Romans 4, I'll begin reading in verse 1. 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. Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.

But how then was it accounted? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith, which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

For the promise that he would not be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith, For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath. For where there is no law, there is no transgression. Therefore, it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. who is the father of us all. As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations.

In the presence of him whom he believed, God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did, who contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations according to what was spoken. So shall your descendants be. and not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead, since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised, he was also able to perform. And therefore, it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Now, it was not written for His sake alone that it was imputed to Him, but also for us. 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. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Our God and our Father, we thank You for the Holy Scripture and we praise You for this blessed day and this time to remember the Lord's death and His resurrection. We thank You, Lord God, that He did these things for us, for those whom the Father had given Him. And, our God, we pray that You would just fill each one of us now with Your Holy Spirit, that You would forgive us for all of our sins, and that You would cleanse us afresh in the blood of Christ, that we may approach You with fear and with great rejoicing, that we may celebrate in Your presence this morning, that we may give all glory and praise and honor to You, our God. We ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Introduction

Well, it has been a common confession of the church since the angelic pronouncement in Matthew 28 that Jesus Christ is risen. We can praise God for that fact. He is risen from the dead. Obviously, His resurrection presupposes His death.

And if we look specifically at Romans 4, our text this morning is verse 25. which in popular language, Good Friday and Easter meet. Notice it says, who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification. The death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus is the Christian's hope, is the basis, is the ground, is the foundation for our right standing before the triune God. And

Two Broad Considerations

I want to unpack this statement this morning under two broad considerations. The first is the death of Jesus Christ. And the second is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Context: Romans 3:21–4:25

But instead of just sort of parachuting in, we ought to explain what's going on in this section. where Paul the Apostle is writing concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ. The section begins in chapter 3 at verse 21. There's a significant shift. If you notice, chapter 3, verse 21, he says, But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed.

The contrast comes with what was stated in Romans 1 18, where the apostle, because of sin, says that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And then he goes on to demonstrate that. from experience, or from the world around us, and then from the Scriptures themselves. And he concludes in chapter 3 at verse 20 by saying, Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of his sin.

And then he goes, but now the righteousness of God is revealed from the laws, revealed being witnessed by the law and the prophets. And that takes him all the way through chapter 4. And specifically in chapter 4, he is showing how that faith in God, faith in Christ specifically, is relative to Abraham, who is the father of faith. And then in verses 23 to 25, he shows the faith of Abraham and the faith of the Christian.

It's not just for Abraham, he says. Notice in verse 23, it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. We ought to receive comfort and benefit from this portion of Holy Scripture. He defines us.

It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. So the entire context, the Apostle is highlighting justification by faith alone. And that brings him to this capstone verse in verse 25, who was delivered up because of our offenses.

The Death of Christ: Delivered for Our Offenses

Notice the reason for his death. It is specified in the text. It indicates that Jesus was delivered up. And while it says, because of our offenses, let's just stop for a moment.

Some people teach or people observe or people identify correctly that Jesus died on the cross. But many throughout the ages have asked the question, why? They haven't sought out their answer in Romans 4.25, the whole issue of sin and offense against God. But some look at the cross and say that Jesus was a great martyr for a great cause.

Jesus showed the way by His own love, and by His own obedience, and by His own suffering, and by His own death. At the cross we see a vivid example of what it means to be a man who is in tune with God on high. But that's not what the text says. It doesn't say He was delivered up because He was an example.

It does not say He was delivered up to teach us a warm, fuzzy lesson once a year. It says that He was delivered up because of our offenses. There is a tendency that we might have to miss the significance of this. Christ was delivered up because of our sins.

Our rebellion against the thrice holy God. Our rebellion against the God who made us upright, but we have sought out many devices. The Lord Christ was handed over because of our sins. Because we are sinners.

As we just sang, guilty, vile, helpless we, spotless Lamb of God was He. Full atonement? Can it be? Hallelujah!

What a Savior! And as you consider that phrase this morning, because of our offenses, it's not sort of sin in the abstract. It's not sort of sin out there, but it is your personal, your vital, your earnest rebellion against the God of heaven and earth.

Sin Illustrated in Scripture and Conscience

Consider some of the biblical examples. How do we identify Rahab? The harlot. Ralph Davis refers to her as the shady lady of Jericho.

She was absolved. She was cleansed. She was washed from all of her sins by looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the two examples that Paul uses here in Romans chapter four.

King David of Israel, a godly man, a man after God's own heart, we are told. What did this godly man, this man after God's own heart, do when it came time to gratify and satisfy his own carnal lusts? He sentenced for a woman. He breaks the seventh commandment.

And in order to cover his tracks, he breaks the sixth commandment. You see, the offenses that Jesus was delivered up for didn't just sort of happen out there in space. They happened in the hearts and in the actions of real, live human beings. What about the Apostle Paul, the man who penned these words?

If we were to say to him, Paul, what do you mean he was delivered up because of our offenses? Paul could say, well, I used to persecute the church and I tried to destroy it. I was standing right there guarding the garments of those who stoned Stephen to death. I watched the blood run down his face.

I was a man who took orders from the high priest and went to Damascus on a mission to bind up Christians, men and women, and take them to prison. And if we look at our own hearts, what offenses was Jesus delivered up for on your account? Every wicked thought, every wicked look, every wicked idea, every wicked activity, every vile, guilty, wretched thing that you and I had ever done. That's what sent our beloved Savior to the cross.

He wasn't delivered up because of his sin. He wasn't delivered up because of his unrighteousness. He wasn't delivered up because he had offended God. But rather,

The Divine Transaction at Calvary

he was delivered up in a divine transaction, which some say is not biblical. If it is not biblical, we are dead in our sins. It was a divine transaction wherein the Holy God took our sin and heaped it upon His own Son. And then He punishes His Son so that His righteousness could be given to us.

If that is legal fiction, then we are dead in our trespasses and sins. That is biblical forensic justification by a gracious God who is moved by love for wretched, miserable, hell-deserving sinners. He was delivered up. because of our offenses. The Bible tells us this in various places.

Isaiah 53, 5 and 6 and verse 12. Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 28. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 24. God sent His Son to die for us and to rise again. Because we sinned.

Because we violated His law. I mean, just run through the Ten Commandments for just a moment. Have you ever had another God before God? You say, I've never bowed before a wooden pole.

I've never constructed a golden calf. I have never subjugated myself before something like that. I submit, brethren, that each and every one of us have broken that law, and we continue to do so, and that God is us. That God is self.

One of the interesting things Paul specifies concerning the work of Jesus in 2 Corinthians 5 is that we who live for ourselves would not do so any longer, but live for Him who died for us and rose again. Have you ever committed idolatry? Have you ever taken the name of the Lord your God in vain? Have you ever broken His holy day?

Have you ever been insubordinate to lawful authority? Have you ever murdered? You say, well, I've never buried a knife in anybody's heart. Have you murdered in your heart?

You said about your brother, have you spoken about him behind his back in vicious and unkind words? Have you ever committed adultery? Well, I've never done what these guys have done. Have you done it in the heart?

You looked upon a woman to lust. Jesus says that that is breaking the commandment. What about theft? Oh, I've never stolen a candy bar.

I've never stolen anything. Do you steal from your employer? What about bearing false witness? Lying?

You always tell the truth, 24-7, for the last 25 years of your lives? And what about covetousness? Remember when that rich young ruler came to Jesus and he said, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus points him to the law, not as a means of salvation, not as a means of justification, but as a means by which that sinner's sin would be exposed.

When Jesus says, go and sell everything you have and come and follow me, what's Jesus doing? He's applying the tenth word to that rich young ruler. The rich young ruler went away sad. Why?

Because he had many things he didn't want to part with them. He was in love with his stuff. He could boast externally that he had never murdered. He had never committed adultery.

He had never done those external things. But the law of God isn't simply external, it is internal as well. It exposes the heart. It exposes the thoughts.

It lays us bare open before the Lord God to whom we must give an account. He was delivered up because of our offenses. That doesn't make you happy. I mean, some would say, what a sick thing to have the Lord's Supper on Easter Sunday.

You don't have a risen Savior without a dead, crucified Savior first. He is risen because He lived and He died first for us. And He was delivered up because of our offenses. And if you notice the verb that is used here, there's no subject indicated.

It's a passive verb. That means that Jesus was delivered up by someone else. What does the text indicate? It doesn't indicate that it was the Roman soldiers.

It doesn't indicate it was the angry Jewish mob. Oh yes, they were all clamoring for it. They were all urging Pilate to do this deed. But you know as well as I do who delivered Him up.

It was God the Father. Don't anybody ever question the love of God at the cross? As one man said, the cross didn't secure God's love. The cross is an expression of God's love.

Isaiah 53, 10, it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He put Him to grief. Why? Because of our sins.

Because of our offenses. Because we couldn't control ourselves. Because we live for the moment. Because we've got to be satisfied and gratified right now.

Because we don't want to toe the line with reference to God Most High. Because we, like sheep, have gone astray. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him. The New American Standard renders it, it pleased the Lord to crush Him.

I think the bruising in the New King James brings us back to Genesis 3 and the fact that Jesus was bruised by the serpent or by the devil, but then He crushed the head of the seed of the serpent. That idea of crushing does vividly display that spectacle at Golgotha. It was delivered up because of our offenses. Acts 2.23, Peter the Apostle says, this happened according to the predetermined plan of God.

There's no afterthought. This was all in accordance with the covenant of redemption that we looked at on Wednesday night. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit agreeing as one glorious God to save His people from their sins. The Father electing a mass out of humanity, giving them to the Son, and the Son declaring that He would be surety on their behalf, that He would go and live for them, that He would go and die for them, and that He would go and rise for them again.

That's what the Bible is all about, brethren. Romans 3, 25 and 26, it says that God set forth His Son as a propitiation by His blood. Romans 8, 32, it says that God has not spared His Son. Romans 8, 32, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Brethren, you cannot escape the divine transaction at Calvary. The Father sent the Son. The Son willingly yields, though. John 10, 17 and 18.

No one takes my life from me. Never out of control. He was never subject. He was never reactionary.

Christ went to the cross of His own volition in obedience to His Father. Even the declaration of the angels in Matthew 28. We often forget the next few words. He is risen. as He said.

He is risen as He said. He was never confused as to His mission on earth. He wasn't some schizophrenic person. He came with purpose, determination to do the will the Father had sent Him.

Nobody takes my life from me. I lay it down willingly. Christ gave Himself for our sins. Galatians 1.4.

Paul says, the life that I now live by faith, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and did what? He gave Himself for me. This was a divine transaction orchestrated by the triune God for the salvation of sinners. He was delivered up because of our offenses.

And I submit, that is good news to anyone here this morning that doesn't know Jesus. I have heard some strange arguments from people as to why they don't want to become Christians. One of them goes like this, I'm quite a sinner. I don't know if He would have me.

Are you crazy? That's what He does. It's like saying, I'm going to White Spot. I'm really hungry, but I don't know if they'll feed me.

I'm not plugging White Spot by any, it just happens to be in my mind there. It's like saying, I'm so thirsty, I don't know if I should take this drink. You are an offender. You are a trespasser.

You are a sinner. You have violated the holy law of God, as we all have. Nobody's in the Christian church because they performed well. Nobody's in the Christian church because they've cleaned up their act.

Nobody is in the Christian church because they have good behavior. People are in the Christian church, and primarily in Christ, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone. You are a sinner. Look to the One alone who can save you from those sins.

The Resurrection of Christ: Raised for Our Justification

And then notice the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He not only says He was delivered up because of our offenses, notice He says, and was raised because of our justification. That's why Good Friday and Easter Sunday can meet in this one sermon, because the Bible makes these two thoughts inseparable. You don't have the death without the resurrection.

You don't have the resurrection without the death. One of the abuses of the Roman Church is that their Christ is still on the cross. He is risen. The tomb is empty.

He has defeated death. He has defeated hell. He has defeated sin. That's what the Apostle is telling us.

He was raised up. One man, Charles Hodge, comments and says, the denial of the propitiatory death of Christ or of His resurrection from the dead is a denial of the Gospel itself. These two things, brethren, this is what we hinge our souls upon. I could give all of you a pen and paper and say, write me a 500 word essay about what Jesus means to you.

I'm sure I'd get a whole variety of answers. The two elements that better be present is blood atonement and resurrection from the dead. The two elements that the Apostle joins together in Romans 4.25, the delivering up for our sin and the resurrection for our justification. Notice, the result of the resurrection says, because of our justification.

You search the New Testament documents, you search the Scriptures, and generally speaking, justification is set forth by faith in the Son of God. Very often with peculiar reference to His death. Here the apostle is linking it with the resurrection of Jesus. Justification in this context is obvious.

It is a status given by God. It is a declaration of righteousness by which believers are declared righteous by God. This morning during prayer meeting, I had to go to the washroom and it warmed my heart to hear the Sunday school class rehearsing Westminster Shorter Catechism, number 33. Kids, there's nothing better you can learn.

I mean, there's a lot of other good things you can learn too, but Westminster Shorter Catechism number 33. What is justification? How did the divines answer? Justification is an act of God's free grace.

It's not something we do. It's not something we earn. It's not something we proffer. It is an act of God's free grace wherein He pardons all our sins.

That means He forgives us all those breakings of the Ten Commandments, all those infractions, all those transgressions, all the offenses that Jesus was delivered up for. He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight. only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to them and received by faith alone. That's what Paul's speaking of here. And he connects justification and resurrection.

And I believe he does so here. I'll quote two men, a modern and an older guy. Well, the older guy is actually dead. He's with Jesus.

He is looking upon the face of the one who died for him and rose again. The modern man, John Fesco, says this means that Christ's resurrection confirms and authenticates that our justification has been secured. He was raised up because of our justification. It confirms it and authenticates it.

It is secure. He says, if Christ remains dead in the tomb, then the powers of sin and death have not been conquered. And Christ's crucifixion was legitimate for the wages of sin is death. Paul won't let us have that conclusion, though.

The other man is B.B. Warfield. He said that he died. Listen to this, please.

I know sometimes quotes. I can't follow it. You can't follow this. Ask me.

You need to read this. You might need to write it in the big margin in your Bible. You might need to write it somewhere so you can look at this, because it accurately reflects what Paul is getting at in Romans 4.25. He says that He died, manifests His love and His willingness to save.

Right? He dies and it manifests His love for us and His willingness to save. It says that He rose again, manifests His power and His ability to save. He has risen.

It's not just a martyr, an example for us to follow. It's not just one time a year you get a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling and think fondly of Jesus and go out and try to be better. No. That's your concept of the gospel.

You need to repent. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and learn what it means. He goes on to say, we are not saved by a dead Christ who undertook but could not perform and who lies there still under the Syrian sky, another martyr of impotent love. If we are to be saved at all, it must be by one who did not merely pass to death in our behalf, but who passed through death.

In one word, he says, the resurrection of Christ is fundamental to the Christian hope and to the Christian confidence. All our assurance of salvation is suspended on this fact. I couldn't agree with that a hundred times more. Brethren, Paul tells us he was delivered up because of our offenses.

And he was raised because of our justification.

Four Connections: Resurrection and Justification

We look for the connection between resurrection and justification. I offer four. There's probably plenty of others you can think on and meditate on. The first is that the resurrection serves as the proof that His death has been accepted by God.

The Father was well pleased with the Son. What happens in the language of Philippians 2, 5-11? He becomes obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross. And then there's a, therefore God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The empty tomb tells us that God was pleased with the sacrifice. The empty tomb displays confirmation and authentication that the work of Jesus, when He declared, it is finished on the cross, He meant business. Secondly, the Christian is justified by faith and this faith must be directed to Jesus. Only a living Lord, only a resurrected Lord, only a Lord enthroned upon high is worthy of our worship.

That's what we see. Thirdly, the Christian is in union with Christ by virtue of his life, death, and resurrection. You cannot separate these three elements. You cannot have half of Jesus.

You cannot have a portion of Jesus. You cannot have, well, I need to be forgiven, but I'll work out my own righteousness. You can't have a righteousness without forgiveness. These things are a packaged deal.

Christ satisfies every requirement of God's holy law. This is why we're told in Ephesians that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We need righteousness. Christ provides it.

We need sanctification. Christ provides it. We need redemption. Christ provides it.

He is everything for us. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the A to Z. He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith.

A dead Christ simply does not avail. He must be delivered up because of our offenses, but He must be raised because of our justification. That's the Jesus whom we celebrate today. That's the Jesus whom we proclaim.

That's the Jesus whom we delight in. That's the Jesus who, in all reality, we ought to just bow and worship constantly. I said four, that was three, that's enough.

Application

A couple of things and then we close. The first that we see from this passage and elsewhere in the scripture is the necessity of the death of Christ. The necessity of the death of Christ. What does the apostle tell us in Hebrews 9.22?

Necessity of Christ's Death

Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. It's very straightforward, very simple. Not tough to exegete that statement. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.

If there is not blood shed, we are not forgiven. The author of Hebrews also says that the blood of bulls and goats can never take away our sin. That's why we need the one whom John the Baptist looked to and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We do not need moral refinement or moral assistance We do not need a helpful example.

We need blood atonement by one who lived in obedience to God's holy and inflexible law and who gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins and suffered the wrath of God. Christianity isn't simply, let's follow Jesus, this new teacher of a religious system. That's not it. Remember, we have committed offenses.

We have transgressed. We are sinners. We have gone astray. It's not a matter of just refining our conduct.

You refine dung and it's still dung. You refine a garbage can, it's still a garbage can. Imagine that, kids. Your father put a bow and a ribbon on your family trash can.

You might chuckle. You might say it doesn't change the fact that there's a lot of things in there that smell. It's still a garbage can. Well, Pastor, are you relating us to garbage cans?

That does nothing for our self-esteem. I submit we're worse than garbage cans. Garbage cans do what they're supposed to. All we like sheep have gone astray.

You put a ribbon and a bow on us. You go to a religious meeting and feel good about yourself. Try a little bit harder. That's like putting a bow on a garbage can.

We don't need that. We don't need moral refinement. We don't need to clean up our act a little bit. We don't need a little help from on high.

You know, there's people out there that actually think it's biblical. God helps those who help themselves. That's the foundation of all bad theology. God helps those who cannot help themselves.

God saves those. That's what Paul says in Romans 5.8. God commends His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Look at the turn of phrase that Paul uses here in verse 5 of chapter 4.

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies, not the ones in need of moral refinement, not the ones who need a little help from on high, He justifies the ungodly. When you start feeling proud about who you are, think about that statement. That's not what we need. At this time of the year, people often get warm and fuzzy feelings connected with religion about the wonder of an empty tomb.

They often fail to remember what preceded that empty tomb. What went before that blessed statement of He is risen. What preceded it was what Pastor Cam read at the outset in Psalm 22. when the Son of God hung in our stead and said, why hast thou forsaken me?" Ralph Davis commenting on the scenic Gibeah in 2 Samuel 21, which was an atonement. He says, if we have grown too used to Golgotha, perhaps Gibeah can shake us back into truth.

Atonement is a drippy, bloody, smelly business. The stench of death hangs heavy wherever the wrath of God has been quenched. That's what preceded He is risen. He was delivered up because of our offenses.

He was bruised for our iniquities. The Lord laid on Him the chastisement for our peace. We don't just come this morning joyful over an empty tomb. We come because of a cross as well.

Necessity of the Resurrection

And secondly, brethren, we learn the necessity of the resurrection. Charles Hodge again says, with a dead Savior, a Savior over whom death had triumphed and held captive, our justification had been forever impossible. Good of a task as he had done, as noble a man as he was, if he lie in that tomb, we are dead in our sins. Death had an illegitimate claim upon Christ as He was without sin, having lived in perfect obedience to the law.

Look at Romans 6, verse 23. Romans 6, verse 23, familiar passage, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of sin is death. Now notice in Romans 6, 9, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.

Death no longer has dominion over Him. Praise God that He has risen. Praise God that He has given us life. Praise God for justification by faith alone, connected with the resurrection, which does imply, obviously, blood atonement at Calvary.

Again, one man says, Christ's death atones for the sins of God's people. His resurrection is the evidence that death had an illegitimate claim upon Him, for He lived His life in perfect obedience to the law. attempts to extract one of the three, life, death, or resurrection, from justification, and our redemption collapses. If Jesus did not die, we're in our sins. If Jesus did not rise, we are in our sins.

Isn't that Paul's whole apologetic, or one of the aspects of his apologetic in 1 Corinthians? 15, one of the clearest expositions of the Christian doctrine of resurrection. One of the things that he says is that if Jesus has not raised from the dead, you are dead in your sins. Look at that, God willing, this evening.

Justification by Faith Alone

Third observation, briefly. Notice the demonstration in this text of justification by faith alone. In 1522, something unique happened. Especially if you lived in Germany.

If you lived in Germany in 1522, you would have possibly received, if you had the money and the ability, you would have received Martin Luther's translation of the New Testament. He would go on to translate the entirety of God's Word, and it would be as influential in Germany as the King James Version has been in the English-speaking world. One of the things that Martin Luther did in his translation of Romans 3.27 was include, by faith alone. Guess who opposed this?

The Roman Catholic critics. They said alone is not used in conjunction with faith except in James 2.24 where he seems to be attacking the notion of justification by faith alone. So what do you think Calvin and Luther did? Oh, you're right.

We're sorry. We'll try to accommodate our Protestantism to you. We'll try to have a reproachment with Rome. We'll try to flex a bit.

We'll try to make it such that we can all just love Jesus together. They wrote, they preached, they insisted on alone. I submit, brethren, that Romans 4.25 highlights justification by faith alone. Notice, Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses.

Jesus was raised because of our justification. What do we introduce? What do we help? What do we complete?

What do we add? When the Son of God is bruised, broken and battered at Calvary and risen from the dead, there is nothing that a sinner can contribute to that. We, by God's grace, look and live. We, by God's grace, believe and receive.

We, by God's grace, He is set and He blesses. It is by faith alone.

Peace with God: Romans 5:1

And then the last observation. Is it any wonder that Romans 5.1 follows Romans 3.21 to 4.25? We expect Romans 5.1 now, don't we? We expect Paul to do what he does in Romans 5.

Therefore, he says, having been justified by faith. It's a good point for you to learn a bit of English grammar. Greek grammar is preferable, but English will help you enough. It's an heiress.

It means it's a done deal. We've believed. We've been justified. Now we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our subjective experience of the peace of God comes from believing in our objective peace with God through historical justification by faith alone. That's Fred Malone in his book on Believer's Baptism. 5.1 is beautiful. Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So all that we have said concerning his delivering up Jesus because of our offenses and raising up Jesus because of our justification ought to lead you at this point to sigh a great sigh of relief.

Praise God. That's what Paul calls us to do right here. Praise God. It's not by works.

It's not by merit. It's not by circumcision. When did Abraham receive this righteousness? Was it because he was circumcised?

Paul learned a lesson dealing with the churches of Southern Galatia. He learned a lesson in the Jerusalem Council. He was not accounted as righteous when he was even circumcised. He added nothing to this.

He had no contribution. He had no help. There was no corollary in Abraham's performance that sealed the deal. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, let us have peace with God. There's a lot of stress and a lot of trial and a lot of difficulty in our life. But this one aspect is done. That's what I think differentiates a Christian.

They go through many of the same problems as a non-Christian. In fact, some go even more problems. You might look at the life of a Christian and say, wow, what is in that religion to endear me? I mean, this guy had it all.

Then he came to Christ and look at him now. Look at Paul. He was quite the well-performed man as a Judaizer, or as a Pharisee. He was a respectable citizen.

People liked him, people wanted to be around him. What happened when he renounced that, when he came to Christ? Read 2 Corinthians 11 and you'll find out what happened. He was beaten, he was whipped, he was shipwrecked, he was stoned.

You look at him and you say, boy, that doesn't look like a fun life. All those things, notwithstanding, this is in order. Do you ever get that with your life? Do you just feel like you hear about something, wow, I haven't prayed about that because I'm trying to think about all these other things.

But you ought to be able to sigh a breath of relief and say, but this one thing I know, having been justified by faith, I have peace with God. Do you know what else this does? There's times where the accuser of the brethren tries to stir you up. I don't know how it all works, brethren, but I do know this.

According to 1 Peter chapter 5, that the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. I don't understand about the immediacy of it. There's a lot of things about the devil and his ploys and his schemes. I confess, I don't have it all down.

I don't know that anybody has it all down. It's always amazed me that in one fell swoop, in Matthew 16, Peter can go from, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, and hearing Jesus say, blessed are thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. He can go from that hilltop. He can go from that Everest.

He can have Jesus say, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, to saying to Jesus, no, I don't want you to go to Jerusalem and die, to Jesus saying, get thee behind me, Satan. That'd be a tough one psychologically to deal with. Lord, you just said I was blessed. Now you're calling me Satan.

So the devil is at work among God's people. Our own remaining corruption is at work among God's people. You ever had the pang of conscience when you did something? Whether it be yourself or it be the devil, how in the world could you call yourself a Christian and do that?

How in the world could you conduct yourself like that? How in the world, with all the light that you've been given, with all of the Bible, with all of the preaching, with all of the teaching, with all of the discipleship, with sermonaudio.com, you go out and you do that. How could you do it? Look how Paul takes the stuff of Gospel truth to repel the enemies of Gospel peace.

Romans 8.31, What then shall we say to these things? God is for us who can be against us. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies. Who is He who condemns? It is Christ who died, furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. We saw that in our studies in Zechariah.

Joshua, the high priest, is standing before God on behalf of the nation of Israel. And the accuser of God's people is standing right there. No doubt to say, look at how putrid, look at how wicked, look at how foul, and look at how corrupt. Satan never opens his mouth once.

God sees him in his filthiness. And filthy there doesn't mean he had a, you know, if I would have dribbled some cream cheese on my shirt this morning. That's not the filth that's in view. The filth that is in view is excrement.

The filth that is in view is pollution. It is sin. It is vile. Before the accuser opens his mouth, God makes the order.

Strip those garments off of him and put the new garments on him. That's what Paul is doing in Romans 8. Your own conscience. The accuser.

Brethren. Friends. People. The world.

They're going to whisper in your ear, how in the world could you be? Paul says, it is God who justifies. It is Jesus who died. It is Jesus who rose again.

It is Jesus enthroned at the right hand of the Father. You take your complaints there. He deals with it. And some would say, oh, this promotes licentiousness.

No, it doesn't. When you understand this about your Savior, you want to sing all the way, My Savior leads me. I want to stick close. I want to honor Him.

I want to glorify Him. I want to worship Him. I want to serve Him. I don't want to do things that betray His holy name.

I don't want to cast dispersion upon His Gospel. I want to be upright. I want to be holy. But I know that when I sin, I have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous.

I don't know why anybody's an enemy to justification by faith alone. If it's not justification by faith alone, it's not justification. There's one way that we stand in the presence of a thrice holy God, and it's through the doing, the dying, and the rising of Jesus Christ and Him alone. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your Word and we thank You for its clarity and for its beauty. We thank You for the fact that Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses and He was raised because of our justification. God, help us to love these truths. Help us to be moved by the Gospel.

Help us to be rooted firmly in Gospel truth, not to be knocked down or led astray or cast cast aside by every wind of doctrine, but help us to cleave firmly on these things most surely believed among us. We just bless you and we praise you that our Savior who lived, He died, and that He rose again, and now He sits enthroned at your right hand. And we look forward to that day when we shall see Him as He is, We look forward to that day, Lord God, when the bride will not eye the garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. When we will gaze at our King and His glory, and that we will just dwell in His presence forever and ever.

Father, we just pray that these things would encourage and build us up in our most holy faith. We ask through Christ the Lord. Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 3
• 2 Samuel 21
• Psalm 22
• Isaiah 53:5-6; 53:10; 53:12
• Zechariah 3
• Matthew 16; 28
• John 10:17-18
• Acts 2:23
• Romans 1:18; 3:20; 3:21; 3:25-26; 3:27; 4:5; 4:23-25; 4:25; 5:1; 6:9; 6:23; 8:31-32
• 1 Corinthians 15
• 2 Corinthians 5; 11
• Galatians 1:4
• Ephesians 1:3
• Philippians 2:5-11
• Hebrews 9:22; 9:28
• James 2:24
• 1 Peter 2:24; 5:8