I'm going to ask you to turn to Romans
chapter 3 with me. Romans chapter 3. I want to preach for a verdict
this morning. I want everyone in here to reach
a definite conclusion based upon this book, based upon God's Word. Now, if a man or a woman or a
young man or a young lady or a girl pays no attention to this
book, then we have no common ground, do we? But I just hope
God will take the book and pierce a heart with it. But based upon
this book, there's some definite conclusions we must come to.
Definite conclusions we must come to. I know that at least
every professing Christian believes this book that is called the
Bible, believes this is God's Word. But it's sad to say that
there are many differing opinions concerning the things in this
book. And very few people are drawing
any definite or dogmatic conclusions from it. Very few people. But everyone must agree. Everyone
will agree to these basic things. There's good and there's evil. two forces at work in the universe. We'll all agree to that. Good
absolute purity, which will, which has the victory, and evil. And everyone must agree that
there's absolute truth, and then if there's absolute truth, there's
absolute error, right? Everything that's not true is
what? It's a lie, right? In other words,
there are only two sides, right and wrong. You and I were speaking
of this. It can't be both. You see, God
is holy. God is sovereign. God is on the
throne. God. Not Satan. Not us. God. Right? Either believe that or
you don't. God is on the throne. And God, from the Scriptures,
is holy and is pure, perfect. He's holy, he's just, he will
not acquit a guilty person. He's perfect, he's all-wise,
he knows everything. He never learns anything, he
never forgets anything. He knows all things. The Scripture
says he's wisdom in a person, personified. There can be no
gray areas, no maybes with God. If God is God, no one can withstand
him, no one can dispute him, and there are no gray areas. The gray areas are in this fog
called the brain. I forget who said it, but they
said, I will put down all apparent inconsistencies in the to my own ignorance." God's true. He knows. He is truth. Whatever he says is the way it
is, right? We'll all agree to that, won't
we? Yes. No ifs, ands, buts, or maybes. God is right. We must agree. I must agree. And if we believe in that God,
we believe he wrote this book. Everyone believes God wrote the
Bible. I mean, everyone that believes
in God, in the true sense of the word, the name, believes
he wrote this book, the Bible. Don't they? Do you believe that?
Right. Okay? It's going to be a very
basic message. It's so simple that you can't
help but come to some definite conclusion. God has written this
book. Okay? You either believe that
or you don't. You either spit on it or you love it. Right? Right. You either leave it laying
there, unconcerned about it, or you read it. And everyone
who claims to believe this book, that it is God's book, everyone
will agree that this book is talking about primarily one thing,
that the purpose of it The reason it was written was to tell about
one thing, that is, the salvation of man. Right? That's the reason
the book was written. To show, to reveal God, yes,
but to show the salvation of man, how God saves men. Right,
Terry? That's what it's all about. It's
a book of redemption, right? From the very beginning, from
Genesis 3.15 all the way through, it's a book of salvation. how
God in mercy and grace reaches down and saves people that are
perishing. That's what this book is all
about. So let's get right to the point. How is a man saved? Let's answer
this question based upon this book. It's God's book. God's
true. He's written this thing. There's
got to be some absolute truth in here, doesn't it? It's got
to be. How is a man saved? With God, now, there's only one
way. There's only one way. God's way,
right? In my house, there's only one
way. Right, Mindy? My way. I'm the head of that
home. God's the head of the universe.
With God, there's one way. His way, right? Every other way
would be considered what? Man's way, right? Right. With God, there is only truth.
Everything else is error. Right? Error. God's truth. Everything else is error. God's
way. One way. Every other way is not
the way. Right? We'll all agree to that,
surely. Anybody and his right man agrees
to that. God is truth. God is judge and jury, both. He has already decided the case.
The verdict is in. The sentence has already been
passed. That's what this book says. That's
what it says. But I want all of us in here,
and whoever may listen to this on tape, I want us to judge ourselves
this morning. Judge ourselves. But what did
Christ say? He said, if you judge yourselves,
you'll be not judged, didn't he? Didn't he? Yes, he did. He said that. I want us to come
to a definite conclusion in this matter of how man is saved. Now,
we're studying through the book of Romans. Romans chapter one.
Anybody that wants to study it carefully. must come to this
conclusion. Romans chapter one is talking
about openly wicked and profane people. It definitely says that
homosexuals, that murderers, thieves, all these outwardly
openly wicked people are under condemnation, right? It definitely
says that. If you have spiritual understanding,
you realize that's talking about everybody by nature, don't you?
But everybody, even the natural man, would have to agree, just
basically from reading Romans 1, it is talking about the judgment
of God against sin, against outward, open wickedness. Right? Romans
1, that's what it's all about. Read it, if we have read it. Romans chapter 2 speaks of religious
people. good, pious, moral, religious,
outwardly moral people. Romans chapter 2, that's who
this is talking about. Romans chapter 2. Paul speaks
of many apparently religious people, Jews in particular. And
he shows how that they live openly moral lives, yet inwardly they're
no different than the people in Romans 1. Read Romans 2. That's what it's talking about,
isn't it? We've studied this together.
What it is talking about, isn't it? Religious folk. Good Christians. I'm not making fun. I love the
word. But there's a lot of people considered that. Hypocrites. Now, everybody will agree, a
hypocrite. This is the crutch that this world likes to lean
upon, isn't it? There's a bunch of hypocrites down there at that
church. They're a bunch of hypocrites.
I'm as good as they are. That's what they like to rely on. Well,
that man's hypocrisy, and you're resting in that, and neither
one of you are in good shape. You're both condemned. But people
will agree that hypocrites are judged. Hypocrites have no part
in the kingdom of God. Right? Right. Romans 2 concludes
that. Well, what about us? What about
everybody else? What about the so-called moral
majority? What about us? Well, look at
Romans chapter 3, verse 9. Look at it. What men? Now, he'd
just been talking about wicked people, sodomites, people like
that. And he'd been talking about religious
hypocrites who are outwardly moral, but yet on the inside
they are full of all manner of evil, hypocrites. He said, well,
what then, are we? Now, this is the Apostle Paul
talking here, God's choice apostle, his saint, a man after God's
own heart, the Apostle Paul. He said, are we? He includes
himself here, doesn't he? We, including you and me. He says, are we better than they? Look at the conclusion, verse
9. No, N-O. That's clear, isn't it? No, in no way are we better than
any of these people. For we have before proved both
Jews and wicked, openly evil Gentiles, they're all under sin,
in sin, dead in trespasses, in sin. Right? That's what it says. all understand. And then he begins
quoting the Psalms. The Apostle Paul, throughout
his epistles, he doesn't just say, take my word for this. He
says, listen to God's word. Throughout his epistles, this
is the reason we need to look up references and so forth in
the center of our Bible. We need to look up what he's
talking about. Paul even said, don't take my word for it. Any
man who speaks not according to this word, there's no light
in him, right? No truth in him. And he quotes
scripture after scripture after scripture. Well, here in Romans
chapter 3, verse 10, he begins quoting something that was written
a long time ago. This is not his words. This is
God's words. Verse 10, he says, And John added
that little part there. I just babbled. They say, what's
this lame babbler going to say now? Verse 10. He says, there's
none righteous. Terry, that's what it says now.
None righteous. It doesn't say there aren't many.
It says there's none, doesn't it? None righteous. No, he goes on to to repeat this, confirm it, no,
not one. He can't get any clearer than
that, can he? None righteous. No, not one. He says in verse 11, there is
none that understandeth. He's quoting Psalm 14, Psalm
53, there's none that understands. Who? God. There's none that know
God. understand God. There's none that even are looking
for God. Is that what it said? We're reading the same book,
verse 11. There's none that seeketh after God. You say, oh, that's
talking about these people. No, we just read in verse 9 where
he said, Are we any better? No, we're all the same boat.
Verse 12. They are all gone out of the
way." Now remember, we established there is only one way, right
Stan? God's way. He said, they've all gone out
of the way. They've all gone astray from
me, their God. All of them, without exception,
every single one of them. They are together become, what
does that word say? Unprofitable. What does that
mean? Useless. Is that what it says? Useless. I mean, of no value
to anybody. Unprofitable. And if we'll read
Isaiah chapter 45, we'll see that. Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40. We're called
grasshoppers. We're called nothing, vanity. Right? This is what the book
says. Okay? Stay with me now. Stay with the word here. There's
none that doeth good, not one. Now, what he said? You remember
when Richard Mueller came up to Christ and said, Good Master,
and Christ said, Wait a minute, hold on. What you call me good
for? There's none good for God. Why
don't you call me good? And we've all got a bad habit
about this, don't we? He's a good man. Hell, isn't it? There's
none good but God. Why do you call him good? Well,
be good. Amen. There's none good but God. How can I be good? One way. We'll get to that in a minute.
But he says there's none that doeth good. Oh, 20th century
religion. Please read Romans 3. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. Now, y'all stay with me. The
gospel in no uncertain terms is in Romans 3. The clearest
passage in all the Bibles, as far as I'm concerned, and as
far as many other men are concerned, the clearest passage on how God
saves sinners is in Romans 3. So stay with me. There's none
that doeth good, no, not one. One, their throat is an open
sepulchre. Why? We've got a dead heart. You've
got a dead animal laying on the side of the road. What's going
to issue forth from that animal's mouth? Dead corruption. He says our throat is like an
open grave. Why? We've got a dead heart. God said
the day you eat that fruit, you're going to die. We died in Adam,
dead in sin. And the only thing that comes
out of this mouth comes from this heart, right? Deadness.
Evil. With their tongues they've used
deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips, snakes, whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift
to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their way." You say, that's not talking about me. Hey, wait a
minute. What is it? What happens? I invite
us to examine our hearts. Get in your automobile. This will prove to be depravity
without being on the shadow of a doubt. Get in your automobile
and ride down the road and come up to a stop sign. Come up to
a stop light. The light turns green and you
start to go and some guy runs a red light in front of you.
What are you going to do? Bless his little heart. Oh, he's going
to get hurt if he doesn't watch it. Oh, you're going to lash
your teeth at him. What if some guy gets your parking
place? The automobile is the greatest proof of man's depravity.
You can let some little cute, I mean cute little blonde-headed
girl with just the prettiest little made-up face and her hair
in every place, you know, she's looking in the mirror and she's
got it all just right there, and then you do something she
doesn't like, she turns into a monster. Have you seen them?
I have. I looked at them and think, What
came out of that pretty little made-up face? This. Destruction
in nature. And if you could hear them, they'd
sound like a sailor on the high seas. Don't they? And wherever one of us sank,
a person in here wouldn't just mash somebody under their feet
for pulling out and throwing them in an automobile. Right? Oh, yes. He says, destruction
and misery. What brings that on? What could
possibly turn a cute little, lovely little girl into a raving
maniac? A dead, evil heart. What could possibly make a young
man want to follow and listen to a guy that looks like a girl
and play an undiscernible music? What could possibly make somebody
listen to I did the same thing, but I wonder
today, I just think, was I out of my mind? I mean, turn the
amps up until you can't hear anything, but woo, and love it,
and dance like a native to it. That's good sense, isn't it?
Oh, it's a heart that's just plumb out in left field. Right, Rick? It's absolute lunacy. This is what this is talking
about. Evil and destruction is in this whole body, in this heart,
in this person. And verse 17, and the way of
peace, the goodness. I used to think that this sort
of thing, go and sit and listen to some. You know, to sit and listen to
a man stand up here and sing amazing, crazy, goodness gracious,
awful. The way of peace, the way of
goodness and true joy and happiness, I didn't know anything about
it. I thought I was having a big time in what I was doing. Oh,
having a good old time. Woke up the next morning, it
wasn't too good a time. but the way of peace. Here I am, a 34-year-old man
who was filled with the devil as a young man. Like that man
came to Christ and said, Lord, save my son. He has a spirit
that's tearing him, casting him down. He's gyrating like an animal
on the floor. They call it nice names, like
breakdancing. Lord, the devil tears him and
throws him on the ground. He's storming at the mouth. And
here I am, clothed in a way I used to despise. I mean, there ain't
no difference in looking down on a man with a three-piece suit
and that three-piece suit looking down on a man in blue jeans.
There ain't a bit of difference there. But here I am, clothed
in my right mind and worshiping God. Who did that? How'd this happen? I didn't do it. I didn't have
nothing to do with it. I was going on my merry way. How is a man saved? God has to
save him. Gracious sakes. If this world
would see that, they'd quit accepting Jesus, and they'd start bowing
to him, wouldn't they? They'd quit begging their children
to do this and that and the other, and they'd start praying to God
that can save them. Verse 18, there's no fear of
God before their eyes. There is no fear. The only reason
a young man or woman could defy death, look death in the face,
I'm just not even going to tell you some of the things I used
to say, but could look death in the face, I mean destruction,
killing yourself, and just shake your fist and laugh. So the only
way a person can do that is no fear of God. No God. No God and no death. I ain't
going to die. Oh, no, I'm only 18. How can an 18-year-old die?
Huh? I pulled my best friend out of
a basement who was asphyxiated. He was 15 years old. Well, people may talk of being imperfect or having some faults.
But getting back to God, you're either, in God's eyes, you're
either perfect or you're not, right? Ain't no gray areas. Paul said, our preaching to you
was not yea and nay, didn't it? He said, there ain't no maybe
here. He said, he didn't say, we'll leave it up to your own
interpretation here. You know, there's many ways. We're all
disagreeing. We'll all find out someday. Yeah, we will. But like
you said, we'd better know now. God is holy. You're in God's
eyes, you're either holy or you're what? Somebody say it. You're unholy, right? You're
either perfect or you're imperfect. You're either pure or you're
defiled, right? You're either without sin, I
mean totally without sin, or you are full of sin. You are
either alive in God, in Christ, or you're dead, right? Right! According to this book, God is
the law and he's laid down the law, right? God laid down the
law. Well, why did he? We take the
Ten Commandments. Everybody thinks the Ten Commandments
is the only law of God. When you talk about the law of
God, everybody thinks of the Ten Commandments. The whole Ten
Commandments are marvelous. I make it fun of the Ten Commandments,
gracious sakes. It's a revelation of the character
of God. But everybody only thinks of the Ten Commandments. Well,
let's deal with that then. It's much more law than that.
But let's deal with that. Why did God write the Ten Commandments?
So we could have something to go by, to live by as our rule of life? Did he? Give us something to try to see
if we can make it to heaven by a standard. Is that why he gave
the Ten Commandments? Is it? No. You see, the law wasn't given
until millions of people have already lived, right? It wasn't
given until Moses. And there would have been millions
of people who lived before him, right? Well, they don't do it.
They don't have anything to go by. God is awfully unjust, isn't
he? They don't have anything to go
by. Well, modern religion said they'd be innocent then. What does this book say? Look at verse 13 of chapter 2. Verse 12. He says, God's law,
God's book says, as many as have sinned without law shall also
perish without law. And as many as have sinned in
the law shall be judged by the law." That's pretty clear, isn't
it? Conclusion number one. Why did
God give the law? To give us a way to live by?
Oh, no. Look at Romans chapter 3, verse
19. Conclusion number one. Now we
know, based upon the scriptures we just read, that what thing
soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law,"
who's that? Everybody. Why? Why does it say it? Why
does it say these things? "...that every mouth may be stopped."
Why did God write the law? To give us something to live
by? No, to shut our mouths. That's what it says, doesn't
it? To shut our mouths. Why? So that we might see, verse
19, all the world may become guilty before God. That's clear, isn't it? We ought to be able to come up
with that conclusion based upon this, shouldn't we? What things soever the law says,
it says to them who are under the law. Who? Everybody. Why
does it say it? So everybody will shut up and
stand before God guilty. Right? Conclusion number one. The law was given not to give
life, but to show us we're dead. We're dead. Can't do anything. Guilty as charged. Unholy, unrighteous,
imperfect, full of sin, unlike God, that is ungodly, like Adam,
the first father who was banished. unacceptable to God. God is too
purized to even look upon iniquity. He is just and holy and he will
by no means clear the guilty. Who is that? Everybody who was
ever born under the face of the earth. Rick, if we're honest
with the scriptures, if we just sit there and read the scriptures,
we'll see that. We've got to come up to this
conclusion. Guilty, without exception, guilty. Verse 20, look at it. Verse 21, "...therefore, by the
deeds, or the keeping, the doings of the law, there shall no flesh
be justified in his sight." No flesh. Remember, by the law is
the knowledge of sin, that's what he said. By the law, remember,
I just told you in verse 19, he said, that the law was given
just to stop mouths and to make everybody guilty. And you can't
do it or not do it and be considered justified. You're considered
condemned already, under condemnation. And the law ain't going to get
you out of it. Is that what it says? That's what it says. Oh, there was one man that was
given the law. as a rule of life. One man. One
man, God said, Now, you do this, I'll accept you. Don't do it,
and I'll condemn you. His name was Adam, right? Well,
Adam said, I ain't going to do it. He didn't. He rebelled and
he died, just like God said, and everybody that was born from
his loins now is dead while they yet live. Romans 5.12, as by
one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin. Not just physical death, but
spiritual. So death passed upon all men,
for all have sinned. Well, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? You
know, somebody hearing this for the first time, you people hear
it all the time. I hope you really hear it. But
if I close the book and I saw somebody hurt, oh boy, I wish that they would cry
out, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? Men
and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? You can't do anything.
I had some men I used to work with ask me that. I was talking
to them about God's sovereign mercy and sovereign grace. How
that it's in God's hands to save a man. It's not in the man's
decision or whatever. He said, well, what can we do?
Nothing. We're dead. Once God does something,
Nettle, you do some things. But you can't, we can't do anything,
right? So that'll lead a man to sit
back and do nothing. Oh, no. Now, wait a minute. We don't act like that in everyday
life. There's a lottery out there.
Nobody knows who's going to get it, do they? Nobody. So what
are they doing? Sitting back and saying, well,
if it's meant to be me to get it, I'll get it. They're in lines. They're lined up down at the
store to buy those silly little tickets, aren't they? Cashing
in. What's the chance of a hundred
million to one or something? But they're lined up for blocks.
I mean a hundred million to one chance, man. And they're lined
up for blocks. God says there's sure promises
in Christ. Sure promises. We got thirty
people in here. Forty people. Well, if it's meant
for me to be saved, I'll be saved. Oh, no! Anybody that's really
interested, they'll be lined up. Well, how are we going to
do it? Verse twenty-one. But now. Look
at it. Everyone. Verse twenty-one. But
now. Every time I see the word but,
I think of but God, who is rich in mercy. But now, the righteousness
of God, that is the way to be holy in God's eyes. The only
way. Remember, there's only one way?
The righteousness of God. We read about it in Isaiah 51.
The way to be considered righteous or perfect or be like God or
accepted with God, the only way is now revealed without the law,
without the keepings or doings of the law. He just said that
up there in verse 20. You ain't going to be made righteous
by the law. But he says the righteousness
of God, though, is now revealed to us how we can be accepted.
It ain't the law that reveals it. But it's witnessed by the
law, that is, the first five books of the Old Testament, of
Moses, and the prophets. What is it, verse 22? It's the
righteousness of God, the acceptance with God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ. By the faith of. Do you notice
that little word, of? Do you see that? Look at it again. The righteousness or acceptance
with God is by faith. It doesn't say in. It says of
Jesus Christ. Doesn't it? The Holy Spirit is so wise in
what words he places in his book, even through translations after
translations. Of. Of. What is that talking about, preacher?
Acceptance with God comes only by the faithfulness of Jesus
Christ. It ain't even our faith that
makes us accept it. It's what Christ did. You see? All faith is, is saying, who
did it? He did it. Not under us, under
him, be the glory. That's faith. Jesus Christ. Acceptance with
God comes by his, you know when you say somebody, well he's a
faithful husband. That means he's true. He has
fidelity. He's true to his mate. He's faithful. Great is thy faithfulness, the
scripture says of Christ. He's true to the Father. We ain't. Never. We never will be. In Christ
we are. He's true to the Father. He's faithful. He's faithful
because Christ obeyed God perfectly as a man, because Christ lived
according to the law perfectly, not just in deed but in thought. Not perfectly outwardly moral,
unlike the people in Romans 1, but even on the inside, unlike
the people in Romans 2. He didn't even think. And because Christ gave this
righteousness to some people, put it on them, and he took their
punishment, or their sin, and suffered their punishment and
their condemnation, and because he gave them his righteousness
and he took their sin, now the way we can be accepted with God
is clear. There's only one way. Only one
way. It's in a person. It's in somebody
doing it for us, every bit of it from start to finish. Right? Everything. I mean, repentance
is a gift of God. Faith is a gift of God. Coming
to Christ, you will not come to me except the Father draw
you. It's all of God, right? It's all of Him. Every bit of
it. See, look there, it says, "...upon
all unto and upon all them that believe." You say, oh, there
it is. Oh, he said, wait a minute, that's no difference. We were all dead in trespasses
and sin, all of us. They're known as believers, yes,
they trust Christ as their salvation, not works, not law. They're dependent
totally upon Christ to make them acceptable. But even that faith
was the gift of God. It didn't have anything to do
with that faith. There's no difference. Verse 23, he says it, he reiterates
it again, for all have sinned. There's no difference. But the
righteousness of God is the difference. That's the difference. For all
have sinned. All have sinned. And believers
still sin. But what's their hope now? Still the same hope they had
in the beginning. Christ is at the right hand of
the Father. God justified. Christ died. Rather, He rose
again. He's even at the right hand of
God and makes the intercession of Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ.
Right? Nothing else. Not Christ plus
anything. It's Christ. Christ. For all have sinned, all have
failed to glorify God as they should. But God in mercy, verse
24, we're justified, that is declared innocent of all charges,
declared acceptable by God by his grace. That is the gift of
his Son. According to the good pleasure
of his will, it's not according to him that willeth, or him that
runneth. It's according to God, right?
It's not of blood, not of will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man. It's of God, right? It's not according to the works
of righteousness which we have done. It's of God's works, right?
Not by the deeds of the law which we have done, but it's Christ's
deeds of the law, right? By grace. God just saying, here,
it's yours. And you know, we really don't
even have the power to accept or reject it. Faith is a gift,
right? And gifts, you don't turn to
gifts and callings of God without repentance. He doesn't give you
something to see if you're going to accept or reject it. When
he gives it to you, he gives you the power. My people are
made willing in the day of his power. He gives you the power
and the will and the desire to receive it, doesn't he? He has
to do all the work, you see. We're dead. Lazarus, come on
out. We're dead. But now, in Christ,
we've been justified, given life freely, just because God was
pleased to do so. By the redemption, through the
redemption, that word redeem is finished. That's in Christ. By the purchase of Christ. We're paid for, we're bought
and paid for. We're not our own. We are not our own. We can't
fall away, not even if we want to. We're not our own. We belong to somebody else. We're
not personal property. We're not our own personal property.
We're property of Christ. And he said, there ain't nobody
going to take him away from me. whom God has set forth to be
the propitiation, that is, a bloody sacrifice, a substitute. He set
him forth through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness
for passing over sin, the blood on the door for the passing over
of sin. To declare, I say, verse 26,
to declare, in case you didn't hear me, his righteousness, not
ours, his. Terry, his righteousness, right? Why? Why did he do all this? That he might be just, holy,
righteous, stay righteous, and admit those who were once sinners
into his presence. That he might be just, punishing
their sins and justifier, declaring them acceptable. of them that
believe in Christ. Verse 27. Well, where is boasting then? Hmm? Based upon the evidence,
who's got anything to say about anything? Who's got anything
to brag about? Huh? Who's got anything to brag
about? Well, men and women are, aren't
they? They are. Religious folks, everybody's
bragging, even a sinner. I mean, even an openly wicked
man brags that he's as good as the other man. Bragging. Like
bragging on me, on me, on me. I didn't do that. I did that. I didn't do that. Bragging. Paul says, who's got
anything to brag about? He said it's excluded. Ain't
no room for boasting. By anybody. Anywhere. Uh-uh. By what law? Works? No. He says,
if you can do some bragging about works, Paul said, I'm over. Anybody
want to brag about what they've done, he said, I'll do the bragging
around here. I was stoned, stoned, shipwrecked, beaten. I was Pharisee
of Pharaoh. I got some bragging to do. If
anybody's going to do any bragging, I ain't going to brag. I ain't
going to brag. So you sure don't have any right
to brag, you see. Not if it works. Where is boasting excluded? How
does a man come up to that conclusion? By faith. When he sees where
this whole thing is. So verse 28. Therefore, what
conclusion do you come up to? Therefore, based upon these scriptures,
and God have mercy on whoever hears this for the first time,
You've got to come to this conclusion. Therefore, we conclude, Your Honor, the gentlemen of
the jury conclude, based upon the evidences, based upon all
these witnesses, based upon your word, we conclude that a man
or a woman is justified, accepted by God Almighty, by faith, without
the deeds of the law. Now, that'll make a legalist
mad. That'll make the man who thinks
that he's doing something, that God's paying attention to what
he's doing, that God's going to give him a crown, that'll
make him But an old sinner who's guilty
before God, that ought to make you rejoice. That ought to make
you happy. You mean I really don't have
to do anything to make God pleased with me? That's what it says. Without
faith, it's impossible to please God. faith of Christ, the faithfulness
of Christ, what He did. And faith is just a look. You can be blind and look. We conclude. And I hope more,
I wish more people would conclude, come to this conclusion. Man
is justified by faith, by Christ alone, without the deeds of the
law. And if anybody has a true saving
interest in their soul, and they come to that conclusion, they'll
come to Christ, won't they? You can't go anywhere else. You're
not going to run back to Leviticus and start looking up and seeing
what you can do. Well, that may be so, but, oh
no, you say, Christ, save me. Yeah, but what about, Lord, save
me. Come on back, man, now you've
got to get away from me and let no man trouble me from here forth."
Christ died. It's God that justifies it. When
Christ died, he's at the right hand of God. You just leave me
alone. That's faith. The Lord granted
it to us. Our Father, your word is so clear when you give eyes. We hear it when you give ears.
So we are at your mercy. We're in your hands at your sovereign disposal. and
your good pleasure to do with as you please. But we know you're
full of mercy, you delight to show mercy, and your mercy endures
forever. And we ask you that you would
take your word and convict us and bring us to Christ. In his
name we pray. Amen. You're dismissed.