JUSTIFIED BY WHAT?

In “Words We Live By” Brian Burrell tells of an armed robber named Dennis Lee Curtis who was arrested in 1992 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Curtis apparently had scruples about his thievery. In his wallet the police found a sheet of paper on which was written the following code:

“I will not kill anyone unless I have to. I will take cash and food stamps-- no checks. I will rob only at night. I will not wear a mask. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away. If chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line. I will rob only seven months out of the year. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor.”

This thief had a sense of morality, but it was flawed. When he stood before the court, he was not judged by the standards he had set for himself but by the higher law of the state.

Likewise, when we stand before God, we will not be judged by the code of morality we have written for ourselves, nor even by what the culture justifies, but by God's perfect law. 

Paul writes, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:23-24 NLT)

Justification is what happens when Christians abandon all those vain attempts to justify themselves before God -- to be seen as "just" in God's eyes through religious and moral practices. It's a time when God's "justifying grace" is experienced and accepted, a time of pardon and forgiveness, of new peace and joy and love. Indeed, we're justified by God's grace through faith. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources

#6287

CHILD-LIKE, TRUSTING FAITH

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them.”  (Mark 10:13-16 NIV)

Faith is sometimes equated with credulity, but it can be so equated only when the profound mistake is made of thinking of faith as primarily a matter of intellectual assent.  As the New Testament uses the word, faith is trust, acceptance, commitment, vision.  It is not a belief in this or that creed, it is a quality which lies rather in the realm of intuition than the intellect.  Faith has indeed an element of true simplicity; it is one of the qualities -- perhaps the fundamental quality -- of the child-like spirit without which no one can enter the Kingdom of God. 

-- Author Unknown

#6178

RIGHT ABOUT WRONG

For me, one of the strongest, deepest, most compelling reasons for believing the Bible is because it has the most accurate explanation for what is wrong with us… I have never run into anything remotely like the Bible when it comes to an accurate fix on what is wrong with the human heart…

The New Testament Church got its definition of sin from the Old Testament, the only written Word of their day. It defines the problem for which the New Testament presents the solution. The Law and the Prophets relentlessly expose the nature of human sin from God’s perspective.

For several years now I have studied the last half of the Old Testament carefully, and from that reading I compiled a huge list of God’s creative descriptions of sin. I’ve boiled the essence of that list into the following descriptive phrases in the language of today:

• Going our own way
• Doing our own thing
• Defiantly resisting authority
• Stubborn disobedience
• Willful rebellion
• Defensive and antagonistic attitudes
• Self-centered focus
• Compulsively competitive nature
• Addiction to control

This analysis of sin… is as powerful in provoking the human conscience today as it was two thousand years ago.

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-24 NKJV) 

-- Adapted from “Follow Me: Experience the Loving Leadership of Jesus” by Jan David Hettinga

#5909

SALVATION 101 - JOHN 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)

 The heart of salvation: “For God so loved”

The breadth of salvation: “For God so loved the world”

The act of salvation: “For God so loved that He gave”

The Savior of salvation: “That He gave His only begotten Son”

The means of salvation: “That whosoever believes in Him”

The need of salvation:  “That whosoever believes may not perish”

The promise of salvation: “That whosoever believes may not perish but have eternal life”

-- Rev. David J. Kalas

#5891

JUSTIFIED BY WHAT?

“Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by His blood, effective through faith.”  (Romans 3:23-26 NRSV)

We all automatically gravitate toward the assumption that we are justified by our level of sanctification, and when this posture is adopted it inevitably focuses our attention not on Christ but on the adequacy of our own obedience. We start each day with our personal security resting not on the accepting love of God and the sacrifice of Christ but on our present feelings or recent achievements in the Christian life. Since these arguments will not quiet the human conscience, we are inevitably moved either to discouragement and apathy or to a self-righteousness which falsifies the record to achieve a sense of peace. 

-- Richard Lovelace in “Dynamics of Spiritual Life”

#5724

PUT RIGHT WITH GOD

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”  (Romans 5:1-2 NIV)

“Justify” or “put right” alludes to a courtroom where a person is acquitted, pronounced free to go, no charges. It suggests alignment, being in right relationship. That is, the relation to God is made right. Justification is rectification. God in Christ gives us access to undeserved favor and therefore to peace with God. Christ’s work, through faith, moves us from wrath to peace and to our hope of one day sharing the glory of God (Romans 5:2).

What Paul is saying is astounding. Christ’s death is literally God’s love. Not God loving us because of who we are; rather, God loving us in spite of who we are -- sinners, powerless to do what is right, enemies of God. Nothing about us merits God’s love. Yet, “God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Now we can boast. We can boast of Jesus (Romans 5:11). 

-- Richard and Julia Wilke in “DISCIPLE: Remember Who You Are”

#5318

BY GRACE

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --  not by works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:4-9 NIV)

This is the amazing story of God’s grace. God comes to us in the first place by His grace, God saves us by His grace, and God transforms us more and more into the likeness of His Son by His grace. In all our trials and afflictions, He sustains and strengthens us by His grace. He calls us by grace to perform our own unique function within the Body of Christ. Then, again by grace, He gives to each of us the spiritual gifts necessary to fulfill our calling. As we serve Him, He makes that service acceptable to Himself by grace, and then rewards us a hundredfold by grace.

-- Adapted from Jerry Bridges


#4664

SALVATION BY FAITH

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”  (Acts 16:31a NIV)

Faith is essential for salvation. But we must be absolutely clear on what we mean when we speak of “salvation by faith.” There are various kinds of belief or faith, and not all are linked to salvation. In the New Testament, faith means more than intellectual belief. It involves trust and commitment. I may say that I believe a bridge will hold my weight. But I really believe it only when I commit myself to it and walk across it. Saving faith involves an act of commitment and trust, in which I commit my life to Jesus Christ and trust Him alone as my Savior and Lord.

Let me use a personal example to illustrate this. When I first met Ruth, my future wife, I began to learn things about her–born in China, the daughter of medical missionaries and so on. As time went on, I learned more about her personality and character, and I fell in love with her.

But we were not yet married. We became husband and wife only when we took a definite step of commitment to each other on our wedding day.

In the same way, saving faith is a commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord. It is a personal and individual decision. It is more than assent to historical or theological truth given to us in God’s Word. It is faith in the promises of God that all who trust in Christ will not perish but have eternal life.

That is truly good news.

-- Billy Graham

#4562

NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

“There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  (Romans 3:22b–24)

The process of salvation involves a change in us that we call conversion. Conversion is a turning around, leaving one orientation for another. It may be sudden and dramatic, or gradual and cumulative. But in any case it's a new beginning. Following Jesus' words to Nicodemus, "You must be born anew" (John 3:7 RSV), we speak of this conversion as rebirth, new life in Christ, or regeneration.

Following Paul and Luther, John Wesley called this process justification. Justification is what happens when Christians abandon all those vain attempts to justify themselves before God, to be seen as "just" in God's eyes through religious and moral practices. It's a time when God's "justifying grace" is experienced and accepted, a time of pardon and forgiveness, of new peace and joy and love. Indeed, we're justified by God's grace through faith.

Justification is also a time of repentance -- turning away from behaviors rooted in sin and toward actions that express God's love. In this conversion we can expect to receive assurance of our present salvation through the Holy Spirit "bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).

-- George Koehler in “United Methodist Member's Handbook, Revised” (Discipleship Resources, 2006)

#4561

WHAT IS FAITH?

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.."  (Hebrews 11:1-2 NRSV)

Hebrews 11 has been called the great faith chapter. What, exactly, is faith? If it is so important to the redemptive process, we must have a clear understanding of its nature.

The need is supplied in verses 1-2.  Faith, according to the NIV text, is always two things:  (1) a sense of assurance within us (being sure of what we hope for) and (2) a certainty that there are realities which we cannot see with our physical eyes (certain of what we do not see)…

Paul, in Colossians 1:5, sees faith and love flowing out of the hope awakened by the gospel. Hope, which “springs eternal in the human breast,” comes first. Then, faith sees freedom from sin on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice, a consequent loving relationship to God, peace with one’s neighbors and joy in the midst of life (all what we hope for). These realities, though invisible, are personally appropriated; as a result, love for both God and others flows from the sense of gratitude which faith has awakened. Thus, the famous triumvirate of “faith, hope, and love” are central to all Christian living.

-- Ray C. Stedman in “Hebrews: The IVP New Testament Commentary Series”


#4235

OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name…”  (John 1:12 NKJV)

The question of identity is at the heart of all religions, and each offers a different answer. Christianity teaches that God is the creator of all human beings, and this loving God issued an invitation for each person to become one of His children. We do that by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior and following His way of salvation. In doing so, we promise to leave our old lives behind and begin a new life in Christ.

It’s crucial to understand that we do nothing to earn this gift of a new life; God offers it to us by grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NRSV) puts it clearly: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” We do nothing to earn this new identity. All we do is accept it.

-- Scott J. Jones in “The Wesleyan Way: A Faith That Matters”


#4078

HOPE AND FAITH

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2 ESV)


Without hope… there is no faith. Hope is faith waiting for tomorrow. Faith requires belief, and believing is what we do with our minds. Faith requires commitment, and committing is what we do with our wills. But faith must also have hope, and hoping is what we do in our hearts.


-- John Ortberg in Faith & Doubt




#3805

OLD AND YET NEW

What is meant by calling the writings of Moses and the Prophets [the] "Old Testament"?  Do they not set forth the covenant of grace?  The doctrine of justification by faith -- does not Paul in his Epistle to the Romans prove it from Genesis and from the Psalms?  Where is the doctrine of substitution and the vicarious sufferings of the messiah set forth more clearly than in Leviticus and in the 53rd of Isaiah? The term "Old Testament" leads people to fancy it is an antiquated book; whereas, in many respects, it is newer than the New Testament, referring more fully to the age of glory and blessedness on the earth which is still before us.

-- Adolph Saphir in Christ and Israel [1911]


#3562