JUSTIFIED

JUSTIFICATION THRU FAITH

Turn with me if you would to

Romans chapter 5, verse 1.

It reads

" Therefore having been JUSTIFIED by FAITH, we have peace with God through our lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wants to apply the doctrine of justification here by the word "therefore". This word should be applied in all of our christian walk. Any time we read this word in scripture we need to apply it by asking ourselves

"How does this verse directly effect me?"

Justification thru faith, is a gift from God, that leads us to an absolute assurance of our future glory.

I would like first to touch on

FAITH

Scripture teaches us that our

JUSTIFICATION ,

our

SANCTIFICATION ,

leading to our

GLORIFICATION

are all on the basis of Gods endless GRACE, by means of our PERSONAL FAITH.

This FAITH, is nothing less than an ABSOLUTE TRUST, A CONFIDENT HOPE, and nothing less than a GIFT of God, because He has called us, and saved us in His awesome mercy.

He gives us our faith.

Ephesians 2:8 says

"For it is by grace that you have been saved, THROUGH FAITH-NOT OF YOURSELVES, BUT IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD.

By our accepting this gift, we receive our

JUSTIFICATION from the condemnation of our unrightoussness.

We read this truth in Romans 5:1.

"therefore, "having been" justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul goes on to tell us of our absolute possession, and the result of our accepting this awesome gift from God. This gift that we receive is the LOVE of God, shown and offered to us through the sacrifice of his son, JESUS CHRIST, upon the cross of calvary.

Take carfull note of the words " having been". For anyone who has accepted this gift from the Father, has already BEEN justified by that very faith! Note also the chain reaction.

"We HAVE peace with God!

This is also In the past tense! We already

HAVE RECEIVED

our peace with God!!,through Jesus Christ our lord!

This peace is an ongoing reality. A peace that is freindship with our God! Verse 2 goes on to say " through Him we

HAVE OBTAINED

access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God". Again by reading the words " HAVE OBTAINED" we see somthing that we already HAVE!

Scripture does not say will be justified, it says that WE ARE. It doesent say we will have peace, it says WE HAVE. It doesent say WE WIll obtain access to his amazing grace, it says IT IS OURS. This grace is 100% unmerited and undeserved. Christ told us that not one of us is rightoues, and that " all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." This access is like an open door

Rev 3:8 "I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied My Name. Again in John 10:7, Jesus says " truly, truly I say to you I am the door of the sheep." And again in verse 9. "I am the door, If anyone enters through me he shall be saved, and shall go out and find pasture."

The only catch to this open door is you have to walk through it!

Back to verse 2 in romans 5, it says " we rejoice in our "HOPE" of sharing the glory of God." This hope should be nothing less than a confident expectation, an assurity of his promise, and a firm, secure guarenteed certinty!

Verse 3 says " and not only this, but we also rejoice in our tribulations, knowing that tribulations (or daily problems) brings about perserverence verse 4, and perserverance, carature, and carature, hope.

The origonal greek word for tribulations is " thlipis" which literally means to be pressed down in daily pressures.

As a christian, Paul tells us that we should rejoice in these. The word in here does not mean in spite of, it does not mean in the midst of, it means because of ! In the chapter of James 1;2-5 we read " consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And endurance, having its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

So beleiving this, we can look at our tribulations as an occasion for joy, because we know what it will produce! There is a divine purpose for all tribulations.

That brings to mind an old saying that goes " The more that you quit under pressure, the harder it is to persevere!"

Verse 4 says " perseverance brings proven charature" proven charature is something that proves that our faith is genuine.

Acts chapter 14:22 tells us that we will suffer in this life. Pressure is Gods instrument to produce growth. The word tribulation from the origonal latin is "Tribulum." A tribulum is a tool used that seperates the wheat from the chaff. Tribulations give growth. I like what phillipians 1:6 says. " for I am confident in this very thing. That he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. By this I can see that tribulations are christians under construction!!

In a nutshell, as beleivers we can rejoice in the present, because of our

FUTURE ASSURANCE of our place in heaven, knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that as beleivers, that we will indeed be able to dwell in the presence of God for all eternity!!

Take a look at verse 9 in chapter 5. It states " HAVING NOW" not later, but now! " HAVING BEEN" been. Past tense. It is a done deal. "

BY HIS BLOOD

WE SHALL BE " not maybe, not might be, but

WE ARE

"SAVED FROM THE WRATH" ,

"THROUGH HIM"

VERSES 8-9 IN CHAPTER 5 ARE TRULY AMAZING TO ME. They really make the words of the song amazing grace hit home. Let me read them to you, and encourage you all to follow along in your bibles.

Rom 5:8 " But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us."

We know that His love will never fail, because His love is unconditional !! I mean take a look at our credits, our resume if you will. We are helpless, we are ungodly and we are sinners. God loves us because of who He is. Not who we are. He is love. His love is prompted from within, not from without. His love for us is unchangeable! It is therefore very dependable. Rom 5:9 "Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by His Blood, will we be saved through Him from the wrath of God." Like what we just read, what a comfort it is to know that God loved me, even when I was a reble to Him! If we are saved now, then we cannot be a part of His wrath- because of His love for us.

He loved us, He called us, He gave us our faith, He justified us and He reconciled us to Himself. Verse 10 says "for if while we were enemys we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more, now that we are reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." This says that we "SHALL BE!" again here! No maybe's!

This is an absolute. Like in romans 5:2 we can rejoice in our hope, in our confident expectation, our absolute assurity and our firm, unshaking, secure guarenteed certainty of our future glory. I would like to close by reading to you a few verses from the first chapter of Epheisians. Eph 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Eph 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love.

Eph 1:5 He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Eph 1:6 to the praise of His glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Eph 1:8 that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight

Eph 1:9 He has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He set forth in Christ,

Eph 1:10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Eph 1:11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to His counsel and will,

Eph 1:12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of His glory.

Eph 1:13 In Him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in Him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;

Eph 1:14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of His glory".

It is my most humble and sincere prayer that each of us as brothers and sisters in CHRIST JESUS, can not only hear the words of truth, the

THE GOSPLE OF OUR SALVATION , but BELIEVE IN HIM, fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith ,AND THROUGH A LEAP OF that same FAITH, which He has so graciously provided,

WALK THROUGH THAT OPEN DOOR THAT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR HAS SO GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED FOR US, THAT WE MAY INDEED BE MARKED WITH THE SEAL OF THE PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT, LIVE FOR THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY, AND INDEED RECEIVE THE FREE GIFT OF HIS AMAZING GRACE, AND OUR ETERNAL INHERATANCE OF REDEMPTION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.