The Proper Response
Romans 3:27-31
October 28, 2007

As we have studied over the last several services.
• Mankind does not deserve, nor can he earn salvation.
• But despite this flaw, God made a way of salvation.
• Because of His grace, He sent His Son as a propitiation.
• Jesus died on the cross to redeem sinful man.
• And so sinful man can be saved by faith in Jesus.

THAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE GOSPEL
AND WHAT GLORIOUS TRUTHS!

Tonight is not really a closing argument to that truth,
But Paul does take a moment here
To cast some perspective into the situation.

If that is true…
If God really did mercifully save unworthy sinful man by sacrificing His own Son…

THEN HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO THAT?
WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SAY?
WHAT IS THE PROPER RESPONSE?

You would think the response would be obvious,
But sadly it is widely overlooked.

PEOPLE TODAY SEEM TO IMMEDIATELY THINK
THAT THIS SALVATION IS ALL ABOUT THEM.

We live in a day of selfishness like never before.
We are consumed with our rights…
We are consumed with our comforts…
We are consumed with our own glory…

Even in Christian circles people get overly consumed with self.

Today, it’s almost as though Christians received salvation from God, AND WE STILL DESIRE TO SQUEEZE MORE OUT OF HIM.

Now we want God to jump through hoops…
Now we want God to provide our wants as well as our needs…
Now we want God to provide a church that is what I want…
(Look no further than the great music debate of our era)

The constant grumblings about things only reveal that we have apparently missed the point in regard to salvation.
Let me say this:
SALVATION IS ALL ABOUT GOD’S GLORY

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.”

Even this morning, it should have motivated us to glorify God.
Romans 3:23-26 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

God, and not man, is worthy of worship, glory, and honor.
2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,”

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

When you read those amazing doxologies in the New Testament,
None of them end by giving glory to man.

1 Timothy 1:16-17 “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Romans 11:30-36 “For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

Each time Paul recounted the amazing salvation of God,
His heart leaped into the proper response of worshiping God.

Perhaps the best picture of this is seen in heaven.
Revelation 4:8-11 “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY,WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
If you want to know who heaven is for, it is not about you either.
Heaven is about the glory of God for all eternity.

THE POINT IS THAT BECAUSE GOD MADE SALVATION POSSIBLE, HE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP.

Still we are tempted to fall into self worship, which is selfishness.
We forget about what God might want,
And look only to our own desires.

It doesn’t matter how long God might want us here to worship Him…
The service can only be so long…

It doesn’t matter what kind of music God wants to hear…
I want to sing the songs I like…

It doesn’t matter who God wants to hear the message of salvation…
I don’t have time to go and tell them…

DESPITE THE GREAT SALVATION THAT GOD HAS GIVEN,
MANY TIMES WE DO NOT GIVE GOD THE PROPER RESPONSE.

SO WHAT IS THE PROPER RESPONSE?
That is what we are going to look at this evening.

Obviously worship is implied.

But it is more than just the singing of songs,
It is the devotion of the heart.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.’

But let’s get more specific, and see what worship is.

Here are three ways we should respond to the salvation of God,
If we truly desire to glorify Him for it.
#1 LOOK IN: HUMBLE YOURSELF
Romans 3:27-28

Paul gets right to the point in verse 27,
“Where then is boasting?”

And I don’t think I have to go into any deep explanation
Of what Paul is speaking of here.

It is the idea of worth.
It is the idea of arrogance.
It would be seen a person who actually thinks
They deserved the salvation God gave them.

Certainly it was an attitude of the Jews.
Romans 2:23 “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?”

But after what Paul has taught in the last 3 chapters,
Paul rightly asks the question, “Where then is boasting?”
And of course the proper answer is “It is excluded.”

There is not a human in the world
Who has the right to walk around with their nose in the air
As though God owed them salvation.

Paul then asks:
“By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.”

We know that the law does not exclude boasting,
Salvation by the law encourages boasting.

If man is saved by the Law, then he has something to boast about.
Romans 4:2 “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”

It is not the law of works that excludes boasting,
It is the law of faith that excludes boasting.

(If you are boasting, maybe you haven’t accepted the law of faith)

When you grasp the fact that you were saved in spite of your works, and not because of them, there is no more room to boast.

And the law of faith is precisely what we accept.
Vs. 28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

And by the way, if you don’t maintain that same truth,
You need to go back and re-read Romans 1-3.

MAN HAS NO RIGHT TO BE ARROGANT

Paul would remind the Corinthians of this. Remember they, used to boast about who they followed.
“I’m best because I follow Paul…”
“I’m best because I follow Cephas…”
“I’m best because I follow Apollos…”
“I’m best because I follow Christ…”
Paul put them in their place.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
The only reason God chose you,
Is not because you were the obvious choice,
But because in choosing you,
God made Himself look really powerful.

Is this not the same thing God told Israel?
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

And so it is obvious, there is no room for an arrogant Christian.

If you are an arrogant Christian,
You are not properly responding to the salvation of God.
You have missed the point.

And furthermore, you are way outside of God’s will.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

The proper response to God’s great salvation
Is that you look inwardly and humble yourself.

And humility is not just a concept.
It is an attitude and it is an act.

To properly respond to God’s salvation,
Then humble yourself before Him. Submit yourself to Him.
Fully trust Him, and give Him the honor and glory.

THAT IS WORSHIP
Look in: Humble Yourself
#2 LOOK AROUND: HELP OTHERS
Romans 3:29-30

Now in recording this verse,
It helps us understand Paul’s statement about boasting even more.

Apparently their boasting was not just limited to a nose lifted high in the air, but was also manifested by an attitude that excluded others.

And we know this was an attitude of the Jews.
Remember Peter?
Acts 10:9-18 “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.”

Remember when Paul was arrested?
Acts 22:17-22 “It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. ‘And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ “And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'” They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, ” Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

Their arrogance was still manifested in thinking that even though they were sinners, they were still better than the Gentiles.

Paul squashes such arrogance.
“Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.”

There is only One God.
There is only One way of Salvation
And every man receives it the same.

Jewish works were no more valuable than Gentile works.
BOTH WERE LOST
BOTH WERE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH

The best way to honor God, is for you to submit yourself to Him.
The second best way is for you to tell someone about Him.
(1st and 2nd commandment)

God showed now favoritism when He sent His Son.
To exclude men from the kingdom of God for any reason
Is not the proper response.

JESUS HAD NO FAVORITISM
He asked for the water of a Samaritan woman…
He asked for the stones of a woman caught in adultery…
He touched the lepers…
He ate with tax collectors…

John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Matthew 9:12 “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”

Luke 9:54-56 “When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, [ and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”

Yet still men seek to uphold this biased attitude towards the lost.
Like there are some men too bad to be saved.

“They were mostly sex-offenders any way, I had no interest in them.”

Are sex offenders worse in the sight of God than other sinners?
NO

COULD YOU IMAGINE A FILTHY DIRTY ROTTEN SINNER GETTING SAVED AND THEN ACT LIKE OTHER SINNERS DON’T DESERVE IT?

That is not a proper response to God’s salvation.
James 2:1-9 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

The idea here is that if you truly want to honor God for His salvation, then go and share it with others.

THAT IS TO SPREAD HIS GLORY.

John Piper said, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t”

Look in: Humble self
Look around: Help others

THAT IS WORSHIP

#3 LOOK TO: HOLD UP THE LAW
Romans 3:31

Obviously here Paul sees the argument coming.
If the Law doesn’t separate who is good from who is bad,
should we just get rid of it?

AND MANY TIMES THIS HAPPENS
PEOPLE ARE SO CONCERNED
WITH NOT BEING SELF-RIGHTEOUS
THAT THEY FORCE GOD TO NOT BE RIGHTEOUS EITHER.

“Oh I don’t want to tell that person they are sinning,
Because I can’t judge them.”

IT’S NOT YOU WHO IS JUDGING THEM, IT IS GOD
WE ARE WARNING THEM

Don’t condemn others,
But don’t stop encouraging righteousness in them either.
Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
And so we establish the Law,
Because the righteousness of God leads men to salvation.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

Don’t be arrogant, don’t exclude people…
But don’t get so worried about offending people
That you won’t even share the truth with people.

WHAT HAS YOUR RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL BEEN?
The proper response is humility
The proper response is love
The proper response is evangelism

If that is not us,
We are not responding to God as He desires us to respond, And we are walking more in love of self, than in love for God.

THE POINT TONIGHT
IS TO CONSIDER THE GREAT SALVATION OF GOD
AND THEN TO RESPOND ACCORDINGLY.

Salvation (submission)
Love for others
Evangelism

Romans 3:27-31 “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”

The Motive of Salvation
Romans 3:25-26
October 28, 2007

Last Sunday morning we saw,
Despite the fact that there is none righteous
Despite the fact that being religious can’t help
Despite the fact that you can’t obey the Law enough to help
Despite the fact that we are spiritually bankrupt

THERE IS A WAY TO BE SAVED
Romans 3:21 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,”

There is a way to be saved apart from being good enough to be saved.
God’s righteousness can be achieved by sinful man.

God’s righteousness is achieved by faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:22 “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;”

God will grant you His righteousness if you will place your faith in Jesus.

Last Sunday night we began to examine
How this righteousness works.

HOW CAN A WICKED PERSON BE SAVED APART FROM OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW?

Because salvation doesn’t rest upon man’s ability,
But upon the Redemptive Attitude of God,
And the Redemptive Action of Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

Salvation is available to sinful man
Because God chose to be forgiving,
And because Jesus paid the penalty of our sin.

And that is wonderful news, but it does still bring up another question that Paul seeks to answer her in our text.

WHY WOULD GOD BE WILLING TO DO THIS?
WHAT WAS GOD’S MOTIVE?

It is beyond our human comprehension to understand
Why God would punish His Son for something you and I did.

And really, this is no small question.
WHAT IS THE MOTIVE OF SALVATION?

Well some motives we are very familiar with,
In fact we speak of them often.
1) LOVE
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:7-8 “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

2) MERCY / GRACE
Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

We talk about the motive for salvation,
These are usually the first two motives listed.

But this morning, I want to show you a THIRD MOTIVE
God had for giving salvation in this way.

It is a motive that is commonly overlooked,
But it still remains vitally important.

So let’s pick back up with the salvation Paul has been revealing to us.

There are three things I want to show you in our text this morning.
#1 A PUBLIC DISPLAY
Romans 3:25a

“whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”
And there again, we have said a mouthful.
And when that verse is read with verse 24,
We know that we are talking about Jesus.

God made a public display of Jesus as a propitiation.
A propitiation that is available “in His blood through faith.”

And let’s talk about that for a second.

First, Paul says that “God displayed publicly”

“displayed publicly” is actually one word in the Greek
PROTITHEMI (prot-ith-ee-mee)

PRO – means before
TITHEMI – means to place

And so the idea is that God literally placed Jesus before everyone. He set the death of Jesus on display.

What happened to Jesus was not private,
It was not done behind the scenes.

God wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of it.
It was done publicly.

In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a more public time
Than at Jerusalem during the Passover at 9:00am.
This was as public as it gets.

AND WE KNOW IT WORKED.

On the road to Emmaus
Luke 24:18 “One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

When Paul witnessed to Agrippa
Acts 26:26 “For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.”

The point is God did it out in the open.
Jesus was “lifted up” for all to see.

We tend to hide things that would appear to be a blemish.
We tend to sweep embarrassing things under the rug.
We don’t particularly like to suffer open shame.

But here was Jesus stripped, beaten, mocked, crucified,
And in the most public way possible.

Paul is still teaching us more here.
“whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”
“propitiation” translates HILASTERION
(hil-as-tay-ree-on)
It means appeasement
WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT IT IS HOW IT IS USED.
In every religion in the world, since man has offended deity,
It is up to man to offer appeasement or propitiation.

But Christianity is exactly opposite.
Even though man offends God,
It is God who is offering the appeasement.
It is God who is bridging the gap between God and man.

AND THERE IS STILL SOMETHING ELSE
The Septuagint (The Greek Old Testament) uses this very same word in translating “Mercy Seat”.

In other words the mercy seat is called the HILASTERION

WHY IS THAT SIGNIFICANT?
Exodus 25:21-22 “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.”

The mercy seat is where the sacrifice was presented for the Day of Atonement, and it was there that God promised to meet sinful man.

Now Paul says, that Jesus is our HILASTERION.
His blood is the place where God meets sinful man.

AND GOD DID IT PUBLICLY.
WHY PUBLICLY?
Certainly God wants His salvation to be well known.

But there is another reason God made a public sacrifice of Jesus.

First a Public Display
#2 POWERFUL DEMONSTRATION
Romans 3:25b-26a

WHY DID GOD MAKE A PUBLIC DISPLAY OUT OF THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS?

“This was to demonstrate his righteousness”

Again in verse 26, “for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time,”
When we speak of the sacrificial death of Jesus,
We often speak of God’s love and grace to offer it
Both His love and grace have been appropriately labeled, “Amazing”.

But don’t forget the other thing God was wanting to reveal,
And that is His righteousness.

In order to remind us that He is righteous,
He publicly displayed Jesus as a sacrifice for sin.

WERE PEOPLE FORGETTING THAT HE IS RIGHTEOUS?

Look at what Paul said,
“because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;”
Adam and Eve sinned…
Noah sinned…
Abraham sinned…
Moses sinned…
David sinned…
And yet God did not punish them for it.
(At least not with the punishment they deserved, i.e. “hell”)

BUT DIDN’T THEY OFFER SACRIFICES?
Sure, but:

Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Everyone in the Old Testament had sinned,
But God did not send them all to hell for it.

Because they had faith, “He passed over the sins previously committed;”

But there sin was still unatoned for.

CERTAINLY THAT MAKES GOD LOOK MERCIFUL,
BUT IT DOESN’T REALLY MAKE HIM LOOK RIGHTEOUS

Some may even begin to see God as a pushover

People start saying things like,
“I don’t believe a loving God would send anyone to hell.”

Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.”

That is what happens in our day.
That is what was happening in the days of the Bible.
People were aware of God’s mercy.
Exodus 34:6 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;”

Psalms 86:15 “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”

The only problem is they became so consumed with His mercy
That they forgot that He is also holy.

We saw it in the Old Testament.
Zephaniah 1:12 “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil!’

We saw it in the New Testament
Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

And we also see it today
PEOPLE TODAY GET SO CONSUMED WITH GOD’S MERCY
THAT THEY AREN’T EVEN CONCERNED WITH HIS HOLINESS.

The lost have been told so many times about the mercy of God,
That even they don’t really believe God is going to judge mankind.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD HAS SEEMINGLY DISAPPEARED
God is only seen as merciful, but seldom seen as angry.
God is only seen as loving, but seldom seen as holy.
God is only seen as gracious, but seldom seen as Judge.

AND THAT IS TRAGIC
FOR GOD IS HOLY

Take that passage in Exodus that spoke of His mercy
And read further:
Exodus 34:6-7 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

BECAUSE MANKIND SO EASILY FORGETS
THAT GOD WILL JUDGE SIN.
GOD SACRIFICED JESUS PUBLICLY

Yes the cross teaches mercy
Yes the cross teaches grace
Yes the cross teaches love

BUT THERE WAS ALSO NEVER A BETTER TEACHER
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS THAN THE CROSS

God hates sin so much, not only would He kill His own Son
He would do it publicly…
He would add to the severity…
He would turn His back on Him…
He would be pleased to do it…

When Jesus was on the cross, God turned His back on Him.
Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
We also know that when Jesus was on the cross,
Darkness covered the land from high noon until 3:00pm.
When the light shined back on the cross mankind held their breath.

For they had beaten Jesus, they had mocked Him,
But by the time God got through with Him,
He didn’t even look the same.

Isaiah 52:13-15 “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.”

And thus the Centurion said, “Surely this was the Son of God”

The Bible says, He was pleased to do it.
Isaiah 53:7-10 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”

And perhaps Paul summed it up best:
Romans 8:32a “He who did not spare His own Son,”

GOD PROVED HE IS RIGHTEOUS
If you ever doubted the holiness of God – look at the cross
If you ever doubted that God will judge sin – look at the cross
If you ever doubted that God will judge sinners – look at the cross

So many people today act like God won’t judge them for their sin.
So many people today act like God is too merciful to punish sinners.
THEN HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WHAT HE DID TO HIS SON?

When sin went on His Son;
God crushed Him, God turned His back on Him,
And God was pleased to do it.

He hates sin, He judges sin, He always has, He always will

God publicly displayed the crucifixion of Jesus
So that He could powerfully demonstrate His righteousness.

#3 PERFECT DESCRIPTION
Romans 3:26b

What a perfect statement.
IT IS WHO GOD IS BECAUSE OF THE CROSS.

DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY GOD WOULD SEND HIS SON TO DIE INSTEAD OF SINFUL MAN?

“so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Please do not miss the condition on the end of that statement.
We are still only talking about the person
Who places their faith in Jesus.

But to the person who has faith in Jesus,
God reveals Himself as “just and the justifier.”

“Just” = holy.
He is perfectly righteous. His standard always stands.
Sin is never overlooked. Sin is never forgotten.

“Justifier” = merciful.

Man didn’t bring a offering of appeasement to God,
God presented an offering of appeasement to man.
Man didn’t justify himself, God justified man.
THIS IS WHERE GOD’S WISDOM
IS LEAPS AND BOUNDS ABOVE MAN’S WISDOM.

Isaiah 55:7-9 “Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

And the cross certainly proves that.

We know there are basic core attributes about God.
God is Love
God is Holy
God is Merciful
God is Perfect

BUT HOW DO YOU BALANCE THOSE, WHILE DEALING WITH SINFUL MAN?
How do you remain both holy and merciful?
How do you maintain a strict stance on sin, and yet still reveal mercy?

AND THIS IS THE QUESTION THAT GENERALLY CAUSES FALLEN MAN TO MISUNDERSTAND GOD.
FOR MANKIND USUALLY ACCEPTS ONE TO THE REJECTION OF THE OTHER

Some take the approach that He is holy and not merciful.
And so they constantly try to appease God through self-justification.
They are terribly afraid of this holy God
Who will take pleasure in crushing them
If they miss one single requirement.
(LEGALISM)

Others take the approach that He is merciful and not Holy.
Hence they don’t even worry about the “Thou Shalt Not’s” of Scripture, Assuring themselves that God won’t really judge them.
(LIBERALISM)

MAN DOESN’T UNDERSTAND HOW GOD COULD BE
BOTH HOLY AND MERCIFUL AT THE SAME TIME.

HOW COULD HE?
HE PAID THE PRICE HIMSELF

That is what makes the cross such an amazing and lofty truth.
Because of the cross, God revealed Himself as merciful.
Because of the cross, God revealed Himself as holy.
ONLY OUR GOD CAN MAKE A CLAIM
TO TRULY BE BOTH HOLY AND MERCIFUL

Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Only our God is truly Holy, never allowing one single sin to slide.
Only our God is truly Merciful, not giving man what he deserves.

The point is:
MERCY IS AVAILABLE – JUDGMENT IS COMING
2 Peter 3:9-10 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

LET ME BRING IT HOME TO YOU
Mankind is totally wicked and incapable of saving himself (1:18-3:20)
But salvation is possible through faith in Jesus (3:21-22)
Because Jesus died to redeem us (3:23-24)
This reminds us that God is both holy and merciful (3:25-26)

Do not assume you can bargain your way out of hell. God is holy
Do not assume your sin is too great to be saved. God is merciful

GOD WILL MEET YOU AT THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

The Means of Salvation
Romans 3:22b-24
October 21, 2007

This morning we learned that there is a salvation available
Apart from being good enough to deserve it.

WHAT A GLORIOUS TRUTH!

We also learned that this salvation
Is available for those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

THAT SHOULD BE NO SURPSISE
GOD HAS ALWAYS WANTED FAITH

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

He has always wanted His people to trust Him,
As evidenced by continual obedience.

Psalms 50:12-15 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

That is why in the New Testament,
Jesus came preaching the same thing.

John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

God wants faith, and He wants faith in Jesus Christ.
And according to verse 21 and the first half of verse 22,
If you will place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
God will give you His righteousness.

Then you will be pleasing in His sight…
Then you will be acceptable to Him…
Then you will be delivered from under His wrath…

But that is hard for some to swallow.

“I can’t earn it, but God will just give it to me?”
“But you don’t know what I’ve done”
People in our world talk themselves out of salvation
Either because they believe it can’t be possible,
Or that God wouldn’t do it for them.

Tonight I want to show you how this salvation works,
And why it works,
And why it can work for you,
Or for anyone you know.

There are three things:
#1 THE RECIPIENTS
Romans 3:22b

Paul said we could get “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”

But then the pessimist in us comes out.
We still assume it is for someone else.
We still act like there is some sort of prerequisite.
“Where is the fine print?”
“Why am I really not eligible?”
“What’s the catch?”

THAT IS WHY PAUL KEEPS WRITING
“for all those who believe; for there is no distinction”

Paul just removed the fine print,
He calmed our anxious spirit,
He nullified any pre-requisites,
And said, it is for anyone who wants it.

Surely we are reading that wrong…
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

When Peter preached to Cornelius
Acts 10:34-35 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
When Paul preached at Pisidian Antioch
Acts 13:38-39 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”

And if you still have doubts that anyone can be saved,
Then listen as Paul lifts his own life as evidence that anyone can.

1 Timothy 1:12-16 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

Paul was a blasphemer of God
Paul was a persecutor of God’s people
Paul was violently aggressive against God’s people
Paul was ignorant
And not only did Jesus accept Paul, Jesus went looking for him.

DO YOU GET THE POINT?

No one is beyond the salvation of God.
God’s righteousness is for all who believe in Jesus Christ.

Murderers… Rapists…
Homosexuals… Liars…
Thieves… Drunkards…
Baptists…

God doesn’t require a pedigree of goodness…
God doesn’t require so many years of church attendance…

GOD DOESN’T REQUIRE
THAT YOU’VE EVER DONE A SINGLE THING IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT.
GOD ONLY REQUIRES THAT YOU PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS

“for there is no distinction”

Anyone who believes will be saved.
First the recipients
#2 THE REASON
Romans 3:23

Now I know, it still sounds a little too good to be true.
We in our society love to evaluate self worth.
We love to rank ourselves according to our own importance.

And despite Paul saying that faith is all that God requires, somewhere in the back of our minds,
We still can’t thinking some people deserve it more than others.

Remember the Pharisees?
Matthew 9:10-13 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
They thought some people
Were beyond the reach of God’s salvation.

If you think that is you.
If you think that you are beyond the reach of God’s salvation,
Let me give you a comforting truth.

Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.”

You are not outside the reach of God.
Because if you were outside of the reach of God,
Then everyone would be outside of the reach of God.

WHY?
“because there is no distinction”
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

AS GOD LOOKS DOWN HE DOESN’T SEE PEOPLE IN GROUPS.
Group A will be easy to save, they are close to being perfect.
Group B will take a little longer, but I can still get it done.
Group C is so far away, it may be impossible to get them saved.

WHEN GOD LOOKS DOWN WHAT DOES HE SEE?
Psalms 14:2-3 “The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Proverbs 20:9 “Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”?”
The truth is simple.
If one man is reachable, then all men are reachable.
If one man is unreachable, then all men are unreachable.
“for there is no distinction”

You cannot assume anyone is beyond the reach of God.
If God was able to save you, He is able to save anyone.

NAMELY BECAUSE GOD DOES NOT REQUIRE GOODNESS, BUT FAITH.

Faith is the only thing every believer has in common.
Matthew a tax collector
Peter a fisherman
Paul a Pharisee
The woman at the well
The Centurion with the sick slave

All they had in common was faith in Jesus.
God does not require anything else.

If you can give Him faith, you can be saved.

AND NOW LET’S SEE WHY.
Let’s look at why this salvation works.
Something like this doesn’t just automatically work.

#3 THE REQUIREMENTS
Romans 3:24

And before we dive into this text,
Let me tell you why this point is so great.

These are the requirement for salvation,
And they have nothing to do with you.

They all depend upon God.

IF THIS TYPE OF “WHOSOEVER” SALVATION
IS GOING TO WORK, IT REQUIRES TWO THINGS.

1) A REDEMPTIVE ATTITUDE
“being justified as a gift by His grace”

In other words, if this sort “whosoever” salvation is going to work,
Then it is going to require a God who is merciful and gracious.

It will require a God who is rooting for man,
And who is willing hold out hope for him.

That is exactly who God is.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

Salvation requires a God like that.
If He is quick tempered, or impatient, or selfish,
There is no way He is willing to put up with mankind.

A salvation like this requires a loving, merciful, God.
And that is who He is.
As evidenced by what Paul says here.

He said that all men are sinners and fall short of God’s glory,
But now he says that this sinful fallen man
Is “justified as a gift by His grace”

“justified” translates DIKAIOO (dik-ah-yo-o)
“to deem to be right”

And we understand that truth.
We constantly seek justification in things all the time.
But in our life, any justification we receive comes after much debate.

We argue to prove we are right.
We argue to vindicate ourselves.

And even in Scripture this word is used in that sense.
Matthew 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Jesus said, wisdom is proved right,
Or justified when the deeds she inspires are successful.

And so we understand that justification is hard work.
BUT LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS HERE.

“being justified as a gift”

God is just going to give it to us.
No debate (which wouldn’t work)
No proof (which doesn’t exist)
No nothing…

God just decided to give us a gift of eternal justification.
And also notice the text is in a Present Continuous Sense.
Carrying the idea not just of a one time justification,
But of continual justification.

This is opposite of the way Paul will use it later.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

There Paul uses the word in an Aorist Or Point Tense,
Indicating a point in time when we were justified before God.

Both are true.
But here Paul uses it in a continual sense,
Meaning that not only do we get justified,
But we are continually justified before God.

THIS IS HUGE
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

We still sin…
Satan still accuses…
But God continually justifies us.

Romans 8:33-34 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

According to Paul, this justification that is so difficult to attain,
Has just been freely given to us, and not just once,
But continually given to us.

WHY?
“being justified as a gift by His grace”

And there you have it.
GRACE
God is a gracious God.
He does it, not because we deserve it,
But because He can, and He wants to.

“gift” translates DOREAN (do-reh-an)
“freely or without a cause”

Another place it is used
Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

And maybe that is a good word to use here.
God didn’t need to justify us.
God didn’t have to justify us.
God certainly didn’t owe it to us.
He just wanted to because He is gracious.

I AGREE THAT THIS SORT OF “WHOSOEVER” SALVATION
SEEMS FAR FETCHED, AND IT WOULD BE,
IF GOD WERE NOT GRACIOUS.

It requires a redemptive attitude,
And thank God, He has a redemptive attitude.

Ephesians 2:1-9 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

That is our God to a tee.
He has a redemptive attitude.

But you and I know that is only half of what is required.
For there still remains the issue of the presence of sin.

A gracious God desires salvation, but a Holy God
(which He also is) requires payment.
So there is more required than just a redemptive attitude.

2) REDEMPTIVE ACTION
“through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

“redemption” translates APOLUTROSIS (ap-ol-oo-tro-sis)

It is a strengthened form of LUTROSIS which means
“to release upon a receipt of ransom”

LUTROSIS was the word commonly used for a person who buy a slaves freedom, or who would pay a debt that someone owed.

But we are not talking about any small debt here are we?
Psalms 49:7-8 “No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him — For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever”
In order to buy back humanity,
It was going to take something truly costly.

It is one thing to want to redeem someone.
It is another thing to pay the price.
JESUS PAID THE PRICE

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”

Colossians 1:13-14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
THE ISSUE OF DEBT IS SETTLED
THE ACCOUNT IS CLEARED
THE BILL IS PAID
CREDIT IS AVAILABLE
BECAUSE OF JESUS, ANYONE CAN COME TO GOD

John 12:32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

John 4:41-42 “Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Salvation is available because
God is gracious and because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Tonight, I want you to realize that.

If you thought there is no way you can be saved,
I have some good news.

God is gracious, and Jesus died for your sins.
Now, if you will place your faith in Jesus, you will be justified in God’s sight.

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Beyond that,
We live in a world of:
Thieves…
Adulterers…
Homosexuals…
Murderers…

But God can and will save them.
MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THAT.

Romans 10:11-13 “For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

The Manifestation of Salvation
Romans 3:21-22a
October 21, 2007

In Romans 1:16 Paul concluded his introduction to the book of Romans, And began his first real theological theme of the book.

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Of course we all love the statement that he is not ashamed of the gospel, But the real theological point there is
Why he is not ashamed of the gospel.

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;”

Paul loves the gospel because it reveals
The means of achieving the righteousness of God.

Paul could have gone deeper in explaining what he meant.
Certainly you would think he would have expounded.
But he didn’t.

Instead he immediately began to explain
Why man needs the righteousness so badly.

It does little good to explain to man how to get God’s righteousness,
If he doesn’t even know why he needs it.

So instead of elaborating on that great statement of verse 17,
Paul immediately began revealing why man needs it so much.

Romans 1:18-19 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

The first reason man needs God’s righteousness
Is because God is angry at anyone and everyone
Who does not have His righteousness.

God requires man to be perfectly righteous.
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”

But man is not, and God is angry.
And of course Paul got specific when he mentioned:
Idolatry Homosexuality Apathy

The second reason man needs God’s righteousness is because
Man’s righteousness falls well below the acceptable standard.

And of course this is what Paul spent chapter 2
And the first part of chapter 3 revealing.

It doesn’t matter if you:
Know right from wrong (2:1-7)
Have a good lineage (2:8-11)
Know the Law (2:12-16)
Participate in ministry (2:17-24)
Have religious works (2:25-29)

That righteousness falls drastically short of what God requires.

AND DESPITE THE ARGUMENTS OF MAN (3:1-8)
PAUL SUMMED UP HOW GOD SEES FALLEN MAN.

Romans 3:9-18 “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
God requires man to be righteous,
But manmade righteousness falls drastically short.

It didn’t matter if you are Jew or Gentile…
It didn’t matter is you have knowledge or ignorance…
It didn’t matter if you have the Law or not…

No man has ever achieved the righteousness of God
And thus God’s wrath is on every man.

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

At this point, if you know nothing else,
You should know that there is no possible way
For you to make yourself pleasing to God.

ALL MAN’S EFFORTS TO BE RIGHTEOUS HAVE BEEN FUTILE
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, MANKIND IS UNDER THE WRATH OF GOD.
AT THIS POINT WE SHOULD HAVE ALL HIT A WALL OF DESPAIR
AS WE REALIZE OUR HOPELESS SITUATION.

This reality is designed to drop man to his knees in brokenness.

This has happened to men throughout Scripture,
AND LEFT EACH ONE ASKING THE SAME QUESTION.

Job 9:2 “In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the right before God?”

Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”

Matthew 19:16 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”

Remember when people in Jerusalem realized their spiritual bankruptcy.
Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

When Saul’s wickedness was confronted by Jesus:
Acts 22:10 “And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’”
Later the Philippian jailer:
Acts 16:30 “and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

EACH OF THESE MEN REALIZED THAT SALVATION HAD ELUDED THEM.
And now they are asking:
IS SALVATION EVEN POSSIBLE?

IN ORDER TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION
Paul returns to that glorious truth he began in Romans 1:16-17.

3 things
#1 SALVATION EXPOSED
Romans 3:21a

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,”
I hope you noticed 4 key words:
“apart from the Law”

That does not mean that God’s Law has no part in salvation.
We saw Sunday night, that the Law has a huge role.

God’s Law reveals to man that he is lost.
(20) “for through the Law comes knowledge of sin”
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

You have to get a person lost before you can get them saved.
THAT IS WHAT THE LAW DOES

Romans 7:9-11 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”

AND REALLY DEEP DOWN, MAN HAS ALWAYS KNOWN THIS
AND THE THOUGHT HAS BEEN MOST DISCOURAGING

Psalms 119:129-136 “Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul observes them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for Your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, After Your manner with those who love Your name. Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me. Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law.”

John MacArthur writes:
“Whether the law of God is the Mosaic Law of the Jews or the law written in the hearts and consciences of all men, including Gentiles, obedience to it can never be perfect and therefore can never save.” (MacArthur, John: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary; Romans 1-8: Moody Press, Chicago, Ill, 1991; pg. 203)

And it is this truth that ultimately leads all men to despair.
BECAUSE NO ONE CAN KEEP THE LAW

Galatians 2:16b “since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Even in the Old Testament.
Job 4:17 “Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?”

Psalms 143:2 “And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous.”

Psalms 130:1-3 “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”

Mankind has always been distraught when he got honest
About his inability to be good enough to please God.

No one ever got saved by completely adhering to the Law.
And that is what makes Paul’s statement here so wonderful.
“But now apart from the Law”

It doesn’t mean the Law has no purpose,
But that there is an available salvation apart from human merit.

There is a way for you to be saved
Without being “good enough” to be saved.

AND I THINK WHEN MAN GET’S HONEST
HE KNOWS HE NEEDS THIS.

I’ve certainly seen many people who think they are “good”.
But you would be surprised how many people will tell me
That if they died they would go to hell.

Although man continually tries to convince himself that he is good Deep down there is this nagging conviction that he is not.

Remember when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

They were waiting to see which commands didn’t count.

Remember the woman at the well?
John 4:19-26 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us. Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Obviously she was confused
“you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”

She wanted Messiah to tell her what really mattered.
“I know that Messiah is coming…He will declare all things to us.”

Now don’t get me wrong.
Mankind likes being legalistic.
But still he has always known that in order for that to happen,
The bar can’t be very high.

What Paul says here should be very encouraging.
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested”

There is a way for you to be righteous
Apart from being perfectly obedient to every command of the Law.

That ought to cause every ear in the place to perk up.

Salvation Exposed
#2 SALVATION ENDORSED
Romans 3:21b

“being witnessed by the Law and the prophets,”

The fact that there is salvation apart from the Law should make us happy,
But Paul was smarter than that.

He knew some people are eternal skeptics
And so they were not yet ready to believe this wonderful piece of news.

I imagine he could already hear some of the Jews
“Don’t go inventing some “supposed” way of salvation apart from the Word of God. If it’s not in the Bible, we aren’t buying it.”

And indeed that is a good attitude to have.
But Paul wants them to know is that this “New” way of salvation
IS NOT NEW, IT IS IN THE BIBLE

It is “witnessed by the Law and the prophets”

“witnessed” translates MARTUREO (mar-too-reh-o)

To be a witness, to testify.

The noun form of that word is MARTUS
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

It is not just as though the Law and the prophets saw it coming (which they did).
It means that they pronounced this same truth back then.

EVEN THE LAW WAS SAYING
THAT THERE IS SALATION APART FROM THE LAW.

Of course the first.
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.”

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

The Old Testament taught over and over
That you would not be saved by keeping the Law.

THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM ITSELF
SHOULD HAVE CAUSED PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THIS.

If God was expecting man to be saved by adherence to the Law,
Why did He even institute a sacrificial system at all?

There is a salvation apart from the Law,
What Paul is doing here is giving credibility to that statement
By saying this is what the Bible has always said.

1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”

And so thus far we see that SALVATION IS EXPOSED, SALVATION IS ENDORSED
#3 SALVATION EXPLAINED
Romans 3:22a

“even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”

I know that we are leaving a lot of good stuff out (we’ll get it tonight)
BUT I DON’T WANT YOU TO MISS THIS VITAL POINT.
Paul again states “the righteousness of God”

Not some “knock off” righteousness.
Not man’s best attempt at righteousness.

The very righteousness of holy God can be yours.
The very holiness of God can be yours.
YOU CAN HAVE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!

HOW?
“through faith in Jesus Christ”

AND TWO THINGS SHOULD POP OUT AT YOU THERE
1) THE REQUIREMENT
“faith”
PISTIS (pis-tis)
It is an assurance, a conviction

And in the Bible it is always accompanied with action.
Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter,
Where each person’s faith is revealed by what they did.
“Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain”
“Noah built an ark”
“Abraham offered Isaac”

The point is that in order to achieve this salvation,
You must have a faith that is so real that it dictates your life.
If it doesn’t change your action,
Then it is well short of the faith that Bible requires.

Many think they can believe without it changing their actions.
THIS IS NOT SO.

James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

James 2:20-26 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
A.W. Tozer wrote:
“Something has happened to the doctrine of justification…The faith of Paul and Luther was a revolutionizing thing. It upset the whole life of the individual and made him into another person altogether. It laid hold on the life and brought it unto obedience to Christ. It took up its cross and followed along after Jesus with no intention of going back. It said good-bye to its old friends as certainly as Elijah when he stepped into the fiery chariot and went away in the whirlwind. It had a finality about it. It snapped shut on a man’s heart like a trap; it captured the man and made him from that moment forward a happy love-servant of his Lord.” (ibid. pg. 205)

It is a life altering, continuous, all or nothing conviction that God requires.
He wants faith.

The Requirement
2) THE RECIPIENT
“in Jesus Christ’

God is not looking for faith in your own goodness.
God is not looking for faith in what you did.
God is not looking for faith in faith.

There is a recipient of the faith that God requires and His name is Jesus.

In order to be saved,
You must place the kind of faith in Jesus that changes your life.

Joseph Alleine said: (in your bulletin)
“All of Christ is accepted by the sincere convert; he loves not only the wages but the work of Christ; not only the benefits, but the burden of Christ; he is willing not only to tread out the corn, but to draw under the yoke; he takes up the command of Christ, yea, the cross of Christ.
The unsound closeth by halves with Christ: he is all for the salvation of Christ, but he is not for sanctification; he is for the privileges, but appropriates not the person of Christ; he divides the offices and benefits of Christ. This is an error in the foundation. Whoso loveth life, let him beware here; it is an undoing mistake, of which you have been often warned, and yet none is more common.
Jesus is a sweet name, but men “love not the Lord Jesus in sincerity.” They will not have him as God offers, “to be a Prince and a Saviour.” They divide what God has joined, the king and the priest; yea, they will not accept the salvation of Christ as he intends it; they divide it here.
Every man’s vote is for salvation from suffering; but they desire not to be saved from sinning; they would have their lives saved, but withal would have their lusts. Yea, many divide here again; they would be content to have some of their sins destroyed, but they cannot leave the lap of Delilah, or divorce the beloved Herodias; they cannot be cruel to the right eye or right hand; the Lord must pardon them in this thing. O be carefully scrupulous here; your soul depends upon it.
The sound convert takes a whole Christ, and takes him for all intents and purposes, without exceptions, without limitations, without reserve. He is willing to have Christ upon any terms; he is willing to have the dominion of Christ, as well as deliverance by Christ; he said, with Paul, “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” Any thing, Lord. He sends the blank to Christ, to set down his own conditions.” (The Alarm to Unconverted Sinners [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980 reprint], pp.46-48)
There is a way to be saved apart from the Law.
It is to give your life fully to Jesus Christ.
It is to fully trust that He can save you.

Titus 3:5-6 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”

Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

YOU HAVE NOTICED BY NOW THAT THIS MORNING
WE ARE OBSERVING THE LORD’S SUPPER

And this is what the Lord’s Supper is all about.
It is a time of celebration!
We are not saved by the Law.
We are saved because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This morning we partake in rejoicing
That salvation is possible through faith in Him.

WE WILL FIRST HAVE A TIME OF PREPARATION
1 Corinthians 11:27-31 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”

Paul commanded that we first examine ourselves.
And judge ourselves rightly.

THE QUESTION IS
Have I placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Is it true faith? (as evidenced by obedience)
Is it in Jesus? (as evidenced by devotion to Him)

If not this time is for you to get that corrected.

Pray

DEACONS COME AND FOLD BLANKET

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

GIVE BREAD TO DEACONS
PRAYER
DEACONS PASS OUT BREAD

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

TAKE BREAD

Romans 3:21-24 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

GIVE JUICE TO DEACONS
PRAYER
DEACONS PASS OUT JUICE

1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

PARTING CHORUS

The Purpose of the Law
Romans 3:19-20
October 14, 2007

TONIGHT, WE COME TO THE LOWEST POINT
OF PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

We already learned that God was extremely angry.
He is filled with wrath.

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

And so the trial began.
Men immediately stood before God in order to present their case
As to why they shouldn’t be judged.

At first they pleaded ignorance.
Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Of course that didn’t work, for all men really do know.

That didn’t work, so others pleaded knowledge.
“That’s right, God they were wrong”
Romans 2:1 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

Next men tried to justify themselves by their works.

But that didn’t appease God either.
Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

At this point, man realized he was in a desperate situation.
Ignorance was no excuse…
Knowledge was no excuse…
Ministry didn’t appease Him…
Works was a false hope…

SO THEN MEN BEGAN TO ACCUSE GOD
(Instead of proving their innocence,
They did what is commonly done today,
And started seeking a MIS-TRIAL)

Maybe God didn’t read them their rights…
Maybe there was an illegal search and seizure…
They were going to get God on a technicality.

They accused God of being UNFAITHFUL.
Romans 3:3 “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?”

That didn’t work, God was acquitted of their charge.

Next they accused God of being UNRIGHTEOUS.
Romans 3:5 “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)”

That didn’t work either, God was acquitted of that charge.

Next they accused God of being UNGRATEFUL
Romans 3:7 “But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”

God wouldn’t even listen to the ignorance of this argument.

And so, after all the excuses, and after all the attempts at a mistrial,
God then spoke up to recount the guilt of man.

Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Despite all their arguing,
Despite all their wiggling, and tactical approach,
Mankind was still as guilty before God as ever.

Their attempts had fallen short.

And in our text this evening, we now see the final point,
And that is the VERDICT.
God is going to let it be known how mankind has fared before Him.

AND THE WAY GOD DELIVERS THE VERDICT
IS BY SIMPLY REVEALING THE DECISION OF THE LAW.

When a judge presides over a case,
The only thing He is supposed to do is determine
If a person has indeed broken the Law.

If they have, then they are subject to the penalty determined by the Judge.
That is what is being done here.
God is applying the ruling to sinful man.

We will see this played out by looking at 3 things.
#1 THE PEOPLE OF THE LAW
Romans 3:19
Paul starts out by reminding,
That the Law is for the people who are under the Law.

And this makes sense to us.
The Chinese police cannot come to America and arrest me for preaching, because in America, I am not under Chinese Law.

Now, if I go to China, that is a different story.
In China, you are under Chinese Law.

“Under my roof, you’ll obey my rules.”

And so, before we condemn anyone,
We have to ask, who is under God’s Law?

Well certainly Israel is.

I mean we all remember the infamous statement.
Exodus 19:7-8 “So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.”

And we know this carried down through the generations.

Romans 2:17 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God,”

BUT IS THAT ALL?
Certainly not.

For we all live in God’s world don’t we?
We all accept His provision don’t we?

And indeed we have also learned
That even Gentiles are under the Law of God.
Romans 2:14-16 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”
Now they don’t have God’s Law written on paper,
But it is written on the conscience of their heart.

Even they are under the Law of God.

This is why in the Old Testament, God not only punished Israel,
But He also had the authority to punish other nations as well.

Deuteronomy 9:4-5 “Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. “It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Listen to what God said to Babylon
Isaiah 13:6-16 “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt. They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger. And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their little ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished.”

God doesn’t just have jurisdiction over Israel,
God also reigns over all who live in this world.

God was punishing the world long before He had “a people”
And long before there was ever “the Law”.
Remember the flood?
Remember the tower of Babyl
Remember Sodom and Gomorrah?

The people of the Law
Are those who live on the earth that God created,
Who received life from Him,
And who receive their provision from Him.

EVERY MAN IS UNDER THE REQUIREMENT OF GOD.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT.

In our day, people tend to want to remain neutral with God.
Or people seem to think they can worship other gods.

They act as though God doesn’t expect anything from them,
Simply because they have never promised Him anything.

THIS IS NOT TRUE

Remember when Paul went to Athens?
That city was full of idols.
They were worshiping all sorts of gods.

Now they had never made any promises to our God,
So surely, since they didn’t even know who He was,
They didn’t owe Him anything did they?

Acts 17:22-31 “So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Even Athens was headed towards judgment.

AND THIS IS THE POINT HERE.
Every man alive had better stand up and pay attention,
Because when it comes to judgment,
Every man will stand before the true God,
And every man will give an account.

Every man, whether they know it or not, is under the Law of God.
God expects something from them.

The people of the Law
#2 THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW
Romans 3:19b

Now this point should make perfect sense to us,
But for some reason, especially to the Jews, it didn’t.

They always seemed to think that having the Law
Automatically made them pleasing to God.
They seemed to think that knowing right from wrong was enough.

OF COURSE THIS IS FALSE
And Paul has already said it once.

Romans 2:13 “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”

The Law did not come to make man look good.

But “so that every mouth may be closed and all the world become accountable to God.”

The point is that the Law is to expose guilt, not innocence.
1 Timothy 1:8-11 “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

“Innocent until prove guilty”
That is because the purpose of law is not to prove innocence,
But to prove guilt.

You take a command in the law, hold it beside a person’s life,
Or beside a person’s conduct, and then you determine guilt.

THE LAW PROVES GUILT
Not only to the Judge, but also to the transgressor.

AND THAT IS WHAT PAUL SAYS HERE
“so that every mouth may be closed”

Some day God will reveal every sin,
And then He will hold that sin up beside His Law,
And at that point there will be nothing to say.

There will be no more excuses.
And at that point
“all the world may become accountable to God;”

In other words, everyone will then be at the mercy of God.
Romans 5:12-13 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

Paul didn’t mean that people didn’t sin,
But rather that they were sinning, and didn’t know it.

THIS IS THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW
God did not send it to justify men, but to prove men guilty.

WE MUST UNDERSTAND THIS.
The Law is not the aim, but the means.

Even as Evangelists
We aren’t leading men to knowledge,
We are leading men to Jesus.

Charles Spurgeon said:
“Now observe brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking, and the pit opens wider her jaws of fire and swallows up the soul unsaved? Of what avail to have moralized a man if still he on the left hand of the judge, and if still, ‘Depart, ye cursed’, shall be his portion?”

The purpose of the Law is to condemn men, not to save them.

And that goes along with the third point.
The people of the Law, the purpose of the Law
#3 THE POWER OF THE LAW
Romans 3:20

And here the verdict is delivered.
NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED

Not one single person on the earth
Was found whom God acquitted as righteous.
Jew or Gentile

Everyone deserves judgment.
EVERYONE WAS A LAWBREAKER.

James 2:10-11 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”

AND THIS SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING
OUR WORLD HAS DIFFICULTY FIGURING OUT.

Our world seems to think if you are innocent at one point,
Then you are innocent of all.
But that is not how it works.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

1) No other God’s before Me
Ever put anything before God?

2) No graven images
Ever scale God down to something less than He is?

3) Don’t take God’s name in vain
Ever not live like the follower you said you would be?

4) Remember the Sabbath
Ever push aside God for the sake of worldliness?

5) Honor your father and mother
Ever disobey your parents?

6) You shall not commit murder
Ever hate, slander, or condemn?

7) You shall not commit adultery
Ever look at woman lustfully, entice a man, marry a divorced woman?

8) You shall not steal
Every cheat on your taxes, cheat on a test, not tithe?

9) You shall not bear false witness
Every gossip, stretch the truth, exaggerate?

10) You shall not covet
Every get greedy? (Even Debt)

DO YOU GET THE POINT?
We have all broken all 10,
But even if we only broke one, we are guilty.
THE LAW HAS NO POWER TO SAVE, ONLY CONDEMN
“for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin”

Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

The Law was to weak to save, we made it too weak to save.
The Law can only condemn.

Romans 7:7-12 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

AND I HOPE FROM THAT YOU GET THE POINT.

EVERY MAN IS GUILTY
THE LAW DIDN’T SAVE ANYONE
IT CONDEMNED EVERYONE

It didn’t come to show you how good you are.
It came to show you how bad you are.

THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY YOU CAN SAVE YOURSELF.
Ignorance won’t work…
Knowledge won’t work…
Works don’t work…
Arguments don’t work…

THE ONLY HOPE WE HAVE IS THE MERCY OF GOD

Romans 11:32 “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”

James 2:13b “mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Romans 5:20-21 “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Do not deny your guilt before God.
Rather confess your guilt, and place your faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

He is the way to be saved from judgment.

Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”