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