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The SIMPLICITY of the GOSPEL

 

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The SIMPLICITY

of the

GOSPEL of JUSTIFICATION

 (Study notes)

Compiled by JS LOWTHER
renewedcovenantministry.com
servant@renewedcovenantministry.com

Rom_1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Judean first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

I would start this with an apology that I know that at time I focus upon the fine points of obedience to God’s word, to following God’s law in the Christian life, and looking into the very fabric and essence of the Gospel in its particular parts. Speaking of grace there are more than one category of grace in scripture, as the free-gifts given in creation to particular creatures individual from the other. Deu_32:8
I’ve studied with you this Election of Grace at length in the past of the people of Israel as an ethnic people, it is a biblical fact (Deu_32:8).
And I’ve studied the elements of Believing True Faith and how Trusting in YHWH’s WORD is a gift, a grace actually, given to one who believes.
We’ve discussed the elements of What is the Holy Spirit? and how it is the functionary spirit of God which bestows understanding, knowledge and wisdom and truth and all of those elements and scriptures to show it through the canon.
(some of all of this which we’ll discuss today but simply for those who can hear it…that is)
My apology is that while I always try to inculcate the facts of the simplicity of the Gospel I have not tried my best to simplify this good news and offer it easily to hand to a novice, a convert or a heathen off the street perhaps.
I had many conversations this last couple of weeks on-line and in person where I had either shared the simplicity of the Gospel with someone or discussed it in opposition to another Gospel, or a complicated Gospel, and concerning man derived gospel of praying a sinners prayer, as well as those lop sided Gospel-such as baptismal justification or regeneration, or the closes imitation of the true gospel and that is that YOU can ask Jesus into your heart… sadly you can ask all day long but it it has not affected your heart and you are only thinking thought with or without words. All is a replica of man’s usurpation of God’s glory, and ability given by his Spirit; The Saving by Grace in one’s life for the duration of that life is irresistible, regardless of fault or failure one fails at Pro_24:16 says …a just man (righteous) falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. the LXX says the irreverent will weaken in evil. And as well the saving by Grace in one’s life regardless of his good deeds of righteousness or works of righteousness is not overcome with pride or boasting, glorying in himself and what he has done ..because this is a fall that immediately crushes such pride. Both Peter and James agree to the proverb that “God resisted the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.( Jas 4:6, Pro_3:34, 1Pe_5:5)

The will of God in recognizing that Grace has come cannot be opposed by man nor bought for any price or work if it had not overcome the heart. We have this example of Simon the sorcery who in Acts_8:13-21 believed we are told and was baptized in the name of Christ but tried with money to by a gift of the holy spirit. Peter told him that he had neither part nor lot in the matter because his heart was not right in the sight of God.
And so no matter how

And more and more I feel that I am in need to show the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ as sent by the father as Rom_4:25 says, Jesus our Lord … delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Just in this verse we could hone in the words “our offences” and “our justification” and we could pack into this statement more than it says, or use another verse to negate the work of Christ’s being delivered to the earth and him dying a death on a cross if we as sinners that is transgressors or offenders don’t do something. If we are sinners, we are transgressors, we are offenders, what could we do as such a sinner that is clean enough, holy enough, or pure enough that God would hear our prayers or consider us Righteous or Justified?
Ahh, but Paul as well covers that as well lest we also pack another meaning into this work of Christ’s resurrection and raising saying of Jesus “and (he) was raised again for our justification.
What does it mean to be justified? It is an equitant to being made Righteous. What is in this context of being an offender full of offences or sins against God ‘being justified or made righteous’ even mean?
When you read the bible and see these sets of words right, righteous, righteousness, just, justice, justified they all come from one simple Greek concept deriving from the word δίκη /dikēh/G1349 and it is a legal term which means to be innocent in it’s most simple meaning it is literally to be seen for what you really are, the justice of the mater or the right cause, at law this is by the evidence and facts which one can prove before the judge in a trial. We say to prove ones cause, this very word is used in the Greek scriptures of Job_29:16 I was the father of the helpless; and I searched out the cause which I knew not.
Now before men, searching out a cause which we do not know is to search out justice on a mater to see the situation for what it really is. Before men this is a trial of maters, especially when you have a man who is an offender in reality why would we suppose he would be honest at the time of his punishment and trial and not cover up the truth of the matter and there by IF he is caught by the human judge get off as if he were innocent, yet if he were caught lying and further covering up the justice of the matter he has added to his offence and transgression and sin with many more charges to show the contempt for truth this man has.
Before God this matter is fully disclosed however, justification on the matter of our offences against the standards of God’s righteousness as creator, father, lawgiver and king, judge cannot be made by man by any work he can do to pay this debt to God, the price is to much to afford. All the offences we pile up from our conception till now makes for justice on this matter to reveal an ugly matter, the matter of our dead state of condemnation seemingly from our first thought that rivals the God in glorifying him not as God, nor being thankful to him for being God; and in that thought we became vain in our imaginations, and our foolish heart gets darkened.
So what do we see concerning Christ’s delivery… it was for our offence. Why? because we were offenders against God, And because he can see into our very being of heart, mind and soul and after our hardness and unrepentant heart we collect up for our self (like a collection) wrath is saved to be dumped out on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; when God gives to every man according to his deeds of heart Rom 2:5
This is Rom 2:16 – The day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
But Christ was raised or resurrected for our justification. Why for our justification?
Why for out innocents? Why for our righteousness?
Why was Jesus Christ raised from the dead and glorified at the right hand of the father in Heaven for our Justification, to make us righteous?
Rom_3:20 Because by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in God’s sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom_3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom_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.
What is propitiation?
In English propitious is derived from pro- before or prior to and the word pity’, and so pro-pitiation is the application or acknowledging of this pity or mercy applied to our state of justice…for pity sake though faith.
In the English bible atonement is often used to translate this same Greek word ιλαστηριον / hilasterionG2435 , and these are word that few use this day, but simply to break it down shows a lifting up or a taking away in its most rudimentary understanding, and it is a ‘lifting up’ or lifting away in a sense of ‘mercy’.
And how is this resurrection of Jesus set forth to be a pitty for our justification, for our righteousness?
through faith in his blood!
This alone will declare Christ’s righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the patience of God; To declare, at this time Christ’s righteousness: that Christ might be just, and the justifier of you who believeth in Jesus.

That is the simplicity of the Gospel for those who can hear it, if you can’t hear it.
What about all the other stuff bro. Joshua?
What about all the verse in the bible which say we have to do more?
Don’t you think I need to do them to be justified??? Baptism or keep the law on this point or another? Surly Faith or belief can’t be it all?
You teach baptism, and circumcision and for Christians to keep the law, you are torah observant, surly you do all of that for your own righteousness!
Not a bit of it!
I do it all by faith, because I love God and love to keep his commandments. If baptism is separated for faith it is worthless, if you faith is in baptism for you justification it is a clear deviation from scripture, if you think your Faith in Jesus blood isn’t enough for your offences, and his resurrection isn’t enough for your justification you are arguing with a lot of inspired scripture to the contrary and beyond this your real problem is that you can’t hear the simplicity of the word of God on this matter speaking plain as day!
The simplicity of the Gospel is in Faith and how it works the moment you hear these words of Christ calling your heart to soften unto repentance, when you glorify God as God and …Declare, at this time Christ’s righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Him.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Rom_3:26-28
All boasting in your own works and deeds are lost in God’s pitty upon your hardened and unrepentant heart, we change imediatly by Faith, we glorify God as God and become thankful to him and our heart is brightened with the light of life.
And what is this Law of faith?
Rom 4:3 in quoting the Law
For what saith the scripture (Gen_15:6) ?
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Abraham had Faith, he trusted in YHWH and that was counted, reckoned, or imputed to him FOR Justification.
Heb 11 says this is the operating principle that God creates the world with

Take a moment to think about when this simple thing happened you? When did You truly, truly hear Christ’s word, and believe on him that sent him?
Christ said it like this: Joh_5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

This is that you heard and keep hearing, not just heard it once, or heard it for a while, but you heard and hear it now when you read the Word you believe it is Christ speaking… you heard Christ’s word to you and believed , that is that you fully trusted in the Father who sent him?
Some hear the word but do not believe on the father that sent Christ, they say they just believe in Jesus…wrong answer. And some say the opposite that they believe in the father but not in the sent son and HIS word…
In all the different ways you can deconstruct this simple statement men have done so. and you may be doing so right now in your mind, as you insert words in to John, mat, mark, Luke, Paul, Peter, James, Jude who ever wrote Hebrews, as well as Moses and the prophets.
And you are robbing the simplicity of the Gospel.

And Life is not over, some may hear today and be deaf tomorrow (I’ve seen that, time and again, but that’s because they never truly heard Christ’s word and believed) they often muse upon that time in the past when they heard, but have lost the power of faith in the present hearing of the word in their life, pretending as if one a matter was heard and understood the matter is trivial and of the past, but that is not Trusting in Believing Faith which the Just live by. As the Just shall live by Faith in every action and ever decision, Casting down imaginations which we once vain but are now full of Faith, casting down every thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (Rom_1:21& 2Co 10:5)
This is your new life, and it doesn’t start with anything you do, it starts with every thing God has done for you, for your offences and for your justification… every thing moves from that point when God Elects you by his Grace, that is his Free-Gift, and calls to you to hear this word of faith in Christ’s work a hearing you hear as well by Grace/ a free-gift you’ve done nothing for, you could not do anything for it being that you were dead in your sins (Eph_2:5) as an offender fit to be punished by God’s Justice revealed in his Law, and so by Grace Alone you are saved through Faith Alone, you have no ability to pay this fine, no one in all of History ever has, all stand by faith from Righteous Abel unto this very day (Heb_11:1-40) and every one were saved by Faith Alone in the word of God and in the lamb slain from the foundation of the world… If any man have an ear, let him hear. (Rev_13:8-9)
Everything God commands us to do fits into this model, of Grace through Faith and a symbiosis of it as Faith is given as a free gift of the Holy Spirit and thus by Grace Eph_2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that is not of yourselves: it is the gift of God… 1Co 12:9
This Faith to believe in the pity of God and be saved by Hope is no light thing or easy thing, the spirit is intimately involved in the battle against our flesh to trust (have faith) in our own selves to be our own propittiation, as if we can have pitty upon ourselves and lift ourselves up and cleanse ourselves in place of Grace through Faith given by God as a gift..NOT OF YOUR SELVES!

Rom_8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who 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.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christians do what they do because of who they are, No Christian believes that they justify them self in part or at all in any action, deed or work they do.
It just who we are we are nothing can change the love of Christ which is in us 

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