Made Righteous to Live Righteously (JICC)
Sermon Notes
Key Passage: Romans 3:21-31
Proverbs 31:8
Righteous = right with God, justified
Slave Market Redemption (v. 24)
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
*Les Miserables
Jean Valjean: Why are you doing this?
Priest: Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I've bought your soul. I've ransomed you from fear and hatred. And now I give you back to God!
Temple Sacrifice (v. 25)
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Propitiation = mercy seat, atonement sacrifice, sacrifice for sin
*Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur - Leviticus 16
Law Court Justice (v. 26)
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
*Chariots of Fire
“Now in one hours time I will be out there again. I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor, 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But will I?”
- Harold Abrahams, in the movie Chariots of Fire
Justified freely = free justification
Justification is more than just forgiveness
"The voice that spells forgiveness will say: “You may go; you have been let off the penalty which your sin deserves.’ But the verdict which means acceptance (justification) will say: “you may come; you are welcome to all my love and my presence.” —Sir Marcus Loane, The Surpassing Excellence
Proverbs 31:8
Righteous = right with God, justified
Slave Market Redemption (v. 24)
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
*Les Miserables
Jean Valjean: Why are you doing this?
Priest: Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I've bought your soul. I've ransomed you from fear and hatred. And now I give you back to God!
Temple Sacrifice (v. 25)
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Propitiation = mercy seat, atonement sacrifice, sacrifice for sin
*Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur - Leviticus 16
- The spotless blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat.
Law Court Justice (v. 26)
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
*Chariots of Fire
“Now in one hours time I will be out there again. I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor, 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But will I?”
- Harold Abrahams, in the movie Chariots of Fire
Justified freely = free justification
Justification is more than just forgiveness
- Forgiveness is a negative - free from liability of punishment
- Justification is a positive - bestowal of a status with all the rights and privileges
"The voice that spells forgiveness will say: “You may go; you have been let off the penalty which your sin deserves.’ But the verdict which means acceptance (justification) will say: “you may come; you are welcome to all my love and my presence.” —Sir Marcus Loane, The Surpassing Excellence
What is our Boast?
BOASTING: Whatever we boast about is what defines us.
Whatever you boast in will function as your righteousness, and when it fails, you will feel condemned.
If you boast in your strength, your confidence will always be fragile. On days when you feel capable, you will feel bold; on days when you feel weak, you will feel ashamed and defeated.
If you boast in your family, or in the success and spirituality of your children, you will turn their lives into a verdict on your own worth. Their success will inflate you; their failures will crush you.
If you boast in your ethnicity, nationality, work ethic, or accomplishments, you will need someone beneath you in order to feel good about yourself. Your identity will depend not just on being something, but on being better than someone else.
If you boast in your morality and good works, you will become severe with others and merciful with yourself. You will be quick to notice the sins of others and slow to face the pride and self-love in your own heart.
If you boast in being respected and admired, you will live for the eyes of others. Praise will be your life, and being ignored will feel like a kind of death.
If you boast in Christ …
It kills pride, because all have sinned;
It kills despair, because we are justified freely by his grace.
BOASTING: Whatever we boast about is what defines us.
Whatever you boast in will function as your righteousness, and when it fails, you will feel condemned.
If you boast in your strength, your confidence will always be fragile. On days when you feel capable, you will feel bold; on days when you feel weak, you will feel ashamed and defeated.
If you boast in your family, or in the success and spirituality of your children, you will turn their lives into a verdict on your own worth. Their success will inflate you; their failures will crush you.
If you boast in your ethnicity, nationality, work ethic, or accomplishments, you will need someone beneath you in order to feel good about yourself. Your identity will depend not just on being something, but on being better than someone else.
If you boast in your morality and good works, you will become severe with others and merciful with yourself. You will be quick to notice the sins of others and slow to face the pride and self-love in your own heart.
If you boast in being respected and admired, you will live for the eyes of others. Praise will be your life, and being ignored will feel like a kind of death.
If you boast in Christ …
- If you boast in Christ, you do not need to justify your existence, because God has justified you by grace (Rom. 3:24).
- If you boast in Christ, you do not need to feel superior to anyone else, because all have sinned, all fall short, and all boasting is excluded (Rom. 3:23, 27).
- If you boast in Christ, you do not have to be crushed by failure or hide from repentance, because you are justified by faith apart from works (Rom. 3:26, 28).
It kills pride, because all have sinned;
It kills despair, because we are justified freely by his grace.
Resources
- Les Misérables "Back to God" Scene
- Chariots of Fire “Ten Lonely Seconds” Scene
- Bible Project: Sacrifice and Atonement Video
- Study referenced at the end of the sermon of the people who assisted in the Holocaust rescues was pulled Chapter 6 of the book Originals by Adam Grant. It is by Samuel and Pearl Oliner’s landmark research on Holocaust rescuers, published in The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe.
Weekly Reading
Monday: Exodus 35, Mark 14
Tuesday: Exodus 36-37
Wednesday: Exodus 38, Mark 15
Thursday: Exodus 39, Mark 16
Friday: Exodus 40, Luke 1
Saturday: Psalm 35-36, Proverbs 8
Sunday: 2 Samuel 23-24, 1 Kings 1-6
Tuesday: Exodus 36-37
Wednesday: Exodus 38, Mark 15
Thursday: Exodus 39, Mark 16
Friday: Exodus 40, Luke 1
Saturday: Psalm 35-36, Proverbs 8
Sunday: 2 Samuel 23-24, 1 Kings 1-6
Discussion Questions
3DQ - 3 discipleship questions to ask each other: What is God saying to you? What are you going to do about it? How can I help?
What are some things people boast about besides Christ?
(Strength, family, morality, success, ethnicity, nationality, reputation, being admired) Where do you see the tendency to boast or “justify yourself” in everyday life?
Which picture of the gospel helps you most right now: redemption from slavery, sacrifice in the temple, or justification in the courtroom? Why?
Why is it important that God is both “just” and the “justifier” of the one who has faith in Jesus? How does the cross show that God did not ignore sin, but dealt with it fully?
How does boasting in Christ destroy both pride and despair? Why does the gospel humble us on the one hand and make us deeply secure on the other?
What would it look like this week to live as someone who is already accepted by God in Christ? How would that change the way you handle failure, repentance, relationships, or people who are different from you?
What are some things people boast about besides Christ?
(Strength, family, morality, success, ethnicity, nationality, reputation, being admired) Where do you see the tendency to boast or “justify yourself” in everyday life?
Which picture of the gospel helps you most right now: redemption from slavery, sacrifice in the temple, or justification in the courtroom? Why?
Why is it important that God is both “just” and the “justifier” of the one who has faith in Jesus? How does the cross show that God did not ignore sin, but dealt with it fully?
How does boasting in Christ destroy both pride and despair? Why does the gospel humble us on the one hand and make us deeply secure on the other?
What would it look like this week to live as someone who is already accepted by God in Christ? How would that change the way you handle failure, repentance, relationships, or people who are different from you?
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