Justification by
Faith
If when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life —Romans 5:10
I am not saved by
believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance
that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done
through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect,
instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that
make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because,
prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what
God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places
me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural
miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or
because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God
brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am
saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.
The salvation that
comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of
Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful
men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance
or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which
preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians
5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and
sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things
ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of
Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and
there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is
finished!” (John 19:30).
Which comes first – Christ melting and
changing our hearts…or our repentance?
The former. After that…the two are a
continuous cycle.
When I first came to Christ…it was not
because I, being a sinner so happy in my sin, decided to all of a sudden
change. It was Christ who broke me down and placed the hopeless pit of
dissatisfaction and disgust with my sin inside of me – causing me to turn to
Him.
And when I come to Him throughout the day…it
is never because I think of it…but each and every time I pray or sit down to
read His word or feel a conviction on my heart…it is always because He has
FIRST come to me and He has called me to come to Him. He has placed that
conviction there.
If you think about it…every story we hear of
someone being changed and coming to Christ…the people are not changed because
they just all of a sudden decided they were going to live differently. It was
not THEM who just happened to have the initial thought of repenting and taking
the genuine step to turn their life around…it was Christ who FIRST melted their
heart and placed the desire to make these decisions in them. And it is Christ
who continually works in their life from day to day to make them a better
person.
It is Christ who continually changes my heart
more and more each and every day, and it was Christ in the very beginning.
“The
danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is
it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It
is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ
died.”
If it took me finally turning to Christ and
repenting and obeying Him for Him to come to me and forgive me and place His
heart in me…I would never change. I would never repent and obey Him…because
that would mean that I would have to come to Christ on my own. And without the
conviction and calling of Christ – I would never feel convicted or be called.
So those days that I feel are just so hectic
and non-stop…finally when I lay my head down at night and think about how I did
not once open my Bible and hardly took time to pray throughout the day…and when
I just feel tired and all I want to do is go to sleep…and I can’t help but
think about how “being a Christian” and being constantly in the Word of God can
be hard work…and when I feel that desire inside of me to sit up – open my Bible
– and just spend time getting to know Him…I can rest peacefully knowing that it
is HIM calling me…and not me who holds onto Him.
“We
are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised
to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason.”
I
will NEVER be good enough for Christ – that is why He sent a sacrifice so pure
and great to take my place, so I don’t have to try to be.
We love Him because He FIRST loved us.
