Jesus—Died For Our Sins & WAS RAISED FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION

Last week in Part I of this two part post, Pastor John Piper helped us to plumb the depths of the first part of Romans 4:25 as we looked at Christ's death. In this post we'll see him address the second part of Romans 4:25, Christ's resurrection.

A TRIUMPHANT JUSTICE

"We trust One who performs...merciful redemption, and now triumphant justice. What do I mean by that, and where do I get it? I get it from the last part of verse 25. Who is the God we trust? He is the One who raised Jesus 'because of our justification.' I take that to mean that when Jesus died for our transgressions, a full and sufficient payment was made for our forgiveness and justification. Therefore, it would have been unjust to leave Christ in the grave, since he had so fully paid for our sin. So God raised him from the dead to vindicate the perfection of Christ's atonement and obedience. The resurrection of Jesus was the declaration that what he accomplished in his death was flawlessly successful, namely, the purchase of our justification.

"Maybe we could say it like this: When Christ died and shed his blood for our transgressions he atoned for the sins that killed him. Since those sins are now covered and paid for, there is no reason for Christ to remain dead. His death was solely to pay for our sins. When they were perfectly paid for, there remained no warrant for his death any more. It would be unjust to keep him in the grave. He could not stay in the grave, 'it was impossible for Him to be held in its power' (Acts 2:24).

"So the God we trust is One who performs a triumphant justice. The resurrection of Jesus is triumphant because it conquers death. It is triumphant justice because justice demanded that Jesus be raised from the dead. He had paid for sins perfectly, namely, the sins that brought him to death. If the sins that brought him to death - our sins - were perfectly and completely paid for on the cross, then the only reason for Christ's death was past. Our justification was completely secured (not yet effected by faith, but secured and paid for). So it would be unjust for Christ to stay dead. It would be a penalty without cause. Therefore, it was just and right that God raise Christ from the dead. It was triumphant justice. (See Hebrews 13:20.)

WHO MUST WE BELIEVE TO BE JUSTIFIED

"So I close with the question I raised at the beginning: Who or what must we believe in order to be justified - to be right with God? The answer is we must believe God - 1) that he performed inconceivable power in raising his Son Jesus from the dead, 2) that he performed merciful redemption in designing the death of his Son to save us from our transgressions, and 3) that he performed triumphant justice by raising Jesus from the dead to show that the basis of our justification was perfectly accomplished in the death of his Son.

So trust him today. Open your heart and receive the glory of this salvation: inconceivable power, merciful redemption, triumphant justice. Believe this and God will credit your faith as righteousness. You will be safe with him. You will have a righteousness not of your own and an unshakable, everlasting rock to stand on."

This excerpt was used with permission. By John Piper. ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org

Jesus—DIED FOR OUR SINS & Was Raised For Our Justification

Romans 4:25 is a very appropriate verse for us to consider as we approach Easter. In this verse Paul is making a clear declarative statement about Christ's death and resurrection. With the help of Pastor John Piper, let's look at this verse in more depth. This week we'll look at Christ's death and next week his resurrection. As you read and meditate on this verse, consider this question "whom or what should we trust in order to be justified (made right with God)?"

A DESIGNED DEATH

"Notice the first half of verse 25: 'He who was delivered over because of our transgressions.' The main thing to see here is that the death of the one God raised is a death by design. God did not simply want to demonstrate his inconceivable power and so find some murdered person to raise from the dead. God himself designed this death and designed it for a purpose.

"You can see this in the two key phrases of verse 25a: '(1) He who was delivered over (2) because of our transgressions.' Jesus 'was delivered over' - by whom? By soldiers? By Pilate? By Herod? By the Jewish mob? Not, finally, by any of them because it says he was delivered over 'for our transgressions.' Soldiers and Pilate and Herod and Jews did not hand Jesus over 'for our transgressions.'

"Acts 2:23 gives a clear and forthright answer: 'This Man [was] delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.' God delivered him over to death. Romans 8:3 says, 'God [sent] His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.' Romans 8:32 says, 'He . . . did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all.' So the death of Jesus Christ was by the design of God. God planned his death. He did not just die. He was delivered over to death by God.

A DESIGN WITH A PURPOSE

"And the design had a purpose (verse 25a): 'Because of our transgressions.' God's design was to deal with our transgressions. He wanted to do something about our transgressions. What? He wanted to provide a substitute death so that we would not have to die for our own transgressions. And the only death that could do that was the death of his Son. So Romans 8:3 says, 'God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.' So our transgressions are not swept under the rug. They are not overlooked. They are condemned. They bring about an execution. But not ours. Christ's.

A MERCIFUL REDEMPTION

"In this way we are redeemed by the death of Christ. That is, we are saved from our sins. We are rescued from the penalty of hell. We are ransomed from the judgment of God. And all of this redemption we did not deserve. We deserve to die and go to hell and endure the judgment of God. But this is a merciful redemption. This is the God we trust in order to be justified—the God who performs a merciful redemption. He designed to save us from our transgressions through the death of his Son."

This excerpt was used with permission. By John Piper. ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org

Philippians: The Gospel's Joyful Encouragement for Believers – An Overview [Part II]

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PART II: Why Study This Letter Today?

If we were to try and sum up Paul's letter to the Philippians, I think we could use the statement: The Gospel's Joyful Encouragement for Believers. As we read and study this letter, we're going to see time and again that Paul's primary desire is to joyfully encourage believer's with truths that pour out from the gospel ("fruits of the gospel," if you will). The gospel is the one-time-event of what God did in the person and work of Jesus Christ; who was fully God and fully man. Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, and rose again conquering sin, death and the devil. All those who trust and put their faith in Jesus Christ transfer all their sin, and the just wrath of God deserved for their sin, to Jesus—and all of Jesus' perfect righteousness is transferred to them. It is the power of this gospel, and the fruit that it produces, that Paul wants to encourage believers with.

Let's look at just four reasons from the letter as to "why study Philippians":

1. THE GOSPEL'S ADVANCE IS UNSTOPPABLE

This is both in the individual's salvation and in evangelism. Paul tells the Philippians in 1:6, "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." If you're a believer, like the recipients of this letter were, Paul wants you to know that the gospel's advancement in your own soul is unstoppable. Later in Chapter 1, verse 12, Paul says, "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." Even when someone like the Apostle Paul has been imprisoned and it appears that God's plan to advance the gospel could be thwarted, Paul wants to remind the Philippians and us today, "What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel."

So, why study Philippians? Because we should have confidence in the advancement of the unstoppable gospel, both personally and globally in evangelism.

2. CHRISTIAN UNITY IS EMPOWERD BY THE GOSPEL

In Phil. 1:27-2:11, Paul is encouraging the believers in Philippi to be of the same mind, to have the same love, to have unity in the spirit and to have the same purpose in mind. He then goes on to instruct them that this can only be done through the humility that's found through the believer's union to Christ—the Humble One—because of the gospel (Phil.2:5).

Why study Philippians? Because God wants us to see His vision, through Paul, for real Biblical unity. The type of unity (in the body of Christ, in your families, with your friends) that is only found and sourced in/empowered by the gospel.

3. JUSTIFICATION & SANCTIFICATION COME FROM AND ARE EMPOWERED BY THE SAME GOSPEL

In Phil. 3, Paul reminds the Philippians that he, Paul, wants to be "found in [Christ], not having a righteousness of my own that comes through the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ" (Phil 3:9). Paul knows that the only way he'll be right with God is not by any "supposed righteousness" of his own, but only by possessing the righteousness of Christ. Shortly after making that statement, Paul says in Phil 3:12, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own." And how does Paul plan on pursuing "perfection"? Paul says he's able to "press on to make [perfection] my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own." That's "gospel code language" at the end of that sentence. Christ has made Paul his own through the gospel and because of that Paul is empowered to pursue being changed into Christ's likeness.

Philippians: The Gospel's Joyful Encouragement for Believers – An Overview [Part I]

This post is the first in a blog series on Paul's letter to the Philippians. This post will serve as Part I of II for a basic overview of the letter. Let's break it down into the "what" and "why" of Philippians. What's the letter all about and why should we study it?

PART I: WHAT'S THE LETTER ALL ABOUT?

The Philippian letter falls into what is known as the "Prison Letters," because Paul wrote it while he was in imprisoned in Rome. Paul had a special affinity for the church in Philippi since it was the first church he planted in Europe (see Acts 16:6-40). "Paul and Silas were imprisoned there for exorcising a demon from a fortune-telling slave girl, but God miraculously delivered them, and they proclaimed the gospel to the Philippian jailer. Paul likely visited the Philippians a few times after his initial departure, and they maintained active support for his ministry."

So, what is this letter all about? For the most part the Philippian church was a healthy church (as compared to the Galatian and Corinthian church for example), but Paul desired this young church to continue making progress in the faith. He didn't want minor issues to become major issues, so he writes to encourage them to press on in the faith. "Three matters make up most of [Paul's] letter: (1) genuine gratitude for the Philippians' partnership with him in the gospel over many years, evidenced most recently by a material gift brought by Epaphroditus; (2) news about his present imprisonment and what he expects to come of it; and (3) an appeal for steadfastness and unity in light of some relational breakdowns [internally], present opposition and the danger of false teaching [externally]."¹

So, what is this letter all about? For the most part the Philippian church was a healthy church (as compared to the Galatian and Corinthian church for example), but Paul desired this young church to continue making progress in the faith. He didn't want minor issues to become major issues, so he writes to encourage them to press on in the faith. "Three matters make up most of [Paul's] letter: (1) genuine gratitude for the Philippians' partnership with him in the gospel over many years, evidenced most recently by a material gift brought by Epaphroditus²; (2) news about his present imprisonment and what he expects to come of it; and (3) an appeal for steadfastness and unity in light of some relational breakdowns [internally], present opposition and the danger of false teaching [externally]."³

KEY THEMES OF THE LETTER

What theme(s) are you most interested in hearing Paul address? Is there one (or two) that would be of use now in regards to a situation or season in life that you are currently going through?

1. Taken from the ESV Study Bible under Purpose, Occasion, and Background
2. Pronounced: ee-paf-ro-DAI-tuhs
3. Gordon D. Fee - IVP New Testament Commentary

The feeding of the five thousand, recorded in Matthew 14:13–21, is probably the most well known of all of Jesus' miracles. It is the only one recorded by all four of the gospel writers (see Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–19; John 6:1–14). It is also one that skeptics have most often tried to explain away. A common explanation is that the little boy's example of generosity in giving his bread and fish to Jesus prompted others to share the food they had brought along, so that there was enough for all.

That this was an amazing miracle is beyond doubt. To use a contemporary expression, it was "over the top." It is impossible to visualize in our minds what it must have looked like, and the extreme brevity of the account tempts us to fill in the details. But we should refrain from doing so, knowing that the Holy Spirit guided the gospel writers to give us only as much detail as He wanted us to know.

JESUS IS IN CONTROL

Rather than puzzling over omitted details, we need to ask of any portion of Scripture what it teaches us. Without claiming to have plumbed the depths of this passage, let me draw out one obvious lesson: Jesus controls the physical universe, and He exercises that control for His people.

Scripture teaches us that the Son of God was not only the agent of creation, but that He also upholds the universe and holds it together by the word of His power (Heb. 1:1–3; Col. 1:16–17). That is, He who created the universe in the beginning also sustains and directs it moment by moment on a continual basis. We know, for example, that ordinarily the physical laws of the universe operate in a consistent and predictable manner. The reason they do is because of the consistent will of Christ causing them to do so. They do not operate on their own.

This helps us understand why Jesus could perform miracles; in this case causing five small barley cakes and two small fish to multiply so dramatically that they fed more than five thousand people. Jesus, who created the physical laws and stands outside of them and over them, could, as He purposed, change or countermand any of them. In fact He could, if He so willed, create an entirely new law of multiplication for that specific occasion so that the bread and fish multiplied.

We really don't know what Jesus did, or what the multiplication process looked like. We only know the results, and we know that the Lord of the universe could, in whatever way He chose, produce those miraculous results. Miracles were no problem for Jesus.

JESUS IS THE AGENT OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE

Today, at least in the Western world, we seem to see few miracles, and certainly none the scope of the feeding of the five thousand. What we do see, however, are the results of God's invisible hand of providence. Setting aside the theological definition of providence to keep it simple, we may say that providence is God's orchestrating all events and circumstances in the universe for His glory and the good of His people (Rom. 8:28).

Scripture teaches us that just as the Son of God was the agent of creation and is its present sustainer, so too is He also the agent of God's providence. Jesus is in sovereign control, not only of the physical laws of the universe, but of all the events and circumstances in the universe, including those that happen to each of us. If you have food today in your cupboard and refrigerator, that is as much the result of Jesus' care for you as was the feeding of the five thousand.