The Lord has been showing me a whole lot lately about faith, justification, righteousness, the fulfillment of the Law, and several other things related to that. I feel like this is something that we already know intellectually and theologically, but He has just been revealing His Truth in real ways that have been really sweet. It seems like everything just keeps tying back together, too, which is really cool but a big part of the reason it has taken me a long time to get anything written about it. I finally just decided to get it out in pieces. So, here goes...
This morning, Chris Osborne preached from Galatians 2:15-16 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 in a sermon* that nailed a lot of what God has been teaching me about justification as of late, and I ran across John Piper's most recent sermon** over Luke 18:9-14, which deals, again, with justification through Jesus Christ alone. Travis Mitchell also had an insightful blog post about the topic, as well. It's been a little crazy but really sweet to read and hear so much about this topic recently.
The simple fact that Jesus' blood is our only means of being right before the Holy God of all Creation is absolutely amazing. Not only does that mean that I don't have to earn my righteousness before God, but it also reminds me that I can't. We need to have a better picture of who we are and who Jesus is. Paul reminds us in Colossians 2 that we once walked as "sons of disobedience," enemies of God deserving the His full wrath. But, the blood of Jesus has brought us back into perfect fellowship with our Heavenly Father to walk in righteousness by the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The key lies with whose righteousness we walk in. If it is our own righteousness in which we attempt to walk, we will "fall short of the glory of God," as Paul tells us in Romans 3 and will stand only in condemnation. Even recognizing righteousness imparted by the sanctification of God is not enough. Jesus did not come just to grant us the ability to produce righteous works but to actually be righteousness for us. We tend to forget that the downright only way to be justified in the eyes of the Final Judge is to be absolutely perfect, having absolutely no blemish, for every aspect of your being to have been right in both the sight of God and of men. Who can make such an audacious claim? Only the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, the Spotless Lamb! It is by His righteousness that we stand justified before the Holy God of the Universe. My only vindication before a Just God is that the Blood of Jesus has covered over me and He is my righteousness!
The most glorious transaction of history occurs at the Cross of Calvary. "[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21) Wow! Read it again! Jesus Christ knew no sin; He was perfectly blameless. But, He took on all of our sin and shame upon the Cross; He drank the cup that could not pass. Somehow, He makes the miraculous exchange of my sin for His righteousness. Do you understand that? Do you believe that? At first, it might seem right to say, "Thanks, Jesus. I guess I'll just keep drudging through my sin, and You'll forgive me anyway." Brothers and sisters, do not buy into that lie! Let the Truth of the justifying Blood of Jesus grip you! When we really understand the Reality of the Cross in light of the sheer magnitude of our sin and God's holiness, the only possible response is that of the tax-collector in Luke 18: "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" He has looked away from himself and toward God, His only hope for mercy. All the glory belongs to Jesus, as Piper concludes his sermon:
*The audio file of Chris's sermon should be posted on the Central Baptist Church website in the next few days. You may find it here.
**The audio file for Piper's sermon can be found here.
This post categorized under Personal Thoughts and Sermon Commentary.
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Sunday, August 13, 2006 at 10:42 PM. This morning, Chris Osborne preached from Galatians 2:15-16 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 in a sermon* that nailed a lot of what God has been teaching me about justification as of late, and I ran across John Piper's most recent sermon** over Luke 18:9-14, which deals, again, with justification through Jesus Christ alone. Travis Mitchell also had an insightful blog post about the topic, as well. It's been a little crazy but really sweet to read and hear so much about this topic recently.
The simple fact that Jesus' blood is our only means of being right before the Holy God of all Creation is absolutely amazing. Not only does that mean that I don't have to earn my righteousness before God, but it also reminds me that I can't. We need to have a better picture of who we are and who Jesus is. Paul reminds us in Colossians 2 that we once walked as "sons of disobedience," enemies of God deserving the His full wrath. But, the blood of Jesus has brought us back into perfect fellowship with our Heavenly Father to walk in righteousness by the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The key lies with whose righteousness we walk in. If it is our own righteousness in which we attempt to walk, we will "fall short of the glory of God," as Paul tells us in Romans 3 and will stand only in condemnation. Even recognizing righteousness imparted by the sanctification of God is not enough. Jesus did not come just to grant us the ability to produce righteous works but to actually be righteousness for us. We tend to forget that the downright only way to be justified in the eyes of the Final Judge is to be absolutely perfect, having absolutely no blemish, for every aspect of your being to have been right in both the sight of God and of men. Who can make such an audacious claim? Only the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, the Spotless Lamb! It is by His righteousness that we stand justified before the Holy God of the Universe. My only vindication before a Just God is that the Blood of Jesus has covered over me and He is my righteousness!
The most glorious transaction of history occurs at the Cross of Calvary. "[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21) Wow! Read it again! Jesus Christ knew no sin; He was perfectly blameless. But, He took on all of our sin and shame upon the Cross; He drank the cup that could not pass. Somehow, He makes the miraculous exchange of my sin for His righteousness. Do you understand that? Do you believe that? At first, it might seem right to say, "Thanks, Jesus. I guess I'll just keep drudging through my sin, and You'll forgive me anyway." Brothers and sisters, do not buy into that lie! Let the Truth of the justifying Blood of Jesus grip you! When we really understand the Reality of the Cross in light of the sheer magnitude of our sin and God's holiness, the only possible response is that of the tax-collector in Luke 18: "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" He has looked away from himself and toward God, His only hope for mercy. All the glory belongs to Jesus, as Piper concludes his sermon:
Give Jesus Christ his full glory--not half of it. Give him the glory, both as the one who is perfect righteousness for us--which we have by faith alone--and the one who, on the basis of justification, works progressive righteousness in us. Don't rob him of the glory of his role as your righteousness. He is your righteousness. And because he is your righteousness, he can, and will in time, make you righteous. Look to Christ alone, trust in Christ alone--not your righteousness--for your right standing in God's court and your acceptance with him. Amen.Amen, indeed! Let us not miss the unlimited importance of justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone! He truly is our righteousness, restoring us to glorious fellowship with our Creator.
*The audio file of Chris's sermon should be posted on the Central Baptist Church website in the next few days. You may find it here.
**The audio file for Piper's sermon can be found here.
This post categorized under Personal Thoughts and Sermon Commentary.
