Romans
3:28 “ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by
faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
We
must understand that in God’s “Plan of Salvation” for the fallen human race,
there are three aspects. The first one is justification by faith and is the
central doctrine of the Christian faith. It is a one-time act that starts our Christian
life. I read and heard that this “fifty cent word”, justification is a judicial
term. If a prisoner is brought before the bar of justice, the judge can only
justify him if he is innocent. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines it as the act of justifying; a showing to be just or
conformable to law, rectitude or propriety; vindication; defense. In law, the
showing of a sufficient reason in court why a defendant did what he is called
to answer. If
he is guilty, he may be condemned and sent to prison. Then, perhaps, he may be
pardoned by the governor or president, but then he is pardoned criminal and
that is vastly different from being justified.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
To
be justified is to be made “just as if I had never sinned”, as my late Pastor Krueger
used to say. That is something no human judge can ever do. Oh, we try to
justify our wayward thoughts, words and actions. Our disobedience to God's commands admits no justification. Only
God can justify. So, per Webster’s dictionary again, justification is remission
of sin and absolution from guilt and punishment; or an act of free grace by
which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on account of the
atonement of Christ. When we repent of our sins and trust in Christ alone for
our salvation, the miracle of justification takes place.
2 Corinthians 7:9-11 “ I am glad now, not
because you were hurt and made sorry, but because your sorrow led to repentance and you turned back
to God; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that you might
not suffer loss in anything on our account. For
godly sorrow that is in accord with the will of God produces a
repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but worldly sorrow the hopeless sorrow of those who do not
believe produces death. For
you can look back and see what an earnestness and authentic concern this godly sorrow has produced in you: what vindication
of yourselves [against charges that you tolerate sin], what indignation [at
sin], what fear of offending God, what longing for righteousness and justice,
what passion to do what is right, what readiness to punish those who sin and
those who tolerate sin! At every point you have proved yourselves to be
innocent in the matter."
I heard it this way: we are brought before the
judicial bar of God’s judgment. Justice accused us by the evidence of our sins,
and the scales tipped against us. The Judge God looked us sternly in the face
and said, “I pronounce that you are guilty and shall die. Do you have anything
to say for yourself before the sentence of eternal death is pronounced upon
you?” For the first time in all of our self-righteous life, we will be
speechless. The Judge brings down his gavel, and the sentence is pronounced.
But then, Jesus intervenes, declaring, “Surely, they deserve to die, but I died
on the cross for them, so they wouldn’t have to. Now let them go free.” That is
justification.
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
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