In this message we explore Paul’s wiritings on justification, the grace of God, forgiveness through the book of Romans.

GYC Atlantic 2017- The Only Hope: Christ Our Righteousness Through the Sanctuary

<p>In this message we explore Paul’s wiritings on justification, the grace of God, forgiveness through the book of Romans.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

GYC Atlantic

Thando Amankwah

Presidential Pardon

Our gracious Father in heaven, we thank you for the gift of the Sabbath.

We thank you for this time that we have to come before you to study your word, to look upon the cross, to walk through the sanctuary, and to understand afresh what Christ has done for us.

Father we pray as we open your word this morning that the Holy Spirit would be here to speak to our hearts and convict us.

We ask Father that Christ be seen, be heard, be lifted up and that we all be drawn closer to him as a result of our study.

Speak to our hearts we pray, we ask in Jesus name.

I'm going to ask you to open your Bible to Romans chapter 3.

Romans is arguably 1 of the most exciting, but also 1 of the most difficult books in scripture.

I'm not going to attempt to do an entire exposition of the book this morning, but I just wanted to share with us a couple of thoughts from Paul's writing on justification, on the grace of God, and on the free gift of God through Jesus Christ.

In 1829, 2 men, their names were George Wilson and James Potter, robbed a U.S.

And they were later tried in a court of law and found guilty of 6 charges.

Among those charges was the robbery of that US Post carrier, but they were also found guilty of putting his life in jeopardy, which means they essentially endangered his life.

Now, the US post-carrier survived, but they were found guilty of that robbery and that attack that almost literally led to the loss of his life.

And so as a result of that trial, they were found guilty.

They were both sentenced to execution by hanging.

And they were due to be executed on July 2nd, 1830.

Now James Porter was actually executed right on schedule, but George Wilson was not somehow.

And what ended up happening is George Wilson had some very influential friends.

And these friends of his pleaded for mercy with the then president of the US.

I'm gonna guess, anybody know who was president in 1830 of the US?

So George Wilson's friends pleaded for mercy with President Andrew Jackson and they made the case for him to grant a pardon to George Wilson, and as a result of the intervention of his friends, Wilson was granted presidential pardon.

And President Jackson, in granting this pardon, I'm going to quote his words here, he said, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of America, have pardoned and do hereby pardoned George Wilson, the crime for which he has been sentenced to suffer death and I remit the penalty aforesaid.

Andrew Jackson signed the pardon effectually remitting the penalty and allowing George Wilson to walk almost God free without being executed.

The remarkably incredible thing is that George Wilson refused the pardon.

Now if you imagine somebody who is literally on death row waiting to be executed, waiting to be hanged for a crime he was guilty as charged of committing, being given pardon from the highest authority in the land, the President of the United States himself, would have been an answer to prayer.

It would have been the 1 thing that he would have been waiting for, hoping for, and really just anticipating If at all there was any chance how happy he would have been to receive this pardon.

You know, here's somebody who has been pardoned by President Jackson but has refused the pardon.

The case went to the US Supreme Court and the court deliberated, what do we do in this case?

And I'm going to read for you the words of Chief Justice Marshall, who delivered the opinion of the court once the court decided on the case.

And he said this, "'A pardon is a deed, "'to the validity of which delivery is essential, "'and delivery is not complete without acceptance.

The pardon may be rejected by the person to whom it is given and if it is rejected we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him.

What Chief Marshall was saying is incredibly profound because he says, look, a pardon is a deed.

In other words, a pardon is a piece of paper.

It is something that the president has signed, but it is a piece of paper.

And that piece of paper, the power of it to effect change depends upon its acceptance by the 1 who has been pardoned.

If the pardon is not accepted, it is not a pardon.

And if the person who has been pardoned doesn't accept it, we, as the highest court in the land, cannot force the pardon upon him.

George Wilson was hanged because he refused to accept the pardon given him.

And it strikes me so profoundly because you and I, more than just presidential pardon by the highest authority in the land, the most powerful man in the land.

We have been given pardon by the very king of the universe.

And the question is that pardon, as it is explained in scripture, that pardon is ineffectual unless we actually accept it.

Friends, Pardon that is not accepted is not pardon.

In the book of Romans, Paul makes a case that all of humanity is guilty before God.

The question of justification by faith, which is what, as we walk through the sanctuary, the courtyard with that altar of burnt offering and the lava, the lava of bronze, representing both the cross of Christ's justification, but also the regeneration and renewing by the washing of water, the Holy Spirit, that work of justification really the question of justification is the question of how does man stand before the divine judge?

In other words, how do you and I stand before a holy God?

When Paul is answering this question in the book of Romans he makes the case that all of us Jew and Gentile alike stand guilty before God.

In Romans chapter 1 in verse 18, Paul says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress truth in unrighteousness.

Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, because God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.

And 1 of the reasons I love Romans is the depths of the language with which Paul writes.

When he says that the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen, you ask the question, Paul, how can something that is invisible be clearly seen?

You know, it's, I don't know if it doesn't strike you, but it really, how does something that is invisible be seen clearly?

And Paul says that the invisible attributes of God, his eternal power, his Godhead, are clearly seen through the works of his creation.

And Paul is essentially making the case in that latter half of Romans chapter 1 that the Gentiles are guilty before God because though they could have known God, They did not glorify him as God.

So they're guilty before God and then lest you think it's just the Gentiles in chapter 2 He makes the argument that even the Jews stand guilty before God and so he sums up this argument in verse 23 and 24 of Romans chapter 2.

You who make your boast in the law do you dishonor God through breaking the law for the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you as it is written.

And so building his case that the Gentiles stand guilty before God, the Jews stand guilty before God.

He gets to the conclusion that all stand guilty before God and say in Romans chapter 3, which will be the meat of our study, beginning in verse 10, Paul says, as it is written, are you guys there?

There is none who seeks after God they have all turned aside They have together become unprofitable There is none who does good no not 1 And he goes on to say in verse 23 which is a verse that many of us know, for all have what?

Sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

And Paul is making the powerful argument that in our natural condition as human beings, in our state, our condition apart from Christ, All of us, Jew, Gentile, Greek, Canadian, American, Ghanian, whatever we are, all of us equally stand guilty before God.

And he says especially even that there is no difference in the end of verse 22.

He says, I'm reading now Romans 3 22 to 23 as the righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ to all and all who believe because there is no difference because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

And I wanted to emphasize that because we read Romans 3 23 as you know, all have sinned and come short of a glory of God.

But right before Paul says all have sinned, he inserts that little phrase at the end of verse 22 that there is no difference.

And what he's saying there is that, you know, sometimes what our personal sins and struggles may be hidden from the eyes of others.

You know, we come to church, we're all dressed up, we look wonderful.

Our internal struggles and sins are hidden from the eyes of others.

And sometimes we think that the things that we struggle with are smaller than other people's sins, yes?

Or that, you know what, my sins are not as bad or as terrible as person X's.

Because, I mean, I haven't committed adultery.

But whether it's the little things of you know my pride or my envy or those things that are not Visible to the naked eye we tend to think there are smaller than those other bigger sins But in the eyes of God the reality is there is no difference between us There is no big or small sin all of us Paul says Apart from Christ all of us stand guilty before the Holy God.

The beauty of what Christ has accomplished is that there is a but.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.

You're asking Paul the question of justification.

Is man guilty or is man righteous before the divine judge?

Justification and condemnation are both pronouncements of a judge.

In a court of law, if you commit a crime and your case is being argued and the defense presents their argument why you should not be found guilty as charged and the prosecution will present their case of why you are indeed guilty as charged.

The judge has 2 options, and both of those options are his declaration based upon the evidence presented in the court of law.

He can either declare you righteous or he can declare you guilty and condemn you.

Presidential Pardon

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