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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Romans chapter four for our meditation prior to taking the bread and 
wine in remembrance of our Lord's death on behalf of his people. Romans chapter four, I'll read 
verses one to eight. What then shall we say that Abraham, 
our father, has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham 
was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but 
not before God. For what does the Scripture say? 
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages 
are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does 
not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his 
faith is accounted for righteousness. Just as David also describes 
the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness 
apart from works. Blessed are those whose lawless 
deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is 
the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our father, 
we thank you for this. God, this word given to the apostle 
Paul. We thank you for the scripture, 
the epistle to the Romans. And father, I pray that it would 
be a blessing to our hearts tonight as we consider afresh the great 
gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord. How we thank you, God, that you 
sent him into this world on a rescue mission, on a mercy mission. 
How we thank you that you sent him to do what we could never 
do in terms of obedience to your law, in terms of death at Calvary 
as a sacrifice and a substitute. And how we praise you that he 
rose from the grave, that he is risen as the angels declared, 
and that he sits enthroned at your right hand. God, may this 
cheer our hearts and may this encourage us And may this cause 
us to persevere by your grace and for your glory. And we ask 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, I want to focus specifically 
your attention this evening on verse five. We're going to look 
at a lot of passages tonight. We're going to be flipping back 
and forth throughout the scriptures, primarily the epistles of the 
apostle Paul. But notice what he says here 
in verse five. He says, but to him who does 
not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly. It's a very powerful statement. 
God is the one who justifies, who pardons their sins and gives 
a righteousness to those who are ungodly. I think what Paul 
is doing here, among other things, is explaining and showing forth 
how great God's grace is as it's revealed in the gospel of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. But before we actually get started 
looking at these Pauline passages, I want you to turn back for a 
moment to Proverbs chapter 17. Proverbs chapter 17 is just by 
way of introduction. I want us to start thinking in 
a particular direction. I think that if we read Proverbs 
17, specifically verse 15, and we read it in light of the gospel, 
we might be tempted to conclude that God is an abomination to 
himself. I mean, there's a lot of people, 
a lot of Christians that take the book of Proverbs and read 
a chapter a day. There's 31 chapters. That's not 
by divine inspiration, the verses and the chapters were added later, 
but it is a happy, dare I say, accident that there are 31 chapters 
and Christians can read a chapter a day. Helpfully, a helpful way 
to be in the book of Proverbs on a monthly basis. But have 
you ever gotten the verse fifteen, where it says he who justifies 
the wicked and he who condemns the just, both of them are an 
abomination to the Lord. Ever stop for a moment and said, 
wait a minute, that's exactly what God does do, isn't it? Doesn't 
God justify the wicked? Isn't that what Paul says, right? 
Romans four, five. We just read it. God justifies 
the ungodly, ungodly, wicked, obviously mean the same sort 
of thing. And then in verse 15, it says, and who condemns the 
just? Well, again, you start thinking 
about Jesus, the life of Jesus. You start thinking about passages 
like Hebrews 7. He's holy, harmless, undefiled, 
separate from sinners. You start to read the gospel 
of Luke. Perhaps you read Proverbs 17, 15 for your Old Testament 
reading, and then you find yourself in the passion narrative in Luke's 
gospel. And you start to think about 
the fact that Pilate says three times, I find no guilt in this 
man. I find no guilt in this man. 
I find no guilt in this man. And again, your mind is taken 
back to this passage. It seems as if the just is being 
condemned. And then you hear that thief 
on the cross. When by God's grace, he says, 
stop chastising the son of God. I'm paraphrasing. He says, we 
are up here justly. But this man has done nothing 
wrong. So perhaps you come back to Proverbs 
1715 and you say, well, wait a minute. Sinful men make lots 
of mistakes and they were the ones responsible for condemning 
the just man, Jesus Christ. So God is off the hook. And perhaps 
you're reading more in your Old Testament Scripture reading. 
You go to Isaiah 53, verse 10, where it says that God the Father 
was pleased to crush God the Son. It was the Father who was 
in charge of the act of crucifixion. He used the means, he used the 
men, but it was God the Father ultimately responsible for what 
took place at Calvary. Acts 223, Peter says, this happened 
according to the predetermined plan of God. So you feel something 
of this tension here. Proverbs 17, 15 is precisely 
what God does do in the gospel. He justifies the wicked and he 
condemns the just. But in Proverbs 17, it says both 
of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh. We have to ask the 
question, is God an abomination to himself? Does God despise 
himself because he justifies the wicked and he condemns the 
just? Well, there is a doctrine that 
we need to understand that relieves this tension that shows that 
God is both just and the justifier of the one who believes on Jesus. That doctrine is called imputation. Imputation. I don't want you 
to get scared from big words tonight. I want you to follow 
and track imputation as Paul uses it. Predominantly is a legal 
term. It is a forensic term. We see 
it back in Romans chapter four. You can turn over there. The 
word impute means to reckon to one's account to credit to one's 
account. Notice in Romans four at verse 
three, it says, for what does the scripture say Abraham believed 
God and it was accounted to him or it was imputed to him for 
righteousness. It was credited to him for righteousness. Oh, Palmer Robertson says it 
this way to account to him a righteousness that does not inherently belong 
to him. He's not making Abraham a better 
guy. He is imputing to him a righteousness. It comes through faith. That's 
the instrument. And then notice there at chapter 
four, verse six, David, just as David also describes the blessedness 
of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from words. Paul is not anti works. Paul 
is not against you being a good and godly man. He is with reference 
to our acceptance with God, or this doctrine of justification. That's what he's trafficking 
in here. It is apart from works that God 
imputes righteousness. It is apart from works, it is 
by grace alone through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. And this is precisely what I 
want us to appreciate tonight. This doctrine of imputation. The fact that God credits, or 
the fact that God reckons, or the fact that God accounts unto 
us a status, a blessed, forensic, legal status that was not ours 
by accomplishment, but it was by God's sovereign grace through 
this doctrine of imputation. Now, when we approach the scriptures, 
there's three imputations that we need to get down. Everybody 
with me? Everybody following? Haven't 
lost anyone? Tried to set up a little tension 
there to grab everybody's attention. You see that in Proverbs 17, 
you scratch your head and you say, wait a minute, that is what 
God does. How does this tension get relieved? It is through the law court metaphor. 
It is through what God does. It is through how God has chosen 
to deal with humanity. He has set up two men as representatives. He has set up the first Adam, 
and he has set up the second, last Adam, or Jesus Christ. And so those three imputations 
that we need to understand are simply these. Adam's sin is imputed 
to us. Adam's sin is imputed to us. Secondly, our sin is imputed 
to Christ. And thirdly, Christ's righteousness 
is imputed to us. This is what I hope will bring 
great encouragement to your souls tonight as we consider our beloved 
Redeemer in his work of doing and dying and rising again for 
his people. The first thing Adam's sin imputed 
to us. God didn't test each and every 
one of us in the manner in which he tested Adam. Adam was a public 
person. Adam was a federal head. Adam 
was a covenantal head. Adam stood for his posterity. Paul says very clearly in Romans 
chapter 5 that in Adam all died. He says specifically in verse 
18 of Romans chapter 5. Therefore, as through one man's 
offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. That's imputation. You say, but 
I wasn't there. I wasn't in the garden. I didn't 
reach my hand out. I didn't take that fruit. No, 
you were in Adam. God judges us. God deals with 
us in the person of Adam in that federal head. He stood in that 
covenant of work. Remember, God gave him a prohibition 
against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and 
evil, and Adam reached out his rebellious hand, he took and 
he ate. Do you realize what had to take 
place in order for those words to gain a blessed significance? Adam took and ate and plunged 
the race into sin. Christ comes and by virtue of 
his doing and dying, he now bids us take and eat with a blessed 
connotation, not like what we find in the first Adam. The Westminster Shorter Catechism 
says, did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression? The 
answer is the covenant being made with Adam, not only for 
himself, but for his posterity. All mankind descending from him 
by ordinary generation. That clause does not mean that 
if you're a test tube baby, then somehow you are immune to this 
sin problem. I think the ordinary generation 
is there to speak of Christ. He didn't descend from Adam by 
ordinary generation. It was an extraordinary work 
of the Holy Spirit. But all mankind, notwithstanding, 
descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him and 
fell with him in his first transgression. Paul repeats this in Romans 5 
at verse 19. Notice, he says, for as by one 
man's disobedience, many were made sinners. There's actually 
a better way to translate made there. Made isn't bad. We shouldn't 
excise it from our Bibles, but we ought to realize that what's 
in view is not necessarily transformation of character or conduct, but 
rather it is a status. It is that legal declaration 
made is an imprecise translation of the verb. The verb is best 
translated, constitute or appoint. The term does not speak to a 
moral change within the descendant of Adam. It refers to the change 
in legal or forensic status of the descendant. That's what Paul 
is saying. Amputation for as by one man's 
disobedience, many were constituted or appointed sinners in him. all died. I was talking to someone 
yesterday about Edward Fisher's marrow of modern divinity. One 
of the things that Fisher points out in this sin in the Garden 
of Eden is that Adam actually broke all ten commandments. You 
ever been tempted to read through that narrative and say, what's 
the big deal? I mean, all he did was eat a 
piece of fruit. Art usually typifies it as an 
apple. Does God have a special sort 
of protective status over apples? That was a positive command that 
God gave to Adam in that state of innocency in this covenant 
transaction in this covenant of words. Let me just read Fisher 
for just a moment in response to the claim that it is a strange 
thing that so small an offense should plunge the whole of mankind 
into such a gulf of misery. Fisher writes. Though, at first 
glance, it seems to be a small offense, yet if we look earnestly 
upon the matter, it will appear to be an exceeding great offense, 
for thereby intolerable injury was done unto God, as first His 
dominion and authority in His holy command was violated. That's 
just bad, right? It doesn't matter how big we 
may deem the command to be, it is a violation of the commander 
when we transgress. He goes on to say, secondly, 
his justice, truth, and power in his most righteous threatening 
were despised. In the day you eat, dying you 
shall die. He despised that. He rejected 
that holy threatening. Thirdly, his most pure and perfect 
image, wherein man was created in righteousness and true holiness, 
was utterly defaced. Fourthly, his glory, which by 
an act of service the creature should have brought to him, was 
lost and despoiled. And now Fisher goes on to demonstrate 
how Adam violated all Ten Commandments. You say, wait a minute, the Ten 
Commandments weren't given until Sinai. Well, our confession of 
faith has it right. That moral law was imprinted 
on Adam's heart. It was codified or summarized 
at Sinai, but that moral law transcends the Jewish state or 
the theocracy. It is the abiding, valid law 
of God stamped upon each one of us as image bearers. Here's 
how Fisher describes it. One, he chose himself another 
God when he followed the devil. Two, he idolized and deified 
his own belly. Paul later will say that some 
men worship their own bellies as God. Three, he took the name 
of God in vain when he believed him not. Four, he kept not the 
rest and estate wherein God had sent him. Five, he dishonored 
his father who was in heaven, and therefore his days were not 
prolonged in that land which the Lord his God had given him. 
Six, he massacred himself and all his posterity. That's us. Massacred. How does Jesus describe 
the devil? He's a liar and a murderer from 
the beginning. Through his agent, Adam, in the 
garden, he massacred humanity. Dying, you will die. Spiritually, 
and the body began to decay. Genesis 5 then repeats the anthem, 
and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died. That is 
divine commentary, theological interpretation of what transpires 
in the fall of man. He goes on. The seventh. From 
Eve, he was a virgin, but in eyes and mind, he committed spiritual 
fornication. Eight, he stole, like Achan, 
that which God had set aside not to be meddled with, and this, 
his stealth, is that which troubles all Israel, the whole world. 
Nine, he bare witness against God when he believed the witness 
of the devil before him. And ten, he coveted an evil covetousness, 
like Amnon, which cost him his life and all his progeny. So, what we see in the garden, 
what we see in the fall of man, or in the plunge of man, if you 
will, is that Adam stood in our place and in him all died. Now, before you start to say, 
well, that's not fair, we need to consider these other two imputations. That brings us to the second. 
Our sin is imputed to Christ. This is a blessing. This is why, 
in justification, we can be pardoned. of all our sins. This is why 
Paul can stand in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch and say, 
therefore, let it be known to you that through this man is 
preached to you the forgiveness of sins. You ever think it wonderful 
and amazing in the gospel accounts when Jesus forgives sinners? 
You ever just stop for a moment and think, what a glorious Savior? Well, hopefully you think that 
and you stop for a moment and you praise God that you are forgiven 
in and through him. But if you think back to that 
context, where was forgiveness associated with the temple? Jesus is walking around outside 
of the temple, pronouncing forgiveness on people. Those who were forgiven 
certainly adored and glorified and praised and worshipped, but 
those Jews hated it. They thought, who does this man 
think he is? Only God alone has authority to forgive sins. And 
he does that through the sacrificial system, which is connected intimately 
to the temple. You can see why Jesus outraged 
those unbelievers. But this aspect is glorious. Our sin is imputed to Christ. 
Remember, in Leviticus chapter one, when the worshipper brought 
the animal to the temple or to the tabernacle at that particular 
time, what did he do? He laid his hand upon the beast. What does that symbolize? What 
does that demonstrate? What does that indicate? Was 
it one last pet before he cuts his throat? Was it one last little 
tickle under his chin before he sends him to his death? Was 
it one little bond of affection being engaged in just so he wouldn't 
feel so bad about having to cut the animal's throat? It was a 
legal declaration. It was a transfer. In his putting 
of his hand upon that animal, his sin was on the animal. When the animal is killed, when 
the animal is sacrificed, his sin is dealt with. You see that 
when you get to Leviticus 16. The high priest on the Day of 
Atonement, on Yom Kippur, goes into the Holy of Holies with 
blood. He doesn't go in there alone. He takes off all of his 
beautiful attire. He goes in there simply in linen 
on that one day out of the year. He goes with blood to pour it 
on the mercy seat. After he does that for himself, 
because he's a sinner, after he does that for Israel, there's 
another goat. And they bring that goat in, 
and then the high priest lays his hand upon that goat. You 
know what he does? He confesses the sins of Israel. What's he doing? He is putting 
them on this goat. He is doing a legal act. It is forensic. It is declarative. It is something for the people 
to see. Having confessed that sin, having 
laid his hand upon the beast, he then drives it out into the 
wilderness. What a beautiful picture. If 
you were standing there at Yom Kippur and you had the faith 
of a true believer, your heart would have rejoiced. There goes 
my sin. Now, ultimately, you would know 
that this isn't the end. We're looking forward to the 
Lamb of God, who actually does take away the sin of the world. 
These were tithes. These were shadows. These were 
pictures and symbols until the time that Messiah would come. 
Our sin is imputed to the Son of God. Isaiah 53, verse six, 
it says, and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all. It's beautiful, only Christianity 
has this answer. All of the philosophical systems 
and all of the world religions can tell you, clean up your act 
and do better. But they can't take care of sin. They can't atone for sin. If you are here this evening 
and you have not come to Jesus, you've got sin. Not to say that 
Christians don't have sin, but their sin by God's grace is forgiven. You have unforgiven sin. You are burdened. You are heavy 
laden. You are weighed down. This is 
why it is gospel and treaty. In Matthew 11, Jesus says, Come 
to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. He's not talking 
about you worked an 80 hour work week last week and you're tired. 
No, he's talking about your way down and laden with sin, corruption, 
evil, wickedness, vileness, all of the muck and garbage associated 
with sin. Come to me, he says, and I will 
give you rest. Here it tells us that God has 
laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. John Gill explains that 
is God the Father against whom we have sinned, from whom we 
have turned and whose justice must be satisfied. He has laid 
on Christ, his own son, the sins of all his elect ones, which 
are, as it were, collected together and made one bundle and burden 
of, and therefore expressed in the singular number, iniquity, 
and laid on Christ and were bore by him even all the sins of all 
God's elect. He says a heavy burden, this 
which none but the mighty God could bear. He laid on him the 
iniquity of us all. And then, of course, Paul's statement 
in Second Corinthians, chapter five, we consider our sin imputed 
to Christ. Second Corinthians 521 for he. This is speaking of God, the 
father made him speaking of God, the son who knew no sin. Now, knew no sin does not mean 
he had no idea what sin was. knew no sin means he hadn't engaged 
in it. He hadn't committed it. He hadn't 
ever had a lustful look. He never engaged in hard adultery. He never stole. He never cheated 
his employer. He never lied. He never coveted. He never broke the Sabbath day. 
He never dishonored his parents. He didn't even dishonor lawful 
authority, which was a wicked authority in the Roman Empire. 
He never took the name of the Lord as God in vain. He never 
made an idol. He never had another God before 
him. He never, ever once engaged in 
sin. Look at what the text says. God 
made him Christ who knew no sin to be sin. Again, remember, Doesn't 
mean he was a sinner. It's imputation. It's legal. It's forensic. This is why when we say that 
Jesus or God imputes the righteousness of Christ to us, doesn't mean 
we automatically become spotless, pure and perfect. We are declared 
righteous. Jesus was declared to be sin. Jesus, who knew no sin, was made 
sin for us. Next time you read your Bible, 
these gospels or the gospel accounts and then the epistles, just underline 
or make a mental note or write down in your little prayer journal 
or your handbook or whatever it is you keep there, your little 
iPod or your iPad or whatever it is God has given you to keep 
track of these things. You know how many times there's 
a for us? in these letters. Jesus wasn't made sin for himself. Jesus wasn't made sin because 
he was a political insurrectionist. Jesus wasn't made sin because 
he was a revolutionary. Jesus wasn't trying to put it 
to the man. Jesus wasn't trying to lead an 
ungodly uprising. He made him who knew no sin to 
be sin for us. All of our sin, all of our iniquity, 
all of our filth, all of our garbage, run through the commandments, 
every one we've broken, whether in commission or omission, every 
single one we have trampled on, we have trashed, we have jumped 
on, we have scorned. God took those and laid them 
upon His Son. Our sin is imputed to Christ. Now, of course, God punished 
Christ as a result. That's how we explain what appears 
to be a tension between 1715 and the Passion narratives. God 
imputed, God declared, God engaged in this activity as the means 
by which he would be just and the justifier of the one who 
has faith. in Jesus. The third aspect, and 
one unfortunately challenged a lot in our day, is that Christ's 
righteousness is imputed to us. You see, if we're forgiven of 
our sins, as Machen says, we're right back before the tree of 
the knowledge of good and evil. Our sins are gone, but we haven't 
actually accomplished or haven't actually gotten the righteousness 
that secures everlasting life. But in Christ, that righteousness 
is imputed to us that does, in fact, secure everlasting life. M.T. Wright, one of the leaders 
in what's called the New Perspective on Paul, says that this idea 
of the imputation of Christ's righteousness, he said, what 
are we to imagine? Is this some cosmic law court 
and righteousness is like a gas or a vapor or something that's 
just out there that the judge then gives to us? Remember, brethren, 
ridicule is not refutation. Ridiculing a position is not 
answering it biblically and exegetically. Others in the federal vision 
deny this whole doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Not everybody in the federal 
vision, not everybody's consistently the same in that movement, but 
some of our leaders do say that the imputation of Christ's righteousness 
is not taught in the Bible. These men somehow, nevertheless, 
swear affinity to the Westminster standards which uphold everywhere 
this doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness. So 
we're just going to survey some passages. We're already in 2 
Corinthians 5, verse 21, after it says that God made him who 
knew no sin to be sin for us. He then goes on to say that we 
might become the righteousness of God in him. Again, not transformation 
of character, but a change of status. This is the heart of 
the Protestant Reformation, Catholics thought that we have an infused 
righteousness. That means we're getting better, 
and the fact that we're getting better will help us to stand 
before God on that day and hopefully be justified. The reformer says, 
no, it is imputed righteousness. Now, of course, after the imputation 
of righteousness, there is moral transformation. There is sanctification. There is a pursuit of holiness. 
Pastor Thomas said this morning, for those who wickedly conclude 
that if justification by grace alone, through faith alone in 
Christ alone is true, then the justified will live any old way 
they want. He says, no, Golgotha won't let 
you. Calvary won't let you. You will think on your Savior. 
You will remember these doctrines. And brethren, this is what I 
am convinced of. The more firmly you understand 
these truths, the holier you will be. It's when we mess it 
up. It's when we think our work somehow 
complete the package that we fall into Phariseeism, that we 
break the law of God. It's a very odd situation. grace is that which promotes 
holiness. I've read it before, I think 
it bears reading again. How does Paul answer the charge 
that his gospel leads to antinomianism? How does Paul answer the charge 
that his gospel will lead to more sin? What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound? Romans 6.1. What does Paul say? He says, certainly not walking 
people off. No, he gives them more gospel. He rehearses to them the fact 
that they died and were buried with Christ. He answers with 
gospel. Is Paul loony? Is he not? Is 
he out of his mind? Doesn't he realize the very charge 
they're making that he's denying the law and he's going to answer 
not with law, but gospel? Yes, gospel. The gospel that 
justifies produces the glorious truth of sanctification and Christian 
living. Now, later on, Paul will say, 
therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you 
should obey it in its loss. Do not present your members as 
instruments of unrighteousness. But the first step, the first 
leg in the battle against this charge is gospel. It's what Jesus 
has done. It's what Jesus has freed you 
from Michael Horton. Sometimes we forget. This is 
the quote I said I've read recently, but again, I think if you get 
it down, it will be helpful. Sometimes we forget that Paul 
was accused of being an antinomian, an antinomian that is of inviting 
people to sin that grace may abound. But instead of retracting 
the doctrine of justification that he knew would provoke that 
question again, the apostles simply explained how the gospel 
is the answer to the tyranny of sin as well as its condemnation. The gospel of free justification 
is the source of genuine sanctification, not its enemy. Yet that is counterintuitive 
to us. It is gospel logic, not the logic 
of works righteousness. This righteousness is imputed 
to us by God in this wondrous act of justification. Having 
been justified, we not only have peace with God through our Lord 
Jesus, but now we pursue holiness. We want to live like our Redeemer 
says. We hate the sin that still is 
in our heart. We lament, and we moan, and we 
repent, and we forsake, and we ask God to be merciful to us. All the while, though, realizing 
our acceptance with God depends on the death and resurrection 
of our beloved Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1.30, another place 
that highlights the fact that Jesus is our righteousness. 1 
Corinthians 1.30, But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who 
became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness. I mean, Jesus, 
just you know, we just see his righteousness. We just want to 
model our lives after him. We want to wear our WWJD bracelets 
and whatever Jesus does, that's what we want to do on the heart 
of the believer. That should be there. The fact 
that he has become unto us our righteousness means This doctrine 
of imputation, God has taken that righteousness and credited 
it to us, accounted us as righteous. Just when Abraham believed God, 
what did God do? He accounted it to him as righteousness. Same thing. Romans, four, six, 
we saw the imputation of righteousness apart from works. Notice at the end of Romans, 
chapter four, verse 20. Speaking of Abraham, he did not 
waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened 
in faith, giving glory to God. Look at how Abraham is described 
here. This is the kind of faith that you and I ought to press 
onward for and being fully convinced that what he had promised he 
was also able to perform. And therefore, it was accounted 
to him for righteousness. Now, notice verse twenty three. 
Now, it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed 
to him. But also for us, right? God has been in the business 
of saving people in the same way, always by grace alone, through 
faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Abraham didn't have as much data, 
but the data he had, he believed when he told Isaac the Lord will 
provide. He was thinking of Jesus. Abraham 
rejoiced to see my day, Jesus says. And what happens when Abraham 
and Isaac come down? They see that ram caught in a 
thicket. Another promise, another confirming 
word from the living God that he would send Jesus to deal with 
our sins. But also for us, verse twenty 
four, it shall be imputed to us who believe in him, who raised 
up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because 
of our offenses and was raised because of our justification. Romans five. We read verse eighteen 
a look at verse eighteen B. You have the work of the first 
Adam and the work of the second Adam. We saw the work of the 
first Adam in verse 18. Therefore, as through one man's 
offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. So even so, through one man's 
righteous act, the free gift came to all men. Notice this 
resulting in justification of life. In Adam all die. In Christ, all shall be made 
alive. Notice verse nineteen, for as 
by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So also by 
one man's obedience, many will be made righteous, constituted, 
appointed, righteous. And then Romans six teaches us 
that genuine righteousness flows as a result in the life of sanctification. Imputation is a word you might 
want to write right next to Proverbs 17, 15. And then, of course, 
Matthew 3, 15, when Jesus comes to be baptized by John the Baptist, 
John says, I should be baptized by you. Jesus says, permit it 
to be so, for we must fulfill all righteousness. Why? Because sinners need a righteousness. Sinners need to be clothed in 
the righteousness of another, and it's Jesus Christ alone who 
brings that. Well, brethren, that is, in a 
nutshell, imputation. Adam's sin imputed to us, our 
sin imputed to Christ, and Christ's righteousness imputed to us. 
Sometimes people say, oh, this kind of stuff, you know, we hear 
this all the time. We need to hear it all the time. 
When Pastor Thomas this morning pointed that or Pastor, you know, 
Pastor Thomas was talking about that gas station, I looked at 
that gas station as these doctrines. Right. I need to pull in there 
every week. And get that hose in me to learn 
about the truth of the gospel. You know, a lot of times we say, 
well, we need more practical preaching and I'm not against 
practical preaching. Soon we're going to be in Matthew 
five to seven. You might be saying, can we have 
something other than practical preaching? Sermon on the Mount 
doctrine is intensely practical. We need to get that in our heads. 
We need to understand the basis upon which we stand before God. When that is down, then everything 
else, hopefully by the power of the spirit and the word of 
God, will fall into place. These doctrines are intensely 
practical. Going back for just a moment 
in closing to Romans 4, 5. Romans 4, 5, but to him who does 
not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his 
faith is accounted for righteousness. John Murray said this with reference 
to Romans 4, 5. The description given in verse 
five, him who justifies the ungodly, is intended to set off, this 
is a great Murray word, the munificence. That means characterized by great 
generosity and liberality of the gospel of grace. He justifies 
the ungodly. It exhibits the munificence of 
the gospel of grace. He says the word ungodly is a 
strong one and shows the magnitude and extent of God's grace. His justifying judgment is exercised 
not simply upon the unrighteous, but upon the ungodly. He says 
verse five is a general statement of the method of grace and is 
not intended to describe Abraham specifically. We have here rather 
the governing principle of grace. It is exemplified in the case 
of Abraham because he believed in accordance with that principle. Douglas Moo comments on Romans 
four or five. He says the one who justifies 
the ungodly is justly famous as a succinct and bold statement 
of Paul's conviction that our standing with God is holy of 
God's free grace. Jonathan Edwards, that God. in the act of justification has 
no regard to anything in the person justified as godliness 
or any goodness in him. But that immediately before this 
act, God beholds him only as an ungodly creature. That's how 
we are. That's how God views us. He doesn't 
say, hey, good on you for showing up at church. I'm going to save 
you. He doesn't look at you and say, 
good on you for reading your Bible. I'm going to save you. Good on you for going to that 
school or listening to that music or not going with those people. 
Good on you. I'm going to save you. It doesn't 
say good on you that you've been circumcised. Good on you that 
you call yourself a reformed Baptist. Good on you that you 
read Robert Raymond. I'm going to save you. God is 
dealing with a mass of ungodly sinners. Wretched, vile, helpless, 
guilty. We're going to sing that at the 
end of worship this evening. In an anthem of praise to the 
man of sorrows. that calls us to say, hallelujah, 
what a savior. Because of Christ, we are cleansed. We are justified. We are sanctified. We are blessed immeasurably because 
of God's free, unbounded grace. Now, personally, I can't think 
of anything more calculated to send people into this world to 
live a life of holiness than a consideration of what God does 
in the gospel. It is gospel that we need. It 
is the truth of the cross. It is Jesus, him dead and resurrected 
that we need continually. Brethren, I hope that as we eat 
tonight, as we drink tonight, your thoughts, your mind, your 
heart is taken heavenward and you consider what the Son of 
God has done for you, what the Son of God has engaged in on 
your behalf. And if you are not a Christian 
tonight, please don't take these elements. Please do not take 
the bread and wine. They're given for Christians. 
They're given for those who have believed. Those who, by God's 
grace, have come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But 
I do want you to see what goes on. I do want you to see what 
it is to have this relationship with the Son of God. One of the 
early Christian documents, the Dedeke, said that at the time, 
the Eucharist, at the time of the Lord's Supper, Unbelievers 
were excused. This wouldn't work well today 
in the seeker-sensitive environment. Unbelievers were welcome to stay 
in the service and to hear the preaching of the Word. But at 
that time, when they were going to take those holy elements, 
when they were going to commune with their blessed Redeemer, 
the unbelievers were asked to leave. I'm not going to ask you 
to leave tonight. I'm not going to ask you to raise 
your hand. I'm going to ask you to consider these truths that 
we have set forth. You're a sinner. You say, well 
it was all Adam's fault. Yeah, and now you sin. You're 
constituted a sinner and now you sin. You break all the laws. You violate God. You don't do 
what he says. You have rebelled and rejected 
him. I don't care how young you are. 
I don't care how old you are. In fact, the Psalms say the wicked 
are estranged from what? The womb. See, no man Apart from 
the inspiration of the spirit, whatever dare say something like 
that would be tarred and feathered. Oh, how dare you? That's a cute 
little innocent baby. God knows best. God says the 
wicked go estranged from the womb speaking lies as soon as 
they are born. Pastor Thomas in one of the sermons 
yesterday said, you know, I never had to sit down with my three 
daughters and teach them how to be selfish. I never had to 
sit down with my three daughters and teach them how to say mine. 
I never had to sit down with my three daughters and teach 
them on how to insist on their personal rights. Those things 
come naturally, don't they? And oftentimes that's baby's 
first word. We're waiting for mommy or daddy. 
We hear no. What explains that he's in Adam 
and as a result, he's a sinner. If you are here tonight, you 
have not come to Christ. That is your station. That is 
your place. That is your position. But the 
good news is, is that God has sent his son as a sacrifice. God has sent his son as a savior. And he is calling men everywhere 
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And you shall be saved. What good news is that the best 
news there could possibly be. Well, let us pray and ask the 
Lord's blessing upon our time of communion together. Father, 
we thank you for your gospel. We thank you for good doctrine. 
We thank you for the Apostle Paul and the way that he teaches 
us so many great truths about you, about the Lord Jesus, about 
our salvation. And I pray, God, these things 
would make our hearts glad and they would indeed promote in 
us a desire to pursue holiness, a desire to glorify and honor 
you. but as well that constant realization 
that when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even 
Jesus Christ the righteous. God, we pray that more people 
would come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. We pray that 
more people would look and live, that more would believe the gospel 
of free and sovereign grace. And I pray for the children here, 
and I pray for the young people. I pray God that they would have 
a genuine desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, because he 
is altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. And we just 
pray this now in his most blessed name. Amen.