Welcome to the Reign of Grace
radio broadcast. My name is Bill Parker. I'm the
pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky.
This program is sponsored by the members of Eager Avenue Grace
Church in Albany, Georgia, located at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany,
Georgia. I'll be bringing you a gospel
message of the sovereign grace and glory of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ from God's Holy Word. And now, the message. Welcome to our program. Now,
the title of my message today is The Righteousness of God. And I'll be reading from Romans
chapter 1, if you'd like to follow along in your Bible, beginning
at verse 8. Romans chapter 1 and verse 8,
concerning the righteousness of God. Now I just want to use
these verses that I'm going to start with as my introduction.
But just look at verse 8. The Apostle Paul here, in his
letter to the believers at Rome, he says in verse 8, First, I
thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith
is spoken of throughout the whole world. Faith is not something
that lies dormant. Faith is something that expresses
itself mainly in the witnessing of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our faith, we who believe the
gospel, we who are saved by the grace of God, our faith is in
a person. It's not in the denomination. It's not in ourselves. Listen
to me very carefully here. It's not in our faith. You know,
a lot of people have faith in their faith. These people who
talk about, well, have I believed enough or have I done enough?
It's not faith in our faith. It's not faith in our work. Our
faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we who believe the gospel
witness the gospel, we talk about Him and what He's done. The gospel
is the declaration from God of a work that's already been finished.
It's not a declaration, it's not a command for people to do
anything in order to obtain or maintain salvation or earn their
reward. It is totally wrapped up in the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The more we talk about
Him and what He's accomplished, the more we are glorifying God
in the witnessing of the gospel. And Paul tells the believers
at Rome, he says, your faith is spoken of throughout the world.
Verse 9 says, For God is my witness, now this is important, he says,
whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son. I serve
him from the heart. We don't serve God in outward
forms of religion and ceremony, but we serve him with our spirit
from the heart. That without ceasing, I make
mention of you always in my prayers. Paul prayed for these people.
He'd never met them. He'd never been there. Paul was
not the instrument that God used to start the church at Rome.
I believe that the church began from Romans who were at Pentecost
and heard Peter preach the gospel. And they took it back to Rome
and God raised up this church. But he said, even though Paul
had never met them, he'd never been there, he said, I pray for
you. Prayer is an expression of love to them. Prayer is not
something we use to try to change God's mind as if we're rubbing
a bottle and trying to get a genie out of the bottle to get what
we want. but it's a means of worshiping God, it's a means
of expressing our love to one another. Verse 10, he says, making
requests, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous
journey by the will of God to come unto you. In other words,
Paul's saying, I'm desiring to come to you, and I plan to come
to you, and I request unto God in my prayers that I'll have
a prosperous journey. And in verse 11, he says, for
I long to see you, I desire to see you, then I may impart unto
you some spiritual gift to the end you may be established."
Paul's desire to go see them was not to promote himself or
just to be a world traveler or a sightseer. He says, I want
to come to you, visit with you, and fellowship with you. Then
I may be a help to you. Then I may impart some spiritual
gift. And here he says, to the end,
for this purpose, that you may be established. It is the goal
of every true gospel minister that his own and the people to
whom he preaches, that our hearts be established with grace. And
what does that mean? What is the heart in Scripture?
It's the mind. It's the affection. It's the
will. It's the whole person. And how are we established with
grace? We're established with grace when we see the certain
assurance and confidence of our whole salvation in the Lord Jesus
Christ, based on His blood and His righteousness alone. And
that's being established with grace. Look at verse 12. He says,
that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual
faith both of you and me. In other words, Paul's saying,
I want to be united and comforted and knit together with you because
we believe in the same Christ. We have the same Father. You
know, I hear people talk about God sometimes, and they say things
that are totally totally not in the scripture. And therefore,
the reality is this, if my thoughts and my claims and my doctrine
concerning God is not consistent with this book, the Bible, what
God reveals of himself, then I'm not worshiping, serving,
and trusting the God of the Bible. You see, the Bible is God's revelation
of himself to us. So therefore, if I say anything
about God, what He's like, what He's not like, what He will do,
what He won't do, if what I'm saying is not to be backed up
and found in this Word, then it's not the God of the Bible.
And Paul is saying here that we have a mutual faith in the
same God. We believe in the same Christ.
Now, it may be startling for many people to hear this, but
I'll tell you what, there are many, many people who are worshiping
a false God and serving a counterfeit Christ. Whatever I believe about
Christ and who He is, He's the God-man mediator. What He's done,
He's accomplished and finished the work of salvation for His
people. Where He is now, why He did it, if my thoughts and
my beliefs concerning Him is not consistent with the Scriptures,
God's Word, then it's a counterfeit Christ. Now look at verse 13.
He says, Now I would not have you ignorant brethren, that oftentimes
I purposed to come unto you, but was let hitherto, or hindered,
that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among
other Gentiles. In other words, Paul's saying
there, I had planned to come to you, to come to Rome, visit
with you, fellowship with you, before this. But he was hindered
providentially. God did not want Paul to go to
Rome before this. Paul did eventually end up in
Rome. He was taken there as a prisoner and put in chains. But at this
time, sometimes our plans are different from God's plans. We
have to pray, Thy will be done. Now in verse 14, he says, I am
debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, the cultured
Greeks and the barbarians, that is, those who are common, both
to the wise and to the unwise. In other words, I owe it to everyone
that I meet tell him this gospel, to preach this gospel, to live
for Christ as an example, but to preach the gospel. So in verse
15, he says, so as much as is in me is, I am ready to preach
the gospel to you that are at Rome also. I'm ready, I'm willing
to preach the gospel as much as is in me. He said, this is
my desire. This is my, this is what I want
to do. And I'm ready to do it, ready
to preach the gospel. Why not? It's the good news.
of salvation for sinners, based on the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And now, I want to take some
time with these next two verses, verses 16 and 17, because they
are so important. Most commentators will tell you
this right here is stating out the theme of the book of Romans. And in so doing, it actually
states out the theme of the whole Bible. Now let's look at these
verses. Verse 16. Paul writes, for I
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Now before, he had
called it the gospel of God. Now he says it's the gospel of
Christ. Well let me tell you something, that's the same thing.
Christ is God. He's very God of very God. He's
God and man in one person. I dealt with that last week.
And I hope that you heard that, that you got a hold of it and
you thought about it. He is God. We have no hesitation in saying
that. He said, listen, he told the
Pharisees when they challenged him and they said that you didn't
live before Abraham and Christ said before Abraham was, I am. In other words, he took upon
himself the title of the great I am. In other words, he claimed
to be God. If he is not God, if Christ,
if Jesus Christ is not very God of very God, my friend, I want
to tell you something. He is the greatest counterfeit
that ever lived. He's a great impostor. But He
is God. You can bank on it because this
word says so. And He proved that. He was made
of the seed of David according to the flesh. He was man without
sin, but He was declared to be the Son of God with power. He
is God. So Paul says, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. Why would he even have to say
that? The gospel is good news. Well,
I'll tell you why he had to say, I'm not ashamed of it. Many might
hear the gospel and they don't believe it. Many hear the gospel
and they're actually offended by it because you know what the
gospel tells you? It tells you that you have absolutely
no hope of salvation anywhere based upon anything but Christ
and Him crucified. The gospel shows reality and
it shows us that we're sinning We're wretched, depraved sinners
who cannot do anything good before a holy God. We may brag on each
other. We may be moral and good and
kind in our own eyes, but in the eyes of God, we're sinful
people, God-haters, idolaters. That's how we're born into this
world. Born in Adam, ruined by the fall of Adam. When Adam fell
in the garden, we fell with him. He represented the whole human
race. We fell into condemnation, guilty and defiled. If we could
see ourselves in our nature as we're born into this world, if
we could even peer into our heart as God sees us, we would not
be able to stand the sight of it. That's how sinful and wretched
we are in God's sight. And the gospel is good news to
people who know that, who see that, and who admit that. You
see, we're all guilty before God by nature. That means subject
to God's just condemnation. In the next verses that I'm going
to deal with in future messages, he's going to talk about the
wrath of God that's revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and all unrighteousness. And when people think about that,
when you think about that, what comes into your mind? Are you
thinking about the most immoral, irreligious, wretched, rotten
people on the earth? My friend, he's describing all
of humanity there, even you and me in ourselves as we're born
into this world. Based on who I am and based upon
the best that I've ever done in trying to keep the law, I
am no better off, no closer to salvation, no closer to God's
favor than the worst wretch that ever lived. That's what the gospel
teaches. Sinners, that's what we are.
Somebody said one time, if you could ever find a sinner, you'll
find somebody who wants to hear the good news of God's grace.
But you see, people don't really believe they're sinners. Oh,
I know we say, well, we're not perfect. But do you know that
by nature, based on your best efforts to keep the law, you
are still deserving of the wrath of God and eternal hell? If you
don't see that, then you've never seen yourself as a scriptural,
biblical sinner. So Paul said, I'm not ashamed
to tell people about that because I want to tell you something.
The whole need not a physician. This is the good news for sinners.
This is the gospel of God's grace. And if anybody sees their sinfulness
the way the Bible describes it, they'll embrace it. They'll love
it. But those who are self-righteous, those who are righteous in their
own eyes, they'll hate it. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of
it. It's the gospel of Christ. It tells us about his person.
It tells us about the glorious work that he did on behalf of
his people. His name shall be called Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin. It's good news
to a sinner. And then he says in verse 16,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power
of God unto salvation. Now that word power, in the original
word, we get a word that we use for dynamite. Dynamite's pretty
powerful, isn't it? Well, Paul is saying, here, this
gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Now, what
does he mean by that? You know, I preach the gospel
to many people, but not all of them believe it. But you know
what? Some do. What's the difference between
those who believe it and those who don't? Are those who believe
it, now listen to me, are those who believe it better people
than the ones who don't believe it? Are those who believe it
Are they less obstinate than those who don't believe it? By
nature, no. Let me tell you the difference
between those who believe the gospel and those who do not believe
the gospel. The difference is totally the
sovereign grace of God. If you believe the gospel, don't
take pride as if you did it of your own free will. Your will
is in bondage to sin, and if you believe it, It's because
God made you willing to believe it, to come to Christ in the
day of His power. That's how the gospel is a power.
It's the power of God unto salvation, it says here, to everyone that
believes it. It's not the power of God unto
salvation to everyone, but to everyone that believes it. And
that believing is saving faith. And faith is the gift of God. If you believe it, you don't
have anything to boast about or brag about in yourself. You
don't have anything to be proud of if you believe it. It's because
God the Holy Spirit empowered the gospel to your heart. And
He made the difference. Christ makes the difference.
You know, when our Lord was crucified, there was two thieves, one on
each side, one on the right hand and one on the left hand. Both
of them began by railing on Him. But all of a sudden, one thief
believed Him, trusted Him, and the other thief on the left,
he didn't. What made the difference between the two thieves? I'll
tell you who made the difference. The man on the middle cross.
Christ made the difference. God alone makes the difference. Who makes us be to differ? That's
the question. Paul writes, by the grace of
God, I am what I am. So if I believe the gospel, my
only claim to fame on that is the sovereign mercy and grace
of God. And that's it. So he says the
gospel is the power of God and the salvation. to everyone that
believes. Now, you're commanded to believe
it. You say, well, what if God doesn't make me believe it? That's
not your business. You're never to sit around and think, well,
what if God does this? Listen, you're commanded to believe
it right now. And if you don't believe it,
you are responsible. And you have nobody to blame
but yourself. And if you die in unbelief, God will be just
in your damnation. Now, what a sad, sad thing if
you hear the gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved. and then you give God the glory.
Now he says it's the power of God and the salvation to everyone
that believes it, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Now the Jews here, what does he mean to the Jew first? Well,
he's talking about the privileges that God gave to the nation Israel,
especially under the Old Covenant, because it was through that nation
that God chose to give his law, his word, and bring the Messiah
through them, And it was in that nation, when our Lord came to
this earth, became incarnate, he was a Jew, he was made of
the seed of David according to the flesh, it was to them that
the gospel was preached first. Salvation was never based on
them being a Jew. It was never to be confined to
the Jews. But it did come through them
in Providence. So he says it's to the Jew first
and to the Greek. Now let's look at verse 17. This
gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth,
verse 17, for therein, in this gospel, is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the
just, or the justified, shall live by faith. Now, he says the
reason that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation is
this. In that gospel, in the proclamation
of it, in the preaching of it, In the communication of that
gospel, there is a revelation. The word revelation means uncovering. Something is hidden, but now
it's uncovered and you can see it. Well, in that gospel is uncovered,
revealed, the righteousness of God. Now listen to me very, very
carefully. This phrase, the righteousness
of God, is one of the most important phrases in God's Word. One commentator
said it's the key that opens up all the scriptures. The good
news of the gospel is the uncovering, the revelation, the preaching
out and proclamation of the righteousness of God. Well, what does that
mean? What is the righteousness of
God? Well, he's going to tell us in later verses here, but
let me just define it for you this way. You know, God in himself
is righteous. That's one of his attributes,
one of his characteristics, his holiness. His law is a reflection
of his holiness. But that's not the righteousness
of God revealed here. Now, in the gospel, God's essential
righteousness and holiness is revealed. It is discovered there.
It is consistent with the gospel. In fact, the gospel is the preaching
of the good news of how God can save sinners and still be holy
and righteous. How his law and justice is satisfied. But the righteousness of God
here is the righteousness that God provides through and by and
in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words,
the law and the gospel reveal to us that we are sinners. We
are in need of righteousness we cannot produce. You know,
to be justified before God. He said, the just shall live
by faith. Well, that's the justified. To be justified before God is
to be declared righteous. And righteousness is a legal
term. It means this, perfect satisfaction to God's law and
God's justice. It means perfect obedience to
the precepts of God's law. It means perfect satisfaction
to the penalty of God's law where sin is found. So this righteousness
of God is showing that in the gospel, which shows us we need
a righteousness we cannot produce, but God has provided one. Where? Where is it to be found? Well,
some preachers will tell you, well, if you'll just have enough
faith, you can make it. Some preachers will tell you,
well, God relaxes His law, and now He doesn't say based on law,
He says based on faith. That's a lie. The gospel is the
good news of how God, who is holy and righteous and just,
provides all the righteousness we need. Not in our works, but
in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. God sent his
Son into the world to do for his people what they could not
do for themselves. We need righteousness. We can't
do it. Nothing we did, even our best.
You know the Bible says man at his best state is altogether
vanity. You take the best person that
ever lived, he still falls short of the righteousness of the law.
He cannot be saved. based on his best effort to keep
the law. God, listen, God will never,
He can never, He will never save sinners based on their law keeping.
Somebody say, well, what if I do my best? Well, first of all,
we don't really do our best at anything all the time. But even
if we did do our best, it's still not good enough. A man asked
me one time, he said, how good must you be to be saved? You
must be as good as God. And we cannot do that. Well,
that's why salvation is by grace and not by works. By works of
righteousness that we do, we can never even come close to
the requirement of God's law. That's why God sent his son into
the world, to redeem his people from the law. Christ came as
a representative of God's elect to stand in their place and keep
the law perfectly. God requires it, Christ did it.
And because those whom he represented were sinners, sin has to be paid
for. The soul that sinneth must surely
die. Without the shedding of blood, which means without death,
there is no remission, no forgiveness, no pardon for sin. So because
the ones whom he represented were sinners, he had to take
their place on the cross of Calvary. He had to suffer, he had to bleed,
and he had to die, not for his own sins, but for the sins of
his sheep. And that's how he satisfied justice. Now listen to me. The whole merit,
the whole value of Christ's obedience to the law and his death on the
cross is called the righteousness of God. In that gospel, we see
the grace of God, the love of God in sending his Son into the
world to keep the law, and satisfy every precept of it, and to go
to the cross and satisfy its justice, He alone brought forth
the righteousness that God requires, but He did it for His people.
The Bible says, for Christ is the end of the law, the fulfillment
of the law, for righteousness to everyone that believes. The
Bible says that Christ is our wisdom, our righteousness, our
holiness, and our redemption. All the righteousness that God
requires of me I find in Christ and in him alone. I don't find
any in myself. I find it all in him. And that's what he means.
It's the righteousness of God. It's revealed in the gospel from
faith to faith. That is, from the preaching of
the gospel to God-given faith, wherein we believe it as it is
written out of the Old Testament. The book of Habakkuk. The judge. Those who are declared righteous
before God, they live by faith. They live trusting Christ for
all their salvation. I'm complete in Him. I'm completely
righteous, I'm completely holy, I'm completely redeemed, I'm
completely qualified and entitled to the whole inheritance of grace
and glory in Christ. He is all my salvation. He's my all in all. I don't need
anything else, I'm telling you. Even the work of the Holy Spirit
in me is from Him. Even the new birth, even spiritual
life, And when I do things in seeking to obey God, I'm not
doing those in order to establish my own righteousness. I'm not
doing those in order to attain or maintain salvation or try
to earn God's favor. I'm doing it because He's already
given me all that I need in Christ. You see the difference there?
He is everything that we need and we don't need anything else.
That's what the Bible means when it says you are complete in Him.
You can't get any Any more complete than complete, you see. We who believe the gospel are
complete in Christ. So here's the issue. God who
is holy, God who is righteous, God who is just, how can such
a God still be God and still save sinners? He can't just look
over our sins. He can't just come down and say,
forget it, as if it never happened. God is love and mercy and grace. But how can he be both righteous
and gracious? How can he be both holy and merciful? How can he be both a righteous
judge as well as a loving, merciful, gracious father? How can he be
just and justifier of the undone? There's only one way. The very
righteousness of God revealed in the gospel. That's Christ.
Salvation by grace. I hope that And I hope you'll
think about it and study on this. And if you'd like a copy of this
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week for another message from God's Word. We're glad you could join us
for today's message. If you would like to receive
a copy of this message, or if you would like more information
about Eager Avenue Grace Church, remember we are located at 1102
Eager Drive in Albany, Georgia. You can call us at 229-432-6969. or visit our Reign of Grace website
at www.rofgrace.com. Thank you, and may the Lord be
with you.