Day 50.

It is pre-eminent because it is the application to our personal lives of what Jesus achieved for us in his incarnation, his perfect life, His crucifixion, and glorious resurrection. There is not a point that needs to be dwelt upon more earnestly, repeated more frequently, or established more firmly in the minds of all, than the impossibility of fallen humanity meriting anything by our own best good works. Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone. God cannot pronounce anyone righteous based on that person’s behaviour.
The law demands a perfect righteousness, and this the sinner owes to the law; but he is incapable of rendering it. Anything less than perfection is sin. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” (1John.3:4). “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (Rom.6.23) The only way in which he can attain to this perfect righteousness is through faith. By faith we can bring to God the merits of Christ, and the Lord places the obedience of His Son to the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place of man’s failure, and God receives, pardons, justifies, the repentant, believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves him as He loves His Son. That is the essence of justification by faith. Think of this staggering exchange made at the cross – when you accept His offer your sin is upon Christ and His righteousness is upon you. He takes your death and gives you his life. What an exchange! “He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 1Cor5:21. Magnificent words! Life changing words!

Remember, Justification is a legal word. It is a declaration in your favour. What then shall I say of the moral law? God’s Ten Commandment law is an unchanging and universal standard of right and wrong, supreme, and inspired, it exhorts us to live fully and completely in the shadow of His grace. But the law says do, the gospel says done.

Galatians 3 contains one of my favourite passage of scripture in the entire Bible! V:13, But first let me put it in its context. In a three-point rhetorical question (vs1-5) Paul chides the “foolish” Galatians for being drawn away by the false teachers. The word foolish is stronger in the Greek and literally means “mindless.” His linking the word with “bewitched” suggests that the ultimate source behind their condition is the devil! He then asks questions about how they began in their new faith. He is therefore aghast that they would now want to pollute the message of faith alone in Christ by relying on their own behaviour. Our danger also is thinking that we are doing OK spiritually, that we are ‘solid’ in our faith and that we are therefore good enough to be saved. You never will be! The source of your salvation will never be based on your performance or any amount of spiritual gymnastics.