The Future of Justification

I am going through a series on the doctrine of justification. We endeavor to touch on various themes and related ideas under that doctrine. This will bring this series to a close tonight. So, Revelation 19. We are going to read from verse 1 and continue through verse 10. Let us hear God’s Word.

“And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Amen.

We will end the reading at the close of verse 10. And what you have heard here tonight is the Word of the eternal God, which you would receive, believe, and obey. And all the people of God said, Amen.

Let us pray.

Give us a deepening anticipation for that day when we will love Thee with an unsinning heart. Transport us more and more in our minds and in our souls to that great day that awaits all Thy people. May we be shaped by the future that is ours. May it sober us. May it purify us. May it motivate us. And may it encourage us.

Tonight we ask, come in the power of the Holy Spirit. Take us away from the mere thoughts of man. We want to hear from God. Speak then to the comfort of Thy people. Speak then to the salvation of precious souls. And take us away from a sermon to a message. Yes, a message from God. We lean upon Thee, O Holy Spirit. Be our help in making much of Christ and his person and work. We pray in our Savior’s name. Amen.

The series that we have gone through has taken us from the horrifying reality of man’s natural standing before God, that even our righteousness, what we attempt to do in our nature, the best that we can try to offer, is as filthy rags, says Isaiah 64. And it brings us now to this point—from filthy rags to fine linen. And what we have sought to see has made the difference is solely the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that sinners, in all of their natural uncleanness and separation from God, can be sure of a standing before God.

They can be sure of it here and now. It is a settled matter. It is a truth that cannot be taken from them. They stand complete in Jesus Christ, if by simple childlike faith they have put their trust in him. His righteousness becomes theirs. Their sins have been laid on him, and he has paid for them in full. The guilt has been removed, and their standing is secure.

We come then to Revelation 19. The previous chapter gives a description of the judgment upon Babylon. In one sense, the marriage is celebrated immediately after the judgment of the enemies of Christ and of his people. As readers move through Revelation, there are many ideas.

There are many ideas about this book—trying to piece it all together, to understand the timeline, and to discern what is happening here and there. I am not here to resolve every question about Revelation tonight, and even if I were, I could not, because I still have my own questions about certain parts of it, about various aspects. But nonetheless, I cannot help but see in this a sense of something that is already-not-yet, as we often say in theological discussions. We see certain truths that are present realities, and things that are still yet to be more fully revealed, or that will find their fullness in what awaits in the future.

Some look at this portion, for example, in Revelation 18 and 19, and see it as something already fulfilled. They believe it has happened in the past exclusively, and is complete. Those who hold this view often take an early date for Revelation, understanding it as a depiction of the judgment upon Jerusalem. This city is represented as Babylon, and she is destroyed. In her place, there is a body of people brought together by one trait that unites them all: their faith and trust in the Messiah.

But I think that also dismisses other important truths. I believe there is a problem in viewing this solely as a past event. I also believe there is a problem in making it only a future hope. What I am saying to you is that, at best, I can affirm that something is true in the present, yet it will reach its fullness in the future.

Now, if you turn with me to Matthew 22 for a moment, you may see a little more clearly what I mean. In Matthew 22, the Lord speaks a parable, and it is, of course, approaching the cross. He sharpens his rhetoric against Jerusalem. That is undeniable. We will come to the next chapter where the woes will be pronounced against them, but this is not exclusively found in Matthew 23. You have other language directed against them as well. What is interesting here in Matthew 22 is how this parable is described. Let us read from verse 1.

“Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.”

There is a point of application here to the Jews. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” They were not willing to come.

“Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.”

But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

I want you to consider what is about to happen to Jerusalem. He is directing this at the Jews. And he burned up their city because of their rejection. But this does not end what he intends to do. It does not stop the marriage.

Verse 8: “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

I cannot read the context of Revelation 18 and 19, the judgment of Babylon, and the marriage set up in Revelation 19, without thinking of that parable. I also cannot ignore the language in Revelation that corresponds to the language of our Lord Jesus, such as this city is judged because it is a city that kills the prophets—words Jesus used to highlight the reason for judgment upon Jerusalem. They kill the prophets. Those who are sent are killed. This is a mark of Babylon.

Thus it may indeed, as I say, have a certain sense of relevance in the first century, while still pointing to what is to come. There continues to be an assault against the people of God. There continues to be constant opposition against those who stand firm and are true. And while this all takes place, there is still this invitation going out to the world, calling them to come and be part of this great marriage feast. There is a sense in which that is what we are doing here and now. Every evangelistic effort, every discipleship of our children, all that we strive to do to bring people to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a bidding to the marriage feast. It is a beckoning. It is a calling. It is saying to them, now is the time. Come. Be part. It is all ready. Be a part of it. And many of us have come.

And so we have in Revelation 19 a depiction of something that is true, and yet also relates to certain aspects of what awaits in the eternal state. I want us to look at this. I want us to consider, particularly verses 7 and 8, what is said concerning those who have come and will be part of this great union.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

I may touch on this near the end—the modern translations and their emphasis on the righteous acts of the saints. I may. I may not. I am simply saying that right now. If you have read modern translations, there is an emphasis on the righteous acts of the saints. The grammar allows for this interpretation in one sense, while at the same time I think there is an argument that this emphasis is unhelpful, placing primary focus on what they are doing. And if we get to it, I will say simply that I think there is, again, a both-and. This ties into what we said last week.

But there is a sense in which, in our justification, there is something true here and now that will be declared, and there will be a vindication through the very lives that believers have lived. So let us look then at the freedom and future of justification. The freedom and future of justification.

I want to begin again with this: the believer’s present freedom. There is a present freedom that we enjoy. First of all, freedom from the anxiety of an unresolved case. Freedom from the anxiety of an unresolved case.

It is something that believers struggle with at times. They live their lives as if the case is not resolved. Their minds still reflect upon their past. They are tormented, perhaps even by things that are present. They struggle with having a settled understanding that they are accepted—truly accepted—and that it is a done deal. They live as if it is open, as if God has them on probation, as if it is not something that is resolved.

But what we have seen over these weeks, as we have looked at this, is that justification is a settled verdict. There is something outside of us, something God has declared, and it is true. It cannot be taken away from us. The bride is described as ready. Verse 7: “His wife hath made herself ready.” She is ready. We will get to “made herself ready” in just a moment, but the point is this: she is ready. She is ready.

This is the language of every believer here and now who looks to Jesus Christ. They are ready. If you have looked to Christ, believed in Christ, see in him the answer for your sin, and depend on him alone, without any works of your own or efforts of your own, solely on the work of Christ, believing by faith that what he has done is yours, you are ready. Ready. It is the glorious hope of the dying thief.

Amidst his reviling against the Lord Jesus Christ, something begins to click. Something begins to take hold in his mind. This man is different. Perhaps he is able to see the sign over our Savior’s head, “King of the Jews.” He begins to question the previous conclusion he had reached, joining in the reviling against Jesus, and he begins to wonder. King of the Jews. He sees his countenance, his manner. He hears, perhaps, his prayers. And he begins to question what he had initially thought.

He begins to turn to his friend, and go against him, the one there by his side. “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly… but this man hath done nothing amiss.” He must see something about him. Then he turns, and, oh, what hope must have been in his soul when he cried, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”

“Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” You are ready. You are ready. Really? There is no religious ceremony? There is not something else I must do? You are ready. By looking, by believing, by trusting, by resting, you are ready today. “Thou shalt be with me in paradise.” This is the hope of the gospel. It is good news because sinners can know they are ready, that there is no doubt. And so their conscience can be set at peace.

They can look at the language, which we have quoted a number of times through this series, on Romans 8: “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Can there be a charge brought that will stand? No. Is there any condemnation that can be brought and laid to disrupt the standing that they have in Christ? No. Christ has died for them. He has risen from the dead for them.

And so this conscience, which at times may be tormented, can find freedom from anxiety. The Shorter Catechism defines justification as an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone. Our Confession, using a little more explanation, from chapter 11, first paragraph, states that those whom God effectually calleth, he also freely justifieth: not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone. Nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, nor any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.

There is more truth than this, and you will find it in most sermons. She is ready. His wife hath made herself ready. She is now ready. She has come to be ready. And how has she come to be ready? Because she has obeyed the gospel. She obeyed the gospel.

In the call that is issued in light of the news of Jesus Christ dying and rising from the dead, the call that you are to repent and believe, they have made themselves ready in response to that word. They heard the message that Jesus saves. They believed. The voice came to them, and recognizing their own guilt and shame and sin, they turned and rested. Many of you here can look back to the time when you did this very thing.

And I trust it is just as real—perhaps even more real—this very moment, that you are still believing, still resting, still enjoying, still delighting, still worshipping, still marveling. That is grace. Freedom from the anxiety of an unresolved case. Freedom from the tyranny of an accusing conscience.

The marriage of the Lamb is come. The marriage of the Lamb is come. It is easy to read these words and not think about this Lamb. He is described, and his eyes are described, in two places—back in chapter 1 as well as in this chapter, verse 12—“his eyes were as a flame of fire.” What a frightening thing. And yet this eye, which is like a flame of fire, which knows everything that is in man, which pierces the soul of every person, which cannot be deceived by any man, looks upon the bride and is pleased to enter into union with her.

The conscience that may arise in the bride, causing her to wonder, “Am I worthy? I feel myself to be a hypocrite. I worry that I will be cast out at the last. I struggle to truly rest in my acceptance”—the marriage of the Lamb is come. The Lamb is entering into this union. The Lamb is accepting this union. He looks upon the bride with nothing but affection and acceptance.

You may have low views of yourself, and the world may have low views of you, but if you are in Jesus Christ, he looks upon you with a love that defies description—a love that sees everything, knows all, and yet he enters into this union. How are you worthy of this? Looking at your own life, you are not. Assessing how you have lived, there is no way. And yet he is able to look upon you and accept you with delight.

“Clean and white” is how it is described. They are standing in fine linen, clean and white. And that is what he sees—this purity, this standing—and he accepts her. In Isaiah 52 there is a description of the holy city, verse 1: “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.” And the difference is that she has put on her beautiful garments, these garments.

She stands arrayed in a different way. And the Lamb does not see the fault, does not see the shortcomings, does not see the lawbreaking. This is true. The context of this is the distinguishing marks of those who have followed the Lamb, who have believed in him. Those whose torment rises up before God are judged because they rejected the Lamb. They refused his offer. They would not bow the knee. They would not repent of their sins. They insisted on their own works. They insisted on their own righteousness. They trusted in all their own religious efforts. And they are judged. But those who are clothed in righteousness that is not their own, the Lamb looks upon and embraces.

This brings us secondly to consider the believer’s public vindication. Not only his present freedom, but public vindication.

Again, the context of this is interesting, because judgment has come. It has just happened in the ordering of events here. And so there is a sense of vindication for them. Now, this brings us to realize that there is a certain vindication of the people of God that is somewhat hidden now. It is somewhat hidden now.

This relates to some things I said last week. The world does not know who you are. The world does not understand who you are. The world does not acknowledge who you are as a child of God, as a king and a priest to God. To them, not only are you like them in some ways, they may think you are worse in many regards. Look at you—poor Christians. You need some kind of crutch to rest upon. Religion is a crutch for you to lean on, to give yourself stability and strength that you do not possess in and of yourself. Really, you are weak.

And they have all sorts of ideas about us based on our intellect, abilities, and even our mental health. I do not know. The world holds many such views. And we must live through this. We must endure being ridiculed, misunderstood, mocked, and hated. Names are spoken against us, and doors are closed to us because we are not accepted. We travel through this world, experiencing misunderstanding and similar trials.

It can be easy for us to question whether we have made the right decision. It is not clear to me now. I am uncertain about my standing. And this is part of the danger, is it not? Our Lord Jesus warns of this, as recorded in Matthew 24, when he speaks of the increasing opposition from the world against the church and the events described there. It says, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

There must be a clear reminder that those who are saved are those who endure to the end. The implication is that enduring to the end is difficult. The world attacks, resists, maligns, hates, and even kills. It is hard to endure to the end. It is hard to keep moving forward. You are living in that world. You are presently in that situation.

So, if I may help you understand where I am going with this, there is a somewhat hidden aspect of the believer’s standing. This aspect can itself be a weakness at times, as we struggle to have the same certainty we will have in the future. It is part of the language of the hymn we were singing about. It is a recognition that things will be different then. “And I shall understand how I owed my all to Thee.” And he is living in light of eternity, striving to fill his mind with a sense of what is to come, so he continues when he often walks beneath the cloud. He feels the times of sorrow, difficulty, and hardship, and the threat to give up, the feeling that you want to give up.

In one moment, in eternity, all of that will be silenced. Every question will be answered, and all doubts will be removed, and faith will give way to sight. Then we will understand how worthy he is to receive our dedication, the sacrifice of our lives, and all the love that we can offer.

But in the meantime, there is this hidden aspect. We are not standing and watching the burning of the judgment upon our enemies. We do not see the immediacy of that reality, or its full truth, in this present moment. And so we struggle. There will come a time when what is now hidden will become clear in the future.

God has acted in vindication upon the enemies of the people of God. This is why they are singing—a great voice, much people in heaven, saying, “Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments.” Revelation 19:1. We do not question his condemnation of the wicked. We have no difficulty understanding the reason for it. We fully accept it.

This is a glimpse into how accepting we will be. Sometimes we look at how we are now and project that into the future, wondering how we will perceive or view the judgment upon the sinner—the eternal realities of judgment upon them in hell. We wonder how heaven can be heaven, how there can be joy, and how I can be at rest knowing that there is another place where God pours out his undiluted judgment upon the unbelieving.

This passage shows you. We are so reoriented that we can understand a complete and absolute acceptance, and even praise God for his perfect judgment upon sin. They are celebrating. “Alleluia,” as the smoke rises up, verse 3. “Amen; Alleluia.” “Praise our God.” This is all in the context of judgment. And they rejoice then that “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” “Let us be glad and rejoice.” What is hidden now will become clear in the future. On that day, on that day, there will be a sense of vindication. There will be a sense that it was all worth it. It was all worth it. That the Lamb is worthy. That I did not sacrifice too much. That I did not try to be too obedient.

I am trying to remember how Leonard Ravenhill, the evangelist of the last century, described a scene once. It has been a long time since I thought about this, but he described a moment when people came to him and said something like, “Mr. Ravenhill, you take all this so seriously. You are so serious about it all.” He replied that he was not afraid of God coming to him and saying, “Leonard, you took it too seriously.” That was not one of his fears. He was not afraid that God would say, “Why were you so serious about it all?” That will not happen.

The serious-minded believer, the committed believer, the one who has left home and family and friends and set aside everything to go simply because the Master has called, the one who has accepted their imprisonment, who has cheerfully gone to be burned at the stake because of their faithfulness to Christ, will be vindicated on that day.

And they will see that it was worth it all. My faithfulness to Christ, above faithfulness to everything else, is worth it. And the others, those who have tried to live in both places, who have made only a temporary commitment and then shown carelessness—what will it be for them? It will all be clear then. We will be vindicated. And we will be humbled by those who are unknown.

You know all these people whom we have honored because they are articulate, who know the Scriptures, who give excellent answers, who are outstanding in question panels, who write remarkable books, and so on. All those people whom we have lifted up—I am sure many of them are worthy. I am sure many of them are. But I do have a distinct feeling that all the weight we have placed on them will be surpassed by the value of unknown believers who truly paid the price. We do not know their names, but they paid the price.

Thirdly, the believer’s final glorification. There is coming a glory. The glorification of the bride.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

Yes, those predestinated, who were then called, who were then justified, will also be glorified. Romans 8:30. And it is something that is done. It is certain. This wedding will not be canceled. This wedding will face no objection. This wedding will go forward, and there will be the glory of the bride adorned with glory.

This is the standing that our Lord Jesus gives to his people—not merely receiving an acquittal, but being adorned with a sense of glory. Our Lord, you see, is primarily after fellowship, as I reminded you last week. It is not simply about being freed from guilt. Yes, your sins are paid for and gone, but it is also about putting away sin, because that is a necessary aspect in order to enjoy fellowship. Sin must be removed, for he desires intimacy with his people.

Scripture describes the people of God in many ways, bringing them together. They are described as a body, as in 1 Corinthians 12. They are described by Peter as being like a building, and everyone who comes to faith in Christ is like another stone placed into that building, Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. There are many such descriptions, but one of them is that of a bride.

And just as there is a body, we are all brought together to be as a bride. This bride helps us understand that here is one who is glorified in a way more glorious than she has ever been. She has never been this glorified before. She will never be this glorified again. And this describes the people of God. They stand in this position, arrayed in a way unlike anything they have known before.

In Isaiah 61—and I believe this is what John is drawing from, or the Spirit, as John writes, the Spirit is giving him and moving through him, and what is put before us here, all that he sees and hears—he draws heavily from Isaiah 61, verse 10: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” If you place this verse beside the verses we are examining tonight—“Let us be glad and rejoice”—“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord”—see the specific points that are emphasized. Because we have been clothed, arrayed with garments of salvation, with a robe of righteousness, as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. And what the Spirit of God is teaching us here is that all this comes to fulfillment through the work of Jesus Christ. A people who have rested in him come to this experience, this glory.

But you must notice the order, even as Isaiah presents it. “He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation.” That is the expectation. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation.” If you come to the text of Revelation without understanding the language of Isaiah, you might draw incorrect conclusions about who is doing the arraying and so on.

As I said at the end of verse 7, “his wife hath made herself ready.” Oh, she is doing this herself. This is justification by works. This is coming to a standing because of something individuals do. But it is drawing heavily from Isaiah. God—we give glory to him because he hath clothed us with the garments of salvation. And that is the emphasis here. It is the same thing.

“To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white.” Granted by whom? Not by their own will. Not because of their own accomplishments. He has graciously given them this, because they believed. They believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

They then have this standing, and it opens up. If you go into Revelation 21 and 22, you see clearly. I will just look at verse 2 of chapter 21: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Verse 9: at the end of verse 9, “Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

This language clearly presents the eternal state and what is to come, showing the people of God as a bride. In that which awaits them, they are glorified and enabled to stand in the presence of the Bridegroom, who himself is glorified. They are made fit for that union. They are made fit.

You are not looking at the Lamb and his glory and then at a drab bride. If it were only you and me, and by our own works, then it would be less than a drab bride. But having been justified, he also glorifies them. And this bride has a glory of her own, which makes us look at the union and say, it is a fitting pairing. Oh, can you grasp this? It is a fitting pairing—the Lamb and his bride. It is all of grace. The glory of the bride. The beauty of the bride.

Yes, as I say, there is some dispute about the language of verse 8: “for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Is it used in the plural? Is it referring to the righteous acts and lives of the saints, and what they have done? But as I said to you, in justification there is this other aspect that will come. There is that which is declared by God, and then there is that which is vindicated. What will happen is a vindication in which there will be a presentation, and the people of God will give evidence that they belong to him. The evidence of their lives will prove that they truly belong to him.

That is how our works play a role. They do not justify us. They do not justify us. They do not give us a standing. They do not cause us to be glorified and arrayed in this way. That is not the case. But they will support what God has done. They will give evidence that God truly has worked in these people. They truly are the Lord’s. Their works will verify the work of grace that has been done in them.

And so even if you understand the fine linen in some way to be connected with their actions—if I even allow for that, without entering into the full debate—even if you allow for that, it must be seen in the sense of their being vindicated in that way, having been justified by grace. Their lives will prove what he has accomplished. I think you cannot miss the fact that verse 8 begins, “And to her was granted.” It is something that was granted. It is something given.

And so, if you take that perspective, if you continue along that line, and you sit with modern translations—which I am not going to pursue—then you must ensure your conclusions are consistent. It cannot mean what it cannot mean. The entire Word of God communicates justification as a work of God. Then you come to a verse and attempt to translate it in a way that suggests we have done something in order to obtain this position.

You are wrong. It cannot mean what it cannot mean. The context itself proves it. To her it was granted that she should be arrayed. It is all of grace. Even the works she has accomplished are all of grace—nothing except what God has accomplished through her. And so they sing. This is what they do. Why would they not sing?

All those in heaven are singing God’s vindication, celebrating his judgment of the wicked. The call in verse 5 is to all: “Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.” Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And this is what we do, because as we have examined this doctrine, as we realize that everything we have spiritually is something given to us and received by faith alone, it is a marvel. It is the marvel of all marvels. Why? Why you? Why should God send his Son? Why should he take our nature? Why?

He does not need it. God does not have to feel good about himself. Eternally he is satisfied in the Trinity of the sacred persons, in that fellowship of love divine between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Eternally content. And for his own glory—and this is where Romans 9 comes in—for his own glory he chooses them. He has planned, it is in his eternal purposes, to show forth his glory. He made the world and made humanity in his image, and in their fall he shows forth both the glory of his judgment and the glory of his saving mercy.

And all we can do, all we can do at the end of it all, is go back. And with this we will close, with Romans 11. At the end of all this, what we have considered—that God is pleased to set his love upon guilty sinners, not seeing any good in them, not foreseeing that they might believe while others will not, but choosing a people sovereignly, calling them in time to himself—the response is Romans 11:33: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” “Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?” “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

There is a celebration of the people of God over his just activity. And we stand amazed in his presence that he should have ever loved me. The day is coming when eternal realities will become the only reality. And what will become of you? Your only hope of acceptance, your only way of entering the presence of the glory of the triune God, is to be accepted and forgiven, and to know that when you die, it is absent from the body, present with the Lord. The only way is by faith in Christ, who, upon believing, will take away all your guilt and sin and confer on you his own righteousness. And the matter is settled for time and for all eternity.

Freedom now. I know what our future awaits. Are you ready?

Let us bow together in prayer.

Is the Lord speaking to you? Are you struggling? On the one hand, you know that God is calling you to salvation, and you know that what is stirring in your heart and conscience is this: it is time to seek the Lord. Yet on the other hand, something holds you back—some sin, some habit, some fear. Seek the Lord. Leave it to him. He will give you peace, and he will guide you through the future. You say, I cannot keep it on my own. Trust him, and he will keep you.

Lord, help those who are here tonight who lack confidence in Thy saving grace, who have not yet truly lived in the joy of the Christian life, and who do not yet know that they are pardoned and forgiven. We pray for them tonight. We pray that this may be the occasion, the very day, the very moment, when they will look back forever and say, “It was there, in that moment, that I began my journey, that I began a relationship with Christ, and that I first tasted the forgiveness of sins.” Grant this, O God, we pray.

Be with us in our fellowship. Encourage us in this place, and give strength to every child of God for whatever lies ahead this week. Fill us with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Let us keep all Thy ways. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be the portion of the people of God now and evermore. Amen.