Believers Justified of ALL Things by Grace

By Arthur J Licursi

Our Lord’s appearance to Saul of Tarsus (later called Paul) on the road to Damascus , changed the pitiless persecutor of believers in a moment into the docile devoted follower of the Christ he had so bitterly hated. You can read of this in the Book of Acts, chapter 9.

This transformation took place not only because he had now seen the risen, ascended Christ; it was caused also by what he had learned from Christ. From heaven the Lord had revealed to Paul the glory of His finished work of redemption and had sent him forth to proclaim “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

This is seen in the closing words of the Apostle’s first recorded sermon, delivered at the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. After mentioning the death and resurrection of Christ, the Apostle said:

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from ALL things, from which ye could not be justified by (keeping) the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).

“Justified” means to be made righteous or to be counted as being righteous. Faith in Jesus Christ makes us to be counted as righteous by God based upon what Jesus has done for us in shedding His blood and dying for us at the cross. Since Jesus has done this for us this is the greatest expression of God’s “grace” - we are “justified freely by His grace”!

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24)

Paul never changed this message, but kept emphasizing it wherever he went as well as in his writings. He saw in this truth the answer to man’s condemnation for breaking God’s holy law. Thus he wrote to the Romans:

“…by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested” (Rom. 3:20-21).

“[We] declare, I say, at this time, [Christ's] righteousness; that [God] might be just and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).

Note that Paul does not say, “believeth and is baptized.” That would be the message Jesus committed to the other “twelve Apostles” for Israel only (Mark 16: 16; Acts 2:38, Gal 2:7).

By contrast, Paul was “the Apostle sent to the Gentles” (Rom 11:13), ushering in the message of “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph 3:2), manifesting that Jesus Christ is “the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”