Christ Our Hope PCA blog - Tony Phelps, pastor

"NOT that, but THIS"

Reformed theology is a wonderful thing.  For many Christians who "discover" the riches of Reformed theology - after many wandering years in the Semi-Pelagian wilderness - it's almost like a second blessing...  A necessary part of Reformed theology is what we can call the apostolic "NOT that, but THIS."  Read Paul's epistles - and then read the likes of Luther and Calvin - and you'll see what I mean.  The Gospel is counter-intuitive.  Men - even redeemed men - have a tendency to diminish the radical corruption of sin, and as result, the radical wonder of God's grace to us in Christ.  Paul must tell the Galatians, and even the Corinthians, "NOT that" (your varied distortions or denials of the Gospel, with the raising up of your own righteousness), "but THIS" (the glory of the grace of God to us in Christ crucified - who alone is our righteousness).  Reformed theology, likewise, in an effort to be faithful to the apostolic Gospel, must say, "NOT that" (Joel Osteen, Arminianism, fundie legalisms, etc), "but THIS" (Christ's Cross and Righteousness alone). 

However, a sad reality is that many who make the pilgrimage into Reformed theology seem to trade their old self-righteousness ("I don't smoke or chew or dance with girls who do," etc), for a completely inappropriate NEW self-righteousness ("I thank you, God, that I am REFORMED, and not like those awful Arminians, fundies, and Pentecostals").  In other words, their supposedly new gains in theological maturity do not translate into a grace-driven spiritual maturity.  One legalism is swapped for another. 

What's the remedy?  Perhaps it is to recognize that the "NOT that" of Reformed theology is not the heart of the matter; the "but THIS" is the most important thing.  The negations are necessary, but not sufficient for spiritual maturity.  At the heart of the "but THIS" of Reformed theology is THIS:  I am a GREAT SINNER (radically depraved, helpless and hopeless to save myself), and Christ is a GREAT SAVIOR (the radical wonder of His grace and mercy to me).  God have mercy on me, a sinner.  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am chief.  Amen.

Are you qualified to worship the holy God? - An exposition of Psalm 15

“No attribute of God is more dreadful to sinners than His holiness.” So wrote Matthew Henry, an English Presbyterian pastor and commentator of the 17th century. Once again: “No attribute of God is more dreadful to sinners than His holiness.” A “dreadful” attribute of God? Sounds like something we might not want to emphasize in our worship services. I mean, if we want to grow the church, we can’t go around talking about attributes of God that inspire DREAD in people. They might never come back! No, we should talk about “love” and “grace” – and keep those terms as ambiguous as possible.  So please, none of this dreadful “holiness” stuff. People don’t want to come to worship to feel guilty, after all. They want to feel “uplifted.” Or in today’s cutting edge, church growth language: “They want an authentic, transcendent worship experience.”

 

Now, here is the glaring irony. Pastors are told in church growth seminars and books to basically engineer these “worship experiences” that “speak to the culture,” in order to grow the church successfully. And the way we are to do that is to essentially DENY the basic problem of worship. Yes, there is a basic problem to worship we can’t skirt. And it’s not about whether to use a praise band or an organ. Here’s the problem: how can sinners enter the presence of this dreadfully holy God in worship? The God whose eyes are too pure to look upon our sin? The God who is a consuming fire to us, as sinners? Worship is not something to play with; worship is not something to “engineer” or manipulate for the sake of a “target audience.” Worship is deadly serious, because the dreadfully holy God is to be our only “target audience” in worship. And we as sinners must deal with this problem of how we can worship a holy God.

 

Psalm 15 addresses this very problem. In verse 1, the problem of worship is presented in the form of a question: who may enter to worship and to dwell in the holy presence of God? Verses 2-5 present the answer: the only qualified worshiper is the One who is perfectly righteous. And then the last part of verse 5 presents a promise to the qualified worshiper: such a One will never be moved from God’s holy presence.

 

So verse 1, the question: Who may enter to worship and to dwell in the holy presence of God? Specifically, David asks, LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? Or, “Yahweh, my covenant God, who may sojourn, journey & enter into Your tabernacle – the place where You dwell among Your people, enthroned in holiness. Who may continue in Your presence on Your holy hill – on  Mount Zion,where You have established Your holy throne, to rule in the midst of Your people.” This “holy hill,” Mount Zion, becomes poetic imagery of God’s heavenly Zion, His heavenly presence & throne, from which He rules. In fact, the tabernacle and later temple are patterned after the heavenly courts – as God revealed that pattern to Moses on Mount Sinai.

 

But, why are these questions asked? And when are they asked? Many Old Testament scholars think this psalm may have been a psalm of entrance into the tabernacle and later temple. In other words, as the worshipers approached the tabernacle, perhaps they sang this psalm. Some speculate that maybe it was used antiphonally – that is, it was sung responsively between the people and the priests. Maybe as the worshipers enter the outer court of the tabernacle, they would sing these first two questions. And the priests would sing the response with the remainder of the psalm. It seems to be a plausible theory.

 

But we’ve been assuming something that we need to make explicit. We’re talking about “entering” God’s holy presence in worship. But isn’t God everywhere “present”? If you read Psalm 139, David meditates on that reality, that God’s presence isn’t limited to the tabernacle – or to the assembly of the church. And as Christians, aren’t we individually temples of the Holy Spirit? Doesn’t Christ dwell in us by His Spirit? Yes, all these things are true.

 

But throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament, there is still the reality of the church assembling before God for worship. Of coming into His presence. Psalm 100 speaks of the approach of worship: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. In the NT, we have Hebrews 12, which speaks of the New Covenant Church coming to the heavenly Zion for worship. And earlier in that letter, 10:25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

This language of “assembling” is OT language of assembling for worship and covenant renewal as God’s people. God calls us to assemble before Him in worship, speaks to us through His covenant Word, and we respond in prayers spoken and sung. We worship the God who, by His Word, has saved us and made us a new people, and who continues to renew us through His Word.

 

But do you feel the weight of these questions which begin Psalm 15? These questions are addressed to God, but they are designed for self-examination, for any who would presume to approach God in worship: LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? In other words, who is qualified to enter Your holy presence, to worship in the splendor of Your holiness?

 

So let me stop and ask some questions of you: what do you do to prepare to meet God in holy worship? Do questions like these ever cross your mind? Do you take any time on Saturday night or Sunday morning to reflect on this awesome reality, that you are going to assemble with God’s people in God’s holy presence, for holy worship, as His Church?

 

How do you enter this place where we are about to engage in the worship of God? Yes, here we are, in a pretty “un-churchy” room in the Neighborhood Guild. Yes, Sunday school has run over. Yes, people are milling about in the hallway, or the back room. Yes, some are arriving late. Yes, you’ve been stressed out, trying to get the kids out the door (or other family members, or yourself!). But what effort have you made to prepare to enter God’s holy presence in worship? And do you really think you are qualified for this holy task of worship?  Well, let’s consider that next.

 

The problem has been posed in the form of two questions, which we summarized, “Who may enter to worship, and to dwell in the holy presence of God?” Not to worry, the LORD gives a very precise & thorough answer in verses 2-5:

 

The only qualified worshiper is the One who is perfectly righteous. Well, the problem will be resolved – but not necessarily in a way we would find comforting!

 

As we go through these verses, we should notice there is a pattern. The conditions required of the worshiper are both positive and negative. And they are presented alternatively in four groups: positive, negative, positive, negative. And there a total of ten qualifications or conditions that are listed.

 

Obviously, the Ten Commandments might come to mind here. But these ten conditions do not exactly parallel the Ten Commandments. Some of the qualifications are more general, and some give specific application of particular commandments. So the fact that there are ten may be to say, “Here’s a complete portrait of what someone might ‘look like’ who is truly qualified to worship God.”

 

So let’s begin to look at the qualifications for the one who may enter God’s holy presence to worship and to dwell. Verse 2 presents a group of three positive conditions: He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. The first condition could be translated, “He who walks – or lives the entire course of his life – “blamelessly,” or “faultlessly,” or even “perfectly”! (We haven’t gotten very far, and we’re already undone!)

 

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5, verse 48 – after explaining what it really means to love our neighbor as ourselves. It includes loving even our enemies, just as God does! He sums it up by saying, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” That’s not good news, but it is God’s standard.

 

God requires of us that we continue in all things which are written in the Book of the Law, to do them [Gal 3:10]. His Law demands a perfect righteousness. If we are to enter God’s presence for worship, if we are to live in His holy presence, we must be perfectly righteous. Why? Because He is perfectly righteous.

 

Now, we are stuck in our own skin as sinners. We hear what God’s Law requires of us, and we respond with frustration, “Who then can ever hope to enter God’s presence?” And when we do respond like that, we’re on the right track!

 

The qualified worshiper is not only one who lives the entire course of his life perfectly, but his righteousness is active and dynamic. He doesn’t just avoid sin, he actively does the right thing according to God’s law. Righteousness is a living thing in his life – it’s real. God’s standards are his priority, his meat & drink – and he lives it out, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

 

This qualified worshiper is not just externally righteous – he’s not just someone who “behaves” and doesn’t break the rules. No, his righteousness is an inner reality: he speaks the truth in his heart. Now sometimes, we might say things that happen to correspond with reality. OR we speak the truth because the gig is up, and mom has caught us with our hand in the cookie jar – we can’t deny it! OR we speak the truth because we don’t want to get caught in a lie – and so we do a cost-benefit analysis of whether the truth, in this case, might be better for me to speak. 

 

But for the qualified worshiper, truth is an inner reality. Jesus said in Luke 6:43-45, “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

 

And anyone who truly speaks unblemished truth, the kind of truth that accords with the God who is Truth, is the one who speaks from the abundance of truth in his heart. Only the “good man” with the “good heart” brings forth good words, true words – as far as God is concerned. And words are a good measure of whether one has a good heart. Of whether one truly loves the LORD his God with all His heart, soul, mind and strength.

 

You need a good heart and a clean mouth to speak words of praise to the holy God who is Truth. So how are we doing so far? Do you think you’re qualified to worship in the presence of this holy God? Before you answer, let’s continue.

 

Verse 3 now presents some negative conditions: He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend. Here’s one who truly loves his neighbor as himself.

 

Now we know that God hates all sin. But we also know that there are some sins that God says He really, REALLY hates! Sins that are an abomination in His sight. We know from Leviticus that homosexuality is one of those sins – as is idolatry. (And while not everyone is guilty of homosexual sin, we are all certainly guilty of idolatry – whenever we try to make God more manageable. Obscuring His holiness, or the demands of His Law – even as we try to engineer a “relevant worship experience,” perhaps?)

 

But one of those sins that makes the “abominable” list is evil speech according to Proverbs 6:16-19, which has the effect of “sowing discord among the brethren.”  Also, Romans 1 famously speaks of how God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all the unrighteousness of men. Included in that indictment of man’s rebellion which provokes God’s wrath is yes, homosexuality; yes, idolatry; and YES – those who are “whisperers” and “backbiters.”

 

Literally, this negative condition in verse 3 can be translated he who does not ‘go about’ with his tongue. The image is of someone going from person to person, with their tongue, with their words, to hurt someone else, to damage their reputation. The old word for this person is the “talebearer.” Leviticus 19:16 commands, You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people… I am the LORD.

 

You know, a church might think it has its “doctrinal ducks in a row” – we strive to be faithful to what the Bible teaches about God and man and salvation; even about worship!  We take good theology seriously. We might think that because our church hasn’t yet been scandalized by some horrible sin, that maybe we’re doing OK! But how many churches are dens of iniquity in the eyes of God because of gossip? Because of backbiting? This is something that plagues men and women. Yes, woman are often guilty of gossip. But so are men, even leaders in the church. My word, we can even gossip as we ask for prayer for someone’s problems, that we’ve now exposed to everyone else in the room. God hates gossip – and gossipers are disqualified from worshiping in the presence of the holy God.

 

The qualified worshiper does no evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against a friend. He can be trusted to never betray his loyalty to those with whom he is closest. He will not be the cause of mistrust, broken friendships, of malice, bitterness, or hurt. He doesn’t do evil, or speak evil to or about those closest to him.

 

If you think about your life, how many broken relationships can you recount? How many for which you at least share some of the blame? How many in which you failed to seek reconciliation, and just let that relationship die a bitter, neglected death? Have you truly & completely loved your neighbor as yourself? If not, then you are disqualified from worship, and from living in God’s holy presence.

 

Verse 4 presents another set of positive conditions for the qualified worshiper. He is one who agrees perfectly with God’s just judgment:  In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the LORD. He doesn’t have special exceptions, or excuses, for those who are vile in the eyes of God. Those who fear the LORD, he honors, he esteems the highest.

 

Verse 4 continues: He who swears to his own hurt and does not change. A man who keeps his promises, even if it costs him everything. We’re quick to justify our own promise-breaking, aren’t we? We don’t keep appointments, never mind the big stuff! “Oh, I known I signed that contract, and promised to repay, but I’ve made that promise too many times, and can’t live up to my obligations. Sorry!” Or we might say in our hearts: “Oh, I know I vowed my love to that other person in the covenant of marriage – ‘for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health’ and all that. But it’s just so hard to be married to this person, to love them. I don’t know if it’s worth it.” From the little stuff to the big stuff, the qualified worshiper is the one who keeps his word – no matter what.

 

The first part of verse 5 presents the last set of negative conditions for the one qualified to worship the holy God: He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. Here, the worshiper’s integrity is revealed by his financial dealings. He doesn’t take advantage of those who are in financial difficulty. In the Ancient Near East, a person without financial resources might be sold into slavery – and would desperately seek a loan to prevent that. Often, people would take advantage, and charge outrageous interest – even up to 50% of the amount. We also find out that this man cannot be bribed against the innocent – his testimony can’t be “bought.” He demonstrates perfect financial integrity.

 

Now these are two particular examples of financial righteousness. Other biblical standards of financial integrity would include paying taxes to whom taxes are due. Working hard to provide for your family. Tithing – not robbing God of His due. Giving generously to the work of the Gospel, to poor members within the church, or to help the poor within the larger community. Working a full and honest day for your pay. And ultimately, realizing that the money you make is to serve God’s glory and advance His kingdom – not yours.

 

So as we have seen, the only qualified worshiper is the One who is perfectly righteous. So what does God promise to for the One who has qualified to live in God’s presence? The perfectly righteous worshiper will never be moved from God’s presence – no matter what else might happen to him in this world.

 

The last part of verse 5, and the conclusion of the psalm: He who does these things shall never be moved. The whole world may hate him, may reject him, may kill him – but he shall never be moved from the presence and favor of his holy God.

 

So has OUR problem – the problem of worship – been resolved? As we come to the end of Psalm 15, I hope we have come to end of ourselves. The question was asked, Who may enter to worship and dwell in the holy presence of God? And God has answered, Only the One who is perfectly righteous. And an eternal standing in My holy presence is promised only to that perfectly righteous Man.

 

The fact is, no one in Israel – in David’s day, before or after – could qualify. No one in all the world could qualify. No one since Adam & Eve were driven from God’s holy presence for their rebellion. We have all fallen short of this standard of perfect righteousness. We are not qualified as worshipers, let alone to dwell in the presence of the holy God.

 

There is One glorious exception, however. There is only One who has qualified to abide in God’s tabernacle, to dwell in His holy hill. There is only One whose entire course of life was perfectly faultless; who lived a dynamic life of active righteousness – fulfilling all the righteousness of God’s holy Law. Who embodied the Truth of God, and was alone pure of heart. Who truly loved the LORD His God with all of His being.

 

And Who completely loved His neighbor as Himself. Who never gossiped – He always spoke the unblemished truth to everyone. Who never did evil to His neighbor, or betrayed His friends. Who hated what God hates – with a perfect, holy hatred; and Who loved what God loves, with a perfect holy love. Who lived a life of simplicity and self-denial, forsaking the love of money, which is the root of all kinds of evil. He served His Father alone, and not Mammon.

 

Who swore an oath to His own hurt, and did not change. Who promised His Father that He would live and die for His people; to save them from sin and death; to cleanse them from the defiling sin that would disqualify them as worshipers; to give them a robe of perfect righteousness – His own – that would qualify them to worship in God’s holy presence – and to live forever in God’s holy presence. He promised to do that – and Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God made flesh – kept that promise to His own hurt, and did not change… even to death. So God the Father raised Him from the dead, that all who trust in Him alone, would never be moved from His holy presence.

 

The only solution to your personal “problem of worship” is Jesus Christ – who lived and died for all who would trust in Him. He is the only One who can give you access to the holy God, and make your worship acceptable in His eyes. Have you embraced Him by faith? Are you resting in Him alone to enter and dwell forever in holy presence of God?

 

1 Corinthians 6 says to the believing Church, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived..."  In other words, sinners are disqualified from God’s kingdom, from His presence! "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." In other words, you were once disqualified – but Christ has qualified you: He has cleansed you from your defiling sin; He has set you apart as holy in God’s sight; He has taken away the guilt of your sin, and given you His righteousness – that you might be fit for God’s kingdom and presence forever!

 

The holiness of God is a dreadful thing to the sinner; but to the justified sinner, the holiness of God is beautiful. Because by His grace, through faith, God has qualified us in Christ to worship Him in the splendor of His holiness – to enter and to dwell forever in His holy presence. Those who would make little of the holiness of God, make little of the grace of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 

Who is the Blessed Covenant Man? An exposition of Psalm 1:1-2

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Of course, you probably recognize these words. Sooner or later, nearly every American student will read Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” with this famous stanza. I remember our classroom discussions of this poem – and it was applied to the idea of non-conformity, to individual self-expression. In biblical categories, this image of divergent roads is also used. However, the stakes are far higher, than the issue of individuality. The “road less traveled” according to Scripture is the way of wisdom, the way of righteousness, the way of eternal life. And the way of the road most traveled is the way of folly, the way of sin, the way of eternal loss. In Matthew 7:13-14, here’s how Jesus declares the stark contrast between these two ways: Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Psalm 1 speaks of divergent ways, with divergent ends – the blessed way of the righteous, and the cursed way of the wicked. We should note this is not the first psalm in the Book of Psalms by accident. And neither is Psalm 2 placed here in the beginning of the Psalter coincidentally. In fact, it appears that Psalms 1 and 2 are placed where they are to introduce the entire Book of Psalms. Some scholars believe they originally formed one psalm – since the first verse of Psalm 1, and the last verse of Psalm 2, create a common theme of the way of blessedness.

Psalm 2 is called a “royal” psalm.  It focuses on the kingly rule of the ultimate Son of David over all the nations. Psalm 1 is called a “wisdom” psalm. It is instructional about God’s covenant ways – the way of blessing or the way of judgment. And the context for God’s “covenant ways” in Psalm 1 likely includes both the covenant through Moses, and the covenant through David. Israel is a theocracy, and her covenant LORD, Yahweh, promises to bless her as a nation – if she obeys God’s covenant Word, His holy Law. Israel will prosper in the land of promise if she obeys Yahweh. But if she disobeys God’s covenant Word, she will be cursed, judged by God – ultimately, by losing the land of promise, and thus the blessed presence of God.  

 In the later covenant with David, God makes certain wonderful promises to David:  that ultimately, the Son of David – the Anointed King, the Messiah – would rule over all the nations forever. The promise element is prominent in the covenant with David. Yet there is also the warning, and a condition – that the sons of David, the kings of Judah, are supposed to walk in covenant obedience to Yahweh. In fact, they are supposed to lead Israel as a covenant nation in obedience to their LORD.  If they fail to do so, they will lead God’s people into God’s judgment – the curses threatened in the covenant with Moses. And if you know the biblical history of Israel, and the history of the kings of Judah and Israel, you know how both the divided nation and her kings ultimately failed miserably to keep covenant with Yahweh – and instead, they worshiped other gods and rebelled against His holy Law.  

Yet behind both the “Davidic” covenant and the “Mosaic” covenant is the covenant through Abraham – where God promises to bless all the nations through the ultimate Son of Abraham. Paul tells us in Galatians 3, that Abraham hears and believes the Gospel in promise form, when God makes this covenant with him. And in Genesis 15, God confirms the covenant with Abraham by promising to take the covenant curse to Himself – to confirm the certainty that God’s people from all nations will receive the ultimate covenant blessing of eternal life in God’s presence.

Ultimately, in the new covenant, God Himself through Jesus Christ secures the blessings of the covenant, and bears its judgment. Christ would be the faithful covenant keeper – and the true and faithful King who would deliver His people from their sin. Christ is cursed on the Cross in the place of us who are by nature and by choice covenant breakers – as we have rejected God’s rule over us as our Creator. And Christ secures, by His covenant obedience, eternal blessings for His people – for those who would believe His Gospel.

All of the biblical covenants point forward to the Christ of the covenants – who would bear the curses, and secure the blessings. So then, we begin to see how this wisdom psalm, which addresses God’s covenant ways, might relate to a royal psalm about the Great King, the Son of David, the Messiah.  Next week, we’ll see more of those connections. But now, with this background of the Christ of the covenants, we’ll explore how Psalm 1 is ultimately good news – even for disobedient covenant-breakers like us!

The way of the blessed covenant man avoids the way of the covenant breaker, and embraces the Word of His covenant LORD. (vv 1-2)

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful (verse 1). This first phrase is an exclamation – O Blessed is the man! O Blessed of the LORD! This kind of exclamation calls us to listen, and invites us to participate in the LORD’s blessing: “Come and hear about the way of the Blessed Man – that you too might walk in His way of blessing!”

 “Blessedness” in the Bible is not about good things happening to good people. Blessedness is ultimately about God’s gracious, life-giving gift of Himself. Think about it: What did Adam & Eve lose for the rest of us by their rebellion? Life-giving communion, with the eternal, blessed, living, and only true God. We now live in a desolate, sin-infested, God-forsaken world – but when God comes and pours out His blessing on a man, and brings Him back into life-giving communion with Himself, everything changes.

God came and blessed Abraham – and promised to bless all the nations through his Son of Promise. In fact, God says to Abraham in Genesis 15: “I am your shield, your exceeding great reward.” God called Israel to be a holy nation – and promised that if they obeyed, He would be their God, and they would be His people, and He would dwell in their midst. He would bless them not just with stuff, but with His own saving presence and rule. So the blessedness we receive from God is gracious, restorative – and it ultimately delivers us from the curse of God’s judgment on this rebellious world – and brings us into life-giving communion with Himself. That’s the kind of blessedness you & I need!  

 But there are certain things that will characterize the man who enjoys this blessedness – and they are stated negatively: he walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. These images of walking, standing, sitting covey how total and pervasive human wickedness is. In everything people do, say, or think, there is the ever-present corruption of evil – in the holy eyes of God. You might say, “I’m not all that bad!” God says, “You’re worse than you could possibly imagine!”

Remember Paul’s litany, from the Old Testament, in Romans chapter 3: "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside, they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one” [3:10-12]. Then Paul goes on to cite other Old Testament passages to show that we are radically corrupt – literally, from head to toe! That God's Holy Law condemns us all!  That should begin to raise the question for you: So where exactly are we going to find this “blessed covenant man”? We begin to see that this is an IDEAL man – a perfectly righteous Man.

We also see here in verse 1, three degrees of departure from God – and a three-fold conformity to this God-rejecting world: first, when you accept its ungodly counsel, its God-rejecting advice; second, when you participate in its ways of sin, of willful rebellion against God’s rule; and finally when you adopt that most fatal attitude of the scorner, the scoffer. The one who not only rejects God’s ways revealed in God’s Word, but mocks that Word – and actively promotes the way of rebellion, of covenant-breaking.

In Romans 1, where Paul describes the depraved, downward spiral of rebellious humanity, the most damning indictment comes in the last verse of that chapter: who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them [v 32]. This is the scoffer, who not only rebels against God’s rule, but scoffs at it – and actively approves of and promotes that rebellion with others! 

But the way of the blessed covenant man avoids this dangerous and ultimately deadly way of the covenant breaker. So far, the focus has been negative – what the blessed covenant man avoids. But what is it this righteous man pursues?

Verse 2 makes that clear: But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. So here, the standard of the blessed covenant man is revealed: the Law of the LORD, that is, the torah, the inspired, directive Word of Yahweh, the covenant Lord. “Law” here does not mean only the moral law – the commandments of God. But this refers to the entirety of God’s covenant Word in the Scriptures, including the moral law. For example, Psalm 19 and Psalm 119, also use the word “Law” in this more general sense – as does the New Testament at times, when it refers to the entirety of the Old Testament as “the Law.”  Bottom line:  All of God’s written revelation is to shape and direct our lives as God’s people, and thus it is fitting to call the Scriptures the “Law” in general.

 And what we see here in verse 2 is an antithesis, an opposition. We see this “antithesis” in two ways. First, it’s a poetic device used by the psalmist, called an antithetical parallel, with this contrast between the negative & the positive in verses 1 & 2. But we also find this “antithesis” in the real-life theology of these verses. In complete opposition to the way of the covenant breaker – with his ungodly counsel, his rebellious path, and his scornful, mocking attitude – is the Covenant Word of the Covenant God. His Word is the source of true, godly counsel; it shows the way of righteousness; and it generates not scorn, but the praise of His people – for His wisdom, which rescues us from the folly of our sin.

The blessed covenant man DELIGHTS in the Word of God. It is his richest treasure, his sweetest food, his deepest pleasure, his highest aim. He loves God’s covenant Word, because through it, he knows and communes with his covenant God. He reflects on the majesty and beauty of His holiness, and the inexhaustible depths of His mercy and grace and love. He delights in the Word of God, because he delights in the God of the Word.

  His delight is demonstrated as he meditates – literally, murmurs – in the Word of His God, by day and by night. He thinks so deeply about God’s Word, that his lips move – as he mouths the words of Scripture. This is not a man who has a 10 minute morning devotional – if that! – and then moves out into the busyness of his day, where its stress causes him to forget whatever he might have read in the Bible that morning. That’s often our experience, isn’t it? Nor is this a man who retreats from the world to the supposed safety of a monastery, where he meditates in quiet solitude. No, this is a Man who in spite of the pressures of His day; in fact, in spite of carrying the burdens of the world upon His shoulders; continually, and consciously communes with His God; as He reflects on – and embodies – God’s revelation of Himself in His Word – so that His every thought, and His every step, is guided by that Word, every moment of His day.

Does that sound like you? Does that sound like me? Can we attain to this ideal of the Blessed Covenant Man – and His undivided delight in the Word of God, 24/7?  Are you kidding? Let’s be honest! Jesus alone is the ultimate, ideal, Blessed, Covenant Man. He is the Word of Yahweh made flesh. He embodies, perfectly and completely, the revelation of God. He delights to do and to make known the will of God, for the salvation of sinners like us. Our ultimate blessedness is found in Him – the Word of God made flesh, crucified and raised from the dead, to deliver us from the wrath we deserve:  for the ungodly counsel we’ve lived by; for our rebellious, covenant-breaking ways; when we’ve joined with those who mock and scoff at God’s Word and God’s ways. Christian, you’re in Psalm 1 – but only because you’re spiritually united by faith alone to the Blessed Man of Psalm 1 – Jesus Christ.  

As the Blessed Covenant Man, Christ is the final and the faithful Covenant King. As God’s wisdom made flesh, He leads His people into the way of eternal, covenant blessing; as He bears the curse of our covenant-breaking ways on the Cross; and as He secures those eternal blessings by His own perfect covenant obedience. Galatians 3:13-14 declares that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Ephesians 1 declares that we are blessed by God the Father with every eternal, spiritual blessing in Christ. Our blessedness is in Christ. This is the language of the covenant – and Christ is our covenant King and Savior, in whom we now enjoy all the eternal blessings of the covenant by faith; as we are now restored to the blessedness of a life-giving, eternal communion with the true and living God.

And Christ not only delivers us from the curse of our covenant breaking; and secures the eternal covenant blessings; but Christ is also the Word that makes us a new people, a new creation! Just as God spoke, and created the universe; so Christ the Word of God speaks His renewing Word, and re-makes us to be like Him, in true righteousness and holiness. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. And while we once despised God’s Word, we now embrace it, and we too delight in it – because we are saved and transformed by it.

Do you delight in the Law of God – the very Word which reveals the Blessed One who has saved you from the curse you deserve for your sin; who pours out every spiritual blessing upon you; who makes you His new creation, by that very Word? How can you not delight yourself in this living Word of Christ  - which reveals Him as the Way of true Wisdom & Righteousness?

 

Remembering Reformation Day: God justifies the wicked - like Abraham, David, and us!

An Exposition of Romans 4:1-8

Romans 4:1-8
1What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Time magazine, a few years ago, featured an extended article on the patriarch Abraham. The reason they did so was to show that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all give prominence to this same "old man," in their respective faiths. He’s a kind of common denominator between us all. And at the Time website, this archived article is summarized with these words: “He is beloved by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Can this bond stop them from hating one another?” But like most comparative religious efforts, the unity turns out to be merely superficial. While the name “Abraham” might be shared in common, while he might be cited as the historical father of Isaac and Ishmael – the question is: who is the true Abraham? Will the real Abraham please stand up? According to Islam, Abraham is the father of the Muslims, and their confession: “There is only one God – Allah!” According to Judaism, Abraham is the paradigm of law-keeping righteousness. It is Abraham’s faithful obedience – with the accent on “obedience” – that makes him the ultimate exemplar for Jews; not his sole trust in God’s gracious promise. In fact, one Rabbinic tradition relates that Abraham perfectly kept the commandments of God, even before Torah had been given to Moses. And so he merited God’s favor. In radical contrast, according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Abraham is the paradigm of faith – even of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. And the OT Scripture testifies to this very thing.

God displays His gracious justification of believing sinners, even in the cases of Abraham & David. Let’s consider Exhibit A: Abraham (vv 1-4)

Paul is expanding on one of the central themes of our previous section – justification by faith alone. The Gospel is not a brand new thing; the apostles are not innovators. This doctrine of justification by faith alone is not an invention of the apostle Paul. The Scripture says, in Romans 1:2, that this Gospel of God was promised by Him “before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” And in just the last chapter, verse 21: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and Prophets,” that is, the Old Testament.

Yes, there is an indispensable NOW aspect to the Gospel – the Christ who has come is the NOW aspect of the Gospel. Christ is the Yes & Amen of all the expectations & promises of the Old Testament. But the promised Christ is the object of Abraham’s faith, and of David’s faith. The good news that God justifies believing sinners only by faith, is the same good news that Abraham himself heard & believed. That’s why Paul introduces this section with these words:  “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?” Obviously, Jews called Abraham “father.” But his fatherhood is not merely a matter of genealogy, even for the Jews. Because as I mentioned, he is also the great exemplar of Torah-obedience for many Jews. He is the father of the circumcised. Later in this chapter, Paul will make the radical claim that he is also the father of the uncircumcised, Gentiles, who believe the Gospel – and that radical claim will be based on what he begins to argue here.

To appeal to what Abraham has found “according to the flesh,” that is, according to his own human experience – is to appeal to the highest human authority, from the perspective of the covenant: this is the patriarch of the patriarchs. Abraham is the defining paradigm – and if these Jewish opponents of the Gospel that Paul encounters have it wrong about Abraham, he can destroy the very foundation of their self-righteousness. The goal of course – for Paul and for us as the church – is not simply to win an argument, but to win people to the true faith of Abraham, the Gospel of Christ.

So Paul grants for the sake of argument: “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about…” Paul is saying, “If Abraham is the exemplar of Torah-obedience, then what I just said in chapter 3, verse 27 – that boasting is excluded, is proven false. My Gospel is a sham – if Abraham was justified by works.” But Paul rejects that possibility with the words: “but not before God.” Abraham, in fact, had no ground for boasting.

Now there’s something in logical argument called an “enthymeme.” That’s when a premise in an argument is omitted, because it is understood. Paul’s argument here is very abrupt, but his point is clear & logical. We might amplify his argument in this way: If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about. Abraham was not justified by works (that’s the omitted premise). Therefore, Abraham has nothing to boast about.

And then he establishes his argument beyond doubt, by asking: “What does the Scripture say?” All our logical premises and conclusions must agree with the Scriptures. Christians reason not to the Word of God, but from the Word of God. We seek not to understand in order to believe, but to believe in order to understand. And the Scripture settles it: “‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”

Now the word translated here “accounted” is used 5 times in verses 1-8. It’s translated in the New King James as “accounted” here in verse 3; “counted” in verse 4; “accounted” again in verse 5; “imputes” in verse 6; and “impute” in verse 8. The Greek word is used in the context of mathematical calculation; of thinking logically; as well as in the context of “regarding as,” or reckoning something to be, or imputing to. It is in this last sense that the word is used here. Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for – or imputed to him for – righteousness.

Now some have understood this to mean that Abraham’s faith itself was regarded by God as righteousness. That faith itself is the basis of Abraham’s righteousness. But an indispensable point has already been established back in chapter 3: that the righteousness which is from God is through faith in Jesus Christ, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood. In other words, Paul has already established that Christ crucified is the ground, the basis, of our justification. It is because Christ has removed the guilt of our sins, that God is just when He justifies us by faith alone.

So faith is not some “lesser work than the perfect obedience that God required under the law.” Notice also how verse 4 establishes this: “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” If Abraham’s faith was a lesser work which God rewarded with righteousness, then we would have the same problem as those who seek to be justified by works. Whether by the works of the law, or the lesser work of faith, God would be made our debtor.

But in the economy of the Gospel, God is not our debtor; instead, the Gospel is the economy of His abounding grace to sinners, who have an eternal debt of guilt. That’s what hell is all about. It is God who graciously cancels our debt of guilt, through His crucified Son. And faith is simply the means by which we are connected to this Christ and His righteousness: His doing and His dying. Christ did God’s Law perfectly; Christ died for our disobedience to God’s Law. Christ alone is our righteousness.

And even that very righteousness was credited to Abraham – who believed God’s Word of Promise, that through Abraham’s Seed, all the nations would be blessed with God’s gracious salvation. Christ is that Promised Seed, and was the object of Abraham’s faith. Now it is true, the Gospel was in the form of promise & symbol for Abraham, and throughout the Old Testament. But there is only one Savior – of Abraham, and of all of us who would believe this Word of the Gospel: and that Savior is Christ.

God displays His gracious justification of believing sinners, even in the case of Abraham. And it is Christ, not works, who establishes your righteousness before God.

Now let’s be clear. Good works are essential to our Christian lives. And it is true that Abraham showed the reality of his faith by his works. This is the point that James is making in chapter 2 of his letter. Abraham is justified to be a believing man by his works. He is not justified before God by his works; but his justifying faith is publicly vindicated – or justified – by his works.

As those justified by faith alone, the Scriptures make clear, we must pursue holiness. The Ten Commandments remain a continuing moral standard for our sanctification. But here’s the question: Why are you doing what you’re doing? In all your doing, as a Christian, are you doing for the approval of God? Or, are you doing from the approval of God? Is it guilt or gratitude that drives your doing?

This is a night and day difference: between legalism, and Gospel liberty. And I will continue to remind you of it, as your pastor, over and over and over again. Christ has freed you from the curse & condemnation of the Law. Christ has established your righteousness before the Father. Christ’s doing, Christ’s dying is the only basis of your justification. When you bring your doing into that equation, you’re obscuring the Gospel. Your doing – if it is done to win or to keep the Father’s favor – is an insult to the Father, because it despises the work of His Son: His doing, and His dying, which is your only basis of acceptance before your Holy and Righteous heavenly Father.

God displays His gracious justification of believing sinners in the cases of Abraham & David. Let’s now consider Exhibit B: David (vv 5-8)

Listen to these radical words in verse 5: “But to him who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” As Yosemite Sam would often say: “Them’s fightin’ words.” They were fighting words in the first century; they were fighting words in the 16th century Protestant Reformation; and they are fighting words still today. Who does God justify? The one who doesn’t work, and believes in the God who justifies the ungodly, the God who justifies the wicked. This strips away every pretension to righteousness a religious Jew – or any other moralist – might have. This runs counter to every other human religion on the planet. The basis for justification is not a person’s religious works, or their godly character – or even their godly potential. It is Christ alone. God justifies those who are inwardly ungodly, who only by faith are connected to an external righteousness – that of Jesus Christ.

The official Roman Catholic position on justification is this (in part): “Justification includes the remission of sins, sanctification, and the renewal of the inner man.” That is paragraph 2019, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1995. And this statement is simply a summary of what the Church of Rome said in the counter-Reformation council of Trent – in response to the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Rome declares that justification is a process – not a declaration – which includes sanctification & the renewal of the inner man. It is not about imputed righteousness, but infused righteousness – in other words, not a righteousness outside of you, but a righteousness inside of you. In the end, according to this view, God justifies the godly. Now God’s grace is involved; faith is involved; Christ is involved – but human merit is also involved; your godliness is also involved, as the basis of justification.

The apostolic Gospel – in absolute contrast – boldly declares: “God justifies the ungodly.” Now God does so justly, as we saw in the last chapter. It is through His justice being satisfied in Christ crucified – who fulfilled the Law, in all its precepts, and in all its penalties – on behalf of those who would trust only in Him. God remains just, as well as the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Yet it is the radical implication of this reality - God justifying the wicked - that led Martin Luther to describe the believing Christian as simul iustus et peccator: at the same time, righteous & sinner. This is not a contradiction; this is the heart of the Gospel. At the same time, I am perfectly righteous in Christ, though a sinner in myself.

 

And this reality is confirmed as we consider Exhibit B, David. Abraham & David – two covenant men associated especially with the covenant promises of God. Paul couldn’t have picked two stronger witnesses to establish the truth of the Gospel. Verses 6-8: “Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: (then quoting from the first two verses of Psalm 32:) ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”

David, like Abraham, knew the good news that God justifies the ungodly by faith alone. And that justification includes the imputation of righteousness. This is that same word I mentioned earlier, used 5 times in this passage, and rightly translated as “imputes” here in v 6, and “impute” in v 8. God credits righteousness to us – the righteousness of His own Son. That is why it’s called the “gift of righteousness” in Romans 5:17.

And, notice the dual way in which “imputation” is used here. There is an imputed righteousness; and in the quotation from Psalm 32, there is a non­-imputation of sin. Justification is the forgiveness of our sins, and the crediting of the righteousness of Christ to us.

The 16th century Heidelberg Catechism does a fine job of summing up the significance of this: “…God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was for me…” How does God look upon you? How does God treat you, when you rely only on His Son? As if you had never sinned, nor been a sinner; as if you had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was for you. God the Father’s verdict, pronounced upon Jesus – “This is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased” – is now His verdict of you.

So what is the condition of the person to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works? To whom the LORD shall not impute sin? Upon whom God’s verdict is “well-pleased”? Blessedness. It means the truly good life is yours, because you have received God’s eternal favor through the Gospel. So whatever anybody else says; whatever your immediate circumstances – all is well with your soul, because God the Father has spoken through His Son, and is well-pleased with you. And who is it again who knows this blessedness? The one who does not work for God’s favor; but believes on the God who justifies the ungodly.

God displays His gracious justification of believing sinners, even in the case of David. Because Christ saves the ungodly: He takes your sin and gives you His righteousness. 

Simul iustus et peccator. At the same time sinner and righteous. Do you believe that, Christian? It is this statement that keeps us awed, and keeps us humble. We are absolutely ungodly when the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, by faith alone. And friends, we are still ungodly after that. Now, by God’s grace, we are becoming more godly; we are working out our salvation with fear & trembling, as we pursue a growing holiness, as we become conformed more and more to the image of Christ.

But never forget, for a single moment: there’s still enough ungodliness in your life – and the lives of any of the greatest saints who have ever lived (even Paul!) – to damn you to hell forever. Do you realize that? Apart from the righteousness of Christ, apart from His doing and dying for you, if you were to stand before the Father in the highest level of your attained personal holiness, apart from Christ – you would be damned eternally. And I remind you of that, and I remind myself of that, because I want us to know, and to rest in, the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works; the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.

This is the true faith of the Gospel: the faith of Abraham, the faith of David. The only faith to live by, and to die by.  Because Christ saves – not the godly, not even the partially godly, or the potentially godly – but the ungodly. He takes your sin, and gives you His righteousness – and that is your blessedness. Blessed are you in Christ, you believing, but ungodly, sinner! Blessed are you in Christ, you righteous sinner! Amen.

 

 

 

Remembering Reformation Day: A problem only God could solve

An Exposition of Romans 3:24-25a

Romans 3:21-26
21But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

When you see a play or a movie that could be described as a “tragedy,” it obviously involves a less than happy ending. The reason plays & movies like this are so powerful is because we can identify with the characters, and what they suffer in the course of the story. A Roman poet, named Horace, once criticized those who wrote tragedies in his day, for a kind of “cop-out” technique some of them would use. The playwrights would solve the tragic problems created in the story, by bringing in some god to fix everything. He wrote, “Do not bring a god onto the stage, unless the problem is one that deserves a god to solve it.”

Well, the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther cited these very words to say that the tragic problem created by human rebellion, as we find in Romans chapters 1-3, is just that: a problem that only God can solve. But this is no fictional tragedy; it is a true story, our story, which makes it all the more personally tragic; and if we understand that, then we long for God to enter stage right, & solve this problem. So in this passage of Scripture, we have perhaps the most important paragraph ever written – even in all the sacred, inspired words of the Old & New Testaments. How can the just and holy God resolve the problem of our rebellion & guilt – without compromising His own justice and holiness?

(This passage deserves even more than three sermons [!], but this is the second of three; as we focus on verse 24, and the first part of verse 25.)

God has now graciously revealed His righteousness – freely justifying all who believe; on the basis of the Cross of Christ.   First, freely justifying all who believe (v 24).

In verses 21-23, we saw that God’s revealed righteousness in the Gospel is apart from the Law; through faith in Christ; and available to all without distinction. The good news is that this perfect righteousness that God demands in His Law, He now freely provides to anyone who has faith in Jesus – without any human distinction.

Now in verse 24, it says, “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Who is this speaking of? The “all who have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” verse 23.  And this is further qualified by the “all who believe” in verse 22. This is not a universal salvation – not everyone will be saved from the condemnation their sins deserve. But the Gospel is universal in one sense: it is available to anybody who believes. This is not salvation for everyone without exception; but salvation for anyone who believes, without distinction – whatever nation, tribe, or tongue. This is the good news that we are to proclaim to every nation of man, every class of man – Christ is the only Son of God, and the only Name given under heaven by which we must be saved.   

Paul has used the word “righteous” or “righteousness” multiple times so far in Romans. But now he uses the verb form of this word for the very first time, which is translated “justified.” What does it mean? It doesn’t mean, to make righteous. That’s not the action God takes to save us from condemnation. To justify means to declare righteous. “Being justified” is about a legal judgment that God pronounces. It’s His verdict: “justified!” Before the holy bar of His Law, all who believe in His Son are declared righteous. Because the righteousness of Christ is given to them; and their guilt before the Law is taken away.

You’ve heard the expression, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” That can be true in our human relationships; it’s also true in our theology, our study of the Scriptures. We can assume that we understand what justification means, and shrug it off as some very basic Bible teaching – “how we get saved.” But then we want to move on to the “deep stuff of God’s Word.”

It seems that Paul, the Spirit-inspired apostle, thinks that this doctrine of justification is the “deep stuff of God’s Word.” He’s spent all that time in the previous section to prepare us to see our need for it. He says the entire Old Testament bears witness to it. And then he spends the rest of chapter 3 through chapter 5, to declare the riches of it. And then after that, in chapters 6 through 16, what happens? The Holy Spirit moves Paul to explore the many implications of this righteousness of God, now revealed in the Gospel.

Listen, here’s one aspect of justification that we can easily miss. Many times, we might focus on the present benefits of justification, which are so many & so wonderful. As your pastor, I want you to focus on these benefits that you can enjoy right now! One of them is peace of conscience. Luther rightly made much of this. When you’re reminded of your sin, of the fact that you deserve God’s eternal judgment – repent, confess your sin, and preach Christ crucified to your conscience. But with all the wonderful present benefits, we don’t want to forget the ultimate benefit.

You are a creature, and you will stand to answer to your Creator in the Last Day. You are commanded by your Creator to reflect His moral, righteous image in this world; to live joyfully under His rule; to represent His goodness and righteousness in the world. And you are a miserable failure in all these things; you fall far short of the glory of God; worse, you are a recalcitrant rebel against your Creator.  So what is the apparently inevitable sentence of your Maker? Eternally condemned. And apart from God's grace, every sinner spends every waking moment trying to suppress the reality of that truth.

But the wonder of justification is that by faith in Christ, God’s Last Day verdict is brought forward in time. If you rely only on Him, then you can be assured: Christ lived for you the righteous life you fail to live, and died for you the condemned death of the Cross – and on the basis of that, God will declare you righteous. You don’t have to wonder what the outcome might be on Judgment Day. God has mercifully brought forward that verdict of the Last Day judgment; so that there is NOW no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus.

So that we can know that we have a right standing before God; that we are accepted by God for the sake of Christ. As we work through this extended section, to understand the glorious heart of the Gospel, I hope you’ll see that this doctrine of justification by faith alone is a wonderfully deep & rich thing. That it would feed your soul. That you would meditate on it and revel in it – for the rest of your life and for all eternity for that matter!

But if you want a single word, which might sum up the glorious result of our justification, it is “acceptance.” Your holy God, your righteous Creator, against whom you have rebelled – accepts you now, and forever, in His beloved Son. Ephesians 1, verse 6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

That’s why it’s such a tragedy to see Christians crippled by guilt; trying desperately by their religious performance to win the approval of their heavenly Father – when He would say to us: “Isn’t My Son and His Cross enough for you? It’s enough for Me! And because I gave Him for you in love, you are accepted in My sight.”

How does God justify us? “Freely by His grace.” What a beautiful adverb, “freely.” Justification is a gift. If you attempt to pay for the gift, you insult the giver. Imagine that a husband brings home a beautiful, expensive piece of jewelry for his wife. He secretly worked a side job for months so he could afford it. And the wife says, “Honey, you shouldn’t have. Here, take some money for it.” When we think we can add some of our works, some of our self-effort, some of our merit to the gift of justification – we deeply insult the Giver, and destroy the Gospel in the process.

How does God justify us? How does God deal with the apparently hopeless tragedy of our rebellion & guilt? “Freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  The manner of God’s justification is “freely by His grace”; the means of God’s justification is “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Now what does “redemption” mean? Redemption speaks of liberation, through the payment of a price. Now, Satan is not part of the equation here – that was a serious error in church history. This redemption price is paid not to Satan, but to God. So when we speak of free justification – that means from the human side. The cost on the divine side is the Cross. We pay nothing; Christ paid it all.

God is the just judge, who must execute perfect justice. We have a debt of guilt before Him; but the Judge has graciously provided a way of liberation from that debt of guilt. Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. How is that redemption secured? The redemption price paid?

Ephesians 1:7: In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Hebrews 9:15: And for this reason [Christ] is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 1 Timothy 2:6: [Christ] who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Matthew 20:28:  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. 1 Peter 1:18-19: knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 

Of course, there are many today who are far too sophisticated for a blood-bought redemption. And yet they want to retain Jesus as a kind of moral guru, who shows us how to be nice to others. How to live socially-conscious lives. That is another religion; a fabricated religion; and it has nothing to do with the God-revealed, redemptive religion of the Bible. If you will have nothing to do with God’s redemption in Christ by way of the Cross, then God will have nothing to do with you.

Do you realize that your sin indebts you personally to God? The debt is made up of your guilt, for all your countless acts of rebellion against God; transgressions against Him, in thought, word & deed. Imagine receiving your Visa bill this month, and the amount owed is a number you can’t even say never mind repay. The digits for the dollar amount you owe fill line upon line, page upon page. Your debt of guilt before God is even greater.

Now why is that? Because the way the debt of our sin is calculated, is by the standard of the majesty and worth of the One against whom we’ve sinned. God is infinitely majestic and worthy. And our sin is a violation of His infinite majesty & worth; and that results in an immeasurable debt of guilt. When Ezra confesses the sins of God’s people, he says: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens” (9:6). Ezra understands this very thing.

Do you see how impossibly desperate your situation is? What could possibly cancel this kind of debt of guilt before God? Only by way of the blood-bought redemption that is in Christ Jesus – who is God the Son, Himself infinite in majesty and worth!

To be released – liberated! – from that crushing debt of guilt before God, by God the Father’s loving provision of His own Son – how can we not be melted by that? How can our hearts possibly remain cold before the wonder of that grace? How can the Cross NOT be the center of our Christian lives? The center of our ministry as a church? How can we imagine making Christianity about anything other than the Cross? How can we not join with the apostle Paul to say, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Gal 6:14)

God has now graciously revealed His righteousness – freely justifying all who believe; on the basis of the Cross of Christ (25a). 

“whom God set forth as a propitiation…” On what basis can God freely justify us? We’ve seen the means of our justification is through the redemption that is in Christ. But the basis of our justification is the Christ whom God set forth as a propitiation. We’ll consider this even more fully in the next sermon. But this is the only basis on which God can justly justify us, in light of our just guilt before His holy Law: Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation. 

We need to begin with the last word in this phrase, which is obviously a technical religious word: propitiation. What does it mean? The best place to look is within the Bible, how the word is used elsewhere. In Hebrews 9, verse 5, this word is used for the so-called “mercy seat,” which is the cover for the Ark of the Covenant. In the OT, the Ark of the Covenant was kept in the Most Holy Place – the Holy of Holies – in the Tabernacle; and later the Temple. And the glory-cloud of God’s holy presence was enthroned over the mercy seat.

We also see the word used for this mercy seat in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, especially in Leviticus, chapter 16. And this is where God gives Moses directions for the Day of Atonement. Once a year, the High Priest is to enter behind the veil, into the Most Holy Place – the very throne room of the living God.  And the priest will sprinkle the blood of a bull and a goat on this mercy seat, to make atonement for his sins and the sins of God’s people.

The Day of Atonement would also include a ritual with a scapegoat. This ritual fills out the theological meaning of this word, propitiation. The high priest would symbolically transfer the guilt of the sins of the people to the goat, by laying his hands on the animal’s head. And then the goat would then be driven into the wilderness, away from the people – bearing their guilt, taking their guilt away.

So what would be the result of all this? God’s anger against His people would be satisfied, by the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat; and the guilt of their sins would be taken away, by the scapegoat driven into the wilderness.

It seems that Paul is very intentionally using this word, propitiation; to allude to the Day of Atonement; and to point us to the Cross of Christ, as the ultimate fulfillment of the mercy seat – where ultimate atonement is made for the sins of God’s people. Christ has poured out His blood, to forever turn away God’s wrath; to forever take away our guilt. And His Cross is the place of that atonement.

Also notice that God has set forth Christ as a propitiation. It’s not behind the veil of the

Temple

; it’s public – Christ crucified outside of the city; before the eyes of the world. This is the Cross that we are to continue to make public, through the Gospel. For it is there that the righteousness of God is most clearly displayed.

God is fully satisfied in the sacrifice of His Son for our sins. This is how God justly justifies us who would believe. This is the ground, the basis, of our justification.

God has now graciously revealed His righteousness – freely justifying all who believe; on the basis of the Cross of Christ. 

I said earlier that one word might summarize the glorious result of justification; it is the word acceptance. Now we see that Christ crucified is the only basis on which God accepts you. Christ has given Himself to turn away the wrath of God, to take away your guilt before God. God gave Christ, and Christ gave Himself, to that end. And that work is once & done. You can’t add to this redemption price, to His propitiatory work – God is completely satisfied in the finished work of His Son. And so He is completely satisfied in you, if you are united to His Son by faith. So walk joyfully in that freedom!

God isn’t angry at you anymore. Christ has forever satisfied that just anger. God doesn’t view you in the guilt of your sin anymore. Christ has taken away that guilt. So why live like a Mormon, or a Jew, or a Muslim, laboring in absolute futility to pay off a debt of guilt you can never possibly repay? Only the Cross can take that guilt away. Rest in it, rely on it – and nothing else.

The tragic problem of human guilt that only God could solve – has been solved. Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation. Rest in that finished work; delight in that finished work; and live joyfully free – free to delight in God, free to live for Him, free to worship Him, free to serve Him, as you were meant to:  without any fear, knowing that you are accepted in His Beloved Son.

 

 

Remembering Reformation Day: A Gospel righteousness

An Exposition of Romans 3:21-23

Romans 3:21-23
21But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

If you’ve ever watched the show “Cops,” you’ve heard the catchy, reggae tune that opens the show: “Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do when they come for you?” And against that backdrop, you see this montage of cops taking down the bad guys. The lyrics imply the inevitable reality that the bad guys are going to get caught. It’s not, “Whatcha gonna do IF they come for you,” but “WHEN they come for you.” In Romans 1, verse 18, through chapter 3, verse 20 – we’ve been taken down by the Law of God – we are criminals on a cosmic scale – and our condemnation is inevitable.  Not only are we arrested, but we're convicted, and judged worthy by the living God of eternal condemnation. So what are you going to do, now that God, through His Law, has come for you?

Over the past multiple weeks that we’ve spent on this section, we’ve heard a lot of bad news. Now, it’s time for some really good news – the best possible news condemned criminals like us could ever hear.  You see, without all this bad news, the good news of what Christ has done for us would be reduced to nothing more than “nice news.”

God has now revealed His righteousness – a righteousness which is apart from the Law (v 21). 

God’s glorious grace shines through in just these first two words of verse 21 – “But now.”  The original word behind “now” is not the usual one found in the Greek New Testament. In this case, it’s an emphatic NOW. And it is the most fitting word for this transition. The revelation of God’s Law has dominated human history. Jews had the condemning revelation of God’s Law in Scripture; and the rest of us, through creation and conscience. But ever since human rebellion dawned with Adam & Eve, God has held forth a Word of grace promised – to those who would believe it.

The promise began in seed form, literally: God, in the hearing of Adam & Eve, declares a Word of judgment to the evil one who enticed human rebellion. But to Adam & Eve, and the following generations, it was the Word of promise: that a future Seed of the woman would eventually crush Satan’s head – Genesis 3:15. And that Seed would reverse the consequences of the rebellion that he enticed. This Seed promise develops and grows in the OT – especially with Abraham and David, as God elaborates on this promise. And under the covenant with Moses, God further illustrates – through types and shadows – how this promise would be fulfilled, especially with the emphasis of tabernacle, sacrifice and priesthood. And over the centuries, this expectation of the coming Seed is amplified through the prophets. But NOW, this slowly developing Word of grace promised for many thousands of years – has become the Word of grace fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

But what has predominated human history? That’s been Paul’s point so far: Not the Word of promise, but the revelation of the Law of God – condemning all of us – whether by conscience, or through the Scriptures. In all of human history, until the coming of Christ, only a very small group of people had exposure to this Word of promise. And among them, many didn’t believe it! But all of us have been exposed to the Word of condemnation in the Law.

“But NOW [these are two precious gospel words!] the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed.” This echoes the theme of this letter, found in chapter 1, verses 16-17: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”  The Son of God, sent by His Father, has brought good news into the world – good news for all the nations, for all people who are under the condemnation of God’s Law.

Now when Paul says, “apart from the law,” this is in light of the immediately previous verse: Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in [God’s] sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. If God demands a perfect righteousness in His Law, and yet we can’t produce that righteousness by that Law – whatcha gonna do? Well, the problem is, we can’t do anything to make it right. Under the Law, we only rack up more & more guilt, with each passing moment. We are helpless, hopeless sinners – and in desperate need of some good news. We are literally at the mercy of our Maker and Judge.

And here’s the good news! There IS another righteousness, from God, apart from the Law. This is God’s method of justification for helpless rebels like us: not by the Law, which is impossible in light of our sinful condition; but apart from the Law. A righteousness which God Himself provides – it is of Him; it is from Him.

What’s more, this righteousness from God has been and continues to be witnessed by the Law and the Prophets – the entirety of the Old Testament.  Paul will prove this later in chapter four when he calls two vital witnesses from the OT – two key covenant men:  Abraham, and David. They themselves knew & believed this Word of promise, about the righteousness which is from God, through faith alone.

God has now revealed His righteousness – which is apart from the Law.

Christian, those two little words – but now – are precious words, words that you can cling to. Have you ever had those dark moments, when you even despair of whether you are really a Christian or not? Maybe you’ve done something which you just know is entirely contrary to the Law of God – and yet you did it willfully.

Or maybe you struggle with some habitual sin – whether it be lust, or bitterness, or envy, or anger. You look inside yourself – and you’re driven to despair. You see desires & thoughts which are definitely not fitting for a “Christian.” Or you realize the ugly things that you’ve said prove that your tongue is still a restless evil, full of deadly poison – as it says in James 3.

And so your conscience is flashing that red warning light: guilty, guilty, guilty. Your conscience accuses you; and sometimes – that wicked accuser of God’s people, the devil – joins the chorus of accusation: “Amen! Thus says God’s Law: guilty, guilty, guilty. Anyone who does the things you’ve done; thought the things you’ve thought; said the things you’ve said – deserves the eternal judgment of God.” Christian, can you deny that? You can’t. You must agree with that – of course it’s true: you deserve eternal judgment. So you repent of your sin, confess it to God, and claim the Cross of Christ. But you need to do a little bit more than that, and deal directly with your conscience.

You need to tell your conscience, and the devil while you’re at it – “True, anyone with thoughts, words, or deeds like mine deserves God’s eternal judgment. And I was once under the condemnation of God’s holy Law… BUT NOW, a righteousness from God is revealed apart from the Law; and I no longer stand before my heavenly Father in the guilt of my sin, but now in the righteousness of His Son. But now Christ is my righteousness; But now Christ is all my hope – but now this same Christ declares, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for this one – he belongs to Me; and My righteousness covers him.’” Christian, let Christ speak the peace of His righteousness to your conscience:  whenever you are reminded of the guilt of your sin – cling to those two little, precious Gospel words, “but now.”

God has now revealed His righteousness – a righteousness which is apart from the Law, through faith in Christ (v 22a).

So how is this righteousness from God obtained? “Through faith in Jesus Christ.” This shows us the nature of true saving faith. Notice the preposition here, “through.” This indicates that faith is an instrument, or the means by which, we receive that righteousness from God. Faith is an empty hand, which reaches out, and receives from God.

When the Bible says we’re saved by faith, or justified by faith we need to understand what that means. If a person is in a bad car accident, and presses the “On-Star” button in their car, they might later say, “That On-Star button saved my life.” But of course, the On-Star button didn’t pull the man out of the car, and administer the medical attention that saved his life. Instead, that button connected him to the people who did save his life. The same is true when we say we’re saved by faith, or justified by faith. Technically, Christ saves us; Christ is our righteousness. But the means by which we are connected to this Christ is faith.

Clearly, faith has an object – and that object is Jesus Christ. Not Jesus Christ as we imagine Him, but Jesus Christ as He is proclaimed to us in the Gospel, as revealed in the Scriptures: Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the only Savior of sinners.

Not the Jesus of the liberals – the socially conscious political activist, whose radical teachings led to the unexpected tragedy of the Cross; not the Jesus of the moralist – who looks to Him as the supreme example of “niceness” that we should emulate. Not the Jesus of any false religions, or the cults – who distort who He truly is, and what He’s truly done; but only the Jesus of the apostolic Word – declared to us now from the entirety of God’s Word.

There is a content to our faith about a person and His work – who is the object of our faith. You must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the only Savior of sinners; if you are to truly believe in Him, for salvation.

I remember a conversation with someone years ago; I was sharing the Gospel with him, and he wanted to let me know he had already come to faith in Christ. He was in a terrible financial crisis, didn’t see any way out of it, and so he said, “I just gave it all over to Jesus, and had a real peace in my heart.” Was that true faith? I don’t think it was – at least not the way it was described. It sounds like the person was trusting in Christ as the stress-reliever, and not necessarily Christ the only Son of God, and Savior of sinners.

God has now revealed His righteousness which we receive through faith in Christ.

Well, how much faith do you need? Do you have enough faith to save you? After all, Oprah Winfrey talks about faith. Everyone talks about the power of believing. Many people talk about faith, as though it were a kind of psychological substance, which enhances your sense of well-being. The news will often feature “human interest” stories about people overcoming obstacles – perhaps some tragic accident that left them severely injured. But through their hard work, they make a significant recovery. And many times a key feature of the story is the power of the person’s belief, or that they have “great faith” – but not in any kind of Christian sense. Now please don’t misunderstand. A good attitude in a tragic situation is vitally important. A resolve to overcome is a good thing. But that is not faith – in the biblical sense of the word.

Now we know that the Scripture teaches that faith is the gift of God; that the Holy Spirit enables us to believe; that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of the Gospel. But when do you have enough of that faith to save you?

I think often about the story in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9. A boy is continually seized by an evil spirit; and the father in desperation brings the boy to the disciples, but they fail to cast it out. Then the father comes to Jesus. Jesus is distressed by His disciples’ utter unbelief. Yet there’s Jesus, full of grace and truth. Full of God’s power to save.

Jesus says to this father, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Do you think Jesus is looking for some kind of substance of faith in this man, to measure the quantity of it? “Sorry, you only have two ounces of faith, but you need six ounces. Can’t help you here – Next!” How does the father respond? With tears, he cries out and says: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” Can you sometimes identify with this man, and his weak faith, mixed with unbelief? I know I can. But what’s the rest of the story? Here is this father with this wavering, trembling faith – but Jesus commands the spirit, and it comes out of the boy, and the boy is healed.

A weak, wavering faith: “Lord I believe; help my unbelief.” But because that faith is genuine; and looks to Jesus – who is full of grace and truth, full of God’s power to save – that weak faith is just enough to connect you to every spiritual blessing, in the heavenly places in Christ. Christ is able to save you, weak as your faith may be. Your wavering faith connects you to the almighty Son of God, and Savior of sinners – it’s not about a strong faith, but a real faith, connected to an all-powerful, merciful Savior.

God has now revealed His righteousness – a righteousness which is apart from the Law, through faith in Christ, and available to all without distinction (vv 22b-23).

This righteousness received through faith is “to all and on all who believe.” Now is Paul being redundant here? He mentions faith, and then he mentions those who believe. The Scripture is not redundant here. Two different things are emphasized. In the first case, that faith is the means by which the righteousness of God is received. In the second case, it speaks of the applied benefit of the Gospel to those who believe. The first has to do with the means, the second with the result.

That righteousness which the Law demands, and we cannot produce – God freely gives to us, and places upon us who are believing. God’s Law exposes us; God’s Word lays everything naked and bare before our holy Judge. You want a righteous covering before God now – and – when you stand before Him in the Last Day. Christ provides that very covering, to everyone who believes in Him. “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress…” The result? “Bold shall I stand in Thy great day.” 

We see the universality of the gospel here in v 22 – to all who believe. Now I’m convinced that God’s Word teaches His sovereign, eternal choice of those He would save; I’m convinced that the design and intent of the Cross is not merely to make salvation possible, but to save a particular people – the elect.

But here God’s Word emphasizes the “everyone who believes,” like the “whosoever will” passages. And that’s how you’re to present the Gospel: Christ saves everyone who believes. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. That’s not a disingenuous statement, nor a contradiction with God’s sovereignty in salvation. I’m telling you honestly, as a witness to this Gospel, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved from the condemnation of your sins.

Paul then summarizes his entire argument from 1:18-3:20 in this brief sentence: “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Guilt is a universal condition. And there is no “special standing for any group, in light of this reality. One commentator, Douglas Moo, put it this way: “Jews may have the law and circumcision; Americans may lay claim to a great religious heritage; ‘good’ people may point to their works of charity; but all this makes no essential difference to one’s standing before the righteous and holy God.”

But what does it mean, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? The result of the fact that all have sinned – is that we all fall short of God’s glory. But in what sense? Well, if we get an idea of what we’re being restored to, through the Gospel, we’ll get an idea of how it is we fall short of God’s glory as sinners. Romans 8:29-30 says, “For whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” What are we predestined to? Conformity to the image of God’s Son. “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” The unbreakable chain of our salvation, beginning with God’s eternal foreknowledge of us, and predestination of us; and culminating in eternal glorification. And that glorification will be accomplished when we are fully conformed to the holy and righteous image of God’s Son.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says that the process of our sanctification, of Christian growth, is one of from glory to glory: “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

So working backwards from these verses, it appears that falling short of the glory of God, is to fall short of reflecting His righteousness in this world – as we were created to do. God’s glory was to be seen not only in His general creation – in the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees: but in the highest apex of His creation: men and women, bearing His holy likeness in this world, reflecting His glory.

The bad news is – you fall way short of God’s glory. The good news is – that qualifies you for His glorious grace! For the free righteousness of God, obtained by Jesus Christ, and given to all who believe in Him. Christ is the beginning and the end of your salvation. If you have faith in Christ, then you can rejoice to know that you were chosen in Him from before the foundation of the world; that the Father predestined you to be conformed to the image of His own Beloved Son; that you are justified because of His righteousness; that you are being conformed more and more to His image, as you grow in His grace. And you can look forward to the Day when you will be fully conformed to His glorious image.

 

Remembering Reformation Day: Sinners made speechless by God's Holy Law

An Exposition of Romans 3:19-20

Romans 3:19-20
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

As a child, do you ever remember being made speechless? You were caught red-handed, doing exactly the thing you were told not to do – and any attempt to defend or justify yourself would be completely pointless. The classic situation – “Johnny, no cookies before supper.” And then Mom catches Johnny with his hand in the cookie jar. Little Johnny is defenseless, and speechless. But as adults, we become far more sophisticated in our disobedience. We would dare to defend our hand in the cookie jar. To say that mother is to blame, because she didn’t put the cookie jar on a higher shelf. That her prohibition didn’t make clear exactly which supper she meant. “I didn’t have any cookies before supper yesterday – how was I to know she meant no cookies before supper tonight? She’s at fault for her ambiguity.” We are masters of self-justification. And we demonstrate it every single day of our lives, in many different ways. But there is coming a Day when all of our defenses, all of our self-justifying sophistication, will be stripped away. When we stand before our Creator, we will be speechless, and defenseless – unless we rely on Another to be our defense, and to speak for us out of His own righteousness. 

God’s holy Law has found us out, and shut us up! (v 19)

God’s Word in vv 9-18 has established two things: first, the whole world is corrupt before God – there is none righteous, no, not one. Secondly, as God looks at us – and through us – He sees us as radically corrupt beings, with rebel hearts which produce poisonous words, and destructive deeds. So now we arrive at the summary of God’s indictment of the whole world, in verses 19-20. And this concludes this entire section of Romans, which began in chapter 1, verse 18. We have heard the exacting judgment of God’s holy Law, and now we all stand condemned.

The first part of verse 19 says: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law,…” The Law is a living, speaking thing, because is the Law of the living and true God. “…it says to those under the law.” And that raises the question: Who, exactly, is under the Law?  Is this a reference only to the Jews, who had the written revelation of God’s Law in the Old Testament? Well, both the immediate and the larger context make clear every human being is “under the law” – all of us. In chapter 2, verses 11-15, Paul has already established that the Gentiles, though not having the written Scriptures, nonetheless have the law written upon their hearts. Their consciences bear witness against them. 

You are a creature. You owe your existence to a good and loving Creator. You are not a product of chance processes. You were made for the pleasure and the glory of God. What’s more, you were made to reflect His holy image:  to represent, serve, and enjoy Him in His creation. But the fact is, you are a rebel. You reject the rule of your Creator. You owe Him your obedience – you are “under the law” – but you completely disobey that Law: by your contrary desires; your contrary thoughts, words, and deeds. Therefore, to be under the law is to be under its condemnation.

In historic Reformed theology, we talk about something called the covenant of works, or the covenant of life. This covenant defines the relationship Adam & Eve had with God, before their rebellion, according to the Scriptures. In this original relationship, there were blessings and obligations. This “covenant of life” is summed up in the 17th century Westminster Larger Catechism in these words (some of which I paraphrase).

“[When God created man, He placed] him in paradise, appointing him to [cultivate] it, giving him liberty to eat of the fruit of the earth; putting the creatures under his dominion, and ordaining marriage for his help; [granting] him communion with himself; instituting the Sabbath; entering into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, of which the tree of life was a pledge; and forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.”

Well, you know the rest of the story. Adam & Eve rebelled, and as a result, we’ve inherited this mess of our own corrupt, rebellious hearts; and a fallen world to boot – characterized by sin, misery, and death. (Have a nice day!) But we need to recognize that this basic obligation to our Creator has never changed. Yes, we are born into a broken relationship with our Maker; but nonetheless, we still owe Him a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience. That is what we, as creatures, owe to God. And the Law of God – written clearly enough on our hearts, and written in greater detail in the Scriptures – spells out that continuing obligation.

You remember what Paul said in Romans 2, verse 6 – that God will “render to each one according to his deeds.” And as we saw, that is not good news. We still owe our Creator complete obedience, as expressed in our deeds. But of course, that’s bad news, because we are rebels at heart. And we can’t do it. By nature, we do deeds of rebellion, not deeds of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience. Even in our “sincere religious efforts” – everything is stained with our sin. 

So “…whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law” – for what purpose? – “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Now this immediate context also proves beyond doubt, that every human being is under the law of God.  In a fallen world, in a world of rebels who reject the rule of our loving Creator, what purpose and what result does the Law serve? First and foremost, to stop all of our mouths. This is clearly courtroom imagery. The Law shows us that we are without a defense for our rebellion. Our mouths are stopped. Guilty as charged.

And this purpose – and result – of the Law has a world-wide application. That the whole world would become guilty before God, Jew and Gentile. Please notice, our collective guilt is before God, that is, in the presence of God. We need to see that our rebellion against God’s rule is not simply rule-breaking. In the confirmation hearings for Judge Alito, there was a lot of talk about what makes a good judge – that ideally, he is to be a neutral interpreter of the constitution (or at least that’s the more conservative view).

But it’s not quite like that with God as our Judge. He is not some neutral, indifferent interpreter of the Law – as though the Law were just a set of rules, outside of Himself. We have offended Him. And He’s not “neutral” about that.

This is not simply about rule-breaking. We have sinned against God as a person. His Law is a reflection of His own character; and as His image-bearers, we are supposed to reflect His character. Our sin distorts the essence of our humanity, because it violates the image of God Himself, that we were intended to display.

God’s holy Law has found us out – and shut us up. 

Christian, does God’s Law continue to have that effect with you? Do you continue to see yourself, in light of God’s holy Law, as completely without excuse in His presence?  In our worship service, every Lord’s Day, I read a summary of the Ten Commandments. I give a brief explanation of one of the commandments – to show us how we all fall short of God’s glory revealed in it; how we need Christ to take away our guilt; and to cover our shame, with His own perfect obedience to that commandment.

You see, even as Christians, this function of the Law – to show us our defenselessness before God apart from Christ, is a wonderful gift from our heavenly Father. Because it brings into clearer focus your continuing need for Christ – His Cross, and His perfect obedience. Otherwise, what begins to creep into our hearts? Inevitably, some sinister form of self-righteousness. There’s a little Pharisee in every one of our hearts. 

Church, we need to make it a regular discipline to meditate on the Ten Commandments – and how they are summed up by Jesus as a total love for God and neighbor, in Matthew 22. We need to understand how each commandment reflects the beauty and glory of God’s holiness. And we need to then let it stop our mouths, to strip us of any self-righteousness; that we would truly rely – and only rely – on Christ alone, who fulfilled all righteousness; who lived a life of perfect and beautiful obedience to God’s holy Law, on our behalf.

But while that’s a priority function of the Law in our lives – to drive us to Christ – that is not the only use God intends for His Law. We go from Law, to Gospel, yet back to the Law again. Through believing the Gospel, our hearts are filled with joyful gratitude, as Christ takes away the shame of our sin, and covers us with His righteousness. But Christ also shows us the beauty of the image of God in human form, as He walked perfectly in the commandments of God; so we desire to reflect His holy image, more and more, by His grace and the power of His Spirit, as we seek to walk in the path of these same commands. That’s what 1 John 2:6 is about, “He who says he abides in [Christ] ought himself to walk just as He walked.” As Martin Luther put it, God doesn’t expect us to walk on water; but He calls us to follow His crucified Son in the path of obedience.

So let the Law stop your mouth, that your mouth might then be filled with praise to Christ – who has taken away its curse from you; fulfilled its demands for you; shows you the beauty of its righteousness in His own life; and enables you by His Spirit, more and more, to walk in it.

God’s holy Law has found us out, and shut us up! No one will be justified by works of the Law. (v 20)

This transition word in verse 20, that the New King James has translated “therefore,” might be better translated “for.” Paul supports what he has just said about the result of the Law, that every mouth is stopped, and all the world is guilty before God – “for by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” In other words, among rebels like us, the Law will never declare us righteous; it will only declare: “Condemned! Guilty! Worthy of eternal judgment!” 

Of course, the Christian moralist has a fatal misunderstanding of God’s Law. When you ask him on what basis he expects to be accepted by God, he’ll say, “I try to keep the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule,” or the “ethics of niceness, tolerance” – whatever. But the Law is never a cheerleader for our best efforts, our sincerity, our feigned niceness; the Law is first our accuser, showing us how far short we fall, from the glory of God’s perfect righteousness. It doesn’t cheer us on, “You’re our man – if you can’t do it, no one can!” Instead it says, “You’re a condemned man; you can’t do it, and no one can.” There is none righteous, no, not one. To seek to be justified by the Law is a futile and eternally fatal effort.

A little side note here: there are some NT commentators, who are part of a movement that has been called “the new perspective on Paul.”  They argue that the historic and reformation understanding of this expression “deeds of the law” has been misguided. They say it’s not about people trying to merit justification. Instead, the phrase relates to whether a Gentile needs to become Jewish to be part of the new people of God.

They say that when Paul says “deeds of the law,” he means the Jewish identity markers of the Mosaic covenant: that is, circumcision, Sabbath observance, dietary laws, holy days, etc. But that view, in the context of Paul’s argument here, is simply untenable. The Law here is far more than the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic covenant.

This is the Law speaking to us as God’s morally obligated creatures. And finding us wanting in that category. The Law says, “There is none righteous, no not one.” The Law declares, “Jew and Gentile alike have no defense; the whole world is guilty before God.”   To try to insert this erroneous new perspective interpretation, would make nonsense of Paul’s line of argument. I make this side point in the interest of a little pastoral inoculation. Because you will see advocates of this perspective on the History channel and PBS programs. NT Wright is one popular advocate of this erroneous view, and even some reformed people have given him far too much of a voice in the church. Because this view ultimately destroys the heart of the gospel – justification by faith alone. So please be warned. And please let me know if you have any questions about it.

“For by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, since by the law is the knowledge of sin.”  We’ve seen the result of the Law – every mouth is silenced, all the world is guilty before God. And now we see more specifically why that is: the law relates to us as sinners, and exposes our sin – “since by the law is the knowledge of sin.”  So what does this mean?

Well it relates to the prior phrase in this way: “For by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” – and why not? – “since by the law is the knowledge of sin.” If there were such a thing as a doer of the law, he would be justified – as Romans 2:13 makes clear. But that’s just the problem: among sinners like us the law only serves to expose our sin; to enable us to see that by the works of the law absolutely no one will be justified; and so we are silenced by the law, and stand condemned before God.

God’s holy Law has found us out, and shut us up! So hear the good news of God’s gift of righteousness, through faith alone in Christ alone. 

 

Martin Luther once said, “He who knows how to distinguish Gospel from Law should thank God and know that he is a theologian.” Historic Protestant theology has always confessed that Law and Gospel, on the one hand, must always be distinguished. The most basic distinction is seen in these two things: God commanding and judging is Law; but God promising and blessing in Christ is Gospel. In Romans 1:18-3:20, Paul has been preaching Law. And he’s about to transition to preaching Gospel.

But on the other hand, we also recognize that Law & Gospel must never be separated. When we declare the Gospel, we should never declare it apart from the Law of God. And sadly today, much evangelism is characterized by a distorted gospel – because people try to declare the good news without the convicting & condemning power of God’s Law. The good news without the bad news becomes merely “isn’t-that-nice!” news.

The unbending, exacting demands of God’s Law – and its threatened eternal curse – are essential to understand your need for the Gospel. But when the Law of God is ignored in the witness of the church to the world, the Gospel is obscured. It is presented as a kind of “value-added” product. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. You can have purpose or peace – Jesus can really enhance your life, and help you reach your full potential.” I think this explains why some have described American evangelicalism as 3,000 miles wide, and half an inch deep. We have mega-churches, we have political clout, we have a form of godliness – all without the power of the Gospel.

There was a question asked by many Puritan pastors, when they would examine someone for membership in the church: “Have you been to Sinai?” In other words, do you know something of the convicting & condemning power of God’s Law? Let’s put that question before our own consciences this morning.

Have you been to Sinai? Do you understand that your holy Creator demands of you, the creature – a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience? That you are obligated to love the Lord your God with the entirety of your being; and you are obligated to love your neighbor as completely as you love yourself? And failing that standard, you stand condemned before your Creator, without excuse, and facing His eternal judgment? Do you know something of that reality?

 

If you don’t, then it is very likely that you do not yet understand or believe the true Gospel. The Law is holy, good, and righteous. And it serves God’s good purpose to show us our sin; to drive us to despair; to find us out and shut us up – that we would be silenced, so that we might then hear the good news of God’s gift of forgiveness & righteousness, through faith alone in Christ alone.

Christ is never so beautiful to us, then when He shines His light of grace into the darkness of our sin & guilt; when He points us to His Cross, where He has forever taken away our condemnation; when He wraps the spotless, white robe of His righteousness around us, and forever covers our shame. That is the Christ we are called to believe in, to rely on, now and always.

Hear the Law in all its condemning power; that it would silence you; that you might hear the unexpected and sweet song of the Savior, calling You to His Cross – again and again.  That He might speak for you in the Last Day, when all the world is silenced, before the face of a holy God.

 

 

Remembering Reformation Day: Sinner, how can you ever hope to stand before your holy God and Judge on the Last Day?

An Exposition of Romans 2:6-11

Romans 2:5-11 (NKJV)
⁵But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ⁶who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: ⁷eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, ⁹tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; ¹⁰but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹¹For there is no partiality with God.

“Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” These are the concluding words of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. You may remember the opening words that ring as a refrain throughout the book – “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” So the resolution to the vanity of a practical atheism – of living as if there is no God – is to understand this ultimate truth: that we are to fear God and keep His commandments, for He will bring every work – everything we do – into judgment. The truth that God is our Judge – and will call us to account for our every deed – is foundational to reality itself. The apostle Paul appeals to this foundational reality in Romans 2:6-11. So how are we supposed to deal with this foundational reality – that we will stand before the living God, to give an account of everything we’ve ever done?

God is the impartial Judge, and will pay each of us back, exactly what we deserve, according to our works – and that’s not good news! 

First, God is the impartial Judge, vv 6 & 11. We need to notice the structure of this passage. There are parallel phrases, arranged in an inverse way. The technical term for this is called a chiasm. You’ll find it frequently in the OT, and sometimes in the NT. And so we find it here. The phrases are put in a parallel arrangement for emphasis. In this passage, verses 6 & 11 are parallel; verses 7 & 10; and verse 8 & 9. But the special emphasis here is on verses 6 & 11 – God is the impartial Judge.

Notice verse 6: God “will render to each one according to his deeds.” Paul is quoting here Psalm 62. And this phrase summarizes countless verses about God as the perfectly just Judge. He literally “pays back” exactly what is due to each person. His judgments are perfectly righteous and perfectly fitting. And when God judges us, and evaluates our works, He does so with complete knowledge – not only of every circumstance, but of the very thoughts & intentions of our hearts, which are behind everything we do.

Hebrews 4, verses 12-13, paints this less than comforting picture: “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” So God will repay us in a perfectly just way. And that’s not good news.

Notice verse 11: “For there is no partiality with God.” We cannot claim any special status that exempts us from God’s perfect judgment. Jews can’t do so. Not even Presbyterians can do so. God judges each individual human being on his or her merits – or lack thereof. We cannot appeal to our nationality, our baptism, our circumcision, our reputation in the community, whatever we might be tempted to lean on. There are no pretensions before our Maker.

Paul will use the phrase “of the Jew first, and also of the Greek” in verse 8 and “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” in verse 9. Now this echoes the language of chapter 1, verse 16, where Paul speaks of the power of the gospel of Christ for the salvation of everyone who believes – “for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.” Just as the Jew had the Word of God which held forth the hope of the Messiah – they had the Gospel in the form of promise in the OT; so of course they also had the full revelation of God’s justice as revealed in His Law. God’s impartiality should not be news to them. But here, Paul’s point is this: God is the impartial Judge – Jew and Gentile will both be judged according to their deeds – and that’s not good news.

Second, God will pay us each back exactly what we deserve. To those who do good, eternal life – verses 7 & 10.

Notice in verse 7, eternal life is merited. By works! God pays back with eternal life, “those who by patient continuance in doing good [literally, 'in good work'] seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” To the one who has his heart set completely on doing good in the sight of God; who longs for eternal life – eternal life, which is characterized by that excellent future condition of heavenly splendor – glory!; who desires to receive the honor which is due to any who are completely obedient to God; and who seek this blessedness which is indestructible – immortality. But this eternal life – and all of its benefits – is given only to those who deserve it, according to this verse.

Notice in verse 10 – it is glory, honor, and peace that God gives to everyone who works what is good. God’s standards have never changed. In the Garden, Adam is required to obey the Lord by not eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil. And he would have been rewarded with eternal life, had he obeyed. “Blessings for obedience; curses for disobedience” is the covenant standard – and it hasn’t been set aside for some other standard. If you want eternal life, if you want heaven, if you want the blessedness of God’s eternal presence – you must produce for Him a perfect obedience. And that’s not good news.

Third, God will pay us each back exactly what we deserve. To those who do evil, rage & wrath – verses 8 & 9.

Verse 8 – to those who instead of seeking for the blessings of eternal life, are self-seeking; who refuse to obey the truth, and instead give their allegiance to unrighteousness – God will repay them with indignation and wrath. Now, wrath is God’s settled disposition against evil. When we considered this word back in chapter 1, verse 18, I emphasized that God does not fly off the handle. He doesn’t “lose it.” God’s wrath is the disclosure of His just anger against human unrighteousness and self-seeking.

But the word “indignation” is a very strong word. It can be translated “rage.” God is obviously not subject to sinful human passions. But He is just as obviously a personal being. So He is not dispassionate in the face of human evil. He is enraged by it. His anger is hot against sinners, those who rebel against Him, and despise His Law. And He will repay human rebels with exactly what we deserve.

How will God’s rage and wrath be expressed? Verse 9 – “tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil…” God will justly bring eternal tribulation upon the wicked; and their experience of it will be one of eternal anguish.

God is the impartial Judge, and will pay us each back exactly what we deserve, according to our works – and that is not good news! 

In the Gospel of Matthew 19, vv 16-22, we have Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler. This is a nice, concrete application of the theology of God’s judgment we’ve just walked through in Romans 2:6-11.

16 Now behold, one came and said to [Jesus], “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Did you ever wonder why Jesus proceeds this way with this young man? Here comes an apparently sincere seeker of eternal life. He comes, and speaks flattering words to Jesus: “Good Teacher.” Jesus rebuffs that. “Now unless you’re attributing to Me deity, unless you understand & believe that I am God in the flesh, why do you call Me good?” The way Jesus handles the young man’s question, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”, is surprising.

Jesus answers him according to his question: “…if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” What is Jesus preaching here?  Where’s the good news?  Why doesn’t He say, “Eternal life is a free gift, that you can receive by faith in Me!” Jesus is preaching the truth – the unmitigated truth of the Law of God. Do this, and you will live. “You think you’ve done it, do you? You think you’ve kept all these other commandments? Well, how about this one? Because you really don’t understand what the Law requires of you. But I know your heart, and I know that you know at least this one thing – that you are a covetous man. Go, then, and sell all that you possess…”

Jesus is preaching pure Law to this young man. This is the standard of God; if you want the blessing of eternal life, you must obey the Law of God, purely & perfectly. And Paul, in Romans 2:6-11, is doing the exact same thing. This is not good news. This is bad news. This is the standard of God’s Holy Law. He repays each of us with exactly what we deserve. If you want to enter into eternal life, you must keep the commandments of God, pure & entire.

Paul is developing an extended argument that will end up with these conclusions in chapter 3 of Romans: “There is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside… there is none who does good, no, not one…. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”  The Law commands us to do, and shows us that we are undone for our failure to do.

So how’s it going for you, in your endeavor to inherit & earn eternal life? You need a record of perfect obedience to God’s revealed will in order to qualify. And God will never compromise on this requirement. His Law cannot be ignored. So what hope do you have? Absolutely none, if you only have the revelation of God’s Law. The Law has found you out. You’re not righteous; you don’t understand; you don’t seek God; you don’t do what is good. You have no excuse, no defense – you are guilty before God.

Let’s go back to the encounter Jesus has with the rich young ruler. The young man has walked away now, and Jesus turns to His disciples:

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Finally, some good news! With us, impossible; with God – all things are possible. This is a problem that only God Himself can solve. Now, Jesus leaves it there – in this passage, He doesn’t explain exactly how God will resolve this human impossibility. He simply assures us that God is able to do so.

So we need the Gospel, don’t we? But what does the Gospel do? Does the Gospel come and set up a different standard? Is God inconsistent with Himself? Does He lower His standard of justice? Some seem to think that the Law has the standard of perfect obedience; but the Gospel is where God lowers the bar. “Look, I know you can’t live up to the standard of pure and entire obedience. So here’s the new standard: just believe. I’ll take your lesser work of faith, and reward it with eternal life.” Maybe you’ve heard the Gospel presented that way. That’s not the biblical Gospel. God will never lower His standard – we need a record of perfect obedience to enter eternal life. But there is still good news – only God can resolve the apparent impossibility of our situation.

God is the impartial Judge. He promises to give us exactly what we deserve, according to our works. So what is the resolution? Since God judges & pays back according to works, we need to rest in the good works of another – Jesus Christ. 

Do you believe in the full gospel? By that, I don’t mean the charismatic version of the so-called “full gospel,” when bodily healing or prosperity are made part of the good news – which ends up distorting the Gospel. No, do you believe the full biblical Gospel?

The Gospel is not only about the forgiveness of your sins. Now, of course that’s an indispensable & wonderful part of it. But that’s only half of the story. The forgiveness of your sins will keep you out of hell. But it won’t get you into heaven. Because heaven isn’t for the merely innocent; heaven is for the righteous.

Have you ever heard justification summarized in this way: that when I believe in Christ, God treats me “just as if I never sinned.” Again, true – but only half of the truth of justification.

The Heidelberg Catechism summarizes justification in this way: “How are you right with God? Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. . . without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner – [but listen, there’s more!] – as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. . .”

Jesus’ record of perfect obedience merits heaven, eternal life, and every spiritual blessing for you.  And that record is credited to you, when you believe the Gospel. Jesus not only died the death that you deserved to deliver you from hell; He lived the righteous life you fail to live to bring you to heaven.  To bring through the Last Day judgment, and into the presence of God. That’s why Paul says what he does in Philippians chapter 3, verse 9. Paul wants to be found “in [Christ], not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Paul wants to be found by Whom in Christ? By our holy God and Judge.

Did you ever wonder why books on living the Christian life sell so well? And did you ever wonder why last month’s bestsellers end up in the bargain section of the catalog? And the newest titles on living the Christian life take their place on the bestseller page? Why this endless, money-making cycle? I think the reason is simple: many Christians are guilt-driven folks, who are looking for some way to get better at living the Christian life – so they can really please God, and win His favor. So they can really be a “good Christian,” and not ashamed of their weak devotional lives, their credit card debt, or their difficult marriage – or whatever their particular hang up might be.

What’s the underlying cause for this? I think it’s because many Christians hear & believe only half the Gospel. You are forgiven of your sins – but the Gospel is more than that. It’s not like God wipes the slate clean – and then you fill in that blank slate with your own righteousness to win God’s favor. You are accepted in the Beloved. You are holy and blameless in His sight because of Christ. Eternal life is yours, the favor of God is yours, because of the obedience of Another – Jesus Christ. He lived the perfect Christian life for you. Heaven is smiling on you, because of the works of Another. The Father is not frowning at you, with arms crossed. His arms are open towards you, because of Christ. What are you fearing? Why are you fearing?

Listen to the words of the apostle John, in 1 John 4:15-19: “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; . . . There is no fear in love, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” 

What will sustain you in the Last Day, when you stand before your Maker & Judge? Only the love which that same God has displayed for you in the Gospel – the love with which He first loved you, in giving His Son for you – to die for you and to live for you: that you may have boldness in the Day of Judgment.

Only the promise of John 5:24, will sustain you in the Last Day, where Jesus says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment.” Only the promise of Romans 5:8-9 will sustain you: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”  Justification isn’t only about your standing now before God; it’s just as much about your standing before Him in the Last Day – in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.

The foundational reality is that God is a just and impartial Judge; that He will give each person exactly what he deserves, according to his works. And Christ alone has done the works which please the Father; Christ alone has merited eternal life; and so let us be found in the Last Day, in Christ alone. As the hymn declares: “When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found; dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”  AMEN.

 

Hello!?! The Reformation still matters!

Let's play a little "free association" with an average American evangelical.  Interviewer:  "When I say 'October 31st,' what's the first thing that comes to mind?"  Bobby-the-born-again:  "Oooooooh, a wicked and dark day, a Satanic day - Halloween!  That's when I hand out gospel-tracts instead of candy to all the neighborhood kids.  And for some reason, the next day I notice my trees are full of toilet paper and my cars have been egged... which proves it's a dark and devilish day!"

Kidding aside, October 31st is known among Protestants as "Reformation Day" - because on that date in 1517, on the eve of All Saints' Day, Martin Luther nailed the "Ninety-Five Theses" to the door of the church in Wittenberg, essentially igniting the Protestant Reformation.  Of course, Pope Leo X wasn't exactly "open" to discussing the issues Luther initially raised (mainly, regarding the church's abuse of selling "indulgences" to fund the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome) - and before long, Luther was excommunicated.

But the main issues that would come to the fore in the Protestant Reformation were, to simplify, two:  1) the authority question - Where do we hear God's authoritative voice today? and, 2) the salvation question - How are we, as sinful creatures, made right before our Holy Creator?  To the first question, the Protestant Reformers confessed Sola Scriptura! - the Scripture alone is where God, by the Holy Spirit, authoritatively speaks today.  To the second question, the Reformers confessed Sola Fide!  - faith alone!  That is, we are made right with God only by trusting in Jesus Christ - His Cross and the gift of His perfect righteousness - for the forgiveness of sins and for the righteousness we need to stand before God our holy judge.  Both issues are inter-related, as the matter of how we are made right with God depends ultimately on the authoritative testimony of God in His Word. 

Yet the question today seems to be, in the words of an issue of  Modern Reformation magazine, "Shall We Still Protest?"  With developments in recent years of things like Evangelicals and Catholics Together, the New Perspective on Paul, some aspects of the Federal Vision Theology, the road back to Rome that some Theonomists and evangelicals have trod, etc., it appears that either the Protestant Reformation was much ado about nothing, or else its lessons have been lost upon this generation of Protestant evangelicals. 

My conviction is, THE REFORMATION STILL MATTERS!  - not only for the well-being of today's church, but for our eternal well-being.  Because this is all about the Gospel of Jesus Christ - and whether we embrace the true apostolic Gospel leading to eternal life, or another gospel leading to our eternal condemnation. 

So, in light of the upcoming 489th anniversary of Reformation Day, I'll be posting some expositions from Paul's Epistle to the Romans - one of the principle weapons in the arsenal of Luther, Calvin, et al.  These are from sermons I've been preaching through Romans at Christ Our Hope Presbyterian Church. 

For what the Law could not do - God did!

Some thoughts on Romans 8:3-4 from yesterday's sermon:

 

  “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.” Is it consistent to call the holy, just, and good Law of God – a law of sin and death (see verse 2)? Absolutely. The Law justly demands of us a perfect obedience. It is what we owe our Creator as His creatures, made in His image. The Law justly threatens eternal condemnation if we fail to perfectly obey. And so, because of our flesh, that is our sinful corruption, God’s good Law becomes to us the Law of sin and death. Is that the fault of God’s holy Law? No, the fault is entirely yours & mine.

  The Law says, do this, and do it perfectly, and live. But the Law cannot provide life to sinners like us – only death. Because we fail to do perfectly all that the Law commands. So what hope do we have? Under the Law, we have no hope. We’re doomed!

  “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God did!” Good news, indeed! What the Law was powerless to do, God did! How did He do it? “By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.”  How can God justly say of us, “no condemnation”? Only because of the incarnation and the crucifixion of the Son of God in our place.

  This is intimate and emphatic language: God sent His own Son; His very own Son; His beloved Son; His one and only Son. This reminds us of John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

 Think of the insanity of seeking salvation through the Law, through your self-effort, through your self-righteousness – when God’s Law cannot save you but only condemn you for your sin; what’s more, think of the insult of rejecting what God Himself has done for sinners, by sending His own Son in the flesh. Christ did not come into the world to show us how to be nicer people. Christ did not come into the world to give us a little help to live better lives – a kind of spiritual self-help program. Christ was sent by His Father, to rescue condemned and helpless sinners who could not save themselves. Stop the insanity of self-righteousness – non-Christian and Christian both! – and rely only on Christ.

  And how did God “condemn sin in the flesh” through His Son? Christ is sent in the “likeness” of sinful flesh. Notice the qualification. Christ, the Son of God, takes a human nature to Himself, but that human nature is uncorrupted by sin. Christ is the only Mediator between God and man, and He alone is the God-man. Only the God-man could bear the condemnation we deserve, in our place. Why is that?

 The 16^th century Heidelberg Catechism does a beautiful job of explaining this, in a series of questions and answers: “[As guilty, helpless sinners,] what kind of mediator and redeemer must we seek? One who is a true and righteous man, and yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is also true God. Why must He be a true and righteous man? Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned should make satisfaction for sin; but one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others. Why must He also be true God? That by the power of His Godhead He might bear in His manhood the burden of God’s wrath, and so obtain for and restore to us righteousness and life.”

And that brings us to verse 4: “That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Again, we have an opportunity to misunderstand this and distort the Gospel. Christ did not come into the world to give us a little help, so we could fulfill the Law for ourselves.

Remember the nature of the Law: commandments that must be fulfilled perfectly; and the threat of eternal curse when we fail to do that. The Law to us as sinners is commandment and eternal curse. Christ bears the curse on our behalf, so the Father can justly say of us, “No condemnation!” Christ fulfills the commandments perfectly for us, so God can justly say of us, “Righteous! The righteous requirement of My holy Law is fulfilled in you, because of the obedience of My Own Beloved Son on your behalf.” The Law is fully satisfied, in its commandment and in its curse – by Jesus Christ the Righteous, by Jesus Christ the crucified; for all who would believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.

Can you confess the words of the Gospel hymn, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;… On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” Why is “all other ground sinking sand”? Because God has done for us in Christ what we could not do for ourselves: He condemned sin in the flesh, and secured for us an everlasting righteousness – that He might be just, even as He justifies us who believe in His Only Begotten Son. To His glory alone – and for our everlasting joy.