2020.04.26 JUSTIFIED!
Notes
Transcript
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
26 “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered.
8 “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
JUSTIFIED!
JUSTIFIED!
When I was a young boy, I read somewhere that most people button their shirts DOWN. They start at the top and work their way down. The context was in a book about magic and tricks to play on friends. The book recommended I could challenge someone to button up their shirt in 30 seconds, and that most people would take the challenge, thinking of the time and not noticing I said “button UP.”
Shortly after reading this, I found myself in the neighborhood corner store, and I was talking with the cashier, who I knew. He was wearing a button shirt over a t-shirt, so I challenged him. “I bet you can’t button up your shirt in 30 seconds. If you can, I’ll buy you a candy bar. If you can’t, you’ll buy mine.” Mike took the challenge and proceeded to button his shirt … UP!
I was busted … and being in 3rd or 4th Grade, I hadn’t even considered the possibility that he might actually do it correctly. I didn’t have enough money for two candy bars, so I bought the bar I’d selected and gave it to Mike. As I headed for the door, Mike handed me the bar … AND MY MONEY!
What had I earned? What did my behavior deserve? I made the wager. I lost. I deserved to walk back home without the candy I’d gone to buy. Instead, I walked away with the candy bar AND the money. Mike won the bet, but chose to buy my candy bar for me anyway.
Today, it’s not uncommon to find people who believe salvation is a wage to be earned. We have to work to deserve a right relationship with our God. That’s what many people think.
Have you ever talked with someone about Christ and had them tell you something like, “God could never forgive all I’ve done?”
The Scriptures couldn’t be more clear, but we still fall into this hole, thinking of God’s grace as something we either earn or deserve.
Here’s what Jesus said:
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
This passage is easily taken out of context:
Given the pandemic and the way it’s impacted our lives, who isn’t weary? Who isn’t heavy-laden? Who doesn’t need God’s rest?
But, let’s put this promise back into its context:
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
26 “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
So, the context for the “weary, heavy-laden, rest” statement is the Son revealing the Father. No one knows the Father except the Son … and anyone the Son reveals the Father to. So… “COME TO ME, all who are weary… and I will give you rest.”
OUR context would suggest the rest we need is a day in bed. The context Jesus uses tells us the rest we really need is to know the Father. Because knowing the Father will draw us into right relationship with Him.
Romans 4:2-5
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
We have nothing to boast about before God. He’s bigger. He’s better. He’s holier. He’s superior in every conceivable way … and inconceivable, too.
Pay close attention to what Paul says about righteousness.
Abraham BELIEVED GOD and it was CREDITED as righteousness. He received CREDIT for holiness. What is credit? We never use the word “credit” for something we deserve, or we’ve earned…and neither does Paul:
“Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due!” (vs. 4) When you work, your employer OWES you your wage! You worked. You earned it. It’s not a favor for the employer to pay the employee.
“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is CREDITED as righteousness.” (vs 5)
righteous - noun
1. acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin
2. morally right or justifiable
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/righteous
MORALLY RIGHT! Righteousness is simply being right .. right with God.
And what do we have to do to get this righteousness? It’s not work. You can’t do anything to earn it, because it’s not a wage to be earned.
It’s a GIFT to be given … and Jesus is ready to give it.
Abraham believed …and it was credited to him as righteousness. He was counted as righteous even though he really wasn’t.
I didn’t deserve the candy bar. In fact, MIKE deserved the candy bar. He had done exactly what was required to earn it. But he showed me mercy and grace. He GAVE me what I wanted but didn’t deserve. THEN, he gave me my money back on TOP of the first gift. In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given to all believers as that second gift … but for today, righteousness is a gift that’s waiting for you! Today! In this moment! Right now!
When you think about eternity, does it leave you unsettled at all? Does the issue of Heaven and Hell make you feel weary or heavy-laden?
Come to Him. He’ll give you rest … peace … He’ll CREDIT you with righteousness - and then he’ll give you the Holy Spirit on top of that!
Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God
He came and lived the perfect life
He laid down that life to pay the debt for your unrighteousness
The Apostle Paul also wrote: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus is lord, and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead YOU WILL BE SAVED!
Are you ready? If you are, repeat after me as we pray together:
O God
I am not righteous
My life is not holy
I don’t deserve anything good from you
But I believe you raised Jesus from the dead
I declare him as lord of my life
and I ask you to credit me with rightness
Save me from my sin
And make me right with you
In the name of Jesus I pray
Amen.