a reconciler, a mercy seat, through
faith in His blood, to declare God's righteousness for the remission
of sins of Old Testament people that have passed through the
forbearance, the long-suffering of God, and to declare, I say
right now, this time, God's righteousness. Christ fulfilled God's righteousness. that God may be just and the
justifier, the reconciler of him that believeth in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now where is boasting then? What
do we have to boast about? What do we have to glory in? Paul said, I glory in the cross.
God forbid that I should glory in anything but the cross. Where
is boasting? Where is excluded? By what law? Works? No. By the law of faith. Therefore, listen to this. Here's
the way it closes this chapter. We conclude, all that has been
said, we conclude that a man, a woman, a young person is justified,
reconciled, accepted, redeemed before God by faith. by faith
alone, without the deeds of the law. And then in chapter four,
Paul presents Abraham, our father Abraham. He's the father of believers. He's the one God called to whom
he gave the covenant and the promise that Christ would come
through his lineage. He gives us an example It presents
Abraham as the primary example of being justified, not by works,
but by faith. Listen to verse 3, chapter 4.
What sayeth the Scriptures? Abraham believed God. It was
counted unto him for righteousness. The Scriptures. When we say,
what sayeth the Scriptures? What Scriptures? When we say
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried
and rose again according to the Scriptures. What are the Scriptures? The Old Testament. And all the
way back in Genesis, if you would like to look at it, chapter 15,
verse 6, that's when this is declared first. This is back
before Moses, before the Law, before the Passover, this is
back before the Journey into Egypt, Genesis 15, verse 6. It's talking about verse 5, it
says, And God brought Abraham forth, brought him forth abroad,
and said, Look now toward the heaven, tell the stars, if you
are able to number them. And he said to him, So shall
thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord.
He believed God. And God counted it to him for
righteousness. When was Abraham saved? Not there. Before he was circumcised. Before
Isaac was born. Before he offered Isaac on the
mountain. Back then, he believed God. He believed God's Word. He believed God's promise. And
look now at chapter 4, verse 3. So what sayeth the Scriptures?
What does it say in the Scriptures? What does God say back then in
the Old Testament concerning Abraham? How was he saved? How
was he justified? Because he left his home? Because
he sacrificed Isaac? Because he did these things?
No. Look at verse 3. He believed
God. It was counted to him, charged
to him, imputed to him for holiness. That's what I talked about this
morning. God's perfect, pure, immaculate, infinite, holiness. Abraham right then is holy. We believe we are holy. Because
it says, look at verse, chapter 3 now, verse 20, Abraham staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief. He was strong in faith,
giving glory to God, believing God was able and willing. And
being fully persuaded, verse 21, that what God had promised,
God was able to perform through His Son, through the blood of
the cross, through the sacrifice of Christ, and therefore believing
that it was imputed. This word is used about eleven
times in this one chapter, imputed, counted, or reckoned. They all
mean the same thing. Charged to Him. Holiness, righteousness,
Perfect, pure God's holiness was charged to him because he
believed. Therefore it was imputed to him
for righteousness. Now you say, well, Preacher,
what's all that got to do with us today? All right, look to
the next verse. Now, all of this was not written
for Abraham's sake alone. We're not studying Abraham, we're
studying Christ. I'm not calling your attention
and faith to Abraham. I'm calling your attention to
Abraham's Savior. So this wasn't written for Abraham's
sake alone that righteousness was imputed to him because he
believed, but for us also. To whom that same righteousness,
God called Abraham His friend. He said, My friend Abraham. with Christ's righteousness on
was as holy as God's Son. And that fellowship he had with
Abraham and that righteousness he gave to Abraham is for us
too. Listen, if we believe, it doesn't say it's imputed to
us and given to us, righteousness and holiness. If we work hard,
do our best, we're going to try, Our best doesn't amount to much.
If we keep the holy days and the Sabbath days and pay our
tithes and go to church, no. How was Abraham justified? By works? No, sir, by faith.
He believed God. God said, Abraham, count the
stars. Can't do it. Well, that's how
many seed you'll have. He didn't even have a son. He
was 100 years old. Savior's wife was nearly 100
years old. Didn't even have a son. God's
talking about him having every tribe, kindred, nation under
heaven, a seed, a people, like the stars, the sky, the sands
of the seashore. He believed God. Awesome. He
hoped against hope. No natural hope, but he hoped
in God. And hey, God said, He's my friend.
Abraham believes me, he's my friend. I'll justify him, sanctify
him, redeem him, make him righteous through Christ. That's ours too
if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead. That's what we believe. That
our Lord Jesus came into this world as our substitute, our
savior, our reconciler, our righteousness. He met every requirement of God,
every commandment of God, every statute of God, every law of
God. He met it perfectly and obeyed
it in full. Paid the debt. Gave us a perfect
holiness as our representative. Went to the cross and paid our
sin debt in full. And God, we put him in a tomb,
rolled a stone before the opening, put a Roman seal on it and said
he's there to stay. No he's not. God raised him from
the dead and gave a testimony to the whole world that he accepted
Christ's sacrifice. And I believe it. Abraham was justified by faith,
he believed God. based on the Word. He didn't
see Christ. He believed God's Word. And that's
what you and I have. We have God's Word. And we believe
God's Word. We have more evidence than Abraham
had, because we know that the man called Jesus lived on this
earth. The calendar tells you that. so many years BC before
Christ, so many years AD in the year of our Lord and Old Dominion
in the year of our Lord. Josephus the historian tells
you that, that he was crucified on the cross. Abraham didn't
have that. We've got far more evidence than
he had. Abraham didn't have this This book was written after Abraham.
Abraham did not have the written word. Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers. What did Abraham have? He had
all he needed. He had God's Word. That's all he needed. My Word
will not return unto me, boy. God honors His Word above His
name. That's all you need. When that
rich man in hell cried out, Father Abraham, I've got five brothers
on the earth. Send Lazarus back that he might
tell them not to come to this place. Abraham said, well, they've
got the Word of God. They've got the Word of God there.
Oh, he said, they don't believe that. But they would believe
one if one rose from the dead. One did, and they didn't believe
him. One did, and they didn't believe
him. He appeared to them, preached to them. They didn't believe
him. Abraham said, they won't believe, though one rose from
the dead, if they hear not Moses and the Word. So if we can believe this Word
of God concerning our sins, our helplessness, our hopelessness,
His love, His grace, His mercy, His Son, His sacrifice, His substitutionary
death on the cross, if we can, God raised Him from the dead,
raised Him, exalted into his right hand and made him our intercessor,
if we can believe it, God says you're justified. He was delivered
for our offenses and raised for our justification. Now, look
at chapter 5. Therefore, therefore, being justified, being
accounted righteous, holy, unblameable before God, Being justified how? By faith now. Not by making a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Not by going to Mecca. Not by
praying with your face towards Jerusalem three times a day.
By faith. You want to do that, that's fine,
but don't depend on that for salvation. You look to Christ.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Peace! Our sins are pardoned, they're
put away. God is at peace. God is not angry. We're reconciled to God. We have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen, two
things here. We have peace with God in Christ. And that's the only way a holy
God can be at peace with us, is because our debts paid. Our
sins are put away. And God is reconciled to it.
But I tell you this, secondly, in Christ is the only way that
we can be sure of that salvation. Look down there at verse 16 of
chapter 4. Back in verse 16, chapter 4.
Therefore it is a faith that it might be by grace to the end
or for the purpose that the promise might be sure to all to see. That's the only way it can be
sure. You know if salvation were by works, I'd never know if I
worked enough. How would I ever know? If salvation
is by doing certain things, how would I know if I was doing the
certain things or the right things? I'd never have any assurance.
I'd never have any peace. Suppose that some way or other
I came to the place where I couldn't do those things. When my mind
was affected, I'd always be troubled. Have I done enough? Have I given
enough? Have I listened to the right voice? But I tell you,
when salvation is in Christ and depends not on our doing or our
work, but upon His doing and His work, you can have peace
and rest. Cease from your labor and enter
into His rest. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. I am persuaded that He is able
to keep that which I have committed to Him. All His. I am at peace. You fathers may lie awake at
night and wonder how you are going to make ends meet. You
may wonder if your job is going to play out. You may wonder if
a recession is going to hit and you'll have to go back to the
farm or something. But your son in there, he's sleeping soundly. He trusts his dad. He's committed
it to his dad. He rests. He's not tossing and
turning. He's not troubled because he
believes in his Father. And I'm telling you this, I'm
not tossing and turning either concerning my sins or salvation,
because I'm not trying to affect the salvation. It's in His hands.
And the Father is pleased with who He is and what He did and
where He is now. So we have peace with God. And
listen to this. It's in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And verse 2, by whom we have access. By faith, no, not without
faith. We have access into this grace. What is it talking about? Access
into this grace. Christ said, I'm the door. By me. If any man enter in, he
shall be saved. And he shall have access in and
out. He shall go in and out and find
pasture. We have access into the favor
of God. Access into the presence of God.
We are accepted in the Beloved. Now are we sons of God. And we
are highly favored of God in Christ. Let's go to school a
minute. Turn to Ephesians 1. Ephesians
1. Let's see what God says about
this union with Christ. What we have in Him. Ephesians
1, verse 3. You just put a mark where I put
the emphasis now, where I raise my voice and put the emphasis.
You underscore it. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. It's all in Christ. According as He hath chosen us
in Christ. before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ, to Himself, according to the good pleasure
of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein
He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Salvation is not in
a church. Not in a denomination, not in
a doctrine. It's not in a confession of faith,
it's not in the law. It's in Christ. In Christ, by
Christ, because of Christ. When I'm in Him by faith, I have
all that He is and has. We're joint heirs with Christ.
By faith we have access into this grace wherein we stand and
we rejoice. in the glory of God. Now look
at verse 3, but we not only, and not only so, but we not only
glory in the future state and the future happiness, we glory
in the present world. Now listen to this, we glory
in tribulation. We glory in whatever takes place. I want you to turn to Hebrews.
I saw something here when I was preparing this message that fits
so perfectly here. We rejoice and glory in our inheritance
and what God has given us in Christ to come. But we glory right now in this
present state, even in the trials and tribulations that come our
way. We glory in them for four reasons. Look at Hebrews 12, verse 6. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chastened. He disciplines and chastens every
son whom He receives. He does it. So, here's the first
thing. We know who sent the trial. He
did. That's what it says. Whom the
Lord loved it, He chastens. He deals with His children in
discipline, in chastisement, in trouble, teaching them. Now, look at verse 7. Now, if
you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons. For what son is he whom the Father
chasteneth not? We grow in tribulation. Here's
the second reason. Because it's God who sends it,
and in sending these troubles, He's declaring that we are His
sons. Isn't that something? Somebody wrote to a friend of
mine one time who was in deep water, deep trouble. He said,
the Lord must love you an awful lot to deal with you as He does. He must love you an awful lot.
He's declaring that we're sons. He doesn't chasten other people.
Look at verse 8, if you be without chastisement, whereof all of
his children are partakers, you're a bastard, you're not a son." Well, that's eye-opening, isn't
it? The fellow doesn't have any tribulation or trouble, or God
doesn't deal with him. He's not a son, he deals with
his sons. So, we glow in who sent it, we
glow in the fact that he counts us to be his children. He's dealing
with us as sons. He's discipling us because He
cares. He cares for you. Thirdly, look
at verse 10. Verse 8 and 9 says, Furthermore,
we have fathers of our flesh who corrected us. My dad corrected
me. I corrected my sons and daughter.
And we gave them reference. We respected our parents. I'm
glad our parents corrected us. What in the world would we be
if they hadn't? Spoiled brats. But they corrected us. We gave
them reverence, respect, because they corrected us. Shall we not
much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and
live? For they are earthly fathers
and mothers, for a few days chastened up after their own pleasure,
according to their own wisdom. But He, for our profit, that
we might be partakers of His holiness. That's the third reason. With glory and tribulation. Because
He sent it. And when He sends it, He's saying,
you're my son. You're a son, you're a daughter.
And I'm dealing with you as a son. And thirdly, He's doing it for
my profit. That I might be what I ought
to be. That I might think right, and
love right, and live right, and walk right, and be ever mindful
of Him for my profit. for my holiness. And then the
fourth reason, look at verse 11. Now, no chastening or trouble
for the present time seems to be joyous. I've told you that,
and you know that, and you tell me that. There's no joy in having
a broken heart. No joy in pain. There's no joy
in disappointment. It's grievous. Scripture recognizes
that. Nevertheless, nevertheless, And
afterward, when the trial has had its time to accomplish that
for which it was sent, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby. It'll result in fruit,
the fruit of righteousness. That's the reason we glory in
trouble. Now look back at my text, Romans 5, 3. What is this
fruit of righteousness? Well, let's look at it, Romans
5, 3. And not only so, but we glow in tribulations, knowing
that tribulation worketh patience. There's the fruit. Patience. Learning to wait on the Lord. David said, I would have fainted.
Had I not believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land
of the living." Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He'll strengthen
your heart. Wait. And you learn through these
things to wait on Him. Patience. And then that patience,
it works another fruit, and that's experience and that's maturity.
Experience is maturity. Who has maturity but the man
who has experience? There's no shortcut to maturity.
No shortcut. It has to be experienced. The
Word of God has to be experienced. Truth has to be experienced.
And that leads to maturity. And then that maturity increases
or strengthens hope. As trials come and go, as faith
is confirmed, as we grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ, Then we, our hope is strengthened. Our hope of enjoying our inheritance in His
presence. And hope maketh not ashamed.
Hope maketh not ashamed. Because, now here's the cause
of all of it, the love of God. All of this is because of the
love of God. The love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. And let
me give you a little lesson here. This love of God that Paul is
talking about here is not what the general pulpit
of today calls the love of God. This love of God is an infinite
love. An unchanging love. An everlasting
love. A benevolent love. It's the love
of God. And it has always been, and it
always will be, and it's in Christ. It's a holy love. Turn with me
to Romans 8. Romans chapter 8. Now this love gave His Son to die for us. This
love will never change in Romans 8, 38. I'm persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And that's for His church. And
that love is for His people. And I'm telling you this, that
Christ didn't come to win the love of God. Christ came because
of the love of God. God doesn't love us because Christ
died. Christ died because God loved
us. I'm not talking about the world,
every human being in the world, every creature. I'm talking about
His church, His elect, His covenant people. God said, I've loved
you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. He loved us. He made Christ our servitude,
the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He sent Christ
into the world. He called us. He revealed the
gospel to us. He saved us. Justified us. And
He loves us. And He'll never send one to hell
whom He loves. A hymn writer wrote these words.
I thought they were tremendous. "'Twas not to make Jehovah's
love toward the sinner flame that Christ Jesus from His throne
above a suffering man became. It was not the death which Christ
endured, nor all the pain He bore, that God's eternal love
procured. For God was loved before. For
God so loved that He gave. You say the world, the world
of believers. Not just the Jews only, but the
Gentiles as well. People from all over the world.
Like Ronnie prayed a while ago, our friends in Africa, Mexico, Russia, God has a people
out of every kindred unto heaven. He loved the world of His elect
with everlasting thought, nor will His love ever neglect His
elect whom He hath bought. The love of God That's the foundation
of all that is done through Christ on behalf of His church. And
that love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Now
listen to this. Here at verse 6. This is the sum and substance
of our gospel. This is a summary of the great
article of faith. Look at verse 6. For when we
were without strength, when we were yet without strength, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly. Who died? It's Christ
that died. That's so vital. It's Christ that died. Somebody
asked one time, how can one person pay for the sins of so many because
of who He is? It's Christ that died. You remember
my story? The father took his son to church,
and on the way home from church, his son said to the father, he
said, If Christ died on the cross and
saved so many millions of people, how is it that one man could
satisfy justice for so many? And the father wondered how he
was going to answer him. As they walked along, the father
saw a grasshopper down there on the ground. He reached and
picked it up. He said, son, you see this grasshopper? Yes, sir. How many grasshoppers you reckon
are worth one man's son? You're my son. I love you. Oh,
how dear you are to me. This is a grasshopper. How many
grasshoppers are worth one little boy? Oh, he said, I don't suppose
all the grasshoppers in the world. are worth one little ball to
his daddy. But he said, son, I tell you
this, God looked down upon the earth, and it says in the scriptures,
he considered the inhabitants thereof, what's the word, grasshoppers,
and sent his beloved, his well-beloved, the son of his love, down the
infinite, eternal Son of God. Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity. And because of who He is, it's Christ that died. When
we were without strength in due time, Christ died. How did He
die? Hanged on a tree. You know what Scripture says
about being hanged on a tree? Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 21.
This refers to crucifixion or hanging on a tree. The crucifixion
is a Roman death, but the same thing, hanging on a tree. Deuteronomy
21, 22. And if a man hath committed a
sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, you hang him on
a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree. Christ
didn't remain all night, took him down. Thou shalt in any wise
bury him that day. He that's hanged on a tree is
under the curse of God. Let the land be not defiled,
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. Christ,
listen, what does the scripture say? Cursed is everyone that
continueth not in all things written in the word to do them.
But God hath redeemed us from the curse of the law." What does
it say? Being made a curse for us. Who died? Christ. How did He
die? Under curse of God for us. For whom did He die? Well, He
died for good people. That's not what it says. When
we were without strength in due time, Christ died for whom? Ungodly. You know, that's not complimentary,
and not many of us in this place tonight that would say or claim
to be ungodly. But I read it this morning, we
are ungodly. But thank God He died not for
the righteous and religious, but the ungodly. That includes
me. The ungodly. When did He die? When we were without strength, when we had nothing to recommend
us to God, the Bible says we were without strength, without
help, without hope, without God, and David said, at our wit's
end. And he came and lifted us out
when we were without strength. But here's another word. In due
time. in due time." Whose time is that? That's God's time. But God, in the fullness of time,
sent forth His Son. When everything promised had
been made, and prophecy, and every picture had been presented,
and the Old Testament Scriptures were complete, when talked about
the priests like Melchizedek, the prophet like Moses and the
king like David. When all those things were fulfilled
in due time, He came. Died on that cross. In due time. Now here's something I want to
give you before I let you go. These verses in 4th verse 6. When we were without strength,
Christ died for the ungodly. Verse 7. For scarcely, For a
righteous man will one die. What kind of man is that? That's
a self-righteous man. There's none righteous, so he
pretends to be. He's real religious, real pious. He's holier than anybody else. He's high and mighty. He claims
a personal holiness. Well, those folks are hard to
be around, aren't they? They're deceitful, hypocritical
people. So I wouldn't die for one of those, would you? Not
many people would, that's what it says. Not many would die for
that kind of person. Yet, per adventure, for a benevolent
man, a good man in the eyes of men, we talked about this morning,
a man benevolent, kind, lovable, generous, helps his neighbor. Some would die for him, wouldn't
they? Man, some would die for that good man, that benevolent
man, that kind man, that loving father. But, verse 8, God commended
His love toward us in that while we were neither righteous nor
benevolent, but sinners, worthless, worthless, He died for His enemies. We were His enemies on our part. He loved us. We didn't love Him.
Herein is love. Not that we loved God. He loved
us. His love preceded ours. God doesn't
love you because you love Him. God doesn't save you because
you love Him. You love Him because He saved you. You love Him because
He loved you. That's right. Christ died for
us. That's when He died for us. Now, here's something that you'll
want to see. Much more than... Being now justified
by His blood, we'll be saved. Here's a little assurance for
us all right here. If God loved me back yonder before
I knew Him, before I heard the Gospel, when I didn't love anybody
but myself, and didn't live for anybody but myself, God loved me then when I was
an enemy and gave His Son to die for me. Now that I'm justified,
now that I'm a son of God, now that I'm redeemed, now that I
believe Him, much more I'll be saved by His life through Him. That's right. Look at the next
verse. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by
the death of His Son, much more, much more, much more shall we
be saved by His life. What is His life? Well, we might
say his life back here when he imputed us a righteousness. No,
that's not what he's talking about here. If when we were enemies, unclean, God loved us and sent
his son to die for us, much more being justified, we'll be saved
through him now that we know him. If when we were enemies,
God commended His love for us, and Christ died for us. Much
more will be saved by His life, His life now, as our High Priest. We have a High Priest with God.
Therefore, come boldly before the throne of grace, because
we have a High Priest, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He lives!
He's our High Priest. Secondly, He's our Advocate.
When we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father. If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. His life is our
intercessor. Hebrews said this, He's able
to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him, seeing
He ever lives to make intercession for them. And fourthly, He lives
as our forerunner. Our forerunner, our representative,
has already entered within the veil. So if when we were unclean,
enemies, rebels, going to and fro, Christ came down and died
for us, now that He lives in heaven as our high priest, advocate,
intercessor, forerunner, how much more secure we are. For
in Him we are already there. It's just waiting to what John
sang about that last verse, when He takes us unto Him on high. Alright, I pray that'll be a
blessing to you.