Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
I'm glad you could join us. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, I'm going to be preaching from the Old Testament
book of Job. And I'm going to begin in Job
chapter 9. And the title of the message
is in the form of a question, which is posed in Job 9 and verse
2. How should man be just with God? How should man be just with God? And the question there is posed
by Job himself and what he's asking is how should man who
is sinful and depraved and deserving of judgment and wrath, how should
a sinner be justified with God? Now the book of Job is a very
interesting book. Some scholars believe that Job
was the oldest book of the Bible. And that may be true. And we
don't know much about the timing of it. And of course, you know
how biblical scholars are. They all differ and they argue
and they debate over these things. But it doesn't matter. The truths
that are set forth in the book of Job are eternal truths. And you can't put a date on those.
This is God's word. But you know about the story
of Job, how that Satan approached God and he talked about Job serving
God only because God had been giving Job good things. And he
said, you haven't put Job to the test. So God allowed Satan.
to test Job and tested him severely. Took away his family, took away
his wealth, took away his health, everything that men and women
by nature hold dear here on earth. Think about that. If someone
come along and just wiped you out of all, your family was gone,
Job's children died in terrible ways. And then Job lost his health,
then he lost all of his money. If somebody come along and do
that to you, you'd feel like you were cursed of God, wouldn't
you? You'd feel so bad. And of course,
Job starting out, we know that the Lord said that Job was a
justified person. And I'll just say this up front.
What is it to be justified before God? To be justified before God
is to be forgiven of all your sins. If I'm just with God, then
I'm forgiven. And then to be just with God
is to be declared, counted righteous in God's sight. A righteous person
in the Bible is not one who exceeds other people in morality. Now
we should try to be as moral as we can be. But a righteous
person in the Bible is one who is righteous, not because of
their works, but because God has declared them righteous in
His sight on a just and legal ground, just like forgiveness. And so the Lord Himself said
Job was a just person. He was forgiven. He was righteous
in God's sight. And Job was an upright person.
That's a man of faith or a woman of faith is upright. They believe
God's word, believe God's gospel, and essentially believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what that is. But then
God allowed Satan to come down on Job, take away his family,
his health, his wealth. And Job started out well in a
good testimony. He said, the Lord giveth, the
Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
His wife tried to get him to curse God and die. Job wouldn't
do it. But then there were three men
who came along, three friends of Job, who said, now we need
to sit down and talk about this and find out what's going on
here. And when they first came, they sat down there and they
didn't say a word. They just sat there and they just agreed
with Job. Then they started talking, discussing, and giving their
opinions. And basically their message to
Job was this. Job, we've got to figure out
what great sin you've committed that has caused God to bring
this down on you. And that's where it went all
haywire. And that's when they became what
Job refers to as miserable comforters. In fact, there was no great,
now Job was a sinner, don't get me wrong, as are we all. I am a sinner saved by grace. And if God were to mark iniquities,
I preached on this last week, I wouldn't stand. Put it to you
this way, if God ever gave to me what I deserve and what I've
earned in his sight, it would be worse than what Job got. It
would be damnation. Lord, if thou, Lord, shouldest
mark iniquities, who would stand? Psalm 130, verse three. So when
it comes to saying, well, Job, we've gotta find some particular
sin, to find out why God brought this down on you. Well, there
was no particular sin that Job had done that caused God to do
this. God was putting Job to the test
and he used Satan as his instrument. Now, that's what the Bible teaches.
Now, there are times when even believers will suffer particular
consequences for particular sins. There are times that that happens.
We can think about King David when he committed adultery with
Bathsheba and had Uriah killed. And God said, you're forgiven,
but the sword's not gonna leave your house. Your family and your
kingdom's gonna be in turmoil from now on. That was a consequence. Even though David himself was
just a sinner saved by grace, David had the assurance of hope
of salvation by God's grace. but he suffered the consequences.
But you can't say that we suffer the consequences of every sin
because we wouldn't be able to hold our heads up. And we're
all sinners. But here's what happened. See,
they began to accuse Job and say, Job, now you got to come
clean here. And Job began justifying himself. And that was wrong. Even believers
can fall into that kind of attitude. But in all this process of their
discussion, they posed this question. Look at Job chapter nine and
verse one. This is Job himself. Then Job
answered and said, I know it is so of a truth, but how should
man be just with God or before God? How is it possible that
a sinner like me or sinners like you could be justified before
God, could be forgiven of our sins and declared righteous in
God's sight. And he says in verse three, he
says, if he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one
of a thousand. What that means is if you're
gonna justify yourself before God, if you're gonna contend
with God, God, when God brings, when you bring one point in your
favor, God can come back with a thousand against you. Think about that. And that's
the thing about it. You cannot answer him one of
a thousand. And the word thousand in the Hebrew way of thinking
was a limitless number. It wasn't literal thousand. And
so how should a man be just with God? Well that question's posed
again over in Job 15. This is another one of Job's
friends. His name is Eliphaz the Temanite. And he says in
verse 14, now this is Eliphaz. He says, he asks this question. What is man that he should be
clean? Clean from his sins. And he which is born of woman
that he should be righteous. What is man? Sinful man. Verse
15, Eliphaz says, Behold, God put of no trust in his saints. Yea, the heavens are not clean
in his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water. How can a sinner be justified? Even God's saints, now who are
the saints there? That's a sanctified person. And
what is a sanctified person? A sinner saved by grace. Well,
God didn't put his trust even in his saints. His saints put
their trust in God. So even his saints who are justified,
how in the world could that happen? They couldn't justify themselves
by their works or their decisions or anything like that. And then
one more passage over in Job 25. This is one of the shortest
chapters of the Bible. Job 25, this is another one of
Job's friends, his name was Bildad, he was the Shuhite. And listen,
it says in verse one of Job 25, then answered Bildad the Shuhite
and said, dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in
his high places. Is there any number of his armies
and upon whom doth not his light arise? This is how great and
glorious and awesome God is. And then he poses the question,
verse four, how then can man be justified with God? How is
that possible? Or how can he be clean that is
born of a woman? Behold, even to the moon, and
it shineth not. Yea, the stars are not pure in
his sight. How much less that is a man that
is a worm, and that word worm refers to a maggot, and the son
of man, which is a worm. That word worm refers to a different
worm. It's what's called the tola.
It was the worm which they got the red dye out of. that they
dyed the priestly garments and the coverings of the tabernacle,
the red part, and it's a picture of the blood of Christ is what
it is, the red dye. In fact, it's even used in Isaiah
chapter one, the same word when it talks about the crimson, though
my sins, though they be red like crimson, they shall be white
as snow. So the issue here is how in the
world shall a man be just with God? Well, the Bible teaches
us plainly in the Old Testament and the New, this fact. And I'll read this from Romans
chapter three. This is verse 19. It says, now
we know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God. Now guilty there means subject
to the judgment of God. Sometimes we use the word guilty
in the fact that we are the ones who did the crime and we're all
guilty in that way. But the word guilty here has
to do with the pronouncement of guilt in the court of law
in the sense that brings judgment down upon us. And so he said,
that's the way it is. The law cannot save us. The law can show us what righteousness
is, but it cannot make us righteous. The law can only pronounce us
guilty before God and condemn us based on our works. And then
in verse 20, He says, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there
shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. Now, Job and Eliphaz
and Bildad, they posed that question. How can a sinful person be justified
with God? Well, it's not by works. You
cannot be forgiven of your sins. You cannot be declared righteous
before God by your works. He says in verse 20, for by the
law is the knowledge of sin. So in other words, the only thing
the law can show me and do for me is show me my sinfulness,
the fact that I'm a sinner, and the fact that I deserve nothing
but God's wrath based upon my best efforts to keep the law.
So then, how can a man, a sinful man, a sinful man or a sinful
woman, be justified in God's sight? Well, Paul begins to answer
that question in verse 21 of Romans 3. It's answered back
over in the Old Testament. In fact, it's answered back in
Genesis chapter 1, 2, and 3, when God took an animal and killed
it, shed its blood, and made Adam and Eve coats of skin. But
here's how it comes back doctrinally and theologically. Look at verse
21 of Romans 3. The righteousness of God, without
the law, is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith or
the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that
believe. For there is no difference, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The answer
to the question is found in the gospel. and it's found in the
gospel revelation of Jesus Christ, who is the very righteousness
of God. Over in Romans 1 and verse 16,
Paul writes, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and to the Greek, that is the Gentile, for therein
is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is
written, the just or the justified shall live by faith. What is
the righteousness of God there? My friend, it is the merits of
the obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died as
the surety of his people, having their sins charged, accounted,
imputed, reckoned to Him, and substituted Himself and died
on the cross to pay the redemption price of death in their place,
the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep, not for all
without exception, but for His sheep, and He redeemed them from
their sins. It's through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus And he says in Romans 3 and verse 24, he
says, being justified freely, without a cause, unconditionally,
by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That's
how a sinful person can be justified in God's sight. It's upon the
ground, the basis of the blood of Christ, which is His righteousness,
imputed, charged, accounted to them. Verse 25 of Romans 3, Christ
whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, that word propitiation,
it means a sin-bearing sacrifice that brings satisfaction to the
justice of God. You see, that's why there'll
be no sinners in hell for whom Christ died. Here's what the
scripture says. If Christ died for you, that
means God chose you before the foundation of the world and gave
you to him. If Christ died for you, that means your sins were
charged to him and cannot be charged to you. See, that's why
the Bible says in Romans chapter eight, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Blessed is the
blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputes righteousness
without work. So if Christ died for you, that
means you cannot be charged with your sin. And if Christ died
for you, that means his righteousness has been imputed to you. You
are justified, you're forgiven and declared righteous, not by
your works, not by your decision, not because of your faith in
him, but because of His righteousness imputed to you. And if He died
for you, you shall be born again and you shall believe in Him.
You will cling to Him. You will rest in Him. You will
know Him because out of His righteousness comes life from the dead. You
must be born again. But the righteousness of God
was not established by me or by you or by any sinner. It wasn't
established by our faith in Him. It was established by His faithfulness
to do what He promised to do before the world began. That's
the everlasting covenant of grace. So look at verse 25 of Romans
three, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood. I see the satisfaction that he
accomplished because God has given me faith to believe in
him, his finished work, to declare his righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed. That's the Old Testament saints
through the forbearance of God. Verse 26, to declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. So that's the point. You know,
when Job and Eliphaz and Bildad asked that question, it comes
from the fact that this, God is a just God. Now we hear a
lot today about a God of love and mercy and grace. And God
is. The God of the Bible is a God
of love and mercy and grace. God loves His people. There are
people whom God hates. The scripture says that. I know
people don't want to hear that today, but the Bible teaches
it. God doesn't love everybody, but He loves His people with
an everlasting love. Do you want to be part of that
love? Well, that love's only be found in Christ. Outside of
Christ, there's no love from God. There's only hatred and
wrath. And His hatred is not a sinful hatred. It's not God
throwing a temper tantrum. It's God's justice. If I stand
before God without Christ, without being washed in His blood and
clothed in His righteousness, I have nothing to look forward
to but God's wrath. Without Christ there is no hope,
there is no justification, there is no life from the dead. So
God is a just God and He must punish all sinners to whom He
imputes, charges sin. So is there a way that God can
look at me, I'm a sinner, and not impute sins to me and still
be just in doing so? And the answer is yes. It's through
the blood of Jesus Christ. Christ being made my surety,
my substitute, my redeemer, who died on that cross for my sins,
so that the justice of God can be satisfied. He is my propitiation,
Jesus Christ the righteous. And then when God, and God was
just to punish Christ, Christ who in Himself was not a sinner,
in Himself He was just, the Bible says, the just for the unjust,
Well, how could God be just to punish His holy, harmless, undefiled,
sinless Son, based upon the sins of God's elect, imputed, charged,
accounted to Christ? That's how. When Christ was on
the cross, He cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? He knew the answer to that. He wasn't asking a question.
He was making a point. Why did the father forsake the
son? Because of our sins, the sins
of his elect, the sins of his sheep, his church, charged to
his account. He willingly became our surety
before the foundation of the world. He willingly said in the
everlasting covenant of grace, he said, put their sins on my
account, I'll repay the debt. And that's why the Father forsook
him and was just in doing so. So then how can a holy, just
God look at a sinner like me and justly declare me righteous?
He's not faking it. It's no legal fiction. It's not
God playing like I'm not a sinner when I am. It's not as if I have
never sinned. No, it's not that at all. It's
that Christ has taken away my sins and put them as far as the
Bible says, as the East is from the West, metaphorically. He's
purged them away. He's cleansed me. That's what
it is. God has really declared me righteous
in his sight. because of what Christ accomplished.
And over in Romans chapter four, listen to this. He talks about
Abraham as an example of how God justifies the ungodly. And
then he goes to King David. And in Romans 4, 6, listen to
this. He says, even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works. Now David was a sinner, but he
was righteous in God's sight. How? By the imputation, the charging,
the accounting, the reckoning of the merits of the obedience
unto death of Christ, his righteousness to David. And David acknowledged
that back in Psalm 32 when he said in Romans 4 and verse 7
here, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Over in the book of 2 Corinthians
5 and verse 21, it says that God the Father made him, God
the Son, to be sin. for us, Christ who knew no sin,
that we might be made or become the righteousness of God in Him. That's what it's talking about,
that great exchange where God charged the sins of His elect
to Christ and charged Christ's righteousness to them. So how
can man born of woman be clean? How can a man be justified before
God? Sinners justified? By the grace
of God, through the redemption that is found only in Jesus Christ,
and based upon the imputation of my sins to him and his righteousness
to me. And even as a sinner saved by
grace, and all, listen, all for whom God imputed their sins to
Christ, and all to whom He has imputed
Christ's righteousness to them." Here's what the Bible teaches.
They will be born again by the Spirit. They will be brought
under the gospel message. Remember what Paul said in Romans
1 16, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Somebody
said, well, if what you're talking about is you don't have to believe.
Oh, no. If what I'm talking about is true, which it is according
to the Bible, you will believe. You may not believe today, but
before you go to the grave, you will believe. You'll hear this
message in the power of the Holy Spirit and He will open your
eyes and your ears. He'll give you a new heart and
you will run to Christ. You'll cry out of the depths
as I preached last week. You'll say, God, be merciful
to me, the sinner, and you'll embrace Christ, you'll believe
in Him, you'll repent of your dead works and all of your sins,
and you will persevere by the grace of God in the faith of
Christ. You'll look unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of your faith. I know that so. Christ said,
if I be lifted up on the cross, I will draw all unto me. That
is all his sheep, all for whom he died. He's gonna draw them.
And how does he draw them? Through the preaching of the
gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Not under the preaching
of a lie now, but under the preaching of the gospel. This is what you
need to understand. If you're sitting somewhere in
church or on listening TV to a lie, There's no drawing under
the preaching of a lie. A corrupt tree cannot produce
good fruit. You gotta hear the gospel. And
if God chose you and Christ died for you, God's gonna bring you
under that gospel. He's gonna confront you with
it in some form or fashion, communicate it to your mind, affections,
and your will, and you will believe. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
or email us through our website at www.TheLetterRofGrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.