The Cover We Need

Good evening. If you'd like, you can turn back to Romans chapter three. There are many things that, while we grow up under the care of our parents, we're aware of happening. But it never really enters our mind, one day this is going to be your responsibility. You're going to inherit the things I'm having to deal with. And such an occasion is home ownership. You watch your parents as you grow up, and they're taking care of the house. It just happens, and then you acquire a home. And all of a sudden, you've got to deal with all that goes along with it, the joys and the trials.

Many of us have already been in this situation. Many of us will be there again. And one of those experiences recently reared its ugly head at our house. The roof needs to be replaced. Got to have new shingles. And everything that goes along with that. And that's been rather on the forefront of my mind lately. So while I was trying to find a message for us tonight, that was in my mind.

The replacement of this roof. And for those of you who haven't dealt with this recently, this is what happens with home ownership. You acquire the house, either buy it or you build it, and you go under the assumption that all is going to go well for many years. And you don't really consider your roof very much.

It's there. It's doing its job. You're dry. Everything's fine. And then suddenly, quite unexpectedly, there's water in your house. Water in your house where water should not be. There's a hole in your roof. Your covering is not as complete as you once thought it was.

Well, that hole in our roof led me to the word propitiation, and I was reminded of who I am without my Lord Jesus Christ. There was a time I was completely satisfied with my best efforts to keep God's law. at least the way I interpreted it for myself. It would provide me a sufficient covering in the day when I stood before the judge of all the earth.

In my darkness, in my death, in my sin, my unbelief, I was among those that Peter spoke of in 2 Peter 3.16. He says, they that are unlearned and unstable, that's me in my flesh, unlearned, unstable, rest, twist, turn awry, pervert. They that are unlearned and unstable rest as they do also the other scriptures unto They're my own destruction.

I heard the word of God. I heard of God's free salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I said in my heart, but I have to be better than that person to earn his favor. I heard the gospel cry, come to the Lord Jesus Christ, rest upon him, look unto me and be ye saved. And in my heart I said, there's a better way. But God, in his great mercy, was pleased to stop me. And many sinners like me, and he was pleased to reveal to us that the righteousness that we come into this world looking to and trusting in is a righteousness full of holes.

That righteousness built upon the foundation of do and live is like a roof with a hole in it. One little insignificant hole and the whole roof becomes unreliable and in time it shall crumble and fall. The day is coming for us when we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ. In that day we must have a sure covering for our souls. And there is one covering, one propitiation that will be sure for us. The only covering God accepts is the only covering that he himself has provided. And that covering is our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3, starting in verse 19.

Now we know that what things soever the law saith is saith to them who are under the law. that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now 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 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. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness. that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? of the Gentiles also, seeing it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith?

God forbid. Yea, we establish the law." This is the good news worthy to be declared. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the covering we need. Verse 24, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. When you take your concordance and look up the word propitiation, it refers back to the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. Hold your place here and turn over to Exodus chapter 25. At the end of chapter 24, Moses went up into the cloud upon Mount Sinai. And in verse 10 of chapter 25, Moses receives the instructions for the ark.

Verse 10, and they shall make an ark of Shittim wood, two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold. Within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.

Skip down to verse 16. I found this so comforting. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. Before Moses came down from the mount, before he took those tablets in stone and threw them down and broke them, the ark was given to contain them. Verse 17, and thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. Verse 21, And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. Before God gave Moses the testimony, he gave an ark that would hold that testimony. Before he gave the testimony, he gave a mercy seat to place on top of that ark to cover that testimony. And in verse 22, God said, and there I will meet with thee and commune with thee from above the mercy seat.

Do you see the picture of Christ here and what he did for us? Before the law was given, before God said to Adam, eat of whatever you want to, but not of that tree. God had prepared our propitiation. Behold, the Lamb of God, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. When our Lord came into the world, he said, a body hast thou prepared me. Just as the Ark was prepared to hold that testimony, the law that was given to Moses, and to cover that law, God the Son came into the world in a body made in the likeness of sinful flesh.

As our Lord walked in this world, a man among men, he bore in himself the holy law of God in his flesh. He kept that law unbroken in the flesh. He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities in all points, tempted like as we are, yet without sin. You can go back to Romans chapter three. The Lord God has given us good news to proclaim. He has prepared, he has supplied, of his own good will and purpose, the propitiation that lost, condemned sinners need as our covering.

Romans 3.19, now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law. That's all of us. All of us born of Adam, we are born under the law.

To what end, to what purpose was the law given? Verse 19, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. What's the purpose of God's law? Is it to tell people how they should conduct their lives? Yeah, if we lived as we should, we should keep God's law. Is the purpose of God's law to tell us how to obtain eternal life?

It does that, Leviticus 18.5 says, ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live.

We're dead in trespasses and sin. The dead are unable to do. The dead are unable to live in the statutes and judgments of God. What is the purpose of God's law? That every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. purpose of God's law is to reveal our true estate. Guilty. Undone. The guilty are those who need a covering. They need a perpetuation. The law was given to appoint men and women of all classes, nations, ages, to the only Savior of sinful men, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 10.4 for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it. Let's examine ourselves. When the triune holy God looks upon you, will your covering hold true? Will you be found like himself, holy, blameless, Undefiled? Do you need the covering that God supplies and accepts? Romans 3 19 and 20 tells us of our condition that we inherited from our rebellious father being born under the law.

We're guilty. Verse 19. 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. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

We enter into this world born under the law, and we try to appease it. We try to satisfy it. But for all our working, the only thing we get is, verse 23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You and I came into this world thinking that by keeping the law, we would obtain a right to enter into heaven's gates by our deeds.

In our dead estate, we looked at our covering and we said, well, it's not the best roof in the neighborhood. but it keeps me mostly dry, and I'm drier than my neighbor, so therefore I'm better off than he is. When the storm comes, we think, yeah, I'm better off than that guy, so I'll be more righteous, I'll be more acceptable. Thank God he has been pleased to teach me Our prayer is that he will continue to tear down our false hopes and our false coverings and bring us to the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

A roof with a hole in it, regardless of the size of the hole, is not a suitable covering. Beginning at verse 20, our text clearly lays out that our righteousnesses are not suitable coverings. Verse 20, therefore, by the deeds of the law, those things that we call to ourselves our righteousnesses, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.

For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God, who is Christ. Without the law, that is, without the sinner's keeping of the law, is manifested. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets, they testify of Christ. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith 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, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins. that are passed through the forbearance of God to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Beginning in verse 21 and all the way down through verse 26, that's one sentence. It's a mouthful. So what did we just read?

God our Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ, because we, his chosen elect people, were lost and undone, being condemned under the law and unable to fulfill it, Christ came and in our place fulfilled the law for us. He held the law in himself and he kept it for us. His righteousness, not our keeping of the law, His keeping of the law is our hope. Our failure for not keeping the law cannot be passed over.

The sin must be redeemed. It must be paid for. Therefore, God laid on Christ Jesus our sin and our iniquities. And on Calvary's cross, He, bearing that guilt, bearing that shame in himself, he freely shed his blood, laid down his life, and fully paid our debt. He has done it all. Verse 27, where is boasting then? What could the sinner possibly boast of?

It is excluded. By what law? Of works? By something that we, the sinner, did? Nay, but by the law of faith. Christ is our righteousness. Christ paid the ransom. Christ is all and in all. Boasting in myself for something I did is excluded. The day draws near for all of us in which we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And when that day comes, we need a cover, a cover with no holes in it. There is one and only one covering which God has provided. There's only one that he accepts.

Verse 28, therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith or by Christ without the deeds of the law. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only man that fulfilled the law. And if he did so for you or for I, then we will be given a heart that looks to him alone.

Verse 31, do we then make void the law through faith? Do we make void the law through Christ? The sinner that God has called in faith, Christ alone, looking to his fulfillment of the law, looking to the fact that he has shed his blood to pay for our transgression. He has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Will that sinner then say the law is to be ignored and it has no bearing? God forbid.

With David we say I love thy law. We have a desire for the law. We desire seeing that it is good and it's perfect. We desire to be able to keep the law as our Lord did. But in this flesh, this body of death, we know that we cannot. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish the law. Looking unto Christ alone as our propitiation, the law is established.

In his flesh, he fulfilled the law. In his flesh he suffered, shed his blood, laid down his life. He gave himself for our sins to pay the debt we owed for not keeping the law. Since Adam's fall, man has invented many ways that seem right in his eyes. but none can fulfill the law, redeem the soul, and provide a satisfactory cover. Only in Christ, only by Christ, is the law kept in full, the sin debt paid in full, and the sinner found covered with the only covering that satisfies the holy, just God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Cover We Need

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