HOW THEN CAN MAN BE JUSTIFIED WITH GOD?

Job 25:4

  1. Intro.
    1. this is the all important question of all times
    2. the importance of this question demands a heart-satisfying answer, if one can be found
    3. a "hope-so" or a "maybe" will not give us much peace of mind
    4. we will try to answer this question by asking and answering some other questions
  2. do all men need to be justified
    1. the testimony of the Scriptures
      1. Jews and Gentiles are all under sin – Romans 3:9
      2. none righteous – Romans 3:10
      3. the true condition of all men – Romans 3:11-18 (God’s view of man)
    2. the purpose and desired result of God’s Law – Romans 3:19
      1. that every mouth may be stopped
      2. that all the world may become guilty before God
    3. all must be justified, because all are condemned
  3. what does it mean to be justified
    1. sins are forgiven – Roman 4:7-8
      1. "impute" means to write down, to count, to make an inventory
      2. "justified" means just as if I had never sinned
    2. reckoned or counted righteous – Romans 4"9, 5
    3. saved from wrath – Romans 5:9
    4. peace with God – Romans 5:1
    5. a love for God – Romans 5:5
    6. in light of these truths, what does it mean to still be under condemnation
      1. the difference is like that of night and day
      2. the difference is Heaven or Hell
  4. who does God justify
    1. man’s wisdom says that God justifies the good and lovely
    2. the Bible says that God justifies the ungodly – Romans 4:5, 5:6
    3. Jesus came to save sinners
    4. before man can be justified in God’s sight, he must take his place among the ranks of the ungodly
    5. this is a humbling experience, but it is the humble that God exalts
  5. how does God justify the guilty – Romans 3:24-26 (freely and by His grace)
    1. God can justify the guilty because a sacrifice has been made for them (fully paid)
    2. man is first forgiven, then justified
    3. forgiveness and justification are not the same thing
      1. "forgiveness" means to bear the burden of another, to cancel a debt by taking responsibility for it
      2. "justify" means to be made righteous with no record of sin
    4. God is righteous to forgive – Romans 3:25 [to declare His righteousness by the remission of sins]
    5. God is righteous to justify – Romans 3:26
    6. God justifies those who believe in Jesus – Romans 3:26
  6. can a man be justified by good works – Romans 3:20
    1. good works come forth only from a good heart
      1. there is none good – Romans 3:12
      2. God justifies the ungodly
    2. trusting in our own goodness rather than God’s goodness is proof that our heart is still hostile toward God
  7. is a man justified by simply believing
    1. YES, completely, at once, forever, and in no other way – Romans 3:26, 28
    2. it is the logical conclusion of the matter – Romans 3:28
    3. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness – Romans 4:3
      1. the believing is our responsibility
      2. the counting is what God does
    4. by faith we count on God’s Word to be true , and act accordingly
    5. he that does not reckon God’s Word to be true is an unbeliever
    6. he that believeth not is condemned already
  8. Conclusion: How then can man be justified with God?
    1. believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
    2. good works have nothing to do with it
    3. feelings have nothing to do with it
    4. do you believe or not