Act of Pardon and Acceptance

The Doctrine of Justification: Our Legal Obligation and Heavenly Resolution

0:01 Each one of us seated in this auditorium this morning is on his way to that awesome, sobering event called in Scripture the Day of Judgment. The Apostle Paul in Acts 17.31 says God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. And in language which literally oozes with the idea of a court, language that again and again brings us to the concepts of a judge in the presence of evidence.

0:43 A judge who in the presence of evidence will give an uncontestable, irreversible sentence to all who stand in his court, the Bible asserts again and again and again. That each one of us shall give account of himself to God. Because our relationship to the God who made us involves legal obligations and legal liabilities, none of us, none of us can afford the luxury either of indifference to or ignorance of the great doctrine which has occupied our minds for the past few years. The Lord's days, namely the doctrine of justification.

1:36 For it is in this doctrine more than any other doctrine in the word of God that the great issues of the court of heaven are resolved to our everlasting blessing and salvation. In the course of a series of doctrinal studies, we have arrived at the point where we are concerned to examine the great issues of the court of heaven. The great and cardinal blessings of the salvation of God in Jesus Christ. Having examined what I've called the threshold blessings, namely calling and regeneration, we are now considering the amazing provision of grace for guilty sinners, that is, justifying grace, one of those blessings that meets us the moment we pass over the threshold and into vital union.

Defining Justification: An Act of Pardon and Acceptance

2:31 Now, having underscored the importance of this doctrine, the context of the doctrine, and having looked at the basic meaning of the word justify as it comes to us in Scripture, a word which means to declare righteous, that is, right in all respects in the face of the law, we have then proceeded to examine the major lines of this doctrine. We are then using the old Westminster larger catechism as a teaching framework. Now, I want to underscore again, I am not preaching the catechism. I am preaching the Scriptures.

3:13 We are simply using the old catechism as a framework within which to expound the Scriptures. And there is perhaps no other statement of the doctrine more accurate, more succinct than the statement in answer to question number one. Question number 70, what is justification? The answer, justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God. God imputed to them and received by faith alone. Now, we've just been unpacking that catechism answer. We have seen that God is the author of justification.

4:16 Justification is an act of God. Romans 8, 33, it is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth. We have seen that free grace is the source. Justification is an act of God's free grace, Romans 3, 24, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

4:44 And then the object of justification, sinners. It is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, sinners who are nothing but sinners at the point they are justified, in the language of Romans 4, 5. God is free. God justifieth the ungodly.

5:03 And then last week we began to consider that which is the very essence of justification. It is an act of pardon and acceptance. Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth and accepteth us in his sight. And all we did last week was simply focus on the fact that it is an act of God.

5:30 It is an act. Justification is not a process. We are wholly justified, are wholly condemned. And the moment we come by faith into the possession of justifying grace, we are as justified at that moment as we shall be when we are glorified, as we shall be after a billion eons of perfect obedience to God in the world to come.

5:57 Romans 8 and verse 1, Romans 8 and verse 1, There is therefore now, in the present moment, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Well, we come now to focus our attention upon these two aspects of this act of justification. It is an act of pardon and of acceptance.

The Essence of Justification: Pardon and Acceptance as Distinct but Inseparable

6:27 Justification involves both the pardoning, the remission, the forgiveness of all our sins, and the acceptance by God of our persons as righteous in his sight. In perhaps what is the classic work on this subject of justification by a Scottish theologian of another generation, Mr. Buchanan says, Considered again as a privilege of a believer, justification includes forgiveness and acceptance, the full pardon of sin, admission into God's favor now, and a title to eternal life hereafter. And with him I say, we are not concerned at this point in our study to ask the question, by what means is that pardon extended? On what grounds? Are we accepted as righteous?

7:33 We are not concerned to deal with the method of God in pardoning and accepting, the grounds upon which God pardons and accepts, nor are we concerned to ask and answer the question, by what means do we lay hold of that pardon and acceptance? We are concerned with but one issue this morning, and I trust with me you will exercise tremendous mental discipline, and I trust with me you will exercise tremendous mental discipline, to block out every other consideration, every other question but this. What is the essence of the justifying act? And the answer of the catechism, which simply epitomizes the answer of the scriptures is, the essence of the act of justification is to be understood as pardon and acceptance. And though a thousand questions, that's hyperbole, may rush into our minds concerning the ground of the pardon, the ground of the acceptance, the way of laying hold, how we may know that we have laid hold, every one of those questions that tries to intrude itself this morning, will you please send it out one of those empty windows? We don't want it this morning. Our great and exclusive concern is with this matter of the essence of justification.

8:59 Now I want, first of all, to make a general statement of these two aspects, then in the second place we'll look at the biblical basis for these two aspects of justifying grace. First of all, a general statement. Although these things are always found together, that is, the pardon or remission of sin, and the acceptance of the sinner's person as righteous, though they are always found together, and though each one, in a sense, assumes its counterpart, they are distinct and they ought to be understood in their distinctions. You have often heard from this pulpit, repentance and faith are never found alone, one without the other, in the heart of a true Christian. Wherever there is true faith, there is repentance. Wherever there is true repentance, there is true faith. But though they are inseparable, they are not identical.

10:02 Repentance is not faith, and faith is not repentance. Well, likewise, whenever God justifies a sinner, declares that sinner to be perfectly right in relationship to His law in every respect, God is doing two things. He is pardoning the sin, He is forgiving and remitting the sin, and He is accepting, He is accepting the person of the sinner as righteous in His sight. Now, the pardon is not the acceptance.

10:36 The acceptance is not the pardon. They are always together. But they are distinct elements in the justifying act. One is a cancellation.

10:48 The other is a conferral. In the one, something is taken away, the guilt of sin. In the other, something is given, a positive standing, before the court of heaven. In one, the penal threats of the law are resolved.

11:08 The wages of sin is death. In the other, the positive precepts of the law are imputed to the sinner. So we must understand, and by the grace of God as Christians rejoice in the fact that our justification is not mere pardon. It is pardon, and bless God that it is pardon and remission and forgiveness.

11:37 But it is more. It is the conferral of a positive standing before God in the light of His holy law based upon the gracious work of His own dear Son. Well, so much then for that general statement of the two aspects. Now, let us come to consider the biblical basis for this assertion.

Biblical Basis for Pardon: The Judge's Pronouncement of Forgiveness

11:59 And first of all, we will look at the statements of Scripture which underscore the fact that justification is an act of pardon and remission by the judge of the universe. Justification is an act of pardon and remission by the judge of the universe. Now, just as surely as our sin is real, as certainly as it brings real guilt and real condemnation, so we must have a real pronouncement from the court of heaven that all is pardoned and forgiven, or we are utterly and eternally undone. In other words, a sentence of condemnation that comes from the court of heaven can only be forgiven by the judge of the universe. It can only be reversed by an equally clear sentence of justification coming from the same court. Let me illustrate. Here's a man who belongs in a certain country in which

13:16 he has committed a crime contrary to the laws of the land. He is brought to trial for his crimes. All the evidence comes in. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is given in no unspeakable way. The verdict is of the laws of that land. Now, suppose with the sentence of guilty ringing in his ears, he goes back to his place of incarceration and talks himself into a state of innocence and absolves himself from all guilt.

13:59 And by mental gymnastics and a process of rationalization and self-hypnosis, he convinces himself that he's an innocent man. Does that change the real situation that exists in the real court with the real judge in the light of his real crimes and his real guilt and his real condemnation? A lot of you are sitting there shaking your heads. No.

14:25 Well, suppose his wife and his family all go through the land saying, my husband's innocent, my husband's innocent, he's done no crime. And suppose they could convince the entire populace. Would it make any difference in terms of the reality? Would it make any difference in terms of the reality?

14:41 Would it make any difference in terms of the reality? In the real judge, in the real court, with the real law and the real evidence and the real sentence obtained? No.

14:51 Well, suppose the judge received a telegraph from another country saying all of our system of courts, all of our systems here have examined the case and we find the man innocent. That doesn't make any difference. It's in the court to which he is answerable in terms of the law to which he is answerable to the law by which is bound in conjunction with the judge who administers the law that is either guilty or innocent. And my friend, you listen to me this morning. The only thing that matters is your standing before the real court and the real judge and the real law. It doesn't matter if you by mental gymnastics have absolved yourself. It doesn't matter if others seek to absolve you until the God who sits on the bench of the moral government of the universe who has said to every fallen son and daughter of Adam, guilty, worthy of death, until that

16:02 God makes a pronouncement just as clear, just as authoritative, saying, forgiven, absolved, pardon your sins. Sins are remitted, my friend, if that God who gives the sentence of condemnation has not given the sentence of remission. Then the law by which we are bound will find us in the last day sinking into that pit of eternal torment to be monuments of His pure and righteous judgment.

16:44 Furthermore, consider that man and examine his crimes a little more. We come to find out upon examination that he had an angry, bitter, sour heart that led him to commit murder and rape and pillage. Now suppose, while he's in his place of incarceration, the judge had power to completely change that man's personality from a heart full of hate and murder and uncleanness that would lead him to rape, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, to murder, and to rape, and to pillage. Suppose the judge had the power to utterly transform that man's psyche, utterly transform his whole personality into a sweet, gentle, loving man who wouldn't crush an ant under his foot. And in that condition, he comes into the court and the sentence, the list of his crimes is given and all of the evidence is brought forward. Would it get him off the hook if he could claim in honest and... honesty,

17:52 But oh judge! Kathryn我是 I am no longer a murderer at heart. I am no longer a rapacious man at heart. I am a new man.

18:02 Does that satisfy the broken law in that court? You hung up with a broken law and with a judge who is committed to uphold that law. And so you see, my friend, it will not do in this whole matter of our obligations to the court of heaven even to talk about something God has done in us to change our nature or change our disposition. That doesn't solve the problem of the court.

18:37 There must be forgiveness. There must be pardon.

18:42 There must be remission. There must be something of the tremendous issues at stake. Well, blessed be God, it is justifying grace that provides just such remission, pardon, and forgiveness. Now then, turn, please, to Acts chapter 13 as we consider together how justification is brought into the orbit of the forgiveness and pardon of sin.

Scriptural Evidence for Pardon: Acts, Romans, and Old Testament Declarations

19:16 In Acts chapter 13, the apostle is preaching at Antioch of Pisidia, and as so often was the case, he was opening up the Old Testament scriptures showing their fulfillment in Christ. And having demonstrated that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the fulfillment of all, all of the prophecies concerning the seed of David, the one whom God would raise up to sit upon David's throne, then he comes to his great gospel appeal in verse 38 of Acts 13. Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this man, that is Jesus of Nazareth, is proclaimed unto you remission of sin, and by him everyone that believeth is justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses.

20:25 Having demonstrated that Christ was indeed the promised Messiah, he then puts the spotlight upon the blessings that are to be had in this Messiah and in him alone. Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed remission of sins. That is, through this man there is to be the removal of sin, literally the sending away of sin, which involves what? He goes right on then, and in the first and only use of this term in the book of the Acts, through this man, man, everyone that believes is justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses. Here is a remission which cannot be found in Moses, but only in Christ. But it is true, it is bona fide remission by the judge himself who sits on the bench, and he points them in the direction, of that wonderful removal of sin that is to be involved in justifying grace. And then turn please to Romans chapter 4.

21:59 For many of you, I need not remind you of the flow of the apostles' thought in these chapters,

22:06 having announced that righteousness that comes without man's works based upon the work of another, having underscored, the fact that it is received by faith and faith alone. Now he's going to buttress those assertions from a quotation from the Old Testament. Verse 5, Romans 4, 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness, even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man unto whom God reckoneth righteousness, apart from works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin. Now you see the context is the context of justifying grace. Justifying grace that comes to us based on the work of Christ and is received by faith alone.

23:17 But now as the Apostle describes that justifying grace, notice that the attention in this context is directed to this first element. It is an act of God wherein He pardoneth all our sins. And here the grace of justification is described in that negative dimension. The iniquities are forgiven.

23:45 The sins are covered. The Lord will not impute or reckon sin to the justified man. Now some people who've tried to prove that that's all justification involves. The pardon of sin, they use this passage.

24:01 They say, see, when Paul is treating the subject of justification, he doesn't talk about the acceptance of the person as righteous, the imputation of the perfect obedience of Christ to the sinner. It is only pardon. Well, no. The whole sentence, the story is not told in this one passage.

24:19 For as we shall see in looking at subsequent verses, he does speak of this positive dimension as well. Not only the cancellation, but the conferral. Not only what is taken away, but what is given. But he starts with this note.

24:34 What is taken away is sin. What is pardoned is sin. What is covered is sin. Now add to these two pivotal texts the many passages, the passages in the Old and the New Testaments which assert that the offended God Himself, the righteous Judge, will actually remit, pardon, forgive, and remove guilt.

25:02 And one of the most wonderful declarations of that, it's a passage that was set before us in the Academy this past week when Mr. Vader was with us. Moses prays to see God's glory. And God says, You cannot see me in my undimmed glory for no man can see me and live.

25:23 But He's going to proclaim Himself to Moses. And we read in Exodus chapter 34 in verse 6 these very instructive words. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. And that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children upon the third and fourth generation. As God proclaims His name, as He, as it were, unpacks, His glory before Moses. Notice how the attention of Moses is directed to the God whose glory is seen not only in His inflexible justice that causes Him to say, I will by no means clear the guilty. The wages of sin is indeed death.

26:37 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. But He says, I am also the God who delights in forgiveness, delights in showing mercy, and forgiving all kinds of sin. God does not say simply forgiving iniquity, but iniquity and transgression, but not only iniquity and transgression, but sin, every form of evil. It is a violation of the law of the living God that calls to the judge for the sentence guilty.

27:13 God in Jesus Christ is conceived a way whereby He may not be forgiven, not cancel the sentence, but He may direct the sentence from the head of the guilty sinner to the head of His own dear Son. And by fully satisfying all that His law demands in the punishment given to His Son, He may show His glory as the God who forgives all manner of sin and iniquity. And it is His glory to be satisfied. Such a God.

27:50 Or in the language of Psalm 103, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. And what takes precedence over every other benefit? Who forgiveth all thine iniquities?

28:11 And then in the twelfth verse of the same psalm, He says, As far as east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. You see, His comfort was not that He had absolved Himself by some kind of mental gymnastics. He had convinced Himself that His sins were gone. It was not that others had said, O David, you must be forgiven.

28:39 No, no. He says it is God who has removed our sins as far as east from west.

28:51 And then in that wonderful psalm that we sang this morning, Psalm 130, If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities as the great judge of the world, O God, if you should keep the ledger book, and in that ledger book have recorded with indelible ink every single deviation from your law, if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities. O Lord, who could stand? Who could stand? This is so foolish as to say, I'll take my chances to go into court with Almighty God.

29:34 But He says in the next verse, But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. There is forgiveness, not just subjective thoughts of forgiveness conjured up in the mind of a religious person. Forgiveness. The mission of real pardon is the taking away of sin.

30:05 And then the language of the prophet Isaiah, of course, is vigorous with respect to this great blessing of justifying grace. Most of us are familiar with that first chapter in which there is such a graphic description of the sins of the people of God.

30:27 And yet in the midst of that description, God says in verse 18, Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. And in the 43rd chapter in the 25th verse, the same truth is announced by the prophet but with different imagery.

30:59 Isaiah 43 and verse 25, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgression. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark them, who could stand? God says, I who have marked them, I can blot them out. No one else can tamper with the books, but I can blot them out.

31:22 I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and I will not remember thy sins. And does that mean that God somehow cauterizes a part of his infinite mind, so that he cannot in his omniscience recall our sins? Of course not. But what he's saying is, I will not remember them.

31:46 That is, I will not call them to remembrance in order to bring upon them the sentence of my wrath. As we shall see in subsequent studies, he remembered them fully when his own son hung upon the cross. And it was in that baptism of agony in which God remembered our sins, remembered them, at the expense of the bloodletting of his own son. Remembered them to the extent that he spared him not.

32:17 Remembered them to the extent that he poured into the holy soul of his own son the fierceness of his fiery anger.

32:29 And because of that, God can say to us, I will not remember thy sins. Chapter 44 and verse 22, I have blotted out as a figment and as a thick cloud thy transgressions and as a cloud thy sins. Through the prophet Micah, God says, I have buried them in the depths of the sea. And we come into the New Testament and we find similar language.

32:58 God is faithful and just to forgive, repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, to open their eyes, to deliver them from darkness to light that they may receive, forgiveness of sins. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Pastoral Application: The Severity of God's Law and the Sincerity of the Gospel

33:22 Now to anyone here who does not take the law of God seriously, who does not feel the reality of his guilt and condemnation, all of this has been very tedious, has it not?

33:35 You wonder what in the world does someone get so excited about issues of that nature.

33:43 One very wise and seasoned preacher of another generation today said that it is a fatal and damning delusion to doubt the severity of God's law.

33:55 My friend, if all of this is humdrum to you, it's because you have fallen under that frightening delusion of doubting the severity of God's law. You've got low views of God's court.

34:12 You've got low views of the judge. Low views of that law to which you're answerable.

34:21 You've talked yourself into a state of absolution.

34:28 There is no fallen son or daughter of Adam, man, woman, boy or girl, who begins to have a serious, solemn, sane regard for what God is as holy and what His law is as an expression of that holiness and what he or she is as a sinner who cannot tremble day and night at the thought that he might be summoned to that court at any moment.

34:58 But for those of you whose consciences are awake, and in a sense the last day has come near, and in a very real sense that court has been set up in your own breast, what a wonderful thing to hear this kind of news. There is forgiveness with thee. Forgiveness of transgression, of iniquity and sin, full confidence. Complete, irreversible forgiveness and remission of all sin.

35:31 One servant of Christ who tried to reach his own generation with a popular treatment of this profound doctrine said, When God pardons, He pardons all sins. Original sin and actual sin. Sins of omission and of commission. Secret and open sins.

35:52 Sins of thought, of word. But indeed, one unpardoned sin would destroy a soul forever. A single transgression can rouse an enlightened conscience to the wildest fury. Think of the individuals who've driven themselves mad because one sin lay upon the conscience unpardoned, unforgiven.

36:21 But now God says, All sin is pardoned. Every iniquity is passed over. Now as surely as doubting the severity of the law leads to death, Listen carefully, for some of you desperately need to come to grips with this. Doubting the sincerity of the gospel will also lead to death.

36:52 The reason why some of you despise what is preached this morning, not in the sense you gnash your teeth, Not in the sense you gnash your teeth, upon it, but you treat it as a matter of little regard, of little concern. You don't take seriously the severity of the law. But I'm also speaking to some who do take seriously the severity of the law. When I spoke of those who have the day of judgment set up in their own hearts, You say, that's me.

37:20 And I know I'm guilty. And I know that if I get what I deserve, I shall be damned for my sins. Oh, my friend, listen. As surely as doubting the severity of the law leads to death and destruction, Doubting the sincerity of the gospel will do the same.

37:39 Because the gospel message is that believing in Jesus Christ, All of your sins are pardoned for His sake. All of your sins are pardoned for His sake. But not a one is pardoned. Until you believe.

38:02 He that believeth not shall be damned. He that believeth not, the wrath of God abideth upon him. As I think of those who sit before me this morning, And of the number whom I fear come under that first category, Doubting the severity of the law, You slumber on in your carnal ease and security. And if I had any power to do so, I would cause the day of judgment to break in upon your consciousness.

38:39 Until you trembled and cried out with that Philippian jailer, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? But I also know of others who tremble, Whose hearts flutter at the thought of that judgment. And would that I had power somehow To bring you to the feet of the Savior, Until you dared to embrace His offer of mercy. Doubt the sincerity of the gospel and you'll be damned. God's let us reason. Though your sins be as scarlet, They shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, They shall be as wool.

39:39 There is forgiveness with thee. Ah, but you say, I don't know if it's for me. My friend, what are you? Are you a guilty sinner?

39:50 Are you a condemned sinner? Are you an ungodly sinner? Then it justifies that I'm not a sincere ungodly sinner. Don't you add words that God never put in His Word.

40:09 Where does it say, Godly sinner? Anything that keeps you from Christ, Even an apparent sense of unworthiness, Is the enemy of your soul. Then we can bless God, And we'll just touch upon it briefly. Justification provides not only the full pardon of our sins, But it is an act of acceptance of our persons as righteous In the sight of the God of the universe. Again, I quote from Mr. Buchanan, Who has stated so very clearly and succinctly this truth, The pardon of sin is an indispensable and important part Of a sinner's justification.

Biblical Basis for Acceptance: A Positive Standing Before God

41:33 But it is not an adequate or complete description of that privilege. It includes also, and then he quotes from the old catechism, His acceptance as righteous in the sight of God, His admission to the divine favor, And possession of the gift of eternal life. Justification includes acceptance with God As well as the forgiveness of sins. And this fact should be distinctly apprehended If we would form any adequate estimate Of the nature and value of this gospel privilege.

42:11 Would you form some true sense of the value of this privilege? Then you must grasp this distinction. And perhaps I can illustrate, To set the framework for the few verses we shall look at. Imagine a master who had two servants, And he is about to leave them for a time, And he leaves very, very clear instructions to both servants.

42:37 There are five specific tasks that they are to perform in his absence. Furthermore, he gives them five distinct prohibitions, And he says if you violate any one of those prohibitions, You will be duly punished. If you avoid and do not indulge in the things I have forbidden, And if you perform all that I have commanded, You will be rewarded accordingly. However, if you fail to do what I have commanded, And you do what I have forbidden, You will be punished accordingly.

43:18 Well, the time comes for the master to return, And he has a time of reckoning with his two servants. The first servant, he checks out well All of the five things prohibited, He did not do a one of them. The five duties laid upon him, He performed them all perfectly. And so the master then rewards him accordingly.

43:39 But now the second servant Was utterly indifferent to his positive duties. Furthermore, he broke two of the five prohibitions. And so the master inflicts upon him the promised punishment. Now the time comes when he has completed his punishment, And then he comes to the master and says, Sir, I'd like the reward that you gave to my fellow servant.

44:05 And the master says, No. That was the reward of his obedience. Ah, but he says, I've paid my debt, I've taken my punishment. Ah, but the master says, Yes, But you've not performed the duty yet Of which that reward, Or concerning which that reward Is inseparably attached.

44:23 So you see the distinction between the two. And our sins have warranted the sentence of death. And it is a wonderful thing to be pardoned and forgiven And have all our sins remitted. God's law demands a positive obedience.

44:43 If God is to say, Well done, good and faithful servant, There must be a performance which warrants that commendation. And this is the wonderful aspect of justification To which I now direct your attention briefly. That in justifying us, Declaring us perfectly right before His holy law, God not only passes over, remits, forgives our sin, But He gives us a positive standing as righteous before Him With all the privileges of that standing. Take the most familiar verse in all of the Bible. What is it? You're all saying it in your mind right now. For God so loved the world That He gave His only begotten Son That whosoever believeth in Him Should not perish.

45:49 Everlasting. That which our sins deserve. Have everlasting life. That which is the reward of righteousness.

46:01 And God graciously confers both upon sinners. And in this epistle to the Romans where Paul in chapter 4 Speaks of justification in terms of the non-imputation of sin. In chapter 5 he speaks of it in this language. Verse 19 For as through the one man's disobedience The many were made or constituted sinners Even so through the obedience of the one Shall the many be made or constituted righteous.

46:33 You see we are not just brought to a neutral state Where we are regarded as forgiven. We are given this positive state of righteousness. We are constituted before Him as those Who have fully and completely kept His holy law. So the apostle can say in 1 Corinthians 1.30 But of God are ye in Christ Jesus Who is made unto us Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Or in the language of 2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 5.21 He who knew no sin Was made sin for us That we what? Not merely pardoned, forgiven But that we might be made The righteousness of God in Him.

47:24 And the same apostle who in Acts 13 Speaks of justification in terms Of the forgiveness of sins In a parallel passage in Acts 26 Where he repeats his commission he says His task was to open their eyes Acts 26.18 To turn them from darkness to light From the power of Satan unto God That they may receive forgiveness of sins And an inheritance among those That are sanctified by faith in me. Forgiveness and an inheritance The two are not the same They are never found separated But they are two distinct blessings Of God's grace. And then of course perhaps the passage Which brings these things together More powerfully than any other Is Romans 5 and verse 1 And since Mr. Garlington Opened that up to you last Lord's day Or the Lord's day before that I'll not go over that ground again Simply to highlight the emphasis Being therefore justified by faith We have peace with God Through our Lord Jesus Christ And we have peace with God Jesus Christ Sin is pardoned God's controversy with us is over But that's not all Through whom also we've had our access by faith Into this grace wherein we stand And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God

The Sole Ground of Pardon and Acceptance: Christ's Obedience and Death

48:53 We have a title to life As well as the cancellation Of the mandate of death So we see that when the old writers said Justification is an act of God's grace Free grace Whereby he pardoneth all our sins And accepteth and accounteth Their persons righteous in his sight They were simply attempting To give expression To the richness of the biblical doctrine Of justification That involves the removal of sin And the conferral and title To eternal life Suffice it to say As we close this morning There is no place that this can be found But in Christ It's not our purpose As we said in the introduction To deal with the grounds The way by which we come to possess it But in conclusion I must point you At least briefly in that direction This blessing of pardon and acceptance Is not to be found in your own performance It is not to be found in your own repentance Your own faith Your own holiness Go back to the illustration When you stand in the court You don't plead the fact That you have a new nature Your regeneration does not form

50:18 The basis of your legal standing before God One of the questions we as elders Often ask people When we interview them for membership Is this If you were to die And in the next few moments Stand before the living God What would you plead As the ground of your admission Into his presence with favor And sometimes well-meaning people say Well The fact that I trust in him That I love him That he's ch- No, no, my friend Those are wonderful things I hope you do love him I hope you do trust him I hope you do have a new heart But you see all of those things Don't solve the problem of the court There's a law that must be upheld There's a law that's broken There's a law that calls For your damnation But thank God There is one Who as the surety and the representative Of his people Fully kept that law In every part For every waking, sleeping moment Of his thirty-three years The Father could say My son In whom I'm well pleased He fully kept that law As the surety of his people And then when he went to that cross

51:47 That obedience found its highest expression When all the curses of that law That you and I had broken Were funneled upon his head And he tasted death And so it is in Christ In the obedience of Christ In life and unto death Our righteousness is found And we can be perfectly right before the law In with another And that's why the apostle can say There is no condemnation To those who are aware In Christ Jesus That's why he can say We might be made the righteousness of God In him My friend This great blessing of pardon and acceptance These great twin blessings That constitute justification The removal and the conferral They are found only In the Lord Jesus Christ And until you go out of yourself And into him by faith To possess it And now listen to me Christian And having once gone out of yourself And into him to possess it Your enjoyment Will last as long As you continue To go out of yourself And into him And the problem with some of you

53:17 Sitting here today Is that in God's initial dealings With you When he regenerated you Called you by his grace The thought of your sins In terms of your past And your present state Was such That you would not have begun To attempt To find peace In yourself You went totally Because God gave you a new heart Wrote his law upon your heart And you began to obey him And seek him And serve him You know what's happened You have begun subtly To try to find your peace In the measure of your obedience And in the cultivation of your new life And that's why you're in a model this morning As the first moment you come to him And if you don't believe me read Philippians chapter 3 An old man who served Christ effectively For decades Is about to die And you know what he says He says That I may be found In him Not having my own righteousness Which is of the law But the righteousness

54:45 Which is of God By faith He was going out of himself To the very moment His head rolled into a basket And my friend your peace Will be in direct proportion To your going out of yourself And into Christ Ah but you say Pastor Martin Won't that lead to Take that question Throw it out the window Yes but doesn't that Take that question Throw it out the window For this morning Throw it out We'll welcome it back in In subsequent studies But not this morning I want to press this one issue What is the ground of your peace If you have any this morning It's either true peace Based upon the doings And dyings of another Period Full stop Or it's false peace Based upon your own performance Mixed with Christ's performance Or it's no peace Because you look into yourself And the God of peace Fill you with all joy and peace How In Believing Oh may God help us this morning To lay hold afresh Upon the great provision That is ours In the Lord Jesus The problem so many of you have Is so beautifully stated In the old Heidelberg catechism Some of you thought

Conscience, Christ, and Christian Joy

56:14 You left circles Where you were going to hear Old Heidelberger didn't you Well you're going to get it this morning How art thou righteous before God The answer Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ So that though my conscience accuse me That I have grossly transgressed All the commandments of God And kept none of them And am still inclined to all evil Notwithstanding God without any merit Of mine But only of mere grace Grants and imputes to me The perfect satisfaction Righteousness and holiness of Christ Even so as if I had never Committed any evil Though conscience accuses me And though I am still inclined To all evil Notwithstanding In Christ I am pardoned I am accepted You see dear child of God There's a world of difference Between conscience accusing you For the guilt of your sin And conscience accusing you For the reality of your sin

57:39 Conscience accusing for guilt Must be sent to Christ And Christ alone Conscience accusing for the reality of sin Having gone to Christ So that no thunders of guilt Are barked in my ears The whole biblical doctrine Of humiliation Of mortification All the rest We've got to deal with our sin Realistically Agonizingly But do it with a conscience at rest As to the guilt of sin A rest that comes In Christ And Christ alone Does that all seem like Fine lines of distinction My friend you better make them somehow Maybe different language But if you don't make them You're not going to go very far In the path Of Christian joy And obedience Let us pray Our Father We give you praise that Such amazing provisions Have been conceived Justly purchased Freely offered And powerfully applied

59:04 To the hearts of rebel sinners May your Holy Spirit take the truth As it is in Jesus And make it effective In all of our hearts Have dealings with those Who doubting the severity Of your law Care little For forgiveness Or acceptance Of their persons Have mercy upon those Who believing the severity Of your law Doubt the sincerity Of the gospel Have mercy upon those Believers Who knew peace In the past That now eludes them Because they are mixing Their own performance With the doings And the dying of your son Lord Only you by your spirit Can sort out the devious ways Of our hearts And out of your perfect knowledge Of what we are Apply your word with power To each of us To our prophet And to your eternal praise Through Jesus Christ Our Lord Amen