The Just Justifier

Intro If you weren’t here on Friday, we gathered together to read through events of Friday that ultimately lead us here today on Sunday. We answered two questions. The first was, why did Jesus have to die? And the short answer is because the law of God, who is unchanging, required innocent blood be spilled as an atonement for sin. For many years sacrifices were offered, but they could not fully satisfy the wrath of God…until Jesus came. Born under the Law, following it perfectly and thereby fulfilling it, He became the once and for all sacrifice of innocent blood that satisfied the law and thereby satisfied the wrath of God. The second question was, why is Good Friday good? The answer - because all that happened that day is good for us, and because it was pleasing and good to God to send His Son to take the punishment for us. Friday is a heavy day. A day that reminds us of the sacrifice that Christ made. It reminds us of the punishment He took. It reminds us of the violence He experienced. But it also reminds us of the price we no longer have to pay. And now here we are on Easter Sunday, the day that death could no longer hold Christ and He simply walked out of the grave. In Christ’s death He took our sins to the grave, and now in His life He brings us back to life as well. As we look here briefly at a small portions of Romans 3, I’ll just spoil the ending for you right now - we are all sinners who need a Savior. Salvation is the free gift of grace for those who believe, and by believing we are made right in the sight of God. When He looks on us, He nows sees His Son and calls us justified.

There is No Distinction (22) Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

Jesus died for every single person in this room. Jesus died for every single person outside this room. Jesus died for everyone. There is no distinction between us. No matter who you are or what you have done, the righteousness of God is given through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. But that’s the important part to remember. Salvation is a gift given to all people to receive, but only those who do receive it 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.

We see here in John 3, probably the most well known verse in all of Scripture, that God loved the world. He loves the whole entire world. He loves the world so much, no matter who is in it, that He sent His Son to die so that it could be saved. And now because Jesus died and rose again, all those who believe in Jesus no longer perish, but they have received, from the moment they began to believe, eternal life. That gift is available to everyone.

It’s available to you. It’s available to your family; to your friends; to your enemies; to the people you can’t stand; to the people you want to spend all your time with; for the people you believe are truly evil. It is available. But you must believe. If you don’t believe in who Jesus is, then as Jesus says in John 3:16, you shall perish.

During His ministry, Jesus tells a story of a shepherd and His sheep. This shepherd had 100 sheep and one went missing. Think if you were in your house and you had 100 pennies and one went missing. What kind of effort would you put in to find that lost penny? Not a lot, I am sure. Even if it were quarters, I imagine the story would be quite the same. This shepherd still had 99 sheep left. How did he even know the one was gone? Did you count them multiple times a day to make sure he didn’t lose any? The logical response of this shepherd would be to stay and protect the other 99, because who knows what might happen to them if he left even for a moment to go and find the one that ran away. But the good Shepherd, knowing that those in His care are safe and secure, leaves those 99 to go find the one that was lost and brings it home. It doesn’t matter which one of the sheep it is, He goes after them. No matter who you are or what you have done, the righteousness of God is given through faith in Jesus Christ for ALL who believe. But if we are going to truly believe, then we also must know our need for a Savior. That leads us into verse 23.

All Have Sinned and Fall Short (23) Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

No matter who you are or what you have done, everyone sins and is in need of salvation. Many thousands of years ago, mankind fell into sin. As a result of that original sin, all of mankind is infected. It is not that all that we do is sinful, but sin now affects our everyday lives and in many ways our initial response to things may be sinful. It doesn’t matter how good we try to be or how good people might tell us we are - whatever good we may be will never overcome the simple fact that we are sinners. And if you don’t believe that you are a sinner, then I’m sorry to break it to you today. If you look around this room, you will see nothing but sinners, but you will also see sinners that believe they need a savior and that Jesus is that Savior. We can be certain that sin has infected this world, oddly enough, when we just look at children. If you’ve ever been a parent, or have ever played some role in raising a child, think back to when they were little. Sure, they look innocent, but you know something is lurking in there. Think back to all the moments where they did something that shocked you - something that you didn’t want them to do, but also something you never taught them to do. Did you teach your kids how to lie? Did you teach your kids how to throw a tantrum? Did you teach your kids how to color on the wall? I would assume, and desperately hope, that the answer to each of those is no. But then who taught them? Well, no one taught them. This desire that we have in each and every one of us to avoid trouble and pursue pleasure begins at a very young age and we find ways to accomplish both of those things, even continuing well into adulthood. And guess what - those of us who have realized we need a Savior haven’t suddenly stopped sinning. There is a constant battle waging within us between our flesh and our Spirit. So often we want to take the path of least resistance and we find ourselves in disaster, but as we press on and lean into Jesus, we begin to recognize that it is the harder path that fulfills our desires. We’ve all sinned and we all need a savior. We cannot save ourselves, but thankfully salvation was provided for us as a gift.

Justified as a Gift by His Grace (24)

Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

This salvation is a gift! In Ephesians 2, Paul tells us that it is a free gift. It is free both because the price has already been paid and also because we cannot afford to pay this price on our own. One of fallen humanity’s most difficult tasks is to accept righteousness as a gift. With every fiber of their moral being, people want to earn God’s favor. From a human perspective this sounds both reasonable and noble. The hidden agenda, however, is that it would provide a basis for boasting. God neither needs nor desires our help in doing what we could never accomplish. Let’s be honest. Some of us in this room have a hard time accepting gifts and not feeling like we then owe a debt to whoever gave us that gift. Or maybe we just have a hard time receiving something, but are always perfectly happy to give something. But with this gift, we simply can’t get even. We can’t make up for it. We can’t make ourselves worthy enough to receive it. And yet, God still gives it to us anyway.

God Displayed Publicly as Propitiation and Demonstrated His Righteousness (25) Romans 3:25 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;

God displayed Him publicly. This is what we see when we read the account of Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus was put on trial publicly and a crowd of people that a week earlier celebrated his arrival demanded his death. Jesus, alongside two criminals, was place essentially up on a post in the middle of the public in such a place where those traveling in and out of the city would have to pass by and see them. It was the ultimate punishment in cruelty and public humiliation. And now when we read Scripture, what we see is a public record of all that had happened, and there are some more records even beyond this. But this public display served the purpose of being our propitiation. His blood paid the price and took on the wrath of God on our behalf. That’s the punishment that we deserve for our sin. We deserve the suffer the wrath of God as Christ did, but because of His public display and because of this free gift borne out of His grace and mercy toward us we no longer have to pay that price. He took our place and became our wrath satisfying replacement.

Sin had run rampant long enough and it was time, according to God’s longstanding plan, to put an end to it’s rule and put it to death.

By sacrificing His Son, God demonstrates his righteous nature. He does what justice requires. There must be an atonement for sin. Christ on the cross is the sacrifice that satisfies the righteous nature of God and brings salvation to humankind.

He is the Just Justifier (26) Romans 3:26 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.

Imagine you’ve broken the law and you are standing before a judge. The prosecuting lawyer is bringing up everything you’ve ever done in your entire life as evidence of crime committed, and with every single line you realize that you are guilty. And if you realize that you are guilty, then the judge must realize it as well. You’re done for. And now here you are, representing yourself. With what law degree? How do you talk your way out of things that you already know you’ve done? Do you just dig the hole deeper and try to lie your way out of it? Well, this is a special judge and He can see right through every single thing you try to do. And then He turns to you and says, “Child, there is nothing more that can be done here. You have been found guilty on all counts and are worthy of all the penalties of the law, so far as it leads to your death. Is there anything else you have to say before I hand down my judgment?”

And you respond, “Your honor, you have judged rightly. I am guilty of everything that has been said of me, and can say nothing of myself to save me. I ask that I might bring forth one last witness, Jesus of Nazareth. I believe in what He speaks. I believe that He can help me.”

“Very well”, the judge replies. “We will speak to Jesus and then I will render my judgment.”

So Jesus walks onto the stand. And the judge asks, simply, “Jesus, do you know this man?” Jesus replies, “Yes, I do.” “What can you tell us about him? What can you tell us of his crimes?”

“Your Honor, of these crimes I can no longer speak, for the one who committed those crimes is no longer here. This man has believed in Me and I have been teaching Him My ways. He is no longer who he was, but is becoming who I am making him. There is still a lot of work to do, but I will complete that work. Whatever punishment awaits this man, I take it upon Myself. May he be found innocent on My account and may the fruits of his guilt be borne on My own shoulders. I do not testify today to who this man is or was, but to who I AM. I AM here to pay the penalty.”

The courtroom falls silent and you are left dumbfounded in your seat. You knew this guy was good, but you didn’t know He was THIS good. After a few moments, the judge speaks.

“On the account of Jesus Christ, according to His own testimony of who He is, I find the defendant not guilty, righteous in the sight of the law and free to go.”

You probably thought Jesus was gonna be the defense lawyer in that story, didn’t you? The problem is, your sin can’t be defended. You’ve undeniably done it. You and I have broken the law of God and no defense lawyer is going to be able to convince God otherwise. Instead He comes as a witness to who you are in Him, and as one in Him He steps in to take that penalty and imparts His righteousness to us. Justice prevails because He is just, and as the one who is just, He justifies us and makes us right in the eyes of the judge. We are no longer guilty because He has taken the punishment on our behalf.

But what if you don’t know Jesus? What if you have no witness willing to take your place? Or what if you call Jesus to the stand and when asked Jesus tells the judge that He doesn’t know you? Well then, the story goes a bit differently. You are found guilty still and are handed down the sentence of death, eternal separation from God. You can’t think you’re safe just because you want to be. We will all stand before the judge one day, and He will divide us between righteous and unrighteous. The righteous He knows, but the unrighteous He does not. We cannot escape judgement, but we can be rescued from it. But we must believe in Jesus and respond to this gift of salvation.

Romans 1. Received through Faith in Christ (3:21–31)

The redemptive work of God through his Son Christ Jesus is the most amazing event in the history of the universe. Never would such a plan have risen in the human mind. God brings a just sentence of death upon all, for all have sinned. He then provides a sinless sacrifice, his only Son, to atone for the unrighteousness of the wayward human race. From God’s standpoint forgiveness is freely offered. All that remains is for people to accept that forgiveness. The obligation is to believe, to trust in the redemptive work of Christ. The good news is good only to those who receive it. God offers his righteousness to those who will receive it, not as something to supplement their own good works but as a gift that alone can place them in a right standing with God.

We can’t earn it. We can’t toil our way to the prize. It is a free gift that we must receive, and it really is quite easy.

The first step is admitting there’s a problem. I am a sinner. You are a sinner. As sinners, we are in need of someone to save us from our guilty stains. Romans 3:23 tells us, as we read earlier, that we all fall short of the glory of God because we have all sinned. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. You know how you get wages? You earn them? If we’re going to try to earn something, all that we will earn is death. This is what the whole of 6:23 says.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can do as much as we want to earn death, but to receive life we need only to accept the free gift. How do we accept this gift? We confess our sin and give our lives to Christ.

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 will be saved;

And guess what - it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, He did the work to cover all of it. You haven’t sinned too far. You haven’t done something so embarrassing that He’s unwilling to take it upon Himself. No matter the gravity of sin it cannot outpace the depth of His grace. But you’ve gotta admit that you’re a sinner, and you’ve gotta confess those sins to Him and confess His lordship over your life.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Once we have done this, the rest is simple. We accept and receive Jesus and we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit who works in us to change us into the new creation. So let’s be clear. If you have professed a faith in Jesus, but you are still the same person you were before Jesus, then something here is wrong. The one who truly believes in Jesus and His work for our salvation will become a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

You’re not going to miraculously stop sinning, but you’re going to want to put your sin to death.

Romans 10:13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Have you called on Jesus yet? Now is your chance. Even while you were still in your sin, He died on the cross for you. He already knew what you were going to do before you did it, and He went and took that punishment anyway. And now He offers you this free gift.

If you don’t believe in Jesus, I encourage you to talk to someone about it. Belief in Him is your only escape from reaping the fruits of your own labor in your sin.

If you do believe in Jesus, but you’re not seeing the change in your life, I especially encourage you to talk to someone you know about it. I am available to talk to you, as are many others in this church. It’s time to step into the new creation that Christ desires to make you into.