Not Ashamed-Part 11- Justification By Faith
Not Ashamed • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsNow that all have been declared guilty before God, the scripture begins to describe how we can be made righteous in His sight.
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Introduction-Romans 3:21-28
The book of Romans has been focused primarily on one theme up to this point, that being the sinfulness and guilt of mankind.
Now there is a shift as it has been proven beyond any doubt that all are guilty before God of their own merits. Now the focus becomes righteousness and how it may be obtained.
You and I are not righteous, but we can be made righteous. Righteousness obviously does not come from what we do and no man is justified by his deeds.
Righteousness is rather the product of faith as will be shown in the passage we will cover tonight.
Righteousness Revealed (Vs. 21)
Righteousness Revealed (Vs. 21)
The righteousness of God is revealed and is established by the law and the prophets which testify of God’s righteousness.
This hearkens back to Paul’s statement in Romans 1:17
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Notice here that the righteousness which is spoken of is “without the law.” This righteousness is not the product of adherence to the law.
This righteousness is also given testimony in the law and the prophets. Jesus spoke of this fact in that He came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but as the ultimate fulfillment of all that is contained in them.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
What you and I could never do, Jesus came to accomplish Himself being perfectly righteous.
The righteousness of God is revealed to mankind in the person of Jesus Christ.
Righteousness Received (Vs. 22)
Righteousness Received (Vs. 22)
This righteousness is then extended to the unrighteous offering them the opportunity to be made righteous.
Righteousness is not the product of our works but is rather the product of our faith in Jesus Christ.
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.
Righteousness is made available to all men but it must be received. Righteousness is received by faith in Jesus Christ.
All who believe upon Jesus, regardless of their heritage, receive the righteousness of God.
There is not a Jewish way or a Gentile way, a Catholic way, a Mormon way, or even a Baptist way of attaining righteousness. There is but one way to be righteous in God’s sight, and it is through faith in Jesus Christ.
Justification Explained (Vs. 23-26)
Justification Explained (Vs. 23-26)
God does not merely dismiss our sins and does not simply choose to ignore them, rather He has made a way that we may be redeemed and justified through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
The truth is all have sinned and have fallen short meaning literally that they have fallen behind with no hope of ever obtaining the goal of perfect righteousness.
As has already been proven all men are guilty and so the question which must then be asked is how can a just God grant forgiveness and eternal life to sinful men?
How can a man who is guilty be justified before God?
In verse 24 we first see that a man is justified freely, simply meaning that justification is not something that is earned but is rather a gift which flows from the grace of God.
No man who is justified before God is so on the basis of his own merits as has already been proven.
We are justified by grace- A man can only be justified because of God’s gracious offer of redemption in Christ Jesus.
No man is deserving of justification and yet God justifies men on the basis of His grace.
We are justified through the redemptions that is in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ has redeemed us. This means that He has payed the necessary ransom to secure our salvation.
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
The blood of Jesus which was shed for us is the means of purchasing our salvation from sin.
God sent Jesus to be a propitiation.
Propitiation- that which appeases the wrath and secures the favor of one who has been offended.
Jesus is the means whereby God’s wrath is justly poured out upon sin and whereby men through faith in Him are justly declared righteous in the sight of God.
Until Jesus came the punishment for sin could only be delayed, but now in Jesus sin can be forgiven and a sinner can be justified. Until Jesus Christ came, God exercised forbearance in the punishment of sin patiently awaiting the redemption that would be made possible by Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Now God can justly declare a man to be righteous and is Himself become the justifier of them which believe in Jesus.
God does not violate His just character to save men but has made it possible that man may be justified through their faith in the atoning sacrifice of His only begotten son.
Justification Obtained (Vs. 27-28)
Justification Obtained (Vs. 27-28)
It is clear that those who are justified in God’s sight are not so because of their own works but because they have believed on Jesus Christ and received the offer of redemption.
No man can boast of this justification because he has no part in it apart from receiving it by faith.
No man has any right to glory because it is Christ who has done all that was necessary to secure our justification.
No man who has been the recipient of this gracious offer of justification has any reason to boast for all that he has done is to receive the free gift that is offered to him.
Any man that is justified is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. He is not justified in God’s sight because of what he has done, but rather because of whom he has believed in.
The final conclusion is that if we are to be justified it must be and only can be by our faith in Jesus Christ.
There is no other way!
Conclusion
You and I in our natural state are clearly not righteous.
Yet God has revealed His righteousness in the person of Jesus Christ and He has made this righteousness available to all who will but believe on Him.
God is not unjust in justifying sinful men. Jesus Christ became the ransom for sin and the punishment which we deserved was placed upon Him.
This made it possible for God to justify sinful men through their faith in Jesus Christ.
There is no righteousness or justification for sinful men apart from Jesus Christ only unrighteousness and condemnation.
If you want to stand before God justified, you must place your faith in Jesus Christ!
