Theology Thursday
Q.33. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
Westminster Shorter Catechism
For all those that keep track, I did skip a question. Q32 is a summary that is then unpacked over the next few questions.
One of the most critical questions of the Bible is posed by one of Job’s friends in Job 25, when Bildad says,
“How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?â€
The reality of sin and the righteousness of God leads to a quandary, a dilemma that at first glance appears irreconcilable. How can perfect righteousness allow lawlessness and wickedness to go unpunished? We might simply wish that God could just conveniently forgive, pretend like our sin never happened.
But to do this would be to deny Himself. There are some things that God cannot do. He can stop the sun, He can raise the dead but what He cannot do is work contrary to His own nature. Therefore sin and unrighteousness must be punished and only the righteous/pure can receive the reward of God’s blessing.
But God’s desire is to bless and show mercy. He created humanity to not only reveal/glorify His character but also to enjoy it. Sin seems to leave humanity in the wilderness with nowhere to go and no way forward to enjoy the promised land of God’s blessing.
How can God show mercy and restore humanity to His purpose in a way that doesn’t diminish or detract from His righteous justice? The answer is Jesus Christ. Jesus at the cross takes on God’s justice (He is forsaken by God) and He provides a way for righteousness to be imputed.
So God has remained faithful to His character in the most extraordinary way. His justice and mercy can be seen and glorified by all in Jesus. And now, when we look to Jesus in faith, we become justified and declared righteous not based on our own merits. But because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed (given) to us. Therefore as those justified in God’s eyes we can enjoy the blessing promised to the righteous - eternal life.
Let’s give God the praise, glory and thanksgiving He deserves. Be astonished by His grace today.
For Today:
Pray:
Passages: Job 25:4, Romans 3:24, Titus 3:7, 2 Corinthians 5:19, Philippians 3:9
A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
Westminster Shorter Catechism
For all those that keep track, I did skip a question. Q32 is a summary that is then unpacked over the next few questions.
One of the most critical questions of the Bible is posed by one of Job’s friends in Job 25, when Bildad says,
“How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?â€
The reality of sin and the righteousness of God leads to a quandary, a dilemma that at first glance appears irreconcilable. How can perfect righteousness allow lawlessness and wickedness to go unpunished? We might simply wish that God could just conveniently forgive, pretend like our sin never happened.
But to do this would be to deny Himself. There are some things that God cannot do. He can stop the sun, He can raise the dead but what He cannot do is work contrary to His own nature. Therefore sin and unrighteousness must be punished and only the righteous/pure can receive the reward of God’s blessing.
But God’s desire is to bless and show mercy. He created humanity to not only reveal/glorify His character but also to enjoy it. Sin seems to leave humanity in the wilderness with nowhere to go and no way forward to enjoy the promised land of God’s blessing.
How can God show mercy and restore humanity to His purpose in a way that doesn’t diminish or detract from His righteous justice? The answer is Jesus Christ. Jesus at the cross takes on God’s justice (He is forsaken by God) and He provides a way for righteousness to be imputed.
So God has remained faithful to His character in the most extraordinary way. His justice and mercy can be seen and glorified by all in Jesus. And now, when we look to Jesus in faith, we become justified and declared righteous not based on our own merits. But because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed (given) to us. Therefore as those justified in God’s eyes we can enjoy the blessing promised to the righteous - eternal life.
Let’s give God the praise, glory and thanksgiving He deserves. Be astonished by His grace today.
For Today:
- Have you encountered the term - justification before?
- What astonishes you about what Jesus’ achieved on the cross?
- How could you be reminded today that you are justified in God’s eyes?
Pray:
- Praise the Father that He is just and merciful
- Give thanks for Jesus Christ who suffered the penalty of the unrighteous to give us righteousness.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others rejoice in justification today.
Passages: Job 25:4, Romans 3:24, Titus 3:7, 2 Corinthians 5:19, Philippians 3:9
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