The Joy of being Forgiven: Justification

Justification

The blood of Jesus signifies the washing away of our sin and our justification before God.

Who being the brightness of his  glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; In whom we have redemption through his blood, even  the forgiveness of sins: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Hebrews 1:3, Revelation 5:9, Titus 3:5, Colossians 1:14, Romans 5:9

One of the most amazing things that the shed blood of Jesus Christ has accomplished is our justification before God—God receiving us just as though we had never sinned. Because of Christ’s shed blood God can look at our lives no matter how dark, how sinful, or how unclean they may have been, and declare us guilt free!

In justification our debts are not only canceled, they are wiped clean; our sins are not only forgiven, they are remembered against us no more. Justification is a legal term. If we are brought before a judge to be tried for a crime and proven innocent, we have been justified. If we are proven guilty we cannot be justified, and we must pay the price for our crime. The only way we could ever be declared justified once we’ve been proven guilty is to have someone meet the full demands of the law by taking our punishment for us.

Christ’s blood justifies us, not because we are innocent, but because He has taken our judgment. He is the spotless lamb offered up for the transgressor—the obedient Son taking the place of the rebellious child—the caring Creator yielding His life for His fallen creation.

Lord, I praise You that I can stand before You guilt free. What a great salvation! You didn’t just pity me, You came to take every judgement I deserved; You haven’t just forgiven my past, You regard it as though it had never happened. You are my wonderful Savior and I am so grateful!

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This post in part of a series called The Joy of Being Forgiven.

There are three main reasons for this series:

1. To help those who are burdened by sin to enter into the joy of being forgiven.
2. To remind those who have been forgiven to live each day in thankfulness for the gift of His forgiveness and the joy it has brought your heart.
3. To provide for those who know the joy of being forgiven, a way for them to share the message of God’s forgiveness with others.

Click the links below to read previous posts in this series..

Darkness
Guilt
Repentance
Grace
Change
Strength
Holiness
Redemption
Rightousness

Please feel free to print out these postings or share them online as the Lord may lead you.