Gospel—C. Hendricks
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Greater small, nothing Sinner. No, Jesus did it, did it all long, long ago #33 someone raised that tomb, please.
Turn with me tonight to Romans 1.
Romans, chapter 1.
I think most of us in the room here know that this epistle to the Romans, the 1St 8 chapters in particular, is the fullest and richest, most complete unfolding of the Gospel.
Notice how it begins. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle.
Separated unto the gospel of God.
The gospel of God is not a glorious expression.
Gospel, which originates in the mind and heart of God himself, comes from him. It's his gospel, the gospel of God.
Which He had promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, of course, referring to the Old Testament Scriptures there. And it concerns a person. It's not about you, it's not about me, it's about concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh. That's his humanity.
And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. That's his deity, the Son of God, and the resurrection proved that he was who he claimed to be.
You know, that's why they nailed him to a cross, because he claimed to be the Son of God. The Jews understood what he was claiming. He was claiming equality with God.
And they said for a man to do that was blasphemy. I did not understand the glorious truth of the of the incarnation when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It is, it is such a tremendous truth that it is very challenging for us puny humans to get our minds around that truth that God.
Became a man.
What a wonderful truth that is.
I'm not going to go over every verse because time will not permit it.
So we'll pick out a few verses here as we go through these first chapters. He says in verse 14, I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians.
Both to the wise and to the unwise, the gentile world is.
Classified in these two ways, the Greeks, they were the educated, cultured.
Gentiles and then the Barbarians, they were the down and outers and the Greeks were the up and outers. And so he classifieds these two. And the first part, the chapter 1, the last part of chapter 1 deals with the Barbarians, we would say the heathen. And then it starts in chapter 2 and it deals with the the Greek moralists.
The upper crust of society, if you will.
Paul says I'm a debtor to both. I'm a debtor I have to proclaim the gospel to both of these groups. So as much as in me is I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew 1St and also.
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To the Greek.
The power of God to take a man from a life of sin, and sometimes debauchery and drunkenness and immorality, and make that person a saved man. The power of God, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
When I was a young man.
Would preach. We would preach the gospel every week.
At.
Wilson Ave. in Chicago until the Tavern owners finally managed to get us off of that corner. And then we went down to Skid Row and preached the gospel across from a mission.
We set up on a cinder lot at Skid Row. I'll never forget a man who came there.
He had come from Dallas, TX, 1000 miles away. He was just passing through Chicago while he was walking through Skid Row. I do not know, but he heard the gospel. He stood there and listened all that time that we preached came over and talked to me and we knelt down together and with tears flowing down his cheeks.
These were his words.
Lord Jesus.
To think that I had to come 1000 miles to find thee on a cinder lodge in Skid Row shipout.
I have never seen the man since I expect to meet him in glory.
It wasn't a hypocritical prayer. It was real. You can tell the difference when you deal with these people as we did back then.
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth can clean up the life of a drunkard in a drug addict and set them on the narrow Rd. to heaven.
The power of God, something that man has no power of. God has that power to save, to save from a life of debauchery and wastedness and.
All kinds of evils.
And make that person an upright, moral, law abiding citizen who loves the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation to save your precious soul. No matter how bad you are, you cannot get out of the reach of the grace of God. You can't be that bad.
I've talked to people, they say you don't know me, you don't know what I've done. I can't be saved. I'm too bad. That's not possible. The Apostle Paul spoke of himself as the chief of sinners.
He considered himself the worst because he persecuted the Church of God.
He persecuted Christians, compelled them to blast them, pursued them from one strange city to another.
Till he was arrested in his madding course on the road to Damascus, by a light brighter than the noonday sun, And a voice saw Saul. Why persecutest thou me? Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecuted.
He met him completely changed the man. He experienced the power of God unto salvation.
Completely changed him from an insolent, overbearing man to a loving, gentle father. As he says to the Thessalonians, I was among you as a nurse. Cherish of her own children.
Wonderful what the Gospel can do for a soul.
He goes on to say for therein for 17 is the righteousness of God revealed. That's a new thought, completely new truth. They hadn't heard anything like that before, and we'll develop that in a little bit when we get to the third chapter. But in the gospel, there's the righteousness of God revealed. He says from faith to faith. That is on the principle of faith.
To faith the Jew was on the principle of works, the works of law. That's the principle upon which he he lived for 1500 years. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
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And he had to learn that God was now dealing in an altogether new principle, a principle of faith. Faith.
Not law, but grace. That works, but faith.
So it's revealed from faith around that principle to faith.
As it is written to just to live by faith, that verse from Habakkuk is found in three places in the New Testament. It's found here in Romans one. It's found in Galatians 3. It's found in Hebrews 10.
The emphasis in Romans is that just shall live by faith because Romans answers the question how can man be just with God?
In Galatians, it's the just shall live by faith because it's faith in contrast with the works of the law, and in Hebrews it's the just shall live by faith. It's the life of faith which is emphasized in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Martin Luther was on his knees crawling up the stairs working his way to heaven. So he thought he was under the ******* of the law. He was a Roman Catholic monk at the time, and this verse came before his soul. If you don't hear, if you don't remember anything else you hear tonight, don't forget this verse. The just shall live by faith. And that verse came home to his soul and the power of the Spirit of God.
The just shall live by faith.
Not by works. He was trying to gain access to God and God's favor, God acceptance by works, and it doesn't work. And he got up off his knees and he turned around and he walked down the stairs and he's the one that was used of God to restore the glorious truth that were justified by faith apart from works.
Justified by faith.
The just shall live by faith. Wonderful, marvelous truth of the Reformation.
Now the next verse is not gospel, but it's preached along with the gospel. It's a very solemn verse, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness.
Now that usually refers when it speaks of ungodliness, it refers to the Gentile world. They lived without God. They didn't know God.
They were without God and without hope in the world, we Gentiles.
They had no real knowledge of the true God. Remember when Paul was in Athens, he saw all these idols and he saw all of these indications of idol worship and he came to the inscription to the unknown God. They didn't want to miss any God, and they might have missed 1. So they made one to the unknown God, and he said, him who ye ignorantly worship, I declare to you.
Use that to preach the gospel of the true God to them.
And so when it says all ungodliness, I think it's the Gentiles and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. I think that was the Jewish world. They had that, they had law. They knew the word of God. They knew what God forbid and what he commended had the 10 commandments.
And they held the truth. They had the truth. The Gentiles didn't. They just lived ungodly.
And but the Jews, they had the truth in a measure, and yet they.
They held it in unrighteousness. They didn't obey it.
There's a group today in the world that's like this, and that's of course Christendom. Those that know have been exposed to the truth of God, The Christian world, not the Muslims, not the Muhammadans, not the the.
Hindus and and the Buddhists, they don't know the true God. Those are false gods that they have, but in the umbrella that we call Christendom, the Christian world.
We know the truth.
You know there's one God.
When I say we, I'm talking about those that are in the umbrella of Christendom. They may not have a personal experience in their soul, they may not have been born again and receive the Spirit of God, but they do know that there's one God.
Not many.
Well, the Jews knew that, but they held the truth in unrighteousness. Why is the wrath of God revealed from heaven? Where do we see it in all its horrible fury? Is it the cross?
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When God had to punish his Son who stood in our room instead, when he was made sin on the cross and God was dealing with sin, we see how how awful sin is to God. You see, he can't forgive your sin without punishing it. Someone has to pay for it. You can't just pat you on the head and say, well, that's all right, Sonny, try better next time and let you go free. He can't do that because he's a holy God and he's a righteous God.
Thing that he does has to be done in righteousness.
Paul speaks of the righteousness of God in this epistle. What is it? It's God's consistency with himself in everything that he does is righteousness.
When he sends a Sinner to hell, it'll be an expression of his righteousness.
When he justifies A Sinner who believes in Jesus, it's an expression of his righteousness.
That's a new thought.
It's not just that he's merciful and gracious and loving and kind and compassionate.
But he's righteous, and he has found a way to save man, to justify man, be righteous in doing it.
In fact, the work of Christ is of such infinite value before God that if anyone came to God pleading the cross.
God in righteousness would have to accept Him.
He couldn't refuse him because of the work.
The Lord Jesus stood on the cross. When you see that truth, oh, I'll never forget the light that flooded into my soul when I saw that truth. It isn't just the love of God. It's not just the mercy of God. It's not just the grace of God and the compassion of God and the kindness of God, but the very righteousness of God.
When we when we come to God clinging to the cross and say I believe the cross, Jesus was my substitute. He paid the penalty my sins deserve.
God says I justify you.
I account you righteous.
Because my son has taken your place, I can't punish your sins twice.
And God is righteous in doing that.
So in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed to faith, to the one that believes he gets the benefit of it. But then the wrath of God is revealed too. God had to punish sin. And during those three hours of darkness, from the 6th to the 9th hour.
This world was shrouded in darkness.
It says the sun was darkened.
And God dealt with your sins and mine, if you believe.
You can say this if you trust him. You can say yes, he was there in my place.
And he won't require it of you. What a gospel this is.
Why is this wrath revealed?
Is man innocent? Is he?
Then there's some people, they say, well, what about the poor heathen in South Africa that's never heard the gospel? Or some other remote part of the world? What about them?
Well, verse 19 says, because there's two reasons given why God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, because that which may be known of God is manifest in or among them, For God has showed it unto them, For the invisible things from of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.
Being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power in Godhead.
So that they are without excuse. There's not a boy or a girl or a man or a woman, an older person, no matter who on the face of the earth that doesn't have the testimony of God in creation. And that's what he's talking about. The 19th Psalm says the heavens declare the glory of God. In the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day, utterance, speech, night unto night showeth knowledge. There's no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
I know I was visiting in one place and I said to one of the children, I said, oh, you've got a moon here too.
We've got one just like that in Illinois.
And they didn't quite understand what I was saying.
Everyone has the same testimony. God has given it to us the world over, no matter where you are.
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I never forget when I was in Jamaica, British W Indies in my 20s, I had never seen it up here, never anything like it went out at night.
There was no big cities around or anything like that, and I saw the Milky Way.
It wasn't. You couldn't sing, you couldn't pick out single stars. It was like a solid band of light that went across the sky. I just stood there and I I just was awed at the sight.
Millions of stars in our Galaxy, the glory of God displayed by His creatorial power. Everyone has is responsible for that. And so if His wrath is revealed against ungodly living or unrighteous living, it's because you have God's testimony.
That he is.
The very first verse of our Bible. So important, so majestic. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Don't ever forget that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
He called the universe into being by the word of his mouth. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. He spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. He said let there be and there was. What an awesome being this is. I remember when I was down at the Kennedy Space Center, I was sitting next to.
A man that was looking at the at the.
The launch, it was not an actual launch. It was. It was in the theater there. The whole building shook when it took off. Very impressive. Some of you must have seen this. And as we walked out, I said to him, I said, if man can do all that, think of what the God is like that created man that gave him that intelligence.
And he said, yeah, I like that.
He was awed by his way. Man takes all the credit to himself. The Bible says, What is thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received it, why glorious thou, as though thou hast not received it? The credit goes to God, not to me or to you. No matter how talented or skillful you are or we are, the credit goes to Him.
And we are so vain and so proud that we take the credit to ourselves.
When it's all for his glory created us for his will.
And his pleasure.
We're living in the last days of the Church's history on earth and this basic truth that in the beginning God created the universe.
Is not believed by many.
Well, if you don't believe that.
You don't. You won't believe any of the Bible because that's the way the word of God starts. It tells us how we got here.
It tells us the beginning of things before anyone ever existed down here in the scene.
And it also tells us where we're going.
And there's two places and this book, and only this book knows where we came from and where we're headed.
It tells us how we should live in the interim, and this is the only book that tells us that. Throw it out, and as we had before us in the readings today, the truth is gone. Your opinion is as good as mine. Neither 1 is worth anything when it comes to these moral, spiritual things.
So there's a testimony of creation and man is responsible. There's another reason, verse 21, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. There were eight souls that went into the arks. God said I, I was destroyed man from the face of the earth.
God saw that the wickedness of man was great. I'm quoting from Genesis 6, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man, and he said, I will destroy man from the face of you.
But Noah found grace in his sight, and so he preserved Noah and his wife and their three sons and three wives. 8 souls went into the ark.
So God began again with a new head, Noah. Every one of us can trace our genealogy back to two heads, Noah and Adam.
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There was 1 righteous man.
When they knew God, they knew He was a God of judgment.
Yet I've seen many pictures of the flood. People are outside of the ark. This is all the imagination of the artist, of course. And they're outside of the ark and they're laughing at Noah here. He's building this boat and dry land and.
Finally, the animals start to come in.
Noted Noah didn't go out for them. The Lord brought them in. They brought, he brought them in. They went up into the ark and then says the door was shut. God set them in.
And the people were outside. This is the way it's portrayed. And as they're outside all of a sudden after 7 days.
It was a drop of rain and then another drop.
And then another job. That's not the way it happens.
The way it happened was the windows of heaven were opened and the fountains of the great deep were broken up and they were deluged instantly. They didn't have anywhere to run. They didn't climb to the top of the mountains for refuge. They were killed in the spot. At least that's the picture I get.
From Scripture.
Christendom is in for the.
The worst judgment that's ever fallen since that time.
And it's going to be just that fast. God seems to be so slow. Why hasn't he judged? Why hasn't he done something? When he starts, he makes short, short work of it, very short work of it, as he did back then.
Because when they knew God, they knew him as a God of judgment. Everyone of those souls that came out of the ark, they knew God in an entirely different way. He judges sin.
And He had judged it. They glorified Him not as God. Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds in four footed beasts and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness.
Through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Man is a tripartite preacher. It's a body.
The soul and the spirit. That verse says that he degraded himself in his body.
Change the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen for this 'cause God gave them up unto vile affections. That's the soul of man, his affections, vile affections. He debased his body and now his soul given up to vile things.
For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another men, with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meat.
What a description of the Pagan Gentile world. What a description of Christendom today.
It made full circle. We've gone full circle. 2000 years of gospel testimony and we're back to the same kind of thing under the umbrella of Christendom that began before the gospel ever reached.
The world isn't that sad and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge.
Now you have the mind, the spirit of man affected. God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. So you have the body debased, you have the soul debased, you have the spirit of man debased, man totally given him, giving himself up to that which is going to bring the judgment of God.
God gave them over. But a solemn expression, God gave them over.
To a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient.
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You think of some of the decisions that are made by the courts of the land today.
They've lost all moral discernment.
They.
Are making the most absurd decisions.
Righteousness.
Is no longer there.
A reprobate mind. A mind void of moral discernment.
We're living in that kind of a society today.
That's the way it was before the gospel came here.
It's worse today because this is the condition of things after 2000 years of gospel testimony.
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness.
Full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, back biters, haters of God.
Despiteful, proud boasters. Inventors of evil things. Disobedient to parents.
Without understanding covenant Breakers. Without natural affection.
Implacable, unmerciful, who, knowing the judgment of God, that they would commit such things.
Are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
We've seen a little bit of a display of that in the political arena.
Not too long ago.
Thank God there were still some.
Something left. We're still here. Christians are still here. The Spirit of God is still here. There's still a restraint upon the full development of this evil. This is what will happen in its entirety once we're gone.
Fellow delights in them that do them.
Now in the 2nd chapter he deals with the moralists.
The Greeks, the upper crust of society in the gentile world.
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges, this is the one that is judging these evil things. Whereas the last verse of the first chapter.
They delight in these things and they like to see it done because that's the way they're living. But now you have those that sit in judgment upon those things, say they're wrong.
And he says, You're inexcusable, because wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou the judgest doest the same things. In the 1St chapter, they did these things right out in the open. In the 2nd chapter they did these things behind the closed doors, but they still did them.
That so openly and they judge those things.
But we are sure.
That the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Judgment of God is according to truth. Today truth is fallen in the streets, but when God judges according to truth.
No one will escape. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judges them, which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shall escape the judgment?
Of God or despises thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.
Hypocrite that does these things, but secretly and no one knows about it and he looks, he's looked upon as a respected citizen of society and so on. The goodness of God doesn't come down just right away and judge him, gives him opportunity to repent and to turn from his wicked way. Don't you know? He says that the goodness of God is leading you to repentance.
There's a coin to come, an end to the God's forbearance and goodness in this way, and when it happens, the judgment is going to fall fast and furious, as it did at the time of the flood.
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasure is up unto thyself wrath. Treasure is up unto thyself wrath. If you think you're getting away with it, if you think you're getting away with anything, all you're doing is treasuring up to yourself wrath. What does it say against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God?
Everything that you and I have ever done is being written down.
I'm just going to read you. You don't have to turn to it.
It's Luke 12/2 verses there.
Luke 12 It says, For there is nothing covered. Verse 3 Two. That shall not be revealed either hid that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which He has spoken in the ear in closet shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
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The Day of judgment coming, no one gets away with anything. I've heard it say how can so and so and they talk about some dignitary. How can he get away with it? He's not going to.
And when that judgment overtakes him, it will be terrible. Those that continue on in a life of sin, they are treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and judgment of the righteous judgment of God.
Revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render verse 6 to every man according to his deeds to them, who by patient continuance and well doing, you are the Lords, and you are going on for the Lord that's going to be rewarded in that day.
Seek for glory, honor and immortality, eternal life. It will be the blessing for those who are the Lords.
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish.
Upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew 1St, and also of the Gentile.
Glory, honor and peace to every man that worketh good for the Jew 1St and also to the Gentile. But there's no respect of persons with God in these earthly governments, judgments that take place in courtrooms and so on. There's all kinds of respective persons. The judgment is not according to truth, but in this day it will be, and there'll be no respect of persons. There'll be no lessening of judgment because you know someone and you stand before the bar of God.
No respective persons, for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.
Well, I'm going to Passover some of these, and the end of this section says verse 16, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Well, that verse is those two verses I read in Luke. The secret things, the things that we've done in secret, no one knows anything about it.
God does. He's going to judge in that day the secrets of men.
And then he deals with the Jew. Verse 17 Beholden thou art called the Jew, and.
Hostess, restest in the law, and make us thy boast of God, and knowest His will, and approve us The things that are more excellent being instructed out of the law, and are confident that thou thyself are the guide of the blind, the light of them which are in darkness. An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which has the form of knowledge and of the truth and the law.
And then he says to them Now therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself, Thou that preachest to man, should not steal? Dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery? Dost thou commit adultery? Thou that of poorest idols? Dost thou commits sacrilege thou that makest thy boast of the law? Through breaking the law you dishonor God. So the Jew has the advantage of having the law, knowing his will, and yet he breaks it.
And brings down the judgment.
Of God upon him.
He says at the end of the chapter he's not a Jew, which is 1 outwardly, not a real Jew, not a spiritual Jew, not not one that is true to his name. His name means the praise to God.
He's not a Jew, which is 1 outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he's a Jew which is 1 inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Now we could change that word Jew to Christian today, as I'm speaking to a Christian audience, he is not a Christian who is 1 outwardly, but he is a Christian. He's one inwardly. Are you a Christian inwardly? Have you been born again? You have a new life, You have eternal life. Are you in dwelt of the Holy Spirit? You've been sealed by the Spirit of God. Are you saved or is this just something that you've made a profession of? That's what he's talking about with the Jews. They were just Jews outwardly.
Formed that way, you may have been born into a Christian family and been baptized, and you may have the name of Christ named upon you, but if you haven't experienced a work of God in your soul, you're still lost.
You're not a true Christian at all, just as some of these were not true Jews.
True Jew was a saved man. That's what he's saying.
What advantage that hath the Jew, or what prophet is there of circumcision? Much every way the Jews had the law.
Chiefly he says that to them we're committed the oracles of God. We owe the whole Bible to the Jew.
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Every author was Jew in this Bible. Some say Luke was a Gentile, and that's for sure. But at any rate, they gave us the word of God.
Now he says.
In verse 9, What then? Are we better than they? We Jews? Are we better than the Gentiles because we have the law?
No and no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.
When it comes to our sinnership, we have no advantage as it is written. There is none righteous. No, not one. Now he quotes a number of scriptures from their Old Testament scriptures which applies to the Jew to apply to the Gentile as well. But what does he quote? There's none righteous. No, not one. It says in the 14th Psalm, God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that understood that did righteousness before him.
What did you see? They are altogether become corrupt. There is none that doeth good. No, not one, not one.
None righteous, No, not one. There's none that understand that. There's none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way. They are together, become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good. No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of ASP is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery in their ways, in the way of peace. Have they not known? There's No Fear of God before their eyes.
Now we know that what thingssoever the law sayeth, that's what he's been quoting. He's been quoting Old Testament scriptures, which the Jew boasted in, but those their very scriptures condemned them.
Now we know that what thinks soever the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the law. That's the Jew, not the Gentile, That every mouth may be stopped.
And all the world may become guilty before God. So the trial is over. Man is no longer on trial.
In John 6, the Lord said, Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out. The trial is over.
The gavel comes down guilty.
The whole human race guilty before God.
Whether you're a Jew or Gentile makes no difference.
The more privileges you have, the more light you have from God, the more guilty you are.
The more severe the judgment.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the laws the knowledge of sin.
The law tells me thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not lust.
The law says thou shalt have no other gods but me.
Think of how serious it is.
He says, I shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for he shall not hold him guiltless to taketh his name in vain. What do you think of someone that raises his hand?
Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? I do.
That's taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain if someone does that and then proceeds to lie repeatedly.
Very solemn.
Well, is he going to get away with that? Is anyone going to get away with that? Of course not.
Judgment of God is according to truth.
God knows that commit such things. There is no respective persons with God.
Having a higher place in society doesn't render you exempt from God's Word and God's law.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the laws the knowledge of sin, it tells me what's wrong, tells me what God hates and I'm to abstain from.
Now the world is guilty.
He has proven all phases of human society guilty.
Now it's time for God to come in with His matchless grace and the salvation that He's found He's provided in Christ and reveal it to us.
I remember brothers said after God is pronounced guilty, he said the only thing left is mercy. But that's not what we read in verse 20.
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It doesn't say that now, but verse 21. But now the mercy of God without the laws manifested doesn't say that. What does it say now? The righteousness of God.
Without the laws manifest if man is guilty before God.
If you stand before the judge and he pronounces you guilty, you don't plead for righteousness.
You are guilty.
Plead for mercy.
But now God manifests his righteousness.
It's a new thought, totally.
Is in the cross of Christ we see how God can save, yet righteous be.
Now the righteousness of God without the law altogether apart from the law, 1500 years the Jews were under the law, not one of them kept it. The Lord said, did not Moses give you the law? None of you keep with the law.
Stephen said, Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Two divine persons, the Lord Himself and the Spirit of God, speaking through Stephen says You have not kept it.
How do we know that no one kept it because no one continued to live?
The law held out the promise of life. This Do and thou shalt live. Had they kept it, had one man kept it, death would not have had any claim on that man held out the promise of life to the obedience. Instead it became.
Death, condemnation and a curse because no one has kept it.
So apart from the law, now God manifests His righteousness not in the way of condemning the Sinner.
But in justifying Sinner that believes in Jesus, notice how he develops this. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. I'm not going to turn to the passages, but there are a number of them in Isaiah and other portions of scripture that refer to my righteousness is to be revealed and so on witnessed by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God.
Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ.
That is, the righteousness of God is looked at here as a covering shroud, protecting those that put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just His mercy and grace and compassion, but His very righteousness. The very attribute of God that's going to send a Sinner to hell now protects and justifies and clears.
The the one that believes in Jesus, because Jesus has paid the price.
For your sins.
The righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all. He wants to show himself righteous and justifying all of us, but it's only upon all. It's only upon all them that believe.
There's no difference.
What is it that justifies me is righteousness.
Wonderful.
The very righteousness of God justifies me, justifies you, when you believe in Jesus.
There's no difference for all of sin and consort of the glory of God. As far as our sinnership is concerned, we're no different.
And now it says, being justified, being accounted, declared righteous freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Justification is free, flows to us from the heart of God, and it does so on a righteous basis now a righteous footing, because Christ has done that work which has glorified God as to sin.
Justified freely by his grace. That's the source.
Through the redemption.
That's the basis for it. That is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth as a propitiation.
A mercy seat, a meeting place between the Sinner and God. Christ is.
Done the work. He has offered that sacrifice which God has accepted, which has glorified God. The sin question has been settled.
God has punished sin.
And he had to.
Couldn't save any of us without that. Our sins had to be dealt with, and that's what happened on the cross.
The greatest transaction ever was the cross, when God, in all His Holiness and righteousness and justice, punished his Son, who took your place and mine.
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On that cross.
You can only know that, and it can only true of you if you believe the gospel.
If you believe the gospel, he's offering it. It's unto all. It's available to all.
Available to all.
God wants to meet you there. He can meet you there because your sins have been dealt with and you come to meet him there. You'll find that out.
Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare his righteousness.
For the emission of sins that are past, what does that mean? Well, in the Old Testament, God passed over the sins of the Old Testament Saints. He didn't, he didn't bring them into judgment. You might say, well, how could he do that? You said he can't do that.
Well, he's a timeless being, and he knew that Christ would come and put those sins away by his sacrifice on the cross. So he passed over them for the time and now that the cross is an accomplished fact.
He says His righteousness in passing over remitting those sins of Old Testament believers.
This now seemed to be righteous, so it says, to declare his righteousness for the remission or the passing over.
Of sins that are past, that is the Old Testament believers.
Through the forbearance of God.
So now that the cross is.
Is accomplished, His righteousness is declared in the fact that he passed over those sins.
But now in the present time, verse 26, to declare, I say at this time.
His righteousness for 2000 years now His righteousness is declared that he might be just.
And the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
What is the righteousness of God? And it's His perfect consistency with himself, in all his feelings, with his preachers.
The righteousness of God displayed in the gospel is God justifying the Sinner that comes to him clinging to the cross.
Having received the Lord Jesus as Savior.
God would be unrighteous to refuse Him. I say that reverently.
Because the work of Christ is such infinite value to God proven than the fact that he raised him from the dead.
And set him at the highest place in heaven. It's the righteousness of God which set that man in the glory.
And it's the righteousness of God which has justified the Sinner that believes in Jesus.
That attribute of His perfect justice and righteousness is now operating for you when you trust Christ and plead the blood of Christ.
Isn't that precious?
To declare, I say at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
I'm just going to finish this chapter and then I'm done.
Where is boasting then?
It is excluded.
By what law of works? No, but by the law of faith, the principle of faith.
Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
And then he asks, Well, the Law, when he was given it, was only given to the Jew. Is he the God of the Jews only?
Oh, is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. So this new thing, this new blessing is not limited like the law was. The law was only given to Israel.
Gentiles were never put under law because the law was never given to justify man, but to show man what a Sinner he was.
But now hears the grace of God and the righteousness of God operating on behalf of the Sinner that believes in Jesus to justify him and give him a right to standing before God. He says I'm not limiting that to the Jew, It's for the whole world, Jew and Gentile. You see the God of the Jews only know is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes.
Of the Gentiles also seeing it as one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith, that's the Jew.
And that principle and the uncircumcision of the Gentile through faith.
The Gentile was never on the principle of works, but now the Jew was, and so he has to learn that God's principle of justifying his faith now.
That works, and the Gentile comes in through faith.
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And then that last question, verse 31, do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid. No, he says. Yeah, we established the law. How so?
The one who makes void the law is the one who puts himself under the law and breaks it and then says it doesn't condemn me.
The law does condemn you if you are under it.
And so the one who flees by faith to Christ, he owns that, he says, I'm not going to put myself under love.
It will only condemn me. It will only kill me. It will only curse me.
A fleet of Christ. Christ is the end of law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.
And so the one who flees by faith to Christ is really establishing.
All the claims of the law, not nullifying them, but establishing them.
The law can only curse you.
Because you're a Sinner. Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things.
Which are written in the book of the Lord.