Basic Training 04 Series

Welcome back to Basic Training. We have 6 weeks remaining in our study of the book of Romans after today.

Let’s pray,

Father,

Open my eyes so I can see Your truth.

Open my ears so I can hear Your voice.

Open my mind so I can understand Your Word.

And open my heart so I may receive all that You want me to receive. AMEN

Up to this point we have learned that sin is a problem in the world and it doesn’t matter if you are saved or not, we all struggle.

We also have learned that God offers forgiveness of sin to all who ask and makes His righteousness available to everyone who seeks Him.

The book of Romans makes it very clear that there is only one way that we can receive God’s righteousness. Other religions would have you believe that there are many ways to God and to His righteousness, but they are wrong. There is only one way and that is through Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

The Jewish people though that righteousness came for them through their law. If they followed the Law that was given to Moses and then expounded and added to by the Sadducees and Pharisees, then they would be righteous.

They also thought that if the men were circumcised they would be righteous. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between the Hebrew people and God, it did not bring righteousness.

Circumcision is a matter of the flesh, righteousness is a matter of the heart. You could be outwardly circumcised and not have a pure heart.

Other Jews believed that being born a Hebrew made you righteous. Paul shared in Romans 2:28-29 that this is not true.

Being born a Hebrew made you about as righteous as standing in a garage makes you an automobile.

We are not righteous because our grandparent were or our parents were.

We are not righteous because we were dedicated when we were a baby.

We are not righteous because we go to church, although it is important to go to church.

There is only one way for us to achieve God’s righteousness and that is through Jesus Christ.

In Romans 3:21-28 Paul firmly establishes that the righteousness of God is not a part of the law and that man is justified by his faith instead of the his deeds or by doing what the law says.

The Jewish Christians during Paul’s time were engrossed with the idea that because they were Jewish they were afforded certain judicial privileges in the eyes of God. They would often use the case of Abraham to prove their point.

So Paul analyzes the principle by which God saved Abraham to prove his point.

Paul spends a lot of time on this topic. Romans 3:21-8:39 are dedicated to the subject of God’s righteousness.

Paul wants us to understand that all of mankind can be brought into a right relationship the God. We can all have the assurance that God will accept us and forgive us of our sins when we turn to Him.

The reason God can do this is because of the redemptive work of His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

It was Jesus Christ whom God sent into the earth as the Sacrificial Lamb to atone for our sins. His sacrifice on the cross provides the forgiveness of sins, the removal of shame and guilt and the promise of eternal life for each and every person.

God demonstrates His righteousness by providing these things for us through Jesus. He also demonstrates His patience with us.

Who could be as patient with us as God? Think about that for a moment. His patience with the nation of Israel. His patience with us. His patience continues to endure until that day Jesus returns again.

His patience goes as far as the east is from the west because He forgives our sins every time we ask Him to forgive us. Every time we fail, every time we mess up, He is patient and then when we confess our sins, God forgives.

As we journey on today I want to share with you three items that are provided for us through the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ; they are Justification, Sanctification, and Assurance.

(Perfect Easter topics.)

1. Justification

To be justified means to be shown as right. You are cleared of all blame and all guilt.

Justification is a legal declaration issued by God when He pronounces that a person is free from any guilt or fault and that person is now acceptable in His sight.

It is much more than just being pardoned, it is a thousand times more than being forgiven. It is being treated as if the sin never happened.

Our justification comes from the same place Abraham’s came from.