What is grace?  Blessings given regardless of the worth or deservingness of a person. Blessings received that one does not deserve.  “ favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what that same person deserves.”(pg 443) Lockyer, Herbert Sr., et al.  Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson, 1986.

Our last lesson dealt with the stench of sin, we concluded with an understanding that we are completely hopeless in ourselves to deal with our sin problem.

 Our only hope is the grace given by God.  We need to stop and meditate on the greatness and worth of this grace that is given to us, in order for us to do that we must first remember God’s holiness as we look at justice.

 Sin is a blatant slap in the face of God and against God in all His holiness and righteousness. Justice for this offense must be made.

 WHY?             If not justified then the result is God’s wrath, because of sin.                

Romans 1: ¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Romans 5: ⁹Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

**God can not just sweep our sins under a rug and forget about them. If this was done,

the sins would still be there and would have not been dealt with, therefore, we are still

guilty and unrighteous.  As a result, we can not come into the presence of a Holy God.

Therefore, we are still separated from our Creator.

We must be justified. “Justifying is a legal act. It means declaring someone to be just.  It is a verdict. The verdict of justification does not make a person just. It declares a person just. It is based on someone actually being just. We can see this most clearly when the Bible tells us that in response to Jesus’ teaching, the people ‘justified’ God (Luke 7:29). This does not mean they made God just (since he already was). It means they declared God to be just.”  Piper, John. The Passion of Jesus Christ, Desiring God Foundation, 2004.

 Luke 7: ²⁹When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged

God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

 Ø      The Greatness of God’s Grace is Jesus Christ!!!!!

Romans 5: ⁸But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were

yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

 Romans 3: ²⁴being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in

Christ Jesus; ²⁵whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

 Ø      WOW!  Jesus is to be treasured.

Ø      Not only did Jesus take the wrath of God on the cross for us, but God has justified us by Jesus’ blood.

Ø      God has imputed (accredited) us with Jesus’ righteousness.

Romans 5: ¹⁹For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made

sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. ²⁰The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 2 Corinthians 5: ²¹He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we

might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 Philippians 3:⁷But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as

loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, ⁹and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Do you Treasure the Grace of God???? Do you understand why Jesus can justify us, because He is the only one that is just on His own, meaning He does not need to be justified or declared just. Jesus is just righteous in Himself.