A Work of Righteousness: Why Jesus Came

Introduction

Frantz Estivene, a student at the Bible Institute of Nogent (IBN), preached this Easter Sunday 2026 to close out a week spent with the congregation. His text: Romans 4:25 · "who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification." He opens with a simple picture. A man stands trial for a serious crime. The evidence is undeniable. The judge is about to hand down the death sentence. And just as the sentence is pronounced, a stranger stands up in the courtroom and says, "I'll pay for him." The judge accepts. The guilty man is set free because someone else took his place. This isn't just an illustration. It's exactly what Jesus did for you. The question that runs through the whole sermon: why did Jesus come? Frantz offers three keys to understanding this work of righteousness in depth.

Outline of the Message

1. Jesus came to carry our sins

• Jesus didn't come simply to teach or to perform miracles. He came with a specific mission: to carry our sins.
• Isaiah announced it seven centuries earlier: "Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4).
• Paul writes the letter to the Romans to clarify the doctrine of justification. Jewish and Gentile believers disagreed on how God justifies people. Chapter 4 sets the record straight.
• Justification is a legal act by which God declares the sinner righteous. Not because the sinner deserves it. On the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, received by faith.
• On the day we call Good Friday, Jesus carried through the passion, the word Christians use for Jesus' suffering from his arrest all the way to the cross. He took our sins and carried them there, in our place.
• Romans 3:24 says it to the first generation of readers, and to you today: "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." There is no other way.
• Your legal standing before God has changed. You've moved from guilty to acquitted. Recognized as without fault, not because you are without fault, but because Jesus changed your situation.
• Many Christians still live under guilt. "I know God forgives, but I just can't get there. I still feel condemned." Frantz's answer is simple: Jesus carried your sins. Stop carrying them yourself. Let go. Believe.

2. Jesus died to pay our debt in full

• As sinners, we deserve death. Not just physical death, eternal death, because of our disobedience and our rebellion against God.
• But God chose to give his Son out of love, to justify us. "He who didn't even spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). Everything is in Christ, from the moment you believe in his work on the cross.
• This freedom cost you nothing. It cost Jesus his life. Your justification has a price: his life given up. To be justified is to be declared not guilty.
• Picture this for a moment: you're on death row, waiting for the date of your execution. And suddenly you're told: you're free. Someone else has deliberately taken your penalty in your place. That is exactly what Jesus did on that Good Friday.
• He gave himself willingly, effectively, to pay the ransom for your sin. God's word says it plainly: death is necessary to satisfy God's justice. Romans 6:23: "the wages of sin is death."
• Whoever sins deserves death. Jesus, however, did not sin. He did not give in to temptation. And yet he died. He took your place. He took the place that was reserved for you, and for each of us.
• He was counted among criminals. And all of this made it possible for us to be brought together. Jesus died to reconcile you with God the Father, but also with your brothers and sisters, who make up the Church. No one can say "I am reconciled with God" while staying in conflict with the people around them.
• Many believers still live as though they could accomplish Jesus' work themselves. "I have to be perfect." We often think we are unworthy. The truth is, you are not accepted because you are worthy. You are accepted because Christ gave himself on the cross. Your justification rests on grace, on faith, and on the work of Jesus.
• The advice Frantz gives to everyone, himself included: when you fall, come back to the cross. When you doubt, look at the cross. When you feel unworthy, remember the cross. Because everything was paid for there.

3. Jesus rose again to give us new life

• If everything stopped at the cross, something essential would be missing. Frantz insists: don't confuse the death and the resurrection of Jesus. They are two elements of the same work, but their purposes are not identical.
• Jesus' death pays your debt to God. He took your place, he bore the punishment and the curse that were reserved for you. Before God, you become not guilty, set free, restored, reconciled, brought into the family that is the Church. The cross removed your guilt.
• The resurrection is a resounding victory over death and over the realm of the dead. This Easter morning, the Church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion and death.
• According to Augustine's definition, Easter is the passing from death to life. This commemoration recalls both the passion of Christ (all the suffering endured up to the cross), and the fact that Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead for eternity.
• The resurrection testifies to the completion of his work: the debt paid in full and God's total satisfaction with Christ's atoning sacrifice. In Jesus, you no longer die. Physical death is only the passage from earthly life into life eternal.
• The resurrection is a victory over death, over sin, and also over Satan. It is the foundation of every believer's present assurance before God, and the guarantee of your happiness with the Lord when you are in his glory.
• Paul says elsewhere: "knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will present us with you" (2 Corinthians 4:14).
• The commentator Brad Dixon writes that the resurrection is the divine seal that authenticates the act of justification. It gives the certainty that God the Father accepted the sacrifice of his Son. What Jesus did, God validated.
• The Christian life isn't just about avoiding sin. It's about living a new life in Christ. You are not only forgiven, you are transformed. To be in Christ is to be united to him through his death. To be in Christ is also to be united to him through his resurrection.
• In Christ, you can say no to sin because its power is broken. In Christ, you can live for God because you have new life. In Christ, you can hope because the resurrection is the guarantee of your future.
• Maybe you still feel stuck, trapped, unable to change. The resurrection says otherwise: change is possible, new life is real.

Key Takeaways

• Jesus didn't come primarily to teach or to heal. He came with a specific mission: to carry your sins all the way to the cross.
• Justification is a legal act. God declares the sinner righteous, not because they deserve it, but because of the work of Christ, received by faith.
• Your freedom is free to you. It cost Jesus his life. The price is already paid; you have nothing to add.
• The cross removes your guilt. The resurrection gives you new life. The two go together, and Easter holds them as one.
• When you fall, when you doubt, when you feel unworthy: come back to the cross. Everything was paid for there.

Personal Application

• Is there a sin Jesus already carried to the cross, but that you're still carrying yourself? What do you want to do to let it go today?
• Where do you base your acceptance before God: on your efforts, your consistency, your performance, or on the work of Christ on the cross?
• Is there a brother, a sister, or a family member you're in conflict with? How can the reconciliation offered at the cross change that relationship?
• The resurrection says change is possible. What have you stopped hoping to see change in your life? Bring that situation back before the Lord this week.
• If you still doubt your salvation, take a quiet moment. Simply tell the Lord that you believe in Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection, and that you want him to be your Lord and Savior.

Verses Cited

• Romans 4:25 · "who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification"
• Isaiah 53:4 · "Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering"
• Romans 3:24 · "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"
• Romans 8:32 · "He who didn't even spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all"
• Romans 6:23 · "the wages of sin is death"
• 2 Corinthians 4:14 · "he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus"

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Jesus come, according to Romans 4:25?

Romans 4:25 says: "who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification." Jesus came to carry your sins, to die in your place to pay your debt to God in full, and to rise again to give you new life. It is a work of righteousness: God declares the sinner righteous on the basis of the finished work of the cross, received by faith.

What is justification by faith?

Justification is a legal act by which God declares sinful humanity righteous before him. This declaration is not based on your merit but on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, received by faith. Romans 3:24 says it plainly: "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Your legal standing before God changes: you move from guilty to acquitted. It isn't a feeling, it's a verdict pronounced by God.

Why is the resurrection just as important as the cross?

The cross and the resurrection are two facets of the same work, but they don't serve the same purpose. Jesus' death pays your debt to God and removes your guilt. The resurrection is the resounding victory over death and sin. It testifies that the Father accepted the Son's sacrifice. In the risen Christ, you are not only forgiven: you are transformed, united to him through his death and his resurrection, with the guarantee of your future with God.