There’s a bit of song that I remember from my youngest days. I remember m grandfather sitting on his coach singing a song entitled, "The Old Gray Mare." I am not sure if it a line, or if it is part of the chorus, but a line of that song says,"The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be."
Well guys, if you’re saved today the same things can be said about you. The Bible puts it a little better
behold I am a new creation, old things are passed away, all things are made new
This morning I need to give you part 2 of the sermon that I shared last Tuesday when we looked at Romans 3: 9-18 in quite some detail
I began by posing a question: what would you say if I asked you to describe yourself to someone that you’d never met and we talked about how the picture you would paint
would probably make you look good! And then we talked about how someone else might describe you and I wondered how close those 2 descriptions would be?
See, most of us have an image of ourselves that’s a bit different to reality. We don’t see ourselves as other people see us. That’s doesn’t necessary make them right and us wrong – just different. But I told you that’s why we need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and then be honest about the face we see looking back at us
Anyway, in #4, we looked at man from Gods perspective and I showed you that viewed thru Gods eyes man is a depraved creature but totally useless and that because we’ve turned away from Him. We’ve become worthless to Him.. and we stay worthless – or useless until we’ve been cleansed and made worthy by the Lord.
And then Paul gave us a pretty graphic description of the people he was describing. He was talking about those people who don't seek God. Now while Paul was describing the heathens in and around Rome
Paul talked about those eople whose very speech has been ruined by sin
you only have to listen to the way people talk today to see how rotten they are on the inside. And we see that by the amount of their slang and profanity that has to do with human excrement, body parts or sexual acts!
Paul talked about those people who lie through their teeth And those who rush to commit murder. And we proved that by looking at abortion statistics. As we talked about those things, we were talking about the Man In Our Mirror. Or the reflection God sees when He looks at our reflection
See, Romans Chapter 3 is all about what God sees when he looks at mankind
And its what people should see when they look in the mirror See, every day, we look in the mirror and the person we see looking back at us is nothing like we think he is.
Here’s the deal: the truth is that in the eyes of the Lord when God looks at his creation he sees that Man is nothing more than a sinner
Well, as we continue to study the rest of the Romans 3 Paul goes on with his description of mankind but then he shifts directions on us.
He gives us a final thought concerning the old man and then he begins to talk about the new creature that we become when Jesus comes into our lives and we can truly say
behold I am a new creation, old things are passed away, all things are made new
and it’s the image of that new, saved guy that I want to focus on today. So, with that in mind, let's get into the text and see what it has to say about The New Man In My Mirror.As we’ll see, he ain't what he used to be!
Lets pick up the text in v 19
19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Because the Law of God reveals all the things that man’s guilty of, man stands exposed as a sinner and is condemned by the Law! J.B. Phillips said, "It is the straight edge of the Law that shows us just how crooked we are."
No one can look into the Word of God and miss the truth. It’s exposure to the Word if God that shows just how bad and sad we really are. And when I say bad I mean BAD. I don’t mean good like some of you younger folk use the word today!
God gave the Law to man as a dual purpose tool. Purpose #1 was to show man for what he is - a sinner and Purpose #2 - to point man to Jesus, so, the Law's entire reason for existing was to prove that in the eyes of God man’s guilty and in need of a Savior! James says that the Law is like a mirror
1:23-25. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
Now here’s the thing about a mirror. It can show you just how dirty your face is, but it can’t be used to clean you up. You don’t take the mirror and rub it on your face to get clean. The mirror exists to point you to the water. And that’s how it is with the Law The Law can’t clean you up, but it can create a hunger in you for the One Who can
now I said all of that to get to where I want to pick up in this message:
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.
People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.
This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.
God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Notice how v 21 begins with that little word the "but". In grammar – it’s called a conjunction or a joining word. It links all the stuff that came before with all the cool stuff that comes after it. But here’s the thing: That little 3 letter word BUT signals a change of thought. Its kind of like the door keeper to the stuff that comes next
Now, before I was saved, in the eyes of the Lord I was a wreck and I thank the Lord that there’s a change has taken place in my life and change it is represented by that little word "but." In v 21. See, we need to pay attention to those little words in our Bibles. Remember, even the largest door turns on a relatively small hinge!
We get the same deal in Ephesians 2. The 1st 3 verses tell us how bad we are. And how we’re doomedThen v 4 kicks off with BUT…
….God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much…. THAT..
Even though we were dead because of our sins… He gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.
See, whenever you come across the word BUT in the Bible… you need to start looking for the THAT that follows on
These few verses that we’re looking at are jam packed full of theological truth.
Martin Luther labeled then as "the marrow of theology." This is, perhaps, the deepest theological sea in the New Testament. I can’t do them justice in the few minutes I have here , but let's glean what we can in the time we have
See, Paul’s now switched gear. Whereas before he’s been very graphic about the traits of the guilty, sinful man what comes next is a description of the traits of the new creation - that brand new man looking back at you in the mirror
and the 1st trait is this: the New Man in your mirror has Experienced Faith
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard
So, Man’s big problem is that he’s a sinner. And the problem is that he’s lost and can’t get to God. We’ve seen that man can’t work his way to God. He can’t become good enough to please God. And yet, God demands perfect righteousness before we can enter to enter Heaven. But because everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard we’ll never be right with God by virtue of our own efforts.
When the Bible says that we all fall short of God’s glorious standard It means that we literally miss the mark. Now, the grammatical tense of this word tells us that this is an ongoing state of affairs. In other words, no matter how good we might get, We’ll still be missing the mark and falling short of God’s glorious standard. You just can't get to God on your own!
So, to solve the problem, God allows men to be made righteous. And we do that by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus.
Paul’s hammering his point home: Salvation comes solely by faith. You can’t buy your way to Heaven. You can’t be good enough to get to Heaven. You can’t work hard enough to get to Heaven. But, there’s that word again you can choose to believe in Jesus, you can be saved by grace, you can be declared righteous by the Heavenly Father and so you can go to Heaven with nothing but faith to show for it!
The 2nd trait of the new Man is this: He’s Experienced Freedom
24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
KJV says this 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
This one little verse introduces us to two great big theological words justify" and "redemption."
The word "justify" means "To declare one not guilty, or to make one as he ought to be." In the biblical sense, it means that God, in His power and in His grace declares us to be righteous and worthy of a relationship with Him.
The word "redemption" means" to set at liberty after the payment of a ransom price."
So, to put it all together, when – and only when - we receive Jesus as our Savior, God applies the price that Jesus had paid on the cross to our account and declared us righteous. And when He does that He frees us from the condemnation and the consequences of our sins. Very literally – He sets us free!
This is the really cool part because of my relationship Jesus, I’m set free from the need to try and please God.
So many people today are living screwed up lives because they’re trying to please someone. Maybe it’s a parent they want approval from, maybe it’s a husband or wife or maybe it’s the boss. And they’re caught up in what we call the performance trap. They set the bar so high, they can’t possibly reach the self imposed standard and lives go into melt down - all because they can’ measure up and because they perceive themselves as having failed
if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus– that’s the way it is with you and God
But see, I’m saved so I don’t have to play that game any more. When God looks at me, He is already pleased with me because of what Jesus did at Calvary
Because of the Cross I no longer have to try to be good enough to get God to let me go to Heaven. He has already given me His own righteousness and that means that in His eyes , from His perspective, I am as positionally holy as He is! That’s a blessing! And better yet – the same applies to you too ‘IF you love Jesus
Here is the kicker! The Bible says in this verse that all of this happens "freely". This word literally means "without a cause". Basically Paul’s saying that God gave us His righteousness even when we didn’t deserve to receive it. He gave it to us even though we could never earn it or pay Him back for it. And best of all - He gave it to us without any strings attached!
Now, we may not understand all there is to know about justification and redemption,
but I’m glad that I can experience them even though I may not fully understand them. I don't understand how electrons are created by a turbine and then flow through wires until they make a light glow, but I don't sit in the dark just because I don't understand. I can't figure out how a black cow eats green grass and produces white milk, but I don't have to live without dairy products. Even though my knowledge of God's methods and gifts in incomplete, I can still enjoy the benefits that come with those things
So the new man has experienced FAITH And he’s experienced FREEDOM
Here’s the 3rd trait: He’s also Experienced Forgiveness
25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
In the KJV these verses tell us that Jesus is the "propitiation of our faith. That’s another big theological word It means "An appeasement, or a satisfying."
It comes from a Hebrew word for the thing that was used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, and got sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificial animal on the day of atonement. Now the Jews were sinners too and under the law they also deserved to die for the sins they committed in the past year and so this was a Jewish OT ritual or rite in which the lives of the people, were symbolically offered to God in the blood of the sacrifice and by this ceremony God was appeased and their sins were cancelled out. What this means for you and me is this when we trust Jesus as our Savior, God requires nothing further from us. He’s absolutely satisfied! He considers our account paid in full. So now you should be able to see why the new man reflected in your mirror isn't the man he used to be. Finally
The 4th trait of the new man in the mirror is this: HE IS A RIGHTEOUS MAN
And that gives him a whole new relationship with the Law
27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
So, the new man knows that he isn't saved by keeping the Law. He is saved by pure faith. Therefore, there’s absolutely nothing to brag about when it comes to salvation. And Instead of trying to take the credit for something which had nothing to do with us, we need to give all the glory and honor to the Lord.
Now, I guess you’ve all been wondering about these 2 chairs….
One chair is labeled "Do" and the other is labeled "Done". These two chairs represent every religion and belief system in the world. See every system is either a "Do" or a "Done".
The "Do" religions are all based on the concept that we need to "do" something to please the Lord. Things such as: pray, join a church, give money, be a good person, make a sacrifice, make a pilgrimage, wear certain clothing, keep the Ten Commandments, go to Mass, OR be a suicide bomber….
Although all the "Do" religions may look different on the outside, on the inside they all have something in common. They all require their people to "do" something in order to earn salvation. Religions like Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, Mormonism, The Jehovah's Witnesses and Roman Catholicism. They’re all examples of "Do" religions. In short,every religion in the world is a "Do" religion, except one.
See, Christianity is a "Done" religion! Those people who are truly saved haven't done anything and they aren't required to do anything. Why?because Jesus has already done everything that is necessary!
Now, every person in this room is sitting in one of those two chairs. You are either in the "Do" chair where you’re doing things to get to Heaven, or you are in the "Done" chair where you know that everything has already been done for you. Be honest with God and with yourself this morning. Which chair are you really sitting in?
Now, as a consequence of our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, we’re brought into a right relationship with the Father. So, now He isn't just the Father of Jesus. He is our Father too and that makes us His sons and daughters or princes and princesses in His Kingdom. See, the child of a King is a prince or a princess
We’re family. We’ve been reconciled to God and brought into His presence by faith in Jesus Christ. so, then in v31 Paul asks the final question:
If we’re saved by faith apart from the Law, then does this make the Law of God null and void. In other words, if we’re really saved by faith though grace? can we just throw out the Law and live as we please? The answer? God Forbid! our salvation doesn’t do away with the Law. it establishes, the Law. it fixes it in place,
How does that work? Well, the God used the Law to teach us that we’re sinners. He used the Law to show us that we were doomed without Him. And He used the Law to establish our need for a savior. Now, once we’re saved, the Lord begins to live out His Law in our lives. The difference is that we’re not living the Law to be saved. We’re not living the Law because we have to. We just naturally begin to live out the spirit of the Law because He’s placed His Spirit in us and because He has made us to be partakers of His divine nature,
I’ll Put it simply as I can: when we’re saved - Jesus changes our lives
He puts a desire and a longing in our hearts to love Him, to live for Him and to do the things that please Him, honor Him and bring glory unto Him.
When I look in my mirror, the same face that has looked at me for 51 years still looks back. But, I know that the old man of sin has been changed into a new man by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't make that claim with the least bit of boasting. I know that there’s still room for a lot of improvement in my life. But, I do know where I was when the Jesus found me. I know what He did for me when He saved me.. And I know the changes He’s made in my life over the years.
Now, I ask you this question: Has the Lord made a change in you? Are you saved? Which chair are you sitting in? If the Lord has shown you that you are in the wrong chair, wouldn't today be a good time to change seats?
He is still saving souls by grace and He will save you if you will come to Him. I do not know your need or your heart, but God does and so do you.
If there is a spiritual need in your life, come now and let Jesus meet it for you.
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