Justification 3 What Moves God To Justify Us
Overview
What Moves God to Justify Us
To be justified is to be declared not guilty—a legal term the Apostle Paul applies to our standing before God. The world has its own counterfeit versions of justification: rationalizing sin, denying it, blaming others, or comparing ourselves favorably to those around us. But there is only one true verdict of "not guilty" before God, and it comes through the work of Jesus Christ alone. The question worth pressing into is this: what moves God to declare guilty sinners righteous?
A Holy and Loving God
Scripture reveals God as both perfectly holy and perfectly loving. "The Lord is just in all his ways and kind in all his doings" Psalm 145:17. His holiness demands holiness from His creatures—"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" Leviticus 19:2—and His love commands perfect love in return, both for God and neighbor Matthew 22:35-40. The law convicts us: we fall far short of both. The natural human response is to turn inward and try to redeem ourselves—the impulse behind every works-based religion, including Roman Catholic teaching that adds works to grace. But Paul counts every spiritual credential as loss "because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord," desiring "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ" Philippians 3:8-9.
Salvation Provided in Christ
Because we cannot contribute to our salvation, God Himself provides it. "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" 1 John 4:9-10. God's holiness will not wink at sin; His justice requires that sin be punished. So Christ "redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" Galatians 3:10-13. For this rescue to work, Jesus had to be both fully God and fully man—human, so He could stand in our place; divine, so He could live the perfect life we could not and bear an infinite weight of judgment. Deny either nature, and the gospel collapses.
Christ's Active and Passive Obedience
Justification is a matter of obedience—Christ's obedience credited to us. His passive obedience is His willing submission to suffering and death in our place. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He did not open His mouth Isaiah 53:7; "he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" Philippians 2:8; "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" Hebrews 10:10. His active obedience is His perfect keeping of God's law in our place. "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law" Galatians 4:4-5. He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it Matthew 5:17, and He was tempted in every respect as we are, "yet without sin" Hebrews 4:15. The exchange is total: "as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men" Romans 5:18.
Pastoral Application
What moves God to justify us is His own holiness and His own love, meeting perfectly in the cross and life of His Son. Our works contribute nothing—not to entry, not to standing, not to assurance. This truth liberates the conscience and grounds our witness. When the world calls Christians intolerant for confessing Christ as the only way, we hold the line not in pride but because God Himself has spoken. Rest, then, in the verdict already announced over you: not guilty, for Christ's sake alone. Live each day in the joy and peace of being declared righteous solely because of what Jesus has done for you.
Transcript
Father, we have failed to obey Your Holy Law. 0s
We know that we deserve only Your wrath and punishment. 3s
Make sure us today that Your own Son kept Your law perfectly in our place and has given 8s
us His righteousness. 14s
Because of Him you consider us Your children, remove all fear of hell with a certainty that 16s
Christ has also suffered and died in our place, bearing the punishment we deserve. 22s
Fill us with joy and peace as we recall that we are justified solely because of what 29s
Christ has done for us. 36s
We ask this in His name. 38s
Amen. 41s
Well, good morning and welcome. 42s
We talked last week about how we live in a world of justification, a world of justification. 45s
We remember to be justified means to be declared not guilty. 53s
It was a legal term that Paul adopted. 59s
We live in a world of justification in which the world declares itself not guilty. 62s
And we talked about several different aspects of how that can occur, rationalizing, sin 69s
away, denying our sin, blaming others, comparing ourselves with others. 74s
And there is of course only one right way to be justified before God and that is through 81s
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 86s
Well, today I want to examine with you what moves God to justify us, what moves God to 89s
justify us. 95s
God is both holy and loving. 97s
He's both holy and loving. 106s
Let's take a look please at Psalm 145, Psalm 145, verse 17. 111s
A good way of course to find the Psalms just to open up to the middle of Scripture and 118s
you'll land on one of them. 122s
Psalm 145, verse 17. 124s
So the question then for us to examine this morning is why is it or what is it that God, 130s
what is it that moves God to justify us? 136s
And we want to first examine how God is both holy and loving. 141s
So Psalm 145, verse 17. 145s
It says the Lord is just in all his ways and kind in all his doings. 150s
There is a justice with regard to God. 159s
He cannot be other than just. 161s
There is the kindness and loving nature of God. 164s
Let's go to Leviticus the 19th chapter, please. 168s
Genesis, Exodus and then Leviticus. 172s
Leviticus 19, verse 2. 175s
Leviticus 19, verse 2. 181s
The Lord spoke to Moses saying, 191s
Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, 193s
You shall be holy for I the Lord your God, M. Holy. 199s
Let's jump over the New Testament. 207s
Matthew chapter 22, verse 35. 209s
Matthew chapter 22, verse 35. 214s
So chapter 22, verse 35, we read in one of them a lawyer asked him a question to test him. 231s
Teacher, speaking to Jesus, which commandment in the law is the greatest? 238s
He said to him, 244s
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 245s
This is the greatest and first commandment in the second as like it. 251s
You shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 254s
So this is just a little brief sampling here of how Scripture reveals to us that God is both holy and loving at the same time. 264s
And this God who is holy demands holiness, demands that holiness from his creatures. 274s
God who is holy and loving also demands perfect love from his creation. 282s
He calls us to a perfect love for God and for others. 292s
Well, faced upon a simple examination then with regard to ourselves, we look at ourselves and we say, 297s
We fall far short, do we not? 303s
Of the holiness of God, we fall far short of a perfect love of God and others. 306s
The law convicts us of our sin. 313s
And faced with that reality, the temptation then is to try and redeem ourselves to buy us back into relationship. 316s
So convinced then from the law of God indeed that we have transgress the law of God that we are not holy, that we are not perfect in loving. 329s
The revelation of our sin, the temptation for us is then to turn inward and then redeem ourselves. 336s
The Catholic Church does this. 347s
The Catholic Church does not proclaim salvation by grace through faith. 350s
It proclaims salvation by grace through faith plus works. 355s
Plus works. 360s
They understand for example, holy communion. 362s
As at communion a spiritual quality is infused in you whereby it makes your works meritorious before God. 367s
So there's the call to continual reception then of the sacrament of holy communion so that with this spiritual quality infused in you your works then become meritorious before God. 378s
We also see it in the application of the Catholic Church's teaching on what is called anonymous Christianity. 393s
Sometimes you'll hear the Pope talking about this. 403s
I don't advocate for you to listen to the Pope. 407s
But if you do happen to hear him listen closely for this. 409s
It's called anonymous Christianity. 416s
It is the Catholic Church's belief that one can be saved apart from naming the name of Lord Jesus Christ and trust in him. 418s
The Catholic Church teaches. 425s
It was taught in the second Vatican Council. 428s
Catholic Church teaches that a person who lives a good life even though they do not name the name and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is also saved. 432s
It's called anonymous Christianity. 444s
So you look at the teaching of the Catholic Church and you say that is a fundamental departure from justification by grace to faith alone. 447s
And what is it? 458s
It is an attempt to redeem one's self to turn inward to redeem one's self by one's own actions. 459s
The Bible teaches that one can be justified only by trusting in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. 471s
That our works contribute how much to our salvation? 481s
Oh, that's wonderful. 486s
Nothing. 489s
Nothing. 490s
Do you know? 491s
45% of Lutherans in a survey, I think it's around 40, it's when years since I looked at it, it's around 45%. 493s
45% of Lutherans say that your works contribute to your salvation. 500s
Lutherans say this. 507s
I mean, that is an amazing statistic, right? 510s
And so you don't know, I mean, that is like candy to my ear. 513s
When you say, what do we contribute? 517s
Nothing. 521s
Absolutely. 522s
Absolutely. 524s
Oh my, you're going to get an amen out of me in a second here. 524s
After a frame myself here on this, God's holiness and love has provided salvation for us. 529s
Let's go into first John. 541s
Good way to find first John is to go to the book of Revelation, very last book. 543s
And slowly work your way toward Matthew. 548s
You're going to bump quickly into first John, chapter 4, verse 9. 554s
So God is holy and He is loving. 563s
And God and His holiness and His love for us has provided 566s
salvation. 576s
Because we are unable to contribute to it. 581s
We are unable to redeem ourselves. 584s
This must totally be the work of God. 585s
First John, chapter 4, verse 9. 589s
God's love was revealed among us in this way. 594s
God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 599s
In this is love. 605s
Catch this. 606s
Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 608s
Not that we loved God, but that He loved us. 619s
Remember what we studied in the very first section of how the Bible describes us as being a people that are blind toward God, enemies of God. 622s
We want nothing to do with God. 634s
Our Lutheran confessions, our doctrinal writings, describes our heart as a stone. 637s
There is nothing, nothing in us that desires God. 643s
It is solely His work in redeeming us through the blood of Jesus Christ. 648s
Let's go to Philippians, the third chapter. 655s
First and second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and then Philippians. 661s
Philippians chapter 3, verse 8. 665s
So here we see God who is holy and loving, has provided salvation for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. 669s
Philippians chapter 3, verse 8. 679s
More than that, I regard everything as loss. 684s
Let's get a better context for that. 688s
Let's go up halfway through four. 691s
It will give us a better sense. 693s
Paul writes, if anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more. 695s
Circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 702s
Then notice what he says, yet whatever gains I have, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 716s
See, he understands there's nothing that he contributes to his salvation, absolutely nothing. 728s
More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ, Jesus, my Lord. 736s
For his sake, I've suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, which is impossible, right? 742s
But one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 762s
Let's go to Galatians, chapter 3. 771s
So turn left there, across Ephesians, and then Galatians, the third chapter, verse 10. 776s
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law. 794s
Jumping down into verse 13. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. 811s
God who is holy and loving has provided salvation for us, and that salvation has nothing to do with our works, it has everything to do with the work of Jesus Christ. 825s
And remaining true to his holiness then, that requires that sin must be punished. 838s
See, God cannot wink at sin. God cannot say, we're going to let it slide just this once, because then God violates his own justice. 846s
And God who is perfectly just, he cannot be God and wink at sin at the same time. 856s
So he punishes then Jesus Christ in our place. Head towards Revelation, please, to Hebrews, the second chapter. 868s
You'll cross over the tea books. Lastly, you're going to hit Titus, and you're going to hit Hebrews. Hebrews the second chapter, verse 14. 878s
You're going to hit Hebrews the second chapter, verse 14. 891s
You're going to hit Hebrews the second chapter, verse 14. 899s
Since therefore the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things. So that, through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death that is the devil. 900s
And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death, for it's clear that he did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. 919s
Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 931s
Just a little aside, as you're going through your personal Bible studies, look for these connecting words. 947s
So when you go through this section here, in verse 14, you read to him, self likewise shared the things halfway through. And then as you're studying there, and when you see it, sew that, so then you go, okay, here comes the explanation of what has come before. 958s
And so you circle that and say, okay, he's made this statement and now this is the reason for this. So you circle that, sew that, you read on, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death that is the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. 973s
So the sew that then becomes the clause to, since therefore the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things. 993s
So that's talking about Jesus taking on flesh, right? Here's why he takes on flesh. The sew that, and then here comes your clause. 1003s
Then in verse 16, for, and here's, you circle that too, for its further explanation, for it is clear he did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. 1013s
Then you circle this word too. Therefore, you see how the arguments constructed. So as you're studying a passage, then you're seeing what is, what's modifying what? 1025s
And then, and then you start to see points in a text start to start to line up. Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect. 1034s
So that, and so that modifies then what has just come before. So that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 1045s
So what I would suggest to you is you're studying through in a Bible study diagram, the section of, of study. So, so you kind of diagram and you say, okay, here's, here's this, now what modifies this? 1059s
And so you slide it underneath where it's, where it's modifying and then you can start seeing what is modifying what? And then when you, when you get everything lined up, then you start to see points start to arise. 1073s
What that helps you do is it helps you stay right with the text. It helps you not go any further than the text. You just stay right with it and you just see how the thing is, is diagram. It's called a, called a block diagram. 1087s
And it's very, very helpful in terms of, in terms of study. 1102s
What we see then is Jesus true to His holiness. God sends Jesus, punishes Jesus in our place. He had to be human to be our substitute. 1108s
It's the two natures of Christ, totally divine and totally human. He had to be human. Why did he have to be human? 1122s
So that he could take our place on the cross. Why does he have to be totally divine? So that he lives the perfect life that we can't. You see, it is only God that can redeem us. 1131s
So when we confess that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, that's the two natures of Christ. If you deny the deity or deny the humanity of Jesus Christ, the gospel falls apart. It just gets shredded into, into pieces. 1144s
It's the two natures of Jesus. If you were the devil, what would be a major goal then for you? A major goal would be to attack the deity of Christ. 1164s
And that's where we see many attacks today, where Jesus Christ is attacked, where Jesus Christ is relegated to being a good wife. He's a good teacher. 1183s
He's a good teacher. Jesus is a good teacher. Well, Jesus was the best teacher. Can't get better in God. But Jesus is more than a teacher. 1198s
He's the second member of the Trinity in flesh. And so what you'll notice is where there is a tax where Satan is leading to attack, Satan will move to destroy the authority of the Word and will also move to destroy the deity of Christ. 1209s
Because if you can destroy the authority of the Word and you can destroy the deity of Christ, you have decimated the lives of people. If Jesus is not God, he couldn't live a whole life of obedience to the Father. 1230s
If he was not God, his suffering and death would have no power to redeem us. Jesus is more obviously than a mere teacher. 1247s
Justification is a matter of obedience. So God who is holy and loving, he provides salvation to us. Justification by grace through faith, through the Lord Jesus Christ. And this justification is a matter of obedience. 1263s
Well, what do I mean by that? Obedience, so understood as both passive and active when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's define these terms. Jesus' passive obedience is that he obeyed his Father and he went to the cross to die in our place, to take the punishment that we deserve. 1288s
That is his passive obedience. That's the Savior who says, your will be done. His passive obedience then is going to the cross. Let's see it in Scripture. Let's go to the book of Isaiah, chapter 53. 1318s
Good way to find Isaiah is go to the Psalms and then turn right. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and you bump into Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 53, verse 7. 1334s
This is a prophecy here of the Messiah. Verse 7, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter. 1362s
And like a sheep that before its shears is silent, so he did not open his mouth. That is a, that is expression of the passive obedience of the Messiah, where he willingly goes to the cross. Let's go to Philippians, the second chapter. 1377s
Philippians chapter 2, Galatians Ephesians and then Philippians, Philippians chapter 2, verse 8. 1401s
He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death. 1423s
Justification, are being declared not guilty through the Lord Jesus Christ, involves obedience. Jesus is willingness to obey the Father, passive obedience. 1439s
Let's go to Hebrews chapter 10. So keep turning toward revelation, cross over the tea books. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 10. 1453s
And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 1476s
So he allowed himself, passive, to be put to shame, made to suffer for our sin as God's law demands. What is the result of that? We will not be punished for our sins, because Jesus has taken it upon him. 1487s
Well, that's his passive obedience. What's his active obedience? Jesus Christ lived under God's law and God's demand that we be holy. Let's go to Galatians chapter 4, verse 4. 1506s
Galatians chapter 4, verse 4. This is, by the way, when you're witnessing with someone and you're explaining who Jesus is and what Jesus Christ has done, you may not use the term active and passive obedience. 1527s
You can walk them through these very verses that shows what Jesus did and his passive obedience and then what Jesus did in his active obedience. 1550s
So you're explaining the gospel here and you're using the best means, obviously, which is the scripture. 1562s
So Galatians chapter 4, but when the fullness of time had come, in other words, at the right exact moment, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 1570s
This is such a rich verse, isn't it? When the fullness of time, perfection of time, exact moment, God sent his son, born of a woman, you see what is being highlighted there, but what's being highlighted there is the humanity of Christ, born of a woman, born under the law in order to redeem by back those who were under the law. 1597s
So what did Jesus do? Jesus lived in the perfect life. Remember the example I used a couple of weeks ago of the member who came back, they were on vacation, they were worshipping in a congregation and the pastor said with regard to the text there about the woman. 1621s
But you don't throw the bread to the dogs, I explain what that is, it's tongue and cheek, it's puppies. And the pastor said that this is something that Jesus needed to repent of, the sin here of his chauvinism. 1646s
Now, you see how you can't maintain that Jesus is God in the flesh and at the same time maintain that Jesus is a sinner. 1666s
Because everything collapses, you're in collapses if you do that, you have no basis for the gospel, then Jesus needs a Savior. 1675s
Right? Jesus needs a Savior. Everything falls apart. Jesus perfectly obeyed the law. He never ever sinned. 1681s
Jesus was born under the law under the obligation to obey his father's will in our place so that his obedience could redeem us and set us free from the condemning demands of the law. 1696s
Let's go to Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter 5, verse 17. 1710s
Matthew 5, verse 17. 1721s
Notice what Jesus says here, Matthew 5, verse 17. He says, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. 1735s
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Well, let's go to Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15. 1744s
Cross over the T's again. Land in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15. 1759s
Is it not clear that this is a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are yet without sin. 1772s
Jesus never sinned. He obeyed God the father perfectly in our place. Romans the fifth chapter, please. Matthew, Mark Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans. 1793s
Romans chapter 5, verse 18. 1805s
Romans 5, 18. 1810s
Therefore, just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, that brings us right back to the Garden of Eden, right? 1818s
Therefore, just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness, there's Jesus, leads to justification and life for all. 1825s
Through Jesus then, we have the righteousness that we lack and for that reason, Jesus then declares us as being not guilty. 1838s
This justification is through Christ alone. 1852s
Through Christ alone. It's not on human effort, it's not on on performance. All non-Christian religions, all of them are based upon a system of works, righteousness. 1862s
All of them is based upon the belief that there is no need for a Savior. Why do they believe that there is no need for a Savior? 1880s
Because they believe that who can save them from themselves? 1890s
Right? themselves. So, as long as the good outweighs the bad, God is a God who grades on a curve, I'll be okay. 1898s
That's a little aside. It's not a scriptural reason for the truthfulness of Christianity. It's a logical one where if you think it through and you say insinfulness, what kind of religious structure would human kind create for themselves? 1927s
It would be works righteousness. We would never create a system of grace. It's not how we're wired. Because we think that I can redo myself. Sure. I'm a good person. God loves me. Sure. Why? Because I'm a good person. 1945s
I'm a good person. And then we get into the, well, how do I know I'm a good person? Well, have you ever met? Let me compare myself to them. Right? Or I'm a lot better person than Hitler. A lot better person than Hitler. Right? You know, I mean, you get all this kind of kind of absurdity. 1966s
As Christians, we become the targets of ridicule and are criticized for being intolerant. Why? Because we proclaim that Jesus Christ is the only way unto salvation. Because we take God at His word and say, well, God said it here, that Jesus is the only way unto salvation. And who am I to disagree with God? 1986s
What happens is, is then we become the objects of scorn and ridicule. And we are labeled intolerant with regard to other people's faith. Like how one, one pastor puts it. He says, yeah, sign me up for the intolerance club. Sign me up for that. Because if God is not tolerant of heresy, if God is not tolerant of faith, 2014s
if God is not tolerant with false theologies that proclaim that we redeem ourselves, then we should be as intolerant as God. Intolerant as God. 2044s
So when the criticism comes, it sounds like what you are saying is quite intolerant, say, yes. Why? Because God is intolerant of false religion and all the false structures and belief systems. 2063s
And we keep proclaiming God in His grace has sent His Son. And what moved Him His holiness and His love, providing salvation, Jesus Christ passive and active obedience. And it is through Christ and Christ alone that we are redeemed. 2086s