Justified by God
A Sermon on Romans 8:33-34
Scripture
33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who 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.
Sermon Description
The Reformers were adamant that the church stands or falls on the doctrine of justification. Martin Luther, says Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, was thrilled when the doctrine of justification dawned upon him. Many Christians today, however, may be apathetic towards justification. Even those who happily affirm the truth of justification may do so with less excitement than previous generations of Protestant believers. Given that there is no charge whatsoever the devil can bring against God’s elect and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says justification is the key to everything. In this sermon on Romans 8:33–34 titled “Justified By God,” he gives an exposition of the meaning of justification along with its legal and covenantal context. For Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the Christian’s joy, security, and safety is at stake when considering the doctrine of justification by faith. If one relies on anything else, including experience, then they will certainly be shaken as the devil shows one’s guilt before the law. Hear this grand exposition of the only ground that a believer can truly stand on as they proclaim that it is God who justifies.
Sermon Breakdown
- God's relationship with men is always legal. God deals with men in terms of covenants and law.
- God himself constructed the law that governs his relationship with men. The law comes from God, not men.
- God is not only the administrator of the law, he is also the judge. He judges men according to the law he gave.
- Any charge against men must be in terms of God's law. Likes, dislikes and opinions do not matter. Only God's law matters.
- God himself justifies us. He declares us righteous through faith in Christ. This is a legal declaration, not just forgiveness.
- Justification means God declares us just as if we never sinned. He imputes Christ's righteousness to us.
- Justification is a once-for-all act. We do not go in and out of being justified. God knows the end from the beginning.
- In justification, we are cleared of all charges, past, present and future. No charge can stand against us.
- The law is finished for us. We are dead to the law through Christ's body. We are under grace, not law.
- No one can bring any charge against us because God himself has justified us. The law is out of the picture.
- We must understand the doctrine of justification by faith alone. It is our only security and answer to the devil.
- The Protestant Reformation recovered the truth of justification by faith alone. The Roman Catholic church denies this.
- We can have complete assurance of salvation because God himself has justified us. No charge can stand.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.