The Unchanging Truth

Guest (Male): Welcome to the unchanging truth, the verse by verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jared Gilcher, lead pastor of Christ Community Bible Church in Arlington, Texas. Through the living and active word of God, the unchanging truth exists to encourage your soul, transform your life, and help you trust and treasure Christ as redeemer, savior, and king. Now, opening the scriptures and proclaiming the truth that never changes, here is Dr. Jared Gilcher.

Dr. Jerod Gilcher: But now because of sin, instead of people reigning over the earth, they, us, we, the human race, are reigned, are ruled by a darkness within that has the power to send people to hell forever. We have forgotten, beloved. We have forgotten how weird cemeteries are, how weird funerals are, how weird death is. This is not the way it was to be. And all of it is a genetic curse as sin spread to every soul in every age and every place and no matter what you do and no matter where you go, there is no escape.

So, what's the result? I I mean, unless God intervenes and finds a way to deliver hell deserving sinners, verse 18, through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men. There it is. Without the second Adam, we are sunk. We are hopeless. You have to understand our first Adam, our father Adam, was our representative and he had the opportunity to either preserve the joyful state of perfection through obedience or he could plunge the human race into ruin and destruction through disobedience, and he chose plan B. So, do you see now the problem of being in Adam or should I say problems?

We are sinners. Get this. We are sinners by nature. We are sinners by choice. And we are sinners by imputation. The the sin and guilt of Adam imputed to us. We we're guilty of sin in three different ways, naturally, willfully, and judicially. And and and being Adam's sons, all the effects of his sin cascaded down to us so that we are all born spiritually dead and guilty and hopeless and condemned. We we lost that original righteousness we had to have to have fellowship with God. And now all of Adam's tragic guilt and sin has been imputed to us.

Do you see? We were doomed even before we left the womb. And so the question becomes on this side of the garden. How can human beings be reconciled to God who is their maker, redeemer, and judge? How? Other way I love to ask it is how can hell deserving sinners be reconciled to God and counted as righteous? You feel the dilemma? And the answer is the solution is the second Adam, the true and greater Adam to to save the human race from the inside out, who would be righteous God himself in human flesh and by faith in him and the death that he died would solve every single dilemma caused by sin including the righteousness we need to stand before God.

In other words, some very carefully, God made a way to righteously righteously the unrighteous to declare them righteous and adopt them as sons which brings us to part two. To part two, what is justification by faith? Jared, what is this thing you're talking about, the the righteousness of God? Because if I'm being honest with you, it feels a little technical. It feels a little heady and academic and intellectual, but it's not. It's not that. I mean, it is deep. It is profound. It might require a deeper level of analysis and contemplation, but but you have to understand there is there is a reason why every single letter of the New Testament in one way or another mentions justification by faith precisely because God thinks you need this.

Cuz you do. So, number two, part two, a definition of justification. A definition of justification because now we know why we need it. We were born guilty. In the cosmic court of the Almighty, we were officially, judicially, and cosmically guilty of sin. We were condemned. And the Bible is clear about this, beloved, and you know this. We just have to we just have to establish the facts here. God must punish sin. And good works are not going to cut it. You know that God is a righteous judge with zero capacity to tolerate sin. His holy nature is the standard of the universe.

And thus for him to be righteous and for him to be God, he must judge every single person by the standard of his holy perfection. And and one could possibly maybe wonder, well, why not? Why aren't good works enough? Why couldn't we cobble together enough good works to maybe somehow earn or merit our justification back and be right with God? Why can't this work? Why couldn't we keep the Ten Commandments or something else and gain our acceptance with God? And the answer is, of course, the nature of sin. Right? The nature of what sin is makes salvation by works absolutely impossible.

You understand sin is not just breaking the rules. It's not just it's not just merely doing some naughty things. No, I said it last week. Sin is an infinitely evil crime against an infinitely worthy God which deserves an infinite punishment and scraping together of a few good works doesn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. It doesn't repair the infinite damage done to the glory of God. And yet, and yet, the righteous God has made a way to righteously punish sin and pardon guilty sinners all at the same time. God has made a way to find sinners not guilty without dropping the charges.

Or put it like this, God made a way as if before a court of law for sinners to be legally, judicially, and officially counted as righteous, namely through faith in a redeemer who dies for the guilty. This is the heart of the gospel, isn't it? That the love of God made a way for the wrath that sinners deserve may be placed upon another, upon a substitute who stands in their place and then God executes his furious righteous wrath on that substitute as if he were the one who committed all those sins. And those who come with the empty hands of faith and trust in him alone get his payment for sin transferred to their account.

Is that the gospel that you believe? Is that the gospel that you believe? Cuz that's the only gospel there is. And here's the thing. And here's this gets back to justification now. Listen carefully. In the exact moment that you put your faith in Christ, at that exact precise moment, a declaration was made in heaven that you were not there to witness or hear. In the galactic courtroom of the Almighty as it were, in which you previously stood condemned upon your profession of faith in Christ, there was in that moment a transaction, a legal, judicial, official declaration where you you were not only declared not guilty and forgiven, but you were even counted as righteous.

Do you see? That's what we're talking about. That's justification because in that moment all of the faultless, flawless, perfect, righteous obedience of the son was transferred to your bankrupt spiritual bank account so now that the father sees you with the very righteousness of his son. That's justification. And that's incredible. One writer put it like this. It's in your notes. The obedience of Christ to the father's will and commands, get this, becomes hours by faith in union with him. It is on this basis that a believer is reckoned as righteous by God. It's it's it's incredible to me that that's the beauty of the death of Christ.

Is it not? When when when we put our faith in Christ, it's not as if the balance was brought to zero or that we merely broke even or that God merely settled a score. No, in the Supreme Court of the sovereign one who dwells in unapproachable light that no one in our condition has seen or can see, we were not merely just forgiven. We were counted as righteous. It's astonishing. And here we got to be clear about this. We got to be clear about what we're talking about. You you understand justification is not a change in your nature.

It is a change in your status and position before God. It is once for all. It does not change and it does not fluctuate depending upon the performance of the believing sinner. And and no, it is true. You didn't feel anything when it happened. This was a judicial declaration about the state of your soul that happened in the spirit realm that you were not personally there to witness or to hear, but that doesn't matter at all. It's more real than what you feel. Do you know why? Because your justification is 100% dependent upon the sinless life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ himself.

You you have to understand, should we understand, beloved, what it is that transpired at the cross and all that Christ accomplished? The doctrine of justification no longer feels like this cold legal transaction, but instead part of a loving adoption process whereby we were reconciled to God as sons and daughters of the living God. That's what this is. Does that make sense? It's just incredible. And yet, I will say we do not love this doctrine nearly the way we should. Do you know why? Because we don't know how to view our lives from two different angles.

I've said this before. We we still sin today and that that grieves us. And that's all we can see and it fills us with grief and sadness. But you see the Bible is clear that there was also a legal verdict and status before the father that never ever changes. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus's blood and righteousness. We dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus's name. When he will come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before his throne.

I hope you see this or are beginning to see that not only how this doctrine brings the most glory to Christ, but how this doctrine brings hope to a wearied and struggling soul. It's it's hard, isn't it? It's hard to live in a fallen world with all of our struggles and not assume that when you we stand before Christ on that day, he will be their arms crossed, scowl on his face, foot tapping, just waiting to scold us for our our sins and our failures and our stupidity. No. No, the great king and redeemer who chose us and made us and bled for us will greet us and embrace us and he will rejoice over us.

Isaiah 61 says like a like a husband on his wedding day. Why? Not because we are particularly lovely, but because by faith in him we are clothed with his very righteousness. And so, this we've just got to see. If if this is true and this is real and this is not pretend and this is not a legal fiction and it's not that we have got to see this from the pages of scripture which we're going to do right now, part three. Part three, a display of justification. A display of justification, meaning we need to see from the Bible that this is true.

If we're going to put our faith in this, we're going to put our joy in this. We're going to see this as the doctrine on which the church stands or falls, then we have to anchor our faith in the sacred text which is exactly what happened to Martin Luther. I have to do this. In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther was in his study. A low lit room candle on the desk, Greek New Testament open to Romans chapter one in a particular verse 17. He's preparing a lecture on Romans at the university. That's what that's what monks did in that day.

And and which you have to understand is that Martin Luther was not a a true Christian in in any sense of of the term. He is a typical Roman Catholic seeking to obtain his own salvation through the contribution of his own good works. And and yet, he didn't understand salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, glory of God alone. He he did not get that. And yet, here he is deep in meditation on Romans 1:17, agonizing over the text and what it means. And here is what he said.

Listen carefully. I had indeed been captivated with an extraordinary ardor for understanding Paul in the epistle to the Romans. But up until then it was a single phrase in chapter one, verse 17 that stood in my way, namely the righteousness of God. I hated that phrase the righteousness of God which according to Catholic tradition I had been taught to understand the righteousness of God with which he punishes the sinner. And though I lived as a monk without reproach, I knew that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that his wrath was appeased by by my good works.

I did not love. No, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners. I was angry with God. And thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Do you hear his issue? God is righteous. I am not. I work my fingers down to the bone to be counted as righteous by God. But no matter what I do, it's never enough. And I know it's never enough. How how could I possibly cobble together enough good works to appease the righteous wrath of this God? He he knew that no matter what he did, he was doomed. He was doomed because God is righteous and he was profoundly unrighteous.

That's exactly the case. But you see here's here's the thing. Here's the the suspense of the story. As he studied Romans 1:17, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope because as he studied the text in its context, it seemed to challenge the traditional Catholic interpretation. And so, listen to what he says. Nevertheless, I beat unrelentingly upon Paul at that place in Romans, most ardently desiring to know what he wanted. At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, the righteous shall live by faith.

And there I began to understand, listen carefully, that the righteousness of God is that which God gives to the sinner by faith, that through faith in the gospel we are counted as righteous as a gift of God and that on the basis of faith we are justified before the merciful God. Here I understood. Here I felt all together born again and and felt as though I had entered through open gates into paradise itself which is exactly what he happened what happened. And so, you hear what happened to him. You hear what he saw, right? The exact same thing that you and I are going to see in Paul's letter to the Romans right now.

So, turn to chapter one, 16 and 17. And guess what we're going to do? We're just going to walk through all of Romans to see how the righteous God righteously righteously the unrighteous. Chapter one, starting in verse 16, Paul declares the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, in the in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. And there's that phrase, that massive phrase, the righteousness of God.

It's massive. Because here's the thing you need to understand. It's not just that the gospel saves, beloved. It's how the gospel saves. You see, righteousness, it isn't only a perfection of God. It isn't just his attribute. No, get this. Righteousness describes God's saving activity. It's the way he saves sinners, namely by giving them his own righteousness in and through his son. Righteous isn't just what God is. Righteous is what God gives to the believing sinner. And all of that is crammed in that tiny little monumental phrase, the righteousness of God which Paul literally takes the rest of the letter to unfold because look what he says in the very next verse, verse 18.

For the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. You you see you see the logic, don't you? The reason why all people need the saving righteousness of God in the gospel is precisely because they are profoundly unrighteous. And not just that, they suppressed the truth in further unrighteousness. And then for the next two chapters, going all the way to chapter three, verse 20, Paul beats the drum of the depravity of man, belaboring the case that human beings are woefully unrighteous and under the wrath of God.

Chapter one, you remember the condemnation of the nations. Chapter two, the condemnation of the Jews. Chapter three, add them together, what do you have? Notice chapter three, verse 10. Turn there, chapter three, verse 10. There is no one righteous, not even one. Righteous at the top of the list. Imagine that. And then he goes on, there was no one who understands. There's no one who seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. There is no one who does good. There is not even one. And then look down at verse 19. Judgment is coming.

The world is doomed. It's hopeless. And there isn't a darn thing that you or I or anyone else can do about it. Look at the end of the verse. Why? By the works of the law no flesh will be justified before him because through the law comes knowledge of sin. Did you see that word there? Justified. Do you see it in the text? Justified. The point is clear. No good works of any kind whatsoever can in any way earn a righteous standing with God. It's hopeless. They don't clear the guilt. They they don't they don't they're not powerless.

They're they they're they're powerless to make you right with God. They don't have the leverage, the buying power to redeem your soul. They're worthless. But notice verse 21. Apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets. What does it mean? It means God revealed away that sinners may be justified. There is a way to receive the saving righteousness of God. But how? How do we get that righteousness if it's not by works of any kind, then how do we get it? Verse 22. Even, notice very carefully, there's glory in the grammar, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, notice for all those who believe.

Do you see? Righteousness isn't just what God is. It is what God gives. It's for the believing sinner. And then how does this work? Because it it sounds like a legal fiction. Like we're we're just pretending this is real. No, it is more real than anything because the way we got justified was through the wrath bearing payment of the son of God. Look at verses 24 and 25. We are justified as a gift by his grace. Here it is through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Here it is whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation through faith in his blood because in the forbearance of God he passed over sins previously committed.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us for the unchanging truth, the verse by verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jared Gilcher and Christ Community Bible Church in Arlington, Texas. At Christ Community Bible Church, we exist to prize, portray, and proclaim the supremacy of Christ as we trust in his word and wait for his return. We hope today's teaching has encouraged your soul and helped you trust and treasure Christ as your redeemer, savior, and king. If you're in the DFW area and looking for a church home, join us for worship Sunday mornings at 10:30. To learn more about the mission of the church, meet the pastoral staff or plan a visit, go to cc biblechurch.com.

You'll find ministry services and additional teachings there as well. Just click on the resources tab to get started. That's cc biblechurch.com. Join us again next time as we open the scriptures together and proclaim the truth that never changes. This has been the unchanging truth. *