The Unchanging Truth

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Unchanging Truth, the verse-by-verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jerod 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. Jerod Gilcher.

Dr. Jerod Gilcher: I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it 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 gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "But the righteous shall live by faith." There it is, you see it there: the righteousness of God.

Yet notice the logic of the text. The first word in the sentence is "for." It's "for," which means he's explaining what he just said. What he just said is that the gospel is the power of God to save. What verse 17 now is doing is explaining the way God saves, or how God saves. How God saves is the righteousness of God.

In other words, when Paul says "the righteousness of God," what he means is the righteousness from God. The righteousness from God, given from God to the believing sinner, by which the sinner is justified, accounted as righteous. Does that make sense? Because you know that one of the problems caused by sin is that before the judgment seat of God, in the cosmic courtroom of God, as it were, we were legally, judicially, and officially guilty. This was not a small thing; this was tragic.

We are internally corrupt and defiled by sin, that is true, but we are also legally condemned and guilty for sin. That is also true. And yet, God has made a way to find sinners not guilty without dropping the charges. He made a way, as if before a court of law, for sinners to be legally, judicially, and officially accounted as righteous, namely through faith in Christ, the righteous one. That's why faith is so critical.

When we put our faith in Christ, we didn't just alter our beliefs or change our theology. No, when we put our faith in Christ, our lives became so inseparably intertwined with His that His perfect, flawless obedience was then transferred to our bankrupt spiritual bank account so that the Father now sees us with the very righteousness of His Son. The fancy theological word for that is called imputation.

This is not new. Paul's not making this up like he has a new thing he's bringing to the table. This goes all the way back to Genesis 15: Abraham believed in Yahweh, and it was counted to him as righteousness. It's what Isaiah said the Messiah would do. Chapter 53: "The righteous one, my servant, will justify the many as he will bear their iniquities."

If you've got the notes, look at Romans 3:21-22. This is astonishing, absolutely incredible. "But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." Did you see that? Righteousness from God for those who believe. That's astonishing.

Or to put it in the words of Paul, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." You may think, "Why are you laboring with this so long? Why take so much time to describe this? I think I get it." The reason why I labor on it is because it's the one that's the hardest for us to love, and it's the hardest for us to truly appreciate. It's the hardest to grasp because we think, "Okay, well, I guess I'm justified. I guess the righteousness of Christ was imputed to me."

You didn't feel it happen. You didn't feel any different when it happened. Of course you didn't. This was a judicial declaration about the state of your soul made in the spirit realm that we were not present to hear or witness. But that doesn't matter at all if we weren't there to see it or hear it. Justification is more real than what you feel because it's based on the sinless life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

This is not a cold legal transaction; rather, it is part of the loving adoption process whereby we were made sons and daughters of the living God. Which is just incredible. And yet again, I'll say we don't love the doctrine the way we should because we don't know how to view our lives from two different perspectives. We still sin now today, and that's all we can see tangibly, physically, empirically with our eyes. We still sin, and it makes our souls grieve.

But the Bible's clear about this, that there is a legal verdict and status before the Father that never, ever changes. When we put our faith in the righteous one, legally, officially, cosmically, His very righteousness became our own. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh may I then in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. I've got to be sure you get this. Is it your confession and your conviction this morning that the only basis by which you are accepted by God is the righteousness of Christ alone and not any work of merit in you? Is that where you're at? Have you despaired in your worthless works to save you and cast yourselves upon Jesus Christ alone for His redemptive achievements?

If that's not where you're at, then you do not know the Lord. You need to yield and come to Him in saving faith. That theology, works salvation, only leads to condemnation. I hope you see why this is sweet and precious beyond all measure. I really believe that one of the ways we go wrong in our lives, one of the things that makes us unnecessarily struggle, is our propensity to focus on the self. To think about self, to be centered on the self, that's where we go wrong.

Two things happen when we focus on the self: either pride or despair. Either self-righteousness or hopelessness. And justification saves us from both. The saving righteousness of God humbles the heart and crushes pride because the only reason why we are not in hell right now is because we have been acquitted by the righteousness of another. On the other hand, justification frees us from despair, doesn't it?

It frees us from despair because we look inside our heart, and what do we see? The slime of sin in every motive, deed, thought, and word. It's everywhere. It's in everything. We cannot get away from it. Romans 7:18: "There is nothing good in me, that is, in my flesh." And that is enough to drive us to despair. And yet, in Christ, the verdict remains unchanged. You are forgiven, you are cleansed, you are reconciled, and to top it all off, you are righteous in the Son, declared righteous in the Son.

No wonder this is good news. And yet it raises the question, doesn't it? Let's really wrestle with this. Let's really challenge this. Why, Paul? We've heard our whole lives that you can't be saved by your works. Tell us why that's true. The gospel saves those who believe. That's what you say. John 3:16: "whoever believes will not perish." Galatians 3:26: "you are sons of God through faith in Christ." Ephesians 2:8: "By grace you have been saved through faith."

But does that mean that works never play a part in earning salvation? Even just a few? A few gems of merit added to the treasure of grace? A few dollar bills of human achievement nailed to the cross to help pay the ransom? That seems reasonable. That seems perfectly logical. Except what Paul says in verse 17. Look at what he says. In the gospel, the saving righteousness of God is revealed. From faith to faith, as it is written, "The righteous will live by faith."

There it is: from faith to faith, literally from faith unto faith. Meaning it started with faith and it ends with faith. We are justified by faith in the beginning and all the way to the end of our lives, we are still justified by faith. Never once does a single work of merit in any way contribute to our acceptance with God. It's always and only by faith alone. After we get saved, we should pursue good works with radical zeal. But those are never meant to be the evidence that God should save you; those are only the evidence that God has saved you.

Paul says in Galatians 2:16, in a lecture to the Apostle Peter of all people, "because we know that a man is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not from the works of the law, because from the works of the law no flesh will be justified." How many times does he have to say it?

And yet we might wonder why. Why can't works play a part? Is it just because God said so, just arbitrarily declared it? No, it's because of the nature of what sin is. The nature of what sin is makes salvation by works utterly impossible. Sin makes salvation by works utterly impossible. Sin isn't just doing some naughty things or merely breaking the rules. God can't sweep sin under the rug of the universe and pretend like it didn't happen.

Rather, sin is an infinitely evil crime against an infinitely worthy God which deserves an infinite punishment. Scraping together a few good works doesn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. It doesn't repair the damage done to the glory of God. In fact, even the best deeds, the very best, most pristine deeds that an unbeliever can do as an attempt to earn salvation are still worthy of eternal hell forever.

That's why faith, the empty hands of faith, is how one is reconciled to God and counted as righteous. Think about the people in the gospels that Christ encountered. Or the people that He talked about in parables and illustrations. Think about those people. Who do you see? There's the woman at the well. There's the tax collector in the temple. The paralyzed man lowered through the roof. The prodigal son returned. Blind Bartimaeus on the road. The crucified thief. Lazarus in the tomb.

What are they? Real people, or used in real parables that Christ taught, but they are proof, aren't they? They are proof that salvation is not acquired with skills and a resume. They had nothing to offer but sins that needed cleansing. They had nothing to offer but guilt that needed grace. They had nothing in which to boast except weakness and rebellion. It had to be by grace and by grace alone, in utter despair of any human ability to appease the wrath of God with works.

And if you think about it, we were those people. We were them. We were the woman at the well: adulterous and nothing to boast in. We were the tax collector in the temple: beating our chest and begging for mercy. We were the paralyzed man lowered through the roof: a spiritual cripple and nothing to offer. We were the prodigal son: wicked and rebellious and hoping for compassion. We were blind Bartimaeus: beggars needy for redemption. We were the crucified thief next to Jesus: condemned. And we were Lazarus in the tomb, weren't we? Dead and stuck in sin.

That's why the phrase "from faith to faith" is so freeing and joyful because beginning to end we trust in the grace of our matchless Redeemer. Like any good theologian, Paul proves his point with Bible. He cites Scripture to prove his point. One thing you have to understand is that Jews in Paul's day thought that there was a Paul-flavored spin of the gospel that had a Paul rendition of things that was different from what the Bible taught and it was unique.

They didn't like this "faith alone" doctrine. They felt for sure there had to be some sort of contribution of good works. And so what does Paul do but decimate their arguments by quoting the Bible? At the end of verse 17, "In the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, even as it has been written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" To prove the point about faith alone, he quotes the Old Testament, and in particular, Habakkuk 2:4. Who does that?

Who knows the Bible that well that you quote Habakkuk to prove a theological point about salvation by faith alone? Paul did. Because it's proof that the message Paul preached is as ancient as the prophets, and the message of Habakkuk is clear. It is jarring and clear: the wrath and judgment of God is coming. Destruction and tribulation are coming; they are on their way. And yet, it is the righteous, it is the righteous who will live with God in the glory of His kingdom.

Who are the righteous? How does He define them? That's kind of a big deal. Who are the righteous? Look at what he says: the righteous shall live by faith. By trust. In glad-hearted submission to the one whose worth and merits bought their salvation and grants it as a gift by grace alone through faith alone. That is who will be with God in the splendor of His kingdom. Those who trust.

And that's why Paul's eager and unashamed. What's to be ashamed of? What's to be afraid of here? And that's his point: there is nothing. And you have to understand that the explaining and unfolding of verses 16 and 17, that is the rest of the letter. That is what Paul is going to do. And of course, this leads me to ask you: have you believed this gospel? Is this the gospel that you believe?

In fact, let me do this. I'm going to close my sermon by quoting from the dead. And by that, I mean Jonathan Edwards. I just finished his book for the second time, Religious Affections. Hauntingly relevant, piercingly powerful. He wrote it in 1754 and he poses these questions in one of the chapters. And these are the questions I pose to you. They are weighty and they are huge, and depending on your answer reveals the state of your soul.

Number one: do you solemnly profess that in your life you came to a sense and full conviction of your own utter sinfulness and misery and that you were justly deserving of God's eternal wrath? Number two: did you come to the point in your life where you understood the utter insufficiency of your own righteousness or anything in you, for that matter, to satisfy divine justice or recommend you to God's favor?

Number three: do you only and entirely depend on the Lord Jesus Christ and His satisfaction and His righteousness? Number four: do you with all your heart believe the truth of the gospel of Christ and have a full conviction of His perfect sufficiency as Savior exhibited in the gospel? Number five: do you with your whole soul cleave to Him and acquiesce in Him as the refuge and rest of your soul and fountain of your comfort?

Number six: have you repented of your sins and utterly renounced all sin and given yourself up wholly to Christ, subjecting yourself to Him as King? Number seven: do you seek to live in dependence on His promises of a future kingdom and do you renounce all enjoyments of this vain world? He doesn't mean that you can't like lattes; he just means sin. Do you renounce all other things in place of Christ, selling all for this great treasure and future inheritance by faith in Christ?

Number eight: do you by God's grace desire to comply with every command of God? He doesn't say "do you perfectly comply"; he says "do you desire to comply" with every command of God, no matter how difficult and self-denying, and devote your whole lives to the service of God? Finally, number nine: are you resolved to extend forgiveness to those who have hurt you and wronged you and to live united with the church and to love them unconditionally as your spiritual family?

That is what it means to believe. That is what a Christian is. That's the fruit of faith. And so like the church in Rome who had famous faith, may we live these things by His grace for the glory and fame of Jesus Christ in whose grace we stand, whose love we own, and whose very righteousness is ours forever and ever. Amen.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us for The Unchanging Truth, the verse-by-verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jerod 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 ccbiblechurch.com. You'll find ministry services and additional teachings there as well. Just click on the resources tab to get started. That's ccbiblechurch.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.