THE ONLY WAY TO BE JUSTIFIED

             THE ONLY WAY TO BE JUSTIFIED

One of the greatest deception in the body of Christ today and the world at large is the erroneous idea of justification which has been taught throughout the ages. The human mind since the time of Adam’s sin up until now is in dire need of justification. From the time man evolved a conscience and discovered the difference between good and evil, his mind has wandered through a lot of thoughts on how to appear innocent and righteous before God. The condemned mind of man has sought justification via several means ranging from setting up several rituals and religious activities to obedience of a bunch of rules and regulations.

Surprisingly, none of these attempts could grant justification. The reason is because God is simply not interested in those rituals and hence was not pleased by any of them. God was looking for something so simple with which He will justify the world. Any man who can find that which the Lord desires would be justified.

What is this simple criteria needed for justification? Let’s see from the scriptures what God requires of us.

^1-2 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What were his experiences concerning this question of being saved by faith? Was it because of his good deeds that God accepted him? If so, then he would have something to boast about. But from God’s point of view Abraham had no basis at all for pride. ³ For the Scriptures tell us Abraham believed God, and that is why God canceled his sins and declared him “not guilty.”{Romans 4:1-3 TLB}

Our father Abraham was justified by faith. God cancelled his sins and declared him “not guilty” by faith. Abraham was not declared righteous because of his good deeds neither was he justified because he obeyed Jewish rules. He simply had faith in God and God cancelled his sins. Abraham could therefore not boast before God since it was God’s mercy that brought him justification.

If we compare this way of justification with what is being preached in most churches today, we would find out that the church has erroneously taught us that the only way to be justified is to obey the Ten Commandments and all other religious rituals. Therefore until a man fulfils all the requirements of the law, he doesn’t feel justified. The few who pretend to have obeyed all the laws are puffed up in pride and boast about their self-justification even though God has not justified them. Why hasn’t God justified them? Well, the reason is because no man can be saved by being good enough. Salvation is a gift from God, it is not the reward for our hard work.

^4-5 But didn’t he earn his right to heaven by all the good things he did? No, for being saved is a gift; if a person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn’t be free—but it is! It is given to those who do not work for it. For God declares sinners to be good in his sight if they have faith in Christ to save them from God’s wrath. {Romans 4:4-5 TLB}

Did you notice that salvation is given to those who do not work for it? God declares sinners justified only if they have faith in Christ to save them. Many people in church today claim to have faith in Christ but always seek justification from keeping Ten Commandments and Jewish rituals. To depend on the law for justification is an act of unbelief and lack of faith in Christ as the justifier.

No man can get justification by hard work. It is given to those who do not work for it but have faith in the justifier.

³⁰ Well then, what shall we say about these things? Just this, that God has given the Gentiles the opportunity to be acquitted by faith, even though they had not been really seeking God. ³¹ But the Jews, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping his laws, never succeeded.³² Why not? Because they were trying to be saved by keeping the law and being good instead of by depending on faith. They have stumbled over the great stumbling stone. ³³ God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I have put a Rock in the path of the Jews, and many will stumble over him (Jesus). Those who believe in him will never be disappointed.”{Romans 9:30-33 TLB}

The same arrogance exhibited by the Jews is being exhibited by most Christians today. Trying to be saved by obeying Jewish laws instead of depending on faith in Christ is the highest level of arrogance and disrespect for the finished work on the cross. No wonder on that day of the Lord’s return many will be disappointed because they have not fully believed in his saving power. Only those who fully believe in Him will not be disappointed.

This justification by faith is not for those who obey the Jewish laws neither is it for those who have never sinned at all. It is for those who still have shortcomings and struggle with different kinds of weaknesses. It is for those who have faith in the saving power of Christ to forgive their sins. It is for those who believe that God’s strength is made perfect even in their weaknesses. It is for those who are humble enough to know that they can’t help themselves. God will justify only those who acknowledge that they need a stronger arm to save them from their flaws. It is only for those to whom the arm of the Lord has been revealed and those who believe in Him. God justifies those who don’t deserve it if only they have faith in Christ.

⁶ King David spoke of this, describing the happiness of an undeserving sinner who is declared “not guilty” by God. ⁷ “Blessed and to be envied,” he said, “are those whose sins are forgiven and put out of sight.⁸ Yes, what joy there is for anyone whose sins are no longer counted against him by the Lord.”{Romans 4:6-8 TLB}

Well, you may not hear this being preached in your church but the truth is that God puts our sins out of sight once we have faith in Him to save us. God no longer counts our sins against us simply because we have met the simple criteria for justification, “faith”. We can enjoy a peaceful relationship with God because his anger has been averted simply because of our faith in what Christ has done for us.

So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ² For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.{Romans 5:1-2 TLB}.

Blessed are those who have been brought into this place of highest privilege where we now stand. The Jews sought to stand in this position of highest privilege but they never attained this height. Many religious Christians today are still seeking to attain this height of justification but they cannot. The reason is because no man can be justified by obeying the Jewish laws and Ten Commandments. Only those who are justified by faith have truly attained this privileged position. They are to be envied.

²⁰ Now do you see it? No one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God’s laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners.

^21-22 But now God has shown us a different way to heaven^[f]—not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us “not guilty”—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like.{Romans 3:20-22}

No one can ever be justified by doing what the law commands. We are accepted and acquitted, declared “not guilty” only if we trust Christ to take away our sins.

I know some religious minds would want to ask “so do you mean when Christians sin they are still justified? What happens to the sins? What about those of us that have not sinned?” The bible has an answer for your questions:

 ²³ Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; ²⁴ yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.

²⁵ For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath. In this way he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins. {Romans 3:23-25 TLB}

Anyone who thinks he has no sin is only deceiving himself. The bible says all have sinned. If we say we have no sin we are lying and the truth is not in us. Religious people have a certain wrong idea of what sin is and think that they have not sinned because they have graded sins into categories and are tempted to believe that only stealing, lying, fornication, adultery etc are sins. They forget that anger, malice, unforgiveness, self-righteousness, fearfulness etc are also sins. Even what you were supposed to do but didn’t do is sin. If we really are to look at God’s ordinances, no man can be sinless. Besides the Ten Commandments they are also about 600 more other ordinances that man must obey to be righteous. {613 laws in total}. So anyone who thinks he has no sin is just joking.

The problem now is not the issue of sin. God has solved that problem by sending Christ to take the punishment for our sins and has ended all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith to save us from His wrath. What God requires now is faith in what He has done. So the real problem now is not sin but unbelief.

I know to some people this seems too good to be true to hear that sin is no longer the problem but lack of faith. It seems unfair to allow the sinner go unpunished even when he is found guilty of the crime. Well verse 24 of romans 3 says “yet God declares us not guilty of offending Him if we have faith in Christ. But in verse 23 He said ALL HAVE SINNED. It was needful for all men to be condemned guilty first so that no man can boast and so that all men can acknowledge the free gift of justification by faith. Therefore if you are waiting to be 100 percent without sin before you can feel justified, you may keep waiting until Christ return and that may never be possible.

²⁶ And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins

But isn’t this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins.

²⁷ Then what can we boast about doing to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds; it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in him. ²⁸ So it is that we are saved^[h] by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do. {Romans 3:26-28 TLB}

Dear church, Muslims, Judaisers, atheist, moralist etc, there is nothing you can do to be justified except to have faith in Jesus Christ. He alone can justify man and end the enmity between man and God.

To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he may be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. {Romans 3:26 Webster’s bible translation}

¹⁶ Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.{Galatians 2:16}

⁴ For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. {Galatians 5:4 NLT}

No matter how much of God’s laws you’ve broken, you too can be justified and declared not guilty. Just have faith in the One who paid for your sins, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS.

22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. {Romans 4:22-25 NLT}