I do welcome all of the guests
that we have here this morning. I do pray that you'll receive
a blessing because of being here. This morning, I'm going to take
a break from what I've been doing in the study of Romans. I've
been going through the book of Romans, verse by verse, and even
though one of the verses that we deal with and we're about
to deal with in our study of Romans is chapter 8, Romans 8
and verse 33. As we begin this message, I want
to make one thing, one point clear, one vital point clear
from the onset, and that is the basis or the main principle and
ground of our justification before God. I firmly believe to be the
righteousness of Christ worked out at the cross, and that alone,
his work alone. Now, the way in which Christ's
righteousness, that righteousness that he worked out in his obedience
unto death as the God-man, it becomes ours and is ours by God
imputing or charging or reckoning that righteousness to our account.
The cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the focal point of
everything. Everything in time and everything
in eternity. Even before time, God was looking
to the cross and what Christ would accomplish there by his
obedience unto death. When God chose a people, he chose
them in Christ. And this term that we see throughout
scripture, I think it's some 78 times in the New Testament,
where it talks about in Christ, being in Christ. It is such an
important term that we need to understand and know what that
means. What is it to be in Christ? How did you get in Christ? How
do you get in Christ? And we're gonna look at that
this morning, and a few things concerning that. and how it is
and what it is to be in Christ. Now, when God justifies his elect,
he was seeing the righteousness Christ would bring, accomplished
at the cross. In other words, when God justified
the elect, he was seeing what Christ worked out at the cross. He determined it from the beginning.
So he was seeing all of this as it was accomplished at the
cross. And even in eternity, future, what will the song of
the redeemed be? In Revelation, it says, worthy
is the lamb that was slain. So the cross was not only the
focal point in the beginning, it will always be throughout
eternity, throughout all eternity. I want to speak this morning
on the subject, Justification from Eternity. Let's begin by
reading our two texts. First of all, in Romans chapter
8, and it will be verse 33. Romans 8, 33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Or
literally it says, who shall lay a charge against the choice
ones of God. God is he that declares he that
is declaring righteous. Now, what we want to consider
this morning is how can God do that? How can God be a just God
and still justify or declare as righteous and ungodly sinner? Let's look at our next verse,
Revelation 13, eight. Where it says in all that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him or the devil is speaking
of whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. And that last phrase
will come into play this morning as we go through our study, Revelation
13, eight slain from the foundation of the world. Now, it is clear
that the subject that we're talking about this morning, in my opinion,
is foreign to most believers, which is that justification takes
its rise, or justification has its beginning, not when we believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and not even when Christ died on
the cross, but before the foundation of the world. It takes place
in the very eternal counsel of the Almighty God, and the covenant
there established between the Holy Three, the Father, Son,
and the Holy Spirit. When before the world ever began,
before it was ever created, some were chosen in the Son of God,
and they were predestinated to the adoption of children, justification
which has its complete essence in God's mind and will, as does
election. These acts are entirely within
God himself and not dependent on an external act which might
produce a real, physical, inherent change as would regeneration
and conversion. The reason this doctrine is foreign
is that it is not taught from the pulpits today. I also want
to make it clear that the belief of this doctrine of the elect's
justification in the mind of God from eternity is not vital
to a true believer's salvation. Although, some of the teachings
in this doctrine does uncover whether a person has a right
view of the true God of the Bible. I want to make it clear also
that the fact of how the elect are justified, not based on their
works, but on the imputed righteousness of Christ alone, is a vital doctrine. and the belief of this doctrine
does evidence one's salvation. Let's look at some scripture
that points us to the valid argument for this doctrine. Look at Ephesians
chapter 1 beginning at verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
by Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. according that he
hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having
predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself according to the good pleasure of his will. And even
before the world began, Paul says in 2 Timothy 1 and verse
9, that we were given grace in Christ. Let's look at 2 Timothy
1 verse 9, which says, who have saved us and called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his
own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ before
the world began. And then of course, we were viewed
in Christ and we had that union with our Lord Jesus Christ from
everlasting. And this union with Christ is,
therefore, the ground of the conveyance or the giving of every
saving benefit which is received by the elect and bestowed upon
them. We have nothing in the way of
saving mercy but what was proposed and declared before time by God. And that includes our justification. You see, justification before
God is one of those spiritual blessings given us in Christ
before the world was ever created. Look at Ephesians 1, chapter
1, verse 3. Who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, and all these
graces were purposed to us not on the basis of any personal
merit or worth that might be in us, nothing done in us, not
in any action on our part, but strictly in, with, and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. They were given us due to what
Christ would accomplish on our behalf as he came in time and
worked out that righteousness. Now, we want to focus on that
one great aspect of God's saving work, which is justification. I do believe that this doctrine
of justification, as I said earlier, is taught aright, is a lost doctrine
today. And even in Calvinistic circles,
as we might call them, one might not hear it traced back to its
origin or its beginning, which is before the foundation of the
world. There just does not seem to be
a lot of preaching today on this very important subject. And may I remind you that when
the correct teaching of this doctrine is left out of the message
that's being preached, that message is like a ship without a rudder.
It is like a ship with a large hole in the bottom, so it has
taken on water, and it's in danger of sinking the whole ship. Even so, when the doctrine of
justification is left out of the message that's being preached,
and left out of the gospel, a giant void is left in that message.
That message actually becomes no message at all, no gospel
at all. John Gill, an old writer, wrote
in one of his many articles on the subject of justification
these simple words, and I quote, the doctrine of justification
by the righteousness of Christ is one of great importance, and
the apostle spoke of it as if the essence of the gospel lay
in it, unquote. In other words, is there a gospel
and could there be salvation if justification be extracted
from the message? Well, look around us today, look
around us today at religion and see what they've done to the
doctrine of justification in most of the religions of the
day. Some say, yes, it's God that
justifies. but he will not justify you until
and unless you believe. This is the teaching of freewill
religion and puts the sinner in complete control. Others say,
yes, it is God that justifies, but he cannot and did not justify
you in his mind until the work of Christ was actually accomplished
at the cross. This teaches This teaching causes
all kinds of confusion concerning the justification of all those
Old Testament saints that lived and died before the cross. Now,
let's begin this morning by defining some terms. What is justification? The question needs to be asked,
what is justification and what does it mean to justify? Now,
these terms we meet with so often in scripture in so much that
is very important that we qualify them in our understanding. We
need to know the meaning of these words, justify and justification. Now, it is generally conceded
by most expositors that these are forensic terms, meaning they're
legal terms, which might be used in a court of law. Legal terms
are the sentence that's pronounced The term justify and justification
is ordinarily used in a declarative sense so that it signifies to
account, to declare, to prove that one is just or to justify. In this sense, justification
is not a work wrought in the center inwardly. We need to keep
that in mind as we go through this study. It is not an inward
renewal. such as in regeneration and conversion. And then again, justification
is not an infusion of righteousness or holiness within the center.
Justification is not what gives us a new heart or renews our
mind before the almighty God. I know that this can be confirmed
convincingly by examining several places where the word is to be
found and is used in the scripture. We also even find that at times
the word justified is applied to God. Therefore, it cannot
mean to make one righteous. When it is applied to God, it
does not put righteousness into the center, but it declares that
they are righteous, and that is the declaration of it. God
declares a sinner righteous. Consider a few verses, for example,
Luke 7 in verse 29, and listen very carefully to what is said
and whom it is said in Luke 7, 29. And all the people that heard
him speaking of Christ and the publicans justified God, being
baptized with the baptism of John. Now in this verse, justification
cannot have the meaning of to make righteous or to put righteousness
into one. Listen to 1 Timothy 3 and verse
16 of the God-man incarnate, where it is written in 1 Timothy
3, 16, God was manifest in the flesh, that is Jesus, and justified
in the spirit. Listen again also to Luke 10,
29. But he willing to justify himself
said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Here we read of a certain
lawyer, that stood up and tempted Christ saying, Master, what shall
I do to inherit eternal life? We see in this verse that this
lawyer was willing to justify himself. Jesus said to some Pharisees
in Luke 16, 15, ye are they which justify yourself before me. Also
listen to Romans three and four, three verse four. This is taken
from Psalm 51 in verse four. This is where King David in the
time of his prayer and contrition Praying to God, he said in Romans
3 in verse 4b, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and
mightest overcome when thou art judged. In all these places,
and we could find many more, the meaning here, in all these
places, is not to make one righteous
or to put righteousness in one, but it is to declare are pronounced
one is righteous. When the people justified God
in Luke 7 and verse 29, they in no way conveyed any righteousness
unto God. They only declared him to be
so. Look again at Luke 7, 29. And all the people that heard
him and the publican justified God before, justified God being
baptized with the baptism of John. Likewise, when the Pharisee
and the self-righteous justified himself, they falsely declared
or announced themselves to be righteous before God, declaring
that they were righteous in themselves, of which their justification
was just a figment of their imagination. The Pharisees had pronounced
themselves to be righteous, but not God. God did not declare
them to be righteous. It was not a divine verdict or
declaration that was passed upon them by God. But it was a false
estimate which they had of themselves, and thus presumed this good sentence
upon themselves, that they were men that were righteous before
God. However, Paul says here in Romans
8.33, it is God that justifies. But now let's get down a little
bit further. where the rubber meets the road,
as you might say, let's trace justification to its origin and
back to its first cause by asking the question, where does God
justification take its rise? When does it first appear? In
reality, in time, or in eternity? Once again, John Gill referred
to justification as an act of God, taken up only in the mind
of God from eternity. That is, it originated in the
mind and will of God, but not after Adam fell, and not when
the son became incarnate and died. But as one old-timer put
it in his writings, justification is a sentence conceived in the
mind of God as a decree from eternity. all based on events
that God determined would happen in time. Justification is absolutely
an essential part of the covenant of grace established between
the Godhead before the foundation of this world from everlasting.
And you may ask, or some may ask, how can justification be,
as you're talking about justification this morning, how can there be
justification before the fall of Adam, and before we had sin
in ourselves, and before Christ had died, and before we have
believed in time. We should ask of them, how is
it that Christ is said to be the Lamb of God slain from the
foundation of the world? Herein is the great connection
in Revelation 13, 8. whose names are not written in
the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. Peter says in 1 Peter 1 in verse
20, 1 Peter 1.20, who verily was foreordained, speaking of
Christ, before the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you. Foreordained to what, you might
ask? foreordain as a lamb without
spot and without blemish, and not foreordain after the fall,
but before the fall, and even before the creation of man, before
the world was created, in which man was to dwell and was to live. Lest we forget that there was
at that time, and I use the word time because We're creatures
of time, therefore I use the term in order for us to kind
of relate to what I'm talking about this morning. And the main reason I say that,
because we know that what we're talking about when we say these
things before time, there was a union formed between
Christ and the elect. before the world from the beginning
in the eternal purpose of God. From then, before the world,
in old eternity, the elect are viewed by God as being in the
Son. We saw that phrase earlier, in
Christ. What does it mean to be in Christ?
It was then, in eternity, when God the Father viewed His elect
in Christ, when He put them in Christ, in that everlasting covenant
of grace, made before time, between the Godhead. And it was then
that the Son became our surety in that everlasting covenant
of grace. Christ stood up, and he stood up and took on that
office of surety. As it is said in Hebrews 7 in
verse 22, Hebrews 7, 22, by so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament. Now the word surety means to
strike hands or to mix oneself up with another. This is basically
the meaning of that Old Testament word surety. And a surety is
one who mixes himself up with others in order to answer their
debts and be responsible for them. And that all that is required
of the debtor, that is the sinner, is then given by the surety,
even life for life. I like the Greek translation
of this word surety, which is under good security or guarantee. So soon, so soon as the sins
of God's elect were therefore imputed unto Christ, our surety
in eternity. As soon as they were imputed
or charged or reckoned unto our surety, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, they were not imputed
or charged to the elect. There are some people, there
are some sinners that God will not charge them with their sins. And the reason being, for God
will not require a double debt, first of the surety, and then
also of the elect. One hymn writer put it in a wonderful
way, payment God will not twice demand, first at my bleeding
surety's hand and then again at mine. When Christ became a
surety for his people, for the elect of God, their sins were
no longer imputed or charged to them, but were imputed and
charged reckoned to Christ, the God-man. They were placed to
His account, and He became responsible for them. It was not at the time
Christ's suffering and death that this took place, that God
laid on Him the iniquities of His people. Look at 2 Corinthians
5, 19. To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Also look at 2 Corinthians 5, 21. For he, our God the Father,
hath made him, God the Son, to be sin for us, who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, in Christ. It
appears that the obligation to payment of debts or punishment
did not lie upon the principal debtor, or God's elect, or guilty
persons, and we were guilty due to Adam's fall, but upon Christ who became their
surety. Christ's atonement in bearing
our sins was in the eye of God from all eternity. and was as
if it were already done in God's mind. You see, unlike sinful
men, there could never exist doubt or change in the mind of
God. God doesn't change. By the decree,
it is as if it is done in God's mind. Now does this mean, as
some may entertain, that Christ would not have to come in time
and accomplish his work of redemption, since in God's mind it was sure
and certain, God forbid. And if that be the case, that
is, that the decree, it is as if it is done in God's mind,
then all intended by the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ
may be viewed by God as being absolutely sure. We used to use
this term years ago, speaking of the Old Testament saints and
how God justified the Old Testament saints. And we said that He did
justify the Old Testament saints, and He did it because that it
was sure and certain that Christ was going to come in time and
work out that righteousness for them in their place. And also
in Romans 4, in verse 17, Romans 417, as it is written, I have
made thee, or speaking of Abraham here, a father of many nations. Before him, whom he believed,
even God, who quickened the dead and calleth those things which
be not as though they were. God calls those things which
be not as though they were. Thus God could call Abraham the
father of many nations, even when he was childless. And even
when he had a barren wife, the father of many nations with a
barren wife. As Paul, the apostle Paul, speaks
of the certainty of God's determination. It is certain because of the
power and the decree of God. And it's certain because God
determined it or because God willed it. Therefore, it is as
if it had a being in the mind and the will and purpose of God.
The accomplishment is sure and certain and cannot fail because
God willed it to come to pass in his decree. So that God's
will to elect is election. God's will to save is our salvation. God's will for Christ to die
assures that he will die in the fullness of time. God's will
to adopt is certainly our adoption. Then God's will to justify is
our justification. And all of this is based on God's
determination that his dear son would come in time and work out
a righteousness that is charged to all of the elect of God by
our father. The last item that we'll look
at this morning is concerning numbers chapter 23 in verse 21. where it reads, he hath not beheld,
speaking of God, have not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath
he seen perverseness in Israel. Though these words were uttered
by a wicked man named Balaam, yet God put these words in his
mouth according to Numbers 23 and verse 16. Therefore, there's
a sense in which they are strictly and literally true. We know that
there is and always was iniquity in the people of God. We're sinners. We know that. As we walk this
earth now, we know we're sinners. We're sinners saved by grace.
And we can't deny that. And we also know that God, with
the eyes of his omniscience, has always beheld it and seen
it. This all must be confessed. How
then hath God not seen iniquity in Jacob then? In order to see
this scripture aright, let us view Jacob and all of God's elect
as eternally chosen in Christ. There it is again, in Christ.
And standing in him from everlasting, even before the world was ever
created. Let us also consider their sins
as imputed their sins as imputed to God the Son in that everlasting
covenant of grace, and His righteousness as imputed to the elect. In all
of this, when God the Son became their surety in that everlasting
covenant of grace, established before time and eternity, then
let us consider the Divine Father as beholding them, His elect,
in their covenant head, Christ. and spotless representative before
the world were even made. And then we shall be at no loss
for a true meaning of this surprising portion of Scripture. He hath
not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness
in Israel. I believe that we shall clearly
see how it is strictly true that God hath not at any time seen
with the eyes of His holiness and justice, iniquity in Jacob
or perverseness in Israel. Eternal justification is the
only key to this text. I don't see any other way that
you can understand this particular scripture without doing harm
to the interpretation of scripture and losing and hiding its glory
and rendering the truth of it is doubtful to say the least.
Well, we believe this at this place, that there is a gospel
to be preached and believed upon. And that gospel, that gospel
that we preach here at Eagle Avenue Grace Church, that gospel,
it contains the righteousness whereby God will save a people. that righteousness that Christ
worked out, worked out at the cross, and imputes to all those
that the Father had given in eternity. And God justifies,
God justifies all those that were put in Christ in eternity,
those that were put in Christ as their surety, Christ who took
on that debt, that sin debt that we all owe, but none of us could
pay. because of our sin, not only
the fall in Adam, but the sins that we commit every day. We
believe that, that this gospel identifies God as a just God. He's going to be just when he
justifies an ungodly center. He's going to be just when he
saves a center by Christ righteousness alone. I hope that this study
has been helpful and I pray that God will use it to the edifying
of his people. Amen.