Justification by Faith

One of the great problems facing man is how to be found righteous in the sight of God.

All men have a sense of fear when thinking about having to meet God face to face. Many seek to escape this fear by simply believing lies that God does not see and that God will not make them give an account for their lives. See Psalm 10. However, regardless of what a man chooses to believe, the reality of what is does not change. All men must some day give an account for themselves before God. See Romans 14:12 and Revelation 20:11-15.

Because man is a sinner, he sins. His best efforts do not satisfy the righteous requirements found in God’s perfect law or character. See Isaiah 64:6.

Man by nature is lacking of the righteousness required for heaven. See Romans 3:10, 23.

If God did not do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, all would be lost and justly judged into a Lake of Fire.

The good news is that God has undertaken to do a work for us that we could never do for ourselves. He saw our need, and He planned to meet that need even before the world was created and even before man existed on the earth. His plan centers in His Son Who is known to us today as the Lord Jesus Christ.

The question remains, how does the great work of Christ establish a righteous standing for us with God? According to Romans 3:22 and 2 Corinthians 5:21, when Christ died He took all of our sins upon Himself so that God could give us as a free gift His righteousness if we simply believe in Jesus Christ. As a legal transaction before God, all of our sins were put to Christ’s account at the cross so that the righteousness of God could be put to our account the moment any of us believes. Thus, we can be counted perfectly righteous in the eyes of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our righteousness! See First Corinthians 1:30-31 and Philippians 3:9.

Further, once we are found by faith in Christ, God then declares us justified (without guilt or blame) before Him. See Romans 3:24, 26; 4:25; 5:1, 9; 10:1-4. God takes the full credit for the work. Man simply enters into its benefits by faith.

God justifies the ungodly without works – BY FAITH (Romans 4:5-8; 5:1), without cause – BY GRACE (Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7), and on a grounds so worthy that He Himself remains just when He justifies – BY BLOOD (Romans 3:25; 5:9). THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

Once justified, a believer is to seek to live worthy of His new standing in Christ. He does so by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God Who comes to aid the believer in His walk before God. This is a walk of faith. See Romans 6–8, Galatians 5:16-25, and Colossians 2:6-7. Thus, a believer is given life and then told to live it out. See Philippians 2:12-13. In contrast, all false religions demand for a man to live a righteous life first in order to earn favor and life from God.

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Justification By Faith

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