Austin Bible Church
A barrier exists between mankind and God. Man is behind that barrier and dead to God. This is spiritual death. This barrier cannot be removed by anything man does. Man is helpless to get through the barrier, except through the work of Jesus Christ. Eph. 2:5-6.
“even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:5-6, NASB)
This barrier or wall has six stones in it - sin, the penalty of sin, physical birth, the perfect character of God, the relative righteousness of man, and man’s position in Adam. Because of this barrier, unsaved man is in darkness and cannot have fellowship with God. The barrier does not allow unsaved spiritually dead man to fellowship with a perfectly righteous God. Christ removed the barrier by dying on the Cross. He becomes the issue - believe on the Lord Jesus Christ! 1 Cor. 1:29-30.
"so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption," (1 Corinthians 1:29-30, NASB)
On one side of the barrier is God who is light. On the other side of the barrier is man who is in darkness. John 8:12; John 12:26.
"Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." " (John 8:12, NASB)
" "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. " (John 12:26, NASB)
God is one in essence and man is one in essence. God is light and man is sinful. And again uniquely, God is three in personality and man is three in personality. We’re not talking about intellect, emotion and will, but the overt personality makeup of man. Man is either immoral, self-righteous, or religious, or a combination. Regardless of man’s personality whether lawful or lawless, all human beings have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Barrier Problem No. 1 is Sin. Every member of the human race has sinned except for the sinless humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is solved by redemption. Jesus Christ bought every member of the human race out of the slave market of sin - Unlimited Atonement. Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:22-23; Jer. 17:9; Col. 1:14; 1 John 2:2.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23, NASB)
“But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.” (Galatians 3:22-23, NASB)
""The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB)
"in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:14, NASB)
"and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." (1 John 2:2, NASB)
Barrier Problem No. 2 is the penalty of sin. This is solved by expiation. Expiation is Jesus Christ paying the penalty for our sins by the His acceptance of the God the Father’s judgment for our sins on the Cross. He paid the penalty for our transgressions. Rom. 6:23; Col. 2:14.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NASB)
"having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Colossians 2:14, NASB)
Barrier Problem No. 3 is our physical birth with a genetically-formed sin nature. At physical birth, God the Father imputes Adam’s original sin to that genetically formed sin nature. The result is that all are born spiritually dead. Physical birth is solved by spiritual rebirth, being born-again. Again the Person and work of Christ is in focus. John 3:3; Gal. 3:26; John 1:11-12.
"Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."" (John 3:3, NASB)
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26, NASB)
"He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name," (John 1:11-12, NASB)
Barrier Problem No. 4 is the perfect character of God. The attributes of God are all absolutes and perfect. All of man’s attributes are relative and imperfect. Man cannot achieve any relationship with a perfect God using his own abilities. Man with a million good deeds can never satisfy the perfect character of God, but Jesus Christ’s work on the Cross satisfied the Father. His work satisfied Him because of who He is. The solution is in the doctrine of propitiation. The word “propitiation” means satisfaction. 1 John 2:2; Rom. 3:25; Isaiah 64:6.
"and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." (1 John 2:2, NASB)
"whom 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;" (Romans 3:25, NASB)
“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6, NASB)
Barrier Problem No. 5 is the relative righteousness of Man (-R). God has absolute righteousness (+R). Man has only a relative righteousness (-R). Psalms 145:17; Rom. 3:10-12.
"The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds." (Psalms 145:17, NASB)
"as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."" (Romans 3:10-12, NASB)
This is solved by justification and imputation. When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you receive (placed to your account) God's very own absolute righteousness (+R). God’s perfect righteousness is imputed to you, so you are then justified and declared righteous by God. Then, absolute righteousness (+R) can have fellowship with absolute righteousness (+R). This solves the problem of the relative righteousness (-R) of man and opens the way for fellowship of the born-again believer with a perfect God. Justification is stated in Romans 3:24 and Romans 5:1. Imputation is stated in Romans 5:12 and 2 Corinthians 5:21.
"being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;" (Romans 3:24, NASB)
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," (Romans 5:1, NASB)
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—" (Romans 5:12, NASB)
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB)
Isaiah 64:6 very clearly states God’s viewpoint of unsaved man’s good deeds. It is not speaking here of bad deeds, but of the good ones, the best that man can do. All our good works, the best works humans can possibly do apart from God are like a filthy garment in the sight of God. They are all -R. But you may say, aren’t the unsaved often unselfish? Thoughtful? Kind? Considerate? Sacrificial? Yes, of course. But God cannot accept them. They are all in the sphere of -R. All are tainted with the fact of imputed sin (Adam’s Original Sin) and inherent sin (our old sin nature) and therefore the best the unsaved person can crank out are works in the area of human good. Ephesians 2:1 says that man is “dead in trespasses and sins.” At best he can be nothing more than a factory that produces filthy worthless rags. Jeremiah 17:9.
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins," (Ephesians 2:1, NASB)
""The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB)
All of you undoubtedly think of yourselves as better than the worst dictators of human history like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Zedong. We also think ourselves better than criminals of the past like John Dillinger or Pretty Boy Floyd or Al Capone. Everyone feels they have some good in them. But you see, in one sense, we are all in the same boat with the above dictators and criminals -”all have sinned.” Every human being born, except Jesus Christ, were born sinners. Some people are good sinners and some are bad sinners, but all are sinners.
Sin is actually not being as good as God is good. To get into heaven, you have to be as good as God is good. This statement may be a little shocking, but it’s true. When the Bible says that all have sinned, it means all! When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are placed into union with Christ. Your position in Him at salvation is perfect as is your relationship at that point. However, you can get out of fellowship after becoming a believer and still sin. Rom. 3:23.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23, NASB)
For example, let’s say Charlie Brown is a pretty good guy, but he spent some time in federal prison some years ago, so he must have some bad in him. Then there is John Doe who is a real fine person, he even gave his fair share without grumbling to the United Way, in fact next year he is going to head it up. He is a great guy! But, look who’s coming down the street but Jack Armstrong. This man is exemplary and has received the Congressional Medal of Honor. He has brought the most good to the most people. He is honest, upright and full of integrity.
And oh yes, here’s a preacher. Let’s dignify him a bit and call him a clergyman, a man of the cloth. Now from a very early age he has dedicated himself to religious service. He has gone through the storms of life with his people. Has he sinned?
So regarding Charlie, John, Jack, and Preacher Pete, some fare a bit better than others in their relative righteousness (-R), but all have sinned and fall far short of being as good as God. Some were “good sinners,” some were “bad sinners,” but all are in the hole when compared with God. The barrier still separates them. Man’s relative righteousness (-R) cannot have fellowship with God’s absolute righteousness (+R). Isaiah 64:6.
"For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." (Isaiah 64:6, NASB)
Barrier Problem No. 6 is Man’s position in Adam. We are all born with a position in Adam. The result is we are all born spiritually dead. Your position in Adam is changed at salvation by the Holy Spirit judicially placing each believer into union with Jesus Christ. This is Positional Truth. The key phrase is “in Christ.” Any passage which uses the phrase “in Christ” sheds light on Positional Truth. Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22; 1 John 5:11-12; 1 Peter 3:18.
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—" (Romans 5:12, NASB)
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22, NASB)
"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." (1 John 5:11-12, NASB)
"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;" (1 Peter 3:18, NASB)