Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I want to speak upon this subject,
the reality of justification. Now I have two texts I'm going
to read first, beginning in Luke chapter 18, verse 9. And he spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous. Now, if you believe that you
have any personal righteousness that God could be pleased with,
you would be termed a self-righteous person. Go on reading. He spake this parable unto certain
which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised
others. This always accompanies our self-righteousness. We'll always look down our nose
at somebody else thinking somehow we are better than they are. The Lord says in verse 10, two
men went up into the temple to pray. These were both religious
men. They were both men who saw the
need to pray. Two men went up into the temple
to pray. The one A Pharisee, the other
a publican. Now these two men were polarized
in their lives. One was a Pharisee, a very religious,
moral man. The other was a publican employed
by the Roman government to collect taxes for Rome, and he was despised
by everyone. Verse 11, the Pharisee, the religious
man, stood and prayed thus with himself. Don't miss that. He thought he was praying to
God, but he wasn't. God didn't hear his prayer. He
was praying thus with himself. God, I thank Thee that I am not
as other men are." Now here's the prayer of the Pharisee. He thanks God for how good he
is. I'm not as other men are. And then he names what he does
not do. He said, I'm not an extortioner.
I'm not an adulterer. I'm not unjust. Or even as this
publican, he saw the publican and he knew that he was a better
man than he was. I'm so thankful I'm not like
that disgusting publican is pretty much what he's saying. He said,
I fast twice in the week. and I give tithes of all that
I possess." Now this man thought he had quite a resume to bring
into God's presence. Now let's listen to the publican
praying. And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. This man believed himself to
be the worst man alive, the sinner. He certainly saw that Pharisee
as superior to him, and all he could say was, God be merciful
to me, the sinner. He committed sins. He committed
many sins. He knew he committed many sins.
As a matter of fact, if you would have asked this man, is there
anything righteous about you at all, he would say, no. No. I am the sinner. Now, let's listen to what the
Lord Jesus says about this. Verse 14, He said, I tell you,
this man, this man who confessed that he was a sinner, this man
went down to his house justified, not simply forgiven, or pardoned,
or shown mercy, he went down to his house justified. Now, if I'm justified, that means
I didn't sin. That's exactly what that means.
Justification is a perfect standing before the law of God. That means
you've never done anything wrong, and you've always done that which
was right. This man who confessed that he
was a sinner, our Lord tells us, went down to his house justified. rather than the other. You see,
that Pharisee who bragged upon himself so much and thanked God
for how good he was, he went down to his house in his sins. He went down to his house guilty
before God. But this other man went down
to his house justified. And then our Lord makes this
comment, for everyone that exalteth himself, shall be amazed." The Pharisee
certainly did that, didn't he? He exalted himself. And everyone
that humbleth himself, just like that publican did, everyone that
humbleth himself shall be exalted. Now, this man, who by his own
confession was guilty, a sinner, went down to his house justified,
not merely forgiven, although he was, not merely shown mercy,
although he was, but he went down to his house justified. Now, the next scripture I'd like
to read is in 2 Corinthians 5, beginning in verse 10. Paul the Apostle makes this statement. Paul at one time was a Pharisee
until God saved him. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was a very self-righteous
man in his own eyes. He said, touching the righteousness
which is in the law, I was blameless. That's how high an opinion he
had of himself before God saved him. Listen to his words in 2
Corinthians 5, verse 10-4. we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things
done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade
men. Now, Paul tells us of an appointment
which we must all keep. He's talking about every man
or woman born into this world. We must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ. that we may receive the things
done in our body according to what we have done, whether it's
good or whether it's bad. God is going to judge us. We
must all stand before the judgment seat of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, most people, you might be one
of them, many people, believe in what I would call a virtual
justification. Now, perhaps you're familiar
with computer-generated graphics where things seem real. They look real. The PlayStation
and Xbox and all those things that young people play on, or
whatever they do with them. I've never been on one. Most
complicated computer game I've ever done is Pac-Man. But virtual
reality, you're aware of it. Most people look at justification
as a virtual reality. I've got a good standing before
God. I'm just as if I've never sinned.
I've got a standing before God, but it's not real. It's not real.
It's kind of like a piece of paper that says I'm not guilty.
I'm justified before God, but I know I am not really justified. The things done in my body are
quite often very sinful things. And so, even though I'm justified,
it's a virtual justification. It's not real. Now, a lot of
people use this verse of Scripture, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, as
a judgment after the judgment. They talk about the great white
throne judgment. We're going to look at that in
a few moments. And they say, well, this judgment is a judgment after
that judgment. I've heard people call this the
Bema judgment, where believers will be rewarded after justification,
after the great judgment, where all men are judged and some brought
into heaven and others brought into hell. There's going to be
another judgment. where believers are judged according
to their works done in their body, whether good or bad, and
they will be given a higher position or a lower position in heaven
based upon what they have done in their body. Now, that's not
what the Bible teaches. We're given two very clear illustrations
of this when these subjects are being dealt with in the Old Testament
and the New Testament. Let me remind you of these. In 1 Samuel 30, the Amalekites
had raided Ziklag and taken David's wives and all the men's wives
and goods and spoils away. And they came back and saw that
the place had been burned and everybody taken. And David goes
to rescue these people. He had 600 men with him. You
can read about this in 1 Samuel 30. 600 men were with him. And
when they came to a creek, 200 of those men were so faint that
they couldn't go. They couldn't ford the creek.
They had to stay behind. So David had to go with only
400 men. And David went and defeated the
Amalekites, brought back the women and children and all the
spoils. And the Scripture points out that all the wicked men that
were in that group of the 400, all of the wicked men said, these
men that stayed behind shouldn't get as much as us. We put our
lives on the line, we did more work, so we should get more and
they should get less. And David said, no, everybody
gets the same thing. It's the Lord that wrought this
victory for us. Everyone gets the same thing,
and it was made a statute in Israel forever. And then we have
the New Testament parable. in Matthew chapter 20, where
we read of the workers in the vineyard. Some worked 12 hours,
some worked one hour, and they were all given the same thing. You see, hell is according to
works. There are degrees of punishment.
The Scripture does actually teach that. But heaven's by grace. Every believer has the same righteousness,
his. Every believer has the same reward,
him. He said to Abraham, I am thy
shield and thy exceeding great reward. Now, every believer is
not going to be judged according to the things done in their body
in the sense that I'm going to get a higher reward or a lower
reward or a greater degree of glory. That's foolishness. That's
all that is, is foolishness. It's not what the Bible teaches.
Now, justification. justification. If I'm justified
before God, that means I am going to get exactly what I deserve
according to the things done in my body. Now, how can that
be? That's what I want us to consider.
How can that be? Because I know I'm a sinner. I didn't used to be a sinner
before I was saved. I'm still a sinner right now. And yet,
I stand before God as one having never sinned. When I'm going
to be judged, I'm going to be judged for the things done in
my body, and it's all good. It's all good. That's what justification
is. Now, I mentioned the great white
throne judgment a few minutes earlier. I want to read about
that in Revelation chapter 20. We read beginning in verse 11,
And I saw a great white throne. This is John speaking. And he
says, I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose
face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found
no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, People no one had ever heard of, people who were very
famous, but they were still dead, dead in sins. I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened. Now, did you know that there
is a book or books, I don't know if they're literal books, I know
this may be speaking in terms so we can understand, but there's
a record in heaven of every sin, every sinful thought, every sinful
motive, every sinful deed that you've ever committed. That's
a sobering thought, isn't it? If I stand outside of Christ,
There is a record of every sin that I have ever committed. Now, let's go on reading. I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were
opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of
life. And this was another book. And the dead, those who were
dead in sins, those whose names were not written in the book
of life, The dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the book according to their works. Pure, impartial
justice. God giving everybody exactly
what they earned. And remember, with God, the punishment
always fits the crime. God is absolutely just. That's
who He is. He's just. And deep down, everybody
knows that. God is just. He's righteous.
He's going to reward the righteous, and He's going to punish the
wicked. God is just. And they were judged according
to their works. And we read in verse 13, And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged
every man according to their works. and death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire." Now, we read of this book of life
quite often in the book of Revelation, and it's mentioned in other places
in the Scripture, but it's called the book of life of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. And in that book,
are written the names of every one of God's elect. It's called
the Lamb's Book of Life, and those in that book are judged
out of that book. Now, this is the great white
throne judgment that everyone is going to have to stand before.
And like I said, some people have taken this 2 Corinthians
5 and said, this is a different judgment where you'll be judged
and rewarded according to your works. Now, that's just not so. That's foolishness. There's only
one judgment. And as far as that goes, what
work could you add to Christ's work that would make you look
better or more justified or more righteous? Do you think that
your works can be added to his works and enhance what he has
done? Why, surely you see that that's foolishness. Now, what
is he saying then when he says, we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ and receive those things done in his body
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or whether
it be bad? How can it be good for me if
I have sinned? How can I stand before God justified? not simply forgiven, but justified,
standing before God without guilt, where God looks at me and says,
well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the
joy of thy Lord, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Now, how could
that be possible? I can see how people can be condemned
for their works. I can see how I would be condemned
for my works. If I stood before God in my works,
hell's the only place I'd go. And it's the same with you, whether
you see it or not. It's so. We are sinners. Not just I'm
a sinner, we're all, before God, sinners. Yet there is a group
of people, a large group of people, who are going to be singing the
praises of the Lamb, worthy as the Lamb that was slain. And
they are going to stand before God justified, having never done
any wrong, and having always done that which is right. If
I'm justified, that means when I stand before God, I'm gonna
receive the things done in my body, and it's all going to be
good. It's going to be perfect law
keeping. That's what justification is.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is
God that justifieth them. In Revelation chapter 19, verse
eight, we read this. And to her, The church, the Lamb's
wife, the Bride of Christ, to her was granted that she should
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen
is the righteousness of the saints. Now, this beautiful fine linen
garment, this wedding garment, is the very righteousness of
the saints. I love the way it doesn't say
the righteousness of Christ imputed to the saints. It says the righteousness
of the saints. It really is the personal righteousness
of every believer. The righteousness of Christ is
the righteousness of every believer because of what Christ accomplished
on Calvary Street. Now listen real carefully. When
Christ was nailed to that cross, why was He nailed there? Scripture says He bare our sins
in His own body. on the tree. He was not merely-and
I say this fearfully and reverently, I hope-but He was not merely
bearing the punishment of our sins. He was bearing the sins
themselves. Now, He was not bearing the sins
of all men, with that exception. He was bearing the sins of His
bride, His elect, and they are evidenced as His elect in that
they believe the gospel. That's what believers do, they
believe. Now, He was bearing my sin in His own body on that
tree, He became guilty of the commission of that sin. God is
just. God will not let the guilty be
unpunished. He said, I will by no means clear
the guilty. On Calvary's tree, Christ was
guilty. Somebody may say, are you saying
that Christ sinned? Of course I'm not saying that
Christ sinned. Christ knew no sin. The perfect, holy, harmless
Son of God. But the scripture says He was
made sin. For He hath made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God. in Him. Now, just as truly as
He took my sin and it became His, He became guilty of it,
and God forsook Him, and He died under the wrath and justice of
God, He was getting exactly what He deserved. Now, just as truly
as he took my sin. I love that song, he took my
sins and my sorrows and made them his very own. He bore the
burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. Now just as truly
as he took my sins, that's why he died on Calvary's tree, his
perfect righteousness is given to me. In this great substitutionary
act, my sin became His, and His righteousness becomes mine, so
that I stand before God, according to Colossians 1.22, holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in His sight. You see, on the
cross, We read in Hebrews 1, verse 3, that He by Himself purged
our sins. Now, that means He made them
not to be. When I stand before God, I'm
going to stand before God without sin. perfect, just, holy, righteous. I'm going to receive the things
done in my body, and they're going to all be good. Now, that
is the gospel. That is what justification is.
It's me standing before God because of what Christ did for me. Without
any help from me, he did this by himself. There's nothing I
do to activate what he did or enhance what he did. He did this
by himself, but he purged He purged. He made my sin not to
be. 1 John 3, verses 4 and 5 says
sin is the transgression of the law. And he was manifested to
take away our sins. And my dear friend, that's exactly
what he did. When he said it is finished, the sins of everybody
he died for were taken away. They're gone. And the verse goes
on to say, in him is no sin. If I'm in the Lord Jesus Christ,
I have no sin. When I'm judged for the things done in my body,
I'm going to be fully acquitted as having never sinned with a
perfect righteousness. This is not, you know, I've heard
people call justification just as if I never sinned, just as
if I never sinned. Now, there's a real problem with
that. I've still sinned, if it's just as if I never sinned. That's
what I would call a virtual justification. You say, well, it's just as if
I never sinned. Well, that doesn't give me any
comfort. The only thing that comforts
me is that I've never sinned, that I stand before God without
guilt because of the righteousness of my Redeemer. Now, somebody
says, well, how can you know if Christ did this for you? How can you know you stand just
before God? There's one evidence, only one. Now, if you look at your life
and say, well, I think I'm doing pretty well. I seem to having
some kind of victory over sin and I seem to be living a more
holy, better life. Surely God's done something for
me because look at my life. I'm so different than I used
to be. If you come up with that, you've missed the gospel. My
heart breaks for you. I hope the Lord reveals himself
to you. But if you can say, the only righteousness I have is
the righteousness of Christ, I'm looking to Him only as my
righteousness before God, you have been justified. by God. Oh, the reality of justification. Now, we have this message on
CD and DVD. If you call the church or write,
we'll send you a copy. And we'd like to invite you to
services at Todd's Road Grace Church to come hear the Gospel
preached. May God richly bless you, for
Christ's sake. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to todd.neibert at gmail.com. or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.