Last week, I had you open your
Bibles to the book of I Peter, Chapter 3, and I brought a message
on why Christ died on the cross. Now, I want to follow that message
with a message from Romans 3, a couple of verses over in Romans,
Chapter 3, just very clear and plain on the way of life. That's
the title of the message today, the way of life, the way of life,
the way of eternal life. And I want you to open your Bibles
to the book of Romans, if you will, chapter three. I feel led of God to look with
you at three or four verses here in Romans chapter three and see
if I can't sound a clear note, just as clear as possible on
this subject, the way, the way of eternal life. While you're
finding Romans three, when our Lord was about to go to the cross. He was leaving his disciples.
In John chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, he instructs them. He gives them
many instructions and talks to them about being crucified and
leaving them. And the disciples were very depressed
and sorrowful. And in John 14, he gathered them
about him and he said, now, let not your heart be troubled. Let
not your heart be troubled. You believe in God? You do believe
in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And when... I know the word if
is there, but the better word is when. There's no if connected
with our Lord's preparation and work and redemption. He says,
and when. I go and prepare a place for
you. I'll come again and receive you unto myself that where I
am, where I am there, you may be also. And Thomas said, Lord,
we don't know where you're going. We don't know where you're going.
How can we know the way? And the Lord Jesus said to him,
I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No man cometh
unto the Father, but by me. And that's what I want to talk
about today. Where He is and the way there. The way of eternal
life. We know He's in glory. We know
He's in paradise. We know He's with the Father.
We know as our forerunner, He has entered within the veil,
in the presence of God, sat down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. We know where He is. And Thomas
said, but how can we know the way? He said, I'm the way. I
am the way. The way of eternal life is not
in church ordinance. It's not in baptism and communion
and sacraments. The way of eternal life is not
in church affiliations. I know there are a lot of different
denominations and religious affiliations, but that's not where life is.
Life is not in an organization. Eternal life is not in emotionalism. You can get all stirred up and
excited Eternal life is not in feeling.
Feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving. You
must trust the Word of God. Nothing else is worth believing.
The way of life is a person. That's what Christ said. He didn't
say, I'm going to show you the way. He said, I am the way. He didn't even say, I'll make
a way for you. He said, I am the way. There's
a lot of difference there. Thomas said, we don't know where
you're going, how can we know the way? Well, I'll show you
the way. No, he said, I am the way. He didn't say, I'll make
a way for you somehow. He said, I am the way. I am the
way, I am the truth, I am the life. If you believe not that
I am the way, the truth, the door, the resurrection and the
life, you're dying, you're seeing. So turn with me now to Romans
3. Romans 3 23 and here we're going
to talk about the way of life. It's Paul the Apostle Sets it
forth clearly and plainly this way of life in Christ Jesus And
he begins where the problem begins. He begins with the problem. He
says in verse 23 Look at it that Romans 3 23. He says this For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God all have
sinned. Were you listening last week
when I read that scripture from Ecclesiastes 7.20? There's not
a just man on the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All we like
sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. We're sinners. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner.
We're a sinner by birth in Adam. Death passed upon all men. Sin
entered the world. And death by sin. So death and
sin passed upon all men. We're born in sin. We come forth
from the womb speaking lies. Little babies lie. They know
how to lie. They don't know how to tell the
truth, but they know how to lie. Selfish, hateful, by nature we're sinners,
by thought. You don't think pure thoughts
all the time. By imagination, by word, by deed,
the scripture tells us we're sinners. Our conscience tells
us that we're sinners. There are a million things you
wish you hadn't done in your lifetime and things you wish
you hadn't said, places you wish you'd never been, sites you wish
you'd never seen, books you wish you'd never read, people you
wish you'd never met because of our sin. We've sinned and
come short of something. What have we come short of? The
glory of God. Some farther short than others,
but everybody's short of the glory of God. Back years ago,
long years ago, in one of the northern cities, I forgot which
one, but New York or one of them, you had to be six feet tall to
be a policeman. A policeman, you could not be
a policeman, it's just six foot tall. And this man wanted to
be a policeman, but he was 5'10". It's impossible. He fell short
of the goal. It doesn't matter if he's 4'
or 3' or 2' or 5'11". He's short, and he can't qualify. And you have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. It doesn't matter how short you've
fallen. It's short. You can't reach the goal. The
glory of God is perfection, and we sin and come short of perfection.
Paul said, oh, the exceeding sinfulness of sin. David said,
my sins are ever before me. Peter said on one occasion, Lord,
depart from me. I'm a sinful man. You've got
no business even associating with me. You've got no business
even talking to me. I'm a sinful man. Just depart
from me. Thank God for verse 24. Verse
23, that's troublesome. all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Short, short. But verse 24, thank
God, listen, but being justified. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. That's
good news. Let's look at it one word at
a time. Being justified. That's past tense. That's past
tense. I'm not going to be saved. I
am now. I'm not going to be forgiven. We are now being justified. It's already done. Christ said
it's finished. It's finished. When He died on the cross, He
said it's finished. What's finished? What He came
to do. What did He come to do? I told
you last week, to suffer for sin, the just for the unjust,
to bring us to God. It's finished. I finished the
work, He said, you gave me to do. Finished it. And He went
to glory and sat down. A person doesn't sit down unless
he's finished his job, finished his task, finished his work. Whom he foreknew, he predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son. Whom he predestinated,
he called. Whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified.
Past tense, every single word. Being justified. Justified, what's
that mean? Well, a judge can parole a sinner,
a criminal. A judge can pardon a criminal.
A judge can probate a criminal. But no judge can justify a criminal. Only God can justify a man. And
a man has to be justified to come to God. Only God can justify. You know, if you're pardoned,
you're still guilty. If you're paroled, you're still
guilty. If you're put on probation, you're still guilty. But if you're
justified, what's that mean? Not guilty. Not guilty. Justified. Just as if I had never
sinned. It means not guilty. We're just
being justified. I told you last week how we're
justified. The just died for the unjust. And he enabled God to be just
and justifier of those who believe. Being justified, what's this
word? Freely. Freely. Salvation's free. Preacher said, doesn't cost anything.
It cost the Lord a whole lot. No, it doesn't cost you anything
or me anything, but he paid a tremendous price. Scripture says, you're
not your own, you're bought with a price. Oh, what a price. What a price. He was a man of
sorrows, acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were, our faces
from Him. He's despised and rejected. He
was wounded. He was bruised. He was chastised. He died as a sheep was led to
the slaughter. He made His soul an offering
for sin. What a price. You didn't pay
it. I didn't pay it, but He paid it. Salvation is by works, not
yours, by His works. Not mine, His. Salvation is through
death, not my death, His death. Salvation is because of somebody's
deeds, holy, righteous deeds, not mine, His. You see that? Being justified freely, freely. Come without money, without price,
that's what He said. Why do you spend your money for
that which is not bread and that which satisfies not? all the
ends of the earth and be you saved I'm God being justified
freely watch it now by his grace by his grace it's the gift of
God for by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves
it's the gift of God it's not of works lest any man should
boast we're his workmanship created in Christ Jesus you see grace
what is grace by grace are you saved By His grace. Well, grace is sovereign. Has
to be sovereign. Has to be by His will, His purpose,
His choice. If it's by mine, it's not grace.
If I give anything in return, it's not grace. It's got to be
grace, sovereign grace. It's got to be free, no charge.
A gift's not a gift if you pay for it. No matter how much you
pay for it, it's not a gift. No matter how little you pay
for it, it's not a gift. A gift's free. Grace is free. Grace is
sovereign. Grace is unchangeable. If I give
you something and take it back, that's not grace. The gifts and
calling of God are without change. It's free. It's without change. It's complete. If I give you
a suit and don't give you the pants, just the coat, it's not
complete. You see, if I give you a car
with no wheels on it, it's not complete. A gift has to be complete. If you add anything to it, if
it lacks anything, if it requires anything on your part, it's not
a gift. The Scripture says, In Him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you're complete in
Him, being justified freely by His grace. Now watch it. Watch
this line. Through the redemption that's
in Christ Jesus. The word redeemed. Are you familiar
with the word redemption and redeemed? It really contains
three or four words. When you look at the word redeemed,
redemption, it indicates, first of all, a captivity. If you redeem
something, it's in captivity. We'll take a palm shop. A man
has palmed a beautiful ring. and the rings at the palm shop.
It's in captivity. It's held by another. It's held
by another. It's not in your hands. It's
not yours. It's His. When you go down to redeem it,
you redeem it out of captivity. And Christ Jesus redeemed us
out of captivity. We were in captivity to the law.
We were in captivity to the justice. There's a price on our head.
The soul that sinneth must die. And He redeemed us out of captivity. FROM UNDER THE CURSE OF THE LAW.
AND SECONDLY, THE WORD REDEEMED INDICATES A PRICE PAID AS A COST. IF ANYTHING IS REDEEMED, IT'S
GOT TO BE PAID FOR. IT IS REDEEMED, THE PRICE MUST
BE PAID. SO WE WERE IN CAPTIVITY TO THE LAW. THERE WAS A PRICE
ON OUR HEAD. HE PAID IT. JESUS PAID IT ALL. ALL THE DEBT I OWED, SIN LEFT
A CRIMSON STAIN. HE WASHED IT WHITE AS SNOW. I
owed a debt I couldn't pay. He paid a debt he didn't owe.
And the word redeemed contains another word, deliverance. The
man comes down to the palm shop. He said, I want my ring out of
captivity. I'm going to take it out of your
hands. Well, you'll have to pay for it. He pays the price. It's
his new ownership. It's delivered. If it's redeemed,
it's mine. It no longer belongs to anybody
else. You're not your own, nor Satan's,
nor the Lord's, nor anybody else. You're bought with a price. He
said, they're my sheep. I laid down my life for my sheep,
and no man can take them out of my hand. My father gave them
to me, and no man's greater than my father, and no man can take
them out of my father's hand. Captivity paid the price, redeemed
the soul, It's his. It'll always be his. And you
can argue once saved, always saved, once in grace, always
in grace. You're wasting your time and mine and everybody else's. If you're redeemed, you're bought
out of captivity, you're bought with a price, and you belong
to the one who bought you. Now, it all depends on who bought
you. If you're bought with water, you're not redeemed. If you're
bought with church membership, you're not redeemed. If you did
it yourself, you're not redeemed. But if he paid the debt, YOU
BELONG TO HIM, AND THE REDEEMER IS CHRIST JESUS. THE GREAT REDEEMER
LEFT HIS THRONE, HIS GLORIOUS THRONE ON HIGH. OH, WHAT MERCY,
WHAT LOVE UNKNOWN FOR THIS SINFUL MAN TO DIE. IT'S FINISHED. OH, WHAT PLEASURE DO THESE WORDS
AFFORD. HEAVENLY BLESSINGS WITHOUT MEASURE
FLOW TO US THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. YOU'RE ASSURED OF GLORY. and eternal life because He redeemed
you. All right, look at verse 25 now.
It says here, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth. Whom God has set forth. This Redeemer, this Savior, this
Messiah, this Christ, this Deliverer, God Almighty, The Holy God of
heaven and earth has set him forth, set him forth. What does that word set forth
mean? God set him forth. And I'll tell
you, first of all, it means this. It means to foreordain. It means
to predestinate. It means to purpose and will
before time began. God ordained him. God anointed
him. God set him forth. But it means
something else. To set something forth or someone
forth, to set them forth as He set forth Christ, our Redeemer.
It means to place in public view, the spotlight on Him so that
everybody can see. It's like Paul said, this wasn't
done in a corner. Set Him forth in public view.
It means to exhibit Him, to show Him all in a conspicuous manner. And let me show you how he did
that. Behold your God. Several things. Now you listen.
Number one, God set forth Christ our Redeemer in the Old Testament
promises. In the garden, he said to the
woman, and to Adam, and to Satan, the seed of woman shall bruise
the serpent's head. The seed of woman. That's a promise.
God set him forth right there. In Deuteronomy, he said to Moses,
the Lord thy God will raise up one day a prophet like you from
the midst of the brethren and him you shall hear. Abraham on
his way up Mount Moriah with his son Isaac. And Isaac said,
where's the lamb? Where's the lamb? And Abraham
replied, my son, God will provide himself, himself a lamb. He'll provide the lamb for himself.
He'll provide the Lamb Himself, and Himself, He'll be the Lamb. That's a promise. Isaiah 7, 14
says, The Lord Himself will give you a sign. A virgin shall be
with child. That's a promise. Isaiah 9, 6,
Under us a son is born, under us a child is born, a son is
given. His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. He set
Him forth all the way through the Old Testament in these promises.
And then he set him forth in types and patterns. In Genesis,
you have the ark floating on the waters of judgment. That
ark is Christ. You have Abraham's ram that he
put in the place of Isaac. That's Christ. You have the Passover
lamb in Exodus. Christ is our Passover. You have
the tabernacle, the mercy seat, the priest, the atonement in
Leviticus. You have the brazen serpent lifted up to which the
people looked in Numbers. You have the cities of refuge.
You have Rahab's scarlet lines. That's Christ. You have the kinsman
redeemer of Ruth. You have my redeemer in Job.
You have my shepherd in Psalm. Throughout the whole Old Testament,
God set him forth. Had pictures of Christ all the
way through the Old Testament. As Moses lifted up the serpent
and the wheel in his soul, shall the Son of Man be lifted up.
As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish,
so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth. Christ
our Passover. That rock, Moses smoked the rock,
water came out, that rock's Christ. That's what Paul wrote in Corinthians.
That rock is Christ. God set him forth. Then he set
him forth as the man. He was born into this world.
He came through the womb of the virgin, born in Bethlehem, and
the angels announced his birth to Mary and Joseph. The angels
announced his birth to the shepherds. The star God placed a star over
his birthplace. A star marked his birthplace.
The father said, this is my son. His work declares his godhead.
God set him forth when he was born into this world. Then God
set him forth on a cross. And when he died on that cross,
darkness covered the land. The earth quaked and shook. The
veil in the temple was went in twain. GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE
DEAD. AS HE ASCENDED TO HEAVEN, THE
ANGELS ONCE AGAIN CAME DOWN AND SAID, YE MEN OF GALILEE, THIS
SAME JESUS WHICH IS TAKEN UP FROM YOU SHALL SO COME IN LIKE
MANNER AS YOU'VE SEEN HIM GO. AND GOD HAS SET HIM FORTH IN
THE BIBLE AND IN THE GOSPEL. THE SCRIPTURES BEAR WITNESS OF
CHRIST. TO HIM GIVE ALL THE PROPHETS
WITNESS. GOD SET HIM FORTH, FOREORDAINED HIM, PREDESTINATED HIM, ANOINTED
HIM, and set him forth in a conspicuous manner in a public view for everybody
to behold and says, Behold your God. And old Pilate that day
when he was on trial in front of all those people, Christ was
standing there probably with his hands tied behind his back,
the crown of thorns on his brow before all the jeering multitude
and Pilate made this statement, Behold. the man. Behold, look, the man, the just
man, the holy man, the son of man, the son of God, the only
man, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, the man. God set
him forth. God set him forth, listen, to
be a propitiation. What does that mean, propitiation? It's used two or three times
in the scripture. Here in His love, not that we love God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation. He
is the propitiation of our sins. What does it mean, propitiation?
Well, first, it means atonement. Reconciliation. Christ is our
atonement. He reconciled us to God. He made
peace through the blood of His cross. He's our propitiation,
our atonement at one moment. Secondly, it means expiator. What is an expiator? It's a person
who makes amends for wrongdoing. It's a person who pays a penalty.
It's a person who makes satisfaction. That's what he is. Perpetuation. Expiator. Expiation. He makes amends. He pays the
debt. God doesn't sneak us into heaven. We walk in with Christ
justified. price paid. No price on our head,
it's been paid. Ransomed sinners, ransomed sinners,
redeemed. Don't have to sneak in. Don't
have to come in the back door. Don't have to make it, barely
make it, as somebody said, with the skin of your teeth. No, we
go in with the Son of glory, with the Lord of hosts. He's
our expiator. And then it means mercy seat.
The mercy seat was the lid of the ark. What'd the lid of the
ark do? It covered the broken law. And
Christ is our covering. He's our sin offering. God said,
I'll meet you at the mercy seat. I'll meet you at the mercy seat.
I'll commune with you at the mercy seat. And Christ is our
mercy seat. If you want to meet God, you
meet him in Christ. If you want God to deal with
you in mercy, you want God to deal with you in Christ. Not
as you are, but as he is. Watch this now. God has set him
forth. to be a propitiation, expiator,
to make amends, a mercy seat, a covering, a propitiation through
faith in His blood. It's Christ Jesus crucified who
saves. I know, I love to talk about
Christ the healer and Christ the man and Christ able to recover
the blind and so, but I tell you this, Paul said, we preach
Christ and Him crucified. It's the blood that makes atonement
for the soul. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. I'm determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Determined to
know nothing. We preach Christ and Him crucified.
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and unto
the world. We need a lamb. Abraham needed a lamb. Abel needed
a lamb. Israel needed a lamb, you do
too. The lamb slain, that's who we need. Abel came by lamb, Israel
was delivered by the lamb, and John the Baptist pointed to the
lamb. He said, there's the lamb of God. Take it away, the sin
of the world. The way to God, the way to eternal
life, Christ said, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life.
If you want this tape, order it, The Way of Eternal Life. And on the other side, why Christ
died. Send two dollars, we'll mail
it to you. Till next week, God bless you.