What Are Its Grounds? (3)

The point: Soberly reflect on your accountability to God, your sin against God, and your ultimate judgment by God.

Martin asks listeners to imagine having 24 hours left to live, emphasizing that the only question that would matter is 'How shall I be right with God?' This highlights the ultimate importance of justification.

If you knew, sitting here this morning, that within 24 hours... You would make your exit from this life by the door of death.

2:01 - 2:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third proposition is introduced: Christ's perfect obedience, culminating in His death, is the sole ground of justification. Martin explains that God demands perfect, perpetual…

He uses the analogy of God 'piggybacking' the human race on Adam (so all fell with him) and His elect on Christ (so all stand with Him). This illustrates the federal headship of Adam and Christ.

So when God sends, His Son into the world, He sends Him, according to the Scriptures, as the last Adam and the second man. 1 Corinthians 15.45 and 47. There's a sense in which God sees only two men in His world.

13:44 - 14:05 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Expounding Galatians 4:4 and Romans 5:19, Martin details Christ's incarnation as the eternal Son, born of a woman and under the law, not as a private person but as the…

Martin describes Mary carrying the God-man in her womb, emphasizing the mystery of the Incarnation and Christ's true humanity and deity.

The emphasis falls upon the fact that He came and took to Himself true humanity. In Mary's womb, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, the eternal Son of God takes to Himself a true human soul and a true human body. So that Mary, when she was nine months pregnant and at the waddling stage, was carrying the God-man in her belly.

16:24 - 16:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: For as through the one man's disobedience Adam the many were constituted sinners even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be constituted righteous.

He contrasts the sinless child Jesus with typical children who natively learn to be selfish, disobedient, and strike back. This underscores Jesus' unique holiness from birth.

that holy child with no inbred sin no native corruption unlike your children and unlike you when you were a child natively learning how to stick out your lower lip and say no I won't learning how to be selfish how to strike back at your siblings when they took your toy how to say no to mom and dad when they took and they give you directions long before anyone by example or by actual speaking to you taught you you had within you that which was your teacher to be sinful to be selfish to be disobedient

24:10 - 24:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Expounding Galatians 4:4 and Romans 5:19, Martin details Christ's incarnation as the eternal Son, born of a woman and under the law, not as a private person but as the…

Martin describes the typical adolescent experience of challenging parental authority, contrasting it with Jesus' perfect submission to Joseph and Mary even as He grew into manhood. This highlights Jesus' sinless obedience to the Fifth Commandment.

what all of you young men feel I'm beginning to become a man I've got four whiskers on my chin and three on my lip and men are leaders so I'm going to start to lead long before you've got a right to lead and long before you're competent to lead and you begin to butt heads with your pappy and of course you're much smarter than your mama and you're not at all reluctant to let her know when she's ignorant and you know more than she does our Lord grew into true manhood felt all the changes in his hormones that turn a boy into a man yet never once did he sinfully challenge the headship of Joseph an...

28:34 - 29:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Expounding Galatians 4:4 and Romans 5:19, Martin details Christ's incarnation as the eternal Son, born of a woman and under the law, not as a private person but as the…

He illustrates Jesus' sinlessness by imagining Him in poverty, never coveting a neighbor's new bike while having an 'old banger.' This demonstrates His perfect adherence to the Tenth Commandment.

generically anthropos but he was on air the man Christ Jesus never once a lustful glance never once an inordinate perfect strictly holy in the light of the seventh commandment never once in that poverty stricken setting for he was born into and grew up in relative poverty never once did he covet when he saw the neighbor's kids having a brand new bike and he had an old banger that was picked up at a yard sale never once

30:47 - 31:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: That obedience was rendered as the last man and as the second Adam that you and I might have a human obedience under the law credited to us in the courtroom of heaven so that almighty God seeing us in Christ can say just…

Martin references John 7, where Jesus' adult siblings taunt Him for not seeking attention, noting their unbelief. This highlights Jesus' sinless endurance of familial opposition.

did his holy soul experience the burning of covetousness let alone to say oh mom and dad why can't I have it Johnny's got one never once do you see something of the wonder of sinlessness in real humanity in a sin-cursed world with his unbelieving siblings all around him for you read in John 7 when they are adults and he's an adult they taunt him and they say hey hey hot shot nobody wants attention and stays home during the feast time everybody's at Jerusalem why did you go up to Jerusalem

31:30 - 32:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: That obedience was rendered as the last man and as the second Adam that you and I might have a human obedience under the law credited to us in the courtroom of heaven so that almighty God seeing us in Christ can say just…

He points out that Jesus could call others 'fools' (e.g., dull disciples, Pharisees) without sin, unlike humans who cannot do so without carnal anger. This illustrates Jesus' unique righteous anger.

the scripture says for his brethren did not yet believe on him and then when he enters his ministry think of what it was think of what it was to be called in league with the devil think what it was to be called illegitimate think what it was to have your motives maligned think what it was to be patient with those dull disciples and yet never sinning when you would say to them oh fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken

32:13 - 32:57 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to Christ's 'full satisfaction,' explaining it as His substitutionary death that appeases God's wrath and vindicates His justice. He defines propitiation from…

Martin quotes from Baker's Dictionary of Theology on the term 'satisfaction,' explaining its historical development from Anselm and its theological meaning as Christ's death rendered to God's justice and honor. This clarifies the meaning of 'full satisfaction of Christ' in the catechism.

of Christ now the larger catechism uses the word satisfaction and I want to read just a few sentences from a very helpful article in the Baker's Dictionary of Theology listed under satisfaction the word satisfaction occurs only twice in the old authorized version as the rendering for a Hebrew word literally meaning a price paid as compensation theologically the term has played a significant part in the doctrine of the atonement especially since the time of Anselm A-N-S-E-L-M

38:00 - 38:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to Christ's 'full satisfaction,' explaining it as His substitutionary death that appeases God's wrath and vindicates His justice. He defines propitiation from…

He quotes William Cunningham's complex statement: 'the righteousness of our justification is nothing more or less than the righteousness which the righteousness of God requires him to require.' This profound statement emphasizes the divine standard and origin of justifying righteousness.

chapter 3 Romans chapter 3 we've spent much time in these early chapters of Romans in this series and rightly so verse 21 after proving universal sinfulness verse 21 but now apart from the law a righteousness of God has been manifested there is a law there is a law there is a law there is a law there is a law there is a law there is a righteousness that is of God as we saw last week God is its author it is a righteousness that has God-like characteristics I read a statement this week that is one of these that at first you say I'm not sure I get it but the more you think about it William Cunnin...

41:42 - 42:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Find your only refuge in Christ's blood and righteousness when you stand before God.

Martin quotes Charles Wesley's translation of Count Zinzendorf's hymn, 'Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness,' to express the believer's confidence and beauty in Christ's imputed righteousness. This provides a poetic and devotional expression of the sermon's core truth.

nothing wrought in us it's in Christ alone in the perfect obedience of Christ in the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ and we are now I want to ask you you found all this boring ho-hum you were to stand before God in the next 24 hours you wouldn't for you come to that standing before God and this is the only refuge Wesley caught it when he translated Count Van Zinzendorf's hymn Jesus thy blood

58:00 - 58:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Flee to Christ and continue to abide in Him and in Christ alone as your righteousness.

He quotes lines from an old gospel hymn, 'When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.' This reinforces the theme of imputed righteousness as the only ground for standing before God at judgment.

when he shall come with trumpet sound oh may I then in him be found dressed in his righteousness alone faultless to stand before the throne and this has glorious and wonderful present realities Romans 5 1 having therefore been justified by faith we have peace with God and then Paul goes on to say not only this but we have access through faith into this grace wherein we now stand and we rejoice in hope confident expectation of the glory of God and not only so we glory in tribulation you see

59:30 - 60:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Flee to Christ and continue to abide in Him and in Christ alone as your righteousness.

Martin corrects the common saying 'justified means just as if I'd never sinned,' explaining that it means 'just as if I'd fully perfectly kept the law of God' because of Christ's imputed obedience. This clarifies the comprehensive nature of justification.

to know that you stand before almighty God justified don't ever use that little cute thing justified means just as if I'd never sinned it means much more than that it's just as if I'd fully perfectly kept the law of God because in my surety and substitute I have and all the virtue of his obedience and all the virtue of his death form the seamless robe of righteousness in which we are dressed when we have fled to Christ and when by faith we continue to abide in Christ and in the and in Christ alone as our righteousness

60:14 - 60:59 Read in full sermon