Justification is the very heart of the Gospel. The Gospel shaped the devotion of the apostle Paul. The Gospel is the righteousness of Christ. No mere man can take us away from Christ alone in His life and death alone. We must focus on Christ alone. I remember in the greatest trail of my life before I came to Christ, God showed me His righteousness alone that it covers us. When His righteousness alone covers us, God is pleased with us. But when His righteousness is removed from us, He is displeased with us. No one can take His righteousness alone from us. It is His white robes of Christ alone because we trust in Him alone for spiritual salvation. The only reason why we trust Him alone is because of the Spirit of God and the Word of God. He quickens us. He makes us alive in Christ.
Justification is how we are right with God. It is God’s pardoning act of sinners and accepting His people as righteous because of Christ alone. God irrevocably puts us right with God because of our estranged relationship. We are accepted because of Jesus’ sake. The basis of justification is Christ alone. Some would dare add the Virgin Mary as a co-redeemrix. There is no doubt that the Virgin Mary suffered at the Cross, but this suffering was not meritorious or redemptive. Mary does not intercede for us in heaven because the work of intercession is the mission work of Christ alone. I am thankful that Mary bore Christ but our hope should be in Christ alone. Mary did not say “listen to me” of herself but she said “do whatever He tells you.” Christ alone acts in our behalf. No one is worthy to act on our behalf save Christ alone. Christ took the full punishment for our sins on the Cross because He became sin for us. Christ’s righteousness alone is reckoned to our account. Justice was applied to Christ on the Cross. He paid for satisfaction for our sins in our behalf. O may Jesus my Savior speak and pray in my behalf! O may His pardoning grace immerse me!
Christ’s righteousness will be accepted in our behalf at the Last Judgment. It is a divine decision on our eternal destiny. No repentance adds to the unified righteousness of Christ alone. No repentance is meritorious. Only Christ’s blood and righteousness is enough. God will never turn back on His declaration. Satan may appeal against us because he is the accuser of the brethren. Justification means to be eternally secure in and through Christ alone.
The necessary means of how we are right before God is personal faith in Christ crucified. We ought to come to God with empty hands of faith, because Christ alone is our great meritorious work of God alone. We ought to give ourselves to Christ by faith alone. No one can take away our faith in Christ alone. By faith, Jesus gives us His gift of His unified righteousness. We received the heavenly pardon and divine acceptance. Rome says justification is a process that includes sanctification. We understand justification as a decisive act by God for us sinners. We are not justified by baptism but by Christ alone. We cannot achieve justification by our works. Christ lived in our place. He lived the perfect and pure righteous life we could not live. We are people devoid of merit. This underscores the essence of free grace. His grace is incredible. We need grace to be holy. We have no merit in and of ourselves. We need His merit alone. Amen.
