God bless my heart, thank you. And that last song we sang, my
faith looks up to thee. That last line, when life's, no, when ends, life's
transient dream, when death's cold, sullen stream shall o'er
me roll, bless Savior, listen to this prayer, Blessed Savior,
then, when I'm leaving this world. Blessed Savior, then in love,
fear and distrust remove. Oh, bear me safe above, a ransomed
soul. You know, in that day, when it comes our time, And unless the Lord returns,
we're all gonna go that way, aren't we? We know that. In that
day, Lord, bear me up. I can't keep myself, I know that. I pray that the Lord bless the
services tonight. I've got some notes here. Turn with me to Romans 117. Romans 117. I'd like to read the last line of Romans 117. The just shall live by faith. As we were coming over a while
ago, I was telling Mark and Regina, I just stay right on the edge,
knowing I'm going to preach. I just feel my heart beating
in my throat. And Mark says, if you ever stop
feeling like that, just quit. If you ever just feel that this
is just another service, I've just got, you know, another message
to preach. Who knows? This may be the last
time we ever meet together just like this. This may be the last time I ever
preach. This may be the last time you
ever hear. I don't know. The Lord does. But concerning our hearing, may
the Lord give us ears to hear. eyes to see, the just, those
that have been declared just before God. I got to thinking
about this, Larry. What is it going to take for
a man to be declared just, justified? righteous before God. What's
it going to take? That man's going to have to be
just. That man's going to have to be righteous before God. Not pretending. And I know this. There's only one way that a man
is going to be just before God. I'm going to develop this, Lord
willing, but I'm going to tell you right now what I'm going
to preach. For a man or a woman to be just before God, Almighty
God is going to have to take that man, that woman, and put
them in one that He trusts. He's going to have to put Him
in the one. that he trusts, that he has eternally trusted. He's going to have to put him,
her, in his blessed Son. And all that the Son does is charged to that one that is
in him's account. Almighty God declares him in
Christ justified. The law looks upon that one and
says, no charge, no offense. no discrepancies, no deviations, holy, holy. The just shall live by faith. That's stated at least I know
four times in the scriptures. Bacchus 2.4 says, Behold, his
soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just
shall live by his faith. He that is swollen, swollen up,
puffed up, and presumes upon his eternal security based upon
self-ability is not upright. So I know this, the just who
live by faith, that living excludes pride. I don't have anything
in myself to be proud of. I know just a little bit about
myself and what I know about myself, and we're talking about
it. I know that. Galatians 311, but
that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is
evident, for the just shall live by faith. The strictness of the
law is set forth James 2.10, for whosoever shall keep the
whole law and yet offend in one point, just a thought, just an intent, is guilty of all. All have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. So I know this, living by
faith, excludes my works, I know that. Hebrews 1038, now the just
shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall
have no pleasure in him. If any man draw back, I know
this, living by faith, the faith of God's elect, It endures to
the end. I know that. Faith in Christ alone endures. If Almighty God has given a man
or woman faith to believe, it's gonna endure. Why? Because God's gonna keep it.
They're kept by the power of God through faith. Now that truth that's set forth,
the just shall live by faith. That is the foundational truth
of the scriptures. And I pray that tonight, Lord,
give us some light on that. Let's just consider for just
a few minutes, that last part of that verse, the just shall
live by faith. the just, the righteous. Obviously, there is a people
that Almighty God has declared justified, just in His sight,
but this is what I want to know. Job asked this, Job 9.2, how
should man be just with God? Well, I know this about what
the scriptures has to say. Now, it doesn't matter what man
has to say. If it doesn't line up with the
word of God, it's wrong. What sayeth the scriptures? This
is what I want to know. What does the Lord have to say?
about a man or woman's justification before Him. What does God have
to say about it? Well, listen to this. In the eternal counsel, purpose,
will of God, I know this. It can truthfully be said that
God's sheep were eternally justified according to God's predestinating
grace. Now listen to what the scriptures
say. We've read these scriptures so
many times, but isn't it refreshing just, let me hear it again. That's what I said this morning.
Tell me one more time what the Lord has to say about a man being
just before God. According as he The Father hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame, now listen,
before Him, before God. not before men, but before God,
chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before God in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself according to the good pleasure of his will. Almighty
God, who changeth not. Do you know what that means?
It means God doesn't change. It means God has never changed. God who is eternal has never
changed. Does He see His people in Christ
right now justified? The answer's yes. Then how long has he seen them
justified in Christ? I'm talking about he who changeth
not, who never has changed. How long has they looked upon
them in his Son, holy and without blame, before him in love? in Christ, who has saved us and
called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. Boy,
how often we need to be reminded of that, don't we? You say, I
know it. I know you know it. I know it
too. Tell me again. Tell me again. Because I got
an old man that wants to argue about that. I got an old man
living in me that wants to refute that. And I know that it's so. That it is not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. All that God Almighty has ever
done for His people has been in Christ The one who I just
said a moment ago, whom the Father first trusted, I trust him. I trust him. He's the only one
I trust. And being found in the one that
Almighty God trusts is my haven of rest, my city of refuge. So I know this concerning being
justified before God. according to God's everlasting
purpose, will, counsel. In his blessed son, he has forever
looked upon his people holy and without blame before him in love. Listen to this secondly. The
scriptures declare that God's people were justified at Calvary. through the shed blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5, 8, and 9. But God commendeth
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more then, being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. All that was required. For the
justification of God's sheep was accomplished at Calvary by
the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And on that account,
God raised us, raised him, raised him and us in him from the dead
for or because of our justification. The Lord Jesus Christ died physically
in time. I know that. And in that death justified all
that the Father had given him in electing grace. What about
the Old Testament saints? All that the Father had given
him in electing grace. You remember just what? that righteous man. He's one
of the Old Testament saints. God declared him to be just. The Father has justified His
people in His Son by His shed blood that He saw from the foundation
of the world. All that dwell upon the earth
shall worship Him. That is the beast whose names
were not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. And then there's an effect and
an evidence of this blessed state. Almighty God has eternally looked
upon His children in Christ. Just. When the Lord Jesus Christ laid
down His life for the sheep, God Almighty had justified His
people. But that death was seen and beheld
before the foundation of the world. Well, what's the evidence? What's the evidence of that blessed
state? The scripture says, Romans 3,
28, God's people are justified by faith without the deeds of
the law. Now, if God's people were justified
because of their faith, that faith, if they were justified
because of That'd be a work on their part. Again, Romans 3.20
says, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh
be justified in his sight. A man, a woman, they're not justified
because of their faith, but by God-given faith, the vessels
of God's mercy, evidence what Almighty God has done for them
by grace. They evidence what the Lord has
done and they believe God. They believe what God Almighty
has done. He has justly, justly dealt with
them in a substitute. He has justified them freely
by His grace and by faith. They believe that. Listen, Galatians
2.16. You've heard this scripture.
Your blessed pastor has preached this so many times, but listen
to this. Again, Paul says it's safe that we hear. He says not
grievous that I repeat, say the same thing for you, but you it's
safe. Let me tell you something that's safe for us to hear. Galatians
2.16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith, of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed
in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of
Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of
the law shall no flesh be justified. What does the law demand for
justification? What does the law demand? Absolute perfect, holy obedience. That's what we just read. The
slightest departure, one offense, we're guilty of all of it. So
knowing that all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God, I'm gonna tell this one more time. By the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in his sight. What are the deeds
of the law? Anything that you think you can
do or need to do to be justified before God by the deeds of the
law. But here is the revelation of the glorious gospel of God. A man is justified by the faith,
the faithfulness of Christ. Of the Lord Jesus Christ is the
surety and the representative of God's sheep. He alone has pleased God. This is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. You hear him. The Lord Jesus obeyed the law
of God and suffered the totality of the debt incurred by his people's
disobedience. Justified by the faith of Christ,
means by virtue of our union in Him. What He did, we did. What He suffered, we suffered.
When He died, we died. When He rose, we rose. When He
ascended, we ascended. You say, I don't understand all
that. I don't understand it all either, but I believe it. This
is exactly God's revelation of how a man is justified by virtue
of his union in Christ and with Christ. And as the father is
well pleased with the son, I can tell you this, all in the son,
the father's well pleased. All the glory and the honor and
the praise for our justification before God, all the honor, the
glory, the praise for it. is do Him by the faith of Jesus
Christ. Here's the answer of a man being
found virtuous, pure, and right, justified before God. As I said, it just amazes me
just to think that the law of God would see no deviation In
Christ, there's no deviation. There's no missing the mark.
Justified before God. How can that be? Chosen in Him
before the foundation of the world. Redeemed by Him by His
precious blood. Robed in His righteousness. Given faith to believe Him. and trust Him. Faith that I didn't
have is given unto you to believe. Almighty God grants faith and I have no confidence in my
flesh. I stand complete in Him. If I know Him, if I'm in Him,
if I'm found in Him, in Christ, I'm just before God. Was that
blessed state because God saw some good in me before? Absolutely
not. The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand
and seek God. They're all gone aside. They're
all together become filthy. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. There was no merit. in any vessel
of God's mercy in themselves. Romans 3 24 says, being justified,
that is being declared just and pronounced righteous, being justified
freely without a cause in the recipient of God's mercy being
justified freely by His grace, by His favor, His pleasure, His
benefit through the redemption. I looked at, here's one of the
definitions. Liberation procured by the payment
of a ransom. Liberated by the payment of the ransom. I found a ransom, eternally found a ransom, justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. This is good
news. How did we find out about it?
How was God pleased to reveal this truth? to the objects, to
the vessels of his mercy. How? The Apostle Paul says, I'm
ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also, for
I'm 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 also to the Greek, for therein. He said, I'm not ashamed to preach
the gospel to you. But therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. You know, I've tried to
read what that from faith to faith actually means. And there's a lot of different
thoughts from one degree of faith to another. And I'm not, you
know. Robert Hawker wrote something
that I thought was very, very good and interesting. It says,
from faith to faith, he said, by faith. A believer knows that
the imputed righteousness of Christ was not obtained by or
imputed because of his own faith. I thought that. I believe that.
By faith, a believer knows it wasn't by my faith. By faith,
I know that it was by the faith of Jesus Christ. I believe that.
So the Apostle Paul declared, he said, I'm not ashamed of the
gospel because in the gospel therein, there's the revelation
of a righteousness that God gives and approves. Why? It's the righteousness
of God. So for a man to be just before
God, God's gonna have to justify him. No man's got that ability,
no man's gonna meet the requirement of justification before God. What is the requirement? Listen
to Micah 6a. He has showed thee, O man, what
is good. And what doth the Lord require
of thee? Now you know what? I want to
hear what does God require of me? For a man to be just before
God, here's what he's going to have to do. To do justly. I looked it up, you know what
it means? It means to do righteously. This is what God requires for
justification. And to love mercy. And to walk
humbly with thy God. That's a requirement. Oh my,
what a requirement. What does God require of thee?
Is there a man born in Adam? that can fulfill these requirements
for justification before God. Robert Hawker wrote this other
thing, I thought it was good, I'm gonna read it to you. He
said, you and I shall indeed do justly with our God if we
confess that in ourselves, now here's doing justly, this is
the right thing right here, this is right. He said, we shall indeed
do justly with our God if we confess that in ourselves by
reason of sin, We justly deserve his wrath and indignation, having
broken all his righteous laws. He said, we'll do right if we
confess. Lord, in myself, I deserve wrath. He said, we shall indeed love
mercy. A man that rightly confesses
himself. I see in me there dwells no good
thing. I know that. Oh, if there's mercy
to be found for me. If I might be found to love mercy,
that is, if the Lord Jesus Christ be the mercy that we love. Who is himself according to Luke
1.72? God's mercy. We shall indeed walk humbly with
our God while from a daily sense of sin and from feeling the workings
of corruption within, we walk as those who in the moment they
seek mercy constantly acknowledge their own undeservings of it. I am what I am by the grace of
God. In myself, I know something of
what I am. but that Almighty God would have
mercy upon me. How thankful I am that God give
me a heart to love His mercy and to walk humbly before Him
in thankfulness for what God has been pleased to do. Yes,
the just. There are some that God Almighty
has justified freely by his grace. And what are they gonna do? And
I'm gonna finish up. These last two points are gonna
be fast. What are they gonna do? Well, the scripture says
they shall live. Almighty God, by his grace and
mercy, has given them life, eternal life. And they're in this world,
a world that they are not of, They're in the world, not of
the world, but they're gonna live. They shall live in this
life. They shall live sustained, maintained,
and comforted, led, directed, guided, safe, a life of communion
with the Lord, a life of peace and joy according to the good
pleasure of God. These objects of God's mercy
are those, they weren't born spiritually alive, they know
that. Listen to Ephesians 2, 1, and you, hath he quickened? Who were dead in trespasses and
sins, those who in time past walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
Oh, but when it please God. Separated me from my mother's
womb, called me by his grace. When God Almighty was pleased
to put him under the sound of the gospel. Do we realize tonight the mercy
of God that would allow us to have a place to hear the gospel? that you can get in a car in
just a few minutes, be somewhere where the Lord's raised up the
candlestick of life. Sent you a pastor. How marvelous
is God's grace. That message Paul said, I'm not
ashamed of. When it pleased God, it came to him in power. It gave
him a new heart. gave them a new spirit, took
away that stony heart, gave them a heart of flesh, granted them
faith to believe, and taught them. By faith, they believe that God
saved them by grace, through faith, and it was not of themselves. And then lastly, that last part
of that verse says this, the just shall live by faith. According to the regenerating
grace of God, we began a life of faith, trusting
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's eternally loved His people.
But we were born children of wrath. That is, children of wrath
toward Him. We were enemies in our minds,
not in His, but in ours. And there was a point in time
when Almighty God was pleased to call his people out of darkness. And they began, as I said this
morning, just like Saul of Tarsus, there was a day, Saul of Tarsus
was eternally a vessel of God's mercy. Almighty God eternally
loved him. But I tell you this, Saul of
Tarsus didn't always love the Lord. But there was a day when
God Almighty came to him in power and stopped him. And that day
began a life of faith for Paul. And we continue according to
God's good pleasure in the faith. Listen to this. And you that
were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
Yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight. If you continue in the faith,
grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the
gospel which you've heard, which was preached to every creature
which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister. God's people began at a point
in time, regenerated by the grace of God, and they continue kept
by the power of God. And I tell you what, by the grace
of God, it's gonna be the end of it. By God's grace, they're
gonna die in the faith. Justified, having received eternal
life. and they're never gonna perish. No man's gonna pluck them out
of God's hands. They're gonna die believing God
right up to that moment that they leave this world. They're
gonna die in the faith, doing what? Believing that they were
not justified. This is what they're gonna die
believing. They're gonna die believing that they were not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ. You know, can I have any hope
of knowing something about this for myself? Yes, you can. Listen to this
scripture. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. The reason
that he believed on the Son, believed what? Believed that
he was not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus Christ. He that believeth on the Son,
he was already alive. or he'll never believe that. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ
is the evidence that by faith a man believes in salvations
of the Lord. The just shall live by faith. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart, for Christ's sake. Amen.