Forgiven Forever – Part 1 of 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. For over a thousand years after the church's founding, a key doctrine was lost, one that gives hope to the hopeless and life to the spiritually dead. That doctrine is justification by faith, rediscovered by Martin Luther in the 1500s. Today, what justification means. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, in Sunday School we're taught that justification means it's just as if I'd never sinned. Is that right?

Dave, you know that's only half the story. It's not only as if I've never sinned, it's as if I performed acts of righteousness and lived a very righteous life. In other words, when Jesus died on the cross, he got what he didn't deserve, namely our sin, and we get what we don't deserve, namely his righteousness. Actually, I have to tell you that this is one of my most favorite subjects.

Why? All of us wake up in the morning and oftentimes we discover that our hearts are not hot for God. What we have to do is to remind ourselves that we are in Christ declared righteous before God by faith alone. To all those who are listening today, I hope that you get on the phone, call others, tell them to listen to the ministry of Running to Win. And all of this material is in a book I've written entitled The Power of a Clear Conscience, and for a gift of any amount we're making it available for you.

Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. A missionary told me this. When he discovered justification by faith, though he was saved for many years, he said it changed the way he did missions and the way he lived his life. What a precious doctrine. If you're here today and you're of the Catholic faith, I hope that you have a sense of humor. I believe that you do.

I'm counting on it. There is a story that when the last pope died, he took all of his keys and attempted to open the door of heaven. He tried every key and it didn't work.

In fact, he tried all of his keys a second time. Suddenly a shadowy figure arrived and was there and said to the pope, what's going on? He said, well, I'm the pope. I have the keys to the kingdom. I have the keys to paradise, but they're not working.

The guy said, well, you have to understand something. 500 years ago, a guy by the name of Martin Luther came up here and he changed the locks. Now, just to clarify a little bit of theology, neither Luther nor the pope have the keys to heaven.

They are held by Jesus, the Bible says in the book of Revelation 1 18. But whether you are today here as a Buddhist, as a Muslim, no matter what religion you belong to or a Catholic or a Protestant, you're all welcome and all of us should appreciate the struggle of conscience that Martin Luther experienced. This happens to be the seventh in a series of messages entitled the power of a clear conscience. And no one struggled with his conscience more than did Luther. In fact, he enrolled in the monastery in Erfurt to see whether or not he could quiet his tormented soul. Luther was afflicted by what is known in German as unfechtungen.

That is to say a sense of existential despair, anxiety, guilt, and overwhelming feeling of inferiority, of imperfection. And his conscience haunted him and he hoped that he'd be able to find peace. So there in the monastery in Erfurt, he took the time to try to take advantage of all the opportunities that medieval Catholicism gave him back in the year 1507 and 1508. And what he did is he began by the duties that were outlined that should be done. The renunciation of self will.

The idea of sleeping on a floor without a blanket and Rebecca and I have been to these places many times. I've had the privilege of leading tours to the sites of the reformation and so there on a stone floor without a blanket to mortify the flesh. What he did is he took care and did all that he can regarding these disciplines. Sometimes he fasted so long and so much that some of his fellow monks thought that he would actually die.

The problem was that there was never a balance. His account with God was never balanced. The more he did, the more he sensed God demanded and his conscience continued to torment him. The sacraments were of some solace to him, especially confession. But he knew that he needed to confess all of his sins and in order to jog his memory, what he did is he began by quoting the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins and then the confession started. Sometimes he confessed his sins for up to six hours at a time until his confessor, Staupitz, said, Luther, why is it that you confess all of these little sins?

The next time you come, would it be for murder or for immorality or theft? But not all these little peccadillos, not all these little sins. But Luther was a better theologian than his contemporaries. He knew that the issue was not whether the sin was big or little, but whether or not it had been confessed and whether or not it had been forgiven.

Because Luther knew as moderns don't, that even the slightest sin, even the smallest smidgen of sin will banish a sinner forever from the presence of God. And then in confession, he reached an impasse. Sins in order to be forgiven had to be confessed. In order for them to be confessed, they had to be remembered. If they were not remembered, they could not be confessed. And if they were not confessed, they could not be forgiven. And then he realized his situation was even worse than he thought. Indeed, all of his whole nature was corrupt.

You see, it was as if he was trying to mop up the floor with a faucet running. No matter how often he confessed, tomorrow was a brand new day with new sins. Then his conscience would not be silenced and there was no peace. Staupitz suggested that Luther go to the little town of Wittenberg where a university was being established by the Elector Frederick and he should teach there and Luther taught philosophy and ethics. And then Staupitz said to him one day, why don't you begin teaching the Bible? And Luther said, that will be the death of me.

To some extent it was. He began to lecture in the Psalms and he comes to Psalm 22. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The words of Jesus on the cross. So Luther said, why is it that Jesus Christ himself experienced anfechtungen, a sense of disquiet, a torment of soul, a separation from God.

And then he began to realize that it was on our behalf that that happened. And then Luther came to Romans chapter one because he was lecturing on the book of Romans where it says that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Oh, Luther hated the righteousness of God.

Love God, Luther said, I hate him. Because you see, it is because God is so righteous, that's our problem. If God were less righteous and maybe he'd be able to bend his righteousness to accommodate us then maybe all of my works and all of my confessions would be sufficient. But God is impeccably holy and righteous. But Luther began to understand that the text says that the just live by faith and he began to see that righteousness is an attribute of God but righteousness also is a gift that God gives to sinners. He came to Romans chapter four, verse three.

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him for righteousness. Luther said day and night I pondered the connection between the just shall live by faith and the righteousness of God and then he said when I began to realize that righteousness is a gift that God gives his very own righteousness to sinners as a gift by faith, he said it was as if I was walking through the gates of paradise. Now it didn't matter how high God's standards were as long as Jesus kept them for me and paid my debt.

I can be free. I'm sure that Luther also lectured on 2 Corinthians 5 21. For he that is God made him Christ to be sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Follow carefully. That verse teaches that Jesus got what he didn't deserve, namely our sin. And we get what we don't deserve. We get his righteousness.

It's the great exchange. And by the way, no wonder when Jesus was made sin, the hymn writer described it this way. Well, might the sun in darkness hide and shut its glories in when Christ the great Redeemer died for man, the creature sin. With that introduction, I want you to turn to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 is one of the greatest chapters in all the Bible.

If the Bible were a ring, it would have many different stones and the middle stone, the point of the diamond, if you please, would be Romans, the book of Romans, and then of course, Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 begins with there is therefore now no condemnation. It begins with no condemnation. Romans 8 then ends with no separation. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God.

Death, persecution, dying a martyr, nothing separates us from God's love. But in between there, I want you to notice in verse 31 of Romans 8, what shall we say then to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

And that's a good question for you. If God is for us, who is bigger than God who could possibly be against us? He who has spared not his own son but gave him up for us all, how shall he not also with him graciously give us all things? Sorry, I have to skip that marvelous verse with all of its meaning, but now we're in verse 33. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who is raised, who is at the right hand of God, interceding for us.

So let's begin and answer the question. Who can bring a charge against God's elect? Well, your wife probably is able to bring a charge against you.

Perhaps for some of you, the police is able to bring a charge against you. It could well be indeed that our conscience, and that was Luther's challenge, the conscience can indeed bring a charge against us as we're reminded of our sins and as we wallow in the guilt that you and I experience because of those sins. Certainly the conscience can condemn us and bring a charge against us. Certainly Satan can. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that he accuses the saints day and night, during the day, during the night, full-time job, and he accuses not just with words, he actually accuses with feelings.

So we feel condemned, we feel inferior, and it could even lead to that terrible thing called self-hatred because of who we are. All of that is possible as we accept the charges that are leveled against us. Who is he that charges against us?

Any number of different sources. The charges come. But then it is God who justifies. It is God who has a different verdict. And what does God mean when he says that he justifies? Does it just mean that God forgives us? Oh yes, God forgives us, but it's much more than that. You see, if God only forgave us, that would only take care of past sins. We're talking now about a work of God whereby God in heaven legally declares you to be as righteous as he himself is. Luther understood that nobody gets to heaven unless he's as perfect as God.

This might be an appropriate time for wives to turn to their husbands and say, husband, you're in trouble. But nobody can get to heaven unless he's as perfect as God. And justification means that God declares us to be absolutely perfect. It is a legal term where God says in my sight, I pronounce you perfect, forgiven, and as we shall see in a moment forever.

Now, you know that old illustration that's been used many times and I think I'd like to use it again. Let's suppose that you were speeding and teenagers listen up here. This may apply to you more than to some of us older ones, but let's suppose that you couldn't pay the fine. Let us also suppose that the judge was very kindhearted and you stood before him and he said, give me $200 and you don't have any money. And what happens is the judge leaves the bench, takes off his robe, stands in ordinary clothes with the defendant standing beside the teenager.

The judge whips out his wallet, lays $200 there on the bench, goes back, puts on his robe, picks up the $200 and says to the young person, you're acquitted. Your debt has been paid and it's paid in full. So far as the law is concerned, you're not under no condemnation because I paid the debt for you. Justification by faith means that. It means that Jesus Christ is the one who pays our debt. Some people say, well, justification is just as if I'd never sinned.

Yes, it's that, but it's much better than that. It's not only as if I'd never sinned, but if it is as if I had lived a life of perfect and complete obedience before God, because Jesus Christ merit, his death and his life becomes my death and my life, so to speak. And we are saved entirely on the basis of his gift to us, the gift of righteousness. Now, what I'd like to do in the next few moments is to unpack this idea of justification, because if you ever grasp what I'm going to tell you today, it could be something that you think about and you accept virtually every day of your life. Very seldom does a day go by in my own life without affirming what I'm going to be explaining to you today.

Of course, I don't take a lot of time to do it because I know where this goes, but what a release, what a deliverance from guilt and a troubled conscience. First of all, and I'm going to give this to you either in words or a short phrase, five of them. We're going to unpack it and see what it really means. The first word that I want to give you is free gift, the phrase free gift. Obviously, the righteousness of God, which is credited to us, has to be given to us by God as a free gift. We cannot earn it. We cannot add to it, just like you can add a billion bananas and never get an orange. So human righteousness can never attain to the righteousness of God. If we're going to get the gift of righteousness, it has to be given to us by God and our works can contribute absolutely nothing to it. Do you realize what I'm saying?

That means that God does not find it harder to forgive and to accept a great sinner than a lesser one. Years ago, I told you this story, but I tell it again. This is a message, by the way, that everybody should listen to at least once or twice a year. But I tell it to you, somebody in prison wrote to me and said, he listens to our broadcast and says that he had sexually assaulted four women, destroyed their lives. So his question to me is, can I be forgiven?

Well, of course, because of what he did, we'd like to say, no, just go to hell where you belong. But then we remember that that's also where we belong. So I wrote to him and I said, I want you to visualize two trails. One trail is very finely traveled.

It is so neat. The trail has little flowers along the trail. This other one is just a mess. I mean, there are deep ruts. There are places where obviously the person turned around. It is ugly, but let's suppose that you have 18 inches of snow that comes.

You can't tell this trail from that trail because both of them have been covered by the snow. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. And I told him, yes, the righteousness of Christ can cover your sin just like it covers mine. That is the good news of the gospel because it is given freely to those who believe as we shall see in a moment.

It is a free gift and all of Luther's attempts to please God and his attempts to do all that he was doing only ended up with a ledger that was not in his favor. And he knew that he was headed to judgment, but Jesus gives us the righteousness of God. A second word or phrase is complete.

It is complete. Now I'm going to explain something to you that could be a means of deliverance for many of you. That's how deeply I feel about this message. And that is this, that when you receive Jesus Christ as your savior, your sins are legally forgiven, past, present and future.

It has to be that way. And that's exactly what the Bible teaches. How many of your sins were future when Jesus Christ died?

Well, all of them, because you and I certainly were not on the scene 2000 years ago when Jesus died. So Jesus anticipating sins, anticipating the sins that would be committed among those who he would save. He took all those upon him in one offering.

The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 10 for by one offering he perfected for ever those who are sanctified. But now I do want you to turn to another passage just so that you make sure that I'm biblical here and I'm not making this up. This is Colossians chapter two, Colossians chapter two, and I'm going to begin sort of right here in verse 13. It says that God made us alive together with Christ. Colossians two 13, having forgiven all of our trespasses, all of our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.

This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Oh, my friend, you're certainly going to have to listen to running to win next time to find out the end of this message and to better understand all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The message of justification forgiven forever. For a gift of any amount, we're making a book available that I've written entitled The Power of a Clear Conscience. I wrote this book because I wanted to help us as believers, myself included, to remember how it is that we can not only be forgiven by God, but be forgiven by others. The Apostle Paul says this, I make it my aim to have a conscience clear before God and before others. And that's why in this book, I deal with those two different aspects of the cleansing of the conscience.

The title of the book, The Power of a Clear Conscience, and here's what you can do. You can go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com, or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Because I believe so deeply that the Lord will use these truths to transform your life, that you'll be able to share these truths with others, I'm going to be giving you that contact info again. And I want to thank you in advance for helping us, even as the ministry of running to win goes around the world.

Go to rtwoffer.com, or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. Next time on Running to Win, more on what justification by faith is all about. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.