The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Justification is another attribute of salvation. It is the principle that, not only are we forgiven, but also our sin is completely forgotten, never to be brought up by God again: “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). You are declared not guilty and all evidence of your sin is expunged, “just as if I had never sinned”.
The sin of the first man, Adam, caused sin to enter the world. Christ, God incarnate, completely erased the charges and evidence Satan brought against us as a result, when we accepted the salvation offered in Jesus. Romans 5:17-18 relates the contrast between Adam and Christ: “For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”
The sacrifice of Jesus satisfied the payment to buy back the innocence and authority that Adam had given away. According to Greg Laurie, “The cross was not a tragic failure. It was a triumphant rescue. Jesus was very intentional in all that was about to happen. And the Father was in control.”*
Romans 5:6-9 says “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commen his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
John 3:16 gives a very clear picture of God’s love as the source of salvation, saying, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” With belief comes the repentance that the apostles preached in Acts 3:19: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”
Without repenting of our sin and accepting the amazing gift of salvation God offers us, we are lost in sin forever. 1 John 5:12 confirms this with the contrast in spiritual status in that “he that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
*[Greg Laurie message entitled “Why Did Jesus Have to Die? – II,” accessed online April 24, 2016, http://www.harvest.org/radio/listen/2016-04-23.html.]
