There remains one question still to consider, though we have really
answered it in what has already been said, and that is, the time of
justification, or when a believer is justified. When is a believer
justified? This question is answered plainly in one of our texts, Acts
13:39, +"And by him every one that believeth is justified from all
things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses."+
What I wish you to notice particularly now in this verse is the word
_Is_, "Everyone that believeth _is_ justified from all things." This
answers plainly the question as to when a believer is justified. In
Christ Jesus every believer in Him is justified from all things _the
moment he believes_. The moment a man believes in Jesus Christ that
moment he becomes united to Christ, and that moment God reckons the
righteousness of God to him. I repeat again, if the vilest murderer
or sinner of any kind in the world should come into this room this
morning while I am preaching and should here and now believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, the moment that he did it, not only would every sin
he ever committed be blotted out, but all the perfect righteousness
of God in Christ would be put to his account, and his standing before
God would be as perfect as it will be when he has been in heaven ten
million years. Let me repeat to you again the incident I told you one
Sunday night some weeks ago. I was preaching one Sunday morning in the
Moody church in Chicago on Rom. 8:1, +"There is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,"+ and in the course
of my preaching I said, "If the vilest woman there is in Chicago should
come into the Chicago Avenue church this morning, and should here and
now accept Jesus Christ as her Saviour, the moment she did it every
sin she ever committed would be blotted out and her record would be as
white in God's sight as that of the purest woman in the room." Unknown
to me, one of the members of my congregation that very morning had gone
down into a low den of iniquity near the river and had invited a woman
who was an outcast to come and hear me preach. The woman replied, "I
never go to church. Church is not for the likes of me. I would not be
welcome at the church if I did go." The woman who was a saint replied,
"You would be welcome at our church," which, thank God, was true. But,
"No," the woman urged, "it would not do for me to go to church, church
is not for the likes of me." But the woman who was a saint urged the
woman who was a sinner to go. She offered to accompany her to the
church, but the other said, "No, that would never do. The policemen
know me and the boys on the street know me and sometimes throw stones
at me, and if they saw you going up the street with me they would think
you such as I am." But the woman who was a saint had the Spirit of
the Master and said, "I don't care what they think of me. If you will
accompany me to hear Mr. Torrey preach I will go along with you." The
other woman refused. But the saved woman was so insistent that the
woman who was an outcast finally said, "If you will go up the street a
few steps ahead I will follow you up the street." So up La Salle Avenue
they came, the woman who was a saint a few steps ahead and the woman
who was a sinner a few steps behind. Block after block they came until
they reached the corner of La Salle and Chicago Avenues. The woman who
was a saint entered the tower door at the corner, went up the steps,
entered the church, and the woman who was a sinner followed her. On
reaching the door the woman who was a sinner looked in, saw a vacant
seat under the gallery in the very last row at the back, and slipped
into it, and scarcely had she taken the seat when I made the remark
that I just quoted, "If the vilest woman there is in Chicago should
come into the Chicago Avenue church this morning and should here and
now accept Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour, the moment she did it
every sin she ever committed would be blotted out and her record would
be as white in God's sight as that of the purest woman in the room." My
words went floating down over the audience and dropped into the heart
of the woman who was a sinner. She believed it, she believed that Jesus
died for her, she believed that by the shedding of His blood she could
be saved, she believed, and found pardon and peace and justification
then and there. And when the meeting was over she came up the aisle
to the front as I stepped down from the pulpit, tears streaming down
her face, and thanked me for the blessing that she had received. And I
repeat it here this morning, not knowing who may be here, not knowing
what may be the secret life of any one of you who is here, not knowing
what may be the sins that may be hidden in your heart, if the vilest
man or woman on earth should come into the Church of the Open Door this
morning and should here and now put their trust in Jesus Christ, the
moment you did it every sin you ever committed would be blotted out and
in an instant your record would be as white in God's sight, not only as
that of the purest woman in the room, but as that of the purest angel
in heaven, and not only that, but all the perfect righteousness of God
that clothed our Lord Jesus Christ would be put to your account and you
would be just as near and just as dear to God as the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself is. That is the doctrine of justification by faith. Wondrous
doctrine! Glorious doctrine!
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