The Wednesday Word ~ The Gospel Truth
Justified from All Things
by D.G. Miles Mckee
Notice the phrase, ‘JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS’ … what does that mean? It means that we, the believers, are perfectly cleared from the guilt of every one of our sins. It means that in the ‘Courtroom of Heaven,’ no charges can be brought against us because we are justified. We are declared righteous, according to the just judgment of God (Romans 3:25-26).
Because of grace our sins are put away. At this very moment believers stand in the sight of God as both accepted and welcome. We are treated as though we had never been guilty. No wonder the apostle reminds us, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1).
The Law of Moses could never make us accepted before God … it could only condemn. We cannot be accepted by God based on our efforts to be good. The Ten Commandments will not help our acceptance one little bit. In fact, the commandments condemn us. Why? Because we cannot keep them … no matter how hard we try! But God saves people who in themselves are not good enough to be saved. And He does it through this man, Jesus Christ.
Because of the gospel, God declares the believer righteous, apart from works. But how can we be declared righteous without works? Surely we are declared righteous because of the accumulated works of righteousness which we have accomplished? … Never! …It is “through this man,” the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived, died and rose again (Acts 13:38-39).
In Romans 4, we read that God justifies.
Question) Whom does it say He justifies?
Answer) The ungodly that work not (verse 5).
Question) Is there anyone else that He justifies?
Answer) Yes, He justifies those that believe (rest) on Jesus (verse 5).
The way to be saved is, therefore, not by good works. It’s not by self-improvement and not by deserving it, otherwise salvation would not be by grace but by debt (Romans 4:4-5).
The way to be saved is by believing in Jesus without any confidence in our goodness or works.
Horatius Bonar tells us “The justifying work of Calvary was God's way … of securing certainty. It was the only perfect thing which had ever been presented to God in man's behalf; and so peculiar was this perfection, that it might be used by man in his transactions with God as if it were his own.”
There are three ways in which we are declared justified in the book of Romans …
“Justified by His grace” (Romans 3:24)
”Justified by His blood” (Romans 5:9)
“Justified by faith,” (Romans 5:1)
Justified by His grace, … grace is the source of Justification.
Justified by His blood, … that is the righteous basis of Justification.
Justified by faith, ... that is the way in which we get a hold of Justification. Faith is the hand that is stretched out to freely receive Justification.
May we never forget that Justification is through this "man," the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other name, no other blood, no other merits, no other person to be justified and saved by, but Jesus Christ the Lord.
And that’s the Gospel Truth!
Because of grace our sins are put away. At this very moment believers stand in the sight of God as both accepted and welcome. We are treated as though we had never been guilty. No wonder the apostle reminds us, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1).
The Law of Moses could never make us accepted before God … it could only condemn. We cannot be accepted by God based on our efforts to be good. The Ten Commandments will not help our acceptance one little bit. In fact, the commandments condemn us. Why? Because we cannot keep them … no matter how hard we try! But God saves people who in themselves are not good enough to be saved. And He does it through this man, Jesus Christ.
Because of the gospel, God declares the believer righteous, apart from works. But how can we be declared righteous without works? Surely we are declared righteous because of the accumulated works of righteousness which we have accomplished? … Never! …It is “through this man,” the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived, died and rose again (Acts 13:38-39).
In Romans 4, we read that God justifies.
Question) Whom does it say He justifies?
Answer) The ungodly that work not (verse 5).
Question) Is there anyone else that He justifies?
Answer) Yes, He justifies those that believe (rest) on Jesus (verse 5).
The way to be saved is, therefore, not by good works. It’s not by self-improvement and not by deserving it, otherwise salvation would not be by grace but by debt (Romans 4:4-5).
The way to be saved is by believing in Jesus without any confidence in our goodness or works.
Horatius Bonar tells us “The justifying work of Calvary was God's way … of securing certainty. It was the only perfect thing which had ever been presented to God in man's behalf; and so peculiar was this perfection, that it might be used by man in his transactions with God as if it were his own.”
There are three ways in which we are declared justified in the book of Romans …
“Justified by His grace” (Romans 3:24)
”Justified by His blood” (Romans 5:9)
“Justified by faith,” (Romans 5:1)
Justified by His grace, … grace is the source of Justification.
Justified by His blood, … that is the righteous basis of Justification.
Justified by faith, ... that is the way in which we get a hold of Justification. Faith is the hand that is stretched out to freely receive Justification.
May we never forget that Justification is through this "man," the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other name, no other blood, no other merits, no other person to be justified and saved by, but Jesus Christ the Lord.
And that’s the Gospel Truth!
MilesMckee.com
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