Creator, Father, King #238

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO . . .

You are sitting nervously in a courtroom, waiting for a criminal trial to start. You are the defendant. The case? Heaven vs. You.

The room is empty, except for one man: your accuser. He sits off to the side, lurking, waiting.

You have no attorney, no one to plead your case. You are alone.

Then the Judge enters the room. Regal in his bearing, he immediately commands respect. He appears wise and just. You know you will get a fair trial.

Immediately, your accuser begins assaulting your character, fiendishly hurling blame and indictments from the shadows of the room. The scroll he’s holding of your offenses unfurls from his hand, hits the floor, and rolls down the aisle. He laughs insidiously.

You can’t argue with the charges. You are guilty as sin. You are guilty of countless sins. You’re on trial for your life, and you don’t see how you are going to win with all the evidence against you.

Suddenly, another Man enters the courtroom. He bears a humble, compassionate countenance, yet a resolute fire burns in his eyes. As he approaches the bench, your accuser falls silent. The Man speaks quietly to the Judge and, to your surprise, he shows the Judge his wrists, his feet, and his side. It appears the Man is advocating for your freedom. For the first time, you believe there is hope.

The Judge thunders his gavel down and issues the verdict: “Not guilty.”

This is justification.

What’s It Mean?

As today’s verse says, Jesus’ death on the cross provides all believers justification, which is a vital tenet of the Christian faith. Justification is a legal term. It means “to be declared righteous” or “to be made right with God.”

When we trust in Christ, God judges us to be righteous and considers our sins forgiven. He can do this because Jesus’ shed blood on the cross provided substitutionary atonement for our sins (1 Peter 2:24; see the August 23 devotion) and allowed for Christ’s righteousness to be imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:21; see the August 25 devotion).

Through justification, heaven’s Judge rules us completely blameless—sinners saved by his grace. Our sins no longer condemn us. Satan’s accusations ring hollow. The blood of Jesus, our Advocate, covers all believers in his righteousness.

Case closed!

Now What?

Want to do a deep-dive into the topic of justification? Then read Romans 1–11.

Did You Know?

Christians should never use their justification as an excuse to sin (Romans 6).