Let's set the context, I promise you- It's not complex So far, Paul has been explaining why God's vexed Mad at us, His wrath is Just, we lack trust Blasphemous, even though we know it's hazardous Chapter one, verses eighteen to thirty-two He talked about our great schemes and the dirt we do He said people refused to give God His due praise Suppressing the truth in their wickedness, they're ruthless Therefore, God gave them over to their sinful ways And because of nature, we have No Excuses Chapter Two's for those who think they don't fit in this category They think they're on the path to glory-Nope, wrath & fury They point the guilty to hell, they're swelled- Lacking humility, even though they're filthy as well Needing more than a bath, because like a greedy man who hoards his cash- In the same way, they're storing up wrath For the day when God's righteous judgment is revealed And all see their sin debt's an infinite amount When no secret word, thought or deed will remain concealed Before God, to whom we must give account That's why It feels so good to be justified Either trust or die, you must decide Stakes is high- make the right decision For the Lamb who's life was given-Christ is risen As we continue, the apostle Paul is a man on a mission To convince you of hostile, fallen humanity's condition Learn what God disperses- "hurt your pride" verses Romans 3:12 "All have turned aside, they're worthless" Bound by sin, a race of hopeless slaves Verse 13: "Their throat is an open grave" It says that "they use their tongues to deceive" "The poison of vipers is under their lips" Look at Hip-hop; that's not a hard one to believe Cats who run with their cliques with guns on their hips Doesn't it fit? Thugs found dead in clubs Verse 15: "their feet are swift to shed blood" Police end up deceased in mad hot zones Verse 17: "The way of peace they have not known" Everybody appears hard- despite the clear odds Verse 18: bottom line- "Nobody fears God" His Holy Word declares we're all lawbreakers, well That's the explanation for this planet's confusion If God didn't intervene, the fall would take us all to hell But Praise the Lord! He granted a solution! And It feels so good to be justified Either trust or die, you must decide Stakes is high- make the right decision For the Lamb who's life was given-Christ is risen Verse 21- God's righteousness- He manifested it But that's nothing new- it's in the Old Testament It belongs to those who put their faith in Christ If you believe, you're redeemed because He paid the price We were hostages, but then He set us from the bondage of sin- So now we pay homage to Him Verse 24- Divine gift- JUSTIFICATION! The most important term in a Christian's vocabulary And most believers can't define it- that's frustrating 'Cause understanding this helps us resist the adversary Christ spilled His capillaries; that's why our Savior can't be Mary That's a burden only the God-Man can carry In Justification: God declares sinners to be righteous by Grace Alone through Faith Alone In the finished work of Christ Alone- He saves His own Add anything to that, you're in the danger zone At the cross, God treated Christ as if He lived my life (what?) I'm so perverted- that's why He was broken and murdered Through faith, God treats me like I lived the perfect life of Christ Yo, I can't earn it, and no I don't deserve it but It feels so good to be justified Either trust or die, you must decide Stakes is high- make the right decision For the Lamb who's life was given-Christ is risen