Introduction:

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Mark 8:34)

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." (John 1:43)

A.      What does Jesus mean when he says, “follow Me?”

Jesus links His call with that of self-denial, crucifixion, and daily death (Luke 9:23).

Jesus wants us to be willing to die to self, hating one’s own life in this world, and serving Him (John 12:24-26)

1.       Luke 14:25-33 Jesus’ message to the multitudes

2.       Luke 9:57-62 His follow me was a call to surrender to His Lordship

3.       The Philippians Jailer asked, “what must I do to b saved” (Acts 16:31)

4.       Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

B.      The Lordship of Christ is clearly at the heart of true saving faith.

Many people do not tell unbelievers that they need to yield to Christ as Lord.

They give the idea that one can be a Christian without being a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

                This is to say that all one has to do is…

1.       Believe the fact of Christ having died for sinners

2.       Require that sinners only acknowledge this by the barest intellectual assent [to agree].

3.       Assure them of eternal security when they may not even be born again (John 3:3)

4.       This kind of faith gives a promise of peace to those who have given verbal assent to Christ, but are not truly in God’s family.

People need to learn:

Ø  that there is not justification without regeneration.  Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).

Ø  that faith without works is a dead faith and that no one will ever be saved by a dead faith (James 2:20).

Ø  that the mark of true justification is a perseverance in righteousness—to the very end (Matt. 10:22).

Ø  that faith in a Jesus who is Savior but not Lord is faith in a Jesus of you own making.  The Jesus who saves is the Lord—there is no other—and it was He who said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

Ø  that if one wants to serve Christ, “he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow [Him]” (Luke 9:23.

Ø  that without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). 

I.                   A Look at the Issues

A.      Today’s Gospel Presentation

You will hear phrases such as…

1.       “accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior”

2.       “ask Jesus into your heart”

3.       “invite Christ into your life”

4.       “make a decision for Christ.”

5.       None of these is based on Biblical Terminology

The Gospel that Jesus Proclaimed was a…

1.       Call to discipleship

2.       Call to follow Him in submissive obedience

3.       Not just a plea to make a decision of pray a prayer

4.       Offer of eternal life and forgiveness for repentant sinners but,

5.       At the same time it was a rebuke to outwardly religious people whose lives were devoid of true righteousness.

6.       Gospel that put sinners on notice that they must turn from sin and embrace God’s rightousness.

The words of Jesus concerning eternal life were accompanied by warnings to those who would take salvation lightly.

1.       The cost of following Jesus was a high cost.

2.       The way is narrow and few find it (Matt. 7:13-14).

3.       Not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter into His kingdom (Matt. 7:21-27).

4.       Today evangelical messages for the most part ignore those warnings!

II.                The Doctrine of Justification

A.      The Abandonment of Jesus’ Gospel

The teaching of salvation to anyone who simply believes the facts about Christ &

claims eternal life without any spiritual commitment whatsoever is a false salvation.

This teaching says…

1.       There needs to be no turning from sin.

2.       The result of a change or behavior in lifestyle is not needed.

3.       No commitment to spiritual things is not needed.

4.       Not even a willingness to yield to Christ’s Lordship over your life is needed.

5.       Many say this amounts to human works, which corrupt grace and have nothing to do with faith.

6.       This kind of teaching teaches justification without sanctification.

B.      The death of Christ brought Justification.

Justification – is a legal act whereby God pronounces that the believing sinner has been credited with all the virtues of Christ.  Whereas forgiveness is the negative aspect of salvation meaning the subtraction of human sin, justification is the positive aspect meaning the addition of divine righteousness

1.       "To declare righteous the one who has faith in Christ"

2.       It is a forensic (legal) act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous on the basis of the blood of Christ.

3.       "Justification is a gift given through the grace of God (Rom. 3:24) and takes place the moment the individual has faith in Christ (Rom. 4:2; 5:1).

a.       The ground of justification is the death of Christ (Rom. 5:9), apart from works (Rom. 4:5).

b.       This means of justification is faith (Rom. 5:1).

c.        Through justification God maintains integrity and His standard, yet is able to enter into fellowship with sinners because they have the very righteousness of Christ imputed to them.

C.      How Does This Happen?

The Two Step Process

Justification involves two primary aspects:

1.       The removal of all sin and separation from God (Col.2:13)

2.       The bestowal or imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer.

These two steps can be seen in the following Scriptures:

1.       All men are born in sin and stands guilty before God and are deserving of eternal death (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12-14, 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3).

2.       God’s standard is perfection (Matt. 5:48; Rom. 2:12; James. 2:10; Rom. 3:20).  God does not waive His demands as placed down in the Law, but accepts Christ’s perfect life in its place.

3.       The penalty for man’s sin has been paid for by Christ’s death through the shedding of His blood (Is. 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24; Rom. 3:24-24, 5:9).

4.       All those who place their faith in Christ receive forgiveness of all their sins (Acts 13:38; Rom. 4:7-8; 8:1, 2; 1 Cor. 5:21; Col. 2:13; Zech. 3:1). 

5.       The person who places their faith in Christ and receives God’s forgiveness is then restored to a place of favor with God (Rom. 5:1, 8:16; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 1:6).

6.       The righteousness of Jesus Christ is then imputed to the believer (Rom. 4:1-8; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Cor. 1:30 etc.)

Other Important Points

Justification is:

1.       By faith and not by works (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16).

2.       By grace and not earned (Rom. 3:24 “freely” Lit. “without a cause; Titus 3:7).

3.       By the blood of Christ and not by man’s good deeds (Rom. 5:9).

4.       Takes place instantly at the moment of faith and is not a progressive act (Rom. 4:2; 5:1).

Notice the word “justified” is in the past tense, which shows that it is a completed act.

D.      The Glorious Results

1.      Removal of the penalty of sins (Rom. 5:7; 2 Cor. 5:19).

2.      All condemnation is gone (Rom. 8:1)

3.      Man is at peace with God (Rom. 5:1).

4.      Man is restored to God’s favor (Rom. 4:6; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21).

5.      The imputed righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:5).

6.      The acceptance by God (Eph. 1:6).

7.      The assurance that future judgment will be avoided (Rom 5:9).

E.      Final Thoughts

1.       Justification is the act where God declares us to be righteous and is not an act where He makes us righteous. 

This means we will still struggle with our sinful desires until the day we go to heaven.

2.       Sanctification is different from justification.

Sanctification is the process which God transforms our lives into the image and likeness of Christ.  This is a process, which will take place over our entire life and relates to our maturing in Christ.  It is never completed in this life.

3.       Understanding this Doctrine

The believer must understand the doctrine of justification by faith, and the fact we have been imputed with the righteousness of Christ, or they will never enjoy or experience the peace and freedom which  freely belongs to them in Christ.  When the believer does not realize they have the imputed righteousness of Christ, they will try to establish or maintain a righteousness of their own.  They will try to maintain a right relationship with God based on all their Christian activities, which is completely contrary to Scriptures, absolutely impossible and completely frustrating.

4.       It is a completed Act

Justification is a completed act where you have been imputed with the righteousness of Christ.  You cannot improve or increase this righteousness.  It is also extremely important for you to see that you cannot maintain this level of righteousness by your works.  It is a righteousness that has been given to you, thus you do not maintain it by your works, nor do you diminish it by your sinful actions.  It is the righteousness of Christ, which has been given to you, and it does not change because Christ does not change.  It is complete, it does not diminish, nor does it rise and fall based on your actions.  It stays at the same level all the time.  This righteousness was something that was given to you freely, so you cannot improve on it nor maintain it.

5.       The imputed righteousness of Christ is what has made it possible for you to be right with God.  We are at peace with Him.  We are able to come into His presence continually due to the fact we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ and appear acceptable to Him.  Not like the man in the parable in Matt. 22, who didn’t have the right clothes on in the presence of the King and was remove instantly.  We have the right clothes, the robe of righteousness which has been provided for us, and we now have the privilege of appearing before the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’ without any guilt, shame or uncleanness. 

6.       “This Is The Doctrine By Which The Church Rises And Falls” 1 Corinthians 2:2; 15:3-4

III.             Sanctification

A.      The Meaning

(John 17:17) Sanctify—Sanctification: the word “sanctify” means to be set apart, to be separated (cp. 1 Peter 1:15-16).

                There are three stages of sanctification.

1.       There is initial or positional sanctification.

When a person believes in Jesus Christ, he is immediately set apart for God permanently, once-for-all he stands sanctified before God: (Hebrews 3:1; cp. Hebrews 10:10, 14, 29; 1 Cor. 1:30).

2.       There is progressive sanctification.

The true believer makes a determined and disciplined effort to allow the Spirit of God to set him apart day by day. The Spirit of God takes him and conforms him to the image of Christ more and more leading to the mortification of sin (1 Thess. 4:3, 4) & Holiness (Romans 6:22; Eph. 5:7-9) Hebrews 10:15, 1 Peter 13-16, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6.

This growth takes place as long as the believer walks upon this earth (cp. John 17:17; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 5:25-26; 1 Thess. 5:23-24).

3.       There is eternal sanctification.

The day is coming when the believer will be perfectly set apart unto God and His service—without any sin or failure whatsoever. That day will be the great and glorious day of the believer’s eternal redemption (Ephes. 5:27; 1 John 3:2).

Sanctification is different from justification.

1.       Sanctification is the process which God transforms our lives into the image and likeness of Christ, Rom8:29

This is a process, which will take place over our entire life and relates to our maturing in Christ.  It is never completed in this life Proverbs 20:9, James 3:2, 1 John 1:8, Romans 7:14-25, Philippians 3:12-14, 1 Timothy 1:15

2.       We have a faith that cannot fail.

If we are truly born of God, we have a faith that cannot fail to overcome the world (1 John 5:4).  We may sin (1 John 2:1)—we will sin—but the process of sanctification can never stall completely.  God is at work in us (Phil. 2:13), and He will continue to perfect us until the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 5:23-24).

B.      Fruit is Needed

Many people sincerely believe they are saved, but their lives are utterly barren of any verifying fruit.

1.       Because they have recited a prayer.

2.       Signed on a dotted line

3.       Walked down an isle.

4.       Or had some other experience.

5.       They think they are saved and should never question their salvation.

C.      We must examine our lives & evaluate the fruit we bear, for each tree is known by its fruit (2 Cor. 13:5;  2 Peter 1:10)            

1.       The Bible teaches that the evidence of God’s work in a life is the fruit of transformed behavior

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice

righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

2.       Faith that does not result in righteous living is dead and cannot save (James 2:14-17).

3.       Professing Christians who lack the fruit of true righteousness will find no biblical basis for assurance of salvation.

1 John 2:4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

4.       Real salvation is not only justification.  It cannot be isolated from regeneration, sanctification, & glorification.

Romans 8:29 cf. 13:11 Salvation is the work of God by which we are “conformed into the image of His Son”

5.       Genuine assurance of salvation comes from seeing the Holy Spirit’s transforming work in ones life.

Justification Heresy Test

1.       Justification is a process, which starts at the moment we believe and continues over our lifetime as a Christian, and has the goal to eventually making us acceptable to God (false).

This is from the Roman Catholics.  Their understanding of  justification is a process, where you are receiving bits of grace from God which will eventually mount up making you more and more acceptable to God.  When you die, if you haven’t received enough of the grace, through the sacraments and good deeds, then you go to purgatory and atone for you own sin.

2.       Full obedience over one’s lifetime is a condition of justification (false).

3.       The Christian remains justified only as long as he obeys (false).

4.       At salvation we are declared righteous and all our sins are forgiven, but from that point on we have to maintain a certain level of righteousness in order to make it into heaven (false).

5.       If you are a Christian, and you die with unconfessed sin, you will not go to heaven (false).

6.       The Christian is both justified and a sinner at the same time (True).

7.       A person is justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ (True).

8.       Justification is not a process, it takes place instantly at the moment a person believes in Christ (True).

9.       The moment a person trusts in Christ, they are declared righteous by God and they have the very righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to them.  This righteousness is not their own, it comes from Christ.  This righteousness does not diminish due to their sinfulness, nor is it maintained by their good works (true).

10.    Justification is the legal act of God, whereby He declares righteous the person who puts their faith in Christ (true).