GOD VINDICATES HIS OWN SOVEREIGN GRACE

Heshimu Colar

The guilty conscience needs to see the Vindication of God, or it can never trust in His mercies. The peace and joy of pardoned sin disappears unless the guilty sinner sees the justice of God satisfied by Jesus Christ obeying the law FOR the sinner. Brethren, our peace with God rests entirely upon our being reckoned as righteous before Him, and any scheme or system of religion that doesn't bestow absolute perfection upon a truly wounded sinner is utterly worthless. It is worse than worthless, it lays upon freemen- whose liberty was purchased by the Blood of God- a yoke that no one can bear (Acts 15). It is a torment and a burden that deprives the poor of his bread and afflicts the tired widow. The obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus Christ remedies our guilty conscience. He says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill (Matt 5:17)." When a cup is filled, nothing else can be added to it, and when Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, nothing can ever be added to His obedience. The elect of God shall believe, and all our righteousness before God is of Him. David prays, "Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness…" (Ps 4:1).

Sovereign Grace is God giving every aspect of salvation unto His elect without any regard to our works. Sovereign grace separates between twins like Jacob and Esau, leaving one in bondage to sin while delivering the other into the blessedness of knowing God. "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (Rom 9:16). And God's sovereign grace is also vindicated in the substitutional death of Christ. In the Cross, God reveals that the Lord Jesus Christ, by Himself, has made an eternal distinction between men. The New Testament Epistles are filled with the word "us". Whenever there is a blessing associated with "us", it is speaking only to those for whom Christ died. He purchased the righteousness and redemption God required for "us". "… being made a curse for us…" "For (God) hath made him to be sin for us…" (Eph 1:4-7) "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ… To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the belovedIn whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." It is evident that God Almighty, according to His eternal purpose of grace, deals with His elect entirely by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Justice was not laid aside; Christ was crucified "…for our offenses, and was raised again because of our justification (Rom 4:25)." "To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus (Rom 3:26).

The more that we cease looking to ourselves for any reason to merit God's favor, the more we will trust our Father to deal graciously with us in spite of our sins… for Christ's sake. Most people refuse to be the kind of depraved sinner spoken of throughout the Scriptures. You do not believe that God will deal mercifully towards you, so you seek to earn things from Him and bind yourself into bondage. Free grace and the blessed passiveness of faith will always be out of your reach. Yet, if you could see yourself united to Jesus Christ, then you'd humble yourself before God as a true sinner… expecting Him to lift you up. You wouldn't try to 'do'; you'd willingly wait to receive.

Believers confess that we are sinners who deserve to be cast into the middle of hell. But, God deals with us in Christ; and the more we're able to see God's righteousness to give us more grace, the more we experience His joy. Christ says, "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments continue in His love, and by faith love one another, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be ful"l (John 15:9-11)." Unbelief says, "God's against me because of my sins, so I need to do something to make amends." Faith says, "God's for me because of Jesus Christ, and He will do good unto me." Don't panic when your unbelief is exposed, or when He receives you into fellowship after you've done wickedly. Believe the Gospel. Abide in His love. Trust Him to deal with you for Christ sake, and like the psalmist we will gladly say, "I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety". (Ps 3:8).

God vindicates His doctrine of faith. Many mock justification by faith and accuse God's people of heinous crimes for our insisting that believers are totally free from the law. (Rom 3:8) "… (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose damnation is just." True believers seek after righteousness in conduct, and we know the Master's doctrine by experience, even as He said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled". (Matt 5:6). Yet, it must be crystal clear… just as God gives us a hunger and thirst for righteousness, He fulfills our longings by faith alone. By faith, we see the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ as our only justification before God. And by faith, we bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness for our Beloved. It is God Himself justifying His doctrine of faith by working in us "both to will and to do of his good pleasure." . When the angel came testifying of the Holy Seed that would be wrought in Mary, she asked, "How shall this be…?". If we trust the Scriptures alone, then we will see that the new birth and implanting of a holy nature within the Christian is by the same power and in the same image as the miraculous conception of Christ (Col 3:10/ Eph 4:24/ I John 3:9). How can a sinner like Mary bring forth the Holy Child? How can sinners like you and I bring forth the fruits of righteousness by faith alone? "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee…". (Luke 1:34-35).

Believers now have a desire to please God, but most importantly, God is pleased to glorify Himself by our good works (Matt 5:16). The self-righteous were angered that Jesus went to abide in the house of the notorious chief of the publicans, Zacchaeus. (Luke 19:7) "And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner." . Yet, the Lord publicly vindicated Himself for abiding with this great sinner by producing in him the clearly visible fruits of repentance and faith. (Luke 19:8) "And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." . The people could not see the Master's mission to seek and save the lost, but they could now see the Master's fruit in the works of Zacchaeus. I beseech you to not be willfully blind to the effect that grace has had upon those who've truly believed. In the works of Zacchaeus, Christ gives us a clear witness that He comes to a sinner, and by dwelling with Him, changes the man forever. In Deuteronomy, the Law stated that a man guilty of stealing a lamb must recompense four-fold. Yet, there is nothing in the Law that orders someone to give half their goods to the poor. Zacchaeus was able to do what the rich young ruler could not because He believed His sins, which were many, were forgiven (Luke 7:41-43).

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