Romans 3:19-26
M. Kelly
What is the Gospel?
People underemphasize the importance of righteousness in the Gospel.
In the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. The righteous shall live by faith.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Many churches fail to preach these things! We don't point these errors out just because we want people to think our church is better some others. We point it out because it's what the Bible says.
There can be no good news without the wrath of God and righteousness. The righteousness of Christ revealed is good news because of the wrath of God!
Righteousness has always been through faith.
God's wrath is personal. Man sins against God. You will pay for your sins personally unless you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Though the law condemns there is a way to righteousness. Righteousness is through faith. Faith is the instrument through which God gives the gift of righteousness.
Rom 4 talks about the promise of Abraham. He would be heir of the whole world. Abraham is the father of the faithful. Christ came through his seed.
We are always trying to establish our own righteousness. But God is only satisfied with His own righteousness. This is why we need Christ's righteousness.
Man likes to establish his own righteousness and accuse God of being unfair with His righteousness.
God does not save us so we can boast in His righteousness, but so that we can glorify His righteousness.
Ps. 145:6-7 Righteousness is the way to salvation.
2 Cor. 5:19-21 God's righteousness is on display in our salvation. Many give their testimonies of their terrible pasts, but they should not be focusing on their sin. Rather they should focus on God's righteousness!
Ps. 119:142 Everlasting righteousness
Is. 51:8
Righteousness is always according to faith. It is seen, experienced through faith.
Hebrews 11:7 by faith he built the ark
Luke 24:7
What is faith if righteousness is through faith?
Faith looks to the righteousness of God.
Lessons:
1. Faith sees. Faith is not blind. Faith looks to righteousness. How do we know if we have faith? Do we look to the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ? Faith is not general. Faith is specific. Believing there is a good is not true faith. This is too general. Faith has a specific object.
Many claim to have faith and they define it for themselves so no one can say that they don't have it. Faith has distinctives. But when you bring this up they put up their hands and say no! I want any doctrine!
They have faith that God will act on their behalf according to their dreams and desires. This is not saving faith.
Personalized faith is just making Christ whatever you want Him to be. He is all love according this and whatever self wants He gives because He loves me! This is not the Gospel!
Faith embraces specific truths. We must understand what faith is. It is directed at Jesus Christ.
The Gospel is the revelation of the righteousness of God.
Mark 1:14 (?)
Believe in the Bible means more than our word believe. What is it to believe and have faith.
Believe means to trust in and entrust something to someone. It means to commit too and rely upon. It is one thing to say you believe a platform will hold up but it is entirely another thing to go stand on it and commit to it.
The will, the affections, the whole person is involved in committing to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. In faith it is not just head knowledge.
Faith is not a lack of knowledge. There must be knowledge of the Scriptures. Faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of God. John 17:3-9 Faith is knowing Christ experientially not just head knowledge of who he is. It's an experiential application of Christ's righteousness to your life.
1 John 5:9-10 Believe in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son....not other churches or people, but God! It's believing what God has said concerning His Son. There is a distinction between believing in God and believing God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Faith looks to God's righteousness.
An encouragement to prayer for us is contemplating the righteousness of God. We will see our sins and that we are self centered. It will bring us to prayer. Where does it end? How do we get off this treadmill? It's not a bad place because this is God revealing His righteousness to us. We can be thankful that he has not left us to ourselves to earn our own righteousness. We need to give him true praise and thanks for His salvation and righteousness, grace and mercy. It's all His work! Faith sees and is thankful for these things. Faith is not the ability to move God do things for us.
2. Sin is universal. Paul spends 2 1/2 chapters dealing with our unrighteousness. He then moves to the righteousness of God and then returns in verse 23 our unrighteousness. Paul would never have us forget that depravity is universal! All men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
This is a continuous present is the original language. It's not a past condition. Sin is mixed in with all that we do. When we are are concerned with God's glory we will be concerned with His righteousness. But we all fall short of it. All are sinners by practice. It's universal.
How can you obey the law as a way to justification when you continually fall short? This why we have the righteousness of Christ. We point out errors that others teach not because we want to push them down but because it's the truth that saves and many are teaching otherwise. It's a matter of life and death. Feelings don't matter. The only thing that matters is truth because it is a matter of life and death and truth!!!
All men are in need of God's righteousness and that is why men don't like it. They want to establish their own Gospel.
3. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. There is no distinction. No one has an advantage over another. All men are falling short continually. We all need the gospel. There is no distinction or difference between men...all need God's righteousness.
They say "Jesus is my Savior" your Savior from what?
1 Tim. 1:15
Luke 5
You can't get rid of sin. There is no preaching without sin.
There is forgiveness for every kind of sin. We often judge people by where they are in sin. So and so is too far gone and so and so may be receptive. No! All are under sin and wrath. God doesn't save good people. He saves sinners!
4. All alike are righteous in Christ Jesus.
All who are in Christ's righteousness are equally clothed in His righteousness. There are no degrees of righteousness when we stand before God at the judgement. We are either clothed in His righteousness or we are not. We are equally righteous.
Rom. 4:13 through the righteousness of faith...of God
It is called the righteousness of faith because that is the only instrument God uses to apply it to His people.
Is. 61:10 clothed with the garments of salvation!
We most often look for our joy in our obedience. We base our assurance of salvation on how bad we feel about our sin. We are to rejoice greatly because God has clothed us with his righteousness! We are to be thankful to Him! We are saved to the praise of the glory of His righteousness. Are we praising Him? We can't please God on our own terms but only by being righteous in Christ.
Romans 8:8
Rom 14:23
Heb 11:6
Men are so in love with themselves that they think it is because of them and their works that they deserve God's favor. No! It's only through faith in Christ's righteousness that we deserve God's righteousness!
5. Faith comes by hearing.
God has given us His Word. He only knows about the future and His Word tells us the truth about the future. You are going to die and you will meet a judge and you need complete righteousness to stand before Him. What will you do on that day.
The Judge sent His prophets, the apostles, preachers and Jesus Christ and His Word to tell us about the future. That is mercy!
Rom 10:11-17
Acts 10:42-43 What was the message that they were to teach? That God is the judge of the living and the dead.
Faith comes by hearing....it is pure action by the Holy Spirit on the hearts of men. Righteousness is revealed in the Word of God and in the hearts of men.
The external call and the internal call are all of God's doing.
And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48 NASB)
Luke 6:20-21 Blessed are the poor in spirit...hunger will be satisfied.
James 4:8-9
Matthew 5 Beatitudes...hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Christ did not call the righteous but sinners!
Salvation is God demonstrating His grace and His righteousness to a people.
🌹🌺🌻Marsha🌻🌺🌹
He is the Α and Ω and everything in between. Îστιν ÏŒ Α Ω. (Revelation 22:13)
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