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.
JUSTIFIED as a GIFT, this word “gift” is translated from the Greek word δωρεάν dorean (pronounced as do–reh–an’)
This same word is used in John 15:24 where we read “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me WITHOUT A CAUSE.”
Now you, when you take that, and look at Romans 3:24, we see that what it is saying is that we are being Justified WITHOUT A CAUSE.
And what does that mean?
It means that you never gave god any cause or reason to justify you!
You and I only gave god a reason or a cause to condemn us!
But He Justified us!
And He did it in a way that was alien to us.
He did not justify you because of you,
He Justified you in spite of you!
It is grace, and it comes down to this:
You know there are hundreds of religions in the world, but when you look at it in an other way, there actually are only two. Those who FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD, and those who, without a cause, are JUSTIFIED.
The only two religions in the world are Christianity, which is a religion of Grace, and there’s all the other religions of the world in which there is no grace, no Savior, and so no redemption.
Christianity is so surprisingly different, and it so manifests the evil of man, that mankind hated it, and still hate it with the utmost hatred.
One person wrote me this week: “I don’t want to hear from you ever again, because you are full of hatred, as you keep telling everybody that they will go to hell if they don’t follow your God”.
This man was completely blinded. When you warn someone so an imminent disaster will not hit him, that is not a sign of hatred but of love. If that person takes heed of your warning he could save his life.
The fact was, that he didn’t want to look in the mirror, and see in what terrible state he really was. He didn’t want to be confronted with his sins.
But my dear friends, you better face your sins now, and be confronted with the ugliness of them, and ask forgiveness for them, than that God will confront you with them, at the final judgment. For at that moment there is no pardon anymore.
The one religion that is free, there even is a gift, they hate.
Why? Because it openly exposes all the vices of man!
To be continued
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