I invite you this evening to
turn with me to Romans chapter 5. I told Brother Donnie last night
after the message, I said, I guess we're just going to wear the
book of Romans out. But if you have to wear out a
book, that's a good book to wear out, the book of Romans. I want
to express my gratitude to this church and to your pastor for
having me here again and I want to commend you on your hospitality. You saw to our every need. My subject is a very basic doctrine,
justification by faith. Now let's read this together,
Romans chapter 5 verses 1 and 2. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith
into this grace wherein we stand. And standing in that grace, we
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. That's my text. Justification don't mean much
to the average religionist. I went to church most of my life. I won't mention the denomination
but it wasn't any different than any of the rest of them. And
I attended Every time the door was open, my dad had me in there.
He even liked to go over to the old Mission Church in one of
the larger cities nearest and we'd sit on a feed sack and listen
to that man preach. But not one time in all that
time did I ever hear any preacher that I listened to in that denomination
ever talk about justification by faith. Later on, when God was pleased
to call me by His grace, I discovered that justification is the very
heart and soul of the Gospel. The very heart and soul of it. It's not just a doctrine that
men that men might take and argue about and debate about. You know,
people like to take these subjects that are a little bit out of
the mainstream and they like to start those things just to
get a platform, get a soapbox they can get on and talk about
it and argue about it. But that's not so with the doctrine
of justification. Justification is right at the
very heart and soul of the gospel. Listen to this over in Titus
chapter three. I just love how the apostle Paul,
he carries this theme in every epistle that he wrote. Now listen
to what he says here. He says over here in Titus chapter
three, verse three, he said, for we ourselves also were sometime
foolish, disobedient, deceived. Any of that ringin' a bell? serving
divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice and hateful,
and hating one another. And then something happens. The
kindness and love of God our Savior appears. Oh my! Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, But according to his mercy, he saved us by
the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost,
which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
He's still talking about that love of God, our Savior, appearing. Now watch this. Here's the heart
of the matter. That being justified by his grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. It's the very heart and soul
of the gospel. Justification by faith is the
theme of the book of Romans. I don't see how you can preach
very long out of the book of Romans and not preach on justification
by faith. That's the theme of the book.
You find it in every chapter. Back in Romans chapter three,
having proved the depravity and fallen nature of men, both Jews
and Gentiles, he said, I before proved it to you now, I proved
it, that you're all under sin. And having proved the depravity
and fallen nature of men and declared to them the justification
of chosen sinners in Christ, the apostle makes this summation. Now this is what the whole rest
of the book is based on this. He makes this summation, Romans
chapter three, verse 28. Therefore we conclude, we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. That's the conclusion of the
matter. And justification by faith is not only the theme of
the book of Romans, But justification by the free grace of God through
the redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ is the
primary argument used against any and all who would pervert
the gospel of Christ and frustrate the grace of God. You go to Galatians,
what's his argument? Justification by the grace of
God through the redemption of Christ our Lord. That's his argument. If righteousness come by the
law, Christ died in vain. He died in vain. Does it not
seem odd to you that religion which pretends to rejoice in
Christ ignores the very reason for his death? Doesn't that seem
odd to you? Take justification out of the
gospel. There is no gospel left. There's
no gospel left. Now I have three questions I
want to ask and answer from the Word of God. First of all, I
want to ask you, what is this justification? And secondly,
how does this justification work? It must do something, being justified
by faith we have peace with God. And what does it mean to the
sinner? What does it mean to Him? What
do I expect tonight in preaching this free justification of grace
by faith in Christ? What do I expect that to do for
you? That's the question that I want
to ask. So let's start here. First of
all, what is justification? Well, I want to give you five
things tonight on this point. And I want to give you five things
that it don't mean and five things that it does mean. I'm going
to give them to you at the same time. First of all, justification
by faith does not mean that faith comes before justification. Whatever
it means, it don't mean that. It don't mean that. Justification,
if I understand it correctly, is a sentence passed by God. Passed by God, passed in the
mind and counsel of God before the world began, this justification. A sentence. It is an eternal
act of God. I don't know why folks are getting
such a tizzy over eternal justification, do you? God's eternal. Do you expect Him not to act
and do things? Eternal. He's an eternal, our
God's eternal. What else can He do? I just don't
understand it. God's eternal. Everything He
does is eternal. When Christ entered into heaven
with His own blood, it tells us over in Hebrews chapter nine,
when He went into heaven itself with His own blood, He obtained
what kind of redemption? Eternal redemption. Isn't that
what that says? Now brother, you can't have eternal
redemption apart from eternal justification, can you? Otherwise, that redemption meant
nothing. Well, Preacher, I don't see how
you get eternal justification out of this text. Well, I'll
show you if you listen. The very first word of our text
in Romans chapter five is the word therefore. Now a wise old
preacher told me one time, when you see a therefore, look back
to see what it's there for. Therefore. You see that? Well,
the last verse in Romans chapter four says Christ was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. He wasn't taken by chance. It didn't just happen to be that
Pilate was reigning at that time. He wasn't taken by circumstance.
He was delivered. How was he delivered? Turn with me to Acts chapter
two. Now he was delivered for our offenses. We know why he
was delivered. He was delivered for our offenses.
But now let me show you something over here in Acts chapter two.
And what I'm trying to do here is show you that God the Father
justified us, passed sentence on us, and treated us as just
and holy before time began. Well, don't that take away the
necessity for Christ coming into the world? No, sir, it establishes
it. And I think you'll see that right
here in Acts chapter two. Look down here at verse 23. Him,
Him. We're talking about Jesus of
Nazareth, this man who was approved of God by miracles and wonders
and signs. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. How was he delivered? He was delivered by the determinate
counsel of God. And then when old Herod and Pilate
and the Gentiles with the people of Israel passed judgment on
him, interacted all together to bring about his death, all
they did is what God's hand and God's counsel determined before
to be done. You can find that in Acts chapter
4. My friend, the scriptures are
very plain on this. Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow cometh. How did
this gift of justification come? It come from above. Come from
above. Well, if it come from above,
And this justification came from the Father of light. Then the
Father justified us, didn't he? Before time began. Before time
began. And every man who's called to
experience this justification by faith is to the praise of
the Father's glory. Isn't that what it says in Ephesians
chapter one? He's to the praise of the Father's
glory who first trusted in Christ. All right, here's the second
thing. Faith doesn't occupy the chief position in our justification. Easy-believe-ism would make faith
your savior, if I understand what to say. Makes faith the
savior. Gives faith the preeminent part.
But faith doesn't play the chief place in your justification.
Faith is not the cause of your justification. Believe it or
not, it's the fruit of it. It's the fruit of it. Romans
chapter 8, verse 33, said, Who shall lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? It's faith that justifies what
it says. It's God that justifies. and
Christ who died to accomplish it, and Christ who now reigns
in glory to plead its benefits. Justification is not a work that
men can accomplish, it's the work of the God-man, the God-man. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter five. All I ever heard in religion
was just believe, just believe. They called us up front, had
an altar call, we came up front, we didn't know what else to do,
we just followed what he told us to do. And we came up there,
and we knelt down, we prayed, we did all that, and we went
back and sat down, and he says, everything alright? I said, no
sir. No sir, everything ain't alright. Well, just believe. Just believe. Believe what? Oh,
just believe. If hearing and understanding
were not necessary to faith, there'd be no reason to preach.
What are we preaching for? If it doesn't make any difference.
But my friend, it does matter what you hear, know, and understand. Now watch this here in 2 Corinthians
5, beginning here in verse 18. And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation. What's the ministry of reconciliation? Is that trying to get some folks
to make a decision? What is this thing, this ministry
of reconciliation? Well, he don't leave us to guess.
Look at the next verse. To wit. that God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them. That's the ministry. You can't
have a ministry of reconciliation and not preach justification
by faith. It's the heart and soul of it. Listen to what Paul said to the
church over in Antioch. I think that's over in Acts chapter
13. Listen to this. Be it known. Huh? Or something for you to know.
Isn't that what he's telling those Gentiles? Something for
you to know. Be it known. Something for you
to hear and learn and understand. Something for you to know. Be
it known. unto you therefore men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe,"
are you listening? All that believe, are justified
from all things from which you could not be justified by the
law of Moses. Faith doesn't come before justification. Justification is that sentence
passed in the mind and counsel of God before the world began,
and faith doesn't occupy the chief place in your justification. It's God that justifies. All
right, thirdly, faith is not the reason for our justification.
Religion says believe and be justified. The gospel said all
who are justified shall believe. They shall believe. And my friend,
faith is a gift given, not a product traded. Do you hear what I'm telling you?
Faith is a gift given. It's not a product that you have
that you can go trade. You're not born with faith. Religion
acts on the assumption that men have faith and they can exercise
it whenever they want to. However, it's just not true.
It's just not so. Ephesians chapter two teaches
us that men are born in spiritual death. They are by nature children
of wrath, but God quickened us with Christ, gave us life by
way of an eternal union with him. We died with him, we rose
with him, and we ascended up with him, and we're seated with
him in heavenly places. And all that was done, Ephesians
2 verse 6, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding
riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus,
for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. Faith is not the reason for our
justification, the redemptive work of Christ is the reason.
Alright, fourthly, faith is not the matter of our justification.
The matter of our justification is the righteousness of God.
That's the matter of it. The issue that damned apostate
Israel and made their doctrine an absolute
abomination to God was their teaching that men could establish
a righteousness, a justifying righteousness by their own works. And it's the same Antichrist
religion, same doctrine that Antichrist religion is teaching
today. being ignorant of God's righteousness,
and going about to establish their own righteousness, they
will not submit themselves to the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. In Romans chapter 3 verses 24
through 26, Paul tells us that justification by the free grace
of God, through the redemption of his son, and by faith in his
blood, is how that Christ was set forth, not only in the Old
Testament types, but in the clear declaration of the gospel today.
He says the same thing of both. He was set forth back yonder
as a propitiation. for our sins through faith in
his blood. And he said, to declare at this
time, at this time, through the plain declaration of the gospel,
that same righteousness, that God might be just and justifier
of him that believeth in Jesus. And then fifthly, justification
by faith is not according to our works. We're justified, he
tells us in Romans 3. I just quoted it to you freely.
by His grace. All right, here's my second point.
How does this justification by faith work? How does it work? Does it work? Paul says it brings
peace. Paul says it causes us to rejoice.
Well, how does it do that? How does it work? Well, justification
is a legal term. And the doctrine, now hear what
I'm telling you. The term itself is a legal term. The doctrine of justification
is forensic. You ever look that word up? The
old writers loved that word forensic. I found out why. Forensic means
a legal argument used to bring about a verdict. That's what
that word means, forensic. So how does this justification
work? Well, it begins with God sending
to you or sending you to a preacher. That's how it began. And let me use Acts 13 again.
Through this man is what? Preached unto you the forgiveness
of sin. That's where it finds its beginning. And by him, the object of their
message is Christ. And through him, all that believe
are justified from all things. It begins with a hearing. How
shall you call on him in whom you have not believed? How shall
you believe in him of whom you have not heard? Now you're going
to hear without a preacher. And how on earth is he going
to preach except I send him? Now listen to me. His preaching
is then made effectual by the Holy Ghost. To God's elect, it
is. Made effectual. Paul said, I
know your election of God. You don't know it, but I know.
Because when my gospel come, it didn't come in word only.
It came in power and it came in the Holy Ghost. As the preacher begins to preach,
what happens? How does this thing work? As
the preacher begins to preach, the Holy Ghost arrests the sinner. Been a long time since I heard
that word. He arrests the sinner. You watch these shows on TV,
cops and all that, on them different shows, I like to watch them.
They take a man down, don't they? They put him down on the ground,
throw his hands behind him, confine him to where he can't move. You're
under arrest. The Holy Spirit through the preaching
of the gospel arrests chosen sinners. He arrests him. He takes possession of him. He
confines him to the place he can't get away. He wants to get
away, but he can't. And having arrested him, he takes
him to court. He takes him to court and he
calls his witnesses to establish his guilt. He calls first upon
the testimony of God himself. And he can hear, as he takes
the stand, he can hear the whispers of all those in the courtroom,
let God be true and every man lie. This is God who's about
to testify. This is not some mere man. This
is God. This is not some fool's opinion. It's not some proud man's ideas
of things and his take on the matter. This is God. This is
God who's about to testify and a hush falls on the courtroom
and the sinner hears all them around him. Let God be true and
every man a liar. Now hear the testimony of God.
Man at his best state, altogether vanity. He's altogether vanity. Every
imagination of the thoughts of the heart of man is only evil
continually. All his righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. They're none good. They're none righteous. They're
none that understandeth. They're none that seeketh after
God. They're all together become unprofitable. They're all gone
out of the way. He's like a viper, his poison
hidden in the fangs beneath his tongue. Within, he's full of
dead men, bones, and corruption. His mind is enmity against God. He's not subject to the law of
God, never was, never will be. There's no profit in him. He's
a worthless sinner. His heart is a veritable cesspool
of iniquity. He drinks iniquity like water. That's what God says. May God
be true. Every man a liar. And then he
calls the sinner himself. And he puts him on the stand.
And there he shows him by his own confession, his utter disregard
for the grace and mercy and love of God in Christ. Makes him to
see it. Makes him to confess it. He shows
to him how he trodden underfoot the Son of God, counted the blood
of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing,
and is done to spite under the Spirit of God. Oh, he shows him
his unbelief against the overwhelming evidence of God's Christ and
His redemption. And then he calls to the stand
the law. And the law strips the sinner.
until all his excuses is gone and he's left there on the stand
without defense. He's convinced of his sin. And then the strangest thing
happens. That same spirit that arrested him and confined him
and convicted him and convinced him, that same spirit takes up
his case. He takes up his case. He's sitting there in his restraints,
guilty before God, and the Holy Ghost, through the preaching
of the Gospel, takes up the sinner's case, and by way of the forensic
doctrine of justification by faith, of this justification,
this free justification accomplished in Christ, purposed by God from
all eternity, and convinces him of the righteousness of Christ. The righteousness of Christ convinces him that he's perfectly
holy and perfectly just and perfectly righteous in the very presence
of the glory of God. You know the scripture in one
place says that he's unreprovable, spotless in the presence of his
glory. And he shows to him how the death
of Christ was perfectly satisfied the justice of God, so that he,
through his substitute, is now, and I'm using Don's explanation
here, shows him that he's now worthy of eternal life, so that
when he enters into heaven's glory, God himself will say,
well done, my good and faithful servant. You can't look in the
mirror and say that, can you? my soul. That's how it works. That's how
it works. What does it mean to the sinner
to be justified by faith? I heard it. What does it mean? Therefore being justified by
faith. Now listen to this. We have peace
with God, all my soul. You remember what it is to not
have peace with God? Oh, it's like it was yesterday.
I have peace with God. Peace. Old Scott used to say,
stack your shotguns in the corner, the war's over. The war's over. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace, glorious, unconditional
peace. The hymn writer talking about
this piece, he said it was like a river, flooded his soul, just
flooded his soul. And here's what he said about
it. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it's well,
it's well with my soul. What does it mean for the sinner
to be justified by faith? Romans 5 verse 2. by whom also
we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. You know what access means? A
way in. A way in. It literally means,
in the dictionary, I looked it up in the dictionary, it literally
means a door, a door. Our Lord said, he that entereth
not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way,
the same as a thief and a robber. And then he gave them this blessed
declaration. I'm the door. I'm the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. He can go in and out and have
pasture. What does it mean to the sinner
to be justified by faith? It means Romans chapter five,
verse two, that standing in the free grace of God, having access,
we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. May God, the Holy Spirit,
be pleased to apply this justification of God to every heart that's
here tonight for Christ's sake.