Back in Romans 8… two more messages (maybe three) and then we will be done. We come to a really important passage. Just a few verses earlier, Paul asked a question: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The person who knows, truly knows on the basis of solid biblical grounds that God is for him/her is immortal. The world cannot touch that person. The devil is an enemy, but cannot overcome the one God is for.. Even death, the last enemy is foe to be faced, but ultimately death is no match for you if God is for you. 

Our two verses today help to unpack just one way in which we know that God is for us and it gets to the heart of the Christian message. 

Here’s why this matters. We live in a world that teems with accusation. And every person seeks justification. And we can seek to justify ourselves. Anyone here remember Stuart Smalley?  Daily Affirmations - “You’re good enough. You’re smart enough. And doggonit, people like you.” The problem with this kind of self-justification is that it will inevitably lead to either despair or blind conceit. Despair when our conscience accuses us and we realize we aren’t as good as we think. Blind conceit if we actually think we are. So we want to stay away from self-justification. 

Or we can seek to be justified by others. This is living by the approval of others telling us we are good and righteous and on the right side of history. The problem with this, of course, is that if you are a Chrsitian, you will hold opinions that the world finds repulsive. And that’s when the accusations are hurled. Think about the world we live in. Here are some pretty basic things Christians believe:

• Men and women are different. They have different natures and roles. That God made men and women to complement each other not compete with each other. 
• There are only two sexes / genders and that 
• Homosexuality is sinful and must be repented of, including the desires.
• Abortion is evil because the sixth commandment says, “You shall not murder”

These are things Chrstians have always believed, But if you believe them and say so, you will find yourself on the receiving end of lots of accusations: hater, bigot, misogynist, homophobe, transphobe, unloving, etc. The early Christian’s were accused of all sorts of things: incest, atheism, disturbers of the peace. It’s all demonic. The devil is THE accuser of the brothers. So we don’t want to justify ourselves or seek justification from others. 

Big Idea: There is only one answer to silence condemning accusation: It is God who justifies!

This is the only sufficient answer to our conscience when it accuses us, to the world and its accusations, and to the devil when he accuses us. It is God who justifies. To unpack these verses, I want to answer two questions. First, what does it mean for God to justify? And second, on what basis does God justify? The answer to these two questions are two pillars that can give us boldness in life and death. 

What Does It Mean For God To Justify? 

It sounds like a legal term, and it is. The focus here is not on justification as a thing we possess. This is describing something God does. The action of God. God justifies. I have been in a courtroom a few times when someone had been declared guilty by the presiding judge… of some significant things. It was very sober. There were tears shed. There was a sense of angst. To hear those words, “Guilty” is serious. How much more to hear from God, the Supreme Judge, the declaration “Guilty”.

But if you are in Christ by faith… there has been another declaration made in the courtroom of heaven. The Judge of all the earth has said, “Not guilty. Innocent. JUSTIFIED!” When Paul says “It is God who justifies”, he is referring to the divine declaration from God of your legal status before him: Righteous. Just. And this status of justification is once for all. It is not a process. Justification is the declaration from God of our righteousness in Christ, immediately given to us upon believing. 

Our conscience may accuse us. The world may hurl accusations, saying you are a problem. The devil may load us down accusations. But the question is, what is God’s verdict? What does he say? What God says silences the accuser!! God's declaration “justified” is final, once for all. Which is why Paul asks the next question: Who can condemn? Nobody. Brings us back to Romans 8:1. 

Now some would say that any kind of secure assurance of salvation is the surest way to complacency and license, etc. but I don’t think so. In fact, I would argue and I think the bible does as well, that it is assurance, security in Christ that fuels a life of holiness and sacrificial love. 

And this leads to the next question. On what basis does God declare someone justified? My experience in the courtroom has always included evidence (presented). What is the basis for our justification from God? 

On what basis? (v. 34)

Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 

Not on the basis of your work. This is the fundamental difference that came to the fore during the Protestant Reformation. The Roman Catholic churches taught (and still teaches) that one is infused with the grace of justification through baptism. But then that individual would need to keep himself in that state through the sacraments. And so if you committed sin, which we all do, you would need to get yourself back into a state of justification. But how would you ever know if you had done enough? 

Paul turns us away from ourselves, to Christ. Listen: It is God who justifies. Christ Jesus… stop right there. So God’s declaration “Righteous, Justified!” is not on the basis of what you do. It is on the basis of what Christ does. What has he done? Hear these words again:

Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God - who indeed is interceding for us.

Paul lays out four things. And there is a kind of order, not merely sequential (though there is that too). But also in their effects, each truth builds on the ones that came before to give us the cumulative effect, so that we have an immovable, rock solid standing before God (“Justified fully… O what a standing is mine”).  Let’s look at each in order.

** Christ Jesus is the one who died ** 

Notice the finality of the statement. Who can condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. What accusation or condemning charge could actually stick and sink us? Only an accusation connected with unforgiven sin can sink us in the courtroom of heaven.  But Christ died. The finality of his death and the accomplishment of it. What were his final words from the cross according to John 19:30? “It is finished!” What was finished? The payment for sin. There is no other sacrifice to be made - the price has been paid in full. This is the witness in the NT:

Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous… (1 Peter 3:18)

[Christ] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself… (Hebrews 9:26)

So if you are in Christ, which one of your sins will you be condemned for? None of them! Because Christ Jesus died. But Paul goes on… 

** More than that, who was raised ** 

Why “more than that”? We understand the resurrection is important. But why does Paul say, “Christ died - more he was raised.” Well, because his resurrection vindicates his death, showing that it was a sufficient offering for sin (1 Corinthians 15 → “If Christ has not been raised”). But Paul goes on:

** Who is at the right hand of God ** 

This speaks of the position of honor and complete authority as not only our sin-bearer, but our enthroned King. And the last element Paul mentions. So often overlooked. But I think it is actually the apex, the top of the mountain in Paul’s argumentation. The first three are all things that are in the past, already done. He died. He rose. He has taken his place at the right hand of God. But the fourth is something Christ does now. What is Jesus doing now?

** Who indeed is interceding for us ** 

He intercedes for us. I think this is an often overlooked and underappreciated aspect to the ministry and work of Jesus Christ. What does he do now that he is enthroned? He intercedes. He prays for us. He stands in the most holy place on our behalf. We sing some rich lyrics that exalt this glorious truth. Come Ye Sinners:

Lo, the incarnate God ascended. Pleads the merit of his blood. Venture on him, venture wholly. Let no other trust intrude.

Before the throne of God above. I have a strong and perfect plea. A great High Priest whose name is love. Who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on His hands. My name is written on His heart. I know that while in heav'n He stands. No tongue can bid me thence depart

Listen to Hebrews 7:25. 

[Christ] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Always lives… to intercede. One thing that is drawn out in each of these hymns and our text and Hebrews 7, is to point us away from us and toward what Christ does for us now… that our faith may soar! An important question to ask, I think. Will Jesus fail in his interceding for you? No way!

It is God who justifies. It is God who declares “Just. Righteous.”. On what basis? Christ died. Christ rose. Christ ascended. Christ intercedes. Do you believe this? The link is faith. The strength of the faith is dependent upon its object. So often faith is weak because we look within to find it. But what is faith? A looking away from ourselves to Christ → “Looking to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2).

What difference does it make? 

1. Fuel for obedience. God’s grace in justifying us is fuel, so that our obedience flows from being accepted in Christ, rather than our obedience being a means of gaining acceptance. Obedience is super important. If someone doesn’t think obedience matters, they are probably revealing they aren’t really a Christian. BUT, the root of obedience is all important. Paul says in Galatians 2:20 that if you think you can be justified by obedience to the law, you nullify the cross of Christ. The root of Christian obedience is justification. And so, a justified man, woman, boy, girl - fully accepted by God pursues obedience thrust forward by this jet fuel of God’s glorious grac. 

2. Bold and guiltless through life. Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” What is boldness needed for? Boldness is needed for battle. It is needed for Christians living as faithful ambassadors of God’s kingdom in hostile territory. Knowing that God’s verdict over your life is “justified in Christ” can embolden you to take the arrows of accusation that are sure to come to faithful men and women of God in a society going off the cliff of insanity. Because remember what matters most is not what my neighbor says or my son, daughter, friend, co-worker, boss, classmate, governor, or president. What’s most important is “What does God say?” If you are in Christ, it is God who justifies you!

3. Bold and fearless in death. Devastating / deluded to approach death focusing on what I have done. Seeking self-justification. Devastating if you recognize what a fools errand that is. Deluded if you think it is actually a fruitful activity. But what bold confidence when you are looking to Christ - his death, resurrection, enthronement at God’s right hand, and present intercession.  J. Gresham Machen (important 20th century theologian) said: “No hope without it…” He was not focusing on his own righteousness, but Christ’s which God had counted as his. And he died well. As your pastor, I want to give you my promise that I want to help you, when the time comes, to die bold and fearless because this is your anchor. 

4. Bold in prayer → How can we ever boldly approach the throne of grace? 

5. A strong binding agent for the church.. I get this from the “us” at the end of verse 34. There is a corporate identity here. Who is the us? God’s elect. God’s chosen ones. The saints. The church. Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? And so it is not just that I am justified and get to enjoy it individually. We are a justified people. And the effects of adopting that corporate identity would be immense and glorious. 

Let’s pray.