Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Romans 8:28-39

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 11

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 1999-09-05

Synopsis: John Weaver continues his series on Romans 8:28-39 by focusing on the method and instrumental means of justification. He explains that justification is by imputation—God credits Christ's righteousness to believers and charges their sins to Christ—and that faith is the sole instrument that receives this righteousness, never the ground of justification.

[John Weaver] Romans 8, 28-30. Romans 8, verse 28, And we know that all things were together for good to them that loved God, to them who were called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Let me just remind you that in the last two Lord's days, I have been dealing with justification, especially the Bible said whom he called, them he also justified.

[John Weaver] And I want to take extreme pains to make sure that we understand this doctrine, because as Martin Luther said, the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article of the standing or the falling church. So to the degree that we understand it, To that degree, we're going to be able to stand to the degree that we do not understand it. To that degree, certainly we're going to fall. And so justification by faith alone is one of the leading principles, not only of the Reformation, but it is a leading principle in the word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you the definition that we have been using, because I told you that justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which he pardoned all their sins. accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed to them and received by faith alone."

[John Weaver] Now, very quickly, by way of review, we've noticed that the author of justification is God Himself. So this means when God justifies, That individual is justified. It doesn't matter what other people say. It doesn't matter what other people think. God alone is the author of justification. Secondly, we looked at the source of justification. We said that justification is an act of God's free grace. And we looked in Romans chapter 3 and verse 25 and John 15 and verse 25 and showed that the word free meant that is without a cause. When we talk about getting a free meal, we mean it does not cost us something. But when we talk about free grace, it means that there is nothing that calls that grace. That's why Jesus Christ said in John 15, verse 25, they hated me without a cause. And the phrase without a cause is the exact same Greek word as being justified freely in Romans 3, verse 25. So when you talk about free grace then, it means there was no moving cause on our part that brought the grace of God.

[John Weaver] In fact, we could say there was just exactly the opposite because there was everything in us by nature that would repel God because we were sinners and wicked and ungodly. So I told you that the source of justification is the grace of God. Then thirdly, we looked at the subjects of justification last week. And I told you that as you viewed the subjects of justification, you had to view them from at least three different perspectives.

[John Weaver] Number one, from the perspective or from the standpoint of God's decrees, they referred to as God's elect. Number two, from the standpoint of the effects produced by the quickening of the Holy Spirit, they referred to as those that believe. And then number three, from the standpoint of what we are in and of ourselves, we are referred to as the ungodly. So the Bible says in Romans chapter 4 and verse 5, it is God who justifies the ungodly. So in and of ourselves, we are ungodly, sinners, wicked, and undone. So scripture then emphasizes the subjects of justification are indeed the ungodly. And since mercy is extended to us through Christ, very clearly He is the godly one and we are the ungodly one. And then we looked at the essence of justification. What was the essence?

[John Weaver] What is it made up of? Well, justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners whereby He pardoneth all their sins That's one part, forgiveness. "...and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight." That's the second part. So there's a negative and a positive to justification. In one sense of the word, he forgives our sins. On the other sense, he makes us righteous and counts us righteous in Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] So he gives us a legal title. Now, when we ended last week, I believe, we ended on the ground of justification. And let me just review this for a moment, because the ground of justification is not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, it was while I was discussing this point that I saw some puzzled looks on some people's faces, and I said that I would explain it more this week. But when I said last week that the ground of our justification was not for anything wrought in them, that means we are not justified on the grounds of our faith, because faith is wrought in us. And we're justified by faith and through faith, which I'll explain later, but we're not justified because of faith. You see, repentance is wrought in us, but we're not justified because we repent. Obedience is wrought in us, but we're not justified because we're obedient. Obedient, so it is not for anything wrought in us, nor is it for anything done by us.

[John Weaver] For instance, Titus chapter 3 says in verse 5, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us with the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. In other words, it was absolutely nothing wrought in us or nothing done by us. But the positive of the ground is this, for the full satisfaction and the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, is the full and solid and total and complete ground of our justification. Whatever Jesus Christ is, whatever Jesus Christ has done, He alone is the ground of our justification. It's not anything wrong in us or anything done by us, but solely for the person-work of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, with that review, let me begin today with the method of justification. Now I think as I try to tie these last couple of points together, you're going to see exactly what I'm going to say, and you'll understand why I said we're not justified because of faith. By faith, through faith, but not because of faith. So what is the method of justification? Well, listen to this definition again.

[John Weaver] Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardoneth all their sins, and accepteth an account of their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrong in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed to them." So what then is the method of justification? And the method is imputation.

[John Weaver] Now let me just tell you very clearly. If your understanding of imputation is muddied, if it's not clear, then you're not going to be clear on a number of other doctrines as well. The method that God uses in justification is the method of imputation. Now, you should remember this because I've told you this before, but I shall tell you again. There are only three instances of imputation in the Bible. There is the imputation of Adam's guilt to his posterity. There is the imputation of believers' sins to Christ. And thirdly, there is the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to believers. So if you're unclear then on the doctrine of imputation, Very clearly, you're going to be unclear on a lot of other doctrines as well.

[John Weaver] So let's look in our Bibles, if you would please. First of all, Romans chapter 4. And let me show you the method of justification very plainly stated. Romans chapter 4 and verse 11. Referring now to Abraham, the Bible says, And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised. that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also." Now note the word imputed, that righteousness might be imputed to them also. Now look in verse 22,"...and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." There's the word imputed again. Look in verse 24, but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. So there's the word imputed again. Now if you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and look at verse 19, 2 Corinthians 5 verse 19. The Bible says to quit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

[John Weaver] Skip down to verse 21. For he hath made him, that is Christ, be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

[John Weaver] Now, the method whereby God justifies the ungodly, is by imputation. Now, the word impute literally means to credit or to charge to someone's account. So what God does is he charges and credits to our account the perfect righteousness of Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you this. Look in your Bibles to the book of Philemon. That's the little book right before the book of Hebrews, the book of Philemon. I wish I had time to go over this book with you. It is a wonderful little book, only has one chapter, 25 verses, but there are many wonderful doctrines taught in this book. And one of the doctrines that is clearly illustrated for us is the doctrine of imputation.

[John Weaver] Now, you've got to remember that Onesimus was a runaway servant. He was a runaway slave. He fled from the house of Philemon, got down into Rome, was having a good old time, got arrested, and thrown into the dungeon with the Apostle Paul. It was there that he was converted. And Paul now sends Onesimus back to Philemon. But look what he says. Note, if you would please, in verse 17. Paul writes to Philemon, he says, If thou count me therefore a partner, Receive him as myself. Watch.

[John Weaver] If he hath wronged thee, or o'erth thee ought, put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it. Albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Now Paul said in verse 18, If he hath wronged thee, or o'erth thee ought, put that on mine account. Charge it to me. I'll pay it.

[John Weaver] And then he slips in a little jab on the side. He says, I'm going to tell you, you owe me yourself as well. So if you're going to charge me, you're going to be in trouble.

[John Weaver] Now, but he said, whatever he owes you, put that on my account. So that is imputation. In other words, you take that which Onesimus owes and you impute it. You charge it to my account. Now, how is it? Let me ask you a question. How is it that God can judicially, legally, righteously declare us as righteous? When in reality, we're sinners, we're wicked, we're ungodly, we're undone.

[John Weaver] And the answer comes back, He constitutes, or He places us in Christ. He charges the righteousness of Christ to us, and then He declares us righteous.

[John Weaver] Now, if you don't understand the imputation of Adam's sin, you're not going to understand the imputation of Christ's righteousness. So look back in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 5. Let me show you in this passage the imputation of Adam's guilt to his posterity. Notice in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, the Bible says, wherefore, as by one man, that's Adam, sin entered into the world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Now, wait a minute. Go back to that verse again. Wherefore, as by one man, note sin entered into the world and death by sin. Hmm. And so death passed upon all men. Why? For that all have sinned. All sinned once and for all in Adam. Because of that, Adam's guilt is imputed to his posterity. Now let me show you. Look in verse 14. He says, Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression.

[John Weaver] who is the figure of Him that was to come. Now, I want you to hold Romans 5 and look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15, and let's make just a very quick comparison, okay? 1 Corinthians 15, but you're holding Romans 5. We're talking about the method of justification. 1 Corinthians 15. Notice if you would, beginning there with verse 45. And so it is written, the first man Adam was a living soul, and the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. However, that was not the first which is spiritual, that which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy, and the second man is the Lord from heaven. Now there is a comparison in 1 Corinthians 15 between Adam and Christ. Now I want you to look back in your Bibles, Romans chapter 5, again, and look at verse 14. He says, Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. And then notice this amazing statement, Who is the figure of him that wants to come?

[John Weaver] Now the word figure is the Greek word tupos. It is where we get our English word type from. So literally that Adam was the type of him that was to come.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. How can Adam be a type of Christ? Adam was of the earth, which we just read in 1 Corinthians 15, and Christ was the Lord from heaven. Adam was natural. Christ was spiritual. Adam sinned, Christ never sinned. Adam failed, Christ succeeded. How in the world can Adam be a type or a figure of Christ? The answer is that Adam was a federal head. Adam was a representative.

[John Weaver] And what he did, we did. And when he sinned, we sinned. And his guilt was imputed to his posterity.

[John Weaver] Now, how does that relate to Christ? Well, look in Romans 5, verse 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, watch, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Christ is now the federal head. Christ is now the representative, remember, of a new race. And what Christ has done, we have now done, and the righteousness of Christ is now imputed to us.

[John Weaver] That is why when you read in the Bible, Christ's death is considered our death. Christ's resurrection is considered our resurrection. Christ's ascension is considered our ascension. Christ being seated at the right hand of God is considered our being seated at the right hand of God. That's why the Bible says we're seated with Him in heavenly places. Because whatever He has done has been imputed to us. So how then was our sin given to Christ?

[John Weaver] The answer is by imputation. How then was Christ's righteousness given to us? The answer is by imputation. Let me show you. Let's just suppose for a moment that this tube of ChapStick is our sin. Let's suppose this pocket knife is the perfect obedience that Jesus Christ worked out in obedience to God, in obedience to the law. Remember the Bible says in Galatians 4 and verse 4, that when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Remember, Jesus Christ said in John 8 and verse 29, I only do always those things which please the Father. So Jesus Christ obeyed the law perfectly. That's why in Isaiah 30, the Word of God says that He will magnify My law. So Jesus Christ worked out and earned and merited a perfect righteousness. So what God does is this. Through imputation, He imputes our sin to Jesus Christ. He credits our sin to his account. Now let me show you something. The Bible says, very plainly, for the wages of sin is death.

[John Weaver] Here's a question. Did Christ ever sin personally? No. He was the perfect, sinless Son of God. Well, how then could Christ die? The answer is, our sin was charged to His account. He was imputed. He was legally and judicially a sinner by imputation. And therefore, He died in our stead as our substitute. But then the righteousness that He worked out is now imputed to our account. So, when God declares us righteous, It is because He has constituted, He has made us righteous in Christ. And therefore it is a legal, it is a righteous and a judicial declaration that here we stand in reference to God's law as right and holy. Because we're standing now in Christ. You see, the framework of imputation is the covenant of grace and union with Christ. And God can impute to our account the righteousness of Christ because He unites us to Jesus Christ. Now, very quickly, let me show you some names of this imputed righteousness in the Bible, okay?

[John Weaver] Look, if you would, please, first of all, to the book of Romans 1. Romans 1. 17 Romans 1 in verse 17, we're talking about an imputed righteousness. Romans 1 in verse 17, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed. He's talking about the gospel. Therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Look in Romans 3 and verse 22. He says, even the righteousness of God. So twice now, this righteousness is called the righteousness of God. Why is this imputed righteousness referred to as the righteousness of God? And the answer comes back, because it was wrought by Christ the God-man who is God. It is a righteousness that belonged to God Himself. Secondly, look in your Bibles to Romans 5 and verse 18, and the answer is very obvious to this one. Romans 5 and verse 18, he says, therefore, as by the offense of one, that's Adam, therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one. The free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

[John Weaver] Why is it called the righteousness of one? Because it was the one person of the Trinity, the second person of the Godhead, who actually worked out and earned that righteousness. He was the one who did it. It is not partly our righteousness and partly His righteousness. No, it's the righteousness of one. It is totally and completely the righteousness that has been earned and merited and worked out by Jesus Christ alone. So it's not only called the righteousness of God, it's called the righteousness of one.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Romans 8 and verse 4. Romans 8 and verse 4. Here it is called that the righteousness of the law Huh. Might be fulfilled in us. Why is it called the righteousness of the law? Because it was wrought and earned by Christ in conformity to the law. So the perfect righteousness that we have in Christ is that righteousness that is in perfect agreement with the law of God. Look in Romans 4 and verse 13.

[John Weaver] I'll clear this up hopefully in just a little while. Romans 4 and verse 13, the Bible says, For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Now it's called, not the righteousness of God, not the righteousness of one, not the righteousness of the law, but the righteousness of faith. Why? Because this righteousness is revealed to faith and received by faith alone. And then fifthly, it is called the gift of righteousness. Look in your Bibles, Romans chapter 5 verse 15. He says, but not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one, many be dead, much more by the grace of God, and the gift of grace, which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many. Look in verse 16. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift, for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses under justification.

[John Weaver] Verse 17, for if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ. So it's called the gift of righteousness, the free gift, the gift of grace. Why? Because it was freely wrought by Jesus Christ and it is freely given by Jesus Christ. And then if you look in the book of Revelation, chapter one, book of Revelation, chapter one and verse 13, you would also find this in Isaiah 61 in verse 10. Revelation 1 and verse 13, note the scripture says,"...and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about the paps with a golden girdle." Well, what robe is this that Christ has on? What robe is this that He gives us? And it is a robe of righteousness. And why is it called a robe of righteousness? And the answer is because it covers all of our sins and it makes us acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] So the method that God uses to justify is the method of imputation. There is absolutely no righteousness that is inherent in any of us. You remember Isaiah 64 and verse 6? All of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We're all as an unclean thing in His sight. So there is no righteousness that is inherent in us. There's none in us by nature. The only righteousness we have is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Someone had written a couplet, and it goes like this. Upon a life I did not live. Upon a death, I did not die. Another's death, another's life, I'll rest my soul eternally."

[John Weaver] Now you stop and think about that. What is it that I am counting on to get me into the very presence of God? The only answer is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. His life. His work. His death. It's not what He's done plus what I do. It's not what He's done plus what someone else does. No. It's what Jesus Christ alone has done. So we're saved by grace through faith alone, and the method that God uses in justification is imputation. He imputes, he charges our sins to Christ, and he charges or imputes and credits the righteousness of Christ to us.

[John Weaver] Now, let me go with the last point today, and that is the instrumental means of justification. the instrumental means of justification. And please note that point, the instrumental means of justification. Our definition says that justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, whereunto he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrong in them or done by them, but only or solely for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed

[John Weaver] unto them and received by faith alone." By the way, There were several leading principles that came out of the Reformation. What were they? Well, one of them was Sola Scriptura, that is, the scriptures alone are our sole authority of faith and practice. Another is Sola Fidei, that is, faith alone. And another was Sola Deo Gloria, that is, to God alone be the glory. Now let's go back to this one sola fide, that is, by faith alone. And by the way, the one little word alone makes the big difference. And received by faith alone. Now, I might point out that that one little word alone is the difference between truth and error. Life and death.

[John Weaver] You remember I told you the illustration of Dwight L. Moody on the train, and I don't always agree with Moody, but certainly I agree with what he said here. He was seated by another preacher, and this preacher tried to convince Moody that you had to have works in order to be saved, that it was not faith only. But it was faith plus works, and I'll explain that in just a moment. And Moody looked at him and he said, you know, our religions are really not that different. The man kind of smiled, thinking he'd made some headway with Moody. He said, in fact, Moody said, there are only two letters different between my religion and yours. Mine is spelled D-O-N-E and yours is spelled E-O. So there's a big difference between and received by faith alone.

[John Weaver] Now, let's look at some scriptures. Look in your Bibles, Acts chapter 10 to begin with. Let me show you this. Acts chapter 10. And verse 43, Acts 10, verse 43. Acts 10, verse 43. The word of God says, Acts 10, verse 43, to him that is to Christ. To him give all the prophets witness that through his name, through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3 and verse 22. Romans 3 verse 22. Watch, we read this verse a little while ago emphasizing the righteousness of God, but now let's emphasize another truth in this passage. Romans 3 verse 22. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Note, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. Look in your Bibles to Romans 3 and verse 28.

[John Weaver] Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Now, We're justified by faith alone. It is not our works that save us. It is not our works that help save us. We're justified by faith alone. Look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3. In fact, let's go to Galatians chapter 2 first. Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. Note, if you would please, Verse 16, Galatians 2, verse 16. Look at what he says. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Look in chapter 3, if you would please, of the book of Galatians. Chapter three, notice, if you would please, verse 24, wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to this statement and let me try to begin to explain it. A man is justified in faith. By faith. And through faith. But never on account of faith. A man is justified in faith through faith and by faith, but never. on account of faith. Faith is not the ground nor the substance of our justification, but simply the hand that receives the divine gift that is offered to us in the gospel. Remember I told you earlier that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the ground of our justification. So the ground cannot be our faith. We may be justified in faith and by faith and through faith, but never on account of faith. If we were justified on account of faith, then our faith would be our grounds rather than the person and work of Jesus Christ. Listen to this question that's asked by the Westminster Confession of Faith. Question, how does faith justify a sinner in God's sight? Here's the answer. Answer, faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works which are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith or any other act thereof were imputed to him for justification, but only as it is an

[John Weaver] instrument by which he receiveth and applies Christ and his righteousness." So how does faith justify? And the answer comes back, only because it is the instrument by which he receives and applies Christ. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself this question? Let me ask it to you. Can a man be saved without repentance? No. Repentance is absolutely necessary unto salvation. Christ himself said in Luke 13, except you repent, you shall likewise perish. Now, my question is this. Why is it the Bible never ever says that we're justified by repentance? Repentance is very clearly necessary unto salvation, but the Bible never talks about being justified by repentance. Good works are the fruits of salvation. Not that they save us, but they evidence and demonstrate that we have been saved. Why is it the Bible never talks about we're justified by good works or we're justified by obedience? The answer comes back that faith is the only grace that is totally receptive.

[John Weaver] Now listen, I'm going to explain it. Faith is the only grace that is totally receptive. Faith is nothing more than the outstretched hand receiving Christ and the righteousness of Christ. That's why I said we're justified in faith and through faith and by faith, but never on account of faith.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just try to illustrate it like this. Let's suppose here I am starving to death. I'm literally on my last leg. I'm starving. And Chester walks by and he has two loaves of bread and I hold my hands out and I said, please, please, I'm starving. And Chester's merciful and he places a loaf of bread in my hands and I take my hands and I eat that bread and my life is spared. And so I get up and I say, thank God for my hands, my hands saved me.

[John Weaver] Did my hand save me? No. What was it that saved me? The bread. What were the hands? They were just the instrumental means of getting the bread to my mouth when it was actually the bread that saved me. You follow me? If I'm sitting here starving and I've got a bowl of cereal, suppose you put a bowl of cereal in front of me with a spoon in it. And I'm starving and I take that spoon and I eat that cereal. And my life is spared, then I hold the spoon up and say, thank God the spoon saved me. How ridiculous. It's not the spoon that saved me. It was the cereal that saved me. The spoon was just the instrumental means to get to the cereal. You see that?

[John Weaver] Faith is the only gift. Faith is the only grace that's absolutely, totally receptive. That's why I said a man is saved by faith, and in faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith. It is not my faith that saves me. It is Christ that saves me. Faith is the instrument that lays hold of Christ. Faith is the instrument that apprehends Him, that comprehends Him, that brings Him to me, that gives me His righteousness. So I'm saved in faith and through faith, but never on account of faith. It is by faith alone. Sola Fidei. Now, wait a minute. He said, Brother Weaver, when you begin to teach and preach, it's by faith alone. Well, that's going to give some people ground for easy-believism.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you something. You don't pervert the gospel to destroy easy-believism. It is true that easy-believism is wicked and wrong and unscriptural. All that is, it says, a man can make a profession of faith and go on about his business, live the way he wants to live, and he's going to heaven no matter what he does. That's hogwash. That's not Bible. You're not saved by decision. But the way to destroy easy-believism is not by perverting the gospel. The gospel is we're justified by faith only. The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies. And real saving faith always works, always has evidence, always has fruits. You follow me? If there's no fruit, if there's no evidence, there's no saving faith. So you can't pervert the gospel and say, well, we've got to get rid of easy believism, we've got to get rid of cheap churchism. And so what we're going to do is we're going to say you must believe and you must do this, this and that.

[John Weaver] No, no, no. The truth is, folks, are you listening? You never have to beg a saved person to do that which is right. If he's really been saved and he sees in the word of God, he's going to do that which is right. You don't have to beg him. So it is by faith alone. And you've got to remember that real saving faith, although We're justified by faith alone. Real saving faith is never alone because it always brings with it obedience and good works and all of this other stuff. You see, that's why James said, show me your faith and I'll show you my faith by my works. So a real saving faith is a faith that always works.

[John Weaver] Now, let me clear something else up. I don't know if this has been a problem to you. It's been a problem to some people. But we're justified by faith, and faith alone. Whether that faith is great or small. If you have not read Pilgrim's Progress, I encourage you to read it. Just for the joy of reading about Mr. Little Faith. And you're going to find that Mr. Little Faith was just as saved as Mr. Great Faith. Because it is faith alone that receives Christ. It doesn't matter whether that faith is great or small.

[John Weaver] Let me try to give you an illustration. Let's suppose there was a serious... Let's suppose that this town has been covered with the Ebola virus. And people are dying left and right. And there are some people that have degrees, differing degrees of sickness in their life. In other words, here's a man that's just been infected. Very clearly, he's going to have more strength than the man that's had it for five days or ten days or whatever. And let's suppose the whole town is infected. And I invent a machine that if you come up and just touch that machine, you're automatically healed. That's all. And I set that machine in the middle of town. Now, here's Tony. Tony's only had Ebola for a few hours or a day or so. He's still got some strength left. And so he runs up to that machine.

[John Weaver] And he hits it so hard he almost knocks it over. And he grabs and holds on. And he's instantly cured. But here's Ed. Ed has had it for two weeks. And he can barely move. And yet he crawls and almost to his last breath he reaches out and with just one finger touches that machine. Which one of those men are healed? Both? It did not matter the degree that you touched the machine, just so you touched it.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you another question. Here is our Lord walking down the road, and he looks up in a tree and he says, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house. And Ozakius skinned down that tree so quickly, and he said, at the time he hit the ground, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and those that I've taken wrongly from I restore fourfold. And Jesus Christ said, today is salvation, come to this house. And let's suppose Ozakius, and he probably did, grabbed our Lord and just hugged him. Now let me ask you a question. Here's Ozakius was full of energy, full of strength, and let's say full of faith. And he reached his arms around our Lord and hugged him. Was he saved? Well, you know he was, for Christ said he was. But here's another woman who had wasted all of her living on doctors.

[John Weaver] And for seven years had an issue of blood. Had no money. Had very little strength. But she said, If I can but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made whole."

[John Weaver] Now, was Zacchaeus more saved than she was? No. Was he more justified? No. So, what God is telling us is this. We're justified by faith alone. It doesn't matter whether that is a weak faith or a great faith. a small faith or a big faith, just so it is a faith that appropriates and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ. Folks, let me tell you, if you grab a hold of this truth, the next time you go to prayer, I don't care if you're praying for a child, a husband, a wife, finances, you can say, Lord, I come to Thee in faith. And my faith may be weak, and my faith may be small, but it has laid hold on Jesus Christ. And I want you to hear my prayer, not based upon the amount of faith I have, but based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. You see what boldness He'll give us in prayer? What boldness He'll give us to live scripturally? Because we can say, we have received Christ.

[John Weaver] His work is our work. His righteousness is our righteousness. Let's live the way He would have us to live. So that we can say, Father, I only want to do always those things. which please you. Why? Because I have been justified by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your blessing, for your help. Lord, teach us thy word. Build us up in the most holy faith and enable us, Lord, to understand the truth of justification. We stand righteous before thee, not because of anything that's been wrought in us or done by us, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ, imputed to us and received by faith alone. We ask your blessing in Christ's name. Amen.

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 11

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	3110717306
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Romans 8:28-39
Genre	Sermon
Date	1999-09-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 169: Romans 8:28-39 — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	59

Formatted Transcript

Review of Justification

Weaver reviews the definition of justification, its author (God), source (free grace), subjects (the ungodly), and essence (forgiveness and imputed righteousness).

Romans 8:28-30. Romans 8, verse 28:

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:28-30

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

Let me just remind you that in the last two Lord's days, I have been dealing with justification, especially the Bible said,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:28-30

"whom he called, them he also justified."

And I want to take extreme pains to make sure that we understand this doctrine, because as Martin Luther said, the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article of the standing or the falling church. So to the degree that we understand it, to that degree we're going to be able to stand. To the degree that we do not understand it, to that degree certainly we're going to fall. And so justification by faith alone is one of the leading principles, not only of the Reformation, but it is a leading principle in the Word of God.

Now, let me give you the definition that we have been using, because I told you that justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them and received by faith alone. Now, very quickly, by way of review, we've noticed that the author of justification is God Himself. So this means when God justifies, that individual is justified. It doesn't matter what other people say. It doesn't matter what other people think. God alone is the author of justification. Secondly, we looked at the source of justification. We said that justification is an act of God's free grace. And we looked in Romans chapter 3 and verse 25 and John 15 and verse 25 and showed that the word "free" meant "without a cause." When we talk about getting a free meal, we mean it does not cost us something. But when we talk about free grace, it means that there is nothing that calls that grace. That's why Jesus Christ said in John 15, verse 25, "They hated me without a cause." And the phrase "without a cause" is the exact same Greek word as being justified freely in Romans 3, verse 25. So when you talk about free grace then, it means there was no moving cause on our part that brought the grace of God.

In fact, we could say there was just exactly the opposite, because there was everything in us by nature that would repel God, because we were sinners and wicked and ungodly. So I told you that the source of justification is the grace of God. Then thirdly, we looked at the subjects of justification last week. And I told you that as you viewed the subjects of justification, you had to view them from at least three different perspectives. Number one, from the perspective or from the standpoint of God's decrees, they are referred to as God's elect. Number two, from the standpoint of the effects produced by the quickening of the Holy Spirit, they are referred to as those that believe. And then number three, from the standpoint of what we are in and of ourselves, we are referred to as the ungodly. So the Bible says in Romans chapter 4 and verse 5, it is God who justifies the ungodly. So in and of ourselves, we are ungodly, sinners, wicked, and undone. So Scripture then emphasizes the subjects of justification are indeed the ungodly. And since mercy is extended to us through Christ, very clearly He is the godly one and we are the ungodly one. And then we looked at the essence of justification. What was the essence?

What is it made up of? Well, justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners whereby He pardoneth all their sins. That's one part, forgiveness. "...and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight." That's the second part. So there's a negative and a positive to justification. In one sense of the word, He forgives our sins. On the other sense, He makes us righteous and counts us righteous in Jesus Christ.

So He gives us a legal title. Now, when we ended last week, I believe, we ended on the ground of justification. And let me just review this for a moment, because the ground of justification is not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ.

The Ground of Justification

The ground is not anything wrought in us or done by us, but solely the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ.

Now, it was while I was discussing this point that I saw some puzzled looks on some people's faces, and I said that I would explain it more this week. But when I said last week that the ground of our justification was not for anything wrought in them, that means we are not justified on the grounds of our faith, because faith is wrought in us. And we're justified by faith and through faith, which I'll explain later, but we're not justified because of faith. You see, repentance is wrought in us, but we're not justified because we repent. Obedience is wrought in us, but we're not justified because we're obedient. So it is not for anything wrought in us, nor is it for anything done by us. For instance, Titus chapter 3 says in verse 5,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:5

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

In other words, it was absolutely nothing wrought in us or nothing done by us. But the positive of the ground is this: for the full satisfaction and the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, is the full and solid and total and complete ground of our justification. Whatever Jesus Christ is, whatever Jesus Christ has done, He alone is the ground of our justification. It's not anything wrought in us or anything done by us, but solely for the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Now, with that review, let me begin today with the method of justification. Now I think as I try to tie these last couple of points together, you're going to see exactly what I'm going to say, and you'll understand why I said we're not justified because of faith. By faith, through faith, but not because of faith. So what is the method of justification? Well, listen to this definition again.

The Method of Justification: Imputation

God justifies by imputation—crediting Christ's righteousness to believers and charging their sins to Christ. This is illustrated by Adam's federal headship and the example of Onesimus.

"Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which He pardoneth all their sins, and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them." So what then is the method of justification? And the method is imputation. Now let me just tell you very clearly. If your understanding of imputation is muddied, if it's not clear, then you're not going to be clear on a number of other doctrines as well. The method that God uses in justification is the method of imputation. Now, you should remember this because I've told you this before, but I shall tell you again. There are only three instances of imputation in the Bible. There is the imputation of Adam's guilt to his posterity. There is the imputation of believers' sins to Christ. And thirdly, there is the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to believers. So if you're unclear then on the doctrine of imputation, very clearly, you're going to be unclear on a lot of other doctrines as well.

So let's look in our Bibles, if you would please. First of all, Romans chapter 4. And let me show you the method of justification very plainly stated. Romans chapter 4 and verse 11. Referring now to Abraham, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:11, 22, 24

"And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also."

Now note the word "imputed,

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:11, 22, 24

" that righteousness might be imputed to them also. Now look in verse 22, "

And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." There's the word "imputed" again. Look in verse 24, "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead." So there's the word "imputed" again. Now if you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and look at verse 19. The Bible says, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

Skip down to verse 21. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Now, the method whereby God justifies the ungodly is by imputation. Now, the word "impute" literally means to credit or to charge to someone's account. So what God does is He charges and credits to our account the perfect righteousness of Christ.

Now, let me show you this. Look in your Bibles to the book of Philemon. That's the little book right before the book of Hebrews, the book of Philemon. I wish I had time to go over this book with you. It is a wonderful little book, only has one chapter, 25 verses, but there are many wonderful doctrines taught in this book. And one of the doctrines that is clearly illustrated for us is the doctrine of imputation.

Now, you've got to remember that Onesimus was a runaway servant. He was a runaway slave. He fled from the house of Philemon, got down into Rome, was having a good old time, got arrested, and thrown into the dungeon with the Apostle Paul. It was there that he was converted. And Paul now sends Onesimus back to Philemon. But look what he says. Note, if you would please, in verse 17. Paul writes to Philemon, he says,

Scripture Reading — Philemon 1:17-18

"If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself."

Watch.

"If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides." Now Paul said in verse 18, "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account." Charge it to me. I'll pay it. And then he slips in a little jab on the side. He says, "I'm going to tell you, you owe me yourself as well. So if you're going to charge me, you're going to be in trouble."

Now, but he said, "Whatever he owes you, put that on my account." So that is imputation. In other words, you take that which Onesimus owes and you impute it. You charge it to my account. Now, how is it? Let me ask you a question. How is it that God can judicially, legally, righteously declare us as righteous, when in reality, we're sinners, we're wicked, we're ungodly, we're undone? And the answer comes back: He constitutes, or He places us in Christ. He charges the righteousness of Christ to us, and then He declares us righteous.

Now, if you don't understand the imputation of Adam's sin, you're not going to understand the imputation of Christ's righteousness. So look back in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 5. Let me show you in this passage the imputation of Adam's guilt to his posterity. Notice in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:12, 14, 19

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

Now, wait a minute. Go back to that verse again.

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:12, 14, 19

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

All sinned once and for all in Adam. Because of that, Adam's guilt is imputed to his posterity. Now let me show you. Look in verse 14. He says, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression." "Who is the figure of him that was to come." Now, I want you to hold Romans 5 and look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15, and let's make just a very quick comparison, okay? 1 Corinthians 15, but you're holding Romans 5. We're talking about the method of justification. 1 Corinthians 15. Notice if you would, beginning there with verse 45. "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven." Now there is a comparison in 1 Corinthians 15 between Adam and Christ. Now I want you to look back in your Bibles, Romans chapter 5, again, and look at verse 14. He says, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression." And then notice this amazing statement, "Who is the figure of him that was to come."

Now the word "figure" is the Greek word tupos. It is where we get our English word "type" from. So literally, Adam was the type of him that was to come. Now, let me ask you a question. How can Adam be a type of Christ? Adam was of the earth, which we just read in 1 Corinthians 15, and Christ was the Lord from heaven. Adam was natural. Christ was spiritual. Adam sinned, Christ never sinned. Adam failed, Christ succeeded. How in the world can Adam be a type or a figure of Christ? The answer is that Adam was a federal head. Adam was a representative.

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:12, 14, 19

And what he did, we did. And when he sinned, we sinned. And his guilt was imputed to his posterity. Now, how does that relate to Christ? Well, look in Romans 5, verse 19. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Christ is now the federal head. Christ is now the representative, remember, of a new race. And what Christ has done, we have now done, and the righteousness of Christ is now imputed to us.

That is why when you read in the Bible, Christ's death is considered our death. Christ's resurrection is considered our resurrection. Christ's ascension is considered our ascension. Christ being seated at the right hand of God is considered our being seated at the right hand of God. That's why the Bible says we're seated with Him in heavenly places. Because whatever He has done has been imputed to us. So how then was our sin given to Christ?

The answer is by imputation. How then was Christ's righteousness given to us? The answer is by imputation. Let me show you. Let's just suppose for a moment that this tube of ChapStick is our sin. Let's suppose this pocket knife is the perfect obedience that Jesus Christ worked out in obedience to God, in obedience to the law. Remember the Bible says in Galatians 4 and verse 4, that when the fullness

Scripture Reading — Galatians 4:4

of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.

Remember, Jesus Christ said in John 8 and verse 29, "I do always those things that please the Father." So Jesus Christ obeyed the law perfectly. That's why in Isaiah 42, the Word of God says that He will magnify the law. So Jesus Christ worked out and earned and merited a perfect righteousness. So what God does is this. Through imputation, He imputes our sin to Jesus Christ. He credits our sin to His account. Now let me show you something. The Bible says, very plainly, "For the wages of sin is death."

Here's a question. Did Christ ever sin personally? No. He was the perfect, sinless Son of God. Well, how then could Christ die? The answer is, our sin was charged to His account. He was imputed. He was legally and judicially a sinner by imputation. And therefore, He died in our stead as our substitute. But then the righteousness that He worked out is now imputed to our account. So, when God declares us righteous, it is because He has constituted, He has made us righteous in Christ. And therefore it is a legal, it is a righteous and a judicial declaration that here we stand in reference to God's law as right and holy. Because we're standing now in Christ. You see, the framework of imputation is the covenant of grace and union with Christ. And God can impute to our account the righteousness of Christ because He unites us to Jesus Christ. Now, very quickly, let me show you some names of this imputed righteousness in the Bible, okay?

Look, if you would, please, first of all, to the book of Romans 1. Romans 1:17.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

He's talking about the gospel.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

Look in Romans 3 and verse 22. He says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Even the righteousness of God."

So twice now, this righteousness is called the righteousness of God. Why is this imputed righteousness referred to as the righteousness of God? And the answer comes back, because it was wrought by Christ the God-man who is God. It is a righteousness that belonged to God Himself. Secondly, look in your Bibles to Romans 5 and verse 18, and the answer is very obvious to this one. Romans 5 and verse 18, he says, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."

Why is it called the righteousness of one? Because it was the one person of the Trinity, the second person of the Godhead, who actually worked out and earned that righteousness. He was the one who did it. It is not partly our righteousness and partly His righteousness. No, it's the righteousness of one. It is totally and completely the righteousness that has been earned and merited and worked out by Jesus Christ alone. So it's not only called the righteousness of God, it's called the righteousness of one.

Look in your Bibles to Romans 8 and verse 4. Romans 8 and verse 4. Here it is called "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." Why is it called the righteousness of the law? Because it was wrought and earned by Christ in conformity to the law. So the perfect righteousness that we have in Christ is that righteousness that is in perfect agreement with the law of God. Look in Romans 4 and verse 13. I'll clear this up hopefully in just a little while. Romans 4 and verse 13, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:13

"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."

Now it's called, not the righteousness of God, not the righteousness of one, not the righteousness of the law, but the righteousness of faith. Why? Because this righteousness is revealed to faith and received by faith alone. And then fifthly, it is called the gift of righteousness. Look in your Bibles, Romans chapter 5 verse 15. He says, "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." Look in verse 16. "And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification."

Verse 17, "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." So it's called the gift of righteousness, the free gift, the gift of grace. Why? Because it was freely wrought by Jesus Christ and it is freely given by Jesus Christ. And then if you look in the book of Revelation, chapter one, and verse 13, you would also find this in Isaiah 61 in verse 10. Revelation 1 and verse 13, note the scripture says, "...and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." Well, what robe is this that Christ has on? What robe is this that He gives us? And it is a robe of righteousness. And why is it called a robe of righteousness? And the answer is because it covers all of our sins and it makes us acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ.

So the method that God uses to justify is the method of imputation. There is absolutely no righteousness that is inherent in any of us. You remember Isaiah 64 and verse 6? "All of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." We're all as an unclean thing in His sight. So there is no righteousness that is inherent in us. There's none in us by nature. The only righteousness we have is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Names of Imputed Righteousness

Scripture calls this righteousness the righteousness of God, of one, of the law, of faith, the gift of righteousness, and a robe of righteousness.

Look, if you would, please, first of all, to the book of Romans 1. Romans 1:17.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

He's talking about the gospel.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

Look in Romans 3 and verse 22. He says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Even the righteousness of God."

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:13

"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."

The Instrumental Means: Faith Alone

Faith is the sole instrument that receives Christ's righteousness; we are justified by faith, through faith, in faith, but never on account of faith.

Now, let me go with the last point today, and that is the instrumental means of justification. The instrumental means of justification. And please note that point, the instrumental means of justification. Our definition says that justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, wherein He pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only or solely for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed unto them and received by faith alone. By the way, there were several leading principles that came out of the Reformation. What were they? Well, one of them was Sola Scriptura, that is, the Scriptures alone are our sole authority of faith and practice. Another is Sola Fide, that is, faith alone. And another was Soli Deo Gloria, that is, to God alone be the glory. Now let's go back to this one, sola fide, that is, by faith alone. And by the way, the one little word "alone" makes the big difference. "And received by faith alone." Now, I might point out that that one little word "alone" is the difference between truth and error. Life and death.

You remember I told you the illustration of Dwight L. Moody on the train, and I don't always agree with Moody, but certainly I agree with what he said here. He was seated by another preacher, and this preacher tried to convince Moody that you had to have works in order to be saved, that it was not faith only, but it was faith plus works, and I'll explain that in just a moment. And Moody looked at him and he said, "You know, our religions are really not that different." The man kind of smiled, thinking he'd made some headway with Moody. He said, "In fact," Moody said, "there are only two letters different between my religion and yours. Mine is spelled D-O-N-E and yours is spelled D-O." So there's a big difference between "and received by faith alone."

Now, let's look at some scriptures. Look in your Bibles, Acts chapter 10 to begin with. Let me show you this. Acts chapter 10, and verse 43. "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3 and verse 22. Romans 3 verse 22. Watch, we read this verse a little while ago emphasizing the righteousness of God, but now let's emphasize another truth in this passage. Romans 3 verse 22. "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference." Look in your Bibles to Romans 3 and verse 28.

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Now, we're justified by faith alone. It is not our works that save us. It is not our works that help save us. We're justified by faith alone. Look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3. In fact, let's go to Galatians chapter 2 first. Galatians chapter 2. Note, if you would please, verse 16. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Look in chapter 3, if you would please, of the book of Galatians. Chapter three, notice, if you would please, verse 24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

Now, listen to this statement and let me try to begin to explain it. A man is justified in faith, by faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith. A man is justified in faith, through faith, and by faith, but never on account of faith. Faith is not the ground nor the substance of our justification, but simply the hand that receives the divine gift that is offered to us in the gospel. Remember I told you earlier that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the ground of our justification. So the ground cannot be our faith. We may be justified in faith and by faith and through faith, but never on account of faith. If we were justified on account of faith, then our faith would be our grounds rather than the person and work of Jesus Christ. Listen to this question that's asked by the Westminster Confession of Faith. Question, "How does faith justify a sinner in God's sight?" Here's the answer. Answer, "Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works which are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith or any other act thereof were imputed to him for justification, but only as it is an

instrument by which he receiveth and applies Christ and his righteousness." So how does faith justify? And the answer comes back, only because it is the instrument by which he receives and applies Christ. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself this question? Let me ask it to you. Can a man be saved without repentance? No. Repentance is absolutely necessary unto salvation. Christ himself said in Luke 13, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Now, my question is this. Why is it the Bible never ever says that we're justified by repentance? Repentance is very clearly necessary unto salvation, but the Bible never talks about being justified by repentance. Good works are the fruits of salvation. Not that they save us, but they evidence and demonstrate that we have been saved. Why is it the Bible never talks about we're justified by good works or we're justified by obedience? The answer comes back that faith is the only grace that is totally receptive.

Now listen, I'm going to explain it. Faith is the only grace that is totally receptive. Faith is nothing more than the outstretched hand receiving Christ and the righteousness of Christ. That's why I said we're justified in faith and through faith and by faith, but never on account of faith.

Now, let me just try to illustrate it like this. Let's suppose here I am starving to death. I'm literally on my last leg. I'm starving. And Chester walks by and he has two loaves of bread and I hold my hands out and I said, "Please, please, I'm starving." And Chester's merciful and he places a loaf of bread in my hands and I take my hands and I eat that bread and my life is spared. And so I get up and I say, "Thank God for my hands, my hands saved me." Did my hand save me? No. What was it that saved me? The bread. What were the hands? They were just the instrumental means of getting the bread to my mouth when it was actually the bread that saved me. You follow me? If I'm sitting here starving and I've got a bowl of cereal, suppose you put a bowl of cereal in front of me with a spoon in it. And I'm starving and I take that spoon and I eat that cereal. And my life is spared, then I hold the spoon up and say, "Thank God the spoon saved me." How ridiculous. It's not the spoon that saved me. It was the cereal that saved me. The spoon was just the instrumental means to get to the cereal. You see that?

Faith is the only gift. Faith is the only grace that's absolutely, totally receptive. That's why I said a man is saved by faith, and in faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith. It is not my faith that saves me. It is Christ that saves me. Faith is the instrument that lays hold of Christ. Faith is the instrument that apprehends Him, that comprehends Him, that brings Him to me, that gives me His righteousness. So I'm saved in faith and through faith, but never on account of faith. It is by faith alone. Sola Fide. Now, wait a minute. He said, "Brother Weaver, when you begin to teach and preach, it's by faith alone. Well, that's going to give some people ground for easy-believism."

Faith Alone and Easy-Believism

True saving faith is never alone; it always produces works. The gospel is not perverted to combat easy-believism; sanctification follows justification.

Now, let me tell you something. You don't pervert the gospel to destroy easy-believism. It is true that easy-believism is wicked and wrong and unscriptural. All that is, it says, a man can make a profession of faith and go on about his business, live the way he wants to live, and he's going to heaven no matter what he does. That's hogwash. That's not Bible. You're not saved by decision. But the way to destroy easy-believism is not by perverting the gospel. The gospel is we're justified by faith only. The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies. And real saving faith always works, always has evidence, always has fruits. You follow me? If there's no fruit, if there's no evidence, there's no saving faith. So you can't pervert the gospel and say, "Well, we've got to get rid of easy believism, we've got to get rid of cheap churchism." And so what we're going to do is we're going to say you must believe and you must do this, this and that.

No, no, no. The truth is, folks, are you listening? You never have to beg a saved person to do that which is right. If he's really been saved and he sees in the Word of God, he's going to do that which is right. You don't have to beg him. So it is by faith alone. And you've got to remember that real saving faith, although we're justified by faith alone, real saving faith is never alone because it always brings with it obedience and good works and all of this other stuff. You see, that's why James said, "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." So a real saving faith is a faith that always works.

Now, let me clear something else up. I don't know if this has been a problem to you. It's been a problem to some people. But we're justified by faith, and faith alone. Whether that faith is great or small. If you have not read Pilgrim's Progress, I encourage you to read it. Just for the joy of reading about Mr. Little Faith. And you're going to find that Mr. Little Faith was just as saved as Mr. Great Faith. Because it is faith alone that receives Christ. It doesn't matter whether that faith is great or small.

Weak Faith vs. Great Faith

Justification does not depend on the strength of faith; even weak faith that lays hold of Christ saves, as illustrated by Zacchaeus and the woman with the issue of blood.

Let me try to give you an illustration. Let's suppose that this town has been covered with the Ebola virus. And people are dying left and right. And there are some people that have differing degrees of sickness in their life. In other words, here's a man that's just been infected. Very clearly, he's going to have more strength than the man that's had it for five days or ten days or whatever. And let's suppose the whole town is infected. And I invent a machine that if you come up and just touch that machine, you're automatically healed. That's all. And I set that machine in the middle of town. Now, here's Tony. Tony's only had Ebola for a few hours or a day or so. He's still got some strength left. And so he runs up to that machine.

And he hits it so hard he almost knocks it over. And he grabs and holds on. And he's instantly cured. But here's Ed. Ed has had it for two weeks. And he can barely move. And yet he crawls and almost to his last breath he reaches out and with just one finger touches that machine. Which one of those men are healed? Both? It did not matter the degree that you touched the machine, just so you touched it.

Now let me ask you another question. Here is our Lord walking down the road, and he looks up in a tree and he says, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for today I must abide at thy house." And Zacchaeus skinned down that tree so quickly, and he said, at the time he hit the ground, "Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." And Jesus Christ said, "This day is salvation come to this house." And let's suppose Zacchaeus, and he probably did, grabbed our Lord and just hugged him. Now let me ask you a question. Here's Zacchaeus, full of energy, full of strength, and let's say full of faith. And he reached his arms around our Lord and hugged him. Was he saved? Well, you know he was, for Christ said he was. But here's another woman who had wasted all of her living on doctors.

And for twelve years had an issue of blood. Had no money. Had very little strength. But she said, "If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole."

Now, was Zacchaeus more saved than she was? No. Was he more justified? No. So, what God is telling us is this. We're justified by faith alone. It doesn't matter whether that is a weak faith or a great faith, a small faith or a big faith, just so it is a faith that appropriates and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ. Folks, let me tell you, if you grab a hold of this truth, the next time you go to prayer, I don't care if you're praying for a child, a husband, a wife, finances, you can say, "Lord, I come to Thee in faith. And my faith may be weak, and my faith may be small, but it has laid hold on Jesus Christ. And I want you to hear my prayer, not based upon the amount of faith I have, but based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ." You see what boldness He'll give us in prayer? What boldness He'll give us to live scripturally? Because we can say, "We have received Christ."

Study Guide

Major Themes

Imputation as the Method of Justification

Summary: God justifies sinners by imputing their sins to Christ and Christ's righteousness to them, a legal transaction based on union with Christ.

Evidence: Weaver explains imputation using Romans 4, 2 Corinthians 5, and Philemon, and illustrates with Adam's federal headship in Romans 5.

Faith Alone as the Instrument of Justification

Summary: Faith is the only receptive grace that lays hold of Christ; we are justified by faith, through faith, in faith, but never on account of faith.

Evidence: Weaver cites Acts 10:43, Romans 3:22, 28, Galatians 2:16, 3:24, and uses illustrations of hands and a spoon to show faith is merely instrumental.

Christ Alone as the Ground of Justification

Summary: The sole ground of justification is the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, not human works or faith itself.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, is the full and solid and total and complete ground of our justification.'

The Nature of Saving Faith

Summary: Saving faith is always accompanied by works and obedience; it is never alone, though justification is by faith alone.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Real saving faith is never alone because it always brings with it obedience and good works.'

The Sufficiency of Weak Faith

Summary: The strength of faith does not affect justification; even weak faith that receives Christ saves.

Evidence: Weaver uses the Ebola machine illustration and the examples of Zacchaeus and the woman with the issue of blood.

Key Arguments

Imputation is the only method of justification

Summary: God legally credits Christ's righteousness to believers and charges their sins to Christ, as seen in the imputation of Adam's sin and the example of Onesimus.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The method that God uses in justification is the method of imputation,' and cites Romans 4, 2 Corinthians 5:19-21, and Philemon 1:18.

Faith is not the ground but the instrument of justification

Summary: Faith justifies only as the instrument that receives Christ; it is never the basis or cause of justification.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'A man is justified in faith, by faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith,' and quotes the Westminster Confession.

Christ's righteousness is the sole ground of justification

Summary: Nothing wrought in us or done by us contributes to justification; it rests entirely on Christ's obedience and satisfaction.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It is not for anything wrought in us, nor is it for anything done by us... but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ.'

Justification by faith alone does not lead to easy-believism

Summary: True faith always produces works; the gospel should not be perverted to combat easy-believism, but sanctification should be taught as the evidence of justification.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies.'

Weak faith is sufficient for justification

Summary: The degree of faith does not matter; even a weak faith that lays hold of Christ saves, as illustrated by biblical examples.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We're justified by faith, and faith alone. Whether that faith is great or small.'

Scripture References

Romans 8:28-30

Context: Weaver reads the passage as the basis for the series on justification.

Romans 3:25

Context: Used to show that 'free' grace means 'without a cause,' paralleling John 15:25.

John 15:25

Context: Cited to explain that 'without a cause' is the same Greek word as 'freely' in Romans 3:25.

Romans 4:5

Context: Shows that God justifies the ungodly.

Titus 3:5

Context: Demonstrates that salvation is not by works of righteousness we have done.

Romans 4:11, 22, 24

Context: Shows the word 'imputed' used in reference to righteousness being credited to believers.

2 Corinthians 5:19, 21

Context: Teaches that God does not impute trespasses to believers and that Christ was made sin for us so we might become the righteousness of God.

Philemon 1:17-18

Context: Illustrates imputation: Paul tells Philemon to charge Onesimus's debt to his account.

Romans 5:12, 14, 19

Context: Explains the imputation of Adam's sin and the parallel imputation of Christ's righteousness.

1 Corinthians 15:45-47

Context: Compares Adam and Christ as federal heads.

Galatians 4:4

Context: Shows Christ was made under the law to fulfill it.

John 8:29

Context: Christ always did what pleased the Father, demonstrating His perfect obedience.

Isaiah 42

Context: Prophecy that Christ would magnify the law.

Romans 1:17

Context: The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel.

Romans 3:22

Context: The righteousness of God is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all who believe.

Romans 5:18

Context: The righteousness of one (Christ) brings justification.

Romans 8:4

Context: The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us.

Romans 4:13

Context: The righteousness of faith is mentioned.

Romans 5:15-17

Context: The gift of righteousness is emphasized.

Revelation 1:13

Context: Christ is clothed with a garment, symbolizing the robe of righteousness.

Historical References

Martin Luther

Context: Weaver quotes Luther: 'the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article of the standing or the falling church.'

Dwight L. Moody

Context: Weaver recounts Moody's illustration on a train contrasting 'done' (faith alone) with 'do' (faith plus works).

Westminster Confession of Faith

Context: Weaver quotes the Confession's answer on how faith justifies: as an instrument receiving Christ and His righteousness.

Pilgrim's Progress

Context: Weaver references the character Mr. Little Faith to illustrate that weak faith saves as well as great faith.

Important Quotes

the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article of the standing or the falling church.

Significance: Weaver quotes Martin Luther to emphasize the central importance of justification by faith alone.

Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them and received by faith alone.

Significance: This is the full definition Weaver uses throughout the sermon to explain justification.

the ground of our justification was not for anything wrought in them, that means we are not justified on the grounds of our faith, because faith is wrought in us.

Significance: Clarifies that faith is not the ground of justification, but something wrought in us.

Whatever Jesus Christ is, whatever Jesus Christ has done, He alone is the ground of our justification.

Significance: Emphasizes the exclusivity of Christ as the ground of justification.

A man is justified in faith, by faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith.

Significance: Key distinction that faith is the instrument, not the basis, of justification.

Faith is nothing more than the outstretched hand receiving Christ and the righteousness of Christ.

Significance: Illustrates the purely receptive nature of faith.

Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another's death, another's life, I'll rest my soul eternally.

Significance: A couplet Weaver quotes to express resting entirely on Christ's righteousness.

the way to destroy easy-believism is not by perverting the gospel. The gospel is we're justified by faith only. The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies.

Significance: Addresses the concern that sola fide leads to easy-believism by pointing to sanctification as evidence.

Discussion Questions

How does the doctrine of imputation help you understand the legal basis of your justification?

Context: Weaver explains imputation as God crediting Christ's righteousness to us and our sins to Christ.

Why is it important to distinguish between being justified 'by faith' and being justified 'on account of faith'?

Context: Weaver stresses that faith is the instrument, not the ground, of justification.

How does the illustration of the hand and the bread help clarify the role of faith in justification?

Context: Weaver uses the hand/bread and spoon/cereal illustrations to show faith as merely instrumental.

What is the relationship between justification by faith alone and the necessity of good works?

Context: Weaver argues that true saving faith always produces works, but works are not the ground of justification.

How does the truth that weak faith justifies as much as strong faith encourage you in your Christian walk?

Context: Weaver uses the Ebola machine and biblical examples to show that the object of faith (Christ) matters, not the strength of faith.

Why is it significant that the imputed righteousness is called 'the righteousness of God' and 'the righteousness of one'?

Context: Weaver lists various biblical names for imputed righteousness to emphasize its divine origin and exclusivity.

Applications

Rest in Christ's righteousness alone

Summary: Believers should rest their souls entirely on the righteousness of Christ, not on their own works or faith.

Evidence: Weaver quotes the couplet: 'Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another's death, another's life, I'll rest my soul eternally.'

Boldness in prayer based on Christ's work

Summary: Because justification is by faith in Christ's righteousness, believers can approach God boldly in prayer, not based on the strength of their faith but on Christ.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Lord, I come to Thee in faith. And my faith may be weak... but it has laid hold on Jesus Christ. And I want you to hear my prayer, not based upon the amount of faith I have, but based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ.'

Live in light of imputed righteousness

Summary: Since Christ's righteousness is ours, we should live to please God, doing always those things that please Him.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'His work is our work. His righteousness is our righteousness. Let's live the way He would have us to live.'

Do not pervert the gospel to combat easy-believism

Summary: Instead of adding works to the gospel, teach that true faith always produces sanctification and good works.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You don't pervert the gospel to destroy easy-believism... The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T17:04:06Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T19:58:51Z

Clean Transcript

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 11

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Romans 8:28-30. Romans 8, verse 28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Let me just remind you that in the last two Lord's days, I have been dealing with justification, especially the Bible said, "whom he called, them he also justified."
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And I want to take extreme pains to make sure that we understand this doctrine, because as Martin Luther said, the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article of the standing or the falling church. So to the degree that we understand it, to that degree we're going to be able to stand. To the degree that we do not understand it, to that degree certainly we're going to fall. And so justification by faith alone is one of the leading principles, not only of the Reformation, but it is a leading principle in the Word of God.
#2 | 0:41 to 1:16 | cleaned
Now, let me give you the definition that we have been using, because I told you that justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them and received by faith alone.
#3 | 1:16 to 1:46 | cleaned
Now, very quickly, by way of review, we've noticed that the author of justification is God Himself. So this means when God justifies, that individual is justified. It doesn't matter what other people say. It doesn't matter what other people think. God alone is the author of justification. Secondly, we looked at the source of justification. We said that justification is an act of God's free grace. And we looked in Romans chapter 3 and verse 25 and John 15 and verse 25 and showed that the word "free" meant "without a cause." When we talk about getting a free meal, we mean it does not cost us something. But when we talk about free grace, it means that there is nothing that calls that grace. That's why Jesus Christ said in John 15, verse 25, "They hated me without a cause." And the phrase "without a cause" is the exact same Greek word as being justified freely in Romans 3, verse 25. So when you talk about free grace then, it means there was no moving cause on our part that brought the grace of God.
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In fact, we could say there was just exactly the opposite, because there was everything in us by nature that would repel God, because we were sinners and wicked and ungodly. So I told you that the source of justification is the grace of God. Then thirdly, we looked at the subjects of justification last week. And I told you that as you viewed the subjects of justification, you had to view them from at least three different perspectives.
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Number one, from the perspective or from the standpoint of God's decrees, they are referred to as God's elect. Number two, from the standpoint of the effects produced by the quickening of the Holy Spirit, they are referred to as those that believe. And then number three, from the standpoint of what we are in and of ourselves, we are referred to as the ungodly. So the Bible says in Romans chapter 4 and verse 5, it is God who justifies the ungodly. So in and of ourselves, we are ungodly, sinners, wicked, and undone. So Scripture then emphasizes the subjects of justification are indeed the ungodly. And since mercy is extended to us through Christ, very clearly He is the godly one and we are the ungodly one. And then we looked at the essence of justification. What was the essence?
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What is it made up of? Well, justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners whereby He pardoneth all their sins. That's one part, forgiveness. "...and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight." That's the second part. So there's a negative and a positive to justification. In one sense of the word, He forgives our sins. On the other sense, He makes us righteous and counts us righteous in Jesus Christ.
#7 | 4:23 to 4:53 | cleaned
So He gives us a legal title. Now, when we ended last week, I believe, we ended on the ground of justification. And let me just review this for a moment, because the ground of justification is not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ.
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Now, it was while I was discussing this point that I saw some puzzled looks on some people's faces, and I said that I would explain it more this week. But when I said last week that the ground of our justification was not for anything wrought in them, that means we are not justified on the grounds of our faith, because faith is wrought in us. And we're justified by faith and through faith, which I'll explain later, but we're not justified because of faith. You see, repentance is wrought in us, but we're not justified because we repent. Obedience is wrought in us, but we're not justified because we're obedient. So it is not for anything wrought in us, nor is it for anything done by us.
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For instance, Titus chapter 3 says in verse 5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." In other words, it was absolutely nothing wrought in us or nothing done by us. But the positive of the ground is this: for the full satisfaction and the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, is the full and solid and total and complete ground of our justification. Whatever Jesus Christ is, whatever Jesus Christ has done, He alone is the ground of our justification. It's not anything wrought in us or anything done by us, but solely for the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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Now, with that review, let me begin today with the method of justification. Now I think as I try to tie these last couple of points together, you're going to see exactly what I'm going to say, and you'll understand why I said we're not justified because of faith. By faith, through faith, but not because of faith. So what is the method of justification? Well, listen to this definition again.
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"Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which He pardoneth all their sins, and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them." So what then is the method of justification? And the method is imputation.
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Now let me just tell you very clearly. If your understanding of imputation is muddied, if it's not clear, then you're not going to be clear on a number of other doctrines as well. The method that God uses in justification is the method of imputation. Now, you should remember this because I've told you this before, but I shall tell you again. There are only three instances of imputation in the Bible. There is the imputation of Adam's guilt to his posterity. There is the imputation of believers' sins to Christ. And thirdly, there is the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to believers. So if you're unclear then on the doctrine of imputation, very clearly, you're going to be unclear on a lot of other doctrines as well.
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So let's look in our Bibles, if you would please. First of all, Romans chapter 4. And let me show you the method of justification very plainly stated. Romans chapter 4 and verse 11. Referring now to Abraham, the Bible says, "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also." Now note the word "imputed," that righteousness might be imputed to them also. Now look in verse 22, "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." There's the word "imputed" again. Look in verse 24, "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead." So there's the word "imputed" again. Now if you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and look at verse 19. The Bible says, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
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Skip down to verse 21. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
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Now, the method whereby God justifies the ungodly is by imputation. Now, the word "impute" literally means to credit or to charge to someone's account. So what God does is He charges and credits to our account the perfect righteousness of Christ.
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Now, let me show you this. Look in your Bibles to the book of Philemon. That's the little book right before the book of Hebrews, the book of Philemon. I wish I had time to go over this book with you. It is a wonderful little book, only has one chapter, 25 verses, but there are many wonderful doctrines taught in this book. And one of the doctrines that is clearly illustrated for us is the doctrine of imputation.
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Now, you've got to remember that Onesimus was a runaway servant. He was a runaway slave. He fled from the house of Philemon, got down into Rome, was having a good old time, got arrested, and thrown into the dungeon with the Apostle Paul. It was there that he was converted. And Paul now sends Onesimus back to Philemon. But look what he says. Note, if you would please, in verse 17. Paul writes to Philemon, he says, "If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself." Watch.
#18 | 11:38 to 12:14 | cleaned
"If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides." Now Paul said in verse 18, "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account." Charge it to me. I'll pay it.
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And then he slips in a little jab on the side. He says, "I'm going to tell you, you owe me yourself as well. So if you're going to charge me, you're going to be in trouble."
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Now, but he said, "Whatever he owes you, put that on my account." So that is imputation. In other words, you take that which Onesimus owes and you impute it. You charge it to my account. Now, how is it? Let me ask you a question. How is it that God can judicially, legally, righteously declare us as righteous, when in reality, we're sinners, we're wicked, we're ungodly, we're undone?
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And the answer comes back: He constitutes, or He places us in Christ. He charges the righteousness of Christ to us, and then He declares us righteous.
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Now, if you don't understand the imputation of Adam's sin, you're not going to understand the imputation of Christ's righteousness. So look back in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 5. Let me show you in this passage the imputation of Adam's guilt to his posterity. Notice in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, the Bible says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Now, wait a minute. Go back to that verse again. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." All sinned once and for all in Adam. Because of that, Adam's guilt is imputed to his posterity. Now let me show you. Look in verse 14. He says, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression."
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"Who is the figure of him that was to come." Now, I want you to hold Romans 5 and look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15, and let's make just a very quick comparison, okay? 1 Corinthians 15, but you're holding Romans 5. We're talking about the method of justification. 1 Corinthians 15. Notice if you would, beginning there with verse 45. "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven." Now there is a comparison in 1 Corinthians 15 between Adam and Christ. Now I want you to look back in your Bibles, Romans chapter 5, again, and look at verse 14. He says, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression." And then notice this amazing statement, "Who is the figure of him that was to come."
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Now the word "figure" is the Greek word tupos. It is where we get our English word "type" from. So literally, Adam was the type of him that was to come.
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Now, let me ask you a question. How can Adam be a type of Christ? Adam was of the earth, which we just read in 1 Corinthians 15, and Christ was the Lord from heaven. Adam was natural. Christ was spiritual. Adam sinned, Christ never sinned. Adam failed, Christ succeeded. How in the world can Adam be a type or a figure of Christ? The answer is that Adam was a federal head. Adam was a representative.
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And what he did, we did. And when he sinned, we sinned. And his guilt was imputed to his posterity.
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Now, how does that relate to Christ? Well, look in Romans 5, verse 19. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Christ is now the federal head. Christ is now the representative, remember, of a new race. And what Christ has done, we have now done, and the righteousness of Christ is now imputed to us.
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That is why when you read in the Bible, Christ's death is considered our death. Christ's resurrection is considered our resurrection. Christ's ascension is considered our ascension. Christ being seated at the right hand of God is considered our being seated at the right hand of God. That's why the Bible says we're seated with Him in heavenly places. Because whatever He has done has been imputed to us. So how then was our sin given to Christ?
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The answer is by imputation. How then was Christ's righteousness given to us? The answer is by imputation. Let me show you. Let's just suppose for a moment that this tube of ChapStick is our sin. Let's suppose this pocket knife is the perfect obedience that Jesus Christ worked out in obedience to God, in obedience to the law. Remember the Bible says in Galatians 4 and verse 4, that when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Remember, Jesus Christ said in John 8 and verse 29, "I do always those things that please the Father." So Jesus Christ obeyed the law perfectly. That's why in Isaiah 42, the Word of God says that He will magnify the law. So Jesus Christ worked out and earned and merited a perfect righteousness. So what God does is this. Through imputation, He imputes our sin to Jesus Christ. He credits our sin to His account. Now let me show you something. The Bible says, very plainly, "For the wages of sin is death."
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Here's a question. Did Christ ever sin personally? No. He was the perfect, sinless Son of God. Well, how then could Christ die? The answer is, our sin was charged to His account. He was imputed. He was legally and judicially a sinner by imputation. And therefore, He died in our stead as our substitute. But then the righteousness that He worked out is now imputed to our account. So, when God declares us righteous, it is because He has constituted, He has made us righteous in Christ. And therefore it is a legal, it is a righteous and a judicial declaration that here we stand in reference to God's law as right and holy. Because we're standing now in Christ. You see, the framework of imputation is the covenant of grace and union with Christ. And God can impute to our account the righteousness of Christ because He unites us to Jesus Christ. Now, very quickly, let me show you some names of this imputed righteousness in the Bible, okay?
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Look, if you would, please, first of all, to the book of Romans 1. Romans 1:17. "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed." He's talking about the gospel. "Therein is the righteousness of God revealed." Look in Romans 3 and verse 22. He says, "Even the righteousness of God." So twice now, this righteousness is called the righteousness of God. Why is this imputed righteousness referred to as the righteousness of God? And the answer comes back, because it was wrought by Christ the God-man who is God. It is a righteousness that belonged to God Himself. Secondly, look in your Bibles to Romans 5 and verse 18, and the answer is very obvious to this one. Romans 5 and verse 18, he says, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
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Why is it called the righteousness of one? Because it was the one person of the Trinity, the second person of the Godhead, who actually worked out and earned that righteousness. He was the one who did it. It is not partly our righteousness and partly His righteousness. No, it's the righteousness of one. It is totally and completely the righteousness that has been earned and merited and worked out by Jesus Christ alone. So it's not only called the righteousness of God, it's called the righteousness of one.
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Look in your Bibles to Romans 8 and verse 4. Romans 8 and verse 4. Here it is called "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." Why is it called the righteousness of the law? Because it was wrought and earned by Christ in conformity to the law. So the perfect righteousness that we have in Christ is that righteousness that is in perfect agreement with the law of God. Look in Romans 4 and verse 13.
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I'll clear this up hopefully in just a little while. Romans 4 and verse 13, the Bible says, "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Now it's called, not the righteousness of God, not the righteousness of one, not the righteousness of the law, but the righteousness of faith. Why? Because this righteousness is revealed to faith and received by faith alone. And then fifthly, it is called the gift of righteousness. Look in your Bibles, Romans chapter 5 verse 15. He says, "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." Look in verse 16. "And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification."
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Verse 17, "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." So it's called the gift of righteousness, the free gift, the gift of grace. Why? Because it was freely wrought by Jesus Christ and it is freely given by Jesus Christ. And then if you look in the book of Revelation, chapter one, and verse 13, you would also find this in Isaiah 61 in verse 10. Revelation 1 and verse 13, note the scripture says, "...and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." Well, what robe is this that Christ has on? What robe is this that He gives us? And it is a robe of righteousness. And why is it called a robe of righteousness? And the answer is because it covers all of our sins and it makes us acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ.
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So the method that God uses to justify is the method of imputation. There is absolutely no righteousness that is inherent in any of us. You remember Isaiah 64 and verse 6? "All of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." We're all as an unclean thing in His sight. So there is no righteousness that is inherent in us. There's none in us by nature. The only righteousness we have is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
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Someone had written a couplet, and it goes like this: "Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another's death, another's life, I'll rest my soul eternally."
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Now you stop and think about that. What is it that I am counting on to get me into the very presence of God? The only answer is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. His life. His work. His death. It's not what He's done plus what I do. It's not what He's done plus what someone else does. No. It's what Jesus Christ alone has done. So we're saved by grace through faith alone, and the method that God uses in justification is imputation. He imputes, He charges our sins to Christ, and He charges or imputes and credits the righteousness of Christ to us.
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Now, let me go with the last point today, and that is the instrumental means of justification. The instrumental means of justification. And please note that point, the instrumental means of justification. Our definition says that justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, wherein He pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only or solely for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed
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unto them and received by faith alone. By the way, there were several leading principles that came out of the Reformation. What were they? Well, one of them was Sola Scriptura, that is, the Scriptures alone are our sole authority of faith and practice. Another is Sola Fide, that is, faith alone. And another was Soli Deo Gloria, that is, to God alone be the glory. Now let's go back to this one, sola fide, that is, by faith alone. And by the way, the one little word "alone" makes the big difference. "And received by faith alone." Now, I might point out that that one little word "alone" is the difference between truth and error. Life and death.
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You remember I told you the illustration of Dwight L. Moody on the train, and I don't always agree with Moody, but certainly I agree with what he said here. He was seated by another preacher, and this preacher tried to convince Moody that you had to have works in order to be saved, that it was not faith only, but it was faith plus works, and I'll explain that in just a moment. And Moody looked at him and he said, "You know, our religions are really not that different." The man kind of smiled, thinking he'd made some headway with Moody. He said, "In fact," Moody said, "there are only two letters different between my religion and yours. Mine is spelled D-O-N-E and yours is spelled D-O." So there's a big difference between "and received by faith alone."
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Now, let's look at some scriptures. Look in your Bibles, Acts chapter 10 to begin with. Let me show you this. Acts chapter 10, and verse 43. "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3 and verse 22. Romans 3 verse 22. Watch, we read this verse a little while ago emphasizing the righteousness of God, but now let's emphasize another truth in this passage. Romans 3 verse 22. "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference." Look in your Bibles to Romans 3 and verse 28.
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"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Now, we're justified by faith alone. It is not our works that save us. It is not our works that help save us. We're justified by faith alone. Look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3. In fact, let's go to Galatians chapter 2 first. Galatians chapter 2. Note, if you would please, verse 16. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Look in chapter 3, if you would please, of the book of Galatians. Chapter three, notice, if you would please, verse 24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
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Now, listen to this statement and let me try to begin to explain it. A man is justified in faith, by faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith. A man is justified in faith, through faith, and by faith, but never on account of faith. Faith is not the ground nor the substance of our justification, but simply the hand that receives the divine gift that is offered to us in the gospel. Remember I told you earlier that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the ground of our justification. So the ground cannot be our faith. We may be justified in faith and by faith and through faith, but never on account of faith. If we were justified on account of faith, then our faith would be our grounds rather than the person and work of Jesus Christ. Listen to this question that's asked by the Westminster Confession of Faith. Question, "How does faith justify a sinner in God's sight?" Here's the answer. Answer, "Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works which are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith or any other act thereof were imputed to him for justification, but only as it is an
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instrument by which he receiveth and applies Christ and his righteousness." So how does faith justify? And the answer comes back, only because it is the instrument by which he receives and applies Christ. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself this question? Let me ask it to you. Can a man be saved without repentance? No. Repentance is absolutely necessary unto salvation. Christ himself said in Luke 13, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Now, my question is this. Why is it the Bible never ever says that we're justified by repentance? Repentance is very clearly necessary unto salvation, but the Bible never talks about being justified by repentance. Good works are the fruits of salvation. Not that they save us, but they evidence and demonstrate that we have been saved. Why is it the Bible never talks about we're justified by good works or we're justified by obedience? The answer comes back that faith is the only grace that is totally receptive.
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Now listen, I'm going to explain it. Faith is the only grace that is totally receptive. Faith is nothing more than the outstretched hand receiving Christ and the righteousness of Christ. That's why I said we're justified in faith and through faith and by faith, but never on account of faith.
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Now, let me just try to illustrate it like this. Let's suppose here I am starving to death. I'm literally on my last leg. I'm starving. And Chester walks by and he has two loaves of bread and I hold my hands out and I said, "Please, please, I'm starving." And Chester's merciful and he places a loaf of bread in my hands and I take my hands and I eat that bread and my life is spared. And so I get up and I say, "Thank God for my hands, my hands saved me."
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Did my hand save me? No. What was it that saved me? The bread. What were the hands? They were just the instrumental means of getting the bread to my mouth when it was actually the bread that saved me. You follow me? If I'm sitting here starving and I've got a bowl of cereal, suppose you put a bowl of cereal in front of me with a spoon in it. And I'm starving and I take that spoon and I eat that cereal. And my life is spared, then I hold the spoon up and say, "Thank God the spoon saved me." How ridiculous. It's not the spoon that saved me. It was the cereal that saved me. The spoon was just the instrumental means to get to the cereal. You see that?
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Faith is the only gift. Faith is the only grace that's absolutely, totally receptive. That's why I said a man is saved by faith, and in faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith. It is not my faith that saves me. It is Christ that saves me. Faith is the instrument that lays hold of Christ. Faith is the instrument that apprehends Him, that comprehends Him, that brings Him to me, that gives me His righteousness. So I'm saved in faith and through faith, but never on account of faith. It is by faith alone. Sola Fide. Now, wait a minute. He said, "Brother Weaver, when you begin to teach and preach, it's by faith alone. Well, that's going to give some people ground for easy-believism."
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Now, let me tell you something. You don't pervert the gospel to destroy easy-believism. It is true that easy-believism is wicked and wrong and unscriptural. All that is, it says, a man can make a profession of faith and go on about his business, live the way he wants to live, and he's going to heaven no matter what he does. That's hogwash. That's not Bible. You're not saved by decision. But the way to destroy easy-believism is not by perverting the gospel. The gospel is we're justified by faith only. The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies. And real saving faith always works, always has evidence, always has fruits. You follow me? If there's no fruit, if there's no evidence, there's no saving faith. So you can't pervert the gospel and say, "Well, we've got to get rid of easy believism, we've got to get rid of cheap churchism." And so what we're going to do is we're going to say you must believe and you must do this, this and that.
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No, no, no. The truth is, folks, are you listening? You never have to beg a saved person to do that which is right. If he's really been saved and he sees in the Word of God, he's going to do that which is right. You don't have to beg him. So it is by faith alone. And you've got to remember that real saving faith, although we're justified by faith alone, real saving faith is never alone because it always brings with it obedience and good works and all of this other stuff. You see, that's why James said, "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." So a real saving faith is a faith that always works.
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Now, let me clear something else up. I don't know if this has been a problem to you. It's been a problem to some people. But we're justified by faith, and faith alone. Whether that faith is great or small. If you have not read Pilgrim's Progress, I encourage you to read it. Just for the joy of reading about Mr. Little Faith. And you're going to find that Mr. Little Faith was just as saved as Mr. Great Faith. Because it is faith alone that receives Christ. It doesn't matter whether that faith is great or small.
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Let me try to give you an illustration. Let's suppose that this town has been covered with the Ebola virus. And people are dying left and right. And there are some people that have differing degrees of sickness in their life. In other words, here's a man that's just been infected. Very clearly, he's going to have more strength than the man that's had it for five days or ten days or whatever. And let's suppose the whole town is infected. And I invent a machine that if you come up and just touch that machine, you're automatically healed. That's all. And I set that machine in the middle of town. Now, here's Tony. Tony's only had Ebola for a few hours or a day or so. He's still got some strength left. And so he runs up to that machine.
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And he hits it so hard he almost knocks it over. And he grabs and holds on. And he's instantly cured. But here's Ed. Ed has had it for two weeks. And he can barely move. And yet he crawls and almost to his last breath he reaches out and with just one finger touches that machine. Which one of those men are healed? Both? It did not matter the degree that you touched the machine, just so you touched it.
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Now let me ask you another question. Here is our Lord walking down the road, and he looks up in a tree and he says, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for today I must abide at thy house." And Zacchaeus skinned down that tree so quickly, and he said, at the time he hit the ground, "Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." And Jesus Christ said, "This day is salvation come to this house." And let's suppose Zacchaeus, and he probably did, grabbed our Lord and just hugged him. Now let me ask you a question. Here's Zacchaeus, full of energy, full of strength, and let's say full of faith. And he reached his arms around our Lord and hugged him. Was he saved? Well, you know he was, for Christ said he was. But here's another woman who had wasted all of her living on doctors.
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And for twelve years had an issue of blood. Had no money. Had very little strength. But she said, "If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole."
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Now, was Zacchaeus more saved than she was? No. Was he more justified? No. So, what God is telling us is this. We're justified by faith alone. It doesn't matter whether that is a weak faith or a great faith, a small faith or a big faith, just so it is a faith that appropriates and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ. Folks, let me tell you, if you grab a hold of this truth, the next time you go to prayer, I don't care if you're praying for a child, a husband, a wife, finances, you can say, "Lord, I come to Thee in faith. And my faith may be weak, and my faith may be small, but it has laid hold on Jesus Christ. And I want you to hear my prayer, not based upon the amount of faith I have, but based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ." You see what boldness He'll give us in prayer? What boldness He'll give us to live scripturally? Because we can say, "We have received Christ."
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His work is our work. His righteousness is our righteousness. Let's live the way He would have us to live. So that we can say, "Father, I only want to do always those things which please you." Why? Because I have been justified by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your blessing, for your help. Lord, teach us thy word. Build us up in the most holy faith and enable us, Lord, to understand the truth of justification. We stand righteous before thee, not because of anything that's been wrought in us or done by us, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ, imputed to us and received by faith alone. We ask your blessing in Christ's name. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T17:04:06Z

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 11

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver continues his series on Romans 8:28-39 by focusing on the method and instrumental means of justification. He explains that justification is by imputation—God credits Christ's righteousness to believers and charges their sins to Christ—and that faith is the sole instrument that receives this righteousness, never the ground of justification.

Review of Justification

Weaver reviews the definition of justification, its author (God), source (free grace), subjects (the ungodly), and essence (forgiveness and imputed righteousness).

Romans 8:28-30. Romans 8, verse 28:

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:28-30

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

Let me just remind you that in the last two Lord's days, I have been dealing with justification, especially the Bible said,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:28-30

"whom he called, them he also justified."

The Ground of Justification

The ground is not anything wrought in us or done by us, but solely the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ.

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:5

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

The Method of Justification: Imputation

God justifies by imputation—crediting Christ's righteousness to believers and charging their sins to Christ. This is illustrated by Adam's federal headship and the example of Onesimus.

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:11, 22, 24

"And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also."

Now note the word "imputed,

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:11, 22, 24

" that righteousness might be imputed to them also. Now look in verse 22, "

Scripture Reading — Philemon 1:17-18

"If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself."

Watch.

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:12, 14, 19

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

Now, wait a minute. Go back to that verse again.

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:12, 14, 19

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:12, 14, 19

And what he did, we did. And when he sinned, we sinned. And his guilt was imputed to his posterity. Now, how does that relate to Christ? Well, look in Romans 5, verse 19. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Christ is now the federal head. Christ is now the representative, remember, of a new race. And what Christ has done, we have now done, and the righteousness of Christ is now imputed to us.

Scripture Reading — Galatians 4:4

of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.

Look, if you would, please, first of all, to the book of Romans 1. Romans 1:17.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

He's talking about the gospel.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

Look in Romans 3 and verse 22. He says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Even the righteousness of God."

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:13

"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."

Names of Imputed Righteousness

Scripture calls this righteousness the righteousness of God, of one, of the law, of faith, the gift of righteousness, and a robe of righteousness.

Look, if you would, please, first of all, to the book of Romans 1. Romans 1:17.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

He's talking about the gospel.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Therein is the righteousness of God revealed."

Look in Romans 3 and verse 22. He says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:17

"Even the righteousness of God."

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:13

"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."

The Instrumental Means: Faith Alone

Faith is the sole instrument that receives Christ's righteousness; we are justified by faith, through faith, in faith, but never on account of faith.

Faith Alone and Easy-Believism

True saving faith is never alone; it always produces works. The gospel is not perverted to combat easy-believism; sanctification follows justification.

Weak Faith vs. Great Faith

Justification does not depend on the strength of faith; even weak faith that lays hold of Christ saves, as illustrated by Zacchaeus and the woman with the issue of blood.

And for twelve years had an issue of blood. Had no money. Had very little strength. But she said, "If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole."

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 11

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	3110717306
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Romans 8:28-39
Genre	Sermon
Date	1999-09-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 169: Romans 8:28-39 — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	59

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Justification: Weaver reviews the definition of justification, its author (God), source (free grace), subjects (the ungodly), and essence (forgiveness and imputed righteousness).
The Ground of Justification: The ground is not anything wrought in us or done by us, but solely the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ.
The Method of Justification: Imputation: God justifies by imputation—crediting Christ's righteousness to believers and charging their sins to Christ. This is illustrated by Adam's federal headship and the example of Onesimus.
Names of Imputed Righteousness: Scripture calls this righteousness the righteousness of God, of one, of the law, of faith, the gift of righteousness, and a robe of righteousness.
The Instrumental Means: Faith Alone: Faith is the sole instrument that receives Christ's righteousness; we are justified by faith, through faith, in faith, but never on account of faith.
Faith Alone and Easy-Believism: True saving faith is never alone; it always produces works. The gospel is not perverted to combat easy-believism; sanctification follows justification.
Weak Faith vs. Great Faith: Justification does not depend on the strength of faith; even weak faith that lays hold of Christ saves, as illustrated by Zacchaeus and the woman with the issue of blood.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Imputation is the only method of justification

God legally credits Christ's righteousness to believers and charges their sins to Christ, as seen in the imputation of Adam's sin and the example of Onesimus.

Weaver says, 'The method that God uses in justification is the method of imputation,' and cites Romans 4, 2 Corinthians 5:19-21, and Philemon 1:18.

Faith is not the ground but the instrument of justification

Faith justifies only as the instrument that receives Christ; it is never the basis or cause of justification.

Weaver states, 'A man is justified in faith, by faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith,' and quotes the Westminster Confession.

Christ's righteousness is the sole ground of justification

Nothing wrought in us or done by us contributes to justification; it rests entirely on Christ's obedience and satisfaction.

Weaver says, 'It is not for anything wrought in us, nor is it for anything done by us... but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ.'

Justification by faith alone does not lead to easy-believism

True faith always produces works; the gospel should not be perverted to combat easy-believism, but sanctification should be taught as the evidence of justification.

Weaver says, 'The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies.'

Weak faith is sufficient for justification

The degree of faith does not matter; even a weak faith that lays hold of Christ saves, as illustrated by biblical examples.

Weaver says, 'We're justified by faith, and faith alone. Whether that faith is great or small.'

Scripture References

Romans 8:28-30: Weaver reads the passage as the basis for the series on justification.
Romans 3:25: Used to show that 'free' grace means 'without a cause,' paralleling John 15:25.
John 15:25: Cited to explain that 'without a cause' is the same Greek word as 'freely' in Romans 3:25.
Romans 4:5: Shows that God justifies the ungodly.
Titus 3:5: Demonstrates that salvation is not by works of righteousness we have done.
Romans 4:11, 22, 24: Shows the word 'imputed' used in reference to righteousness being credited to believers.
2 Corinthians 5:19, 21: Teaches that God does not impute trespasses to believers and that Christ was made sin for us so we might become the righteousness of God.
Philemon 1:17-18: Illustrates imputation: Paul tells Philemon to charge Onesimus's debt to his account.
Romans 5:12, 14, 19: Explains the imputation of Adam's sin and the parallel imputation of Christ's righteousness.
1 Corinthians 15:45-47: Compares Adam and Christ as federal heads.
Galatians 4:4: Shows Christ was made under the law to fulfill it.
John 8:29: Christ always did what pleased the Father, demonstrating His perfect obedience.
Isaiah 42: Prophecy that Christ would magnify the law.
Romans 1:17: The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel.
Romans 3:22: The righteousness of God is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all who believe.
Romans 5:18: The righteousness of one (Christ) brings justification.
Romans 8:4: The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us.
Romans 4:13: The righteousness of faith is mentioned.
Romans 5:15-17: The gift of righteousness is emphasized.
Revelation 1:13: Christ is clothed with a garment, symbolizing the robe of righteousness.

Historical References

Martin Luther: Weaver quotes Luther: 'the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article of the standing or the falling church.'
Dwight L. Moody: Weaver recounts Moody's illustration on a train contrasting 'done' (faith alone) with 'do' (faith plus works).
Westminster Confession of Faith: Weaver quotes the Confession's answer on how faith justifies: as an instrument receiving Christ and His righteousness.
Pilgrim's Progress: Weaver references the character Mr. Little Faith to illustrate that weak faith saves as well as great faith.

Important Quotes

the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article of the standing or the falling church.

Weaver quotes Martin Luther to emphasize the central importance of justification by faith alone.

Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, and accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them and received by faith alone.

This is the full definition Weaver uses throughout the sermon to explain justification.

the ground of our justification was not for anything wrought in them, that means we are not justified on the grounds of our faith, because faith is wrought in us.

Clarifies that faith is not the ground of justification, but something wrought in us.

Whatever Jesus Christ is, whatever Jesus Christ has done, He alone is the ground of our justification.

Emphasizes the exclusivity of Christ as the ground of justification.

A man is justified in faith, by faith, and through faith, but never on account of faith.

Key distinction that faith is the instrument, not the basis, of justification.

Faith is nothing more than the outstretched hand receiving Christ and the righteousness of Christ.

Illustrates the purely receptive nature of faith.

Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another's death, another's life, I'll rest my soul eternally.

A couplet Weaver quotes to express resting entirely on Christ's righteousness.

the way to destroy easy-believism is not by perverting the gospel. The gospel is we're justified by faith only. The way to destroy easy-believism is to show that everyone that God justifies, He sanctifies.

Addresses the concern that sola fide leads to easy-believism by pointing to sanctification as evidence.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the doctrine of imputation help you understand the legal basis of your justification?

[Context]

Weaver explains imputation as God crediting Christ's righteousness to us and our sins to Christ.

[Question]

Why is it important to distinguish between being justified 'by faith' and being justified 'on account of faith'?

[Context]

Weaver stresses that faith is the instrument, not the ground, of justification.

[Question]

How does the illustration of the hand and the bread help clarify the role of faith in justification?

[Context]

Weaver uses the hand/bread and spoon/cereal illustrations to show faith as merely instrumental.

[Question]

What is the relationship between justification by faith alone and the necessity of good works?

[Context]

Weaver argues that true saving faith always produces works, but works are not the ground of justification.

[Question]

How does the truth that weak faith justifies as much as strong faith encourage you in your Christian walk?

[Context]

Weaver uses the Ebola machine and biblical examples to show that the object of faith (Christ) matters, not the strength of faith.

[Question]

Why is it significant that the imputed righteousness is called 'the righteousness of God' and 'the righteousness of one'?

[Context]

Weaver lists various biblical names for imputed righteousness to emphasize its divine origin and exclusivity.

Applications

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