The Way to The Righteousness God Will Receive

About this sermon

Introduction: Having made his case concerning the sinfulness of mankind, having made his case from the scriptures so that every mouth is closed and every individual is brought to see their accountability to God, the apostle is now ready to show that there IS a way that sinful man can be saved. There IS a way for a man to have a right standing before God. This is the supreme question. How can I have a right standing with God? How can I know for certain that if I were stand before Holy God this very moment, I would be accepted by Him? Knowing that I have violated his law, knowing that I am full of sin, knowing that I have no defense to offer, and that I am nothing but guilty in His sight if I stand before Him in my own merits. How can I find acceptance with Him and not wrath? Well God has made a way. And not only has God made a way, He has made a way that is perfectly righteous. God has made a way of salvation whereby sinful men can be forgiven of their sins and can be given a righteous standing before God, and it is a way that is completely consistent with God’s own righteous, just character. This is what Paul is going to unfold in the verses and chapters before us. I. A FALSE APPROACH TO A RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD (vs.20) Now, before we can ever see the true way to a right standing with God, we must be thoroughly done with every false way. And specifically, in the case of the Jew, he had to be thoroughly convinced that the way to a right standing with God was not THE WORKS OF THE LAW. *Paul has been dealing in universals. -Man is universally evil -Man is universally ignorant in spiritual matters -Man is universally idolatrous -Man is universally on the wrong road -Man is universally worthless, useless -Man is universally empty of good works 2 -Man is universally corrupt in speech -Man is universally corrupt in conduct -Man is universally without the fear of God Here he adds another universal. Man is universally incapable of being saved by the works of the law. Mark this down in your mind, there will not be one human being declared righteous in God’s sight because they kept the law. In fact, if a man commits himself to the works of the law for his eternal destination, then he can be sure of this, he will be condemned by God, judged as guilty and deserving of everlasting damnation, because through the law comes the knowledge of sin. And we know that this is not an academic point. There are people who truly commit themselves to the works of the law. *Whether it be the Law of Moses or *Whether it be the law of conscience There are people who are trying to be their very best for the purpose of making themselves acceptable to God. GOD LEAVES US WITH NO DOUBT HERE AS TO THE FUTILITY OF THAT EFFORT.