Justification

The whole old testament story arch of justification.

Genesis 44:16 CSB

16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”

Exodus 23:7 CSB

7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.

Job 25:4 CSB

4 How can a human be justified before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

Isaiah 45:25 CSB

25 All the descendants of Israel will be justified and boast in the Lord.

Isaiah 53:11 CSB

11 After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities.

Jesus on Justification

Matthew 12:33–37 CSB

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Luke 16:15 CSB

15 And he told them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.

Luke 18:9–14 CSB

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Epistles on Justification

Romans 2:13 CSB

13 For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.

Romans 3:20 CSB

20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.

These are the record low scores from the NFL Combine last year of guy who actually got signed by teams.

40-yrd dash: Noah Elliss; DT Philidelphia Eagles—5.62

225 Bench Reps: Montaric Brown; CB Jacksonville Jaguars — 11

Vertical Jump: Neil Farrell; DT Las Vegas Raiders —21.5

Standing Long Jump: D.J. Davidson; DT New York Giants — 95

20-yrd Shuttle: Phidarian Mathis; DT Washington Commanders — 4.91

Everyone in the NFL can beat all of these scores. Everyone in the NFL can do better than these numbers. These are the bottom of the barrel for NFL players in each of these events. Some of you in this room right now can beat that 40, that vertical, that long jump, and that shuttle. Maybe one or 2 of you can beat that 225 rep, I know I could have come close my 11th grade year.

But none of you are going to the NFL. You’re just not. Even if you could beat all of these stats right now as you sit there, you are not going to the NFL.

Everyone in the NFL can beat all of these stats. Not everyone who can beat all of these stats is in the NFL.

So when we say that everyone who is saved follows God’s law. Understand it like this. Everyone in the NFL beats every one of these numbers.

When we say that no one is saved by following God’s law. Understand, being able to beat these numbers doesn’t get you into the NFL. What gets you into the NFL is something completely different.

You could spend a year training these stats, maybe 2 years tops, and you could do all of these things. But if you never touch a football, put on a set of pads, or step foot on a field with 21 other guys and get your skull rattled learning to play football; you don’t become an NFL player.

Doing the things that make you an NFL player, means that you will certainly beat these stats as a result. But beating these stats does not make you an NFL player.

Likewise. Saved people, people who have been justified, will absolutely carry out the works of God’s law of grace. but doing those works, no matter how well, does not get you saved.

People who have been justified before God by Jesus Christ will do good works as a natural byproduct of their justification. But no amount of good works makes you justified. but being justified results in good works.

Every mechanic i’ve ever met, no matter how much they wash, no matter how much gojo they use, there’s always a little bit of grease and grime on their hands. It gets down inside your fingerprints where soap and water can’t quite get it off. There’s always cuts and calluses that get that crud in them that you can’t get out with an SOS pad. The only way it comes off is when those skin cells fall off over time; but a mechanic will get his hands dirty agin before that has time to happen. Having dirty hands is just a natural byproduct of being a mechanic.

Now I can go slather some grease and grime on my hands but that doesn’t make me a mechanic. I can even go out to my car right now and do the things that mechanics do and get the grease and grime on my hands. but working on your own car doesn’t make you a mechanic, so even that wouldn’t do it. Mechanics all have the same dirty hands and they all got them the same way, but that’s not what makes them mechanics. That’s just a side-effect that comes from being a mechanic.

I am not a mechanic. I have multiple ASE certifications. I could hang them on my wall and show that I have the education, training, and on the job experience to be a mechanic. But I’m not a mechanic. I haven’t been a mechanic in almost 10 years. you know how you know that? I got soft hands boy. My hands are clean and soft, because i haven’t turned a wrench in 8 months. I haven’t worked on anyones car but my own in about 5 years. I haven’t been on the payroll at a shop for 10 years. Regardless of what I went through years ago, or the certificates I have in a storage box somewhere. I am not a mechanic.

Look, I don’t care how much you come to church, I don’t care what good works you’ve done in the past, I don’t care how many baptism certificates and VBS recognitions you have in storage with your name on them.

Have you listened to the Holy Spirit enough recently, has your faith shown up in your actions enough recently, have you lived like a christian enough recently that you can see the marks of it on your hands, down in your fingerprints, in the scars on your knuckles. Do your hands look like the hands of a Christian or do your hands look like the hands of everybody else?