In Christ We Are Justified
Notes
Transcript
Title- In Christ We Are Justified
Passage- Romans 5
Attention-
Article 2…section 2…clause 1 of the US Constitution says the following:
The President ....a few things about the military... shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Introduction
The idea of a pardon is not foreign to us. The president even pardons a turkey at thanksgiving...
When we think through just what happens when someone is pardoned we come to the realization that the understanding of their actions went from wrongful to justifiable.
In theological terms we would say that they were justified.
That is the key idea we want to look at today is the idea of justification.
The theologian Milard Erickson has a good definition for us when it comes to justification.
The declaration that the human has been restored to a state of righteousness in God’s sight.
That last phrase is what sets human legal justification apart from theological justification.
So as we move along this morning I will be using the concepts of justification and righteousness almost interchangeably.
We do not have righteousness without justicafication therefore if I refer to our righteous standing before God I am talking about our justification as well.
What is the main driving point (CPS)?
Friends, in order to stand before God when we die and enter in to eternity with Him we need to be justified by the blood of Jesus.
Why does the CPS matter, what is the consequence?
We all will stand before God and will give an account for our lives. The only way we can enter into His presence is if we stand before Him in the righteous standing of Jesus Christ.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
It is only through belief in Jesus death and resurrection that we have our sins forgiven and His righteousness imputed to us.
So this morning we want to look at our true identity in Jesus Christ based on our justification.
So the passage I chose for us to turn to for this is Romans chapter 5
Transition
I want us to see the realities of justification and end with some practical applications
The first reality is...
I. The need for justification (12-14)
I. The need for justification (12-14)
Explain
Before we can progress to the means and results of justification we need to first understand the need for it.
That one man in verse 12, that’s Adam
He and Eve chose to disobey God and live apart from His grace
In His grace He told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but they chose their own path instead of God’s path of love.
In verse 12 Paul shares with us that “all” have sinned.
That sin that he is referring to the sin that Adam committed in the Garden of Eden
Regardless of your theological position on the origin of sin they all in the end point back to Adam.
Regardless of your position this verse, points back to Adam
So we live in the reality that because of the choice of one all live within the consequences of that choice.
At some level we can set aside the how and need to deal with the reality that the Bible tells us that sin is a part of who we are and that we all have sinned.
The pressing reality is not so much how sin entered but what are the consequences and how to we remedy sin
It is clear in this text that the consequence is death
Moral and physical death
We saw last week back in that the work of Jesus on the cross was to reconcile us to the Father…there is no reconciliation needed unless there is a separation.
Bridge to today
I think that similar to the pardon the president gives…probably one of the most well known is Gerald Ford giving a full pardon to Richard Nixon.
One that fits the illustration better is that of the pardon of Jimmy Hoffa by Richard Nixon.
Hoffa was found guilty of jury tampering and mail fraud.
He was declared guilty
The only way that Hoffa could be free again was for someone with the authority of the law to declare that he was once again in a right standing with the law.
That is what happens in a pardon
The one with the authority of the law (the president) declares an individual in right standing with the law.
Relevance
Theologically when we are justified it is because God (the one with the authority of ALL law) has looked on us and has seen Jesus’ payment for our sin and has declared us to be in right standing with the Law.
Why does this matter?
Why go through all of this?
Because we need to understand two things:
1- That based on God’s perfect character, which is the standard by which we are judged, we are guilty and deserving punishment.
2- That in order to be justified by the blood of Jesus Christ we as well need to declare ourselves guilty.
We need to call on Him for forgiveness and restoration through this justification.
Transition
This is the first step, declaring within ourselves what God has already declared…we are guilty.
A second reality we need to look at is....
II. The means of justification
II. The means of justification
Explain
Once you settle in your mind and heart that you are a sinner in need of justification that brings up next, how can I be justified?
It is obvious from our discussion in the first point that man cannot justify himself…we are the reason we are in the position we are in.
If we use the analogy of a rag...
If I am a sinner I am a dirty rag....a dirty rag cannot clean anything muchless itself
I need something without the smudges and stains of sin…I need something pure to cleanse me
Some think that they can reach a moral standard and be good enough.
This was happening in Jesus’ day, some thought that they could meet the moral demands of the Law of Moses
Paul is clear in this verse that the purpose of the law was to settle once for all that we cannot meet the perfect standard of God
The purpose of the Law was not to save but to point mankind to one who can save.
So if I cannot make myself righteous and neither can the Law what hope do I have?
I have hope in verses 15-21
Just as sin entered through one man the grace of God brought to us righteousness by way of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
That is the only way we can become right before God
Jesus says in
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus is the only way to have a right standing before God that will remedy sin and allow us once again to have the relationship with our creator that we desire
Bridge to today
If you have come to the understanding that you lack the righteousness to stand before God and that He has provided a way for you to obtain that righteousness the next logical question is how?
Relevance
It is as simple as this:
Admit your sin…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He died to give you the opportunity to accept His gift of righteousness
Confess your sin and repent…
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Saved from what?
An eternity separated from the one they were created to enjoy and separated to an eternity in hell.
Why does this matter?
If you believe these truths and confess and repent of your sins you have now obtained the righteousness of Christ and have a future hope of loving and enjoying Him for all of eternity.
Transition
Now, what do these truths mean practically?
III. The results of justification
III. The results of justification
Explain
I want to finish this morning with some practical yet impactful implications of justification.
Practically it means that you are not lost in your sin, it means that God in His grace made a way for your sins to be forgiven and free you from the condemnation of sin.
I want to finish this morning with some practical yet impactful implications of justification.
1- If Jesus Christ imputed to us His righteousness then sin no longer have any debt to sin or the Law
Sin can no longer come to us and say “You still owe me”
The debt has been paid and we now stand in Christ’s righteousness
2- God is the just and the justifier therefore He is the one who condemns
If we stand before Him in the righteousness of Christ then there is no one left to condemn us
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Satan can come and try to remind us of who we were but the believe only needs to respond with not who we were but whose we are
Bridge to today
As long as you have placed your faith in the finished work of Jesus you are freed from sin and the condemnation of that sin…that is what Paul is referring to in
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
When Satan come to us and reminds us who we were we only need to remember who’s we are
Does Satan bring to us some very real accusation?
Sometimes YES
But just as real and true as those accusations is our righteous standing in Christ.
We don’t need to listen to the voice of satan but to the leading of the Spirit
We don’t need to hear from the past, we need to acknowledge our position in Christ
Relevance
Why does this matter?
Conclusion
Review of the Principles and the Sermon Proposition
Please…if you are here this morning and have never trusted Christ as your savior please come during the invitation or talk to one of us afterward.
Admit your guilt…trust in Christ’s sacrifice...
Challenge to act now (your part)…immanence
If you are here and have trusted Christ…continue to stand on those truths...
Love Him…trust Him…follow Him
Visualize Audience Implementation
Final Statement
Stand strong in HIS righteousness
Closing Hymn
Closing Hymn
446 Once For All