I want to talk to you this morning
on the subject of justification. I have two places that I'd like
for you to take, and if you have one, put a bookmark in both of
these places. One in Romans chapter 3, and also in Romans chapter 8. And between these two texts,
I believe there's a sufficient foundation for everything that
I have to say this morning on the subject. I want you to understand,
first of all, that justification is a legal term. It's a legal
term. It has to do with the declaration
of the court, with the declaration of the judge. It means to stand
just before the court. It means to stand cleared of
all charges against you. It means to be found after close
examination. This is not a term to be used
apart from the court. We go to court and issues are
decided. We go to court and things are
determined. And they're determined by examination. They stand before the judge,
and the judge sees the evidence, and he hears the declarations,
he hears the testimony, and then he gives you his verdict. Justification
is the verdict of the judge after close examination and thorough
examination. It means to be found after this
examination to be righteous. And actually, and you need to
give this some thought, at the great white throne judgment,
God's elect will stand justified, without blemish, without accusation,
even from the devils in hell. Everybody at that judgment will
justify God's elect, everybody. One of the scriptures I'm going
to read to you this morning out of Romans 8 says, Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? Who? Heaven, earth, or
hell? Who's going to lay anything to
the charge of God's elect? The ultimate end of all things
will be that every tongue shall confess Jesus Christ to be Lord
to the glory of God the Father. He Jehovah Sid can do, the Lord
our righteous. Now first, let's look at a few
verses in Romans chapter 8. Turn over there first, Romans
chapter 8. Verse 28 is an old standard that
nearly everyone is familiar with, and declares how that all things
are working together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose. And in a brief
summation, He now gives us five a five-point outline of those
basic fundamental truths around which all of these other things
work for good. Now, providence is working for
good, creation is working for good, everything is working for
good to them who love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. And now He's going to give us
a five-point outline. He begins with this word foreknowledge,
whom He did foreknow. That word means foreordained.
What God knows before, He knows because He ordained it. Nothing's
ever come to pass that God has not ordained. He's ordained all
things. Then we run into this term predestination. That means the final end and
goal of all things. And then this word calling. Now
this word calling doesn't have so much here to do with effectual
calling. A lot of the old writers tried
to apply effectual calling here. This has to do with eternal things
settled. Settled in the mind and purpose
of God before the foundation of the world. And he's not so
much here talking about effectual calling, although it might have
some bearing on it. He's talking about a calling
of men to be sons, a calling into being. He gave us names. I called my daughter by her name. I called my son by his name.
God determined to have a people and called them by his name from
all eternity. He chose, elected a people and
gave them the name of his children. And then justification. In order
to be what they've been called to be and to manifest the glory
of God purposed in them, they must be justified. And then you
run into this word glorified, glorification, standing before
God in complete harmony with His character without even a
taint of sin. And all five of these things
were fixed in eternity and everything that takes place in time is but
the working out of what God has decreed from everlasting. Nothing
new. Nothing new. That's what Solomon
said. There's nothing new under the
sun. It's just new to you. It's not new to God. Nothing
new to him. Now, he says down here in verse
31, look at this. What shall we say to these things? What are we going to say? If
we believe this, and believers do, if we know this, and he said,
and we know, believers know, what do we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? Who can be against? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, shall he not with him also freely
give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. And now turn with me to Romans
chapter 3. Romans the third chapter, and look down here at verse 24. Being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness,
that he might be just and justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
Now, what I hope to say to you this morning And I say this because
I believe the water's been muddied about justification. They've
always been muddied by the Arminian world, and Satan has men who
would come in and confuse and distort and and take away all
the hope and all the blessing of the gospel to anyone who believes. That's his whole purpose in living,
is just to see who he may devour. But what I want you to see this
morning about justification is that justification is one work. One work. Now, I know that that
men, very learned men, have put things into print. Spurgeon has. Gill has. Lots of them have.
And they talk about threefold justification and fourfold justification
and all these different things about just eternal justification
and justification by faith and justification by works and all
kinds of justifications. There's just one justification.
That's what I want you to understand. There's just one work. Justification
is just one work. Just one work. It's not four or five different
works. It's just one work. And here in Romans chapter 3,
he plainly tells us that this one justification served both
Old and New Testaments. This one justification, this
one work accomplished through the redemption of Christ whom
God set forth as a propitiation for sin. This one work of justification
served both Old and New Testaments. This is how Abraham was saved. Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him for righteousness. It wasn't written for his sake
alone, but for us also. It's the same gospel. They heard
the same gospel, it says in Hebrews chapter 4. They received the
same gospel as we did, but it didn't profit them not being
mixed with faith in them that heard it. They're just one work.
of justification. One time, he said in Hebrews
chapter 9, Christ appeared in the end of the world to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself. I want to give you three or four
things this morning that I believe that will help us to
understand this thing of justification. And things that I believe every
believer Every believer is going to come to know and experience
faith. Now, first of all, and I'm quoting
from Romans 8.33, and I think this is so important that you
get a hold of this. It is God that justifies. It don't matter what I think.
It don't matter what I say. I can doubt your salvation. I
can cross-examine you. I can buttonhole you in the corner
and begin to ask you questions that I couldn't answer myself
and pretty soon you won't know. It's God that justifies. You see that? You're never going
to find any hope in what you think. What you're going to have
to be convinced of is that let God be true and every man a liar.
If God justifies you, you're justified. Who's going to lay
anything against you? Huh? You won't have to go far
to find some enemy of God. You won't have to go far to find
somebody that'll question what you believe. There may be people
here this morning questioning what I believe. That's okay. It's God who justifies. You see
that? Boy, let that sink in. Let that
go home. It's God that justifies. It's
not the church. It's not the presbytery. It's
not the board of elders or man himself. It's God. that justifies. You are they, Christ said, which
justify yourselves. It's God that justifies. And
it's not the act of conscience. It's not the experience of grace.
It's God that justifies. Justification has nothing to
do with these inward workings of grace. Justification is not
a work done in you. It's a work done for you. It's
a work done for you. Let that sink in. It's God that
justifies. It's not God and me. It's God
who justifies. It's a work done for me. And
it's never said to be imparted, only imputed. Abraham believed
God and it was imputed to him for righteousness. And there's two things here that
I believe will help you to understand justification. And first is the
God who justifies. God is not a creature of time.
Don't put God in a... God is not subject to time like
we are. We're subject to time and circumstance
and all kinds of things happen in time to us. And we're so limited
in our understanding and so limited in our time on this earth. We're
so finite. that things take us by surprise
in our ignorance and they come upon us like circumstance and
they change us and pull us and turn. God's not that way. God
sees the end from the beginning. God's not a creature of time.
So if it's God who justifies, when did He justify? Somewhere in time? Was there
no need in the beginning with a God who sees the end from the
beginning? Did He not see the need for justification
being He's the one who justifies? You see what I'm saying? Justification
is a thing settled in the mind of God from all eternity. Now
Christ will come in time and accomplish this justification.
But in the mind of God it's settled. And He saved men all through
the Old Testament based on His satisfaction with the work that
Christ would come and do, having not been done yet. Can you see
that there in Romans chapter 3? All of this being justified
freely by His grace redemption of Christ, whom God
has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for sins that are past, sins before
Christ ever come and died on the cross. Abraham saw it. He said, he saw my day and was
glad. He was glad to see that ram caught in a thicket, wasn't
he? He had that knife up ready to slay his son. And then the second thing is
this. You must see that this God who justifies is a perfect
God. He's a perfect God. Now, here's
where religion drove off into the ditch right here. He's infinitely
perfect. Whatever is said of God, you
can write this word perfect before it. Is God holy? He's perfectly
holy. Is God just? He's perfectly just. Is God good? He's perfectly good. There's none good but God. Perfectly
good. Perfectly holy. And you can say
the same thing concerning His mercy and His love and His grace.
And then turn with me over to Hebrews chapter 4. To be in favor
with God, to be in harmony with God, to walk with God, be allowed
the privilege of calling on His name, I cannot have any sin I must be in harmony with Him.
And to be in harmony with Him, I can't have any sin. None. No sin. Not the thought of it. Not the potential of it. I can't have any sin. Not the influence of it. Not
the taint of it in my character. Well, doesn't that rule everybody
out? Ain't that what it says before He said being justified
freely by His grace? All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. What I want you to see here in
Hebrews chapter 4 is how this living God sees us. God said to the prophet, He said,
man looks on the outward countenance. He said, God looks on the heart.
He looks on the heart. Now, watch this here in Hebrews
4. verse 12. And this has to do with rest.
How do you rest? He gives us two examples back
here in Hebrews chapter 4 about this rest. You read through it
carefully this afternoon and see if what I'm telling you ain't
so. Number one, he tells us that Israel tried to enter into the
promised land and they never could enter into that rest because
of unbelief. They came up to that land, and
it was theirs. It was a thing settled. Caleb
said, it's like a story already told. Let's go get it. Go get
it. God's already determined it.
He's already given it to them. They're as good as defeated.
Let's go. Let's go. That's how faith talks. That's
how faith acts. But Israel wouldn't enter in.
And they died in the wilderness in unbelief. They would not enter
into that rest. The other example he gives us,
and this is the one I want you to see. God, when he created
the world on the seventh day, rested. Now how can God rest,
having created a world that he knew was going to fall? How could
he rest? How could God rest, having created
a world that he knew was going to fall? He ordained a fall. He knew it was going to fall.
How could he rest? Because he appointed a mediator. He determined a justification
by which these men could stand before him holy, having fallen.
And if you go through here and through Romans chapter 8, you'll
see it, where he said it was not subject willingly, but by
reason of him who subjected the same in hope. Now watch this
here. And now, so he says this, he
said, for the Word of God is quick. See it down there in verse
12, Hebrews 4.12? It's quick and powerful, sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. That is, the Word
of God, written thousands of years on the opposite side of
the planet, in a totally diverse government, civilization. That word, 2,000 years later,
John, can interpret exactly what you're thinking and exactly what
you're feeling and does. You see what he's saying here?
It's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of your heart. How
can that be? How can that be? Watch this,
verse 13. Because who wrote it? Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. But all things are naked and
open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. The judge
before whom we must stand is infinitely holy, infinitely righteous,
infinitely just. And he is able not only to discern
our outward deeds, but he is able to discern the very thoughts
and intents of your heart. That's the judge. To understand
justification, you have to understand the judge before whom you stand. It's foolishness to talk about
justifying yourself for something you do, going to justify you
before God in that day. Well, I just hope what I've done
is enough. It's not. It's not. I'll tell you before
you get there, it's not enough. It's not enough. He's able to discern the thoughts
and intents of your heart, the motives, the affections. And
then secondly, consider those whom he must justify. Sinners,
all. Until he said, all have sinned.
He said that we had the The things of God, the Jews had all the
things of God. They had everything that God
gave. He had His Word, His prophets,
even the lineage of His Son. We had it all. But there's no
difference between us and the Gentile nations, the heathen
nations, because we before proved they're all under sin. Sinners
all, none righteous, none good, together become unprofitable.
In Romans chapter 3, he describes the condition of all mankind,
Jew and Gentile, being under sin, under its curse, under its
influence, none that understandeth, none that seeketh after God,
under its wrath, no fear of God before their eyes. The Holy Ghost here describes the whole of humanity. as a den of snakes, the poison
of asp under their lips. Destruction and misery in their
ways. Not even a thread of potential
that any son of Adam should stand before the living God and be
justified by anything he can do. All he can do is sin. All
God can do is be God. He is God. That's what he does. He can do no more than that.
All we can do is sin. We're at opposite ends of the
spectrum is what I want you to see. The judge who justifies
must justify something contrary totally to himself. How can that
be? How can that be? How can man
be just with God? Isn't that the question Job asked?
Sitting there and his bulls and his friends accusing him of doing
this and doing that. I'll tell you why God's angry
at you. You didn't pray enough. You didn't attend church enough.
You didn't read enough. You didn't do this enough. And
they just kept poking things at him. Don't try to hide it.
This thing don't come on man for no reason now. Job said,
I know it is of a truth. I know that. You don't have to
convince me of that. He putteth no trust in his saints,
yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable
and filthy is man that drinks iniquity like water? But Job
said, how can a man be just with God? You think I could have prayed
enough to be just with God? Read enough? Attended enough?
How can man be just with God? They're at opposite ends. Everything
in man is sinful. Everything in God is holy. Everything
in man is worldly. Everything in God is heavenly.
We're at opposite ends of the spectrum. For God to justify
man based on his potential, based on his works and will and ways
is an impossibility. Now what he told them, he said,
with man it is impossible. Who then can be saved? With man
it's impossible. But with God all things are possible.
Now here's the third thing. Justification is the free gift
of God. being justified freely by His
grace. Freely by His grace. The free
gift of God to all that believe. Look back here at Romans chapter
3 one more time. This time let's begin reading
in verse 21. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith, that
is, faith of, faithfulness of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon
all them that believe, for there is no difference, that is, in
Jew or Gentile. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. See that?
It's the free gift of God. Not because of what nation we're
from or what ceremonies we've kept or how good we obeyed the
law or any of these things. It's the free gift of God. And
to understand that gift, you have to understand how this gift
comes to be. Over here in Romans chapter 3,
he uses some terms. The first of those terms is propitiation. That term means to cover. A lot
of the old writers interpreted that word as mercy seat. You
remember back in the Holy of Holies, back in Israel, there
was an ark. Inside that ark was the broken
tables of the law. Inside that ark was the rod of
Aaron that budded and a golden pot full of manna. All those
things were in this ark. This was the ark of the testimony,
the ark of what God would do. All these things were in there
in type and symbol. Over top of that ark was a mercy
seat. The high priest would come in
and pour that blood out on the mercy seat. Propitiation is accomplished.
That's what I want you to see. This covering, it's a covering.
It's what made these things possible. It's what made these things sure.
And that covering is by redemption. The blood was poured out on the
mercy seat. The high priest went in and poured
that blood out on the mercy seat over the ark. It's accomplished
through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. all the things
that he accomplished, his life of perfect obedience, his death
as required by the perfect justice and holiness of God. Sin has
to be paid for. There is no way around sin except
it be paid for. Sin is what separates me between
me and God, but that sin must be paid for. It must be recompensed. The way to justification is through
the blood. That's what He's telling us.
Who is He that condemneth? It's Christ that died. Now watch
it. Yea, rather that it's risen again.
What in the world does the resurrection have to do with it? Well, look. Flip over a page there to Romans
chapter 4. The resurrection is God's declaration
of justification. That's what it is. He raised
Him. from the dead to declare this
justification accomplished. And we can sit around and wonder
about it, and we can sit around and wait on this experience and
that experience. This thing was accomplished through
the resurrection. Now I'm going to show you an
example of how the apostles preached it here in just a minute. But
the Scripture said Abraham believed God and it was counted to him
for righteousness. Now look here in verse 23. Not written for his sake alone
that it was imputed to him, but for us also, to whom it shall
be imputed, if we believe on him, that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead." Every time the apostles would give assurance
of justification, they went to the resurrection. Every time.
They did it all through the book of Acts. They'd always take them
to the resurrection of Christ. The same one that you crucified,
God raised him. God raised him. To whom it shall be imputed if
we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. See that? The assurance of my
justification is in the resurrected Christ. In the resurrected Christ. And
I'm telling you, I don't care where else you go, you're not
going to find assurance. I've had experiences, good experiences. Experiences, I stand before you
today and tell you they were of God. But I've got no hope
in it. I've got no peace in it. My peace
is in the resurrected Christ. That's my hope. That's my assurance.
That's what justification's all about. Justified. Sin paid for. How do I know that? God raised
him from the dead. God raised him from the dead. If he was just another prophet,
if he was just another good man, if he was just a teacher, as
Nicodemus said, sent from God, his being laid in the tomb had
no meaning. But God raised him from the dead.
And then that resurrection declares our justification. Justification
stands alone in a person and work of the substitute. It's
his faithfulness, not our faith, that gives us a righteous standing
before God. The work is received by faith.
It's received by faith. But faith does not justify. Was that clear? Did I make myself
understood? Your faith cannot justify you. The blood of Christ,
the death of Christ, the life of Christ, God's raising Him
from the dead, that's your justification. What faith does is receive the
gift. It doesn't add to it. It receives
the free gift of God. It's freely by His grace. That's what this justification's
about. It's a work already done. And it's because of this work
that faith can be given. It'd be contrary to God to give
faith apart from this justification. There has to be a propitiation.
Sin must be paid for. And it's because of this work
that any son of Adam can have a reason for hope. There's no
other reason. I'm telling you, every other
reason comes back to you. It comes back to you. Now when
he begins to argue this assurance and gets you into this thing
of Christ's affection and the love and who can separate you
from the love of Christ and all the rest of those problems, they're
all based on that justification. That justification. That justification was given
out of love. Now, who's going to lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Who's going to separate you?
God justified you. Who's going to separate you?
Who's going to lay anything to your charge? Turn with me to
Acts chapter 17, and I'll wind this thing up. Having preached to these Gentile
philosophers, declared to them the true and living God, Paul
sums up his message here in Acts 17 by telling them that all men
now are commanded to repent, to turn. Acts 17, verse 31, "...because
he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness
by that man whom he hath ordained." whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." The
judgment of that great day is manifest in the righteous judgment
of Christ on the cross. What God requires of a man was
required of Him. There is no need to sit here
and bandy about what God is going to do in that day. I see what
God is going to do in that day because He did it on the cross.
through a substitute. I know what this judgment is
going to demand. I know what it is going to require because
it was required of him. It requires to be faithful continually
in motive, thought, and deed from the cradle to the grave
that every sin must receive a due recompense of reward. And if
I do not stand in his justification, then I'll be judged in that day
according to my own works." And all of those names, it says in
Revelation 20, that were not found written in the book of
life, justified in the Lamb, all of those were judged by their
own works. And here is the outcome of every
one of them. Everybody's name who was not found written in
the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Not one of
them was able to stand on his own works. But how can a man
know if his name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life? How
can he know that Christ lived and died for him? How can he
know that he was one for whom Christ was raised from the dead
and justified? How can a man know that? How
can he know that? Well, here's how God did it and
how He does it yet today. God has from the beginning chosen
you through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth, for unto He called you by our gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's how it's done.
Now let me close with this verse over in Acts chapter 13. This
is what I want to show you. I want to show you how this justification
was preached to these Gentile people. This wasn't a people
with a big background of religion. These were heathen idolaters,
just like I preached to today. And here's what they told them.
Watch this over Acts 13, 38. 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
justified from all things from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come
upon you which is spoken of the prophets, behold you despisers
and wander and perish. For I work a work and your days
a work which you shall in no wise believe. though a man declare
it unto you. I stand up here every week, and
I speak to you of justification. And I tell you, there's no way
you're going to stand before God apart from this justification
of Christ. And still in awe, some of you
go out that door and trust in your works. And he said, beware. Don't do it. Don't do it. But
it's going to be done. People are going to do it. They're
going to hear this. They're going to go out the door. They're going
to trust in their own work. And though this thing was done
right before their eyes, they ain't going to believe it. They
ain't going to believe it. And they ain't going to rest
in it. Oh, may God give us a heart to rest in that justification
freely given to us by His grace. Father, bless the message this
morning. Open our hearts to receive this gracious gift of God, this
justification in Christ. Shut us up to Him. Shut down
every path we try to go down. Shut us up to Christ. We ask
it for Christ's sake.