• CHRISTOCENTRIC MEAL
• DR ABEL DAMINA
• SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2020

• SIN IN UNBELIEF, NOT IN CONDUCT.

The believer has received the love of God; the life of Christ. He is justified by faith in Christ alone and not of works. All he has received in Christ is FREE.

Romans 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

There is a righteousness that God imputes, that God counts.

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.

Where is the Righteousness of God revealed? In the gospel. How? By faith - Romans 1, 16- 17.

Romans 3:26 To declare, [I say,] at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

…That he might be just – In His declaration he is just.

In other words the only people he justified are those that believe. That is how he imputes his own righteousness.

Romans 8:10 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness

What Righteousness? The Righteousness of God which is by Faith.

Romans 10:3 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness

Recall that the righteousness of God which is by faith is revealed through the Gospel of His son.

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

The word “Without” implies apart from the Law, that is, you will not find it in the law. That same word was used in Romans 3:28 as well.

Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

A man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Romans 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works;

That is there’s no works in what he is saying.

Romans 7:8 For without the law sin was dead.

Romans 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Sin wasn’t charged to anyone’s account. What was imputed at the time was righteousness through faith.

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

By saying without the Law, he was referring to before and after the law was given. As a result, righteousness cannot be defined in the law.

Notice that the Gospel of God was promised by his prophets.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Vs 2 Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures.

In other words, Righteousness has always been in the Gospels. It was seen either as a promise or as a fulfilment. Righteousness therefore, is a function of the gospel.

The Gospel which was first in a promissory note, was then fulfilled when Christ came. Hence, the promise was fulfilled. So the promise of the Gospel – Righteousness through Faith is received by believing in the gospel of his son. (Jesus)

Confession : I have received the love of God and the life of God. The love God has shown me is that I am justified by his faith and not of my works. I am a recipient of his grace. I am declared righteous on his own account.