The Gift We Can't Live Without Part 2

Jesus is running the race of life line is seven know if there's one thing you have to have the get into heaven you'll want to know what it is today. Find out just how desperately we all need the gift of righteousness stay with the church in Chicago this morning with Dr. Irwin sir whose clear teaching helps us make a cross the finish line in a series on how you can be sure you will spend eternity with God. How can we avail ourselves of the righteousness of Christ. Will you know Dave in the book of Romans, and elsewhere. The Bible says that the righteousness of Jesus Christ is received by faith. But I need to emphasize the fact that faith really means trust. It is simply an intellectual belief. It is really a trust of the heart, seeing our sin and then seeing our need for righteousness and receiving it. Now the title of this series of messages is how we can be sure that we will spend eternity with God and I've written a book by that title and at the end of this message.

I'm going to be giving you some information as to how this resource can be yours. But for now let us listen carefully as we discussed the righteousness of Christ which we don't deserve but is given to needy sinners think of snow here you have MSA trails in the snow and some of you. Looking back in the rearview mirror of your lives.

You see those messy trails don't you you see what you have done to your body. You see what you have done to other people and to some of you are still doing bad things to other people.

Right now, and you look back and you see this message you wish things could've been different, but the past cannot be changed all that you see is the mod and the grime and the dirt.

But then the snow fall, Ms. 18 inches of snow the blankets. The whole area, now, let us reason together, says the Lord, your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, and though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. God says there's the messy trail but I'm going to cover it and it will be covered by this special pure righteousness of Christ which is my righteousness, so that before me, you will be as holy as he is in the first characteristic is. It is a free gift. When you do with those who can forgive themselves spell it and it was a friend of Luther did some things he couldn't forgive himself. Given some bad advice and he heard other people because of the advice that he could not be consoled if Luther had been living in our century. He would've said now skeleton. Let's get a couple of things straight. First of all, it was not that big a deal. Everybody is in the same boat as you are number two what you need to do is to work through this through recognizing that you have to feel good about yourself that your real problem. So I'd like to do is to help you to feel good about yourself. Luther didn't do that he did not minimize the sin he magnified grace, he said to skeleton in a letter, my faithful request and admonition is that you join our company and associate with us he says are real great and hard-boiled centers should you committed a great sin all come and join us because because we're big sinners. You must by no means make Christ to seem paltry and trifling to us, as though he could be our helper only when we want to be rid of imaginary nominal and childish sins old and knows spell it and he said that kind of a Redeemer would not good for us.

He said he must rather be a Savior and Redeemer from real grading, grievous and noble transgressions and iniquities day from even the greatest and the shocking sin I didn't bring it with me but we have a letter from a man in prison listens to our radio ministry who wrote was guilty of rape rate for women he's in jail now he has come to saving faith in Christ, but he is wondering how does a man who has done something so terrible with consequences that are still ongoing and was had such a terrible effect upon women.

How does a man like that ever become at peace with himself, not by feeling good about himself or even getting in touch with his pure inner child. Some people are doing this to realize that God has sent us snowfall and covered the mass God helps us with the consequences. He helps us work through it, but we have a brand-new basis upon which we can accept him. He is not looking at us legally now is those who are such damnable sinners, but he sees the righteousness of Christ to be found in the here and most said Paul not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith hurts me to say it, I must say it anyway.

God's righteousness is so perfect and so pure that it even can cover a rapist. Now, instead it number one. It is a free gift number two. Let us remember it is on changeable it is unchangeable.

The righteousness that the apostle Paul received when he wrote the book of Romans is the same righteousness that we receive. It is the same righteousness that is given to every person who believes in Jesus.

Some of you don't know who your parents are, you may have been adopted. Some of you have lived lives with her has been all that rejection and all that pain and you wonder how you can endure. I want you to know today that God gives you the very same righteousness and the same acceptance before God.

As the apostle Paul is Martin Luther or Billy Graham or anyone else whom we may admire is a wonderful Christian you have the same opportunity. It is called the priesthood of the believer, because there's only one kind of righteousness. It is God's righteousness, and it is credited to those who believe and it is yours Friday evening our precious daughter Lisa who is 16 going on 22 said to me dad.

Do your prayers count more than the prayers of other people.

I think it's easy for children in the home of the pastor to get that impression because whenever we gather together you know when there is a church picnic or where having lunch somewhere. Always the pastor, would you say grace. Please always why we have to be ready to preach prayer diet a moments notice I said Lisa, the answer is no, depends on the amount of faith in my heart just like it depends on the way in which other people pray that we have the same access the same blood that covers my sins. That gives me acceptability to God as the saying that covers you when it comes to that. It is the same a snowfall that covers our messy trails. It is, and on changeable righteousness. Number three.

It is a permanent righteousness. It is a permanent righteousness. Some of your guy have difficulty accepting this, but I want you to understand clearly and in a future message will give you reasons to accept it, you realize that when Jesus Christ justifies you and in saving faith, you have believed on him that gift of righteousness covers all of your sins, past, present and future all the way to see what was Luther's problem. You have all these people were confessing their sins and their unsaved unsaved Luther was unconverted, though confessing his sins meticulously.

Why because the confession only took care of the sins that he had committed so far.

He had no provision for tomorrow when he would commit new sentence. Let me ask you a question. How many of your sins were future when Christ died on the cross.

Will I hope you realize that all of them were Jesus died on the cross and went to heaven and you hadn't even begun sinning yet because you weren't around when Jesus died. You see, he not only took care of some past sins. He had to look into the future and anticipate all the iniquity that we would do that. The iniquity of us all who are living in this century would be laid upon him, and therefore, when you receive the gift of righteousness. It is good enough to take you all the way to heaven is that what does that mean that we as Christians don't have to confess our sins anymore. Listen very carefully. We have to. In fact, we have to have deep repentance, but it is never to establish tour to reestablish our legal relationship with God. There is a difference between the favor of God, which we always enjoy because of Christ for he sees us through Christ. There is a difference between the favor of God and fellowship with God.

You see my children. If there is a break in our relationship as happens from time to time. Neither they nor we as parents need to be restored as father, as parents and children, but we need to make sure that we are in fellowship and God asks that an confession is part of the process, but it is never to reestablish our relationship with God. Our permanency with him.

Oh I know what you're saying you're saying will you know that means people can believe on Christ and they can live as they wish. You see when you become a member of God's family. He make sure that you do not live as you wish.

There's a whole growing process, but the initial gift is free, and were to be talking about the implications of that in a future message.

It is a permanent righteousness number four is an infinite righteousness. You know sometimes that people say all I know the meaning of the word justification. Justification means it is just as if I never sin.

Let me tell you that that is an inadequate definition partially right but far short of the mark folks when God justifies us when he declares us to be righteous, as righteous as his blessed son is not. Just as if we have not said it is as if we have been perfectly obedient to the law. It is as if we have met every one of his infinite and holy very holy requirements because you see Jesus Christ represents me before God the father today. Today he is my righteousness today. He is my wisdom today. He is my sanctification today. He is my redemption.

He is everything that I need today representing me in heaven and in the presence of God I am being accepted and received and welcomed and loved on his basis and there is no way that that can be associated with human righteousness, even if there were a perfect person he could not die for the sins of everyone like Jesus Christ died for the sins of those who believed he couldn't do it.

Remember Augustine in his despair as he was thinking about his own sin. He was thinking of how much God demands and then the light dawned on him and he said all God demand what ever you will supply what you demand.if you need infinite righteousness. If you need a righteousness that is so pure and holy, that belongs only to you. That's fine.

God, I don't have it supply it. That's the message of the gospel, God says, I give you an infinite righteousness and infinite righteousness.

Finally, it is this righteousness that is the basis of our union with Christ is the in the Bible more than 100 times in the epistles.

The apostle Paul uses this precious little phrase it says that we are in Christ, we are in Christ. What does it mean to be in Christ. It means that God is clothed us with the righteousness of Christ clothed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. Jesus died blood and righteousness my view DR to my heavenly dress. That's why we are in Christ. That's why Jesus could say in John 17 when he was praying he said, oh father that has loved them even as thou has loved me. Is it your loving them as much is your loving me later moment God loves Christ with an undying unbelievable love.

I know he's loving us as fallen sinners as people want to do good but end up going bad oftentimes and he loves us as much as he loves Christ. It is on thinkable. But God says I am loving you, for Christ sake, I am receiving you, based on his righteousness.

You are in him and when I embrace my son. I am embracing you because you are in Christ received loved welcome and it would be heresy for you to say you know God would love me more if only I were better whole. How many people are in despair because of that old God is so mad at me I that Christians say that God is so mad at me if you only knew what I did. You know how he could not love me and you see the devil has a field day and they are driven from the presence of the grace and the mercy of God by their own guilt because they do not understand that God loves us. Not even because we have a good day and I don't want to be misunderstood, but it's not even because we had a warm and wonderful time in our devotions important though that may be, it is because we are in him and him is the basis of every command in the New Testament Bible says we should put off the works of the flesh sensuality. Why, because you are in Christ, clothed with his righteousness, it becomes the one doctrine that becomes the anchor point. The doctrine that I keep going back to almost every single day. Some of you have heard me preach on justification by faith before, but I need to preach on it now because it's part of the series, but that's why I didn't begin with an apology because if you're going to be in this church very long, you're probably going to hear this again because you never outgrow it. You never get to the point reuse. I will now we know are moving onto real deep things finally know it doesn't get any deeper than the righteousness of God credited to unworthy sinners. That is as deep as it can go how thou canst think so well of me and be the God thou art is darkness to my intellect but sunshine to my heart. It doesn't go any deeper than that member in the Old Testament God says when you put blood on the door. The angel of death will pass over you.

Didn't matter how great the sinners were within, though it is much better to be lesser center than a greater one. As I explained last week, but God says it is blood on the door that matters.

Now let's suppose somebody would come and settle boy you're going to get this angel of death and he is going to kill your firstborn tonight. Boy is he gonna get you one of the Jews would've said well my word, you know, maybe that's true but here is the unleavened bread. And here is the purpose and they depend upon the unleavened bread and the herbs.

No wonder they would be in despair know they don't do that.

What do they do they say hey look, there's blood on the door. You see, here's what happened. Satan comes to accuses during the day during the night, night and day keeps telling you, don't you know what arete you are.

Look at what you did.

Don't you understand that you deserve to suffer, but this business of grace. You don't deserve it. Someday if you live better, you'll deserve all those things you see. And Christians don't how to handle the accusations and the enemy of our souls. Lesser rates us because we begin to say will now you know when a moment devil.

You have no right to say that I memorized verse of Scripture last week and I attended church and I am trying and he has a day just explodes that in our faces and with nothing to hang onto that would be like the Israelites sang look at the University unleavened bread here and there is the. The herbs know my friend. The reason that you have devotions is that you might walk with God that you might know the fullness of the Holy Spirit, but it does not reestablish the firm basis upon which God accepts you, which is the righteousness of his son. What you need to do is what Luther did when the devil came to him and listed us in the drain use all of his sins that he told the devil but there were some sins that had been omitted that the list was incomplete if you're at least going to list your sands list all of them, then beneath the list. He wrote the blood of Jesus Christ. God son cleanses us from all sin. The righteousness of God which is by faith that is the way in which you handled the accusations of the devil, who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect is gone. The justify who is he that condemn if it is Christ that died gay, rather, that is risen again was even now on the right hand of the throne of God, who also maketh intercession for us. We go on the basis of blood. Christ's blood shed for us as sinners.

After our morning service. We are going to have a memorial service for Jim Theiss, who died of AIDS a few days ago. Jim is in heaven today. But I want to explain why he is in heaven. He's in heaven because there was a time when Jim recognized as a sinner, but he could believe on a Savior who died for sinners, whether their sins be considered big or small. There was a Savior who died for even damnable transgressions and as he came to die he could look back into the rearview mirror of his life and he could've focused on the messy trails in all of us leave some messy trails or he could have done what we know he did and that is to look at the snow covered it, the terrors of law and of God with me. They have nothing to do. My Savior's obedience and blood blots all of my sins from view my name on the palm of his hand my name on the palms of his hands. Eternity cannot erase March of indelible love and grace. Don't you ever think that you can go to heaven without having the righteousness of Christ and being as righteous as God is the only ones who enter but they enter through faith the gift of righteousness given to those who finally give up and believe in Christ alone. Yeah, let us pray over father. Who are we that we should be credited with the righteousness of the spotless, obedient, beautiful holy Savior, and yet we thank you for that precious gift we thank you today, that those who are in despair can finally look at hope.

Thank you that we belong to you forever. We pray today for those who do not know you. A Savior.

Those who may be depending upon religion their own good works, whatever it may be.

We pray that in grace, you will overcome the natural resistance of the human heart to the message of grace, that they might believe. We pray in Jesus name, amen. This is Pastor Luther I can't help but think that there is some of you who are driving in a car you've heard this message. I suggest that you pull off to the side of the road if the Holy Spirit of God has been speaking to you and right there, bow your head and receive the grace of God. Grace given to the greatest of sinners, to all who believe. I've written a book entitled how you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God. It discusses the grace of God. It discusses issues of assurance of salvation. It discusses how we can indeed be sure and how our doubts can be overcome for a gift of any amount to can be yours and I want to thank you in advance for helping us because together we are making a difference. Here's what you can do. Go to RT W offer.com nine know that many of you perhaps have not been able to get a pencil in time so I'm going to be giving you that address again online. It's RT W offer.com or if you prefer you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for the book how you can be assured that you will spend eternity with God.

Call us right now. 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us run into when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. We need more than just a gift.

All of us need a miracle. It takes a miracle set us on the road to heaven. All the effort we could ever expend won't take us an inch in heaven's direction. Jesus told us what we need is the miracle of the new birth, and that's our topic on our next running to win plan to join us wanting to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin Luzerne this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody church