Sermon Notes 11-15-2014

The Road to Romans!

We are all hopeless with out Jesus!

Romans 3:19–26 (ESV)

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

²⁰For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

This law is for you!! Or is it??

VS 19-20

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

²⁰For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

• ·      God never intended for the law to provide a means for us to obtain a righteous standing before God
• ·      The law revealed God’s holy character by promoting our knowledge of sin.
• ·      Knowing we are sinful, we have no grounds for criticizing God when He holds us accountable.
• ·      Paul’s intention is to influence our buying decision: to buy into God’s righteousness rather than one obtained through the law.
• ·      He marks the turning point in verse 21: “but now, apart from the law.…”
• ·      The description of God’s righteousness revealed in Jesus sharply contrasts with Paul’s description of the law.

·      The righteousness offered through Jesus is a solution to the problem of sin, not just knowledge of it.

We can now find our righteousness apart from the law!! (there is a “not” so new Sheriff in town)

VS 21-22

²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

·      We can now all be made righteous in Gods sight

·      Sin and the fall separates us from God

·      The first Adam brought death hand only the second Adam (Jesus) can bring life

·      Its has always been in the bible

·      What the Jews missed is that the whole bible is written about Jesus

·      The prophets were writing about Jesus!

·      Gods redemptive plan was always Jesus!

·      And it wasn’t just for the Jews, it was for all who believe

We all have the opportunity to come before God spotless and with out sin because of the work Jesus did!!

We all sin and sin is death!

VS 23

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, We are all sinners!

·      We need to see just how much we need God

·      We cant do it on our own

·      We need to see how desperately we need a savior

·      We need to come to grips with our sin

·      We need to own it

·      We need to know that we are hopeless with out Jesus

·      We all think we are good people

·      But the bible says!

Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)

⁶We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Every one of us in this room fall short daily of the glory of God, the only hope you have is in a savior!

  

And our savior has arrived

VS 24

²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

God showed us grace

·      He didn’t have to

·      But he made us a promise

·      And God keeps his word

·      So God had to show us grace

·      It’s a grace we didn’t deserve

·      It’s a grace we didn’t earn

·      That’s why we call it a gift!

God has given you a gift

Ephesians 2:8 (ESV)

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

·      You did nothing to deserve it

·      God gave it to you freely

·      All you have to do is have faith

·      And the only way you can live for ever is to accept the gift

You are justified!

·      What is justified?

·      You are made right

·      Your sins wiped clean

·      You get a clean slate

·      Your forgiven

·      Given a pass

·      Let off the hook

·      pardoned

How does a sinful man become righteous?

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

²¹For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

·      Martin Luther calls it the great exchange!

o   God made him, Jesus, who is righteous and knew no sin, to become our sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

·      Theologically, we call this double imputation.

·      My sin goes to Jesus. Jesus’ righteousness comes to me.

·      How do you do that? You don’t. It’s a gift. You receive it empty-handed.

·      This is where Christianity is not another religion.

·      This is where Christianity is not another punch list of dos and don’ts to receive a declaration of righteousness in the sight of God.

·      This is altogether different and it’s really good news

The law and Jesus!

Galatians 3:23–26 (NLT)

²³Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

²⁴Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.

²⁵And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

²⁶For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

·      Jesus took our place

·      We are no longer under the law

·      We now try and follow the law through what is called Sanctification

·      Because of our love for Jesus and what he did, we try and become more like him

He is “Just and the Justifier”! God could not ignore our sin!

If God had simply ignored the sin and swept it under the rug, He would have acted unjustly. His character demands payment for the sins committed; anything short of that would have impugned His character (brought Gods character in to question). Our lives are the obvious payment for sin. (Romans 6:23 (ESV) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.)

But God chose a different path, one in which he remained just and also justified us. This option was very costly, since it required the death of His Son as the atoning sacrifice that paid for our sins.