Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text for this our celebration of Reformation Day is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Romans 3. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- The Bible always speaks factually. It conveys information, reality, usually in a very frank and direct manner. This is certainly true in our text for today.
- When it comes to “religion” however, we often like to treat the teachings of Scripture as “interesting opinions,” or as “provocative advice.” We seem naturally predisposed to practicing “comparative religion,” mixing all kinds of things together regardless of where they come from. This is called “syncretism,” and amounts to confusing God, the only True and Living God, with false gods – violating the First Commandment.
- We have other problems when it comes to the descriptions in Holy Scripture – difficulties with the most fundamental truths and realities. Our text speaks of two of these realities – our sin and the impossibility of us “being justified,” declared righteous by God, on the basis of our behavior. The second is the grace of God – what He has done for us and for all people so that we might be “justified,” declared righteous and acceptable in the sight of God, so that God is now reconciled to us. I’m talking about “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
- Both of these realities are just naturally repugnant to us, to all human beings. They are repugnant to every other religion in the world, rejected, repudiated, and regarded as evil. So we must think clearly about this.
- Our text “tells it like it is,” and speaks to us. It doesn’t call for our consideration, our adjustments, or comparisons. It simply sets out for us “THE WAY IT IS.” And fortunately for us, if we listen, we learn that it is actually quite good for us, “THE WAY IT IS.”
- But first, the news is bad:
I. The Law Of God Enslaves Us To Condemnation, Death, And Hell
Gospel Lesson: “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever.’”
Text: “We know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that EVERY MOUTH may be stopped, and the WHOLE WORLD may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin. . . . ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.”
Statement: We know that by nature we are “under the law.” God has written His law in our hearts; we know right and wrong, the right we want others to do to us, and the wrongs that others commit against us. The problem we have is knowing right and wrong when it comes to our own behavior, our own “thoughts, words, and deeds.” But God has also provided us with His written Law “outside of our hearts” in Holy Scripture, in objective form, so that we cannot deny that we have “sinned and fallen short of glory of God.”
Application: This is reality, these are the facts. God has pronounced all men under condemnation, for “the soul that sinneth it shall die,” and “the wages of sin is death.” This is the eternal death of hell, of the lake of fire, the everlasting fire of hell. Whoever remains “under the law,” whoever attempts to be justified “by works of the law” remains under this condemnation. This is, quite simply, “THE WAY IT IS.”
Transition: But it is not the way God wants it to remain. He does not want anyone to perish – but for all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. In fact, God Himself proclaims: “As I live, declares the Lord, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that he turn from his ways and live.” [Ezek. 33:11] And so in His great love for us, and His desire to save us from this sin, death, and condemnation, He sent His Son, Jesus, to redeem us. And so, as Jesus asserts:
II. God’s Son – His True Gospel – Sets Us Free
Gospel: “If you abide in My Word you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. . . . if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
A. We Are Justified – Declared Righteous In The Sight Of God – By His Grace, His Gift To Us, His Redemption Of Us, An Atonement By His Blood
Text: “ . . . all are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood [a blood atonement].”
B. We Are Justified – We Receive This Great Gift – By Faith, And By Faith Alone
Text: “To be received by faith.”
Eph. 2:8 “By grace you are saved through faith, and this, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Statement: This also is “THE WAY IT IS.” This is God’s will, God’s love, God’s gift to us, God’s salvation. It is what Christ has done for us – and it is simply received by faith. No one can undo any of this or change this or negate this. It is “THE WAY IT IS,” the way God is. He does not change, and He does not renege on His love or His promises.
Application: For those who are hell-bent on saving themselves, this is also bad news! Not only is this impossible for men, it is a rejection of God’s gift, a rejection of God’s prerogatives, a rejection of God Himself! What travesty! But for those who know our need for a gracious God, those who understand our need for redemption, forgiveness, and salvation, there is no greater news! We are already “justified by His grace.” Christ has already redeemed us! It is the gift of God! Not only can we not earn it, we don’t have to – it is already provided to us by God as His gift! And it is received by simple faith – which is also the gift of God!
Transition: This seems too good to be true – but it is “THE WAY IT IS,” plain and simple, as asserted and assured by God’s own Word, the Holy Scripture! And some, because it does seem too good to be true, begin analyzing things, and they conclude that if our justification and salvation is not by “performance,” not by our behavior, not by our works, but purely by gracious forgiveness, then God is unfair.
Now you consider how great and grievous an evil this is, that someone would not only reject God’s gift, but would then turn around and accuse God of being the evil one! But in fact, we are assured in our text that:
III. In All Of This God Is Just
A. He Has Condemned Jesus, His Son, And Fully Punished Him For All Human Sin
2 Cor. 5:18,19,21 “ All this is from God, Who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. . . . For our sake He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Matt. 27:46 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
1 John 2:2 “He is the blood atonement for our sin, and not for ours only, but also for the sin of the whole world.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and JUST to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all iniquity.”
B. So He Is Also The Justifier Of The Sinful Who Believe In Jesus
Text: “This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be Just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
C. Hence There Can Be No Human Boasting, Hypocrisy, Or Judgmentalism – We Are All Justified By Grace, Through Faith, Apart From Works Of The Law, Apart From Any Good Works
Text: “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
Rom. 4:5-7 “And to the one who does not work but believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.’”
Statement: This is “THE WAY IT IS.” No one is going to be able to “prosecute” God for providing us with His gracious gift of salvation! He is just in this matter – and also the One Who justifies us, we who are ungodly. For we are “blessed” along with Abraham and David, since God has forgiven our “lawless deeds” and “covered our sin” in the gift of Jesus.
Application: What wondrous love this is! What a spectacular gift this is for us! And how carefully we must grasp this reality – for it not only “frees us” from our own sin, guilt, and condemnation in hell, it also frees us from hypocritically judging others and boasting! No, we now boast only in God because we know “THE WAY IT IS.”
Conclusion: There is no comparison, and there can be no “syncretizing” of these realities with any other religions! They are of the law, and insist their adherents remain “under law.” Hence they enslave people to sin and unbelief and hell!
Jesus, on the other hand, saves us and sets us free – through the redemption that is by His blood! This is the truth that makes us free indeed!
It is asserted. It is “THE WAY IT IS.” It is not subject to debate. There is no room for us to “tweak” or otherwise modify these things. Thanks and praise be to God that it is so! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.