God's Justification of the Righteous

Prayer for Illumination and Understanding

0:01 Let's pray and ask for the Lord's blessing upon our study this morning. Our God and our Father, as we come into your presence once again to consider such essential doctrines to our faith as the doctrine of justification by faith, we pray, O God, that you would not leave us to ourselves this morning, but we pray that by your grace and by your mercy and by the illuminating power of your Holy Spirit that you would come upon us this morning and teach us the truth. And we ask also by the gracious power of your Spirit that you would write that truth upon our hearts. Preserve us from error on the right hand and on the left. Keep us from imbalance. Keep us, Lord, from distorting the truth.

0:55 Grant, O God, since you are not the author of confusion but of peace, that we would all be able to understand that great mystery which you have revealed. And even though, Father, we cannot explain everything that you have revealed, at least help us to come to grips with the mystery that we may hold on to it fast by our faith. Hear then our prayers as we come before you this morning and bless us with your own presence, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Review of Justification of the Ungodly (Part 1)

1:31 Now, as those of you who were here last week will remember, we have considered the doctrine of justification by faith, and the occasion of this was that while Mr. Garlington was teaching in the New Testament survey on the book of Galatians, he mentioned the doctrine of justification, and it seemed that it might be a matter of interest and importance that we would flush out that doctrine in some detail, so that when he was unable to be here last Lord's Day, we embarked upon a study of that doctrine in an effort to give an overview, and that what we are doing this morning is bringing that study on justification to a close. So if you're here visiting with us this morning, remember that what you're hearing this morning was built upon an exposition of the doctrine of justification, which was given last week in the adult class. And so for the sake of visitors and also to refresh our memory, what I would like to do is to go over what we considered last time. Now, we saw that the word to justify, to declare, to pronounce, and to justify...

2:54 To justify is the opposite of to condemn.

3:02 Those two words are antonyms. That is, they don't mean the same thing. They mean exactly the opposite. Now, these are legal terms.

3:11 They bring you into the idea of judgment.

3:19 Someone is making a judgment when there is either justification or condemnation. And that brings you into the flavor of a courtroom,

3:30 and of a judge, and of a verdict.

3:37 Now, that's the flavor of this term, to justify, as it's used in the scripture. And in particular, when God is the judge,

3:54 and we're in God's courtroom, and God is making a judgment, and God is either declaring and pronouncing as righteous, or God is condemning, and finding the verdict of guilt and passing the sentence of death. God is making that judgment. We saw that the Bible brings us into God's...

4:12 God's courtroom and says a couple of things about God's judgments and his pronouncement of judgment. First of all, we find God's judgment of justification with respect to the ungodly, and then God's judgment of the righteous. Last week, we looked at the justification of the ungodly, and we saw that for good reasons,

4:42 for very good reasons, the justification of the ungodly has received a great emphasis throughout the history of the Church, and this great act which occurs in God's courtroom has been the focus of the marveling eye and heart of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and has received a place of prominence in the confessional expressions of the Church. For example, let me quote now from the Shorter Catechism, page 296. What is justification?

5:16 Question 33 of the Shorter Catechism. Justification is an act of justice, an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

5:40 Now, in the Confession, that is, the things most surely believed among us, the 1689 Baptist Confession, and also the Westminster Confession of 1644, which went along, along with the Shorter and Larger Catechisms, a similar emphasis is found, although the doctrine of the justification of the ungodly by faith, this doctrine is expounded in greater detail. Particularly, notice section 11 of our own Confession of Faith, the Baptist Confession of 1689. Those whom God effectually calls, he also freely justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them. Remember we went over that last week?

6:23 Not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone. Not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness, but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law and passive obedience in His death for their whole and sole righteousness. They receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith, which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God. Faith thus receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness is the alone instrument of justification. Then they go on to say, God did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect, and Christ did in the fullness of time die for their sins and rise again for their justification. Nevertheless, they are not justified personally

7:51 until the Holy Spirit does in due time actually apply Christ unto them. In other words, from all eternity, God chose them to salvation and decreed that He would someday justify them. When Christ died at Calvary, He provided the basis for their justification, but they are not justified until they believe when the Holy Spirit actually applies Christ unto them. So those are the things that we looked at last week, and those things are stressed in our confessions and in our catechisms.

8:30 Now, just to go over very briefly the way in which I attempted to expound those truths before you last week. We saw that the setting of justification was condemnation in Adam, or guilt. We saw that the author of justification was God the Father, that it's the Father who justifies, that the recipients of justification were elect, believing, and ungodly sinners, that it's the justification of the ungodly, according to Romans 4-5. The ungodly, the moment that they become believers in Christ, are justified.

9:11 We saw that the essence of justification was twofold, that it was a twofold judicious pronouncement of God the Father, on the one hand, that they had all of their sins pardoned. It had a negative dimension. It involved pardon for sin. On the other hand, it has a positive dimension, that is, the acceptance of their persons as righteous.

9:37 Negatively, full pardon for sin. Positively, fully accepted, assessed, regarded, and pronounced as righteous. Then we saw that the ground, or basis, of this justification, of this pronouncement, was Christ's obedience. Remember when I drew a line, and now someone sitting in the back last week told me that they couldn't see the board.

10:01 I have to erase this, so I'm going to write it on the top. They couldn't see the bottom of the board. So if you have trouble seeing anything that I write down on the bottom of the board and you're sitting in the back, just please let me know, all right? Because I may forget.

10:14 Although now I'm remembering.

10:18 Now, while you remember, I said, here was the believer. Last week, I drew him with three legs. I hope I didn't do that. No, I didn't.

10:24 And here's the Lord Jesus Christ. And here's the life history of the believer from the time that he was conceived and now he's living in, let's say, living in 1980. Here's the Lord Jesus Christ in his lifetime and the time that he was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary to the time that he died upon the cross. Now, the basis for our justification, the basis for our justification is absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely nothing that ever happened in our lifetime from the time that we are conceived to the time that we die and go into the grave.

11:02 It has absolutely nothing to do with anything that's ever done in us, anything that's ever done by us. But the basis for this pronouncement which God makes is what happened in the life history of the Lord Jesus Christ when he lived upon the earth 2,000 years ago. It's based upon the life that he lived in absolutely perfect obedience to the law. And it's based upon the death that he died with the sins of his people transferred to him so that he is legally responsible for them, imputed to him.

11:35 It doesn't mean that Christ was internally made wicked. No. It means that the sins of his people were imputed to him and they were transferred to his legal account and they became legal in his sins and his responsibility before God. And when he had those sins transferred to his account, God said, I'll punish them upon that cross in suffering of hell itself for the sins of his people.

11:59 And upon that basis, the absolutely perfect righteousness of Christ, God accepts the sinner as righteous. And the full satisfaction that Christ has made for the justice of God, God pardons the sinner for all of his sins. Now that's the basis of our acceptance with God. And that's what the confession stressed.

12:21 Do you remember how many different ways we read the confession? How many different ways they said that? Just so nobody could possibly in any way misunderstand the emphasis of Scripture that it absolutely has nothing to do with what happened in us, whether God did it in us, whether we worked it out in obedience to God. If it happened between the time you were conceived and the time that you died, it has absolutely nothing to do with the basis of your acceptance or your pardon before God.

12:50 But the only thing that God looks at is what his son did when he lived and when he died. I hope I never grow weary of repeating that, and I hope you never grow weary of hearing it repeated. It's absolutely vital, the foundation of our religion. But now, little F, the next thing we looked at last week was the method.

13:13 In what way does God justify? We looked at the ground, and I've hinted at the method in the very grounds, because you say, well, what in the world is what Christ did 2,000 years ago have to do with the pronouncement that God makes about me? In my lifetime, when I believed. Well, the point is this.

13:29 The method is imputation. The imputation of Christ's total obedience. The obedience that he carried out in his life. The obedience that he carried out in his death.

13:39 The imputation or the transfer of Christ's total obedience to my account the moment that I believe. And because God imputes the righteousness of Christ to me, God then pronounces me to be righteous upon that basis.

13:58 The next thing we looked at is the exclusive means by which this pronouncement is made. And we saw that the exclusive means is faith. It is faith alone. Faith alone.

14:11 Not works, not anything else, but faith. Because faith is the empty hand receiving. Faith is looking outside of yourself. Faith, as it were, has its eye It has its eye It has its eye focused out of your own life history.

14:29 The Christ. It has its eye focused upon Christ and upon what he did in his life. That's the eye of faith. Faith does not look here.

14:41 Faith looks here. And that's why faith alone justifies. Faith is the empty hand receiving. It's the eye focusing.

14:50 It's the heart resting upon the Lord Jesus Christ and what he did as the only hope of acceptance with God. It's the heart of the sinner resting upon this perfect, perfect life and not anything that ever happened in his rotten life. And it's the heart of the sinner resting upon what Christ did on that cross and not anything that he'll ever suffer or endure to make up for his wrongs in his own life. And because of that, it's faith alone that is the instrument of justification.

15:21 Now, then we looked also at the medium and we saw that justification through this great redemption for deliverance which is in Christ. We saw that justification was true. It was freely given by his grace that the source of justification in the ninth place was the free grace of God. And then we saw finally in the tenth place that justification results in privilege and it results in holy living.

15:52 And justification always results in the privileges of acceptance with God and it always results in holy living. In the passages we looked at, Romans 5, 1 through 11, Romans 6, 1 to 7, 25. All right, so much then for review with respect to the things that we looked at last week. Now, therefore, we come this week to consider that other strand of the biblical teaching.

Introduction to God's Ongoing Judgment and Justification of the Righteous

16:20 Now we go back to God's pronouncement and to judgment being declared. Justification, God's pronouncement of judgment with respect to the ungodly. And we go on. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, those ten things. And so that this has received the confessional prominence and rightly so. And now we come this week to consider this second aspect. And that is God does not close the courtroom once he makes the pronouncement which has to do with pardon.

17:28 God does not take off his judgely robes and forever cease to be a judge. God does not close his courtroom and say now the courtroom is closed for business. In other words, God tries other cases in his courtroom other than the case of pardon and acceptance. When the ungodly man appears in the courtroom, the ungodly man who believes in Christ, there's only one issue in that courtroom.

18:02 And that issue is pardon and acceptance. But there is another issue which intrudes into God's courtroom. God does not cease to be a judge. God does not cease to be a judge and to sit upon the throne, does he?

18:15 Can you think of any passages which indicate that God will continue to be a judge and God will continue to judge his people? Off the top of your head? There are so many of them. Yes, Mr. Walden.

18:29 All right, Romans 2, 1 through 16. Acts 17. God shall judge all men. So God doesn't stop being a judge.

18:37 And there are other issues that enter into God's courtroom. Issues other than this one issue of pardon and acceptance on the basis of the life history of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when other issues are reviewed, God also, in the life, when considering these other issues, makes the pronouncement that certain people are just and righteous with respect to these other issues as well. And the Bible uses the very same terminology, the terminology of justify, in order to describe this action on the part of God. So we have what could be called not only this doctrine of once for all, past, accomplished, forever finished, justification of the ungodly, in which the issue in God's courtroom is pardon and acceptance and the believing sinner has gone out of the courtroom rejoicing that once for all that is forever closed. But also now we have the courtroom open again with respect to the present justification or the present vindication

The Timing of Declarative Justification in Abraham's Life

19:58 of the people of God. Would you turn with me please to James chapter 2. James chapter 2, verses 14 to 26. What does it profit, my brethren, if a man say he has faith but does not have works?

20:40 Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled, and yet you don't give them the things needful for the body, what does it profit? Even so, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, you have faith and I have works.

21:02 Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one, you do well. The demons also believe in shudder. But will you know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?

21:20 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? You see that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect. And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. You see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.

21:54 And in like manner, wasn't also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers and sent them out in other ways? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. Now the first thing that we wish to look at with respect to this, well, let me use the same letter, with respect to this present justification or present vindication, little one, let's look at when it occurred. When did this occur in Abraham's life?

22:37 Well, it occurred in his present life. Here's Abraham's life. Now can anyone see this? Here's Abraham.

22:46 And Abraham conceived, right at this point in his life, Abraham is circumcised. At this point in his life, Abraham offers Isaac. There's Abraham. There's his life.

23:12 There's approximately 25 years between the time which he was circumcised and the time which he offered Isaac. Can everybody see that? All right? Yes? Good.

23:26 Now this present life is when this pronouncement was made. Subsequent to the transition from wrath to grace. And the interesting thing is that he uses an aorist participle which indicates the following. It says this way.

23:45 It could be translated one of two ways. But in any event, it makes this plain. Notice, if you would please, in James 2.21.

23:54 Was not Abraham our father justified by works in that he offered up Isaac his life? Or it could be translated one of two ways. It could be translated, if it's a temporal participle, wasn't Abraham justified by works after he had offered up Isaac upon the altar? Or it could be translated this way.

24:16 Wasn't Abraham justified by works because he had offered up Isaac upon the altar? In any event, one thing is clear. And it is that this is not the case. And it is that this pronouncement, this declaration that Abraham was righteous, was made after he offered up Isaac upon the altar.

24:45 Now Paul, in Romans, talks about the justification of the ungodly. And Paul says in Romans that righteousness was imputed to Abraham and Abraham was justified. But when does Paul say that happened in Abraham's life? Does anybody remember?

25:01 Jerry. Before he was circumcised, where does Paul say that? He says it in Romans 4, verses 9 to 11. Beginning in verse 6, he says, Even as David also pronounces blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works.

25:29 Then verse 9. Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision or upon the uncircumcision? For we say to Abraham, his faith was reckoned for righteousness. How then was it reckoned?

25:44 When he was in uncircumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision. So Paul says that this pronouncement, the justification of Abraham, the justification of the ungodly, occurred in his life before he was circumcised.

26:21 That's where it happened. That's when he believed and that's when God pronounced him to be righteous. God pardoned him and accepted him and after that he was circumcised. And after that, Isaac was born.

26:37 And after that, he offered up Isaac. And then James says after he offered up Isaac, God pronounced him righteous. So the first thing you have to recognize is that James and Paul are talking about two different events in the life of Abraham. One event occurred before he was circumcised.

27:02 In other words, before he was circumcised, Abraham went to court. Abraham went to God's court. And there was one issue. Well, I should say there were two issues on the docket that day in God's courtroom.

27:15 And the issues were pardon and acceptance. And God made his pronouncement right back here before he ever circumcised Abraham and the case was dismissed. And that case was never going to be raised again. You see, the same case was not being tried 25 years later.

27:36 It was not the issue of pardon and acceptance which was upon the docket. That case had been tried 25 years ago. 25 years before. And the pronouncement had already been made.

27:47 So James is not teaching that God pardons and accepts here and then God pardons and accepts again. A double justification in which the same pronouncement has to be made over and over and over again throughout a person's life. No, no, that's not what he's teaching at all. Because that's not the issue that's upon the docket.

28:09 That's not what is in God's courtroom in this day. So the question is then in the second place what is its essence? Look at when it occurs. It occurs after he offers up Isaac in his life.

28:26 So it is not this experience of pardon and acceptance that James is talking about. So that ought to set our minds at rest a little bit, should it not? That whatever James means he's not talking about what happened to Abraham here in contradicting Paul. James is not saying that when Abraham came and believed God prior to the time he was circumcised that he was pardoned and accepted on the basis of his works.

28:50 He can't be saying that. Whatever else he's saying he can't possibly be saying that. He's not even talking about that event. He's talking about an event a completely different event in Abraham's life.

29:02 So even if we can't sort out every single issue and problem with respect to harmonizing Paul and James they can't be contradicting each other because they're not even describing the same event in Abraham's life. Alright? But now the next thing is this. What was the issue at stake 25 years later?

The Essence of Declarative Justification: Genuineness of Faith

29:23 Abraham's back in court again now. He goes into that courtroom as a pardoned and accepted man. His pardon was not revoked. His acceptance was not debated.

29:36 He had been pardoned. He had been accepted. What was the issue that was in God's courtroom 25 years later? Well, either Paul and James have blatantly contradicted each other or the vindications that they have in mind have different issues in focus.

30:00 That is, they have a different essence. They have a different essence. Because if they have the same essence then Paul is teaching that Abraham was pardoned and accepted prior to his circumcision. And James is teaching that Abraham was not pardoned and accepted until after his offering of Isaac.

30:31 And since the Bible does not contradict itself James has a different issue in focus. What was the question? What was the issue? Well, I submit to you that the issue was the genuineness and the reality of Abraham's faith.

30:54 The issue here was the genuineness, the sincerity of Abraham's faith. The question in court today is not shall I pardon and accept Abraham if so, on what basis? That was not the issue. The issue was this.

31:24 Does Abraham really fear God? Is Abraham's faith the real McCoy? Is it the real thing? The genuine article?

31:39 Or is it counterfeit? That's the question. And God is going to make a pronouncement with respect to that question. The question is not shall I pardon and accept Abraham?

31:50 No, that's not the issue at all. Although perhaps you can see how the two things are going to be related. The two things are definitely related. Because if Abraham's faith is genuine then that reflects upon whether or not he genuinely did pardon and accept it, doesn't it?

32:07 But the question in court today, 25 years later, is this is his faith the genuine article? Now can't you see that that's the context in James? That that's the great issue with which James is concerned? Notice how it's put.

32:29 Verse 14. What does it profit, my brethren, if a man say he has faith but have not works? Can that faith save him? That's his concern.

32:42 James' concern is is a faith which doesn't produce a holy life the genuine article? Is it or isn't it? That's the great issue with which James is dealing. Notice again verse 18.

32:59 Yea, a man will say you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is good? You believe that God is one?

33:14 You do well. Well and good. So do the demons. You see the issue is is your profession of faith genuine?

33:26 Is it a credible profession of faith? Is the faith that you have the genuine article that will save you? Now that was the question which was brought to court. 25 years later in Abraham's life, that was the question.

33:43 That was the issue. Now not only does the context in James indicate that this is the issue, but also the context in the Old Testament in the offering of Isaac shows that that's the issue. Would you turn with me please back to Genesis and we'll see the pronouncement that God made about Abraham. Yes, Genesis chapter 22.

34:28 Genesis chapter 22 and verses 9 and following. And they came unto the place which God had told him of and Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound his son Isaac and laid him upon the altar and Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son. You see now that's the event that James is talking about. Now what did God say to Abraham upon that occasion?

35:06 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said Abraham, Abraham. And he said here I am. And he said do not lay your hand upon the lad neither do anything to him for now I know that you fear God seeing you have not withheld your only son from me. What was the issue?

35:33 The issue was whether or not Abraham was a God-fearing man. The issue was whether or not his profession of faith was genuine. Now I know that you fear God. God made a pronouncement.

35:45 That's an assertion. It's a declaration. It's a judgment. Abraham your faith is the real McCoy.

35:53 Now I know that you really fear God. When it came Abraham between you choosing your son and me you chose me. Your attachment to me meant more to you than anything even your attachment to your own son. And therefore the case is dismissed.

36:13 I make my pronouncement. Abraham now I know that you fear God. I declare your faith to be the real McCoy. You are a God-fearing man.

36:24 Case dismissed. Now that case never came into court until 25 years later. When it came into court God made his pronouncement from his judgment seat. And he said, Abraham you are indeed and in reality a genuine and sincere God-fearing man.

36:46 Abraham was vindicated. Abraham was justified. And the distinction that has been made in theology by the theologians between these two things. This is called actual justification and this is called declarative justification.

37:08 And declarative. Remember that the issue in view in declarative justification is not now I pardon you. Now I accept you. No, no.

37:28 Now I know that you fear God. He did not then 25 years later declare him pardoned and accepted for the first time or the second time. But what he did is he declared that his faith was the genuine article, the real McCoy, that he was truly a God-fearing man. All right.

The Source and Recipients of Declarative Justification

37:54 That was the issue on the docket in God's court and that was God's verdict. He pronounced him righteous with respect to that. All right. Then the third thing that we wish to look at about this present justification or declarative justification is this.

38:10 It's source or ground. It's source or ground. Now what did God look at when he pronounced Abraham to be a God-fearing man? Did God look at the life history of Christ?

38:23 No. He looked at the life history of Abraham. Now I know that you fear God seeing you have not withheld your only son from me. When did that happen?

38:37 Did that happen in Christ's life history? Or did that happen in Abraham's life history? It happened in Abraham's life history. It was a work that Abraham did.

38:46 A work, an evangelical work which sprang out of faith. And God looked at that. And when God saw that, God pronounced him to be truly a God-fearing man. So that the ground or the source of this pronouncement is not the life history of Christ, but it is the life history of Abraham, the life history of the believer.

39:18 God looks at the way you live when this issue comes to court. He doesn't then look at the way Christ lived. Then he looks at the way you live and the way you live. And in the light of that, he makes this pronouncement, either that your faith is the real McCoy or that your faith is a sham that will never save you.

39:46 And God doesn't look at Christ's life to determine that issue in his courtroom and to make his verdict. And his pronouncement. He looks at your life and mine. Right?

40:01 Little D. Little three, the ground. Little four is the recipients. Who receives this pronouncement?

40:11 Well, this is not said about the ungodly and the wicked. But whom does God find to have genuine faith? Well, that's why I called it the justification of the righteous. God looks at the life of a righteous man, and he finds that the righteous man truly fears him, and he pronounces him to be what indeed he really is, a righteous man.

40:38 The recipients of this pronouncement are not the ungodly the moment they believe, but the righteous, because the issue is whether or not their faith is genuine and real. And what God looks at is the way that they live. Now, the fifth thing, the fifth thing, is the relevance of this pronouncement. Well, so what?

The Relevance of Declarative Justification: Antidote to Antinomianism

41:09 Well, it's very relevant. You see, James' teaching provides the essential antidote for antinomianism and carnal presumption. It reveals the folly of regarding a profession of faith as certain proof of genuine faith. And it shows us the connection between the justification of the ungodly and the justification of the righteous.

41:48 It shows us the connection between these two things. Everyone who has truly been pardoned and accepted will manifest that by living a righteous and godly life. And that's another strand of truth which the Confession has emphasized again and again. And James makes this connection explicit when he ties this justification of the righteous into the teaching of Genesis 15.6.

42:20 And he says that 25 years later that text was fulfilled which said Abraham demeaned God and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. It showed and it demonstrated that Abraham was a pardoned and accepted man and that the text of Scripture which described him as such was true. And so this declarative justification gives concrete evidence and demonstration to the reality of the once for all actual justification of the ungodly when they believe. But then there's one other dimension which I must touch upon. It is this present vindication this present concept of vindication and being declared and pronounced to be a God-fearing man declared and pronounced to be someone who has sincere and genuine faith that this also comes to its final expression not just in this present life but also in the future in the world to come. Would you turn with me please to Matthew chapter 12.

Future Justification at the Last Day

43:41 Now there are several passages in the New Testament which I believe teach this. One of them has already been mentioned Romans chapter 2 by Mr. Waldron. But I think perhaps the most let's say the clearest statement of it is found in Matthew chapter 12.

44:00 Matthew 12. And Jesus now is speaking about the final judgment which shall occur in the last day. He says Matthew 12 following in verse 34 etc. He's speaking about the way that they live and the fact that they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and he says that this is a manifestation of the true state of their heart.

44:38 Verse 33. Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt because the tree is known by its fruit. The kind of person that you really are is made known by the way that you actually live. Now the Lord Jesus says this fact is going to have expression in the day of judgment.

45:00 The kind of tree that you are the kind of person that you really are and what you've shown yourself to be by the way that you live this will be manifested in the last day. Once again we're all going to go back to court and the same issue is going to be raised. The issue that was raised 25 years after Abraham's acceptance and pardon the issue of whether or not Abraham was the genuine article. That issue is going to be raised again in the last day.

45:30 Notice how he puts it. And I say to you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Once again you see that justification the opposite of condemnation court is in session. Once again.

45:58 God is sitting upon the bench. Once again. God is going to reach a verdict. Once again.

46:04 And he will either pronounce righteous or he will either find them guilty and consign them to the sentence of death. Once again. God is once again at the bench with his robes upon him acting the part of the judge. Now notice the time of this judgment.

46:22 The time of it is the last day the last day. And every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Once again God takes out his robes court comes into session upon the last day. Notice the essence of this judgment.

46:46 It is similar to present vindication. It is similar to declarative justification. God will find us and declare us to be genuinely righteous men or genuinely wicked men. In other words God is going to look at us in the day of judgment and say either this is an apple tree or this is a thorn bush.

47:14 He is going to make his pronouncement. He is going to pronounce us to be apple trees or thorn bushes in judgment day. That is the issue which is in view in Matthew chapter 12. The issue is what kind of tree are you?

47:31 Either they are going to be declared to be genuinely righteous men or genuinely wicked men. They will be found to have sincerely discharged their stewardship. Found to be a doer of the law sincerely, evangelically. A hater of sin.

47:50 One who struggled with sin and sought to mortify his own indwelling sin. Either a righteous man and a good tree or a wicked man and an evil tree. Not found to be a perfect man but found to be a righteous man. Found to have what the scripture calls a good and honest heart.

48:12 One that fears God. What the scripture calls found to be a doer of the word. Found to be what the scripture calls a good and faithful servant who will hear the commendation of the Lord. Now once again what is the source or basis of this?

48:31 Well what does God look at? Again God looks at our own life history to determine whether or not we are good and faithful servants or whether we aren't. By thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Because your words are an indication of the state of your heart.

48:51 For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The words the pattern of your words determines what kind of tree you are. And that's what God's going to look at when he makes this pronouncement. He's going to look at your words.

Pastoral Impact: Encouragement and Evangelical Fear

49:04 Your words and my words. Not Christ's words but your words and my words. Now of course the great impact of this is number one encouragement. Encouragement to the righteous.

49:21 Encouragement to the righteous man that there will be commendation and that there will be rest and that there will be reward in the day of judgment when God will pronounce us to be truly God-fearing people as he pronounced Abraham to be when he offered up Isaac. And also it should stir us up to fear. And I won't deny that. And there is a proper sense in which we ought to fear.

49:51 Which is exactly what Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 17. And if you call on him as father who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work spend the time of your sojourning in fear. But it's interesting. It's an evangelical fear.

50:12 It's not a slavish cringing fear but it's an evangelical fear and it's not a fear that is in contradiction to a full assurance of pardon and acceptance. Now isn't that strange? Look at verse 18. Knowing that you were redeemed not spend the time of your sojourning in fear doubting whether God has accepted you doubting whether God has pardoned you wondering whether God will ever accept you and no, no, that's not the point.

50:47 Spend the time of your sojourning in fear knowing that you were redeemed. See there's absolutely no contradiction between this teaching of declarative justification God examining us to see whether we are the real article now and in the day of judgment. There's absolutely no contradiction in scripture between this teaching and a full-blooded assurance of a pardon and acceptance of the Lord. None at all.

Holding Biblical Truths in Tension and Concluding Prayer

51:21 Not in the scripture. Of course there may be in our own minds but there isn't in the word of God. So there's a biblical tension and we must hold these various strands of thought in tension if we are rightly to understand the mind of God as he has revealed it to us in scripture. Now if it hadn't been for that recent decree of the elders and the deacons we would have had time for questions.

51:53 However it is now 10.30 and our time is gone. So let's commit our time to the Lord God in prayer. I suppose I've sinned against you but not deliberately.

52:09 I really wanted to be able to throw this time open for questions today. And we just didn't have time in order to cover the material. But that wasn't a deliberate thing on my part. So please bear with me in that matter and let's seek the Lord's face.

52:25 Lord our God we give you thanks for the truth of your holy word that you have revealed to us. We thank you Lord that you vindicate us in terms of what Christ has done once and for all and that we are accepted with you and pardoned. And we also thank you Father that you look at us and discriminate between what is false and what is true. And oh God we pray that we may be stirred up and encouraged on the one hand and that we may be motivated to sincerity and to carefulness on the other.

52:58 Help us oh Lord to hold these truths in tension not to distort them not to hold them improperly in our minds and in our hearts. Write them upon us that we may live a godly life that we may walk in obedience and that all of us may stand in that day and be those who have their faith declared to be genuine and the real McCoy as you've declared concerning your servant Abraham. Lord keep us from delusion keep us from self lying keep us from hypocrisy keep us from the awful embarrassment of being revealed as a sham in the last day. Grant to us oh God that we may be stirred up to walk in purity and in godliness and in sincerity before you. And oh Lord grant to us that when we stand in your courtroom with that issue at stake as to whether or not we are the real McCoy oh God grant to us that we may hear you say well done thou good and thou faithful servant. We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.