SCRIPTURE: “Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” (Gal. 2:16 KJV)
QUOTE: “There is no justification without sanctification, no forgiveness without renewal of life, no real faith from which the fruits of new obedience do not grow.” –Martin Luther King Jr.
NOTE:
To be justified in a courtroom is not the same as being forgiven. Being forgiven implies that I am guilty and my crime is not counted. Being justified implies that I have been tried and found innocent. The verdict of justification does not make a person just. It declares a person just. (The moral change we undergo when we trust Christ is not justification. The Bible usually calls that sanctification–the process of becoming good.) Justification is a declaration that happens in a moment. A verdict: Just! Righteous! In the courtroom of God, we have not kept the law. Therefore, justification, in ordinary terms, is hopeless. Yet, amazingly, because of Christ, the Bible says God “justifies the ungodly” who trust in His grace (Romans 4:5). Christ shed His blood to cancel the guilt of our crime: “We have now been justified by his blood” (Romans 5:9). But canceling our sins is not the same as declaring us righteous. Christ also imputes His righteousness to me. My claim before God is this: “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:9). Christ fulfilled all righteousness perfectly; and then that righteousness was reckoned to be mine, when I trusted in Him. Christ’s death became the basis for our pardon and our perfection.
ILLUSTRATION:
Bernie May of Wycliffe Bible Translators wrote, “As an airplane pilot, from the first time I sat in the beginner’s seat beside my instructor, I was taught to ’trust’ my instruments. ’Your instincts will fool you,’ my instructor rightly told me. ’You must learn that even though you may feel you are flying south, if your compass says you are flying east, you’d better believe it.’ Often when a plane is surrounded by swirling mist and being buffeted by strong winds, you may feel you are in a dive and be tempted to pull back on the controls. But if your instruments say you are flying level – or even climbing – you’d better believe them. To pull back on… Jesus is our Instructor, we’ll do well to trust Him.
REFLECTION:
Are you justified by faith or works?
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 4: 44 – 5: 33, Psalm 101