We appreciate the songs this morning, and good songs, hymns, they are related to the message, the truth of Christ's full payment for our sins, that it is finished, that he accomplished our salvation. And that's what we're going to talk about this morning, a familiar message, but a message we never get tired of hearing, the truth of Jesus' death in our place for our sins.

We're going to be looking at Romans 3, 19 to 31, for our communion service this morning. This time of year, people like to wax eloquent about the year that's now behind us. And I was reading one of these articles the other day, talking about what a difficult year 2020 has been, and indeed it has. This article did not hold out much hope for 2021 either. As I was thinking about this, I began to wonder, as I often do, how is it that a man or woman can live in this world in this time without knowing the Lord? How do you live day to day in this kind of struggle, in this constant bad news, pressure, and total uncertainty without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? 

And it's evident that many cannot cope without hope. So many are depressed, discouraged, in bondage to various vices, and ready to give up. There's no hope in this world, there's nothing solid to stand on. It's difficult to tell in this age of high tech and social media and endless information washing over us 24-7, what reality even is. And to the extent that we as believers become entangled in this wash of worldly information and manipulation, it can steal our peace and joy as well. Especially if we begin to put our faith or hope in some worldly mechanism, especially if we take our eyes off of Jesus for even a moment.

The world is lost. All have sinned and are separated from a holy God and are without hope in this world. And that is why this world is so hopeless, so distressing, and so completely fraught with every kind of trouble. But my brothers and sisters, we have hope. As we look toward this new year coming, there's a lot of uncertainty in the world. We're all reading our Bibles and recalling our knowledge of the Word of God about what will come in the last days and we wonder knowing and believing that what God has promised will come upon this world in way of trial and trouble and pain and suffering and final judgment when Jesus returns again.

And we wonder, is it time, Lord? Is it time when things will turn and the one world government will come and the Antichrist will rise and the suffering in earnest, the great time of trouble will come upon this world? Or is there yet grace? Will there be more abundant and undeserved favor from God upon us and for our nation? And the question comes to my mind, what would be better for the gospel? What would be better for the church? Regardless, all we can do is entrust ourselves to him who judges righteously. 

But in the midst of all the craziness of this world, we are not like the rest of the Gentiles. We are not strangers and aliens having no hope without God in the world, because we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. He has torn down the middle wall of separation. You see, my brothers and sisters, He Himself is our peace. We do not fear because our salvation is not based on the things of this world, not based on ourselves or our works, our performance, but only on Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished in our place on our behalf. We are secure, we have hope for today, for eternity, because of Jesus Christ.

Not by righteous works which we have done, but by His mercy He saved us. And this is the good news that we have been given to take to the lost souls of this world, the ones without hope, without God in the world. And this is the clear, powerful message of our text this morning. It is perhaps the clearest text concerning the gospel and salvation in all the Scriptures, but it is a perfect text for our communion service this morning. I've always thought if I was caught in a position where I didn't, I was supposed to preach and I wasn't prepared, or someone asked me to preach, I would always say, open your Bibles to Romans 3, right? 

So open your Bibles to Romans 3 at verse 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. 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. 

So there's 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. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not, on the contrary, we establish the law. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning. First, all have sinned. Second, apart from the law. Third, all sufficient payment. And four, a perfect plan. 

We've been working our way through the book of Romans on the last Sunday of each month for our communion services, and the clear truth in these first three chapters of the book of Romans is that all men are guilty before God. The lost pagan is deserving of judgment as we saw in chapter 1. And the self-righteous religious man is deserving of the wrath of God as well because he who judges others and practices the same things will be judged according to truth. 

That stunning statement in Romans 2, God judges according to truth. There's none righteous, no not one, all have gone their own way, they've together become unprofitable and useless. And we see this truth affirmed in our text today, it's a basis for God's salvation plan in verse 22, for there's no difference for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

We are all vile, wretched sinners in Adam and this is good news because we all have an equal opportunity for salvation. It's such an important truth to understand, the universal condemnation of all men in Adam, all men, and the resulting sinful condition of man and his total inability to overcome the sin that dwells in him in Adam. This truth shows the futility of religion and the idea that man can make up for his bad works, his sin, by doing good. Because the truth is that regardless of how much good a man does, he still has broken the law of God and he still deserves the punishment of eternal death in the lake of fire. 

And additionally, he is completely unable to do good in his sinful state. The carnal mind is at enmity with God and cannot be subject to the law of God. It's a hopeless state and religion is no good news at all, no hope. That's why Romans 3.19 draws this important conclusion to the first section of the book addressing the condemnation of all men. It says, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, for what purpose? That every mouth may be stopped, that all the world may become guilty before God. 

Therefore by the deeds of the law, by good works, by religious exercise, no flesh shall be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. The law was not given for us to earn our righteousness, it was given to show us our sin and leave us hopeless regarding our ability to earn salvation. All have sinned, all deserve judgment. But the answer is not the law, the answer is not works, it is not our own righteousness or somehow earning our salvation. The Bible could not be more clear. Salvation, justification, coming back into a right relationship with God is apart from the works of the law. It excludes the works of the law. 

The righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul's conclusion in verses 27 and 28 make this clear as well. Where is boasting then? It's excluded. By what law? Of works? No. What excludes boasting? The law of faith, grace. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Could there be a clearer statement? A man is justified, made right with God, saved from the wrath to come by faith, by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from the deeds of the law. 

And yet under the umbrella of Christianity, there is so much confusion concerning the basic doctrine of salvation. I watched a video yesterday from Rudy Giuliani. He was addressing the true meaning of Christmas. And he was raised a Roman Catholic, considers himself a practicing Catholic today, and here's what he said yesterday about salvation. He said that Jesus did not come as a baby and live as a man and die on the cross and was not raised from the dead so that we may have a certainty of salvation and of eternity in heaven. 

Rather, Jesus died and was buried and raised again to remove the original sin of Adam and Eve and to give man a clean slate, a fair shot at earning his own salvation. This, my friends, is very clear and succinct summation of Roman Catholic justification in layman's terms. He understands Catholic teaching on salvation certainly better than most Catholics today and most Baptists as well. 

You see, all the works-righteous, law-centered religions, even the ones that claim the name of Christ, pervert the gospel of Christ. It is an anathema. The Council of Trent in the Catholic doctrine will curse you to hell, anathematize you, if you say that a man is saved apart from the works of the law. And that's because the belief is that Jesus only opened the door to heaven. You must walk through it by your lifetime of suffering and good works, religious participation. You must contribute, this is what the doctrine says, to what was lacking in the work of Christ in order to gain your personal salvation. He only gave you a fair chance, a clean slate, to start again after the sin of Adam. 

Let me ask you this. Let's say you get a clean slate through faith in Christ. Let's say their doctrine is true. Now here you are with a clean slate, ready to move forward with earning your salvation. How long will your slate be clean? You no longer bear the judgment of Adam's sin, according to the church. Your slate is clean. How long before you stain it with personal sin? How long before you offend a perfectly righteous and holy God by transgressing His law? How long before you destroy any hope of personal righteousness by falling short of the glory of God? 

Religion is completely hopeless, my friends. And this kind of teaching not only completely contradicts the glorious good news text before us this morning and the whole of the Scriptures, but it damns men to eternal hell who place their faith in this futility. The Bible says justification is apart from the works of the law, apart from good deeds, apart from any and all effort on our part. It is by grace through faith in Jesus alone. 

And we find the clearest teaching on this vital, essential maxim here in Romans 3 and 4. Verse 21, but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. He says even the righteousness of God, God gives to us His righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, and it's available to everyone who will believe, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 

He bought us back at a price He paid, whom God set forth as a propitiation, that word means a full, satisfactory, complete payment. Let me tell you something, Jesus is not dying again and again and again in the sacrifice of the mass. He died once on Calvary. He died once and was buried and rose again, and He's a living Savior, King of kings and Lord of lords, having accomplished our salvation. God did it this way, it says, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness in order that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

Verse 28, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. It couldn't be any clearer. Look at chapter 4 with me at verse 2. If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. 

Justification is not a cooperative effort between me and God to establish my own righteousness. It's an imputation of the very righteousness of God to the one who believes Jesus. If a man seeks to establish his own righteousness by law-keeping, then he rejects the very righteousness of God offered through faith in Jesus’ one-time death on the cross, His burial and resurrection. 

Turn over to Romans 9 with me, please. Look at verse 30. Again, a clear statement on why men are saved and why they are lost. Romans 9.30, what shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith. But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 

Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense. That's Jesus. And whoever believes on him will not be put to shame. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 

For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 11.6 says, If it's by grace, then it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace, otherwise work is no longer work. You see, grace and works are mutually exclusive. 

If salvation is by grace, and it is, then it's no longer of works. Salvation is apart from the works of the law. Salvation in specific, regeneration, will produce the fruit of holy works, a confirmation of Christ's likeness and the character of nature of God in our lives. This will be consistent with the law of God, but not by the law of God. The law is never a means to holiness. 

And the fact is that no man will ever be justified or regenerated or born again through any variation or combination of faith plus works. Therefore, hear me now, good works, holiness, living in consistency with God's standards, His character and nature, being conformed to the likeness of Christ, can never come without justification and regeneration. 

And since justification and regeneration can only come apart from the works of the law, then any religion or man that teaches that salvation is by the works of the law, or works plus grace, destines its followers to a futile life of struggle against the sin that dwells in them, and to a standard that they cannot live up to, and gives them no resource or ability to please God by any good work. 

The great apostle Peter made this clear in Acts 15, sort of ironic that Peter said this. Acts 15, 5, it says, some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying, it's necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. They have to keep the law of Moses to be saved. That's what they taught. 

Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter, and when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 

Now therefore, listen to what Peter says to these Pharisees, now therefore why do you test God? By putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they. The yoke they put on their neck was the law, and they couldn't bear it. 

The scriptures are abundantly clear that salvation is apart from the works of the law. Ephesians 2.8, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 

Titus 3.4, but when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

There's no question what the Bible teaches about justification, my friends. And there's no question what the mainline Christian denominations teach about salvation either. Let me offer you one point of logic. Two things that are different are not the same. 

Two things that are different are not the same. And we as believers in Jesus Christ must be abundantly clear in our own minds concerning the central truth of the gospel, of our faith, of salvation, so that we might be clear in our witness to the lost in this world and to believers who are confused about these things. 

So we see that all have sinned, we see that salvation is apart from the works of the law, and next we see in our text an all-sufficient payment and a perfect plan of God. 

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's no difference. For all have sinned and fallen 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 in order that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

And here we come to the essence of the gospel, a full satisfactory payment for the sins of the world, a substitutionary death in my place and my stead to redeem and one to demonstrate the righteousness of God, allowing God to remain just, punishing every sin, and be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. This is the essence of the gospel. 

It's the perfect plan of God. You remember back in Romans 1, 18-32, we saw the plan of man. Man knows he's in trouble, right? He knows that he's a sinner. He knows that he's separated from a holy God. What's his plan? God has revealed Himself, even His eternal power and Godhead, through the creation of the world so that men are without excuse. 

But man willfully suppresses, holds down the truth of God. In fact, man exchanges the truth of God, His eternal power, His righteousness, His true and right way for man to be made right with Him to be redeemed and justified. Man exchanges these great and wonderful truths for the lie. What lie? The lie of religion, created by men after created things, specifically after corrupt man. 

Man has created gods for himself that are not righteous, that are not holy, that are corrupt, that will wink at man's sin and give him a pass. But my friends, God judges according to truth, and the truth is that God is holy. God is just. He is not corrupt. He cannot look upon sin. He cannot let even one sin go unpunished. In Habakkuk 1.13 it says, you are of pure eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon wickedness. In James 2.10 it says, for whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble at one point, he is guilty of all. 

God is holy and just perfectly. Man is universally sinful and deserving of judgment. This leaves us in a pretty bad spot. And the fact is, the plans of men, the created religions of men, the efforts and works and rituals of men do absolutely nothing, offer no solution to our dire strait. Left to himself, every man would perish eternally in the lake of fire, and in this God would remain just to send every man to hell. But God is not only justice, God is also love. 

And it's God's fervent desire and purpose to save men from this helpless, hopeless circumstance. And what I want you to see in our text is that God has designed and brought to pass the perfect plan, the only way of salvation. Man could never conceive of such a plan, and this is manifest by observing the religions of our world, the created religions of men, the created gods. Look at all the religions of man, which one is in line, is in consistency with the Word of God, the revelation of God? 

Is it Islam? Buddhism? Is it the pagan worship of birds and reptiles and four-footed things, as Romans 1 explains? The fact is, there are really only two ways ever designed. One is designed by men, the way of works and rituals and rites. And the other is the way of God, offering Jesus, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God as a sacrifice, a substitute in my place, as a propitiation, a full satisfactory payment for my sins, satisfying the wrath of God as God punishes every sin I have or ever will commit, placing that punishment on Christ, the innocent one. 

The key is substitution. The key is imputation. We must understand the nature of the crucifixion, the sacrificial Lamb of God. In simple terms, we could think of it this way. I've used this illustration many times, but bear with me. Imagine that for the last ten years, you've worked in Manaqua, driving from your home here in Winchester. And you head down Highway W and then you catch 51 at Manitoush Waters and head south, and you travel this route twice a day, five days a week for ten years. 

Approximately 2,600 times you drive this section of Highway 51, and each and every time you do good, you do well, never exceeding the 55-mile-an-hour speed limit. Think of all the good works, the credit you've piled up. This is like going to church, it's like participating in sacraments, giving to the poor, loving your neighbor. You've been so good. And then one day, you're daydreaming, you're off in some other place in your mind, and you come into the speed zone north of town and you don't notice where you are, you don't see the sign. 

And as you see the friendly state trooper hitting his lights from his hidden position, you look down and you're going 15 miles an hour over the speed limit. One time, one stinking time, out of 2,601 times, you sped only once. So clearly you can explain to this reasonable man with the big hat and the ticket book about what a good person you are, how obedient you have been to the speeding laws. And he will be overwhelmed with how righteous a driver you are and will just let you go with all kinds of praise and accolades for your consistent goodness on the highways and byways of our great state. 

No, no, he won't let you go. Because you see, if you break the law even one time, you're guilty. And you deserve the punishment. If it is so with a state trooper, and hopefully a just judge, in the courtroom in Eagle River, then how would you like to plead your case before the just judge, the holy and righteous one at the great white throne judgment? 

No, my friend, my own goodness and righteousness is a facade, a lie that men tell themselves. What I need is someone who can pay my fine for me, who can release me from the court, because if I have to pay it myself, it means an eternity in the lake of fire. What I need is a substitute, someone who does not owe the fine, who has never broken the law even once, and there's only one someone like that, Jesus, the Son of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

God has a perfect plan designed before the world began. He would Himself, the Son of God, become a man, sinless and perfect. He would live a sinless life, trusting totally and completely in the Father, always doing what pleases Him. And then as all those spotless lambs of the old covenant sacrificial system pictured, Jesus would offer Himself as a sinless substitute in my place for my sins, fully suffering the wrath of God in my place, and paying my sin debt in full one time, once for all, accomplishing my salvation on the cross. 

Do you see what blasphemy it is to say that He was insufficient, that I can somehow contribute? It's in this way and only this way that God can remain just, punishing all of my sins, and also be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. This is the perfect plan of God.

And as we've seen in our text today, the means by which God will impute my sin to Jesus on the cross, the means by which He will impute Jesus' righteousness to me, the way that I can receive the gift of salvation, is only by faith in Jesus alone and what He accomplished on the cross. If I place my faith in anything else, in anyone else, including myself, I will not be able then I reject the work of Christ as sufficient, as satisfactory, as propitiation for my sins. 

The choice is clear. Man's way or God's way. My own righteousness by the works of the law or God's righteousness apart from the works of the law by faith. 

We're here this morning to celebrate the truth of the full salvation that God provides in Christ. We are here to remember what Jesus has done for us, what he accomplished at the cross, and to proclaim his death until he comes. 

All have sinned. Salvation is apart from the law. Jesus made the all-sufficient payment for my sins and yours on the cross of Calvary. He was buried and he rose again the third day according to God's perfect plan and in this God can remain just and be the justifier of the one who places his whole faith and trust in Jesus alone. 

This is our message. This is our hope. This is the gospel of our salvation and this is why we come to the Lord's table this morning. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful for the simplicity that is in Christ. We're so thankful that you have shown us our sin, convicted us of our need. We're thankful for bringing the gospel to us, the good news for faithful witnesses. We're thankful for the fulfillment of the promise for those who believe, Lord. Righteousness imputed to us, our sins fully paid for. Thank you for that great gift. Thank you for your grace and thank you for the power to now live a holy life as you have dealt with the sin in us. You have come to make your home in us, giving us a new heart and a new spirit and now we can live by grace through faith as well, a holy life one day at a time as a witness in this world. 

And thank you for the words of reconciliation that you've given to us, the message to good news to take to the world, the salvation of men and for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.