Justified By Faith #1

Q: What does the Bible say about justification by faith?

The Bible teaches that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, bringing us peace with God (Romans 5:1). Justification by faith is a central doctrine in Christianity, particularly emphasized in Romans 5. The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 5:1 that believers are justified by faith, which brings peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This reflects the foundational belief that it is not through our works or adherence to the law that we are justified, but solely through faith in Christ's redemptive work on the cross. This means that those who believe in Him have their sins forgiven and are declared righteous before God, not based on their merit but through Christ's obedience and sacrifice.

Q: How do we know original sin is true?

Original sin is affirmed in Scripture, particularly in Romans 5, which states that sin and death entered the world through Adam. The doctrine of original sin posits that all humanity is affected by the sin of Adam, our federal head. Romans 5:12 clearly outlines that through one man, sin entered the world, and death followed as a result, passing upon all men because all sinned in Adam. This doctrine teaches that we are born with a sinful nature inherited from Adam, which leads us to sin by choice. The universality of sin is a fundamental concept in Reformed theology, emphasizing humanity's total inability to change this condition apart from God's grace and intervention.

Q: Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

Justification by faith is essential as it assures believers of their salvation and right standing before God. The importance of justification by faith cannot be overstated in the life of a Christian. This doctrine assures believers that their salvation is complete in Christ and not contingent upon their works or efforts. Romans 5 emphasizes that through faith, we are justified and receive peace with God. This justification is not a temporary state but guarantees eternal security and acceptance before God. It highlights the grace of God, emphasizing that our standing before Him is based on faith rather than personal merit, which cultivates true humility and gratitude in the believer's heart. Ultimately, it assures us of our hope in Christ and the eternal inheritance awaiting us.

I want you to open your Bibles
to the book of Romans, chapter 5. I'm going to bring a message
this morning and a message tonight on the same subject with the
same title. I'm speaking this morning on
Justified by Faith. The Lord willing, I'll continue
that message tonight, justified by faith. And it'll be on a cassette
tape, this morning's message on one side and the evening message
on the other, justified by faith. And I'm thinking seriously, I'll
be recording the television program tomorrow night up at Channel
13. I'm thinking very seriously.
I think these messages are so important that I'm thinking very
seriously of bringing them both in the next two Sundays on television,
justified by faith. Now, in Romans 5, let's look
at it a moment with this question in mind. If someone were to ask
you Quite frankly, you personally,
how did we get in the mess we're in? How did we get in this state
of spiritual death, separated from God? How did we get in this state
of darkness and judgment and condemnation? When to do evil
is so much easier than to do good. Alienated from God. That's what the scripture says.
Without God, without help, without hope, and without Christ in this
world. Isn't that what, that's how we're
described in Ephesians. Without hope, without help, without
Christ, and without God in this world. How did we get in this
condition? Well, according to the scriptures,
and what other foundation do we have? What other source do
we have? Where do we turn to find out how we got in this spiritual
state of condemnation? According to the scriptures,
it was through representation. It was through Adam. We were
created in Adam. God said, let us make man, not
let us make some men, but let us make man, he called him Adam,
red earth, out of the dust, God made a man. That's the only man
God ever made. Now, he prepared a body. When
Christ came into this world, he said to the Father, a body
thou hast prepared me. But that body was not taken from
the dirt, it was formed in the womb of a virgin. But he made
one And we were created all in that one man. We didn't come
originally out of the dust. We came out of Adam's loins.
And we were created in him according to the scriptures. We stood in
him and we fell in Adam. And it was because of his transgression. And this is the only way you
can account for it. It's because of his transgression.
that we were made sinners. Now look at Romans 5 verse 12,
and you just underscore these words if you'd like to. Romans
5 verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men,
for that all had sinned, for in whom all sinned. See, that's
very clear. All right, look at verse 15. But not as the offense, so also
is the free gift. Underscore this. If through the
offense of one, many be dead. I'm coming to the other part
in a moment, but that's the part I want you to see, underscore.
Through the offense, offense, sin, through the rebellion of
one, many be dead. Dead, dead in trespasses and
sin. Now verse 17, underscore this,
the first part of verse 17. For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one, by Adam, that's how death reigns. Everybody dies,
everything dies, the trees die, the flowers die, the animals
die, you die, I die, everything dies, deaths upon this earth.
Death reigns. One thing's certain, they say,
death and taxes. Has everybody said two things?
Death is certain. That's so. It reigns. Because of one man's sin. All
right, look at verse 18. Therefore, as by the offense
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Isn't that
what it says? I'm, you know, the people argue
original sin and all these things. I'm simply saying what God said
in his word. That's all in the world I'm saying.
I'm reading it to you. Suppose we switch places this
morning. Suppose I sit out there and you come up here. And I ask
you, how'd we get in the mess we're in? Could you improve on
this? All I'm doing is reading. This is verse 18, "...by the
offense of one judgment came upon all men the condemnation."
Look at verse 19, "...for as by one man's disobedience many,"
demeaning, "...were made sinners." That's how we were made sinners.
It goes all the way back to our roots. Sin is not just what we
do, it's why we do it. It's the motivation. Sin is a
principle. Sin is a nature. And this is
the reason most preachers do not preach against sin. They
preach against the results of sin. They preach against the
fruit of sin. Like our Lord said to the Pharisees,
you may clean the outside of the cup, but within, that's where
the problem is. That's where it all is. It's
the root. A tree can only produce the kind of fruit It comes from
the root. If it's an apple tree, it'll
have apples on it. And our root, the root of the
matter, that's the problem. A man's not a thief because he
steals. He walks into a store and he
sees a gold watch laying there on the counter, and he reaches
and takes it, slips it in his pocket. You say, he became a
thief. No, no. He was a thief and he
came in there. Oh, he wouldn't have taken it.
What he did is the result of what he is. You see, that's the
problem. If we could ever learn that,
that a man can clean up his life, there's no problem there. He
can stop drinking, he can stop committing adultery, he can stop
gambling, he can stop stealing, he can stop doing all these things,
go to church, no problem there. What's he going to do about it
in here? That's the problem. That's what God does not look
on the outward countenance. God looks on the heart. And that's
the reason our Lord said, you've heard it said by them of old
time, thou shalt not kill. I say unto you to hate your brothers
to be guilty already of murder. You say, well, I might as well go
ahead and shoot him then. Well, no, the consequences will be
rougher. But God looks on the heart. That's right. All right, that's how we got
in this mess. All right, according to the same scriptures, what's
the way out of the mess that we're in? According to the same
scriptures, now, how do we get out of this mess? How do we become
righteous? How do we become justified? How
do we become accepted with God? Let's read the same verses. Turn
back to Romans 5, 15. Romans 5, 15. Now, it's not exactly
a lie. It's a lock, it's by representation. In other words, we got in this
mess by representation by Adam and by his Paul. We get out of
this mess by Christ and by his obedience, by representation. You see, Paul said in 1 Corinthians,
by man came death, by man came the resurrection. By man came
sin, by man comes righteousness. God made another man, and that
man was made in our likeness. He said the first man was made
in his likeness and fell. That second man is the Lord from
heaven made in our likeness, and he obeyed. And what we lost
in the first Adam was restored and regained in the second Adam.
But here's the thing, it's a lot, but this is so much more. It's
so much more beautiful, so much more gracious, so much more wonderful.
That's the reason he keeps using the word much more. Verse 15. But not as the offense, so also
is the free gift. The free gift is not to be compared
to the offense in all things, because it's so much greater.
For if through the offense of one atom we be dead, much more
the grace of God, and the gift of grace, which is by one man,
Jesus Christ. have to bound it unto many. Did
I read that correctly? And that's all preaching is,
it's delivering God's message. It's reading the word and preaching
it. And what he's saying is it's so similar. God made one man,
Adam. All men were in his loins. All
whom he represented. He was the federal head of a
whole race. Every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue. He fell, they
fell. And when he conceived a son or a daughter, when that person
came from him, it was just like him, just like him, sinful. God sent
a second man, the Lord from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, made in
our likeness, perfect God and perfect man without sin. He represented
all who were in him. We're going to see that in a
minute. All who were in his loins, all who were given to him in
an everlasting covenant of grace, And read that verse 15 again.
But not as the offense, so is the free gift. For if through
the offense, the sin of one, many be dead, much more, much
more, the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one
man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. Look at verse 17.
For if by one man's offense death reign by one, much more, They
which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ. Isn't that it? Much more, much more. Look at verse 18. For as by the
offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, all men, even By the righteousness
of one, the free gift came upon all men under justification of
life. All that's so clear to me. And
yet, for many years in my early life, I was brought up in the
church, as many of you were, and I went to school where they
trained preachers. And these things were never mentioned.
These questions were never dealt with. I never saw her, because
I was 24 years old. And heard a preacher over here
at the Apollard Baptist Church in 1950, called Ralph Barnard,
who came along and started asking questions. How did we get in
the mess, were we? Well, how did we get out? And
started reading the Bible. It's amazing what you find out
if you read the Bible and quit, you know, following old I start
to say old wives with old husbands and wise fables. They're both
just as bad. I don't like to call them old
wives because the husband is just as bad. What I think, now
what God said, look at verse 19, "...for as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, the many, all who were in him, even so
by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Just
that plain. Just that's the gospel. Hold that scripture there and
turn over to the book of Acts, chapter 13. This is what the
apostle preached, and this is what I'm trying to preach in
Acts 13, verse 38. Acts 13, 38. Be it known unto
you, men and brethren, be it known unto you therefore, men
and brethren, through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things, from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. Now let's go back to our text
in Romans 5. Now here's the conclusion that
I draw from these scriptures. First of all, this state of guilt
and condemnation and death is universal. It's absolutely universal. By one man sin entered this world,
and death by sin, so death passed upon all of Adam's race. You
won't, there's none righteous, none that doeth good, none that
seeketh after God. They've all gone out of the way,
they've all together become unprofitable, there's none that doeth good,
from the sole of the feet to the top of the head. This is
true of all people, as sinners by birth, by nature, by choice. A young man attended services
here one time, and he went away, he said, surprised. And I asked
him, surprised about what? He said, well, what surprised
me is the preacher called himself a sinner. He said, I never heard
a preacher say he was a sinner. Well, what else is he? That's what Scripture says, all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All we like
sheep have gone astray. Are you not in awe? Death passed
upon all men. Are you not in awe? There's no
difference. He says that two or three times.
There is no difference. Oh, let's see. Oh, let's see. So this state of guilt and death
and condemnation is universal. Secondly, listen to me now. It's
unchangeable. Unchangeable by human effort. It's unchangeable. It's not only
universal, it's unchangeable. As a tree falls, what does it
say? That's where she lies. Now, a
tree can be lifted, but it can't lift itself. And salvation is possible, but
not with you and me. The disciples asked the Lord
one day, who can be saved? He said, with me, and it's impossible. Jeremiah said, can the Ethiopian
change his skin? Here's a black Ethiopian, can
he change his skin? Well, he can buy him a coat of
white paint and paint himself, but he hasn't changed his skin,
because it comes from within. Can the leper change his spots?
One little boy in a class out in Texas said, yeah, if he don't
like this spot, he can move on to another spot. That's not the spot I'm talking
about. You could paint the leper, but he'd still be wearing a paint
wall within. Neither can you do good that
are born to do evil. That's scripture. Why should
I teach anything else? Well, the reason some folks do
it is to get along with people, but I want to get along with
God. I hope I can get along with you, but I'd rather get along
with you. If somebody's going to be mad at me, I'd rather it be you. It's unchangeable. Cursed is
everyone that continueth not in all things that are written
in the law to do it. So what I receive from Adam,
remember these two things, is universal and unchangeable. by the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified." That's from Adam. Now, what I receive
from this second Adam is also universal and unchangeable. In
other words, everybody in Adam died in an unchanging state of
death. Everybody in Christ is restored
in an unchanging grace. You see that? All who are in
Adam by nature are condemned, and it's impossible for them
to change that state by works or deeds, religion or self-determination. All who are in Christ by the
grace of God, through faith, represented by Christ, are forgiven,
justified, made righteous universally, not a one-off that has not been saved. That's
what he said. Or will be. Or will be. He said, turn to John 6. Let
me show you that. John 6. John 6, chapter 37. Listen to this. John 6, 37. Our Lord said, All that the Father
giveth me will come to me. Universally. All. A-L-L. And him that cometh to me, I
will know where I was cast out. I came down from heaven, not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the Father's will, which is sent me, that of all which he
hath given me, all which he hath given me, I lose nothing, but
raise it up again at the last day." All. Universally. Everybody whom the Father gave
to the Son made Christ their representative, their second
As we are born, the image of the earthly will bear the image
of the heavenly. The first man is of the earth,
earthly. The second man is the Lord from heaven. All who are
in Adam die, all who are in Christ live. Have to. Look at verse 44 of John 6. No
man can come to me except my Father which sent me drawing,
and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
prophets, and they shall all. And they shall be all taught
of God. And every man, universally, without
exception, that hath heard and learned of the Father, he comes
to me. You know what that says? Every man. They shall all be
taught of God. O the sheep I have, which are
not of this fold, him I must bring. And they shall hear my
voice, and they shall be one fold. And do you know something? Are you still with me? That first Adam, everybody represented
by him, and that's everybody, died. And that's unchangeable
by human effort. Everybody given to Christ, represented
by Christ, lived. And that's unchangeable. That's
unchangeable. Much more, he said, Cecil, much
more. Let me show you that. Turn, if
you will, to Malachi 3. That's the last book in the Old
Testament, Malachi, the very last book. What I'm saying is
God doesn't change in his purposes or plans or his gifts or his
grace. In Malachi 3.6, listen to this,
I'm the Lord. Malachi 3.6, for I am the Lord,
I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Now, we believers, we're changeable
people. We know something about trials
and troubles and temptations and all these things. We are
a changeable people. Our faith is not always strong,
is it? But he never changes toward us. Here's another one. Listen
to Romans 11 verse 29. Romans 11 verse 29. Check this
scripture here. Listen to it. Romans 11 verse
29. It says plainly, And you notice while I was going I was
reading about this gift of grace and the gift of life, the gift
of eternal life in Romans 5. In Romans 11, 29, for the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance. What is repentance?
Shame, without shame. Whom he foreknew, whom he foreknew,
he predestinated to be like Christ. Whom he predestinated to be like
Christ He justified. Whom he justified, he called.
Whom he called, he glorified. No change. Now let me show you.
I want you, everybody turn to this verse right here. Philippians
1, verse 6. Philippians 1, verse 6. Philippians
1, verse 6. Everybody look at this carefully.
I'm saying that what we have in Christ is universal to all
in Christ and it's unchangeable, it will not be changed by anything. God Almighty gave it, purposed
it, and it can't be changed. Philippians 1.6, Paul says, writing
to the church at Philippi, being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it. What's that word perform mean?
What's that in the margin of your Bible? finish it until the
day of Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
of the Lord in its origination before the foundation of the
world. It's of the Lord in its execution. It pleased God to
bruise him. It's of the Lord in its application.
It pleased God to reveal Christ to you. It's of the Lord in its
sustaining power. We're kept by the power of God
through faith. And it's of the Lord in its ultimate
perfection. He is able to raise our bowels
and bodies. He's the author and finisher
of our faith. If he began it, he'll finish
it. It's God's work. Listen. I'm
confident of this very thing. Look at that verse again. That
he which hath begun it. Who began it? He did. He didn't start with you. He
didn't start with a preacher. He started with God. He began
this work. He did it. What kind of work
is it? It's a good work. It's a good work. And any good
work has to be from God. There's no good works in us.
It's a perfect work. Where did he do it? In us. He
did it in us. Paul said, God revealed his Son
in me. Too much, there's entirely too
much emphasis and too much stress put on this outward show of religion. I'm so tired of hand-waving.
I'm so tired of people using words they don't use ordinarily. Hallelujah, praise the Lord,
whoop-de-doo. I'm just sick of it. Tired of
it, the hand-waving, the preachers with their false smiles and phony
happy all the time. Let's get down to reality. Salvation's
a work in here, in here. And these fellows that are so-called
preachers, they're con men, they're hucksters, they're making merchandise
out of the souls of men, they're extravagant, luxurious, living,
loving crooks, is what they are. And they're good at this outward
stuff, but they're sore at this inward thing. of walking with
God and living for his glory and grace and mercy and truth,
those are the things that have been neglected. God, he began
a work in you, in you, and that's the work of his grace, and listen,
and he'll When? Until the day of the Lord
Jesus Christ. When our Lord Jesus Christ is
revealed in his ultimate, eternal glory, then shall we be revealed
in him, perfectly conformed to his image. You take the disciples. Our Lord called them, but I tell
you, it took several years. for any kind of maturity to be
demonstrated in these men. It didn't. It was any kind of
spiritual maturity. The Apostle Peter that you meet
over here writing those epistles, and the one you meet back here
is that he left Christ. But God was doing that work in
him. And he began that work, and it's
not perfected. And a day I hear people say,
well, I got saved Well, you've missed something. We have been
saved, we're being saved, and our salvation now is nearer than
when we believed. Repentance is not an isolated
act. This thing's not all fixed up
in one trip down the aisle to shake some preacher's hand, or
one trip to an altar, or one trip to a baptismal pool. This
is the work of God in you. that is begun and completed in
his own time for his glory. We have believed, we are believing,
we shall believe. We have repented, we are repenting,
we shall repent. That brings me to this question.
When is a man justified? When is a man justified? When
is he accepted? When is he actually brought into
fellowship with God? Tell me when. I'll tell you it's
a fourfold thing. I'll tell you the first time
and the first way in which all of God's people are justified.
Everyone who is in Christ and who will be in Christ, he's justified
before the foundation of the world in the eternal purpose
and covenant of a holy God. That's right. When were you in
Christ? chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Isn't that what scripture says?
Well, if I was in Christ then, I was justified. When did Christ
die on the cross? Well, he died on the cross 2,000
years ago. The Bible says he was a lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. How long has Christ been the crucified Savior ever
since God Almighty determined to save a people? Is that right? God said to Jeremiah, before
I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, before you came out of
your mother's womb, I sanctified you. God said, I've loved you
with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
you. What God does out here is because of what he purposed to
do back then. God declares the end from the
beginning. The God in whom Abraham believed,
the God whom Abraham believed, was the God who declared things
which are not as though they already were. You know what the
Bible says? Abraham believed God who declared
things which are not as though they are. And there may be someone
sitting here that belongs to Christ, and you have not followed
him or believed him or confessed him, but I'll tell you this,
if you're his, he'll have you because he's already got you. One day you'll be in Christ because
you're already in Christ. God put you there. The preacher
didn't put you there, and you don't put yourself there. God
put you there. So that's just so. We're justified. when God
Almighty chose us in Christ. Secondly, when is a man justified?
When Christ died on the cross. Our Lord died as a substitute.
He actually, the scripture says, took our sins in his body on
the tree. Didn't it say by one offering
he perfected forever them that are sanctified? So when he paid
the debt, when was it paid when he paid it? What debt did he
pay? All the debt I owed. I justified
in Christ. Somebody says, well, that's just
not logical. I'm not trying to be logical.
I'm trying to be truthful. You talking about man's logic
or God's logic? Which one? You talking about
God's truth or what men think? We're justified when Christ died. He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was laid upon him by his stripes. What? We are healed. All right, thirdly, when is a
man justified? When he believes. When he believes. That's right. Turn to Romans
5 again, that same chapter of Romans, Romans 5. There's a whole
lot in that chapter. We're going to look at it again
tonight if I'll save some material. I know that's what you're thinking.
What in the world is he going to preach tonight? He said it
all this morning. There's more, much more. Alright,
Romans 5, verse 1, listen. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's right, we're married to
Christ. But our Lord doesn't have any unwilling bride. We're married to Christ from
the foundation of the world. But there's a time when he says,
will you be mine? And we say, I will. Thy people
are made willing in the day of thy power. I believe God ordained
Darcy and I to be married before this world began. But she didn't
find it out until 46 years ago. And I said, will you marry me?
She said, I will. And you'll say, I will. You'll
be willing. In whom you trusted after you
heard the word of truth. I don't believe a man's going
to be saved listening to garbage. I don't believe he's going to
be saved listening to preachers talk about Jesus is outside the
door trying to get in, you won't let him in. I don't think I could
trust that kind of Jesus anyway. What would he do after he got
in? If he can't get in, what can he do when he gets in? If
he can't handle my door, he sure can't handle anything else. I
want one who's able to do all things, who cannot be defeated. I want one to reign in my Jericho
who tears the walls down and conquers and comes in and establishes
his throne and sits there. That's the kind of God I'm preaching.
You believe in whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom, after you believed,
you were sealed with the Holy Spirit. But when will I be justified? Well, when will I be saved? It's not done yet. Not done yet. I have been saved. I'm being
saved. Paul said, my salvation is nearer
than when I believed. I've got to die. That's God's
order. I've got to die. I've got to
put this old body in the ground, this old flesh, old nature, old
man, and then be raised from the grave and taken to glory,
body and soul, and made like Christ. That's when I'll tell
every one of you I'm justified. Is that clear? And that's just so. Somebody
says, that's deep. No, it ain't. It's just so. Nothing
deep about it. It's just so. It's representation.
It's all in Christ. One day, David said that, I'll
be satisfied when I wake with his likeness. And that's when
I'm saved. Totally, fully, completely. God
has finished in the day of Jesus Christ what he began. And that's
the end of our study and that's the objective and the goal of
our preaching is that men might not trust an experience or turning
over a new leaf or like a man said to Doris over the phone
the other day, he's asked for money two or three times and
I've given it to him and he's supposed to be working for him
but he won't work. But so finally she just frustrated. She says,
well, I've given you this, that, and the other, and you still
haven't come and done the job you promised. Oh, he said, I'll
do it now because I've given my life to Jesus at a certain
church. Well, that's been several months
ago. It hadn't worked. Something hadn't worked. But
I wish Christ had come in and take over his life. See, that's
the difference. If Christ comes in and takes
over his life, then there'll be some consequences. there will
be some result. But as long as he keeps giving
his heart and giving his life to Jesus, he's just going to
stay messed up. That preacher is leading him
wrong. You can't, I tell you this thing is universal, impossible,
unchangeable by human effort, but God can change it. And he
that hath begun a good work in you, and I know we look, I know
all, we look at each other and look at ourselves and think,
well Lord, is there a good work actually begun? It is, if you
love Him, believe Him. And He'll be discouraging. He
looks like He's taking a step forward and two backwards sometimes.
But He's going to do it, because you're His. He's going to do
it. Keep looking to Him. Don't look
anywhere else. Keep looking to Him. Alright, let's sing a song,
505.

Justified By Faith #1

What does the Bible say about justification by faith?

How do we know original sin is true?

Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

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About Henry Mahan

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Justified By Faith #1

What does the Bible say about justification by faith?

How do we know original sin is true?

Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

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