God Loves… Himself

We continue in thinking about justification. In previous weeks we have looked at how true justification and the true Gospel must be to the glory of God and destroy the pride of man. God saves sinners in such a way that it exalts His glory and shatters the pride of man. Last week we looked at the basic concept of the term “justification” and how justification is forensic in nature. Forensic justification is a justification that points to God’s declaration of justification and that it is also a legal declaration. We set out some verses from Romans chapter 3 (repeated below) and tried to demonstrate that justification is a legal declaration of God regarding sinners and not man’s efforts to keep the law in order to be declared just or God’s working in man what is needed in order for man to be declared just. Roman Catholicism has regarded this as legal fiction. So this week we want to look at one part of how God can be just and still declare sinners righteous when they are not righteous in and of themselves.”Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (v. 20).

“Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith…to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed For the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (24- 26).

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (v. 28).

One part that justification must deal with is how a sinful man can be legally declared just by a holy God. A person must have his sins (crimes against God and His law) punished in proportion to the crime in order for a good judge (In this case, Judge) to declare the person righteous. So how does God do this? From v. 20 we can see that it cannot be by keeping the Law. The Law was not given so that man could keep it in order to be saved. The Law was sent in order to show man his sin. So it should be crystal clear that keeping the Law does not justify a person because that is not the purpose of the Law. This would be true whether it was the efforts of man or God’s working in man to do it. No human apart from Christ can keep the Law and so the Law was not sent to justify. But even if man could keep the Law and justify himself, we can see again that this is not how God would obtain all the glory and it would not save man in a way that would allow for no boasting at all.

If being good and keeping the Law cannot justify man, then what other way is there? From v. 24 we see that there is a way of grace. Remember that if something is of grace it is all of grace and nothing but grace. One cannot mix merit or works for merit with grace in any degree. It is true that those who receive grace are moved to works, but this is quite different from asserting that the works themselves are meritorious. Justification is a gift by grace which is to say that it is totally uncaused by man. The only cause in justification is God through Christ. God is sovereign and His grace is sovereign. He has mercy on whom He will have mercy and He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious. It does not depend on the man who wills or runs. It is all of sheer and glorious grace.

This grace, however, is not apart from the work of Christ, but is all of the work of Christ. Christ (v. 25) was displayed by God as a propitiation, that is, the One who removes the wrath of God. It is the blood of Christ that removes the wrath of God. This is based on the Old Testament where the priest would offer the blood of the sacrificial animal by sprinkling it on the mercy seat in the Tabernacle or later in the Temple after it was built. The blood being sprinkled signified that the sacrifice was in place of the sinner or the nation and the wrath was removed from the people. That sacrifice and its sprinkled blood looked ahead to Christ who was the Lamb of God, that is, the One who would remove the guilt of sins from His people.

Now as we think through this a moment, we can see the picture of propitiation as being all of the plan and work of God. No person could ever come into the Holy of Holies except the high priest. It was the high priest who represented the people and it was him alone who could offer the blood of the sacrifice. No one could remove the wrath of God for himself or by any good deed he could do. The sacrifice and the offering of the blood was the only way for propitiation to be made. The sacrificial system should have taught the Israelites that salvation was all of grace. God gave them their animals and He sent the rain that caused the grass to grow so that they could even have sheep. This should have taught the people that the removal of God’s wrath was simply and only His mercy. The whole sacrificial system pointed to the people needing grace to be saved and that they were in fact helpless in terms of salvation in terms of working for it. But some did turn it into a system of works as they do today. But we should notice that the people always looked to a sacrifice and not to their own good works.

Today, in terms of justification, people continue to want to be saved by their own efforts or attempt to change the Gospel into a way to help them save themselves. Some say that God in His grace makes up what we cannot do, though they leave room for man to earn part of his salvation. But if we look at justification as including propitiation as a necessary part of it, it is clear that all the glory is God’s and man has nothing to boast about. Jesus Christ is the only One who has ever been able to propitiate God. Christ is the only One who could suffer the wrath of an infinite God in a finite period of time. No man has ever been able to make up for one sin on his own or even part of one sin on his own. God requires perfection from all men every moment. So man can never go back and make up for a past sin because perfection is required of him at all moments. So in the removal of the wrath of God, there is no way for man to contribute to his own salvation in any way because he cannot remove the wrath of God for one sin and man has more sin than he can imagine to answer to God for.

So when God declares the sinner just, He is just and justifier (Rom 3:26). He is perfectly just in declaring a sinner just in terms of sin (we will wait for the imputed righteousness aspect until later) because Christ has perfectly suffered and died in the place of the sinner. The sinner is united to Christ and is one with Him. All the sins of the sinner have been placed on Christ and all those sins have been punished in Christ so that God has been perfectly satisfied. So it is clear that God is the One who declares the sinner just and He is the One who actually does the justifying. He is also perfectly just in declaring sinners just in Christ because Christ was the perfect sacrifice and nothing was left to be done. What did Christ leave to do that man can finish in order to make up for even the least of his sins? I would think that thinking Roman Catholics would see the error of their way of justification at this point. There is no way a finite being could ever suffer enough to make atonement for even one sin. So any method of salvation or justification that depends on the person working for even part of his salvation would be to make God guilty of legal fiction. God cannot declare a person just unless that person is perfectly just. No sinful human being can ever attain that and so man needs a perfect Savior who will do it all and not just some.

In propitiation the glory of God shines. In the cross where we first saw the light we see the light because of the light of His glory. It is at the cross where the beauty and glory of God’s love shines in the face of Christ as Christ went to and endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Heb 12:2). It is the cross where the perfect glory of the wrath of God blazes forth. It is here where God did not withhold the knife from His own Son as He told Abraham to do in Genesis. It was here that God’s holiness is seen in the strength of His hatred for sin in that He poured out His wrath on His own beloved Son. At any point where man steps in and tries so suffer for his own sin, he is trying to steal the glory from God. What blasphemy it is for man to think that he can suffer for some of his own sin or try to work hard enough to make up for a sin. No, no, no, man must never try to share in the work of salvation since all the glory belongs to God.

Here we can also see that man should never have the smallest bit of pride in terms of saving himself. Man can do nothing to suffer for the least sin and he can do nothing to make up for the smallest amount of his least sin. The true Gospel is such that it leaves man with no room for pride. The sacrifice of Christ that removed the wrath of God was either perfect or it was not. In trying to make up for sin himself, man is casting aspersions on the work of Christ. How awful it is for man to think that he can make up for his sin when it took the very Son of God to do that work. Perhaps we can see ever so clearly how it is, then, that Paul was so astonished at the Galatians for falling from such a Gospel of grace. We can also see why Jesus said that a person must be humbled as a child before he could even enter the kingdom. Only the humble give up all hope of themselves and their works and trust in the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ alone. The Gospel is full of the glory of God and only the humble see it. Perhaps this is why so many want to share in the work of salvation. Filled with pride they only think it is up to them and so never see the glory of God and of His grace in the Gospel.

The study of justification is really the study of the Gospel. We have tried to set out in some measure how the doctrine of justification should be focused on the glory of God which should strip man of his pride. If justification is taught as a doctrine that is only to be understood and believed intellectually, then it will fall far short of the truth of Scripture which sets out justification in contexts that should not allow it to simply be a creedal statement that is simply to be assented to, though indeed there must be the objective truth of it.Let us start with the word “justify.” While this term is used a fair amount in the modern world since people are always trying to justify their behavior, it might be thought that it is an easy term to deal with. However, that is simply not the case. God is the One who justifies and so we must try to understand how God uses the term in the revelation of Himself in His Word. Romans 3 is the place to start:

“Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (v. 20).

“For the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (v. 26)

“Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (v. 24).

“For the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (v. 26).

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (v. 28).

“Since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one” (v. 30).

There has been a lot of argument over this word in history and the argument still goes on. The argument goes on because it is still vitally important. It is clear from the above texts of Holy Writ that God is the One who justifies and not man who does it himself. So the crux of the issue is over how God justifies the sinner. If a person asserts that man justifies himself in part or in whole, this is clearly outside the bounds of truth. The issue here, however, is how God justifies. If man is seen to justify himself in any way even though the words of the doctrine do not assert that, it should be clear that Scripture does not allow for that at all.

So the divide at this point is huge. This is at least part of the central issue in Luther’s day over how justification was viewed. The issue at hand is whether God declares a person just or actually makes the person just by working in him in order to declare the person just. Historically, though many in the modern day will deny it, Protestants have said that indeed God declares sinners just and those He justifies He sanctifies which is His making them at the very least more just or righteous. Rome countered and said that God could not declare just what was not just in and of itself and so the Protestant position was a legal fiction. Many have felt the weight of that argument and have tried to modify the Protestant position to some degree. However, as I hope to show at some point, it is actually the Roman Catholic position that leads to a legal fiction and it is the Protestant position that allows God to declare a sinner just with all truth and righteousness. But for the moment, if God has to make a person just in order to declare the person just, then God would have to make the person perfect. In that case no one could be declared just by God. However, the historical Protestant position says that God declares a person just based on the perfect works of Christ. This allows for God’s declaration concerning man to be made in perfect justice and righteousness. In reality it is Rome that settles for the legal fiction.

So can we show from the text that the justification in mind is a declarative justification based solely on what Christ has done versus rather than that God justifies the sinner by making the sinner righteous through good works? Romans 3:20 clearly says that “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” The text then goes on to give at least one reason for this: “for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” In other words, the Law was never given in order that man may keep the Law and be justified. The Law was given in order to show man the depths of his sin. Even more clearly we can see from v. 28 “that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” It could not be clearer than this. A person is justified apart from works of the Law. Some argue that there is a difference between good works and works of the Law. However, the Law commands us to love God with all of the heart, mind, soul, and strength. There are no good works apart from love to God. There are no good works that can possible happen apart from love for God since I Corinthians 13 tells us that nothing we do is of any profit unless it is done from love.

We should also notice that nothing in those texts tell us anything about God working the works of the Law in man in order that man may do the good works and be justified. In fact, justification is clearly said to be apart from the works of the Law and the text does not distinguish whether the works are from God working them in man or man doing them himself. The text simply says that justification is apart from the works of the Law. Justification is also a free gift (uncaused by man) of grace. It is all of grace and nothing but grace that justifies man. There is no causal fact of man’s works for salvation or of God working good works in man mentioned here at all. The text speaks of justification as an uncaused gift by grace. I don’t think that Romans 3 could be any clearer on the issue. Justification is all of God and man does nothing but receive it and even that is by grace.

Justification, then, is not that which man can work to obtain and is not good works that God works in man in order for man to obtain. Justification must be forensic in nature which is the declaration of a judge regarding a criminal on trial. The judge in this case is God and as Judge He declares the sinner righteous in His sight. How that happens is for future articles, but we know that it is all of Christ. The forensic nature of justification and the fact that it is all of grace allows for salvation to be all of Christ. However, for the moment, we can stand back and look at how all the glory is God’s in this case. The forensic nature of justification allows for all the glory to be God’s. He declares a person just or righteous in His sight because of what He has done. The glory of the grace of God is on display for all to see. The mercy and love of God is set out and displayed in such a way where His glory shines. So if we simply decide whether God justifies by making the person just or by declaring a person just on the basis of Christ by the standard of which position displays His glory the most, the issue is clear. God’s glory shines far more brightly in declaring a person just on the basis of Christ.

We saw last week that the Bible declares that man is justified in a way that allows man no room for boasting in himself at all. If God only declares those just who have worked enough to be just whether God worked it in them or not, this seems to allow at least some room for boasting. But the legal declaration that a person is just based on what Christ has done alone allows for no boasting at all. The forensic nature of justification based on Christ alone removes any room for boasting and destroys any basis for boasting that man has. Any person who has been justified by God on the basis of Christ alone simply has no consistent room for pride at all. This is a pride shattering doctrine and as such has the ring of truth to it. God’s glory and man’s pride do not fit with each other.

What we have observed in a rather simple way is that the verses in Romans 3 do not allow for any works of man to be involved in justification. We have also observed that in this way the glory of God is displayed and the pride of man is dashed. The reason that it is done this way is because Scripture shows that the Gospel is all about the glory of God and that in a way that allows for no pride or reason for pride in man. The true position concerning justification, then, would be the one that exalts the glory of God and destroys pride and any room for pride in man. I have set this out in contrast to the Roman Catholic position. However, all forms of justification within Protestantism must be judged in this regard as well. The New Perspective and the Auburn Avenue Theology movements should be considered carefully with these things in mind. If at any point a position allows for man’s works to be part of justification rather than relying completely on the finished work of Christ, then it should be seen that that position is not to the glory of God and does not abolish pride in man. A position like that simply is not and cannot be biblical. The doctrine of justification is a sword that divides between Christians and non-Christians. There is no other Gospel and we must always be on the side of the Gospel even if it is not politically or denominationally correct. There is no love apart from those who have the Gospel because only those who are born of God and know God have love. The Gospel is that important. Sola Fide.

Last week we focused on justification and how the Gospel of God is all about the glory of God. The Gospel is how He has manifested Himself and His glory. In fact, the Gospel is about the glory of God and how He has put that glory on display in bringing sinners to Himself. This brings to mind a very important question which is stated in differing ways. One, if a person has an intellectual belief in justification by faith alone, is that person saved? Another way to state the question would be that if a person is able to state the doctrine of justification by faith alone and profess belief in it, is that person saved? Two, if a person states adherence to a confession of faith that states the doctrine of justification well, does that mean that the person is converted?Underlying that type of question in light of the glory of God in the Gospel is an issue that people need to take a hard look at. While this issue may not seem to be related to justification, it is really at the heart of it. There is an elitism that is going on in the Reformed world today. While “elitism” may not be the best term, perhaps “arrogant” and “proud” are the best descriptive terms. Justification by grace alone through faith alone is to give God all the glory. Man has no room to boast in anything but the cross alone. The true teaching on justification should deliver man from pride and boasting and deliver him into the arms of Christ where he glories in nothing but Christ and the cross. So what are we to think when we see people who hold to the doctrine of justification by faith alone and yet seem so proud that they do? What are we to think when we see people proud of their creed and doctrines?

There are many who are Reformed in some way and yet seem to be proud of what they are. If one is proud of being Reformed, then one is not really Reformed. It seems as if there is an intellectual elitism within some in the Reformed ranks and that should be repugnant to all. Some seem pleased with themselves that they are in the line of certain men of history. Some seem to look down on others who do not know as much history and theology of certain men as themselves. Others are proud that they play certain kinds of music and look down on others who do not, whether this is hymns or contemporary music. How can one hold to such elitism and justification by faith alone at the same time?

Let me cut to the core of the issue. The Gospel of the glory of God in Christ deals a severe blow to the pride of man. If a man sees the glory of God in the Gospel and believes, then that person has been saved. If a person has seen the glory of God in Christ and has truly repented, then that person has repented of pride and self-glorying. What are Christians supposed to think when they see men full of themselves about their theology or music? What are we to think when we see men looking down on others because they are not as Reformed or as contemporary or as historical as themselves? What are we to think of this elitist mentality? The very least that we can think is that these people have forgotten what the Gospel of glory is all about and that they have forgotten what the sovereignty of God in His grace and mercy are all about.

While the Gospel saves sinners, it is really about the manifested glory of God. As long as the Gospel is dealt with as doctrine alone, the Gospel that humbles man will not be seen. The Gospel is full of doctrine, yes, but the purpose of doctrine is to set out teachings of Scripture that exalt God and distinguish between those truths and error that does not exalt God. “Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies” (I Cor 8:1). The doctrines of the Gospel can also lead to a knowledge that makes arrogant. It would seem that those who have knowledge of the facts of the Gospel without true love will indeed be led to pride. In other words, a person can be as orthodox as a human can possibly be concerning the facts of the Gospel and still be dead in his sins and pride.

The world and the Church have enough of the proud doctrinaires. What the Church needs is to get back to the Gospel as it is taught in Scripture. “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith” (Romans 3:27). The Gospel as taught in Scripture does not leave man any room for boasting, but excludes it altogether. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9). Again, it is crystal clear that the Gospel delivers men from anything to boast in. So when we see proud men boasting of doctrine or music, whether by life or attitude, what are we to think? They need to be confronted with the Gospel that destroys boasting again.

The doctrines of the Gospel should destroy pride when it comes and shows man at least the following things:

1. The Gospel comes to man as a wretched and filthy sinner.
2. The Gospel comes to man who is worthy of hell and hell only.
3. The Gospel comes to man who is without power in the bondage to sin.
4. The Gospel comes to man who is dead in sin.
5. The Gospel comes to man who is at enmity with God.
6. The Gospel comes to man at the initiation of God.
7. The Gospel comes to man because Christ humbled Himself to take the form of a servant (human flesh).
8. The Gospel comes to man who is under the wrath of an infinite God.
9. The Gospel comes to man who must have grace if he is to be saved.
10. There is nothing that man can do to save himself.
11. There is nothing that man can do to pay for one sin much less all of his sin.
12. There is nothing that man can do to change his own heart.
13. There is nothing that man can do to earn one shred of righteousness.
14. Yet God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace and according to His mercy.
15. Yet God saves sinners to magnify the glory of His own name.

What is there for man to boast of in accordance with who he is and what he has done? Surely, then, it is obvious that if there are so many proud pastors and people in the churches who adhere to the doctrines of the Gospel, there is something wrong. “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (I Peter 5:5-6). Younger men who are being taught in doctrine whether at church or seminary need to see these things. God is opposed to the proud no matter who they are and how much they know. Any system of doctrine that claims to have a high view of God must also teach that men who see God must be humble in heart. It is impossible for a man to see the glory of God in truth and be proud. It is impossible for men who have such high feelings when singing certain types of music to have true spiritual affections if they are proud of what they are doing and it leads them to look down on others. As Jonathan Edwards shows, a true sign of religious affections is a deep humility where men lay in the dust before God in a form of self-annihilation (self as in selfcenteredness).

A theology and a Gospel that is focused on the glory of God in truth and from the heart is not one that a man can feel proud of and try to honor himself with. So do we need more theology? Yes, but a theology that includes the whole of man. We need to learn the depths of the Gospel from the heart so we can teach the Gospel to people in a way where God’s glory is seen and the pride of man is humbled. The doctrine of justification, as we have seen from Scripture, is that which tears pride from men and leaves him no room to boast at all. At the end of Galatians where Paul set out a long argument with the Gospel, he said this: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14). If man has anything of self to boast of or be proud of, perhaps he needs to visit the Gospel again.

It is to be lamented that the doctrine of justification is under attack in our day. However, one reason for that is because men have not been delivered from pride. The true Gospel delivers men from pride and any basis to boast. But where it is not taught and delivered in a way where it goes to the heart, the Gospel can even be used to build pride. As long as the Gospel is not taught in a way that delivers men from pride, there will be many adherents to various forms of false gospels as they continually spring from the proud hearts of men in an effort to maintain their pride. If Reformed theology wishes to stand firm on the Gospel, it must teach the Gospel in a way that destroys the pride of men. As long as a doctrinal form of the Gospel is taught where men may accept it by believing the facts alone, there will be much pride in the Church. Men who are full of themselves and correct doctrine will teach correct doctrine to the glory of their own names. Men who are full of themselves will sing songs only because they are old or because they are new rather than worship the God of all glory. How desperately we need to get back to the Gospel as it is taught in Scripture so men will be delivered from pride and live to the glory of God rather than their own. Men who are full of their own honor and glory have no room or delight in the glory of God other than how it honors them whether it is in the Gospel or elsewhere. The true Gospel must be proclaimed from those delivered from pride so that God would be glorified in lives and hearts.

The next thing to note in justification after just how vital this doctrine really is is to note what it is all about. The doctrine of justification is the heart of the Gospel. Okay, some one might say, but what does that mean? When one is trying to start at the starting place, it could be debated what the starting place is. Without arguing too much, I believe the starting place for the Gospel is with God. After all, the Gospel is the Gospel of God. But isn’t it the Gospel of Christ? Yes, but that is still the Gospel of God. “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'” (Mark 1:14-15). The Gospel that a person is to repent of is indeed the Gospel that is all about God, of God, and declares the glory of God. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). The Gospel that Paul preached was all about the grace of God and so is called “gospel of the grace of God” and, in the short version, is simply the “gospel of God” (Rom 1:1).But why, it might be asked, is the starting place here? Admittedly the starting place is usually with man and his need. However, man would have no need and no remedy without God. Man’s need is defined by the nature of God and the remedy for man’s sin and hell is also God. What man needs is not a salvation that delivers him from the guilt of sin to some objective pleasantries, but he needs to be delivered from the wrath of God in this life and in the one to come and be reconciled to the living God. The Gospel is not just a message that man may be delivered from a place called hell, but it is also a message of how man may have what is best in this life and in the life to come. It is, most truly, the Gospel of God. The Gospel is all about how man may taste and enjoy the glory of God in his soul and life. In fact, the Gospel is how the life of God comes into the soul of man and that life is what lives in man and man is enabled to enjoy a participation in the divine life. No, man does not become divine, but the love and joy of God lives in man and man is enabled to share in the activity of that life on earth.

“Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith” (Rom 3:24-27). This text points out one point that is often missed. Why does God demonstrate His righteousness? Is it just so that man can be saved? Is the only purpose for salvation so that man could escape hell and God could feel good about saving man? Clearly, from the text, God is righteous in giving the gift of righteous and so He is just and the justifier. The justice of God is vital to the Gospel and God will not save apart from a perfect justice because He is perfectly just. God saves to His own glory and there is no boasting on man’s part? Why? Because man has nothing to do with saving himself. It is all of God.

As we look back at the text in the previous paragraph, man is hardly even mentioned. Romans 1:18-3:20 talks a lot about sin, but interestingly enough sin is seen as the judgment of God even now. God turns people over to sin as punishment for sin. God turns people over to hard hearts which leads to even more sin as punishment for sin. Who can deliver from God’s hand and the hearts that He hardens? God is the only One who can deliver from His own hand. Where can a Savior come from who will be able to deliver man in a way that is according to perfect justice from the hand of an almighty and wrathful God? Where will the righteousness come from that is needed so that man can be declared perfectly righteous? All of this is only something that God can do. This is why once Paul gets to the Gospel he talks about God. Man is helpless and cannot do anything for himself at this point. Man needs to see the glory of God in the Gospel and turn from all self-effort.

If it is once agreed upon that man has been created to glorify God, and that sin is man doing something that falls short of the glory of God, then it is easily seen that salvation is the way that God glorifies Himself in saving man. So God’s purpose in saving man is to manifest His own glory in the salvation of man and in restoring man in a way that man will now live to the glory of God. So the Fall sent man into sin which is man not living to the glory of God. Salvation is God bringing man back to where man lives to the glory of God. Clearly, then, the Gospel is all about the glory of God. To focus the Gospel on man is to miss the real point of the Gospel. Man must be returned to God so that he can fulfill his created purpose of living to the glory of God.

In going back to Romans 3, we can see in v. 24 that justification has several aspects. One, justification is a gift by grace. In reality, the word “gift” simply means uncaused. For another use of this term in Scripture, we can see from this example what it really means: “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE'” (John 15:25). “Without cause” comes from the same Greek word as in used in Romans 3:24 for “gift.” In other words, justification is not caused by man in any way. The causal part of justification is with God and with God only. So man is justified without cause in himself by His grace. To put it still another way, the only causal part in justification is the grace of God. God causes salvation by grace and there is nothing in man that causes salvation in any way. It is all of grace. If something is all of grace, then it is all of God. We know that God saves to “the praise of the glory of His grace” because that is what He says in Ephesians 1:6. Romans 3:24 is simply another way to stress the same glorious truth.

Second, the way that God saves by grace alone is through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. We must be careful at this point. When the Gospel is spoken of today, Christ is spoken of a lot. But He is usually spoken of in the context of man and his need. Without arguing that man has a need, we must remember that man’s need is not just to be delivered from hell. Man must be delivered from the wrath of God in this life and the next. Man must be reconciled to God in this life and the next. Jesus Christ did not center on man in the Gospel, He centered on the glory of God. For man to repent of sin, which is falling short of the glory of God, man must turn from living to the glory of self to living for the glory of God. So whatever redemption may be, it is the paying of a price and a ransom made to One for another. But we must always keep in mind that God saves by grace alone which is a focus on His glory. Redemption through Christ alone is to put His grace on display in a way that magnifies His glory.

Verse 25 tells us that God displayed Christ publicly as propitiation in His blood. Why did He do that? The text tells us that He did this to demonstrate His own righteousness. The text does not tell us that He did this in order to declare His love for man or because man is so worthy. It says that He did this to demonstrate His own righteousness. What we see, then, is a Gospel that is all about God. The Gospel is about the actions of God and it is about the glory of God that shines through His actions. One text that brings this thought to light is found in II Corinthians 4:4 and 6: “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” This verse tells us what the god of this world does in order to keep people from being saved. He blinds their minds so that they do “not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (v. 4). Satan does not need to convince people to be evil; they do that from their own hearts. He does not need to keep people from hearing the bare words of the Gospel message. People are not saved from simply believing the intellectual facts of the Gospel. He blinds their minds so that they will not see the glory of it.

II Corinthians 4 goes on to say what has to happen for people to be saved: “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (v. 6). What must happen is for people to see and understand (and therefore believe) the glory of God in the face and facts of Christ. God must shine Himself in their hearts in order for them to have the light of the knowledge of this glory. Notice that the text says that He “is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light.” Preachers must preach Christ in such a way that the glory of God is seen in His face and the Gospel.

In light of what the Gospel is and its purposes, I believe it to be clear that evangelism must be done differently than it is being done. In light of what the Gospel is and its purposes, I believe that preaching must be done differently than it is being done. We must be those who declare the glory of God in evangelism and in the Gospel in order to set the Gospel out in its beauty and power. While we never get beyond the facts of the Gospel, we must also declare the glory of God in those facts. Many saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, but only those who believed saw the glory of it (John 11:40). Many see the facts of the Gospel, but how many really see the glory of God in the face of Christ? Many love the Gospel only for what it does for them and so they have never been delivered from self-love. We must teach and preach the Gospel in a way where the glory of God shines in the face of Christ. After all, Christ came and tabernacled among men and His glory of grace and truth was seen. The Gospel is only truly preached when God’s glory of grace and truth is seen in Christ. The Gospel of glory must be seen as glorious.

In light of the crime against God that preaching a false Gospel is, we need to examine what justification by faith alone means. Remember the words of Paul: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal.1:6-9).Many words have been written and many more have been preached on this issue. However, it should make every preacher and every person who evangelizes tremble when they read the words of Paul. Even in his day while he was still alive, even people who heard Paul preach the Gospel were turning away to a different gospel. Paul was simply amazed, and yet he knew the doctrines of depravity better than we do. Let us face up to the grim reality of this. It is likely that many people within the walls of the church each Sunday do not know and believe the true Gospel. It is also highly likely that many people that have come to faith (we thought) have turned away from the Gospel at some point. If they turned away from the Gospel when Paul preached it, who are we to think that people will not do it under our ministries?

We should also notice another point from verse 6. Paul said that the people were “deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different Gospel.” When people leave for a different gospel, which is really not another true Gospel, they are deserting God. Let us read and hear the words of Paul, which are really the God-breathed words of Scripture. When people leave the Gospel, they are deserting God. A false Gospel is all about a false god. The Gospel itself is about the true God and it is only through the true Gospel that we adhere to the true God. It is the true Gospel that sets out the glory of God in the face of Christ (II Cor. 4:4, 6). The true Gospel puts the glory of God on display and all who come to God through the Gospel see His glory in it. But those who reject the true Gospel not only reject the true Gospel, but they reject the glory of God as seen in the Gospel of glory. The Gospel is called, after all, the Gospel of God.

The Gospel of the glory of God is a Gospel of grace. Note that Paul wrote that God “called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel.” Any Gospel that is not all about the grace of Christ is a different Gospel. Notice also that the grace of Christ is how God calls sinners. God saves “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph 1:6).

He saves so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:7-9). The Gospel of grace is so that God should show off the riches of His grace and so that no one can or may boast. There is no boasting allowed in the Gospel because it is all of the grace of God in order that all the glory would be His. Any other gospel detracts from this grace and the glory of God in allowing man some degree of boasting.

When you see some deserting the Gospel of grace “for a different gospel; which is really not another,” you can know that they are going to what they think is good news and yet is not a real Gospel. Instead of being angry with the people, let us learn to be amazed that they would leave such amazing grace. We should learn to pity people who have been and are being deceived. Let us learn to look at people in our churches and towns in a different way. We usually take people leaving as an insult toward ourselves and that may be true in some cases. However, if it is toward us, we should learn humility and meekness. Perhaps, gasp, we may need to repent of something ourselves. But if we are looking at the people apart from selfinterests, let us know that they are turning from God for a false gospel. Their souls are in danger of eternal damnation and that is far more important than our own feelings of importance. Ministers are to be shepherds of the sheep, but wolves are after the sheep of your Master. Those people at the very least are being deceived (Satan is the deceiver) and at worst are deserting God. The privilege and duty of ministers is to take the true Gospel of Christ to people again and again. Let us not grow weary of trying to snatch sheep from the jaws of wolves and lions. Can our work for the Master demand anything less of us?

A main reason that people leave is because “there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” This is why ministers must be clear about the Gospel on a regular basis. There are people on the radio, on TV, on tapes, in books and magazines, and quite possibly in our churches who are disturbing the sheep and distorting the Gospel of Christ. Right now there is a book that is a huge success along with a movie that is projected to be a huge success that is distorting the Gospel (the Da Vinci Code). What is the best way to protect the sheep? Preach the true Gospel so that the heresies of the book and movie will be seen. Preach the Gospel of the glory of God so that those with spiritual taste buds will simply know by tasting that the things taught in the book and the movie are false. We must understand that whatever else we do, the Gospel itself must be made clear. We must understand that if people are drawn away from the true Gospel, it is because someone has distorted the true Gospel and has put a false one in its place. It happened in Paul’s day and it is happening in our own day. Notice again, people “want” to distort. Our job is to want to preach the truth with a clarity that makes the Gospel harder for others to distort.

Now we must shift gears. The sheep are under constant attack and the shepherds must be protecting and defending the sheep with the truth of the Gospel. But how are we to view those who want to distort the Gospel and in fact are teaching a false Gospel? “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal. 1:8-9). Paul leaves us no doubt of what has to happen. People who do this may be in our churches. They may be ministers that we know. They may be ministers in our own denomination. But know this, a preacher and teacher of a false gospel is to be accursed. No matter how much we like another person, we must never allow a false Gospel to remain within our numbers very long. The ministers are to feed and protect the sheep that are bought by the very blood of Jesus Christ. Will we really be squeamish about dealing with people we like if they are slaughtering the sheep owned by Christ? If so, what does that say about us?

We must make a proper distinction that the text does. There are those who are misled and depart from the Gospel, but then there are those who want to distort the Gospel and so teach a different gospel, which is not a gospel at all. We must treat people differently depending on the case. People who are misled are those that we are to go after and try to persuade. We must warn them and plead with them not to desert God Himself by deserting the Gospel. We must strive over and over to declare the truth of the Gospel and show them their error. But for those who want to distort the Gospel and in fact do, we must notice that Paul has his strongest words against these people. These people may be very nice and charming. They may be very educated and cultured. They may be our strongest backers in some ways. They may be our best givers. But if they are wolves and are teaching a false gospel, they are accursed and we cannot allow them to continue teaching such things. “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:27-30).

Pastors and shepherds must defend the flock as ministers of God and shepherds of the flock of Christ. They do this by declaring the whole counsel or purpose of God. They do this by being on guard for things that come in against themselves and against the church. They do this knowing that savage wolves will attempt to come in. These wolves come in appearing like sheep, and possibly like the nicest of people. But these people do not spare the flock, but speak perverse things that draw the sheep away from Christ. It is hard when very nice and tolerant people speak such soothing things to people, yet while appearing to be helpful, they are being the cause of people to desert God and the Gospel of grace. Those who defend the truth may have to appear mean and intolerant, but so be it. The sheep of the Master must be defended. Ministers must study for a deeper understanding of the Gospel and to remind themselves of the glory of God in the Gospel. The wolves draw people away with distortions and outright lies. We must do battle with the truth and of the glory of God in the Gospel applied with love. Our Master deserves nothing less than our all and those poor sheep of His must be defended with the Gospel of His glory itself.