forgiven – Auriesville Tubthumper

Here Comes the Judge Part 4

The Sentencing:

DEATH! YOU ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH

The Sentence: “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23, Gen 2:17)

Death – in Bible means (separation) Gen: 2:17 Man experienced the first death. (When Eve took of the tree of life it introduced death to mankind.)

Physical Death- separation of the person from the body.

Spiritual death- separation of the person from God.

Eternal separation of the un-repentant sinner to Hell.

And now there is an announcement in the court.

YOUR SENTENCE HAS BEEN PAID – YOU ARE FREE. You can go free. Your sentence has been paid by the judge. The judge has taken your place. Your offenses have been forgiven. The indictment is sealed.

OH MY!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? The Judge took my sentence. How do I deserve that? Could that be possible?

Oh yes, it is so. Jesus was put to death on the cross for you. He paid the price for your sins and the sins of all mankind.

The Judge paid the sentence. Amazing!!!

The Miracle “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This is Justification, The Gift of God is Eternal Life.

The nature of this miracle, it is free… “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24)– “Justified Freely”- without a cause. Because of his Holy grace.

The persons in the miracle, He for you. – God sent forth… “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” (Romans 3:25) This word PROPITIATION is very important. It’s a Biblical word that we don’t often use in our vocabulary. It means that an atonement has been made through a sacrifice of blood. A sacrifice of Christs blood and His death on the cross has saved us.

Satan- fought it
Father – wrought it (shaped, fashioned, hammered out)
Holy Spirit- taught it 1 – 3 is the Justification miracle.
Son- bought it

See the trinity at work?

5. Rich Man (Nicodemus) – sought it

6. Thief on the cross- caught it

7. I’ve Got it!

Saved! Saved! Saved!

The source of the miracle (3:24,28) Freely by His grace (v. 24) By faith (v.28) Without the deeds of the law (v. 28)

The scope of the miracle- “Unto All”- unlimited (Rom. 3:22,29- John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him shall not parish but have everlasting life.”

The Bestowal of this miracle – limited (Rom. 3:22,26) Only to those that believe.

Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (v24) God does this freely because of His grace and love for me, I am an undeserving sinner and I have been made an heir of His glorious kingdom to spend eternity in His glorious presence in the fullness of joy and pleasure for evermore. Amen!

If you have never, as of yet understood “Justification.” Please understand it now. Justification is a one-time act of God and an extremely important doctrine. Sanctification is a continual process until you are taken to be with the Lord. We will talk Sanctification another time. Understand this Justification by Faith Alone doctrine first.

Because man’s condition was totally ruined by sin, salvation is based on a truly remarkable principle. We are justified freely by His grace. Pay close attention to the words “justified,” “freely” and “grace,” those three words summarize how God meets ruined man’s needs.

“Justification is the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God as the Judge, and the pronouncement of the believing sinner as righteous in His sight. This verb is in the present and continuous sense and shows a constant process of justification in the succession of all who believe and are justified.” Can you see the difference between being forgiven and being justified? When you are saved you can plead not guilty and your case is dismissed. The Lord Jesus has fully discharged all our obligations so there is no legal ground for charges to be pressed on us anymore. We have a perfect standing before God and are fully acceptable in His sight. And we are justified freely, he does not charge us anything. “By His grace.” Just to be clear… Grace is unmerited favor. It is getting something we do not deserve. How remarkable!!!

I think it’s important to clarify this as well.

Salvation is free, but it is not cheap. It cost God his only begotten son and it cost Jesus the agony of dying on the cross. The blood Christ shed for us is very precious.

“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.” (1 Peter 1: 18-19) The cost of Calvary is far beyond any human comprehension. It is!

The witnesses of this miracle. “Witnessed by the law and the prophets.” (Rom. 3:21) It is totally scriptural. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Heb. 11:39) “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.” (1 Pet. 1:10) – Prophesied of the grace.

The Legal accomplishments of the miracle – To reconcile God’s justice and God’s mercy by a mediator or bridge. We said it before, God set forth Christ to be a propitiation. (Romans 3:25) The sinner must be condemned, God wants to save the sinner.

The harmony between law and grace can be seen in the miracle. Do we need to keep the law? Yes, The Law cannot justify us but by following it but the Law can bring us to despair and cause us to take Gods alternative of committing ourselves to faith in Christ. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” (Romans 3:31)

The Bible is not the record of man searching after God, but it’s the record of God searching after man.

The judge died for the defendants.

It’s a miracle- The just dying for the unjust.

The three major Imputations of the Bible. Impute= add to 1. Adams sin was Imputed to the human race. 2. My sin and yours was Imputed to Jesus Christ. 3. God’s Righteousness was Imputed to all Believers.

The miracle of Justification is that we are sinners and Christ died for us. We are justified with His blood.

Because of Justification we have Hope. Our hope concerns the future. Something good in the future, something possible in the future- the coming again of Jesus Christ. That is our hope.

(Romans 5:6-11) “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

Back in the days of Moses the High Priest went to the Holy of Holies once a year. Because of Justification we have access to the Throne of God immediately. We don’t need to wait. I don’t need to provide a sacrifice. My sacrifice was already offered by the savior Jesus Christ.

Let me be clear however,

Justification is only for “him which believeth in Jesus.” I cannot say that strong enough. Please hear me…

God justifies only those who believe in Jesus. Everyone believes in something and everyone serves someone. THE ONLY BELIEF THAT COUNTS WITH GOD IS BELIEF IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

I have the invitation. You have the invitation. If you haven’t accepted it do it now.

Don’t ever forget the Judge paid your fine. The Judge took your punishment. It is the only Judge that will ever do that for you. Enter the Kingdom. Tell Jesus you believe, you understand you are sinner and want to be saved by his grace. Ask Him into your heart to save you from the chains of Hell.

God bless you all in the pursuit of Him,

The Tubthumper

Here Comes the Judge, Part 1

The Trial of the Ages.

Please allow me to set the stage here. We are about to witness a major trial and we are in the Court House. Can you see the Jury in your mind and the two attorneys about to argue the case?

We are in the courthouse of Law.

We have a trial in progress.

We need to introduce the Court Reporter. It’s the Apostle Paul. He comes with good credentials.

Paul declared the righteousness of God in these passages and it’s really what the book of Romans is all about.

God is Righteous!
God demands Righteousness!
God provides Righteousness!

There must be a basis of righteousness in order for sin to be forgiven. If a judge wants to totally dismiss the charges against a guilty person he can but that’s not righteous. So God can’t simply tell you, “You are forgiven.” Not without that righteous basis. FOR GOD IS RIGHTEOUS!

For your sins to be forgiven there must be that Righteous Basis. And where is that basis found? It is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The sinner was sentenced to death (SINFUL MAN) and God established that righteous basis because Jesus Christ became the substitute. He took your sin upon Himself and He died in your place. It’s trading the righteous for the unrighteous. You are forgiven! He took your place! He died for you!

The righteousness of God is revealed from FAITH TO FAITH. As it is written,

“THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” Verse 17.

And then we also see the WRATH OF GOD… which we will look at during the trial.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18)

Let’s look quick at the very first verse in the book of Romans:

“Paul, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” (Romans 1:1)

So he was a servant… a bondslave… Paul was not his own person after being called. WE ARE NOT OUR OWN PERSON- WE BELONG TO CHRIST- HE PURCHASED US. We are debtors to everyone unsaved once we become a Saint and become separated unto the gospel.

He was called apostle. He was DECLARED! HE WAS SENT FORTH! In order to be an Apostle you must have seen the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul saw Jesus at least 7 times that we know of. And God called him directly. Keep in mind this is now 25 years after Paul first came to Christ. And he said, “Who art thou, Lord, that I may serve thee?” 25 years later he is still saying I am a bondslave! I am an Apostle. He made his calling and his election sure. We should do the same… whatever it is that God calls us to do we should do. Nothing more nothing less. Whether it’s to be a greeter or bass guitar player or a preacher. Whatever it is just do it.

My birth was no accident— Your birth was no accident— God desires to work the good works through his servants. (Bondslaves) He separated us unto the Gospel to do for Him…

Do you know the will of God for your life? I want you to know that 90% of determining the will of God is being willing to DO-IT. So just do it.

Separated unto the Gospel of God. – We are first separated from our mother’s womb and then separated from sin and the world to Christ as Paul is explaining.

Paul let us know in the written word the Gospel is not new and it’s still not new. (IF IT’S NEW IT AINT TRUE)

Paul presented the message of the Gospel right up front as he began to share the court record. Christ is the center of the Gospel message and Paul introduces Christ in a threefold way.

He is the REVEALED ONE, the one “Promised Afore” (v.2), for the Gospel of God has its roots deep into the Old Testament.
He is the REIGNING ONE, He is “Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” (v.3) The New Testament opens and closes with Jesus referred to as the “Son of David.”
He is the RESURRECTED ONE, the one “Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (v.4)

It is all about Christ’s Deity… Jesus was 100 % God, 100% Man, 100% of the time. And Paul is making that clear.

Paul had complete confidence in the Gospel because of its sufficiency and its supremacy. He wrote, “It is the power of God unto salvation.”

John Phillips in his commentary on Romans wrote, “The world does not need a better system of education, more social reform or new ideas in religion. IT NEEDS THE GOSPEL! The Gospel message grips the mind, it stabs the conscience, it warms the heart, it saves the soul, and it sanctifies the life. It can make drunken (or drugged) men sober, crooked men straight and profligate women pure. It is a message sufficient to transform the life of any who believe.”

“IT IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION “TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH.” Could anything be any simpler than that? It is simple, trust in God’s Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, as your personal savior from sin. Simple as that!

The Just shall live by Faith.

The Gospel MUST be received by FAITH.

Habakkuk 2:4- The Just shall live by Faith.

Romans 1:17- The Just shall live by Faith.

Galations 3:11- The Just shall live by Faith.

Hebrews 10:38- The Just shall live by Faith.

THE COURT RECORD

Lets look at the COURT RECORD– First 3 Chapters of Romans.

If you look around, it’s even likely here within our group, there are two kinds of people throughout the world.

People that have been delivered from the Wrath of God because they have sought God’s righteousness.
Everyone else, whom the wrath of God abides upon.

Paul indicated that those that are called and delivered from the wrath of God are to be called Saints. (v.7) This is not some special class of people within the church, but it describes all that have trusted Christ as their savior. It means, “One set apart for God.”

You are either a Saint or a Sinner. More appropriate is to say a sinning saint or just a sinner for no one is righteous, no not one. I am a Saint, but… I am also a sinner.

J Vernon McGee used to say, “There are two kinds of People in the world, The Saints and The Aints”

During this trial God’s righteousness will be revealed, but then God’s Wrath will also be revealed. Throughout the New Testament we see both God’s Righteousness and God’s Wrath.

God’s Righteousness was/is revealed to man by Nature, Human Conscience and by Human History. There is no excuse for being unaware of God.

God’s Wrath was/is revealed by His Word, the Natural World, and by The Cross.

Paul lets us know that the bad news of human sin comes before the good news of salvation. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (V. 18)

Paul said Gods wrath is revealed for three reasons: First it’s revealed because of human ungodliness, second because of human unrighteousness, and third because of human unbelief.

I think it important to give some clear definitions at this point:

Wrath of God: Please note God’s wrath is not due to Anger on His part, it is a reaction to unrighteousness. The wrath of God is His judgment regarding sin and is a standard that reveals His displeasure toward sin.

Ungodliness: Having the wrong attitude toward God and having spiritual failure.

Unrighteousness: The wrong conduct toward God and fellow man and moral failure.

Stay tuned for the “TRIAL OF THE AGES.”

Join me in the next post as we proceed on to the court record as the trial begins…

God bless you,

The Tubthumper