THE MESSAGE OF JUSTIFICATION: DELIVERED AND RESURRECTED FOR US ROMANS 4:23-25 In Geneva, Switzerland, there is a park near the church where Jhn Calvin preached and cnducted his ministry. In that park there is a memrial wall cntaining the statues f 10 f the leading men f the 16th Century Refrmatin. The center grup f statues are f William Farel, Jhn Calvin, Thedre Beza, and Jhn Knx. And written in large letters t the left and right f these center statues are the wrds, Pst Tenebras Lux, After darkness, light. Thse wrds are a fitting explanatin f the essence f the Refrmatin and the wrk f the Refrmers: after the thelgical darkness f sme thusand years, the light f the gspel f Jesus Christ shne again. And what specifically shne, was the message f justificatin by grace alne thrugh faith alne in Christ alne. This is a message fr the ages nt just fr the Refrmatin, but fr all peple in every place in all f recrded histry. As Paul has been demnstrating in Rmans 3-4, justificatin thrugh faith alne has always been Gd s way f bringing men t salvatin. And what Paul will demnstrate in the clsing prtin f this sectin n salvatin is that justificatin thrugh faith was true in Abraham s life, it was true in Paul s day, and it is true in ur day as well. What des Paul say in these verses? He teaches that: JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE ONLY WAY TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD. Justificatin is unchanged and unchanging. What prduced justificatin in the life f Abraham is the same thing that prduces justificatin in us tday. This is the gspel message and it is the gspel message in six wrds; ntice hw Paul demnstrates the prcess and prvisin f justificatin in these verses: 1. GRACE the Prvisin f Justificatin (vv. 23-24a) 2. FAITH the Means f Justificatin (v. 24b) 3. GOD the Object f Justificatin by Faith (v. 24c) 4. CHRIST the Redeemer fr Justificatin (v. 24d) 5. MAN the Reasn fr Justificatin (v. 25a) 6. HOPE the Validatin f Justificatin (v. 25b) page 1 / 8
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE ONLY WAY TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD. 1. GRACE the Prvisin f Justificatin (vv. 23-24a) The Israelites thught abut Abraham primarily as their father; f all the patriarchs, ne std abve the rest, and that was Abraham. They were cnfident f their status as privileged and redeemed peple simply because f their physical lineage frm Abraham (e.g., Jn. 8:33, 39). But as Jesus demnstrated, they needed mre than just a bilgical cnnectin t Abraham t be right with Gd (Mt. 3:9). They als needed the kind f faith Abraham had; and that is Paul s pint in Rmans 4, which he summarizes in vv. 23-24a. If yu are ging t summarize Abraham s life, it culd be summarized with this sentence: He believed Gd and it was credited t him as righteusness (Rm. 4:3, 9, 22, 23). Of all that he did and all that Gd accmplished thrugh him, that is the definitive statement f his life. And as yu lk again at that statement, ntice what Gd did and hw Abraham did nthing t be right with Gd.! It was credited t him is a reference t a banking term; it means that smething was placed in his spiritual accunt with Gd that he did nt gain fr himself. Smene else (Gd) made this depsit n his behalf. And that has been the emphasis thrughut this chapter: Abraham didn t wrk fr this credit f righteusness (vv. 2-5); He didn t get it thrugh circumcisin, because it was given t him prir t circumcisin (v. 9-10); And he didn t get it thrugh bedience t the Law because the Law came 500 years after he received the gift (vv. 13-16) and the Law cannt save and can nly cndemn (v. 15). This gift f justificatin is nly a gift f grace and nthing else.! And ntice als that Paul says that there was a recrd f the giving f that gift t Abraham and the recrd is cntained in Gd s wrd it was written. This is a minr pint, but it reinfrces what we ve already said: Abraham didn t write this declaratin, but smene else wrte it fr him (and fr us). Wh wrte it? Well, Mses was the man wh put the pen t paper t write the accunt, but wh was behind the writing and wh was the ne wh made the declaratin abut Abraham s status as a justified man? It was Gd. And n what basis did Gd make this declaratin and write this summary sentence f Abraham s life? He made it n the basis f grace.! And that grace is still the same prvisin fr ur justificatin ntice v. 24a: but fr ur sake als. This is Paul s great summary statement abut Abraham and justificatin: the benefit f justificatin is still received nly and always by grace alne. Many f yu are very generus givers; yu lve t give and share what yu have with thers as an expressin f yur lve fr Christ. Yu are gracius givers. But t be justified befre Gd means that we must als be gracius receivers. We dn t give t Gd t becme justified; we receive frm Gd t be justified. Justificatin is nly and always by grace alne. It was a gift t Abraham and it is a gift t us. page 2 / 8
Justificatin is a gift f Gd s grace. But nt all men receive that gift. T receive the gift, ne must have 2. FAITH the Means f Justificatin (v. 24b) Ntice that the accreditatin f justificatin is given nly t thse wh believe in Him.! The verb believe is frm the same rt as the nun faith (vv. 5, 9, 11-13, 16, 19, 20).! And this verb is a present tense, having the idea f an nging and persistent faith. T believe in Christ is nt t believe ne time and then t keep n living the way we were living. T believe is t cntinue in that faith and t cntinue t demnstrate allegiance t Gd.! Justificatin is nly granted t thse wh have faith in Gd and Christ. There is n ther way. Mankind has always been enticed t crrupt justificatin by faith alne; the crruptin cmes in ne f tw ways, primarily:! Salvatin by merit this is the issue f wrks salvatin that Paul addressed in vv. 2-8 particularly. This frm f salvatin is an exaltatin f self. We see it mst ften/readily in the Rman Cathlic Church. A few weeks ag I nted what was written in the Cunsel f Trent: If anyne says, that by faith alne the ungdly are justified in such a way as t mean that nthing else is required t cperate in rder t receive the grace f Justificatin and that it is nt necessary fr a man t be prepared and dispsed by the mvement f his wn will; let him be anathema. If anyne says that justifying faith is nthing else but cnfidence in the divine mercy which frgives sins fr Christ s sake; r that we are justified by this cnfidence alne; let him be anathema. [Quted in Why the Refrmatin Still Matters, 30.]! Salvatin withut wrks this is antinmianism that says that there desn t need t be bedience after salvatin; bedience is beneficial, but nt necessary. But true justificatin results in the indwelling f the Spirit and the Spirit will always prduce His wrk and fruit. The justificatin that is by faith alne is never alne it always prduces sme measure f fruit (1:5; 16:26; Gal. 5:22ff). Antinmian salvatin is an indulgence f self (and sin). It pursues what the flesh desires rather than what the Lrd requires. What Paul emphasizes in these verses is that justificatin must always be and can nly be received thrugh faith in Christ alne. And when we say that faith is the means by which justificatin is received, we dn t mean that justificatin is a wrk; by definitin, faith means, I cannt; I entrust myself t ne wh can. Faith is merely the utstretched hand that receives the gift that is being given. T receive the grace gift f justificatin, ne must believe and they specifically must believe in page 3 / 8
3. GOD the Object f Justificatin by Faith (v. 24c) Ntice that Paul says, wh believe in Him! The Him in this verse refers t Gd the Father. Generally when we say that t be justified ne must believe in Christ (and he must), but here Paul emphasizes smething additinal the believer must believe in the same Gd that Abraham believed.! S Paul is pre-empting the ntin that is ppular in ur day, yu just need t believe What yu believe is nt at all imprtant, just believe in smething and it will be all right. Yu need t believe in hpe (because miracles happen every day). Yu need t believe in lve. Yu need t believe in dreams. Yu need t believe in science and what yu can see. Yu need t believe in belief and the pwer f psitive thinking. Yu need t believe in smething bigger than yurself. Yu need t believe in yurself (and yu will be unstppable).! But Paul ntes that what ne believes, and whm ne believes in is essential and nly One will prve t be satisfying in the end belief in Gd. This is a repeated theme in the NT: Acts 9:42 It became knwn all ver Jppa, and many believed in the Lrd. Acts 11:17 Therefre if Gd gave t them the same gift as He gave t us als after believing in the Lrd Jesus Christ, wh was I that I culd stand in Gd s way? Acts 16:31 They said, Believe in the Lrd Jesus, and yu will be saved, yu and yur husehld. Acts 22:19 And I said, Lrd, they themselves understand that in ne synaggue after anther I used t imprisn and beat thse wh believed in Yu. Rm. 9:33 just as it is written, BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. Rm. 10:11 Fr the Scripture says, WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. 1 Tim. 1:16 Yet fr this reasn I fund mercy, s that in me as the fremst, Jesus Christ might demnstrate His perfect patience as an example fr thse wh wuld believe in Him fr eternal life. Hebrews 11 is well knwn as the faith chapter in the NT, and the key verse in that chapter is v. 6 And withut faith it is impssible t please Him, fr he wh cmes t Gd must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder f thse wh seek Him. T have saving faith ne must believe in Gd. This is the faith that Abraham had it was nt just a faith in Gd t d a miracle in his dead bdy, but faith that the Wrd (prmise) f Gd t bless the wrld thrugh him was true and that Gd was able and trustwrthy t accmplish His prmise t Abraham. It will nt d t have a general faith in Gd; it is the Gd f the prmise that bth Abraham and we believe. T receive the grace gift f justificatin ne must believe in Gd, and specifically in Gd s prvisin f page 4 / 8
4. CHRIST the Redeemer fr Justificatin (v. 24d) And specifically, Paul says that the believer believes in the One wh raised Jesus frm the dead. That is, we dn t just believe in Gd in general terms, but we believe in Him as the raiser f Christ. Cf. Rm 8:11; Rm. 10:9; Acts 3:15; 4:10; 1 Cr 6:14; 15:15; 2 Cr 4:14; 1 Pet 1:21. What a number f thse verses emphasize is that the nly reasn we have hpe fr resurrectin frm Gd is that He raised Christ; if He raised Christ, then He can and will als raise us wh believe in Christ. There is n life withut the resurrected Christ (Rm. 5:18,21; 6:4-7); Christ resurrected is crucial. This is the same kind f faith Abraham exercised. We believe in the same Gd wh has the same pwer. Abraham lived in a different histrical cntext and had a different amunt f revelatin frm Gd, but he and we believe in the same Gd wh has the same pwer t resurrect frm the dead. What Abraham specifically believed that resulted in justificatin was different than what we believe: Abraham believed the prmise f Gd f a land, seed, and blessing (the seed is particularly emphasized in Gen. 15); what we believe is the wrk and resurrectin f Christ. But the bject f ur belief is the same we believe in the same Gd; and we believe in the same ability and pwer f Gd t resurrect dead men t life. Abraham believed in Gd s resurrectin pwer and s d we. T receive the grace gift f justificatin, ne must believe in Gd and His prvisin f Christ; it must be that way because we understand the universal cnditin f 5. MAN the Reasn fr Justificatin (v. 25a) Fundamentally, we believe in Christ because we d nt and cannt believe in urselves. Our transgressins nt nly cndemned us, but Christ was delivered ver because f ur transgressins. The wrd delivered ver is interesting. Almst half the NT uses f this wrd are in reference t the crucifixin f Christ and many f thse refer t Judas actins against Christ; in thse instances the wrd is translated betrayed. By his act f betrayal, Judas delivered Jesus t the Jews t be crucified. But the NT als emphasizes that Gd Himself delivered Christ t the crss (Acts 2:22-23; Rm. 8:32).! Gd had n part in the sin f men that crucified Christ. And Gd gave n excuse t the men wh crucified Christ as part f His eternal plan.! Yet, it is als clear that Gd is the svereign hand behind these events rchestrating them fr His purpses. Christ s death was purpseful and it was intended and planned by Gd. This is very similar t what Isaiah writes in Is. 53:5, 10 the Suffering Servant was pierced, crushed, chastened, and scurged; and he experienced thse sufferings because f Gd s purpseful plan (v. 10).! One cmmentatr has expressed the thelgy f this verse well: page 5 / 8
The crucifixin f Christ being the greatest f all crimes, was hateful and highly prvking in the sight f Gd; yet it was the will f Gd that it shuld take place, in rder t bring t pass the greatest gd. Gd decreed this event; He willed that it shuld cme t pass, and rdered circumstances, in His prvidence, in such a way as gave men an pprtunity t carry int effect their wicked intentins. In their sin Gd had n part; and His determinatin that the deed shuld be dne, frmed n excuse fr its perpetratrs, nr did it in any degree extenuate their wickedness, which the Scriptures charge upn them in the fullest manner. Him, being delivered by the determinate cunsel and freknwledge f Gd, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, Acts 2:23. [Haldane, 190-1.] And the reasn he was delivered ver was because f ur transgressins.! The wrd transgressins desn t refer t ur sin nature, but t all f ur individual sins. And the wrd in ther places is translated as smething like, misstep, r false step. It is t step utside a knwn bundary; it is a willful rejectin f Gd s authrity ver man.! And ntice that Paul says the cause f Christ s crucifixin was ur transgressins. It emphasizes the purity f Christ and that His death was nt necessary fr Himself. He died because f ur transgressins, nt His wn.! N.B.: T say that ur sins caused Christ s death emphasizes Gd s grace. If yu think abut it, there is nt a straight line between ur sins and Christ s death. There are ther mre straight line cnnectins between ur behavir and cnsequences: if I drive 70 mph n 377 past Wal-Mart, I will get a ticket; if I eat a quart f Blue Bell every night I will gain weight; if I embezzle funds frm my emplyer I will get fired and g t jail. But my sin des nt directly necessitate Christ s death. But it des necessitate Christ s death in that it was part f Gd s eternal plan t redeem sinners and glrify Christ. It is necessary because redeemed sinners are the Father s gift t the Sn s that they will frever enjy and delight in the Sn (Jn. 6:37-40, 44).! This brief clause shws the need f Christ s death. [Haldane] Nthing else wuld satisfy Gd and nthing else wuld prvide freedm frm ur sin. Eternal Hell fr us wuld nt release us frm ur just cndemnatin. Only Christ culd effectively atne fr ur sin. Our sin mandated His death if there wuld be justificatin fr any sinner. This demnstrates the magnitude f ur sin. It is nt a trifle.! Any sin and all sin is cndemning. Remember Rmans 1? Remember the summary f sins (vv. 28ff)? Alng with all manner f sexual sin and murder, Gd puts disbedience t parents and being unlving. What we dismiss as the nrmal and excusable terrible tws and brush ff as being a little prickly, Gd says is enugh t cndemn us t Hell. James des smething similar in Js. 2:9-11 when he categrizes racism and partiality and favritism as severe as sin as murder and idlatry.! This is a reminder f the gravity f ur sin and the weightiness f ur sin. Never verlk r excuse yur sin (yurs r any ne else s, but especially yur wn). Sin any sin, all sin, and ne sin damns us t Hell fr all eternity. Sin any sin, all sin, and ne sin caused Christ s death. When ne believes in Gd and Christ and receives the grace gift f justificatin, it prvides great page 6 / 8
6. HOPE the Validatin f Justificatin (v. 25b) Nt nly was Christ delivered ver because f ur sins, but He was als raised because f ur justificatin. This is the secnd time in this passage that Paul emphasizes that the Father has resurrected the Sn (cf. v. 24b). Here raised indicates that Jesus didn t raise Himself but that smene else resurrected Him (cf. 6:4; 8:11). The questin in this verse is, what des Paul mean, because f ur justificatin? Prbably the best way t understand it is t say it was fr the sake f ur justificatin r because f the need t justify In ther wrds, withut the resurrectin, there wuld be n justificatin. Fr sinners t be justified necessitated bth Christ s death and resurrectin. They cannt and must nt be separated. S this means that the raising f Christ frm the dead is the surce f ur justificatin; Christ was raised frm the dead t accmplish justificatin. Withut the resurrectin, there wuld be n righteusness t impute t thse wh believe, because it wuld mean that He was still under the cndemnatin f Gd. The resurrectin is the demnstratin t the wrld that He has satisfied the wrath f Gd and that He is n lnger under Gd s wrath. Gd has been prpitiated. And thus, there is justificatin available t impute t thers. This clause reverberates with the sund f 1:4 wh was declared the Sn f Gd with pwer by the resurrectin frm the dead And friends, the resurrectin is nt just the final affirmatin f Christ s justifying ability, but the resurrectin is ur hpe. If He was resurrected, then we will als be resurrected. There is n victry fr sin r death. There is life with Gd in eternity. The graves f believers will be emptied t send them t Heaven t be with the Triune Gd fr all eternity and be freed frm all sin and that freedm is experienced even nw n earth (5:10-11; 6:4-7). This is what the resurrectin f Christ and justificatin d fr all believers it gives us hpe nw and fr all eternity. page 7 / 8
CONCLUSION: When yu want t cmmunicate the gspel f justificatin (hw t be right with Gd) t an unbeliever, what is yur message? Here it is in six shrt wrds:! Grace justificatin is a gift frm Gd that is undeserved and it is received by! Faith we simply acknwledge that we cannt earn/achieve Gd s righteus standard n ur wn s we entrust urselves t Him we believe in! Gd like Abraham, the bject f ur faith is Gd, and we supremely believe in His prvisin f salvatin and justificatin thrugh! Christ the perfect Gd-Man wh lived the perfectly righteus life n ne else has; He alne is righteus and n the crss he tk the place f! Man bearing the sins f men and absrbing and satisfying the wrath f Gd against that sin and prviding! Hpe since He was resurrected, authenticating His acceptance befre Gd and fulfillment f the salvatin plan, then we als have the hpe f resurrectin and that we will be with Him in eternity. This is the gspel message f justificatin: grace, faith, Gd, Christ, man, and hpe. It was unchanging frm Abraham until tday and int eternity. This is what we tell sinners wh have nt been recnciled t Gd. And if yu are nt a Christian and fllwer f Christ, this is what yu must believe t be saved. Yu cannt save yurself. Yu are under the cndemnatin f Gd. And if yu believe, as Abraham did, in the Gd wh saves sinners thrugh the resurrectin f the dead (and supremely in the resurrectin f Christ), then yu will be saved. Yu cannt save yurself; yu must believe in the Gd wh saves sinners. And I call yu t repent f (turn away frm) yur sins tday, and begin trusting in Christ as yur Savir. BENEDICTION: Jude 24-25 page 8 / 8