"Understanding Justification Part 2"

Understanding Justification-Part 2

Romans 8:31 (NLT)
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Let’s say we were caught speeding down the highway. We are doing 100 mph, obviously slightly out of the acceptable speeding window. We go to court and just as the judge is about to throw the book at us, someone steps forward and says, “I will pay the fine. I will take the punishment.” And so we get off, without paying the fine, without any punishment at all. We have been justified, made right in the eyes of the law. It doesn’t change the fact that we were speeding, but the court sees us as innocent. That is what Christ did for us.

The completion of the act of repentance is when the sinner acknowledges his sin and asks forgiveness and God gives him a free pardon and restores them to a relationship with Himself. This is justification in the believer’s life. The believer is acquitted of his sinful acts and nature. Many individuals say that justification means just as if you had never sinned; your record has been wiped clean by Christ redemptive work on Calvary. 

The biblical term to justify (diakaioo) means God acquits and accepts the sinner who trusts in Jesus. Justification is not the forgiveness of a man without righteousness, but a declaration that his righteousness is imputed unto him by Christ. As we get started, I want to read to you two verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans.

First we’ll read Romans 5:1 (NIV) days, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Last of all Romans 8:30 (NIV) says, “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” I want to speak to you today on this subject of justification. What is it? Why is it important and what does it mean to us? Perhaps of all the great doctrines of our faith, what the Bible teaches about  justification must be among the most important. In fact, it has been said that “a right understanding of justification is absolutely crucial to the whole Christian faith…If we are to safeguard the truth of the gospel for future generations, we must
understand the truth of justification. Even today, a true view of justification is the dividing line between the biblical gospel of salvation by faith alone and all false gospels of salvation based on good works.”

There are four facts about justification I want to remind you of today. Two from last week and two for this week

1. Justification Is A Legal Declaration By God

2. We Can Be Justified Because Of Christ’s Imputed Righteousness

3. Justification Comes Entirely By God’s Grace Through Faith In Christ

The question now comes up, “How do we receive Christ’s righteousness and the forgiveness of sins?” Christ’s righteousness is not simply given to everyone, though it was offered for everyone. 

Romans 3:20 (NIV) tells us that

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. In other words, we cannot be justified by any good doing or by our own efforts. We are absolutely corrupt. Verse 24 gives us the answer. How can we be justified? It is by His grace!

Romans 3:24 (NIV)

“and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  9  not by works, so that no one can boast. We are saved by God’s grace. God did not have any obligation to impute our sin to Christ or to impute Christ’s righteousness to us; it was only because of his unmerited favor that he did it. That is grace! But how does God determine who will receive this grace? Again, verse 26 gives us the answer:

Romans 3:26 (NIV)

he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 5:1 says we are justified by faith,

Romans 5:1 (NIV)

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

But you must understand that there is nothing inherently good about your faith as though your faith had merit with God. What we learn though is that in exercising faith in Christ we are essentially saying to God the Judge that we cannot do for ourselves what is necessary to escape the punishment that comes because of our sin. God demands payment. He demands satisfaction. Only the perfect sacrifice of His Son can satisfy. Only the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ can free a man from the guilt of sin, and the only way to receive that perfect, imputed righteousness is by believing.

4. Justification Results In Some Wonderful Blessings Now, when God justifies a man, He says, “I pronounce you a righteous man. From now on I am going to treat you as though you had never sinned. All sin is passed and gone: wiped out. Your sin is not just forgiven, not just pardoned, but the slate has been cleared. We have already read some of the blessings of being justified. Romans 5:1 says that we have peace with God We are not at enmity with Him. I am no longer offensive to Him because He does not see my sin; He sees the perfect righteousness of Christ.

Titus 3:7 (NIV)

so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is not a “hope so” salvation. Because many people think they must earn God’s favor for salvation, they “hope” they can go to heaven. But because my salvation is not dependent on me and I have bet all my salvation on the righteousness of Christ, I have genuine hope in God. As a result of God’s justification, humankind even though we are ungodly, can live in a new relationship through faith with God through Christ Jesus.

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There are plenty of days when I don’t feel saved. My sin and feelings of unworthiness can begin to act like the wind and waves during a hurricane. If my security were based on those feelings or on my deserving salvation I would drift away, but I have an anchor – my hope – not in myself but in Christ’s righteousness which has been considered to be mine.

Not only do we have a genuine hope, but understanding the doctrine of justification gives us confidence that God will never make us pay the penalty for sins that have been forgiven on Calvary. That is not to say we will not reap what we sow. The drunk driver may still go to jail for running over someone, but he can be forgiven and justified. God will discipline us for our sins, but the fact is we will never, and that means never have to pay the penalty that is due our sins. “There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.”