Justified

J is for Justified

Justification: 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.

Justification: God loved you so much He paid the penalty for your sin and mine. Our sin is forgiven. Justification is by faith alone. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It’s a gift.

I put a sticky note on the bathroom mirror.  For a day or two I read the verse each morning. And then I didn’t read it.  I meant to read it – I just didn’t see it any more.  I struggled to write this post because Jesus sacrifice – like my sticky note, can easily  become so familiar it is forgettable. And that breaks my heart. Oh that I get so busy that the divine becomes mundane.  I pray for fresh eyes to pause see the amazing, marvelous gift of love described in Romans.

I get so busy that the divine becomes mundane.  

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  ^“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Rom. 5:6-11

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Rom. 10:9-13

God does not justify us because we are worthy, but by justifying us make us worthy -Thomas Watson

Every other attribute we have discussed and will continue to discuss in this series centers around this one.  Without justification we wouldn’t be:

Adopted by God
Beloved by God
Chosen by God
Have Direct Access to God
Engraved on God’s palm
Friend of God
Recipient of Grace
Made Holy
Instructed by God