This week’s post in our Gospel Jump-Start Series is a reflection on the justification Christians have in Christ. Romans 8 begins saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Paul, here, is speaking of the justification of the believer. We would do well to often reflect on and be reminded of the beauty of our justification in Christ. Read and be encouraged by Bryan Chapell’s brief explanation of this grand truth. He wrote:
“Justification” describes what God does when he graciously pardons our sin to grant us the righteous status he requires for us to be in holy relationship with him. Since he sent Jesus to take the penalty for sin that we deserve, we are justified (i.e., made right) with God when we acknowledge that Jesus’s suffering and death satisfied the penalty for our sin. Jesus took the condemnation that God could have justly imposed on us. (Unlimited Grace, pg. 33, emphasis mine)
He later continued:
To understand justification, consider a courtroom scene where the judge declares the pardon of one whose penalty or fine has been paid. By assessing our debt fully paid by Christ, God justifies us, releasing us from any further judgment. And as our guilty status is removed, we become guiltless—a status that only the Son of God had prior to the provision of God’s grace for those who rely on him (2 Cor. 5:21). Grace justifies guilty sinners so that they have Jesus’s guiltless status before God. (pg. 34, emphasis mine)
As we begin a new week, let us be reminded that we aren’t living in an effort to earn favor from God. No! We are living as those who are justified children of the Father all because of the work of Christ on our behalf. By His grace, this week, we will live as children who reflect the character of their Father in heaven.
Written by Matt Baker