Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 00:00:01.40\00:00:02.77 Did you know that our loving God 00:00:02.80\00:00:04.17 is willing and able to pardon you of all of your sins? 00:00:04.20\00:00:07.47 Please join us now on "The Grace Pipeline" 00:00:07.50\00:00:09.86 and we will look at what the Bible has to say 00:00:09.89\00:00:13.28 about God's amazing gift of righteousness by faith. 00:00:13.31\00:00:17.79 Welcome to "The Grace Pipeline." 00:00:40.13\00:00:42.14 Today, our hearts will be blessed as we consider 00:00:42.17\00:00:45.38 God's promise of justification by grace 00:00:45.41\00:00:49.43 through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. 00:00:49.46\00:00:54.09 This is the first stage of salvation, justification. 00:00:54.12\00:00:58.86 It is the foundation of our hope for eternal life. 00:00:58.89\00:01:02.73 In this series, we are following a Bible study book 00:01:02.76\00:01:05.85 that I was given the privilege to write. 00:01:05.88\00:01:08.57 And if you're following along in the series companion book, 00:01:08.60\00:01:12.03 "The Grace Pipeline," we are beginning today on chapter 5. 00:01:12.06\00:01:16.60 One thing that we have previously established 00:01:16.63\00:01:19.24 in this series is that Jesus Christ 00:01:19.27\00:01:22.44 is the greatest gift of grace that God 00:01:22.47\00:01:25.88 ever gave to humanity. 00:01:25.91\00:01:28.80 But have you ever wondered how could the Lord 00:01:28.83\00:01:33.26 of glory be nailed to the cross? 00:01:33.29\00:01:36.09 How could the heart of humanity devise an execution 00:01:36.12\00:01:40.58 of such appalling savagery? 00:01:40.61\00:01:43.94 How could the jealousy of religious leaders 00:01:43.97\00:01:47.60 inflict such intense cruelty on the sinless son of God? 00:01:47.63\00:01:53.44 Though we may struggle with these thoughts, 00:01:53.47\00:01:55.95 we must accept what Peter said in 1 Peter 1:20 00:01:55.98\00:02:00.28 and Revelation 13:8 also, reveals that God's eternal 00:02:00.31\00:02:05.40 counsel determined Calvary's event before He established 00:02:05.43\00:02:11.17 the foundations of the world. 00:02:11.20\00:02:14.27 To indict all who are guilty of the death of Christ, 00:02:14.30\00:02:18.88 we must look beyond the Romans 00:02:18.91\00:02:20.85 and the highest Jewish council of the Sanhedrin 00:02:20.88\00:02:24.07 to include you and me. 00:02:24.10\00:02:26.59 The Savior suffered to secure our justification by grace. 00:02:26.62\00:02:30.85 It was the will of God to provide 00:02:30.88\00:02:32.72 the Calvary plan for our salvation. 00:02:32.75\00:02:36.02 God has--in His unique knowledge, 00:02:36.05\00:02:39.34 He has knowledge of the future and tells us 00:02:39.37\00:02:43.04 in Isaiah 46:10 that He declares the end from the beginning. 00:02:43.07\00:02:48.63 Being the very essence of love Himself, 00:02:48.66\00:02:51.56 He knows the power of love is the power of choice. 00:02:51.59\00:02:56.35 And if you think about that for a moment, 00:02:56.38\00:02:58.41 a forced or coerced response cannot be defined as love. 00:02:58.44\00:03:05.82 So by His design, all created beings have free will. 00:03:05.85\00:03:11.41 The Lord declares in Jeremiah 31:3, 00:03:11.44\00:03:14.94 "I have loved you with an everlasting love. 00:03:14.97\00:03:18.48 Therefore with loving kindness, I have drawn you." 00:03:18.51\00:03:22.29 Our creator sought to establish a relationship of trust 00:03:22.32\00:03:26.76 with humanity by wooing us with unfailing love. 00:03:26.79\00:03:31.46 But the all-knowing God had foreseen the future of mankind. 00:03:31.49\00:03:35.65 We would break His gracious commandments of covenant love 00:03:35.68\00:03:40.12 and reject our Lord, the holy one we would reject, 00:03:40.15\00:03:44.74 resolved to be our redeemer before He created us. 00:03:44.77\00:03:50.16 To provide the guilty human race of His forgiveness 00:03:50.19\00:03:53.73 of sin by grace, God initially instituted 00:03:53.76\00:03:57.04 the sacrificial system. 00:03:57.07\00:03:58.64 And that served His purpose well until the fullness of time, 00:03:58.67\00:04:02.53 a perfect time predetermined by the Lord when God Himself 00:04:02.56\00:04:07.09 would step in to save us. 00:04:07.12\00:04:09.35 The willing servant of salvation, Jesus Christ 00:04:09.38\00:04:12.86 could have at any moment called upon His Father 00:04:12.89\00:04:16.50 who would have sent legions of angels 00:04:16.53\00:04:19.23 to save Him from the cruel cross of Calvary, 00:04:19.26\00:04:22.42 but He did not. 00:04:22.45\00:04:23.82 The Son desired to honor His father 00:04:23.85\00:04:26.32 by fulfilling God given promises. 00:04:26.35\00:04:29.09 God had gladdened the heart of the patriarch Abraham 00:04:29.12\00:04:33.38 when he showed him the day of Christ. 00:04:33.41\00:04:35.41 Jesus actually said in John 8:56, 00:04:35.44\00:04:38.99 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. 00:04:39.02\00:04:43.91 He saw it and was glad." 00:04:43.94\00:04:47.76 Abraham, foreseeing the death and resurrection 00:04:47.79\00:04:50.79 of God's sacrificed son, Abraham's faith 00:04:50.82\00:04:54.96 prompted him to obey a very severe test 00:04:54.99\00:04:58.38 of his own willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac 00:04:58.41\00:05:02.94 who was his son of promise. 00:05:02.97\00:05:05.45 Genesis Chapter 22 records the account 00:05:05.48\00:05:09.33 of how the patriarch proved his faith and loyalty. 00:05:09.36\00:05:13.48 God proved His plan, too, of extreme grace. 00:05:13.51\00:05:17.75 What Abraham did, laying the wood 00:05:17.78\00:05:20.49 for the altar of burnt offering on his son's back, 00:05:20.52\00:05:23.77 Abraham took the fire pot and a knife 00:05:23.80\00:05:26.74 and he began the journey to a mountain 00:05:26.77\00:05:29.57 which God had appointed. 00:05:29.60\00:05:31.28 As the old father and his son Isaac 00:05:31.31\00:05:34.05 made the trek to Mount Moriah, 00:05:34.08\00:05:36.53 the strapping young man asked, 00:05:36.56\00:05:38.77 "Father, where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 00:05:38.80\00:05:43.10 And Abraham spoke prophetically 00:05:43.13\00:05:45.74 when he answered in Genesis 22:8, he said, 00:05:45.77\00:05:49.44 "My son, God will provide for Himself 00:05:49.47\00:05:53.62 the lamb for a burnt offering." 00:05:53.65\00:05:56.10 That very day, God supernaturally provided 00:05:56.13\00:05:59.59 the ram caught in a thicket as the pledge 00:05:59.62\00:06:03.05 of his promised son Jesus Christ. 00:06:03.08\00:06:06.39 And nearly 2,000 years later, Roman soldiers laid 00:06:06.42\00:06:10.79 the wood of the offering on Christ's back. 00:06:10.82\00:06:14.12 Carrying his cross, they led the supernaturally 00:06:14.15\00:06:17.27 provided Lamb of God outside the gates of Jerusalem 00:06:17.30\00:06:21.61 to a little knoll, the Hil of Calvary, 00:06:21.64\00:06:24.99 the appointed place near Mount Moriah. 00:06:25.02\00:06:28.88 Abraham as a prophet and all the prophets of God 00:06:28.91\00:06:33.13 throughout ancient history knew this day was coming. 00:06:33.16\00:06:37.39 It is written in 1 Peter 1:10, 11, 00:06:37.42\00:06:41.25 "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired 00:06:41.28\00:06:44.40 and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace 00:06:44.43\00:06:48.59 that would come to you, searching what, or what 00:06:48.62\00:06:52.41 manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them 00:06:52.44\00:06:56.47 was indicating when He testified beforehand 00:06:56.50\00:07:00.60 the sufferings of Christ 00:07:00.63\00:07:02.63 and the glories that would follow." 00:07:02.66\00:07:06.15 Isaiah prophesied of Christ's death 00:07:06.18\00:07:08.31 and the unsearchable riches of his sacrifice in chapter 53 00:07:08.34\00:07:12.79 of the Old Testament book identified by his name. 00:07:12.82\00:07:15.64 And the prophet compared humanity 00:07:15.67\00:07:18.17 to dumb, straying sheep. 00:07:18.20\00:07:21.46 A people prone to wander from a loving shepherd 00:07:21.49\00:07:24.65 and inclined to transgress his holy laws. 00:07:24.68\00:07:28.27 It paints a pretty fitting picture, don't you think? 00:07:28.30\00:07:32.08 Well, in verse 5, he says that he saw that 00:07:32.11\00:07:35.87 "Christ was wounded for our transgressions." 00:07:35.90\00:07:39.32 And then in verse 12, he saw that 00:07:39.35\00:07:41.81 "Christ poured out His soul unto death." 00:07:41.84\00:07:45.63 The God of heaven would descend to become flesh 00:07:45.66\00:07:49.35 and stand in as the suffering servant of humanity. 00:07:49.38\00:07:53.95 In an act of lavish love, the Messiah would offer His life 00:07:53.98\00:07:58.88 as a ransom for everyone who calls 00:07:58.91\00:08:01.95 on His name for salvation. 00:08:01.98\00:08:04.40 Let's look at what the prophet recorded in Isaiah 53:10 and 11. 00:08:04.43\00:08:10.73 And he says, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, 00:08:10.76\00:08:15.28 He has put Him to grief. 00:08:15.31\00:08:17.53 When You make His soul an offering for sin, 00:08:17.56\00:08:20.77 He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, 00:08:20.80\00:08:24.89 and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 00:08:24.92\00:08:28.02 He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. 00:08:28.05\00:08:32.25 By His knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many, 00:08:32.28\00:08:37.55 for He shall bear their iniquities." 00:08:37.58\00:08:43.55 The heavenly Father revealed to Isaiah, 00:08:43.58\00:08:46.70 He would lay all of our sins on His Son at the cross 00:08:46.73\00:08:51.02 and be pleased that justice would be served. 00:08:51.05\00:08:54.75 Divine mercy would be multiplied to miserable mankind, 00:08:54.78\00:08:59.07 the sacrifice would not be in vain. 00:08:59.10\00:09:02.26 Perhaps one of the most glorious scriptures in the Bible 00:09:02.29\00:09:05.96 is that found in 2 Corinthians 5:21 which says, 00:09:05.99\00:09:12.27 "He made him, speaking of Jesus, who knew no sin 00:09:12.30\00:09:17.50 to be sin for us, that we might become 00:09:17.53\00:09:21.34 the righteousness of God in Him." 00:09:21.37\00:09:25.85 In the covenant transaction of the cross, 00:09:25.88\00:09:29.31 God reckoned our sins to Christ to count that he could reckon 00:09:29.34\00:09:34.21 or impute Christ's righteousness to us through faith. 00:09:34.24\00:09:38.56 This exchange puts repentant sinners 00:09:38.59\00:09:42.00 in right standing with God. 00:09:42.03\00:09:44.78 Isaiah saw God's Calvary plan in vision 00:09:44.81\00:09:48.18 and joyfully proclaimed in Isaiah 61:10, 00:09:48.21\00:09:53.47 "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, 00:09:53.50\00:09:56.75 my soul shall be joyful in my God, 00:09:56.78\00:10:00.67 for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, 00:10:00.70\00:10:04.25 He has covered me with the robe of righteousness." 00:10:04.28\00:10:09.24 Are you wearing that blessed robe of righteousness? 00:10:09.27\00:10:13.10 To be made righteous involves 00:10:13.13\00:10:14.99 the whole proceeding of God's justice. 00:10:15.02\00:10:17.54 And let me tell you, nothing you can do 00:10:17.57\00:10:19.64 will satisfy that process. 00:10:19.67\00:10:22.06 He brings you into a right relationship with Himself 00:10:22.09\00:10:26.08 by causing you to be everything He calls you to be. 00:10:26.11\00:10:30.39 In other words, your maker makes you all that He requires 00:10:30.42\00:10:34.47 you to be through your relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:10:34.50\00:10:39.16 Righteousness by faith is the only way 00:10:39.19\00:10:42.44 that unholy humanity can acquire 00:10:42.47\00:10:45.41 right standing before a holy God. 00:10:45.44\00:10:47.92 That which we vainly consider our own righteous acts, 00:10:47.95\00:10:51.70 maybe it's our best human efforts 00:10:51.73\00:10:53.74 to decontaminate ourselves from sin is revealed 00:10:53.77\00:10:58.00 by Isaiah 64:6, to be nothing more 00:10:58.03\00:11:02.58 than polluted filthy rag in the brilliant light 00:11:02.61\00:11:06.32 of God's Shekinah glory. 00:11:06.35\00:11:08.50 Only Christ's spotless robe will suffice. 00:11:08.53\00:11:13.76 My Heavenly Father knows how I struggled to be right 00:11:13.79\00:11:17.26 with Him during my earlier experience 00:11:17.29\00:11:19.98 and how utterly discouraged I became. 00:11:20.01\00:11:23.13 No one ever told me that He never intended 00:11:23.16\00:11:26.69 his commandments to serve as a precondition of salvation. 00:11:26.72\00:11:30.47 My family and my church instructed me, 00:11:30.50\00:11:33.45 I had to be perfect before God for Him to love me. 00:11:33.48\00:11:37.60 And perfection was beyond my grasp 00:11:37.63\00:11:40.28 but I continuously strained to reach it. 00:11:40.31\00:11:44.05 At times I felt so defeated, I simply quit trying. 00:11:44.08\00:11:48.06 And I couldn't measure up to God's standards, 00:11:48.09\00:11:50.90 so I quit trying and I walked away from Him. 00:11:50.93\00:11:54.14 Rules without relationship most frequently result in rebellion. 00:11:54.17\00:11:59.60 You know, God taught me finally, 00:11:59.63\00:12:02.63 that righteousness was mine for the asking. 00:12:02.66\00:12:05.96 A gift he offered freely and as I tapped into 00:12:05.99\00:12:09.84 the grace pipeline, His flow of virtue flooded 00:12:09.87\00:12:14.05 and relaxed my anxious heart. 00:12:14.08\00:12:16.39 God accepted me in his beloved son. 00:12:16.42\00:12:19.64 Drawing near, I allowed him to embrace me 00:12:19.67\00:12:22.65 and I learned to respond to my Father with respect 00:12:22.68\00:12:27.31 for our covenant relationship of love. 00:12:27.34\00:12:29.83 And obedience became an expression 00:12:29.86\00:12:33.28 of my appreciation for salvation. 00:12:33.31\00:12:36.20 Justified by His grace, 00:12:36.23\00:12:38.78 I learned to live in His power by faith. 00:12:38.81\00:12:42.65 I finally learnt what the Apostle Paul 00:12:42.68\00:12:44.83 had learned and stated so eloquently in Romans 1:16, 17. 00:12:44.86\00:12:51.63 Paul writes, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 00:12:51.66\00:12:56.97 for it is the power of God to salvation 00:12:57.00\00:13:00.05 for everyone who believes. 00:13:00.08\00:13:02.66 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed 00:13:02.69\00:13:06.45 from faith to faith, as it is written, 00:13:06.48\00:13:10.15 'the just shall live by faith.'" 00:13:10.18\00:13:16.05 These words written by God's most ardent ambassador 00:13:16.08\00:13:20.23 for righteousness by faith resulted from Paul's personal 00:13:20.26\00:13:24.86 encounter with the Shekinah glory of Jesus 00:13:24.89\00:13:28.13 on the road to Damascus. 00:13:28.16\00:13:30.43 The religious zealot formerly called by the name Saul 00:13:30.46\00:13:34.74 had been vainly striving to serve God. 00:13:34.77\00:13:38.12 Instead, in his educated egotistical efforts, 00:13:38.15\00:13:42.22 he persecuted God's cause until he met the Lord of glory. 00:13:42.25\00:13:46.88 Paul immediately, when he met Jesus, 00:13:46.91\00:13:50.06 he immediately surrendered his will to the perfect will of God 00:13:50.09\00:13:54.33 and recognizing that no one can be justified 00:13:54.36\00:13:58.02 by the works of God's law but only by faith in Jesus. 00:13:58.05\00:14:03.21 He dropped his filthy rag endeavors and received 00:14:03.24\00:14:06.76 the robe of Christ's righteousness. 00:14:06.79\00:14:09.39 In Philippians 3:9, Paul later described righteousness 00:14:09.42\00:14:14.77 as coming by faith from God through faith in Christ. 00:14:14.80\00:14:20.33 How many people are there today who call themselves Christians 00:14:20.36\00:14:24.44 yet spoil the Lord's plan of salvation with dependence 00:14:24.47\00:14:28.44 upon their own filthy rag efforts? 00:14:28.47\00:14:31.34 Miserable in life, their actions are absolute nonsense to God 00:14:31.37\00:14:36.06 and often a nuisance to their neighbor. 00:14:36.09\00:14:39.09 The Bible warns those who attempt to earn salvation 00:14:39.12\00:14:43.65 by works and who attempt to be justified by keeping the law, 00:14:43.68\00:14:48.55 that they have become separated from grace, 00:14:48.58\00:14:52.61 separated from Christ and fallen from grace. 00:14:52.64\00:14:56.46 Look at Paul's warning found in Galatians 5:4, 00:14:56.49\00:15:01.64 "You have become estranged from Christ, 00:15:01.67\00:15:06.08 you who attempt to be justified by law, 00:15:06.11\00:15:10.24 you have fallen from grace." 00:15:10.27\00:15:13.47 Paul told the Galatians in Chapter 2:21, 00:15:13.50\00:15:16.94 he said, "I do not set aside the grace of God, 00:15:16.97\00:15:19.97 for if righteousness comes through the law, 00:15:20.00\00:15:22.49 then Christ died in vain." 00:15:22.52\00:15:24.64 If we want to take Paul's thought a step further, 00:15:24.67\00:15:27.64 if God can make us righteous by forgiving our sins 00:15:27.67\00:15:31.54 simply because He loved us, by necessity, 00:15:31.57\00:15:34.64 we must count the cross of Christ a mockery. 00:15:34.67\00:15:39.31 God's great moral law, the Ten Commandments, 00:15:39.34\00:15:41.96 are the foundation of His government 00:15:41.99\00:15:44.10 which He cannot simply ignore. 00:15:44.13\00:15:46.16 He spoke and wrote them in words laced with echoes of His grace. 00:15:46.19\00:15:51.72 Even the preamble to his law of love 00:15:51.75\00:15:53.84 which began in Exodus 20:2, it starts with these words. 00:15:53.87\00:16:00.17 "I am the Lord your God who brought you out 00:16:00.20\00:16:03.07 of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 00:16:03.10\00:16:06.73 Do you see what God did? 00:16:06.76\00:16:08.20 He first established the fact 00:16:08.23\00:16:10.33 that He was their loving redeemer. 00:16:10.36\00:16:12.83 And then in Exodus 19:4-6, God told his people, 00:16:12.86\00:16:20.29 "You have seen how I bore you on eagle wings 00:16:20.32\00:16:24.72 and brought you to myself. 00:16:24.75\00:16:26.43 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice 00:16:26.46\00:16:30.30 and keep my covenant, 00:16:30.33\00:16:32.49 then you shall be a special treasure to me 00:16:32.52\00:16:35.44 above all people and you shall be to me 00:16:35.47\00:16:39.43 a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." 00:16:39.46\00:16:45.26 God was saying in essence, I have delivered you because 00:16:45.29\00:16:49.82 I desire a relationship with you. 00:16:49.85\00:16:52.90 If you love Me, you will keep My law of covenant love 00:16:52.93\00:16:56.52 that I give You to provide boundaries 00:16:56.55\00:16:59.75 for the blessed and holy life. 00:16:59.78\00:17:02.29 You know, in the original Hebrew language, 00:17:02.32\00:17:05.53 His Ten Commandments are written 00:17:05.56\00:17:07.55 in positive language not negative. 00:17:07.58\00:17:10.45 God was giving them ten promises that His love 00:17:10.48\00:17:14.03 would empower them to live by. 00:17:14.06\00:17:16.32 The people committed rapidly to a covenant 00:17:16.35\00:17:19.20 relationship with their deliverer. 00:17:19.23\00:17:21.69 Then, in a display of His power and holiness from Mount Sinai, 00:17:21.72\00:17:26.65 God reinforced His eternal moral principles 00:17:26.68\00:17:30.47 and standing at a distance, 00:17:30.50\00:17:33.01 the witnesses of His awesome glory trembled. 00:17:33.04\00:17:37.21 God purposed His commandments to serve as guard rails 00:17:37.24\00:17:41.35 along life's treacherous path 00:17:41.38\00:17:43.51 to protect humanity from falling into sin. 00:17:43.54\00:17:47.46 Those who accept righteousness by faith will receive power 00:17:47.49\00:17:52.18 from a spirit filled life to prove that God's commandments 00:17:52.21\00:17:56.65 circumference the abundant life of righteousness. 00:17:56.68\00:18:00.83 Although the cross of Christ became Paul's great boast, 00:18:00.86\00:18:04.93 he clearly pointed out faith does not nullify 00:18:04.96\00:18:08.86 or make void the law, but rather established it. 00:18:08.89\00:18:14.08 Scripture describes two types of righteousness 00:18:14.11\00:18:17.54 God pours out by grace. 00:18:17.57\00:18:19.81 Let's look at those. 00:18:19.84\00:18:21.77 First, there is the imputed righteousness of Christ 00:18:21.80\00:18:25.30 that's the record of His perfect moral character 00:18:25.33\00:18:28.32 and His complete conformity to God's commandments 00:18:28.35\00:18:31.73 that's credited to us and this reconciles us to God. 00:18:31.76\00:18:36.25 And then second, there is the imparted righteousness 00:18:36.28\00:18:40.42 of Christ which empowers us to live a holy life. 00:18:40.45\00:18:45.47 We will consider imputed righteousness now. 00:18:45.50\00:18:49.78 If this is your first time to examine the process, 00:18:49.81\00:18:53.13 you are heading toward a discovery 00:18:53.16\00:18:56.02 that will delight your heart. 00:18:56.05\00:18:58.11 If this is only something that serves as a review for you, 00:18:58.14\00:19:03.27 it is something maybe you previously studied, 00:19:03.30\00:19:06.20 may the reminder of God's promises revive you. 00:19:06.23\00:19:10.14 To impute means to reckon or take into account. 00:19:10.17\00:19:16.31 As a figure of speech, it means to credit to a person's account. 00:19:16.34\00:19:21.78 To help explain imputed righteousness, 00:19:21.81\00:19:24.11 let me first offer an illustration. 00:19:24.14\00:19:27.32 Here is my related but certainly imperfect concept. 00:19:27.35\00:19:33.33 Let's say through foolish and deceptive practices 00:19:33.36\00:19:36.50 you have amassed a bank debt of $10 billion. 00:19:36.53\00:19:41.27 Although you are now remorseful and desire to make things right, 00:19:41.30\00:19:46.17 the fact is, you could work overtime 00:19:46.20\00:19:48.75 for the rest of your life 00:19:48.78\00:19:50.36 and never earn enough to pay off your load. 00:19:50.39\00:19:53.53 The legal action that you now face just grips 00:19:53.56\00:19:57.13 your heart with anxiety. 00:19:57.16\00:19:59.35 Will the judge sentence you to perish in prison? 00:19:59.38\00:20:02.78 Aware of your pitiful plight, 00:20:02.81\00:20:04.62 the CEO of the world banking organization 00:20:04.65\00:20:08.27 steps forward to be your benefactor. 00:20:08.30\00:20:11.47 International law prevents him simply from erasing 00:20:11.50\00:20:15.74 the records of your account. 00:20:15.77\00:20:18.00 Rather with mystifying mercy and generosity, 00:20:18.03\00:20:21.95 he covers your debt by assuming it. 00:20:21.98\00:20:25.67 He hands you a legal draft to transfer your debt 00:20:25.70\00:20:28.83 to his personal account and his good credit to yours. 00:20:28.86\00:20:32.68 You don't know him, why is he being so generous? 00:20:32.71\00:20:37.21 Still, in faith of his honorable reputation, 00:20:37.24\00:20:40.54 you rush the document to the bank to execute 00:20:40.57\00:20:43.64 the transaction and see if it's real. 00:20:43.67\00:20:46.35 And your bank ledger is changed, your debt is canceled 00:20:46.38\00:20:51.42 and the account is reconciled. 00:20:51.45\00:20:53.91 Now the banking institution looks on you 00:20:53.94\00:20:56.36 with favor prepared to do business with you again. 00:20:56.39\00:21:00.26 Can you imagine the feelings of new found loyalty 00:21:00.29\00:21:03.21 you would have for your gracious benefactor? 00:21:03.24\00:21:07.08 Well, as imperfect as that illustration may be, 00:21:07.11\00:21:10.71 it gives you an idea of the incredible heavenly 00:21:10.74\00:21:14.86 transaction that imputes Christ's righteousness 00:21:14.89\00:21:18.20 to repentant sinners. 00:21:18.23\00:21:19.98 All the natural descendants of Adam, including you and me, 00:21:20.01\00:21:23.97 are born with a propensity to break God's holy laws. 00:21:24.00\00:21:28.81 Our fallen nature is not in right standing 00:21:28.84\00:21:31.77 with a righteous God. 00:21:31.80\00:21:33.46 We owe a sin debt, 00:21:33.49\00:21:35.57 we could never repay since penalty is death. 00:21:35.60\00:21:39.70 A lifetime of good works could not earn eternal life. 00:21:39.73\00:21:44.24 Now we understand the problem our loving 00:21:44.27\00:21:47.44 and just heavenly Father faced. 00:21:47.47\00:21:50.35 Justice demanded that he take--not take an indifferent 00:21:50.38\00:21:55.89 approach to his laws of love set in stone. 00:21:55.92\00:21:59.49 Justice must be served. 00:21:59.52\00:22:01.40 To remain the just one, He became the justifier 00:22:01.43\00:22:05.32 demonstrating His unfailing love toward us 00:22:05.35\00:22:08.69 in sending His son to assume our debt 00:22:08.72\00:22:11.66 by standing in as our substitute in death. 00:22:11.69\00:22:14.66 At the moment that we accept Christ as our Savior 00:22:14.69\00:22:17.91 and the propitiation of our sins, He eliminates our debt 00:22:17.94\00:22:22.51 and becomes the source of our credit. 00:22:22.54\00:22:25.29 His atoning blood covers our sin. 00:22:25.32\00:22:28.32 His perfect character of righteousness and the perfect 00:22:28.35\00:22:32.48 obedience of his record are metaphorically credited 00:22:32.51\00:22:37.18 to our overdrawn spiritual account. 00:22:37.21\00:22:40.21 The books of heaven are reconciled, 00:22:40.24\00:22:42.62 the ledger of our balance sheet is changed 00:22:42.65\00:22:46.20 because of our vital connection to Christ, 00:22:46.23\00:22:49.00 the debt of our past sins is blotted out and a divine quality 00:22:49.03\00:22:54.26 that is not ours is accounted to us. 00:22:54.29\00:22:58.08 God restores us to His holy favor. 00:22:58.11\00:23:00.79 Now our natural response is a surge of loyalty and love 00:23:00.82\00:23:06.13 for the one who loves us and gave Himself for us. 00:23:06.16\00:23:12.56 In Romans 4:11, Paul defines that process 00:23:12.59\00:23:16.34 as imputed righteousness. 00:23:16.37\00:23:18.83 By God's abundant grace given in the person of Jesus Christ, 00:23:18.86\00:23:24.13 he puts us in right standing before Him, 00:23:24.16\00:23:27.66 which makes it possible for him to declare us justified. 00:23:27.69\00:23:32.90 Then Paul wrote these amazing 00:23:32.93\00:23:35.93 words in Romans 5:17-18, 00:23:35.96\00:23:41.18 "For if by Adam's offense death reigned through the one, 00:23:41.21\00:23:47.98 reigned through Adam, much more those who receive 00:23:48.01\00:23:51.55 abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness 00:23:51.58\00:23:57.09 will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 00:23:57.12\00:24:01.90 "Therefore as through one man's offense" 00:24:01.93\00:24:05.14 through Adam's offense, he's speaking of, 00:24:05.17\00:24:07.20 "judgment came to all men, 00:24:07.23\00:24:09.31 resulting in condemnation even so Christ's righteous act 00:24:09.34\00:24:15.39 the free gift came to all men 00:24:15.42\00:24:18.31 resulting in justification of life. 00:24:18.34\00:24:21.28 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, 00:24:21.31\00:24:25.56 so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." 00:24:25.59\00:24:31.68 Oh, I love that. 00:24:31.71\00:24:33.23 Through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. 00:24:33.26\00:24:36.40 God's gospel of grace is so exciting. 00:24:36.43\00:24:40.43 Everything that we have considered thus far, 00:24:40.46\00:24:44.48 has been leading us up to this climactic moment, 00:24:44.51\00:24:48.40 justification by grace through the imputed 00:24:48.43\00:24:51.36 righteousness of Christ. 00:24:51.39\00:24:53.46 This is the first stage of salvation. 00:24:53.49\00:24:57.01 It is the foundation of our hope for eternal life. 00:24:57.04\00:25:01.99 And at this point, it is our record that is changed, 00:25:02.02\00:25:06.68 not necessarily our character. 00:25:06.71\00:25:09.62 Since God loves us too much to leave us 00:25:09.65\00:25:12.85 in our miserable condition, he affects a change 00:25:12.88\00:25:16.56 of our character in the second stage of salvation, 00:25:16.59\00:25:20.41 labeled sanctification. 00:25:20.44\00:25:23.17 And we will explore that exciting truth 00:25:23.20\00:25:26.61 in our next program as we gradually 00:25:26.64\00:25:30.68 unfold God's marvelous plan of grace. 00:25:30.71\00:25:34.65 Remember, God's love 00:25:34.68\00:25:37.00 is the compelling force behind His grace. 00:25:37.03\00:25:40.66 Grace is the pipeline 00:25:40.69\00:25:43.22 through which all blessings flow from heaven to earth. 00:25:43.25\00:25:47.43 Faith is the faucet, it is the how we tap into God's 00:25:47.46\00:25:52.39 grace pipeline and our faith regulates the release 00:25:52.42\00:25:56.63 of blessings from His great reservoir. 00:25:56.66\00:25:59.42 Now what is prayer? 00:25:59.45\00:26:01.47 It's the handle that opens the faith faucet 00:26:01.50\00:26:05.51 and trust is the foundation for the prayer of faith. 00:26:05.54\00:26:10.11 Now what's a foundation for trust? 00:26:10.14\00:26:14.02 Has to be relationship. 00:26:14.05\00:26:15.94 You don't really trust people you don't know all that well. 00:26:15.97\00:26:19.74 But when we have that relationship 00:26:19.77\00:26:22.78 as the foundation for trust, we have to ask ourselves, 00:26:22.81\00:26:26.32 what is the foundation for relationship? 00:26:26.35\00:26:29.85 Love, love is the foundation for relationship. 00:26:29.88\00:26:34.03 And when we recognize how much our God loves us, 00:26:34.06\00:26:40.02 then we begin to have reciprocal feelings of loving Him. 00:26:40.05\00:26:46.25 So that is what is important to us, 00:26:46.28\00:26:48.76 is to understand God's love. 00:26:48.79\00:26:52.28 For us to learn to love Him 00:26:52.31\00:26:54.91 with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, 00:26:54.94\00:26:57.64 and develop that intimate relationship 00:26:57.67\00:27:01.25 and that would develop our trust. 00:27:01.28\00:27:04.70 And when that trust has been developed, 00:27:04.73\00:27:07.75 we will pray with all of our might and that will help us 00:27:07.78\00:27:12.00 with our actions of faith so that we can 00:27:12.03\00:27:14.17 tap into the grace pipeline. 00:27:14.20\00:27:16.67 Well, our time is fast slipping away today. 00:27:16.70\00:27:20.19 We hope that you would join us again on our next program, 00:27:20.22\00:27:24.26 where we are going to define 00:27:24.29\00:27:26.77 the legal transaction of justification. 00:27:26.80\00:27:31.06 You won't want to miss this upcoming program. 00:27:31.09\00:27:34.34 Because what we will learn is how to live at peace 00:27:34.37\00:27:39.83 with our past when you tap into God's grace pipeline 00:27:39.86\00:27:43.52 and receive the abundance He wants to give you. 00:27:43.55\00:27:48.21 Now don't forget what we just looked at in Romans 5:17, 00:27:48.24\00:27:52.29 that those who receive an abundance of grace 00:27:52.32\00:27:55.58 and the gift of righteousness 00:27:55.61\00:27:57.25 will reign in life through Christ Jesus. 00:27:57.28\00:28:01.11