2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The Lord has put it on my heart to talk with you about the issues of justification, sanctification, and glorification in the next few days. These three issues are a profile of our past, present, and future. Justification is the process of being put right with God. Sanctification is the process of being perfected in preparation for life eternal. Glorification is the process by which we will be given resurrection bodies and to go to the Father to live eternally with Him and the Son. So, let’s begin today by looking at what God reveals to us in the Scriptures about justification.
By the time that Abraham came on to the scene somewhere around 2000 BC, a number of significant events in man’s history had already happened. I have no wish to second guess the Lord, but my friend, Les Feldick, has caused me to wonder if God didn’t decide to establish the Jewish nation because He wanted this group to put Him at the center of their existence and eventually provide mankind with a way out from under the consequences of its sinfulness. God knows that the only way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ. If you look at just the ten commandments alone (EX 20: 1-17), it isn’t hard to see that God was establishing a nation that was to be set apart from the idol worshipping ones around it, a nation that believes in one, supreme and sovereign God only. Over the rest of the Torah (first five books of Moses), He reveals rules for how Jews should live in an effort to prepare this nation to be “a light to the nations” in carrying the message of the one way to redemption, the Gospel, to the other nations. [see IS 42: 6; 49: 6]. The shema or statement of monotheism, which is the central watchword of Judaism can be found in DT 6: 4-5, “Here O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”
Abraham whose very name means “the father of a nation” was the person God called to establish this Jewish nation. In GN 15:6, we see this born-Chaldean deemed acceptable to God-justified. “Abraham put his trust in the Lord and because of this, the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.” Inherent in this process is a kind of court trial with God as the judge. God, Who is omniscient (all-knowing), has the infinite wisdom to know the condition not only of Abraham’s heart-attitude, but anyone’s. So God knew Abraham’s faith was real, and He was pleased. Once that happened, God judged Abraham innocent and imputed righteousness to Abraham’s account. There is a huge lesson in this event for all of us. When God knew your faith and mine was real, we too were justified in His sight. If you are living in faith, then you don’t have to worry that you aren’t justified. It’s a done deal! Praise the Lord! When your heart is faithful, then you need not worry that you will suffer condemnation and spiritual death, the consequences of living with sin’s power over you. It is implied in the book of Romans that once you are justified, God sees you as He sees the Son. Now, that’s comforting! But, it is not a license to go and sin, as the Antinomians of the early church times wanted to believe.
The words of David’s prayer, “Create in me a Clean Heart, O Lord,” a prayer uttered for forgiveness in PS 51 really reflects David’s acknowledgment of God’s right to judge. PS 51: 3-4, “I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins. I have sinned against You and done what You consider evil. So You are right in judging me; You are justified in condemning me.” The depression and fatigue that David felt as he was relentlessly pursued and threatened by Saul leads him to ask God for help while revealing to us, long before RO 3: 23 does, that no one starts out deemed innocent by God (because of Adam’s sin). PS 143: 2, “Do not put me, your servant, on trial; no one is innocent in Your sight.” RO 3: 23, “We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” And yet, David, knows where true love can be found, the kind of love that deems the honest confessor of faith accepted. PS 143: 8, “Remind me of Your constant love.”
God’s rejection of idolatry and His desire to see those who believe saved is clearly seen in His words through Isaiah. IS 45: 22-23, “Turn to Me now and be saved, people all over the world! I am the only God there is. My promise is true, and it will not be changed. I solemnly promise by all that I am: Everyone will come and kneel before Me and vow to be loyal to Me.” This citation is in a passage in which Isaiah is comparing the consequences of people believing in Babylonian idols and believing in God. If there was ever any question about the responsibility God gave to Israel to balance her privilege of being God’s chosen people, it is shown in IS 43: 8-11. “God say, ‘Summon My people to court. They have eyes, but they are blind; they have ears but they are deaf! Summon the nations to come to the trial. Which of their gods can predict the future? Which of them foretold what is happening now? Let these gods bring in their witnesses to prove that they are right, to testify to the truth of their words. People of Israel, you are My witnesses; I chose you to be My servant so that you would know Me and believe in Me and understand that I am the only God. Besides Me there is no other god; there never was and never will be. I alone am the Lord, the only One Who can save you.“
It is clear to me that I will have to go on tomorrow with more very lucid citations from the NT that will further clarify the issue of justification. Suffice it to say, that if we are honestly faithful, we can take great comfort in knowing that God deems us acceptable to Him and loves us as He loves His Son. With that privilege comes the responsibility of living according to His teachings and making His will our own. We can also take great comfort in knowing that our sins are forgiven through the blood of His Son shed for us on the cross.
PRAYER: O Lord, we offer You our love and praise for having given us a way to release the shackles of sin’s power over us. You established a nation to carry Your Word to us. Even while that nation has fallen short in carrying out Your commission for them, You brought Your Son out of it to die on the cross, so that through our faith in Him, we could be redeemed. What greater love can there be for us to emulate? We dedicate ourselves to loving you with our obedience to You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Peter and I send you our love.
Grace and Peace Be Yours Today and Always,
Lynn