A Great Word

Here is a word you will come across while reading and studying the Bible. This word has a great deal of significance for you and I as followers of Jesus. The word is “Justified or Justification”.

Justification:

·        is the legal act whereby God declares the sinner "not guilty" and imputes to them the righteousness of Christ. This places the believing sinner in a right relationship with God. This is not a subjective reality, but an objective 
positional reality.

·        being pronounced or made righteous; the act of God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, bringing about reconciliation between God and human beings.

·        To be declared free from the penalty of sin.

The Central doctrine of Christianity:

·        Justification by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1 NIV

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

·        Justification is God’s answer to the most important of all human 
         questions: How can we be right with God?

Charles R. Swindoll  describes it this way:

Justification “does not simply mean ‘just as if I’d never sinned.’ That does not go far enough! Neither does it mean that God makes me righteous so that I never sin again. It means to be declared righteous. Justification is God’s merciful act, whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner while he is still in his sinning state. He sees us in our need, wallowing around  in the swamp of our sin.  He sees us looking to Jesus Christ and trusting Him completely by faith, to cleanse us from our sin. And though we come to Him with all of our needs and in all of our darkness, God says to us ‘Declared righteous! Forgiven! Pardoned!”

How it all works:

·        We are all under God’s wrath because of our sin. 

·        Because God is Holy His wrath had to be appeased (Propitiation: the act 

         of atoning for sin or wrongdoing).

·        We must become right with God or perish eternally.

·        God had a plan to save us from His wrath. 

·        Jesus would take the sin upon himself and substitute His life for ours.

·        Jesus willingly fulfills God’s plan and offers himself as the atoning 

         sacrifice on the cross. 

·        God accepts Jesus’ atoning death on our behalf.

·        Through our faith and God’s Grace (unmerited favor) we are saved. 

·        Jesus had redeemed us from our sin, setting us free from our bondage

               by His death. (Redemption: to purchase and set free by paying a price, to 

              free someone from bondage )

·        God has paid the price for our sin through Christ so that our salvation  

          would be free.

·        There is nothing we can do to earn this salvation. It is a free gift from 

          God.

We must understand that faith is the channel by which justification becomes ours.

·        Faith is not a good work. Faith is God’s gift.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

In Short:

·        Propitiation:

 describes what Jesus’ death accomplished in relationship to God: Jesus’ sacrifice satisfied God’s just wrath against sin.

·        Justification:

      describes what God does for us legally on the basis of Jesus’  

           propitiation: He declares us righteous. We are now in a right 

           relationship with God even though we are still sinners.

·        Redemption:

          describes what Jesus, our Savior does for us personally: He redeems 

          us from sin, setting us free from bondage by His death on the cross. 

          There is nothing we can do to earn this.

This is really “Good News”!  A Free Gift from God!  Declared Not Guilty!

Justified!

Just Sayin…………………..Dave