Christ Is the Righteousness of God

Q: What does the Bible say about righteousness?

The Bible teaches that Christ is the righteousness of God and the end of the law for all who believe. According to Romans 10:1-11, righteousness is found in Christ alone, as He fulfills the law on our behalf. The passage highlights that those who seek to establish their own righteousness through works are misguided. True righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the end of the law for everyone that believes. This righteousness is not based on human effort but on God's grace through Christ's obedience and sacrifice.

Q: How do we know Jesus is our righteousness?

Jesus is our righteousness because He fulfilled the law and offers Himself for our justification. Jesus Christ is identified as our righteousness in the gospel. Romans 10:4 states that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. His sacrifice atones for our lack of righteousness, providing us with a perfect standing before God. According to Romans 5:19, through His obedience, many are made righteous. This righteousness is imputed to us by faith, establishing a relationship with God based not on our merit but solely on Christ's finished work.

Q: Why is faith in Christ important for salvation?

Faith in Christ is essential for salvation because it acknowledges His work as our only means of being righteous before God. Romans 10:9-10 teaches that if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. This faith is not just intellectual assent; it is a heartfelt trust in Christ's work. Through faith, we receive the righteousness necessary for salvation, recognizing that our own works are insufficient. The message of faith emphasizes that salvation is a free gift, available to all who believe, affirming the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Q: What does it mean that Christ is the end of the law?

Christ being the end of the law means that He fulfills all legal requirements, so believers are justified by faith. In Romans 10:4, Paul declares that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. This indicates that in Him, the demands of the law have been fully satisfied. No longer do we rely on our adherence to the law for justification; instead, we rest in the finished work of Christ. His life, death, and resurrection meet the requirements of the law, thus granting righteousness to all who believe. This shift emphasizes grace over works, highlighting that salvation is a gift rather than a reward for our efforts.

Q: How can we ensure we are hearing the true gospel?

We ensure we are hearing the true gospel by comparing messages to the Scriptures and seeking understanding through faith. To hear the true gospel, believers must engage with the Scriptures sincerely. As referenced in Romans 10 and Hebrews 4, the word must be mixed with faith for it to profit us. The Bereans are commended for examining the teachings of Paul against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). It is vital to discern whether teachings align with the gospel of grace, which centers on Christ alone for salvation. A commitment to studying the Bible and relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance is crucial for recognizing the true voice of God amidst the competing claims of the world.

If you will, open your Bibles
with me to Romans 10. Now, the Lord willing, I'm going
to speak this morning from Romans 10, verses 1 through 11. That will be my message this
morning. Romans 10, 1 through 11. Tonight, the Lord willing,
I'm going to bring a message on whosoever, whosoever, and
that'll be from Romans 10, verse 12 through 21. We're going to
the Lord giving us the grace and the wisdom and understanding.
We're going to look at the entire 10th chapter of the book of Romans
today. This morning, the first 11 verses,
and tonight, the Lord willing, the last verses of that chapter. Now, Romans 10, verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. I bear them
record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge, for they being ignorant of God's righteousness. and going
about to establish their own righteousness, holiness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness
which is of the law, that the man that doeth these things shall
live by them. But the righteousness, the holiness
which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Don't say in your
heart, who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ
down from above, he's already come. Or who shall descend into
the deep, that is to bring up Christ again from the dead, he's
already risen. But what does it say? What is
the message of faith? What is the righteousness of
faith? What sayeth it? It says the word is nigh thee,
it's even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of
faith which we preach, the gospel which we preach. This is the
message of faith, this is the message of grace, and here's
the sum of it, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, not work out your own righteousness, confess Christ
and his righteousness, and shall believe in your heart. that God
actually raised him from the dead, and having raised him from
the dead, he's saying, I accept his sacrifice, I accept his priesthood,
I accept his work in your behalf. Thou shalt be saved, thou shalt
be delivered, thou shalt be redeemed, for with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. That's where the work of righteousness,
the work of conviction, the work of conversion, the work of repentance
and faith takes place, in the heart. And with the mouth, confession
is made unto salvation. But the scriptures say, this
is what scripture says, that whosoever believeth on him, rest
in him, shall never be ashamed. Now perhaps the greatest evidence,
perhaps the greatest evidence of the power of sin, and the
presence of sin, Perhaps the greatest evidence is that the
creature, whomever that creature may be, always disobeys God. Always, just never will hear
God and do what God commands, no matter the circumstances.
People say, well, if the circumstances were different, if the environment
were different, if things were different, if I could hear a
different voice, if I could see a vision, if I could see a miracle,
it's like the rich man in hell said, he said, send Lazarus to
my brothers, if one rose from the dead, they'd believe. If
the condition was different, if the circumstances were different,
if you just do something like that, they'd believe. No sir,
doesn't matter the circumstances, doesn't matter the environment,
sin is so powerful Its grip upon human nature is so great that
under every circumstance, in every environment, no matter
what Almighty God says or does, men just will not hear God. They will not obey God. Let me
give you some examples. Now you go back before the world
was made, back when the angels of God inhabited
the universe. I don't know how many angels
there were. The heavenly hosts, they're called. Oh, so many multitudes
of the heavenly hosts. And it must have been a tremendous
environment, the holiness of God, the presence of God, the
power of God, the greatness of God. And as far as we can detect,
there are only three angels we can name. far as I can get from
the scripture, Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. But there were many
of them. But Lucifer seems to have been the leader, the one
with the authority, the power. And even in that environment,
his heart was lifted up with pride. And he said, I'll exalt
my throne above the stars of God. I'll do this. And such a
catastrophe came in heaven Somebody said a third of the heavenly
host followed him in his rebellion. Would not hear God, would not
believe. Come on down to the Garden of Eden. We studied this
in Bible school this week, with the boys and girls. God created,
recreated, if you would have it, the heavens and the earth.
And he made, he prepared the whole thing, before God made
man, he prepared that garden He prepared the atmosphere, he
prepared the vegetation, he prepared the fish, the fowls, the beasts,
the things of the earth. And then he said, let us make
man in our own image. And out of the dust of the ground
he made a man and put him in a perfect environment. And gave
him a perfectly beautiful helpmate. And said, it's yours. It's yours. Have dominion over the fowls
of the air, the fish of the sea, the beasts of the forest, over
all things. It's yours, perfect, the man and the woman, holy,
good, upright. And yet, he wouldn't keep one
commandment, just one commandment, John. God said there's one truth. And that's a token and a symbol
of my... You have dominion, but I have
all dominion. Adam, you're a king, but I'm
the king of kings. Adam, you're a prince, but you're
in subjection to me. He couldn't do it. Just couldn't
do it. And he fell, and everybody with
him. Think, if you will, just for a moment of the deliverance
of Israel out of Egypt. They had been, Israel had been
2 million, 3 million souls, like you said there, and had been
in Egypt, how many, 400 years? Making bricks without straw.
Having their babies slaughtered in slavery. 400 years. And God
miraculously, unusually, sent Moses down to deliver them. And
all the plagues, count them, ten of them, in which he literally
destroyed the country of Egypt, the pride of Egypt, the firstborn
of every home. You take in Ashland, Kentucky,
Arlington, Ohio, Huntington, West Virginia, this tri-state
area, and kill every firstborn child in every home. You talk
about an impact. You look around you this morning,
wipe out the firstborn. God did that. Under His judgment. And saved them. There wasn't
a one of them lost a son or a daughter. And delivered them out of Egypt.
And their shoes didn't wear out and their clothes didn't wear
out. And He fed them from heaven and gave them water out of a
rock. And still out of that whole outfit, only two. Only two, over 20 years of age,
left Egypt, entered the Promised Land. Rebellion, I tell you,
rebellion, pride, I will not, I don't care what God says, I
will not, that's what they say. I will, that's our problem, I
will, that's our whole problem. And regardless of the circumstance,
take the powerful witness of our Lord. Our Lord came to this
earth. Even his chief enemies had to say that no man could
do these miracles except God be with him. John the Baptist,
the boss in the wilderness, God's forerunner, the last of the Old
Testament prophets, came to Israel and he said, there he is, there's
the Lamb of God, there's Abraham's Lamb, there's Abel's Lamb. There's
the Lamb of the Tabernacle, there's the Merciful. They didn't believe
Him. The voice of the Father, the angels said when He was born
in Bethlehem, they said, the angels came down here and made
an announcement. And then when He was baptized, the Father made
an announcement. This is my Son, hear Him. And those very disciples that
heard it and heard the voice on the Mount of Transfiguration
still quit Him. And the miracles he performed,
he raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, even the Pharisees
said, it's never been heard of that a man gives sight to the
blind. And he rose from the grave and in the scriptures, he fulfilled
every jot and tittle of the Old Testament. You know good and
well that these men sat and read these scriptures and they saw
Christ in some of these scriptures, they had to. It's like preachers
today. They know that God is sovereign
in their heads anyway. They read these scriptures. The
amazing thing when I hear them, how they're able to avoid the
scriptures that tell about his grace and sovereignty. They do
it on purpose. And then today, my friends, we
have the Word of God in nearly every language. There's a Bible
in every home in this building. every person. There's a Bible
in every motel room in this city. There's a Bible in every jail
cell in this nation. There's a Bible on every book
stand in this country. There it is. But people won't
read it. They won't study it. They take
to some high-flying charismatic, hot-shot evangelist comes through
spouting off all of his imaginations and emotionalism, and they just
follow him like a firepiper. People don't go home and take
the Bible and say, what does God say? And I tell you, we have
the confessions of faith. We have the confessions of faith
right in there in my study, in the church library, in the libraries.
Around this country we have the confessions of faith in the church
libraries, but nobody bothers to read them. These old men,
back in 1400, 1500, 1600, men dedicated to God and his gospel,
sat down and penned from the Word of God the confessions of
faith of every major denomination. The Heidelberg, one of the greatest
things ever written. Who's read it? The Westminster
Confession of Faith, even the Presbyterians hadn't read it,
their preachers hadn't read it. The London Confession of Faith,
the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, even the Church of England,
their 39 articles, it's there for men to read. And the writings
of men like men whom God used, there's no doubt God used Calvin
and Luther and Whitefield and Spurgeon and Knox and these men,
men of old, Edwards, name them. brainer, like shame. But if folks
don't read it, they don't study it, they don't seek and study and
read, they will not search the scriptures. They just will not
do it. We've got all the information
we need. We've got all that we need. It's all right here. And
in these great writings, men that God had... You know the
Bereans, it's said of the Bereans, they were more noble. They were more intelligent too.
They were more noble than those Thessalonians. When Paul preached,
they didn't care if it was Paul. They searched the scriptures
to see if these things be so. They went home and searched the
scriptures. But every prophet of God has bemoaned the fact,
oh, bemoaned the fact, that men will not hear them. Isaiah said,
Lord, who hath believed our report? In our case, who's even heard
it? Who's even heard it? When we left Pollard and came
over here. And there was an article appeared
in the paper that I had resigned as pastor of Pollard Baptist
Church, and a number of people had resigned also, and the 13th
Street Baptist Church was going to be started. And it would have
as its confession of faith the London, later the Philadelphia
Confession of Faith. And there was a local deacon.
And one of the leading Baptist churches here met one of our
men and asked him, what's this Philadelphia and London Confessions?
Is that some kind of mission program y'all got going over
there? This man didn't even know what those Confessions of Faith
were. He was a deacon. He was an officer. He was selected
from among the church to be one of the sound leaders, and he
had no idea of the Confession of Faith. Who hath believed our
report? Who's even heard it? To whom
is the arm of the Lord revealed? Here's our whole Romans 10 and
turn to Hebrews 4 a moment. Hebrews 4. Here is the sad fact
of all generations. Not just ours, but all generations. Here's the sad fact. Hebrews
4 verse 1. Let us therefore fear, lest a
promise being left us of entering into his rest. And the promise
is here. The promise is here. Come unto
me, I'll give you rest. Oh, everyone that thirsteth,
come to the water. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. The promise is here. He that
believeth on the Son hath life everlasting. He that believeth
not shall not see life. We have the promise of entering
into his rest. Let's fear lest any of you and
I should seem to come short of
it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them.
Who's them? Us is us. Them is Israel. The gospel was preached to Israel. The gospel was preached to Israel
all those years. But, listen, the word preached
did not profit them. What a horrible thought. What a horrible thought. A man
will lie down and die of thirst and dehydration right beside
a well of pure, refreshing water. Is that possible? It's exactly
what we did. We lie down. Christ said, I'm
the water. I'm the water of life. Come to
me. Out of your belly shall flow
rivers of living water. But here we are scratching in
the sand. trying to find some water, and
there's the well right beside it. Would a man lie down and
die of starvation beside a bakery with bread being turned out on
the rowers 24 hours a day? Yes, sir. Stubborn, self-willed,
proud, arrogant flesh will lie down beside a bakery. Too proud
to bathe. The Word didn't profit them because
it wasn't mixed with faith in them that heard it. But I'll tell you this, I have
this consolation. I have this comfort. I have this
joy. His sheep will hear. His elect
will hear. They're going to hear and they're
going to come and they're going to believe. and they're going
to rest and they're going to rejoice. Yeah, they are. He said
in John 6 to those people listening to him, he said, you've seen
me and you haven't believed. You've seen the well, you've
seen the bread, you've seen the water, you've seen the blood,
but you didn't believe. But all that my Father giveth
me shall come to me. You see, other sheep I have which
are not of this foal, them also I must bring. and they shall
hear my voice, and they shall be one fold, and they shall be
one shepherd." When old Paul preached Acts 13, he says, and
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad. Oh, they heard
his message of grace, of Christ, and they were glad, and all,
everyone that was ordained to eternal life, believed. Oh, he said, You're not of my
sheep. You didn't believe and you didn't
hear because you're not of my sheep, but my sheep hear my voice
and they'll follow me and I'll give them eternal life and they'll
never perish like old the Apostle Paul. We endure all things for
the elect's sake. We'll keep preaching it. We'll
keep pointing to the well and pointing to the cities of refuge
and pointing to the bread. I'll keep preaching and pointing
and declaring Christ for the elect's sake. that they may come
to the knowledge of Christ. But let's go to our text, see
if we can move along here in our text verse 1. Here's the
preachers, the true preachers. There are true preachers and
false preachers, there always have been. Peter said that, as
there were false preachers in Israel, there will be false preachers
among you. But the true preachers desire, listen, brethren, my
heart's desire and prayer to God for you is, for Israel is,
that they might be saved. There are three essentials to
gospel preaching. The preacher is not a savior,
he's a voice. But there are three essentials
to true gospel preaching. One is knowledge. A man cannot
tell what he doesn't know. That's one of the faults and
failures of most preachers. They don't know. They don't know
him, and they can't preach Christ. But the second essential to gospel
preaching is simplicity, the simplicity of Christ. People
say to me, you make it so plain, so simple. Well, to you who hear
and believe, it ought to be plain and simple. It's called the simplicity
of Christ. Simple. I tell you this, if a
felon knows something, he can put it in your language. If he
can't put it in your language, it's because he doesn't know
it. Our Lord had no trouble speaking
in one, two, and three syllable words, did he? Simplicity, and
the third thing that's essential in gospel preaching is sincerity. What is our motive? Is it the
glory of God? Is it the salvation? Really and
truly, what is our motive? Is it just to be heard? Is it
to promote our cause? Is it to advance our theology?
Is it to expand our organization? Or is our motive the glory of
God, the glory of God and the salvation of His people? I'll
tell you Moses stood out there that day in Exodus 32 and he
said, There he was, there's the man,
there's, think of this, I wish I had something of this intercessory
love. He stood there and here's that
man God raised up miraculously, even like you pointed out there,
even from the little basket in the river. All of these things,
this dividing of the sea, all the way to his height, leading
the leader of two or three million people, the man to whom God gave
the law, here he stood. And he said, Lord, if you're
not going to save my people, why don't you just block me out
of the book you've written? Boy, that's desiring it. Moses
wasn't trying to gain a crown. Moses wasn't trying to promote
his cause. Moses wasn't trying to exalt
himself. Moses wasn't trying to leave
his name on a monument. Moses wanted God to save these
people. And he said, I'm willing to be
blunted out. Just forget you ever knew me, if you can't save my people. Now that's preaching for the
glory of God, isn't it? And that's what, Paul said that
in Romans 9. He said, verse 3, I could have
wished it myself were a curse from Christ forgotten, blotted
out for my kinsmen, my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Boy, that would do away with
our false pretense and showmanship and emotionalism Have you got
my book? Have you got my tape? Have you
got my name? You know, I want people to be saved. Verse
2, here's the preacher's discernment. That's his desire that men might
be saved. But he said in verse 2, I bear
them record. They have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge. The true preacher knows God.
He does. He knows God. He knows God. And secondly, he knows the gospel. He makes it his business to know
the gospel. He knows God and he knows the
gospel, but he also knows people, because he knows himself. See
what I'm saying? The true preacher, he knows God.
He's not playing games. He knows the gospel. He makes
it his business to know the gospel. But he knows people. He has a
discernment God has given him. And that's what Paul says, verse
2, I bear them record. I know them. I know them because
I'm one of them. I know where they are because
I've been there. I know what they're thinking because I thought
it. I know what they're saying because I said it. That's how
come I know them like I know them. He said, I was born in
the tribe of Benjamin. I was a Pharisee of Pharisees.
All these things, he said, and he said, I know them. And I know
this, verse 2, they have a zeal of God. They're zealous, they
have an interest. They have an interest in God. There's people in this town,
the fellows out there this morning, not even in a house of worship,
not even listening to the preachers, not even having opened the Bible
today. They're out there, but they got
a little bit, they take off their hat and they go in a church building. When a preacher comes up and,
morning, Reverend, the thing's going good at the church, I'll
send a little donation down there and help y'all a little bit,
you know. If you go in a store, they'll give you a discount if
you're from a church, you know. They got an interest in God. They got an interest in God.
They know there's a God. They have some kind of emotional
interest in God. But what does he say about them?
not according to knowledge. It's a God, not the God. It's
an imagination, image, imagination. That's where image comes from.
An image, an idol, comes from the imagination. They've got
God. Here's what they think about
God, and they're quick to take it. It's like we preach God's
Almighty, Sovereign, doeth what he will, when he will, with whom
he will, and they say, well, I don't believe in God, but not that
God. Not that guy. Like that preacher said on television
last night I listened to, he said the real Jesus hadn't been
preached to this generation. And he hadn't. He's right. He's
not preaching him either. He said this generation doesn't
even know the real Jesus. I said, boy, get on it, man.
Stay there. They don't. But he still wasn't talking about
the real one. He's talking about another one. But it's a zeal alone. They're
without knowledge. He said they have a zeal of God,
but without knowledge. They don't know the true character
of God. The true character of God, the
true way of life. See, our Lord said eternal life
is to know God. And Jesus Christ whom he has
sent. That's what Paul prayed, that I may know him. The living
God. That's what David said as the
thirsty deer panted for the water brooks. That deer has got to
get to the water. He's got to get to the water.
The water brooks. So my soul panteth for the living
God. The living God. The living God. Now here's the undeniable proof
and evidence that they're ignorant of the living God. Look at verse
3. They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge, for
they being ignorant of God's holiness, God's holiness, God's
essential holiness, God's provided holiness, they're going about
to establish their own. Isn't this amazing? This is amazing. This is amazing
in the light of all that God has said. Now listen to me a
moment, in the light of all that God has said. And you're familiar
with these verses. Listen, I'll just use the ones
you're familiar with, not the many that we could use. But he said, who shall ascend
into the hill of the Lord? Who shall worship God? Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord, the throne of God? Who shall
stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, a pure
heart, who has never lifted up his soul to vanity, who's never
exaggerated or sworn deceit. That's what it says. In Psalm
14, the Lord God looked down from heaven to see if any did
do good, any righteous. He said, there's none good, no,
not one. Isaiah 64, 6, we all do faith
as the leaf. The wind hath driven us away.
Even our righteousness is a filthy rag in God's sight. 1 Timothy
6 says, The only high, exalted, potentate dwelleth in a light
to which no man can approach. Galatians 4.21, you that would
be under the law, don't you hear it? In the flesh dwelleth no
good thing. In the flesh no man can please
God. This is all clear. This bell
is rung so loud and clear in the Word of God. Who is God?
Immaculate, infinite, holy, unapproachable. Man is sinful. David said what
I consider the heavens. What is man? And yet, men and
women, boys and girls, preachers, go about trying to win the favor
of God by their deeds and duties, by their good works, their religious
zeal. They'll join the church. They'll
be baptized. They'll pay the tithe. They'll
keep a date. They'll reform their lives. They'll
teach Sunday school. They'll teach Bible school. They'll
witness. They'll sing in the choir. They'll
do good deeds. They'll study books. They'll
promote doctrine. They'll say, I'm serving the
Lord. I'm serving the Lord. And in their hearts they're hoping.
that by this life, and by these deeds, and by these duties, and
by this morality, and by all these things, that God Almighty
is going to turn an eye of approval or favor. That's ignorance. They're ignorant of the holiness
of the Lord. He can't look upon you. He can't accept your deeds
because they are sinful. Even our righteousness is a filthy
rag. God can't take filthy rags. I don't care who they come from.
I don't care how they've been washed in our own vain efforts. Can't do it. Not God. Now their
God can, but this God can't. That's just so. I bear them record. They have
a zeal of God. Somebody up there likes me. Don't kid yourself. If he does,
I put a question mark on it. If he likes you, If there's somebody,
whoever this somebody is, if he's a God and he likes you,
I don't want him liking me. Because even you don't like you,
do you? You like you in the shape you're in. I don't like me. And
if God can like me, something's wrong with him. Now, that's all
there are to it, like Brother Scott said. If God can like you,
he's no God. Isn't that right? Let's stay
on that. Somebody out there likes me.
I don't want anything to do with him then, because the one who's
really up there can't like you out of Christ. He can't do it. Not in be holy, because you're
not like him, and I'm not like him. We were made like him in
his image, and we've come a long ways from that day. That's right. Go on establishing this. It won't
work. So here's the preacher's message. You have not, verse 3, the last
line, you have not submitted yourselves to this righteousness,
this holiness of God. Now that righteousness you and
I have, it's no righteousness at all. We have no goodness. We have no holiness. No, sir. And it's not God's righteousness.
I'll tell you verse 4. Here's God's righteousness. Look
at it. For Christ, Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord
God, Jesus man, Christ anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ is the
end of the law. He's the objective of the law.
He's the goal of the law. He's the consummation of the
law to everyone who believes on him. Let me share some scripture with
you. Turn to Romans 5. He said, here it is, here's God's
righteousness, Romans 5 verse 19. For as by one man's disobedience,
sin, that's Adam, many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of Christ shall many be made righteous. Not by his obedience
and yours, not by his work and yours, by his alone, his alone. Look at Galatians 4. Galatians 4, verse 4 and 5. Listen. Galatians 4, verse 4 and 5. But
when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law. Christ came down here in
the flesh, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, made of a
woman, made under the law, just like us, to redeem them that
were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Look across the page at Galatians 3. Galatians 3, verse 11. But no man is justified by the
law in the sight of God. It's evident. The just shall
live by faith, and the law is not a faith. The man that doeth
the law shall live in the law, but no man does it. But Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us. For it is written, Cursed is
everyone that hangeth on a tree. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. If I am in Christ, and you take
God's, I'm not ignorant of God's holiness. I don't know God's
holiness like I want to. His perfect, personal, essential
holiness. I don't know my sinfulness, the
gulf between God and me. Like I ought to know it, like
I want to know it. But I know it enough to scare me to death.
I know it that well. And to know I don't have any
holiness. And in order for God to look with favor upon me, in
order for God to visit me in grace and mercy, in order for
me to approach God, I've got to have a holiness equivalent
to His. I've got to have a, this what
I'm doing won't do it. It won't get it. God can't be
pleased with his two selfish, sensual, personal, wicked, satanic. The objective of it's all wrong.
So he came down here himself. He came down here. That's Christ
is God. He came to redeem them. He came down here himself. God
did, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and took that very law
that he gave me and applied it to himself, subjected himself
to it. Isn't that right? Took that very condemnation and
judgment and curse that he laid on me for my sins, he had to,
of necessity, and he took it into himself. He took that law
and obeyed it, and he took that judgment, he took that wrath
in his body on the truth. And he performed and perfected
and provided and purchased a perfect righteousness and gave it to
me. And went back up there to glory
and sat down. And I'm accepted in the beloved.
Nothing I did before he loved me and nothing I do after he
loved me has anything to do with that righteousness. I serve him. I want to. I hope to. for his glory, because he loved
me, because I love him, but not for any other reason. I tried. If I never lift a hand again,
never say a word again, never open the book again, it's not going to affect that
relationship. I may lose my mind. I may not even know my name tomorrow.
I may be in a vegetable state for the rest of my life, but
it won't affect that relationship based on Christ. He is the end. You willing to put it away? Quit
digging it up. People keep digging up the Sabbath
day, they go back there in the old of Jewish history and going to
dig up the Sabbath day, going to resurrect it. That's right.
They're going to dig up the tithe, give me something else to do.
Now, if you're tithed, God will bless you. Do you really believe that? Do you
really believe that? Do you really believe that God's
dealing in pennies and dimes and nickels and quarters? Which
pounds or yens or what? What's cash with God? I don't
know. This dollar ain't worth much to the government. What's
it worth to God? I mean, you think God deals in those areas? I'm going to drink water from
now on, nothing else. Well, that ought to fix you up for eternity.
Isn't that horrible? I'm going to get baptized. You'll
come out the same way you went in. It's just one way. That's ignorance. But the preachers
keep on adding to it, and people keep on following these whistlers
right over the precipice. Christ is the end of it. Law,
works, deeds, and duty. Christ is the end of it. Sacrifices,
priesthood, and incense. Christ is the end of it. To righteousness,
perfect holiness, if you can believe. So if you preach things like
that, folks won't do nothing. That's right. Folks don't know
anything, but the elect and the sheep will do something. They
love Him. They love Him, and they'll serve
Him as a consequence. And here's the sum of it, and
I'll quit. Verse 5, Moses described the righteousness. You want a
righteousness based on law? Here it is. The man that doeth
these things shall live by it. Now, don't you stop with that
Sabbath day and that time. You're not going to buy Sunday
papers now, you're not going to watch the ball games anymore
on Sunday afternoon. That's fine. You've entered,
you've gone and started on that road. Let me tell you something,
that's a long road. That's a long road. And I'm telling
you, dear friend, if you've got, read the law, read it. If you've
got a rebellious son, you've got to stone him. That's what
that law says. If anybody in the house owes
a pound in adultery, you got to stone them. Come on now. That's
what the law said. That's what those old Pharisees
said to our Lord. Let's get the law out. If we're
going to wipe her off and dust her off, let's get us some animals
to sacrifice. Let's get us a high priest. The
one we got won't do. You see what I'm saying? You're
going to bring back the law? Don't you hear the law? I want
to bundle it all up and put it where our Lord put it, took it
away, and look to Christ. But, now here's the righteousness
of faith. Speaks on this wise. Don't say
in your heart, who shall ascend into heaven and bring Christ
down. He's already come. There's nothing for you to do
along that line. Or descend into the deep and bring him up and
dead. He's already come. Here it is. This word is nigh
thee. It's right here before you. It's
in your mouth. It's in your heart. It's in your
ear. It's ringing from wall to wall, from ceiling to floor.
Christ is the end of the law. That's the word. Now, if you
confess with your mouth, Jesus to be your Lord, Jesus to be
your righteousness, and believe in your heart that God accepted
what he did, received what he performed, and raised him from
the dead, you'll be saved. This hymn writer put it this
way, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress. mid flaming worlds in these arrayed,
with joy shall I lift up my head. And when from the dust of death
I rise to take my dwelling in the skies, even then shall this
be all my plea, Jesus lived and died for me. Bold shall I stand
at that great day, for who ought to my charge shall lay while
through thy blood redeemed I am from sin's tremendous curse and
shame." This spotless robe, the same appears when ruined nature
sinks in years. Let me tell you something. His robe was mine back yonder
when I bled. And as this old sinful nature
hadn't gotten better, has yours gotten better? I'm not going
to ask for a show of hands. but it's decayed by the years.
But that robe is still pure and spotless. It hasn't changed.
No age can change its glorious hue because the robe of Christ
is ever new. Ever new. And you know the last
verse says this, and the scripture says, whosoever believes on him
shall never be ashamed. You know what that means? It's
true that faith is not ashamed of Christ. I know people say,
well, if you believe, you won't be ashamed. Peter was one day. Wasn't he? They said, you're
one of them. He said, no, I'm not. I may. I don't know. I may. But I'm telling you what that
really means. If a man believes, yet Peter, Peter loved Christ.
He just overwhelmed by his circumstances and surroundings. He just, he
just wasn't ready to die. There's some fellas standing
around there with swords and he just wasn't ready to die.
And they said, do you know him? And he was ashamed of him. He
said, no, I don't know him. But what this really means is, if
I believe on him, I'll never be put to shame. I'm not going to be put to shame
when I stand before Him. I'm not going to be put to shame
when the roll is read and the judgment is in. That's what that
means.

Christ Is the Righteousness of God

What does the Bible say about righteousness?

How do we know Jesus is our righteousness?

Why is faith in Christ important for salvation?

What does it mean that Christ is the end of the law?

How can we ensure we are hearing the true gospel?

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Christ Is the Righteousness of God

What does the Bible say about righteousness?

How do we know Jesus is our righteousness?

Why is faith in Christ important for salvation?

What does it mean that Christ is the end of the law?

How can we ensure we are hearing the true gospel?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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