Justification by Faith — Romans 1-5

0:00 Father, do thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior, who who gave himself for our sins. We thank you for his precious work on the cross, and we we do seek to glorify you, Lord, and and pray that you would guide in the message that it might do exactly that, that you might be honored and glorified. We we commit this message to you in Jesus name, amen. Well, I had in mind in in speaking this morning to to speak about justification by faith as it's as it's given in the book of Romans, and I must say when Jim when Jim was speaking in the breaking of bread and reading from Romans three, I I said yes, yes, this is a fine lead in, a fine introduction to to my subject, and so so what I'd like to do is is try to, speak of justification by faith, that is that is, the truth of God that's given to us in the holy scriptures, and I'd like to to to use mainly the book of Romans as my as my, authority or my my guide in in bringing this out, but I would like to place it in a context.

1:22 So so I think it isn't it isn't quite sufficient just to talk about, about justification by itself, but to see that that God has placed it into a context of reasoning and in the book of Romans that that makes it a very powerful, truth to lay hold on. So what we're going to do is we're going to do like a little summary of the first, first two and a half books of of Romans. I'll probably spend less than ten minutes on it, maybe ten minutes on it, and and then we're going to go into how that leads into the subject of justification. So in the book of Romans, usually verse 16 of verse one is usually taken as the thesis verse for Romans. This is what Romans is all about.

2:17 So I'll read it. 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. So it starts off with this wonderful statement. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's just the the pleasure that we take in, the joy that we take that that, that God has given us the good news about Jesus Christ.

2:52 Usually when I think of the gospel of Christ, immediately John three sixteen jumps to mind for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. So so in in my tracks in my mind, God is he's his son, he comes down into this world, he's born of a virgin, and he grows up and he and he lives a perfectly holy life, and then as the holy one he gives himself as a sacrifice for sins, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then it says that this good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. The power of God to salvation for everyone that believes. So first of all you have the idea that that you have to believe, well that's the rest of John three sixteen isn't it?

3:49 That whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The pure gospel, as it's presented, it requires faith, it requires that we believe in this wonderful savior that's being presented to us. And then it says it's the power of God to salvation. So so God was doing something wonderful God was doing something wonderful as he as he as he went through this wonderful plan by which the Lord Jesus would die. Something so very powerful that it was able to pick us up from where we are in our sins and and to and to bring us into salvation and into actually becoming children of God.

4:35 So it's the power of God to salvation, and it is salvation, and I and I would say this that salvation is meaningless unless you're being saved from something. Salvation is meaningless unless you're being saved. So so what is it that we're being saved for? And that's actually the development that you find in the next two chapters from the middle of the first chapter to the middle of the third chapter where we get the development of man's sin and man's guilt, and and in in the nineteenth verse, we find this statement, it says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. So so what is that saying?

6:10 And that's why I'm trying to bring this, the idea of justification in in the context of of these first couple of chapters which establish man's sinfulness and guilt before God. Okay. Then it also in the seventeenth verse, it also makes this statement. It says, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. So the righteousness of God is revealed.

6:39 So some way some way in this way that God has planned out the the the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, so some way through this, God is is demonstrating his own righteousness, and we're gonna get into that because it actually uses, in the third chapter, actually uses that that term. God was demonstrating his own righteousness. Important for us to realize that if God is going to come and meet man's need in his sins that... And and save man, God's God's only gonna do it according to his own righteous and holy standards. So God's gonna...

7:25 His his righteousness is gonna be declared in the way that he prints presents salvation to us. Now now again, God having expressed to us in in this book that that he has wrath because of sin, now in the next two chapters from the middle of the first to the middle of the third, he's going to he's going to go through a procedure of presenting the evidence that there is there against man, that God has given man certain witnesses and man has has refused what God has said, and therefore he's he's clearly guilty before God. And and and before God actually approaches this subject of justification, he makes it... He he he establishes without doubt the need of justification. Okay.

8:18 So so the first... So so in the nineteenth verse, it it says it like this, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, or the footnote says, among them, manifest among them for God has shown it to them. So so God has put certain witnesses before men, before us, and and those witnesses, were responsible for what are what what response we're going to to give to those witnesses which God has shown. Now the very first of these witnesses, there's three great witnesses that are given, the very first of these witnesses is in the twentieth verse. It says, since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and godhead so that they are without excuse.

9:17 Okay, so so it's simply saying that that this creation of this mighty universe that you and I live in, in particular perhaps the world itself, but but it's all encompassing. The creation of this is a witness to mankind concerning the the eternal power and Godhead or deity of God. I I think that's the idea that we would understand that some sort of a being created this that that is so magnificent that that must be God. So it's it's it's the witness of creation itself. Now nowadays there's oftentimes this this phrase used, it's called intelligent design, and the idea behind it is that if you look at the at the the makeup of the universe and in particular the makeup of life itself, there's every evidence in it that there was intelligence involved in the designing of these wonderful bodies that we have, of this wonderful creation and all of the abundant the abundant variety of life in creation, and then to go to the magnificence of the stars and the and the the elemental energy that's just just fills this entire universe and and the way that it's all balanced in such a way that it works, intelligent design, it's wonderful.

10:53 God has put this witness before us. Now now as as we're given this in the book of Romans, it it from from the the witness that God's given to us to man's failure and the witness, and the rest of the first chapter of Romans shows how man went went into idolatry, he went into into moral moral depths, more moral base base things, sexual departures, and and the result was that an entire society itself was corrupted. It ends in the end of the chapter chapter of making a long list of the of the various corruptions man has brought in, and and so obviously man is guilty. He's he's not he's not listened to the evidence that's given to him. Now in the second chapter, it it takes up the subject on a little different different basis.

11:55 It takes up the subject on the basis of morality and it starts out with with giving us a case of of man man condemning others or passing judgment upon others and then going and doing the very thing that he's passed judgment on others. And so God is saying, you think that that you can judge others and you'll do the same thing and you'll get by with it? Maybe not. And so so God is God is is is bringing man's responsibility, because of his own words in judging others. Then then there's about eight or 10 verses there that that rehash twice in very much detail how God is going to judge wickedness and he's going to reward goodness.

12:50 God will do that. He goes through this twice, and it's and it's it's setting up it it's setting up a sense in our souls of of the of the perfect justice of God. When God judges man, it's going to be perfect justice. And then he jumps from this to the idea that God has placed another great witness within man and that is the witness of conscience, and it's it's it's chapter two, Romans two and verse 15. And it says this, I'll start with 14 for context, for when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law, these although not having a law are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness between themselves and their thoughts accusing or else excusing one another.

13:52 So God is God is saying here that that he's placed a witness within every man's heart concerning good and evil, it's called the conscience. Now now we know the conscience is not perfect, it's not a perfect guide at all, but it is a God given, guide. So God has made, has put in each of us the capability of of pronouncing good or bad concerning things, so say that's good, that's bad, and sometimes we get a corrupted conscience because we start we start, doing it wrong, but but nonetheless the conscience itself is God given and it's witness to us concerning our moral state. Okay. Now having having given that, we're we're running into a basis here for for men's moral responsibility, men's realization that God has put us in into this world to choose the good, to refuse the evil, and man has failed utterly in his responsibility here.

14:58 So those first two great witnesses, the witness of creation and the witness in conscience are universal, everyone has that. Everybody's given this witness. Now the third one is not actually universal, it's the witness of the word of God and not everybody has the word of God, though we do, though we have it. Now starting with the seventeenth verse of the second chapter and going through the nineteenth verse of the next chapter, he's gonna deal with the fact that we've been given the word of God so that, and I might say this, the fact that God has, excuse me, the fact that man has departed so much it would be reasonable that at some point God would say, you know, you're getting it all wrong and so that he would begin to present his own thought, we call it revelation, it began to reveal to man, more definitively what righteousness is all about and so forth, and so that's how we came to be given the word of God, and so he speaks about man's responsibility. You that are teaching the word of God, are you disobeying the word of God?

16:18 I think that's a little bit of a poke in every one of our consciences, that that we would we would desire to perhaps make sure that our lives are in obedience to the word of God. Now it's mentioned specifically in the third chapter, the first two verses. What advantage then as the Jew or what profit is there in circumcision? Well, much every way. Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.

17:46 So so God says, God has an original charge, I'm angry because of man's sin, I I have wrath. And then and then God says, but look, this is what I did for man, I gave him these various witnesses and he's continued to fail and and just look at it and so God places the charge like officially against man. What then, are we better than they? Not at all. So that's talking about are we Jews better than they Gentiles?

18:17 Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Gentiles that they were all under sin. So God's God's saying they're they're they're sinners. And then God proceeds in this book, he proceeds to give us, nine verses of quotations from the old testament which which are shall we say damning to man, they they tell it like it is. And it starts off by saying, there's none righteous, no not one.

18:46 So so this is God's charge against us. And it ends up being summarized in the nineteenth verse, and and and this is what it says, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may become guilty before God. And if this is a sort of a courtroom scene, we find the judge passing the sentence or at least making the statement guilty, guilty as charged. And so man is found, as I said before, salvation doesn't make any sense unless you're being saved from something. That word, it's a meaningless word unless you understand.

19:39 And so God takes the time in the development of the book of Romans to make sure that you and I understand that we are indeed being saved terrible guilt before a holy God. Okay. So having established our guilt and pronounced it, then then then he makes a pronouncement in the twentieth verse concerning what the law does, therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin. So it's like saying don't look to the law to justify yourselves because because the law looks at us as sinners and and instead of justifying us it says, well look here, look what you've done wrong, and so it condemns us, and so it says by the law is the knowledge of sin. So it does serve a good purpose, but it does not save us.

20:35 And so immediately after making this statement, God introduces something that is entirely new and this is what he says, twenty second... Or the twenty first verse. Now... But now... So having done all this, I'll establish this this, guilt.

20:53 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which, through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those that believe. So so the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. So God is offering to man righteousness. God reveals this to us, and this is this... We're headed towards the idea of justification here.

21:29 God is offering to man righteousness. This this righteousness is going to be obtained through faith in Jesus Christ, verse 22, to all, is offered to all, and on those who believe, only those who actually believe, who actually have faith, only those are are actually going to receive this righteousness from God. And and then then it summarizes up the case against man. So it says, for there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So that is the final statement of guilt of man, all have sinned.

22:14 I like the translation that says that says it's the glorious standard of God, all have sinned and fall short of the glorious standard of God as though God is through his word put up this standard of righteousness and man utterly fails. Now having done this, he's going to introduce the subject of justification, so that's where I was headed. Being... The twenty fourth verse. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

22:56 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith. Okay, so now we're introduced to this word justify and so as Jim was speaking to us earlier, at the breaking of bread he made this statement, he says, so what does justify? What is this being justified? What is it? I kind of enjoyed Jim introducing my subject for me, asking the right question.

24:55 I'm not going to go into that for time sake, but but I'm just saying there are different ways that it's used. But what I want to talk about is justification by faith, which is a doctrine that is presented to us in the bible that has a great significance to us concerning our salvation before God. Point... And pointing out that that God doesn't introduce justification until he gets to to this point where where he's where he's established our guilt before God. Now I want I want to try to make sure we kind of understand what justification is, and justification by faith is, so I want us to turn, we're gonna come right back here to to Romans three, but I wanna turn to Philippians chapter three and verse nine.

25:47 And it doesn't actually use the word justify in this verse, but but it captures a thought that I believe is is justification. So I'm gonna start reading with verse eight. Philippians three verse eight. Yes, indeed, I also count all things lost, as Paul speaking, for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. Now I'm gonna say that that's that's what that's what justification is, is it's the righteousness, so God show...

26:43 I think in the original definition I said to show to be just or right, and in this particular case the use of it is justify by faith, I'm going to change that a little bit to see to proclaim or to declare us just before God, to declare us to be righteous before God. And how does that happen? Well, it's because that through faith, because we believe, God grants us his own righteousness and we we have his righteousness and and that's what justification is all about. Now go back go back to to, our our verses in John, I mean in Romans chapter three. So the twenty fourth fourth verse, being justified freely by his grace, so so this is the first expression of what what what is involved in justification.

27:48 Well, number one, it's by grace which implies that it's a free gift from God that's been given to those who believe. It's God's grace. So to be justified, number one, is is a free gift, we don't work for it. Number two, it's it's through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So there there needs to be a a basis for this justification.

28:17 We're going to get into that basis just a little more strongly in a minute, three or four verses further down, but but for right now let's just say that that the redemption that is in Christ Jesus is that God has laid through the redeeming work of Christ on the cross has laid a basis by which he can justify us. God doesn't just do it. I mean, why doesn't he just do it? But God doesn't just do it, he does it carefully in a way that his own righteousness is proclaimed by it. So it's the redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth as a propitiation by his blood.

30:19 And I you know what, I felt like sinking through the ground. I felt, definitely felt guilty because I knew I just kind of turned my back the other way. By the way, every other time after that when I mowed the lawn I always made sure that the lawn mower was shooting the grass the other direction, I needed some way to appease this man, so I did it with words. Sort of, you know, said I'm sorry I did that and I was very apologetic and so forth. Propitiation is to appease.

30:56 Now now who is who is propitiated? Are we propitiated or is God propitiated? And the answer is God is the one that's propitiated. So so so consistently in scripture, it speaks of God being propitiated, but man being, help me, God being propitiated and man being, okay, it doesn't make any difference. Man is not propitiated in the same sense because man doesn't have just reason for God to propitiate him, but but God comes into man and and he and he he seeks to change man's heart, and so he does it by the work of his son, and so man believes and the enmity of his heart is removed, and and so God does that, but God is propitiated.

31:52 But now this is the remarkable thing about the propitiation of God, so that means God is appeased. He's not appeased by anything that we do because it's already been stated that that we can't be justified by works, so God is not appeased by anything we do. What is God appeased by then? He's appeased by the work of Christ, he's propitiated. Now just think about this for just a second because this is actually a reference back to the first chapter where it said the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness.

32:26 So in the face of God's wrath, god loves us in spite of our sin, he loves us but he is angry still about the sin, and and so in the face of god's wrath, god says, I will find a way. I will find a way to still be able to show my love to these people and and I I will propitiate my own wrath, I'll appease my own wrath by sending my son down to die in their place. Propitiation. I think it's so remarkable and it's actually given to us. I'm gonna read the verse rather than trying to quote it.

33:03 It's John chapter four in verse 10, and this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be propitiation for our sin. So so basically he sent his son to appease himself because we had brought wrath against ourselves. So so God God did this wonderful act, and I think that is, in in my estimation, one of the most remarkable things about the work of Christ is that God was appeasing his own wrath against sin through it. God will do what he does in a way that is righteous and holy. So so then the next thing is it says that, okay, the propitiation is by his blood, so it has to do with the sacrificial work of Christ as he died for sins, and it's through faith.

34:01 So so it's brought in very early here that that justification is through faith. Now I'm just gonna hop because I'm I'm I'm trying to get done in my time. I'm gonna hop down to the twenty sixth verse. It says, God God did this to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Now this is the verse I was referring to right at the first about about God showing his own righteousness.

34:37 So God is going to, in some in some way, God's going to be demonstrating his own righteousness, and it has to do I believe since it says that that he might be just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus. So it has to do with this question of the ages that's been asked, how? How can a just God actually forgive sins? How how can that how can this be? Matter of fact, I thought it was interesting, I I found this quote in Ironsides book on repentance, but I thought it was an interesting quote.

36:09 I think this, by the way, you should you should try to remember this verse because this is a good verse to to bring in that thought about God's righteousness and his justice that's associated with with the work of Christ. And then then just the twenty twenty eighth verses making the point about faith, twenty eighth verse, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law, so it is indeed justification by faith. Now we've explained a lot about justification, but but now when Jim was speaking during the breaking of bread he spoke from Romans four and that's where we're going to go now. So I'm going to start reading from the beginning of Romans four, We'll read just a few verses right at the beginning. What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?

37:08 So what is he saying? He's saying, let's let's think a minute. So so so what what what was the experience that Abraham had? What can we benefit from Abraham's experience? And says, for if Abraham were justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

37:27 But what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. So that that means his righteousness came through the act of faith, right? Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. By the way, I kind of enjoyed a remark that Roger made a few weeks back.

37:52 He made this remark, he said he said, that this verse that's quoted here, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, it's in it's in Genesis chapter 15. He said, this verse is the John three sixteen of the old testament. I thought, hey, I like that. I like that idea. So what did what did the people of the old testament knew?

38:12 No. Well they knew that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. I think it's it's wonderful for us to kind of grasp that fact that there was a witness even in the old testament time for this for this principle. So going on, now to him who works, the wages are not counted of grace but as of debt, but to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. His faith is accounted for righteousness.

38:47 So so what is he doing here? He's he's taking this statement that was made to Abraham, he's taking this statement that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, and he's applying it directly back to us, so so that he's saying now this principle that Abraham experienced, this principle is this is an act of principle in our in our own lives. So so him that does not work but believes on him simply shows faith, believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. So so that is to say that is to say when I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, when I do that, his righteousness is taken, the holiness of Christ is taken and it's given back to me, it's imputed to me, it's counted to my account. Now let's try to understand just a little bit about this matter of accounted to him for righteousness.

39:55 So it can be taken in two ways but they're very similar. One of the ways is it can be taken as an accounting term, it's counted to him for righteousness, so there was a debt and and there was a payment that needed to be made for the debt, and the payment was made and and the debt was erased and and it existed no longer. It could be taken that term, or it can be taken in a legal sense, which I kind of like even better, matter of fact there's certain aspects of that really match the legal sense. The the idea that we're in a courtroom, we've been we've been we've been pronounced guilty, but but but it's as though one comes up and says wait, wait a minute, I'm going to pay the debt, I'm going to, so put my my righteousness down in place of this person, they can be forgiven and so it's put to the account. I think it's an important principle that God has revealed to us here that that there's an account in heaven.

41:04 Each of you have an account in heaven. There's an account up there in heaven, and and and it's in pretty bad shape before we trust in the Lord Jesus. We're we're we're found guilty before God, but but Jesus comes along and he says, well, if you'll if you'll trust in me, and and so so I know for myself I was saved as a little child, so it was just childish faith, but it was still faith. I believed I believed that Jesus would do this and and I I just trusted him. At that moment, God said wipe off that guy's sins.

41:38 I'm gonna give him my righteousness. It was God's righteousness was accounted to me. Now David gives a little bit more light to it, so the next three verses, as David also describes the blessedness, and do note that it uses the word blessedness, it's a wonderful wonderful blessedness that God gives to us. David describes the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputes righteousness apart from works. You can't make it on your own, need to have it given to you, imputed to you, put to your account.

42:12 Blessed are they whose lawless deeds are forgiven. What do we listen? What are we hearing here? We're hearing that in justification, it involves the actually the forgiveness of sins. Justification involves the forgiveness of sins.

42:31 My sins are forgiven and I'm righteous before God. Their sins are covered, another way of saying forgiven perhaps, but they're covered over where they're not to be brought up to me again. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin, and I think that's even a more far reaching statement actually because because of the work of Christ and the forgiveness that I have, my sins are forgiven whether I committed them in the past, maybe right at the moment I'm I'm committing a sin, some some sinful thought or something, or whether it's in the future, they're imputed, they're not imputed I should say to me. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. So we wanna just just, grasp that a little bit that the work of Christ is so great that it's that it lasts forever.

43:29 Now the the, next place I want to do, I'll try to get through the end of my talk here, I want us to jump down to the twentieth verse of this chapter, and it's talking about Abraham here, and and it's talking about Abraham's faith. It says, he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised he was able also to perform and therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness. So what are we seeing here? So we're seeing this that the faith of Abraham is described for us here. Faith of Abraham is brought before us here and and it's described.

44:21 It's a wonderful faith. Abraham is rightly called the father of faith in the scriptures. It's a wonderful faith, but the most wonderful part of it is that it was sincere. It was it was real honest to goodness faith, and so we say it's not it's not a set of words that's going to bring salvation to you. You're not gonna just pray a prayer and say I've I prayed the prayer, I'm saved, and that's not what scripture says.

44:49 The scripture says it requires faith and actually believing in this Lord Jesus Christ that he really did die on the cross for our sins, and and trusting in him to remove those sins and to forgive them. So it was real faith. Now I think it's also interesting that again in the twenty third verse, it takes this story of Abraham and it immediately points it right back at us and says, this principle that you're seeing here, this applies to you. So so here's how it says it. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, that the righteousness was imputed to him, but for us, it shall be imputed to us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.

45:34 So he's saying, take this principle and take it to the bank. This this is this is this is God's principle for you and and what what God spoke to Abraham is true for you and me today. I just I just love that. So then the twenty fifth verse, who who Jesus Christ, who was delivered because of our offenses and was raised again, because of our justification, Therefore, and this... And I like...

47:02 So it's God who does the justifying, he does it through the work of Christ, and you and I are the ones that receive it. It's something that God does for us. Now the second thing about this is again that it's the present perfect tense. Now present perfect present perfect tense is implying that that the act has already occurred but it continues today in its effect. Let me say that again.

47:32 The act has already occurred but it continues today in its effect, so we've already been justified. And this is an important important point about justification that if we've trusted in Jesus we're already justified. We're not looking for a future day that we're going to be justified, we're already justified to get today. It's the present perfect tense. Now just to strengthen this a little bit, I think I found, I think it was four places that it uses that.

48:05 I know there was at least three. It says that say having been justified by faith, I think the ninth verse says it, having now been justified by his blood. It's basically that same having been justified is found in at least three different places in scripture. That's a good witness, isn't it? Three different places that God says this has already happened for those that have believed.

48:38 So then if it's if it's present, if it's the present perfect tense and if the justification has already happened, what is it then that continues to affect us and from justification and and when I say there's many things, but in our verse it says, we have peace with God. We have peace with God. Now this I believe would be would be again a redirection back to the statement that was made in the first chapter that says that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. Now now there's a problem with sin, right? There's a problem with sin, but it doesn't exist anymore for the believer.

49:25 That problem with sin, and the guilt of sin is gone. It's gone forever because we have peace with God. By the way, peace with God is just a little bit different than than the peace of God, just a little different thought. The peace with God has to do with what I was talking about, our relationship to God is we're at peace with him, while the peace of God is that that wonderful feeling that we sense that we all have of God's peace in our hearts, a little bit different thought. Now finally it says it's through our Lord Jesus Christ and and that that's wonderful because it points us back to to the Lord Jesus.

50:26 Number two, that's that's Romans three twenty four. Number two, it's through the redemption that is of Christ Jesus. He paid the price so that we could could have justification. And number three, it involves propitiation by his blood, and that has to do with sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus that he endured so that we could be saved from our sins. Number four, it demonstrates the righteousness of God, he's glorified at because he gets all the glory and we get none.

51:06 We get the salvation, he gets the glory, and so so that's... Number five, it's by faith and and that's a that's a general principle that God has applied that he he's gonna make sure that we that we truly sincerely believe in him. Number five, the believer has God's own righteousness placed on his account imputed to him. God's own righteous, so I I I've been declared righteous by God himself. Number number seven, sins are forgiven and covered, and that's all part of justification.

51:49 My sins are forgiven and I'm covered. Number eight, no more imputing of sense. No more imputing of sense. My sins have been dealt with past, present, and future and and it's because of of God's justification. Number nine, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

52:21 It's the peace of God, all the guilt is erased and we are brought in relationship with God. And finally, the final one is it's already occurred. We that have believed, we have we've been justified already and and we don't have to look forward to a time when we'll be justified. It's already been given to us, and praise the Lord for that. Let's pray.

52:49 Father God, we thank you for the Lord Jesus and for his shed blood on the cross, for the justification that we have through through his work, and and we we thank you our Father God that that you've granted us this truth as a doctrine, something that we we we can we can study and and and understand and rest upon that we have been justified, our sins are gone, we've been granted God's own righteousness, And Lord Jesus, if there's any here that have not yet trusted in Jesus as their savior, we pray that they might see the glory and the wonder of what we are offered, they might believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's just that simple. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.