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all right well good evening everyone and welcome welcome back this evening we hope to partake of the lord's supper together so we can rejoice in that if you can if you would like to turn with me in your bibles for a call to worship to psalm 138 psalm 138 a psalm of david i will praise you with my whole heart before the gods i will sing praises to you i will worship toward your holy temple and praise your name for your lovingkindness and your truth for you have magnified your word above all your name in the day when i cried out you answered me i and made me bold with strength in my soul all the kings of the earth shall praise you o lord when they hear the words of your mouth yes they shall sing of the ways of the lord for great is the glory of the lord though the lord is on high yet he regards the lowly but the proud he knows from afar though i walk in the midst of trouble you will revive me you will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies and your right hand will save me the lord will perfect that which concerns me your mercy o lord endures forever do not forsake the works of your hands amen well we can turn for our first hymn for it is uh 291 291 and we can stand as we sing together please [Music] [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] thank you well let us let us go to our god in prayer our gracious and our loving heavenly father lord what a joy it is to gather again on your house to worship you and lord we do we do ask that that that you would be with us this evening as we gather for worship lord we do thank you that we can we can come together and celebrate the lord's death this evening as we as we partake of the supper lord i pray that that our hearts would be filled with these things as we as we examine these truths from your word this evening of of the death of the savior in in our place and lord and we do we do we're humbled by these truths lord as we as we think of the savior in our place on that cross bearing our sin and paying that in full so lord i do pray that that our hearts should be filled with with uh with the with the praise and the glory and the adoration of you this evening as we as we worship you here lord i do pray that that you would be exalted we do thank you for the for the the the truth that we have read in your word even in this psalm at the at the outset of worship that that you are you are on high lord that you are holy you are above all things there is none like you there's there's there is no there's no other no other no other god like you there's no other creature at all there is none like you lord for you are holy and you are the creator of all things and lord but yet as the psalmist said though you are on high yet you regard the lowly yet you have you have regard for your creation and especially for man that you have who whom you have created in your image and lord we know that our sin has separated us from you that you that as the as the the prophet says you were of you were too pure of to to to look upon evil and and lord we know that we are evil we have sinned against you and we cannot be in your presence and lord we we deserve that eternal punishment the lord how we thank you that you have given that way of salvation through your son the lord jesus christ and that a way for which by which we may again have access to the father and and and lord that that we we we praise you for that lord i do we do praise you for for your goodness to us as a as a church here we do thank you for your your continued blessing over us and lord i do pray for for those among us here who are who are sick and who are suffering lord we know that there are quite a few sick among us lately and uh and we just pray that you would be be near to them and those who who then the families that are that are sick we just pray that you would would restore health and strength again to to them lord we do pray for those who are who are suffering for more long-term sicknesses and and illnesses we lift them up before you we think of the the new felds we ask that you would bless them and that that this this recent hip surgery would be a means for for the for the healing of of our brother dawn and that and that he would have uh less pain and that it would be a means of of um of of his of his strengthening of his body again so we lift him up before you we also think of mr proctor although not gathering with us um anymore living in this town but we do pray for him as well lord we thank you for this dear brother and and we just asked that you would would strengthen him and and and heal his body lord as as the body gets older and and and these things um the body breaks down we just literally just pray that you would grant healing to him now and that you would take away the the pain that you would restore as in the there's blood pressure and all these things that he's struggling with lord we just lift him up before you and that you would that you would strengthen him and and mrs proctor as well as she comes alongside her husband there so lord we do pray also for for uh doug's father in the hospital we uh lift him up before you and we ask that you would would be pleased to heal this man lord we we we look to you in in these things and we commit him to your care we commit him to to your grace lord we ask that you would be pleased to to be gracious to him not only in the physical realm but in the in the physical things but in the spiritual as well or that this man would know you as as as savior we just pray that you would be with the family as well that you would comfort them and strengthen them as they go through this together and especially in light of the various restrictions that are still in place and and we just pray that you would would be near to them and comfort them and strengthen them and uh and and our brother doug as well and his family so lord we we lift them up before you we do we do pray for any others who may be who may be suffering in whatever way it may be we just pray that you would grant healing to to your people here and lord we do we do pray for the the ministry of your spirit among us tonight as well as we as we worship you we pray that your spirit be among us to to to open our hearts to receive the truth of your word lord we we come to a passage this evening that contains such glorious truths concerning our savior the lord jesus christ and i pray that that you would open the hearts to receive these things lord and that you would that and that that as we stand here as paul said to the corinthians in in meekness and fear and trembling that it but yet determining to know nothing but jesus christ and him crucified that and that it would be a demonstration not in the wisdom of man but in the power of god and and that we would tonight we would look to the cross of our savior the lord jesus christ and by your and by your spirit would be would be filled with with a greater understanding and a greater love and a greater wonder at your great grace that you have given that you have shown to us and lord i do we do pray for others around this this world who who are suffering we think of those that we that we pray for often the the persecuted church we also think of the of them the the group in myanmar again lord we lift them up before you we continue to pray for them that you would that you would that you would grant safety and and um and protection to the group there we pray for for uh peter and all those who are involved in leading that group there we pray for all those children lord that there are so many hundreds upon hundreds of them in that compound that that you have been pleased to bring out of such such horrible circumstances in the in the in this temporal world but lord we do pray that you would be pleased to rescue them out of the horrible situation of of being under the wrath of almighty god for their sin and that you would rescue them from that kingdom of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of the son of your love through the faithful proclamation of the gospel so lord we ask that you would that you would would help peter and the and the other the other uh preacher and pastors that are there and and students and leaders to to share the wonderful message of the lord jesus christ and that in that hope of eternal glory that we have only through the lord jesus christ the lord i pray that you would work mightily there that your kingdom would grow in the midst of such darkness in the midst of such evil that is that is happening in that world in that part of the world lord and that you would you would be pleased to to save a multitude that of these of these children and and uh refugees and those who come into contact with this group lord we do pray for the for the the missionary endeavor not only there but across this world lord we do we do know that that you promised to to abraham that in in abraham and his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed so lord we do we do pray that as the church advances that kingdom of of the lord jesus by the proclamation of the gospel into unto the the ends of the earth as it were lord that you would be pleased to bless that gospel message that it would go it would go forth it would run swiftly and it would not return to you void but it would accomplish those purposes the purpose of building the kingdom of the lord jesus christ the purposes of of advancing the kingdom upon the gates of hades and lord we know the gates of hades will not prevail against it's the lord how we rejoice in that how we are encouraged by that by the thought of of that our savior is king of kings is lord of lords and that our savior wins this this battle and and and and is in and already is enthroned at the the right hand of of the of the father until all things are but are put under his feet so lord we do we do rejoice in that i pray that that our hearts would be filled with that that we would go forth into this into this upcoming week and and uh and and as we go out into the world and a world so filled with chaos that we would our hope would be on the future the future glory of of of eternal life with our savior the lord jesus christ so lord we do pray that you would bless us now we do pray that you be bless uh our other churches that we that we associate with we think of the church in in surrey and and uh the group in in in vernon in the group in in or in dryden as well lord we pray for them that that you would be pleased to bless them we pray that that all churches across this world as the gospel goes forth that you would enable your your preachers to proclaim the truth as it is in jesus and that your people who would be edified and built up in their most holy faith and that sinners would would come to faith in the lord jesus christ for the glory of the father that there would be much rejoicing in heaven upon the the salvation of sinners so lord we do pray your blessing on us now and we pray this all in the name of our of our savior the lord jesus amen well you can turn with me in the next hymn that is to 277 277 and please stand as we sing together [Music] so [Music] so so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] thank you maybe well you can turn with me in your bibles to romans chapter 3. romans chapter 3. this evening we'll look at verses 21 through 28. romans chapter 3 21-28 but we will read the the entire chapter so romans chapter 3 what advantage then has the jew or what is the prophet of circumcision much in every way chiefly because to them we're committed the oracles of god for what if some did not believe will their unbelief make the faithfulness of god without effect certainly not indeed let god be true but every man a liar as it is written that you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you are judged but if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of god what shall we say is god unjust who inflicts wrath i speak as a man certainly not for then how will god judge the world for if the truth of god has increased through my lie to his glory why am i still judged as a sinner and why not say let us do evil that good may come as we are slanderously reported and and as some affirm that we say their condemnation is just what then are we better than they not at all for we have previously charged both jews and greeks that they are all under sin as it is written 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 their throat is an open tomb with their tongues they have practiced deceit the poison of asps is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace they have not known there is no fear of god before their eyes 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 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 through faith in jesus christ to all and on all who believe for there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god 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 to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance god had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in jesus where is boasting then it is excluded by what law of works no but by the law of faith therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law or is he the god of the jews only is he not also the god of the gentiles yes of the gentiles also since there is one god who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith do we then make void the law through faith certainly not on the contrary we establish the law amen let's pray oh lord we you ask again for your blessing upon the preaching of of your word i pray that you would that you would be pleased to to to bless us this evening as we as we study this passage together and lord that that that you would be honored and you would be glorified and that christ would be exalted among us here lord that your saints would be edified and built up in their faith and and that sinners may see the savior and and and run to him in faith for their salvation so lord we ask your blessing on us now we pray this in christ's name amen so as i uh as i was wondering what to what to prepare for uh for a communion service i know pastor butler's been working through a series on there and i was thinking of these things and i thought well what do what do we what is communion about communion is that we come we gather and as the lord jesus said that you do this in remembrance of me and so when we when we um when i think of that what what are we what are we remembering when we come and gather and partake of of communion together and excuse me and and it's really it's the gospel the gospel of our lord jesus christ and the truths that are contained therein and i think of um i think of the of paul in romans chapter chapter one he says i am i'm not ashamed of the gospel for is the power of god unto salvation you know this is something that that sometimes the the gospel we think well maybe that's you know we understand it we've heard it we know it we we've we've um you know we believe it and and you know let's move on to greater things but the gospel is not you know there's no there's nothing greater that you can move on to that the more you study the gospel the and what christ has done the more we we ought to the more it increases our faith and our in our and our and strengthens our faith and increases our love for the savior i think of of um i think it's charles hodge i i i often quote him but you know the gospel is is so simple that a child can understand it but yet it's so profound that that that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its its glories so as we come tonight you know we come again we look at the gospel message of our of our lord jesus christ something that we are not we're not ashamed of not in the sense of being shamed but in the sense of of hearing it too much and becoming become tired of it so you know we come here and and we come to under to to again remind ourselves what did the lord jesus do on on our on our behalf you know so so we have the the the the in this in this uh section here paul's emphasis on the righteousness of god the righteousness the the righteousness of god that we have here it's and and um and it's important to understand here when we look in verse 21 he says now the righteousness of god apart from the law is revealed the same thing in in romans 1 verse 16 and 17 that um this this righteousness in in the gospel the righteousness of god is revealed it's a righteousness from god that's the you know we're not speaking of the of the the inherent righteousness of god or his his his attribute or his perfection of righteousness where he's perfectly just and perfectly perfectly right perfectly morally morally pure but rather a righteousness that god provides for us so in this section we see that righteousness first we see the righteousness revealed in in in 21 to 23 and then we have the righteousness explained in 24 through 25 a and then righteousness vindicated god's this this time god's inherent righteousness vindicated his justice vindicated in 2025 b and 26 and then we have the the conclusion in 27 and 28 so so so first then we have to ask well why do we need a righteousness from god and and in the context of it's very obvious is because of our sin our sin is you know our sin causes us to fall short of that glory of god as we find in in verse 23 there so our sin is is a lack of of righteousness you know so for for man to to come come near and to to abide with uh with a holy god he has to be as morally pure and as morally upright and as as as um as god himself god cannot tolerate sin in his presence you know habakkuk 1 13 you have pure eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness so we need to we need to understand that when we when we look when we go back to the garden we understand what what adam was supposed to do in the garden was adam was supposed to to to keep the law perfectly to have this perfect righteousness that was that that that made him worthy of eternal life and worthy of entrance into heaven to be with god there but that sin of course of course broke that and and and he fell short of attaining that that righteousness so so now we all have this this same problem the same problem that has separated us from god and and if we look if we go back through the the previous several chapters paul has really labored to show that um that that that this sin problem is universal so so he begins with the gentiles in chapter 1 verse 18 and all the way into the into chapter 2 verse 17 speaking of the sin of the gentiles and the and the pagans and and how they and all the sins that they did and then in chapter 2 verse 18 he goes to the jews he says you two as well jews you are just as guilty you have the you and you even have the law of god the gentiles they didn't have the law written they had it on their hearts he says which makes them just as guilty he says you jews you have you have no excuse because you have the you have the law there but you still broke that you still you still have have fallen short of that and then and then in case you think that you know perhaps you don't fit into those two categories you're not as horrible as those pagans but you're also not a jew well then he then he gets you in in verse nine um and and verse nine to twenty and he goes through and just very clearly shows that you know there is none righteous no not one there's no fear of god before our eyes everyone everyone has has sinned you know we so verse verse 20 then um oh sorry then um yeah in in verse in verse 20 we see then that there you know by the by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight so we have all that we have all broken that law and we cannot be we cannot make ourselves right by by by keeping that law there but but if so so therefore then if there is to be a righteousness that by which we can enter into heaven it's not going to be attained by us it must come from another and that's where he is going to that's where he says the gospel reveals to us where this righteousness comes from and who it comes from and how and how do we have it so then we so there we have then the righteousness revealed in verse in verse 21 a so he begins here by saying but now but now the righteousness of god apart from the law is revealed and so so so basically what and this but now is referring to the the the the first advent the first coming of the lord jesus christ and his life his death his resurrection and ascension so this it's marked a major a major shift in in redemptive history from the old covenant to um types and shadows to now the reality being here so now it's now it's revealed we we have we um we have we understand what what where this righteousness comes from there's in and um and again this this this righteousness has has been clearly revealed to us now so the old testament like i said it was types and it was shadows it was things that were pointing forward to god providing a righteousness that would avail with him and and that's what he says here he says that this is this is um it was it was witnessed by the law and the prophet so in the old testament then it was the the law and the prophets they they pointed forward to these things they they um that in fact was the whole point of the old testament when we when we see in the in in the first three chapters we see the fall into sin and and that falling short of the glory of god and then the rest of the the rest of the old testament is it starts to reveal in in in small steps in genesis 3 with the promise to to adam and to eve and then and then as our confession says by further steps it's revealed the righteousness that god is going to supply a righteousness that that is this is not going to come from us because we because when we understand that we've all sinned we've all fallen short of that we we can no longer we no longer have this righteousness but god is going to provide it the old testament the prophets and the and and the and the law it revealed how that was going to to come about the whole sacrificial system of the old testament was there to show how how this where this righteousness was was what was it what did it uh where'd it come from how did how was it how was it how was god going to provide a way by which man could approach by which a sinful man could approach uh a holy god the the old testament sacrificial system emphasized the the failure of man to to to have that righteousness of himself but yet that it showed that provision was made provision was going to be made by god for the people to to draw near to them something that would make them acceptable to god in a provision of righteousness from god psalm 51 david david refers to this he says deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed oh god the god of my salvation and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness so he understands there was a righteousness that was going to deliver him from this from this guilt of bloodshed so so so now so so again so it's clear paul's saying in the old testament they understood they understood that there was a righteousness that was going to come from another you know that there's somehow they they would have a righteousness that would avail with god a righteousness that would make them acceptable before god even though they had sinned and that's and that now we see a problem there with that last statement even though they had sinned you know so so if you turn to exodus 34 for a minute we can see we can see the problem that our sin presents to us exodus 34 moses has asked the lord for a special revelation of the glory of god and and the lord he is so in verse 33 verse 18 he says please show me show me your glory and then the lord says to him i'll make all my goodness pass before you and i'll proclaim the name of the lord before you so and then so then now in in verse 34 we see that that moses goes back up on the mountain and then the lord descends in a in a cloud here and reveals something of himself now he did prior in the end of the end of chapter 33 he did he did uh he did say that he was going to pass by um he was going to hide him in the cleft of the rock and then pass by and reveal something of his glory so now as the lord comes and the lord the lord reveals something to himself in chapter 34 verse verse 5. now the lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the lord and the lord passed before him and proclaimed the lord the lord god merciful and gracious and long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin so if we stop there then we think oh that's that's that's great the lord loves to forgive sin i i understand it now you know he can we can sin but but god can just forgive our sin that's the you know i get it but hang but but listen to the next listen to the next line by no means clearing the guilty so now we no now that that presents us with a problem if god has revealed himself as as perfectly just in that way that's that yes he loves to he loves to forgive he's gracious he loves to forgive all sin and iniquity and transgression but yet he he's also perfectly just he will by no means let the guilty go unpunished by no means clear clear the guilty so so so then then we have we have this this this problem that it presents to us you know god god had told adam on on the day that you eat you will surely die so so death was the curse for sinning against god but we know adam sinned and but he didn't die and instead rather than rather than dying yes we know he died spiritually but he did not die die physically and eternally at that moment you know but rather god gave a promise and and he promised that that in the future someone would someone would come who would provide the reason why adam was not cast into eternal death on that day again so so we understand yes he spiritually died in the sense that his that is his moral faculties became corrupted but that immediate physical and eternal death that was also part of this curse of for breaking the law and but yet it it didn't it didn't happen and and god passed over that sin so so so now on the day on that day in the garden when god when adam sinned and god had said you will surely die but but then god passed over that sin of adam now humanly speaking i say this then the gospel became absolutely necessary if god was to to remain a just to judge that for god's justice to be upheld that that gospel be it became necessary that someone would come and again when i say humanly speaking i'm not saying this is not a this is not a plan this is not plan b in the sense of of you know god god passed over and then said oh now i need to do something this was always god's plan from from eternity but humanly speaking the gospel became became necessary for god to maintain his his justice when he when he passed over that sin so so paul's going to going to continue to explain that to us here so so we go back to romans chapter 3. sorry i lost my place back to back to back to romans chapter 3. so in in verse 22 now that he says even the the righteousness of god and i think righteousness from god there through faith in jesus christ to all and on all who believe so this this righteousness that god is going to provide is is for one it says it's received it's received by faith so the the and again we we see that in the old testament as well that habakkuk 2 4 the just shall live by faith and here he tells us very specifically it's faith in jesus christ that that uh that christ christ is the answer to this problem this problem that we have of the of the of the of god delighting in forgiveness but god also having to uphold his justice at all at all costs he will not sacrifice his justice he will by no means clear the guilty and let sin go unpunished so so jesus is the answer to that jesus jesus is the one that provides this righteousness here so let's let's um let's let's let's move on here so then first he says um he says that it's it's to all that this righteousness is offered to all here so the the righteousness that is revealed in jesus christ received by it's received by faith in christ it's it's offered to to all you know and and and why why then why is he saying that it that it's offered it's offered to to all to everybody why not just some and the answer comes at the end of the verse there for there is no difference for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god we are all on the same the same level the same playing field when it comes to ours to our standard and our righteousness with god we have everyone has fallen short of that and that's that that really is the is the is the is the best news for for anyone if who's here tonight who may not be saved that that you know we are all on there's there's no difference there's nothing that that's set those of us here who are saved who are believers in christ there's no difference not we did we had nothing different going for us than than than you did we in fact we had nothing going for us so so you know if you're here and you're wondering could could this be for me could it be that christ would offer this righteousness to me well i could tell you on the authority of god's word that we find here that yes indeed it is christ offers this righteousness to you as well so so so not not one of the not one of us here who are who are in christ by god's grace have have anything to to there's nothing different in us you know it was all of grace there there is no difference so it says to all and then it says and on all who believe that's a that's a king james um again has has the the the on all there's a textual variant there but um but i believe it's it's it's accurate that on on all meaning or overall is a better maybe a better way we could we could translate it so so not not only is it offered to all but for those who have it it's it's over all them it's it's all encompassing you know it covers them it's not it's not partly it's not a partly a righteousness that that um that god gives partly and then and then plus something that we have to offer we have to bring to the table in in in some way or another it's not that it's not that um you know that that that we were we were morally upright somehow and then god gave us this this righteousness but rather it is it is all covering it is all of it is it is a complete righteousness that we need it it supplies everything that we lack in there so and again as i as i say this to to to any unbelievers that that may be listening is that you know this is important to understand there's no prerequisites to being saved this this righteousness completes it it it meets every standard that we must meet for eternal life it is it is supplied by god there there's nothing that we need to to to to to bring to the table there's no you know certain expectation that we need to live up to before we can be be be worthy of this righteousness but it's a gift that's offered to all of us there you know we are there's no standard you have to meet we're all on the same level we've all sinned we're all we are all unworthy but you know because there there is a standard for eternal life and that's that's perfect obedience to the law of god what what what paul describes here as as the as the glory of god that perfect obedience all of us have fallen short of that standard so so so there then we find ourselves each one of us wallowing in that's in that sinfulness and then god offers a righteousness that that meets everything that we lack and and he offers it to all righteousness that is received by faith in the lord jesus and and it's it's to all who believe paul says here so and and then of course it's a righteousness that's apart from the deeds of the law that it's apart from from from any any any merit at all on our part there's there's nothing that we can do this righteousness is is supplied by god so what is this what is this righteousness then righteousness righteousness explained so we see also so we've seen in verse 23 then we've all sinned we've all fallen short of the glory of god that that standard that that we had to meet for eternal life we've all fallen short of that so what so what is this righteousness then here so paul starts then explaining this in verse 24. so he says being justified now justif justification this is an important word important concept to understand we often speak about it justification means to be declared right with god it is a it is a it is a legal declaration a forensic declaration sometimes we we use that word think you think in terms of god being a being a judge it's it's and and the judge is saying you are now you are now right with me um god is god is lawgiver and he's judge and he's saying you you are you are right with me so it doesn't change the fact that we've sinned we still we still have sinned it's so it's not changing something about us in our nature but rather it's a change of our status before god that that that our status changes that that god the just judge says i declare this person to be right with me and to be worthy of eternal life so so again we're going to see how that how how that works we still see we still have this problem how can how can that be if god is going to be perfectly just how then can he declare me who's unjust to be right with him so as our as our confession our confession says in its definition of of um justification says that god is by god pardons their sins and accounts or accepts them as righteous not for anything wrought in them or done by them but for christ's sake alone so it's accepting them accounting them or or uh declaring them to be right with him so so so so we're being justified but it's but it's freely by his grace as we move on here freely by his grace there there again paul emphasizing this there's there is no there's no cost to this from us there's no you know we we don't we did not need to supply something in order for god to return this this righteousness or or to exchange in in in exchange for righteousness it's it's free it's a gift that god offers completely of of grace so so and again look at look at what what paul is doing here he still hasn't given us the explanation for this how how god can can can be just and yet justify unrighteous and ungodly people he hasn't given us that extra explanation but what he's done is he's stripped man down of all of of all ability to earn this righteousness for one so so we can't we cannot earn this righteousness because let's understand that righteousness here means is a is a full uh fully satisfying all the demands of the law not only not only the positive demands but the negative ones as well so so the the curses and we'll we'll see that in a minute here but but you know we needed to have a righteousness whereby we there's of perfect obedience to all those laws of god but also but also fulfilling the negative aspect the the cursing of the law as well so so you know it's it's not that it's not that we can we can just um undo the sin that we've done by by doing some more good works or more more obedience but rather we have we have a righteousness that we cannot we cannot accomplish on our own we we cannot we cannot do that we've fallen short of that so so not only has he stripped man of of all the ability to earn righteous to to earn this righteousness but he's also taken away all the the the need for man to meet any any sort of of of cri criteria there's there's no there's no standard that must be met it is completely free it is it is all of grace we cannot and we need not contribute any in any way to this to this righteousness um that that god gives i think i think it's jonathan edwards that says you know the only you only you contribute nothing to your salvation except for the sin that that made it it necessary so again if you if you if you're here tonight and there's and you have you know nothing nothing to contribute but but but sin then you know this this message is is for you and of course it's for for us as as believers as well that we never forget this that you know this is this should be the the driving factor of the christian life the the the grace of god david david says that i will i will sing of the mercy of the lord forever and so that that is that should be the driving force of of the of the of the christian as we come to passages like this and we see how how man is being stripped of every of every ability but also of every of every requirement necessary for this righteousness you know we we we praise we praise god for his for his great grace we sing of the mercy of the lord forever so and then and then we and then now now paul gets in into this into the explanation here in a bit more um more explaining now how how does this work so he says now this this this righteousness comes through the redemption that is in christ jesus so again we have another another word here we need to understand redemption john owen gives the definition that redemption is the is the delivery of anyone from captivity and misery by the intervention of a price or ransom that's very important to understand that that price or ransom there so god god or so so to to be redeemed was not just to be rescued that's that there's it's more than just a rescuing there's a price to pay to be to be rescued to be redeemed we think if we go back to the old testament we've been reading through leviticus we see we saw often the concept of the redeemer in in leviticus someone who had got themselves into debt with somebody and and and could not pay that debt so then they had to go and work for that well a redeemer could come along and they could pay that debt and to rescue that person from that from that bondage and from that that uh that that captivity that that of and serving of that to that other person so to be redeemed so so christ is so the redemption is in christ jesus so christ has become our redeemer he's the one who has who has given that that payment to free us from the from the bondage that we are in now first we need to understand then who are we in bondage to this is um this is important because because um sometimes sometimes we can have you know the bible often speaks speaks um of us as being in bondage to to the devil that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one you know that we're under his power we're in bondage to him but that is that is not what is what is happening in this redemption transaction you know christ is not christ is not coming and paying a price to the devil to to release us from from this bondage um you know if that was the case if the devil had us held us captive and demanded a a ransom you know then then the devil would be the winner in this scenario here but rather you know we have to understand we are indebted to god in the so so that the the payment that christ had to had to had to make had to be was was to god it was not to it was not to the not to the devil because our sin has incurred massive massive infinite debt with god and that debt must be discharged it must be paid in full if we are if we are to be freed so that is that is how that is how christ conquers people from the kingdom of darkness and from the from the power of satan in in that way but it is through redemption but through paying that price to the father whereby then he can he can he can take them out of the kingdom of darkness and conquer them out of the kingdom of darkness so we always need to we i think we understand that but just to want to point that out again he's not he's not paying a ransom to to the devil we are we are indebted to god so so and then when we understand what is the bible what does the bible teach what is that debt then we we talk about um you know we've that we've incurred debt god is the you know god is the the creditor we've incurred this debt what is what is this what is this in concrete terms then you know well the bible is very clear the wages of sin is is death romans 6 23 we we see that um elsewhere we saw it in genesis you know the day that you eat the day that you sin against me you will surely die so that's the so the the the punishment the curse then of this of this of sin is is death the payment the wages of sin or the payment for sin is is death so that's what we see then in verse 25 whom who so the so so being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in christ jesus whom god set forth as a propitiation by his blood again we have a another another word we need to we need to define and we need to understand what it means here to to understand the gospel a propitiation is is payment to satisfy justice to satisfy the divine justice in this in this uh situation here so the the the perfect justice of god demands a full payment for sin it demands that sin must be paid we saw that we saw that in exodus i will by no means let the guilty go unpunished or clear the guilty um you know we we think you know god god will not say i just i forgive that debt i will not clear that debt that sin that payment must be must be made to satisfy that justice and that's what that's what the propitiation means here if the propitiation is that payment that christ that christ offered here the propitiation that he says by by his blood so the the the curse of the law demanded the shedding of blood demanded which which is which is death you know so on the on the on the day that you sin the day that you eat of it you will surely die the soul that sins will die says the bible not just not just physical death but but eternal death eternal separation from any any grace any any mercy any favor from god and and receiving nothing but his but his infinite and his eternal wrath against our sin that's that is the that is the curse of the law no favor from god but rather only wrath against against that sin that is that that is the definition of eternal death so without and the bible says without the shedding of blood or without this this the the the death there can be no remission and and that that is the that is the the the gospel message here is this propitiation by christ jesus that on the cross god im imputed or he credited our sins onto christ that christ was declared guilty by the father for the for the sins that we had committed and he was declared guilty for those sins and he was punished as as guilty for those sins that that he that the father the father declared him guilty punished him as such so where where you and i should have been hanging on that cross suffering the the eternal wrath of of god for our sin there stood christ hanging in in our place facing the the the divine infinite wrath of the father on that cross we're going to sing at the end of worship in my place condemned he stood that is the that is the the the the crux of the gospel that christ there he he was condemned in our place condemned he was he was bearing the curse of the law we often think of the of substitution and we think yeah christ christ was there he did that for me but but but condemned cursed bearing the the the curse of the law christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law how by becoming a curse for us galatians 3 13. so isaiah isaiah 53 it says yahweh laid on him the iniquity of us all that's that's that's that that that um imputation crediting to christ laying on christ our sin and then and then it says then it pleased yahweh to crush him to put him to grief and to make his very soul an offering for sin it says that on that on that cross christ was was cursed for the sins of his of his people if we think of the blessings in the in the in the bible in uh specifically the the the aaronic blessing we call that that the lord the lord bless you and and and keep you let me uh let me find it here and the lord lift up his his his his countenance upon you sorry let me just find it so i can get it the lord bless you and keep you the lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace while on on the cross christ received the opposite of that he and and where where we should have received the opposite of that so instead of the lord bless you and keep you as the lord curses you and the lord and the lord keeps it means protects but rather the lord curses you and the lord the lord crushes you to use the word of isaiah on that cross the lord crushes you the lord he doesn't make his face shine upon you but instead he removes all of that favor and all of that grace that that he shows and there's nothing but divine wrath being being being upon you and the lord be gracious to you and instead the opposite the lord is is is is cursing you the lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace again it's it's it there was nothing but wrath but but curse the the lord jesus bearing the curse that we deserved cursed for the sins of his people cursed for for my sin cursed for your sin in my place condemned he stood sealed my pardon with his blood hallelujah what a savior and that is that is the gospel that christ was there cursed in our place condemned until that last might was paid and then he cried out it is finished or paid in full as is a is a is a better translation paid in full that curse what had been had been paid in full so on the cross on the cross christ wasn't there as a as an example for us he wasn't there as an example of love or or whatever it may be he wasn't there just just to physically die for us but rather he was there to face that eternal death that eternal separation of of the of any grace and any and any mercy any favor at all from the lord but rather nothing but cursing and and christ fulfilled that in in in in all of our all of our sins upon that upon that cross how how that how an infinite punishment can be carried out on on the cross in space and time well that's that's that's only things that the lord can understand but yet the bible tells us that's what he that's what he was he that's what happened he he bore that curse for us and that's the gospel that's the good news that's why we're here this this this evening and celebrating the supper tonight when he says when he says do this in remembrance of me this is you know this is my body this is my blood this is what we are remembering that christ became a curse for us that we we should have been cursed by the sin that we incurred by christ bore that curse in our place and that's the righteousness that god provides there that's the explanation for it god god demanded that he demanded full obedience to the law of god we we paul that's not paul's focus here so much is the is the act of obedience of christ where whereby he he perfectly kept all of god's all of god's laws and and earned the the the positive um side of the of the law with the and earned eternal life that way his emphasis here is on the fulfillment of the of the of the law and on the the curse side of it that that but there thereby that law is fully fulfilled all the you know all the the the curse has been has been paid in full as well so christ that's the righteousness the christ has done it all and that righteousness that is received by faith it tells us us here this um whom god set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith so again it comes it is received through faith it's not it's not on account of our faith it's not something that we get because because of our faith as a reward for our faith it's very it's very clear the the wording is very clear that this that this is this is is received by faith our faith does not meet any standards of of of righteousness so it wouldn't make sense then for for it to be our faith to have merit the righteous requirements of the law were perfect obedience and also and also uh fulfillment of the curse if those laws had been broken and that's what that's what what um what christ supplies there and then again it's it's it is of faith that as paul says in in chapter 4 verse 16 he says therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace so it is all of grace and and and faith we receive that that um that that faith we receive this righteousness through faith and it's interesting here actually the original the original language says that um a more a more uh literal translation i guess would be that whom god set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood that's actually a literal translation our our english translations attach the in his blood um to the to the propitiation as a as a as a um you know a a modifier of propitiation an explanation of what is this propitiation but a straightforward reading of the text says that it's faith in his blood it's faith in the sacrifice of christ on our behalf this morning in in our confession study we looked at what is saving faith and and it comes down to it are are we trusting in our own our own righteousness for our eternal life or are we trusting in in christ's righteousness and it's that righteousness which came from the sacrifice of of christ again so it's it's faith in the sacrifice of christ on our behalf that righteousness that comes from him so machon jay gresham machine quoted him a bunch this morning but again here he says we deserved eternal death in accordance with the curse of god's law but the lord jesus because he loved us took upon himself the guilt of our sins and died instead of us on calvary and faith consists simply in our acceptance of that wondrous gift when we accept the gift we are clothed entirely without merit of our own by the righteousness of christ so then uh so then moving on here he says that um whom well just i want to look at one thing actually first is that uh in in the beginning of verse 25 whom god set forth the the nasb says publicly displayed you know so so remember what i said earlier i said that that the day that adam sinned in the garden and god did not instantly kill him and and with with with physical and eternal death then then the gospel became necessary for god's justice to be to be upheld and to be to be vindicated you know so and and here we have that public display of the justice of god publicly displayed here the the the the wrath of god being satisfied for sin the sin that he had passed by as god punishes christ on the cross this in this public display here and again this is not this is this is not just not just adam's sin that was passed by or old testament saints sins that were that were passed by but your sin and my sin as well the the the instant that we send god's justice could have very righteously immediately destroyed us killed us cast us into hell for eternity that's what we deserve but rather god in his grace he passed by that and and here and then he publicly displays that his justice being vindicated as that sin is not just swept under the rug and forgot about but rather it's it's paid in full on on the cross there so and that's and and again that is that is that is this propitiatory sacrifice by the lord jesus whereby god's righteousness can be can be vindicated and that's what paul then moves on here um to to to to explain god's righteousness god's justice vindicated here so so he says here um because so in his forbearance god had passed over the sins that were previously committed to to to demonstrate or sorry and begin in the middle of verse 25 here so so the so god set forth christ as a propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance god had had passed over the sins which were previously committed so so this this um this righteousness now here the commentators are divided over you know what is are we talking about um are we talking about the righteousness that god supplies in christ this righteousness that's worthy of eternal life that god can will credit to our account through faith or is it there is god's inherent righteousness whereby you know whereby god is is is just and and and will in in cannot just let sin go unpunished you know so so either either either explanation is legitimate in this um in in this context here either either one fits the contact so either you know either the the the the the atoning death of christ on the cross you know that's a that's demonstrating or showing or proving god's or or explaining i guess we could say god's righteousness the that god gives the the righteousness that is supplied um you know because it's it's fulfilling the the christ fulfilled the precepts and the curses of the law you know but it but so it could be that which fits it also could be that it's uh that it's demonstrating or or vindicating god's inherent righteousness whereby he shows that that he yes he loves to to pardon sin and iniquity and transgression but by no means will he leave sin unpunished so so i would i would lean in the direction that this is this is a better explanation because that is where paul takes us now in in this in these next um verses here that that this is how god can be both just and the justifier of of the one who has faith in jesus christ you know so so there god is just their sin is atoned for their sin is paid in full not by them but by another because of god's grace and then and then so therefore god can can freely pardon that sin without um without uh violating his justice in any way so this is the this is the the the the the the answer to that to the question that we you know that we found in in exodus 34 when you know how can god do this well here we have the answer the cross of jesus christ so so so justice and and mercy meet at the cross the psalmist says mercy and truth have met together righteousness and peace have kissed and that's what happens at the cross mercy and truth meeting together righteousness meaning god's justice and peace meaning is meaning that that that mercy they have kissed at the cross of christ the cross provides that solution that that the old testament presents to or um the the solution to the problem that the old testament presents to us in the first three chapters of of um of genesis and then slowly reveals the the slowly reveals that solution there the the you know how can god be just and yet justify sinful men here here we have the answer the the cross of christ as the as the hymn writer says my sin oh the bliss of this glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and i bear it no more praise the lord praise the lord o my soul so if we can we find that in in colossians as well very clearly colossians chapter 2 in paul uh in verse 14. so uh or let's go 13. and and you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh flesh he has made alive together with him having forgiven you all trespasses having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us so that record of debt that you know that that that we had all of our sins that have stacked up against us incurred this massive debt he he wipes this this out takes it away and how does he do that he does it by he and he has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross so on that cross the the the wrath of god was satisfied which which we sung earlier there so so that is that is the gospel that is that that is why we are here tonight that is what we come together to remember is the is the the the death of christ on our behalf where we deserve to be there suffering instead it was christ and and that that righteousness that he that he has earned he offers to us freely and and and we by god's grace through faith we accept that righteousness so then look at at the conclusion then in verse 27 where is where is boasting then i think it's very the answer is very obvious as he gives there is it is excluded there's nothing that we can do there's nothing that we needed to do there's nowhere anywhere in this transaction for man to to to take any credit it is all it is all christ doing the work and it's god being gracious in offering that to us you know so what so he says by by what law of works no no not at all we we we we can't earn that our works even if we could do good works they can they cannot atone for sin death death is the only way to pay for sin to atone for sin and so so so it is by by the law of of works no but by the law of faith and he's using law here as a as a play on words meaning you know uh a standard or or a way in which we we one becomes righteous before god he's not attaching any merit to to faith here we need to need to be clear there so so it is it is it is faith by which by which we become righteous before god therefore verse 28 therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law and that's really that's the best news that we could ever we could ever hear that's why we call it the gospel it's good it's good news it's the best news there's nothing that you know there there's nothing that we need to offer to to to christ in in exchange for this righteousness but it's a righteousness that avails with god freely given by and received by faith so so then in in conclusion then you know as i said that that is why we come here each lord's day that's why we gather every lord's day to remember this and and especially once a month as we come here tonight to partake of the supper the lord jesus when he instituted that he says do this in remembrance of me so so we come here to to proclaim the lord's death you know to to ourselves to remind ourselves of these things to proclaim the lord's death until he comes again to remind that christ redeemed me from the curse of the law that i had incurred and he did that by becoming a curse for me on that cross instead and and again as i've said to several times here if you're if you're not a believer here the the this is the greatest news that that you could hear is that this is free it's it's god is offering you something that is worthy of eternal life he's offering it freely to all and to whoever believes that jesus says come unto me i will give you rest you know all that the father gives will come but the one who comes out in no wise cast out so believe come to christ believe on him accept his his work as your your your entrance into heaven that yet he has earned that believe on the lord jesus and you you will be saved well let us close in in word of prayer lord how we how we thank you for the the gospel message lord our words of thanks no cannot even do come close to doing justice to what you have given to us in in the gospel of the lord jesus christ that he came and that on that he came to that cross lord and suffered an eternity of of of wrath for us lord how how we we rejoice in your goodness how we praise you for your grace and for your mercy and that's you in your grace have have have provided that way of salvation through your son the lord jesus so lord i pray that as we partake of this supper now that you that that our hearts would be would be filled with the love for the savior that are that as we remember what the lord did as we remember his death on our behalf on calvary lord that that our hearts would be encouraged our faith would be strengthened and that we would be edified by this and that you be glorified and i pray this all in the name of of our savior the lord jesus amen all right well we'll move to the uh to the to the supper then so um a a couple things then i just want to remind us all of as as we as we go to the supper that that the first is that the lord's supper is for believers only it's for those who those who have received this righteousness of christ on on on on their behalf and that is that is what we're remembering so if you're if you're not a believer here tonight we ask that you let let the let the the bread and the wine go past um and again but we you know we don't want to um if you have questions about these things please ask and and we know sometimes we sometimes you know we we don't want to um we don't want to single you out and make you feel like you're different or you're not worthy or something but but we you know so so so ask come to us talk talk to us if you have questions on these things if you're if you are un uh unsaved or unsure of these things but but just remember that the that the elements are for those who are who are in christ and who have had that that sacrifice of christ and his death and his his body apply to their account with god so um the second thing is then that um that the the the supper is for believers who are dealing with their sin according to god's word so so if we're living in in unrepentant sin you know we we we ought not to be doing that we ought to be examining ourselves and and um and and dealing with that sin in a biblical manner confessing that sin and forsaking that sin but again this is something that that we don't want to um we don't want to this is this is we don't need to be um [Music] what is he says here let each one of you examine himself and and then and so let him eat so if we we're not we're not looking for perfection here you understand we understand that we've sinned we've fallen short of that glory of god we know we've sinned we sinned all day today we sinned again but it's it's um you know so examine ourselves and and and and so let him eat paul says here so um you know yeah but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the of the cup so so you know if we we understand that we've sinned it's not it's not well then i need to wait you know three months before i can partake again no it's it's it's it's confessed that sin forsake that sin but yet so so let so let him eat and then the the the third one is that the um the elements of the supper are not are not trans substantiated in in any way there's no there's nothing mystical that happens here where the where when when jesus says you know take and eat this is my body the bread is not changing into anything anything there's nothing mystical going on the bread remains bread the wine remains wine the juice remains juiced there's nothing nothing strange there they are simply a representation of the of the life and death of ours of our savior and then again the focus of the supper is on christ and i think that's what um you know what as we as we looked at romans there we saw how clearly that that it is all it is all about christ it is what christ has done for us so the focus is not on you know my sin and my sinfulness and my wretchedness but rather it's on christ christ christ is an amazing savior that we are celebrating tonight here so so we'll uh we'll read the passage um from in first corinthians chapter 11 um verse 23 to 26 where we see the lord's supper institute well this is this is a paul paul explaining it um here so so paul says in first corinthians 11 verse 23 for i received from the lord that which i also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me and in the same manner he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood this dew as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death till he comes so we will take and we'll partake and we'll do it in in remembrance of our savior what he has done for us so if i could ask the the deacons to come forward to pass out the bread then the rest of us can sing while the bread is is uh passed out can sing number 453 453 and you can remain seated while we while we sing while the bread is is passed out so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] so [Music] so [Music] well let us pray oh lord we thank you for the gospel of our lord jesus christ how we thank you for his perfect life on this earth how we thank you for his death in our place that he paid that took the curse upon himself in our place lord we we we thank you we praise you and i pray that that this would be a means for our edification and our growth in in faith and the strengthening of our faith and we pray this in christ's name amen let's partake in remembrance of him well you can turn with me in your hymnal again to number 276. i'll ask the deacons to pass out the wine the reminder is that the that the juice if you're inclined to take juice juices in the outer ring so 276 and again please remain seated while we sing that [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] you [Music] so [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] well let's pray oh lord how the that cry from our savior on the cross as he as he died it is finished lord what a what a blessed blessed sound that is to our hearts lord that jesus paid it all was paid in full on our behalf so lord i pray that that we would take take these things to heart again lord just and just meditate on them and rejoice in them that our sin oh the bliss of that glorious thought are our sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and we bear it no more so lord please please fill our hearts with rejoicing in our savior we pray this in his name amen let's partake in remembrance of him well i'll ask you to stand as in closing that uh that glorious hymn that we sang 352 man of sorrows [Music] or uh [Music] is [Music] ah [Music] today [Music] uh [Music] [Music] wow [Music] our father how our hearts are full when we think of the work of the savior on our behalf and so lord as we we sing hallelujah what a savior lord we we we are so thankful we praise you for redemption that you that you have have purposed this from eternity past to save a multitude that no man can number from every tribe tongue people and nation lord in this we greatly rejoice lord i pray that you be with us now in the as in the in the rest of this week and all that you have called us to do that that all would be done for your honor and your glory that we would go in the strength that of of knowing that our our our sin is paid in full and that we have we have that hope of glory with you because of the work of the lord jesus on our behalf and that would that would drive us in this through this through this week and bring us again together again next week if it is in your will and lord we we pray your blessing on each one here and we pray this in the name of our savior your son the lord jesus amen so you can be seated for a time of meditation you