In Jesus Holy Name September 24, 2017
Series: Augsburg Confession Redeemer
A C #5 Justification Text: Romans 5:1-2
“We Dare Not Forget”
The message today is not about the “how you can earn your way into heaven”. You can not. But it is about how you can have peace with God.
At Gettysburg, President Lincoln said: “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here…. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us… that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion…that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”
His words are one of the most profound declarations to which the English language has been applied. Lincoln said to his fellow countryman: “Remember don’t’ forget.”
In Romans 5 the Apostle Paul is telling us…. “Remember, Don’t forget.” …. “Remember, Don’t forget” what the savior has done for us. You can look far and wide and you won’t find many examples of someone who is ready to offer his life up for someone else. Yes, there are a few “medal of honor” recipients, most of whom were awarded the Medal of Honor after their death on the battle field.
There have been many great battles. The greatest battle field took place in the Garden of Eden. The battle field victory was won on a wooden cross, on a lonely hill outside the walls of Jerusalem, not quite 2000 years ago. Jesus, who Himself created the Universe, came to dwell on the planet He created. ( Col. 1:15) He came in human flesh to live a perfect life without sin. He never gave into a temptation of Satan to disobey God the Father. (Matt. 4) Oh, Satan tried. Jesus was offered glory and power…Evcn when Jesus was hanging on the cross….Satan offered Him a way to escape death. (Matt. 27) Jesus refused to come down off the cross.
Jesus voluntarily embraced the demise which should have been ours. He embraced death on the cross. While we were yet sinners Jesus died for us. He died. If you ever have a chance to watch the “Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson you can not miss the reaction of Satan the moment Jesus died. He laughed. He thought he had won. He thought He had defeated God’s Son in this on going battle since the creation of the world….because Satan was able to murder God’s holy son, Jesus. So he laughed.
Satan is not omniscient. He had no way of knowing that the death of Jesus was the perfect sacrifice God required.
Read Hebrews 2:14-17
In that moment when Jesus died on the cross God the Father transferred to Jesus all the sins of the world. (Col. 2:14) Jesus received the full wrath of God. And that is why he cried out… “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”
Then three days after His lifeless body had been put into a borrowed tomb, Jesus rose from death.
It was God’s plan to then transfer all of the holiness of His Son, Jesus to every believer who put their faith in Jesus. ( II Cor. 5:21) Human beings can not merit nor earn God’s love by keeping the laws of God. The laws of God always accuse and terrify consciences.
Martin Luther was terrified by the wrath of God against his behavior.
Martin Luther called justification “the cornerstone of Christianity.” J.I. Packer said that any church that has lapsed from justification by faith can scarcely be called a Christian church.
I think that if you understand church history, you know that justification by faith was the hallmark, the touchstone, of the Protestant Reformation.
You remember the story of how Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic monk in Wittenberg, Germany, and how he sought for years, even as a learned teacher of the Bible, to discover peace with God. He was reading through the Bible, searching for peace and couldn’t find it. He felt God was angry with him and far away.
The turning point of his life came when he made that journey to Rome. As he was crawling up the stairs of the church in Rome, with tears running down his face, saying the “Our Father” and praying to God for Him to make himself real to him, praying on each stair. While he was climbing to the top of those stairs, suddenly a text of scripture burst into his mind— “the just shall live by faith.” In that great and glorious moment Martin Luther understood that it is not by crawling up steps to please an angry God. It was not by going to church, fasting, nor by human effort, but it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that a man is made right with God. (quote from Keep On Believing – Romans)
From that great realization came the spark that ignited the flame that became the Protestant Reformation. This is what we celebrate. We are here today as heirs of the Protestant Reformation tradition. What Martin Luther read in Romans, he believed. This is exactly what we believe today, that mankind is justified through faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot merit God’s love by doing the works of the law.
Ever since Satan introduced sin into the world, Satan had never experienced a defeat. In small skirmishs and in great battle, he had emerged victorious. If one temptation failed, he would try another. If one attack was rebuffed he would patiently wait for a more opportune moment to try again. Sooner or later all of us, even God’s hero’s of faith, Abraham, David, Solomon, Peter,faltered and failed. Except for Jesus.
I will say this: Yes, God allowed the religious rulers and political power of Rome to arrest Jesus. He allowed Jesus to be put on trial, condemned and send to His death. God allowed it because it was His plan to complete the promise He made in the Garden to Adam and Eve after the first battle victory went to Satan.
Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the grave and death. This was God’s plan. Satan had to be defeated on his own turf, the earth. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Christians in Rome: “Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins, (our broken commandments) and was raised to life for our justification.
Therefore…..since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through faith………..
When we were still sinners. When we were still God’s enemies. When our thoughts, words, actions showed our disregard, disrespect, and disobedience to the Creator, Jesus came into this world and loved us. (quote from Rev Ken Klaas)
When Paul writes: “We have been justified by faith….” What does he mean? What is justifying faith? Faith that justifies. Faith that enables God to see each believer holy and without blemish (Col. 1:19) is not historical knowledge. But the acceptance of God’s offer of forgiveness of sins through Jesus and His cross. This offer is free.
Justification Is A Legal Declaration By God. Webster’s Dictionary defines justification as being pronounced free from blame or guilt. It is a legal term, a forensic term, a term from the courtroom.
In Greek the word “justify” means to declare them not guilty and innocent and righteous in the eyes of the law. It does not mean to make righteous, it means to declare righteous. It means to look at someone who is guilty and declare that they are now not guilty; they are innocent, righteous, free to go. The record has been wiped away. If you want a technical definition, I would give you Billy Graham’s definition of justification. “Just as if I’d never sinned.” Yes because of God’s love for you. Do you deserve it? NO Do I deserve it? NO
The heart of evangelical Christianity is that God justifies the wicked.
I think the thing that keeps so many people from coming to Jesus is they feel they aren’t good enough. (Come on that is Satan’s oldest trick) They feel they are too lost in sin. They feel as if they are lost in pornography. Lost in addiction to alcohol and drugs. Lost to anger, resentment and bitterness. Lost, but searching for peace.
There are people who say, “you don’t know how I have been living.” No I don’t, but let me tell you this: Our God is not in the business of justifying the good. He is in the business of justifying the bad. He is in the business of forgiveness.
He doesn’t justify the righteous, because no one is!!! He justifies people who have broken His commandments. He justifies while we are still sinners. The point: God never said to anybody, “Clean up your act and then I’ll save you. Get yourself together, then I’ll forgive your sins. No, No. No!
Pontius Pilate knew Jesus was innocent ….yet still found it politically expedient to let Him die on the cross. Jesus died for Pilate. Jesus died for the man who whipped Him. Jesus died for the man who spit in His face. Jesus died for the man who slapped a crown of thorns on His head. Jesus died for the man who pounded the nails into His hands and feet.
Jesus died for the ones who laughed at Him. Jesus died for those who carried his bruised and dead body to a borrowed grave. Jesus died for Adam and Eve. Noah. Abraham and all his descendants. David. You and me. Jesus loved them. He loves you and me. God knew that there would only be two options when our heart stops beating and our brain waves have ceased. Heaven or Hell.
God knew there would be a final battle. He knew the outcome. Satan did not! God allowed Satan to slip into his very own trap. Satan had the Pharisees wrapped up in their pride, and self righteousness. Satan had the government of Rome wrapped up and ready to pronounce the judgment of death. He really thought he would defeat God by causing the death of Jesus.
I think Mel Gibson’s vision of Satan laughing when Jesus died was correct.
Jesus did not stay dead… He could not. For he was God in flesh. Jesus rose from the grave and took away the sting of death..
Look at the words of our hymn “Brave Hearts Made Bold….”
God’s only Son embraced our shame.
Our tent of flesh assuming
This guiltless Lord our sin became.
In Pontius Pilates’ judgment hall,
..decked in bloodied, purple pall.
Our full forgiveness Christ has won.
Faith trust all that Christ has done.
How does Luther phrase it?
“..the old satanic foe has sworn to work us woe
With craft and dreadful might He arms Himself to fight
No strength of ours can match His might. We would be lost
But a champion comes to fight Whom God Himself elected
It is the Lord of Hosts, Jesus Christ, mighty Lord
He holds the field victorious. Now the kingdom is ours forever
You may fail. You may break down and run yourself into a ditch, but God Almighty looks down at you and says: There is no record of that my child has ever broken down at all. That’s what justification is. It is just as if you had never sinned at all. The record is wiped away and you are credited with the perfect, eternally secure righteousness of Jesus Christ.
No wonder this is the central doctrine of the Christian faith.
No wonder Martin Luther said this is the cornerstone of Christianity.
