Condemned or Justified



There are just two kinds of people in this world; those who justify themselves before God and those who are justified by God in Christ. Those who justify themselves are always condemned before God. Those who condemn themselves are always justified before the Lord by His grace (Romans 3:24 & Titus 3:7).

In Luke 18 the Pharisee justified himself and was condemned. The publican condemned himself and was justified (Luke 18:13-14). Which one are you? Grace is for the guilty!

“And He said unto them (the Pharisees), Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).

The Lord Jesus had the sharpest rebukes and the strongest warnings to those who went about to seek salvation by the deeds of the law. He never had a kind word of mercy or a word of grace to those Pharisees who stood on the ground of their merit and self-righteousness. He called them on another occasion, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33).

But oh how kind, longsuffering and gentle the Lord is to sinners who are seeking mercy through Him and in Him; I have never read in scripture of the Lord Jesus Christ turning a mercy beggar away empty or disappointed (Hebrews 4:16). He always encouraged sinners to come to Him for rest (Matthew 11:28). He always pointed to Himself as the way of salvation (John 14:6). The Lord always declared and commanded the thirsty to come to Him and drink (Isaiah 55:1; John 4:14 & John 7:37). The scripture even declares that the Lord Jesus Christ healed all those that had need of healing (Luke 9:11).

Now by the Lord’s grace let us seek mercy where it is found (Micah 7:18). Let us seek comfort from the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Let us seek grace from the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10). Let us seek forgiveness from all our sin from the only One Who has power to forgive sin (Luke 5:24 & 1 John 1:7).

Oh, may God be pleased to bless us to see the Lord Jesus Christ as all our salvation, righteousness and redemption before God (1 Cor. 1:30-31). Everything else is an abomination in His sight; everything else that is highly esteemed among men is filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6); everything else is smoke in His nose (Isaiah 65:5); everything else is nothing but dung. Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him (Philippians 3:7-9).

-Gospel report by preacher Tom Harding

Zebulon Grace Church of Pikeville, Kentucky USA

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