Living Justified: You are Not Guilty & You are Righteous!
Notes
Transcript
Handout
If you ask anyone who knows anything about confessions and catechisms, the one thing they will always say about the HC is they love its warmth and personal approach. In one word what is about - COMFORT. But though this confession of faith written just a little before it, doesn’t have that same structure asking what good does this do you, and though it follows traditional structure of God ,creation, humanity, sin, Christ, salvation, church, end times, none the less at the very heart where we are in this confession of faith with the bedrock foundational teaching of justification, upon which the church stands or falls, I love that is concerned to witness to the great comfort and personal benefit that God has designed in providing Christ for our salvation. I love how the first article on it - spelling out the grounds in Atonement in Art 21, then the means we take hold of it in Art 22 instrument of faith, I love that it says this is a great mystery - we must acquire true knowledge of by by the Holy Spirit kindling in our hearts this true faith! That is personal and comforting not just info - trust in Christ. But with article 23 I love even more how this is described as the foundation not only of the church, but of your and my humble yet confident Christian living. And did you catch the word used to describe the benefits of justification as the atonement of Jesus Christ gets applied to our lives? Look at the first half of that first sentence:
“We believe that our blessedness lies in the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus Christ, and that in it our righteousness before God is contained,” Belgic Confession Art. 23
Its not a revealed mystery of atonement of righteousness Christ wins on the Cross and wrath averted for us, anger and justice of God exhausted in the punishment Christ took for us; no now the focus is our blessedness! Word in the Bible that primarily means true happiness - and as Scripture and the catechism describe it - this is a relational word - you know you can have pleasure without true happiness when enjoying a diversion like golf, or art, or really tired music, earthly pleasures good - but if like one of my neighbours - have all the nicest pleasure, satisfaction n work - but relationship hanging over your head messed up - been no reconciling and fixing up, satisfying demands of what right relationship means - you know what - at the very same time enjoying more superficial pleasures - still the whole of your life has a grumpiness, a dissatisfaction, a cursed-ness about it. But if you knew definitively patched up - happiness that would touch every other part of life you go through. God designed the satisfaction of the Cross - so you and I could get into that kind of relationship with God - and live in that kind of happiness that not matter what other enjoyments or even hardships experience in life - got an overriding happiness and joy in God - and our confession says that’s the first half of what our blessedness in Christ lies in - forgiveness - big relationship word -means you’ve experienced the ultimate patch up job betwen living holy God and yourself. This evening I want you to see and feel and live in that experience. Christ accomplished redemption on the Cross 2000 years ago for all the Father gave Him. But that justification is the application of that forgiveness, that all your sin has been 100% condemned and punished, dealt with by Christ saying you can have my infinite death and punishment and crucifixion counted to you, That is what theologians call the passive obedience of Christ, he stood condemned in your place and absorbed the wrath of God on the Cross! This is the first part of our text: 2 Cor 5:21a
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Totally covers all your sin, pasts, present, future, by the Holy Spirit who creates that trust and faith in you - it happens personally and in your lifetime. Hear as it were, the Lord God saying to sin your record, threat of punishment, get on out of here, and don’t come back again. And the turning to you - and saying I will remember your sins no more,
But there is a second half to the application of Christ’s work in your life - when you experience personally and in time, once for all - the infinite and personal gift of Christ’s righteousness credited to you - and that is a often forgotten experience of the blessedness that is supposed to be not only the foundation of Christ’s church, but of how we live our own individual Christian lives. The relationship word for this isn’t forgiveness - but acceptance!
And we know how this works in our own relationships, even if someone doesn't hold something against you, you haven’t harmed them, or they have forgiven you, but still this person doesn’t trust you, doesn’t like you, doesn’t rejoice in who you are - they don’t find something in you worth celebrating valuing in. So they dismiss you. Now if you haven’t felt this from someone, I dare say you probably know a couple people whether celebrities in the media, family members, or neighbour, coworker fellow students that you have felt this towards. Nothing really in them that deserves your acceptance. Well, it probably comes as no surprise to you that the first half of justification forgiveness, all people with an y vestige of conscience still have some sense of that - God of all justice will mete out punishment on sin. But it is a surprise perhaps to here , that people - need acceptance from God. It may come as a surprise to hear the gospel proclaimed, with not just you need forgiveness of your sins in Christ - and he can wash them all away, if you but trust in Him, roll yourself on to his self; but that by itself isn’t justification, doesn’t bring you blessedness. And in terms of relationship foreignness would leave you without offense before God, but it would not positively bring you to spot where God looks at you and says, I accept your life - I see in you and delight in you in such away that I want to walk with you, bless you, take care of you! You see that’s the second part of justification most people are ignorant of, and even down play or deny!
Theologians call this the active righteousness of Christ. Atonement required not only punishment paid and forgiveness won, because that would put us only in a neutral position like A&E, without a confirmed righteousness and obedience, we’d have to give God a perfect obedience - and could lose our standing - and like Adam & Eve who of us here could say after getting all your sins forgiven - live a life totally acceptable and pleasing to God. So in the great mystery of the Cross, the substitutionary atonement isn’t just Christ dying for your sinful nature and your actual sins; but it is also Christ saying - the life you and I were to offer up to God - perfect life - pleasing to to God and beneficial to neighbour in every way - the life that would have been possible for A & E had they not sinned, that perfect life Christ lived in your place. And every bit as much as Christ was dying vicariously in your place, like a video game the guy in the screen is doing it, but your living your life, or dying a death through him, every bit as much Christ was living a perfect life, he was perfectly obeying, he was fulfilling the human career God said you and I were supposed to. And so our text says: 2 Cor 5:21b
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
And our confession quoting Romans 4:6 (which is quoting Ps 32), says understand this is that alien righteousness that isn’t in you, its apart from works. Only two types of righteousness your personal good works and obedience, can never make you right with God, and there is the righteousness that is by faith - righteousness of another the perfect God-man Jesus Christ.
Now I could unpack that concept of two parts of justification Christ accomplished on the Cross from Scripture for a long time, but the focus is how those two parts of justification get applied to your life by the Holy Spirit through faith and how that changes how we live!
Justification: Being forgiven and accepted in and because of Jesus Christ means that we are not justified because of the act of our faith, no our faith, our relying is based upon the faithfulness of Christ, which undergirds and upholds our faith. Do you get that our righteousness, our right relationship with God has been established by the action of Christ, and not our actions, - not our strong faith or good works. This was the scandal we read of last week - if the one who worked hardest was saved, if our good works meant we get paid back by God - we’d all be in huge troubl, but the scandal of the gospel is the one who doesn’t work but believes, that one receives the grace of God without having to work for it, Christ in love worked for it and gives it as a gift. Now we unwrap this once for all gift, that unpacked by the Holy Spirit is from that time of our faith in Christ continuously applied!
Let’s first then unpack the forgiveness part of how justification makes us right with God and works blessedness in our lives today.
A. Declared Forgiven
A. Declared Forgiven
Here is something so wonderful that many wont’ accept it. Forgiveness in not earned, but only granted. God doesn’t justify anyone but sinners. Sinners are people who turn away from right relationships with God and from right relationships with neighbours. We live independently from God and neighbour - and then we try to justify ourselves. But listen to our only hope in the plea of Psalm 143:2
Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
None of us are righteousness,s all sinners, none can stand in the judgment, so God I am not even going to try to justify myself by my works, by my faith, by my record of piety or worship, by how great my repentance is; no God anyone could stand the judgment before you; all I’ve contributed to him is my sin.
It is sinners that God loved, it is sinners whom Christ died for: Romans 5:8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
And so after he accomplished this righteousness listen to Peter explaining it is by Acts 5:30-31
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
It is Jesus whom we killed by our sins, the one who was God present with us that we pushed out, He and He alone is exalted to give as a pure gift repentance and forgiveness of sins. God turning in pure mercy to us sinners, enables us to come with empty hands and empty heart and “poor in spirit” to rely on Christ’s work for complete forgiveness. What happens when we trust Christ, our confession is so clear that we are not made righteous, but declared righteousness. Justification isn’t a process, but a one time act with ongoing consequences. The Roman Catholic Church came to teach that it was anathema to say:.... They taught that you get a initial justification by God forgiving your original sin in baptism, then brought to neutral kind of standing with God, then as you have faith and God gives grace - slowly over a process more grace is infused into your soul, may sin again - confession and penance, but he big point was forgiveness was not complete nor justification, and it was based on Christ’ sacrifice alone, grace alone, through faith alone, but as God pours a grace and love in your heart - that inheres so you do more good and pleasing acts, and that is the ground for your standing with God, if die and not a saint, purged in purgatory. Council of Trent squarely denied once for all justification by Christ’s sacrifice alone, through faith. And the word they used to deny it was this: anathema are those who think “by sole remission of sins through imputation.”
But here is the gospel and the good news, forgiveness is by imputation, not by Christ works and grace infused in me and then my good works and the churches sacrament process of justifying me. No, my sin once for all, was imputed to Christ, and the first half of righteousness sis that Christ in paying for my sins, forgiveness them so that my justification is being declared without sin in Christ! My sin and the thing that breaks relationship with God is removed in Christ. My sin totally covered. That’s the wonder of the Cross, in Christ’s humanity shared by being my substitute, he assumed all the responsibility and pain and ruin and shame for my sin, its placed on God’s self and dealt with. We don’t have to look within to see if we are right with God, but to Christ. Justification is liberation. “I am now free from guilt. Thereby I come to stand in a space: I can exist in the presence of God and all humans; I can exist in the judgment of God.”106
B. Declared Totally Accepted
B. Declared Totally Accepted
But that is only the negative side of removing barrier to true blessing and fellowship with God, the positive side is the acceptance which flows from the second half of justification. The second part of what can call a double imputation. The great exchange at the Cross which the Holy Spirit brings us into - is not just me giving Christ all my sin, taking the judgment so no condemnation, but it is also positively, Christ imputing all his perfect life of righteousness, the perfect obedience we owe to God, the brunt offering of life dedicated to God and loving neighbour perfectly - fulfilling the covenant of works Adama failed too. being perfect prophet priest and king, being the Israel of God in fullness. Christ takes all of that and says, I’ll make you a trade, I take your is, and I’ll die the infinite death that would finish you off in hell, but I can take as God - and guess what I’ll give you this - this perfect record of human righteousness, a life perfectly lived for God and neighbour you get that record! And now do you see it, that’s not a righteousness infused, and given in half measures, by Christ, it is a righteousness declared, legally declared to be your record. It is completely apart from our works and our faith and our repentance. And completely in Christ, freely given a pure gift.
As our text says, 2 Cor 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I don’t become the righteousness of God because of how I strongly I am believing, or how earnestly I am repenting, or how far I’ve come in my obedience. We don’t have to accomplish anything to be accepted by God - that’s the point of justification. This whole world is trying to justify themselves - God in love says, Here is the sin bearer, who will also accomplish what it takes for a human to be accepted by me. And that means we can relax in terms of our forgiveness and acceptance, relax in Christ! In him we are not slowly little by little by our good works becoming the righteousness of God, No, we in him have already become the righteousness of God. Through faith, a done deal - complete acceptance, nothing left remaining before God gives you total nod of approval and welcome into his family his kingdom his enterprise in this universe, his fellowship with F S, HS, with the saints in Light! He looks to you and says you are the righteousness of God - in Christ! That’s the sum of what we believe and what we are in Christ! Despite our sin, our doubt, our failures in Christian living we stand before a righteous judge blameless and righteous!
And that brings us to our conclusion why is this a blessedness an true happiness to us. What are the results of justifying faith as forgiveness and total acceptance declared and imputed to us?
C. Results. Well the results are not just a legal fiction. You might think that like marriage just on paper for legal purpose, but don’t move into together, don’t consummate and live in the benefits; just for last day acquittal, or just so I get a boating card, though I never drive a motor boat. No even though that righteousness is in Christ, and not yet fully in us, When it is perfectly in Christ, we really do receive it - and it changes our approach to life, it changes our motivation, it changes emotionally and psychologically why and how we live. God has justified us in Christ and we are liberated to no longer try to justify our selves. How are those justified by Christ’s forgiveness and righteousness freed to live?
C. Experiential Benefits
C. Experiential Benefits
There are three our confession summarizes from Scripture. The first most counterintuitive in our day and age when we think of salvation only individualistically.
i. The Glory of God!
“And therefore we cling to this foundation, which is firm forever, giving all glory to God,” Belgic Confession, Article 23
Even among evangelicals today, this individualism in regard to salvation distorts the big deal in justification. Some evangelicals actually claim that justification is only of our past sins; present and future ones need your compliance and so you can lose your salvation. But as with Roman Catholics, our confession says either Christ is a complete Saviour, or if he is only half Saviour - he is no Saviour at all. Did you here the emphasis - enough to cover all our sins - infinite punishment, wrath of God, perfect life of God man - super-abundant grace, greater than all my sin
This is the big deal about why confess truths of all Christian denominations, but when it comes to who get s the glory in salvation, who’s great work is it, we vehemently say - with Scripture - no glorying in our selves, salvation belongs completely to God - and so we who know this change in our status, our identity those justified - goal of all things, and of our lives, and of the new creation and everything that will participate in that renewal with Christ - is God’s glory! And so with all of heaven who knows this we sing with our lives because of our salvation : Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
We experientially get Ephesians 2:9 - by grace you been saved through faith not by works - and why
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
We know the place of the rest of our Christian living, our working out what God has worked in us - our good works done by faith in Christ, out of love for God’s glory - that is the result of being justified not the cause or in any way part of our being justified: Eph 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
But even more strongly, our confession says, when you know this kind of justification, not only do you glory in God and how salvation belongs to Him - but we
ii. True Humility
“humbling ourselves, recognize ourselves as we are; not claiming a things for ourselves or our merits… Belgic Confession Article 23
This is why our second text is Philippians 3 . Paul knew to rely on anything for his standing with God apart from Christ, even if they are good things, to put them in the place of Christ is a liability. Its;’to fall back into that impossible place of earning your way into God’s good books, and to living as a slave mentality under the law. So what’s Paul’s conclusion - all human effort and position, everything could rely on apart from Christ - he counts as dung. Can’t rely on that, only the Holy Spirit working the justifying work of Jesus Christ, his human righteousness applied to you, his lifting the guilt and shame and the wrath and the punishment of your life. Just listen to Paul: Phil 3:8-9
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
This is not uptight self-righteousness, its not grump who never feels good enough but keep trying. This is one who measures his worth - by what God has given in Christ - not by what he can or can’t accomplish.
iii. A Clear Conscience, Free from Fear
And that leads to the third experiential benefit: we sing of it In Christ Alone: “No guilt in life, no fear in death”. Our confession says that because we have a perfect, superabundant, great than my sins righteousness - we have confidence. In life and in death, we live in relationships new relationship with God.
That is enough to cover all our sins and to make us confident, freeing the conscience from the fear, dread, and terror of God’s approach … Belgic Confession Art. 23
In Medieval times, in Reformation times and right up to today - pendulum swing back in forth - from presumption - carefree of course saved, God’s got to be pleased with me, self-righteousness, and on the other extreme - total lack of assurance, because stuck looking inward fretting whether we have enough faith or repentance, good enough quality . Especially shown at the Lord’s Supper, but paralyzes all of Christian living - because of what John Piper called the slave mentality - trying to pay God back - rather than freely accepting you can’t but then living out of live and gratitude which is a stronger motivation for holy living than anything else, Stronger motivation to humbly not thinking of your self more highly than you ought, and to walk beside other sinners just as undeserving as you and love them like God loved you!
And so the confession conjures up Adam with all the rest of the human race, cowering from God, busily living in the bushes running form living in His full presence, at the bottom of it unsure and scared of … But justification, once for all and then continually applied that free your conscience to live before God not just forgiven but totally accepted in Christ.
Oh what a difference I see as a pastor when hardship hits some one hard even myself - and time when not holding to justification, or maybe person never has trusted in Christ for the kind of acceptance, And what do they think - you can feel as they talk - God must be punishing me, I am suffering to pay for my sins. And while of course our sins can bring some pretty bad consequences, and while some sin God may sorely chastise and discipline us for, don’t you know those for whom Christ died and lived a perfect life for - don’t you know - God never demands justice for your sins ever again. Won’t ask that your sin be paid by His son and then again by you. There is no judicial punishment left , and though God use hardship and discipline us, Tell with other standing in the justification Christ has provided - that there God hasn’t forsaken them, he’s not angry with them in condemning judging way, he remembers our frame, , say to the Accuser of your conscience, say to Satan accuse of God’s people yes and so much more, but that’s been dealt with and I truly am a new person in Christ. I am not resting on one iota of my record for my standing in Christ, and with all that in me and with presence of God within, and Christ above as my advocate and intercessor one who pleads His blood - I have been justified, and I will live my life however much I may struggle - not earning my standing before God, resting in Christ confident of new life He has purchased, as mature son and daughter of God - I will live and do my good works - to thank Him and so that His glory will be on display!