Character development is said to be the most important work ever entrusted to human beings. During the next hour, we will explore both our privilege and our responsibility, to become Christ-like in character. Join us now for this powerful time of personal renewal, as Pastor Stephen Wallace takes us “From Glory to Glory.”

Welcome back, my friends. We are on Lesson 11, entitled “Justified By His Blood.” {Rom 5:9} We are going to be making a transition in this study, from a consideration of the revelation phase of Christ’s twofold mission to a consideration of the restoration phase of Christ’s twofold mission. Remember, the Father sent the Son not only to reveal God’s glory to man, but what else? To restore God’s glory in man. And I trust you remember that the restoration was dependent upon the revelation.

Why? Only in beholding can we be changed. Therefore He had to reveal the glory to us that we might behold it, and thereby have it restored in us. And though the glory was revealed right from the day man sinned in the establishment of the sacrificial system, those two lambs that gave their lives that our first parents might be clothed with garments of skin. {Gen 3:21} That was not a sufficient revelation. The revelation was amplified and beautified in the sanctuary and its services {Ex 25:8}, but that was still only a type, therefore not sufficient. So in fullness of time {Dan 9:24}, type had to meet antitype. And when He did, how did John introduce Him? “Behold the Lamb of God.” {Jn 1:29.36} And it is there my dear friends, in the Lamb – especially slain, hanging upon the cross – that we behold the glory. {GC 651.2} And that’s what we’ve been focusing on here in our last study, and the preceding ones.

But I want now to consider with you what the revelation made possible, and that is the restoration. Praise God that He revealed His glory to us in Jesus Christ. But my dear friends, praise God as well that by so doing He can now restore His glory in us. Amen?  This is where it gets exciting. This is where it gets exciting.

But again, spiritual things are only what? Spiritually discerned. {1 Cor 2:13-14} So before we press on, what must we pause to do? Personally, and I underscore the word personally – corporate prayer is appropriate, it’s valuable, but it cannot possibly take the place of personal prayer. So please, personally invite God’s Spirit into your heart, and remember your brother as you pray for yourself, please.

Father God, once again we come boldly into Your presence in the name of Jesus. We thank You that on the basis of His worthiness we have an audience with You. We thank You for helping us to behold His glory, especially in the closing scenes of His life here on Earth. But Father, help us to realize that He went to those infinite lengths to reveal Your glory to us, that He might now restore Your glory in us. And Father, help us to understand the provisions whereby this may take place, and how we are to cooperate with those provisions of grace. Father, guide and direct my thoughts and words, I want to speak truth and only truth, the truth as it is in Jesus. By the Spirit of Truth, work a miracle and let me be Your messenger boy tonight, I pray. And I pray that the truth might be heard, understood, valued, and applied to the lives of everyone here tonight, that we might experience more fully than ever before its liberating, sanctifying power. By the Spirit of Truth make this possible, is my prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.

There’s one more line that I want to consider with you quickly, from the Lord’s Prayer. And again where is the Lord’s Prayer? John 17. We noted verses 4 and 5, but we didn’t get to verse 6. Let me do that quickly with you. He says in verse 4: “I have glorified You on the earth, I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” And then that remarkable request in verse 5, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” And that is followed by the remarkable statement that He makes in verse 6: “I have,” what? “manifested Your name…” “I have” what? “manifested Your name.”

Do you remember our first night together? I think it was our first night together. {L02, p. 4} We listened in on that remarkable conversation between Moses and God on Mount Sinai. And Moses said to God, “I pray Thee, show Me Thy glory.” {Ex 33:18} And what did God say? “I will proclaim My name.” {Ex 33:19} And we came to recognize that in the proclamation of His name, we had the revelation of His glory, which turned out to be His character. Indeed His name is simply the enunciation, the pronunciation of the virtues that constitute His character. The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty. {Ex 34:5-7} Those are the virtues that constitute the character of God. But it’s interesting that on Mount Sinai, the best God could do was to proclaim His name by word. Are you following this? But was that a sufficient revelation? No.

The proclaimed name had to become the manifested name. The Word had to become flesh. {Jn 1:14} Do you see that?

You see, when you proclaim something, how do you communicate it? By word, verbally. When you manifest something how do you communicate it? You live it out in your life. Do you see what Jesus is saying here? …when He says, “I have manifested Your name”? He’s saying, “I have personated You, Father. I have revealed Your character in My entire life. I have manifested all of those virtues that constitute Your character.” And where did He ultimately do that? As He hangs on the cross, my dear friends. Behold Christ and Him crucified. {1 Cor 2:2} Do you not see, do you not have irrefutable, undeniable evidence that indeed the Lord, the Lord God is merciful and gracious and long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth that He keeps mercy for thousands that he forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin, and that He by no means clears the guilty? Isn’t His justice perfectly revealed, as well as His mercy, in Christ and Him crucified? Amen?

You see, how is it that God can forgive the guilty? Does He do that just by ignoring their sin and sweeping it under a carpet? No. He has taken our sins and laid them on the guiltless head of His Son. {Is 53:6} And exhausted the requirement of the law against every sin we have committed. And now, because justice has been exhausted on the head of the Lamb, mercy can flow exhaustlessly upon our heads as we come to the foot of the cross and receive the Lamb, by faith, as our Savior. Amen? Both the justice and the mercy of God are perfectly and fully revealed in Christ and Him crucified; as well as every other attribute of His character.

So, with His dying breath, what is Christ able to say to the Father? “It is finished!” Oh, I love that victory cry. John 19:30; top of page 25: “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowing His head, and gave up His spirit.” In other words, He died. “It is finished.” Who was that addressed to? The Father. What was it in reference to? Everything that He had been sent to planet earth to accomplish. What is He saying in essence? “Mission accomplished. Father I did it. Everything You asked Me to do, I’ve done. It is finished.”

Now work with me on this. The Father, as we have already noted and established from Scripture, had sent the Son on a twofold mission, right? What was that twofold mission, class? Encourage me now; He was sent to what?

Reveal God’s glory to man and what else? Restore God’s glory in man.

Now all of us can readily recognize, I trust particularly after these last studies, how His mission to reveal God’s glory to man, was certainly finished, fully accomplished at the point of His death. In fact, it was by virtue of His death that He was adding the infinitely glorious finishing touches to a beautiful picture that His whole life had been painting, right? But in making that infinite sacrifice, and in suffering infinitely for the love of man, He was fully a revelation of the brightness of His Father’s glory. {Heb 1:3} He revealed an infinitely perfect character. So that victory cry, “It is finished,” certainly, certainly comprehends phase 1, the revelation phase.

My question to you is, does it also comprehend phase 2? …the restoration phase? I’ve got a divided house here and most of you are conscientious cowards, and you’re not saying anything. Some of you are saying no, and some of you are saying yes, very discreetly. You understand the question? That victory cry, “It is finished,” we all recognize that it comprehends the revelation phase, correct? I mean, we can all see that. At the point of His death, indeed by virtue of His death, He had perfectly, fully, completely revealed God’s glory, God’s character, to the human race, and as well to the onlooking universe.

By the way, there is a cosmic dimension to what’s going on here. {PK 684.3}

But my question is, does that victory cry, “It is finished,” comprehend the restoration phase as well? He came not only to reveal God’s glory to man, but to restore God’s glory in man. I’ve got nos and yeses. My dear friends, I hope we’ll all see and agree that the answer is yes. Those of you who said no, please, before you write me off as a heretic, come let us reason together {Is 1:18}, okay? Work with me on this. I believe with my whole heart, that victory cry, “It is finished,” comprehended not only the revelation phase, but the restoration phase. How? In what sense? In what sense did Christ fully restore God’s glory in man, at the point of his death? In what sense?

In two ways – think with me on this. First of all He, at the point of His death, fully restored God’s glory in man in that He did so in Himself, as the representative man, in our behalf. Are we all together? Can we all see that? You see, you’ve got to consent to that because if you agree that Christ had fully revealed God’s glory to us, you’ve got to recognize that He had fully restored it in Himself in order to do that. Right? And was He a man? Was He? Yes, He was a man. He was the second Adam {1 Cor 15:45-47}, the head of a new race, a representative man. And my dear friends, He fully restored God’s glory in Himself in our behalf. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen}

Let me established that from the pen of inspiration. Atlantic Union Gleaner, August 26, 1903: “He came,” He, God, the Son, Jesus Christ, “He came to this earth and stood at the head of humanity,” Second Adam, new head for a new race, “He came to this earth, and stood at the head of humanity, to work out for you and for me, a faultless character by obedience to God’s law.”

Question: Had He done that at the point of His death? Had He? Come on, I need an answer. Had He done that at the point of His death? Yes, absolutely, no question. He had worked out, for you and for me, a faultless character by obedience to God’s law. Therefore He had fully restored God’s glory in man, in that He done so in Himself as the representative man, and in our behalf. Are we all together? Good.

There is a second way though. There is a second way in which even the restoration phase was accomplished at the point of His death; and don’t miss this. It was also accomplished at the point of His death in that by virtue of His death, He was making freely and readily available to whosoever will come and accept it, every necessary provision whereby God’s glory might be restored in us, for Christ’s sake. Let me repeat that: The second way in which He had restored God’s glory in man… The second way in which He had restored God’s glory in man, was that at the point of His death, indeed by virtue of His death, He was making fully and freely available to whosoever will come and receive it, every necessary provision whereby God’s glory might be restored in us for Christ’s sake.

Let’s boil it down this way: Christ restored God’s glory in Himself for our sake, and He made full and complete provision whereby His glory might be restored in us, for His sake.

Does that help? Do you see how that works? I’ll repeat it: Christ fully restored God’s glory in Himself for our sake, as our representative head, but He also made full and complete provision whereby His glory might be restored in us, for His sake. Okay?

Now, this full and complete provision that was made readily available by virtue of His death, to whosoever will come and receive it – What is this full and complete provision? It is twofold. It is what class? It is twofold. And it is the subject of the next several studies. What is this twofold provision of grace? I believe with all of my heart that we have it symbolized in what happens just minutes after that victory cry, “It is finished.” Pick up the story with me in John 19:34. I’m going to turn in my Bible to that passage because I want to take a little more in than I have recorded for you there. John chapter 19, you might want to turn there in your Bible as well. Just to get our bearings, let’s pick it up at verse 30, okay? John 19:30: “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” Verse 31: “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day,” What day is that? Friday. “that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high Sabbath” – pause.

What makes a Sabbath a high Sabbath? That’s when one of the feast day Sabbaths, which are at a given date, and thereby rotate through the week, like Christmas does: one year it’s Monday, next year it’s Tuesday, next year it’s Wednesday. The feast day Sabbaths were at a given date and therefore rotated through the week. And every seven years, they would inevitably land on the seventh day. And that made it a double or a high Sabbath. Do you understand that? Now, when you have a high Sabbath it is very special, and you want to honor it in a very special way. So the professional Sabbath keepers, what were they really nervous and anxious about? Having bodies on a cross – couldn’t do that and keep the Sabbath.

So listen: “Therefore, because it was the preparation day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high day – the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.” Now, why did they want to break their legs? So they would die quickly and they could take the bodies and bury them quickly before Sabbath came. You see they didn’t want to break the Sabbath, and so they’re in a hurry to get the Lord of the Sabbath {Mk 2:28} off the cross, whom they’ve just crucified, so they won’t break the Sabbath.

My dear friends, please don’t think that that kind of hypocrisy is the exclusive domain of the scribes and Pharisees. We’re capable of that kind of hypocrisy too. Will you acknowledge that? That’s human nature on display; that’s all of us. Now usually, death by crucifixion is a long, drawn-out affair, excruciatingly painful. But if you break the legs, then the victim can no longer support himself. The legs won’t, of course, hold him up anymore if they’re broken. Therefore all of the bodyweight is hanging on the arms, there is a constriction of the chest and one soon suffocates, can’t breath. Now in the case of the thieves, that was a very merciful thing to happened to them because they died quickly. But look at the story; verse 32: “Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.”

By the way they couldn’t. Why? Because the sure word of prophecy said not one bone of His body would be broken. {Ps 34:20} You can’t mess with Scripture.

But just to make sure, because perhaps He was only in a coma or unconscious, what did one of the soldiers do? Verse 34: “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately,” listen my friends; “immediately,” what happened? “blood and water came out.” Now, this is… this is very important to notice how important it is to John, that we know with assurance that this actually happened. Look at the next verse: “And he who has seen has testified” What’s he assuring us of there? “Eyewitness report, not hearsay; I saw it myself.” Next line: “and his testimony is true;” “I’m telling you the truth; I’m telling you exactly what I personally saw.” Pretty important to him that we have the assurance that this happened, isn’t it? Next line: “and he knows that he is telling the truth.” “I have absolutely no doubt in my mind, I’m telling you the truth, I saw it myself. Blood and water flowed from the pierced side of Jesus.” Obviously it’s important to him that we know that that happened, isn’t it? Why? Next line: “So that you may believe.” Well okay, But why pray tell, John is it so important that we believe without any shadow of a doubt that blood and water flowed from the pierced side of Jesus? Why is that so important?

Now some people say, well it simply establishes the fact that Christ was the Messiah, because every detail of prophecy was fulfilled. And yes, that’s part of the answer; look at the next verse: “For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken.’ Verse 37: “And again another Scripture says: ‘They shall look on Him whom they have,’ what? ‘pierced.'” {Zech 12:10}

But please notice that John wants us to know that He was not only pierced, but that what happened? Blood and water flowed out. Now all the prophecy talks about is His being pierced. So obviously, the fact that blood and water flows out is more significant than simply a fulfillment of prophecy. Are you following this? Do you all see that? And it’s clearly important to John that we know, without any shadow of a doubt, that blood and water flowed from the pierced side of Jesus.

Okay, why John? Why is it so important? My dear friends, it is so very, very important because we have precisely in the blood and in the water beautifully symbolized the all-sufficient twofold provision of grace, whereby God’s glory might be restored in us, for Christ’s sake. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} We have symbolized in the blood and in the water the twofold provision of grace – the all-sufficient twofold provision of grace, whereby God’s glory might be restored in us, for Christ’s sake.

Now work with me on this, please. This is so exciting; this is such precious truth. The blood and the water, they can, indeed they must, be distinguished, but they can’t, they must not ever be separated. They cannot be separated; they must not ever be separated. Did you hear what we just said there? The blood and the water can be distinguished, but they cannot, they must not be separated, …must not. You see they flow from the same pierced side. They are the twofold provision of the same gracious Savior. And by the way, the same faith that accepts the blood will also accept the water. The blood and the water is where we are going to be turning our attention in our seminar at this point. And it this twofold provision that makes the restoration possible. You see where we’re going?

The blood, what does the blood do?

What’s the title of tonight’s study? What is it? “Justified by His Blood” {Rom 5:9} What does the blood do? It justifies us. What do you suppose the water does? It sanctifies us. The blood justifies, the water sanctifies.

My dear friends, please, work with me diligently to understand this twofold provision. Now, we’re going to have to take it one step at a time. And I want to let you know that I’m somewhat uncomfortable doing that, because, in a sense, I am separating the two just by studying one first, and then the other. And so I am strongly encouraging you to make sure that you come back for the rest of the story on the water. We’re going to focus on the blood first, and come to understand what the blood does, but please know, you’ve only got half of the twofold provision of grace in the blood. You’ve also got to understand and appreciate what the water does. Are you with me? So your staying by for the study on the blood is, I can conclude, a commitment to come back for the studies on the water, right? Can I conclude that? Because if I can’t conclude that, I’ll have to preach all night here and keep you here until you have the whole picture. Okay.

Well, the blood, let’s start with the blood. First of all, what does the blood do? Important question. Well no, let’s have a more basic one than that. What does the blood represent? What does the blood represent? The life, good. Scripture says, “The life is in the blood.” {Lev 17:11} So the blood of Christ represents the substitutionary life of Christ. Right? That life of perfect obedience. But is that all the blood represents? Bloodshed, what does that represent? Death, death. So please understand that the blood of Christ – This is important; we’re not just splitting hairs here. Please understand that the blood of Christ represents the substitutionary life and the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, both. Are you following this?

Now, if you want some theological terms, we can put it this way: the blood represents both the active and the passive obedience of Christ. Now let me explain that. “Active obedience of Christ,” what’s that? That’s His life of deliberate, conscientious compliance with all the requirements of the law, in our behalf.

Example: When He came down to the Jordan River to be baptized, what did John say to Him? “Not me. You, You me.” And Jesus said: “Suffer it to be that we might” what? “Fulfill all righteousness.” {Mat 3:15} Very interesting. Jesus was anxious to what? “Fulfill all righteousness.” He was anxious, in other words, to fill every requirement of the righteous law, in whose behalf? Was He getting baptized for Himself? Did He need to be baptized? Did He need to go through that ceremony that manifested cleansing from sin, dying to self? Did He need to do that for Himself? No. So who is He getting baptized for? For us. He was meeting every requirement of the law in our behalf. And His whole life was a life of conscious, deliberate obedience of every requirement of the law in our behalf. We call that “His active obedience.” Are you following me? And that is comprehended in His blood, for the life is in the blood – that life of perfect, active obedience is symbolized in the blood of Christ. Okay? Are we clear?

Now, the blood as it represents the sacrificial death of Christ, that is “His passive obedience.” What do we mean by passive obedience? Well, that’s His death. You see, Paul says in Philippians that He was obedient even unto death, the death of the cross. {Phil 2:8} But did He crucify Himself? No, He allowed Himself to be crucified. That’s why it’s called passive obedience; it was done to Him. He was fulfilling the requirement of the law regarding disobedience by allowing Himself to be crucified, to be murdered. Are you following this? We call that “His passive obedience.”

Now, the blood represents what then? Both the substitutionary life and sacrificial death of Jesus, both His active and His passive obedience. Are we all clear on this? Okay. Now, what does the blood do for us? What does the blood do for us? It justifies us. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} Romans 5:9, the text from which we take the title of our study: “Much more then, having now been justified by His,” what? “His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” “Saved from wrath through Him.” You see, by virtue of shedding His blood, Christ exhausted the wrath against sin in Himself so that we, when we accept the blood, don’t have to receive that wrath, amen? That’s what that cup {Mk 10:38-39} was all about. We don’t have to drink the cup because Jesus did, and He drank it to the dregs, …exhausted the wrath, the justice of God against sin in our behalf. {5BC 1108.3}

Now, justified: To be justified is to be freed from condemnation. As Scripture says in Hebrews 9:22: “…without shedding of blood there is no,” what? “no remission of sin.” Now, quickly let me ask you something here though. And there’s a very real struggle in certain areas and institutions of this church that have a very difficult time with this concept. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” Does that mean that we’ve got a blood-thirsty God? See, the reason that some people have a real problem with this concept, that blood has to be shed before God can forgive, is because they immediately equate that with the heathen concept where you’ve got to strangle an animal, you’ve got to slit its throat in order to appease an angry deity and, you know, get out from under his wrath and he’s got to see some blood flow before he’ll forgive you. Is that what’s going on here? My dear friends, please know that the reason there is no forgiveness, no remission of sin, without the shedding of blood, is not because we have a vengeful, blood-thirsty God. No. What is it?

Well, quickly, what is sin? It is a choice to reject God. Because when you choose to reject God’s authority, you choose to reject God Himself. Why? Because God is authority. And sin is rejection of God’s authority, it’s transgression of God’s law. {1 Jn 3:4} Now when you choose to reject God’s authority, since you’re choosing to reject God, you’re choosing what? Death. Why? Because God is the only source of life. Are you following this? Therefore when you sin, you have chosen to die. Are we all clear? God was trying to keep us from doing that by saying to our first parents, “In the day you eat thereof, thou shalt surely,” what? “die.” {Gen 2:17} And yet they chose to eat, therefore they chose to what? to die.

Now… my dear friends, the reason that God can’t just overlook our choice is because if He were to do that, He would be violating our free will. Remember, justice requires that our choice be honored. And so when man chose to sin, God was in a real bind. If He had just overlooked that and said: “Oh, I’ll forgive you for that; I’m not going to let you die.” Who would have stood before the whole universe, screaming at the top of his lungs, “I told you so! We are a bunch of robots. They choose death and God won’t even let them die.” Who would have done that? Satan. Don’t think he would’ve missed that opportunity. So my dear friends, this is precisely why without the shedding of blood, there’s no forgiveness of sin: because something, someone has to die to honor our choice… Are you with me? …if we are going to be forgiven and have our free will preserved at the same time. Is that clear to you? That is why Jesus Christ comes, and takes the consequence of our choice and sheds His blood to fulfill the requirement of the law that says, “The soul that sins shall,” what? “shall die.” {Ez 18:4.20} And thereby honor our choice and give us a chance to choose again. Very important to grasp that and understand that.

Now, back to what the blood does: It justifies us, okay? Justifies us. I say praise God for the blood; what do you say? {Amen} We are justified by the blood. But my friends, it is impossible to say “amen” as enthusiastically as you ought to unless you understand a few things first.

Let me illustrate: If I were to go out here on the streets of the local town after this meeting, and find a stranger, walk up to him and say, “Listen my friend, I just want you to know that by the blood of Christ, you’re justified.” Can I expect him to say, “Oh, thank you so much. Oh, that’s so good to know; I’m so deeply grateful for you to tell me that.” Can I expect that response? No; why? Well, there’s a few things he has to understand first. Right?

What does he need to understand? First of all, (1) he’s got to understand that he’s under condemnation, a death sentence, right? And needs to be justified. Secondly, (2) he’s got to understand what is required of him in order to be justified. If it’s not much that’s required then he’s not going to appreciate very much that the blood meets the requirement. Are you following the logic there? So he’s not only got to understand what is required to be justified, but (3) he’s got to understand that he is utterly incapable in himself to meet that requirement. Does that make sense? When he understands those things, then and only then is he in a position to truly appreciate the fact that by the blood the requirement which he cannot meet is met, and he is justified and brought out from under the sure sentence of death which his sins have brought on his head.

Now, that which holds true for the stranger in the local town, holds true for every one of us here in this room. And my dear friends, the reason why so many of us are nonplussed regarding the precious good news of the gospel, that by the blood of Christ we are justified, is because we ourselves don’t understand those things. Are you following this? We need to understand these things. So please work with me.

First of all, do we all recognize that we are under condemnation? Hopefully we all do. Why we are all under condemnation? Because “all have sinned,” and “the wages of sin is,” what? “death.” {Rom 6:23} “The soul that sins shall,” what? “die.” {Ez 18:4.20} Do you understand what’s required of you in order to be justified? And do you understand your utter incapacity and inability to meet that requirement? Work with me. What is required of us in order to be justified? What is required of us in order to be justified? I’m hearing bits and pieces, some parts of good answers. Let me read to you what is required of us in order to be justified. And this might worry some of you, but that’s okay. Romans 2:13. This is the apostle Paul writing: “…for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified.” What is required of us to be justified? Come on now, what is required? We must be doers of the law. Are we all together on that? I’m not saying that on my authority. I’m saying that on the authority of Scripture. The doers of the law will be justified. Okay?

If you’ve got a problem with that, your problem is not with me, it’s with Paul. What does that almost sound like? “The doers of the law will be justified.” What does that almost sound like? Righteousness by works, doesn’t it? Has Paul dropped the ball here? Has he slipped back into his pharisaical mode and messed up? …and become a legalist? In Romans 3:20… In Romans 2:13, has he slipped up here? No my dear friends. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” {2 Tim 3:16} including Romans 2:13. You see, please understand something. This is not legalism, not at this point. We get into legalism when we ourselves try to meet the requirement and thereby be justified. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen}

You see God is just and justifier {Rom 3:26}; what does that mean? That means that God does not justify anyone at the expense of the law. He honors the requirements of the law in the process of justifying us. That’s what the life and death of Jesus is all about. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} It’s being a doer of the law in our behalf, so that we by His doing and we by His dying might be justified. Are we clear on this? God does not justify anyone at the expense of the law. The beauty of the plan of salvation is that it has made available perfect fulfillment of the law in our behalf, by faith in Jesus Christ. It’s called righteousness by, what? …faith. It’s called righteousness by faith. Oh my friends, please, please understand that.

Now, only the doers of the law will be justified; let’s break it down. What is the requirement of the law… that we must doers of in order to be justified? First of all, what does the law require regarding anyone who has sinned? Ezekiel 18:4: “…the soul who sins shall,” what? “die.” Have any of us sinned? Thank you brother, I’m glad there are two of us. The rest of you are angels in disguise tonight. Have any of us sinned? Okay. All have sinned. {Rom 3:23} Okay, all of us have sinned. And what is the wages of sin? Romans 6:23: “Death,” okay? Now, since all of us have sinned and since the requirement of the law is death, if you have sinned, if you want to be a doer of the law, which you must be in order to be justified, what have you got to do? You’ve got to die for your sins. Are we all together? Only the doers of the law are justified. The law says if you’ve sinned, you must die for your sins. If you’re going to be a doer of the law as a sinner, what have you got to do? You’ve got to die for your sins. You can’t argue out of that.

Now praise God that there’s a couple of ways you can meet that requirement though. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} First of all, you can choose to meet it yourself. And you know, the absolutely, amazing, astounding thing is that the vast majority of the human race will do just that. They will choose to meet the requirement of the law against sin themselves. What insanity, what incredible insanity. And what will God the Father have to do, if we insist on dying for our sins? What will He have to do? He will have to let us die eternally for our sins. Please don’t make that choice! Please don’t make that choice.

At infinite cost to Himself and to His Son, He has made a beautiful alternative. An option: You can choose to accept by faith, the blood of Jesus, as it represents His sacrificial death, and by faith in His blood, you can meet the requirement of the law against your sins – because Jesus is dying…, did die for your sins. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} He didn’t die for His own. All of our sins were reckoned to Him, and He died for them to meet the requirement of the law in our behalf. Please choose to accept by faith His blood as it represents His sacrificial death, that the requirement of the law regarding your sins, may be fulfilled in your behalf by faith in the blood of Jesus. Are we clear on that? But we’re not through; we’re not through.

Remember the blood not only represents the sacrificial death, the blood represents what? The substitutionary life. How does that fit in? Hang on; work with me. You see, the requirement of the law is not only that all disobedience be paid for in full, the law also requires that we have perfect what? obedience. Are you with me? How perfect? When Jesus is preaching on the law there on the sermon on the mount, He sums up that remarkable study with these words in verse 48, Matthew 5:48: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Wow. But you’d only expect that; after all, what’s the law? The transcript of God’s character. {RH, February 4, 1890 par. 1} How perfect is God? Infinitely perfect. Therefore, how perfect is the standard? Infinitely perfect. Are you hearing the language we’re using here? …very intentionally.

Listen; Christ’s Object Lessons, page 315: “God requires perfection of His children. His law is a transcript of His own character, and it is the standard of all character. This infinite standard,” What kind of standard, class? “This infinite standard is presented to all that there may be no mistake in regard to the kind of people whom God will have to compose His kingdom.” It’s an infinite standard, the law. Psalm 119:96, listen to David: “I have seen the consummation of all perfection but Your commandment is exceedingly broad.” It goes beyond measurement, it’s infinite.

Manuscript 21, Manuscript Release volume 21, page 409, listen: “As God’s chosen people we are to be in every sense what He desires us to be. We are to render strict obedience to the law spoken by Christ from Sinai. This law is God’s standard of character, and there can be no comparison between it and anything the human mind can frame. It is an unchangeable standard of absolute perfection set up by the infinite God. Unaided the human mind cannot comprehend it. An expression of the character of God, it is as high as heaven and beyond measurement…” What kind of a standard is this? Beyond measurement, infinite.

Here’s another one just to drive it home. Selected Messages, volume 1, page 198: “The righteousness of God is absolute. His righteousness characterizes all His works, all His laws. As God is, so must His people be.” What does that sound like? The words of Jesus: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Do you hear, my dear friends, the requirement of the law? Do you hear it? It requires perfection equal to who? God. Is it enough to hear it? No, no, no, no, no. Not the hearers of the law are justified, but the what? The doers of the law. {Rom 2:13}

Bless your hearts, I have a question for you tonight. How are you doing? How are you doing at meeting this infinite standard? Do you have an obedience that you are prepared to offer God as sufficient to meet the infinite standard of righteousness? Do you have it? Does anyone here have it in themselves? Come on now… What does the same verse that told us “all have sinned,” go on to say to us? “…all have sinned and,” what? “come short of the glory,” {Rom 3:23} What’s glory? Character. What’s the transcript of that? The law.

By the way, in the Greek that’s in the present active tense. Check it out sometime. Remember, present active tense means ongoing, continuous action, whatever that action is. In this case, it’s falling short. In other words, what Paul is saying there is all have sinned, i.e., transgressed the law, and all of us continue to come short of that infinite standard. How many of us? All of us. You mean even the most sanctified saint? Yes. Even the most sanctified saint still comes short. And by the way, the most sanctified saint is the first to acknowledge it.

Oh, my friends, what is our problem? We are fallen, and in that condition all of our righteousnesses are as what? Filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…” And that’s a mild translation of the Hebrew there, by the way, filthy rags. I’m not comfortable telling you what the Hebrew actually says. Maybe we’ll get to it later. That’s the good things we do: our righteousnesses, they’re as filthy rags. Can you imagine what the bad things must be like? And why? Because we’re all unclean, and in this unclean condition, the very best we do is filthy. What are we unclean with? We are unclean with the slime of selfishness, and it defiles even our best good deeds. Steps to Christ, page 62: “It was possible,” please note, what tense is that? Past tense, that’s history, that’s something that used to be but isn’t anymore. “It was possible for Adam, before the fall,” for Adam when? “before the fall to form a righteous character by obedience to God’s law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen, and we cannot make ourselves righteous.” …because of whose sin? “his sin.” Our natures are what? “…fallen, and we cannot make ourselves righteous.” “Since we are sinful,” please notice, we’re not told since we become sinful. We’re told, “Since we” what? “are sinful…” “unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law.” We cannot obey? No. “…we cannot” what? “perfectly obey the holy law.” “We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God.” Are we all together? Can we all say “amen” to that? {Amen} Do you all recognize that? “In our fallen condition we have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God.” Is that true of even the most sanctified saint though?

Oh, and here is the trap that so many fall into. So many say, “Well, that’s the state, that’s the condition, and that’s the situation that the unconverted are in. But when I’m converted and I have the power of the Holy Spirit then I can produce an obedience that meets the standard of infinite righteousness.” Oh my dear friends, even the most sanctified saint still comes short. Listen, Sanctified Life, page 81: “Those who have genuine love for God will manifest an earnest desire to know His will and to do it. But he who is truly seeking for holiness of heart and life delights in the law of God and mourns only that he falls so far short of meeting its requirements.” Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} Those who are truly seeking for holiness of heart and life, what are they doing? They’re mourning only that they fall so far short. And this is what scares me about Laodicea. They think that they’re what? “…rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing, and they don’t even know that they are wretched, poor, blind, miserable and naked.” {Rev 3:17}

So my friends, where are we going to get a righteousness, an obedience that will meet the infinite standard? We’ve got to have it if we’re going to be justified. Only the doers of the law will be justified. {Rom 2:13} Only those who have an obedience that meets the standard that says, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” {Mat 5:48} Only those who have an obedience that meets that standard will be justified. Where are we going to find it? Can we ever find it in ourselves? No, so where we’re we going to have to find it? We’re going to have to find it some place else. And praise God, it is to be found in the person of Jesus Christ. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} And it is ours by faith in His blood, but in His blood this time as it represents His substitutionary life, His active obedience. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen}

Did that life meet the infinite standard? Did it? Yes! Yes! He was the brightness of His Father’s glory. {Heb 1:3} In Him dwelt the fullness of the godhead bodily. {Col 2:9} Jesus Christ had an obedience that met the infinite standard. Listen, Testimonies, volume 6 page 60: “…the life of Christ reveals an infinitely perfect character.” Would an infinitely perfect character meet the infinite standard? Yes. Did Jesus have a perfection equal to God the Father’s? Yes. He said, “If you’ve seen Me you’ve,” what? “you’ve seen the Father.” {Jn 14:9} Scripture says He’s the express image of the Father, the brightness of His glory. {Heb 1:3} Jesus had all the perfection that the law requires. And Jesus has all the perfection we need to be doers of the law by faith in His blood. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} That’s the gospel, my dear friends, that’s the gospel.

Steps to Christ, 62, listen to this: “We have no righteousness of our own with which we meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness.” Is that a good deal? “If you give yourself to Him and accept Him as your Savior, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are” what? “accounted righteous,” on what basis? Listen: “Christ’s character stands in place of your character and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.” Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} That infinitely perfect character, when you come to the foot of the cross and accept by faith the blood of Jesus that is credited to your account. His character stands in place of your character. That’s why you are accounted righteous, because, though you aren’t in yourself, you are by faith in Him. And you are thereby justified, not on the basis of what you have done – not on the basis of your doing, anymore than on the basis of your dying – but on the basis of the doing and the dying of your Savior, Jesus Christ, you are justified. Praise God for the blood. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen} Let’s stand for prayer.

Father in heaven, thank you so much that by the blood we are justified. But thank You as well for the water, because if we are going to be ready to live in heaven, we not only need to be justified, we need to be sanctified. So bring us back as we continue in our studies. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen. God bless you, friends.