Its Source and Instrument

The Source of Justification: God's Free Grace

0:03 The following sermon was delivered at the 2003 Southeastern Family Conference, which was held at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. The preacher is Pastor Edward Donnelly from Trinity Reformed Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland. This is the third sermon in a series of four entitled, Justification. This evening in the third of our studies on the topic of justification, I want to look with you at two more aspects of this doctrine, the source of justification and the instrument of justification.

0:47 We begin with the source.

0:53 It is late afternoon and you're about to sit down to supper.

1:00 A knock comes to your door.

1:03 You answer the door.

1:06 A perfect stranger is standing outside. He asks, He asks you your name. And when you tell him, he says, I would like to give you a hundred million dollars. He hands over a check.

1:22 You say, thank you very much.

1:25 Off he goes.

1:28 You come into the dining room.

1:30 Anything interesting to hear? Yes, you say. A man just came to the door and gave me a hundred million dollars.

1:40 Wonderful. What are we having for supper? I don't think that's how we would react. We would ask the question, Why do that?

2:05 We wouldn't let the donor get away until he had answered the question.

2:11 And it's a question we should ask, but don't ask as often as we should about justification.

2:20 Why would God do this?

2:28 We're disappointed when we see a spoilt child who takes things for granted. Presents, adventures, trips, kindnesses. And yet very often we're like that, a spoilt child. We're familiar with these things.

2:46 We know the gospel. There is salvation. There is eternal life. There is forgiveness of sins.

2:53 What are we going to have for supper? We don't pause lost in wonder and ask ourselves, What is it which moved God to do this? Where does justification come from? It must be an amazing source to produce, such a stupendous reality.

3:25 And it is. And the source of justification is the grace of God. Romans 3.24 Justified freely by His grace.

3:42 And that truth is supported elsewhere. Romans 5.17 The abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness. Romans 5.17 The abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness.

3:54 Romans 5.21 That grace also might rain through righteousness leading to eternal life. Titus 3.7 Being justified by His grace.

4:15 Ephesians 1.7 Redemption according to the riches of His grace. It is the grace of God which is the source of justification. As the catechism puts it.

Three Evidences of God's Grace in Justification

4:29 that justification is an act of God's free grace. We want to think for a few moments at the beginning of our study this evening of three ways in which grace is illustrated and exemplified in justification.

4:52 It is seen in the first place because of what God has done. We were talking about it, the three of us, in the room at the back before the service this evening. How we use these words and we are like little prattling children talking about these stupendous awesome realities and we really only have the faintest glimpse of the glory of these things.

5:26 God forgives all our sins, holds us with his righteousness and he forgives us with his righteousness. This is a gift of infinite size. It is a present so stupendous as to take our breath away and move us to worship as it will to all eternity. It comes through Christ, the person given, the only begotten and the well beloved son which point to the cost of the gift, the price paid.

6:07 The price paid. The price paid by the father as well as the son for he did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all. What God has done is an act of stupendous grace. We might almost say of reckless extravagance.

6:32 We could imagine the angels saying as Christ's cold hearted disciples once said as they see God pouring his grace upon sinners, why this waste, why this waste God has done.

6:55 Grace is seen secondly because of why God has done it.

7:01 Because of why God has done it. He has done it for absolutely no reason outside himself. The reason is in himself. It is not in us.

7:13 God was not compelled to do it. God was not prompted. No force was brought to bear on him. That is not possible.

7:22 God was not even asked to provide salvation.

7:27 God was under absolutely no obligation to us whatsoever. We are his creatures. We are guilty creatures. We are sinful creatures.

7:40 We have no rights.

7:43 We have no claim. We have no deserts of anything good. We can ask for or expect nothing from God.

7:55 God. God has done it truly and sovereignly because God is love and his salvation is an expression of his essential being and nothing could show more clearly what our God is like than the salvation which he has provided in Christ because of what God has done because of why God has done it. 3. Thirdly, because of those for whom God has done it.

8:40 And this is perhaps the clearest of all the evidences of grace.

8:47 We as human beings know what it is to help the deserving.

8:54 To help our kin, our friends, those who appeal to us. Paul says, perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But God is so different. God loved the world.

9:13 We heard this morning that the world is the rebellious world. And the point of that verse is not the size of the world. That's where people go wrong. They say, my, God loved the whole world.

9:29 And then you get into debates with Calvinists and Arminians. What does it mean that God loved the world? It's not the bigness of the world. It's the badness of the world.

9:40 God could love a million worlds in terms of size. He created the universe. The world isn't big to God. But the world is bad.

9:50 Very, very bad.

9:55 And as R.B. Kuyper says, the point is not that the world is so big that it takes a great deal of love to cover it.

10:04 But that the world is so bad that it takes an infinite love to love it at all. God loves. God loved the world. God commends his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

10:23 This is the wonder of wonders. The character of those for whom Christ died. Utterly unworthy. Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.

The Profound Impact of Justification by Grace

10:38 The source of justification is God's should affect us profoundly. It should give us hope. Since justification by grace is by grace, our personal worth is irrelevant.

11:05 It's a thrilling doctrine. Especially to those who are conscious of their unworthiness and their guiltiness and their sin. Friends, it's by grace. It's by grace.

11:19 We could translate the word freely as a gift. He justified us as a gift. The same Greek word is used in John. John 15, 25.

11:31 The prophecy of Christ. They hated me without a cause. That's how it's translated. Without a cause.

11:39 So we could say that God has justified us without a cause. He doesn't need any reason in you to justify you. He doesn't need to see anything in you to justify you. He justifies us from his grace.

11:55 And this should move us to worship. The gospel of grace brings glory to God. In a unique way. Saved sinners can glorify God in a way that angels and archangels never can.

12:13 For we can glorify him and we can demonstrate his grace. Revelation shows us the saints in glory worshipping the lamb that was slain.

12:28 Grace of justification.

12:35 Reality that grace is the source of justification leads us to the truth. Leads us, inevitably, to our main subject.

The Instrument of Justification: Faith Alone

12:44 The instrument. The instrument of justification.

12:53 We have learned, I hope, something about justification in these evenings.

12:59 We have seen that it meets the deepest need of those who are unrighteous.

13:07 We have seen that all our sins are forgiven and that we are clothed with the perfect divine righteousness of God. And we are declared as such and openly recognized as such. And we've seen that this is based on the life and death of the only begotten Son of God. And we've just seen that it's due to an outpouring of free grace from Almighty God.

13:35 All this is wonderful. The question then arises. Is everyone justified? Are all human beings declared righteous?

13:48 Do they all receive this wonderful gift? And, of course, the answer is no. Some people are justified. Some are not.

14:00 Now, in human terms, what makes the difference? The answer is clear. It is faith. And that's our subject.

14:14 Faith. Romans 3.22 The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. Romans 3.26 God is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 5.1 Since we have been justified by faith. Romans 1.17 The righteous shall live by faith. Again and again it is stressed and emphasized. By faith. By faith.

14:54 By faith. That is the crucial distinction between the justified and the unrighteous. That's the crucial distinction in this gathering. Many of us here have exercised faith in Christ and we are justified.

15:10 Others, no doubt, have not yet exercised faith in Christ and you are still in your sins. That's the distinction between heaven and hell. Heaven is the place of faith and hell is the place of unbelief. We want to look at five points this evening regarding faith as it relates to justification.

The Status of Faith: An Instrument, Not the Ground

15:35 The status of faith. The status of faith. The instrument of justification. And here I'm using a term which was adopted by our spiritual forefathers.

15:54 In the Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 11, section 2 we read faith is the alone they mean the only faith is the only instrument of justification. Charles Hodge in his commentary on Romans writes the part assigned to faith in the work of our reconciliation to God is that of an instrument. It apprehends or appropriates the meritorious ground of our acceptance the work or righteousness of Christ. Faith is the instrument of justification. Now what does that mean? It's not a biblical term. It's not a biblical word.

16:47 Why am I introducing a theological concept here? Is this pointless hair-splitting? Is it important to be precise on this? My friends it is hugely important.

17:01 Major issues depend on it. And in a sense the key point is that faith is not the ground of our justification. It's not the basis. It's not the foundation of our justification.

17:21 It is not that on which our justification rests. The slogan by faith alone can be misleading. And it can suggest to people that faith is the basis on which we are saved. And by doing so it turns faith into a work which is the exact opposite of what faith really is.

17:53 And it inverts it in the order of things. So people think that we are saved because of something we do. If we do it properly. And if people are lost it's because of something they don't do.

18:12 And you see if we begin to misunderstand if we think that our faith is the ground of our justification. If we misinterpret being justified by faith what will happen? We will start looking to our faith and examining our faith and trusting our faith and depending on our faith. And when we ask ourselves am I saved?

18:40 We will say what condition is my faith in? And once you start doing that you feel the ground quaking underneath your feet. Because our faith is a most shaky unreliable foundation. It varies from day to day and week to week.

19:01 Sometimes it's strong. Sometimes it's wavering. Sometimes it's almost non-existent. And it's interesting to note the precision with which the New Testament uses its prepositions.

19:22 The New Testament speaks of our being justified by faith. Justified through faith. Justified upon faith. But there's a great preposition with a particular case which means on account of.

19:41 Because of. The Bible never says that. We're never justified on account of our faith. We're never justified because of our faith.

19:57 It isn't the ground. We saw last night what the ground is. The ground is the life and death of the Son of God. That's the basis.

20:08 Romans 5, 9 We are justified by His blood. Here is the solid basis on which God is able to declare the guilty sinner righteous. Think about it. What good would faith be as the ground?

20:27 I want you to let me into heaven God because I believe. How does that affect your sins? How does that affect God's broken law? How does that affect your character?

20:45 Your obedience? What relevance has what you believe to your past record and your present condition? What sort of reason is that for getting into heaven? I believe oh God.

20:58 But to say Lord your Son died for me on the cross and paid for my sins in His own body and has given me His perfect righteousness. That's why I'm asking you to let me into heaven. You're on solid ground. Faith then is the instrument by which justification becomes.

21:27 We might think of the surgeon's scalpel. That is the instrument he uses in the operation. The scalpel is indispensable. He can't make an incision with his fingers.

21:46 He has to have the scalpel. He has to use it. Without the scalpel he can't save the life. And in that limited secondary sense we are saved by the scalpel.

22:01 It's the scalpel which repairs the damage or cuts out the tumor or whatever needs to be done. But it's only a means. The scalpel is only the link between the surgeon's skill and our disease. The scalpel joins them together.

22:20 The scalpel is the channel by means of which his expertise invades our body and heals us. In itself it is worthless. Lying on the operating table it is worthless. In the wrong hand it is a deadly weapon and will kill instead of healing.

22:44 But when it's taken by the surgeon it's a life saver. And yet we're saved by the surgeon. We're not saved by the instrument he uses. Now I know that's a poor illustration because in the illustration the surgeon uses the scalpel whereas in fact it is we the patient who exercise the faith that is given to us.

23:13 But I think you can see the main point. Our faith is the link between us in our sin and our savior. Our faith is the channel by which his life and his death are credited to us. Our faith is the means by which his grace and mercy enter our lives.

23:39 What I'm saying then is that faith in itself is worthless. Faith in itself is worthless. In fact if it's misdirected it's lethal. You remember the people who had faith in Jim Jones was it?

24:03 Cult leader who took the people off poisoned them. People all over the world have faith. That's a misdirected faith. It's going to damn them.

24:14 It's going to send them to hell. They have great faith. People say I wish I had your faith. Faith itself is worthless.

24:23 But when directed towards Christ it is saving. That is why the scripture often qualifies the faith by which we're justified. It tends to say faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus.

24:41 Listen to B.B. Warfield. The saving power of faith resides not in itself but in the almighty savior on whom it rests.

24:57 It is not faith that saves but faith in Jesus Christ. It is not strictly speaking even faith in Christ that saves but Christ that saves through faith. It's not faith in Christ that saves. It's Christ that saves through faith.

25:19 Warfield continues the saving power resides exclusively not in the act of faith or the attitude of faith or the nature of faith but in the act of faith. But in the object of faith. The object of faith. Faith is vital.

The Solitariness of Faith: Faith Alone

25:43 Faith is indispensable. Faith is an instrument. The status of faith. Let's look secondly for a moment at the solitariness of faith.

25:59 The solitariness of faith. We're justified by faith faith alone. Faith alone. Roman Catholic apologists have pointed out for the last three or four hundred years that the two words faith and alone are only brought together once in the whole of the Bible.

26:24 And that is in James 2.24 where James says you see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And this has been a strong point in Roman Catholic apologetics. The only time the Bible links faith and alone is to tell us that that's not the way it is.

26:44 Of course the objection is superficial. Calvin calls it an obviously ridiculous. James is dealing with a different issue altogether. And Paul makes it clear over and over again that the faith by which we are justified is faith by itself.

27:08 Faith alone. Romans 3.28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. That's faith alone.

27:20 Galatians 2.16 A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. Not by works but through faith. So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law.

27:44 Philippians 3.9 Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ. The righteousness from God that depends on faith. It couldn't be clearer.

28:01 It's faith alone. The classic passage Ephesians 2.8 and 9 For by grace you have been saved through faith not a result of works. Not by works not partly by faith and works by faith alone.

28:22 By faith alone. Paul in spite of some of the suggestions of the so called new perspective which I won't go into this evening. Paul is here attacking attempts to earn salvation by keeping the commandments. The Jews of Paul's time were in practice legalists.

28:45 That has been demonstrated the new perspective is dead wrong here as a matter of theological historical fact. The Jews believed that they could store up treasure for themselves by obeying the commandments. And the more commandments there were the better. It's a mistake to think of the Jews as being burdened by having a lot of commandments.

29:11 They loved having a lot of commandments. More opportunities to earn brownie points with God. Rabbi Hillel said where there is much law there is much life. Where there is much law there is much life.

29:29 And Paul is attacking this. Attacking those who rely for their acceptance with God on what they have done. He describes it in Galatians 3.21 as righteousness by the law.

29:46 Or Galatians 2.21 justification through the law. He attacks it. He opposes it.

29:56 Salvation by works is impossible. The solitariness of faith. Faith stands naked solitary unique faith solitariness of faith. To me thirdly to the scandal of faith alone.

The Scandal of Faith Alone and the Temptation of Legalism

30:25 The scandal of faith alone. Alone. People who don't know any other Latin O sola fide one of the great watchwords of the reformation. It speaks to us of the martyrs of faithful contending for the truth.

30:57 It is a reassuring phrase. It is a familiar phrase. We're comfortable with it. We love it.

31:03 By faith alone. A contrasting phrase not by works. That brings up pictures to our minds of rosary beads and penances and rituals and medieval superstition and dreary moralism. And it seems so absurd so pointless and so foolish.

31:23 And we're sorry for people who believe in salvation by works. By faith alone is wonderful. Is it? It is a shocking doctrine.

31:46 It is a shocking doctrine. It's radical. It's mind blowing. It's extremely controversial.

31:58 There is something in it in us that fights against it as wrong. None of us knows if Saddam Hussein is still alive or whether his DNA is scattered in some street in Baghdad. But let's imagine for a minute that he is. He's been seriously wounded.

32:18 He's only a day or two to live. Let's imagine that somehow a gospel tract comes into Saddam Hussein's hands. And as he lies there bleeding away his life he reads the tract. The Holy Spirit opens his eyes.

32:34 The Holy Spirit opens his eyes. The Holy Spirit opens his eyes. The Holy Spirit opens his eyes. The Holy Spirit opens his eyes.

32:44 And he repents of his sin. And almost with his last breath falls on Jesus to save him. And at the same moment that Saddam Hussein passes from this earth a country doctor dies in small town mid-America. Kindly loving man who brought generations of babies into the world.

33:12 Who cared for the whole community. Who gave himself selflessly to doing good throughout his life. A convinced atheist with no time for God. But a man beloved and mourned by the whole community.

33:34 Those two individuals arrive together in the presence of God. And the genocidal bestial torturer and murderer is welcomed into the glory. The kindly humanitarian physician is cast into the torments of shock. Four men have been sent to the slaughter of the dead. The children of the dead are being taken by the dead. The children of the dead are being taken by the dead. So what a certain is the creed of every other religion on earth that there ever has been or ever will be.

34:54 And against it stands this one faith, the Christian gospel, salvation by faith. Salvation by work seems to us just and fair. It seems to us the best way of making people good and certainly the best way of keeping people good. And throughout history, even God's own people have been uneasy about the freeness of the gospel.

35:27 And they've been very ready to drift away from it into legalism by the middle of the second century A.D. Less than a hundred years, the gospel was almost lost from the church.

35:43 Throughout the Middle Ages, the gospel was buried. The gospel was hidden to a large extent until it was rediscovered at the Reformation.

35:57 But friends, we've more to worry about than the medieval church.

36:02 We're all tempted. Every one of us in this room. We're all natural legalists. And no matter how far we go in the Christian life, we never get beyond that.

36:13 We're never immune.

36:19 Some time ago, I had a couple of really bad days spiritually. I wasted a lot of time in the study. I neglected what I needed to do. I was, well, you need, you probably would be very interested to hear the details, but I'm not going to tell them to you.

36:34 A couple of reasons, really bad days. And as I came into the study the next morning, I knew it was time for me to pray. But I really had lived such a wretched life for a couple of days that I couldn't pray. I said to myself, it would be hypocrisy for me to go to God and ask for his blessing the way I've been living and the state I'm in.

36:55 And I said, what I need to do is get myself sorted out, get my life in order. I'll get down at my desk. I'll do a good day's work. And when I've had a good day's work, then I'll be in a better frame of mind to pray to God.

37:09 It was not a reasonable sort of approach. So I sat down at my work.

37:17 And after about an hour, I said to myself,

37:31 I'm here to come into your presence five good hours of study. That's my righteousness. That's my claim upon you. That's the ground on which I approach your holy presence.

37:44 Pure legalism. Impure legalism. Whatever adjective you want to use. I've been a minister for nearly 35 years.

37:54 That's ABC. That's absolutely basic truth. And I forgot it. I forgot it.

38:05 Can any of you sympathize with that? Words to the Galatians. Galatians 3.3 Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

38:18 We make that mistake again and again and again. We keep forgetting it. You see, justification by works mentality is insidious.

38:30 It can tempt the best people. In fact, it is the best people who are especially tempted. Other temptations feed on our weaknesses and our sins. But this temptation feeds on our virtues and our graces and our strengths.

38:53 And it finds its home in those things in us which are good, which are good, and feeds off them.

39:03 And the war against self-confidence is unending.

39:09 And the attacks of the enemy are subtle. There is something scandalous to us about faith alone.

39:20 None of us is free.

39:22 We can be relying on our doctrinal orthodoxy. We can turn that into a work. We can be relying on our reformed distinctives. We can turn that into a work.

39:35 We can even take pride in the vigor and clarity with which we teach salvation by faith alone. And we can turn our denial of works into a work. Clearly and convincingly. How about I, great?

40:04 That's the deviousness. Listen to Martin Luther. I myself taught this doctrine for 20 years. Both in my preaching and my writings.

40:22 And yet, the old tenacious mire clings to me. So that I find myself wanting to come to God, bringing something in my hand for which he should bestow his grace on me. I cannot attain to casting myself on pure and simple grace only. And yet, this is highly,

40:57 The old tenacious mire still clings to us brethren. That is why I've made a deliberate conscious choice to preach an unbalanced series of messages. I am not going to deal with the transformation of character which will inevitably accompany justification. With the fact that those who are justified will either receive a higher or a lower reward.

41:28 We'll be new creatures and we'll obey God and we'll pursue holiness. And if we were looking for a well-rounded treatment, that should come in. But I don't even want to open the door to get us away.

41:45 Faith. We've got to embrace this scandal to realize that it is a scandal on, a stumbling block to us. The scandal of faith alone. That brings us, fourthly, to the substitute for faith alone.

The Substitute for Faith Alone: Faith Plus Works

42:10 The substitute for faith alone. Perhaps we could go back to the illustration of the demons that we heard about at an earlier meeting.

42:24 The devil is asking them, how can we turn people away from the gospel? One demon says, well, teach them that salvation is by works.

42:36 And the devil would say, well, I don't think that's going to be effective. But you can try it if you like. Then another demon. Another demon says, teach them that salvation is by faith.

42:52 And the devil says, now you have it. There's the answer.

42:58 Keep the faith. Teach salvation by faith. Maintain salvation by faith. Just add a spoonful of our own works to the mixture.

43:10 That's what we're naturally inclined to do, as we've just seen.

43:15 Let me illustrate that by a current and, I think, disturbing illustration. One of the great divisions of what is called Christendom. Is between Roman Catholics and Protestants.

43:28 Perhaps the great dividing issue was justification by faith alone.

43:33 William Cunningham describes it as the great fundamental distinguishing doctrine of the Reformation.

43:41 And in the later years of the 20th century, attempts have been made to reconcile Protestants and Roman Catholics by means of reaching a common understanding on justification. The idea was, if we can agree on this, we can come together. And we have been told that a massive breakthrough has been achieved.

44:04 In 1983, a group of American Lutherans met with a group of Roman Catholics and published a doctrine called Justification by Faith. Good title. Let me read you their conclusion.

44:19 Entire hope of justification on Jesus Christ and his gospel. We do not place our ultimate trust in anything other. Than God's promise and saving work in Christ. That's a pretty good statement.

44:42 Both Lutherans and Roman Catholics signed it. In Newhouse and Charles Coulson.

44:53 In it they say, Evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ. It is time for Evangelicals and Catholics to be Christians together. They continue. We affirm that we are justified by grace through faith because of Christ.

45:11 Full stop. J.I. Packard in an article in Christianity Today called Why I Signed It says good Evangelical Protestants and good Roman Catholics are Christians together.

45:25 Now that seems to be good news. And it would be a very poor hearted person who wouldn't want to see a second reformation. And it would be a wonderful blessing from God if God were to come into those millions of the Roman Catholic Church and were to do a mighty work. And we should long for that.

45:45 And we should pray for it. And we're facing issues such as abortion and all the moral issues of the day. And Rome is strong and the supernatural and the Trinity and so on. So what's wrong?

46:03 What can a little Northern Ireland bigot find to complain about in these wonderful statements?

46:13 Robert Raymond says, The word alone is thundering by its absence. Little word left.

46:28 Is that so important?

46:32 Let me quote the new Roman Catechism. Justification is not only remission of sins but also sanctification and the renewal of the inner man. It detaches man from sin and purifies his heart of sin.

46:54 Elsewhere in the Catechism, Through the Holy Spirit, baptism is the bath that purifies. Justifies and sanctifies. Later on in the Catechism, the sacrament of penance makes it possible to recover the grace of justification. You leave out the word alone.

47:19 That's all. That's all. Only a bigot would notice it. But if you leave it out, it enables men and women in good conscience to sign a document that they believe in justification.

47:33 Justification by faith. And at the same time to teach that you can be justified through being baptized. That you can be justified through doing penance.

47:53 James Buchanan said in the 19th century, This diverts the mind from the external object of justifying faith, which is Christ alone, and directs it to the inward effects of faith. It substitutes the work of the Spirit in us for the work of Christ for us.

48:20 No friends, faith plus is no substitute. Faith plus works is no substitute. Let me tell you why. In the first place, because our works at best are imperfect.

48:39 We've seen that on Monday night. By the works of the law, no flesh will be justified. No flesh will be justified in His sight.

48:49 But again, what happens in practice, if you believe in faith plus works, no matter how much lip service you give to faith, works will take over. And before you realize it, your justification in practice will be based on the sacraments and the penances and the works. It's like the Arab with his camel and was sleeping in the desert and it was very cold. And the poor camel was outside in the cold.

49:21 And after a while, its two nostrils came in onto the edge of the tent. And the Arab felt very sorry for it. And he said, well, I'll let it put its head in. So the camel put its head in.

49:34 Three hours later, the Arab was outside the tent in the cold and the camel was in the tent. Works is like the camel. Once you start bringing it in, it takes over. It smothers faith.

49:46 It destroys faith. And then you see, what happens after that. It destroys biblical assurance. Because it leads to chronic doubt.

49:58 Have I ever done enough? Should I make more penances? Should I have the sacrament again? Should I make more prayers?

50:07 Should I give more money? And you're actually kept on a treadmill of doubt. And you're never sure. Are the works enough?

50:16 Or else it leads to self-confidence and arrogance. Sure. I'm saved because I'm a good person. Even go deeper.

50:34 Even if we could contribute good works. Follow me on this. Even if we could contribute good works, that would result in an altogether different kind of righteousness.

50:54 The righteousness which is imputed to us in justification is the righteousness of God. John Murray calls it, he describes it as, characterized by the perfection belonging to all God is and all God does. It is God's own righteousness. Now if we start adding to that, it isn't God's own righteousness anymore.

51:28 It's part God's and part ours. We're wearing a fabric that is partly man-made. And we have worn, woven it together by our own good deeds. It would be a different kind of righteousness.

51:45 That was the error of Israel.

51:49 Romans 10.3 Paul says, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God and seeking to establish their own.

52:00 They did not submit to God's righteousness. That was their error. They were good people. They were earnest, prayerful, the best of them, zealous.

52:08 What was wrong? They were seeking to establish their own righteousness. They were seeking to establish their own righteousness.

52:15 And that in fact, and this is the final condemnation of faith and works, that in fact is an insult to our Lord Jesus Christ. Think of it. Are you going to add your pitiful little attempts at goodness?

52:35 Spotless son of God. Are you going to stand at Calvary and see the Savior on the cross and say, well now Lord Jesus, I have a little contribution to make here too. I want to be in this. I have a part to play.

52:57 Professor Mernick, Murray puts it so beautifully.

53:00 The sinner knows that he has nothing to offer.

53:05 This truth assures him that he needs nothing to offer.

53:11 That it is an abomination to God to presume to offer. It is an abomination to God, says Professor Murray, to presume, to offer, to supplement the work of the Son of God. That's blasphemy. Nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross.

The Suitability of Faith Alone and a Call to Believe

53:35 And that brings us lastly. We've looked at the status of faith.

53:47 We've looked, in my notes, at the solitariness of faith, the scandal of faith, and the substitute for faith alone. And lastly we come to the suitability, the suitability of faith alone. If I've succeeded at all in these addresses and making anything clear, can we see how this all fits together? This is God's work.

54:25 God's work is beautiful. There is an architecture. There is a harmony. There's a wholeness.

54:34 There's a rationality about it. There's a completeness about it. You look at it and it's just absolutely perfect. Intellectually perfect.

54:44 Morally perfect.

54:47 We're justified through faith. Now that's not an arbitrary virtue. It's not as if God said, well now, well I opt for justified through faith. I think I'll go with faith.

55:06 We'll be justified through, yeah, okay, that'll be the virtue we'll have. Justified through faith. No, no. There is a glorious logic about it.

55:16 There is a compelling inevitability about the whole thing when you think about it. Let me recap. We have seen that we are unrighteous, hopelessly. Hopelessly.

55:29 unchangeably, helplessly unrighteous. We have seen that God has made provision for all our sins to be forgiven and for us to be clothed with His righteousness. We have seen that He has done this through free grace and we have seen that the ground of this is the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done. Now, what then remains?

56:09 Receiving. Believing what He has done.

56:18 Who has done it? That's what faith is. Faith is simply receiving God's salvation in Jesus Christ. There could be any other way of being saved.

56:34 What other way can you imagine of being saved? If it's all of God, if we're helpless, if it's free grace, if it's in Christ and Christ is offered to us. If somebody holds out a present to you, what's the only way of having it? You've got to take it.

56:58 You've got to take it. That's what we have to do.

57:05 Take Him. The gospel brings Christ before us.

57:11 The gospel offers Christ to us, sinners.

57:16 And that's all that matters.

57:18 Faith is our helplessness.

57:25 Faith's receiving Him.

57:28 And friends, that's the secret of Christian living. The just shall keep on living by faith. Day by day. Moment by moment.

57:39 Year by year. Trusting.

57:42 Leaning on Jesus. Resting on Jesus. Receiving. Handing ourselves over to Christ and laying the whole weight of our salvation on His shoulders.

57:56 Looking away from ourselves. Focusing entirely on Christ. There is a glorious inevitability about it. What other way could there be?

58:17 I guess some of you here tonight are still untouched by what we have been saying. Perhaps you're eagerly waiting for this meeting to end. What I've been preaching has made no impact on you.

58:43 You should be very alarmed.

58:46 You should be very alarmed.

58:50 Supposing you were to be struck by sudden deafness. You noticed everybody else in the room talking together and you couldn't hear them. Would you sit with a sense of smug superiority? A little smile inside?

59:08 As some of you are probably doing at this minute to the preaching of the gospel. I don't care.

59:15 I don't believe. You would. You wouldn't. You say there's something wrong with me.

59:23 All these people seem to be speaking and I can't hear them.

59:32 And that's the case with some of you this evening.

59:37 You should be alarmed.

59:40 You should realize. I can't repent. I can't believe. My heart isn't touched by this.

59:49 I'm not interested in this. I'm not concerned about this. I have no intention of believing in Jesus this evening. There's something terribly wrong with you.

59:59 There's something wrong with you. Do you realize that? It's your lostness and your deadness and sin. Be a young person or whoever you are.

60:10 If you're not touched, you should be very, very frightened that you're not touched.

60:17 You should be deeply troubled that you're not interested in these things. That is an awful condemnation of your spiritual helplessness and lostness.

60:31 What you need to do is to cry unto God and confess your helplessness. And say, God, I can't believe. I can't feel these things. I can't see the point of this.

60:42 I'm not interested in this. But I want you to change me. Help my unbelief. Have mercy on me.

60:59 I believe. I believe you're told the truth.

61:10 You know that you're a sinner. You know that you can't make yourself right with God. You know that if you don't repent, God will judge you and cast you into hell. And you know that Jesus, Christ is the only way of salvation.

61:26 And there's an inner voice as I'm speaking now is telling you it's the truth that you've never received.

61:42 And I remind you of your sin and of your need, of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. And I say to you that he is here now.

61:57 I am commissioned to offer Jesus Christ to you as your savior. God has sent me here and has given me authority. In his name to offer Christ to you as your savior. And you're going to have to choose in the next two minutes whether you're going to accept him or whether you're going to reject him.

62:25 You're going to have to choose. No escape from that. You've come in here now. Too late to get out.

62:31 You're going to have to choose. I'll just let you choose now. Are you going to receive Jesus? Are you going to reject him?

62:56 Are you saying in your heart now, I don't want him. I don't want him. I don't want the savior. I don't want the son of God.

63:06 Today is the day. The day of salvation. Now is the moment young person for you to believe. Now is the moment for you to call on Jesus Christ to save you.

63:17 Now is the moment. Don't reject him. Don't reject him. Don't reject him.

63:30 25th of June 2003. What a wonder. Jesus Christ, I'll be your savior. All your sins will be forgiven.

63:47 My righteousness. I'll give you everlasting life. I'll be with you all your life. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

64:03 That whoever believes in him. Whoever believes in him. Should not perish. But have everlasting life.

64:11 Some of you boys and girls. Will you believe in Jesus? You can do it now. Tell him you're sorry for your sins.

64:21 Thank him for all that he's done. For all that he's done for us. And for his great kindness. And coming here into this room this evening.

64:30 And offering to be your savior. And all you have to do is believe in him. And as you wait. As you decide.

64:44 There are people watching. And you're waiting. And there are people waiting. For some of you.

64:54 Your grandparents. And they're just sitting now. And they're praying with all their hearts. Trust Jesus.

65:09 As your savior. Your pastor. Your Christian friends. The angels in heaven.

65:26 Is being offered to them. The son of God is being offered. And I say to you. If you decide now not to believe.

65:38 What a terrible groan. Sorrow. And amazement. Will arise.

65:52 Will you believe? It's simple. It's simple. Jesus has died for sinners.

66:04 And he'll save you. He'll save you now. If you turn away from your sins. And ask him to be your savior.

66:14 Even if you're a little boy or a little girl. If you say it and mean it. He'll do it. What joy there would be.

66:27 The Bible tells us that there is joy. In heaven. Over one sinner that repent. Oh God.

66:35 If you would save people in this room tonight. Young people. Older people. So that in heaven itself it would be said.

66:43 They've trusted Christ. Their sins are forgiven. They're going to be in heaven. Forever.

66:54 And the greatest joy. The greatest joy. Would be that of the savior himself. He shall see of the travail of his soul.

67:03 And be satisfied. And let this be our prayer this evening. That the good shepherd will come. The good shepherd who goes after.

67:13 The one that is loved. The one who is lost. He's coming into this room now. He's maybe going after you.

67:21 He goes after the one who is lost. Until he finds him. And when he finds him. He puts him on his shoulders.

67:30 Rejoicing. He says rejoice with me. For I have found. My sheep.

67:40 Which was lost. Believe in the Lord. Jesus Christ. Amen.

68:09 Father. Son. And spirit. We cast ourselves in utter helplessness.

68:18 But in faith. And longing. And expectation to you. Lord you delight in mercy.

68:28 We ask you to do. What you delight in. You are glorified. When men and women.

68:38 And young men and women. And boys and girls. Trust your son. Here this evening.

68:47 There is joy in heaven. Over one sinner who repents. We pray that your spirit will work. We can do no more.

69:00 Almighty God. Show us. How great you are. Fill our hearts with gladness.

69:13 With tears of joy. And worship. Come among us oh God. To save.

69:21 If you have brought people here. To save tonight. That they may believe in Jesus. Help them to cast aside.

69:30 Their hesitations. And their doubts. And to see him. In all his kindness and glory.

69:38 And to trust him. With all their hearts. And we will praise and thank you. Forever and ever.

69:47 In your son's name. And for his sake we ask it. Amen.