LEARNING DAILY

 

Romans 5:1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Perhaps justification should have been discussed before sanctification.  “Justification is an act; it happens instantaneously the moment we trust Christ.  It is perfect.  It is complete. It is forever.  Fifty years later, we are no more justified than we are in the first moment after we trust Christ.  The perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ never changes.  It is finished.  It is complete.  It is done.” (from a devotional by Dr. James Kennedy Ministries). 

 

Justification is a legal term that means being declared righteous.  In the Bible justify is a term that describes the act in which God declares a person not guilty; this act is important to understand because it means God accepts the individual who places their faith in His Son.  It deals with the sinfulness of each of our lives.  This is something only a judge can do.

 

Justification by faith came to be understood by Martin Luther.  He had struggled for years with trying to make himself acceptable to God.  He tried self-denial of worldly comforts and went to the extremes to punish his body in order to get rid of his sin.  Nothing worked.  Finally, he began a study of Romans which led him to an understanding that being right with God could never be achieved by works.  He found that only by placing one’s faith in the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ could one become right with God. Each of us must come to the realization that we do not work our way into God’s acceptance; it comes through faith in what was achieved at the cross and our trust in God.

 

Jesus took our place for on the cross and we have been declared not guilty of our sinfulness when we place our faith in Him and then “the physician begins His work of cleansing us from the corruption in our life” (from the devotional by Dr. James Kennedy Ministries).  That brings us to the discussion on sanctification – the work of the cleaning us.  Remember that this takes a lifetime.

 

Do you want to please God?  Then began by placing your faith in Him.  Do not begin with trying to stop sinning before you are willing to believe that God will forgive you.  Through faith, we receive a new life and that new life begins a transformation in us.  Justification and sanctification go together.

 

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