Romans 3:23-26
²³ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD, ²⁴being JUSTIFIED as a GIFT by His grace through the redemption which is IN CHRIST JESUS; ²⁵whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation IN HIS BLOOD through faith. This was TO DEMONSTRATE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶for the demonstration, I say, of HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS at the present time, so that He would be JUST and the JUSTIFIER of the one WHO HAS FAITH IN JESUS.
Romans 3:24 is speaking about the Christians. “Being Justified”
²⁴being JUSTIFIED as a GIFT by His grace through the redemption which is IN CHRIST JESUS
In this verse the course of what he is saying changes.
Here the good news starts.
But being Justified what does it mean?
To properly understand it we must accept it as a legal or forensic term.
What do I mean by that? The moment a person places their faith in God, in Christ, God legally declares that person to be right with him.
You understand me? Justification does not mean that the moment a person believes in Jesus, he becomes from that moment a perfectly, righteous being, or that he is infused with grace in such a way, that he can never sin again.
Every Christian knows, that he is still fighting daily not to sin.
Also Paul writes in Romans 7:15-17
¹⁵For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. ¹⁶But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. ¹⁷So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
It not teaches that the person who surrendered to the Christ
becomes from that very moment a perfect, righteous being. It is a legal term. It is like this. The moment you believe in God, God declares you to be right with Him, and God treats that person as right with him.
God treats that person as right with him, and that is such good news for the Christian! You will never be more righteous before god legally, than you are right now.
You are positioned before God in Christ in an absolute righteousness. You are as right with God as Jesus is with God. Remember that Jesus is impeccable, He is without sin, He is pure. You can’t be a little bit right with God, or a little bit wrong with god. You’ve either got to be perfectly right with God, or you’re completely wrong with God!
The moment you place your faith in Christ, God legally declares you to be right with Him and then He treats you as right with him. So that even when he disciplines His children He does so as a father, and not as a Judge.
This is also what being “born again” is all about.
To be continued
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