Pastor Jann Braaksma
GUILTY!!! You are guilty! I am guilty! Guilty of sin.
Romans 6:23 says; “For the wages of sin is _____.” DEATH!!!
The penalty is death! Blood must be shed.
What are we going to do?
Cry out to Jesus! Accept the salvation offered by Jesus, our Christ.
Thank God there is not a period after the word death. It is a semi-colon and the rest of the verse reads, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Amen?
As Jesus died upon the cross at Calvary, did he curse you?
No! He said; “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
(Luke 23:34)
John 3:17 says what? “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1)
Jesus came to save us, each of us and us as a race and country.
In the glorious moment of conversion we are justified, regenerated, adopted, receive initial sanctification and receive the witness of the Holy Spirit into our new lives. Hallelujah!!!
In the past weeks we’ve looked at sin, temptation, salvation and sanctification. Today our topic is justification.
Justification is by faith, but it is a special kind of saving faith in Jesus Christ as Savior (Rom. 3:22). Salvation is not by faith in Christ as Creator or as our Example or Teacher, but in Christ as Savior. (107)
Let’s look at our Wesleyan Core Term, Justification, from page 1373. Dale please –
Wesley agreed with the Protestant Reformers that justification is making our relationship with God right through Jesus Christ.
But Wesley understood justification in a particular way: God’s mercy and grace, shown in the suffering and death of Jesus on our behalf, pardons our sins and restores our capacity for love of God and neighbor.
This occurs in the exercise of faith that is a gift from God to actively trust in Jesus and receive God’s pardon and acceptance.
It results in a renewal of the image of God in us that had been damaged by sin, so that we might begin lifelong growth in Christ-likeness as the Holy Spirit enables us to love God and neighbor.
What God has done for us (justification) and what God does in us (sanctification) are together a part of God’s work of restoring the whole of creation back into right relationship to God.
Thank you Dale.
Justification is a judicial act by a judge. And who will our judge be?
Yes, Jesus Christ. Romans 14:10-13 says;
For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “’As surely as I live’, says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
And again in 2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Each person is accountable to Christ, not primarily to each other. While we, the church, must be uncompromising in our stand against activities expressly forbidden by Scripture (adultery, homosexuality, murder or theft to name a few), we must not create additional rules and regulations and give them equal standing with God’s Law.
When we stand before God’s court of justice (“judgment seat”), we won’t be worried about what our Christian neighbor has done.
In the first major work of grace (justification), Christ declares you free from your sinful past. In the second major work of God’s grace (entire sanctification), He delivers you from your sinful nature. And in the third major work of God’s grace (glorification), He delivers you from the presence of sin and the unintentional failures of your humanity.
Justification, forgiveness, and adoption refer to the change in relation to God. Regeneration and sanctification refer to the change in the spiritual nature. (118)
Justification has these gracious results in the life of the believer:
1) The sense of condemnation for sins committed is removed.
Romans 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2) Peace with God is established.
Romans 5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
3) The believer is saved from the coming judicial wrath of God and will never face forgiven sins before the judgment throne of God. (116)
Romans 5:9 – Much more then, being now justifies by Christ’s blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
4) The believer becomes an heir of eternal life.
Titus 3:7 – that being justified by God’s grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Let us pray.
Resources: God’s Great Salvation by Wesley Duewel; Life Application Study Bible;