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Subject 24 : Sermons for Those Who Have Become Our COWORKERS
[24-15] By What Are We Justified? (Romans 3:19-28)
(Romans 3:19-28)
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
Hello everyone. I’ve just come back from the revival meeting held at Chungju Church. I had fellowship with the district leaders of our Church by sharing the Word of God with them. We also discussed creating websites for each and every country around the world. We need to run separate websites for each language. We named each new website according to its nationality or language by adding an abbreviation ‘nlm’ from the English initials of our organization, New Life Mission. For example, if the new website is for Brazilians, the name of our new website will be www.nlmbrasil.com. If the new website is for the Urdu speaking people all around the world, its name will be www.nlmurdubooks.com. People all over the world will find the gospel of the water and the Spirit by requesting our electronic books or printed books when we advertise these websites on the Internet. We can make this happen by having homepages in each and every language of the world.
Today I am going to preach the Truth which the Lord speaks to us in Romans 3. I am going to preach by focusing on Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” I would like to preach the fact that the righteousness of God, which saves us from all sins of the world, is revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” It is said that the Law speaks to all sinners. God gave us the Law lest anyone in this world can say, “I am without sin before God.” In other words, the Law was given to all men for them to understand their status as sinners in the eyes of God. The Law was laid out so that sinners cannot claim their own righteousness before the presence of God.
The Bible says that all human beings—Jews or Gentiles, the ancients or modern people alike—are merely equal sinners before God. God commanded us humans to abide by His Law; but we cannot keep His Law because we were born as sinners. Therefore the Word of God that says, “By the law is the knowledge of sin,” is true. And it is also written, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). In short, the Law enables us to see how sinful we really are. The best way to understand humans starts from knowing why God gave us the Law. The knowledge of God’s Law is so significant in knowing ourselves.
When we watch historical dramas on TV, we can see some torturing scenes to get a confession from a suspect. The purpose of torturing a crime suspect is to find a clue to the crime he committed, and to lead the suspect to make confession. Nevertheless, human beings are not aware of the fact that they have been leading a sinful life before God. It may be due to different perspectives that people can take. Some people who had once admitted committing sins may change their mind as time passes. As you see, the concept of sin itself can change over time.
People might think to themselves, “What was sinful about that? I used to think that it was a sin, but come to think of it now it was not a sin.” Everyone can justify himself with their own excuses. In such situations, only the Word of God can tell whether or not that person is a sinner. It is because the Law of God is the yardstick that measures our actions and hearts. It is true that by the Law is the knowledge of sin. We all are fundamentally sinners before God. The Law of God is the series of do’s and don’ts from Him. God commanded us, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. Honor your father and mother.” Like this, He said, “Do this and don’t do that.” God’s commandments manifest our responsibilities to Him and to our fellow human beings. Hence, we can reflect our hearts on the commandments of God and realize what we did well and what we did wrong. That is why it is said that by the Law is the knowledge of sin.
Like this, all men realize their sins through the Law of God. However, people may still make excuses, “Have I ever committed any sin serious enough to go to hell?” not long after they admitted they had committed sins according to the Law of God. Are you not doing the same thing? Therefore, we can discern whether or not we have lived a righteous life only when we judge ourselves based on God’s Law. Judging ourselves based on our own emotions instead of the commandments of God is just deluding yourselves. This is not an accurate analysis of ourselves in the eyes of God.
Then How Can We Receive the Remission of Sins?
Therefore, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We should not forget that we have been justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. This Scripture passage, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” means our sins were removed practically, not just theoretically. How did we have our sins remitted? It is through faith in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, who came as the gospel of the water and the Spirit, that we have become sinless.
The phrase, “in Christ Jesus,” means that we can be saved only through His righteousness. Our Lord saved us with His righteous act. He paid the penalty for our sins by carrying all our sins on His body and dying on the Cross.
You and I were sinners from birth and were facing God’s inevitable judgment for breaking His Law; but we could receive the remission of sins by believing in the work of redemption which the Lord had fulfilled. The only reason we could receive the redemption from the sins of the world is through Jesus Christ; God the Father let Him take all our sins away by His baptism and receive the penalty for all our sins by His blood by hanging on the Cross. The Lord wanted to make us sinless through faith by delivering us from the sin of the world. We can say that we have become sinless once and for all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit thanks to the redemption in Jesus Christ. You and I have been made whole without any sins, for the penalty for our sins was paid off through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ that was fulfilled by His baptism and His blood. Our Lord was baptized by John the Baptist to take all our sins; He gave Himself willingly on the Cross to pay for all our sins. In our stead, He died, entered the dark grave so that He could rise from the dead to make us free from sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By His love and righteousness, the Lord transformed us into sinless people without any blemish only when we put our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Many Christians know that they don’t receive salvation by keeping the Law of God, and they have been deprived of the knowledge of the Truth that we become free from sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even though they say that keeping the Law of God does not bring salvation, they actually do not know the Truth that enables them to be saved by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This means that they haven’t heard from anyone who truly understands the Word of God. This situation has deteriorated them into the legalists.
Who then are the legalistic Christians? The Christian legalists I am talking about are those who believe that they can have their sins washed away by offering prayers of repentance whenever they sin against God or to people. They are certain that they have received the remission of sins by offering their prayers of repentance in addition to their faith in only the precious blood of Jesus on the Cross. Such faith is a very legalistic one. Hence, they waste much time on doing virtuous works. They believe that they themselves have earned salvation from all their sins by repenting of their sins, rather than by trusting in the righteousness of the Lord. For this reason, we can say that they rely on their works not on the righteousness of God; and they cannot receive the remission of sins because they are refusing the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, they harbor sins in their heart.
What Is Meant by “the Redemption in Christ Jesus”?
The word ‘redemption’ implies the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. It means that the Lord was baptized by John the Baptist, shed His blood on the Cross, and rose again from death to pay the penalty for all our sins and to save us from all those sins. This also means that God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth, and redeemed us by paying off all our debts. God the Father sent His Son to this earth, passed all the sins of the world unto Him, let Him receive the punishment for all those sins by being crucified so that He could save those of us who believe this as this Truth. Jesus was crowned with thorns, and He was severely bruised; He became flesh just as we are and took the penalty in our place. Even though He never committed a single sin, He was baptized by John the Baptist, gave Himself on the Cross and rose again from the dead to deliver us all. Thanks to Him, who paid the full price for our sins, we have become sinless by faith in the righteousness of God. God the Father made us whole through His Son. Therefore, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the evidence that our salvation has been completed.
However, today’s Christians do not comprehend this Truth even after hearing the gospel of the water and the Spirit, because they have been deceived over years by many Christian doctrines. Without understanding the Truth of the Water and the Spirit, they cannot apprehend the great mercy of salvation that is in God the Father. If we don’t understand the salvation that the Lord has completed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we cannot call God ‘Abba Father.’ Nor can we comprehend the meaning of the redemption in Christ Jesus. The words ‘Redemption in Christ Jesus’ can be understood only by those who truly comprehend the gospel of the water and the Spirit. “Redemption” is the key word we all need to comprehend. I hope you will fully understand what the Scripture passage, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” really means.
God gave us His commandments but we could not keep them. It is therefore said, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference” (Romans 3:21-22). The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the gospel of salvation that the Law and the Prophets witnessed. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the gospel of the Truth that had been prophesied for thousands of years before the Lord actually came to this earth. It is the gospel that God promised as the way of remitting sins implied in the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle, that is, the laying on of hands and the shedding of blood. People do not know the Truth that God has already delivered sinners from sins in the gospel of the water and the Spirit; thus they believe in Jesus in vain, deceived by many false Christian doctrines. This is why I am demanding that you know the Truth of the salvation of Jesus Christ in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We Keep on Preaching the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit All around the World Because So Many People Are Put to Death Deceived by the False Christian Doctrines
We should preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world. So many people have been born again by believing in this genuine gospel through our literature ministry. But some people are too stubborn to accept the gospel. They say they believe what their pastors preach, when it is so simple to admit their ignorance and accept the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They say that they have been told to offer prayers of repentance and now they believe they should do so. To them what matters the most is not what the Bible says, but what their pastors say. They boast of the size of their denominations. It is very foolish of them to say for example, “Our church is the biggest one out of all the Presbyterian churches around the world.” Even now, therefore, the leaders of such denominations need to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to their church members.
I have so much to preach on the gospel of the water and the Spirit from the Old and New Testaments. The Book of Romans also has so many passages that denote the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Very often, I preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit from the Book of Romans. Today, I continue preaching it from this Book. Why do I continue preaching the gospel? I plan to share my sermons on the gospel of the water and the Spirit with people all over the world through our literature ministry.
When we have an infected wound on our body, we must treat that wound in a timely manner. Otherwise it can kill us. However, one shot of streptomycin will get rid of the infection. There is a huge difference between those who have gotten an injection of the drug and those who have not. In a similar vein, there are so many Christians who do not know or believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit while you and I believe in this genuine gospel and have received the remission of sins. Hence, every sinner should understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit and put their faith in it.
The Lord says that we are the light of the world. What He meant by the light, is the gospel of the water and the Spirit we have. We can live as the light of the world by preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit, not by sharing food with someone. To become the light of the world, we need to share this true gospel with every sinner all around the world. What the Bible emphasizes in both Testaments is that whoever believes in the righteousness of Jesus will be delivered from all sins. That is why everyone should understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit and accept Jesus as their Savior.
What Is More Important between What the Bible Says and What Your Pastor Says?
From now on, you should examine through the Bible whether I am telling you the truth or not. You need to examine whether I am preaching the Word of God properly. You have to understand the word ‘redemption’ by faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. According to this genuine gospel of the water and the Spirit, Jesus, the Son of God the Father, came to this earth, took away the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist, shed His blood and died on the Cross, rose again from the dead and delivered all of us from all our sins. Then what is redemption? Redemption is the payment of all our debt by Jesus through His baptism and crucifixion. This word ‘redemption’ means that God the Father paid the ransom for all our sins by His Son’s baptism and blood to make us free from sin. We all sin until we die, but the Son of God, Jesus, came to us, was baptized and shed His blood for us. As a result, we are saved from all our sins by faith in the righteousness of God. Whoever believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can become sinless. We, who believe that Jesus the Son of God the Father took away all our sins through His baptism, paid the ransom for all those sins at the Cross, are now free of sins by faith.
This is why we praise the righteousness of God and we faithfully and voluntarily serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We all need to do this to preach this genuine gospel to the whole world. Why do we need to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit? It is because we want to preach the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
It is written, “Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:25-26).
What the above verse is saying is that we have been saved by the gospel of the water and the Spirit; Jesus delivered us from all our sins. Who is our Deliverer? Jesus is the One who delivered us from the sins of the world. Jesus is our Deliverer. Who is this Jesus? He is the Son of God. God the Father clothed His Son in human flesh and sent Him to us as our Savior.
Through the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit, We Can Be Reconciled with God
Romans 3:26 says, “To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” In this verse, there is something I learned from two words, ‘just’ and ‘justifier.’ The Lord has blotted out all our sins with His righteous act. Jesus took away all our sins when He was baptized by John the Baptist; He paid the penalty for all our sins when He was crucified; and He became our Savior when He rose again from the dead. His righteous act was that He demolished the wall of sin between God and us and that He was baptized by John the Baptist and died on the Cross to make us the believers God’s children.
Then what happens to the sins that we commit after we become the children of God? He ‘overlooks our trespasses,’ and the word ‘overlook’ here means to look over. What God the Father means is this: “Do you believe what my Son accomplished for you?” What then should we say to this? We should reply, “Yes, I do. I no longer remain in sins, for the Son of God removed all my sins.” It is true that we still commit sins even after we put our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But God overlooks all such sins of ours. How could He do this? It is because His Son has paid the price for even our future sins by taking them onto His body through His baptism and paid off the penalty for all those sins by being crucified to death.
At that time, He demonstrated His righteousness that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. God revealed His righteousness to us. How did God the Father show us His righteousness? He did it by sending His Son as our Savior in the flesh of man, by letting Him receive the baptism to carry all our sins and die on the Cross. I know that you have already heard this, but I am telling this to those who have not yet heard this gospel.
God demonstrated His righteousness. How then did He demonstrate His righteousness? He demonstrated His righteousness through His Son’s righteous act: Jesus the Son of God carried all the sins of the world with Him through baptism, took the penalty for all those sins, died and rose again. Therefore, God is just and so are those who believe in His act of righteousness. Do you agree with me? God so loved us and made us whole through His Son. Then who is just between those who have faith in Him and those who don’t have faith in Him? Those who accept the Word of God by faith are justified.
God the Father through His Son has blotted out all our sins; He made us free from sin through His Son’s baptism, blood, death on the Cross, and resurrection. Are those who accept this Truth justified? Or are those who reject this gospel justified? Who is justified before the presence of God? Those who have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are justified. It is just that God has saved us through His Son, and we are justified when we put our faith in this Truth. God transformed us into His holy children; we the children of God also have become just by believing in this Truth. So both God and we are just.
That is why it is said, “To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Isn’t God just and righteous before us? So are we who have faith in the righteous work of redemption through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Being righteous before God can be interpreted as being free of all sins. But being free of all sins does not mean being regarded as righteous. We have actually become righteous by believing in the righteousness of Jesus. Even though we commit sin everyday, we do not have sin any more because we believe that the righteousness of Jesus has actually blotted out even these sins perfectly.
However, most Christians claim that God regards sinners sinless only if they believe in Jesus somehow. They claim that sinners are called righteous just by believing in Jesus as their Savior. They established this idea as a Christian doctrine called ‘the doctrine of justification by faith,’ but to be more accurate, we can call this man-made doctrine as ‘the credo of being regarded as righteous by faith.’ Such a doctrine is just an idea of a mere human with an IQ between 100 and 130.
The words “to be just” in Romans 3:26 was spoken to us by God, and this means that we become free of sin by accepting the fact that God has blotted out all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even now in this age, God calls us righteous when we receive the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We have become sinless since God delivered us from all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God did so because that is the only way for us to become truly sinless ones. From God’s point of view, He delivered us from all our sins; from our point of view, we became justified as we put our faith in His work. So we are just as God is. Those whose sins are removed by God are just! God, who is without sins, has done a righteous work that blotted out all our sins. Therefore, when we accept this fact, we become sinless. Then we can understand John 3:16 properly now, which says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God so loves us and God is so pleased when we accept the Truth and become His children. We have become righteous by believing in His righteousness. By faith in the righteousness of God, we have been saved from all our sins. Our salvation was realized not by works but by faith only. God made us the believers of the gospel sinless. On the contrary, He does not justify those who do not put their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the righteousness of God.
How did we become saved from the sins of the world? We have been saved from all our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the righteousness of God.
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