Tonight, as we continue in our consideration of the Belgic Confession, we take a look at Article 22, found in the bottom of page 79, and continuing on the top of page 80. Article 22, our justification through faith in Jesus Christ. I would have you turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2, as we read together the first ten verses. Beloved, this is the Word of God. Ephesians chapter 2, beginning at verse 1. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live, when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air. the Spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, there's one question that every person needs to consider. And that is, how do I stand before God? What is my standing before Him? How does God see me? Now, I'm not saying, of course, that every single person considers this, but all people need to. Unbelievers don't really care about this, at least not in this life. They don't care what God thinks of them, but they will when Jesus Christ comes again and they see Him in all His glory and recognize the holiness of God. They will, only then it will be too late. But believers, born again and illumined by the Holy Spirit, do care about this. Now boys and girls, we're talking about our legal position before God. Does God see us as guilty or does He see us as not guilty? Now if you've been following the news, you know that in this past week, the actor Robert Blake, as some of us remember him as an actor, he was found not guilty of committing murder. Scott Peterson, who was found guilty of murder some months ago, well, he was sentenced to death in connection with his guilt. We're still waiting to see if Michael Jackson is to be found guilty or not. And all of these, you see, in the realm of society, having considered the evidence and considering the evidence, how does society view these individuals? Guilty or not guilty? But by nature, all people are guilty before God. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Paul says in the second part of verse 3, like the rest, pointing to the rest of the world, we were by nature objects of wrath, one and all, each and every one. Objects of wrath. All, in sin, are condemned to eternal death. And of course, you know that we've considered this in the Belgic Confession so far. But then the believer whose spiritual eyes have been opened to see and to recognize how great is his sin and misery, he desires to know how he can stand before God in favor. How will it be that God will look at me in favor? How can I be made right with God? How can I stand before Him not in wrath? but as righteous. And now we're talking about justification, aren't we? Justification deals with having all my sins forgiven and being made righteous in God's sight. Well, how am I justified before God? Boys and girls, that means how can I be declared by God to be not guilty, free of the guilt of sin? How can He look at me and say of me, And again, we have considered the teaching of the Bible about this as well, summarized in the Belgic Confession. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as our only high priest, has given Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. He has shed His sinless blood to pay the demands of God's justice so that God is satisfied with me. Paul says in Romans 3, verse 24, we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. That's the fact of the matter for God's elect, for God's people. But then the natural question is, how do I know this is for me too? How do I know this? How do I have this assurance? How does the substitutionary work of Christ become mine? And the answer is, by true faith. Article 23 will consider more specifically what is involved in justification, but Article 22 deals with the question of how the blessings of justification become mine. This article is about the believer's confession of faith. What do we believe about faith? And this article summarizes the Bible's answers to questions like, where does faith come from? What is it that we have to believe? How does that work in a practical, down-to-earth way? Please follow along if you have the Psalter hymnal open to page 79 as we read article 22. It says, We believe that to attain the true knowledge of this great mystery, the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts an upright faith, which embraces Jesus Christ with all His merits, appropriates him, and seeks nothing more besides him. For it must needs follow either that all things which are requisite to our salvation are not in Jesus Christ, or if all things are in him, that then those who possess Jesus Christ through faith have complete salvation in him. Therefore, for any to assert that Christ is not sufficient, but that something more is required besides him, would be too gross a blasphemy. for hence it would follow that christ was but half a savior therefore we justly say with paul that we are justified by faith alone or by faith apart from works however to speak more clearly we do not mean that faith itself justifies us for it is only an instrument with which we embrace christ our righteousness but jesus christ imputing to us all his merits and so many holy works which he has done for us and in our stead is our righteousness and faith is an instrument that keeps us in communion with him in all his benefits which when they become ours are more than sufficient to acquit us of all of our sins now beloved it's interesting but it's only by faith that one can understand the truth of faith one cannot understand the truth of faith unless one already has that faith so the first question is where does faith come from what is the origin of faith well paul gives a clear answer in verse 8 of ephesians chapter 2 for it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it is the gift of god notice it comes from god and it It comes from Him as a gift. It doesn't come from Him as some sort of a payment for doing something for Him. It's not something earned. We all know, of course, that when you give a gift to someone, it's not because they earned it. If they did, then it's not a gift. Plain and simple. It's a payment of some sort. But a gift is unearned, unmerited, unmerited, given freely from the goodness of one's heart. You see, the truth is nobody wants to be a believer. In and of themselves, nobody wants to be a believer. The sinful nature does not want to believe in Jesus Christ. And dead in sin, as Paul says all men are, we can't believe in Jesus. And the Bible says that we love, by nature, we love darkness rather than light. and we can only get out of the pit of darkness by faith, which is a gift of God through the work of His Holy Spirit. Again, we believe that to attain the true knowledge of this great mystery, the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts an upright faith. 1 John 5, verse 20 talks about the result of the Holy Spirit's work. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true and we are in Him who is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. And then Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 3, Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, no one who has the Spirit of God in him or her will say, Jesus be cursed. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. And then Paul says in Philippians 1 verse 29, he says it has been granted to us to believe in Christ. It's been granted, given to us to believe. And the Holy Spirit works this faith in a heart where there was no faith before. He kindles in our hearts an upright faith. Now boys and girls, if you've ever helped your mom or dad build a fire from scratch not using the gas valve but with kindling you know that we use that kindling little pieces of wood that that catch on fire a little bit easier we use kindling to get the fire going to ignite a flame the holy spirit kindles begins that flame begins that faith in the hearts of god's people and nourishes that faith paul says god made us alive with christ even when we were dead in our transgressions. In those to whom the Holy Spirit gives new birth, He ignites the flame of faith to believe. And we might say that the kindling the Holy Spirit uses is the Word of God. The article says, to attain the true knowledge of this great mystery. Well, that mystery, that mystery is the mystery of salvation by Christ's satisfaction made for us, which is taught in Holy Scripture. The Holy Spirit never works apart from His Word and the Word is not effective apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. There are many, even in many evangelical churches who try to separate the two, try to say you can have one without the other. It simply doesn't work that way. Apart from the Word of God, the Holy Spirit has nothing with which to kindle that faith in your heart and my heart. And apart from the Holy Spirit, that Word of God is just words on a page. A dead letter, as it were. Beloved, it's not by appealing to reason. What I think. What I understand. Or to one's feelings. Or to one's experience. Or even to one's moral consciousness. None of these things will persuade a man to not reject the Gospel. The only thing that is effective to bring one to not reject the Gospel is the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. And where the Holy Spirit works, there is no separation between Christ and faith. They go hand in hand. There's no divorce between the two. John 8, verse 12 says, There Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. You see, beloved, faith is only as good as its object. Some say you've just got to believe. Just have faith. Just have faith that you can do it. Just believe in the government. Just believe in this, that, or the other thing. Well, I'm sorry, but that just doesn't work. If you put me in the cockpit of a 747 and said just have faith that you can fly this thing, I would be in trouble. Faith is only as good as its object. And Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 2 that our new life is in Christ. And that He alone is the object of our faith. He already says in verse 15 of chapter 1, for this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus. And then he says in verses 4-7 once again, but because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ Even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. And in Romans 5, Paul says, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. Galatians 2.16 Man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. And one more, Romans 10 verse 9, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. These are just a sampling of the teaching of Scripture as summarized in one phrase in Article 22. The phrase which embraces Jesus Christ with all His merits. Jesus Christ and all that the Bible teaches about Him, He is the object of our faith. And more specifically again, It is Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. As our perfect substitute. With all of His work on our behalf, He is our object of faith. And then we can talk about His work. We can talk about His merits. His work of living a perfectly righteous life. Of giving His life a ransom for me by paying the debt that I owed to God. His victory over Satan, sin, death, and the grave. His ascension to take His seat at the right hand of His Father. His work on our behalf as mediator, advocate, intercessor, and guarantor. His work of reconciling some to God. Providing peace that passes understanding. Of saving to the uttermost those who believe. Of preparing a place in heaven even now when we can go on and on and on about His work and all of His merits earned for us. He, Jesus Christ, is the object of faith. And it's only in Him. He didn't need some sort of a companion to supplement His work. To top it all off, as it were. To make it complete. Again, Article 22 says, For it must needs follow either that all things which are requisite to our salvation are not in Jesus Christ, or if all things are in Him, that then those who possess Jesus Christ through faith have complete salvation in Him. You see, at the time of the Protestant Reformation, the question that decided whether one stayed in the Roman Catholic Church or came out and became Protestant was, is salvation in Christ alone? Or is it by Christ plus something else? And many have said the church stands or falls depending on the answer to this. And the truth of Scripture is that either it is all in Him and of Him or it's not to be found in Him at all. He doesn't do half a job. As the article says, to say that He does a half a job, to say that Christ needs help, is a gross blasphemy against Him. To say that He is who He is not. He is the only remedy, beloved. He is the one and only Savior who secures and provides complete salvation. This and more is what the Bible teaches about Jesus Christ, the object of true faith. But then how does all of this work in a practical way? What is the operation of faith? Faith believes all of this. Faith says, Amen, to this truth of Scripture. Faith, as the article says, embraces Jesus Christ with all of His merits, appropriates Him, and seeks nothing more besides Him. Heidelberg Catechism, question answer 21, found on page 14 in the back of the Psalter hymnal, asks, what is true faith? And the answer, true faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in His Word is true. Not only that, it is also a deep-rooted assurance created in me by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel that out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only to others, but I too, to me too, I too have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation. You see, that true faith includes knowing what the Bible says, but that's not enough. That's necessary, but even the devils know that's not enough. It also includes agreeing with it and believing it to be true. And then also trusting that it's for me too. True faith trusts in Christ. It trusts that for Jesus' sake all my sins are forgiven, that God sees me as perfectly righteous, and that my eternal salvation is certain all by the grace of God. All of Christ's merits. All that he has earned is imputed to me. Question and answer 60 of the Catechism explains this one. It says, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. That's what we have in Christ Jesus. that's what we need to stand before god rightly and that's ours in him and it is all and it is only found in christ jesus now maybe you have heard this acronym for faith forsaking all i take or we might we might say trust him faith forsaking all i take or trust him and we sing Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find. The Bible says there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we might be saved. And again, as Paul says in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9, For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. There's nothing that we could do to get saved. not even a little bit even our best works as Isaiah says are like filthy rags and the truth is beloved if we were required to or could add even 1% of the work then that salvation would no longer be complete it would no longer be perfect it would no longer be sufficient because we would have ruined it oh indeed we are called to good works aren't we? Paul makes that clear in Ephesians 2 but not in order to get saved but good works flow from one who is saved evidence of the saving grace of God but in fact our faith even the faith itself doesn't even count in accomplishing that salvation some say well faith is our part it's our part of the equation and therefore it's our work added to it and therefore it must be partly of us but as article 22 says faith is an instrument it's an instrument to fulfill a task to do something an instrument given to us by god faith has been described as the arm or the hand by which we reach out to christ and embrace him as our savior or the conduit the pipe that connects us to him and through that conduit boys and girls just as water runs through a pipe the holy spirit through faith pours into our hearts all the benefits of Christ earned for us you see it's not our faith that justifies us it's not our faith that is our righteousness Christ justifies us Christ is our righteousness the benefits of justification that forgiveness and that righteousness become ours through that instrument of faith, but not because of the instrument of faith. Beloved, God who provided that redemption in Christ now creates in the sinner's heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. He creates such a receptive spirit that the sinner hearing the gospel and recognizing his own sinful case embraces by faith the redemption that is only in Christ. And embracing Christ involves a mind enlightened by the Holy Spirit to see Him as the only remedy and therefore embraces His promises. It involves a new will that rejects my own wishes and my own desires and joyfully yields to God's will. And it involves an inward renewal of life that can say with confidence, I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is able to guard that which I have entrusted to Him for that day. True faith, as the preparatory form reminded us this morning, looks outside of oneself. It looks outside of myself and outside of my own good works and takes hold of the only one who has done anything good in the eyes of God. And not only does true faith have the assurance that all of Christ's work is for me too, but one who has true faith enjoys ongoing communion with Him. The article closes the last sentence, And faith is an instrument that keeps us in communion with Him in all His benefits, which when they become ours are more than sufficient to acquit us of our sins. A continual stream of God's blessing through that instrument called faith. And when we have that assurance by faith that we are acquitted, forgiven of all of our sins, then, beloved, we can sing in confidence, my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee. Beloved, true faith, still talking about the operation of faith, true faith knows what I deserve, but is also confident that instead of getting what I deserve, I get what I don't deserve. True faith understands that great exchange, Christ's death to satisfy God's justice against me for my life, my new life, by the mercy and grace of God. True faith understands that the work of Christ on the cross is eternal. There's no expiration date. His blood will never lose its cleansing effectiveness. True faith has the assurance that whenever I fall short of God's glory and sin against Him, that His promise of forgiveness is always good. And no matter what trials and difficulties arise for me in this life, and beloved, let's be honest, we face them. We go through difficult times, even as the psalmist often cried out, Why, O Lord? But no matter what trials and difficulties arise for me in this life, no matter how Satan may try to attack and assault me, no matter if all I own be taken away from me, my profession of faith, by God's grace, will ever be. My soul finds rest in God alone. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. And then even one day at the point of death, my song of faith will be. I fear no foe with Thee at hand to bless. Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness. Where is death's sting? Where grave thy victory? I triumph still if thou abide with me. And all of this, beloved, is only by God's grace. Do you see, especially you young people and boys and girls, do you see that in a sense true faith is a lifestyle? We are called to live by faith. The Bible says the just, those who are justified in the sight of God, shall live by faith. The communion with Christ and all of His benefits which we enjoy by faith, we might say, is the crown of our lives. It's a crown. And our relationships and our work habits and our free time and our thoughts and our motives and words, all of these things, our entire life, all these things are carried out as we wear the crown of communion with Christ by faith. And therefore, as those preparing for Christ's return, we ought to think about what we will be doing or where we will be when He comes again. Beloved, are you polishing that crown? Or are you tarnishing that crown? The college we choose. The occupation we seek. Or the free time that we indulge in will all be governed by how best and most faithfully can I serve Him. You see, beloved, this is the desire of those who enjoy a right standing with God of not guilty for the sake of Jesus. And they know it. They are confident of it by faith. All will stand before God one day as either guilty or not guilty. If you do not have the confidence of a right standing before God, then the solution is really simple. God doesn't call you to some great life or death task to prove yourself worthy to Him. He calls you to repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone because plenteous grace with Him is found. Grace to cover all of our sins. True faith always comes to Christ. empty-handed and looks for Him to fill it. And if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if you know that there is nothing more than the sufficiency of the all-sufficient Savior, and if you are confident that in Him alone you are right with God, then sing. Sing, beloved, of His amazing love. How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you and praise you for that precious gift of faith by which you give to us to make the righteousness of Christ our very own, by which we are given the assurance that all of our sins are forgiven, by which, O Lord, we might serve you day and night. We pray, O Lord, that you would continue to nourish and strengthen our faith. Continue to give to us more and more each day greater assurance of that precious gift of salvation. And Father, may we live lives of faith and obedience to you in order to praise your most holy name. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.