 The title of our sermon this morning is He is Faithful. He is Faithful, Romans chapter three, verses one through eight, particularly our texts this morning is gonna be verses three and four as we're working through this text and the objections that are raised here to the apostle Paul, Romans chapter three, verses one through eight. We find ourselves this morning at the beginning again of chapter three, and as Paul is approaching the end of what has become a scathing indictment of all mankind under their sin. We're rapidly nearing now Paul's closing statements that began in chapter three, verse nine, and the inescapable conclusion of Paul's argument that began all the way back in chapter one, verse 18, where Romans reads for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And Paul has been unpacking that statement from chapter one, verse 18, and will continue to do so through chapter three, verse 20. Prior to his explanation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only remedy for man's sin, Paul intends through this case to see to it that the gospel, that diamond shines in its proper context, which is the hell-darkened heart of fallen men. The conclusion in which Paul is leading us is this, all the world is guilty before God. All the world is guilty. There is none righteous, not one. All have turned aside. Paul says that all have become worthless, quoting the prophets. There is no one who does good, no, not one. Therefore, the conclusion that will come to is that there is nothing that you can do to justify yourself in the sight of God. Nothing that you can do to reconcile yourself to God. You must turn from your sin and repentance, submit yourself to the one provision that God has graciously made for your sin and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. When you do, when you do, his perfect righteousness becomes your perfect righteousness. And it's on the basis of that righteousness then that we are justified, declared righteous in the sight of God and forgiven of all our sin. Apart from the gift of that righteousness through faith, all men are condemned to die under the righteous judgment of Almighty God. All men have suppressed the truth in their unrighteousness and God is just, God is righteous himself in pouring out the fury of his wrath upon ungodly sinners for their sin against him. You and I, we have suppressed the truth in our unrighteousness. Do you acknowledge that this morning? You and I have sinned against God and God is just. God is righteous if he were to pour out his wrath upon us for our sin. You and I are accountable to God for our sin. We're accountable for how we live the life that God himself has given to us. We're accountable to God. And if we were to be honest with ourselves this morning, you and I have failed to live our lives fully for his glory. We have sinned against him. Now, Paul understands our fallen condition. Paul understands that well. He wants us to understand it well. And we are often like bugs that scamper for a dark corner whenever the light is turned on, right? Light has come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light. Why is that? It's because their deeds are evil. And the light comes on. The searing spotlight of God's word comes on. And what do fallen, sinful men, bugs, have a tendency to do? We have a tendency to run for a dark corner. And why is that? The Lord says it's because our deeds are evil. And Paul understands that. Paul understands that. And so Paul takes care in these opening chapters of his letter to the church at Rome to illuminate every dark corner so that there is nowhere for the sinner to hide. You see what Paul's doing? He's going to shed a light in every dark corner so that we have no place that we can hide. What would be the purpose for that? Why would Paul take us through that exercise so that we flee to the light? We flee to Jesus Christ for salvation, right? There's grace that is woven into the fabric of these chapters, even though sometimes it doesn't feel that way, right? Paul is going to confront us in our sin. He's going to expose our sin. The reason for that is to drive us to the Savior. So in chapter one, God has given abundant and gracious, abundantly gracious revelation of himself in creation. Revelation's sufficient enough to render every single person on the planet without excuse before God. It's revelation that is sufficient enough for all men to know God, even his eternal power in deity. Sufficient for men to glorify God, sufficient for men to worship God with gratefulness, with gratitude on their hearts. And what do men do? What do sinful men do? Although they knew God, chapter one says, they did no such thing. They did not glorify him as God. They were not thankful, but they rather suppressed the truth of God in their unrighteousness and they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, worshiping and serving rather the creature than the creator. Chapter two, God has given abundant, gracious revelation of himself through man's conscience and the work of the law written upon the heart of every man, knowing then through the work of conscience that the wages of sin against God is death, knowing that the judgment of God against sin is according to truth. They, sinful, fallen men, not only practice such things themselves, but approve of those who do. Therefore, Paul surmises, you are inexcusable, oh man, whoever you are who judge because you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath. With that, Paul then turns to the abundant and gracious revelation that God has given of himself in scripture. It's not merely the one who possesses the word of God, who can boast of right standing with God. With or without the scriptures, sinners will perish for not the hearers of the law, not the hearers of the Bible are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. And then Paul turns his spotlight on the dark corner of religious formalism. Those who put their confidence in their religious observance to justify them before God, to give them peace with God. They believe they're right with God because they go to church on Sunday. They believe they're right with God because of the things that they do. It's where many a Jew in Paul's day, where many a false professing Christian in our own day have attempted to hide. And Paul places his light on that dark corner and says that you cannot place any confidence in your religious practice. Don't be foolish. You can't place any confidence in your religiosity. Paul knows that we are like scampering bugs looking for a corner to hide in, to justify ourselves. We'll labor to placate a guilty or accusing conscience by hiding behind those false things. And we often scamper into the corner of a church somewhere in attempt to hide. And Paul says you can't do it. Paul says if your conduct is such that you are a breaker of the law, then all your religious observance is of no consequence. You will die in your sin. Romans chapter two, verse 28, why is that? It's because he is not a Jew who has won outwardly. We might say he's not a Christian who has won merely outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew, he's a Christian who has won inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter whose praise is not from men, but from God. In other words, if the outward observance is not accompanied by an inward renewal, then the outward observance is absolutely meaningless. And make this second application, if your profession of an inward renewal is not accompanied by outward fruit, then your profession of an inward renewal is absolutely meaningless. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. In other words, true religion, Paul says, is a matter of the heart. True religion, true religion is a matter of the heart. You must be born again. True religion is not something that people can fake. In other words, it's going to flow. True religion only flows from a heart that has been transformed by God. It cannot be faked. God sees the heart. Men look on outward appearance. You can show up at a church and you can play church weekend and work week out. You're not playing anything with God. God sees the heart. God understand God's note, God knows. It is a matter of the heart. You must be born again. Your decision to walk an aisle, your decision to pray some prayer, your decision to rededicate your life for the fourth, fifth, sixth time, your decision to be baptized means nothing. Means nothing apart from a transformed heart. These things, listen, these things are far too important to leave people hiding in that corner, hiding in the dark, far too critical to allow you to continue gripping to some false assurance, laying hold of some false confidence. So what does Paul graciously do? What does the Lord graciously do through texts like these? He pries your fingers off of that thing that you're gripping to. He won't allow you to placate a guilty conscience with a false assurance, a false confidence, and he graciously points you to Jesus Christ as your only hope, do you see? There's too much at stake. This is life and death, heaven and hell. We're not playing games around here. There's too much at stake. Paul doesn't want you running into a corner to hide. Consider the condition of your heart. Acknowledge your sinful condition before God and flee to Jesus Christ in faith. He alone is our hope and stay. And the Lord Jesus Christ is willing, and able to forgive you of all your sin and to cleanse you of your unrighteousness if you will turn from your sin and trust him alone, do you see? The Lord is willing. However, what do bugs do when they run out of corners to hide in? Bugs start raising objections. They start raising objections. That's what we see in Romans chapter three verses one through eight. Paul anticipates here in our text a series of objections from what we've come to know as the Jewish formalist or the religious formalist from the hypocrite. And we consider the first of those objections last Lord's day in chapter three verse one. What advantage then has the Jew? Or what is the profit of circumcision? Paul, if you're saying that I'm not a true Jew as a physical son of Abraham or I'm not at peace with God through the covenant that God himself established, the sign of which I bear in my own flesh through circumcision, if you're saying that I'm no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile, then what does it matter? What is it all for? What's the purpose of having an ethnic physical people called Israel? What's the purpose at all of circumcision? What's the benefit, the advantage of being a Jew? So Paul answers that objection in chapter three verse two. Much, be sure, much in every way. Chiefly Paul says of first importance because to them the Jews were entrusted the oracles of God. There is great benefit Paul says in every respect to having those religious privileges, those religious benefits. The Jews were entrusted, committed special revelation, the living utterances of the true and living God, the foremost advantage of the Jew. Chief among the profitable benefits of his circumcision in covenant with God was his possession of the word of God. That same blessing, brothers and sisters, is foremost among the many blessings that we enjoy in our own day. You see? It's estimated that between 1815 and 1975, more than five billion copies of the Bible have been printed and many think that's a low estimate. Five billion copies of the scriptures. By far, the Bible is the world's best selling and most widely distributed book. I think the next most published book was a communist red book from China, about one billion copies, a lot of Chinese people. So one billion copies out there. The Bible, five billion copies, okay? The number has skyrocketed certainly since then and doesn't include the wide availability we have to the Bible online on the interweb. And yet a tragic state of affairs today is that a vast majority of people today are biblically illiterate. Biblically illiterate. Do not know the Bible. Do not know the gospel. And listen, that's most preachers. Most people in full-time ministry do not know the gospel. Don't know their Bibles. And so what has been the result of that? People were given to superstition. People were given over to heresy, false teaching. The Bibles, those Bibles, four billion, 900, some odd number of them collecting dust on shelves, never, if ever read. But with much privilege comes much responsibility, right? With much light should come much heat. Peter says, we have the prophetic word confirmed and we do well to heat it as a light that shines in a dark place, right? As a light that shines in a dark corner. Well, having anticipated and then answered that first objection, Paul now anticipates and answers the second. The second objection will be the focus of our sermon, our time together this morning. First, consider with me the objection anticipated. And we see this objection in chapter three, verse three. And here it is. For what then if some did not believe? What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? That is a loaded objection. I want us to understand what Paul's getting at here. So we're gonna break this text down. Chapter three, verse three, that little word four at the very beginning of verse three connects this objection to what Paul said in verse two. Now, note with me, verses two and three. The Greek word translated entrusted or committed in verse two is the same Greek root translated believe in verse three. And you can connect those two words. And the same Greek root referring to the faithfulness of God in verse three. That word, that same Greek word can be translated as belief. It can be translated as faith. It can be translated believing or faithful. If you put an alpha and A in front of it, you get what's called an alpha privative negating it. And you get unbelief, unbelieving or unfaithful, do you see? So here's the train of thought. If those words from the same Greek root meaning the same, basically the same thing, verse two says that the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. In other words, they were to be faithful to the word of God, verse two. Verse three. So what if some were unfaithful to the word? Do you see the connection? What if some were unfaithful to the word? Will their unfaithfulness set aside or abolish God's faithfulness? So we see the translation sometimes makes it difficult to understand what Paul is saying. We have a case of that here in verses two and three. What if some were unfaithful to the word? Will their unfaithfulness set aside or abolish God's faithfulness? Will their unfaithfulness diminish or undermine God's faithfulness? Will their failure to be faithful to the word? Verse two. Undermine and validate, nullify the faithfulness of God. That word translated in verse three without effect, make the faithfulness of God without effect, means to abolish. It means to set it aside, to nullify it, right? Now this objector knows that not all Jews were unfaithful. He certainly wouldn't believe that he himself was unfaithful. I certainly have not been unfaithful. What if some, what if some were unfaithful to the word? Would that be a reason for God to abandon his faithfulness to his covenant? Do you see what the objection is now, right? Verse three. For what if some were not faithful to the word? Would that mean that God is unfaithful to his covenant? Would their unfaithfulness make the faithfulness of God without effect? Now, our imaginary Jewish objector raises this question as a rhetorical question and expects a no answer. He expects a no answer, right? Absolutely not, the Jewish objector would say. And interestingly enough, that's exactly what Paul says. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. To the Jewish objector, the objector would sit back and say, even if we or any of our countrymen are faithless, even if we are unfaithful, God remains faithful. He cannot deny himself, meaning to the Jewish formalists, even if we deny the covenant, we still inherit the promises because God cannot deny the covenant. You see? It's difficult, a difficult thought process. Once you have it straight in your head, we can understand the rest of the flow of the text, okay? Even if we deny the covenant, even if we are faithless, even if we are unfaithful, God remains faithful and we will inherit the promises. We're going to heaven, no matter how we live, because God cannot deny the covenant. Makes sense, okay? If we're unfaithful, it doesn't matter. Sin it up. Sin it up because God is going to keep his promises no matter how sinful, no matter how faithless, no matter how unfaithful we are. That's what this lawless objector is asserting. Well, God is faithful to his promises, isn't he? God absolutely is faithful to his promises. Second Timothy, chapter two, verse 13. If we are faithless, he indeed remains faithful, he cannot deny himself. We're on common ground with this Jewish objector. But can you see with me, can you see how the religious hypocrite has taken the skin of that truth and stuffed it with a stinking lie that will send you straight to hell. The religious hypocrite, the Jewish formalist, this objector has taken the skin of that truth and he has stuffed it with a lie. And I want you to see that. Today, we would characterize this lie as antinomianism, living lawlessly against anti-Namas, the law, living as if there were no law, living as if opposed to the law. Others might refer to it as easy believism. You'll hear us talk about that term on a regular basis as well. Easy believism, a predominant feature of most of the modern professing evangelical church today. Antinomianism, easy believism. Basically living with little or no regard, little or no accountability to the law of God. Paul says that what matters is circumcision of the heart. What matters is circumcision of the heart. What matters is a change of man's nature by the spirit whereby man is made able to obey the law. Not, there are those who have a form of religion, a form of knowledge, but deny its power. God doesn't save mankind by sweeping his sin under the rug, turning a blind eye, winking at it and saying, that'll be okay, and saving us in spite of our sin, God saves us and remains just himself by dealing with our sin biblically, by dealing with our sin according to his law. And what Paul is saying is if you look at the New Covenant for example, God saves as part of the New Covenant by causing us to walk in his statutes and judgments, causing us by his spirit to obey living for him, devoted to him, do you see? He does that by transforming our hearts, by filling us with his spirit and by causing us to obey him. Paul says what matters is that circumcision of heart. What matters is that heart transformation. What matters is a change of man's nature by the spirit whereby man is made able to obey the law, preserved in obedience through spirit wrought faith in Jesus Christ. That is what salvation is, what salvation attains to. The Jewish formalist is objecting. He's saying it doesn't matter how we live. It doesn't matter how we live. You're in the Covenant through circumcision. If you've been circumcised, if you're a Jew, you're in. If you've not been circumcised, you're out. You see? If you're in the Covenant, then you're headed for heaven. In Abraham is standing at the gates of hell, not allowing any circumcised Jew to enter there. If you're in Covenant with God, by praying to receive Christ, if you're in Covenant with God, quote, unquote, by saying the sinner's prayer, walking in aisle, by being born in a Christian family, being born to the right dad. It doesn't matter how we live, says the Jewish formalist. You're headed to heaven, do you see? Because you've done the thing, or you are the thing that you're supposed to be. That's the objection that is being raised here. God cannot deny his promises to Abraham. And so we're in, no matter how we live, because I'm a Jew, because I've been circumcised. Next, then, the objection answered. The objection answered. How does Paul, in our text, answer our religious objector? He answers with the strongest negation possible in the Greek. May it never be God forbid. What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief, will their unfaithfulness make the faithfulness of God without effect? Paul agrees with the Jewish objector. Absolutely not. May it never be God forbid. Even the notion that God's faithfulness in any way is undermined or diminished by man's unfaithfulness is abhorrent to the apostle Paul. May it never be. This is where Paul finds common ground with our Jewish objector, okay? But although Paul may agree with our objector on this basic premise, Paul vehemently disagrees with our objector on the implication, the implications that our Jewish objector raises. God is faithful, even if we are faithless. That's true. That's scripture. God is indeed faithful, even if we are faithless. But the objector argues from that truth that God is then obligated by God's own faithfulness to save us even those who are unfaithful to his word. That God is obligated by his own faithfulness to save even those who are unfaithful. And Paul argues from that truth, that same truth, that God will absolutely remain faithful to his word by judging those members of the covenant who are unfaithful. Do you see the difference between the two, okay? The objection is raised. God's gonna save us because we're circumcised. God's gonna save us because we're in covenant and God's going to be faithful to his covenant no matter how we live, we're in. Paul agrees, God is absolutely faithful even when we are faithless, but his faithfulness is not faithful to save you despite how you live. His faithfulness is to his promise to judge you if you do not live according to the covenant, right? That's essentially what Paul is arguing here. Paul argues from the same truth that God will remain faithful to his word and his word and his word, he has promised to judge those who are faithless. Peter would say it this way, God is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness. Peter just got done discussing the flood where every man, woman, and child on the planet, save eight, were killed in that deluge, right? Judged by God for wickedness. And Peter says that God is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness. He is long suffering toward us, not willing that any of us, any of his elect should perish and will certainly visit judgment upon the wicked. No matter a mark in their flesh, God will judge the wicked. No matter who their dad is, we have Abraham as our father. No matter, God will visit judgment upon the wicked. No matter that they walked in Isle and said that prayer 100 times if they said it once. No matter, no matter the church they attend, no matter what they do, no matter their religious observance, God has promised to judge the wicked. God will judge those who are unfaithful and unbelieving. Do you see? Now how does Paul frame this answer for our religious objector? First, he agrees with the premise, God is faithful. Will the faithlessness of man render the faithfulness of God without effect? Absolutely not, God forbid. But then he adds emphasis, listen. Indeed, Paul says, let God be true though every man were false. That's the way we can understand that. Indeed, let God be true though every man were false. Let's not merely stop at some who are unfaithful to their covenant obligations. Indeed, even if every man was faithless and found to be a liar, God would still be found true to his word. Do you see how that fits? Even if every man of the objector says, well, what if some, what if some were faithless? What if some were unfaithful to the word? Paul says, no, literally if even every man was faithless, if every man were found to be a liar, God would still be faithful to his word. God would still be true. Now this is where common ground with the Jewish objector ends. Common ground ends in verse four. God is faithful even when we are faithless. Indeed, God is true though every man were false. And so where's the disagreement? What is the ground of the disagreement? The disagreement comes in, comes in what they understand God to have promised. The disagreement comes in what they understand God to have promised. Now the objector protests, God has promised to save me because I'm in the covenant. God has promised to save me. I'm a son of Abraham. God has promised to save me. I've been circumcised. I have the law. God has promised to save me. Even if I should be utterly faithless to God, God will be faithful to the promises that he made to Abraham and I will be saved. Let me ask you, is that what God has promised? No. That's what the Jewish objector has come to believe that God has promised. That God never promised to save all of Abraham's descendants. He certainly never promised to do so apart from faith in Jesus Christ. He certainly never promised to do so apart from the fruit of faithfulness that flows from faith, evangelical obedience. He never promised to save them regardless of how they lived. So many examples of this is scripture. So many examples. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter three. Let's look at one in particular. Hebrews chapter three and look there beginning at verse seven. Hebrews chapter three, verse seven. In this chapter, Paul is begun by speaking of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ and he is exhorting to us, exhorting us to faithfulness and following the Lord's example. The heading over my text says be faithful. There's an exhortation there to be faithful, okay? He just gets done speaking of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Paul is exhorting us to faithfulness and he says in verse seven, therefore, as the Holy Spirit says today, today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the wilderness where your fathers tested me, tried me and saw my works 40 years. Therefore, he says, I was angry with that generation and said they always go astray in their heart. They have not known my ways. They have not been faithful to my covenant. This is reminiscent of Paul's words in Romans chapter three, right? They have all turned aside. They have all become unprofitable, right? Everyone has gone astray in their heart. They've become unprofitable. They've not known my ways. God says verse 10, they have not been faithful to the covenant, in other words, verse 11. So I swore in my wrath. God says, I promised. I promised they shall not enter my rest. Wait a minute. What about your promises to Abraham? God is faithful to his promise. God is going to keep every word that he has promised. God is faithful to the promises that he made with Abraham. But nowhere did God ever promise that every son of Abraham would be saved. I swore in my wrath. I promised God said, they shall not enter my rest. So then, verse 12, beware brethren, you think that you are somehow safe in your religiosity, in your religious practice because of something you've said or done or prayed, you think that you're safe because of some mass that you have attended or some bead that you have rubbed or some superstitious thing that you've done. Paul says, beware brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Unbelief bearing the fruit of faithlessness, of unfaithfulness. Do you see? 13, verse 13. But rather, exhort one another daily, exhort one another daily while it is called today. This is what we do in the church, right? This is what brothers and sisters, I am my brother's keeper. I care about what happens to you. I care about your soul spiritually. You, I know you care about mine. Why? Because we love each other in this way. We're exhorting one another. We talk to one another. We're invested in one other's lives. That's what the church is supposed to be doing. I had a brother text me last week and he said he talked to a pastor in his church about this very thing. And the pastor said they won't do it because if you do this, you uncover trouble. May we uncover trouble on this side of eternity so you don't face trouble on that side of eternity, amen? This is what the church is to do. Exort one another daily while it is called today. Why? Why would we do that which is hard to do? It's not easy to do. Why? Blessed any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if and only if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. If we bear the fruit of faithfulness, do you see? That's not because we're working our way to heaven or because we're somehow earning a place in heaven based upon our own steadfastness. No, no. It's because God by his spirit uses this means to preserve us in the faith. God is the one who preserves, do you see? God is the one who is doing it. He is the one bearing that fruit. While it is said, verse 15, today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. For who, verse 16, having heard, rebelled. Indeed, was it not all those Jews, right, who came out of Egypt led by Moses? With whom was God angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? You could say to the Jewish abjector, do you not remember the Exodus? Do you not remember the first generation? That entire emancipation generation died. Their corpses are lying in the wilderness. Verse 18, to whom did he swear? To whom did he promise that he would judge them? To whom did he promise that they would not enter his rest? But to those who did not what? Obey. Some translations you'll see believe, obey. The same word, same root word used back in Romans chapter three, verse three and four, right? Same root word. So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief, unfaithfulness, unfaithful. They did not enter, they did not render the obedience which flows from faith. That obedience, it's not man powered obedience as gritting it out in our own power and obeying in order to earn salvation. This is the obedience that flows from faith, the obedience of faith. That evangelical obedience that flows from faith in the life of every true believer. Did God promise that every Jewish-born son of Abraham would be saved? No, he didn't. What did he promise? He promised that every faithless, unbelieving Jew, regardless of their place in the covenant through circumcision, would be judged together with unbelievers. That's what God promised. Was God faithful to his promise? Was God faithful to that promise? Yes, he was. Yes, he was. And every one of that first generation, the emancipation generation, every one of them died except for Caleb and Joshua, the children. Every one of them died in the wilderness. Not even Moses was allowed to enter the land. He died before the inheritance generation, that second generation, took the land under Joshua. Now think about it with me. Think about the numerous examples of this in the Bible. The two sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, both of them circumcised, one of them a child of promise. One of them, one of them a child of promise. The two sons of Isaac, both Jewish, both circumcised, but one Jacob, a child of promise. Romans chapter nine, verse 13, as it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. People wanna play that down in our day and age as if the character of God is somehow under assault because God faithfully judges sin and they'll want to play verbal gymnastics with that text to somehow spare the character of God, the notion that he would hate Esau. Where is Esau today? Esau is in hell. There's no, there's no way to put that lightly. Jacob I've loved Esau I have hated. One was the child of promise. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 16 says that Esau for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For one morsel of food sold his heritage. Gave it up as a common thing. We might say in our context, he trampled the blood of the covenant, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ underfoot as a common thing. And afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He was rejected, why? Because he had counted the blood of the covenant a common thing. Scripture calls Esau a profane man, a fornicator. He found no place for repentance though he sought it diligently with tears. God is faithful to his promise, not only faithful to his promise to save, faithful to his promise to judge. What about Korah and all those rebels under Korah who went down alive into the pit? What about Jeroboam, son of Nebat? What about Ahab in the days of Jezebel? What about Amon? Search the Bible, search the Bible cover to cover and you will find no quarter for the wicked. Nothing that even approaches, even approaches the lie that our Jewish objector has told himself, the lie that he has willfully, willfully believed. There is no salvation for the one who persists in his sin. There is no warrant given in the Bible for anyone just to live as they please. Listen to the preaching of John the Baptist. Go back to Matthew chapter three, Matthew chapter three and look there at verse seven and the preaching of John the Baptist to Israel. John the Baptist, Matthew chapter three, verse seven. But when John saw many of the Pharisees, saw many of the Sadducees coming to his baptism, John preached the baptism of repentance, of turning from sin, a baptism of repentance. He said to them, these Pharisees, these obsessively religious people, he said to them, brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? The wrath was coming upon them, in other words, do you see? Verse eight, therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not think to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. I'm a Jew of the stock of Israel, circumcised the eighth day. Do not think to say to yourselves, verse nine, we have Abraham as our father, for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now, you wicked Pharisees and Sadducees, you brood of vipers, the ax is laid to the root of the trees. And what is the measure? What's the measure by which they will be judged? Therefore, verse 10, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. That is a promise. And an objector in our day raises up and says, are you legalist? You're a legalist. You're saying we've got to earn salvation by fruit bearing. Nope. Right, just like the Jewish objector, you're stuffing the truth of the Bible with a lie so that you can justify yourself in your disobedience. So you can placate your guilty conscience with a promise that God never made. Don't comfort yourself with promises that God never made. No, this is not salvation by works. This is salvation that works. This is the fruits of saving faith. Every tree which does not bear good fruit. Listen, you can take it to the bank. That tree is cut down and thrown into the fire. That's a promise. And does God keep his promises? Yes, he does. Even if every man were found unfaithful, God is indeed faithful to his word. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, John says, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. That is a promise. Back in Romans chapter three, where the Jewish objector put all his confidence in a promise that God never made, Paul drew application from the faithfulness of God for a promise that he certainly did make. Do you see? God absolutely will be faithful, but not in the way that you're surmising. Not in the way that you believe that God has promised. God has promised judgment upon the wicked. God has promised to judge everyone according to his works. God is no respecter of person. God is impartial. His judgment is impartial. Whether Jew or Gentile, God has promised to judge the faithless and unbelieving, whether pagan, Gentile or Jewish formalist or professing Christian. And we know that from Paul's quote in Romans chapter three, verse four, Romans chapter three, verse four, let God be certainly faithful, even though every man found to be faithless as it is written, that you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you are judged. If you look at that, that's a quote, a quote from King David, Psalm 51, verse four, turn there with me to Psalm 51, Psalm 51, verse four, from the words of King David, as King David bitterly mourns his sins against God in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite. David is pouring out his heart in conviction, pouring out his heart in confession over the sins over his sins of adultery and murder and he cries out to God, pleading for God's mercy in Psalm 51, verse one. Have mercy upon me, O God. According to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies, God blot out my transgressions. This is what David's prayer is, do you see? Wash me, God, thoroughly from my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. So that, here it is, you may be found just when you speak and blameless when you judge. And what is David saying? All right, what's David saying here? He's saying, he's acknowledging that God would be righteous. God would be just to judge him according to his sins. Do you see? I know I deserve hell, David is saying. I know it and God, you would be just, you would be righteous to send me to hell for my sin. God would be entirely faithful to judge me for my sin, even though I have been entirely faithless. He's not appealing, notice. He's not appealing to his circumcision. He's not appealing to Abraham. David was a son of Abraham like the rest. He's not appealing to his religiosity, his religious observance. I'm a king in Israel, he's not doing any of that. My sin is against you, God. It's against you so that you may be found just and you may be found righteous when you speak, blameless when you judge. There is no plea bargaining going on here. There's just acknowledgement of divine truth. There is no excuse for his sin. There is just the acknowledgement that God is faithful to his promise. David doesn't attempt to cover his sin. He doesn't attempt to cover his sin in religious practice, in religious privilege, in religious heritage. All he can do, David knows, all that he can do, all that he can do is just appeal to God for God's mercy. All I can do is just go to God, God be merciful to be the sinner. Do you see? He's got nothing else. David is bankrupt before God, bankrupt of his own righteousness, bankrupt of any hope in himself. And he just appeals to God for mercy. Well, Paul in Romans 3 picks up on this context, picks up on that thing of God's faithfulness, that theme of God's faithfulness in judgment, God's righteousness in judgment, and he loads all of that context, all of that heart. He loads with those words, with that quote, he loads that into Romans chapter 3 verse 4, and his dialogue with the Jewish objector. God is absolutely faithful to his promises, he tells him. He is justified in his words. He overcomes when he is judged. He's blameless, and he is just as faithful to judge the Jewish formalists as he would have been to have judged King David for his sin, do you see? And David is the one found to be repenting here. David is the one repenting. Certainly that context would have been on the mind of Paul or the Jewish objector. David is repenting of his sin, pleading with God for mercy. This Jewish objector is making excuses for his sin, covering his sin in his religion. John Murray, Dr. Murray says this, so far from detracting from the justice or faithfulness of God, sin as against God, sinning against God promotes the vindication and exhibition of God's faithfulness in the judgment that he pronounces with reference to it. In other words, it has the very opposite effect that the Jewish objector believes that it has. So far from undermining or nullifying the faithfulness of God, understanding or acknowledging that all of our sin is against God and against only God, it vindicates his faithfulness when God judges it, right? It vindicates his faithfulness in the judgment that he pronounces against it. So far from the Jewish objector's accusation that God would be unfaithful to judge him for his sin, so far from that, his sin against God actually serves to prove that God is faithful precisely because God will judge the Jewish objector for his sin. So many religious formalists, so many quote unquote Christian hypocrites point to David as justification for their own sin. I can't count how many times I have heard that objection, that excuse for sin. David is the one repenting here. Do you see David's heart? They point to David as the grounds on which God will be merciful to them in their sin. But what's the difference here between our Jewish objector and David? What's the difference between the religious hypocrite in our own day and David? It's the broken and contrite heart over his sin. A broken and contrite heart. David isn't hiding his sin. David isn't making excuses for his sin. What's the difference? It's the true repentance that produces the fruit of a changed mind. The true repentance that produces the fruit of a changed will, changed affections, changed emotions and changed actions, a changed life. And we see it in the heart of David as he pours out his heart pleading with God for mercy. Verse seven, listen, purge me with hyssop God and I shall be clean. Wash me, I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness that the bones you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face, God, for my sins blot out all my iniquities. Created me, God, a clean heart, renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence. This is desperation, do you see? Do not cast me away from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me by your generous spirit. All you can do is go to God and plead God's character, God's faithfulness to his word. All you can do is plead God's mercy, God's grace. Then David says, I will teach transgressors your ways. What is the fruit? What's the fruit of forgiveness? What's the fruit of a transformed heart? What's the fruit of faith? Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. My tongue will sing aloud of your goodness, your faithfulness, your character, who you are. Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall show forth your praise. I will worship you. You do not desire sacrifice or else I would give it. You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. How often, how often have presumptuous hypocrites gone before God apart from that heart and have presumed upon his salvation because God is love. I sin, that's what I do. God forgives, that's what he does. Don't believe a lie. Don't believe a lie. Second Timothy chapter two, verse 11, Paul says, this is a faithful saying. For if we died with him, we shall also live with him. Die to sin and self in Jesus Christ. Set aside living life for yourself. You've made a wreck of it. Live for Jesus Christ and trust yourself to him. If we died with him, we shall also live with him. If we endure, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will what? Deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. God has promised to judge. You know what else God has promised? God has promised to save. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. If you will turn from your sin, if you will put faith and trust in Jesus Christ, abandon any hope in yourself, abandon any reliance upon your own works, your own doings, your own religiosity, your only religious observance. Abandon all of that garbage that the prophet says is as a filthy rag. Abandon that. Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And God promises in his son to save. He'll forgive you of all your sin. He'll reconcile you to himself. He'll be declared just, declared righteous in his sight. A son in his household. It's absolutely astounding, amazing. And if a son, then an inheritor of all the promises that are yours in Jesus Christ. God has promised that by his spirit, we will then bear the fruit of faith, bear the fruit of faithfulness. God has promised that by his spirit, he will preserve us in that faith. Nothing can snatch us from his hand. All that God has promised as well, amen. And all of those promises are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. If you'll simply entrust yourself to him. If we deny him, he also will deny us because he cannot deny himself. All praise, honor, glory and blessing be to him who is alone, faithful to his word, amen. Pray with me. Father in heaven, we indeed praise you and worship you and thank you Lord that you are faithful to your word. You have given such glorious promises in every reason, every reason for us to abandon living lives for ourselves and fleeing to Jesus Christ to live wholeheartedly, heart, soul, mind and strength for you and yet Lord, we often find ourselves in the same thought, process or condition as the Jewish objector from Romans chapter three arguing with what your word teaches and fabricating false hope for the sake of placating a guilty conscience or cultivating circumstances under which we can continue to live in our sin. Please Lord, I pray, please forgive us this ignorance, this foolish errand that we can find ourselves on Lord and I pray by your spirit, hold us fast with eyes of faith toward Jesus Christ and help us Lord to put our faith and trust in him alone. Keep us Lord from the lies of this world, the lies of the religious hypocrite and help us Lord to focus our gaze on eternal and unseen things in the heavens. We love you, we thank you for the glorious promises that you have made Lord and keep us mindful of the promise that you have made to judge those who through unbelief depart from the living God and help us to heed the warnings that you give us in scripture to that regard and keep us Lord, preserve us we pray. Help us Lord to be faithful with the gospel that not one here would perish Lord but that through the preaching of your gospel all of yours would be saved. And we pray this Lord for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, yes he is worthy. Glory of your name Lord and for your everlasting praise and worship. We pray all these things in the blessed name of our great God and savior Lord Jesus Christ, amen.