Justification by Grace

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Romans 3:24

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

I. THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN OR BY CHRIST JESUS. When a prisoner has been made a slave by some barbarous power, a ransom price must be paid. Now, we being, by the fall of Adam, virtually guilty, Justice claimed us as his bond slaves forever unless we could pay a ransom. But we were "bankrupt debtors"; an execution was put into our house; all we had was sold, and we could by no means find a ransom; it was just then that Christ paid the ransom price that we might be delivered from the curse of the law and go free. Note —

1. The multitude He has redeemed, "a multitude that no man can number."

2. This ransom was all paid, and all paid at once. The sacrifice of Calvary was not a part payment. The whole of the demands of the law were paid down there and then. So priceless was the ransom one might have thought that Christ should pay it by installments. Kings' ransoms have sometimes run through years. But our Saviour once for all gave Himself a sacrifice, leaving nothing for Him or us to do.

3. When Christ paid all this ransom He did it all Himself! Simon, the Cyrenian, might bear the cross, but not be nailed to it. Two thieves were with Him there; not righteous men, lest any should have said that their death helped the Saviour. He trod the wine press alone.

4. It was accepted. There have been prices offered which never were accepted, and therefore the slave did not go free. But this was accepted, and the proof of that is —

(1)  His resurrection.

(2)  His ascension into heaven.

II. THE EFFECT OF THE RANSOM "being justified freely by His grace."

1. What is the meaning of justification? There is no such thing on earth for mortal man, except in one way — i.e., he must be found not guilty. If you find him guilty, you cannot justify him. The Queen may pardon him, but she cannot justify him. It remained for the ransom of Christ to effect that which is an impossibility to earthly tribunals. Now see the way whereby God justifies a sinner. A prisoner has been tried and condemned to death. But suppose that some second party could be introduced who could become that man, he, the righteous man, putting the rebel in his place, and making the rebel a righteous man. We cannot do that in our courts. If I should be committed for a year's imprisonment instead of some wretch who was condemned yesterday, I might take his punishment, but not his guilt. Now, what flesh and blood cannot do, that Jesus by His redemption did. The way whereby God saves a sinner is not by passing over the penalty, but the putting of another person in the rebel's place. The rebel must die. Christ says, "I will be his substitute." God consents to it. No earthly monarch could have power to consent to such a change. But the God of heaven had a right to do as He pleased.

2. Some of the characteristics of this justification.

(1) As soon as a repenting sinner is justified, remember, he is justified for all his sins. The moment he believes in Christ, his pardon at once he receives, and his sins are no longer his; they are laid upon the shoulders of Christ, and they are gone.

(2) But what is more, he becomes righteous; for in the moment when Christ takes his sins he takes Christ's righteousness.

(3) This is irreversible. If Christ has once paid the debt, the debt is paid, and it will never be asked for again; if you are pardoned, you are pardoned once forever.

III. THE MANNER OF GIVING THIS JUSTIFICATION.

1. "Freely," because there is no price to be paid for it; "By His grace," because it is not of our deservings. If you bring in any of your deservings, or anything to pay for it, He will not give it. Rowland Hill at a fair noticed the chapmen selling their wares by auction; so he said, "I am going to hold an auction too, to sell wine and milk, without money and without price. My friends over there find a great difficulty to get you up to their price; my difficulty is to bring you down to mine." So it is with men. If I could preach justification to be bought, or to be had by walking a hundred miles, or by some torture, who would not seek it? But when it is offered freely men turn away. But may I not say, "Lord, justify me because I am not so bad as others"; or "because I go to church twice a day"; or "because I mean to be better"? No; it is "by His grace." You insult God by bringing your counterfeit coin to pay for His treasures. What poor ideas men have of the value of Christ's gospel if they think they can buy it! A rich man, when he was dying, thought he could buy a place in heaven by building a row of almshouses. A good man said, "How much are you going to leave?" "Twenty thousand pounds." Said he, "That would not buy enough for your foot to stand on in heaven; for the streets are made of gold there, and therefore of what value can your gold be, it would be accounted nothing of, when the very streets are paved with it?"

2. But how is it to be got? By faith. There is a story told of a captain of a man-of-war whose little boy ran up the mast till at last he got on to the main truck. Then the difficulty was that he was not tall enough to get down from this main truck, reach the mast, and so descend. He was clinging to the main truck with all his might, but in a little time he would fall down on the deck a mangled corpse. The captain shouted, "Boy, the next time the ship lurches, throw yourself into the sea." The poor boy looked down on the sea; it was a long way; he could not bear the idea of throwing himself in. So he clung to the main truck, though there was no doubt that he must soon let go and perish. The father, pointing a gun at him, said, "If you don't throw yourself into the sea, I'll shoot you!" Over went the boy splash into the sea, and out went brawny arms after him, and brought him on deck. Now we, like the boy, are in a position of extraordinary danger. Unfortunately, we have some good works like that main truck, and we cling to them. Christ knows that unless we give them up, we shall be dashed to pieces. He therefore says, "Sinner, let go thine own trust, and drop into the sea of My love." We look down, and say, "Can I be saved by trusting in God? He looks as if He were angry with me, and I could not trust Him." Ah, will not mercy's tender cry persuade you? — "He that believeth shall be saved." Must the weapon of destruction be pointed directly at you? Must you hear the dreadful threat — "He that believeth not shall be damned"? You must let go or perish! That is faith when the sinner lets go his hold, drops down, and so is saved; and the very thing which looks as if it would destroy him is the means of his being saved.

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