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Bible Question: 1)
What does "I am justified in Christ" mean? How can I
look for God's justice in my life? Why should I hunger for it to
satisfy my desire? 2) Could you explain what it means to live under
the law in contrast to living under God's grace?
Bible Answer: When
we are born into this world, we are sinners. Our natural passion
or "bent" is to reject a holy God. Not only do we reject
God, but we love to sin. Sin is the opposite of God's character.
God is holy (Lev. 11:44). Consequently, it should not be a surprise
that God considers to be His enemy (Rom. 5:8-10). Later
in life some of us will desire to know our Creator, but others will
not. By the time we die, we either believe He exists, that Jesus
is God, that Jesus died so that He could forgive our sins, and He
returned to life, or we reject one or all of these truths.
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For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have
eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world
to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through
Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does
not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this
is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and
men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds
were evil. (NASB) John 3:16-19 |
Those
who reject one or all of these truths have
called God a liar.
Justified. But
those who believe all of these truths are declared by God to be holy
or just. They are justified in Christ by God.
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.
. . seeking to be justified in Christ . . . (NASB) Galatians
2:17 |
The
word "justified" comes from a Greek word, DIKAIOO, which
means "judged to be good or considered to be just, that is holy." To
be justified in Christ means that God declares or considers us to
be holy individuals even though we are still sinners. It is a legal
decision. Here are some key passages.
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Justified
By . . . |
Passage |
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"Therefore
the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that
we may be justified by faith." |
Gal.
3:24 |
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" .
. . a man is not justified by the works of the Law
but through faith in Christ Jesus . . ." |
Gal.
2:16 |
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" .
. . no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;
for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” |
Gal.
3:11 |
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"For
we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from
works of the Law." |
Rom.
3:28 |
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".
. . being justified as a gift by His grace through
the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;" |
Rom.
3:24 |
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"Much
more then, having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." |
Rom.
5:9 |
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To be justified in Christ means that we do not try to earn our forgiveness
or win God's favor and gain the right to go to heaven. God is the
one who justifies us because we believe He
exists, that Jesus is God, Jesus died so that He can forgive our
sins, and He returned to life.
If we really believe these truths, then He justifies us - declares
us to be eternally holy. It is a gift.
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