Thanksgiving for Justification-Romans 5:1-11

“A right understanding of justification is absolutely crucial to the whole Christian faith.” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology) In this thanksgiving season, let’s think about why justification should cause us to be most thankful from the very depths of our heart and soul. In this sermon, let’s think about:1.What justification is? 2.Why we need it? 3.How we are justified?

Intro: The primary issue in the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther’s dispute with the Roman Catholic Church over justification. Even today, a true view of justification is the dividing line between the biblical gospel of salvation by faith alone and all false gospels of salvation based on good works. I realize that most of us Christians truly believe in justification. But when we have to practice it in our lives, we might think, feel and act as though we don’t believe in justification.

For instance, if a Christian wife commits adultery, does she think she is no longer saved? Then, does the husband not forgive her because she has gone “too far”? If the answer is “Yes” to both questions, then we don’t really believe in justification. It’s because in the first instance, we think that “my sin is too bad for God to save me.” In the second instance, we think that “your sin is worse than mine, so I can’t forgive you.” In the first case, we think that our justification is up to me doing well enough to be saved. In the second case, we think that the other person does not deserve to be forgiven or justified. In both cases, we think as though it’s up to us or it’s up to the other person before we can be justified. So, even though we may believe in justification by faith, we act as though our justification is up to our performance.

1. What is justification

Cutely, it is “just as if I’d” never sinned. In more detail, justification may be defined as an instantaneous act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven, (2) thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, (3) declares us to be righteous in his sight. Check out this blog for further elaboration: http://westloop-church.blogspot.com/2010/11/6-bold-assertions-of-justification.html

2. Why we need justification

It’s because there is absolutely nothing that we can ever do to ever merit or warrant our salvation. God can never save us on the basis of what we do, or do not do. God can only save us on the basis of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Unless we are justified, we will never experience the following 6 things, which is what all of us want in life, more than anything else:

• We have peace with God (Rom. 5:1).
• We stand in grace (Rom. 5:2a).
• We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2b).
• We rejoice in our sufferings (Rom. 5:3-8).
• We shall be saved (from the wrath of God) through Christ (Rom. 5:9,10).
• We also rejoice in God (Rom. 5:11).

3. How we are justified

“…and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24)

“However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” (Rom. 4:5)

“We…know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.” (Gal. 2:15,16)