When You Are Justified

Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, "In justifying us God tells us that He has taken our sins and our guilt, and has imputed them to, put them to the account of, the Lord Jesus Christ and punished them in Him. He announces also that, having done that, He now puts to our account, or imputes to us, the perfect righteousness of His own dear Son."

When you are justified, it's by faith alone in Christ alone. We are justified from all sin at the cross of Jesus (1 John 1:7). Then, God puts the righteousness of Christ on our account. As Lloyd-Jones declared, "He now puts to our account, or 'imputes' to us, the perfect righteousness of His own dear Son."

Martin Luther focused upon the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ. He referred to it as the great exchange. Believers exchange their sins for the righteousness of Christ. Augustus Toplady, called it the double cure in his hymn, Rock of Ages. We sing these words: "Be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure." That's when you are justified.

When you are justified, it's through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. By faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, believers are justified from all sin (Romans 5:1). But, God does even more for every believer. He puts the righteousness of Christ on our account (2 Corinthians 5:21). Yes, our record of sin is wiped clean, and God also accounts us righteous in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17-19).

Christ Revealed to You

Christ is revealed to you through the Holy Spirit, according to Holy Scripture, the Bible. Christ was prophesied in the Old Testament. The prophets spoke of the One who was coming. The New Testament declared He has come. His name is JESUS, who came as the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world, and He is coming again, "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).

Christ is revealed to you in the Bible through a progressive revelation. God spoke in times of old by the prophets who knew in part and prophesied in part (Hebrews 1:1-2). Today, we have the full revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord. He is known as the Word of God. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

All Scripture points to Christ revealed to you today. There are literally hundreds of types pointing toward Christ in the Old Testament. For example, the Passover Lamb in Exodus points toward Christ our Passover. "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Christ is the primary revelation in the Bible. Many would think that Revelation is one of the hardest books in the Bible to understand. However, Jesus is the revelation in the Book of Revelation. Read the title of the book: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1). Christ is revealed to you from Genesis to Revelation, through prophecy, typology and fulfillment.

Our Great Teacher

Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, "No man can know Jesus Christ unless he is taught by God. Tell me not of systems of divinity, of schemes of theology, of infallible commentators, of the most learned people, or of the most arrogant doctors, but tell me of the great Teacher who will instruct the sons of God and make us wise to understand all things. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher." 

The Holy Spirit is our great Teacher of truth. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide his disciples into all truth (John 8:31-32; 16:13). While the Spirit of God gives pastors and other teachers the ability to minister the word of truth, yet he alone is the great Teacher. He is the one who inspired the Holy Scripture. Believers are taught by the Holy Spirit to understand the Bible.

The Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus Christ to all who are born again. He teaches you about the only one who can take away your sins, Jesus the crucified one. He teaches you to confess Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit teaches you about the only one who could change your heart, Jesus and the power of his resurrection (Romans. 10:9). His teaching always glorifies Jesus, the Son of God, according to the Scripture (John 16:14).

The Holy Spirit teaches us more and more about Jesus. Our prayer should be: "Spirit of God my teacher be, showing the things of Christ to me." That's the way God teaches every believer in Christ.

Two Sides of Election

The two sides of election are based upon God's foreknowledge and our responsibility. Our election in Christ was before time began. Yet, we are responsible to receive Jesus Christ by faith (John 1:11-12). You make your call and election sure, as you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:10; 3:18). Your election is sure in Christ.

The Bible doctrine of election has two sides. There is the divine side and the human side. God foreknew the elect in Christ before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:2). However, you make your call and election in Christ sure in time (2 Peter 1:10).

God foreknew the elect in Christ (Romans 8:29-30). The elect are born again at a certain point in time. God foreknew the time of your conversion, but you received God's grace through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:15; 2:20). That's your election made sure in Christ, when you repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31).

The debate over election continues, as some look at the doctrine from God's perspective, and others look at it from man's view. If you begin with God, election is unconditional. If you begin with man, election is conditional. If you begin with God, your election is sure in Christ. If you begin with yourself, election is made sure by repentance and faith in Christ.