Reasons for the Incarnation – Righteousness

A little boy was staying with his grandmother while his parents were out of town. The grandmother told the little boy, "Now, if you are good for your grandma, we'll walk up town this afternoon and I'll by you some ice cream." To which the little boy responded, "How good do I have to be?" That little boy was my twin brother when we were 10 or 11 and staying with my grandma Laura.

His was the age-old question lost men have been asking God. "Lord, I want to go to heaven when I die. Just how good do I have to be?"

It's an assumption so widely accepted in our society: Good people go to heaven when they die. Bad people don't. This has even become a widely accepted premise in the minds of many Christians. ILLUS. A recent survey by Lifeway Research found that Americans struggle with basic Christian doctrine. The survey found reason for hope in that a majority of American adults believe in the Trinity, the resurrection, and the authority of Scripture. On the doctrine of salvation, however, they are deeply confused.

On the matter of sin: 65% agree with the statement, “Everyone sins a little, but most people are by nature good.” At the same time 74% disagree with the statement, “Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.”

On the matter of salvation: 60% agree with the statement, “Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.” At the same time 52% also agree with the statement, “By the good deeds that I do, I partly contribute to earning my place in heaven.”

America has always been a “pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps” culture. As the Lifeway poll reveals, the majority of Americans have the same attitude about their eternal salvation. They believe that God forgives sin. They believe that the death of Jesus is somehow involved. But most also believe that, in the end, it’s up to us if we get into God’s Kingdom or not, and most believe they will, because most believe that their really not that bad a person.

God’s Word tells us something different. God's answer to that question “Just how good do I have to be?” is, "You can't be that good!" It's an answer relatively few seem to hear, let alone are willing to accept.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to answer the question, Why did God come to Earth in the flesh? I’ve tried to communicate to you the reasons for the incarnation.

Why did God come in the flesh? He came to redeem us – to cover our sins by sacrificing himself as a spotless offering to God the Father.

Why did God come in the flesh? He came to reveal God’s character and nature to us. If you want to know all about God, then simply get to know all about Jesus.

Why did God come in the flesh? God came to reconcile us with Himself. When God reconciles us to Himself, He re-establishes a close relationship that was broken by sin, but is restored by our faith in Christ. When we are reconciled to God, we can be reconciles to each other.

Why did God come in the flesh? God also came in the flesh to make us righteous in His sight.

“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,” (Romans 3:20–22, NIV)

I. THE INCARNATION SHOWS US THAT WE CAN'T BE GOOD ENOUGH BUT GOD CAN MAKE US RIGHTEOUS

ILLUS. Let me ask you a couple of questions this morning? Ya ready? First: Are you a righteous person? A lot of Christians respond like this, “No, I’m not a righteous person. I’m just a sinner trying to live for God the best I can.” Let me give you a better answer to the question, Are you a righteous person? Here’s the better answer, “I am still a sinner, but God sees me as righteous as Jesus Christ is righteous because by grace God has imputed the righteousness of Christ to me by grace through faith, and He sees me as blameless in His sight.” I’ll get to the second question in a few moments.

1. the little phrase but now in verse 21 introduces a change in topic

a. for 3½ chapters—81 verses—the Apostle’s theological argument has centered on just how thoroughly sinful, bodaciously bad, absolutely unrighteous and God-hating men truly are

1) in vs. 23 he is going to remind us all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

b. but now, Paul is going to reveal how thoroughly holy and righteous and sinner-loving God is

2. the first great theme of Romans is the exceedingly sinfulness of man's sin

a. according to Romans 3:19 the whole world lies in sin and thus stands guilty and condemned before a holy God

1) we've all blown it with God

3. but now Paul introduces the second great theme of Romans; the availability of true saving righteousness which justifies a sinful man before a holy God

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” (Romans 3:21, NIV)

a. obedience to moral codes or religious rituals will not produce the required degree of righteousness within the life of man

1) they may sooth your conscience, but they won’t save your soul

b. in fact moral codes and religious rituals only remind us how far short of the mark of true holiness we actually fallen

4. if you or I or our neighbors are going to obtain a saving righteousness it must come from some other source than our effort at living up to religious rules and regulations

5. that other source is God Himself

A. IN HIS GRACE GOD DECLARES US RIGHTEOUS AND DOES NOT TREAT US AS OUR SINS DESERVE

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:8–12, NIV)

1. according to Romans 3:22 our righteousness is from God and apart from the law

2. God never intended that obedience to moral law or religious rituals would actually provide man with the righteousness necessary to enter the Kingdom of God

a. righteousness has always come by faith

1) this was God's plan from the beginning, not a fall-back position because obedience to the Law didn’t work

b. Paul reminds us that God always meant to save us through faith and not through conformity to outward codes of conduct

ILLUS. Almost everything we see in the Old Testament is a shadow of this truth. The coats of skin which God provided Adam and Eve when they sinned; the animals sacrificed for the sins of the people of Israel, the Tabernacle in the desert and the Temple in Jerusalem and all the symbolism surrounding them—they all reveal the story of a righteousness provided by God for the unrighteous sinner who turns to Him in faith.

d. Paul also reminds us that all of the Old Testament prophets, sounded the same theme of righteousness through faith

1) in Psalm 51 David cries out, "Deliver me in Thy righteousness ... Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow"

2) Isaiah reminds us "He hath clothed us in the garments of salvation, in the robe of righteousness"

ILLUS. Someone once said that "God never alters the robe of righteousness to fit the man; He alters the man to fit the robe."

3. we can never be good enough but God offers sinful man a chance to be totally justified in His sight

B. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS GOD OFFERS IS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,” (Romans 3:22, NIV)

1. faith is simply taking God at His word

a. and whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, salvation comes by faith

2. it is through a simple act of belief that God offers unimpeachable righteousness to those who come to Him by faith

a. a faith that He also supples by grace

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” (Ephesians 2:8, NIV)

1) God leaves nothing to chance in your salvation

2) even the faith you need to accept His redemptive grace is supplied as a free gift

b. just as ALL men have sinned, so ALL men who come to Christ will be made righteous

ILLUS. One of my heros of the faith was a Catholic Monk, who, while reading through Paul's Epistle to the Romans, was born again and altered the course of history. His name was Martin Luther. Listen to part of his testimony: "I greatly longed to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, 'the righteousness of God,' because I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God is righteous and deals righteously in punishing the unrighteous ... Night and day I pondered until ... I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before 'the righteousness of God' had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gateway to heaven."

c. and in my own testimony of Christian conversion I say “ditto”!

3. Martin Luther discovered what Paul had experienced in his own life—that obedience to moral codes, religious ritual and a conscientious way of life will not justify a man before God, but faith in Christ can

ILLUS. Martin Luther later wrote of his life, "I kept the rule of my order so strictly that I may say that if ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery it was I. All my brothers in the monastery who knew me will bear me out. If I had kept on any longer, I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, readings and other work."

4. we can be justified because Jesus Christ became our sacrifice of atonement

"God presented him [Christ] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, . . ." (Romans 3:25, NIV)

a. here is the grace of God at work which ought to bring every believer to his or her knees everyday in humble gratitude

1) your sin, and my sin must be atoned for—God cannot and will not overlook it

2) the moment you and I crossed the line and knowingly sinned, we forfeited our lives to the rule of iniquity and the penalty of hell

b. but through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus God has bought us out of the slave market of sin, covered our sin by the blood of His Son Jesus, and adopted us as sons and daughters

1) the word atonement means to make reconciliation for

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18–19, NIV)

c. because God looks at us through the blood of Jesus Christ, He sees us as blameless

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Ephesians 1:4, NIV)

C. THE VICARIOUS, SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH OF GOD'S SON MAKES OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS POSSIBLE

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Galatians 4:4–5, NIV)

1. in order to save us Jesus Christ had to be in one person both divine and human

a. he had to be divine in order to give his sacrifice infinite value and to deliver us out of the realm of darkness

b. he had to be human because since it was man who sinned it also had to be man who must bear the penalty for sin and give His life to God in perfect obedience

2. it order for Jesus to offer the sinner true inner righteousness in the sight of God he had to be born under the law

a. that is it had to be one who was under personal obligation to keep the Jewish law, to actually fulfill it and to ultimately – vicariously – bear the law's penalty for us

b. by doing so, Christ offers to redeem all those under the law and give us the opportunity to become the sons of God

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—” (John 1:12, NIV)

3. when you accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit set in motion a series of spiritual events your life

a. accepting by faith Christ’s atoning death on the cross for your sins redeems you from sin and its eternal penalty

b. when you are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb you are reconciled to God – that is, you are brought into close fellowship with God

c. when you are reconciled to God He sees you as righteous as His Son is righteous

4. how does God do this – how does He see us as righteous as His son is righteous?

a. when you came to God in repentance and faith, the righteousness of His son becomes your righteousness

b. the biblical word is imputeth

“Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,” (Romans 4:6, KJV 1900)

ILLUS. I know very little about metals and welding, but my brother is an excellent welder. He tells me that a good weld is actually stronger than the metal on either side of it. I think there is a good spiritual application in this process. The reason a weld is so strong is that it actually bonds the molecules of the two pieces of metal to each other. They are fused together and cannot be separated.

5. when God imputes us with His righteousness a miracle takes place in the human soul

a. He welds our spirit with His Holy Spirit

b. it is a bond which can never be broken

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” (Romans 8:15–16, KJV 1900)

6. we need God's righteousness since our own righteousness can never satisfy God's demand for perfect holiness

CON. ILLUS. In 1841 the state of Mississippi went bankrupt. Land values had soared, and the state splurged on new programs. Then it all went bust, bringing down banks and the state government. Mississippi did the unthinkable. It defaulted on their $7 million debt—most of it in bonds owed to British bankers. To this day, Mississippi hasn't paid back those bonds, even after a 150-year English bid to collect. In 1875, the Mississippi Legislature actually added an amendment to their state constitution, formally repudiating this debt. In essence they told their creditors in Great Britain, “We’re not repaying the debt. Get off our backs.” British bankers still want their money, and periodically send letters to the Mississippi State Treasurer reminding them of the debt.

One Mississippi banker said that to pay it off now with accrued interest would take about $10 billion. Since Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the nation, it is not in a position to release that much money. The problem seems like ancient history to many in Mississippi, but European loan officers talk as if it happened yesterday. One Mississippi state official was quoted as saying, "European bankers never forget,"

These unusual circumstances call to mind the fact that with unpaid debts there is always a day of reckoning. This is never more clearly seen than in man's relationship to God. Jesus taught that God does not forget unsettled accounts. Time cannot erase a person's record with the Judge of the universe. The day is coming when books will be opened and every life will be judged with absolute justice and righteousness. One thing is sure, the Lord will overlook nothing. Since it is impossible to pay off our sin-debt, the only way to come to terms with this spiritual deficit is to accept Christ. He paid our debt for us. He died on the cross as our Substitute so that we won't have to face the unsettled account later.