The Righteousness Of The Saints

I did choose thee, Lord. Todd's Road Grace Church would like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at 9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services. For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In Revelation chapter 19, verses 7 and 8, we read these words, Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife have made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. I've entitled this message, The Righteousness of the Saints.

Now, the word saints is used over a hundred times in the Bible, and it is the title for every believer. People think of saints, they think of some saint as having a surplus of merit and the church counts them saints and not everybody's saints, but that's not what the scripture teaches.

Every believer is a saint of God. I am Saint Todd. If you're a believer, you are a saint just as much as Saint Paul or Saint John. Every believer is a saint. The word saint means sanctified one, holy one. perfectly pure one. Now, somebody says, how can you call any man that? Well, hold on, and you'll see. Every believer is a saint of God, pure, morally blameless, other, not of this world. Hebrews 2, verse 11 says, both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for the which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren."

I'm a saint because he sanctified me. And if he sanctified me, I am a saint. Now, I believe the word that most fully comprehends God's salvation is the word sanctification. That's where the word saint comes from, a sanctified one, sanctification. Now, unfortunately, religion looks at sanctification as behavioral. Justification is your legal standing before God. It's the work of God alone. And sanctification is how you're doing. If you're becoming more holy by your actions, by your self-denial, by your Bible readings, by your prayer, by your fastings, you become more holy and less sinful.

That is what is viewed as sanctification, and nothing can be further than the truth. Actually, that view of sanctification is a denial of what sanctification is, and it's a denial of what holiness is. Now, what is sanctification? Sanctification is God taking something common and ordinary and setting apart for holy purposes.

The word means set apart. Now, every believer was set apart by God in eternal election before time began to be holy. Now, this is the first part of sanctification, God setting that person apart before time began. Listen to this scripture, Ephesians 1, verse 4, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him.

And we're sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ by his work on the cross, if we're believers. Hebrews 10, verse 10 says, By the witch will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. How are we sanctified? Through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. By His death on Calvary's tree, every believer is declared to be a holy one, one without sin, sanctified before God. Now, the third way we are sanctified is by the work of the Spirit of God in regeneration.

Listen to this scripture, II Thessalonians 2, verse 13, and regeneration is being born again. It's the work of God the Holy Spirit in you. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, but we're bound to thank God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

Now, the sanctification of the Spirit is the new birth. It's when he gives you a new nature, a holy nature that was not there before. You were born with a sinful nature. When God saves you, you are given a new nature, a new heart, one that was not there before.

This is the work of the triune God in salvation. God the Father sanctifies His people in eternal election. God the Son sanctifies His people by His redeeming work on the cross. And God the Holy Spirit sanctifies His people by giving them the new birth. Hence, saints. This is the righteousness of the saints. The saints are the elect, those Christ died for, those God the Holy Spirit has given a new nature to.

They are the bride of Christ. This is the Lamb's wife. Oh, I want to be in this group, the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's examine the context in which this statement is made. To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for this fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

In verse one of Revelation chapter 19, John says, after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven. After what things? In chapter 17 and 18, he talked about the destruction of Babylon religion. Now, what is Babylon? Well, you remember the Tower of Babel. It means confusing. And if there's anything that's confusing, it's religion. There's so many different views. And listen to this passage from Revelation 17, verse 3.

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman. set upon a scarlet-collared beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet collar and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of the abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name-written mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."

Now, she's impressive. She's confusion. She's man's works religion. Whenever you have works religion, you don't have a real clear answer as to what is required to be saved. It is confusion. And Babylon is judged You can read the words in Revelation chapter 18 where God says, Now if you're in Babylon religion, salvation by works, the thing to do right now is get out. Come out of her. If you're in a church where works are preached, come out. Don't try to reform it. Come out of her, lest you be a partaker of her sins. Come out.

Now, after these things, when battling religion is exposed, I heard a great voice of people in heaven, that place where there's no sin, saying, hallelujah. Salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God." Now, in this great voice, four things are ascribed to God. Salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. It's not of you. Don't look to yourself. It's of the Lord. Glory. He gets all the credit for salvation. None goes to man. Man doesn't deserve any. He gets all the glory.

If you hear something that's not giving him all the glory, it's not true. And honor, oh, the honor that goes to him. And power, power belongeth to the Lord. When I hear people say, he's a powerful man or he's a powerful woman, I think, no, they're not. Only the Lord is powerful. He is in control of all things. If a man is in a position of authority, the Lord put him there. He has no power in and of himself. Power belongeth to the Lord. not to man."

Verse 2, for true, this is what this great heavenly choir was singing after they said salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord. Then they say, for true and righteous are his judgments, for he hath judged the great whore. The harlot we read of in Revelation chapter 17, false religion. which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." Now, I want you to think of this great congregation praising God for His judgments.

Do you know right now, I could not rejoice to see anybody sent to hell? Not right now. But when I am perfectly glorified, I will be completely on God's side, seeing things from God's perspective. And if He would send my own child to hell at that time, I would say, true and righteous are your judgments. Now, I can't enter into that now. I'd be a liar if I said I could. But I will one day.

True and righteous are your judgments. And again, they said in verse three, hallelujah, and her smoke rose up forever and ever. This is the torment of those people that God has judged. And notice the smoke rises up forever and ever. Hell is eternal. There will be no annihilation. Hell is eternal. Now let's go on reading.

And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne saying, Amen, Hallelujah. Now these four and twenty elders represent the Old Testament and the New Testament believers. The 12 patriarchs, the 12 apostles, they're spoken of in Revelation chapters 4 and 5. And the four beasts are the seraphims or cherubims that fly around the throne crying, holy, holy, holy, these angelic creatures.

And what do they do? They fall down and worship God. This always is the issue. He is to be worshiped for who he is. And I love what they say. They say to him that sat on the throne, the Lord Jesus Christ, who's sitting on a throne right now, ruling and reigning. He's sitting because his work is finished. Salvation has been accomplished. He's not pacing back and forth frustrated that his will is not being done. He's sitting because his work is finished and he's ruling, he's reigning, he's representing his people.

And here is the sound of the elders, hallelujah, praise the Lord, amen. That's the most recognized word in the human language. In every language it's called amen, so be it. Verse 5, And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. Now here's the divine directive. Praise God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him.

Now, there's the description of a believer. They fear God. Now, this is not talking about a slavish dread of punishment if I don't measure up. This is talking about that reverence and that awe and that respect for the God of glory, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We stand in awe at His majesty and His sovereignty and all of His attributes. Fear Him.

And I heard, verse 6, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." Mighty thunderings. The roar of the sea in one unified voice of this great multitude, hallelujah. The fourth time this word is used. You know, it grates on me when I hear people say hallelujah or hallelujah in a flippant way, conversationally, in a religious way. That's not the way it's used here. Hallelujah.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The Lord God Omnipotent, He has unlimited power. Omnipotent means all-powerful. He has unlimited power to do all that is consistent with His nature, His character, and His attributes. Is anything too hard for the Lord? No. He is all powerful. You've heard the term power corrupts. Well, if me or you have it, it'll corrupt us, but not him.

He's all powerful and he's absolutely holy. His omnipotence was demonstrated in creation when he willed the universe into existence. He created something from nothing. His power, is seen in providence, He controls everything. He is the first cause of everything that takes place in time, is what He decreed in eternity.

What mighty power! His omnipotence is seen in salvation when He takes a sinner and makes him just like His Son. His power was seen when He became flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. His power was seen in keeping the law for them. His power was seen in His death when He put away their sins.

What mighty power was seen in His resurrection when He was raised from the dead. What power is seen in the results of that resurrection, the complete salvation of His people, the justification, the sanctification of His people? What power is seen in Him giving them life from the dead? That's the same power that was in the resurrection of Christ, to give them life when they were dead in sins, to preserve them, to glorify them.

Oh, the mighty power of God. And here's the result of His omnipotence. the necessary consequence of his inipitence, for the Lord God reigneth." God's sovereignty. Now, the core meaning of God's sovereignty is He is the first cause of whatever is. God really does reign. He exercises absolute sovereign control Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And here is the only response to that. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him. Oh, we're so glad that He reigns. He's holy. He's altogether glorious. He's too wise to err. He's too kind to be cruel. And He reigns. Absolute sovereignty.

So let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him for the marriage of the Lamb has come. Now, this is the same marriage that Paul spoke of in Ephesians chapter 5, when he said, husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church. And he gave that great passage with regard to marriage and said, this is given to picture the relationship between Christ and his church. His church, his bride, those given to him by the father, the marriage of the lamb has come, and his wife has made herself Ready.

Now, how does she make herself ready? Well, Revelation chapter 16, behold, I come as a thief, blesses he that watcheth and keepeth his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame. The person who's ready is the person who has on the wedding garment.

Do you remember that parable in Matthew chapter 22 where the king comes in and he sees someone without a wedding garment? Now, in those days, the wedding garment was supplied for you. When you got there, you were to put on that garment. Somehow, this man got in without a wedding garment. And the king spotted him and said, friend, how come is thou in hither without a wedding garment? And the scripture says he was speechless, probably for the first time in his life. And the king said, bind him hand and foot and cast him into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

This woman made herself ready by having on the wedding garment that we're going to read of in just a moment. Now, this represents faith in Christ. When you look to Christ, that means you're looking to His righteousness as your only righteousness, as your wedding garment, as that which makes you presentable and accepted by the Father. You look to Christ only. You don't look to your works. You don't look to your experience. You don't look to the things you intend to do. You look to Christ only as your righteousness before God. Now, let's go on reading.

The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife hath made herself ready, and to her was granted, graciously bestowed, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints." Now, I love the way it says she's arrayed, she's clothed. She didn't put this garment on herself. She was arrayed. She was clothed like the prodigal. The father said, bring forth the best robe and put it on him. He didn't say hand it to him and let him put it on himself. No, she was arrayed.

What a gracious gift to her was granted, graciously given, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is the righteousness of the saints. Matthew 3, verse 15, the Lord said to John the Baptist and every other believer, thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. The fine linen and clean and white, that's the righteousness of the saints. It's the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

And I think it's interesting that in some of the versions, a lot of the English translations, they'll say the righteous deeds and the righteous acts of the saints. Now, indeed, the word righteousness is in the plural in the original, but the word deeds or acts or works are not in the original. And this is somebody really interpreting what they think it means rather than giving an accurate translation. The Amplified Version takes it this far, for these are the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of the saints.

Now, Do you have any works that you think are fine linen, clean and white, fit to be your wedding garment? Do you really? Listen to what Isaiah said, the prophet, and he's speaking as a believer and he's speaking present tense. He says, our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. He's not talking about the way they used to be. He's talking about the way they are now. Paul the Apostle said concerning himself, I am the chief of sinners. Not I was the chief of sinners. I am the chief of sinners. And I don't want to be crude, but that word filthy is literally minstress.

If you think your works or your covering, even that God has enabled you to do, That means you've got a covering, a wedding garment made out of minstrels rags, not fine linen, clean and white. The fine linen, clean and white is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Listen to what Paul said in Philippians chapter 3, verse 9. Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law. but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Now this fine linen, clean and white, is the righteousness of God.

It's not the works that you have been enabled to do. Do you really have any confidence in that? I'm all for good works. Ephesians 2.10 says we're His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God before hath ordained that we should walk in them. But do you want that, what you have been done, even enabled to do by grace, to be what stands before God in judgment, makes you acceptable?

The fact of the matter is, we've always got sin in everything we do. You can't consider anything you've done. I can't consider anything I've done, including this Sermon, fine linen, clean and white. Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. The only righteousness that's clean and white is the righteousness of Jesus Christ the Lord.

He is the wedding garment. Now, the righteousness of Christ is Active obedience, he went about doing good. He kept the law perfectly. Everything with regard to his active obedience is my obedience, if he died for me. His passive obedience, when he was nailed to a cross, he became obedient unto death, even the death of cross. His passive obedience is my obedience.

I am not only not guilty, I have kept God's law perfectly. I've loved God with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength and all my might because He did. His righteousnesses are my righteousnesses. I stand before Him as one who has never Sinned, not only is sin not imputed, righteousness is imputed. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauties are, my glorious dress. Its flaming worlds in these arrayed, with joy shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand in that great day, for who ought to my charge shall lay? fully absolved from these I am from sin's tremendous curse and shame. The righteousness of the saints is the righteousness and merits of Jesus Christ. I stand in His righteousness. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. To receive a copy of the sermon you have just heard, send a request to todd.neibert at gmail.com or you may write or call the church at the information provided on the screen.

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