Nothing else needs to be said. We must make every effort to live into what we have been given!
Tag: Justification
A Wesleyan Moment | What is Justifying Grace?
The second “movement” of Grace as John Wesley understood it is Justifying Grace. Once Prevenient Grace has worked in and on our lives we come to that moment of decision. We are called by the Gospel and the work of Jesus to trust in Him for salvation and a restored relationship with God. At the moment that this conviction fills our hearts, God is applying grace to our souls. What makes this movement special and unique is this, at the moment that we exercise faith we are justified before God. We have not been made totally righteous, not yet. That comes next as we “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12, ESV).
What we experience at the moment of salvation is the declaration by God that what has begun at salvation is as-good-as-done in the eyes of God! Can you believe that? We are not as we ought to be, but God has declared the work finished! That is what Justification means, we are no longer held guilty of our sins AND we are now set on the path of eternal life.
There are two places in scripture that help us here. Philippians 1:6 reveals God’s promise to finish what HE has started. Meditate on that and rejoice. The second passage reveals something that is just as wonderful. Peter tells us where our salvation is kept for safe keeping in 1 Peter 1:3-5. This is important for us because it provides our confidence in the Father’s love for us, Christ’s work in us and the Spirit’s power through us to accomplish God’s will in the world. Peter tells us that “we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay” (NLT). The key here is the word “for.” The burden of my salvation is on God, in Christ. That is the majesty and wonder of God’s love and grace. He protects, sustains, maintains and finishes His work of justification. Thank God for justifying grace!
Romans Series (Pt. 11) – Romans 3:25-26
Christ our Propitiation (3:25)
In verses 24 and 26 Paul puts us to the test by making us think about some very difficult words. It is important to not skip over difficult words, especially in Paul’s writings. These words have specific purposes and meanings and uses in Paul’s thinking and understanding of God, salvation and sin. Let’s look at them here.
REDEMPTION:
The purchase back of something that had been lost,
by the payment of a ransom.
The Greek word so rendered is apolutrosis, a word occurring nine times in Scripture, and always with the idea of a ransom or price paid. The work of Christ is a work of redemption. We are lost in sin and God has sent His son to find us and “buy” us back. The purchase was made when Jesus offered His blood as full payment for our sin.
The second word is:
PROPITIATION:
Covering; atoning sacrifice.
This is not an easy word to grasp, but it is important to try if we are going to understand Paul’s argument and thinking. In propitiation the wrath that God should let loose upon the sins of men is absorbed by the Son. Jesus is our covering because He has bought the right to do so on the cross. In this ministry of covering and absorbing, the judgment that should rightly fall on us is taken on by Jesus. John helps by providing for us some further insight to what Jesus is doing for us in heaven when He executes this propitiatory work. As we grow in our understanding of these concepts we can begin to grasp the depth of God’s grace and work toward us in Christ. The cost of grace illustrates the depth of love.
This aspect of Christ’s sacrifice in propitiation is something that should be properly understood.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2, ESV)
God is both Just and the Justifier (3:26)
Verse 26 contains an interesting phrase: “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
So how does God remain just and still justify a sinner? God remains just because he demands and receives payment for sin, but that payment does not come from me. The payment comes from Christ, the perfect sacrifice, and so God is able to fulfill both roles and still remain holy and just. God’s righteousness nature demand compensation for the offense of sin. But God’s nature is also described by God’s ability to love perfectly and completely.
Only God could manage to do both without violating any principles needed for either side. God’s character demands justice and grace, but in order to provide both God had to stand on both sides, and He does. God executes judgment for sin upon His very own Son. There is no great evidence of the love and grace of God than this.
Romans Series (Pt. 7) – Romans 2:25-29
Paul bridges chapter 2 with its emphasis on God’s righteous judgment on sinners and chapter 3 with its emphasis on righteousness through faith with a brief discussion on circumcision. While this may seem strange Paul does this because circumcision had become a point of contention regarding salvation. In light of the argument that he was making Paul wanted to remove this as an obstacle to faith. Was it necessary for gentiles to become Jews before becoming Christians? (cf. Act 15:1-35, Galatians 5:6, 11-15).
Circumcision of the Flesh (2:25-27)
As Paul comes out of his discussion about God judging according to a righteous standard and moves into the issue of circumcision. What is interesting in his treatment of the issue is that he begins to drive the issue of faith and salvation beyond the physical conformity to the Mosaic Law. It was important for the Romans to understand that faith in Christ was more than external, behavioral conformity. Paul, a pharisee and student of the Old Testament, alludes to the prophet Samuel’s mistake in looking at the outer appearance instead of looking at the heart (1 Samuel 16:1-13). As experience has taught us, appearances can be deceiving. This may be why Paul wants to move away from the appearance of a person’s compliance of holiness to the actual practice of holy living.
Circumcision of the Heart (2:28-29)
Paul goes so far as to say that there are some among the Jews who are not truly Jews. The standard that determines whether a person is a Jew is that they “are one inwardly” [v. 29]. There will be an expansion of this idea of justification by faith in chapter 4 when the example of Abraham is examined. This is a very astonishing statement from someone who was among the most devout and zealous observers of Jewish customs, culture, and faith [Philippians 3:3-6]. As Paul wraps up the second chapter he begins to firmly establish that faith is the measure and the means by which God will judge those who claim to be in Christ. Paul established here that the proper order of any good work done by a Christian comes as a result of the heart transformation that has taken place because of salvation and not the other way around.