March 9, 2025 • 36 mins
The greatest turning point in human history occurs in Romans 3:21 with two simple words: "But now." After three chapters of bad news about our sinful condition, Paul reveals God's solution through justification by faith in Christ.
• All people, both Jews and Gentiles, stand condemned under sin
• Paul quotes extensively from Old Testament Scripture to prove universal sinfulness
• The law cannot save us; it only reveals our inability to meet God's standard
• Justification comes through faith in Christ, not through our own efforts
• Justification is a point-in-time event, not a process we grow into
• We are completely justified the moment we trust Christ
• Christians stand fully righteous before God, clothed in Christ's righteousness
• Our response to justification should include rejoicing, daily remembrance, and sharing with others
If you don't know Christ Jesus, you too can stand before the Father justified by coming to Him today. Let that justification intersect with your life today!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:23):
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado, will you join me now
in listening to our sermon fromthis week, if you'll open with
me to Romans, chapter 3, romans,chapter 3.
I'm going to read our versesthis morning.
I'll read a good bit, startingin verse 9.
(00:44):
And so open with me Romans 3,beginning in verse 9.
What then?
(01:09):
Are we Jews any better off?
No, not at all, for we havealready charged that all, both
Jews and Greeks, are under sin.
As it is written.
None is righteous, no, not one,he says.
They use their tongues todeceive.
The venom of asps is undertheir lips.
Their mouth is full of cursesand bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shedblood.
In their paths are ruin andmisery, and the way of peace
(01:35):
they have not known.
There is no fear of God beforetheir eyes.
Now we know that whatever thelaw says, it speaks to those who
are under the law, so thatevery mouth may be stopped and
the whole world may be heldaccountable to God, for by works
of the law no human being willbe justified in his sight, since
through the law comes knowledgeof sin.
But now the righteousness ofGod has been manifested, apart
(02:01):
from the law, although the lawand the prophets bear witness to
it the righteousness of Godthrough faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe for there isno distinction for all have
sinned and fall short of theglory of God and are justified
by his grace as a gift throughthe redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God put forth as apropitiation by his blood, to be
(02:23):
received by faith.
This was to show God'srighteousness because in his
divine forbearance he had passedover former sins.
It was to show hisrighteousness at the present
time so that he might be justand the justifier of the one who
has faith in Jesus.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus, thank you for yourword.
(02:44):
Would you speak to us thismorning?
Transform our hearts thismorning, make us more like Jesus
?
In response to hearing yourword, speak through me, I ask in
Christ's name, amen.
Imagine this morning you aresitting in a house church in the
(03:05):
city of Rome in the middle ofthe first century.
You're excited because, aswe've discussed, in this house
church that's made up of Jewsand Gentiles, today's a very
special day because a certainletter is being delivered, a
ministry associate partner withPaul.
Her name is Phoebe.
(03:25):
She's arrived and Phoebe istasked with reading this letter
to us in this house church todayMaybe we're a Jewish individual
reading this we hear thisletter read and we love chapter
one, this picture of the gospelas we talked about last week.
We also love chapter one becausePaul finally calls it like it
(03:47):
is, with these Gentiles who sinin their suppression of the
truth and sin in their idolatry.
Then Paul then turns to chaptertwo and suddenly we find that
these Jewish individuals in thecrowd, they're condemned as well
because they do the very samething.
But you and I we're better thanthe rest.
We've got enoughself-righteousness to know that
(04:08):
we've survived chapter one andwe've even survived chapter two,
that Paul was talking aboutother Jewish individuals in the
crowd, but certainly not you andI, because we do things pretty
well and surely he's not talkingabout us when he's talking
about condemnation.
But then Phoebe finally readschapter 3, and we see a phrase
and it's this no one isrighteous, no, not one.
(04:32):
And suddenly it's game over forus Suddenly.
If we thought we survived up tothis point, we did not survive
that phrase.
No one is righteous, no, notone.
All are in sin, all rightfullydeserve condemnation.
And this is the bad news ofRomans, the bad news of Romans 1
(04:53):
through 3.
That leads to the best newsthat we'll see this morning the
second half of chapter 2 and thevery beginning of chapter 3,
which we won't read today.
Basically, paul continues hisconversation with these Jewish
individuals and letting themknow that they cannot be saved
by works, letting them know thatGod is completely just in his
(05:14):
condemnation because, again, allJews and Gentiles are under sin
.
And then we read verse 9.
What then?
Are we Jews any better off?
Well, no, not at all, for wehave already charged that all,
both Jews and Greeks, are undersin.
We talked last week for theseJewish individuals.
It is a neat thing for them tobe able to say they are of this
(05:36):
Jewish lineage.
What a special thing that isthat they could say my
great-great-grandfather isAbraham Isaac and Jacob.
We talked about being from theline of David, and how neat that
is.
And yet where that ends is whenwe try to use it to say we're
already in, that we have earnedsalvation just based off of our
(05:59):
lineage.
And so Paul wants to remindthem that you're under sin.
No one escapes it.
Both Jews and Greeks Verse themthat you're under sin.
No one escapes it.
Both Jews and Greeks.
Verse 9, you are under sin.
I remember, as we look at verses10 through 18, in the very
heart of COVID, when all officesand you remember these days and
you would not wish for themback when in the heart of COVID
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all the offices went online andZoom had big business.
During the heart of COVID, allthe offices went online and Zoom
had big business.
During the days of COVID,everybody was on Zoom and I
remember it became popular orcomical to kind of talk about
the office lingo that everyoneuses on these Zoom meetings.
We learn how to mute and unmute.
(06:43):
We had to tell some people youneed to mute the mic.
We had to.
I mean, we learned so much.
But out of it came this officelingo that you may use every day
and you've used it many timesin the corporate workplace
Phrases like we're gonna circleback, phrases like we're gonna
put a pin in it for now, phraseslike I don't have the bandwidth
(07:04):
for that these things have justbecome part of the office lingo
.
There is one piece of officelingo that I've never been brave
enough or bold enough to use.
Some of you may have used itbefore.
It is maybe the most brutal ofall the office lingo that exists
.
It's this phrase.
You can tell me if you've heardit Per my previous email.
(07:24):
Have you heard this one?
Have you used this one Per myprevious email?
It's just a brutal takedown.
Basically, the idea is this IfI've told you something in the
past, now you've emailed measking me a question, I hit you
with this per my previous emailand then I give you the answer
once again I had already givenyou in the past.
(07:46):
Now, if you're the most brutalamong us, not only do you say
per my previous email, but youattach the previous email.
And if you've just had enoughand it is over for you with this
individual, you will attach theprevious email and you will CC
the boss onto it.
And that's just when you'redone.
In verses 10 through 18, I justwant to tell you what paul is
(08:09):
doing in this moment.
He is looking at the believersin the crowd and he is saying,
at the highest of levels per myprevious email.
And not only this, he'sattaching the previous email and
not only doing doing this, he'scopying the boss onto the email
.
Yet the problem is the boss isnot some workplace supervisor.
(08:30):
The boss is David, is Solomon,is Isaiah.
What Paul does is.
He wants to show all of theindividuals in this crowd today
that you are under sin.
And yes, I'm Paul.
I've never visited your church,I didn't plant your church.
So you may be thinking I'm justsome new guy on the block here
(08:51):
to tell you that you're a sinner.
But, per the previous email,per the entire Old Testament,
the facts are already there andyou've already been told from
the word of God, from David andfrom Isaiah and from Solomon,
that you're not righteous, thatyou missed the mark.
(09:11):
And so look what he does inthis moment.
Verse 10, none is righteous, no,not one.
No one understands, no oneseeks God.
All have turned aside.
They've become worthless.
No one does good, not even one.
That's a quote from Psalm 14.
Verse 13, their throat is anopen grave, their tongues
deceived.
The venom of asps is on theirlips.
(09:32):
That's Psalm 5.
That's Psalm 140.
Their mouth is full of cursesand bitterness.
Psalm 10, their feet are swiftto shed blood.
Proverbs 1,.
Proverbs 3, isaiah 59, as wecontinue in the past of ruin and
misery, the way of peace theyhave not known.
Psalm 36 and verse 18, there isno fear of God before their
(09:53):
eyes.
Paul wants to show them thatthis has been the answer all
along Per every email you'vebeen given from the Old
Testament.
You already see and know, andshould understand, that you
stand condemned, that no one isrighteous.
No, not one.
And remember, half the crowdtoday, as this letter is being
(10:15):
read, is made up of Jewishindividuals, and so even more.
This is your scripture, this isyour testimony, your scriptures
that are pointing to the factthat you are condemned.
It would be as if this morningI came to you and I wanted to
make some case or prove somepoint about American life today
(10:39):
and you said, taylor, why shouldI take your word for that?
And I just start quoting ThomasJefferson and John Adams and
George Washington and all thesefounding fathers to make my case
.
These aren't just my words.
Look to the sources.
This is Paul, looking at eventhese Jewish believers and
saying if you won't listen to me, listen to David, listen to
(10:59):
Solomon, listen to Isaiah.
None is righteous, solomon.
Listen to Isaiah.
None is righteous, no, not one.
And then verse 19,.
Now we know that whatever thelaw says, it speaks to those who
are under the law, so thatevery mouth may be stopped and
the whole world may be heldaccountable to God For by the
works of the law no human beingwill be justified in his sight,
(11:21):
since through the law comesknowledge of sin.
How do we think of the law, thelaw?
We could think of the TenCommandments.
We could think of all OldTestament law as you read
Leviticus, the Levitical law,all this law that so many,
specifically Jewish believers inthis time tried to justify
(11:42):
themselves by carrying out thelaw, paul wants to show them you
can't be justified, you can'tdo enough, you can't follow the
law close enough to be justifiedbefore God.
We talked about that a lot lastweek.
Does that mean the law is a badthing?
Not at all.
Paul will talk about that morethroughout the book of Romans.
(12:03):
The law is a beautiful thing.
The problem is not the law, theproblem is me, the problem is
you, the problem is theindividuals in the church at
Rome, that the law is abeautiful thing that God gave to
his people so that they wouldbe a people set apart.
And yet quickly they realized,and quickly I realized, that I
missed the mark and in my ownsin and flesh I'm not able to
(12:26):
keep the law.
I think about it like this maybeyou've been on a college campus
before and maybe on a beautifulday you've been on a college
campus and you look around thebeautiful landscaping, the, the
beautiful lawn, the beautifulflowers and trees it's just a
stunning spring day and you'rewalking on that campus and maybe
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they might have a sign up thatsays do not walk on the grass.
Have you seen this sign before?
Do not walk on the grass.
And as I'm walking peacefullyon the sidewalk, I didn't wake
up that morning thinking I'vegot to get on some grass.
That morning, thinking I've gotto get on some grass, no part
(13:08):
of me had ever considered ituntil I saw that sign and
immediately I thought that grasslooks so good.
If I could just get a foot onthis grass and step off this
sidewalk for a minute and justwalk on this beautiful lush lawn
that is right here before me.
There's nothing wrong with thesign.
That sign's a really good thing.
It keeps people off the grass.
The problem is me.
In my own flesh I see the lawthat was given for my good.
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I see the commands God hasgiven to me to live a life of
flourishing in obedience to him.
And my flesh, my sin.
I realize I'm not able to keepit and it's all the problem with
me, amen, that I'm condemnedbecause, as we'll read in just a
moment, I sin and fall short ofthe glory of God.
I do not measure up to God'sglorious standards, and the
(13:55):
whole problem is me.
And so we see this not verypretty picture.
But the good news this morningI promised you three weeks of
really bad news and we havecompleted the really bad news,
because we're about to turn thepage now to the best news you've
ever heard.
Now I've given you a sneak peekeach week.
(14:15):
We haven't left on bad newseach week, but now we see the
really good news.
If you're in my generation,around my same age, maybe a
little older, maybe a littleyounger you remember days in
school when the TV cart wouldroll into your room and
(14:36):
Schoolhouse Rock would come onthe television and they would
start singing a song aboutconjunctions.
And you remember it becauseyou're singing it right now in
your head conjunction, junction,what's your function?
The conjunction is something inmost sentences that you and I
skim right past.
We don't think about it,they're just everyday words.
(14:56):
You skim right over them, youdon't think much about them.
They're there but you justprocess it without even
processing it.
An and a, but an or any ofthese words, you just go right
past.
And yet there's sometimes in theword of God that a conjunction
carries eternal significance,where a conjunction holds so
(15:19):
much theological power that wecan't just skim past it.
We read one this morning, asKatie read in Ephesians, chapter
2, that we were dead in sins.
And then what happens aroundverse 4?
But God.
There's the change, theconjunction, but God.
And now we have seen all thebad news for three whole
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chapters, verse 21.
But now there's a change in theair.
But now Something's differentmidway through chapter 3.
But now the righteousness of Godhas been manifested.
(16:01):
How?
Apart from the law, althoughthe law and the prophets bear
witness to it.
Again, there's nothing wrongwith the law, the law and the
prophets, meaning the whole OldTestament.
It bears witness to thisrighteousness that has been
revealed by god.
What is it?
Verse 22?
The righteousness of godthrough faith, not by works, not
(16:22):
by my own effort, through faithin jesus christ.
For who?
For all who believe.
For there is Verse 23,.
For all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God.
One more time for everyone inthe crowd hearing this.
The first time it was utteredfor every Jew in this audience,
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for every Gentile in thisaudience, for in a crowd of
these individuals, all of us in2025, for everyone in the crowd,
it's all of us For all havesinned and fall short of the
glory of God.
There is a standard and youdon't meet it and I don't meet
it.
Verse 24,.
We get another conjunctionYou've sinned and fallen short,
(17:07):
but look at this and arejustified by his grace, as a
gift through the redemption thatis in Christ Jesus.
You've sinned, you've fallenshort, but now you are justified
.
I want to talk about that wordfor a minute.
Justified how do we define theword justified?
(17:33):
It's a word that's so criticalto the book of Romans, it's so
critical to Paul in general.
It's so critical to the NewTestament.
It's so critical to you and Iand our salvation.
That word justified how do wedefine it?
Well, one common definition thatoften gets thrown out is
justified means this just as ifI had never sinned.
(17:55):
Have you heard that definitionof justified?
Just as if I had never sinned?
Now, I don't mind thatdefinition at all.
I actually really like thatdefinition if we understand what
it means to be counted just asif I had never sinned.
What does it not mean?
It doesn't mean that I'mcounted as if I've never sinned
simply because God just kind ofswept my sin under the rug.
(18:18):
That God looked at me and justkind of winked at my sin and
said, taylor, don't worry aboutit, do better next time.
We're good here, and that's nothow it happened.
When I think of justified, whenyou think of justified, and we
say, just as if I had neversinned, the way you and I are
counted as individuals, just asif we had never sinned, is
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because of this, is becauseChrist Jesus was treated as if
he had done all the sinning.
Do you get that?
That all of my sin and your sinwas placed upon the sinless one
?
I probably quote it more than Ishould, but 2 Corinthians 5.21,
.
He became sin who knew no sin,so that in him we might become
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the righteousness of God.
We are justified not becausesin was swept under the rug, but
because sin was paid for,because the condemnation and the
wrath of, but because of this,because sin was paid for,
Because the condemnation and thewrath of God was given out, but
was given out to the person ofChrist Jesus on our behalf.
That's how you and I arejustified and treated just as if
(19:24):
we had never sinned.
That's what verse 25 talksabout the one who God put
forward as the propitiation byhis blood that's a big word we
see multiple times in Romansmeaning this atoning sacrifice,
the one who has been the onceand for all sacrifice for us.
This is our justification, thatyou and I are now justified
(19:46):
before God.
And think about what that meansthat you and I can stand before
a holy God, we can come intohis presence, we can stand
before him and we are justified.
Why?
Because you and I are nowclothed in the righteousness of
Christ.
Because he took the sin and hegave us the righteousness.
(20:08):
He took it down to the grave,rose defeating, defeating sin
and death, and now we arecounted righteous before God.
We are justified.
I want to look at a chart, Iwant to put this chart up on the
screen the Christian life righthere before us, and I just want
to break this down.
There's really three parts ofthe Christian life Justification
(20:28):
, sanctification of theChristian life, justification,
sanctification and glorification.
I mean first you see ourunbelief up to the point where
we come to Christ.
But I want to come back tojustification.
But look at sanctification.
What is that?
That's for all who arebelievers.
That is the, once you become abeliever, that lifelong process
(20:49):
of growing more and more intothe image of Christ so that,
through the power of the HolySpirit working in you, you are
becoming more like Jesus, youare being sanctified.
You then see a dividing linethere that if Jesus does not
return before we die, there willbe a day we will die.
(21:09):
Not return before we die.
There will be a day we will die.
And then there is glorification, as we are raised with Christ
into new, glorious, eternal life.
There is the glorificationwhere you and I will live and
experience Christ Jesus in ourglorified, resurrected bodies.
Glorification, it's not aprocess of becoming more
(21:31):
glorified, it is a eternalglorification, this body that we
have before Christ, wherethere's no more sin, there's no
more tears, there's no moredeath, this beautiful
glorification that takes placein the eternal state with Christ
Jesus.
Now we've got sanctification,glorification.
Let's go back to the beginningof the Christian life.
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Justification.
Justification, as we've justtalked about, where we are
counted righteous as if we'venever sinned, because Christ
took our sin upon himself.
That justification, look withme now.
It is a point on the chart.
It is a point in time.
(22:15):
Notice, sanctification is alifelong process.
Justification is a point.
It is not something we growinto.
We don't grow more and morejustified.
We are justified.
We are justified by ChristJesus.
It is a singular point in ourlife.
(22:37):
Now you say this when doesjustification happen?
I'll give you two answers.
And now you say, taylor, you'vemessed up now because you said
it's a singular point.
Now you're offering me twoanswers.
It'll make sense in a moment.
When did the act ofjustification occur?
I would give you the answer of,you know, sometime around the
spring of 33 AD.
When did that justificationtake root in my own life?
(23:02):
Sometime in the fall of 1996.
We're telling two dates here.
The justification event, thespring of AD 33.
When did it take root in mylife?
When was I personally justified, take advantage of that
justification?
Really, that justification cometo me in 1996 when, as a
(23:24):
six-year-old believer, I saidthat Jesus Christ, I want you to
be the Lord of my life.
And in that moment, littlesix-year-old Taylor stood before
a holy God, fully justified,fully justified.
It's interesting, as we thinkabout justification, that again,
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it's not a process, it's notsomething we grow in.
It's something we are once andfor all.
I think about my son and mydaughter, and first James, who's
watching online as he's alittle under the weather, but
he's home today and he'swatching right now.
And his birthday's on Fridayand he'll be five years old this
(24:11):
week.
And I think back to when he wasborn, march 14th of 2020.
And I think the joy of that dayand I think about in like
moments before here I was, Ididn't have a son and then, all
of a sudden, I'm a father andI've got a son in my life.
(24:31):
It's a wild moment when thathappens.
And I think about James onMarch 14th of 2020.
He's my son and he's here and Ican hold him and he's my son.
And then I think about the lastfour years and 51 weeks that
have taken place and I thinkabout all the experiences we've
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had and I think about the funwe've had, the memories we've
made.
I think about how he's grown inso many ways Miss Candice is
here, I hope she would tell youhe's grown academically and
intellectually.
I think about all the vacationswe've been on and we've just
gotten to do so much together.
But I just ask this questionbecause of all the experiences
(25:19):
that me and James have had.
Is he more my son today than hewas on March 14th 2020?
No, my daughter's been with mefor 14 months.
Is she more my daughter today,because we've had great
experiences together, than shewas then Katie and I married for
a decade?
Is she more my wife today thanshe was in 2014?
(25:44):
Praise God for the growth andthe experience and the joy and
the joy, but relationally, he'smy son, she's my daughter, she's
my wife.
Your justification is a pointin time Right.
You are not more justifiedtoday than you were the day
Christ Jesus came into your life.
(26:04):
You don't have a betterstanding before God today than
the day you first came into thepresence of God.
Why?
Because the day you came intothe presence of God, there was
not a better standing you couldhave gained, because you have
all standing before a holy God.
Why?
Because there's not morerighteousness of Christ that you
(26:27):
can receive than the fullnessof the righteousness of Christ.
You are justified and thatcannot change and that will not
change.
I remember a pastor telling thisstory of a woman.
He was speaking with an elderlywoman.
She was beginning to sufferfrom dementia and she knew it,
(26:48):
and she knew that all that sheknew was just escaping and it
seemed like some of you walkedthrough this with loved ones
that all that she knew wasescaping, memories were fading
away and she knew where thisthing was heading.
She was speaking with thepastor.
I'll never forget.
(27:08):
The pastor said this.
She looked at the pastor andshe said this.
She said I may forget my Savior, but my Savior won't forget me.
Justification in the process.
Justification in the process.
It's not becoming more and morein the righteousness of christ.
(27:30):
Justification is a fact aboutyou if you know christ jesus.
I'm not discountingsanctification.
That's a beautiful process,that's a long process, that's a
daily process of obedience.
But you will never grow morejustified before God than you
are right now if you are inChrist Jesus and so we are
(27:54):
justified verse 24 by his grace,as a gift through the
redemption that is in ChristJesus.
I close with this how do welive as justified children of
God?
If that's true of us, if thatis the fact that you and I are
justified before God, how doesthat make us live One?
(28:17):
I would encourage you this torejoice in your justification,
now that maybe you have more ofa framework to think about
justification, spend all yourdays rejoicing in it.
Spend all your time worshipingthe God who has justified you
once and for all.
Rejoice in your justification.
(28:37):
We talk about the things we love, don't we?
I probably need to tell lessstories about my children in my
sermons.
They just always come upbecause I just love them and I
like to talk about them.
When a certain team won an 11o'clock basketball game
yesterday that sealed a certainspot in a certain tournament, I
(28:58):
spent the rest of the day justchatting about it, talking about
it, texting about it.
Why?
Because we like to talk aboutthings that we enjoy, that we
think about.
Are we people that rejoice inour justification and that's
something on the tip of ourtongue?
Are we people that have thebest news that we could ever
imagine, that we stand before aholy God, fully righteous,
(29:21):
closing the righteousness ofChrist, and that's something we
talk about.
That's something we tell othersabout.
You talk about the water coolerconversation at work.
That's the conversation we talkabout, the things we love.
Meaning this we talk a lotabout Jesus.
Is that true of us?
We rejoice in our justification.
Also, we remind ourselves of ourjustification.
(29:42):
You say this well, taylor, howcould I forget the best news
ever.
I don't need to remind myself.
How could I forget?
And yet you and I know, in theins and outs of life, sometimes
we are tempted to forget.
Sometimes we know we'rejustified but we're tempted to
think that we've still got toearn our way to God or earn our
(30:04):
favor with God.
We still are tempted to thinkthat could God really forgive
those past sins?
Could God really use someonelike me?
We let those thoughts get intoour mind.
I hope you will wake up eachmorning and, before your feet
hit the floor, you will remindyourself of the justification
(30:26):
that is found in Christ Jesus,that before I am anything else
today, before even before thebeautiful things like I am a
husband, I am a father, beforeI'm a pastor, before you go to
your job, before you're a friend, before all these things that
are good things and you arethose things.
But before any of that, yourfeet hit the floor and you say I
(30:47):
am justified before the God ofthe universe and I am loved by
him because of the finished workof Christ Jesus.
That's who you are and I hopethat will change how you live.
And lastly, we rightly respondto our justification, I think in
two ways.
One is obedience.
Again, I said a moment agoworks aren't out of the question
(31:12):
.
No, no, good works are to bedone by believers.
But, as we've talked about overthe last few weeks, we fixed
the equation and so now it's notas if I do good works,
therefore I'm justified.
The equation is this I'mjustified, therefore I do good
works in response to what Christhas done, because of the
(31:33):
relationship.
Now, like Ephesians 2.10 tellsus, I get to live out the good
works that God has prepared forme to walk into.
And so now I get to live inobedience.
I get to sanctification that wetalked about by the Holy
Spirit's power, look more likeJesus day by day and live in the
(31:53):
obedience he's called me to,not to earn my way, but because
Christ has already paid my way.
And now, in response, I get tolive life of obedience to him,
but also rightly responding toour justification in our own
evangelism, in telling otherswhat Christ has done, in letting
(32:14):
other people know that we havethe best news the world has ever
heard that there is one who hascome to pay for your sin, that
there is one who has come to payfor your sin, that there is one
who has looked upon you andsaid if you will come, you too
can be justified before the Godof the universe.
That's what evangelism is.
(32:34):
It's just telling others aboutthe one we love the most and
about the life that can be foundin him.
And if we are people that havetruly been justified and have
tasted and seen the goodness ofthe Lord, we should be the first
people to let others around usknow that there is a good Savior
and in a world of darkness andsin, there is a Savior that can
(33:01):
make all things right and willmake all things right and will
make all things right.
And in my own life, has hasfixed my sin problem.
The hole in my heart hasjustified me.
We ought to be people living inresponse to justification, who
tell others often what Christhas done for us.
(33:23):
So church, family, if you forgeteverything else today, I pray
you won't forget this.
That if you know Christ Jesus,as you sit here in this room,
I'm talking to you.
I'm not even talking to theperson next to you right now.
I'm talking to you as you sithere in this room.
You sit here as one who isjustified before God, clothed in
(33:50):
the righteousness of Christ.
Someone called sanctificationthis becoming who you already
are.
You are clothed in therighteousness of Christ, the
beauty of sanctification.
We get to grow in righteousnessin the here and now.
(34:11):
But in that heavenly place,before the holy God of the
universe, you and I stand notcondemned, but justified if you
know Christ Jesus.
If you don't know Christ Jesus,I've got the best news in the
world to tell you right now, youtoo can stand before the father
(34:33):
, justified how, by coming toChrist, by letting that
justification intersect withinyour own life, that one day you
would talk to someone telling astory of the trajectory of the
Christian life and you would saythat Christ died on the cross
(34:54):
back then and then, in thespring of 2025, he opened my
heart and I was justified by him.
Could that be your story thismorning?
If you want it to be, pleasecome down and let me chat with
you about that.
If you want to come be a partof this church family, let me
talk with you about it.
If you just want a pastor topray with you or over you, if
(35:17):
you want to come to the altarand pray on your own, if you
want to sit right where you'reat and just do business with the
Lord, maybe just thank him.
Thank you, lord, for yoursalvation, your justification.
However, you need to respond.
Now is going to be the time todo it.
Let me pray for us and thenlet's continue in worship as we
respond.
Lord Jesus, thank you.
(35:38):
Thank you for justification,thank you for justification, not
a justification that we'veearned we couldn't, but a
justification that you and youalone have provided.
And so, lord, let us be peoplewho live in response to that,
(35:58):
who who rightly understand that,who live every day, um, knowing
that we are yours, that we areforgiven and for all, time and
forever, that no power of hellor scheme of man could ever
pluck us from your hand.
But because we are justified,we will be with you for eternity
(36:22):
.
Lord, we give you praise and wethank you, lord.
Lord, if there's one, ifthere's two, if there's more
that need to respond in thesemoments, would they do so?
Give them a holy boldness to doit, lord, and I just pray that
we would all respond in worship,because we all have a response
to make.
Lord, let us worship you evenin the here and now.
(36:43):
You are the justifier.
We thank you, lord, in Christ'sname, amen, would you stand,
and if, for any reason, you'dlike to come, I'll be right down
front.
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado, will you join me now
in listening to our sermon fromthis week, if you'll open with
me to Romans, chapter 3, romans,chapter 3.
I'm going to read our versesthis morning.
I'll read a good bit, startingin verse 9.
(00:44):
And so open with me Romans 3,beginning in verse 9.
What then?
(01:09):
Are we Jews any better off?
No, not at all, for we havealready charged that all, both
Jews and Greeks, are under sin.
As it is written.
None is righteous, no, not one,he says.
They use their tongues todeceive.
The venom of asps is undertheir lips.
Their mouth is full of cursesand bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shedblood.
In their paths are ruin andmisery, and the way of peace
(01:35):
they have not known.
There is no fear of God beforetheir eyes.
Now we know that whatever thelaw says, it speaks to those who
are under the law, so thatevery mouth may be stopped and
the whole world may be heldaccountable to God, for by works
of the law no human being willbe justified in his sight, since
through the law comes knowledgeof sin.
But now the righteousness ofGod has been manifested, apart
(02:01):
from the law, although the lawand the prophets bear witness to
it the righteousness of Godthrough faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe for there isno distinction for all have
sinned and fall short of theglory of God and are justified
by his grace as a gift throughthe redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God put forth as apropitiation by his blood, to be
(02:23):
received by faith.
This was to show God'srighteousness because in his
divine forbearance he had passedover former sins.
It was to show hisrighteousness at the present
time so that he might be justand the justifier of the one who
has faith in Jesus.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus, thank you for yourword.
(02:44):
Would you speak to us thismorning?
Transform our hearts thismorning, make us more like Jesus
?
In response to hearing yourword, speak through me, I ask in
Christ's name, amen.
Imagine this morning you aresitting in a house church in the
(03:05):
city of Rome in the middle ofthe first century.
You're excited because, aswe've discussed, in this house
church that's made up of Jewsand Gentiles, today's a very
special day because a certainletter is being delivered, a
ministry associate partner withPaul.
Her name is Phoebe.
(03:25):
She's arrived and Phoebe istasked with reading this letter
to us in this house church todayMaybe we're a Jewish individual
reading this we hear thisletter read and we love chapter
one, this picture of the gospelas we talked about last week.
We also love chapter one becausePaul finally calls it like it
(03:47):
is, with these Gentiles who sinin their suppression of the
truth and sin in their idolatry.
Then Paul then turns to chaptertwo and suddenly we find that
these Jewish individuals in thecrowd, they're condemned as well
because they do the very samething.
But you and I we're better thanthe rest.
We've got enoughself-righteousness to know that
(04:08):
we've survived chapter one andwe've even survived chapter two,
that Paul was talking aboutother Jewish individuals in the
crowd, but certainly not you andI, because we do things pretty
well and surely he's not talkingabout us when he's talking
about condemnation.
But then Phoebe finally readschapter 3, and we see a phrase
and it's this no one isrighteous, no, not one.
(04:32):
And suddenly it's game over forus Suddenly.
If we thought we survived up tothis point, we did not survive
that phrase.
No one is righteous, no, notone.
All are in sin, all rightfullydeserve condemnation.
And this is the bad news ofRomans, the bad news of Romans 1
(04:53):
through 3.
That leads to the best newsthat we'll see this morning the
second half of chapter 2 and thevery beginning of chapter 3,
which we won't read today.
Basically, paul continues hisconversation with these Jewish
individuals and letting themknow that they cannot be saved
by works, letting them know thatGod is completely just in his
(05:14):
condemnation because, again, allJews and Gentiles are under sin
.
And then we read verse 9.
What then?
Are we Jews any better off?
Well, no, not at all, for wehave already charged that all,
both Jews and Greeks, are undersin.
We talked last week for theseJewish individuals.
It is a neat thing for them tobe able to say they are of this
(05:36):
Jewish lineage.
What a special thing that isthat they could say my
great-great-grandfather isAbraham Isaac and Jacob.
We talked about being from theline of David, and how neat that
is.
And yet where that ends is whenwe try to use it to say we're
already in, that we have earnedsalvation just based off of our
(05:59):
lineage.
And so Paul wants to remindthem that you're under sin.
No one escapes it.
Both Jews and Greeks Verse themthat you're under sin.
No one escapes it.
Both Jews and Greeks.
Verse 9, you are under sin.
I remember, as we look at verses10 through 18, in the very
heart of COVID, when all officesand you remember these days and
you would not wish for themback when in the heart of COVID
(06:22):
all the offices went online andZoom had big business.
During the heart of COVID, allthe offices went online and Zoom
had big business.
During the days of COVID,everybody was on Zoom and I
remember it became popular orcomical to kind of talk about
the office lingo that everyoneuses on these Zoom meetings.
We learn how to mute and unmute.
(06:43):
We had to tell some people youneed to mute the mic.
We had to.
I mean, we learned so much.
But out of it came this officelingo that you may use every day
and you've used it many timesin the corporate workplace
Phrases like we're gonna circleback, phrases like we're gonna
put a pin in it for now, phraseslike I don't have the bandwidth
(07:04):
for that these things have justbecome part of the office lingo
.
There is one piece of officelingo that I've never been brave
enough or bold enough to use.
Some of you may have used itbefore.
It is maybe the most brutal ofall the office lingo that exists
.
It's this phrase.
You can tell me if you've heardit Per my previous email.
(07:24):
Have you heard this one?
Have you used this one Per myprevious email?
It's just a brutal takedown.
Basically, the idea is this IfI've told you something in the
past, now you've emailed measking me a question, I hit you
with this per my previous emailand then I give you the answer
once again I had already givenyou in the past.
(07:46):
Now, if you're the most brutalamong us, not only do you say
per my previous email, but youattach the previous email.
And if you've just had enoughand it is over for you with this
individual, you will attach theprevious email and you will CC
the boss onto it.
And that's just when you'redone.
In verses 10 through 18, I justwant to tell you what paul is
(08:09):
doing in this moment.
He is looking at the believersin the crowd and he is saying,
at the highest of levels per myprevious email.
And not only this, he'sattaching the previous email and
not only doing doing this, he'scopying the boss onto the email
.
Yet the problem is the boss isnot some workplace supervisor.
(08:30):
The boss is David, is Solomon,is Isaiah.
What Paul does is.
He wants to show all of theindividuals in this crowd today
that you are under sin.
And yes, I'm Paul.
I've never visited your church,I didn't plant your church.
So you may be thinking I'm justsome new guy on the block here
(08:51):
to tell you that you're a sinner.
But, per the previous email,per the entire Old Testament,
the facts are already there andyou've already been told from
the word of God, from David andfrom Isaiah and from Solomon,
that you're not righteous, thatyou missed the mark.
(09:11):
And so look what he does inthis moment.
Verse 10, none is righteous, no,not one.
No one understands, no oneseeks God.
All have turned aside.
They've become worthless.
No one does good, not even one.
That's a quote from Psalm 14.
Verse 13, their throat is anopen grave, their tongues
deceived.
The venom of asps is on theirlips.
(09:32):
That's Psalm 5.
That's Psalm 140.
Their mouth is full of cursesand bitterness.
Psalm 10, their feet are swiftto shed blood.
Proverbs 1,.
Proverbs 3, isaiah 59, as wecontinue in the past of ruin and
misery, the way of peace theyhave not known.
Psalm 36 and verse 18, there isno fear of God before their
(09:53):
eyes.
Paul wants to show them thatthis has been the answer all
along Per every email you'vebeen given from the Old
Testament.
You already see and know, andshould understand, that you
stand condemned, that no one isrighteous.
No, not one.
And remember, half the crowdtoday, as this letter is being
(10:15):
read, is made up of Jewishindividuals, and so even more.
This is your scripture, this isyour testimony, your scriptures
that are pointing to the factthat you are condemned.
It would be as if this morningI came to you and I wanted to
make some case or prove somepoint about American life today
(10:39):
and you said, taylor, why shouldI take your word for that?
And I just start quoting ThomasJefferson and John Adams and
George Washington and all thesefounding fathers to make my case
.
These aren't just my words.
Look to the sources.
This is Paul, looking at eventhese Jewish believers and
saying if you won't listen to me, listen to David, listen to
(10:59):
Solomon, listen to Isaiah.
None is righteous, solomon.
Listen to Isaiah.
None is righteous, no, not one.
And then verse 19,.
Now we know that whatever thelaw says, it speaks to those who
are under the law, so thatevery mouth may be stopped and
the whole world may be heldaccountable to God For by the
works of the law no human beingwill be justified in his sight,
(11:21):
since through the law comesknowledge of sin.
How do we think of the law, thelaw?
We could think of the TenCommandments.
We could think of all OldTestament law as you read
Leviticus, the Levitical law,all this law that so many,
specifically Jewish believers inthis time tried to justify
(11:42):
themselves by carrying out thelaw, paul wants to show them you
can't be justified, you can'tdo enough, you can't follow the
law close enough to be justifiedbefore God.
We talked about that a lot lastweek.
Does that mean the law is a badthing?
Not at all.
Paul will talk about that morethroughout the book of Romans.
(12:03):
The law is a beautiful thing.
The problem is not the law, theproblem is me, the problem is
you, the problem is theindividuals in the church at
Rome, that the law is abeautiful thing that God gave to
his people so that they wouldbe a people set apart.
And yet quickly they realized,and quickly I realized, that I
missed the mark and in my ownsin and flesh I'm not able to
(12:26):
keep the law.
I think about it like this maybeyou've been on a college campus
before and maybe on a beautifulday you've been on a college
campus and you look around thebeautiful landscaping, the, the
beautiful lawn, the beautifulflowers and trees it's just a
stunning spring day and you'rewalking on that campus and maybe
(12:47):
they might have a sign up thatsays do not walk on the grass.
Have you seen this sign before?
Do not walk on the grass.
And as I'm walking peacefullyon the sidewalk, I didn't wake
up that morning thinking I'vegot to get on some grass.
That morning, thinking I've gotto get on some grass, no part
(13:08):
of me had ever considered ituntil I saw that sign and
immediately I thought that grasslooks so good.
If I could just get a foot onthis grass and step off this
sidewalk for a minute and justwalk on this beautiful lush lawn
that is right here before me.
There's nothing wrong with thesign.
That sign's a really good thing.
It keeps people off the grass.
The problem is me.
In my own flesh I see the lawthat was given for my good.
(13:33):
I see the commands God hasgiven to me to live a life of
flourishing in obedience to him.
And my flesh, my sin.
I realize I'm not able to keepit and it's all the problem with
me, amen, that I'm condemnedbecause, as we'll read in just a
moment, I sin and fall short ofthe glory of God.
I do not measure up to God'sglorious standards, and the
(13:55):
whole problem is me.
And so we see this not verypretty picture.
But the good news this morningI promised you three weeks of
really bad news and we havecompleted the really bad news,
because we're about to turn thepage now to the best news you've
ever heard.
Now I've given you a sneak peekeach week.
(14:15):
We haven't left on bad newseach week, but now we see the
really good news.
If you're in my generation,around my same age, maybe a
little older, maybe a littleyounger you remember days in
school when the TV cart wouldroll into your room and
(14:36):
Schoolhouse Rock would come onthe television and they would
start singing a song aboutconjunctions.
And you remember it becauseyou're singing it right now in
your head conjunction, junction,what's your function?
The conjunction is something inmost sentences that you and I
skim right past.
We don't think about it,they're just everyday words.
(14:56):
You skim right over them, youdon't think much about them.
They're there but you justprocess it without even
processing it.
An and a, but an or any ofthese words, you just go right
past.
And yet there's sometimes in theword of God that a conjunction
carries eternal significance,where a conjunction holds so
(15:19):
much theological power that wecan't just skim past it.
We read one this morning, asKatie read in Ephesians, chapter
2, that we were dead in sins.
And then what happens aroundverse 4?
But God.
There's the change, theconjunction, but God.
And now we have seen all thebad news for three whole
(15:40):
chapters, verse 21.
But now there's a change in theair.
But now Something's differentmidway through chapter 3.
But now the righteousness of Godhas been manifested.
(16:01):
How?
Apart from the law, althoughthe law and the prophets bear
witness to it.
Again, there's nothing wrongwith the law, the law and the
prophets, meaning the whole OldTestament.
It bears witness to thisrighteousness that has been
revealed by god.
What is it?
Verse 22?
The righteousness of godthrough faith, not by works, not
(16:22):
by my own effort, through faithin jesus christ.
For who?
For all who believe.
For there is Verse 23,.
For all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God.
One more time for everyone inthe crowd hearing this.
The first time it was utteredfor every Jew in this audience,
(16:44):
for every Gentile in thisaudience, for in a crowd of
these individuals, all of us in2025, for everyone in the crowd,
it's all of us For all havesinned and fall short of the
glory of God.
There is a standard and youdon't meet it and I don't meet
it.
Verse 24,.
We get another conjunctionYou've sinned and fallen short,
(17:07):
but look at this and arejustified by his grace, as a
gift through the redemption thatis in Christ Jesus.
You've sinned, you've fallenshort, but now you are justified
.
I want to talk about that wordfor a minute.
Justified how do we define theword justified?
(17:33):
It's a word that's so criticalto the book of Romans, it's so
critical to Paul in general.
It's so critical to the NewTestament.
It's so critical to you and Iand our salvation.
That word justified how do wedefine it?
Well, one common definition thatoften gets thrown out is
justified means this just as ifI had never sinned.
(17:55):
Have you heard that definitionof justified?
Just as if I had never sinned?
Now, I don't mind thatdefinition at all.
I actually really like thatdefinition if we understand what
it means to be counted just asif I had never sinned.
What does it not mean?
It doesn't mean that I'mcounted as if I've never sinned
simply because God just kind ofswept my sin under the rug.
(18:18):
That God looked at me and justkind of winked at my sin and
said, taylor, don't worry aboutit, do better next time.
We're good here, and that's nothow it happened.
When I think of justified, whenyou think of justified, and we
say, just as if I had neversinned, the way you and I are
counted as individuals, just asif we had never sinned, is
(18:40):
because of this, is becauseChrist Jesus was treated as if
he had done all the sinning.
Do you get that?
That all of my sin and your sinwas placed upon the sinless one
?
I probably quote it more than Ishould, but 2 Corinthians 5.21,
.
He became sin who knew no sin,so that in him we might become
(19:02):
the righteousness of God.
We are justified not becausesin was swept under the rug, but
because sin was paid for,because the condemnation and the
wrath of, but because of this,because sin was paid for,
Because the condemnation and thewrath of God was given out, but
was given out to the person ofChrist Jesus on our behalf.
That's how you and I arejustified and treated just as if
(19:24):
we had never sinned.
That's what verse 25 talksabout the one who God put
forward as the propitiation byhis blood that's a big word we
see multiple times in Romansmeaning this atoning sacrifice,
the one who has been the onceand for all sacrifice for us.
This is our justification, thatyou and I are now justified
(19:46):
before God.
And think about what that meansthat you and I can stand before
a holy God, we can come intohis presence, we can stand
before him and we are justified.
Why?
Because you and I are nowclothed in the righteousness of
Christ.
Because he took the sin and hegave us the righteousness.
(20:08):
He took it down to the grave,rose defeating, defeating sin
and death, and now we arecounted righteous before God.
We are justified.
I want to look at a chart, Iwant to put this chart up on the
screen the Christian life righthere before us, and I just want
to break this down.
There's really three parts ofthe Christian life Justification
(20:28):
, sanctification of theChristian life, justification,
sanctification and glorification.
I mean first you see ourunbelief up to the point where
we come to Christ.
But I want to come back tojustification.
But look at sanctification.
What is that?
That's for all who arebelievers.
That is the, once you become abeliever, that lifelong process
(20:49):
of growing more and more intothe image of Christ so that,
through the power of the HolySpirit working in you, you are
becoming more like Jesus, youare being sanctified.
You then see a dividing linethere that if Jesus does not
return before we die, there willbe a day we will die.
(21:09):
Not return before we die.
There will be a day we will die.
And then there is glorification, as we are raised with Christ
into new, glorious, eternal life.
There is the glorificationwhere you and I will live and
experience Christ Jesus in ourglorified, resurrected bodies.
Glorification, it's not aprocess of becoming more
(21:31):
glorified, it is a eternalglorification, this body that we
have before Christ, wherethere's no more sin, there's no
more tears, there's no moredeath, this beautiful
glorification that takes placein the eternal state with Christ
Jesus.
Now we've got sanctification,glorification.
Let's go back to the beginningof the Christian life.
(21:53):
Justification.
Justification, as we've justtalked about, where we are
counted righteous as if we'venever sinned, because Christ
took our sin upon himself.
That justification, look withme now.
It is a point on the chart.
It is a point in time.
(22:15):
Notice, sanctification is alifelong process.
Justification is a point.
It is not something we growinto.
We don't grow more and morejustified.
We are justified.
We are justified by ChristJesus.
It is a singular point in ourlife.
(22:37):
Now you say this when doesjustification happen?
I'll give you two answers.
And now you say, taylor, you'vemessed up now because you said
it's a singular point.
Now you're offering me twoanswers.
It'll make sense in a moment.
When did the act ofjustification occur?
I would give you the answer of,you know, sometime around the
spring of 33 AD.
When did that justificationtake root in my own life?
(23:02):
Sometime in the fall of 1996.
We're telling two dates here.
The justification event, thespring of AD 33.
When did it take root in mylife?
When was I personally justified, take advantage of that
justification?
Really, that justification cometo me in 1996 when, as a
(23:24):
six-year-old believer, I saidthat Jesus Christ, I want you to
be the Lord of my life.
And in that moment, littlesix-year-old Taylor stood before
a holy God, fully justified,fully justified.
It's interesting, as we thinkabout justification, that again,
(23:49):
it's not a process, it's notsomething we grow in.
It's something we are once andfor all.
I think about my son and mydaughter, and first James, who's
watching online as he's alittle under the weather, but
he's home today and he'swatching right now.
And his birthday's on Fridayand he'll be five years old this
(24:11):
week.
And I think back to when he wasborn, march 14th of 2020.
And I think the joy of that dayand I think about in like
moments before here I was, Ididn't have a son and then, all
of a sudden, I'm a father andI've got a son in my life.
(24:31):
It's a wild moment when thathappens.
And I think about James onMarch 14th of 2020.
He's my son and he's here and Ican hold him and he's my son.
And then I think about the lastfour years and 51 weeks that
have taken place and I thinkabout all the experiences we've
(24:56):
had and I think about the funwe've had, the memories we've
made.
I think about how he's grown inso many ways Miss Candice is
here, I hope she would tell youhe's grown academically and
intellectually.
I think about all the vacationswe've been on and we've just
gotten to do so much together.
But I just ask this questionbecause of all the experiences
(25:19):
that me and James have had.
Is he more my son today than hewas on March 14th 2020?
No, my daughter's been with mefor 14 months.
Is she more my daughter today,because we've had great
experiences together, than shewas then Katie and I married for
a decade?
Is she more my wife today thanshe was in 2014?
(25:44):
Praise God for the growth andthe experience and the joy and
the joy, but relationally, he'smy son, she's my daughter, she's
my wife.
Your justification is a pointin time Right.
You are not more justifiedtoday than you were the day
Christ Jesus came into your life.
(26:04):
You don't have a betterstanding before God today than
the day you first came into thepresence of God.
Why?
Because the day you came intothe presence of God, there was
not a better standing you couldhave gained, because you have
all standing before a holy God.
Why?
Because there's not morerighteousness of Christ that you
(26:27):
can receive than the fullnessof the righteousness of Christ.
You are justified and thatcannot change and that will not
change.
I remember a pastor telling thisstory of a woman.
He was speaking with an elderlywoman.
She was beginning to sufferfrom dementia and she knew it,
(26:48):
and she knew that all that sheknew was just escaping and it
seemed like some of you walkedthrough this with loved ones
that all that she knew wasescaping, memories were fading
away and she knew where thisthing was heading.
She was speaking with thepastor.
I'll never forget.
(27:08):
The pastor said this.
She looked at the pastor andshe said this.
She said I may forget my Savior, but my Savior won't forget me.
Justification in the process.
Justification in the process.
It's not becoming more and morein the righteousness of christ.
(27:30):
Justification is a fact aboutyou if you know christ jesus.
I'm not discountingsanctification.
That's a beautiful process,that's a long process, that's a
daily process of obedience.
But you will never grow morejustified before God than you
are right now if you are inChrist Jesus and so we are
(27:54):
justified verse 24 by his grace,as a gift through the
redemption that is in ChristJesus.
I close with this how do welive as justified children of
God?
If that's true of us, if thatis the fact that you and I are
justified before God, how doesthat make us live One?
(28:17):
I would encourage you this torejoice in your justification,
now that maybe you have more ofa framework to think about
justification, spend all yourdays rejoicing in it.
Spend all your time worshipingthe God who has justified you
once and for all.
Rejoice in your justification.
(28:37):
We talk about the things we love, don't we?
I probably need to tell lessstories about my children in my
sermons.
They just always come upbecause I just love them and I
like to talk about them.
When a certain team won an 11o'clock basketball game
yesterday that sealed a certainspot in a certain tournament, I
(28:58):
spent the rest of the day justchatting about it, talking about
it, texting about it.
Why?
Because we like to talk aboutthings that we enjoy, that we
think about.
Are we people that rejoice inour justification and that's
something on the tip of ourtongue?
Are we people that have thebest news that we could ever
imagine, that we stand before aholy God, fully righteous,
(29:21):
closing the righteousness ofChrist, and that's something we
talk about.
That's something we tell othersabout.
You talk about the water coolerconversation at work.
That's the conversation we talkabout, the things we love.
Meaning this we talk a lotabout Jesus.
Is that true of us?
We rejoice in our justification.
Also, we remind ourselves of ourjustification.
(29:42):
You say this well, taylor, howcould I forget the best news
ever.
I don't need to remind myself.
How could I forget?
And yet you and I know, in theins and outs of life, sometimes
we are tempted to forget.
Sometimes we know we'rejustified but we're tempted to
think that we've still got toearn our way to God or earn our
(30:04):
favor with God.
We still are tempted to thinkthat could God really forgive
those past sins?
Could God really use someonelike me?
We let those thoughts get intoour mind.
I hope you will wake up eachmorning and, before your feet
hit the floor, you will remindyourself of the justification
(30:26):
that is found in Christ Jesus,that before I am anything else
today, before even before thebeautiful things like I am a
husband, I am a father, beforeI'm a pastor, before you go to
your job, before you're a friend, before all these things that
are good things and you arethose things.
But before any of that, yourfeet hit the floor and you say I
(30:47):
am justified before the God ofthe universe and I am loved by
him because of the finished workof Christ Jesus.
That's who you are and I hopethat will change how you live.
And lastly, we rightly respondto our justification, I think in
two ways.
One is obedience.
Again, I said a moment agoworks aren't out of the question
(31:12):
.
No, no, good works are to bedone by believers.
But, as we've talked about overthe last few weeks, we fixed
the equation and so now it's notas if I do good works,
therefore I'm justified.
The equation is this I'mjustified, therefore I do good
works in response to what Christhas done, because of the
(31:33):
relationship.
Now, like Ephesians 2.10 tellsus, I get to live out the good
works that God has prepared forme to walk into.
And so now I get to live inobedience.
I get to sanctification that wetalked about by the Holy
Spirit's power, look more likeJesus day by day and live in the
(31:53):
obedience he's called me to,not to earn my way, but because
Christ has already paid my way.
And now, in response, I get tolive life of obedience to him,
but also rightly responding toour justification in our own
evangelism, in telling otherswhat Christ has done, in letting
(32:14):
other people know that we havethe best news the world has ever
heard that there is one who hascome to pay for your sin, that
there is one who has come to payfor your sin, that there is one
who has looked upon you andsaid if you will come, you too
can be justified before the Godof the universe.
That's what evangelism is.
(32:34):
It's just telling others aboutthe one we love the most and
about the life that can be foundin him.
And if we are people that havetruly been justified and have
tasted and seen the goodness ofthe Lord, we should be the first
people to let others around usknow that there is a good Savior
and in a world of darkness andsin, there is a Savior that can
(33:01):
make all things right and willmake all things right and will
make all things right.
And in my own life, has hasfixed my sin problem.
The hole in my heart hasjustified me.
We ought to be people living inresponse to justification, who
tell others often what Christhas done for us.
(33:23):
So church, family, if you forgeteverything else today, I pray
you won't forget this.
That if you know Christ Jesus,as you sit here in this room,
I'm talking to you.
I'm not even talking to theperson next to you right now.
I'm talking to you as you sithere in this room.
You sit here as one who isjustified before God, clothed in
(33:50):
the righteousness of Christ.
Someone called sanctificationthis becoming who you already
are.
You are clothed in therighteousness of Christ, the
beauty of sanctification.
We get to grow in righteousnessin the here and now.
(34:11):
But in that heavenly place,before the holy God of the
universe, you and I stand notcondemned, but justified if you
know Christ Jesus.
If you don't know Christ Jesus,I've got the best news in the
world to tell you right now, youtoo can stand before the father
(34:33):
, justified how, by coming toChrist, by letting that
justification intersect withinyour own life, that one day you
would talk to someone telling astory of the trajectory of the
Christian life and you would saythat Christ died on the cross
(34:54):
back then and then, in thespring of 2025, he opened my
heart and I was justified by him.
Could that be your story thismorning?
If you want it to be, pleasecome down and let me chat with
you about that.
If you want to come be a partof this church family, let me
talk with you about it.
If you just want a pastor topray with you or over you, if
(35:17):
you want to come to the altarand pray on your own, if you
want to sit right where you'reat and just do business with the
Lord, maybe just thank him.
Thank you, lord, for yoursalvation, your justification.
However, you need to respond.
Now is going to be the time todo it.
Let me pray for us and thenlet's continue in worship as we
respond.
Lord Jesus, thank you.
(35:38):
Thank you for justification,thank you for justification, not
a justification that we'veearned we couldn't, but a
justification that you and youalone have provided.
And so, lord, let us be peoplewho live in response to that,
(35:58):
who who rightly understand that,who live every day, um, knowing
that we are yours, that we areforgiven and for all, time and
forever, that no power of hellor scheme of man could ever
pluck us from your hand.
But because we are justified,we will be with you for eternity
(36:22):
.
Lord, we give you praise and wethank you, lord.
Lord, if there's one, ifthere's two, if there's more
that need to respond in thesemoments, would they do so?
Give them a holy boldness to doit, lord, and I just pray that
we would all respond in worship,because we all have a response
to make.
Lord, let us worship you evenin the here and now.
(36:43):
You are the justifier.
We thank you, lord, in Christ'sname, amen, would you stand,
and if, for any reason, you'dlike to come, I'll be right down
front.
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