Good afternoon. If you have your Bibles, we’re going to be in Psalm 32. Do you want to open there with me? Psalm 32.

This is what the Lord says to us through David. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Deceit. Deceit. Deceit. David says that there is a man among us who is blessed. He has an elevated, heightened state of happiness. He possesses something inwardly because of something that’s been done to him, for him, on behalf of him. David said that someone whose sin, his transgressions, have been forgiven, that man is in a state of happiness that I think is unmatched.

He iterates it twice. He says the same thing in verse 1 and 2, essentially. Blessed is the man whose sin has been forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,

whose sin has been covered, whose sin has been covered. So there is a man who can be in a blessed state of mind. He can be in a blessed disposition because his sin is not counted towards him.

Amen. Who is that? Who is that man, David? David, there’s an apologist. There’s an apologist that I follow and listen to and learn from. And he debates people of various religious beliefs and things like that. And he often asks that question. Who is that blessed man that David speaks of? It’s important that we get it right and we know who it is. And so I want to frame the question to you. Are you the blessed man? Are you the blessed man that David speaks of? Don’t worry, women and children. David simply means mankind. There’s someone, a person among mankind, who can be considered blessed. Who can be in this unmatched state of mind and happy because he’s been forgiven. So I want to ask you, are you that blessed person, that man, that David says can exist?

Two, why is someone considered blessed because their sins are forgiven? There are some assumptions that we have to carry with us in here. We have to assume that the opposite of being blessed and blameless is to not be blessed and not be blameless. And that’s… That state is not where you want to be. Okay, so we have to assume that to not be forgiven of sins is not a place that we want to be, right? And if we know anything about the scriptures, it’s that the Lord hates sin. He does not tolerate our sin. It is repulsive to him. It must be dealt with. It must be punished. He said it from the get to Adam. If you sin, you will die.

Those whom God has not forgiven their sin, his wrath rests on them and remains against them and it’s settled opposition toward them. There’s no neutral ground. You’re blessed and forgiven or you’re an enemy of God.

So, we should take seriously our sin. We should take seriously the holiness of God and how he views our sin, how he says that he’ll deal with our sin. We shouldn’t gloss over. So, I think there are probably, if we boil it down simply, there are probably two categories of people. If you’re not forgiven, you’re not that blessed man, you’re either so prideful, you’re so deceived that you think you are blessed because you don’t need to be forgiven of sin. Maybe a little bit, but my works, my righteousness is enough to appease God and I can be in a happy state, an elevated state before him because I follow the law, I keep the commandments, I do good deeds, I give to the widows and the orphans, name it. There are those of us who think so highly of ourselves that we don’t need forgiveness or we’re so dumb and blind that we just, we’re not aware. We don’t understand our need for forgiveness. How serious the account that we bear is and what the penalty of it is, right?

Let it not be said of us that we’re either one of those people. Let us search our hearts

constantly. Let us be aware of our sins, of where we fall short. Let us be acutely sensitive to when we offend the Lord.

Let us be taught

by the scriptures that God is altogether holy and he will not have any of that. We have to do something with it. In the end of verse two, it says, in whose spirit, there is no deceit. So for that blessed man, for that man who has been forgiven of his sin, he has truly been forgiven. He’s not walking around as a pretender. He’s not a hypocrite in the sense that, well, of course God forgives me. It’s me. Of course God forgives me. He’s not pretending in front of his peers and his church. That he is forgiven. He knows deep down and he truly possesses that state of blessed happiness that I am forgiven of my sin. I’m forgiven of my iniquity. God has forgiven me. But again, who is this blessed man? If you are that person, why do you consider yourself such? Why do you think that God has blotted out your sin?

So what I want to talk to you about today is happy is the man who has been justified by God. Justified, God has not counted your sins against you. And on the flip side, at the same time, God has counted something in your favor. God considers you righteous in his sight. When you stand before the judgment seat of God, he does not see your sin because they have been covered, they have been done away with. He sees perfection, which is the standard. Nothing less will suffice.

Happy is that man who stands before the counsel of God, blameless.

We should all get tingly thinking about that. Because if that’s not true for us, that day is not going to be happy. Anything but. It’ll be a dreadful day. It’ll be a day of weeping and gnashing and cursing and wailing and lamenting. And that day is going to go on for quite some time. Forever. And ever and ever. So let us take serious, let us take serious the either or that is in this passage. You’re either this man or you’re not. So don’t leave here today without concrete assurance that you are blessed. You are happy because you have been justified by God.

In a couple days, it’s Halloween. Celebrated. Some folks are going to dress up and go get candy and fine. That same day, some 500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the castle door in Wittenberg. And that wasn’t necessarily the start of the Reformation. There were some ripples and squirmishes going on, but it sort of busted the door down. And it got pretty heated at that point. And Martin Luther challenged the church in Rome on indulgences and things like this. But through that, the Reformation began and people began recognizing where the church had erred and began having debates on certain topics and whatnot. And so, through that, the debate and the doctrine of salvation was really whittled down. And what is salvation? How is one saved? How is one considered righteous? How is one justified in the sight of God? And the Reformers, I thank God for them, they really helped frame that for us using the Scriptures. It wasn’t anything new. They’re just like, hey, we’re going to reform what was originally there. We’re going back to the Scriptures. We’re not redoing anything. We’re not remaking anything. We’re reforming what originally was there. And so, the Reformers did not come up with this. It’s a framework that came a little bit later to understand some of the things and some of the core doctrines that the Reformers tried to give us some assurance on and nail down and not compromise on. And they’re called the five solas. And my wife bought me this Bible when we were at G3 and was very generous of her. And on the spine here, they have the five solas. I’m not sure who’s familiar with this, but it’s sola scriptura. It’s in Scripture alone. Sola gratia, grace alone, sola fide, faith alone, solus Christus, Christ alone, soli deo gloria, to the glory of God alone. I want to use that framework and demonstrate that with this passage. Okay? Just in the spirit of the Reformation. Okay? Happy is the man who has been justified by God. You need not search anywhere but the Scriptures alone to find out how that happens. God makes it clear in the Scriptures and we have no other authority, we have no other source of salvation. Scripture alone does not mean that the Scriptures are the only source of truth in that we can’t read other books and be edified by them and gain from them. It’s simply saying that it’s the only infallible, rule of authority for the Christian in regards to salvation in the Christian life. That’s all it’s saying. Scripture alone. I don’t need the church in Rome to teach me about salvation. The Scripture alone is my authority on that.

And so I’m not going to go anywhere else but the Scripture to prove my point to you. Also, there is a saying that the Scripture is its own, best interpreter. Okay? So we’ve just read this passage in Psalm 32. Thankfully, the Spirit, when He inspired the Apostle Paul to write the letter to the Romans, He gave us exactly what this text means. Okay? So by the Scripture alone, I know how I can be happy and justified by God. If you would turn with me to Romans 2, Romans chapter 4. We’ll start in verse 4.

Romans 4, 4.

He says, Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies, the ungodly. His faith is credited as righteousness. Just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. And here’s your passage. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. So David just gave us exactly what Paul just gave us exactly what David was saying. The blessed man is the man of faith. The man who does not consider himself righteous in the sight of God, but the man who believes what God has said. So we have to know the scriptures. We have to be taught and led by them and instructed by them. And by faith, I believe what God has said in them. Okay, God, has said what the penalty for sin is early on in the garden. He even gave the promise of the seed of the woman and crushed the serpent’s head. And on through the prophets, on through the scriptures and through the apostles, he told us what the remedy is. It’s faith. You have to reach out and grab what God has given to you. By faith, you receive it. Okay, so if it’s work, if you worked for this, it’s not faith. And God will pay you what you worked for. Those are your wages. And we know that the wages of sin is death.

Faith is how the blessed man receives forgiveness of his sins. Because he says that the blessing is on the man of faith and he has credited righteousness apart from his works. He justifies the ungodly. Don’t let anybody deceive you. Don’t let any religion deceive you. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking that you have to be good enough. I’m not saying, just as a sidebar, this is on justification. This is on how one is made right with God. Restored to a state of happiness. I’m not talking about sanctification. I’m not talking about what the Christian should do post-justification and restoration with God. That’s not what I’m talking about. So, let’s stay in the category, right? True faith will bring with it good works. I’ll leave it at that. True faith will bring with it good works. Not perfection in this life. But it will bring good works and we will grow. But it doesn’t say that by faith we reach out, grab some of what God offered, and then through our lives we do some good works and then we’re counted righteous. That’s not what it says. It says by faith, God regards us as righteous. Faith alone. And I’m taught that by the Scriptures alone.

In verse 16 in chapter 4. So, post verse 8 right there, Paul is going to continue making the same argument. Building on it and strengthening it. And he lands in verse 16 right here and he says, For this reason, it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace.

It’s gratuitous. It’s not earned. And he makes that, that argument before this in chapter 4 and then leading on to the rest of chapter 4 that if it’s by works, it’s not grace any longer. Because if it’s by your works, then God owes you something. He’s going to pay you for it. You can’t find that man in Scripture who earned righteousness save one, Jesus Christ. So God’s gracious gift alone is what can make you blameless in his sight. What is the gift? It’s Christ alone.

Chapter 5, verse 1. This is kind of the turning point in the letter to the Romans. And everything, this is sort of the moment of regeneration maybe you would say. It’s the hinge. He comes in and he says, confounds everyone. Everyone is sinful. Jew, Gentile. We all fall short. There’s none who seeks God. We’re all haters of God. He makes it clear that justification is not based on your works. It’s based on faith. He uses David in Psalm 32 to demonstrate that. And then he gets to chapter 5 right here and he says, therefore, all of that, therefore, having been justified, past tense, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ. Christ alone. The scriptures alone tell me that faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone justify me in the sight of God. Bring with you nothing.

When you face God in judgment, don’t bring any of your good works, works with you.

They don’t mean nothing. Let your claim be Christ alone.

So, happy is that man who has been justified by God because he has peace with God. The man who is not blessed, he’s in a state of turmoil and he’s being accused by his conscience, he’s being accused by the enemy, he’s being accused by the law, he’s being accused on all sides. Rightfully so. There’s no peace in that. And if we’re so, so, self-righteous and so prideful that we’re not in turmoil over that, that we need to preach the gospel more. We need to let people know. You’re not alright. You’re not, you don’t have true peace.

There is something that happens when through the scriptures, through the truth, by faith you reach out and grab the grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You’re at peace with God now. Now God is no longer to be feared as judge but regarded as father. God is now a gracious father who provides for you and cares for you and protects you and corrects you and disciplines you.

Keeps you and preserves you and will bring you into glory. So what is the response? What would the response to that be? Someone who has been taken from a state of sin and the wrath of God is heavy on his head as Pastor Chad Song would say. Someone who is in that state and God takes him and washes away his sin in the blood of Jesus Christ and now he’s happy all the day. What is the response of that? It’s to glorify God. To the glory of God alone.

There’s the five solas. Anything else is muddling, muddling, meddling in, muddying up the gospel. It’s simple and pure. God has spoken

and he has made it abundantly clear

that by faith because of grace we obtain the righteousness of Christ and we glorify God. Such as the state of the Christian.

Are you that blessed man? Do you echo and amen what David’s said? Are you happy? Are you happy?

I’m constantly this isn’t something that you visit at the moment of salvation and then move on. I think this is something that we should visit and revisit and meditate on and ponder because it’s the foundation of our salvation. It’s not, I don’t think the entirety of salvation, but it’s the foundation at least. I’m not smart. I’m not smart enough to go into the philosophical in-workings of all that, but it’s at least the foundation. On what basis as a Christian can I come into the throne room of God? Well, it’s because I’m blameless. My sins have been forgiven. I can be in the presence of God. So 30 years into your walk with the Lord this truth is just as important. And just as foundational as it was on day one. And this same glorious truth is why you’re kept. It’s a work of God. God has forgiven you. Ponder that. Often meditate on it. Savor it. Sing it. Talk about it. Chew on it. Read it. Glorify God. Because he’s given us the scriptures to instruct us to reach out in faith to obtain the grace that he has provided to clothe ourselves in the righteousness of Christ and sing his praises and to give him glory. Are you that blessed man? Do you have Amen. Do you have that? Do you have that truth? Do you possess that happiness? If you do, then glorify God. Glorify God.

Father,

I thank you that

unlearned men, simple people

can understand your truth. Because you teach it to us, Lord. And you’ve given us the truth. You’ve given it and preserved it in your word. I thank you for the foundation. The bedrock of our salvation. That is unshakable. It’s unbreakable, Lord. Because we know later on in Romans that those who have been justified are going to be glorified. Help us, Lord, to be reminded often of this truth. That you have not counted our sins against us, but you laid them on your son. And he paid for every single one. And no, we’re not to excuse ourselves. We’re not to fool ourselves. We’re to repent, seek forgiveness daily. But Lord, let it be on the foundation that you’ve justified us. And it’s your work alone. Thank you for that. And I thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.