Would you turn back to Romans
chapter four? I've entitled this message. The
two pillars. Of salvation. Now, if you are
saved. If I'm saved. Here is why. There is such a thing as being
saved. There is such a thing as salvation,
God's salvation. And in this passage of scripture,
we're looking at, we're going to see the two pillars of salvation. Now look with me again at Romans
chapter four, I want to begin reading in verse 19 and go ahead
and read down through the last of the chapter and chapter verse
25 gives us these two pillars of salvation. But it said of
Abraham in verse 19, being not weak in faith, he considered
not his own body now dead when he was about a hundred years
old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what he
had promised He was able also to perform and therefore it was
imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his
sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also. That's talking about me and you.
That's not just talking about generic terms. That's talking
about me and you. It was written for us also to
whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up
Jesus our Lord from the dead. And here are the two pillars
of salvation. Number one, who was delivered? for our offenses. And here's
the second pillar. And who was raised again for
our justification. The scripture says in verse 19
that Abraham was not weak in faith. Well, what is faith? Abraham was not weak in faith.
He was strong in faith. What is faith? Well, in this
chapter, we're giving a verse that describes to us what faith
is. Verse five of Romans chapter four. But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith. What was his faith? He works
not. He sees very clearly. that he
cannot be saved by what he does. Faith is opposed to works. To him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifies the ungodly. He believes God
is able to do that. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that God is able to justify to make someone to be without guilt,
to be perfect in his sight, who is ungodly, God is able to justify
him that's ungodly. You believe that? That's what
faith is. His faith is counted for righteousness. That person who is like Abraham,
believing God, being not weak in faith. Now, faith, let me
say two things about faith. Number one, it's the gift of
God. And if you have it, you know
that. It's the gift of God. If you have faith, he gave it
to you. There was a time when you didn't believe and you didn't
even know what it meant to believe. But if you've got faith, you
know it's the gift of God too. Faith is a duty. Everybody ought
to believe God. You ought to believe the truth.
Everybody in here, you ought to believe the truth. If it's
true, you ought to believe. Faith, number one, is the gift
of God. You can't come up with it. He's got to give it to you.
You'll never believe. And number two, it's your duty
to believe. You ought to believe the gospel. It's the truth. Therefore, you
ought to believe. Now, look what's said of Abraham's
faith. It says he was not weak in faith. And that lets us know
that there are degrees of faith. There's weak faith, there's strong
faith, but Abraham was not weak in faith. He believed God's promise. Now, Abraham was an old man,
100 years old. His wife had already gone through
the process of menopause and it was physically impossible
for her to have a child. This would be a miracle if this
took place, but Abraham believed it would take place simply because
God said it would. Now that's what faith is, it's
believing what God has said. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God. Now, Abraham was not weak in
faith. You know, there's strong faith and there's
weak faith. And do you know that weak faith saves just as surely
as strong faith does? I love thinking about that. You
know why? Because it's not the faith that saves, it's the object
of the faith that saves. When the Lord went through to
destroy the firstborn, there were people in those houses with
the blood over the door who no doubt were scared to death. They
didn't know what was going to happen. And there were also people
who had complete confidence that they were safe because they were
in a house with the blood over the door. People with strong
faith, people who were scared. And here's a question I got for
you. Were the people who were scared any less secure than the
people who had strong faith? No. The security was equal because
what was God looking for? God didn't say, when I see the
strength of your faith or the weakness of your faith, he said,
when I see the blood, that's the one thing God was looking
for, the blood. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. So that person who was scared
to death was just as secure as that person who had no doubts.
Now that person who had no doubts was happier, more comfortable,
but he wasn't any more secure. because the security is in the
blood. Now it says regarding Abraham
in verse 19, he was not weak in faith, but what did he do being not
weak in faith? And here's what faith does with
weak and strong. He said, it says he considered not his own
body. Now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither
yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He didn't, he didn't look for
anything from himself. He didn't consider the deadness
of his body. He didn't consider the deadness
of Sarah's womb. In other words, he didn't look for a thing out
of himself. That's what faith does. Faith
doesn't, weak faith, strong faith, doesn't matter what kind it is.
It doesn't look to self. He wouldn't look for, to his
own strength to produce any of these results. He looked only
to the promise of God. It says in verse 20, he staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith.
And that word strong is literally, he was strengthened in faith.
The same word is translated in 1 Timothy 1.12, he was enabled
in faith. Now, if you're strong in faith,
you know this, it's because God strengthened you. That's the
only reason you're strong in faith. If you have weak faith,
you know it's because God gave it to you. But if you're strong
in faith, it's because he enabled you to be strong in faith. You
wouldn't have that strength in faith unless he strengthened
you. Look what it goes on to say, verse 21, being fully persuaded
that what God had promised he was able also to perform. Somebody
persuaded him. How come you're fully persuaded,
Abraham? Because God fully persuaded him. That's why. And if you're
enabled, if you're strengthened, If you're fully persuaded by
God himself, you will be strong in faith and everybody ought
to be strong in faith, shouldn't they? I mean, because the object
of our faith is so strong. Why would we not be strong in
faith? If you have a weak God, you can have a weak faith, but
oh, we have a strong God. Now let's go and read verse 22. And therefore it. was imputed
to him for righteousness. That strong faith he had that
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. Look
in verse 21, being fully persuaded that what he promised, he was
able also to perform. Now this is what faith is. It's
a belief in his ability. That's where strong faith comes
from. He was fully persuaded that what God had promised, he
was able also to perform. Two scriptures come to my mind
when I think of that. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1.12, nevertheless,
I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. Now here's what faith is, it's
so simple. I'm persuaded, I'm convinced that he is able, the
Lord Jesus Christ is able to keep that which I've committed
to him. And let me tell you what I've committed to him. I've committed
to him the salvation of my soul. That's simple enough, but it's
so glorious. I'm not looking to myself in
any way, by the grace of God. Right now, at any rate, by the
grace of God, I'm looking to who he is as being fully able
to save me with no help from me. He did it all. Now that's
what faith is. He is able. Turn to, as a matter
of fact, turn to Jude 24. Here's another one of those ables.
Jude 24. Right before the book of Revelation,
the book of Jude, verse 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and
to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy. To him that's able, number one,
to keep you from falling. The only way me and you won't
be falling away and leaving Christ as if he prevents it. He keeps
you from falling and he presents you faultless, without blemish,
without spot, unrebukable. Do you believe he's able to take
you and present you before the thrice holy God as faultless? Do you believe he's able to do
that? Now that's what faith is. He believed he was able. Now back to Romans chapter four, Verse 20, he staggered not at
the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith. He was
strengthened in faith, which gives glory to God being fully
persuaded, being fully convinced that what God had promised, he
was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed
to him for righteousness. Now, does that mean that his
faith was imputed for righteousness? Is that what that means? I want
you to think about the language and what's being said. Does that
mean that God treated his faith as if it were righteousness?
Does that mean that his faith was a substitute for righteousness?
The answer to that question is no. It doesn't mean that at all. Matter of fact, look in verse
24. But for us also to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe,
there's faith. The only thing that's imputed
is righteousness. Verse 22, and therefore righteousness
was imputed to him for righteousness. Christ's righteousness was imputed
to him. That doesn't mean the act of faith is given as a substitute
for righteousness, but what is the one evidence? Now, if you're righteous before God,
if I'm righteous before God, it's because God took the righteousness
of his son and imputed it to me and made it mine. And he took
my sin and imputed it to Christ and made it his. Now, what is
the one evidence that God has imputed righteousness to me? Faith. That's the one evidence. I can't tell God has imputed
the very righteousness of Christ to me by looking at my conduct
and how I act and how I treat people. No, the only evidence
that I have that God has given me is righteousness, is that
I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's it. Look in Romans chapter
four, verse five again, verse five, but to him that worketh
not, I'm not saved by my works, but believeth on him that justifies
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness, even as David
also describeth the blessedness of the man. unto whom God imputes
righteousness. That's what's imputed without
work saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Now, verse 23. Now it was not
written for his sake alone. That was imputed to him. Romans
4 23. It was not written for his sake
alone. That was imputed to him. but for us also to whom it shall
be imputed, righteousness 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. Now, here
are the two pillars of salvation. May God give you and I hearing
ears. Oh, that God would enable the
gospel to be preached in the power of his spirit. But for also to whom it shall
be imputed if we believe, if we believe what? If we believe
on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. who was delivered
for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Now, here's the two pillars of
salvation. Number one, the death of Christ. Number two, the resurrection
of Christ. All of salvation is found in
those two glorious pillars, the death of Christ and the resurrection
of Christ. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ died. He really died. You know, I looked
in the obituaries in the paper this morning, and there were
so many deaths recorded. And what a difficult thing. I
thought of the people who woke up this morning, maybe for the
first time, to be without that person ever again. They've died. What a difficult thing it is
to deal with this thing of death. And I wouldn't be incensive about
those deaths at all, but there was nothing remarkable about
any of those deaths. And when I die, there'll be nothing
remarkable about my death. And when you die, there'll be
nothing remarkable about your death. Now, why do I say that? Well, because the reason you
and I will die is because of our sin. Sinners die. The wages of sin is death. So it won't be remarkable, it
won't be unusual if I die. It's the natural thing. That's
what sinners do. They die. Cause of death? Cancer?
No. Heart disease? No. Substance
abuse? No. The cause of death is sin.
That is why men die. The wages of sin is death and
God always pays his debts. The soul that sinneth shall surely
die. But this man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, he lived like nobody else ever lived. He never sinned. This real man was born of a virgin. He didn't have Adam's DNA. He
didn't have Adam's gene pool of sin of a sinful nature. This
child who was born was the son who was given the Lord Jesus
Christ. I love that scripture. Isaiah
chapter nine, verse six unto us, a child is born. But that
son wasn't born, that son's the eternal son who was given. Unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
should be upon his shoulders, and his name should be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Now this is that one who never
sinned. You know, I love making this
statement. This one we're speaking of that
never sinned, this man, he's God. He's not like God. He is God. And that's why he never sinned. He could say, I do always those
things that please the father. He said to his detractors, which
of you can convince me of sin? None of us could say anything
like that, but he could. He, the giver of the law was
made under the law and kept it perfectly. I love to think of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the 10 commandments. You know, he
never put anything before his father. Never. He never committed idolatry.
He worshipped his father for who he was and he delighted in
him. He never took his father's name
in vain. Nothing was ever frivolous or
flippant about anything he said. When he even used his father's
name, he did so with the fear and reverence due to that holy
name. He always rested. He never worried. He rested in
his father's hand. He honored his father and his
mother. He obeyed them perfectly. And he honored all authority,
knowing that the powers that be are ordained of God. He never murdered anyone. But he also never murdered anybody's
character by slander or innuendo or gossip. He never murdered. He never committed sexual sin,
even in his heart and his mind. He never had a lustful thought.
He never had a wrong thought. He never had an unclean thought.
He never lied. He always told the truth. He is the embodiment of truth. He never stole anything. He never
shoplifted. He never robbed any man of what
was due him. He never coveted. He was completely
satisfied with his father. He worked out a perfect righteousness
doing all that his father required. Don't you love to think of his
sinlessness? I love to think of the perfection of his character. He lived 33 years and, you know,
it makes you think. I was talking with Chris Cunningham
and we were at that meeting this weekend. He was saying, you know,
we were told so little about those 30 years before his public
ministry began. He lived this perfect life and
nobody knew it. Nobody could see it. No, I mean, they didn't
understand it. That lets us know how little
we know of true righteousness. But he lived a perfect life.
Nobody got it. They didn't see. But he lived
this perfect life before his father for 33 years. He did all that his father required. And after 33 years, he goes into
Gethsemane. Garden of Gethsemane, the scripture
says, very heavy. and sore, amazed, sweating drops
of blood because he knew what was ahead. The cup that his father
had given him to drink, it was now time to drink it. He's falsely
accused and he doesn't defend himself. He's tried, he's found
guilty, and he's sentenced to the death of crucifixion. He's
beaten, he's mocked, he's flung down. He's nailed to a cross
and they raise that cross up in the air and drop it in the
stand. And at that time, a miracle takes
place. The sun quits shining and there
was thick darkness covering all the earth. You couldn't see a
thing. All you could do is hear. And from that piercing darkness,
The cry comes out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? This one who never sinned is
forsaken by God. He really was forsaken in his own conscience. He was
deserted. He didn't feel any of God's presence.
He felt nothing but his awful frown. He couldn't say in his
own thoughts, now at least I know these sins really aren't mine.
They belong to Todd's and whoever else all the elect are. They're
not really mine. No, he didn't say, you know,
if I'm being punished for something I didn't do, I can have a certain,
you know, well, you know, well, you know what I'm saying when
I say that, but he didn't have anything like that. He felt nothing
but the guilt and the shame and the evil of my sin. It became
his sin. And he was forsaken by God. Why
was he forsaken? There's only one answer to that
question. Sin. You see, God would never
forsake a righteous man, would he? The living God, the righteous
God, the holy God, would he forsake a righteous man? No! David said,
I've been young and now I'm old and I've never seen the righteous
forsaken nor his seed begging for bread. God will never forsake
a righteous man. On the cross, Christ was made
sin. The sins of God's elect were
lifted off of them and placed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And
he was made to bear in his own body our sin on the tree. He
was made to bear the filth and the evil of our sin. It became
his sin and God forsook him. And when he cried out, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? There's only one reason why
he cried that out because God really forsook him. The soul
that sinneth shall surely die and God is paying his debts to
sin. The scripture says he was delivered
for our offenses. Now who delivered him? Him being
delivered by the determinant counsel. and foreknowledge of
God. This was all according to God's
plan, purpose, decree. He was delivered by God. He that
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. Hastily not
also with him freely give us all things. The Father delivered
him. The Father delivered him. He was delivered for our offenses. Now, somebody says, why would
God do a thing like that? Because he's God. That's the
best reason I can come up with. Because he's God. It's not because
you or I deserved it or because there's anything lovely or beautiful
about us. But God delights in mercy. God delights in saving
sinners. God delivered him up because
he's God. That's that's what God does. He was delivered for our offenses.
And he died. Now that's the first pillar of
our salvation. The death of Christ. Now, you've got to have his life.
But what is his life? If he just lived and kept the
law and went back to heaven, what good would it do me or you?
Absolutely nothing. He died. This sinless one was
made sin and he died. And it was his death that made
payment for my sin. The reason I'm saved, because
my sins have been paid for. That's what his death accomplished.
The complete salvation of his people. The payment for their
sin. Who is he that can condemn? Paul said, it's Christ that died. That's why I can't be condemned.
Christ died for me. That's the hope of our salvation. He was delivered for our offenses. And then it says in verse 25,
again, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again
for our justification. Now there's the second pillar
of salvation. He died for our offenses. And
here's the second pillar. He was raised for our justification. You could just as easily say
he was raised because of our justification. You see, when
he died, sin was paid for. And when he was raised from the
dead, it's because we were justified. Now, justification, I say this
all the time, and I don't get tired of it. I hope you don't
get tired of it either. Justification is not just as if I never sinned.
Justification is I never sinned. I am without guilt before God. I'm justified. I stand before
God's holy law without guilt, without sin. Why? Because He
was delivered from our offenses and He was raised again because
of our justification. He accomplished justification. Now because my sins are paid
for, His righteousness is given to me, I stand before Him without
guilt. Now that is the pillar of my
salvation. Those are the two pillars. and
his resurrection. Is it really that simple? Yes.
Yes. It really is that simple. Like
Abraham, I'm not looking for a thing out of myself. He didn't
consider his own body now dead. He didn't consider the deadness
of Sarah's womb. He didn't look to himself. All my salvation is in the him
being delivered from our offenses. and being raised again for our
justification. That's the pillar of salvation. Listen to this scripture. Jeremiah
50 verse 20 says the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for.
Who's going to be looking for it? God is. And it shall not
be found. Now, when God looks for something,
if it's there, he's going to find it. You can ask Lynn, this
has been an issue with us for 30 years. I never can find anything
she asked me to look for. Some of you men are probably
like that too. She says, I don't look for it,
and I do, but when I look for something, I never find it. God's
not like that. If he looks for something, if
it's there, he'll find it. But the scripture says, The iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for and there shall be none. Not just that you can't
find it or it's hidden. It is non-existent. It is not
there. And the sins of Judah and they
shall not be found. The second pillar of salvation
is the resurrection of Christ, what he accomplished, full justification. Now, how can I know if I'm included
in this. I don't want to presume. I don't
believe for a second that everybody's saved. They're not. How can I
believe I'm one of them? How can I believe I'm somebody
that Christ died for? How can I believe and have some
assurance that I'm somebody who my iniquity was imputed to him
and became his and his righteousness is mine? How can I know if I'm
one of these people? Because I desperately want to
know. Well, it says Now it was not written for his sake alone
that 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. Now here's a comment on this. Turn to Romans 10 verse one. Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. Now, two things about the people
that Paul is speaking of in this passage of scripture. Number
one, they were not saved. They were people who, if they
died in this state, they'd go to hell. They were not saved. And Paul says, I desire their
salvation. I think of Paul. Look in chapter
nine, first couple of verses. He says, I say the truth in Christ.
I lie not. My conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy ghost that I have great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were a curse from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh." Now this is how much he loved the people he's
speaking of who were not saved. He wasn't saying this callously.
He wasn't saying this in a just, they're not saved. You know,
no, he, his heart broke. He wanted these people to be
saved. Would to God that you and I would always have that
attitude. Exactly. Now he says concerning
these people in verse two, I bear them record that they have a
zeal of God. These people are very religious,
but not according to knowledge for they being ignorant of God's
righteousness. And because of that ignorance,
they go about to establish their own righteousness. They think
if I do this and if I do that, then God will have to do something
for me. They're trying to bargain with God. They're ignorant of
the righteous character of God, and that makes them ignorant
of the fact that they think they can establish a righteousness
when the fact of the matter is they can't. But they don't see
that because of their ignorance. For they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God,
being saved by his righteousness. Look at verse four, for Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it. For Moses described it, the righteousness,
which is of the law of the man, which do it, those things shall
live by them. If you're going to be saved by your works, then
keep the law perfectly. That's the only way it can work.
But verse six, the righteousness, which is a faith speaketh on
this wise. First it tells us what not to
say. Say not in your heart, who shall ascend into heaven? That
is to bring Christ down from above. Don't think in your, even
in your heart, what can I do to get Christ to come down here
and do something for me? Just wipe that out. Don't even think that way. Verse seven, or who should descend
into the deep that is bring Christ again from the dead. Don't even
think, what can I do to make what he did work for me? Just
get doing out of your thoughts. You know, I think of this morning,
everybody almost in Lexington, they're going to different churches.
They're, they're hearing, do this, do that. Here's what you
need to do. Do, do, do. Get that out of your
thinking. Just get rid of it. What can
you do anyway? I mean, if you have any understanding
of who you are, you know, you can't do anything but sin. That's
it. That's all you can do. So forget doing. Don't think
about what can I do to get Christ to do something for me? What
can I do to make what he did work for me? But what sayeth
it? Verse eight, the word is nigh
thee. It's within reach, even in thy
mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith, which
we preach that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord
Jesus. Do you believe he's the Lord?
You know, the thief did. He said, Lord, Remember me when
you come in your kingdom. You believe he's the Lord. What
that means, that's not just an empty title. That means you believe
he's an absolute control. You believe he controls everything. He is the Lord. Do you believe the Lord Jesus? Do you believe he's Lord? You
know, I really do. I believe he's the Lord. Not
only do I believe he's the Lord, I love him being the Lord. And
not only do I love him being the Lord, he's my Lord and he's
my God. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth, I'm doing it right now. I'm confessing. He's the Lord.
And you know, you're, you're confessing. If you're saying
in your heart to that, amen, I believe that he's the Lord.
You're confessing. He's the Lord. He's the Lord
Jesus. What does, well, if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead. I'm not simply
talking about believing the fact of the resurrection. Yeah, I
believe that miracle really took place. God actually raised him
from the dead. Well, I believe that too. But I know why he raised
him from the dead. Because he was delivered for
our offenses, he paid for them, and he was raised again for our
justification. Now if you, let's forget about everybody else,
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and if you believe
in your heart right now that God raised him from the dead
because he was satisfied with what he did, what's it say? Thou
shalt be saved. You are saved if you believe
this in your heart. The two pillars of salvation. I am somebody that God would
describe as saved. He saved. Matthew 121 says, Thou
shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from
their sins. I'm somebody who is saved. And
I'll tell you why I'm saved. Because He was delivered from
my offenses. and he was raised again for my
justification. And that is the only reason I'm
saved, but I don't need anything else. I don't need another reason.
I don't need anything else to give me assurance, but him. May God enable me and you to
rest in these two glorious pillars of salvation, which are really
the same thing. death of Christ and the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Let's pray together.