How can a man be just with God,
or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? Find the answer
to those two questions, and you will understand the message of
this book. How can a holy, righteous, just,
and true God forgive, really forgive, guilty sinners? justify the ungodly, make the
unrighteous righteous, and the unholy holy. How can the triune
God be as he declares himself to be both a just God and a savior? I know this. The Lord God himself
says with regard to himself that he is the Lord, the Lord God.
merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and
truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression
and sins. And then in the same sentence
declares that will by no means clear the guilty. How can both
be so? How can God be both just and
the justifier of the ungodly? Let me give you four facts. And
by way of introduction, I suggest that you make some notes to remember
them. They're worth remembering. Four
facts that simply cannot be gainsaid. Four facts that are stated with
utter clarity in the word of God, but facts that few men seem
to understand. Many try to deny them, but facts
they are. Number one, turn to Revelation
21. Revelation 21. If you and I enter into heaven,
we must be perfect. We must be perfect. God says
be perfect for I'm perfect. Perfect. Brother Don, you're
stretching that. God said perfect. It must be
perfect to be accepted. Perfectly holy. Perfectly righteous
Isaiah tells us that the unclean shall not pass over Zion's highway
It is written here in Revelation 21 verse 27 There shall in no
wise enter into heaven anything that defileth Neither whatsoever
worketh abomination or maketh a lie But they which are written
in the Lamb's Book of Life If you and I enter into heaven,
we must be perfect. Sinful, wretched, vile sinners
we are. If we enter into heaven, we must
be perfect. Number two, the God of glory
cannot and will not pretend that a sinner is righteous and save
him. He can't do it. He won't do it. He will by no means clear the
guilty look in Proverbs chapter 17 Proverbs 17 God said in Exodus
23, I will not justify the wicked he won't do it here in Proverbs
17 verse 15 The Lord God says he that justifieth the wicked
and he that condemneth the just Even they both are an abomination
to the Lord Bob, God won't just pretend that you're righteous
and save you. You must be righteous. He won't
pretend that you're perfect and save you. You must be perfect.
He will not pretend that you have no sin and take you to glory. You must have no sin. Number
three, number three. Right here in Psalm or in Proverbs
17, again, God Almighty cannot cannot. Now you can bake on it. If I tell you God can't do something,
I've got to have scripture to show you that. God cannot lie. God cannot deceive. God cannot
be unfaithful. God cannot deny himself. There
are some things God cannot do. God Almighty cannot condemn a
just man. God cannot slay a righteous man. God cannot punish an innocent
man. He says here in Proverbs 1750,
he that justifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the just,
even both are an abomination to the Lord. God will not condemn
innocent blood, Psalm 94. The holy just God Will not slay
the righteous with the wicked. Twice Abraham, you remember in
Genesis 18, when he was pleading for Lot. pleading that God might
be pleased to spare Sodom for lot's sake, that he might be
pleased to deliver lot from Sodom. Twice Abraham said, Lord, you
won't slay the righteous, the just with the wicked. You won't
do that. Abraham understood that God cannot
condemn a just man. God cannot slay an innocent man. God cannot punish a guiltless
man. All right, here's the fourth
thing. The only possible way for a man to be just with God,
for the unclean to be made clean, the only possible way for God
to save sinners like you and me is if God himself, the God
of all grace, finds a way in mercy and in truth to make the
sinner perfectly righteous. There's one more text in this
regard, Proverbs chapter 16. Proverbs chapter 60 verse 6. By mercy and truth, iniquity
is purged. No other way. By mercy and truth,
iniquity is purged. Blessed be his holy name forever. Our God has found a way in mercy
and in truth to purge our iniquities, to put away our sins, to make
us righteous, perfect, holy before Him. He's found a way, that's
His mercy, and He's found a way in truth, a way utterly consistent
with all His holy, righteous character, a way that shows that
He will not alter His justice, He will not bend His law, He
will not bow, He will not stoop to man, He will not change Himself
in any way. In mercy and in truth, iniquity
is purged, by the sacrifice of God's own dear Son in our stead. This is what Paul explains in
the book of Romans. Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter
3. He's talking about justification. He spent the first three chapters
of Romans right down to verse 19 of chapter 3 showing us the
universal depravity and condemnation of the human race. All men by
nature sinners, all men by nature guilty, all men by nature having
transgressed God's law. Now in verse 21 in Romans chapter
3, he says, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. The righteousness of God without
you and I performing anything in obedience to the law. The
righteousness of God without the ceremonies of the law, the
circumcision of the law, or obeying the commandments of the law.
The righteousness of God without the law is manifested being witnessed
by the law and the prophets, both by the law of Moses, by
all the word of God, all the prophets of the Old Testament.
Verse 22, Romans 3. Even the righteousness of God,
now watch this, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Not by faith
in Jesus Christ. Your faith in Jesus Christ does
not perform righteousness. It is the faith of Jesus Christ
by which righteousness has been brought. By the faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there
is no difference For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God verse 24 being justified freely freely You remember when
our Lord Jesus said they hated me without a cause that's the
word freely being justified without a cause God can't find any cause
in you to do anything for you except damn you God cannot find
any cause in you to do anything for you except damn you. That's
true of all men. That's true of all women. That's
true of all children. But we are justified freely by
his grace, marvelous act of mercy, of grace. But this act of grace
is in truth through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Read
on. whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, a satisfaction
of justice through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness. This whole thing, the revelation
of God in Jesus Christ, in his sacrifice, in his death, in his
resurrection, in the accomplishment of redemption is to declare God's
righteousness so that you will understand that God is righteous. I know this whole world He talks
about God is love, God is love, God is love. He is, and God is
holy. God is loving, God is righteous.
God is gracious, and God is righteous. But this purpose of God revealed
in Christ is not to declare to all men God's love, but to declare
to all men God's righteousness. He's so righteous that there's
no other way for God to put away sin or save a sinner. Read on.
To declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that
are past through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness that he might be a just God. Be just and the justifier. A just God and the Savior of
them, of him which believeth in Jesus. All right now, look
at our text, Micah chapter 6. verse 11, Micah chapter 6 and
verse 11. The title of my message tonight
is Wicked Balances and Deceitful Weights. The whole religious
world around us, and I'm not just talking about Papists and
Pentecostals, I'm talking about Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians,
I'm talking about folks who read this book and claim to believe
this book and talk about salvation being by grace and salvation
of the Lord. The whole religious world around us operates under
the delusion that God uses wicked balances and deceitful weights
in judgment. He never does. He never will. He never has. It doesn't happen. Have you found my text? Michael
chapter 6 verse 11. Here the Lord God shows us his
absolute unbending justice in the exercise of his free saving
grace. Shall I count them pure with
the wicked balances and with the bag of deceitful weights? If God saves, he will save in
a way that shows his justice. If God saves, he will save in
a way that displays his righteousness. If God saves, he will save in
a way that makes all men understand that he is God alone. Shall I count them pure with
wicked balances and with the bag of deceitful weights? I want
to show you in this message that our God is plainly declares in
his word that he never uses wicked balances and deceitful weights
to make sinners pure by his grace. I want to show you three things.
I'll give them to you now and we'll go over them. He did not
use wicked balances and deceitful weights when he punished his
own son as our substitute at Calvary. Number two. God does
not use wicked balances and deceitful weights when he makes sinners
the righteousness of God in Christ. And number three, he will not
use wicked balances and deceitful weights when he cast the wicked
into hell at the last day. All right, here's the first thing.
I want you to see that the Lord God did not use wicked balances. He did not use deceitful weights
when he punished his son as our substitute at Calvary. If we were to be redeemed, Christ
had to die in our stead. The just must die for the unjust,
the righteous for the unrighteous, the innocent for the guilty,
the holy for the unholy, the sinless for the sinful. Because
the Lord God is holy just and true. He could not and would
not I Hope you're listening to me because God is holy Just and
true. He could not and would not Impute
sin to his dear son and punish him for our sins Except he make
him to be seen who knew no sin Look at 2nd Corinthians chapter
5 God could not because he's just. God could not because he's righteous. God could not and would not impute
sin to Christ. He would not punish his son for
our sins, except he make his son to be sin for us. No court on the earth. No court
on the earth. will punish a man unjustly unless
the court itself is unjust. No court on earth will charge
a man with a crime that he is not guilty of unless the court
itself is corrupt. And the court of God is not corrupt. The court of heaven is not corrupt. When our Lord Jesus bore our
sins in his own body on the tree, he was made sin for us. When
he was made sin for us, he became guilty as our substitute, and
our sins were imputed to him, and thereby he was punished for
our sins. He says himself, these are his
words, innumerable evils have compassioned me about. Mine iniquities
have taken hold upon me so that I'm not able to look up. They're
more than the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. He said, Oh God, thou knowest
my foolishness. The word is my guiltiness. Our savior bowed down with the
load of our sins, cries, Oh God, you know my guiltiness before
you. My sins are not hidden from you. Then the Lord God, the triune
Jehovah cried, awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against
the man that is my fellow, smite and slay the shepherd. When Christ
died at Calvary, He died. When Christ died at Calvary,
Rex, He died because He fully deserved to die. He died because he fully deserved
to die. He who knew no sin was made sin. Made sin. When he died at Calvary,
he died under the just penalty of God's holy law. That's the
clear teaching of Holy Scripture. You remember the first miracle
our Lord performed? Turn to John chapter 2. John
chapter 2. John chapter 2 and verse verses
1 through 11. We're told that in verse 11,
this beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and
manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on him. I take that to mean. That our
faith in Christ is created and sustained by the manifesting
of his glory. He began to manifest His glory
as our God-man mediator, as our substitute, as our surety. When
He performed this marvelous miracle in Cana of Galilee, they ran
out of wine. And the Scripture tells us here
that He made the water wine. Look at verse 9. He commanded
them to bring these water pots full of water. They brought the
water pots and they he said now take it to the governor of the
feast and they did and in verse 9 when the ruler of the feast
had tasted the water that was made wine and Knew not whence
it was but the servants which drew the water did They they
didn't have any have to guess about it. They knew what had
happened They had gone and fetched the water the governor feast
didn't know what's going on. They knew and The governor of
the feast called the bridegroom and saith unto him, Every man
at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have
well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the
good wine until now. This beginning of miracles is
that by which our Lord Jesus manifested forth his glory and
his disciples believed. The water, we are told, was made
wine. Do you reckon it really was? We're not told that the water
was made to look like wine. We're not told that the water
was treated as though it were wine. We're not told that the
water tasted like wine. We're not told that the Lord
Jesus put some pictures of water and stuck it on the water pots
and said, this is wine. The water was made wine. Now there's not
any question about that. There's not any question about
that. The only people who would dispute that are folks who would
deny the miraculous in the book. The only people who would dispute
that are folks who would say, no, this is not a work of God. This was just something that
appeared to be something that took place. The only folks who
would dispute that are folks who deny that Jesus Christ is
God. The water was made wine. Language could not be more simple
and could not be more clear. and you and I could never have
obtained righteousness, we could never have been made the righteousness
of God in Christ had not the Lord Jesus been made sin. I once heard a man say with regard
to what we're about to read in 2 Corinthians, Christ being made
sin. These were his exact words. I
see nothing mysterious about that. It's a legal matter. I see nothing mysterious about
that. It's a legal matter. Go uptown, look up some court
papers. That's a legal matter. Nothing mysterious about that.
Fellow shot a man. He'd been tried. He'd been found
guilty. It's a legal matter. I see nothing mysterious about
that. It's a legal matter. I shook my head in disbelief.
Nothing mysterious about God the Son being made sin. The fact is the very word that
is translated made in 2 Corinthians 5.21 means precisely that. It
means mysteriously, wondrously, profoundly mysteriously made. Made in a way beyond explanation. Our Lord Jesus was wondrously,
mysteriously, profoundly made, caused to be sin for us, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Look at 2 Corinthians
5.21. He hath made Him to be sin for
us. That word made is the strongest
word in the Greek language that could be used for made. It is
not a forensic term. It is not a legal term. It is
a declaration of a wondrous mystery. God Almighty, the triune Jehovah,
hath at one time made Jesus Christ His Son who never knew sin, who
did no sin, who thought no sin, who had no sinful nature, no
sinful thought, no sinful deed, no sinful word, who could not
sin. He hath made Him in a wondrous,
inexplicable way to be sin for us. Now traditionally, it's said
that Christ was made sin by imputation. And I frankly acknowledge I have
erroneously made that statement many, many times. That is not
how Christ was made sin. That's not all to be said concerning
it. The fact is, while a legal term like impute or imputation
is used many times in the scriptures with regard to His righteousness
being imputed to us, with regard to Adam's sin being imputed to
us. Nowhere in the Word of God, not in statement nor in illustration,
is there any legal word used to speak of Christ being made
sin. That's not accidental, James. God the Holy Spirit intends for
us to understand there's more to this than a work of just law. There's more to this than just
what men commonly look at as forensic things. This is a mysterious
thing. This is the mystery of the gospel.
Our sins were justly imputed to Christ because he was made
sin for us. He was made sin for us. The courts Do not impute guilt
where there is no guilt. And the court of heaven does
not impute guilt where there is no guilt. You remember what
I said to you about the water being made wine? The same is
true here. The book of God does not say
that our sins were pasted on Christ in a legal ceremonial
way. The book of God says he hath
made him sin for us. The book does not say that he
was treated as though he were sin. The book says he hath made
him sin for us. The book does not say he was
accounted a transgressor. The book says he hath made him
sin for us. In fact, the Word of God does
not even say he was made a sin offering. Brother Marvin talked
to me yesterday evening, and I thought I'd been trying to
convince him Christ was not made sin, he made a sin offering.
I said, Marvin, everywhere in the Old Testament where you see
the word sin offering, every single place, no exception, every
single place, the word would be better translated sin, sin. And we have proof of that right
here in 2 Corinthians 5.21. Do you know that Paul is here
quoting from Isaiah 53 verse 10? where the scripture says,
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, Paul, by
divine inspiration, says, he hath made him sin for us. So he's not talking just about
a pretense. He's not talking about something
that that God pretended took place and thereby he treated
his son as though he were saying, oh, no, here God manifest forth
his glory in his own dear son, making him sin for us. He had no sin of his own. He
was born without sin. Being even from his birth, God's
holy one throughout his life, he knew no sin and did no sin.
And in him is no sin. But on Calvary's tree. The holy
lamb of God. was made sick. So, Brother Don, you need to
explain that. Explain to me, if you will, how
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Explain to me, if you
will, how God died and never ceased to be God. The book says
He did. Well, that's an impossibility.
It is with men, but not with God. Explain to me how God became
one of us and never ceased to be God. Explain to me how all
the fullness of the infinite God can reside in a man seated
in glory. I don't know, but it does. In
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. These
are mysteries. Mysteries beyond the reach of
human comprehension, but facts of divine revelation to which
we not only bow in adoration, but facts that rejoice our hearts. Much we talk of Jesus' blood,
But how little is understood of his suffering so intense,
angels have no perfect sense. See the suffering son of God,
panting, groaning, sweating blood, boundless depths of love divine. Jesus, what a love was that? Though the wonders thou has done
are as yet so little known. Here we fix and comfort take. Jesus died for sinners sake when
he was made sin for us. This is the sweet wine of the
gospel, the sweet wine of the gospel that rejoices the heart
of every believer and rejoices the heart of God himself. The sweet wine of the gospel
that gives satisfaction to our souls because it gives satisfaction
to God almighty. When the believer has tasted
the wine of God's grace in the crucified Christ, he delights
to sing, hallelujah, I have found him whom my soul so long had
craved. Jesus satisfies my longings. Through his blood, I now am saved. When our blessed savior, the
Lord Jesus, was made sin for us, his father forsook him. And all the fury of God's infinite
justice spent itself on him, was exhausted
upon him. So that God says to Jacob, fury
is not in me. He was slain. Justice was satisfied. Our sins were put away. And now,
by the grace of God, upon the grounds of justice satisfied,
upon the grounds of sin put away by the blood of Christ, every
sinner who believes on the Lord Jesus is made the very righteousness
of God in him. He hath made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Justice could not punish an innocent
man. Therefore, Christ Jesus was made
saying that sin might be imputed to him, that he might be punished
for saying justly punished. And by the just balance. And
honest weights of the courts of heaven, the son of God was
justly executed at Calvary as a cursed thing. God made his son cursed thing
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made
a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone that hangeth
on a tree wondrous mercy amazing grace incomprehensible love to
say as most people do and I don't pretend to imagine that Folks
who say this think of the consequences of what they say. But to say,
as most people do, that Christ was not really made sin when
God punished him for sin at Calvary is to declare that God executed
his wrath upon his son according to wicked balances and deceitful
ways. And that can never be. Not the
just God. All right, here's the second
thing. And I'll be very brief on these last two. God does not
use wicked balances and deceitful weights when he makes sinners
the righteousness of God in him. Bobby Estes, believing the son of God, he's
made you the very righteousness of God in his son. That doesn't
mean that God pretends you never sinned. That doesn't mean that
God pretends that you're righteous. That doesn't mean that God pretends
you're holy. Doesn't mean God treats you as
though you're holy, never sinned, that you're righteous. It means
that Christ has completely taken away your sin and you're really
holy and really righteous and really perfect in Him. That's how God saves sinners.
That's how God saves sinners. He imputes to us the righteousness
of Christ. Well, Brother Dunn, now you're
telling us that he imputed the righteousness of Christ to us,
that we weren't really righteous. Oh, no, no, no. We really are and really were
before we ever knew it. We were in him. We were in Him. Made the righteousness of God.
When He brought in everlasting righteousness, who do you think
He brought it in for? He brought it in for the folks
for whom He died. Made the righteousness of God in Him. Then in the new
birth, God the Holy Spirit comes and creates in every chosen redeemed
sinner the very nature of God's Old Son. Makes us new creatures in Christ.
New creatures in Christ. David, that's partakers of the
divine nature. That's the language of the book.
Partakers of the divine nature. Oh, you're saying that we become
little gods. That's not what I said. We're
made to be partakers of the divine nature, the nature of the God
man, our savior, Christ Jesus. We're in him. He's in us. And
that new man. Created in you in every one of
you who believe is created in righteousness and in true holiness
Ephesians 4 24 We're made new creatures in Christ Old things
are passed away all things become you new creatures We're made
the sons of God behold what manner of love the father hath bestowed
on us that we should be called the sons of God And it doth not
yet appear what we shall be But we know that when he shall appear,
we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And the
reason is this, beloved, now are we the sons of God. Can you get hold of that? Jesus
Christ was really made sin. And when he was really made sin, God slaughtered him in furious
anger. And we are really made righteous
in Him. And being really made righteous
in Him, God smiles on us with unceasing delight. One with the
Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, made the righteousness
of God in Him from eternity. So that in Proverbs chapter 8,
we're told that His delights were with us before ever the
world was made. He says, this is my beloved son
in whom I'm well pleased. And God, the God of heaven, is
well pleased with you, with me in his son, with his spotless
garment, so I am as holy as God's own son. Holy, holy. God said, my name is the Lord
that does sanctify thee. I'm the Lord who makes you holy. This is God's work. Altogether,
God's work. But I still have this nature. This corrupt, vile, Adam nature. And Lindsay, I can't go to heaven
with it. Can't go to heaven with it. This nature's got to die. It's a painful process. Oh God,
hurry the process. This nature's got to die. This
nature's got to die. And I must have another nature
with which to enter into and possess God's glory. Not just being made a new creature
spiritually, this body. must be transformed into the
very likeness of the body of the Son of God. And in resurrection
glory, we shall sweep into heaven, not by the skin of our teeth,
but triumphantly and gloriously made fit by God to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light. One more thing. One more thing. When God cast the wicked into
hell in the last day, hear me now, hear me. Oh, God help you
who do not know my Savior to hear me. He will not damn you with wicked
balances and false weights, deceitful weights. God always deals with sinners
justly. He says twice in Ezekiel 18,
the soul that saideth it shall die. You're not going to hell
because of Adam's sin. No, sir. No, sir. You're not
going to hell because of your daddy's sin. Elsa, you go into
hell cause your own sin and God will open the books and judge
every man exactly according to his own works. Either works you
performed by your own rebellion and wicked rebellious unbelief
before God all the days of your life or by the works you performed
personally. in a substitute and representative
in surety, whose name is Jesus Christ, the Lord. You take your works, what you've
done in your flesh, what you think is good, your, oh, your
good intentions, your holiness, your godliness, your, your filthy rags. and throw him
in the face of Christ on the day of judgment and watch how
fast he sends you to hell or come before God and establish the law what do
you bring? I bring perfect righteousness
I bring complete satisfaction perfect obedience performed by
you God my savior and he said well done thou good and faithful
servant come enter into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
right now and go home like that publican forever justified Having
faith in Christ, your faith that He gives is the fruit of His
obedience unto death, the gift of Him by His Spirit and grace
as He sits upon the throne. And that faith makes you experimentally
the possessor of perfect righteousness. Can you believe that? Dare you
believe that? Look here, look here. This man
rejoices before God with a conscience that declares me perfectly righteous
in Jesus Christ the Lord. That's called faith, by which
blood is sprinkled on the conscience and purges your conscience from
your filthy rags righteousness. Oh, God help you then to believe
on His side. Amen.