Reformation Sunday

Last year I introduced Martin Luther and spoke about the beginning of the reformation, this year we are going to look at the second and third generations after the reformation. Specifically at the doctrine of Justification.

I shall take the boldness, therefore, to say, whoever be offended at it, that if we lose the ancient doctrine of justification, through faith in the blood of Christ, and the imputation of his righteousness unto us, public profession of religion will quickly issue In popery or atheism. - John Owen

This doctrine of Justification or Sola Fide or By faith alone is key to why we believe the way we do. Without this doctrine we’d fall into one of the two errors that John Owen stated. Let’s define our terms

Background:

The Roman Church had slipped from it’s moorings. Through time different regions lack of fast communication, bad or little education of the Priesthood had let some of the hierarchy forget it’s first love. As a result you get many errors, that a hundred or 500 years before were not their. You have in the time of the reformation men studying those who came before for the first time again and seeing just how far the church went into error in the 1500’s.

In the 1600’s the reformation had set in, but you still had many holdouts of popish ideas even in protestant and reformed churches. Really those ideas are that you and I through our actions could achieve salvation on our own.

The Faith Alone, is hammered out more and more and you have men and women really make fine points as to what we believe.

One of the key points to being a protestant is Faith alone. God does all the work of salvation and we bring nothing.

You can’t do anything to add to your salvation only christ who kept the law perfectly. The Roman church had maintianed that it had the merit to get you into heaven and could shut the doors to heaven for you. It does not. Only christ does

Definitions and Ground work -

Lexham Survey of Theology Justification

Justification is a Christian’s judicial acceptance by God as not guilty because his sins are not counted against him.

So when you hear justification this is the legal acceptance of not guilty for your sins.

Galatians 2:15–16 ESV

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Let me lay some ground rules from the 1689

First

Confessing the Faith: The 1689 Baptist Confession for the 21st Century (XI. Justification)

11:1 Those God effectually calls He also freely justifies.1 He does this, not by infusing righteousness into them but by pardoning their sins and accounting and accepting them as righteous.2 He does this for Christ’s sake alone and not for anything produced in them or done by them.3 He does not impute faith itself, the act of believing, or any other gospel obedience to them as their righteousness. Instead, He imputes Christ’s active obedience to the whole law and passive obedience in His death as their whole and only righteousness by faith.4 This faith is not self-generated; it is the gift of God.5

Some Scriptural support for What I just read Rom. 3:24

Romans 3:24 ESV

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:30 ESV

30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

1`So he calls us freely

Romans 5:17–19 ESV

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

3 So this act is done by Christ alone not by you and me and what we can do.

Ephesians 2:8–20 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

This is done by Christ keeping the law perfectly and then imputes or put into our account our standing before God his righteousness

Second

11:2 Faith that receives and rests on Christ and His righteousness is the only instrument of justification.6 Yet it does not occur by itself in the person justified, but it is always accompanied by every other saving grace. It is not a dead faith but works through love.7

Romans 3:28 ESV

28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

So your faith rests on the actions of Jesus

Your faith because it rest in Jesus is accompained by the good works that come from Jesus being your beliefs

Third

11:3 By His obedience and death, Christ fully paid the debt of all those who are justified. He endured in their place the penalty they deserved. By this sacrifice of Himself in His bloodshed on the cross, He legitimately, really and fully satisfied God’s justice on their behalf.8 Yet their justification is based entirely on free grace, because He was given by the Father for them, and His obedience and satisfaction were accepted in their place. These things were done freely, not because of anything in them,9 so that both the exact justice and the rich grace of God would be glorified in the justification of sinners.10

Hebrews 10:14 ESV

14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

1 Peter 1:18 ESV

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

Brought down all this to the ground.

On Christ the Solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand. You can no more build a ladder to the moon out of sand then you could save yourself. You’re Lazerous dead and cannot be brought out of the tomb, you have to believe in Jesus.

Biblical Support:

Build the case for Justification by faith alone from the Bible

I want to build you the case that this is true, that it is All of God that does these for us and that it is the necessity of faith to secure the blessings of salvation, not mens actions.

I’m going to read a lot of scripture and comment briefly on some of them. If you’re a note taker this is time to prep yourself!

Works of John Owen: Volume 5 (General Considerations)

The foundation of the whole is laid in the first promise; wherein the destruction of the work of the devil by the suffering of the seed of the woman is proposed as the only relief for sinners, and only means of the recovery of the favour of God.

“It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” Gen. 3:15.

“Abraham believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness,” Gen. 15:6.

“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat; and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited,” Lev. 16:21, 22.

“I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only,” Ps. 71:16.

“If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O LORD, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared,” Ps. 130:3, 4.

“Enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified,” Ps. 143:2.

“Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me,” Isa. 27:4, 5.

“Surely, shall one say, In the LORD have I righteousness and strength: in the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory,” Isa. 45:24, 25.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities,” Isa 53:6, 11.

“This is his name whereby he shall be called, The LORD our Righteousness,” Jer. 23:6.

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” Isa. 64:6.

“He shall finish the transgression, and make an end of sins, and make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness,” Dan. 9:24.

“As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,” John 1:12.

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life,” John 3:14, 15.

“Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses,” Acts 13:38, 39.

“That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me,” Acts 26:18.

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,” Rom. 3:24–28.

“For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin,” Rom. 4:2–8.

“But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous,” Rom. 5:15–19.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,” Rom. 8:1–4.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,” Rom. 10:4.

“And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace; otherwise work is no more work,” Rom. 11:6.

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption,” 1 Cor. 1:30.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,” 2 Cor. 5:21.

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified,” Gal. 2:16.

“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,” Gal. 3:11–13.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them,” Eph. 2:8–10.

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith,” Phil. 3:8, 9.

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” 2 Tim. 1:9.

“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life,” Tit. 3:7.

“Once in the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away sin,” Heb. 9:26, 28.

“Having by himself purged our sins,” Heb. 1:3.

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,” Heb. 10:14.

“The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin,” 1 John 1:7.

Wherefore, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen,” Rev. 1:5, 6.

Let me say this about if you’re living a works-based life not a faith based one. You will fail. Listen to Solomon the wisest man that ever lived Eccl 2:17

Ecclesiastes 2:17 ESV

17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Your works to save your self the things you do to be a good person, that you may think might get you into heaven are not enough. You experince this daily, today you hurt more then yesterday, your hair gets whiter or less, your face has more lines then it did. Your food if left out to long rots, your car even new still doesn’t stay new, your furniture, your home, your experinces start to fail.

Your works are uilt by dying man do yout hink the dying works of man could please a perfect God? Do you think the works of a wicked selfish man could please a perfect God?

the Bible is clear all fall short of the glory of God. Maybe you think that doesn’t apply to you, have you lied recently? Have you been needlessly glib. You have failed to live up to the perect God standards.

Application:

“Do your beliefs flow from your finger tips?

First thing about Learning Theology like we did today is the question you need to ask yourself. Do you actions show that you believe this? I don’t know about you but it drives me crazy when someone claims to be a Christian and then acts totally against what the scripture has said. Whenever I hear someone famous declare they’re a Christian I always say, to those who ask me, “let’s see some of his or her fruits, but I’ll pray for them.”

What you believe comes out of you. What you put in always comes out. The more vileness you consume the more you will act that way. If you believe scripture rightly and seek to understand the faith you claim it will begin to come out of you.

Often I see Christian act like half Christians and that is the fault of the church. We need to teach that All of Christ rules over all of our lives. There is no separation of faith and life, faith and family, faith and Business, faith and pocketbook, faith and politics. So When you learn doctrine like today you must ask and seek from the Holy Spirit how to apply it to your life. My job is to help you begin and do that.

This is the question you need to ask of everything you read in scripture or sermon

Are you able to give a defense for the hope that is in you?

Call on God to Increase Your faith

First to each one of you: This is why the doctrine of Justification matters. You must look at the cross and believe in Christ. You must in your mind know it, in your heart agree to it, and in your soul trust it. This is faith to believe you can only look at the cross and put your hope on the one who died on it it for you.

You must trust him.

If your weak in faith always remember

Mark 9:23–24 (NKJV)

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Do you feel small of faith today? Do you call that out when doubt strikes? Remember that God, not only desires that none should perish but have everlasting life, but also desires your sanctification.

You have the right as a Christian to call out those promises to God to help your unbelief! Jesus upon hear that father healed his son! Jesus answered! You can call out when in a moment of hardship to God for your aid. Ask your father for more faith. The mustard seed is small, but christ uses that as an example of how Tiny faith is! Look what god can do with it if you ask him!

Forgiveness

The Next way to apply this doctrine in our lives is by actively living out this when we forgive one another. Look at this text.

Matthew 18:21–35 ESV

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The king forgave a debt to big to be work off. The man failed to do likewise, learn this lesson. God forgives us a debt that we could never repay. We must do likewise when we are wronged by those that love us or our enemies.

This baffles the mind of un-believers. They have cancel culture, we have forgiveness culture. A man can be redeemed from his sin, a man can fall short and still be forgiven. In Christian history their was a group called the donatists who didn’t believe in forgiveness. You had to be perfect after salvation. That is the case today.

Your wife wrongs you do you make her pay? Do you put you husband through the torture routine? Are your children always walking on Egg shells around you? Do people say “don’t get on his bad side” Do you have a permanent short list and people are just changing places on the positions? Do you keep record of wrongs? “Do you remember that thing you did last week, last year, ten years ago?”

You’re in sin and you’re not living out a life of forgiveness. God keeps no record of your errors after salvation, he see your faith in his son and that is enough, you’ve been forgiven do you forgive?

Maybe you’re on the other side and you’ve forgiven but restoration is not what you thought it would be. Have faith in God and pray God will make it right at some point. It’s like laying up a present for a loved on until they come, just be prepared to give it when that day arrives.

Freedom From Guilt

If you’re racked with guilt I want you to know that you have been bought from that guilt by Christ!

Romans 4:5–8 ESV

5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Your deeds have been forgiven! Repent your holding onto your guilt today. You are not a god who chooses when you’re forgiven Christ does. Drop your guilt, if your hearing charges of guil in your ears that is some member of the wicked trintiy, the world, the flesh/old man, the devil, trying to stop you up!

You Christian are guiltless before God who is mightyier then he? Who is higher then he? More Worthy, More Valuable, More excellent?

So be freed of your guilt!

Security of Faith

If God has started the process then you can trust he will finish it. Part of God making a promise to redeem a people to himself is that God never breaks his promises. That then therefore let your yes be yes and your no be no. You need to be a promise keeping man or women of God. God doesn’t shirk he responsibilities. God keeps them, when you make a promise keep it. Don’t make easy promises make ones that are well thought out