2. The second part of the answer to the question as to how we are
justified we find in Rom. 3:24. +"Being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."+ The word
translated "freely" in this passage means, _as a free gift_, and the
verse tells us that men are justified _as a free gift_ by God's grace
(i.e., God's unmerited favour) through (i.e., on the ground of) the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. In other words, justification is
not on the ground of any desert there is in us, not on the ground of
anything that we have done, we are not justified by our own doing nor
by our own character. _Justification is a free gift that God bestows
absolutely without pay._ The channel through which this free gift is
bestowed is the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We shall see later
that this means through the purchase price that Christ paid for our
redemption, i.e., the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary.
3. This leads us to the third part of the answer to the question, how
men are justified. We find this third part of the answer in Rom. 5:9,
+"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be
saved from the wrath of God through Him."+ Here we are told in so
many words that we are justified, or counted righteous "by," or more
literally, "in," _Christ's blood_, i.e., on the ground of Christ's
propitiatory death. We were all under the curse of the broken law of
God, for we had all broken it, but by dying in our stead on the cross
of Calvary our Lord Jesus +"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the
law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree."+ (Gal. 3:13.) Or, as Peter puts it in
1 Pet. 2:24, +"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body upon
the tree."+ Or as Paul puts it again in 2 Cor. 5:21, +"Him who
knew no sin he (God) made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him."+ We shall have occasion to come
back to this passage later. All that I wish you to notice in it at this
time is that it is on the ground of Jesus Christ becoming a substitute
for us, on the ground of His taking the place we deserved; on the
cross, that we are reckoned righteous. THE ONE AND ONLY GROUND OF
JUSTIFICATION IS THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. Of course, this
doctrine is entirely different from the teaching of Christian Science,
and entirely different from the teaching of much that is called New
Theology, and entirely different from the teaching of New Thought and
Theosophy, and entirely different from the teaching of Unitarianism,
but it is the teaching of the Word of God. We find this same teaching
clearly given by the prophet Isaiah seven hundred years before our Lord
was born, in Isaiah 53:6, where he says, +"All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath
laid+ (literally, made to strike) +on him+ (i.e., on the Lord
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account