Justified
October 29, 2015
Devotions:
“nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”
Galatians 2:16 NASB
When we are justified we are made righteous. It is the same word in the original languages. When we are justified we are made pleasing to God because we are made right with God. That is what justification and righteousness, being made right with God. Abraham had righteousness attributed to his account but we are actually made the righteousness of God by the new birth. Abraham had behavior that God overlooked becasue he was unchanged in his spirit. In the new birth our spirits are changed and our behavior is to come out of our righteous nature. Because we have a new righteous nature, our sins are once and for all forgiven. Our walking by the spirit is walking in this new life by the power of the Holy Spirit who now dwells in us. The example and model of this new life is Jesus because it is His life that we received. We see a part of an example of this life in the gospel in Jesus' day to day walk and the fulfillment of it in His resurrection from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, the glory of God. To walk in our justification is to walk in the finished work of Jesus. He has done everything necessary for our salvation, spirit, soul and body (not just the new birth). Just as our spirit transformation, the new birth, came by the power of the Spirit and not by any exertion on our behalf so also the salvation of our soul by the transformation through the renewing of our minds and the transformation of our body when we receive a new body like Jesus' body all come through the power of the Spirit and not our exertion. We just receive what He has done. We can try to act right but until we receive the revelation of who we are in Christ, our actions are empty. When we receive the revelation of who we are the Holy Spirit imparts faith to us to live out the real us. Our part is to receive it and live it out in faith.