Now, open your Bibles again to
the book of Romans, and this time chapter 3. My text is chapter 5, but in
these preceding chapters, the Apostle clearly declares and
firmly proves what I tried to preach last Sunday morning. The
justification before God, and those were the words that I emphasized,
before God. not before men. We're not trying
to justify ourselves before men. Justification before God and
in his sight is by faith. Let's look at that in Romans
3, verse 24. Romans 3, verse 24, being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus.
whom God has set forth. God sent his Son into the world,
God sent him forth. God anointed him, ordained him,
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, to be a reconciliation,
to be a perpetuation, through faith in his blood, to declare
God's righteousness for the remission of sins that have through the
forbearance, through the long-suffering of God, to declare, I say, to
declare at this time, God's righteousness, that he might be just, holy,
righteous, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.
Those are the ones God's going to justify, those who believe
in Christ. Now where is boasting? Where is the place of bragging,
boasting of what we've done, what we've brought. It's excluded,
totally excluded. By what law? Of works? No, by
the law of faith. Faith excludes boasting. Faith
gives all the glory to God, all the credit and praise to God,
for all that I am, I am what I am by the grace of God. Therefore,
we conclude, once for all, that a man, any man, a woman, Jew
or Gentile, old or young, male or female, a person is justified
by faith, by faith, by believing God, without the deeds of the
law, without any contribution in any way on his part or the
part of the law. He is justified in God's sight,
before God, by faith, by believing God. That's his doctrine. That's the doctrine of the whole
book of Romans. Now, in chapter 4, he gives the prime example. If you were to just, someone
asked you, name somebody you know is in heaven. First thing
you'd say, well, the Lord Jesus, but born of woman and man. Abraham. Abraham. The rich man in hell said, I
saw Abraham. And it lies in Abraham's bosom,
so we know Abraham in Gloria, all right, verse 1, chapter 4.
What shall we say, then, that Abraham, our father, as pertaining
to the flesh, what has he found? What has he found? Now, if Abraham were justified
before God in God's sight by works, he hath way unto Gloria.
Gloria in whom? In Abraham. But not before God. No man is going to glory before
God and Abraham or himself or any other man. But what says
the scriptures? Abraham believed God and was
counted to him for righteousness. And that's at the very starting.
I told you about the law of first mention. If you turn to Genesis
chapter 15, the first time, the very first time that righteousness
Righteousness is mentioned in the scripture, righteousness
before God, righteousness in God's sight, the righteousness
of God conferred upon and given to and mentioned in reference
to a human being. It's right here in Genesis 15,
verse 6, the first time it's mentioned. And it says here in
verse 5 that God brought Abraham forth, Genesis 15, verse 5. And said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the stars, if thou art able to number them. And he said
to Abraham, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord."
Abraham believed God. He believed God. Standing out
there, he hadn't done a thing. There was no law given. There
was no tabernacle built. There was no mercy seat existing.
There was no high priest to go to. There was nothing. There
was no Ten Commandments given. Abraham called out of a land
of dark an idol-worshipper with his daddy and his brother, idol-worshipper. And God said, Abraham, get thee
out of thy father's house to land thou shall be. And he stopped
him on the way unto heaven in a desert, and told him, Look
at the stoppers. And Abraham didn't have a son, didn't have
a daughter. He had a wife who was ninety-five
years old, and he's nearly a hundred. And God said, that's how many
seed you're going to have. He said, Lord, I don't even have
a son. I don't have one. And my wife's far past the age
of bearing children. God said, I said, count the stars. That's how many seeds you'll
have. And we're not talking about Jews. We're talking about redeemed
people. The seed of Abraham is the children of Christ. And he
believed God. He didn't jump through a hook.
He didn't go to the front, he didn't burn a sacrifice, he didn't
give a tithe, he didn't do a thing, but believed God. And right then,
God counted it to him for righteousness. He circumcised later, he sacrificed
Isaac later, he kicked Hagar out later. He gave the good land
a lot later, but he was reconciled to God and righteous before God
the day he believed God. And all that other things were
done because he believed God, because he was righteous, because
he was reconciled. That's so. That's so. That's so. And it says here in
Romans 4, let's go back and read some more, verse 17. I tell you,
it's written. Romans 4 verse 17, it's written,
I've made you a father of many nations. How can a man be a father
of many nations? We're not talking about children
from his loins, or children of my natural generation, or my
children of my faith. I've made you a father of many
nations, before him, before God, whom he believes. There it is. Even God, who quickens the dead. Even God, who caused those things
which be not as though they were, he is the only one who can. Abraham, against hope, believed
in hope. There is no hope of him siring
a child. There is no hope of her having
a baby. There is just no hope, not human
hope. So against hope, he believed
in hope that he might become the father of many nations according
to that which was spoken. That's our foundation of faith,
that which is spoken. So shall thy seed be. And being
not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when
he was a hundred years old, nor yet the deadness of Saviour's
womb. He didn't stagger at the promise of God through unbelief.
Christ said, He that believeth on the Son hath life. Does that
stagger you? He that believeth on the Son
and their God, does that stagger you? He that believeth on the
Son hath passed from death unto life." Does that stagger you?
It doesn't stagger you if you believe God, if you know who
God is. It didn't stagger him. He was
strong in faith, giving God all the glory, taking none to himself
or anyone else, and being fully persuaded that what God had promised,
God was able to perform. And therefore, it was imputed
to him for righteousness. There wasn't a tent meeting going
on, there wasn't an evangelist in town, there wasn't an anointing
with oil, it was just the Word of God, spoken to a former idolater,
standing in the desert, looking toward heaven, believing that
God could do exactly what God said. And it was imputed to him for
righteousness. And that's how you'll be saved, too, without
the aid of any human instruments or encouragements between you
and God. He's going to call you before
the tribunal of his word, what he says, and ask you one question,
do you believe? And your whole eternal destiny
will ride on for your answer. I believe God. I believe God. Everything he says about Jesus
Christ and about life eternal, I believe him. That's what Abraham,
he believed God, and it was counted to him right then as righteousness.
He was righteous before God. Now then, verse 23, will you
stay with me? That wasn't written for Abraham's
sake alone. Do you think he's something different
from you? Do you think he's a special case? Is that a special way God saved
him and he got another way for you? No, sir. It wasn't written
for his sake alone that it was imputed to him for righteousness,
but for us also. And you count how many people
have read this down through the years. The Church over there
in Rome, when Caesar was on the throne, they were reading this
right here. All those fellows running around in togas. We're
reading this right here. But for us also, for them also.
And then all those pagan nations in Africa, to which Paul and
Silas and Timothy and Barnabas went to Ethiopia and to Galatia
and to Ephesus and to all these other places. All those fellows
you know that were worshiping the goddess Diana. He said, this
is for us also. He wasn't written for Abraham
only, but for us also, and here in the days of the Puritans,
and here in our day. To whom it shall be imputed,
if we believe, on him, on God, that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the earth. You see, the Father, this is
the plan and purpose and the covenant of the Father. gave us grace. The Father gave
us life. The Father chose us. The Father
gave us to Christ. The Father sent him. The Father
made him the Redeemer. And we believe the Father in
everything he did for us in the Son, through the Son, by the
Son, and with the Son. See that? We believe on him who
sent Christ, who pleased him to bruise Christ. It pleased
him to raise Christ. He exalted him. He sat him at
his right hand and said, You sit there and I'll make every
enemy your footstool, and bring every sheep to glory. I believe
him. I believe him that raised up
Jesus our Lord from the dead. The Father and the Son are one.
You can't have one without the other. The Father purpose, the
Son purchase, and the Holy Spirit applies redemption. Do you believe him? who raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised for
our justification. It's all in his hands, complete
in him. Now then, the fruit and effects
of it. Therefore, being justified by
faith, I have peace with God. I didn't have any peace before. This is a great and grave matter,
peace with God. Peace with God against whom I've
sinned. Peace with God whose laws I've
transgressed and despised. Peace with God whose holiness
I've trampled underfoot. Peace with God, God's justice,
which we have ignored. Peace. But God's at peace with
everybody. No he's not. The scripture says
God's angry with the wicked every day. There was a time when we
were children of wrath by nature, even as others. Isaiah wrote
about it. Turn to Isaiah 12. Isaiah chapter
12. In the 12th chapter of Isaiah,
verse 1, Isaiah said, And in that day, talking about
that day of salvation, thou shalt say, O Lord, I'll praise thee,
though thou wast angry with me. He had a right to be angry, didn't
he? He had a right to be angry, just as angry with us as he was
with the people of Noah's day, just as angry with us as he was
with Sodom and Gomorrah. Angry with me. is turned away,
and thou comfortest me. Because, verse 2, behold, God
is my salvation, I will trust, I will believe, I will not be
afraid. For the Lord Jehovah, Jehovah
is God my Savior, my God and my Savior, is my strength and
my song, and he also is become my salvation. So thine anger
is turned away. You see, grace is given, but
peace had to be purchased. Let me read it to you in Colossians,
in chapter 1 of Colossians. Grace is free, grace is given, but peace had to be purchased
by the blood of Christ, by the death of Christ. In Colossians
1, verse 2, It pleased the Father that in Christ should all fullness
dwell, and having made peace through the blood of his cross,
by him, to reconcile all things unto himself. Why did we need
to be reconciled? We were enemies. That's what
verse 21 says, you were enemies, you were alienated enemies by
wicked works. Yet hath he now reconciled. And the preachers that look at
their congregations say, and the world and the TV screen and
say, God loves you and we love you, God's angry with the wicked. Angry. Isaiah said, you were
angry with me, but your anger is turned away. And Christ purchased
peace by the blood of his cross for his church, for believers. We have peace with God. We were
under a curse, did you know that? Listen to Galatians 3. I want
you to listen to this. We were under a curse, the curse of God. In Galatians
3, verse 10, as many as are of the works of the law are under
the curse. Galatians 3, verse 10, Cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the
book of the law to do them. But verse 13, Christ has redeemed
us from the curse of the law. Being made a cursed forest, it's
written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. He made peace
with God. When the angel said to the shepherds,
We bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to
all people, unto you is born this day a Savior, Christ the
Lord. Peace on earth, good will toward men. That wasn't accomplished
by his birth, it was accomplished by his death. That's how he brought
peace, by the blood. Secondly, we have these fruits
and effects of faith. We have peace with God, verse
2, by whom also, by Christ, we have access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand. Access to the throne of God.
We are redeemed, we are reconciled, we are justified, we have peace
with God, and we can actually come boldly into the presence
of God, in prayer, in praise, in worship, before the throne
of God. I'll show you that in Hebrews
chapter 4. We don't need to send someone
else. Christ is there, and you'll see
that here. He's our high priest. But we're
priests. Every believer is a priest. He
hath made us kings and priests unto God. The scripture says
you are a holy nation, a royal priesthood. Old Testament priests
were not royal priests. David was royal, Alan was a priest. But Christ is the king priest,
as you are kings and priests, sons of God in Christ. Now, Hebrews
4 verse 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest.
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast our profession. We have not a high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in
all parts tempted like as we are, yet without sin. So let
us therefore come boldly unto the throne of God, not a throne
of justice, Christ has already taken that, not a throne of wrath,
a throne of grace. that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help us in our need. Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10, verse 11, talks about these Old
Testament priests. No one was allowed to come into
the Holy of Holies but the high priest. No one was allowed to
offer a sacrifice but the priest. And that was pictures of Christ.
But now, verse 11 of Hebrews 10, every priest, Old Testament
priest, standard-dated, ministering, offering all the time the same
sacrifices, which could never take away sin, they were types.
But this man, this God-man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sin forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth
expected until his enemies be made his footstool. For by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." And
God says in verse 17, there are sins and iniquities that I remember
no more. Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering, there is no more sacrifice for
sin. All right. Having therefore, brethren, boldness. The brethren, not just the priest.
Brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest. There is no place
on earth or in heaven you can't enter by the blood of Christ.
There's no secret compartments, there's no places behind the
veil, there's no secret place. When our Lord took the bread
and the wine, he didn't give it to a priest, he gave it to
his people. He said, you drink it, you drink it, you take it
and drink it. We've got boldness to enter the
holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which
he has consecrated for us through the veil. There was a secret
compartment, there was a holy of holies, there was a place
that no one could go but the high priest. And Christ went
there, into heaven itself, and ripped this old veil in two,
opened it. Now you come, through the veil,
that is to say his flesh, and having a high priest over the
house of God. I've got a priest, a high priest. Christ Jesus. Let's draw near. with a true heart and full assurance,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood
of Christ and our bodies washed with pure water." We have peace
with God. We have access to God. That's the reason I can stand
here and you can sit there and pray to God, pray to God. Down in the Yucatan I see those
people in those confessional booths. And they come with their
robes and their beads, and they go in there, and there's a petition
there, and there's a man who sits over here on this side and
that poor sinner on this side, and he talks that man through
that mesh. He confesses his sin to that
man. That man can't do a thing about
it. He can't do a thing about his or theirs or anybody else's.
He's nothing but a sinner. And I'm not going to do that.
I've got a place. He's at the right hand of God,
and he ever lives to make intercession for me. And that's where I'm
going. But you better go. Verse 2, again, we have access
into this grace, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We have thirdly, a cheerful hope of eternal glory. We rejoice
in hope. Now, this isn't a wish. You can't
rejoice in a wish. I wish I had a million dollars,
but I'm not too happy about it because I don't think I'm going
to have one. I can't get too excited. I wish my uncle would die and
leave me a wealthy fellow, but I'm not going to count on it.
But you don't rejoice in a wish. You rejoice in what's dead sure.
Dead sure. and I rejoice in hope of the
glory of God." Why? It's dead sure. In fact, that's
what Paul said in Hebrews 6. You thought I drew that out of
an old Southern saying, dead sure, but you listen to this.
Listen to Hebrews 6, verse 19, which hope we have. as an anchor of the soul, both
sure and steadfast, dead sure. You can count on it. Why? Which entered into that within
the veil, where the forerunner for us is already entered, Jesus
Christ, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
I'm already in, in Christ. If you're in Christ, you're already
in. That's sure, isn't it? We rejoice in a sure hope. You can't rejoice in a wish,
but you can rejoice in a sure hope, a hope which is, listen
to Colossians, I've got this written down, I want you to read
it, in Colossians 1, verse 5. Verse 4, "...since we heard of
your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love which you have for all
the Saints, for the hope that is laid up for you in heaven."
It's already laid up. Where have you heard before in
the word of the truth of the gospel? All right. We have a
cheerful hope. And then the fourth thing we
have, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also. We glory, we rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God to come, and we glory right now in our
present troubles. and difficulties. Now, you can't
rejoice in suffering. You can't rejoice in pain. You
can't rejoice in sorrow. I know that. Sorrow is sorrow,
pain is pain, suffering is suffering. But we can rejoice in him who
sends it. We can rejoice to know that all
trials in the lives of his people are according to his good providence
and his purpose And for our good and his glory, we can rejoice
in that, in him who sent it, and we can rejoice in the effects
of it. And here's the effects, listen,
verse 3. We glory in troubles and trials,
knowing that they work patience. They're good for me, because
trials work patience. They make me patient and submissive
to God's will. They teach me patience. And then
that patience, verse 4, produces experience or maturity. The more
battles a soldier has, the calmer he is. You never get totally calm. But
the first time under fire, that's a real problem. But the next
time, the next time, the next time, the next time, a little
more confidence, a little more calmness. And that's what trials teach us patience. And patience,
experience, maturity, growing in grace, growing in grace. And then that maturity strengthens
hope. A tried, true, proven hope doesn't
cower before the world. Because verse 5 says, hope maketh
not ashamed. because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts for the Holy Ghost which is given unto
us. Well, I've got to move along.
Let me show you. Verse 5 says we have the love
of God and the Holy Spirit. And this love of God is not that
love whereby we love him. But that love of God is his love
for us. That's what that love is. The love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts. And this love of God is not the
love by which we love him. Our hope doesn't depend on that. And our hope is not supported
by that. But our hope is supported by his love for us. And that's
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy
Spirit reveals more and more unto us his love for us, and
the knowledge of that love for us, and therefore the effects
of it is we love him because he first loved us. Then one more I want to give
you before I close. Let's read the next few verses.
When we were without strength in due time, that is, according
to God's time, Christ came into the world and died for the ungodly.
But scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet for a kind
man, a good man, some would even dare to die. But God committed
his love toward us in that while we were sinners, Christ died
for us. being now justified by his blood,
we have assurance, we have confidence, we shall be saved from wrath. How? Through him. Through him. For if when we were enemies,
God loved us. When we were rebels, God loved
us. When we were idol-worshippers,
God loved us and gave his Son for us, and we were reconciled
by his Son. being friends, being reconciled,
being justified, we shall be saved by his life. And this life
is twofold. There is the life of Christ on
this earth, the man. Christ Jesus became a man. And
as a man on this earth, tempted in all points as we are, perfectly
holy, perfectly obedient, perfectly submissive to the will of the
Father, perfectly loved God and his neighbor. By his life he
imputed to us a perfect righteousness. And he died, and he died for
our sins. He was buried and rose again.
He ascended to heaven. Still the man, Christ Jesus.
And that man, by his life, because I lived, you that man by his
life now, not just by his life then, by his life now, he ever
liveth to make intercession. And you turn to 1 Timothy chapter
1. This is very powerful here, 1
Timothy chapter 1, verse 5. There is one God There's one God. No problem with that, is there?
One God. But there's one mediator. There's one reconciler. There's
one high priest. There's one mediator. There's
one advocate. There's one intercessor. There's
one person. Having to do with God and having
to do with us and bringing the two together in one. There's
one person. It's not Mary. He's not one of
the saints, not anybody here. It's a man. There's one mediator
between God and man. It doesn't say between God and
man universally. It's between God and men, men
and women, individuals who have been elected and redeemed, believers. And that's the man, Christ Jesus. There's a man in glory. There's
a man living. The resurrected life, the perfected,
glorified life, there's a man in glory. And because there's
a man in glory, there's going to be another man, another man
in glory. He represents us. He's our righteousness. He's our justification. He's
our redemption. He's our sanctification. He's
the man, Christ Jesus. The first Adam, he sinned. We perished in him. But that
second Adam, the man, He's a man from heaven, he's a Lord from
heaven, he's a man Christ Jesus. He's our reconciler. And if we
were enemies, we were reconciled by his death. Think about being
God's sons, reconciled by his life. That's it. And then the last thing, verse
11, says, But is there any higher step
you can take? Well, not only so, but we also,
joy in God, joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
we have now received the atonement. What is the atonement? Reconciliation. We didn't make it, we received
it. We didn't work for it, we received it. It's through Jesus
Christ and it's ours now. Oh, the glorious fruit of saving
faith. May God bless you.