Turn with me in your Bibles,
please, to Luke's Gospel, Chapter 18. Luke's Gospel, Chapter 18. and we're going to read from
verse 9. Luke's Gospel, chapter 18, and
we'll read from verse 9. Luke 18, verse 9. And he, that is the Lord Jesus
Christ, spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves,
that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went
up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other
a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men
are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican, I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the
publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smore upon his breast, saying, God be merciful
to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone
that exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted. Amen. May God bless to us this
public reading of his word. The Lord Jesus Christ told this
parable of the two men, the publican and the Pharisee. And it's interesting,
I think, that in the introduction to the parable that Luke gives
us here in verse nine, he explains a little bit about the reason
why the parable was given by the Lord. He speaks of people who trusted
in themselves. They trusted in themselves. I think that's a very pregnant
phrase. And I am absolutely certain that
those individuals whom Christ was addressing and of whom Luke
spoke, would utterly deny that they trusted in themselves. They would say, we trust in God. Everything about our worship,
is directed to God. Everything about our words, everything
that we say, everything that we do, everything about our works
is directed to the glory of God. They would find it abhorrent
that there is any suggestion that they trusted in anyone other
than God. and yet Luke explicitly states
that they trusted in themselves. They believed that they honoured
God in the things that they said and the things that they did. They believed that God had set
out in the scriptures the pattern by which men should live. They believed that the rules
had been established and it was their responsibility in order
to honour God, to fulfil God's instructions, to the best of
their ability to live to the glory of God. And yet Luke is
very clear that these men against whom the Lord spoke this parable
were men whose trust ultimately was not in God, but in themselves,
in their works, in their worship, in their lifestyle that they
had, in the law that they endeavored to fulfill. They were trusting
in their own ability. and the Lord had to put his finger
upon it. He had to expose their hypocrisy
and to show them that they were not trusting in God, but trusting
in themselves. Undoubtedly, these men would
be assured that their lives would be successful and they would
enter into the presence of God. Undoubtedly, they felt that they
would be honoured of God as those who had laboured for him and
dedicated their lives to him. To suggest otherwise would be
to bring down their contempt upon you. And Luke even touches
on that. He said they trusted in themselves
and they despised others. Do you know what it is to despise? We talk about spies these days. Spies are people that look into
things that they shouldn't be looking into. To despise is to
look down upon someone else. To look down on them from an
elevated position. And see, this is the position
of the hypocrite. The hypocrite is such a one who
believes that they are right and they despise those who are
wrong. God forbid that we ever despise
those around about us. We have to be aware that we are
contradicted so very often on the basis of this ministry that
we preach. We have to recognize that we
will be contended against, that there will be a good fight of
faith that must be engaged upon. And we've been speaking about
the army, the army and the soldiers that get called to the army and
to have to take their place in the trenches and spend their
lives perhaps. in the cause of God and truth. But let us not despise those
around about us, for there but for the grace of God go I. These are people who trust in
themselves. That speaks to me of religious
passion. That speaks to me of commitment
and dedication. Here are people that felt they
were following the right paths, the right patterns by which God
would be pleased with them. But the reality was that they
had missed the whole point of the message and the Lord Jesus
Christ took time to speak to these despisers of his flock
in order to expose their error and to show them wherein the
true gospel was to be found. This acceptance with God that
these men felt that they had is in truth the foundation of
all religion in the world. because it doesn't have to go
by a Christian name and use our biblical vocabulary. All religion
throughout the whole world and men and women are religious creatures. We are people in this world who
have an awareness of God, there is an evidence of God around
about us. And I know that it's a popular
idea today to be atheistic, or if you're even more sophisticated,
agnostic, to say that, well, how can we know there's so much
out there? And the reality is that people
are willfully ignorant because the testimony is given. We see
it in the design and the complexity of this created world around
us. We see it in the immensity of
space and the universe. It doesn't matter where we look,
we constantly see that there is something bigger, there is
something better, there is something more profound than ever we grasped
before. We feel it in our own emotions. And in our own psychology, there
is that sense of one to whom we are answerable. Men know that
in the depths of their being because they are spiritual creatures. Fallen, yes. Dead in their sin,
yes, but with an awareness of an accountability before God.
And so men strive by whatever means they can to honour God
by some moral code or another. Religion is a worldwide phenomena
and with good cause. But yet, coupled with the clear
evidence that God has revealed himself, men are left without
excuse. How can a man be right with God? It was mentioned a little bit
earlier that from the book of Job, that question was once asked
and the question remains, how can a man be just before God? Can sinners ever find peace in
our conscience, in our heart, in the wee small hours when we
reflect upon the people that we are? When we think about the
places that we've been and the things that we've said and the
deeds that have been done, is it possible to have peace with
God? Perhaps you've felt something
like that. We talk sometimes cerebrally,
sometimes intellectually, sometimes theoretically about these doctrines,
but what about the heart? What about the conscience? What
about the knowledge that we're not the people that we should
be? Is it possible to find peace with God? Is it possible to be
at peace with God? We've mentioned several times
today that this message of sovereign grace that we have owned as the
theme for our conference together here. This message is the gospel. Sovereign grace is the gospel. It's not an interpretation of
the gospel or a flavor of the gospel or an emphasis of the
gospel. It is the essence of the gospel. It is the message that God has
so worked at. that there is peace with him. And so there is good news to
men and there is a message to preach. There is truth from God
that has been revealed from heaven to be declared in the presence
of men and women today that it is possible to find peace with
God. And I hope that each of us here
this evening has a sense of that peace, has a knowledge, has some
assurance of that peace, having been brought by the Spirit of
God to lay hold upon these great themes of God's purpose and pleasure
in the salvation of sinners that we have been speaking about.
The Lord Jesus Christ gave us this parable in order to speak
and to testify from his very own lips that it is possible
for men to be just with God. The Lord Jesus Christ says of
this publican, I tell you, I tell you, the great I am has declared
it. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified. I want to be that man. I want to be that man. I want
to hear God say of me, justified, reconciled, saved, cleansed by
the blood of Jesus Christ. Let me tell you a couple of things,
if I may, in the time that we have before us this evening,
about what the Bible says concerning this important matter of justification. What it is, who it is that receives
it, how it is worked, how it is effected, when it takes place. And I want to read you a definition. It's not something that I often
do, but I have found this definition to be helpful, and I want to
read it to you this evening. says this regarding justification. Those who have union with Christ
by eternal covenant are justified from their sins past, present,
and to come by the blood of Christ. This justification we conceive
to be a gracious and free acquittance of a guilty sinful creature from
all sin by God through the satisfaction that Christ has made by his death. And this applied in the manifestation
of it through faith. Okay, a little bit of a mouthful,
but there's a usefulness to that definition. It comes with supporting verses.
Now that definition was written in 1644 by a group of seven churches
here in London. And I wish I knew of seven churches
here in London who would own such a statement today. I wish I knew of seven churches. Perhaps they are out there. and
we just haven't got to hear of them. If you are, get in touch. Get in touch. We would love to
share fellowship with you upon such a statement. We would love
to join shoulders with you in these days of so much compromise
and so much diluteness about these great gospel truths. We find our reason for being
here. Fewness of our numbers is a testimony
to the fact that there seems to be such little interest in
these truths that have wooed us and won us to a proper understanding
of God's purpose for his people. We're told in that definition
what justification is. It is the complete cleansing
from sin. Ah, sin. Such a little word,
such a big problem. Sin. We come into this world
as sinners and we very quickly evidenced the fact of our sinful
nature. It doesn't take very long in
the life of a child before it's testing the boundaries and pushing
against the authority that it's given, whatever that might be. And so we discover that the heart
of man pursues its own selfish desires and seeks its own ends. And we find that whatever standard
men live by, whatever authority they take to themselves, they
prove themselves to be unworthy of that standard and opposed
to that authority. And our own consciences condemn
us. And we know what sin is. You don't have to explain what
sin is to a man. He knows what it is, and he knows
that he has fallen short of even his own professed standards of
those things which are true, far less the holy law of God. Justification is the complete
forgiveness of sin. All sin in the heart and life
of an individual dealt with and removed. A cleansing that takes
place, an absolution before God, a rendering of peacefulness and
reconciliation with God. 1 John, the apostle, tells us
there in chapter 1, verse 7, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanseth us from all sin. And this is what justification
is. We speak about being justified. This is what it is at its heart. This is what it is at its foundation. It is peace with God. by the
taking away of our sin, by the cleansing of our sin, by the
blood of Jesus Christ. And thus, we see that while God's
testimony concerning you and me is very clear in Scripture,
Ecclesiastes 7.20 says, there is not a just man upon earth. There is not a just man that
doeth good and sinneth not. The Apostle Paul picks that up
in Romans chapter 3, where he says, all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. And we must, if we are honest,
raise our hands and say, that's me. That's me. I'm a sinner before
a holy God. I've fallen short of the standard
that he has given in his word. God knows I've fallen short of
my own standards of life. And I know the kind of person
that I am. And yet, God says, there is a
people in this world who are justified before him. There is
a people who in love and mercy He has placed in union with His
Son, so binding them together with His beloved Son, that when
He looks upon that people, He sees them in His Son. And when He looks upon His Son
and declares of Him, I am well pleased. That testimony of God
relates directly to them also. This is what it is to be justified. Ephesians chapter two, it's been
mentioned a couple of times already today. Verses four to six, we
read these words. But God who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were
dead in sin. hath quickened us together with
Christ, by grace ye are saved, and has raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He was
delivered for our offences. He was raised. He was raised
to bring us into that state of justification with God. That is what our justification
entails, that God himself has cleansed us by the precious blood
of Jesus Christ from all and every sin. We're also told by
that definition, written so many years ago, that it is God himself
who declares this to be so. If I were coming here and saying
to you, I've got a good idea, I've got a suggestion, I've got
a notion that if This is this and this is that then perhaps
we can interpret it and we don't have to think like that. God
has revealed himself and God has declared that it is he who
justifies. He justifies the ungodly. In Romans 4 verse 5 we read,
but to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. God quickens when we are dead
and justifies the ungodly. It is God who takes the initiative. And so when we come to this matter
of salvation, when we come to this matter of peace with God,
we have to understand that it is God who is there before us. We may feel a burden, we may
feel a concern, we may have some anxiety about our soul's well-being,
about what the eternal dimensions will hold for us, about what
we are going to say in that day of accountability when we have
to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and declare ourselves. We may have some concerns about
that, but if we do, we have to recognize also that if we are
to find peace with God, it must be God who makes that peace. for it is beyond our ability
to do so. It is God who justifies, and
he justifies the ungodly. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians.
There's a couple of verses I want to read to you there. 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. Look at verse 17. We've spoken a couple of times
about reformed this afternoon. Reform's an interesting word,
and it has a good historical pedigree in the sense that there
was a reformation from the darkness of Rome back in the 1500s, the
16th century. But you know what? I don't want
to be known as reformed. I want to be known as a new creation. Not something that's taken and
manipulated from the old, but something that is born again,
something that is made brand new. Verse 17. Says, therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. All things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the
ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that is to know 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. Peace with God. Now then, we
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by
us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God, for
he hath made him, Christ, to be sin for us. Who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself. God was in Christ forging a peace
for his people, bringing us to himself, justifying us, cleansing
us from our sin. We're told also of the ground
by which this justification, this cleansing, this peace with
God is effected. It is the blood of Jesus Christ. Once again, we are reminded that
it's nothing to do with all of the works of man, nothing to
do with our worship, our testimony, our commitment, our dedication,
nothing to do with our obedience to the law, the ground of the
cleansing, the reconciliation that God has effected is the
blood of Jesus Christ. The merit, the value of Christ's
blood cleanses all the sins. The writers of that definition
spoke of sins past, sins present, and sins to come. That's the
fullness of this work of Christ. He has cleansed us even from
the sins that we have not yet committed. That also has a reference to
the timing of Christ's death. For all those that had lived
and died and sinned, who were united with Christ in the purposes
of God, had their sins forgiven upon that sacrifice that Christ
was yet to make. And all those who have lived
united with Christ in the purposes of God, subsequent to the death
of Christ, have their sins cleansed by that same blood. This is a
one purpose. This is God in the death of Christ,
reconciling his people to himself because of that covenant union,
that love which God had for his people, taking them, placing
them in his son in eternal union with him such that he becomes
both substitute and surety for them. He pays every debt. He fulfills every duty. Substitute in paying the price
for their sin, for we had become transgressors of that law and
indebted to the holiness of God, exposing our own unworthiness
and our wickedness and our iniquities in those acts that we perpetrated
against him. But the Lord Jesus Christ took
our place on the cross. Surety by fulfilling every obligation
required by a perfect, holy God. And that's why we've been hearing
already about the fact that when God looks upon his people, he
sees them holy. He sees them blameless in his
son. Paul says in Acts chapter 13,
through this man, Jesus Christ is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins. Do you know your sins forgiven?
Have you peace of conscience before the Holy God? Through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by
him all that believe. are justified from all things
from which he could not be justified by the law. Okay, we've been
told what justification is. It's the complete cleansing from
our sin. We have been told who it is who
justifies, and we've been told that he does so by grace. We know the ground of our justification. It is the precious blood of Jesus
Christ. And now we are told who the justified
are. They are those who are placed
in union with Christ in the everlasting covenant of grace and peace. Hebrews 10, 14 says, for by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Ah, the doctrine of sanctification. It has brought a few people to
wonder and weary themselves about how to live holy lives. Our sanctification
is not anything to do with our holiness of living. It has to
do with that position into which God has placed us. as He sees
us and places us in His Son, Jesus Christ. He has set us apart. We are set apart in that eternal
purpose, set apart in that covenant of grace. We are called to it
by that calling. And yes, that has a consequence
in time, but this is an eternal work of God. and setting a people
apart in his Son. Justification is an act of the
eternal God, declared in eternity, revealed from everlasting. And when the elect were set apart
in Christ Jesus, they were accepted, not they will be accepted, they
were accepted. in the beloved Son of God. God is reconciled to his people
in eternity, by which we discover the pedigree and the everlasting
dimensions of our justification. Look at Ephesians chapter one.
Look at Ephesians chapter one with me. Again, this is a passage
which has been touched upon Look at verse three. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Someone mentioned
earlier, I think it was Alan, about the uzzies. The uzzies. Read the uzzies in this. Who
have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. according as 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 unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of
his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved in
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of his grace. This is the work
of God. This is the work of God by which
he has chosen a people, placed them in Christ and set that people
in Christ Jesus, seating them together with him and bestowing
upon them all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. all spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus. You know that really ought to
humble us. Everything that we possess of
good, of mercy, of holiness, Every good gift from God comes
to us because he has been gracious and merciful to us. Nothing of
ourselves, nothing of this flesh, nothing of this working, nothing
of the dedication or commitment that we would like to bring to
those things which we find to stir our passions and draw forth
our commitment. But everything of God, everything
that he has bestowed upon us, all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places, that heavenly places there is telling us not simply
that these are set aside for us, in heaven, like some inheritance
that is yet to be entered into and obtained. But these are ours
now. God lives in the ever-present
now. And in heavenly places, these
things are ours. God is reconciled to us. Our sins are cleansed. We have
peace with God. Every spiritual blessing is ours
in Christ Jesus. And that is the ground of our
hope in this world. That is what helps us through
the day. That is what causes us to be encouraged and comforted
when we feel the weight of our own mortality and our weakness
in flesh and the sinfulness that besets us and all the troubles
that we encounter day by day such that we get to the end of
the day and we shake our head and we say, Oh Lord, I failed
again. And he reminds us that we are
in possession of every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. And you know, you search the
corners of heaven for a spiritual blessing and your name's written
on it. It's a wonderful, wonderful promise. Justification is an act of the
eternal God. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are blessed with all spiritual
blessings. We are chosen before time to
be holy and blameless before him in love, predestinated to
be adopted children of God by Jesus Christ, accepted in the
beloved, reconciled at peace with God. These are they who
have been brought into this position. The hymn writer, Horatio Bonner
wrote, I change, he changes not. The Christ can never die. His
love not mine, the resting place. His truth not mine, the tie. That calling, that position,
that sanctification, that justification, that every spiritual blessing
in heavenly places is given to us by an unchangeable God, an
immutable God. It is set aside for us, it is
bestowed upon us in Christ and as we are united together with
Christ, so we are possessors of the inheritance of Christ
with Him. We are redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ. We are justified before God. And there's one more important
aspect of our definition of justification, which I want to draw to your
attention. We learn that justification is manifested through faith. Sinners discover, sinners experience
the blessings of God, the forgiveness of God by faith. Pardon for sin, freedom from
judgment is experienced by faith. A conscience void of offense
is experienced by faith. We enter into a personal relationship
with God by faith. We discover that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Lord our righteousness by faith. Therefore, says Paul,
Romans 5 verse 1, being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation. In Christ, God has always been
at peace with his little flock. But now, his lost, wandering, Wayward
sheep are at peace with him. He has always been at peace with
us, and now by faith we are at peace with Him. It is not that
our faith justifies us. We've already noted that it is
God who justifies the ungodly, but our faith brings us into
that experience. Our faith discerns it. That gift
of faith which He gives to us receives and experiences the
blessings of God. We rest from our labours, on
his promises and in the blessings that he has bestowed. Whom God
has 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. God has set him forth. He has set forth the Lord Jesus
Christ. He has set forth the Lord Jesus
Christ in His eternal purpose and decrees. He has set forth
the Lord Jesus Christ in the promises of the Old Testament
Scriptures. He has set forth the Lord Jesus
Christ in the types and the shadows, in the sacrifices of the old
legal dispensation, in the sacrifices that were made. He has set forth
the Lord Jesus Christ in the coming of Christ in our nature. He has set forth the Lord Jesus
Christ on the cross at Calvary. And now in the preaching of the
gospel, in the ministration of the gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ
has been set forth. It is committed unto us, this
ministry of reconciliation, to preach Christ, evidently set
forth as the only way of salvation. Seeing it as one God, that he
might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus,
which shall justify the circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through
faith. Now this is the gospel that we
declare to you, says Paul. This is the gospel that we declare.
It is the way of peace with God. It is witnessed by the law and
the prophet. It is declared by the apostles. It is foundational to the church. It is comforting to God's people
to hear these truths rehearsed in their presence and in their
hearing. It has blessed the Lord's people through history to know
these truths. whether it's been the apostolic
age or whether it has been times more recently, the church has
always been blessed with these truths. And these are the truths
by which the elect are gathered in. We are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief in the truth. And yet, these truths
are far from universally believed, even amongst professing Christians,
even amongst the churches that claim to hold these truths. And hence we discover that those
who teach and preach these things, this gospel, this gospel of God's
everlasting love, this gospel of sovereign grace, this gospel
of the saints' eternal union together with Christ, His perfect
righteousness as the satisfaction of God. These things are mocked. These things are marginalized. These things are maligned in
our hearing. And this gospel and those who
preached it are looked down upon and they are despised. That's
hyper-Calvinism. Those people have no gospel to
preach to sinners. On the contrary, We have the
only gospel to preach to sinners, a gospel which says that God
has done it all in Christ. Those people are antinomian.
They teach men to sin because they say that holiness is to
be found apart from the law. And yet, is that not the testimony
of scripture, that our righteousness comes alone from Christ? Is that not the comfort of our
conscience? We are reviled because we cannot
frame our doctrine in terms of a free offer, such that we have
something to say to all men. Or to say that faith is a duty
that all men are obliged to exercise. Or to preach that God loves everybody
and desires to save everybody. or that he sincerely holds forth
in common grace a message for the salvation of everyone. Marginalized, maligned, despised
by those who trust in themselves, for they do not trust in Christ
or they would not speak such things. We must stand upon these
truths of sovereign grace. We must stand upon particular
everlasting love. of a faith that is a gift from
God freely bestowed through the preaching of the gospel, of the
blessings that flow from God in the covenant of peace to his
chosen, sanctified Serapark people. In short, we must stand upon
effectual grace, saving grace, keeping grace. And that's the
great divide in our day. The publican, and the Pharisee. The publican on one side who grasps his breast and declares,
God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Those who trust in Christ and
those who trust in themselves, who hold forth their works, who
hold forth their faith, who hold forth their goodnesses, their
dedication and their commitment as the testimony that God requires
against those who would ask for mercy. Upon these truths, Sinners,
such as the poor publican of Jesus' sermon, find mercy and
forgiveness. They go down to their homes justified. If God before us says, Paul,
who can be against us? I say again, this is the gospel. This is the truth that saves
sinners. This is what we are delighted
to declare. It comforts the downcast. It
heals the broken-hearted. Men can call it what they will.
They can despise us. They can bad-speak us as much
as they like. But I am not ashamed of this
gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believes. How are you getting home tonight?
Some of you by train. some of you by bus, some of you
by car, some of you walking. God, send us to our homes justified. Send us home with a skip in our
step, praising the Lord for his goodness and his mercy. Is not
that the gospel? Amen.