Galatians chapter 3, and then
we're going to look here a little bit, then we'll turn back to
the book of Romans. In Galatians chapter 3 and verse 8, we read
these words, and the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify
the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
saying, in thee shall all nations Now notice that verse didn't
say he preached to him the Hebrew nation, but he preached to him
the gospel, saying in thee shall all nations be blessed. And the scripture foreseeing,
did you see that word foreseeing? Scripture does not precede God. What scripture says does not
determine what God does. What God does determines what
scripture says. And so our subject for a little
bit this morning is children of Abraham justified before God. Children of Abraham justified
before God. Now isn't that good news for
anyone to be declared just or justified before Almighty God? Isn't that good news? Well, the
scripture says that Noah was a just man. Lot was a just man. John the
Baptist was a just man. The Lord Jesus, Pilate's wife,
had a dream and she said to her husband, said, see that thou
have nothing to do with this just man. Of course, Christ was
just by nature. He didn't need any justifying
as we do. Simeon is a just man. Joseph of Arimathea, a just man. And Paul said that we who believe
are justified freely by God's grace. Now, to be a just man
is not necessarily to be a perfect man. The Lord Jesus was, but
he's the only one that was. Proverbs 24, 16, for a just man
falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall
fall in mischief. Don't think that just men or
justified men never fall. It's not a question of falling.
It's a question of getting up. A just man falleth seven times
and riseth up again. To be a just man does not mean
you'll always fare better than the wicked in this life. Oh no. Solomon said, Ecclesiastes
7.15, all things that I have seen in the days of my vanity. There is a just man that perisheth
in his righteousness. And there is a wicked man that
prolongeth his life in his wickedness. So we cannot measure God by what
we see happening and not happening to different people, good people
and bad people. So for a few minutes this morning,
I want to try and answer, ask and answer two questions. One,
who are the children of Abraham who are justified before God?
And secondly, how are they justified? before God. So we'll start with
the first question. Who are the children of Abraham
that are justified before God? Now when I say the children of
Abraham, am I referring to natural Jews? Am I referring to natural
Israelites? No. Then who are the children
of Abraham? I want to show you from the scriptures.
Let's answer, get the answer to this question real clear in
our minds here in Galatians chapter three, verse seven, Paul says,
know you, therefore that they, which are of faith, the same
are the children of Abraham. That's who they are. That is, those who possess the
same God-given faith that Abraham had, to believe God concerning
his son, the same are the children of Abraham. You say, well now,
how could God, I mean, excuse me, how could Abraham believe
God concerning God's son when Christ wasn't even born yet?
It was by revelation from God he did. The Lord Jesus himself
said in John 8, 56, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day
and he saw it and was glad. Had the gospel preached to him.
It's what verse eight here said. Abraham believed God concerning
his son. And what God would do about our
sin through his son, through faith, this gift of God to believe,
he did believe. And now Paul tells us here that
all who are of this same belief, all who possess this same faith,
are the children of Abraham. And he's not talking about a
flimsy profession of faith, we call it, wherein folks with a
mental consent say, yes, I believe in Jesus. Yes, I accept Him. No, the faith Paul is talking
about is the operation of the Spirit of God in a person's heart
that will do to that person what it did to Abraham. What did it
do to Abraham? It affected him to the extent
that he packed up his goods, he left home, left his kinfolks,
left his homeland, left his idols, left everything in pursuit of
an intimate relationship and walk and following after the
God who had called him. And everyone to whom this miracle
happens, Paul says the same, are the children of Abraham.
This is New Testament believers. What does it have to do with
being natural parents of Hebrew descent? He clearly tells us
down in verse 26, For ye are all the children of God by faith,
in Christ Jesus. And of course, the all here is
not all humanity, it's all the believers he's talking to in
the regions of Galatia. For you're all the children of
God, how? By faith in Christ Jesus. Not
by natural descent from Abraham, are you the children of God,
oh no. But by faith, by the same God-given faith that Abraham
had, you're all the children of God. Now verse 27, for as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ,
there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female, for you're all one in Christ
Jesus. Now here's the bold conclusion,
verse 29, and if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed.
and heirs according to the promise. To belong to the Lord Jesus Christ
is to be a child of Abraham. In Matthew chapter 3, you remember
the very elite of national Israel, Jews, Pharisees. A group of them came to John
the Baptist, who was baptizing in the Jordan River. And if you
go back and read that in Matthew 3, how did John greet them? He
did not say, thank you for coming. We're honored that you're here.
No. His very first words, of course, he knew him. His very
first words to that crowd was, oh, generation of vipers. What are you bunch of snakes
doing here? That's what he said to them. And then he said, don't even
think about telling me that you're Abraham's children. We're not
going there. Listen to what he said. And think
not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father.
For I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise
up children to Abraham. Now many say that what John meant
there of these stones that he was pointing to the rocks in
the river and around the river there, said God's able these
stones to raise up children to Abraham. That may be, but that's
not the picture I see. I think he's pointing to the
multitude of wretched sinners gathered those the Pharisees would look
down on and count not worthy to be there. But they're there
from all the region round about Jerusalem and all Judea. And
they came and stood convicted, guilty, condemned, ashamed before
God with hearts of stone knowing that they cannot fix themselves
before God. Hearts awakened to their guilt
before God, and yet cold and lifeless and hard as a rock, a stony-hearted Carol Poole, a stony-hearted
Tommy Passmore, a stony-hearted Bob Howe, a stony-hearted Harold
Shoemaker, cold, lifeless, hard as a rock. Every one of us. John the Baptist said, God is
able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And that's exactly what he does.
Every time he imputes faith in a sinner's heart, you become
a child of Abraham. Remember, some proud-hearted
Jews came to Jesus with that story. And listen to what happened. This was in John 8. They said to him, Abraham is
our father. Jesus saith unto them, if you
were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
But now you seek to kill me. A man that hath told you the
truth, which I have heard of God." I hear you're flipping.
This is John 8, 40. I'm reading in. Which I have
heard of God. Abraham didn't act like this.
This did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your father.
Then said they to him, we be not born of fornication. We have
one father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God
were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and
came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do
you not understand my speech, even because you cannot hear
my word? Ye are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and abode not in the truth. because there
is no truth in him. Neither John the Baptist nor
the Lord Jesus Christ counted that Hebrew bloodline of this
crowd of any value. If a person rejects the Lord
Jesus Christ, it makes no difference what his or her nationality is. Outside of Christ, People perish
in their sins, Jew and Gentile alike. Now, one of the passages
to make this point and answer this question, who are the children
of Abraham? Let's all turn to Romans chapter
two. Romans chapter two, and I'll show it to you here. Romans chapter two and verse
twenty eight. Romans 2.28, For he is not a Jew which is
one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward
in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one
inwardly. It's a heart matter. And circumcision is that of the
heart in the spirit. and not in the letter, whose
praise is not of men, but of God. You remember the story of Zacchaeus?
Let's just stay here in Romans 2 now. You remember the story
of Zacchaeus in Luke 19? He was a publican, chief tax
collector. And after the Lord comes along,
deals with him, and he gives him a new heart, he testifies
to it. Christ said this to him, this
day is salvation come to this house for as much as he also
is a son of Abraham. He's referring to his faith and
trust and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's who the
children of Abraham are, his true believers, Jew and Gentile
alike. Now, how are the children of
Abraham justified? Job asked the question, how should
man be just with God? How can the likes of something
like you and me be just before a holy and righteous God. How is it possible? Well, it seems reasonable that
since our father Adam did something to alienate himself from God,
he could have done something to reconcile himself to God.
He messed it up. It seems reasonable that he could
fix it up. But you see, when Adam sinned,
alienating him and all his posterity, all the human race alienated
from God, the effects of that sin brought him and all the human
family to the condition of it being an impossibility to fix
things. Any fixing has to be on God's
part. Fallen man cannot, and would
not if he could, reach up to God. God must reach down, and that's
what he did in sending his only begotten Son to die on the cross. Now here in Romans 2, let's look
at something. In the first few chapters of
this book of Romans, Paul is establishing the fact
that all men, Jews and Gentiles alike, are guilty before God. In Paul's time and in our time,
this is not so easily grasped on the surface of what this is
saying, that men are utterly depraved and cannot do anything
for ourselves. under the Old Covenant or Old
Testament. It was different from the New
Covenant or New Testament. Let me just clarify this about
covenants and testament. Covenant and testament is the
same word. A covenant is an agreement, an
agreement satisfactory to both parties involved. It's a covenant. A testament In modern times,
it might be called a contract, an agreement. That's what the
Bible is. And God's Word is made up of
two testaments, Old Testament, New Testament, two covenants,
two contracts, two agreements. In our Bible, we call it the
Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Covenant, the New Covenant.
The Old Agreement, the New Agreement. Now in the Old Covenant, God
gave the nation of Israel a law and said, if you'll keep my commandments
and honor this covenant, then you'll be my peculiar people.
You'll be special to me above all other people. I'll be happy
with you." Israel answered God by saying,
we'll do it. We'll do it. Of course, they
didn't ever and couldn't because of sin. They kept certain parts
of it. perverted it to suit their own
notions, and yet claimed to be keeping it, and claimed to be
accepted of God by their supposed keeping it. That was the trouble
when the Lord Jesus came. That's why he talked to them
the way he did. That's why John the Baptist talked to them the
way he did. They were claiming to be accepted of God by their
having kept that old covenant. They could look at Gentiles like
you and like me, and they could say there's no hope for them.
God didn't even think enough of them to give them a covenant,
an agreement, a law, a commandment wherein they could find favor
with God. And the Jew could say, we have that, you don't. But you see the effects of sin
in Adam's race. all of us, Jew and Gentile, it
has left us in a condition that having a law to keep in order
to please God is of no value, because that law demanded perfection. So the Jew was no better off
by having the law. The Gentile is no worse off by
not having the law. The issue is not law, the issue
is sin. Here in Romans chapter 2 and
verse 12, we read these words. For as many as have sinned without
the law shall also perish without law. That's Gentiles. Someone might say, how could
God condemn us for not keeping the law of Moses when he never
gave us that law? It was given to Israel. We're
not condemned because of not keeping the law. We're condemned
because we're sinners. Then the latter half of this
verse, Romans 2.12, is about the Jew. And as many as have
sinned in the law or having the law shall be judged by the law. The Gentile without any law perishes
because of sin and the Jew having the law but not keeping it perishes
because of sin. Just having a law to keep and
the feeble failing efforts to keep it does not justify anyone. What he said here in verse 13
For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but doers
of the law shall be justified." Not partial doers. It demanded
perfect obedience. How could a perfect God, a holy
God, demand anything less than perfect obedience? Now, still here in Romans, let's
look on to the next chapter, the third chapter, and the ninth
verse, see what he says. What then? Are we better than
they? He's talking to Jews, and Paul
includes himself. He said, are we, Jews, better
than they, Gentiles? Then he says, no, in no wise,
for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they
are all under sin. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. No wonder the Jews hated
the Apostle Paul. He's telling them that we're
just as bad off by nature as Gentiles are. We're no better.
They're all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable.
There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Jew and Gentile. Now drop down to verse 20. We're
in Romans 3. Therefore, by the deed of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Neither the Jew who has the law,
nor the Gentile who doesn't have it. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Then how can sinners be justified? Verse 21, but now the righteousness
of God without the law or apart from the law is manifested. How is it manifested? Being witnessed
by the law and the prophets. What is it? 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. There's
no difference. Jew and Gentile. There is no difference in fallen
sons of Adam, be it Jew or Gentile, we're all fallen sinners. There
is no difference between those who have the law and those who
don't. There is no difference between
those who claim to keep it and those who don't. We've got people
nowadays claiming to keep it. Verse 23, For all have sinned, come short of the glory of God. We could look at that in the
present and say, for all have sinned today, yesterday, in the
last few minutes, recently. But the real message here, all
have sinned in Adam, in that beginning. That's what he teaches in chapter
5. All have sinned. All are caught in this thing
with a fallen nature. All Jews, all Gentiles have come
short of the glory of God. Then what makes any difference?
How are sinners justified? The only difference is the difference
that God puts. imputing faith to believe and
trust in Him. If you're a true believer this
morning, you didn't do that for yourself. If you really believe
in Him and can't quit believing Him, you didn't do that for yourself.
He did it for you. It is a sovereign work of sovereign
grace, not brought about by our will, Not brought about by our
backing God in a corner. Oh no. It's brought about by
his backing us in a corner. That's how it happened. If you could have been in Egypt,
I know our time's about gone. If you could have been in Egypt
before the Exodus, we've studied this in those early chapters
of Exodus. They're in chapter 12 when they come out of there. But back there before that exodus,
you wouldn't have known the difference between Israelites and Egyptians
except that Israelites were slaves. They looked alike. They acted
alike. They talked alike. For 400 years, they had mixed
and mingled. They were like one. But God said this in Exodus 11, 7. He said, I'm
doing this that you may know that the Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel. And that's the only real difference
there is, the difference which the Lord doth put. You men listening to my voice
this morning, the only real difference between you and a murderer, a serial killer,
a rapist, a child abuser, That man behind bars on death row,
the only real difference between you and them is the difference
the Lord doth put. That's all. It's in your nature
to be just like them. And you precious ladies, the
only difference, I mean the only real difference between you and
that streetwalker selling her body, deserting her own children. The only real difference is the
difference the Lord has put. By nature, we're no different. Our do-good religion makes God
sicker of us than He is of them. Because by nature, we're no better. People's do-good religion that's
going to get them to heaven, it will get them to hell. Salvation is in Christ. Because those fallen ones those
walking the street, those lying in the gutter, those behind bars. God can quicken them at any moment.
Show them the need of a Savior and they come to trust Him. But
so many good church folks have been so good they don't need
a Savior. Old Ralph Barnard mountain preacher
that came through these mountains 50 years ago, more than 50 years
ago now, 75 years ago. He made the statement. Most of
you have done so good. You're just almost in. All you need is just another
little push in the right direction. That's what he'd say. And then he'd say, no, you might
be just one breath away from perishing in your sins. And unless
the Lord puts the difference, makes the difference, opens your
blinded eyes to your miserable condition and your vain religion,
and brings you to believe and rest everything on His dear Son,
then you're without hope. Let me just conclude right quick
with some verses in the remainder of chapter 3 and chapter 4 emphasizing
believing. You see, it's not whosoever does
this or that, it's whosoever believeth. Whosoever believeth. That's the story. Chapter 3,
verse 22. Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all, them that
believe. Verse 26, to declare I say at
this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus. Chapter 4 verse 3, for what saith
the scripture Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him
for righteousness. Chapter 4 and verse 5, But to
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Chapter 4, verse 11, And he received
the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith,
which he had being yet uncircumcised, that he might be the father of
all them that believe. See? Verse 17, as it is written,
I have made thee a father of many nations before him whom
he believed, even God. Verse 18, who against hope believed
in hope. And then verse 20, talking about
Abraham, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. So you see, believing is the
issue. Not doing, but believing. Believing. what God has done
in my behalf through his son on the cross. That and that alone
relieves me from any doing in order to be accepted of God.
Ephesians 1, 6, I'm made accepted in the beloved, in Christ. So this morning, the answer is
not you doing better. You won't do better long, maybe
an hour or two. The answer is not turning over
a new leaf. You don't have a new leaf to
turn over. It's filthy on both sides. No point in turning it over.
What is the answer? What is the Bible answer? Believe. Believe. Trust Christ. Trust him with what? Trust Him
with having satisfied God for your sin. That's the answer. How can I do that? How can I
do that? You see this chair? I know you
do. See that chair? How many of you
actually believe that you could sit down, put the weight of your
body on this chair, and it would support you, that you could sit
in this chair and not hit the floor. How many of you believe
that? Huh? Yeah, I think you about all do.
But guess what? You don't really know that, do
you? I know she was sitting in a little while ago. See, she
may have really damaged it. This chair may be in bad shape. So you don't know but what maybe
a screw or two has fell out over there. And you may try to sit
in this thing and plop it at the floor. You don't really know. You don't really know until,
until what? Until you actually put what you
say you believe into practice by placing the weight of your
body in this seat, resting yourself in the strength of it, that it'll
do the job. And I'm convinced that there's
a whole lot of church folk that lived their entire lives testifying,
I believe, I believe, I believe. But you see, until you take your
weight off your feet, you don't know. And until you
Release that load, that weight, that heaviness, and literally
trust Christ. I heard a preacher once say,
if a man can go to hell trusting Christ, I'm going. But a person can't go to hell
truly trusting Christ. See? That was the deal. It is impossible for you to rest
everything on Jesus Christ. All your sin, all your failure,
all your shame, all your guilt. It's impossible for you to believe
that the blood of God's dear Son, dripping from that cross,
it's impossible for you to fall and perish truly trusting Him. Familiar old line, and I'll close
with this poetic line. I forget which preacher of old
said it. Upon a life I did not live. Upon a death I did not die. I
stake my whole eternity. You'd better not be counting
on the life you've lived. But look to Christ, His perfect
life. Upon a life I did not live. Upon a death I did not die. I stake my whole eternity. That's what He did. How are the
children of Abraham justified before God? We're justified by
faith in the work of the Son of God on the cross. That's how. So as children of Abraham, by
faith, with the faith of Abraham in our heart, were justified
before God because of what he did. You say, how do you know
Abraham believed that? Abraham believed that because
in Genesis 22 When the Lord had told him to
take his son Isaac and offer him for an offering, on the way up the hill, mountain,
Isaac asked his father, behold the wood and the fire. We've
come prepared to do this like we always do, offering an animal
sacrifice. And then he asked his daddy,
but where is the lamb? And you remember what Abraham
said to him. He said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb,
not for himself, but himself. He'll be the lamb. And that's
who Christ was and is, Emmanuel, God among us. And we're justified by our faith
in him. Let's stand together.