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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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.