2024-02-18AM- The Just Shall Live by Faith

The main ideas from this information are that the speaker is excited and ready to preach the Gospel of Christ. They believe that the Gospel has the power to change lives and save souls. The Apostle Paul expresses confidence in the Gospel and is eager to share it with others. They discuss the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel and emphasize the importance of believing in Jesus Christ. The speaker also mentions the story of Martin Luther and his journey to finding salvation. I'm delighted to see Sister Taylor here with us today. I'm just thrilled. Thank God. I pray that there will be something, hopefully already something has been done to help to edify. That's what the church is supposed to be doing is to, the ministry is to edify the church. We're here to glorify God. And when we're of like mind, lifting Him up is going to edify the church. Scriptures will edify the church. The Apostle said, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's a command that we have. Another one, Brother Michael read it this morning, Brother Joseph just alluded to it. The Apostle Paul said, sin not. John agreed. He said these things right unto you little children that ye sin not. So I don't reckon that God would ever ask anything of us that was impossible for us to do. He says to believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That tells me that everybody who reads or hears those words has the ability to believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thereby be saved. Praise God. Let's read together this morning from the book of Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1, verse 15, so as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. Father, thank You so much, Lord. I have felt Your presence here. God, we accept by faith that You come in our presence when we gather in Your name, but times like these when You manifest Your presence and let us know that You're here, God, I'm asking You to touch this vessel, this mouth, this tongue, God, that I may speak the glories of God. Help me to get this message across exactly like You want it to be, not as I have planned or not how I think it ought to go, but I lay this in Your hands and pray, not my will, but Thine be done, in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. I want to preach for a title, that phrase there at the end of verse 17, the just shall live by faith. In this text here, the Apostle Paul writing to the Roman church, I mean, he's just getting started in this letter. He's got a long way to go. He's got a lot of things that he has to discuss. And this book, this letter to the Roman church has been recognized as a great amount of theology. And that's where we get a lot of our learning is things that are written right in here. It's where you'll learn that man ought not sin. If man sins, there's consequences to his sin. Paul wrote about that, and we learn from that. But here in my text, he says, as much as in me is, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also. Right here in this text, the Apostle Paul expresses great confidence in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only does he express great confidence in the Gospel, but from what I can tell, the words that are used here, he's got a great anticipation and an eagerness that if I can just get where you are, I've got a message that I've got to preach to you. As much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel. He's saying, to the best of my ability, I'm going to preach the Gospel of Christ. If I can use my hands, I'm going to use my hands to preach the Gospel. If I can use my feet, if I can breathe with my lungs, I'm going to preach the Gospel from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. For as much as in me is, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready. Put me on the ship. Chain me to the centurion. Put me on the ship with other prisoners. I'll go through shipwreck. I'll go through hunger and fasting and danger and storms. Just get me to the place that I can preach the Gospel. It sounds to me like the Apostle Paul says it and feels it like Jeremiah felt it in chapter 20 and verse 9. Jeremiah got to the place, he said, I'm done. I'm done with this. He had just spent the night in stocks outside the temple. There he was on public display, humiliated by everybody that would go by. Stuck fast in the stocks. He gets out and he says, I'm done. I've had enough of this. Lord, this isn't what I thought it would be. But something got to stirring within his soul. And he said that his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones. I love this. I'm not once for poetry, but I believe that's pretty poetic and it paints a picture to you and me. There was something that was happening inside the body of that prophet that he said, even though it's costing me, even though people don't want to hear it, I'm going to tell you what, I can't keep from doing it. And the apostle Paul was like him when he said, I was weary with forbearing. I got tired of holding back. I got weary of saying I'm not going to do this anymore because that fire welled up within me and I've just got to get it out. Jeremiah said, I could not stay. Yes, Paul, I see him wherever he was writing this letter. Maybe his hands were shaking. Maybe sweat was dripping off of his forehead as much as in me is. I'm ready to preach the Gospel to you that are in Rome also. He was looking forward to the trip, but he wasn't concerned about a sightseeing tour of the capital city of the known world. He wasn't just excited about making a journey across the waters. He wasn't even all that concerned that one day I'll be able to meet and mingle with royalty. But it came to him, there's a Gospel to be preached. There's somebody that needs to hear the Gospel of Christ. He says, I'm not ashamed of it. What caused all this excitement? It's because he believed in it. He believed that it worked. He remembered that day in Acts chapter 9 when he was struck down to the ground. He believed that the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. He said, so therefore, I'm not ashamed of it, for I know it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. To the people with the religious background, the Jew. To those who were full of superstition and philosophies, to the Greek. For every soul from the brightest to the dimmest, to the smartest to the dumbest, to the most experienced to the one with no experience. I believe that the Gospel will save whosoever will, if he'll just believe. I believe the Apostle Paul is saying here, I've got confidence in this Gospel. If I can get it to you, if I can get it to you, and you hear it, and you absorb it, it's going to change your life. He said there's power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the way that Paul went about it, you know, you remember his past. The Bible tells us what Paul was. The persecutor that he was. And he put all into it. He'd travel. He'd beg letters. Hail people and put them into prisons and cause some to be put to death. But he came to the place one day. He said, now I just press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. He used the same word there. He says, where I press toward the mark. It's the same word that when he wrote to the church at Corinth that he said, so I persecuted the Christians. I persecuted the church of the living God. It's the same word. So all I see the Apostle Paul saying is, this is hard. As I went at it, after a way, and to persecute God, I've done a 180. And I'm putting all into it right now. And just like I did that, I'm giving everything I've got. I'm pressing toward the mark. And I'm preaching this Gospel. Because I know it will save people's souls. We continue on in the reading. Verse 17, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Where? In the Gospel. In the Gospel of Christ, the righteousness of God is revealed. Jesus had already spoken to seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. That's what we have. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus said them words. Awful good words. And history tells us about Martin Luther, that 16th century reformer. How the story of his life. He grew up in poverty. And when he was young, when he would go to school, here's what would happen as a student in school. Every time he got an answer wrong when he was asked, he got a mark on a slate. That mark stayed there. And it added up all week long. And every day, every wrong answer got a mark. At the end of the week, the schoolmaster would spank for every mark on that slate. One blow for one mark. When that one blow went, it was removed. And after so many blows, after so many spankings, the slate was clean. That's how Martin Luther lived. That's how he saw things. I make a mistake, I must pay for my mistakes. And so the story goes. History says that he grew up and his daddy wanted him to be a lawyer. So sent him to law school because he was a bright man. Brilliant young man. He got to law school. And he was doing well in his studies. And one day, as he's walking along the road in a rainstorm, he already felt like, this isn't really what I ought to be doing. He felt like he should be in a monastery somewhere. He should be a monk. That's what he really felt like. So as he's walking down the road one day in a rainstorm, and the storm got so bad, it knocked him down to the ground. He got up and he prayed to Saint Anne. The one that he'd been taught to pray to. He said, that's it! I'm going to the monastery! He went back to school, threw a party for his friends, gave away all of his stuff, all of his textbooks, and went and moved into a monastery. And there began a miserable life for Martin Luther. Because all he thought, if I could get away, there's no temptations in the monastery, I can study the Word of God all day long. I can make up for all the bad that I've done. And to say that he would go to confessionals every day, he would sit on one side of a wall, and a man would sit on the other side of the wall, and Martin Luther would begin to confess his sins to that man on the other side of the wall. They say he would spend four hours in the confessional booth. So it ended up that man told him one day, come back when you bring something worth confessing. And so it got to the place that he would continue to say things that he felt like he had done wrong. And he had no peace in his soul for it. He would continue to confess, and when he got done, he was afraid of all the things that he forgot that he had done, that he had not openly confessed. And he lived that way! So somebody said, you know what? You need to get a hold of yourself. You need to get a hold of yourself. He said, how about we make you a teacher here? You be a lecturer. So that's what he did. He dove into his studies, and he began to study the Bible. The best thing he could have done right then and there was get into the Word of God. And he as a lecturer would stand before those students, and he came to the place in the 22nd Psalm, and he knew it was the prophetic words, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? He knew what that was talking about. It was Jesus that was coming. He said, and it perplexed him, why would God forsake Jesus? He was perfect. He was sinless. He had never done anything wrong. He said, I'd understand God forsaking me. I'm a wicked man. I can't get rid of my own sins. But he said, I can't understand why He would do that to Jesus. Why Jesus would hang on a cross, forsaken of the Father. Never got over it. He continued to teach. One time he got to the book of Romans. Well, before he got to the book of Romans, he was asked. He was doing so well in his studies. He was commissioned by the Catholic Church. We want you to go to Rome. Because there's some doctrines that are starting to come up, and we want you to argue on behalf of the Roman church, and you tell them straighten it all out. So he went. He went. And he got up there and he debated. But he was really disappointed by what he was seeing in the church. He saw people that were real high ranking. They weren't real serious. I mean, here he is doing everything he can in a monastery out in the middle of nowhere, and he sees these living lavishly, and they're saying their prayers, and they don't hardly mean them. And he just didn't understand. But he went back, and he started teaching. He went to the book of Romans, and he reached the place where we're reading that today. And he got to that place where he says, the just shall live by faith. He read that Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. He read that the righteousness of God is revealed within the Gospel. That the mystery that I could not understand and that I could not attain to was revealed. Curtains were pulled back. A veil was torn down. And that which I could not understand, the Gospel of Christ, opened the doors, and I saw the just shall live by faith. The Gospel taught that lesson. The Gospel was what uncovered the righteousness of God, and how, somehow, the righteousness of Almighty God could be imputed onto the soul of a man. It just never occurred to him how that could happen. He had spent his life trying to outdo his wrongs. He thought if I could go to Rome and argue on behalf of the church, that will elevate me, and that will get rid of a lot of my sins. That will wash away some of the things on my slate. But it never happened. He never found peace in his works. But when he discovered the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it made all the difference. The Gospel uncovered the righteousness of God and revealed to him how a man could truly be holy. Here the Apostle Paul, as he writes there to the Roman church, he makes sure to say, I didn't come up with this on my own. He said, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. He's quoting the prophet Habakkuk 2. He says, the just shall live by his faith. Now, the prophet Habakkuk had his own problems. That prophet opens up his prophecies and he begins complaining. Nobody's listening to me. People are living like they want to live. I'm telling them right and they're not doing it. I'm trying to show them the way. I'm trying to get them to the right place. But nobody is listening. Paul knew Habakkuk the prophet. He was well-versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. He knew what the prophet was talking about. He knew that the prophet was frustrated because he preached. Just like today, we can preach against sin, the sins that's written in this Bible, and you'll have people rise up and scoff at it and mock it and make fun of it and dive themselves into more and more wickedness. That's what Habakkuk was preaching. That's what he was trying to get across. And he couldn't get that message across. And so he begins to complain to God. Because he said, I know you're holy. And I know you're not going to put up with all this mess. But Habakkuk 2, the prophet declares this. I'm just going to simply sit back and I'm waiting. See what I hear from God. I'm just going to wait, God. I don't know what else to do in this point. And God answers him. And God says this. Write the vision. Make it plain. So that everybody who hears, there's no mistaking what I'm talking about. God said, I know the difference between the proud heart. I know the difference between that heart that has not bowed himself to God. But I know the just. And the just shall live by his faith. That's what Paul was talking about here. He says that he knows what this man was talking about. And today, it's the same. The just shall live by his faith. Now in this six-word phrase, the just shall live by faith, there's three words that I think really stick out to me. The first one is just. The second one is live. The third one is faith. Just. Live. Faith. I want to talk a little bit about that second word. Live. Live. So before we get to faith, and it won't be this morning. Don't worry about that. Before we get to faith, I want to talk about the just man who lives. He said it is the just man who lives. The just shall live. Who is this just man that Paul talks about right here? He's talking about somebody who's holy. He's talking about somebody who's righteous. He's talking about somebody who does right. Bayer's Greek to English lexicon says it's one who observes the divine laws. It's one whose actions, feelings, and thinking is entirely conformed to the will of Almighty God. That's the just man. That's the righteous man. He is a man that is approved by God. He is a man who has been made acceptable unto God. And when one gets saved, one does not just simply get saved to get a place in heaven. He doesn't just deliver from some habits, but the Bible says we are saved from sin. And until an individual gets saved from sin, he is still in his sins. And until he is saved from his sins, he is guilty before God and unrighteous. And he is not eligible for life. But the just, the righteous, how are you going to get righteous? Well, the Gospel tells us that it's imparted to us by Jesus Christ Himself. It is the one who is just who will find no guile within Him. No lying. No falsehood. It's the one who is not in love with this world. It's the one whose affections are set on things above and not on things of the earth. He's the one that God calls glorious. And not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but is holy and without blemish. This is the one who is righteous according to God's definition of righteous and not man's own definition of righteous. This is the man, the just man is the man who is free from sin. David said it's the one who has clean hands and a pure heart. There is no way that anybody can honestly read through this Bible and not understand that God is holy. You can't do it. You cannot read through this Bible with an honest heart and miss that God is holy. You will not miss that in this Bible, man is taught you must be holy if you're going to live. And that God expects holiness from us. So while I deal with this word live, keep in mind, it's the just man who lives. The Bible here says it's the holy man. The righteous man that shall live. Some of you may remember back in the 80's the cathedrals made a song famous. Carol Magruder wrote it. I just started living. He's talking about when he was born again by the Spirit of God. That when there came a change in his life and he passed from death unto life. I just started living. He's not talking about having breath in his lungs and a heart that beats. He's talking about having the life from Almighty God because righteousness has entered into his soul. Because before that, the Bible describes to us in the book of Ephesians chapter 4, we were dead in trespasses and sins. There was a time that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church and he said we had the sentence of death in ourselves. He said those that are given to lasciviousness or unbridled lusts and whose understanding is darkened, these are alienated from life. It's the dead. And you remember in Luke chapter 15 where the Bible tells us of the prodigal son. That father thought back to the time before that boy came home. He said he was dead. He understood the spiritual condition of his son while he was away from righteousness. While he wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he devoured his living with harlots, he was a dead man. But the just man, the holy man, the righteous man is the one who has life. The just shall live. Brothers and sisters, one of the most quoted Scriptures that we know in the Bible, John chapter 10 and verse 10, Jesus said, I am come that they might have life. He wasn't come to excuse everyone's sins. He did not come to overlook everybody's unrighteousness. He did not come and turn his head at the wickedness. But He came to make man righteous so that they might live. I believe that it's clear in the Bible that God wants us to live. And the only way to live is to be just. To be holy. To be righteous. To recognize that it was God Himself that ever brought any one of you to the place where you could be holy. Go ahead. Quit the habits. Go ahead. Change your clothes. Go ahead and quit going to them places. But you're still carrying around. You've still got that slate full of those check marks for all the wrong answers because they hadn't been paid for yet. But when the Gospel of Jesus Christ reaches an individual, comes inside of one, makes him righteous out of an unrighteous man so that you may live. But the enemy of your soul does not want you to live. That same verse, John 10 and 10, begins this way, The thief cometh not but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy. So, he presents to you things that will prohibit life and make you unrighteous. Make no mistake. Be not deceived. You've got King James Bibles, right? Romans 6 and verse 23. If you haven't turned there this morning, if you've not looked it up, let me guarantee you that it still says, The wages of sin is death. The just shall live, but the sinner shall die. The Apostle Paul said that it was sin that deceived me. It was sin that slew me. James carried on with this theme and he said, look, every man is tempted when he's drawn away of his own lust and enticed. But when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. And sin, when it is finished, it bringeth forth death. Even if you've had life within you. Even if it makes a just man unjust. Sin will do it every time. Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth sin. And James issues an ominous warning. Be not deceived. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Don't make a mistake here. Don't think that you can sin and get by. So I want to tell you that you need to do things, stay away from things that would prohibit life in you. You've got to rid yourself of things that are associated with death. Several weeks ago, I walked into an office to have a conversation and I noticed on the individual's desk sitting there is this skull. I said, a skull, huh? You know, skull is the head. No skin. No brain. No eyes. A skull. And I was told it was a gift. It was a gift. I said, well, I'd be concerned about what kind of message somebody was sending me if they gave me for a gift a skull. I don't think I'd display it proudly. I believe that I would be concerned about just what they were trying to imply. I want to live. So I want the holiness of God. I want the righteousness of Christ. I want to be just. I want to be holy. I want to be innocent. I want to be pure in heart, for they shall live. You and I are tempted. The Bible says that Elias was tempted. He's a man of like passions, just like you and I are. Jesus Christ Himself was tempted. But the Bible says, yet without sin. And these temptations, where are they coming from? A thief. A thief who seeks to destroy. So I want to tell you, make your election and your calling sure. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. An entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the Kingdom, the everlasting Kingdom of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Brother Austin, would you come to the piano please? Psalm 24, verses 3 and 4. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. The just shall live. The just shall live. Jesus Himself said, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Holiness is still right. People can deny it. People can act like it doesn't matter. People can try to redefine it. But this Bible is still standing and it still reads right. Jesus' words are still there. The inspiration of the Holy Ghost is still upon it. And it is the just that shall live. Will you stand with me? The just shall live. The sinners shall die. There comes a point in the book of Revelation the Bible describes as a second death. It's bad enough. Somebody might suffer in this life and leave this world in a mess. But to awaken to a second death, there's one way to escape it. You've got to be holy. You've got to maintain holiness. You're going to have to live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And today, it's the same as it's ever been. The just shall live by faith. Father, thank You so much for Your mercy on every one of us. I thank You for this Gospel which we preach, which we live by, which we have confidence in, for it is the power of God under salvation. It is the Gospel which has revealed the holiness of God, the righteousness of God from faith to faith. And the Gospel tells us how to get righteous. So I'm praying today, God, You see every one of us. We've got little ones, Lord. They've not truly responded to the Gospel yet. And Lord, maybe we've got some today who've slipped up and they've put a checkmark by living wrong on their slate. And I pray that it be erased today through the confession of sins. And I pray You'll have Your way in this altar in the name of Jesus. Now, we come to this place, the altar service. And I want to make a call. The Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ saves the sinner. It reveals the righteousness of God. It shows us how we can rid ourselves of all sin and unrighteousness. So if there's anyone in this place today not yet crossed over, your slate still has those marks. They can all be erased today by the blood of Jesus Christ. So is there any? That you've got something that's bothering you. You've got sin that's hindering you. You've got something that's causing death within your soul. God wants you to live. And He promises that the just shall live. Anybody today, you want to step out? Get into this altar. Get rid of something. Get rid of some sin. I'm not talking about doing something so that you can pay for it yourself. No, no, no. I'm saying confess it to the One who can take it away. His name is Jesus. Alright, church, let's come on in. Let's spend us a season of prayer. Let's do as the psalmist asks. Search me, Lord, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting. He'll do it. He'll do it! We have heard the joyful sound Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Spread the gladness all around Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Bear the news to every land. Climb the steeps and cross the waves. Onward is our Lord's command. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Wash it all, the rolling tide. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Tell to sinners far and wide Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Sink the islands of the sea. Echo back the ocean waves. Our hearts shall sing our jubilee. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Sing above the rank sinner. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Power in the gospel. Power to save the sinner. Sing it softly through the gloom. When the heart for mercy craves. Sing and try it for the tomb. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Give the winds a mighty voice. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Let the nations now rejoice. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Shout salvation full and free. Highest hill and deepest cave. This our song of victory. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. We have heard the joyful sound. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Spread the gladness all around. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Bear the news to every land. Climb the hills, the heaps, and cross the waves. Onward is our Lord's command.