26-0322p Transcript

(0:51) Well, once again, I see each other. Appreciate very much your presence and your love for God, (1:00) in particular. I know that’s to be true. We work with God’s Word as much as we can.

It (1:11) is life’s saving blood, isn’t it? The lesson I want to talk about tonight is basically (1:21) righteousness or justification, or versus justification. I don’t know exactly how that (1:29) ought to be stated, but I’ll tell you one thing right now. You can’t get to heaven without (1:37) being justified.

You have to be justified. And that’s the point that we really want (1:47) to take a look at. But the first thing that I would like for us to do is to consider what (1:52) righteousness is, and the definition of righteousness.

And I looked it up in the dictionary, and (2:01) I will share with you what I found, and then we’ll look at it from that standpoint. Because (2:08) we need to be righteous in the sight of God. There’s no question about it.

And God will not (2:17) accept us if we are not righteous. So how are we going to be righteous? Are we going to be (2:22) righteous by our deeds, like Jesus was? Or are we going to have to be justified and have (2:29) righteousness credited to us? I know you already know the answer, because I can see the people (2:34) who are here. You all know the answer already before I even tell you.

But I’m going to bring (2:41) it out anyway. Because we know that righteousness is the thing that the law is looking for. That’s (2:52) what the law, when the law was enacted, it was designed to search out righteousness and to be (3:01) the judge of righteousness, and to judge individuals to see whether or not they are (3:06) righteous.

Remember last Sunday we talked in the Bible class about what it means to be just a (3:13) judge. And we’re looking at being judged, and the Bible is going to be judging us. (3:20) So it’s looking for righteousness.

And so what is righteousness? And this is the definition. (3:31) Being in right standing with God. Reflect, you are reflecting His moral character, (3:43) obeying His commandments, living with integrity, faith, and justice.

(3:54) That’s a mouthful. That is a lot of criteria, isn’t it? To be justified, or not just justified, (4:02) to be righteous. Once again, being right standing with God.

What is the right standing with God? (4:10) To reflect His moral character, obeying His commandments, living with integrity, faith, (4:21) and justice. Drawing from the Bible, and especially from Romans, and we’re going to be looking at (4:30) the third chapter in particular this evening. And of course that’s going to be our Bible class (4:37) next Sunday.

This is going to be the material for that. But as we look at this material, we know that (4:45) in Romans, the third chapter, it comes to the conclusion that there is none righteous, (4:52) no not one. And so as we reflect upon that, He’s making these judgments, and He’s using the (5:03) Scripture, the Bible, the law, if you will, to determine who’s going to be righteous and who’s (5:12) not righteous.

When we’re looking at judging, we have a standard. And that standard has to be met (5:21) in order for you to be classified as being perfect. So drawing from last week’s lesson, (5:29) last week’s Sunday class, we are looking at the idea, what is judging? We just came off of (5:38) the Olympics.

And if you watch the skating, if you watch the skiing, especially the ski jumps, (5:46) if you watched the snowboarding, and if you watched how that they went down and up and (5:52) did their flips, and if you’re watching the ice skating, you see they’re paying attention to how (6:00) they’re on their skates, how they’re using their skates, and whether they’re on the right edge or (6:06) the left edge, and doing various things like this. They have a standard. And that standard (6:14) is what everybody is going to be judged at.

And so I did not see anyone, while I was watching it, (6:25) get a perfect score. They would judge them, and they would score them, and they’d say, (6:33) well, that skater is better than this skater, and that skater there is not quite as good as (6:39) the rest of them. And then at the end, they determine who’s going to win by who got the best (6:46) score by the judges on the judges' perspective.

And so that’s what we were dealing with, (6:53) is subjective. In my mind, it’s all subjective because you could be biased in the way you look (7:01) at things like that. But God’s not biased.

He’s not prejudiced. He does not respect. He’s not a (7:10) respecter of persons.

And so when he’s judging, it’s not prejudiced. He is judging on the purpose (7:21) of how good are we. Are we meeting his qualifications? Are we meeting his standards? (7:28) And that’s what we’re looking for.

And so when we’re looking at the judging, (7:35) we have to deal with the law. Now, we know, according to the Genesis account, (7:46) God put into motion a law, and that law was the law of sin and death. (7:57) And he told Adam that if you eat of the tree of knowledge of good, do not eat of the tree (8:03) of knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you do, you shall surely die.

That is the law. (8:11) And so in that particular perspective, we’ve got to recognize and respect what a law is. (8:22) And as we look at the law, because when we’re down at the end, the question is, (8:30) when God gets through justifying us, are we honoring the law? Verse 31 in chapter 3, (8:39) it says, Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all.

Rather, we uphold the law. (8:49) So what is he saying there? How are we upholding the law? Well, we’re respecting it. We’re honoring (8:56) it.

The law says, if you sin—and remember, sin is missing the mark—if you sin, you’re not meeting (9:05) the mark. You’re not meeting that standard. You’re not meeting what God wants you to meet.

And so (9:13) you’re—the law says, you sin, you die. Okay? That’s the law. You sin, you die.

So (9:27) are we going to circumvent that law? No. How are we dealing with this law? (9:38) We’re not circumventing it. It’s being met.

And we need to recognize the fact that it’s being (9:45) met by God through Jesus. Jesus is meeting the law. And so when he goes to the cross, (9:57) he is respecting the fact that the law has condemned each one of us.

There’s not a person (10:04) who’s ever walked the face of this earth except for Jesus that has been perfect. And so every (10:12) person who has ever walked the face of this earth is subject to dying, being put to death. (10:23) And we know that the death that we’re going to be looking at, basically, is whether or not we’re (10:30) with God in heaven, which is life, or are we going to go to hell, which is death? Being separated from (10:36) God and going to hell is death.

And so we have to pay attention here to, is the law being respected? (10:46) And the law is being respected because God is offering his Son to die in our place, (10:57) and he’s respecting the law. Otherwise, he would not have to offer his Son as a sacrifice. (11:04) He wouldn’t have to put his Son on the cross to die if he was going to circumvent the law.

(11:13) But he’s not circumventing the law. He is honoring the law by putting his Son on the cross to die (11:21) and to pay that penalty, that death penalty, that is due. And the law cannot change, (11:29) and the law cannot say, oh, I didn’t mean you’re going to die.

I just meant you were going to be (11:38) something else. The law can’t do that. The law has to be the law.

You die. If you break the law, (11:47) you die. So we’re honoring the law, where God is honoring the law through being justification.

(11:56) So as we reflect upon this, we recognize the fact that righteousness is the goal for all mankind. (12:06) That is our goal. Our goal is to be in right standing with God.

Our goal is to reflect his (12:16) moral character and obeying his commandments. Our goal is living with integrity, faith, and justice. (12:28) That’s our goal.

But we sin. We fall short of those goals, don’t we? And so we’re subject to (12:38) death. So as we reflect upon this, Paul is pointing out the fact that there is no one (12:46) who has reached that.

So now apart from the law of righteousness of God has been made known (12:54) to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus (13:02) Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned (13:09) and fall short of the glory of God.

And so as we’re reflecting upon what is happening, (13:18) this is what it is dealing with. I’m sort of rambling right at this moment. I perceive that, (13:27) and I’m trying to follow my notes, but I perceive that I’m rambling quite a bit.

(13:38) So the main thing is we are not going to get to heaven unless we’re justified. And the only way (13:48) that we can be justified is to obey God’s offer to become under Jesus' sacrifice and his leadership. (14:03) So now we know, I’m looking now at chapter 3, verse 19.

Now we know that whatever the law says, (14:14) it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world (14:21) held accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight (14:29) by the works of the law. Rather, through the law, we become conscious of our sins.

(14:39) So as we reflect upon what God is doing, are we righteous? Obviously not. We are not meeting the (14:49) goal. We’re not meeting the requirements of what it means to be righteous.

We sin, (14:56) and we fall short of the glory of God. So now let’s read what Paul has to say (15:04) concerning our relationship and what God is doing for us. (15:11) In chapter 3, picking up at verse 21 again, and let’s read it through.

(15:19) Now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the law (15:29) and the prophets testify. So what is he saying? Apart from the law, (15:39) God is providing us with a righteousness. Apart from the law, he’s going to offer us righteousness.

(15:48) Apart from the law, in other words, the law is not a factor here. This righteousness that God (15:56) is going to offer us comes to us through Jesus, and it’s an offer that God is giving to you and me (16:07) to be able to accept or reject. And so now apart from the law, the righteousness of God, (16:16) God’s righteousness, has been made known.

We now know how to get the righteousness that God wants (16:25) to provide for us. We now know it. Again, now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has (16:33) been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify.

In other words, they knew it was coming. (16:40) They knew that it was going to be offered to us. All we have to do is to recognize Ephesians, (16:49) the first chapter.

Why did God create the world? That’s a good question, isn’t it? (17:00) He had a purpose for creating the world, didn’t he? (17:04) In the Ephesians letter, in the first chapter, Paul points out what that purpose is. (17:10) I want to take a moment and take a look at and rehearse ourselves with that, Ephesians, (17:16) the first chapter. We can rehearse and see what that purpose was.

Why did God create us? (17:25) Why did God, and what was he wanting to accomplish? So as we reflect on the first (17:32) chapter of Ephesians, Paul’s telling us and giving us the answer. Praise be to the God, (17:39) I’m picking up with verse three, reading from the New International Version. (17:44) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms (17:51) with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Here’s what he’s accomplished. He chose us in him before (18:04) the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. And he’s going to tell us why.

(18:14) This is the whole thing he’s done. He chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be (18:24) holy and blameless in God’s sight. In love, God predestined us for adoption to sonship through (18:34) Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace.

(18:43) Whose glorious grace? God’s glorious grace. His grace is great, which he has freely given us (18:54) in the one he loves, who is Jesus. In him, we have Jesus.

In Jesus, we have redemption through (19:05) his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. In other words, (19:14) this is complying with what God wants. It’s his desire.

It’s his grace. He is reaching out to us. (19:22) So, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and (19:31) understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his, this is God’s will, according to his good (19:40) pleasure, which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment, (19:49) to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth, and under Christ.

In him, we were also (20:02) chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him, that’s God, who works out everything (20:08) in conformity with the purpose of his will. Whose will? God’s will. In order that we, who were the (20:17) first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of God’s glory.

What’s the purpose? (20:27) To glorify God. To glorify God for his glory. And so, and you also were included in Christ (20:41) when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, when you believed you were (20:47) marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (20:56) until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of whose glory? (21:04) His glory.

God’s glory. God’s working it out, he created us, and he’s going to be (21:13) redeeming us, and when we go to heaven and get into heaven, what are we going to be doing? (21:23) Praising God’s glory. Why? Because that’s why he created us, and that’s what he’s going through.

(21:33) He wants us to glorify him. And when we look at the men of the Bible, especially Moses, (21:44) Moses appealed to God all the time, didn’t he? And on what basis did Moses appeal to God to (21:52) change his mind, especially when he wanted to destroy the Israelites, and he said, stand aside, (21:57) I’m angry with them, I’m going to destroy them. And then what does Moses do? He appeals to God’s (22:05) glory.

He’s saying, you’ll become the laughingstock. You got him out of Egypt, but you (22:12) can’t, he says, you won’t be glorified, you’ll be a laughingstock. And so Moses is appealing (22:21) to God on the basis of glorifying his name.

His name is to be glorified, (22:28) and that’s one of the things that you and I are supposed to be able to do ourselves. (22:33) Thank you, God, and glorify God for being saved. And then we also know that he’s going to glorify (22:42) his name through what he does for us.

And so when people look at what he does for us, (22:52) they glorify his name. And then when Paul was talking about the contribution that was going to (22:58) be given to the Israelites, that he was collecting from the Corinthians, and (23:14) anyway, the collection, and he was going to take it down to Jerusalem because there was a (23:21) famine going on down there, and they needed the money, and they needed (23:24) the help that they had. And what does Paul say is going to happen when that money gets down there (23:33) and applied to those people? Not only was the money going to be applied to those Jewish families (23:42) who were being hurt under this famine, but that money was also going to be given to the families (23:49) that were influenced by them and so on.

And what does Paul say? When they get that money, (23:57) they’re going to glorify God. Thank you, God, for saving me. Thank you, God, for the contribution (24:05) that you gave to us.

So we’re here to glorify God, and especially in the end to do that. (24:17) So he’s wanting us to come to him and glorify him, and he’s wanting us to (24:32) get back to Romans, the third chapter. He’s wanting us to recognize the fact that we need (24:43) salvation.

We need to be saved from death. So he’s paying the debt for us, and so (24:53) he’s going on. He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, (25:00) so that to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Christ.

I think I missed it. (25:09) Let’s reread verse 21 and through. Now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made (25:17) known to which the law and the prophets testify.

This righteousness is given through faith in (25:27) Jesus Christ to all who believe. There’s no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have (25:34) sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace (25:45) through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. So we need to be justified.

(25:57) We’re subject to the death penalty, and in the court, we need to be justified to be (26:07) exempt from that punishment. So all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption (26:15) that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement.

(26:28) God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood to be received (26:35) by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, and so he’s honoring the law (26:45) he sent Jesus to die on the cross to provide us with the justification, (26:52) and to demonstrate what? God is being righteous. He’s not going to be (26:59) subject to criticism.

Oh, you’re showing favoritism. You’re being prejudiced. No, he’s not.

(27:10) His righteousness is to those who receive by faith Jesus' death and burial. God presented (27:18) Christ as a sacrifice of atonement. This is in order to respect the law and to honor the law, (27:28) though through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith.

He did this to demonstrate (27:35) his righteousness. In other words, he’s not circumventing the law. He’s not rejecting the (27:41) law as if it didn’t exist, and he didn’t mean it.

The law does exist. The law is enforced, (27:47) and the law needs to be observed. So God is doing this in order to demonstrate his righteousness, (27:55) because in his forbearance, he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

He did it to (28:02) demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies (28:08) those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? (28:18) The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.

For we maintain (28:28) that a person is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of the (28:37) Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too, since there is only one (28:46) God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through the same faith. (28:55) Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all.

Rather, we uphold it, because we’re (29:04) respecting it, we’re honoring it, and meeting it as we should. I want us to take a look at the next (29:16) chapter, chapter 4, because he’s going to be talking about a righteousness that God gave to (29:24) Abraham. Verse 1. What then shall we say? That Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, (29:42) discovered it in this matter.

If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, (29:48) he had something to boast about, but not before God. What does the scripture say? (29:57) Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now, to the one who works wages, (30:11) wages are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.

However, to the one who does not work, (30:21) but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. (30:31) David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits (30:39) righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, (30:47) whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against him. (30:58) So, when we’re reflecting upon this, it is a matter of God crediting us with righteousness. (31:14) We don’t obtain righteousness ourselves.

We are not able to merit it. There is no good works, (31:25) no good deeds that we can do in order to obtain the righteousness that God requires for us to be (31:32) in heaven. The only way that we’re going to have that righteousness that God wants us to have (31:42) is for him to give it to us.

That’s where grace comes in. The only way that we’re going to have (31:53) the righteousness that is required for us to have and for God to give and recognize (32:03) for us to be in heaven is for him to say, you are righteous. I’m crediting you with this (32:15) righteousness.

But when is he going to say it and under what basis is he going to be able to say it? (32:24) It is when we become obedient to his desire for us to come to him through Christ and recognize (32:33) Jesus as our Lord and Savior and recognize that he has set Jesus up and his church, (32:41) because it is Jesus' church that we’re in, and come to Jesus and become his disciple (32:48) and be obedient to Jesus' stipulation about what it takes to become a member of his church. (32:58) What does it take to become a member of his church? He made that stipulation when he saw (33:05) the disciples before his ascension, didn’t he, and giving the great commandment as we recognize it (33:11) as being the great commandment. What is the stipulation? He wants them to go into the world (33:18) and make disciples of him.

Who? Make disciples of Jesus. We are disciples of Jesus. That’s the (33:27) what the word Christians means, followers of Christ.

We are students of Christ. That’s what (33:35) the word Christian stands for. Make disciples of me, baptizing him in the name of the Father, (33:43) Son, and the Holy Spirit.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. That’s the stipulation. (33:53) And so if we want to be (33:57) recipients of Jesus' grace, and it is Jesus' grace, because it’s through his grace that he (34:05) went to the cross.

He willingly went to the cross to die on the cross for you and me, (34:10) and to offer himself as a perpetuation for our sins. And God is offering (34:18) us the opportunity to have the forgiveness of our sins when we come to him through Christ. (34:26) And so when Jesus went up into heaven in the ascension, he went into the Holy of Holies, (34:32) didn’t he? And there he presented his blood, and God accepted that sacrifice.

And so therefore, (34:40) Jesus is able to represent us as our high priest to plead for us, to intercede for us, (34:49) and we have the forgiveness of our sins based on Jesus' sacrifice. (34:56) And so God then is able to say, I credit you with righteousness. So (35:06) righteousness has to be credited to us.

So let’s reread one more time the first few verses there. (35:17) What then shall we say about Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh? (35:24) What shall we say about Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh? (35:28) Discovered in this matter. What did he discover? If in fact Abraham was justified by works, (35:36) he had something to boast about.

But not before God. What does scripture say? Abraham believed God, (35:45) and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works wages, (35:53) not to the one who works, comma, wages are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.

(36:01) However, to the one who does not work but trusts God, who justifies the ungodly, (36:08) their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks (36:16) of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from the works. (36:23) So now as we reflect a bit, faith is the ultimate part of it, isn’t it? We read in Romans the first (36:32) chapter how that Paul’s not ashamed of the gospel of God, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

(36:41) Verse 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to (36:47) everyone who believes, first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness (36:54) of God is revealed. In other words, God is offering us righteousness, and it’s in the gospel that this (37:03) offer is being revealed to us.

For in the gospel, the message, the righteousness of God is revealed, (37:11) a righteousness that is by faith, first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live (37:19) by faith. So faith is the key to anything. It requires us to believe in God, first of all.

(37:30) Secondly, it requires us to understand that God is upset with us, and He has been alienated (37:39) from us by our sins. We have taken on a different record. We’re recognizing a different God.

(37:46) We’re recognizing someone else in authority, and in particular, that’s Satan. And he’s upset. (37:54) He’s really fired, angered.

And so what does he want? He’s offering to us, because of His grace, (38:03) for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And so His love, His grace is (38:10) reaching out to us, and He is saying to us, I will reconcile you to Me. I want you to be (38:17) My followers.

I love you so great. So He’s offering us the opportunity to be reconciled to Him, (38:27) and we need to believe that He is offering us that reconciliation through Jesus. We need to (38:35) believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, that God has anointed to be our Savior.

And we (38:46) need to believe that in order to have the forgiveness of our sins and to be reconciled to (38:52) Him, that we must come to Jesus and have Jesus forgive us of our sins through His sacrifice. (39:01) He’s dying for us, and so He has accepted that. He’s become our High Priest.

He’s been made the (39:10) High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, and He’s in Heaven performing the duties of a High (39:17) Priest. He’s performing the duties of a High Priest. He’s interceding for us, and as John would (39:24) write in 1 John, as long as we walk in the light as He is in the light, His blood will continue to (39:29) cleanse us.

And so that’s very important. So that’s how God is going to credit and give us (39:41) righteousness. It’s not because we earned it.

It’s not because we have done, you know, good (39:49) deeds or anything that merits Heaven. He’s giving it to us. He’s offering it to us, as I mentioned (39:58) this morning.

Jesus, then, is able to present us before God without spot and without blemish, (40:07) and that is brought to us, and I love that phrase, that is brought to us in Colossians. (40:17) Turn to Colossians, the first chapter. I’ve got to read where I want to pick up with this.

(40:25) Let’s pick up with verse 15 and read what has been accomplished. (40:31) The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him (40:40) all things were created, things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones (40:47) or powers or rulers or authorities.

All things have been created through Him and for Him. (40:54) He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, (41:03) the church.

He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He (41:11) might have the supremacy. For God is pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Jesus, and through (41:22) Jesus to reconcile to Him all things, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, by making (41:30) peace through His blood shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in (41:39) your minds because of your evil behavior, but now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body (41:48) through death to present you, and here’s that phrase that I like to use all the time, (41:56) to present you holy in His sight without blemish and free from accusations.

Now when I quote, (42:07) He’s able to present you before God without spot, without blemish, that comes from a different (42:11) translation, but this translation basically is saying the same thing, the New International (42:16) Version. So Jesus is able to present us before God, holy in His sight without blemish and free (42:29) from accusation. If you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the (42:36) hope held out in the gospel, this is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed (42:44) to every creature under heaven, and of which my Paul have become a servant.

So the reflection (42:54) there is that we have to have righteousness credited to us, and the way it’s credited to us (43:03) is if we come to God through Jesus and let Jesus, by our faith, and it requires us believing this (43:12) 100 percent and accepting it without any reservation, that we are Christians and we’re (43:19) coming to Jesus, and that He is able to save us, and He is able to present us before God (43:27) without spot and without blemish. But the criteria is becoming His disciple. The criteria is in (43:37) becoming His disciple, we also become a member of His church, or His body.

And so it’s important (43:46) for us to recognize that Jesus came, and what does Jesus tell us? When He asked His disciples, (43:53) who do people say I am? And of course, He got all kinds of response. And then Peter speaks up and (44:03) says, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And what is Jesus' response? Blessed art thou, (44:10) Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in (44:14) heaven.

And upon this rock I will build my church. So we’re members of Jesus' body, we’re members of (44:30) Jesus' church, and He’s building us up, and we need to become one together. I know that (44:41) I would like to extend an invitation.

The invitation basically is if you’re not a member (44:47) of the body of Christ, if you have not been baptized for the remission of your sins, (44:53) putting Christ on in baptism, then you’re not in the church, and you’re not justified, (45:01) and you’re not righteous. We’d like to extend to you the opportunity to do so (45:07) if you need to respond in any manner while together we stand and sing this song of encouragement.