only
ones alive now, weren't they? The flood had already taken place.
Look at verse 20 and 21. Noah built an altar under the
Lord and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl
and offered burnt offerings on the altar. That's a lot of sacrifices
and a lot of blood. And the Lord smelled a sweet
savor and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse
the ground anymore for man's sake, for the imagination of
man's heart is present evil from his youth. Do you have a marginal
reference? Does it say in front of that
word for? What does it say? Somebody tell me what it says.
Though, he says, I'll not again curse the ground anymore for
man's sake, though the imagination of man's heart is evil from his
youth. Who's he talking about? Everybody's dead but Noah and
his family. He's talking about Noah, isn't
he? And no approved that very shortly after then. Well that's
what God says about about us turn over to Psalm eleven Psalm
eleven I want to have you run several verses of Scripture but
I fully intend. To. Get through this quickly
Psalm eleven. See all of us by nature are sinful
and in the words of Psalm fourteen altogether filthy. And your margin,
I know you've read that before, says altogether comes thinking
in the nostrils of a God who must smell a sweeter righteous
favor. Scripture says God is angry with
the wicked every day. John, chiefly, be honest before
this congregation, are you wicked every day? He hates all workers of iniquity.
Terry Kinsley, do you ever do any works of iniquity? He will by no means clear the
guilty. Violet Bird, are you a guilty sinner before holy God? And how in the world are you
going to be righteous? Huh? Look at Psalm 11, verses 4 through
7. It says, The Lord is in his holy
temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven, his eyes behold, his
eyelids try the children of men. Now we can pass ourselves off,
Brother Ed, we can pass ourselves off as being pretty righteous
before men, can't we? And I may look, you look, you seem like
a pretty moral and upright and righteous man for me, but I can't
see your heart. God sure can't get it. He can
see every wicked and abominable. You may be thinking wicked thoughts
right now. God knows them, doesn't he? He knows them. Read on. Psalm 11, verse 5. The Lord trieth
the righteous, but the wicked in him that loveth violence,
his soul hateth. Talking about people, doesn't
it? Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, and fire, and brimstone,
and horrible tempest. Verse seven, The righteous Lord
loveth righteousness. His countenance doth behold the
upright." Now, if all are wicked, then
who's the righteous he's talking about? Huh? We've already proved
it. Every one of us in here, we've
all admitted it with our own tongue. We are wicked by nature. Then who are the upright? Who
are the righteous? and over Romans chapter three with. Are these
righteous people he's talking about. This would be an excellent
take to give somebody for concerning the true essence of the gospel. Are these people that are called
righteous and upright are these people who are more spiritual
more diligent than maybe we are more moral people who have greater
faith than I do do greater works of of righteousness, righteous
works, and so forth. Let's read the Scriptures. What
does God say? Romans 3.10, as it is written,
and he's quoting from Psalm 14, there is none righteous, no,
not one. Verse 11, there's none that understand,
there's none that seeketh after God. They're all together, they're
all gone out of the way, they're together become unprofitable.
There's none that doeth good, no, not one. Verses 19 and 20.
And we know that what things whoever the law saith, it saith
to them who are under the law. Who's that? Aren't all men and
women born on God's earth under his holy law? Certainly. Then it saith to them that are
under the law, every one that is born, that every mouth may
be stopped and all the world may become guilty or subject
to the judgment of God. Therefore, verse 20, by the deeds
of the law There shall no flesh be justified in his sight, but
the law is merely the knowledge of sin. So then what can we do
to be righteous? We've got to be righteous or
he won't love us. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness. You
know what it says? He hates wickedness and them that do wickedness and
we're wicked by that. How are we going to be called
righteous? What can we do to be righteous? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
of the Lord. But if you see your unrighteousness,
if you feel yourself to be in these groups that the Scripture
has been describing, if you see your need of a righteousness,
then I say with Moses, stand still and see the salvation of
the Lord. Right? When those Israelites
came up to that Red Sea, and there was this wall of water
in front of them and their pursuers behind them, and they were gone.
They were dead. Their hearts died within them.
They thought, we're goners. We're dead. That's what the believer
does. He comes up. He's between a rock
and a hard place when the Lord first deals with him, isn't he?
And he's guilty before the law of God, and the gospel comes
to such a one and says, Don't do a thing. Just stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. All right, look at verses
twenty-one and follow it. Now, but now, the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested or revealed. It was witnessed
by the law and the prophets. Boy, that's strange talk. to people today and would be.
Witness the righteousness of God, which is by the faith, verse
twenty-two. The righteousness of God, which
is by faith. There's that little word again.
Of. Well, I tell you, the translators,
they sure missed, had some misprints here and there. It isn't here
and other places. Of. You mean in, don't you? Faith
in Christ? No, it's, it is written like
it's supposed to be written. The righteousness of God, or
that full, free justification and pardon and holiness and acceptance
with God, it comes from God, which is by not even our faith
in Christ, because that's imperfect. But by the faithfulness of Christ,
by his faith. You see, he had to be obedient
to the faith. That what Hebrews said about
it? He was, he became obedient to the faith. Was tempted in
all points like as we are, but what? Yet without sin. Righteousness. Christ, and by the faith of Christ
unto all, and upon all them that believe. There's no difference.
Because all have sinned, it comes short of the glory of God. Verse
24, being justified freely by his grace. this gift of God through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus or through that. Substitutionary
work of Christ whom God is set for to be a bloody sacrifice
a substitute. Pay the penalty of the broken
law for his people through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness
you see that his righteousness for the remission of sin. that
are passed through the forbearance of God to declare. I say he said
if you didn't hear the first time you need to hear again to
declare. I say at this time his righteousness. As as David said so many times
in Psalm seventy-one. I'm not going to talk about glory
and speak of any righteousness, but he is right. His righteous
that God might be just and justifier of the inward of him which believe
in Jesus where is boasting. If we're just standing around. Sitting around and God and Christ
comes down and does all this for us and God says on the basis
of what Christ did you're right to strictly. We can brag about. You just pass it weren't you.
Where is boasting then it's excluded That's the reason salvation is
of the Lord. God will not share his glory
with another. Boasting is excluded. Totally out of the question.
Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. So then who are
these righteous people? Who are these righteous people?
Those that do works of righteousness? Those who make themselves righteous? Those who believe on Jesus? Now
come on. No, even that faith is a gift,
isn't it? Even that's a gift. But it's those who look over
chapter five, Romans five, verse seventeen. Look very carefully
with me now. I told you we were going to do
a little study here. Verse seventeen, if by one man's offense death
reigned by one, much more they which received abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness. Righteousness is a gift. It's
a gift. Look at verse 21. It goes down
there. As sin hath reigned unto death,
even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord. And you see, it's a gift, a gift
of righteousness. We didn't even, even our faith
does not merit it. And let me simplify the whole
thing. Second Corinthians, you can quote this. Every one of
us can quote this in Second Corinthians 5. One of our favorite verses,
a verse that truly makes us glad. Verse 21, if I asked somebody
in here to stand up and quote it, I bet they could do it. We
quote it all the time, don't we? God loves, God accepts, God
considers righteous, not those who are better than others, not
those who work works of righteousness, but those who Christ made righteous
by his life. Those who he made righteous by
his life and those who he paid for their unrighteousness. Look
at verse 21. For God hath made Christ to be
sin for us. Christ who knew no sin. he made
him sin, or made him a sacrifice, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him." Nothing could be clearer-fitted than 2 Corinthians
5 verse 21. And if you are among the righteous, it is because Jesus Christ made
you so, for no other reason. That's it, completely. Now, this
is what it means. This is what makes us glad. Does that make you glad? It makes
me mighty glad. It doesn't make me want to go
sin against God. That's always the charge. You
know, let's just sin that grace may abound. That's always the
charge, is it not? Well, if I believe like that,
I'd sin all I want to. And one man said before, I do,
I sin more than I want to, as it is. That doesn't make me want, does
that make you want to sin? Really? Now, come on. In the
depth of your heart, does that make you say, oh good, now I
can live like the devil? Does it? No, not at all. It makes you ashamed of yourself
when you did sin, that Christ, when you do sin, when Christ
was made such a horrible, horrible sacrifice for us. But it makes
you glad. It ought to. Brother Donnie always
talks about that to get through preaching or something he said,
I got happy. He said, I got happy when you
were preaching. Man, if anybody knows something
about this imputed righteousness, if it becomes more than just
a doctrine, if it becomes a very joy and rejoicing of your heart,
it'll make you glad. It'll make you glad. Glad. It's not your fate. Now listen
to this. This will make you glad too. It is not your faith, your
humility, your works, your morality, your strivings that can make
you righteous. You know that. But listen, none of your fears
or your worries or your unbelief or your fits of sin and failings
and everything can ever alter it one iota. Now, boy, if that
won't make you glad, nothing will. I'm not yelling. I'm not screaming. I'm just telling
you the truth. None of your sins can ever alter that righteous
acceptance of God. They can't do it. Are you glad
about that? Or would you rather God give
you something, a standard to meet? Would you rather be under
the law? Brother Scott would say, you
want to be under the law? Go have at it. I don't. I don't. I love the holy law
of God. Now somebody get a hold of this tape, they're going to
say, oh, they're antinomian. Now I know they're antinomian.
So be it. But this makes me glad. Let the
potsherds strive. God knows my heart, knows our
hearts. So to be righteous before God,
to be righteous before God means to be considered righteous in
Christ, represented by Christ. You don't need a Christ if you're
going to be righteous any other way. You don't need Christ. Three
nobody preaching about him in there that's reason not dwelling
on him a day and that's reason he does not have the preeminent
all thing they don't need him that bad. Or center name that
bad. Every hour of every day. Well
how do I know I'm one of these righteous. How do I know that
this righteousness is imputed to my can you want to know that
you may be asking yourself that. How do I know that I can be considered
one of these righteous people? Well, turn over Romans chapter
8 with me. Romans 8. How do I know? Because all who God declares
righteous, all whom Christ lived for and died for, God gives his
Holy Spirit to these people. The workings of the Holy Spirit,
the leadings, the guidings of the Holy Spirit in their heart.
Now, the leadings and the guidings of the Holy Spirit, you're automatically
thinking right now, when I said that, when I said, God sends
his Holy Spirit in your heart, you're automatically thinking,
oh, I don't feel him, I don't think I have him, I don't feel
his leadings in God. You may be surprised, you may
be surprised what the Scripture says are the chief leadings and
dealings of the Holy Spirit. This religious generation has
thrown us for a curve. And even those who go under the
name of grace preaching, they miss this, the workings of the
Holy Spirit. You're going to get some gladness
out of this. How does the Holy Spirit lead and teach and bear
witness? Look at Romans 8, verses 8 through
11. It says, Now they that are in
the flesh cannot please God. But you're not in the flesh,
you're in the Spirit. If so, be that the Spirit of God dwell
in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, remember
that now, remember that word there, Spirit of Christ, he's
none of him. If Christ be in you, the body is dead because
of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But
if the Spirit of God that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell
in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by his Holy Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Verse fourteen, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God. Verse sixteen, the Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
Well, how does the Holy Spirit bear witness with us? How does
he teach us? How does he lead us? Number one,
the principle and chief leading and teaching and witness that
the Holy Spirit bears with us. Number one, is to give us a sense
of our own sin and weakness and worthlessness. That's the first
thing the Holy Spirit of God does within a human being when
he works on them. First thing, gives that person
a sense of their own sin and weakness and worthlessness. He's
called the spirit of illumination, right? And we're darkness, like
old Newton's poem, he says, that when I turn my eyes within, all
is dark and vain and wild, filled with unbelief and sin. Can I
deem myself a child if I pray or hear or read? Sin is mixed
with all that I do. You that love the Lord indeed,
tell me, is it thus with you yet? I mourn my stubborn will
I find myself in a grief and a brawl should I grieve for what
I feel if I did not love it all. No you would if the Spirit of
God did not dwell in a person they wouldn't have a sense of
their sin. They wouldn't. You know you know
you remember before the Lord dealt with you you had no sense
of your sin you felt Either you were a self-righteous sinner
in religion or you were a sinner in the gutter. But either way,
your conscience didn't smite you, did it? Those of you who
were gutter snipes, I don't know, Rick, Henry, all you gutter snipes,
it didn't bother you what you did, did it? You could lay, you'd
do whatever. It never bothered you, did it?
You woke up in the morning, you'd think about doing it all over
again. Your conscience didn't bother you, didn't prick you
for a minute, did it? All right, you religious gutter
snipes. Those of you who are raised in religion, you thought
you were... Can I use your genetic? You were the sweetest, goodest,
nicest, most self-righteous, stinking, rotten sinner there
ever was. Sweet? You thought, well, I'm
not a sinner. Did you ever, were you ever at
that point? I've never sinned. There's some people that actually
feel that way because they haven't fallen into open sin or whatever.
But when the Holy Spirit comes, Whether in the gutter or in the
pew, he makes you feel that, hey, I'm a no-good sinner. He makes the self-righteous say,
oh, I'm so self-righteous. He makes the sinner so ashamed
of his sin. Right? And listen to this, that
when the Spirit leads, guides, and teaches and bears witness,
here's what he bears witness with your own soul about. Instead of seeing any evidence,
when the Holy Spirit comes in, instead of seeing any evidence
that you're righteous, you can't see anything that would make
God, that would make you believe that you're righteous before
God. Anything. Find one good thing in me, you
can't find one good thing. Used to, before, you could find
some redeeming, you've heard that term, any redeeming qualities? You can't find any when the Spirit
of God, that's the first work of the Holy Spirit of God, to
show you how holy God is and how unrighteous you are. And
what does that do, Brother John? That makes the righteousness
of Christ everything, do you not? Only when you come to this
point will you totally reject and renounce every refuge in
yourself and totally trust in and look to and rest upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. Right? When you come to this
point, only then, only then will you truly come to love the Lord
and be glad in him. Otherwise, you're going to find
something in yourself to be glad about. Well, I know this. I was a sinner and all, and the
Lord saved me and all that, but I know this. I never committed
adultery. I know this. I was a drunk and
I was this and that and the other, but now I'm in church every Sunday. I've never missed a service since
the Lord saved me. Or some of them, they've really got a lot
to boast in. Liquors never touch these lips. You got a cold last week. What
did you take for it? Nyquil. Caught you. You ever gargle mouthwash? truly glad in the Lord is when
they see that, hey, he is my only righteousness. When they
see themselves totally corrupt and weak and worthless. Then
the Holy Spirit, number two, teaches us the justice and holiness
of God's law. The justice and holiness of God's
law. He writes it on the heart. He writes it on the heart. Shows
us that none of our prayers, even after we're None of our
prayers, even Brother Henry, I've heard you pray some good
prayers. Prayers that blessed me, Brother Rick, other men.
Prayers that blessed me. And they were a blessing. Some
of you have heard various men pray prayers that blessed you,
didn't you? You thought, oh, the Spirit of God sure helped
him to pray, and that was such a blessing to me. You know what
that man's thinking when he crawls out of the pulpit or wherever,
or he sits down from where he was. You know what he's thinking?
Oh, you ungodly wretch. Aren't you? Huh? You're thinking,
oh my. You're sitting there thinking,
boy, that was a good prayer, wasn't it? And then your conscience
smites you. You say, oh, you wretched. God
ought to send you to hell for that prayer. Right? Now, I'm telling you, the religious
world doesn't know a thing about what I'm talking about tonight.
But those whom the Holy Spirit leads and guides do, and you
see that your tears, your works, Nothing, nothing will merit one
thing before a holy God. Old John Warburton saw this.
John Warburton, he said, when he ran into that verse of Scripture,
he said, Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which
are written in the book of the law to do them. He said he wrestled for days
upon ends. just convicted before the holy
law of God Almighty, how that he had not kept them perfect
in every way. So the Spirit of Christ, the
Spirit's job is to take the things of Christ and show them unto
you. Let me be more specific. To take
the righteousness of Christ and show it unto you. Hey, you haven't
got one of these, have you? Isn't this a pretty robe? Yours
is all tattered rags, isn't it? Filthy rags. Stink. Would you
like to trade it in? Look at this multicolored robe,
God. Oh, isn't it beautiful? Wouldn't you like to have that,
John? Want to trade your rag? Barnabas, you still want that
robe? You want that old blanket you've
been warming yourself in? It's full of holes. You want
this one that'll totally cover you before I hold it up. Which
do you want? You'll be like Barnabas. You'll throw that rag just as
far as you can get. wrap yourself up in it, and ain't
that like a child security blanket? Ain't nobody going to get it
away from you. Right? The righteousness of Christ. The Holy Spirit takes that righteousness
and shows you that it's your covering. The death of Christ
shows you that that's your propitiation, or that is your payment for your
sin. The intercession of Christ, the
Holy Spirit shows you that if he's not praying for me, I'm
a goner. Right? The Holy Spirit shows you that.
That if he doesn't pray for me, I'm gone. I'm gone. I'll fall. I'll fall in a minute. In other
words, the Holy Spirit, now listen to this statement. The Holy Spirit
makes Christ, Christ to you. That sound simple? The Holy Spirit
makes Christ to truly be Christ to you, Messiah, Savior, everything
that that word means, Redeemer, intercessor, advocate, surety. The Holy Spirit shows you Christ
is Christ in every one of his offices. The person and work
of Christ, he convinces you that Christ is your all and end. You know, he is your all, and
God does this in all whom he say. Now, thirdly, the Holy Spirit
then causes this helpless sinner to plead for mercy. And this
is the reason I know for a fact that all of, most of what's going
on today under the name or The guys of the workings of the Holy
Spirit is not the workings of the Holy Spirit. I don't see
any. John, do you see anybody or hear anybody calling out for
mercy, like they did at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit of God really
did come? Do you hear anybody running down
these aisles at these so-called revivals, begging God for mercy?
Huh? He causes a sinner to call upon
the name of the Lord for whosoever. They like to quote Romans 10.13,
don't they? Well, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. Call for what? Call for what? I believe they
think that just call it, you know. Call for what? Call for a job? Well, if I thought
that'd work, you know, anybody, if they thought it'd work, they'll
try that, won't they? Money? Health? Wealth? Happiness? Is that what it means
to call upon the name of the Lord? But salvation from sin,
that's what it means to call on the name of the Lord. Lord,
save me or I perish. Lord, deliver me from my sin. And then fourthly, the Holy Spirit,
turn over to Romans 5 again, Romans chapter 5. The Holy Spirit
then and then only, are you with me? The Holy Spirit then and
then only, after he It shows us a sense of our own sin and
worthlessness and helplessness, shows us the holiness and justice
of God Almighty, and then causes us to call upon the name of the
Lord for mercy, for salvation. Then and then only does the Holy
Spirit give us a sense of God's love. Not until then, Barbara,
not until then. The world's got the cart before
the horse, don't it? They come talking about the love
of God and nobody They don't need it. The love of God, not
the kind that God really has. Then the Holy Spirit gives us
a sense of God's love. Look at Romans 5. Look at verses 5 through 10.
Hope maketh not ashamed. What kind of hope? Hope in him. Hope in his person and work.
It makes not ashamed. Now, folks, I am totally ashamed
of myself in every way. Are you, Nancy? Totally a shame.
The hope in Christ won't. You'll never be put to shame.
You're a shame within yourself, but before God, you're holy.
It makes not a shame before a holy
God, 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, or a religious
man, yet for adventure for a good man or a moral man would some
even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, and 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,
being sons, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 8, turn over
there, verse 1. Does this make you glad? Verse
1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. Or that is, they are led by and
have these dealings of the Holy Spirit within. and verses fifteen
and sixteen. You have not received, and this
spirit is not a spirit of bondage that comes to you and says you
haven't kept the law, you haven't, you haven't, you haven't. That's
a spirit of bondage, is it not? You ought to, you ought to, you
ought to. It does say what we ought to do, but not in that
sense. It doesn't bring us under bondage to the law again. Right, Rick?
It doesn't bring us under bondage. You've come short, you've come
short, you've come short. And know what the blessed Holy Spirit
of God does. But very briefly, you've come
short of it, but Christ met it. He wants you to cry, very quickly. Verse 15, "...and received a
spirit of bondage again to fear. Perfect love casteth out fear."
Where is that, Jenny? Perfect love casteth out fear.
Perfect love, or Christ's perfect love, not ours, right? Our love
is never going to be perfect. A sense and understanding of
his perfect love for us, cast it out of fear. Nancy, if Sammy realized, your
children realize, finally, someday, that you love them no matter
what, that'll cast out all fear in their minds of them ever rejecting
you or kicking them out of the house or whatever, right? And you haven't received that,
you've received the spirit of adoption. Whereby we cried to the Holy
God, now we cry, Father. The spirit of our sixteen birth
witness with our spirit, we're the children of God. Now, behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us. We, we,
you mean Barbara Ross? That wicked, sinful woman. son, a daughter of God Almighty,
behold what manner of love. We that I should be called a
son of God. Now if children, verse 17, if
children, then heirs, heirs of God, join heirs with Christ.
Oh, my soul. I'm going to preach on that very
shortly, very soon. That's been weighing on my mind,
the rights of children. Brother Todd is the one that
struck my attention by the rights of God's children. What do you
have? You parents, what do you have
that is not 100%, does not 100% belong to your children? Anything? Well, we're children of God,
the scripture says, and this love is only bestowed upon and
appreciated by those who esteem Christ. as all, like God does,
like God does. Only those who esteem Christ
as all. Verse 32, and follow, 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? It is God that justifies
Put a sign on your door, like Brother James said, put a sign
on your door, do not disturb, I'm resting in Christ. That's what Paul said in one
place, from henceforth let no man bother me. Don't bother me,
I'm resting. Verse 34, who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died. What more can be done? God's
done all he can do. That's all there is that needs
to be done. I don't want to add anything
to that. That would be adding to the work
of God, wouldn't it? Isn't that adding to the work
of God? Say, God's done all he can do now. You've got to work
to it. That's adding to the work of
God. It's unchristing Christ. It is Christ that died, yea rather.
Oh, I like this verse. He died. He paid the price that
the broken law demanded, that God's holy law demanded of me.
He died. Yea, rather, go on and get glad. He rose again. God accepted that
price. Like the bells, that's the bells
on the garment of Mount High Prairie. He rose again. He came
out of that grave. God accepted it. There's more.
He's even at the right hand of God. And that really means God
accepted it. There's more. He also maketh
intercession. right now for a great right now
that the names of in resort and burden and Jerry Anderson in
his very mouth right now my interest that my advocate is saying right
now as they see and they are we are. He said lay that not
to their charge. I paid for it. There's another
one and the accuser said there he said pain. Look at him now, oh, he's wallyed
back where he paid. Who shall lay anything on my
charge? Not even the devil. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine,
nakedness, peril, sword, anything? Verse 39 says, nothing shall
be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus my Lord. That makes you glad. That makes
this old sinner glad. And in closing, returning back
to the text, we'll just look at that for about two more minutes.
In Psalm 64, this is what it means for the righteous to be
glad in the Lord. Do you see now what it means? What does it mean to be righteous?
We live a good life, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's never good
enough to be considered right. It's being made righteous by
Christ, declared righteous by Christ, made or declared so. They will be glad in the Lord,
in the Lord. And they'll say like in Psalm,
Psalm one, let me read this to you, Psalm one and twenty-six
verse three, they'll say like this, the Lord hath done Great
things for us whereof we're glad. We're glad. I'm so glad. The Lord is my strength. I'm
so glad because I'm so weak. I'm so weak. The Lord is my righteousness.
I'm so glad because I'm so unrighteous. All right? Oh, the Lord is your
high tower, your refuge. I'm so glad because the storm
is scaring me. It's scaring me. I need a place
to hide. Jesus, to thy bosom let me fly."
The Lord has done great things for us, and we're glad. Listen
to these verses of Scripture. Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, The Lord be magnified. And they will. They will for all eternity. Thou,
Lord, hast made me glad through thy work. That's what we read
in Psalm 92. Our Lord has made me glad through
thy work. I will triumph in the works of
thy hands." Listen to this. It shall be said in that day,
Lo, this is our God. We've waited for him. He will
save us. This is the Lord. We've waited
for him. We will be glad and rejoice in
his salvation. Listen to this. The disciple,
it said, when Christ had said, Something he showed unto them
his hands and his side, and it says, Then were the disciples
glad. He said, It's me. I'm not dead. I'm risen, and
I'm going back to the Father to prepare a place for you. Here,
look. It's me. They were glad. It is you, isn't
it? We're going to see those marks.
We're going to be like Brother Ed Hale someday. We're going
to be looking for those scars. Where is he? Where is he? Get
out of the way, Peter. Moses, talk to you later. Where is he? He's holding his hands out. Here
I am. Here I am. I'm going to be so glad, so glad. When the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the
Lord. As many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And
it says here in verse 10, in the last part of it, it says,
and they'll trust in him. They'll be glad in the Lord and
they'll trust in him. only him. And it says, All the
upright in heart shall glory. They'll glory. Upright means
to be honest before God, means to be truly a true worshiper
in spirit, worshiping in spirit in truth, sincerity, and in Christ. It says they'll glory. Where
are they going to glory? The righteous shall be glad in
the Lord, and shall trust in him, and all the upright in heart
shall glory." In what? Self? Works? Well, we did many
wonderful works in your day. We preached, we cast out devils,
and so forth. No. Of God. Here's what they're
going to glory in. They're going to glory in 1 Corinthians
1, 30 and 31. Of God are you in Christ, who
of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth. Good for you. Let him glory in
the Lord. I'm so glad. I'm so glad that
salvation is by grace. through the blood and the righteousness,
those are more than just doctrinal terms for this old sinner. You
see, people that aren't glad in the Lord, in that sense, truly
glad, that oil of gladness that the Holy Spirit gives, that's
that oil of gladness that he gives. People that aren't glad
in the Lord, in that sense, and trusting in him and glorying
in him, these are just doctrinal terms to them, aren't they? Just
doctrinal, but to the believer. When I hear the word right when
I hear a tape, so much is right, just merits of Christ. I just
perk my ear up. That's good. That's good. That's
all. Some of you smile and we sing
in that song. These are the these are the these
is meat. This is meat. Those that only
use milk all the time, Paul said in Hebrews five, they're unskillful
in the word of what? Righteousness, righteousness. We just dug into the meat, the
very meat, the heart, the soul, the core, the bone, the marrow
of the gospel, right? Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,
my beauty are my glorious dress. All right, I'll be glad in the
Lord. Let's stand. Dear Lord, you have made us glad
in your work. that we will triumph through
the works of thy hands, because of our just God who revealed unto us
his righteousness and gave us a Savior, just God and Savior,
to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that
have passed, that he might be a just God and justifier. of
us sinners who look to Christ. Lord, I'm so glad that that's
all I'm called upon to do, is just trust Christ. And even that,
even that, you must give me the strength, must give me your Holy
Spirit to do so. And in doing so, Lord, realizing
what all you've done for us, we do see in your Word, we do
see how that we're responsible to live for your glory and for
your goodness. That's what we want to do. Lord, in light of,
by the mercies of God, we do want to live in gratitude. Out
of gratitude, we want to live for your glory, your honor. Bear fruit unto your name for
what you've done for us. Not unto us, not unto us, but
unto you be all glory and honor, for you've saved us. washed us
from our sins in your own precious blood. We're glad, Lord, we're
mighty glad. Make us more so in days to come. In Christ's name we pray, we're
met together. Amen.

The Righteous Glad In The Lord

What does the Bible say about being righteous in Christ?

Why is it important for Christians to understand their righteousness?

How do we know we are considered righteous by God?

What role does faith play in receiving righteousness?

What does it mean for the righteous to be glad?

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The Righteous Glad In The Lord

What does the Bible say about being righteous in Christ?

Why is it important for Christians to understand their righteousness?

How do we know we are considered righteous by God?

What role does faith play in receiving righteousness?

What does it mean for the righteous to be glad?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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