Book of Romans - Ch. 4, Vs. 21-Ch. 5, Vs. 11 (05/26/2002)

We're going to get this on tape. We've decided that a hammer cannot drive a nail.

It takes somebody to hold the hammer. We've decided that a book cannot read.

It takes someone to read the book. The book carries the thoughts of the author to the mind of the reader.

And this is all that Jesus did. The word was brought.

That's why he's called a word, a vehicle. It carried the thoughts of God to the mind of man.

Now, take a giant step. Faith is but a holy conduit.

If you go back where we left off last week,

Romans 4 .21, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform, and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

What was it that was imputed to Abraham for righteousness,

David? The faith is what brought the salvation.

Salvation was not in the faith. Is your presence here today a condition of your being a child of your father,

David? David?

No, it isn't. Is your being here today a condition of your being a child of your father?

No. No is the right answer.

You're not here because you're a child of your father. But without you being a child of your father, you wouldn't be here.

So, the conduit of time has brought you here. I hope you're following.

The same with faith, which is the conduit that brought you salvation.

Now, go back to 21. And therefore, it was imputed to him for righteousness.

The faith was imputed to Abraham, but the faith is not what saved him.

The faith is what brought it, brought him righteousness. Do you follow?

If you don't, say so. That's right.

You're not here because you're a child of your father. But if you hadn't been a child of your father, you wouldn't be here.

The same with faith, which is the conduit that brought you salvation.

But it is not a condition of that salvation. Yes. Well, John, 421 was the last one

I read. Now I'm fixing to switch to John 6.

John 6, 29. Jesus answered them. They had asked him a question, what can we do to do the works of God?

And he said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe on him which he hath sent.

Now, great chances are you've always taken that to mean, well,

I've got to believe to be saved. Well, let's look at it real close.

This is the work of God. That's set off in commas. It's a separate section.

This is the work of God. The work of God is that you believe. Now, how did you believe?

All right. That's what that verse means.

You mean we have the apostates on the run with the labels? Yes, absolutely. It is

God that made you to believe. God the

Father, who appointed his son to be the substitute and representative of the whole elected race, sinners whom he purposed to save, we will believe on God the

Father who conditioned all of the salvation of the elect of Christ alone.

It was all God. All of it. We had nothing to do with it.

You were simply born into this world. That made you eligible to be in the running, but then only a select group were the ones.

We are to believe that Christ has sanctified all of those conditions by his obedience, suffering death on his assurity.

If he had not died, we would not be assured of it. His satisfaction was the actual accomplishment of that righteousness with which

God the Father raised up Christ from the dead. This is the same righteousness which will enable

God to be just and to justify all of those who believe that Christ has satisfied all the conditions of salvation according to God's promise.

Jesus Christ satisfied the Heavenly Father with all of the conditions, and then he died.

He lived the life and he died. Now move on to 23.

Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, going back to Abraham, but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our

Lord from the dead. So we have the very same promise, promise to us, that was made to Abraham, it was imputed to him, it was imputed to us, because we believe.

But, Greg, how do I believe? God made me.

Now, God did not make us against our will. Did he,

Russell? Did he,

Russell? Yes, that's right.

You had nothing to do with your salvation. You are responsible for the after salvation, for the life you live.

But we had nothing to do with acquiring it. Are you all clear on that?

No, no. No, not... Yes. We are responsible for the life we live.

Yet he has ordained all of my life. But I don't know it.

I don't know what's ahead. I don't know beyond this moment. So I'm responsible.

Now, it tells us that it was not written for Abraham's sake alone.

Who was included in that, Greg? All right.

If Christ, according to God's purpose to save, actually established a perfect, infinite righteousness for all without exception, now you'll have to watch me, yet multitudes perish anyway, then

Christ's righteousness has no saving value in it. If Christ, according to God's purpose to save, actually established and perfected infinite righteousness for all without exception, for everybody, yet multitudes perish, then

Christ died for nothing. That cannot be the ground upon which salvation is based.

He did not make it for everybody, only the elect. This would mean that his righteousness alone cannot remove

God's wrath if he established it for everybody. His favor and fellowship nor can it entitle any to eternal blessedness since God's wrath abides on all of those in hell from whom it was established.

So we see that if Christ established it for everybody, then there are those that have died and gone to hell.

What happened? He did not, he did not subscribe to all

I can think of. He did not formulate it for everybody, only the elect.

Am I thoroughly confusing you? All right.

Yes. Yes. That's right.

That's right. That's exactly true.

You didn't know it until a certain time in your life. Romans 4 .25.

Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised up again for our justification. Talking about Jesus Christ.

Now, he was delivered for our offenses and was raised up again for our justification. He was delivered by Judas, delivered to the

Jews. I guess the truth of the matter is that God justifies the ungodly because that's exactly what

I was. Based solely upon the imputed righteousness of Christ, this means that his righteousness alone is sufficient enough and actually results in the removal of God's wrath, the gaining of God's favor, the entitlement of all eternal blessings for all for whom it was established.

The ungodly, one whom God freely justifies, is one who by nature is totally void of righteousness.

Now, it seems rather strange that he would offer righteousness to me, an unrighteous person.

But that's what he did. Only he made me righteous before he offered it to me, before I knew it.

One who previous to justification had never sought after the only true and living

God. Prior to justification in Christ, he was spiritually dead in trespasses and sins.

None are seeking after the true and living God as long as they're trying to establish their own righteousness, and we all did, but we didn't make it.

If you have been justified in Christ, God has justified you and it is impossible for you to perish.

If God justified me, no matter how wrong

I was, how sinful I was, that I was as sinful as the devil, if he justified me, it's impossible for me to perish.

Your sins cannot bring you back under God's wrath. You cannot sin enough to get under God's wrath again.

Because you have already suffered the full punishment due unto each and every sin, not in your own person, but in Christ.

It's impossible for God's law to curse you because you have already rendered perfect obedience to its precepts.

God's law must pronounce you righteous and holy forever, Greg. Not in your own person, but in Christ.

This is a legal standing in which you stand before God's law, righteous now and forever.

For God to again put you under the curse, he would have to put himself under the curse.

And he's not going to do that. Now we open 5.

It opens with the word therefore. What does therefore mean, Greg? Alright, what has already passed, you must remember that.

Being justified by faith, we're justified by faith. We have peace with God through our

Lord Jesus Christ. It is always through Christ we have peace with God.

In Hebrews 12, 1, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Set. What kind of a verb is it, Greg? Once for all.

He was invited to set down because of what he'd done. The word have is perfect tense, once for all.

Peace. Let me ask you, do you feel peaceful inside, or are you always trying to change things in order to feel better?

If you're trying to change things in order to feel better on the outside, you need to work on the inside.

If you can change the outside and you feel better, it won't last. Two, by whom also we have access by faith into his grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The little word access. Russell, can you give me a definition of the word access?

All right, that third part is known by both. But this one doesn't know this one, but the third one does.

Greg, who is that third one in our case? Jesus Christ. He is the go -between.

He knows me, he knows God, and I have access to God through Christ. Stand, perfect, present, once for all.

Rejoice, imperfect, means we rejoice and rejoice and rejoice, and we do and do and do forever.

Three, and not only so, but we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation works with patience.

Boy, that's a hard one for me. I'm sure it isn't for you.

Tribulation is a powerful instrument for increasing our happiness and peace.

You ever think of it like that? When tribulation comes, do you try to get out of it?

We wouldn't grow one bit. That's the purpose of sin. The sinners in this world are doing what they're supposed to be doing, and we're trying to get them to quit.

When we're in tribulation, though, aren't we always looking to get out of it, though?

Sure. I mean, I know it makes us grow, but at the time we're not thinking about growing.

No. But we should be. Now, worketh.

Let's see, what did he say? And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience.

Worketh. That supplies the occasion. Patience. Greg, what does patience mean?

All right. It does not mean that I go sit down in a corner and wait. It's active.

Patience is active. I just never take my eye off the goal. Experience is the trial.

I have found this true, and I hope you have, too. The Lord always gives you an experience after you learn a truth.

When you learn a truth, then here comes the experience to apply it.

Why isn't it the other way around? You wouldn't know it if it was the other way around.

You'd never recognize it. But you have to know the truth before the experience can come.

Expose the truth. Yes. For in patience experience and experience hope.

Hope. Looks like what's to be done, doesn't it?

I have to learn it every day. Some days slips by and I don't learn it.

In Romans 8, 28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love

God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Now, I have always added this verse, and I ask you to always add

Ephesians 1, 11 when you read Romans 8, 28. Ephesians 1, 11,

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

He is working all things. He is making all things good.

So, who is it that sends this event to me?

God. The Lord sent this event. Greg, what if the event is not good?

Everything that leaves God, and that's everything that he sends, is good.

So, everything in the beginning, in the original state, is good.

Do you want to say something? If we say something good happens, that means we receive something pleasurable to us.

But, if God says this is good, then it's all over.

Yes. Maybe it was bad. We should all have what's bad. God says don't have what's good.

That's right. If you look at it from man's view, we invariably will take the low road.

But everything's good. Even if we look at our enemies or something, bad happens to them, we should have good.

Yeah. We're a strange bunch.

Try to look at everything, all of the time, from God's viewpoint. If there's anything

I've tried to teach over the years, it's look from God's side. But, we hear so much from man's side.

That's easy to see. The word ashamed means simply to not be ashamed.

It means you'll have no fear. Love, we love him with a love worthy of himself because it springs from him.

Did you know, are you cognizant of the fact that you cannot on your own love

God? He doesn't hear you. That love comes down from him, and we return it.

It's impossible to originate the kind of love that God requires. Therefore, he is the author of it.

The word shed is present passive. We have nothing to do with having this love.

He has shed it on all of us. The work that we do is not ours.

Rather, it is all his work. Tell me, how is

God's will done in this world? Roger, how is

God's... God's will is going to be done. How is it done? How?

How? All right.

It's done through people. Us and them both. That's right.

That's absolutely right.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.

Without strength, when we were in sin. Now, this due time, that gets caught my attention.

God is exact. He's a mathematician.

Absolute in time, space, and motion. He's absolute.

He made you know at the right moment that you belong to him. Now, you may have thought

I'd put it off. I'll do it next year. That didn't surprise him any.

But when he calls, you answer. You have no choice in it. One cannot accept salvation.

I've almost got all of you to not say that. You cannot accept it.

Because by accepting it, what does it require of us?

That demands a choice on your part to accept or not accept. So, what do we do,

Greg? We receive it. And you have no choice in the matter.

There will be none of God's children in hell. Now, listen to me real tight.

None of God's children are going to hell. And there'll be none of the devil's children in heaven.

So, your good or bad witness to somebody is not going to send them to heaven or hell.

I've had preachers tell me if you didn't go and witness to him, you're going to send him to hell.

I wish I was... Yes. I get so tired of preachers saying people are dying and going to hell because you will not go out and bring them into the church.

I wish I was that. Matthew 121, if you read it in the

Greek, it goes like this. And she will bear a son, and thou shalt call the name of him

Jesus, for he will save the people of him from the sins of them.

Will imperative. Now, does that lessen our responsibility?

This is the first thing people jump on. Well, that means you don't have to do anything. Well, we do.

We'll have to answer for our own will. His will will be done.

Or he's not sovereign. Seventh.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet for adventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

But God commandeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us. We have been saved from the penalty of sin.

He is constantly saving us from the power of sin, and someday he will remove us from the very presence of sin.

While we were yet sinners. This tells us that we're not sinners now. Don't ever say

I'm just a sinner saved by grace. That's looking at it from man's view, and it's putting you ahead of God.

Nine. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him, for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his

Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life, and not only so, but we also joy in God through our

Lord Jesus Christ for whom we have now received the atonement. Start at the back end, atonement.

David, what does it mean? That's right.

The word was first used in Genesis 6, 14.

He's talking to Noah, and he says, Make thee an ark of gopher wood.

Brooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

The little word pitch, we know what that is. It's a black substance that you smear on.

It's atonement. We get the same word.

I mean, the same word gives us atonement, preserves, yes.

Why? Diane, do you want to say something?

That's right. That's it. You are sealed with the

Holy Spirit. He is the seal. He has pitched us inside and out.

Nothing can attack us. We're protected. Now, I know it seems like they attack us, but that's just to get us to grow more.

Yes, yes. Anytime a person comes against you, they're fighting Jesus.

Now, that won't keep you from getting a black eye. Well, one last word about Genesis.

Noah was told to pitch outside and the inside of the ark. This kept them safe from the water.

The atonement keeps us safe and makes it possible for us to enter heaven. Twelve.

Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men that all have sinned.

For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law.

I was looking for another verse. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned.

That is the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one, many, not all, be dead spiritually, much more the grace of God and the gift of grace, which is by one man,

Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. It didn't say abounded unto all.

Many, that's a small group of the all. Go back to twelve. Wherefore, as by one man, one man, sin entered into the world.

Where did sin come from? I'll just ask you where it come from.

David, where did sin come from? That's a pretty safe answer.

On the back, you want to say something? Yes. He originated it.

He decided he didn't need Jesus or God. He was going to raise his own throne higher than God's.

So he was prideful. That tells me the angels were for a time on probation.

And they made a decision. Those that decided to go with Satan, those that didn't.

Then he came down to earth. Now, how long, I don't know. But there was a day in which he talked to Eve.

And he convinced her that God didn't want her to know good and evil.

Because she would be like him then. They knew about the tree.

They knew about good and evil. They had not experienced it. And when she saw it was good.

The word saw tells us that she saw this animal standing there eating one.

They were not prohibited from eating it. He was eating it. And she saw that it was good for food.

And so on. You know that story. I won't talk any more about that, David. I notice, to go back though, you still have to say that sin came from God.

He was over Satan. Or am I in the wrong practice because everything comes from God?

I mean, I won't say that. It would have to come from God because he allowed

Satan to do it because Satan didn't have power over him. Well, you're in an area in which

I'm not well versed. I mean, I'm not. I have thought the same.

David? Yes. Yes.

Sin appeared when you shoved God out. Lucifer shoved

God out. When he did, he automatically becomes sin. There is sin and there is righteousness.

You can't have in between. There's one or the other. And any time at night when we turn all the lights off, it's dark.

It's not almost dark. It is dark. Sin is darkness.

So when Lucifer decided in his mind,

I don't know. He's a spirit. I can't understand all of that. But he decided to raise his throne above God.

Because I'm better than he and God's the one that made him. But when he did that, he automatically sinned.

Sin is the absence of God. That's right.

Well, it makes sense to me.

David, just think that if you do not have

God, you have sin. In the universe, if God's not there, it's sinful.

And we'll stop right here. We're out of time. Yes. We didn't know.

We wouldn't know what sin is unless we had the law.

And we knew what it was, but we can't. All right.

It doesn't exist. I mean, it's frail. Well, we'll take this up next week.

Right at 512 is where we'll start. Before we're dismissed,

Greg, come up quickly. I'm going to hand out this.

I wrote this a long time ago, but I found it again. And I may have already given it to you.

If I have, don't act like it. Just take it as though it's the first time you've seen it.