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[0:00] Romans 3, beginning in 19 through to the end of the chapter. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law,! So that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

[0:17] Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law. Rather, through the law, we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God apart from law has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify.

[0:32] This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

[0:47] God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

[1:00] He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded.

[1:12] On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

[1:22] Is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

[1:36] Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all. Rather, we uphold the law. Well, what makes a good judge?

[1:52] Surely it is one who faithfully administers justice. It's what young Solomon asked for when he was made king.

[2:03] And God said to him, Ask me for whatever you want and I'll give it to you. And he asked for wisdom and for a discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong that he might know how to administer justice in his kingdom.

[2:22] And the Lord was pleased with that request and gave it to him and more that he didn't ask for. And so there's King Solomon on his throne of judgment.

[2:34] And two prostitutes come to have their case tried. The one says to him, My Lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me there.

[2:47] And the third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone. There was no one else in the house. And during the night, this woman's son died because she laid on him.

[3:03] So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I slept. And she put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast.

[3:18] Well, King, in the morning, I got up to nurse my son and he was dead. But in the morning light, upon closer look, I found that it was not the son that I had given birth to.

[3:36] No, the other woman cried. The living one is my son. The dead one is yours. But the first woman insisted, No, the dead one is yours.

[3:47] The living one is mine. And so they argued before the king. Now, who's right? And who's wrong? There are no other witnesses.

[4:01] How shall Solomon administer justice? This was before there was DNA testing. And so the king says, Bring me a sword.

[4:13] And once brought, he said, Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other. And immediately the real mother melted with compassion.

[4:25] And she pleaded with the king, Please, my lord, give her the living baby. Don't kill him. And the other said, Neither I nor you shall have him.

[4:38] Cut him in two. Well, then the king gave his ruling. Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him.

[4:49] She is his mother. And when all Israel heard the verdict that the king had given, They held the king in awe Because they saw that he had wisdom from God To administer justice.

[5:06] That is, to declare who is right And who is wrong according to the law. And to reward them accordingly. Now that's the job of a judge.

[5:17] To administer justice. And that goes for God the judge as well. We hear the same Solomon at the prayer of dedication. At the dedication of the temple.

[5:28] In 1 Kings 8, 31 and 32. And he calls on God to judge. He prays, When a man wrongs his neighbor And is required to take an oath And he comes and swears the oath Before your altar in this temple Then hear from heaven and act.

[5:48] Judge between your servants Condemning the guilty And bringing down on his own head What he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty And so establish his innocence.

[6:04] Notice what God does in administering justice. He condemns the guilty And he declares the innocent not guilty.

[6:15] He says to the one you're guilty And to the other you're innocent. And he always gets it right. Perfect justice. Every time.

[6:27] And upon establishing guilt and innocence. He then goes on to reward them accordingly. He gives to each what he has coming. Bringing down on his own head What he has done.

[6:41] That's what we find throughout the scriptures. But it is the role of justice To pay back a person According to what he's done.

[6:52] God says in Jeremiah 15 1710 I the Lord search the heart And examine the mind To reward a man According to his conduct. According to what his deeds deserve.

[7:06] Psalm 62 12 Surely you will reward each person According to what he has done. 2 Corinthians 5 10 We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ That each one may receive what is due him For the things done while in the body Whether good or bad You see To administer justice Is retribution It is to pay back What is owed It's payday We read it in Jeremiah 51 Did you notice it?

[7:41] The very first verse 24 Before your eyes I will repay Babylon And all who live in Babylon For all the wrong that they have done In Zion Declares the Lord That's what the role of a judge is It's to repay the wicked To reward the righteous Vengeance is mine I will repay Says the Lord So that's administering justice God giving to each man His due So what would you say About the judge Who tries a case In which a man is accused Of first degree murder And five days of Testimony and evidence Have made it plain Beyond a shadow Of doubt That he's guilty as charged And the judge knows it Himself And yet when he Announces the verdict He says Not guilty Well he'd be hated As a crooked Unjust judge

[8:43] He's not fit to be judge He doesn't Uphold justice We'd want him gone And again Solomon the wise man Says the same In Proverbs 24 24 Whoever says to the guilty You are innocent Peoples will curse him And nations denounce him But it will go well With those who convict The guilty Well that's the job Of the judge you see To administer justice By convicting the guilty And by justifying the innocent Declaring them not guilty Proverbs 17 He who justifies The wicked And he who condemns The righteous Both of them alike Are an abomination To the Lord Not only cursed By people And nations But detestable To the Lord Himself It's just not right

[9:45] It's not just To justify The wicked And yet Romans chapter 4 And verse 5 Clearly says That God Himself Justifies The wicked And he does it A lot He does it Every day He does it Each time A wicked sinner Like you and me Trusts in Jesus He's done it With many of us Here We were as guilty As could be There was no question As to our guilt We had broken God's law And what we deserved Was eternal punishments In hell And yet He justified The wicked He declared Not guilty That man is innocent In my court He's in a right Standing With the judge There's nothing

[10:45] Outstanding Between him And the law It has nothing No claim upon him He's innocent Now can you see How that raises A great legal problem How can God Be just And Be the justifier Of the wicked Do we understand The problem I'm afraid Most today Don't even Understand the problem Duh What's the problem With God Justifying the wicked Well the problem Is he's just And God's justice Is not understood It's It's an underestimated Attribute of God Most people Don't have a clue How just God is They They've heard That he's loving And merciful And think that Those attributes Sort of trump His justice At least in some Some cases Or they think God is like us I mean we're Willing to overlook A lot And they fondly

[11:46] Dream that God Will overlook A lot As well We grade ourselves On the curve And we think He'll grade on the curve As well I mean we're better Than that guy Or that girl And will God Not Reward us Accordingly I mean all he can Expect of us Is to try our best And most of us Do that Right In so many ways Man underestimates The justice Of God And so they think It's an easy thing For God to Forgive sin For God to Justify the wicked For God not to Punish A person For their sins If God wants To show his grace And forgive a sinner Then he just does it He just says Well I'll cut you Some slack this time I'll just pretend I didn't see it I'll turn the other way And I just Will leave Your sin unpunished As if

[12:47] Justice was something That he could just Switch off for a moment And act in mercy But no What did we see Last week We saw God Is just His very nature What he is His being He is just It's not a mood He's in He is just He's always just And therefore All he does Is just He can't say Time out justice I want to pardon This sinner You be quiet Justice I'm going to Let his sin Go unpunished Close your eyes While I let This guilty one Go free No he can't do that He is just It's not something He can cease to be Even for a moment Or he would cease To be God The God of the Bible Who's Always just His mercy May want to spare The guilty Of punishment But his justice

[13:48] Demands That every sin Be punished And Justice's demands Can't be just Ignored Or set aside Or there would be Injustice in God Himself And that cannot be It cannot be He is Too just To let even One sin In all the universe Go unpunished His justice Is his holy Determination To punish sin Then Wherever It is found He's the one Who said Be sure of this The wicked Will not go Unpunished He's the one That said That by no means Will I ever Clear Clear the guilty By no means Will I let The guilty Go unpunished Exodus 34 6 But is that Not precisely What he does He lets us Guilty ones Go unpunished He has spared

[14:49] Many of us From our Deserved sentence Of hell He's cleared Our names In his court He's declared Us innocent Righteous In his sight Justified How can he do that And still be just Are you beginning To feel something Of the tension Of this great Legal problem It seems like It's an either Or situation That either God is just Or He justifies The wicked But surely It can't be both Because if he's Just A just judge Wouldn't justify Wicked men And if he Justifies wicked Men Well then he Wouldn't be just So how can he Be both just And the justifier Of wicked Men Ask your bright Lawyer friends If they've ever Solved this Great legal Problem of the Bible The justice Of God Presents A problem

[15:49] That can only Be resolved At the cross Of Christ And that's Exactly where Paul takes us In Romans Chapter 3 If I Invite you To turn there Romans Chapter 3 And verses 24 to 26 He's just Told us How we are All sinners We have This In common Whether Jew Or Gentile There's no Difference We've all Sinned And fall Short of The glory Of God And are Justified Freely By his Grace Through the Redemption That came By Christ Jesus God Presented Him As a Sacrifice Of Atonement Through Faith In his Blood He did This To Demonstrate His Justice Because In his Forbearance He had Left the Sins Committed Beforehand Unpunished He did It To Demonstrate His Justice At the Present Time So As To Be Just And The One Who Justifies Those Who Have Faith In Jesus

[16:49] Notice From The Text That Calvary Demonstrates God's Justice Calvary Enables God To Be Just And The Justifier Of Wicked Men Who Believe In Jesus Now We Usually Think Of Calvary As A Demonstration Of God's Love Don't We And It Is That Romans 5 8 God Demonstrates His Love For Us In This And That While We Were Yet Sinners Christ Died For Us Yes The Cross Of Christ Is A Demonstration Of The Love Of God But This Passage Is Telling Us That Calvary Is Also A Demonstration Of The Justice Of God Now There Are Many Demonstrations Of God's Justice In The Bible As We Saw Last Week Right On Through Our Bibles From Genesis To Revelation But Here Is The Grand Demonstration Of God's Justice

[17:50] It's It's The Greatest Display Of God's Justice It's Even Greater Than The Display Of His Justice In Hell If You Doubt God's Justice Come With Me To Calvary Because Justice Reigns Here It's A Place Of Judgment It's A Place Of Condemnation It's A Place Of Punishment It's A Place Of Curse Bearing God The Judge Is Holding Court At Calvary And He's Punishing Sin And Guilt Now in This Passage Before us Paul Realizes That some Might Have a Reason To doubt The Justice Of God They Might Have a Reason To Be Suspicious That Maybe God's Not Really All That Just After All And The Reason For Such A Suspicion Is Because God In Forbearance Has Left The Sins Of All Those Old Testament Saints Unpunished And

[18:50] When You See Sinners Going Unpunished You Might Think Wait A Minute Maybe God Does Let The Sinner Go Scott Free Maybe He Does Justify Wicked Men Maybe He's Not All That Serious About Condemning Sin After All Think Of All The Saints In The Old Testament Whom God In His Forbearance Left Their Sins Unpunished They Were As Guilty As Could Be And Yet When They Died They Were Not Punished In Hell As They Deserved But They Were Taken Immediately!

[19:30] What's Up With That Is God Unjust Is He Soft On Sin There's Abraham He Starts Out As An Idolater And We've All Read Of His Lying About His Wife Sarah Saying She Was His Sister He's A Sinner And Yet He's Declared Righteous Innocent By The Great Judge Of The Universe He Was Never Damned For His Sin He Never Paid The Punishment That Was Deserving To Him There's Jacob That Deceiver If you Were Treated By Jacob As He Treated Others You'd Be In Court Every Week With A New Case!

[20:18] He Was A Deceiver And Yet He Was Justified He Didn't Go To Hell He Went To Heaven When He Died He Wasn't Punished And We About David And What He Did Committed Adultery And Then Was Willing To Commit Murder In Order To Get Another Man's Wife And When He Died He Went To Heaven He Didn't Pay For His Sents There Was No Justice For Him Seems!

[20:46] Like God's Not So Tough! After All This Justice Of God That That The Bible Talks About Well He's Letting A Whole Lot Of Things Slide They Sinned And Got Away With It Without Getting Due Punishment I Once Worked With A Construction Worker Who Had A Real Hang Up On How Easy David Got Off For Murder And Adultery It Became A Real Stumbling Stone To Him It Wasn't Fair That David Would Do Such Things And Yes The Baby Died And Yes This And That But He Didn't Get What He Had Coming There Was No Justice There And Now I See The Answer That I Should Have Given Him And It's Found Right Here In Romans 3 25 That Though God In Forbearance Left

[21:47] David Sins Unpunished It Was Only A Suspension Of His Sentence Payday Was Postponed But Not Cancelled It Was Delayed But Not Dropped And So In The Fullness Of Time God Sent Forth His Son Born Of A Woman Born Under The Law To Redeem Us Who Are Under The Law And He Set Him Forth He Brought Him To Mount Calvary And Set Him Forth As A Propitiation A Sacrifice Of Atonement That Would Turn Away God's Wrath For Sin By That Wrath Falling On Him And So Here We Come To The Middle Cross On Calvary And We See The Son Of God Receiving The Torments The Punishment That David Sins His Murder His Adultery And Every Other Sin Of David That He Deserved We See It Being Punished Before Us He Suffers

[22:47] The Wrath And Abandonment That David Deserved And Here At The Cross David Sins Were Punished With Full Severity All That Justice Demanded And Verse 26 Tells Us That God Did It To Demonstrate His Justice At The Present Time So As To Be Just And The Justifier Of Those Who Believe In Jesus The Grand Demonstration Of God's Justice Has Been Made 2000 Years Ago It's At The Cross We See Just How Just God Is How Determined He Is To Punish Every Sin Wherever It's Found Because When Sin Is Found On His Own Son He Does Not Spare Him The Judge Is So Just That When He Finds Sin On His Own Son He Would Rather Punish His Own Son Than To Let One Sin Go Unpunished Because Just To Let One Sin

[23:47] Go Unpunished In All The Universe Would Mean That His Justice Unravels He Is Not God He Is Not The Just One The Judge Of All The Earth That Will Do Right And That's Why I Say Hell Though It Is Also A Demonstration Of God's Justice It Is Not As A Great Display Of God's Justice As The Cross Because In Hell God Punishes Rebellious Sinners But At Calvary He Punishes His Own Beloved Son Which Is The Greater Testament To How Just God Is So How Is It That Sin Is Found On The Son Of God How Is It That There On Calvary Sin Was Found To Be On Him Well He Bore Our Sin The Bible Says!

[24:42] 1 Peter 2 24 He Himself Bore Our Sin In His Body On The Tree 2 Corinthians 5 21 God Made Him Who Had No Sin To Be Sin For Us So That In Him We Might Become The Righteousness God God God God Made Him To Be Sin For Us He Was Bearing Our Sin To The Place Of Judgment And God's Judgment Fell Upon Him It Pleased The Lord To Crush Him And To Cause Him To Suffer For He Bore The Sin Of Many Isaiah 53 He Was Cursed Of God He Suffered The Undiluted Wrath And Condemnation Of God You See He Was Standing In As Our Substitute On That Day And That's Why He Got Everything That We Had Coming To Us Because He Stood There As Our Substitute Does David Deserve To Be Damned

[25:43] Then It Must Fall! Upon His Substitute Did You Deserve To Be Damned Forever! Then That Wrath Must Fall On Your Substitute If You Are To Be Declared Innocent And Righteous Before God Many Hands Were Raised To Wound Him None Would Interpose To Save But The Deepest Stroke That Pierced Him Was The Stroke That Justice Gave So Says Thomas Kelly It Was The Stroke Not Of The Roman Soldier He Was The Stroke That Justice Gave He Was Beaten In The Face And We Hear Not A Word He Has A Crown Of Thorns Pounded In His Head With A Rod And He Is Silent He Has His Back Torn Open With

[26:43] A Flogging That Could Kill A Man He Has Nails Pounded Between His Hands And Through His Feet And We Don't Hear A Word From Him But When Justice Pierced Him When In The Darkness Almighty God Judged Him For Sin Then The Bible Says He Cried In A Loud Voice Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani My God My God Why Have You Forsaken Me You See It Was The Deepest Stroke That Pierced Him Was The Stroke That Justice Gave He Got Justice So That We Might Get Pardon We Might Get Righteousness We Might Get Forgiveness We Might Get Heaven He Got Justice So That God Might Be Just And Be The Justifier Of Those Who Believe In Jesus So The

[27:43] Great Legal Problem Of The Bible Is Resolved At The Cross Of Christ It's Because Of Christ's Suffering As Our Substitute That God Can Now Justify The Wicked Who Believe In Jesus He Can Justify Them And Still Be Just In Doing So He's Not A Cruel Crooked Judge Because His Justice Was Not Compromised Or Violated In Or To Show You Mercy God Never Exercises One Attribute At The Expense Of Another He Doesn't Exercise!

[28:16] His Mercy At The Expense Of His Justice No Justice Was Fully Satisfied And So God Is Now Able To Be Gracious In A Way That Does No Violence To His Justice John Newton That Converted Slave Traitor Put It This Way Let Us Wonder Now Here's A True Wonder That Grace And Justice Join And Point To Mercy Store When Through Grace In Christ Our Trust Is Justice Smiles And Asks No More He Who Washed Us With His Blood Has Secured Our Way To God Is Justice Smiling On You This Morning Or Frowning At You When Through Grace In Christ Our Trust Is Justice Smiles And Has Nothing More To Ask What Does Justice Demand The Death Of The Sinner

[29:16] The Soul That Sins It Shall Surely Die The Day You Eat Of It You Will Die The Wages Of Sin Is Death But If That Death Has Been Suffered Then Justice Is Satisfied It Has Nothing More To Ask It Was Substitution It Was Christ Dying For Us That Just For The Unjust To Bring Us To God And What Happens Then When We Put Our Faith In Jesus Is That All That Jesus Did Is Counted As If We Did It Ourselves Did We Deserve To Die Yes Did Jesus Die Yes Then That Death Is Counted As If I Died Paul Says I Am Crucified With Christ So His Death Is Is Counted My Death So That Justice Smiles Has Nothing More To Ask It Just Demands Death Damnation

[30:17] For The Sinner And That's Been Paid You're Fine With Me Says The Law Justice Smiles And Ask No More God Can Now Give A Pardon Without Violating His Justice Once In A While We Hear Of Presidents Giving Presidential Pardons There's A Man That's Been Guilty Proven Guilty Of Some Criminal Activity And The President By A Wave Of His Hand By A Pardon That He Gives Just Says We're Going To Turn The Other Way We're Not Going To Punish This We're Going To Let Him Go Free Don't You Ever Think That God's Pardon Is Like A Presidential Pardon In A Presidential Pardon There's A Great Travesty Of Justice That Is Done There Is A Wrong That Is Never Put Right There Is Something That Should Have Been Punished That Isn't Punished But

[31:17] When God Gives A Pardon And Gives It For Jesus Sake Not One Wrong Goes Unpunished We Come To Calvary And See That It Was Punished There Nobody Can Stand At The Foot Of The Middle Cross And Say God Is Soft On Sin Nobody Can Stand Before The Cross Of Christ And Say You Know Sometime God Let Sin Slide And Leaves Them Unpunished No It's The Cross That Demonstrates The Justice Of God As All The Demands Of Justice That Were Against Us Were Poured Out On Our Substitute Because The Sinless Savior Died My Sinful Soul Is Counted Free For God The Just Is Satisfied To Look On Him And Pardon Me So

[32:19] Brothers And Sisters This Is Why He Does Not Treat Us As Our Sins Deserve Why He Doesn't Repay Us According To Our Iniquities Because He Treated Our Substitute As Our Sins Deserved And He Repaid Him He Paid Him Back For All That Our Iniquities Should Have Received So The Great Legal Problem Of The Bible Is Only Resolved At The Cross Of Christ And Kids It's Not Just A The!

[32:47] Problem Out There! It's Not Just A The sank Of Possibly Possibly Possibly No, we've not understood the justice of God unless we've been to Calvary.

[33:26] And we've not understood Calvary unless we've seen it to be a place of strict justice where our substitute was getting everything that we had coming to us.

[33:42] The Savior was damned in our place. Hell came to Calvary that day and he suffered the full wrath of God.

[33:55] There's only two places where God's justice is fully served. We're going to see, I think, in the coming weeks how there are times in this world where God's justice is served.

[34:07] We saw them. The flood, Sodom and Gomorrah had fire and brimstone raining down. That was God's justice being demonstrated. But it wasn't fully served. That's not all those sinners deserved was just to be drowned or fried with fire and brimstone.

[34:23] No, there is eternal punishments that sin deserves. And so there is only two places where God's justice is fully served. One is hell where forever and ever those who sinned against God will be punished.

[34:43] The other is the cross where the Lord Jesus Christ, their substitute, bore the infinite punishment of God as He hung there on those three hours of darkness and judgment of God.

[35:02] Two places. Where will your sins be punished? Everybody here is going to have your sins punished in one of those two places. yourself in hell or by your substitute on the cross.

[35:17] Now don't miss the role of faith in all of this. The Bible doesn't teach universalism. It doesn't teach that well Jesus came and did something that has saved the whole world.

[35:28] It saved everyone. Everyone deserved to go to hell and then Jesus died for everyone and took all their punishment so everyone's really going to heaven. That's not what the Bible says. Who is it that will be justified and declared righteous and not have to suffer for their sins?

[35:46] It's those who have faith in Jesus. It's everywhere in this passage. Verse 25 It's through faith in His blood. He is just in the one.

[35:59] Verse 26 Who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Verse 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

[36:10] Not all have their sins punished at Calvary. Only those who put their trust in what Jesus did for sinners. That's the gospel. You must believe. You must take Him at His word.

[36:21] You must believe what the world says is crazy. That somebody's death 2,000 years ago had such merit and value before God that it will change a person's eternal destiny if they cast all their weight upon it.

[36:41] If they believe it. If they take Him at His word. And so you come and you say Lord Jesus I believe that by your death you paid the price for sin.

[36:54] Come and save me. And whoever believes shall not perish but have everlasting life. but all that do not believe will have their sins punished in hell forever.

[37:13] Well we've been talking about God our judge. We've been studying the justice of God. And it's brought us to God the judge. And He's not a make-believe judge.

[37:24] He's real. And you're going to stand before Him one day as much as I'm standing before you today. Here I am real flesh and blood the judge real flesh and blood the man Christ Jesus.

[37:35] You're going to meet Him. You're going to meet Him. You're going to look in His eyes even as you're looking at me now. And He's going to judge you. Do you think it would be wise for you to know something about that judge that you're going to give an account to one day?

[37:48] Well the Bible says He's not grading on the curve. He's not grading on whether you've done better than this one or that one. Whether you're trying your best in religion. No. The standard is perfect righteousness.

[38:01] His holy commandments. And if you violated one James says you've broken the whole law. You stand condemned as a guilty sinner. And I must tell you that there's only been one person who has ever lived so well as to please this judge.

[38:20] As to merit eternal life. It's the Lord Jesus. And that's why salvation is found in no one else. Because only He is righteous.

[38:31] And so if you're going to stand in that day before the judge and live you've got to get into Christ. And you get into Christ by faith. And when you believe in Jesus all that He did becomes yours.

[38:45] And so His death for sin becomes yours. And all of His obedience becomes yours. And so justice smiles at you. And welcomes you into eternal life.

[38:58] Come to this Savior. Savior. But then believer what difference should the justice of God make in your life? You have come. You are trusting in the Lord Jesus to save you from your sins.

[39:11] But how should the fact that God is just affect the way you live? Well just three points quickly. It should make me hate my sins more. To see justice falling upon my Savior.

[39:24] to think that my sin is so great and the evil of it the offense of it that it does to God is so great that nothing less than the damnation of the Son of God could take away the offense done to God.

[39:43] Nothing less than Jesus being crushed by His own Father could atone for my sin and turn God's wrath away. Oh what is the evil of my sin?

[39:56] Let me hate it more. Secondly the justice of God should make me love my Savior more. Did He so love me that He was willing to be cursed and condemned in my place?

[40:10] It was fierce justice and He took it willingly. He laid down His life for His sheep. Oh then let me love Him more. Let me live for Him who died for me.

[40:24] And lastly it should make me quick to confess my sin confident of forgiveness when I do. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 9 says if we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[40:46] One of the reasons God says that we should confess our sins and do it with confidence that He'll forgive us is that He is not only faithful to His promise but He is just.

[40:57] He is just and He will forgive us our sins. God's justice believers guarantees your forgiveness and your cleansing.

[41:07] It would be unjust for God not to forgive your sins since Jesus shed His blood for them. so if you confess your sins God is faithful and just and will forgive you your sins.

[41:25] Brothers and sisters are we not slow to come and confess our sins to Jesus out of some suspicion that He's going to condemn us? He's going to have less than a forgiving disposition toward us?

[41:38] the justice of God rather than chasing us from Him should draw us to Him as it convinces us that we will be forgiven.

[41:52] If you owed $20,000 to the bank and had no money to pay and so a very nice man sends a check for $20,000 to the bank and says put it on his account your account he pays the bill for you and all you owe is paid off having received the $20,000 do you think the bank will come knocking at your door and say you owed me $20,000 you've not paid?

[42:20] Well that would be a travesty of justice the debt was paid it was paid for you by another and so your debt is cancelled in the eyes of the bank you don't owe them anything they have to forgive you the debt it's been paid justice is on your side in this issue and it argues for you not against you and even so God is just and he cannot demand double payment once from your substitute and again from you did your substitute pay?

[43:00] then the debt is cancelled God is just and his justice is now working for you not against you and so if you confess your sins he is faithful and just and he will forgive you your sins he's not unjust to demand payment twice payment God cannot twice demand first at my bleeding surety's hand and then again at mine so come without delay come without doubt confess your sins to this all just and faithful savior let's pray you speak to our just God and I'll close in prayer let's pray silently our just God we we come humbly because we are sinners we are these wicked ones and many of us you have justified and we're humbled to think what it cost our savior for you to be able to pardon us and we're also concerned about those who are in our midst who don't seem to understand how just you are and are headed to this judgment scene are unprepared because they're outside of

[44:22]  Christ oh come and open their eyes not only to your justice but to your justice at Calvary that they might trust in this Jesus and so be justified thank you for not selling out your justice thank you father for crushing your son thank you lord Jesus for willingly being damned in our place now let that change the way we live make us hate our sin more and love our savior more make us quick to confess our sins because you're so faithful and just we ask in Jesus name amen amen amen