Dear Christian friends:

In his letter to the Roman Christians Paul writes chiefly about righteousness. He thinks it is most important that a man get right before God or get judged right by God. Do you think that too? Your coming here this morning seems to show that you think it is important to get right before God's judgment. And perhaps you are very interested in that, but how do you wish to get right before God? What is your method?

That's the chief purpose of Paul's letter here. And that's God's chief interest in you - that you find the right way of getting judgment right before holy God.

The danger is that you may choose and follow a false way to righteousness, and never get right, but die and perish in wrong and false ways. Next Tuesday we think about God's way of giving us righteousness by sending His Son into the world: and He promises to send His Son again a second time to judge us all. Therefore it is a very important question:

Do you really want to be righteous before God? Maybe you are satisfied to be righteous before people. Perhaps you think that you are good enough or as good as other people, maybe a little better. Maybe you think that if you can pass mens judgment on earth you will easily pass God's judgment in heaven: But you are deceiving yourself if you think that because God judges "according to truth" (verse 2) He never makes a mistake like men do in their judgments. Often we make poor judgments and excuse the guilty or condemn the innocent. Men easily make mistakes for many reasons. One is that we lack evidence. We may suspect a person is guilty, but can't prove it. But God has plenty proof. He sees in the dark and behind closed doors. He looks into the heart and everything is open and naked before Him.

Men also make mistakes in judging because they are often partial. We respect money, beauty and power. Therefore men may excuse a rich man who commits adultery and at the same time condemn a poor man who does that. And often we excuse a beautiful woman who sins and at the same time condemn the ugly woman who sins. Often we are afraid to condemn a powerful man who does wrong, but quickly pick on a weak one. And so man's judgment is often unjust.

But Paul says that "there is no respect of persons with God." He regards the rich the same as the poor; the beautiful the same as the ugly; the powerful the same as the weak. So don't think that you are right just because men accept you and do not condemn you. Just because you have the okay and friendship of men does not mean that you have the okay and friendship of God.

So when you seek to be right don't worry much about what men think or say or judge, but rather worry about what the perfect, holy God thinks, says and judges about you.

But that is just the trouble with us. We don't like to think about what God may say about us. We do not like to hear His holy law and condemnation of our sins. That does not comfort us or flatter us, and so we try to avoid it or push it out of our life. And come with silly reasoning and arguments and defenses. We say, "I'm as good as the other people and better than many." Or if we feel guilty we may think, "Surely God will not punish me as I deserve."

But our silly reasons and weak defenses cannot change God's holy and right judgement. Paul says, "God will render to everyman according to his deeds." (verse 6) So you must face that important question: How will you be righteous?

Do you want to get right by the route of your own right doings? St. Paul wrote this letter to people who thought: "Well, since God demands perfect holiness and obedience of His laws, we must try our best to keep them, and by our good behavior we may get right before Him." These people we call self-righteous. They think that they can with their own power obey God's laws and please him. And so they try and become fanatic like the Pharisees. Soon they look-down on others and become proud of their holiness and goodness. Just like the nuns and the monks who imagine that they are so very good that they have extra merit to sell to others who are not monks or nuns. People who try to get right before God by their own good works soon criticise and judge and condemn others.

But what does St. Paul say here about those who look-down and criticise and judge others. He says: "Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." (verse 1)

The United Airline Bombing of Nov. 1, 1955 Jack Graham killed his mother by planting a bomb in her suitcase killing forty-four people on the airplane. Your heart is not any better. "Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?" "Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?" (verses 21, 22)

So if we try to get right before God by judging and condemning others and by pride and boasting in our own good works we choose a way that condemns us. By self-righteousness we cut our own throat.

Therefore during this Advent Season when we think about Christs coming to judgment, we must wake up and know that self-righteousness sinks us deeper into gloom instead of rejoicing.

Well, then, how can we get right before God? The way of pride, boasting and looking down on others does not make us righteous before God. What does then? Listen to St. Paul: "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:27, 28) God's plan of getting us right is the faith way and that does not include boasting about our own good works. Faith's way means giving up all our own pride and reason and arguments. It means confessing our own nakedness and helplessness and throwing ourself on the mercy of God. It means hanging on to Him and letting Him give us His own righteousness.

Does God want to do this? Yes He does. He says, "A broken and contrite heart I will not despise. He that cometh to me I will never cast out." And to be able to give us His own righteousness God sent His Son into the world. Next Tuesday we celebrate the coming of God's Son to earth that He might win for us God's perfect righteousness. By faith in Jesus we receive forgiveness of all sins and put on the perfect righteousness of God.

So you see God's way of giving righteousness to every man. It is a wise way; everyone can get right that way no matter who he is rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. It is a way that leaves all boasting, glory and praise to God, who alone is worthy of it. It is a way that comforts, poor, trembling sinners. It is a way that brings the proud and mighty down from his high seat and exalts them in low places.

Now what will you do about God's way? You who are afraid and seek to hide from God, what will you do? Will you run away? Don't; God's way is for you, Jesus is for you. You who have been proud and boasting and judging others what will you do about God's humble way? Will you blindly continue to boast and look down on others? Will you seek the okay of men rather than the okay of God?

Will you continue to worry about what men think and judge and ignore God's judgment? If you do you will be damned eternally in hell. Oh put away pride and humble yourself under God's faith way. This Christmas don't be ashamed to kneel down before the infant Christ and accept Him as your one and only Savior. If you by God's spirit do, you will have a new joy and peace that you never knew before. Christ will live in your heart and teach you humility, kindness, patience, suffering, understanding, mercy, and joy in God and sharing of money and Jesus.

May God give us all power to submit to His way and get truly righteous by faith in Jesus.

Amen.