Lawrence Taylor Ministry

Guest (Male): Hello and welcome to Teaching the Word with Dr. Lawrence Taylor. Each and every week, Dr. Taylor will be sharing a relevant message from the Scriptures designed to inform and instruct us in the ways of our God. Dr. Taylor has been the pastor of Kenwood Baptist Church in the Midwood section of Brooklyn for the past 22 years. He brings a wealth of experience to each broadcast, having been a New York City public schools teacher and a theology professor. Stay tuned to the end of the broadcast to find out how to stream today's message. Now, here's Dr.

Taylor.

Dr. Lawrence Taylor: Welcome everyone to our study in the book of Romans. Today we will examine chapter 3 of Romans verses 25 to 31. Last week, we left off with verse 25, but there is more to examine. Paul began to explain the doctrine of justification by faith in verse 21 of chapter 3. Justification is a declaration of righteousness or what we would consider an acquittal that is given to everyone who accepts the atoning work of Christ. We are all guilty. Therefore, we are in need of this acquittal or we will face the wrath of God. Christ's death was a substitutionary death.

He died in my place. The wrath that I was destined to undergo, he bore in my stead. Scriptures declare his death as substitutionary. In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 3, Paul wrote why I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. In 1 Peter 2 23 to 24 it reads and while being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. And he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

In Romans chapter 5 verse 6 it reads for while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Galatians 2:20 reads I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, but not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I live, I now live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And in that same book, Galatians 3:13 it says Christ redeemed me from the curse of the law having become a curse for us. As it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.

Titus 2:14 reads who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for himself a people for his own possession. In Hebrews 2:9 it reads but we see him who was made a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus because of the suffering of death crowned him with glory and honor so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. And in that same book, Hebrews 9:28 it reads so Christ also having been offered once to bear the sins of men will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him.

Even in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah prophesied 700 years before Christ was born. In Isaiah 53 surely our griefs he himself bore. And our sorrows he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken smitten of God and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. It is clear from Scripture that Christ died in our place. a substitutionary death. The preposition for used in these texts that I just cited means for the benefit of or in place of. The penalty that God imposed on sinners was borne by the merciful Savior himself.

He took in his own bosom the wrath that was meant for you and me and bore it perfectly. While many people ascribe the idea of the substitutionary death of Christ to a barbaric relic of an outdated religion, the question that must be answered is why did Christ die? Christ had the power to crush any enemy who came against him. In fact, you see in the Gospel of John chapter 18 it says a cohort of soldiers came against him. That was about 600 soldiers with the temple guards to arrest him. And this was in the darkness of the night and Jesus walked up to that crowd and said, who are you looking for?

And they said, Jesus. And he says, I am he. Now, that's what it says in our English translation. Actually, in the Greek it says I am just like God told Moses at the burning bush. And when Jesus says I am, it says all 600 of them fell to the ground. Jesus was proving what he said in John chapter 10 no man takes my life. I give it up, but no man takes it from me. The reason why he gave himself into the hands of his enemies was because he died for you and me. His death was a substitutionary death.

Last week, I told you that the words in verse 25 in the New American Standard translated displayed publicly or in the King James set forth had two meanings. We only examined one meaning. That meaning was publicly displayed. But what is meant by set forth? Well, Frederick Godet in his commentary on Romans wrote the second sense is obviously the prevailing one in the New Testament. Romans 1:13, Ephesians 1:9 etc. As well as the common use of the noun for that verb denotes God's eternal plan. We can see the use of the noun for the word set forth found in Romans chapter 8 verse 28 Ephesians chapter 1 verse 11 Ephesians 3 verse 11 Acts 17 verse 13.

Well, Godet goes on to say it is natural in this order of ideas to emphasize the fact that God God had foreseen this final moment and had provided himself beforehand with the victim by means of which the expiation was to be accomplished. In other words, what Godet believes the word set forth implies is a divine plan that was established in the eternal counsels of God. Set forth in this context means that God determined before the creation of the universe that his son would die on a cross. But set forth also means not just how he would die, but the mold by which we would get saved.

And that is by faith. So God determined in eternity past that the mold by which people would be able to appropriate to themselves the righteousness of God would be by faith and faith alone. I think it's safe to conclude that this expression set forth or publicly displayed has two meanings. One obviously a spectacle for the world to see and the other referring to the eternal counsel of God and how he determined people would get right with him. But also if you note in verse 25 it says whom God set forth as a propitiation in his blood.

Well, the word propitiation comes from a Greek word. It's translated from the Greek word hilasterion and I'll I'll spell it for you. That's h i l a s t e r i o n. It is used numerous times in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint and it's translated translated the mercy seat. You can just take note in Exodus 25 verses 16 through 19 also Exodus 31 verse 7 Exodus 35 verse 11, Leviticus 16 verse 2 Leviticus also uh 16 verses 13 through 14 and a host of other passages. The Hebrew word for mercy seat is kapporet.

The root of that word is kapar which means covering. We are all familiar with the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. The blood of the paschal lamb was poured out on the mercy seat. On that day by the high priest, it was done once a year. Paul tells us that Jesus is the mercy seat. It says whom God set forth as a propitiation in his blood through faith. The hilasterion, the mercy seat was the covering for the ark. Paul tells us that the blood of Jesus is a covering over our sins. The idea also of this hilasterion is derived from another word which means to appease or to please.

Hence, the basic idea behind propitiation is satisfaction. Jesus' blood satisfied the divine justice of God. When a sinner accepts Jesus, he or she is covered by the blood. God is satisfied. His divine wrath is appeased. Question is, was this true for the people who lived before Jesus? What was their faith? Well, in the New American Standard translation, we have the word forbearance. We also have it in the King James version 2 and that's in verse 25. What does forbearance mean? Well, it actually means to hold back. And I believe that the translators of the King James are right to put that word in the in verse 25.

When it says whom God had set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God Paul is telling us that God held back his wrath against the faithful in the Old Testament, those before the cross by passing over their sins. The idea is that God justified people before the cross when they exercised faith in some revelation that he gave them. Abraham is a classical example of that. Abraham was declared righteous and we will see that when we look at the next chapter, chapter 4 of Romans.

The reason God did this is because the blood of Jesus is retroactive. His blood not only atones for the sins in the present, but went back in the past too to clean that slate. That shows you the power of the blood. So Paul says in verse 25 for a demonstration I say of his righteousness at the present time that he would be just and the justifier of the one who believes in Jesus. The notion of a demonstration needs to be explained. The notion of a demonstration we see in both verses 25 and 26. Righteousness does not mean justification in verse 26.

It is referring to the holiness of God. God's holiness demands that sin be punished. Ezekiel 18:20 says the soul that sinneth it shall die. God would violate his own holiness if he did not punish sin. Ezekiel tells us that the penalty for sin is eternal separation from the presence of God because that is what death means. All sinners will be separated from God to an unending realm of agony and woe. There is only one solution to the plight for the human race and that is the blood of Jesus. God was faced with a dilemma. He wanted to save sinners, but his own holiness demanded that they be damned for eternity.

His righteousness demanded that the price for sin be paid. How did God overcome this dilemma? The answer is the cross. The cross of Jesus enabled the righteous God of the universe to save sinners and not violate one iota of his holiness. He would be just and the justifier. That's what it says in verse 26. What that means is that while he is justifying the sinner, he remains just. The cross in this sense freed God to exercise his mercy because his mercy was predicated on the grounds of justice. Before God could justify the sinner, all the demands of holy justice had to be satisfied.

The cross is not only a revelation of the righteousness of God, but a revelation of his wisdom. It shows how God overcame the dilemma to save sinners. God is free to save the most wretched sinner, no matter what he has done. Vile and filthy he or she may be, God's grace can reach him in the lowest estate. So the cross is a revelation not only of the power of God, but of the wisdom of God. Well, when we get to verse 27, Paul asks three questions. Where then is boasting? It is excluded by what kind of law?

Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Note the three questions. Where then is boasting? Question 1 but by what kind of law? Question 2 of works? Question 3 They're all really saying the same thing. It's really asking the same question. But what is all this mean? Human merit, Paul is telling us, is totally excluded from the work of salvation. Lewis Berkhof wrote in his book Salvation quote the eternal issue of sin was called into question at Calvary's cross and a sufficient substitute stood in the sinner's place until all grounds for condemnation were forever passed and every righteous judgment of God was perfectly met.

Chafer goes on to say they have seen that the very power of God in saving grace has been set free and that God's own wisdom has been disclosed in solving his problem and saving sinners by the cross. End of quote. Well, in reality the heart that boasts of achievement in the work of salvation is blinded by its own false sense of adequacy. Such blindness leads people down the road of prideful boasting and self-reliance. That is why the grounds for boasting in the work of salvation has been removed. Paul asks the question, where is boasting? All who attempt to get right with God through human merit fail to see that God has provided the perfect substitute to pay the price for their sins.

The regrettable retort of such a person who relies on his own his own righteousness is this when presented with the Gospel. I do not need him. I am a good person and I will be able to stand before the tribunal of almighty God and declare that my righteous deeds are sufficient enough to save me from wrath. Such a person is mired down in the delusion of self-importance. He believes he has grounds for boasting, but the cross has stripped us all of such boasting. The Gospel has revealed our depravity our condemnation and our desperate need for a Savior.

That Savior is Jesus. He interposed his precious blood on the cross to save us from a fate of eternal suffering. His blood and his blood alone can make the vilest sinner clean. The hymn writer said, what can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. It is the blood that cleanses. Well, many will object to the claim that I am making from this passage saying that I am making a claim of exclusivity. The claim that Jesus is the only way. Well, I plead guilty because I not I'm not the only one who said that.

Jesus said it. In fact, if you read the Scripture very carefully, that is exactly what Paul is saying. Note his question. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also seeing it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. The apostle Paul masterfully responded to this challenge by his interlocutor. He tells us in verses 29 and 30 of Romans 3 the oneness of God necessitates one way for salvation. There is only one God, so therefore there cannot be multiple ways to get to him.

Jesus said in John 14:6 I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. In Acts 4 verse 12 the apostle Peter said and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 1 Timothy 2:5 reads there is one God and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Jesus said in John 10 verse 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

We're told in Romans chapter 10 verse 9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. In John 8 verse 24 Jesus said, I told you that you will die in your sins. If you do not believe that I am he you will die in your sins. In Acts 16 verses 30 through 31 when the Philippian jailer responded to Paul and Silas in that jail it says then he brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. Scripture is clear. There is no other way. Since there is one God, there are not multiple ways of getting right with that God. Jesus said in John 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. If there were multiple ways of getting saved, the apostle Paul said that Jesus therefore died for no reason at all. So it is clear from the Scripture whether you want to accept it or not, it is clear from the Scripture that there is only one way to get right with God and that is to accept Jesus as Savior.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to today's program. This broadcast is an extension of the ministry of Dr. Lawrence Taylor and the Kenwood Baptist Church. To stream today's message, please go to lawrencetaylorministry.com and click on lawrencetaylorministry/message. Please join us again next week at the same time for Teaching the Word with Dr. Lawrence Taylor.

Guest (Female): as long as you are near please be near me to the end. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And a light unto my path. You're the light unto my path.