Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Romans 5:18 The free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
JUSTIFICATION
TV courtroom shows continue to be popular today. Millions watch these legal dramas with intense fascination. Lawyers passionately argue their case as the defendant awaits the final word from judge and jury. What would it be like, we may wonder, to be sentenced to life in prison by a judge whose verdict is irrevocable? How would we feel after a long, agonizing trial to finally hear: "All charges dropped!"
Actually we don't have to wonder at all. The Apostle John tell us that sin is lawlessness. Sinful by nature, we have all broken God's holy laws over and over again in thought, word, and action. We are criminals in the face of God's flawless standards of right and wrong. It would seem like an open and shut case. Guilty as charged. Sentenced to eternity in hell. It certainly is what we deserve.
But wait! Into the courtroom steps the God-man, Jesus Christ. He has come as our Advocate to argue our case. But what evidence does He bring that can possibly change our status as guilty sinners deserving of damnation? He brings a holy life lived out for all. He brings His nail pierced hands and feet, evidence of a satisfactory payment made for you, for me, for every man, woman and child who has ever lived, or whoever will live. He brings His risen self, evidence that God the Father has acquitted His Son of the world's sin, which became His own sin when He suffered and died on a Roman cross. With His resurrection the Father formerly declares that all sin has been paid for. Christ's acquittal means we too have been declared "not guilty!"
That brings us to today's big Bible word: JUSTIFICATION. The teaching of justification is the heart and core of all Scripture. It simply says that God, for Christ's sake, has declared the entire world "not guilty of all sin." Many reject the verdict in unbelief and so are lost. This, however, does not change the fact that the entire world has been fully justified in God's court. Rejoice! What is true of the world must also be true for you! "The free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life" (Romans 5:18).
