Justification Is Not Based On Your Moral Performance Since Jesus paid the penalty for their sins, there is no remaining penalty for them to pay. He demonstrated His justice by punishing every sin as sin deserves, and He justifies those whose sins Jesus bore on the cross by forgiving them completely. 53:11).īy crediting the sins of His people to the account of His beloved Son and then putting His Son to death for those sins, God showed Himself to be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. Later in the same passage the Lord says this about Jesus: “My Servant will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Is. He was pierced through for our transgressions,īut the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all Speaking prophetically about Jesus and His death on the cross, the prophet Isaiah described the way God would deal with the sins of His people justly, without overlooking them.
Jesus Christ took the guilt of their sins on Himself and bore the wrath of His Father in their place-the wrath they deserved. God is able to justify these people (meaning declare them righteous) while remaining just Himself because though they were guilty, the penalty for their sins was paid by someone else. When Paul told us that God does not hold justified people accountable for their sins, he did not mean God is unaware that these sins actually occurred, or that He overlooks them out of compassion. After all, what would you think of a judge or jury that permitted a convicted murderer (or any other criminal) to go free, knowing he was guilty but without any penalty being paid? No matter how merciful this might seem, it would be unjust.
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God Himself would be unjust if He acquitted you out of compassion alone.
NOT GUILTY VERDICT TRIAL
If you were to stand trial for these sins, and if a jury concluded that you were “not guilty,” it would be an unjust verdict. Justification Does Not Compromise Justiceīecause you were actually innocent in the imaginary courtroom scene described above, the jury came to a just verdict by declaring you “not guilty.” But in relation to God’s law you have committed more crimes than you know. He now has, and always will have, a spotless record in terms of sin and guilt and judgment. The justified man has been fully acquitted. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. The apostle Paul wrote about this, quoting from Psalm 32:1-2.īlessed are those who lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Amazingly, God’s “not guilty” verdict does not relate to just one crime (as in the imaginary event above), but to every sin the justified man has ever committed or will commit. When a man is justified before God, he is declared not guilty with reference to the sins he has committed against God. Those two words were the court’s declaration that you had committed no actual breach of the law you were charged with violating. When the foreman said “not guilty,” you were justified in the matter before that court of law. Justification Is God’s “Not Guilty” Verdict When you hear the words, “We find the defendant not guilty,” you collapse into your chair in emotionally drained relief. While the courtroom is silent, your heart is pounding so hard that you are amazed no one else hears it. The jury foreman rises from his seat and begins to read the words that will determine your destiny. The jury assembles to announce their verdict. The jury has been presented with the evidence, including your own declaration of innocence, and is now being sent away to deliberate.įive hours later you are brought back into the courtroom. You have no alibi-no way of proving you were somewhere else when the crime was committed. Though you are innocent, circumstantial evidence has convinced police and prosecutors that you are guilty. Imagine you are on trial for a crime you didn’t commit-a crime punishable by death.
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