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Pastor David Mitchell
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 13, please appreciate this special music today and Prepares my heart for the message and I know it does yours, too. I want to speak to you this morning about being justified by and through the faith of Jesus.
And I'd like to use as a springboard for this message. The the last part of our session on the parables if you remember we were teaching on the parables and we stopped After talking about the parable of the pearl of great price.
So look with me if you would in Matthew chapter 13 in verse 44 through 46. You have two parables here one deals with the treasure hidden in a field and the other deals with pearl. Most of you Were here when we preached on those most of you will remember that the treasure hidden in the field represents Israel.
Or I should say to be more specific the elect Of Israel and in in verse 45 and 46 it talks about the pearl of great price that represents the true church. So let's read those verses. Follow along with me.
It says again The kingdom of heaven is likened to a treasure hid in a field the which when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and Buyeth that field and again The kingdom of heaven is likened to a merchant man seeking goodly pearls who when he hath found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it and I want to you were want you to review just a little bit and Remember what we learned about these parables.
First of all, we mentioned already that verse 44 where we speak of the treasure that is the elect of Israel The Old Testament Saints you might put it that way. I want to read you a verse. You don't need to take time to look this one up in Exodus 19 5 It calls the children of Israel a peculiar treasure Unto God and then in Psalm 135 for once again it says for the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
So the treasure that was hid in this field is Israel and more specifically than that is kind of interesting because in the the word treasure there in verse 44 is the word Thessalonians and You you know what that means in English.
Most of you know what a thesaurus is it's a treasure of words but this word in the Greek language literally does not mean the treasure, but it means that which holds the treasure and So I think that it pictures the nation of Israel Which held the treasure which was the elect of the children of Israel.
Now, what's the difference? Well, all of them were circumcised, but they were not all circumcised of heart and So the thing that held the treasure was the nation itself but the treasure were God's children within that and so the Bible says very clearly in verse 44 that Jesus Christ who is this man Came and he sold everything that he had he gave his all and he purchased the field Which is the world and there's where we come into John 3 16 for God so loved the world.
He loved this whole entire cosmos or his creative order so much that he gave his son Jesus and when Jesus died he one of the things that he did was he bought that place that held this treasure and This treasure was the elect of in other words the Old Testament Saints now the pearl of great price which is found in verse 45 and 46 is The New Testament Saints and the way how do we know that?
Well think about What a pearl is just for a moment it says that this man found a pearl of Great price. It's kind of interesting when it says and when a man hath found In the Greek language, it's in the aorist tense, which means this when he found it exactly at the right point in time.
What did he find one pearl? Well now the other was treasure. So it dealt with something that held a lot of treasure. But when we speak of the pearl, it's one pearl and It's interesting in Romans 12 5.
It says so we being many are one body in Christ and in Ephesians 4 4 I'm out. He either came late or early today, didn't he usually come during Sunday school? Okay Ephesians 4 4 talks about the fact that there is one body one spirit.
One Lord one faith one baptism. So the thing about this is there is a unity that's pictured by the pearl. Another thing is if you remember that a pearl is formed within a living organism. It is you might say it this way treasure is found.
But pearls are formed and there's an important difference there because this speaks of the formation of the church in Corinth 2nd Corinthians 5 17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature and this word for creature literally means original formation or to Manufacture or fabricate something and so we see the Lord forming the church in Matthew 16 18.
He talks about building my church and this word for bill literally means to construct to be a house builder so we see that the pearl is actually formed whereas on the other hand treasure would just be found and so there is a difference there.
Another thing about the pearl is that it requires the presence of a parasite or A particle of grain or or a grain of sand I should say Inside the oyster which creates an irritation and that brings about the pearl.
Now think about the picture there. We might think of 2nd Peter 2 24 where it says who his own self bear our sins in his own body. On the tree. We were like a parasite if you want to let a parasite picture sin.
We were that which irritated brought irritation and yet that air that very irritation Played a part in the production of a pearl so we see how this pictures a lot of things. Another thing is the body in which the pearl is formed.
Deposits a secretion around that irritating grain of sand or whatever and that's really what makes the pearl so there's Secreted something that is a covering that covers that grain of sand which in the beginning was the irritation.
Think about Revelation 6 11 when it speaks of white robes which were given unto every one of them in Revelation 7 14 says these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the land.
So we're covered with this beautiful white garment this righteousness of Jesus Christ. Also pearls come in many shapes and colors in Revelation 5 9 and Revelation 5 11 speak of the fact that he has redeemed us unto God out of every kindred tongue people and nation and.
Then another thing is that pearls reflect and refract light. Matthew 5 14 and following talks about how we're the light of the world. We're the reflection of the light of Jesus Christ. And another interesting thing about pearls.
It takes about three years for them to form now. He went and he sold all that he had in this word had in the Greek Indicates possessions and abilities and we find in Hebrews 2 9 that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels.
We find in Philippians 2 6 that he made himself of no reputation. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death. And so we see that he sold all that he had he gave up all that he had to to do this to bring this great salvation to us and then it says he bought the pearl and this comes from the Greek word Agorazo, which means to go to market.
It's a slave market term. He went into the slave market and he found us For sale, and he purchased us with his own blood and redeemed us. So we see all these things we remember these things now, I'd like for you to turn to Romans chapter 3 and We're gonna look we're gonna begin looking at verse 22.
And we're gonna kind of study this passage this morning. But I want to go to the end of the passage and look at verse 30 and we'll read back towards it again in a moment. But let's read it first seeing it as one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith.
And I want us to think about This morning the difference between these two little words by and through. You see how it says he'll justify the circumcision. That's the Jew and let's just put it this way the Old Testament Saint.
It's not the Jew of today because Jews today are saved just like Gentiles because we're in the we're in the church age. But if you go back to the Old Testament Dispensation the Old Testament Saint it says that these people Are justified by faith and you come on this side of the cross into the church age and it says that the Uncircumcision are saved through faith Gentiles.
It would apply to the Jews as well. But the Gentiles can be saved in this dispensation without becoming a Jew and So we are saved through faith the Old Testament Saints were saved by faith and I want to talk about the difference between those two words this morning and The beauty that we have this side of the cross.
So let's go back now to verse 22 and let's kind of begin this passage with that verse. We're gonna see the righteousness of God we're gonna see the justification of God and we're gonna see the propitiation of God and we're gonna see how it relates to this little word being saved through faith.
As contrasted with being saved by faith. Now notice in verse 30 that the faith that we're talking about is the faith of Jesus Christ. We'll we'll see that when we read it right here in verse 22. It says even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.
We've been brought up in Baptist circles and probably other denominations the same way into thinking that we're saved by our faith. Wouldn't you say that's true? I mean we believe that we were taught that as children.
We grew up thinking that way and Actually as we look at the Bible we see that we're not saved by our faith because our faith is imperfect we're saved by Jesus's very own faith and that faith is a gift that God gives to us at the moment of salvation and So it says very clearly in verse 22 even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ so when we go to verse 30 and We see that the circumcision were justified by faith.
That's still a reference to the faith of Jesus Christ and the uncircumcision through faith through the faith of Jesus Christ but I want you to see the difference of by and through because it shows you why it is that so many times the Apostle Paul back when we studied our lesson on the law versus grace that he says that the law is like beggarly elements compared to what we have now and.
The difference between the word by and through will show that very vividly this morning now in verse 22 We start to talk about the righteousness of God and we see several things about it. First of all, it is by Faith and this little word by is the word DIA.
And it really should be translated through. Because the Greek word that normally is translated by is a different word that we're gonna see when we get to verse 30 again in A few moments, but we see here that it's that righteousness is by our DIA, which means through.
So you might read it this way even the righteousness of God, which is through the faith of Jesus Christ. Now think about the difference between the word through and the word by. We'll get a little bit ahead of ourself here because that's where we're headed in verse 30, but think about the difference.
You might say that the baseball was hit by the bat. Okay, that's one way to use the word by or you might say that the ship went through the channel. Now, do you see the difference because to go through something you also have to be in it.
You can't go through without being in it or you go back to the baseball the bat hits the ball. The ball was hit by the bat and the ball goes through the air. So it has to be in the air to go through the air.
So through carries the idea not just of somebody doing something that causes something but the fact that you are in that thing and it causes it to happen and so we see that righteousness of God first of all is by the Greek definition for the word DIA is the channel of an act.
The channel of an act if you want to put it into simple words, it just means through or in. So the righteousness of God comes through or in something. That's the first thing that we see now the second thing we see in verse 22 is that the thing that it is in and through is the faith of Christ.
Now this word faith comes from the little Greek word peace peace, which means persuasion. Reliance upon trust and adherence. To do you notice how that's different than the English word believe? The English word believe just means mental assent of something but the Greek word peace this would mean literally means to be totally persuaded and Therefore to trust and rely upon and to adhere to or to stick to like glue.
And it's a much stronger word and it is this kind of faith that the Lord Jesus Christ had and it is this faith of Christ. That righteousness is by and it's not really by it. I just don't like that translation.
It's in it. It it's a it's a richer word it's in and through it and so we see in Galatians 2 16. And a couple of other verses where it speaks of this. It says knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
Doesn't say in Jesus Christ it says the faith of Jesus Christ goes on and says that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and Not by works of the law. Isn't that amazing? We're justified by his faith not ours.
But what God does at the point of salvation is he gives us this is a gift. For by grace are you saved through faith? It is a gift of God. The Bible says it's a gift a beautiful gift because we just don't have it.
How many times in your life before you learn these principles? Did you try to work up belief by going Lord? I believe. Now we're gonna make this happen. I Convinced myself. See that's that's mental ascent of something but When God gives you the very faith of Christ this perfect faith.
It's a whole different ballgame. So we think of this. Let me ask you a question. Can you think of anybody unless let's say other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you think of a single? Bible character or can you think of anyone in your own life?
Including yourself or your mama. Anybody you love a whole lot in your life or have known about or studied or any Bible character in the whole Bible. Can you think of one person who had perfect faith and by that I mean this they always Believe that what God said was absolutely true and acted accordingly.
You see Adam loved his wife and His wife believed Satan. Not God. Cain believed himself and had his own way to try to worship God, but he didn't believe God's way was right. Abraham believed that. Well, let's put it this way he believed in his wife and his handmaid more than he believed in God.
He just wasn't sure God was telling him the truth when he said you'll have a son. Moses believed in the the power of his own hand and the rod that he carried when he smoked that rock the second time when God told him not to.
So he believed that was more important than what God said. David believed in his own flesh with Bathsheba more than he believed that what God said was true when he said thou shalt not commit adultery.
Jonah believed in his own idea of justice. More than believing what God said would be right. Peter believed in his own idea the kingdom of God and that Jesus the Messiah would come and set up a kingdom right then and There more than what Jesus thought about the kingdom of God.
Paul had his own ideas about witnessing to Rome and the timing of that and Several people as the Holy Spirit spake through them told him not to go to Rome. So I can't think of a single character if I take the greatest characters of the Bible.
None of them believed that God was right. They believed they were right. So who is the only one who ever believed that God was right. Well I can only think of one man who could say this and He that sent me is with me.
The father hath not left me alone for I do always those things which please him. I Can only think of one man who says this. I speak not of myself. But the father that dwelleth in me he doeth the works that I do.
Jesus said everything I do. It's the father working in me everything John 17 for I can only think of one man that says I have finished the work that thou gave me to do. How many of us would say I think I've done?
Everything I should have done. I Mean, I'm completely right with God and have done everything I should have done. And don't have any regrets. Well, most of us think we could have done more but Jesus said I've finished everything that he gave me to do.
John 12 49 for I have not spoken of myself. He said He says whatsoever. I speak therefore even as the father says this to me. That's what I speak. I can only think of one man who all the time believed that what God said was right and that is the perfect definition of faith and.
So I can see why God has to save us by giving us that perfect faith the faith of Christ now. Let's look at verse 22 again. So we see that the righteousness of God comes through the faith of Christ or in the faith of Christ.
Now look at the next phrase unto all and upon all them that believe for there is no difference. When you look at these little words unto and upon don't you think it's interesting that it says both of them?
It almost sounds redundant until you look at the Greek language and you see they're two different concepts. When the Bible says that the righteousness of God, which is in this faith of Jesus Christ is first of all unto all and then secondly upon all.
The word unto is the Greek word ice which means into it should be translated into and. The next word upon all is is wonderful translation it means upon or own. So what we see then is that the righteousness of God is Into all and upon all them that believe.
So we see that this completely acceptable righteousness of God. Because of the perfect faith of Jesus Christ is our possession. In other words it is in us and It is our position. In other words, it's on us.
So the righteousness of God is not only our possession, but it's our position. Now position is important because our position is that we stand in Christ as a child of God. That's far better than being an Old Testament servant of God.
Because the Bible Jesus said in the in the book of John that the servant dwelleth not always in the house. But the child abideth ever forever in the house. So we've been made the children of God in Christ.
Now look at this even the righteousness of God, which is by faith or we should say in the faith of Jesus Christ in all and on all That believe for there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile in verse 23 adds one more idea.
That this righteousness is totally by mercy. Totally by mercy for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So there's nothing in us that brings this righteousness. This righteousness is By the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ in us and on us now.
Let's talk about justification for a moment. Look at verse 24. Being justified freely by his grace Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Now this idea of Justification literally means to render innocent.
Or it comes from a little Greek root word DK which means right. So to render innocent or to render right? To be made right. And. So we see in verse 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.
We see several things about the justification of God this idea that God has rendered us to be right in his own eyes. First thing that's obvious is that this is passive in the language of it even in the English language.
It says being Justified that implies very clearly by someone else. Someone else has justified us. This is passive. It's not active. We didn't do it ourselves. It was done to us by a higher and stronger power and we see that in the grammar and we see it in the in The very phrase itself being justified freely by his grace.
So the first thing about justification is that it's passive. It's something that happens to you. It's not something you do. You can't save yourself. You cannot make yourself right with God. Do you understand this?
Totally throws out every main major world religion other than biblical Christianity and it throws out all the cults throws out Mormonism Jehovah's Witnesses and Catholicism. Throws them all out and every major religion religion like Hinduism and Buddhism and and Islam throws them all out because all of those systems are a stairway to heaven that you build to try to approach God by doing good things.
Every other religion in the world and many groups that call themselves Christians have this in the back of their mind that they're going to go out to do something for God and therefore God will accept me it doesn't work that way because justification is A passive word, which means it's done to you.
It's not something you can do to God. You can't go out to please God and save yourself. Because it's passive. It's something he has to do to you now. Look at the next word being justified freely. We're in Romans 3 24 now being justified freely.
By his grace this word freely Is an interesting word. In the Greek language, it's Dorian and it means without cause. At that's stronger than just freely, isn't it without cause or for naught for naught.
Without cause now read it with that terminology being justified without cause. By his grace now, what does it mean without cause it means without any cause within ourselves. We are justified not by anything that we cause to God to do for us.
There is nothing within us that caused this to happen. We are justified without cause in and of ourselves we are justified for nothing in and of ourselves and then it goes on and says by grace and this really nails it home because The very definition of the word grace is undeserved favor.
So we are justified by someone else which it happens to be God and we are Justified freely or without any cause on our own and we're justified by his grace, which means without any favor that we deserved.
So there's nothing that we did that caused this to happen. And so we see very clearly then that Justification is of God and by his grace and it ends up with this phrase through. Now I want you to notice this little word through is the word dia.
That we're looking at this morning. It's the same word as we find over in verse 30 where it says that the Gentiles are saved through faith. It's the word dia and it means in In so we see that we're saved in the redemption.
That is in Jesus Christ. Now we picture some interesting things when we picture how Jesus saved us and they're not wrong. They're just kind of infantile in our way of thinking. What we picture is that Jesus died on the cross and Because of that he saved us and then we believe in him and then we're safe.
We take advantage of that and that's okay to think that way when you're first saved I suppose. But as we study the scriptures what we see is that we're justified Freely without anything that we did without anything that we deserved by his grace.
Through and in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus now remember the word redemption is a slave market term. It means to be Set free by paying a price. But it says we're not saved by his redemption it says we're saved in it.
Do you not realize that according to Romans chapter 6 that you were baptized into Christ into his death? Now this is Spiritually speaking but it is just as much in fact in fact more real than these physical things.
We're looking at today more real than the bench you're sitting on. That bench gets more real the longer you sit on it. I understand that. But spiritually you were in Christ when he died. You were not just saved by his redemption.
You're saved through it and in it now. What is the Bible? Teach us About Propitiation. Well Let's look at it look at verse 25 whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through faith in his blood. To declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God.
To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Christ, well We see some things then about propitiation. First of all, it says whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation.
What is propitiation mean? Well, it's interesting when Jesus Christ went to the cross He accomplished what we call the finished work of Christ. And a lot of what he did was on our behalf and also for the Old Testament Saint who just had his sins Covered and rolled forward a year every year until the cross and then they were actually that's when they were actually saved.
We'll see a little bit of that today. But most of what he accomplished on the cross we perceive it as being for us. But propitiation is a work that he accomplished for the father because it is the father's wrath and Justice that has to be satisfied and satisfied is the best English word for propitiation.
To propitiate God means to satisfy God turn with me to Isaiah 53. I'll show you a beautiful picture of Of this word and what it means that God is propitiated because of Jesus Isaiah 53. Let's look down verse 4.
Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted that means smitten by the father. That's the father that that Put him on the cross.
Remember that verse 5 says. But he was wounded for and I want you to notice all the words for here on behalf of us he was wounded for our Transgressions it can mean because of our transgressions. He was bruised because of our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him.
He was our substitute. Can you see this and with his stripes are we healed? Now look at the end of verse 6 and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us in Verse 8 he was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation.
For he was cut off Out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people. Was he smitten. Now look at verse 11? The father shall see the travail of the son's soul and shall be Satisfied. That word satisfied is propitiation.
When the father looked down and he saw the Son on the cross he saw you in him and he saw me in him and he saw all of God's elect both Old Testament and New Testament forever. In Christ on the cross I'm gonna have to rephrase that didn't say it is right.
He saw all the New Testament Saints in Christ on the cross. The Old Testament Saints didn't get saved that exact same way and I'm gonna get to that when we get to verse 30 but he saw us in Christ and He saw the death that came because of that sin and God was satisfied.
Judicially, the law had been fulfilled. The soul that sinneth it shall die. That's a law that came from the Garden of Eden and the day that you eat the fruit thereof you shall surely die all the way down through the Old Testament and into the New Testament where it says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And so that law was satisfied perfectly in Christ. Now when we think about propitiation, we're speaking of this satisfaction. So when we look at verse 25 Let's learn a few things about propitiation. First of all whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation for us.
This phrase set forth to be in the Greek language can be translated Determined as in the determinant counsel of God. So it can it's usually translated the word purpose are to determine. So it's speaking very clearly of the fact that Jesus Christ.
It was predetermined and It was God's purpose that he go to the cross. We know that because in the garden Jesus said Lord let this cup pass from me and he said nevertheless Thy will be done so. This propitiation is something that was set forth by the father.
Isn't it? Something that before God spun this world on its axis before Adam ever sinned God had foreordained and purposed that Jesus Christ would die on the cross to satisfy his own requirements for the law.
Everything that God requires he satisfies and provides for his children especially in the realm of our salvation, so he was set forth and he was the propitiation or the satisfaction. And notice this that it says whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood propitiation.
Righteousness of God comes dia which means through or in His son. The propitiation through the faith in his blood. So here we we're talking about the blood of Jesus and the fact that both the righteousness of God.
The justification of God and now we see the propitiation of the satisfaction of God's justice comes in and through the blood of Jesus Christ and Therefore God is totally satisfied now. It's kind of interesting.
Let me get you to look over at a verse in first John. Turn to first John 2 2. This is a verse that Hangs a lot of people up. How many have you ever met a person that said? Oh, I'm a three-point Calvinist.
And if you ever asked him what he's supposed to be five points. Which two do you not believe and they usually don't know they just say I'm a three-point Calvinist. But I'm going to tell you what one of the points is is found right here.
And that is that they don't believe in limited atonement. In other words, they don't believe that Jesus died just for his elect. They believe he died for every human being that was ever born. Well, Calvin didn't believe that neither did the Anabaptists and the early Baptists didn't believe that either.
The Protestants pretty much have believed it some of them, but some of them haven't in fact Calvin was the creator of the Presbyterian movement so a lot of the Protestants do believe this. But they'll say well, I'm three-point.
Well, look at first John 2 2. This is one of the reasons they'll say that because it says and he is the propitiation for our sins and not ours only. But also for the sins of the whole world and they'll say well.
It says he's the propitiation for us and that must be the elect but also for the whole world. That must be everybody else. Well, let me tell you something about propitiation. Propitiation is a judicious judicial term.
It's a matter. It's like a court of law. God has made the law. He says in the day that you eat the fruit thereof you shall surely die. He says the soul that sinneth it shall die. He says the wages of sin is death all the way through the Old Testament into the New Testament the same law.
It's been there from the very beginning now in a court of law. If the law is kept then even the law itself cannot punish a person so long as the law is kept and This is what I would say to you to think about if it is true that Jesus Christ died for Every human being that ever lived on the face of this earth.
We know what his death accomplished his death accomplished the judicial satisfaction of God his death brought about Propitiation which means God was satisfied with his death in the place of whoever he died for.
So if it is true that he died for every human being that ever lived and it means there are going to be some people In hell that had to pay twice for their sins. Jesus paid for it once and then they had to pay again and that's not fair in a court of law.
And so you're saying God is not just. Now it's you on that one for a little while because it'll show you very clearly that from a judicial point of view and from the idea of propitiation. Those who are in heaven have to be the ones he died for.
Because if he died for the ones that end up in hell. Then God was not justice. Did not proclaim his justice because their sins have been paid for and they had to go to hell anyway. It's not going to happen that way.
So we see very clearly that Jesus died for his own. What does it mean then in 1st John 2 2 where it says he's a propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but Also for the sins of the whole world.
Well, I'll tell you what it means and I gained more and more understanding. I Think it's been a real blessing in my life. And I praise God for the fact that when I was first saved the very first year I was saved.
He brought dr. Rocky Freeman into my life who happens to be a Jewish believer. And then in the recent this past year, I met Russ who's a Jewish believer. And I'm able to see a little bit of the Word of God through Jewish eyes that way.
Which is important sometimes I think to help us understand some things. But one thing that I know that I've learned is this from a Jewish point of view the Gentiles or the world. Well, you know, we use the word world in a bad sense.
We know about the worldly people. But when a Jew thought of a Gentile, he's thinking about the world and first John 2 2 in his right sense simply means that Jesus is not only the propitiation for the Jew.
But he's also the propitiation for the Gentile as long as they are the elect of God. And we see this ties perfectly in with what we're seeing here in verse 25 and following now. Let's we've worked our way down through the righteousness of God and the justification of God and the propitiation of God now.
Let's look at four. Well, let's finish verse 25. It says to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. Now, what do you think that means? When it says not only is God's righteousness here now in Christ as justice is here.
Propitiation has been done and then it mentions the fact that this propitiation because of the blood of Christ Affects the righteousness of God. For the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God.
What is that talking about? Is that talking about our past sins that there are groups in our country today that teach that Jesus died for our past sin? So you better not sin anymore after you get saved.
Do you think it means that I don't think it means that so. What does it mean the sins that are passed? Through the forbearance of God the patience of God. Anybody have a clue? Well, have you heard brother Otis talk about how in the Old Testament before the cross that every year when the high priest went in there and applied the blood in the Into the mercy seat that they rolled the sins over again one more year all the way up until it got to the time of Christ and then Jesus paid for him, didn't he?
Well, that's what this is picturing the sins of the pastor talking about the sins that the Old Testament Saints committed and. So the first part of this when we look at the end of verse 25 It now begins to speak of this salvation for the Old Testament Saint.
But then at the first of verse 26 It begins to speak of its salvation for the New Testament or the Saint in the church age which would apply to both you and Gentile. It says to declare I say at this time his righteousness.
That he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. That's us now. That's present tense. Where is the boasting then it is excluded. Are we saved by the law of works nay. But by the law of faith, therefore we conclude that a man is justified By faith without the deeds of the law.
Is he the God of the Jews only is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes of the Gentiles also so verse 25 verse 26 talk about the salvation of the Old Testament saying and the salvation of the New Testament saying in Verse 30 brings in and shows us the slight difference, but the beautiful difference.
Seeing it is one God which shall justify the Old Testament saying by faith and the New Testament saying through faith. What is the difference? Well? We've got a little overview of these two little words, especially the word through is the word dia.
The word by is the word ek and in the Greek language it means the origin of something the point at which an action starts. You might say the cause of something. And so when we speak of the Old Testament saying we see that they were saved by the faith of Jesus.
When we talk about us on this side of the cross we're saved in the faith of Jesus and through the faith of Jesus and What sense is this? Well think about the Old Testament saying for a moment. The faith of Jesus was that which saved him in this sense.
They knew about a coming Messiah. They knew all the way from the point of Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 was the very first prophetic statement of a coming Messiah and that goes all the way back to the garden and So Adam and Eve taught their children and they taught their children and so forth all the way down to Moses and Moses wrote it down.
But from the very beginning of time they had been looking for a Savior to come and in fact when Jesus Christ came. What did he say he did he said I came not to destroy the law to disintegrate the law.
But to fulfill it completely and it's a fishing term. It means to totally fill the net full of fish. I Came to totally fulfill the law he said. So for the Old Testament saint what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross was that he totally kept their law perfectly in his life and in his death he became their sacrifice that all of the little animals had pictured all through time as they Did the sacrifices the animal sacrifices that blood was nothing more than a type or a shadow of What Jesus did on that cross and he became their sacrifice fulfilling the law and literally saved them in that manner.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 7 and following talks about the fact that he went down into Shoal and He took those who were captive of that place and he set them free. Now you have to remember if you look into Luke chapter 16 that before the cross the saved people went to a place called Abraham's bosom and The lost people went to a place called Hades and it was separated by a great gulf Between the two you'll see it in Luke 16 in 22.
And you can read vividly see a vivid picture about how that worked before the cross. So none of the Old Testament saints died and went to heaven now. Dying going to heaven they didn't really go to heaven.
They went to this place called Shoal which was called paradise Abraham's bosom it was separated by a great divide a great gulf and right on the other side over there were the lost dead who were in Hades and the reason for that is because the true blood of Jesus Christ the sacrificial lamb of God had not been Presented in the heavenlies yet until after his death burial and resurrection.
So after his death burial and resurrection the Bible teaches in Ephesians chapter 4 It says. But unto every one of us is given grace according the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith when he ascended up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.
Now that he ascended what is it? But that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens that he might fulfill all Things so he literally got the Old Testament Saints.
He took them with him into the third heaven. So they are in heaven now, but they couldn't go there till the blood was applied. So you see that their salvation was different than ours because what happens to us if we die in Christ today.
We're instantly in heaven with him with the father. So the New Testament Saints. The Old Testament Saints are saved by faith by the faith of Christ by what Christ did in becoming their sacrifice but the end of verse 30 says the uncircumcision is saved via faith or through faith or in the faith of Christ and We see all through the scriptures this beautiful accomplishment of us being in Christ.
Do you understand that when the Bible says that we died in him in Romans chapter 6. In the book of Colossians, it says we are risen with him in Christ. To understand that that means that we serve God perfectly through the channel of his faith that when we're connected to Christ like the brought the vine and the branch.
That we can serve God and please God with our service but when we're Disconnected when we're in the flesh and we're not connected to the Lord Jesus Christ that there's nothing we can do to please him.
Jesus himself said without me you can do nothing. But in Christ we please God perfectly. We are one with God because we are in Christ. We are seated at the right hand of God in Christ far above anything that's going on in this world spiritually.
We are seated above the world system. We're seated above the flesh the old man that God tells us is dead. And if we believe God he tells us it is already crucified reckon it to be so what does that mean believe God?
Satan comes and says well that old man can still do stuff if you believe him you can get in the flesh. But you're seated far above the flesh the flesh should not be able to affect you in Christ. The world we're above the world.
We're above Satan. Satan was cast down, but we're seated in the heavenlies in Christ this morning. And even above the law as we spent some weeks talking about that. We're above or any other thing and A risen man is a new man.
He's dead to the old man. He's dead to the old way to the old law to the old world the old flesh the old devil. And he serves the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew he now has a new Lord who has set him free from every lower Lord that there ever was over that person's life.
So we are victorious in Christ putting the enemy to open shame in death and in resurrection. Also, we are able to fill the net of the law to the brim in Christ. So the Old Testament Saints were rendered right with God because their Messiah in Whom they had believed Fulfilled their law and became their sacrifice.
We on the other hand are rendered right with God. That's what justification means. We are rendered right with God because when he looks at us He sees us in Jesus Christ. We are in him and he is in us.
He is the head we are the members of the same body we are in him in whom God is well pleased. He loves us because we're in him. He is pleased with us because we're in Christ. He is one with us because we're in Christ.
We are one with him because Christ is one with him. He gives us tender care because we are in his beloved son Jesus Christ. He is satisfied with us. Because we are in Christ the treasure in our parable.
Was the Old Testament Saints? The wife of Jehovah Elohim is what they are called the wife of Jehovah. They're justified by Christ faith and sacrifice. We the pearl the bride of Jesus Christ. Are justified through the channel of the faith of Christ because we are in him.
It's not just that what he did saved us. It's that we are in Christ. What a position that is. What is the challenge for us then the challenge for us is to reckon that to be true every day in every moment of every Day.
God says it's true. He states it is fact in Romans chapter 8. He says you are not in the flesh if you're in Christ. Because anyone who hath not Christ is none of his have not the Spirit of Christ is none of his.
He says positionally you are in Christ. Positionally the old man is crucified and dead. Reckon these things to be true. That's our job because what the old devil tries to do is come to us and convince us that we are not in Christ that we're carnal and.
That the body should tell us what to do and that the body is not dead. It's very much alive. He'll tell us. So if God tells us it's dead and we're in Christ and if we believe God. Then what happens we reckon these things to be true and we walk filled with the Spirit and we are fine.
But how can we do that. And it amazing the only way we can do it is by a gift that God's given us called the faith of Jesus Christ. We have to operate in his faith. When we wake up in the morning. How long is it before you get from the bed?
To wherever you're going and all of a sudden the thought of God comes into your heart and mind you realize he is. Did you know that itself is a gift? The Holy Spirit speaks to your spirit and says remember who you are.
And he'll do that for you every every morning. I'll promise you if you become conscious of it. He will do that every morning. He'll say I am and you'll say well, I know who I am too in your spirit. And his spirit will be like this and your job as a Christian is to go right out the door that way.
And to come back home that way that night. And that's what it's all about walking in Christ through the channel. It's better than just being hit by a bat. Being saved by the death of Jesus. We're saved in his death and in his resurrection and in his redemption.
And in his propitiation. It's far greater. Makes the other look kind of beggarly doesn't it? Let's stand and have prayer together father. We ask you to remind us moment by moment throughout our days of our position in Christ.
And then to fall to our knees and our hearts or perhaps actually literally physically follow our knees and thank you. For this great gift of the faith of Jesus Christ that you've given us. Help us to walk in this faith.
Help us therefore to be in Christ and to be seated far above the things of this world. Far above the cares of this world. Far above the powers and riches and temptations of this world in our flesh even far above.
Anything that the devil would throw in our way. Help us to glory in our position in our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ and to spend our moments Walking in him that we might be in perfect fellowship with you father and be pleasing in your sight.
And that your will in our life would be done perfectly and that others would see the light reflected in us. And Father we know that is our duty until you come we thank you so much that you give us the command.
But you supply the way and the method for it to happen all in one time. Thank you that you love the Lord Jesus Christ and you love us in him and you've given us to him and he to us Father we ask you to go with us in our time of fellowship this morning.
Bless the meal that we're about to have and we ask you in Jesus name. Amen.