Justification and other Amazing Truths about our Salvation

A look at
JUSTIFICATION
and 5 other
AMAZING TRUTHS
ABOUT OUR SALVATION

There are several major themes in the Bible.
Two major themes are:
SIN and DEATH
and
JUSTIFICATION and LIFE

In the book of Romans, Chapters 3 and 4, God
teaches us a lot about justification:
Ch 3: “For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, and are justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that came by
Christ Jesus.”

“God presented Jesus as a sacrifice
of atonement, through faith in his
blood . . . .he did it to demonstrate his
justice at the present time, so as to
be just and the one who justifies
those who have faith in Jesus.”

“We maintain that a man is justified
by faith apart from observing the law.
. . . . there is only one God, who will
justify the circumcised by faith and
the uncircumcised through that same
faith.”

Ch 4: “What then shall we say that
Abraham, our forefather, discovered in
this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was
justified by works, he had something to
boast about—but not before God. What
does the Scripture say?
“Abraham believed God, and it
(his faith) was
credited to him as righteousness.”

“To the man who does not work but
trusts God who justifies the wicked,
his faith is credited as righteousness.”

“He (Jesus) was delivered over to
death for our sins and was raised to
life for our justification.”

Remember the 2 main Biblical themes we
mentioned earlier?
SIN and DEATH
and
JUSTIFICATION and LIFE
Anyone notice that these 2 themes are BOTH in the
last verse of Scripture that we just read?
Take a look:

He (Jesus) was delivered
over to death for our sins
and was raised to
life for our justification.

Jesus did TWO things in a SPECIFIC ORDER.
FIRST, He died for our sins.
THEN He was raised to life again for our justification.
Why this specific order? Here’s the answer:

We human beings have a problem – we are
DEAD.
The reason we are dead is because we sin and
sin results in death.
“The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6: 23)
“You were dead because of your sins” (Col 2:13)
Would you say that being DEAD is a big
problem?

What did Jesus say He came to earth to do?
“I have come that (people) may have
LIFE,
And have it
TO THE FULL.”
(John 10: 10)

But sin causes death.
(You might say it’s OPPOSED to life.)
So, can we have LIFE
if we are still “in our sin.”
Can we have LIFE if God is still
counting our sins against us?

So, if someone comes to give us LIFE,
what is the first thing He has to do?

He has to deal with our sin problem.
Or, in other words, He has to
take away our sin!

What was the first thing ever said about Jesus as
He began His ministry on Earth?
“Look! The Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin
of the world!”
(John 1: 29)

And this is the first amazing aspect of salvation:
In Jesus, God forgives and takes away our sin.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the
uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive
with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having
canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,
which stood against us and condemned us; he
has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Col 2:
13 + 14)

What’s so AMAZING about Jesus taking away
our sin?
To understand this, you have to know how God
“dealt” with sin under the Old Covenant and
how differently He deals with sin under His
wonderful New Covenant.

Hebrews 10: 1-4 - Sins were only “covered” under the Old.
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a
shadow . . . The sacrifices under that system were
repeated again and again, year after year, but they
were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those
who came to worship. If they could have provided
perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped,
for the worshipers would have been purified once for
all time, and their feelings of guilt would have
disappeared.
But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of
their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the
blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

In the New Covenant, Jesus, The Lamb of God,
TOOK AWAY the sins of the whole world.
John 1: 29 – “Look! The Lamb of God who TAKES
AWAY the sin of the world.”
Hebrews 10:11-12 - ”Under the old covenant, the
priest stands and ministers before the altar day
after day, offering the same sacrifices again and
again, which can never take away sins. But our High
Priest (Jesus) offered himself to God as a single
sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat
down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”

“Then Jesus SAT DOWN”
This is VERY significant!
The Old Covenant priests “stood and ministered
day after day” . . . They NEVER sat down in the
temple, because their job of offering sacrifices for
sin was never finished. Sin was never TAKEN AWAY.
When Jesus had offered His SINGLE sacrifice,
GOOD FOR ALL TIME, He SAT DOWN at God’s right
hand. This shows that The Lamb of God HAS taken
away the sin of the world, past, present and future.
No further sacrifice for sin is needed and there
will never be another sacrifice for sin.

AMAZING SALVATION TRUTH NUMBER 1:
Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus “offered Himself to
God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time.”
Jesus took away ALL sin over ALL time.
Were we alive 2000 years ago? NO!
This means that Jesus had ALREADY taken away
our sin before we were born.
Think a bit deeper – it means that Jesus has
already taken away the sin of EVERYONE alive on
Planet earth today!

END OF PART ONE (Sin and Death)
ON TO PART TWO (Justification and Life)
The Scripture verse that links the 2 parts:
“God made Jesus, who had no sin,
to be sin for us,
so that
In Him, we might become the
righteousness of God.”
(2 Cor 5: 21.)

A question as we start Part Two:
So . . . .every person’s sin has been
taken away by Jesus – does that
mean that everyone automatically
has LIFE? Does everyone
automatically have God’s
righteousness?

NO! We must “come” to Jesus and believe in Him to
have life:
John 5: 39-40 – “You study the Scriptures diligently
because you think that in them you have eternal
life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about
me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
John 3: 16 – “For God so loved the world that He
gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(Jesus said:) (John 5:24):
“I tell you the truth,
those who listen to my message
and believe in God who sent me
have eternal life.”
“They will never be condemned for their sins, but
they have already passed from death into life.”

WE have come to Jesus.
So WE can be certain that In Him, WE have eternal
life!
1 John 5: 11-13 – “This is the testimony: God has
given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not
have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name
of the Son of God so that you may know that you
have eternal life.”

Now that Jesus has
TAKEN AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD,
we humans no longer have a SIN PROBLEM.
What we have now is a
BELIEF OPPORTUNITY!

When we believe in Jesus,
we begin our NEW LIFE In Him.
As we look at what our new life In Jesus is like,
we’ll see:
AMAZING SALVATION TRUTH NUMBER 2!!

When we believe in Jesus, when we CROSS OVER
FROM DEATH TO LIFE, the second AMAZING aspect
of salvation happens:
God imparts (or credits) JESUS’ righteousness to US!
The word in the Bible that describes this act of God is
JUSTIFICATION.
When God JUSTIFIES a sinner, He declares that sinner
to be NOT GUILTY, but RIGHTEOUS – right in His sight.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God that brings salvation to everyone
who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is
revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from
first to last”. . .(Romans 1: 16-17)
“But now, a righteousness from God has been
made known . . .this righteousness from God
comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe.” (Romans 3: 21-22)

“To the man who does not work, but trusts God,
who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness.” (Romans 4: 5)
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him
as righteousness. . . . The words “it was credited to
him” were written not for him alone, but also for
us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us
who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from
the dead.” (Romans 4: 3 + 23)

Please note! Justification FAR MORE than just a
pardon!
When a lawbreaker is pardoned, his GUILT is not
removed – he still remains guilty of his crime.
However, the judge pardons him from having to
pay the penalty for his crime (a fine; prison
sentence or whatever.)

HOW IS JUSTIFICATION FAR MORE THAN A PARDON?
To help us understand this, let’s look at what takes place in a court of
law.
1. The Plea (“How do you plead – guilty or not guilty?”)
2. The Trial (The matter is investigated.)
3. The Verdict (The judge or jury decides : innocent or guilty.)
4. The Sentence (If found guilty) (The punishment is declared.)

SO, WHAT’S A PARDON?
A pardon operates at STAGE 4 (The Sentence.)
A pardon is:
“Official release from punishment for a crime.”
NOTE: The VERDICT of “Guilty” still stands.
But the guilty person does not have to pay the penalty
or take the punishment

SO HOW IS JUSTIFICATION FAR MORE THAN A PARDON?
Justification operates at STAGE 1 (The PLEA)
When a wicked person trusts in Jesus and God justifies him, God
RESCINDS the person’s “guilty” plea
and applies JESUS’ RIGHTEOUSNESS TO HIM.
God declares the believer:
NOT GUILTY, BUT RIGHTEOUS IN HIS EYES
AND FREE FROM GUILT AND PUNISHMENT.

• So, our plea was “wicked.” – guilty of sin.
• The sentence on us was “death.”
For the justified believer, God’s verdict is now:
NOT GUILTY of sin, but “As righteous as Jesus.”
And the death sentence has become:
“Abundant, eternal life in Jesus.”

Can you now understand better why God can say: (John 5:24):
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him
who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life.”
A believer will NOT BE CONDEMNED because the “guilty” plea
that condemned him as “wicked” has been replaced by
God’s declaration:
RIGHTEOUS IN JESUS CHRIST.

AMAZING SALVATION TRUTH NUMBER 2!
When God JUSTIFIES us, He removes our GUILT
and no longer considers us guilty
of any sin we have ever committed!
And He WILL NOT consider us guilty of
any sin we will ever commit in the future.
In justifying us, He declares us to be
as righteous as JESUS Himself!

On to

When we believe in Jesus;
when we are born-again;
when we cross over from death to life;
when God declares us right in His sight,
GOD COMES TO LIVE
RIGHT INSIDE OF US!

Think of why this is such an AMAZING truth:
Does our holy God live in any old place?
In the Old Covenant, did the Israelites just throw
together any old tabernacle or temple for God to
live in amongst them?
Read Exodus Chapters 25 to 40 and 1 Kings
Chapters 6 to 9.
You will be astonished at the efforts necessary to
make these places clean, holy and majestic enough
to be suitable dwelling places for our holy and
majestic God.

Above all, and overreaching every other
consideration was this:
Our holy God cannot live in the presence of sin.
That is why the tabernacles and the temples had a
separate room called The Most Holy Place. That’s
where God’s presence dwelt, separated by a thick
curtain from sinful humanity.
Only the High Priest ever entered there; only once
a year; and ALWAYS having shed the blood of
animals to atone for his sin and the Israelites’ sin.

Think very carefully.
Yet, when we trust in Jesus; when we are born
again; when we cross over from death to life,
HE COMES TO LIVE RIGHT INSIDE OF US!!
(That’s amazing salvation truth number 3!)

“The Most High doesn’t live in temples made by
human hands.” (Acts 7: 48)
“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the
temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in
you? . . . . God’s temple is holy, and you are that
temple”. (1 Cor 3: 16-17)
”Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to
you by God?” (1 Cor 6: 19-20)

“Together, we are his house, built on the
foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And
the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are
carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy
temple for the Lord.” (Eph 2: 20-22)
“All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have
God living in them, and they live in God.” (1 John 4:
15)
”And you are living stones that God is building into
his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy
priests.” ( 1 Peter 2: 5)

Remember:
But WE are fit to be living temples of our holy God,
who can only dwell where there is absolute purity.
What does this tell you about our sin?
What about our righteousness?

These questions bring us to:
AMAZING SALVATION TRUTH NUMBER 4!!:

God can only live in us if, in His sight,
we do not have the slightest stain of sin,
but we are perfectly holy and righteous.
And that is exactly what He has declared us to be
and that’s what He has made us, In Jesus!
We are totally cleansed from sin; we are perfectly
holy and righteous in His sight, and therefore WE
are perfectly fit to be His new dwelling place on the
Earth!

By the way, that THICK CURTAIN in the Most Holy
Place – the curtain that separated holy God from
sinful man – does anyone know what happened to
it the moment Jesus died 2,000 years ago?

”When he had received the drink (on the cross),
Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his
head and gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was
torn in two from top to bottom.”
(John 19: 30; Matthew 27: 51)
If the curtain was there to separate sinful man
from a holy God, why did God tear it in two the
moment Jesus died?
There can only be one reason:

The moment He died, The Lamb of God – the final
“once for all for all time” sacrifice – actually DID
take away the sin of the world.
God tore the curtain in two to show us very clearly
that man’s sin problem was FINISHED – man’s sin
had been TAKEN AWAY.
From now on, God would no longer need to live in
an isolated Holy Place behind a curtain –
EVERYONE who has believed in Jesus is now a
“Holy Place”, fit for God to live in and where He
DOES live! This brings us to . . . . .

The “sin curtain” is GONE!
WE are
the temple of
God’s Holy Spirit!

Finally, on to

Here’s an important question:
God declares us “NOT GUILTY of sin.”
He declares us “HOLY and RIGHTEOUS In Jesus.”
Will these ‘Amazing Salvation Truths’ cause us to
have a “slack” attitude about sin?
Will we think: “I’m ALREADY forgiven forever!
GREAT! Now I can go out and sin twice as much!”
What do you think?

Here’s something for you to consider as you think:
God is holy. God now lives in us:
Galatians 2: 20:
“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no
longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me. So I live
in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.”
As Jesus lives His life in us, do you think He will
cause us to sin MORE – or LESS!!?

This is a good place for us to consider the
relationship between:
IDENTITY and BEHAVIOUR
Most people believe (and many churches teach)
that a change in BEHAVIOUR must come before a
change in IDENTITY.
IF you can manage to “pull your socks up” and “get
your act together”, if you stop sinning (Behaviour),
THEN God will love and accept you; then you will
be His child and receive all His blessings (Identity.)

Salvation in the Bible is the exact opposite:
God says to sinners, “Come to me as you are and
because of what Jesus has done I WILL DECLARE
you to be perfectly holy and righteous; you will be
my beloved child and I will come and live right
inside of you.” (Change of IDENTITY FIRST.)
THEN He says, “Because of your New Identity In
Christ, because you and I now have a love
relationship; because you no longer live but Jesus
lives His life in you – NOW I will start to change
your BEHAVIOUR.”(Change of BEHAVIOR SECOND.)

God says:
”Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live
under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live
under the freedom of God’s grace.” (Romans 6:14)
”For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation
to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness
and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright and godly lives in this present age,while we
wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of
our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself
for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify
for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do
what is good.” (Titus 2: 11-14)

God’s AMAZING grace – God’s AMAZING salvation
creates people with a NEW IDENTITY – people who
are HIS VERY OWN, EAGER to do what is good!
(People whose NEW BEHAVIOUR RESULTS FROM
their NEW IDENTITY!)

And this brings us to:
God’s amazing salvation
causes us to live holier lives!

The famous “fruit of the Spirit” passage of
Scripture shows us some of the ways God will
change us:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control”. (Galatians 5: 22-23)
Do these sound like positive behaviour changes
which suit our new identity as children of God?
It’s VERY encouraging to see God changing us like
this as we live our new lives In Him!

Here’s a practical example of how God’s amazing
New Covenant salvation changes us:
It enables us to be QUICK and WILLING FORGIVERS!
Under the Old Covenant, God only forgave us our
sins if we first forgave those who had sinned against
us.

But when we are saved in God’s wonderful New
Covenant, we are FORGIVEN PEOPLE!
In Christ, our sins have ALREADY been forgiven!
And because we have been forgiven, we are
enabled in turn to forgive others:
“Be kind to each other, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
just as God through Christ HAS forgiven you.”
(Eph 4: 32)

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and
forgive anyone who offends you. Remember,
the Lord FORGAVE you,
so you must forgive others.”
(Col 3: 13)
We don’t forgive IN ORDER to be forgiven.
We forgive because In Christ, we
HAVE ALREADY BEEN forgiven!

The KEY to a victorious Christian life is to make this
Scripture your foundation: (Galatians 2: 20)
“It’s no longer I who lives,
but Christ lives in me.”

In summary:
6 AMAZING SALVATION TRUTHS:
1. Two thousand years ago, Jesus paid the
price for and took away all the sin of the
whole world – one sacrifice for all time.
2. When we trust in Jesus, God JUSTIFIES us
– He declares us to be as holy and
righteous as Jesus Himself.
3. When we trust in Jesus, our perfectly
holy God comes to live right inside of us!

4. God can live in us because, in His sight,
we do not have the slightest stain of sin,
but we are perfectly holy and righteous.
5. The “sin curtain” is GONE, because
God counted our sin against Jesus and is
no longer counting it against us.
6. God’s amazing salvation gives us
VICTORY over sin and develops
righteousness in us over time.

To recall our two major themes . . . .
When God saves us, He takes us from being:
DEAD in SIN
to being
ALIVE and RIGHTEOUS
in Jesus.

The world should want what we
Christians have because of our
JOY

May these
6 AMAZING SALVATION TRUTHS
Bring us great
JOY and PEACE
as we accept them and
learn to rest in them.

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