And Now for the Gospel – Part 2

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On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. It doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, young or old, Democrat or Republican, Jew or Gentile, anyone, and everyone is welcome to come to Christ. The Bible says the fact that salvation has been offered as a gift democratizes salvation.

It's for everyone. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. In the 16th century, Martin Luther started a revolution that would forever change the way we view the gospel.

Yet countless individuals still wrestle with wanting to be good enough to deserve God's forgiveness. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress reminds us why no good work can ever stand up to God's righteousness. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Before we begin today's study in Romans chapter three, I'd like to invite you to request the journeys of Paul map while there's still time. For the last few weeks, we've embarked on a study of Romans chapters one through five. And to complement our series called Grace Powered Living, I've set aside two very important resources for you. The first is a multifolded brochure called The Journeys of Paul Map.

It's beautifully illustrated and easy to follow. Plus, it helps you trace the three missionary journeys and explains why they are important to your life today. The Journeys of Paul Map is yours for the asking when you follow the simple instructions at ptv.org. And second, I'm pleased to offer an illustrated guide to the Apostle Paul. This book opened my eyes to the cultural setting in which Paul lived and ministered. Remember, Paul was a Jewish rabbi who, before his conversion, hated and persecuted Christians. But after his spiritual transformation, Paul traveled far and wide to tell others about the life-saving grace of Jesus Christ. In this illustrated guide, you'll learn about the political and religious pressures that Paul addressed.

They're much like the pressures you and I feel in our world today. Let me send you an illustrated guide to the Apostle Paul. I'll send a copy to your home when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. And it'll arrive with the Journeys of Paul Map as well.

I'm going to say more about these special resources later. But right now, let's resume our study in Romans chapter 3. It's a message I've called, And Now for the Gospel. If you have your Bibles, turn, if you would, to Romans chapter 3, beginning with verse 21. Paul says, God's righteousness is not a reward, but it is a gift to those who trust in the redemptive work of Christ. Now, let's see how Paul develops that truth. Look at verses 21 to 23. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What Paul is saying is, it has always been God's plan that his righteousness would never be a reward, it would be a gift from him. Secondly, notice that God's righteousness is based on the work of Christ. It's offered as a gift, but it is based on the work of Christ. People think, well, when God forgives you, what it means is God overlooks your sin.

He turns the other way. He plays like it never happened. A holy God, ladies and gentlemen, cannot do that. And God said, the soul that sins shall die. Our sin creates a debt that has to be satisfied. You say, well, what about verse 25 here that says, in the forbearance of God, he passed over sins previously committed.

That was only for a short time. God passed over sins for a while until Christ came and the full wrath of God was poured out on Christ who had to satisfy that debt. I want you to notice in this passage, there are three words that describe exactly what Christ did for us to satisfy that sin debt. Three words and you find them all in verses 24, 25, and 26.

First of all, the word redemption. Look at verse 24, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. That's what Christ has done for us.

He has redeemed us. He has purchased us out of the slave market of sin. There's a second word he uses in this passage to describe Christ's work for us and that's the word propitiation. Propitiation. Look at verse 25, talking about Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed.

Now that word propitiation, it simply means right down the word satisfaction. Christ satisfied the requirements of God. Jesus Christ was that perfect sacrifice. And not only was he the sacrifice for our sins, he is the one who offered the sacrifice. He has redeemed us. He has propitiated God.

And number three, he has justified us. Now you know these words redemption, propitiation, they aren't used that much in the New Testament. But the word justification, that is a word that is used 200 times in the Greek New Testament. What is justification?

I want you to write this down. Justification is the sovereign act of God by which he declares a sinful person to be righteous. Justification is the sovereign act of God by which he declares a sinful person to be righteous. It is a legal term. It's the same term a judge uses when he slams down the gavel and says, not guilty.

That's what justification is. It's a legal term whereby a sovereign God declares a sinner to be in a right relationship with himself. Now how do these three words work together? I came across this diagram in Dr. Boyce's work on the book of Romans. And it really summarizes what Christ's work means to us.

Look at this chart here. What did Jesus' death accomplish for me? Notice how, first of all, the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Christian. Jesus Christ has redeemed us by his blood. But when he redeemed us, notice what that did between Jesus' relationship and God the Father. Jesus' redemption of us resulted in Jesus' propitiation to God the Father. He satisfied the demands of God the Father.

And what's the demands of God the Father? We're satisfied. Look at what God has done for us. He has justified us.

He has declared us not guilty. What is Paul saying in this chapter? He is saying, first of all, God's righteousness is offered as a gift. Secondly, it is based on Christ's work. Number three, and this is so key, God's righteousness is received through faith. It is received through faith. Look at verse 26.

For the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. I want you to notice how many times in these verses you find the word faith. Verse 22, through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. Verse 25, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith.

Underline that. Verse 26, he is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Verse 28, man is justified by faith. Verse 30, he justifies the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by faith.

Do you get that? By faith, by faith, by faith. What does it mean to have saving faith? If faith is the way I receive God's forgiveness, what does that mean? I want you to listen to me as carefully as you've listened to me. If you haven't listened, start listening. Because what I'm about to explain to you in the next five minutes will determine whether you spend eternity in heaven or hell. That's how crucial it is. What do we mean when we say faith is the means by which I'm saved?

Write this down. Faith is not the basis of my salvation. It is the channel through which I receive salvation. Now, the English translation sometimes takes that word, Greek word, and translates it by, by, by. That's not the correct interpretation.

It is through. Throughout the scripture, you have this formula for salvation. We are saved by grace that is received through faith. Faith is not the basis of my salvation. It is the channel through which I receive salvation.

Let me illustrate that for you, if I can. In your house, behind your television set, is probably a cable somewhat like this. I hope I know how to reattach this when I get home. But anyway, you've got a cable like this.

Let's suppose tomorrow evening, after I come home from church, have dinner, I sit down in my favorite chair, have my bowl of popcorn there. 7 o'clock p.m., I've got this cable sitting on my ottoman, and I looked at this cable and I say, okay, where's O'Reilly? It's time for the O'Reilly Factor.

Where is it? You know, it doesn't matter how long I stare at this cable. The O'Reilly Factor or any other program is not going to appear on this cable. You see, this cable is not the basis for which a television program is shown. It is simply the channel through which a television program is received. For me to see a television program, it means, first of all, one end has to be connected to a transmitter, a cable box. And the other end of it has to be plugged into a receiver, a television set. This cable doesn't produce anything.

It is simply a channel through which I see what is produced. Now, saving faith is the same way. You know what?

It doesn't matter how long this cable is, you're not going to get a television program out of it. And it doesn't matter how much faith you have. Faith alone saves no one. Instead, faith is the channel through which I receive God's salvation. On one end, it has to be attached to God.

On the other end, it has to be plugged in my own heart. And it is only when I have saving faith in Christ that Christ's salvation is poured into my life. Isn't that what Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says? For by faith you have been... That's not what it says. Ephesians 2, 8 says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. Grace through faith is the way I'm saved. And that's why Paul is saying in this passage, God's gift of righteousness is received through faith. Now, what does it mean to have saving faith?

Write these two things down on your outline. First of all, saving faith demands truth. Saving faith demands truth.

Just as that cable is only as effective as the object to which it's attached, the transmitter box. So my faith is only as good as the object to which it's attached. It's the object of faith that counts.

And in this case, it's Christ's redemptive work. Faith demands truth. It demands truth. But secondly, saving faith demands trust.

It demands trust. Now, don't miss this truth. You can believe intellectually all you want to that Jesus Christ is your Savior. But he doesn't save you until you throw yourself completely upon him. And say, God, I know I can't save myself. I believe that only Jesus is capable of saving me. And when I stand before you one day, I'm trusting in his righteousness alone so that I might be faultless before the throne. It is only at that point when you're completely throwing yourself on Christ's work for you that you're saved. It's not having one foot out and one foot in. It's not saying, okay, I believe that Christ died for me, but I'm also trusting in my good works, my church membership, my baptism, my family heritage.

No. It's only when you trust completely solely on the finished work of Christ. What is Paul saying to us about the reality of God's righteousness?

First of all, it's offered as a gift. Secondly, it's based on Christ's work. And thirdly, it is received through faith. Now, what's the result of that truth? What's the result of God's gift? Look at what Paul says beginning in verse 27. First of all, the fact that salvation is not a reward but a gift demands humility. Look at verse 27.

Where then is boasting? It's excluded. By what kind of law?

Of works? No, but by a law of faith. The fact that salvation is not a reward but a gift, it demands humility. It democratizes salvation. That's what he says in verses 29 to 30. Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not God of the Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. What Paul is saying is the fact that salvation is a gift means anybody can receive it.

Everybody is welcomed into heaven. When I lived in Wichita Falls, we were there. I got to be friends with the late Dr. Frank Pollard, the famed pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. He would come by my office whenever he would come to the town to visit his brother.

And I'll never forget a story Dr. Pollard told me one day. It was about his first sermon at that famed church, the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi. He had just been called as pastor.

He was excited. He was preaching his first sermon. And at the end of the sermon, he gave his invitation. And he said, I want you to know anyone and everyone is welcome to come to Christ and join the First Baptist Church of Jackson. Well, on that Monday morning, there was an emergency meeting called of all of the past past deacon chairman of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi. They had an emergency meeting. They called their new pastor and Dr. Pollard. And they explained to him in no uncertain terms why everyone was not welcomed in the First Baptist Church there. They explained how people of a certain skin color certainly weren't welcome there.

Or people from a different economic background weren't welcome there. And as they continued and continued to bully and threaten the new pastor, Dr. Pollard, who was one of the most humble men you would ever meet, he said he sat there listening, praying that God would give him the wisdom and grace to know exactly how to respond. And when they had finished their haranguing, this is what Dr. Pollard said. He said, gentlemen, I grew up in a three-room shack. I was the eighth child born into my family. The next youngest brother was 12 years older than I was. I'm sure I was inconvenient to my brothers. I was smelly. I didn't have the courtesy not to awake them in the middle of the night crying. I couldn't speak their language.

And I imagine at some point they could have gone to my father and said, we don't want him here any longer. He smells. He's inconvenient. He's causing us problems. Get rid of him. We don't want him. And had my brothers done that, my father would have held up his hand and said, forget it. Stop it. He's my son and this is my house.

He stays. And then Dr. Pollard looked at those deacons and said, gentlemen, I don't think we have the right to say who is and who is not welcome in our father's house. And that's true of the First Baptist Church of Dallas as well.

It doesn't matter who you are, black, white, brown. It doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, young or old, Democrat or Republican, Jew or Gentile, anyone and everyone is welcome to come to Christ. The Bible says the fact that salvation has been offered as a gift democratizes salvation.

It's for everyone. And finally, he says it demonstrates God's justice. The fact that salvation is not a reward actually is a demonstration of God's justice. Look at verse 31. Do we then nullify the law through faith?

May it never be. On the contrary, we establish the law. You see, some people were perverting this doctrine of grace and saying, well, grace must mean that God's law is unimportant. If God forgives the unrighteous of their sin, maybe God doesn't care about his law.

No, just the opposite. The fact that God saves us by grace shows how important the law is. Let me illustrate that for you. Let's just say God said, okay, salvation is going to be a reward based on how well you keep the law. And since no person can keep the law 100%, I'm going to grade on the curve. If you keep 70% of my law, you're welcomed into heaven. Does that demonstrate God's justice?

No. If God said, I'll let you into heaven, if you keep 70% of the law, that means 30% of God's law would be unimportant. The fact that God doesn't allow us to work our way into heaven, the fact that God demands that we keep 100% of the law to be saved or we're destined to hell, that demonstrates the justice, the holiness of God. The fact that salvation is not a reward but a gift demands humility.

Not only does it demand humility, it democratizes salvation, and it demonstrates the justice of God. There was an 18th century poet, a gifted poet named William Cowper, who suffered a terrible childhood. When he was six years old, his mother died, and he was bundled up and sent to a boarding school where he was bullied by other boys and abused.

And by the time he was a young man, 25 years old, he had a nervous breakdown. And in 1756, William Cowper was sent to an asylum. Now, if you were living in the 1700s, an asylum, a mental asylum, was the worst place and the last place you would want to be sent. The doctors there didn't know what to do.

They were treated like inmates in a prison. In the middle of the night, William Cowper, this young 25-year-old man, would shout out. He could be heard by other patients shouting out, my sin, my sin, what can I do about my sin if only there were a fountain to cleanse me of my sin? But he knew of no such fountain until a Christian doctor there, Dr. Cotton, introduced him to faith in Jesus Christ. William Cowper wrote about that experience of coming to Christ.

Listen to his testimony. He said, the happy period which was to shake off my fetters and afford me a clear opening of the free mercy of God in Christ had now arrived. I flung myself into a chair near the window and, seeing a Bible there, ventured once more to apply to it for comfort and instruction. The first verses I saw were in the third chapter of Romans, the passage we just read, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God had set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to manifest his righteousness. Immediately, I received strength to believe, and the full beams of the Son of righteousness shone on me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement he had made, my pardon in his blood, and the fullness and completeness of his justification. In a moment, I believed, and I received the gospel.

Years later, William Cowper used that experience to write those beloved words. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stain. The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day, and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away. God's righteousness is not a reward, but a gift to those who trust in the redemptive work of Christ. Many scholars have identified Paul's book of Romans as the greatest letter ever written. Some have called it the Magna Carta of spiritual freedom. Without question, Paul's letter is rich with deep theological truth, and it was written in times when Roman culture was deeply divided, much like the days in which we live. Today, I'm pleased to send you a practical book that will elevate your understanding of Paul's New Testament writings. It's the book that I mentioned earlier in today's program, An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul. Anyone who's curious to learn more about the Bible should add this resource to their collection. With vivid photographs from the Holy Land, maps, and sketches, this illustrated guide will open your mind to the times in which the New Testament was written. You're invited to request a copy of An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul when you give a much-needed and generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Let me assure you that your gift is not only needed, but it's effective. Because of the generosity from friends like you, we are touching more lives than ever before with the truth of God's Word.

There's still much more work to be done. Doors have opened wide to bring this daily program to new cities across our country and even around the world. But we cannot walk through these open doors without the support of like-minded friends just like you. Would you be among those who step forward with a generous gift today?

God will use your gift to pierce the darkness with the light of His Word. Don't forget you can watch Pathway to Victory on television. On Saturdays you can catch us at noon Eastern on TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

On Sundays we're on hundreds of stations, including TBN at 10 a.m. Eastern. David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, you're invited to request the book An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul. Plus, you'll also receive The Journeys of Paul Map, an exclusive full-color reference tool that conveniently tucks into the back of your Bible. To make your request, call 866-999-2965 or give online at ptv.org.

And when your gift is $75 or more, we'll also send you the grace-powered living audio and video discs, containing messages from Romans chapters 1 through 8. To request this teaching set, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address, P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. One more time, that's P.O.

Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. Wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again next week when the series Grace-powered Living continues, right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.