Saved: Justification

Introduction

When God showed up on Abraham’s doorstep, he asked him to do the unthinkable:

“Go forth from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house.”

We might not think much of that in today’s world. After all, we’re used to the idea of moving miles away from family for work or any other reason. If we start to feel homesick, we can always give them a call. Or Facetime them. Or, if we’re feeling particularly lonely, we can go back home for a quick trip.

But things were different in Abraham’s day. There were no smartphones or e-mail addresses. And taking a 200+ mile trip didn’t happen unless you planned on staying for months - or years.

When God called Abraham to leave his country and relatives and father’s house, he was asking him to leave everything behind. To leave behind the safety and familiarity of people who would be there for Abraham no matter what. To leave behind the comfort of home and go… where exactly?

God didn’t tell him.

He was leaving everything behind for a future that was totally uncertain.

But God made him a promise. He said, “If you’ll follow me, put your trust in me, listen and obey me, then I will make you a great nation. I will adopt you as my son and establish my family through you.”

Abraham was losing his earthly family, but gaining a heavenly one with God as his father.

In a sense, God was adopting Abraham.

But unlike earthly parents who come to their newly married children and ask, “So, when are you going to give me a grandchild?”, God the Father comes to Abraham and says, “I’m going to give you a son.”

And in Genesis 15, God takes Abraham outside and says, “Look up at the heavens. Can you count the stars? That’s how many grandchildren that I’m giving you.”

And then we read this little verse that is incredibly significant - not just for Abraham or the nation of Israel, but for all humanity: “Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

This is such a simple statement, and yet all of Christianity is built on it.

When we believe the Lord - genuinely believe - God does supernatural things. Last week, we talked about how God regenerates us through faith. He takes spiritually dead and withered people like you and me, sucked dry by sin and guilt and shame, and he breathes new life into us. And how does he do it? By faith.

The Spirit enlivens us, transforming our thoughts, words, and action. But God isn’t merely satisfied with making us spiritually alive. That’s only the beginning.

As we’re regenerated through God’s Spirit, he does something else. He justifies us.

Now, most of us probably don’t go around talking about righteousness or justification or being justified. It’s not a topic we see discussed much on the nightly news. And there aren’t many Netflix or Hulu shows about it.

So, what does he mean when he says, “Then he believed in the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness?”

That seems to be Paul’s whole focus in Romans 4. That’s why he begins by asked, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?” He wants the Roman Christians - and us - to understand what Abraham experienced that day. Because all that Abraham experienced through faith in God’s promises is now available to us through faith in God’s promised son.

We Experience Justification Through Faith

Everything that Paul says in this chapter is based on that one little verse in Genesis 15: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” That’s why Paul quotes it at the very beginning of this chapter.

So, Paul established upfront that - whatever justification may be or mean - it’s something we can only experience through faith, or trust. Like we talked about last week, baptism pictures this faith because we give ourselves to another person and relinquish control. The person baptizing us could drown us if they wanted to, but our faith is in them. So we lay back and submit to their hand. That is a picture of the trust God wants of us.

It’s the same faith or trust that Abraham showed God when he left his country, his kin, and his father’s house. He was putting himself in God’s hands, following whatever God did, and trusting that God wouldn’t drown him.

Faith calls us to live with an awareness that we’re not in control - and we don’t make the rules - and all we’ve done is make a mess of things - and when we put our faith in God instead, giving ourselves over to his control - when that faith becomes embodied, we are not just regenerated. We are justified.

I’ve spoken with people who feel like they need to get their lives together before they come to God. They need to quit drinking or saying dirty jokes or skimming a little off the top at work - and THEN, they can come to God and be accepted by him.

But what they don’t realize is that God will receive them while they are yet sinners. In fact, that’s the only way he can receive them. Because once they’ve come to him and genuinely put their faith in him, he will regenerate and justify them, making them new. That’s what will make it possible for them to be reformed. It’s not the other way around.

So, the same faith that regenerates us, justifies us. In fact, regeneration and justification are two sides of the same coin. But that leaves us with an important question: What is justification?

We might think of it as being adopted into God’s family. When God justified Abraham, he was making him a son. And when we are justified, we are adopted into that same family. In a sense, we become grandchildren of Abraham by faith.

So, what does that mean for us?

In Justification Our Sins are Forgiven (4:5-8)

First, we should look at what Paul says in verses 5-8

“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.’”

Paul recalls David’s words from the Psalms and says that righteousness - or justification - means our “sins have been covered.”

When we are justified and brought into God’s family, he forgives us of our past wrongs, sins, selfishness, and rebellion.

We find ourselves like the prodigal son, welcomed into the Father’s house with no harsh words about what we did or didn’t do while we were out there.

And God does not bring those things up again. He offers true forgiveness.

Satan may bring up our past. Other people may bring up our past. And we might even be tempted to bring up our past.

But God won’t. His forgiveness is final when it comes to that act.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we will never have to confess our sins in the future. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” as a regular petition. We may need to confess faults or shortcomings or sins. And we should if we commit them. Because it is only through continual turning to God that we can experience the continued blessings of justification and life in the Father’s house.

As I reflected on forgiveness of sins as a piece of justification, I was reminded of a dear old lady I knew years ago. At some point in her life, she’d said, “I swear to God.” But by the time she reached her seventies and eighties, suffering from dementia, that thought came back to her. And she was afraid she’d committed the unpardonable sin.

Every week she’d call, tortured by the thought that God had rejected her because of this careless word spoken. And each week I’d ask her, “Are you glad that you said that?” “No!” she’d say, “I hate that I said that. I never want to say anything like that ever again.” Then I’d ask, “Have you confessed it?” She’d reply, “Oh yes! I confessed it and I hate it.” Finally, I’d say, “Well, John tells us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do you believe what God has said in his word?” She’d tell me she did. Then, I’d say, “Then according to God’s word, you’re forgiven.” And by the end of our conversation, she’d finally calm down and feel some peace, trusting that God really had forgiven her - until the next week when she’d call again, forgetting everything we’d talked about.

Sometimes, I think we need reminding that if we’ve confessed our sins and repented, then we are justified. We’re in God’s family. And he has forgiven us. We don’t need to bring it up again.

And by the way, if that’s so, it wouldn’t hurt for us to practice that same kind of forgiveness with our spouses, our children, our friends, etc.

In Justification We Are Made Heirs of God’s Kingdom (4:13-17)

We’ve said several times that being justified means being part of God’s family. Paul makes this absolutely clear in verses 13-17.

“For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith…it is by fath, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants...”

Paul says that both Jews and Gentiles become descendants of Abraham when they put their faith in Jesus. And he declares that all who are in Christ become heirs of God’s promises to Abraham.

When we are justified, we become heirs.

There are some folks out there who divide Christians and Jews up, claiming God has certain privileges and rights that he’s given to the biological descendants of Abraham which are different from those he’s given to the church. But that idea is totally foreign to Paul. Paul says that all Christians become spiritual descendants of Abraham by faith.

So, every promise God made to Abraham is a promise we get to partake in and enjoy.

We are heirs of God’s Kingdom and his worldwide family.

This means that through justification, we receive a new destiny. Our inheritance is no longer just whatever our parents or rich uncles or aunts might leave to us - money or houses or cars - things which quickly fade away.

Our inheritance includes all of the promises God has made to his people.

It includes immortality and life after death, but it’s so much more. It is dwelling with God and his people. It is being placed beyond the grasp of death and sin and Satan. It is a life transformed by the Spirit of our Creator. It is a victory that lasts into eternity.

And it’s something that we begin to experience right here, right now.

Do you realize your inheritance in Christ? Are you living as if it’s true?

Too many of us say we know we have an inexhaustible spiritual inheritance, but we write checks as if we’re just scraping by, making it day to day. If you truly have this inheritance through your justification, why shouldn’t we get a little extravagant in our spiritual endeavors? Let’s trust God now before we die. Before we’re sick. Before we’re without hope.

If we do, we’ll be able to draw from that inheritance more effectively when we find ourselves in dire straights.

In Justification Our Relationship with God is Repaired (5:1-2)

Finally, I want to point you to the first two verses of Romans 5. There, Paul says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

Paul says that when we are justified and brought into God’s family, our relationship with God is repaired.

We are reconciled and can finally experience the peace of knowing that God looks with favor upon us. We are recipients of his grace and good will.

And that makes all the difference in the world.

When we know that God loves us and has promised to care for us, we are empowered to live more fully and free. We don’t have to fear what others will say or do, since we have the approval of our maker.

There have been times in my life when I felt abandoned or alone or betrayed. The one thing that ever got me through was knowing that I was still beloved by God. Even if everyone else hated me, God would never leave me or forsake me.

This peace with God - where he actively sends his Spirit to dwell within us - it changes everything.

And it’s a peace and favor that you can enjoy. All it takes is being justified and adopted into God’s family.

This morning, maybe you’re struggling to keep your faith in God rather than in yourself. Maybe you’re trying to take things into your own hands, earn your way into peace and happiness. But it’ll never work. Paul reminds you this morning, “Trust God.” Trust him with your worries and fears and doubts. Trust him this morning. Start small and work your way up, but trust him.

Maybe this morning, you’ve been struggling with things from your past. Don’t let Satan or others bring them up. Put your faith in God and trust that he has forgiven you and is now empowering you to move forward. Trust God. He’ll justify you. You don’t have to justify yourself to others or to yourself.

Maybe this morning, you’ve been living as if you aren’t really an heir to the greatest fortune there’s ever been. This morning is a great time to begin trusting God and cashing some big spiritual checks - taking some risks, knowing God will catch you if you fall. Trust him.

I don’t know where you are this morning. But I know this: No matter what questions you may be facing, trusting God is always the right answer.

Will you trust him this morning? Let’s come and pray for greater faith so that we might experience the fullness of benefits found in justification.