THE INCREDIBLE GOD (Part 5 - Incredible Gift) Self-justifiers by nature Most people believe they are above average more ethical and competent, better drivers, better leaders, better judges of character, and more attractive than the majority (Fine, 2008; Gilovich, 1991). But if most of us see ourselves as reasonable, moral, and smart, what happens when we are confronted with information implying that we have behaved in ways that are unreasonable, immoral, or stupid? When you act in a way that you believe is inconsistent with who you are, psychologists call this cognitive (the thought process) dissonance. This is when our actions and our thinking are in conflict. There are three things
people do when confronted with such internal disharmony: Change our behavior Justify our behavior by changing how we think about it Justify our behavior by adding new beliefs Smokers: Smoking will kill you. Change your behavior: I quit. Justify your thoughts about it: I know it can kill me, but it helps me relax. So, at least when I die I ll be calm. Add new beliefs: My grandpa is 87 and has smoked everyday of his life. Clearly, it s not bad for everyone. Marriage advice: Should I marry him? Change your behavior: You could not marry him. Justify your thoughts about it: You could do worse. Add new beliefs: You could marry him and if it doesn t work out, you can always leave. You can t treat marriage like it s a bad date. You can t say to your best friend, Text me five years into the marriage in case things aren t going well. Oh, no, I ve got a text from my former roommate and she needs my help, so I have to go... for the rest of my life. There is another explanation for cognitive dissonance and that is sin. And the means of our internal disharmony is the law of God, whether in written form or our conscience. Romans 3:20 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. The point of agreement between psychologists and theologians is that people try to be justified in their own sight. Everyone wants to think well of themselves. But they want others to think well of them too, whether they are actually well or not. You can glory before other people because they don t
know you exhaustively as God does. The Apostle John put it this way, they want the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:43) If I may paraphrase a Puritan by the name of Bonar: We need supernatural courage to neutralize the fear of man, the dread of public opinion, that god of idolatry of our age. Romans 3:21 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it The old way (the law) pointed to the new way (grace). The law reveals the righteousness of God, but the gospel now shows us the new way. This is contrasting the old way with the new way. This was God s plan before the foundation of the world. The new way was intended to replace the old way. The new way is grace. The old way was law, but the law leads us to see our need for grace. In the law, God explains to us what He is like. But we must always remember that we are a copy of God, meaning image, not duplicate, not an original. God is both quantitatively and qualitatively different than we are, which simply means this. For instance, we can say, God is good, and we can also say, Sally is good. However, there is an infinitely qualitative difference between God being good and Sally being good. In other words, God s goodness is much, much, much, much higher in quality (to the infinite degree) than ours. We are in God s image. We are God s analogies. As God has revealed His nature and character in His law, we begin to become aware of the ethical difference between us and God, that we are sinners. We are not God lovers. We are law-breakers, which shows us that we don t even actually like God. Let me show you how the law works and what it was intended to do, which is bring about a knowledge of your own personal sin nature.
1. No other gods before Me. Have you ever put yourself before God? Even once? Have you ever put money before God? Pleasure? Your family? Your children? Your house or possessions? Have you ever put anybody or anything before God? Even once? 2. No graven images Have you ever looked to a crystal, or a charm or cards for guidance? Prayed to, adored, or visualized Jesus, Mary, a saint, an angel, or a cherubim? Even once? Prayed to a mental image of Jesus you ve seen in a painting? 3. Don t use God s name in vain Have you ever cursed God s name? Jesus name? Have you ever used His name lightly with a phrase such as Oh, my God? Even once in your life? 8. Do not steal Have you withheld tithes and offerings from God? See Malachi 3:8. Have you ever taken a paper clip or candy bar without paying? Cheated on your taxes? Worked under the table? Even once? Have you kept your life back from God? Have you ever not given your employer a full day s work for a full day s wage? The law shows us the ethical chasm between us and God. He is perfectly holy and righteous and we are none righteous, no not one. But you don t know my uncle Bill. He s a really nice guy. Compared to who? Do you know the heart of uncle Bill? Do you know his thoughts? So, there s God s righteousness revealed in the law, but now God has revealed His righteousness apart from the law. There is now another way that God has shown that He is righteous. And we see that way in the cross of Jesus Christ. This is where it gets good. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. The gospel is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It s the righteousness of God given to us by God as a gift. It s conferred to us by God. It s granted to us by God. It s ordained to us by God.
Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. (4:3) This is forensic. It s God s legal declaration before the entire universe that you are acquitted. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, We are all guilty before God, pagans who haven t lived up to their inborn sense of right and wrong and Jews who haven t lived up to the written law that God revealed. All are guilty. The question is, How do we have our guilt removed? 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. Justified is to be declared not guilty, to be acquitted. How are we acquitted? Through the redemption in Christ Jesus. If you want forgiveness, you have to go through the cross of Jesus Christ. Grace is unmerited favor to the utterly undeserving. If you want grace, you have to go through the cross of Jesus Christ. Gift. You contributed nothing. It is given to you. The grammatical tense of are justified is passive, meaning this is something that happens to you. This is not something you do. This is something that is done for you. You are passive in the process. 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, And verse 25 just defines for us what redemption in Christ Jesus means. God put Him forward. So, basically, God sent His one and only Son. Why did God send Him? As a propitiation by His blood. This is why God can give us the gift of His righteousness, because in the cross He has shown that He justly punishes sin. so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (v26) The sinless One was punished in the place of the sinful. The spotless One received the wrath that the impure ones deserved. That is what propitiation by His blood means. That God so loved us that He sent His Son and the Son so loved us that He willing paid the price with His own innocent life.
And all this -- being justified by his grace as a gift -- is received by faith. 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. Let s take some time to talk about faith, because, boy, do we have some bad ideas about faith, especially in the church. Common views about faith that are absolutely wrong: Faith is a leap you make when you don t know enough. You just have to take it on faith. There s really no reason I can tell you to believe this, but you just have to believe it. Don t question it. Just believe it or do it. In our culture, even with the church, faith is the opposite of knowledge. When you don t know something you believe something. It s the idea that faith is not supposed to make sense, that s why it s faith. This whole viewpoint makes faith irrational. This is why most people see a disconnect between faith and reason. Reason is critical. Faith is what you do when you can no longer reason. Isn t that how we see it sometimes? You gotta just believe fills up the gap of ignorance. I just believe will not do. Why do you murder cats? I just do. It makes a difference in my life. That has nothing to do with the question that is asked. Why is it true? Why do you believe it s true? It gives my life meaning and purpose. So does Isis and Mormonism. It makes me happy. What happens when it makes you sad? I m not tithing today! This was to show God's righteousness, In the cross God shows the entire world that He will not let the guilty go unpunished, but He will punish sin and judge sin because He is righteous. He has shown it to the world. It is public knowledge. The Christian claim is that the Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. That s not an argument for Christianity, that is Christianity. That is the gospel - God became flesh. Acts 26:26
26 For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. Christianity is history and it has shaped history like no other religion. It is this historical reality that interferes with your personal truth. What s true for you may not be true for me. Not if Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. There is complete consensus that Jesus lived and died. The New Testament itself is the best evidence of the resurrection. Historians would fall over themselves if they had this kind of records of the Peloponnesian wars. The Talmud tells us that Jesus went with his family to Egypt, returned to Judea with disciples and performed miracles with sorcery, led Israel astray, was deserted at his trial without any defenders. Suetonius (30-75 AD) Roman historian - Answers the question, Why were Jews expelled from Rome in 48 AD? Because of a controversy over a certain Christ. Tacitus - referred to the crucifixion of Jesus under Pontus Pilate. Pliny the Younger (110 AD) - Christians gathered on Sunday to pray to Jesus as to a god. Pontus Pilate has become one of the most famous historical figures ever because he is mentioned ever Sunday in churches around the country. God has dated himself, so to speak. An artifact known as the Pilate Stone discovered in 1961 confirmed the historicity of Pilate, but he is also mentioned in several other extra biblical sources. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead is not just something you believe because it makes you feel good. God witnesses through history to the reality of His truth. Now He commands people everywhere to repent. Christianity is not a privatized faith, it is a public proclamation of the historical work of Jesus Christ. Faith is the conviction (the sure judgment) of things not seen. Faith is confidence in the truth that God has revealed. Faith is reasonable and reason involves trust. Reason and faith work together inseparably.
You cannot get the gospel from reason itself. You cannot get the gospel from inside of yourself. There is no gospel within. God created us in true righteousness and holiness of the law to love God and our neighbor. We know God by his works, even as non-christians. But we suppress this truth. So, the problem is not ontological (what can be known). The problem is sin. We push Him away because of the ethical difference. Faith is trust in the historical Christ and what He has done through the cross and in His resurrection. Application for believers: Is that where you live? Let us remember that our justification means not only that our sins are forgiven and that we have been declared to be righteous by God Himself, not merely that we were righteous at that moment when we believed, but permanently righteous. (Martyn Lloyd- Jones) 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. This is the foundation from which you operate. This is where you live when you ve spent the day entertaining your four-year old, when you re exhausted at night but still have some things to do and you do them. This is where you live when you get up before it s dark and drive to work an hour each way. This is where you live when you feel like you can t catch a break because there s something every night, somewhere you have to be for the kids or the jobs or church. In the day to day grind this is where you have daily joy. In this ordinary heroic life you can find contentment when you trust in this gospel as your foundation for living. And contentment with godliness is great gain. Application for unbelievers: To be received by faith. 7 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;